Word of the Day

: October 19, 2010

peculation

noun pek-yuh-LAY-shun

What It Means

: embezzlement

peculation in Context

The employee's peculation might never have been discovered had he not misdirected an e-mail intended for his bookie to the company bookkeeper.

"Starting with Kansas in 1911, most states passed laws to protect investors from nefarious sales practices and other peculation in the offer and sale of securities." -- From an article by Arthur B. Laby in Business Lawyer, February 2010

Did You Know?

"Peculation" has some peculiar relatives. It derives from Latin "peculatus" ("misappropriation of property"), which belongs to a family of Latin words having to do with property and possession. The most basic members of the family, "pecu" ("cattle") and "pecus"("livestock"), reflect the fact that animals were a fundamental form of wealth in ancient societies. Other members of the family include "pecunia" ("money"), which gave English "pecuniary" ("monetary"), and "peculiaris" ("of private property" or "special"), which led to our "peculiar."

Test Your Memory: Our featured word on September 30 was "raconteur." It means ...