Today's word: copesmate (n.) adversary; or, a partner or associate.

Copesmate began life as a word meaning an adversary, in the mid 1500s, but by the time Shakespeare wrote The Rape of Lucrece, in 1594, it could mean any two bonded or codependent things:

"Misshapen Time, copesmate of ugly Night"

Its most recent meaning is to indicate a partnership or friendship.

Words like copesmate, which can be their own opposite, are known as contronyms. Other examples include:

consult: give advice, or, take advice;
custom: a common practice, or, a special treatment;
left: departed, or, remaining.

My much-treasured Christmas present for 2017 is a book by Paul Anthony Jones: "The cabinet of linguistic curiosities". Each page contains a descriptive story about some obscure or archaic word. It occurred to me it would be a fun exercise to try and write, each day, a poem featuring the "word of the day" from the book.

Thanks for reading.

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