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Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Words worth

coalesce   \koh-uh-LESS\   verb
    1 : to grow together 
    2 a : to unite into a whole : fuse  *b : to unite for a common end : join forces 
    3 : to arise from the combination of distinct elements

"Coalesce" unites the prefix "co-" ("together") and the Latin verb "alescere," meaning "to grow." (The words "adolescent" and "adult" also grew from "alescere.") "Coalesce," which first appeared in English in the mid-17th century, is one of a number of verbs in English (along with "mix," "commingle," "merge," and "amalgamate") that refer to the act of combining parts into a whole. In particular, "coalesce" usually implies the merging of similar parts to form a cohesive unit. 


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