Word of the Day

: August 10, 2013

sinuous

adjective SIN-yuh-wus

What It Means

1 a : of a serpentine or wavy form : winding

b : marked by strong lithe movements

2 : intricate, complex

sinuous in Context

The hikers followed a sinuous path that curved around a lake and in between two small hills.

"The walls are covered in an exquisitely painted chinoiserie pattern, all sinuous floral motifs, fanciful pagodas and gracefully attired scholars set against a limpid, sky-blue background." - From an art review by Christopher Knight in the Los Angeles Times, July 5, 2013

Did You Know?

Although it probably makes you think more of snakes than head colds, "sinuous" is etymologically more like "sinus" than "serpent." "Sinuous" and "sinus" both derive from the Latin noun "sinus," which means "curve, fold, or hollow." Other "sinus" descendents include "insinuate" ("to impart or suggest in an artful or indirect way") and two terms you might remember from math class: "sine" and "cosine." In English, "sinus" is the oldest of these words; it entered the language in the 1400s. "Insinuate" appeared next, in 1529, and was followed by "sinuous" (1578), "sine" (1593), and "cosine" (1635). "Serpent," by the way, entered English in the 13th century and comes from the Latin verb "serpere," meaning "to creep."