origin word assignment

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[ uh - sahyn -m uh nt ]

She completed the assignment and went on to other jobs.

Synonyms: job , obligation

He left for his assignment in the Middle East.

• an act of assigning; appointment.
• the transference of a right, interest, or title, or the instrument of transfer.
• a transference of property to assignees for the benefit of creditors.

/ əˈsaɪnmənt /

• something that has been assigned, such as a mission or task
• a position or post to which a person is assigned
• the act of assigning or state of being assigned

assignment of a lease

• the document effecting such a transfer
• the right, interest, or property transferred
• law (formerly) the transfer, esp by an insolvent debtor, of property in trust for the benefit of his creditors
• logic a function that associates specific values with each variable in a formal expression
• history a system (1789–1841) whereby a convict could become the unpaid servant of a freeman

Other Words From

• misas·signment noun
• nonas·signment noun
• reas·signment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of assignment 1

Synonym Study

Example sentences.

Yariel Valdés González and I faced these challenges while on assignment in South Florida and the Deep South from July 21-Aug.

They’re putting time into decoration just as they would in their physical classroom, and students can interact with the space by, say, clicking on a bookshelf to get a reading assignment.

For now, if the district moves to in-person learning, instruction in Carlsbad will take place on campus five days per week and students may engage in additional independent practices and other assignments at home.

The assignments must also respect the relationships between the elements in the group.

It’s very hard, by the way, to do real random assignment studies of couples therapy.

His most recent assignment was the 84th Precinct, at the Brooklyn end of the Brooklyn Bridge.

When Lewis was shipped off to Vietnam, his son was just three months old, and the timing of the assignment worried Lewis.

When Vial got that first assignment, she was just beginning her photography career, and Cirque du Soleil was only a few years old.

“For our winter issue, we gave ourselves one assignment: Break The Internet,” wrote Paper.

By the 1950s the rapid assignment of gender to an ambiguously gendered infant had become standard.

Consent to an assignment may be given by the president of the company, without formal vote by the directors.

A transfer by the lessee of the whole or a part of his interest for a part of the time is a sublease and not an assignment.

An assignment to one who has an insurable interest as relative, creditor and the like, is always valid.

When an assignment of it is made, the assignee may sue in his own name for rent accruing after the assignment.

In some states statutes forbid the assignment of such policies for the benefit of creditors.

Related Words

• appointment

Assignment etymology

English word assignment comes from Old French (842-ca. 1400) assignement

Etymology of assignment

Detailed word origin of assignment.

Look up a word, learn it forever.

/əˈsaɪnmənt/.

Other forms: assignments

Whether you’re an international spy with a new mission or a high school student with math homework — when you get an assignment , you’d better do it! An assignment is a task that someone in authority has asked you to do.

The word assignment is just the noun form of the common verb assign , which you use when you want to give someone a duty or a job. When you assign something, that something is called an assignment . The word can also refer to the act of distributing something. If you are distributing new office furniture at work, you might say, “ Assignment of the new chairs will begin tomorrow.”

