Today's Words: Natto, Acumen and Engram

 Natto

(not-oh) Noun

a dish of fermented cooked soybeans, often eaten for breakfast over white rice or with toppings such as soy sauce and mustard.

More about Natto

First recorded in 1870–75.

Comes from Japanese, from na(t)- and tō, “bean.”

Na(t) is ultimately from Middle Chinese, a cognate with Mandarin nà, “to bring into, receive.”

Examples of Natto

For a traditional Japanese breakfast, many people enjoy a serving of natto over steamed white rice.

Natto is known for its sticky texture, which is a result of the fermentation process.

Acumen

(uh-kyoo-muhn, ak-yuh-) Noun

keen insight; shrewdness.

More about Acumen

First recorded in 1525–35.

Comes from the Latin word acūmen, meaning “sharpness.”

Acūmen comes from the stem of acuere, “to sharpen,” as does the English word acute, “sharp or severe.”

Examples of Acumen

Her acumen in identifying profitable investments impressed everyone at the meeting.

With his financial acumen, he was able to grow his small startup into a successful business empire.

Engram

(en-gram) Noun

a presumed encoding in neural tissue that provides a physical basis for the persistence of memory; a memory trace.

More about Engram

First recorded in 1905–10.

Comes from the Greek combining forms en-, “to cause to be in,” and –gram, “something written.”

Introduced by German researcher Richard Semon, while studying the formation of memory.

Examples of Engram

Studies suggest that the formation of an engram involves complex processes within the neural network.

Through advanced imaging techniques, researchers hoped to locate the precise engram responsible for a particular memory.

Inputs Courtesy: Dictionary.com