It's the word of the day for March 28th.
Today's word is derelict, spelled D-E-R-E-L-I-C-T.
Derelict is an adjective.
It's a formal word that describes something that is no longer cared for or used by anyone.
It can also describe someone who is negligent or who fails to do what needs to be done.
Here's the word used in a sentence from IndieWire.
In a movie that spends most of its time confined to the disorienting guts of a derelict spaceship,
tracking Kenneth's de-evolution from Kennedy wannabe to a used car salesman version of Colonel Kurtz is often the only moral compass we have to find our way towards a better tomorrow.
The Latin verb relinquire, meaning to leave behind,
left English with a number of words, including derelict.
Something derelict has been left behind, or at least appears that way.
In another sense, someone who is derelict leaves behind or neglects their duties or obligations.
Another descendant of relinquire is the word relinquish,
meaning to leave behind, to give up or to release.
Relic is also ultimately from the same root.
Relics in the original sense of the term are things treasured for their association with a saint or martyr,
that is, objects, saints, and martyrs left behind.
Relinquire also gives English its name for the containers or shrines which hold relics.
a reliquary.
With your Word of the Day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.