• noun an undertaking that you have been assigned to do (as by an instructor) see more see less types: show 6 types... hide 6 types... school assignment , schoolwork a school task performed by a student to satisfy the teacher writing assignment , written assignment an assignment to write something classroom project a school task requiring considerable effort classwork the part of a student's work that is done in the classroom homework , prep , preparation preparatory school work done outside school (especially at home) lesson a task assigned for individual study type of: labor , project , task , undertaking any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
• noun a duty that you are assigned to perform (especially in the armed forces) “a hazardous assignment ” synonyms: duty assignment see more see less types: show 10 types... hide 10 types... guard , guard duty , sentry duty , sentry go the duty of serving as a sentry fatigue , fatigue duty labor of a nonmilitary kind done by soldiers (cleaning or digging or draining or so on) charge , commission , mission a special assignment that is given to a person or group reassignment assignment to a different duty sea-duty , service abroad , shipboard duty naval service aboard a ship at sea shore duty naval service at land bases fool's errand a fruitless mission mission impossible an extremely dangerous or difficult mission martyr operation , sacrifice operation , suicide mission killing or injuring others while annihilating yourself; usually accomplished with a bomb secondment the detachment of a person from their regular organization for temporary assignment elsewhere type of: duty work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons
• noun the act of putting a person into a non-elective position synonyms: appointment , designation , naming see more see less types: show 6 types... hide 6 types... nomination the act of officially naming a candidate co-optation , co-option the act of appointing summarily (with or without the appointee's consent) delegacy the appointment of a delegate ordinance , ordination the act of ordaining; the act of conferring (or receiving) holy orders recognition designation by the chair granting a person the right to speak in a deliberative body laying on of hands laying hands on a person's head to invoke spiritual blessing in Christian ordination type of: conclusion , decision , determination the act of making up your mind about something
• noun the act of distributing something to designated places or persons “the first task is the assignment of an address to each datum” synonyms: assigning see more see less types: allocation , storage allocation (computer science) the assignment of particular areas of a magnetic disk to particular data or instructions type of: distribution the act of distributing or spreading or apportioning
• noun (law) a transfer of property by deed of conveyance synonyms: grant see more see less types: apanage , appanage a grant (by a sovereign or a legislative body) of resources to maintain a dependent member of a ruling family land grant a grant of public land (as to a railway or college) type of: transferred possession , transferred property a possession whose ownership changes or lapses
• noun the instrument by which a claim or right or interest or property is transferred from one person to another see more see less type of: instrument , legal document , legal instrument , official document (law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right

Vocabulary lists containing assignment

The Dawes Act, or General Allotment Act of 1887, was a law that allowed the U.S. government to take Native American tribal lands and divide them into 40 acre lots for individual Native Americans. The goal was to break up communal tribal lands and speed the assimilation of Native Americans into American society. The Dawes Act caused great suffering with much of the land winding up in the hands of white settlers.

Learn these words from the autobiography by David Lubar (Inside: Level B, Unit 4). Here are our links to the selections of "Every Body Is a Winner": The Human Machine; My Fabulous Footprint , The Beat Goes On; All Pumped Up , Two Left Feet, Two Left Hands , How Coach Told Me; Bionics Here are our links to the units of Level B: Unit 1 , Unit 2 , Unit 3 , Unit 4 , Unit 5 , Unit 6 , Unit 7 , Unit 8 Here are our links to the Inside books: Level A , Level B , Level C Here is our link to a list of academic vocabulary for Inside: Academic Vocabulary

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assignation (n.)

early 14c., assignacioun , "appointment by authority," from Old French assignacion (14c., Modern French assignation ), from Latin assignationem (nominative assignatio ) "an assigning, allotment," noun of action from past-participle stem of assignare / adsignare "to mark out, to allot by sign, assign, award," from ad "to" (see ad- ) + signare "make a sign," from signum "identifying mark, sign" (see sign (n.)).

The meaning "action of legally transferring" (a right or property) is from 1570s; that of "a meeting by arrangement, tryst" is from 1650s, especially for a love-affair; assignation-house (1849) was an old euphemism for "brothel."

Entries linking to assignation

early 13c., signe , "gesture or motion of the hand," especially one meant to express thought or convey an idea, from Old French signe "sign, mark," from Latin signum "identifying mark, token, indication, symbol; proof; military standard, ensign; a signal, an omen; sign in the heavens, constellation."

According to Watkins, literally "standard that one follows," from PIE *sekw-no- , from root *sekw- (1) "to follow." De Vaan has it from PIE *sekh-no- "cut," from PIE root *sek- "to cut" He writes: "The etymological appurtenance to seco 'to cut' implies a semantic shift of *sek-no- 'what is cut out', 'carved out' > 'sign'." But he also also compares Hebrew sakkin , Aramaic sakkin "slaughtering-knife," and mentions a theory that "both words are probably borrowed from an unknown third source."

It has ousted native token . By c. 1300 as "an indication of some coming event." The meaning "a visible mark or device having some special meaning" is recorded from late 13c.; that of "miraculous manifestation, a miracle demonstrating divine power" is from c. 1300. In reference to one of the 12 divisions of the zodiac, from mid-14c.

