Welcome to another exciting episode of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! Here is a quote by no less a personage than the original Renaissance man himself, Leonardo Da Vinci, which bears on the importance of staying mentally fit: "Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses it purity and in cold weather becomes frozen, even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind." Wise words from a wise man. Here's the Word of the Week to get your brain cells warmed up:
Pertinacious -- (pur-tin-ay-shus) [adjective]
1. Holding resolutely to a purpose, belief or opinion
2. Stubbornly unyielding
from latin pertinac-, pertinax, per- (thoroughly) + tenax (tenacious) from tenare (to hold) -- "A Word A Day", Anu Garg, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Jersey, 2003.
Example: Rex's pertinacious hold on the squeaky toy made playing fetch difficult, as it would take five or more minutes for Jim to wrestle it away from him so that he could throw it.
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