Welcome back, dearest Wordlers! I have a confession to make: I was so discombobulated by the Christmas holiday, I completely spaced doing a Wordle Wednesday riddle yesterday! Oh frumptious brain of mine!
Let’s do one right now, on Thor’s Day, instead. The riddle:
A girl turned 17 in 1980. In 1987 she was 10. How is this possible?
Let me know if you figure out the answer!
Okay, Wordle time!
How To Solve Today’s Word
The Hint: Theoretically, what school is for.
The Clue: This word begins with a consonant.
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See yesterday’s Wordle #921 right here.
Wordle Bot Analysis
After each Wordle I solve I head over to the Wordle Bot homepage to see how my guessing game was.
I began today’s guessing game with trine, a word that means one third of a circle. It’s also a cool video game series, which you should check out when you get the chance.
This was a solid guess, leaving me with three yellow boxes and just 23 words to choose from. Anger, unfortunately, only slashed that number to 4, though I now had nearly every letter I needed.
Two of the guesses I came up with at this point were learn and yearn, and I tend to go with the more common word first. Sure enough, learn was right! I have learned something, after all! I have always yearned to learn!
Roughly 43% of Wordlers guessed correctly on the third guess.
Today’s Competitive Wordle Score
I get 1 point for guessing in three and 0 for tying Wordle Bot.
Today’s Wordle Etymology
The etymology of the word “learn” traces back to Old English and has connections to other Germanic languages. Here’s a brief overview:
- Old English: The word “learn” in Old English was “leornian” or “læran,” which primarily meant “to get knowledge, be cultivated; study, read, think about,” and also “to teach.” It was used in a broader sense than the modern English “learn.”
- Proto-Germanic Roots: The Old English “leornian” is believed to come from the Proto-Germanic “*liznojan,” which is a derivative of the root “*liznō-,” meaning “to follow or to find a track.” This root is also linked to the concept of “tracking” or “finding a path,” metaphorically related to acquiring knowledge.
- Other Germanic Languages: Similar forms of the word can be found in other Germanic languages, like Old High German’s “lernēn” (to learn, to study) and Gothic’s “lais” (‘I know’). These also share the same Proto-Germanic roots.
- Evolution in Meaning: Over time, the focus of the word shifted from the general acquisition of knowledge to the more specific process of “learning” as we understand it today.
The development of the word “learn” reflects a journey from a general idea of acquiring knowledge and skills through observation and study, to the more formalized concept of learning in the educational context we’re familiar with in modern English.
Play Competitive Wordle Against Me!
I’ve been playing a cutthroat game of PvP Wordle against my nemesis Wordle But. Now you should play against me! I can be your nemesis! (And your helpful Wordle guide, of course). You can also play against the Bot if you have a New York Times subscription.
Here are the rules:
- 1 point for getting the Wordle in 3 guesses.
- 2 points for getting it in 2 guesses.
- 3 points for getting it in 1 guess.
- 1 point for beating me
- 0 points for getting it in 4 guesses.
- -1 point for getting it in 5 guesses.
- -2 points for getting it in 6 guesses.
- -3 points for losing.
- -1 point for losing to me
You can either keep a running tally of your score if that’s your jam or just play day-to-day if you prefer.