The sense of "inscribed board with a characteristic device attached to the front of an inn, shop, etc.," to distinguish it from others is recorded from mid-15c. The meaning "indicator, token or signal of some condition" (late 13c.) is behind sign of the times (1520s). The meaning "conventional mark or symbol in place of words" (in music, mathematics, etc., as in plus sign) is by 1550s. In some uses, the word probably is a shortening of ensign . 

word-forming element expressing direction toward or in addition to, from Latin ad "to, toward" in space or time; "with regard to, in relation to," as a prefix, sometimes merely emphatic, from PIE root *ad- "to, near, at."

Simplified to a- before sc- , sp- and st- ; modified to ac- before many consonants and then re-spelled af- , ag- , al- , etc., in conformity with the following consonant (as in affection , aggression ). Also compare ap- (1).

In Old French, reduced to a- in all cases (an evolution already underway in Merovingian Latin), but French refashioned its written forms on the Latin model in 14c., and English did likewise 15c. in words it had picked up from Old French. In many cases pronunciation followed the shift.

Over-correction at the end of the Middle Ages in French and then English "restored" the -d- or a doubled consonant to some words that never had it ( accursed , afford ). The process went further in England than in France (where the vernacular sometimes resisted the pedantic), resulting in English adjourn , advance , address , advertisement (Modern French ajourner , avancer , adresser , avertissement ). In modern word-formation sometimes ad- and ab- are regarded as opposites, but this was not in classical Latin.

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updated on September 28, 2022

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Assignation or Assignment – Difference, Meaning & Examples

Marcus Froland

July 15, 2024

When learning English, it’s natural to find words that seem very similar, but have entirely different meanings. That’s just one of the many challenges that language learners face. Two such words are assignation and assignment . They sound so alike, you might think they’re interchangeable. Yet, they are not.

In this article, we are going to put these two under the spotlight. Our focus is to help you understand the difference between assignation and assignment , provide their meanings, and offer clear examples. It’s about getting you comfortable with these words and helping you use them correctly in your English journey. So, let’s get started!

The critical difference between Assignation and Assignment lies in their usage and context. Assignation primarily refers to an agreement or appointment for a meeting. For instance, “They had an assignation at the coffee shop.” On the other hand, an Assignment refers to a task or duty assigned to someone. For instance, “He completed his math assignment.”

Both terms originate from the verb ‘assign’ but are utilized differently. Assignation is more often used in legal or formal settings, but assignment is common in educational or work contexts. So, if you’re scheduling a secretive meeting, use assignation. But if you’re handing out tasks or duties, use assignment.

Understanding the Meaning of Assignation

The word assignation is rich in meaning, covering everything simple to secret. At its basic level, it means assigning tasks or property. But, it has a more exciting side in stories. Here it often means secret meetings , tied to love or forbidden activities.

Definition of Assignation

Traditionally, assignation is about giving out duties or rights. It’s used in law and history to talk about dividing up or handing out responsibilities. This is like using the word assign in everyday situations. But add a dash of mystery or love, and assignation takes on a new life. It then means secret meetings or private moments.

Examples of Assignation in Sentences

Let’s look at some examples of assignation to get a clear picture:

• In books, an assignation can mean secret meetings between lovers, adding mystery.
• News stories might hint at illicit relationships by mentioning assignation, adding a thrill.
• Old documents might talk about assignation when they discuss dividing land rights, in a more straightforward sense.
• In romantic stories today, a secret meeting in a cafe could be an assignation, hinting at hidden love.

Understanding the Meaning of Assignment

The word assignment holds great importance in various areas. These include education, work, and law. Exploring its meanings helps us understand its wide use and importance.

Definition of Assignment

In schools, an assignment is the work teachers give to students. It helps to check how much students understand and how they perform. At work, assignments are tasks given to employees. These tasks keep the business running smoothly and productively.

