Word of the (Election) Day
scrutinize \SKROO-tuh-nyze\ verb
1 : to examine closely and minutely
2 : to make a scrutiny
Example sentence:
Signora Bernasconi scrutinized the painting, said to be by Fra Angelico, and declared it a fake.
A close look at the etymology of “scrutinize” reveals that the word stems from the Latin verb “scrutari” (meaning “to search” or “to examine”), which in turn probably comes from “scruta” (meaning “trash,” or more specifically “a mixture of worthwhile articles and trash”). “Scrutari” gave us the noun “scrutiny” in the 15th century, a word which originally meant “a formal vote” and then “an official examination of votes.” “Scrutinize” retained reference to voting, with the meaning “to examine votes,” at least into the 18th century — and even today in Britain a “scrutineer” is a person who counts votes.