Today's Word "Titivate"
Published in Vocabulary
titivate \TI-teh-veyt\ (verb) - To tidy up, put on the finishing touches, to primp; to spruce up, decorate.
"The ox-cart carrying the newlyweds had been titivated with brightly colored ribbons."
Originally spelled "tidivate" or "tiddivate," this word is ostensibly a blend (portmanteau) of "tidy" + some Latinate borrowing such as "cultivate," "elevate," or "renovate." Notice that between two vowels, English [t] is pronounced [d] in many dialects, especially in the US; hence, the change in spelling does not affect the pronunciation in these dialects. The exact origin is unknown but it first began appearing in print around 1805. As you use today's word, be careful not to confuse it with titillate "to excite as though by tickling," a mistake made by no one less than Dylan Thomas, who wrote in one of his letters: "Even now twelve heartfelt pages are titivating the senses of a Dead Letter superintendent."
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