In the legal world, an assignment means transferring rights or property . This is key to understand how people can give or receive ownership and duties legally.

Examples of Assignment in Sentences

• For their big project, the students got an academic work challenging them to research and present their findings.
• The boss gave a hard task to the new employee to test how well they manage work under pressure.
• With the contract signed, the ownership officially changed hands through a property transfer .

Understanding assignment in its various forms is crucial. It allows us to be more effective in school, at work, and in legal matters. Recognizing these differences ensures we communicate and act clearly and confidently.

Assignation or Assignment: Key Differences

It’s vital to understand the difference between assignation and assignment for clear communication. The term assignation brings to mind secret or romantic meetings. It can also mean the act of assigning something. Meanwhile, assignment is about giving out tasks, duties, or responsibilities. This is common in school or work.

Assignation and assignment have different uses. Assignation suggests secrecy and is linked with private meetings. On the opposite side, assignment talks about clear duties or legal handovers. It doesn’t have the secret flavor that assignation does.

To avoid confusion, it’s key to know when to use each term. Calling a work task an assignation could suggest something secret or wrong. So, choosing the right word matters:

• Use assignation for secret or love meetings done quietly.
• Use assignment when you mean work tasks or handing over property, in formal or work settings.

Using the right term, assignation or assignment, makes your meaning clear. This way, you won’t confuse anyone.

Using Assignation and Assignment Correctly

It’s key to know how assignation and assignment differ. Each word has its own meaning. Using them right is key to avoid mix-ups.

When to Use Assignation

The word assignation is about secret meetings. These are often for romantic reasons. Books use it to talk about meetings held in private.

It hints at something hidden or confidential. This makes it perfect for talks that need to stay under wraps.

When to Use Assignment

Assignment , on the other hand, is about giving tasks. It’s used in schools, work, and law. For example, it can mean homework or handing over property rights.

This word doesn’t suggest secrets like assignation does. It’s all about structured, formal tasks.

Knowing these differences helps you communicate clearly. Use assignment for tasks, and assignation for secret meet-ups. This keeps your meaning clear and stops any confusion. It’s especially important in professional settings to avoid the wrong idea about secret meetings.

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Meaning of assignment in English

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• It was a plum assignment - more of a vacation really.
• He took this award-winning photograph while on assignment in the Middle East .
• His two-year assignment to the Mexico office starts in September .
• She first visited Norway on assignment for the winter Olympics ten years ago.
• He fell in love with the area after being there on assignment for National Geographic in the 1950s.
• act as something
• all work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy) idiom
• be at work idiom
• be in work idiom
• housekeeping
• in the line of duty idiom
• join duty idiom
• undertaking

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

assignment | Intermediate English

Assignment | business english, examples of assignment, collocations with assignment.

These are words often used in combination with assignment .

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Translations of assignment

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School bans gen alpha slang parents can’t understand: ‘i must be really old’.

A sign at a primary school revealing a list of words students are “banned” from using has caused a stir online – with many parents revealing it makes them “feel old”.

In total 11 phrases were named by an unidentified teacher as being unsuitable for use by students during school hours on a sign placed by the school’s entrance.

Words featured are current Generation Alpha favourites, including “skibidi”, “sigma”, “rizz”, “mewing”, “gyatt”, “bet”, “bussin’”, “ohio” and “baddie”.

While two phrases also made the list, “it’s the _ for me” and “let him cook”.

Those from previous generations have understandably gone wild over the youthful slang after a photo of the sign was shared by the Meanwhile in Australia Facebook page, alongside the caption: “Gen alpha is cooked.”

Many parents replied in the comments section, with some declaring those who don’t know the words are “old” as others revealed they were “confused” by everything on the list.

“My 6 year old says a lot of these, I’m like WTF does that even mean,” one lamented.

“I’m going to have to google most of these words because I have no idea what they mean,” another agreed.

As one simply noted: “I must be realllllly old.”

In fact, one Millennial mum who struggled to translate some of the slang words after her 10-year-old daughter tried to teach her, recently went viral due to her relatable reaction.

