Today's Words: Forsooth, Googol and Gainsay

 

Forsooth

(fawr-sooth) Adverb

(now used in derision or to express disbelief) in truth; in fact; indeed.

More about Forsooth

From Middle English forsothe, <Old English forsōth. 

The original sense of “in truth, in fact” without an element of derision or irony is obsolete.

Examples of Forsooth

Here’s an original usage example from Othello, Act 1, Scene 1:

Forsooth, a great arithmetician,
One Michael Cassio, a FlorentineHere’s a modern-day, humorous example:

“Forsooth, I should be so lucky to find a parking spot on a Friday night!”

Googol

(goo-gawl) Noun

a number that is equal to 1 followed by 100 zeros

More about Googol

First recorded in 1935–40.

Introduced by U.S. mathematician Edward Kasner (1878–1955), whose nine-year-old nephew allegedly invented it.

Inspiration for the famous Google search engine.

Examples of Googol

The concept of a googol stretches the limits of human imagination, illustrating the vastness of numbers.

She joked that it would take a googol of years to finish all the chores on her list.

Gainsay

(geyn-sey) Verb

to deny, dispute, or contradict

More about Gainsay

First recorded between 1250–1300.

From the Middle English word gainsaien, literally “say against.”

Examples of Gainsay

No one could gainsay the evidence presented at the trial.

It’s hard to gainsay the fact that technology has drastically changed our lives.

Inputs Courtesy: Dictionary.com