Word of the Day

: June 1, 2014

palmy

adjective PAH-mee

What It Means

1 : marked by prosperity : flourishing

2 : abounding in or bearing palms

palmy in Context

"In Beaufort Road was a house, occupied in its palmier days, by Mr Shorthouse, a manufacturer of acids." - J.R.R. Tolkien, letter, July 1964

"The place is 101 years old so they're selling tradition hard these days, staging balloon races and a Moto GP motorcycle event because that's what they did back in the palmy days of William Howard Taft." - Ben Smith, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, May 29, 2010

Did You Know?

The palm branch has traditionally been used as a symbol of victory. It is no wonder then that the word "palm" came to mean "victory" or "triumph" in the late 14th century, thanks to the likes of Geoffrey Chaucer. Centuries later, Shakespeare would employ "palm" to create a new synonym for "triumphant" or "flourishing." His coinage is found in the tragedy Hamlet when the character Horatio speaks of the "palmy state of Rome / A little ere the mightiest Julius fell."