As the young girl read out many of the words featured on the school’s banned list, the mum admitted she had “no idea” what her daughter was saying, comparing her “weird words” to a “foreign language”.

Australia isn’t the only nation struggling to decipher the words, with a US school posting a similar sign recently that was later shared on  Reddit .

“This sign showing words you can’t say in school…” the post read, alongside a photo of showing the list blu-tacked to a window.

The post also attracted a string of comments, mostly from people who were “clueless” over the slang terms and how to use them.

What do the slang words mean?

For those who have never heard of the words before (don’t worry, us too), we’ve scoured the World Wide Web and uncovered the unofficial definitions, so you don’t have to.

This has emerged in reference to a viral meme of a person’s head coming out of a toilet. To call someone that, or refer to someone’s actions as such, is to say they’re “weird”.

Don’t mistake this for the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet as the kids have given it a new meaning. It’s used today as part of a bizarre hierarchy for males. While “alpha” still leads the pack, sigma means the same thing, “but humbler”,  Today  reported.

This one is so widely used, it was formally recognized as the  2023 Oxford word of the year  in December. Beloved by Gen Z, it is short for the word “charisma”, and is used to describe someone’s ability to attract another person through style or charm.

According to Urban Dictionary, “mewing” is an exclamation or retort used to interrupt someone who is complaining about something trivial. Many kids are using the technique on their parents and teachers, driving them up the wall in the process.

The slang gyatt is an exclamation used to express excitement or shock, especially in reaction to seeing large buttocks or a voluptuous woman, according to Dictionary.com. It is often used as a hashtag in videos of curvy women or, much less often, men.

This slang expression is used to affirm a statement or confirm an agreement. So when somebody says “bet”, really, what they’re saying is okay, understood, or alright, I agree with that, or I confirm that.

Often used to describe food, “bussin’” is a word that originated in the Black community and means extremely good or delicious, according to  Merriam-Webster .

While some argued this isn’t a slang word as it is the name of one a US state, in 2024 it now has another unfortunate meaning. To put it simply, Ohio means bad. Using it in this way began online after people started talking about how there doesn’t seem to be much going on in Ohio.

“The conversation eventually grew into a general understanding that it was embarrassing to be from the state altogether,” pop culture site  Distractify  stated.

“As a chronically online generation, Gen Alpha picked it up, ran with it, and made it a thousand times worse.”

While you’d think being a “baddie” is not a good thing, the youth of today have embraced it as a positive description of a woman, Urban Dictionary states. She’s a “female who can hold her own and take care of herself. She is very pretty, and independent, she don’t take sh*t”.

Screen Rant

Walking dead's final 3 words have a mind-blowing secret meaning (according to its creator).

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Walking Dead's Creator Admits He's Embarrassed of 1 Thing in the Original Series

The walking dead's creator nearly killed an original survivor way earlier, "bleak, sad, possibly terrible": walking dead's creator reveals his plan for the franchise's original ending.

• The Walking Dead 's final words are spoken by the adult Carl's daughter, Andrea, who reponds to a bedtime story about her grandpa Rick with, "Read it again."
• Writer Robert Kirkman revealed that the sentence is an instruction to the reader, since the story is very different when you know it's building to humanity's resurgence.
• Kirkman says Walking Dead is a story of hope, but until you know how it ends, that's incredibly easy to miss.

Zombie epic The Walking Dead ends with three simple words that redefine the series' message, telling readers how to understand its true meaning. According to creator Robert Kirkman, almost no-one understands the story the first time they experience it, with the final words intended to unlock the theme that runs through Rick Grimes' story from beginning to end. For those who think they know Walking Dead , Kirkman has laid down an awesome challenge to re-experience it in a new way .

Recently, Image Comics began to publish The Walking Dead Deluxe - a new version of Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard and Tony Moore's hit comic series with colors by Dave McCaig, plus new cover art and creator commentary. In the first issue, Kirkman welcomes fans back to the story by revealing it was essentially always intended to be read twice. In the story's final issue, an adult Carl reads the story of Rick Grimes to his daughter Andrea. Andrea Grimes gets the last words of the series, telling her dad, "Read it again!"

