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  Word of the Day

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DEFINITION

noun

He spoke up after a phalanx of servers lifted five porcelain salvers in unison,

 releasing a floccus of steam from each dish.  New York TimesFeb 28, 2012

DID YOU KNOW?

The original sense of "phalanx" refers to a military formation that was used in ancient warfare and consisted of a

tight block of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder, several rows deep, often with shields joined. The word

"phalanx" comes from the Greeks, though they were not the only ones who used this formation. The Greek term

literally means "log" and was used for both this line of battle and for a bone in a finger or toe. The word and its

senses passed into Latin and then were adopted into English in the 16th century. These days, a "phalanx" can be

any arranged mass, whether of persons, animals, or things, or a body of people organized in a particular effort.