It's Merriam-Webster's word of the day for April 3rd.

Today's word is lamb-based, also pronounced lamb-B-A-S-T-E.

Lamb-B-A-S-T-E. Lamb-B-A-S-E. Lamb-S-E-E. Lamb-S-E-L-S-E-S-E-S-T-E. To Today's... is to

criticize them very harshly.

Lamb-based is also sometimes used as a synonym of beat, meaning to assault.

Here's the word used in a sentence from Market Watch by John F. Wasek.

They come and go like pop songs and can make your head spin.

Boiled down though, most diet longevity studies lamb-based the standard American diet, which contributes

to inflammation that may trigger diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and possibly Alzheimer's

disease.

The origins of the word lamb-based, which can be also spelled without the E at the end

as lambast, are somewhat uncertain, but the word was most likely formed by combining the verbs

lamb and based, both of which mean to beat severely. This based is unrelated to either the sewing or the cooking one.

Although Lambast started out in the 1600s meaning to assault violently,

English speakers were by the 1800s applying it in cases involving harsh

attacks made with words rather than fists. This new sense clearly struck a chord,

after fighting its way into the lexicon This new sense clearly struck a chord.

After fighting its way into the lexicon,

Lamb-based has held fast ever since.

With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.

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