Banausic

Banausic is an adjective that means serving utilitarian purposes only. Our word of the day comes from a Greek word banausikos (bah NO see kose) which means ‘of or for artisans.’ It must be remembered that artisans of the ancient world mostly created art for utilitarian purposes, things like vases and furniture. In time, banausic came to mean anything that existed solely for utilitarian reasons. We got our dog Sparky mostly for banausic reasons. We needed a guard dog. But as time has gone by, our love for him has less and less to do with the utilitarian purposes he serves.