Word of the Day for Wednesday January 11, 2006 pugilist \PYOO-juh-list\, noun: One who fights with the fists; especially, a professional prize fighter; a boxer. I had escaped my years as a pugilist with few of the badges that gave fellow-veterans of the ring the appearance of ruffians--missing eyes, mashed noses, or suchlike disfigurements--and had no more to show for my beatings than some small scars about my face and a nose that bore only the mild bumps and jagged edges that come with several breakings. --David Liss, [1]A Conspiracy of Paper Could it be that Podhoretz -- one of the famously embattled members of the New York intellectual world, a political pugilist who over the course of his life has perfected his roundhouse right -- is going soft? --Joseph Dorman, "Only in America," review of My Love Affair With America: The Cautionary Tale of a Cheerful Conservative, by Norman Podhoretz, [2]New York Times, July 16, 2000 _________________________________________________________ Pugilist comes from Latin pugil, "a boxer," connected with pugnus, "a fist." The adjective form is pugilistic. Pugilism is another term for the sport of boxing. Synonyms: brawler, boxer, bruiser. [3]Find more at Thesaurus.com. References 1. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0804119120/ref=nosim/lexico 2. http://www.nytimes.com/ 3. http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=pugilist Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=pugilist