Kirkman explains that this was always intended as a meta instruction to the reader. He writes that The Walking Dead is a story about hope, but that thanks to the many dark events of the story and the moments where it seems the characters are doomed or damned, that fact is hidden until you know the story's ending. Because of this, fans can read Walking Dead once for the thrills and drama, and then a second time as an epic about hope making it possible to survive the worst possible circumstances. Kirkman says:

"Read it again." ... When I wrote those words, I wanted them to be kind of meta. They pertain to the story in an emotional way, but they also have a literal meaning in the real world. Now that you've read the entire Walking Dead series and you know how it concludes and where it leaves you emotionally, you'll have a different perspective on what you're reading. The journey will seem different now. I've always felt The Walking Dead was a story of hope, it almost never reads that way if you don't know how things end. So now readers can, for the first time, see the story how I did as they read it.

Walking Dead's Apocalypse Has a Shock Predator DEADLIER than Zombies

The Walking Dead's zombie are dangerous enemies, but humans face a bigger threat in the post-apocalypse - and it's not each other!

Walking Dead's darkest moments don't exactly invite the reader to feel hopeful, but once you know the story is building to humanity's resurgence, everything takes on new meaning.

Walking Dead's "Read It Again" Is an Instruction to the Reader

Walking dead is a story of hope, but that's only clear in retrospect.

The Walking Dead follows Rick Grimes as he attempts to help a small group of survivors to make it through a zombie apocalypse, gradually growing into a leader who influences the structure and values of the resurgent human civilization. Following Rick's death, the final issue's time jump leaps ahead 25 years into the future, returning to Carl as a grown man, now living inside a safe zone where zombies are no longer a fact of life. Major human settlements are now in contact with each other, with a railway being built to connect groups on the East and West coasts of America. While there are zombies (or 'Walkers') in existence, their numbers have crumbled and they're no longer a concern for the average person.

In this world, the years of terror and death fans watched Rick's group fight to survive are known as the Trials , with the remaining humans now seeing this time as an era which stripped away unnecessary and damaging aspects of human existence, leaving them with a fairer and more purposeful society. Marking Rick's contribution to this new age, fans see a giant statue of Rick leading the survivors into battle , and it's clear he's become a semi-mythic figure, with Carl having mixed feelings about how the facts of his father's life are being warped by the legend.

Walking Dead's Ending Basically Guarantees a Second Zombie Outbreak

The Walking Dead has a hugely satisfying ending that ties up a lot of loose threads, but one unaddressed threat spells disaster for the survivors.

The comic ends with Carl reading Rick's story to his daughter , just as the reader themselves has come to the end of Rick's tale. According to Kirkman, Andrea's instruction to "read it again" is meant to send them back to the beginning, this time reading all of Rick's struggles and near-corruption as the path to a better world.

If Rick had simply survived and made it to the Commonwealth but not become someone capable of changing it, the story would end with humanity returning to its worst excesses.

Walking Dead's Darkness Hides the Hope At Its Core

The ending reveals that without rick's suffering, humanity would have come back worse.

It's worth noting that there are some truly dark moments in The Walking Dead , including Rick viciously slaughtering people who he perceives as threats. Kirkman has shared before that one dark fight in which Rick bites his opponent was meant to mark the moment he became a "living zombie" , with Grimes at one point declaring, "We are the walking dead" to his fellow survivors, admitting he has lost any sense of hope for the future . The story later sees Rick turn away from his most horrific violence, crucially sparing Negan's life and rekindling the former villain's faith in human potential. Rick also takes back his iconic declaration, finding strength again in the connections he's created.

In this sense, Kirkman is exactly right that The Walking Dead doesn't feel like a hopeful story in its darkest moments . Indeed, there are plenty of moments where it seems like Rick may be on the road to becoming a monster, and countless moments where beloved characters die horribly. The Walking Dead portrays a world where no-one is 'safe,' and where even children can kill and die. However, with the future goal of what the Commonwealth will become in mind, Rick's journey is more clearly shaping him into the leader the world needs to come through the trials.

