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Increasing Your Vocabulary: Apricate

Late spring to early summer is my personal favorite time to apricate. Quite a few people feel the same way, so it is appropriate that this time of year this post is made for adding ‘apricate’ to your vocabulary.

This word is pronounced “APP-ri-kayt’. What is interesting about the word is that it comes from the Latin word “apricari”, which has an identical meaning to the use in the English language today of apricate. Usually, there is a slight to a substantial change in meaning over the years, but though apricate has been around since the late 1600’s and “apricari” has been around a lot longer, the meaning hasn’t changed.

So what does apricate mean? The word means “to bask in the sun” or “to expose to the sun”. In other words, people who sunbathe apricate. If you work in the garden or elsewhere outside and wear a tank top, you also apricate.

The word shouldn’t be confused with appreciate, which has a different origin. That said, after a long winter, many people truly appreciate being able to apricate. Don’t you? If so, isn’t it about time to get out there and apricate?

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What do you think?

Written by Rex Trulove

7 Comments

    • I can understand how the two could be confused. However, if the word has only one ‘p’, it is basking. If it has two p’s, it is being thankful or grateful. I don’t know if that helps much.