Word - 88

EXONERATE \ig-ZAH-nuh-rayt\ verb

1 : to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship

*2 : to clear from accusation or blame

Example sentence:

Dwight was exonerated for the crime of taking the money after it was found that his fingerprints did not match those on the cashbox.

Did you know?

We won't blame you if you don't know the origins of today's word. "Exonerate" derives via Middle English from the past participle of the Latin verb "exonerare," meaning "to unburden," formed by combining the prefix "ex-" with "onus," meaning "load" or "burden." ("Onus" itself lives on with that meaning in English.) In its earliest uses (dating from the 16th century), "exonerate" was used in the context of physical burdens -- a ship, for example, could be exonerated of its cargo when it was unloaded. Later it was used in reference to any kind of burden, until a more specific sense developed, meaning "to relieve (someone) of blame."

Word - 87

OAF \OHF\ noun

1 : a stupid person : boob

*2 : a big clumsy slow-witted person

Example sentence:
When the waiter dropped a full plate of pasta into her lap, my sister yelled, "You clumsy oaf!"

Did you know?

A long time ago in England, it was believed that goblins sometimes secretly exchanged their babies for human babies. This was used as an explanation when parents found themselves with a particularly ugly or deformed child: these parents wanted to believe that their real baby had been stolen by goblins, and the other left in its place. The label for such a child was "auf," or "alfe" (meaning "goblin's child"), terms that were later altered to form our present-day "oaf." Although the linguistic history is not entirely clear, "auf" and "alfe" are likely from the Middle English "alven" and "elven," meaning "elf" or "fairy." Today the word "oaf" is no longer associated with unattractive babies and is instead applied to anyone who appears especially unintelligent or graceless.