Looking back on The Walking Dead in retrospect, Robert Kirkman admitted that there is one aspect of the series that makes him feel embarrassed.

It's worth noting that zombies aren't the only threat to humanity . When Rick's survivors reach the Commonwealth, they discover a corrupt society where rigid social categories are maintained through violence, with those who were privileged before the zombie outbreak forcing their way back to the top of the pile. It's only because of who Rick and the survivors have become that they're able to topple the Commonwealth's leadership and install a system based on equality. If Rick had simply survived and made it to the Commonwealth but not become someone capable of changing it, the story would end with humanity returning to its worst excesses.

However, while there's a lot of darkness, hope isn't absent from the first reading of The Walking Dead . While the characters constantly suffer and commit heinous crimes, the story sees them find their way back to humanity again and again. No matter how bad things get, The Walking Dead returns repeatedly to the idea that change and improvement is possible. Negan in particular embodies this idea , as the seemingly irredeemable villain is persuaded by Rick's vision of the world, living the rest of his life in penitent exile.

The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman revealed he nearly killed a major character much sooner in the series than what actually ended up happening.

Walking Dead was originally intended to have a far bleaker ending, with Kirkman even warning Rick Grimes actor Andrew Lincoln what to expect.

Walking Dead's Ending Was Almost Completely Different

The story didn't always end with hope.

The effectiveness of Walking Dead 's ending makes it particularly surprising that Kirkman originally had a totally different vision for how the story would end. In The Walking Dead Deluxe #84 , Kirkman reveals that the imagery of Rick's statue was always planned, but with an extra element that was "bleak, sad, possibly terrible." Kirkman's original intention was to end with a surprise time jump into the future, cutting from Rick leading the survivors into battle to a statue of him in the same pose. However, the art would then have zoomed out, revealing a zombie stumbling around its base.

The implication was that while Rick's survivors had lived long enough to bring back some kind of society, the zombies had ultimately won out - perhaps finally driving humanity to extinction. Kirkman was so confident of this ending, he even told it to Greg Nicotero (executive producer and director of the Walking Dead TV show) and Rick Grimes actor Andrew Lincoln. However, because this ending could be pushed back indefinitely, Kirkman kept delaying the series' ending, eventually coming to feel that it wasn't a satisfying ending to the story he was planning to tell.

Walking Dead's creator has revealed his original plan for the franchise's ending - a twist that would have totally changed the series' meaning.

In this way, Walking Dead 's sense of hope actually saved it from a bleak ending, as the story gradually persuaded Kirkman that total defeat didn't suit the story of hardship and hard-won redemption he was telling. Any fan who read the original Walking Dead comics should go back to the beginning and embark on a second reading, as the series' creator shares that not only is this the best way to understand its key themes, but that this is so much the case, the story even ends with the instruction to "read it again."

The Walking Dead

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Definition of assignment noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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Find the answers with Practical English Usage online, your indispensable guide to problems in English.

• 2 [ uncountable ] the act of giving something to someone; the act of giving someone a particular task his assignment to other duties in the same company

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The Spiritual Meaning Of August’s Full Sturgeon Moon

Ready or not, change is coming.

If you’ve felt some chaotic energy in the ether lately, you can blame it on the astrology of August , because this month’s planetary clashes are inarguably intense. All the pent-up energy climaxes during the full moon on Aug. 19, also dubbed the Sturgeon Moon. This lunation also happens to be the year’s first supermoon, meaning it peaks at a closer-than-usual proximity to the earth and appears larger in the sky because of it. And while the moon may look big, the changes all zodiac signs are undergoing look even bigger, so understanding the spiritual meaning of August’s full moon can help you stay grounded through the shake-ups.

Full moons happen whenever the two luminaries face off with each other in the heavens, allowing the sun to illuminate the face of the moon in its entirety. Symbolically, the tension between these opposing celestial bodies can bring people’s emotions to a boil and push situations to their climax or breaking point. Because the full moon is taking place in the status-quo-shucking sign of Aquarius , you’re being asked to embrace your true and one-of-a-kind self, even if that doesn’t align with other people’s expectations of you. You may have to overcome some personal challenges before you can feel fully confident in your skin, but under this full moon, your work will pay off.

