Have you heard or used this word before?

The word of the day is phalanx. It sounds like something that would be related to sphinxes, pyramids, and other things you'd find in, say, Egypt.

I first heard the word used in the movie "Night at the Museum," which came out in 2006.

Ben Stiller's character, a nightguard at the Museum of Natural History in New York, mentions that Attila the Hun -- ruler of the Hunnic Empire from 434 until 453, "surrounded himself with a phalanx of sorcerers and magicians."

Per Dictionary.com, phalanx could mean the following:

(1) any body of troops in close array

(2) a number of individuals, especially person's united for a common purpose

(3) a compact or closely massed body of persons, animals, or things

In other words, it's a unique way of saying:

- group
-collection
-myriad
-throng
-flock
-horde

I don't see phalanx being adopted in the corporate world anytime soon, but it's still a funky word nonetheless.

Next time someone asks what you plan to do this weekend, tell them you intend to go out with a phalanx of friends. I'm sure their reaction will be priceless!

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