Word of the Day for Thursday August 11, 2005 nugatory \NOO-guh-tor-ee; NYOO-\, adjective: 1. Trifling; insignificant; inconsequential. 2. Having no force; inoperative; ineffectual. Tygiel's forte as a historian is his eye for what may appear nugatory or marginal but, when focused upon, illuminates the temper of a given moment. --Roberto Gonzlez Echevarria, "From Ruth to Rotisserie," [1]New York Times, July 2, 2000 Jacoby's offense was no offense -- or an error so nugatory as to demand no more than a one-sentence explanation. --Lance Morrow, "In Boston, a Foolish Consistency of Little Minds," [2]Time, July 19, 2000 Socialism no longer restrains; trade unions do so much less than they did; moral inhibitions over the acquisition and display of wealth are nugatory. --John Lloyd, "If not socialism, what will persuade the rich willingly to pay more taxes to help the poor and preserve a decent society?" [3]New Statesman, August 2, 1996 _________________________________________________________ Nugatory comes from Latin nugatorius, from nugari, "to trifle," from nugae, "jests, trifles." References 1. http://www.nytimes.com/ 2. http://www.time.com/ 3. http://www.newstatesman.com/ Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=nugatory