Word of the Day: March 4, 2023

proximate

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adjective | PRAHK-suh-mut

What It Means

Proximate is a formal word that is usually used to describe something that comes or happens immediately before or after something in a way that shows a very close and direct relationship. It can also mean "very near" or "happening soon."

// The proximate cause of the student protests was the firing of a popular professor, but there had been murmurings of unrest all year.

// Being physically proximate to such an iconic work of art was surprisingly moving.



Examples

"When I first watched 'The Last Unicorn' (a horror movie masquerading as a children's cartoon) at age 8, the image of a naked harpy devouring a witch was burned into my brain, but so was the realization that the conditions that created the harpy also allowed for the unicorn. The existence of horror is inevitably proximate to the existence of wondrous possibility." — Adrienne Celt, The New York Times, 14 June 2022


Did You Know?

If you’d like to approach a better understanding of proximate, and an approximation of its history, pull up a chair and get cozy with the history of its etymological proximity to other English words. Proximate comes ultimately from the Latin adjective prope, meaning "near," a source too of , , and . Other close relations of proximate are easier to spot: they include , and .


Larger Vocabulary = More $$

Not enough people realize that it is our ability to use our language that will determine our place on the social pyramid–and that will also control, to a great extent, the amount of money we will earn during our lives. Research has shown over and over that a person’s vocabulary level is the best single predictor of occupational success (more info). Ready to reach the top? Subscribe and receive a new word daily via TXT!


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Facts & Statistics

"A person may dress in the latest fashion and present a very attractive appearance. So far, so good. But the minute he opens his mouth and begins to speak, he proclaims to the world his level on our social pyramid...Our use of our language is the one thing we can't hide."

Earl Nightingale (one of the greatest self-improvement authors of all time) conducted of a 20-year study of college graduates. "Without a single exception, those who had scored highest on the vocabulary test given in college, were in the top income group, while those who had scored the lowest were in the bottom income group."

Another study by scientist Johnson O'Connor, who gave vocabulary tests to executive and supervisory personnel in 39 large manufacturing companies:

Presidents and VPs

236 out of 272

Managers averaged

168 out of a 272

Superintendents averaged

140 out of 272

Foremen averaged

114 out of 272

Floor bosses averaged

86 out of 272

In virtually every case, vocabulary correlated with executive level and income.

In a "Reader's Digest" article titled "Words Can Work Wonders for You", author Blake Clark told a fascinating story of a salesman in his 50s who scored in the bottom 5% of a standardized vocabulary test. He worked himself into the top 45% and became a vice president of the company.

You can reach the top! We may not all be brilliant enough to be the top in our fields, but we can certainly be in the top 5%–including you.

"Let's face it, from the earliest times, the favored class of people has always been the educated class. They can make themselves recognized instantly, anywhere, by the simple expedient of speaking a few words. Our language, more than anything else, determines the extent of our knowledge.

Step out, and make something more of yourself!