A Word of the Day – Saturnine

In an effort to educate the nominally literate and inform those with sufficient humility to understand their own lack of comprehension, Esme offers the correct definition of misunderstood words…

Saturnine

1. (proper noun, pronunciation note: sat-urn-nine) Godling from Roman mythology, ninth son of the god Sat (the deity charged with the welfare of pottery and pot makers) often pictured decorating an urn.
   Example: Saturnine could be seen in the fresco decorating his father’s urn.
2. (noun, pronunciation note: satyr-nine) A very persistent German-speaking man who insists on propositioning women even after they have refused him.
   Example: She left the nightclub when a saturnine turned up.

If you have any words whose meaning escapes you, Esme Crockford is always happy to share her lexicographical knowledge and penetrating insight into the English language.