Word of the Day: PREVARICATE
prevaricate (verb) - to stray from or to avoid telling the truth; to equivocate or lie [pri-var-i-keyt]
prevarication is the act or result of deliberately misstating the truth; a falsehood
a prevaricator is one who doesn't tell the complete truth
BREAKDOWN: One would think that the word prevaricate derives from the common base VARI- meaning bend or change in words like variable or varicolored. Instead, its origin is the Latin praevāricārī meaning to straddle something,:
PRE- (before) + VARIC- (to straddle) + -ATE (to do)
In this case, a speaker is strenuously straddling the truth in an effort to avoid it.
“Lying is the same as alcoholism. Liars prevaricate even on their deathbeds.” —Anton Chekhov
[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not necessarily derived from classical roots.]