Word of the Day for Thursday, June 21, 2012

enchiridion \en-kahy-RID-ee-uhn\,
noun:
A handbook; manual.

For you offer us the postulation that we can, in the shadow, or rather the radiance, of your own enchiridion, go and do likewise.
-- Marcel Proust, "Swann's Way"

Sarah and Isaac were romping noisily about and under the beds; Rachel was at the table, knitting a scarf for Solomon; grandmother pored over a bulky enchiridion for pious women, written in jargon.
-- Israel Zangwill, "Children of the Ghetto"

Enchiridion stems from the Greek root cheir meaning "hand". The prefix en- means "within", so the noun means "in the hand". The suffix -idion denotes a diminutive form of another word.

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