DAY 84 the sun is out, the birds are singing, and all is right with the world!

ADVERTENT

adjective, giving attention, heedful

The minor explosion in the laboratory was due to a student not being adverting to the labels on the chemical bottles.

You may be thinking that "adverting" should mean "intentional." After all, "inadvertent" means "unintentional." Take away the negative prefix "in-" and you're left with the word's opposite, right? If this is your line of thought you're not entirely off base; the two words (which both entered English in the 17th century and derive from Latin adventure, meaning "to turn the mind or attention") are, in fact, closely linked. But "inadvertent" has another, older meaning: "inattentive" or "not focusing the mind on a matter." The established meaning of "adverting" falls opposite that older sense of "inadvertent." Does this mean that "advertent" falls opposite that older sense of "inadvertent." Does this mean that "adverting" never means "intentional"? No exactly. We have seen some evidence of the use, but it's not yet well enough established to be entered into our dictionaries.

hugs always

karen charlie and enzo