Word of the Day

Wednesday March 17, 2010

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paradox [PAR-uh-doks]

adjective

1. An opinion or proposition contrary to commonly accepted opinion.
2. A statement or proposition which seems absurd, but yet may be true in fact.
3. An assertion or sentiment seemingly contradictory, or opposed to common sense.

• Letting go--that is the essential paradox of parenthood. You care, you nurture, you sacrifice and then you watch as the little ones fly into the great unknown, often shouting recriminations as they depart. You experience the stomach-clenching pain of separation, but you do so with a smile and a hug, aware that the desire to protect and love must never morph into the tyranny of mollycoddling.
  Matthew Syed, "To learn secret of success, meet the parents", The Times, Mar 3, 2010
• The paradox here is that Obama remains hugely popular abroad -- from Germany and France to countries where anti-Americanism has recently been a problem, such as Turkey and Indonesia. His following means that, in democratic countries at least, leaders have a strong incentive to befriend him. And yet this president appears, so far, to have no genuine foreign friends.
  Jackson Diehl, "A lonely world for the King of Cool", The Washington Post, Mar 8, 2010
• He will not bore you, but he may shock you. You find yourself watching him to see what is coming next, and it may be a subtle jest, a paradox, or an atrocious violation of etiquette.
  Gelett Burgess (1866 - 1951) An artist, art critic, poet, author, and humorist. Are You A Bromide? (1906)

Origin of the Word

Paradox, approximately 1540, derives from Latin paradoxum "paradox, statement seemingly absurd yet really true," from Greek paradoxos, "contrary to expectation, incredible," from para- "contrary to" + doxa "opinion."