Question

polemic noun When "polemic" was borrowed into English from French "polemique" in the mid-17th century, it referred (as it still can) to a type of hostile attack on someone's ideas. The word traces back to Greek "polemikos," which means "warlike" or "hostile" and in turn comes from the Greek noun "polemos," meaning "war." Other, considerably less common descendants of "polemos" in English include "polemarch" ("a chieftain or military commander in ancient Greece"), "polemoscope" (a kind of binoculars with an oblique mirror), and "polemology" ("the study of war"). 1 a : an aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions or principles of anotherb : the art or practice of disputation2 : disputant

Accepted Answer

October 8, 2009 puh-LEM-ik "He isn't striving for objectivity; this book is part history, part polemic." (Carmela Ciuraru, Christian Science Monitor, June 16, 2009)

Word	polemic
Date	October 8, 2009
Type	noun
Syllables	puh-LEM-ik
Etymology	When "polemic" was borrowed into English from French "polemique" in the mid-17th century, it referred (as it still can) to a type of hostile attack on someone's ideas. The word traces back to Greek "polemikos," which means "warlike" or "hostile" and in turn comes from the Greek noun "polemos," meaning "war." Other, considerably less common descendants of "polemos" in English include "polemarch" ("a chieftain or military commander in ancient Greece"), "polemoscope" (a kind of binoculars with an oblique mirror), and "polemology" ("the study of war").
Examples	"He isn't striving for objectivity; this book is part history, part polemic." (Carmela Ciuraru, Christian Science Monitor, June 16, 2009)
Definition	1 a : an aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions or principles of another b : the art or practice of disputation 2 : disputant

Noun English Attack Greek Part Polemic October Puh Lem Ik