exponent

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 7, 2010 is: exponent • \ik-SPOH-nunt\ • noun 1 : a symbol written above and to the right of a mathematical expression to indicate the operation of raising to a power 2 a : one that expounds or interprets b : one that champions, practices, or exemplifies Examples: "Pianist [Chick] Corea has played plenty of straight-ahead jazz, but is probably best known as an exponent of '70s jazz-rock fusion." (Curtis Ross, The Tampa Tribune, February 19, 1999) Did you know? You probably won't be surprised to learn that "exponent" shares an ancestor with "proponent" -- and indeed, the Latin "ponere" ("to put") is at the root of both terms. "Exponent" descends from "exponere" ("to explain" or "to set forth"), which joins "ponere" with "ex-" ("out"). "Proponent" traces to "proponere" ("to display" or "to declare"), from "ponere" and "pro-" ("before"). "Proponent" can describe someone who offers a proposal (it's related to "propose," which also ultimately comes from "proponere"), but today it usually means "one who argues in favor of something." "Exponent" can also refer to someone who is an advocate, but it tends to refer especially to someone who stands out as a shining representative of something, and in addition it has retained its earlier meaning of "one who expounds." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.