Word of the Day

: March 13, 2017

irenic

adjective eye-REN-ik

What It Means

: favoring, conducive to, or operating toward peace, moderation, or conciliation

irenic in Context

The former senator's irenic nature made her an ideal candidate to be a foreign ambassador.

"In a period when relations between religious traditions are characterized by suspicion and lack of understanding, Gregg's even-handed and irenic treatment of each religion's biblical interpretation provides a positive appreciation of each on its own terms and an invitation for each religion to consider rejoining with the others in an important conversation." — Luke Timothy Johnson, Commonweal, 17 June 2016

Did You Know?

In Greek mythology, Eirene was one of the Horae, the goddesses of the seasons and natural order; in the Iliad the Horae are the custodians of the gates of Olympus. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, the Horae were the daughters of Zeus and a Titaness named Themis, and their names indicate their function and relation to human life. Eirene was the goddess of peace. Her name is also the Greek word for "peace," and it gave rise to irenic and other peaceable terms including irenics (a theological term for advocacy of Christian unity), Irena (the genus name of two species of birds found in southern Asia and the Philippines), and the name Irene.