Word of the Day Archive
Monday September 6, 2010
rubric \ROO-brik\
, noun:
1. A title, heading, or the like, written or printed in red or otherwise distinguished from the rest of the text.
2. A direction for the conduct of divine service.
3. Any established mode of conduct or procedure.
In our office, we have a file of rubrics The New Yorker has used in its eighty-five-year history-Annals of Exploration, Letter from Saigon, Yachts and Yachtsmen. It can be a helpful list.
-- Amy Davidson, "About a Nutshell," Close Read blog, www.newyorker.com, August 2010.
Under the "best of category" rubric, Bedell's 2008 cabernet franc ($30) was voted the state's best red.
-- Howard G. Goldberg, "And the Award Winner Is ...," Long Island Vines blog, New York Times, August 2010.
Rubric's origin relates to its color; the source is the Latin rubrica, "red ocher."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for rubric