There are a lot of hard-hitting planetary aspects involved with this lunation, so its spiritual meaning is infused with the spirit of change and personal revolution. Here’s everything you should know about this full moon’s energy and how to work with it.

What’s The Spiritual Meaning Of August’s Sturgeon Moon?

According to Farmer’s Almanac, the annual full moon of August is nicknamed the Sturgeon Moon , and it’s called such due to the plethora of sturgeon fish that fill North American lakes during this stretch of the summer. The abundance of giant sturgeon provided a plentiful and hearty food source for the people living nearby — a reminder that there are enough resources and opportunities to go around for everyone, and that there’s no reason to limit yourself or minimize what you’re capable of. Being a big fish in a small pond can make it feel like you’re on top, but you’ll only fully grow into your power if you allow yourself to swim out into the open sea and challenge yourself to explore new territory.

The full moon is in free-thinking Aquarius, and it’s sitting across from the regal and powerful sun in Leo , encouraging everyone to let their freak flags fly and embrace their revolutionary inner truth. However, alongside the sun is Mercury retrograde , dragging thoughts and conversations from the past into the current emotional landscape. These planets are collectively in a T-square with chaos-wielding Uranus — Aquarius’ cosmic ruler — so some unpredictable twists and challenges are in store. There’s yet another frustrating T-square alignment involving Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, so all zodiac signs are challenged to step up to their true callings. But with so many tough and touchy squares happening in the skies, you’ll have to be patient and overcome some personal hurdles in your quest to get there.

How To Work With The Sturgeon Moon Energy

Because August’s Sturgeon Moon is in the rule-breaking air sign of Aquarius and it’s squaring off with innovative Uranus , pushing the limits of your comfort zone is one of the major themes of this lunation. If you notice yourself feeling like you “can’t” do something you want to do, ask yourself why. Is it because doing so would require you to make some radical moves that scare you? Is it because it would be “out of character,” or that you fear the people in your life might judge you? The bravery of the sun in Leo combined with the non-conformist vibe of the moon in Aquarius wants you to forget about what’s “normal” and start living your life like you’re the main character — because you are.

Of course, doing so is easier said than done, but the cosmic chaos surrounding this lunar moment reminds you that change is one of life’s non-negotiables. If you want to level up and evolve into more authentic and powerful versions of yourself, your circumstances probably need to shift. There may be burdensome situations that you need to let go of, or perhaps larger responsibilities that require you to step up your game and get real. There may also be changes on the horizon that are beyond your control — but it’s still up to you to decide how you’ll respond to them. When life gives you lemons, choose to make lemonade instead of feeling sour. Doing so is an important part of embracing the spiritual meaning of this Sturgeon Moon.

Word of the Day

What it means.

Tchotchke refers to a small object used for decoration. It's a synonym of knickknack and trinket .

// Their shelves were cluttered with tchotchkes from a lifetime of vacations.

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tchotchke in Context

"Dozens of vendors hawking art, food and tourist tchotchkes crowded the bridge’s Manhattan approaches ..." — Evan Simko-Bednarski, The New York Daily News , 3 Jan. 2024

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Did You Know?

Just as trinkets can dress up your shelves or coffee table, many words for "miscellaneous objects" or "nondescript junk" decorate our language. Knickknack , doodad , gewgaw , and whatnot are some of the more common ones. We also have gimcrack , bauble , and bibelot . While many such words are of unknown origin, we know that tchotchke comes from the Yiddish word tshatshke of the same meaning, and ultimately from a now-obsolete Polish word, czaczko . Tchotchke is a pretty popular word these days, but it wasn't commonly used in English until the 1970s.

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Fill in the blanks to complete a synonym of tchotchke meaning "something (such as a decorative object) considered novel, rare, or bizarre": c _ _ _ o.

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