Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Word of the Day

usageaster \YOO-sij-as-ter\,

noun: A self-styled authority on language usage.

Newman went on to voice sentiments held by other usageasters: I think that slang adds richness and originality to English.
-- Charlton Grant Laird and Phillip C. Boardman, "The Legacy of Language"

A poetaster pretends to write poetry; a usageaster pretends to know about questions of usage in language.
-- Allan A. Metcalf, "Predicting New Words"

Usageaster is derived from the word usage and the suffix -aster which refers to something that imperfectly resembles or mimics the true thing.

Dictionary.com