THE FIRST WORD

inoculate

PRONUNCIATION:

(i-NOK-yuh-layt) 

MEANING:

verb tr.:
1. To treat with a vaccine to induce immunity against a disease.
2. To introduce an idea into someone's mind.
3. To safeguard or protect.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin in- (in) + oculus (eye; bud, referring to grafting of a bud into a plant of a different type). Earliest documented use: 1420.

USAGE:

"Michael G. Gartner observed last week: 'You see these young people come and you see them every day and you try to inoculate them with your values and you take great pride when they move up.'"
Felicity Barringer; News Executive Leaving It Behind For a Baseball Life; The New York Times; Sep 6, 1999.