- Today's Word
Truncate
TRUN-kayt
Definition
- (verb) To shorten something by cutting off a part, especially at the end.
Example
The article had to be truncated to fit within the magazine’s word limit.
Fun Fact
“Truncate” comes from the Latin truncare, meaning “to cut off.” The concept appears in various fields, from botany (truncated leaves) to mathematics (truncated numbers). Digital systems often truncate text when displaying character limits, a feature familiar to anyone who’s seen a message cut off on social media.
(verb) To use vague or ambiguous language in order to avoid committing to a clear position or answer.
When asked directly whether he had approved the deal, the CEO equivocated for ten minutes without ever giving a straight answer.
Equivocate derives from the Medieval Latin aequivocare, meaning “to call by the same name,” built from aequus (“equal”) and vox (“voice” or “word”). The idea behind the root is of a word that sounds the same but carries two equally valid meanings — giving the speaker plausible deniability by exploiting ambiguity. It entered English in the 16th century, almost immediately acquiring its negative connotation of deliberate evasiveness.