Word of the Day

Monday March 22, 2010

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extol [ik-STOHL]

transitive verb

1. To praise; to glorify or honor; to exalt.

• Nieman thinks the federal government should play a leading role in promoting healthy foods by similarly engaging well-known sports figures to extol the virtues of fruits, vegetables and fish in free public service announcements.
  Chris Zdeb, "Fit, not fat; Athletes advertising fast food send misleading message", The Ottawa Citizen, Mar 13, 2010
• While most people using baby carriers extol the convenience of having their hands free to steer a toddler, dial a cellphone or maneuver through a grocery store, some see it as an integral part of their parenting philosophy, which holds that babies should be worn on the body to foster a strong attachment to their parents.
  Jennifer Bleyer, "The Latest In Strollers? Mom and Dad", New York Times, Mar 11, 2010
• The time has passed when he was an object of ridicule, and it is no longer a mark of eccentricity to defend or of perversity to extol him.
  W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) An English playwright, novelist and short story writer. The Moon and Sixpence (1916)

Origin of the Word

Extol, approximately 1500, derives from Latin extollere, from ex- "up" + tollere "to raise."