A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Wed Feb 1 00:02:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gamp X-Bonus: In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: they must be fit for it; they must not do too much of it; and they must have a sense of success in it. -John Ruskin, author, art critic, and social reformer (1819-1900) This week's theme: Dickensian characters that became words gamp (gamp) noun A large umbrella. [After Sarah Gamp, a nurse in Charles Dickens's novel "Martin Chuzzlewit". She carries a large umbrella. Earliest documented use: 1864.] Mrs Gamp https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gamp_large.jpg Illustration: Kyd (Joseph Clayton Clarke) (1856-1937) "By the time we fumble with our windcheaters and gamps, the air is dry once again." Narayani Ganesh; City of Derry in Northern Ireland; The Economic Times (New Delhi, India); Dec 31, 2010. -------- Date: Thu Feb 2 00:02:02 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scrooge X-Bonus: Mistakes are part of the dues that one pays for a full life. -Sophia Loren, actress (b. 1934) This week's theme: Dickensian characters that became words scrooge (skrooj) noun A miser. [After Ebenezer Scrooge, the mean-spirited, miserly protagonist in Charles Dickens's novel "A Christmas Carol". Earliest documented use: 1940.] Scrooge facing Marley's Ghost https://wordsmith.org/words/images/scrooge_large.jpg Illustration: John Leech (1817-1864) "John Hymers was not entirely a Scrooge. There were times when he secretly helped poor people and he built a village library." Sisters Campaigned for a Mixed School at Hymers; Hull Daily Mail (UK); Jan 23, 2012. -------- Date: Fri Feb 3 00:02:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gradgrind X-Bonus: Few things are more satisfying than seeing your children have teenagers of their own. -Doug Larson, columnist (b. 1926) This week's theme: Dickensian characters that became words Gradgrind (GRAD-grynd) noun Someone who is solely interested in cold, hard facts. [After Thomas Gradgrind, the utilitarian mill-owner in Charles Dickens's novel "Hard Times". Gradgrind runs a school with the idea that hard facts and rules are more important than love, emotions, and feelings. Earliest documented use: 1855.] Thomas Gradgrind catching his children at the circus https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gradgrind_large.jpg Wood engraving: Harry French, 1870s "In truth, Colleen McCullough is very much a Gradgrind when it comes to facts: They are all that is needful, presented, it must be said, without color or animation to detract from their merit." Katherine A. Powers; Ancient Evenings; The Washington Post; Dec 15, 2002. -------- Date: Mon Feb 6 00:02:08 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wastrel X-Bonus: The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it. -Jean Paul Richter, writer (1763-1825) "I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am." Those candid words of Samuel Johnson, lexicographer extraordinaire, provide a perceptive observation on the human condition. A language is a mirror of its people. As a disinterested record of the language, a dictionary serves as an accurate window to the culture. It's not surprising that there are more words to describe people who fall on the wrong side than on the good. In this week's AWAD we'll look at words to describe people. [Update: The quotation is from Joseph Baretti, not Johnson. See http://www.samueljohnson.com/apocryph.html#19 ] wastrel (WAY-struhl) noun A good-for-nothing, wasteful person. [Via French from Latin vastare (to lay waste), from vastus (desert, empty) + -rel (a diminutive or pejorative suffix). Earliest documented use: 1589.] "With Greece at the center of a cyclone that threatens the global economy, foreign citizens believe that their taxes have been raised to bail out the wastrel Greeks." Nikos Konstandaras; Orwell's Elephant; Kathimerini (Athens, Greece); Oct 3, 2011. -------- Date: Tue Feb 7 00:02:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lummox X-Bonus: Cheerfulness and contentment are great beautifiers and are famous preservers of youthful looks. -Charles Dickens, novelist (1812-1870) This week's theme: Words to describe people lummox (LUHM-uhks) noun A clumsy, stupid person. [Of uncertain origin, perhaps from East Anglian lummock (to move heavily or clumsily). Earliest documented use: before 1825.] "Adam is harshly portrayed as an oaf, a nimrod, a village idiot, a lummox, a schlemiel https://wordsmith.org/words/schlemiel.html -- you get the idea." Brad Wheeler; Humanizing Biblical Super Heroes; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Apr 23, 2009. -------- Date: Wed Feb 8 00:02:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dilettante X-Bonus: You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) This week's theme: Words to describe people dilettante (DIL-i-tahnt, dil-i-TAHNT, -tay, -tee) noun: One who takes up an activity or interest in a superficial or casual way. adjective: Superficial; amateurish. [From Italian dilettante (amateur), from Latin delectare (to delight). Earliest documented use: 1733.] "I long ago came to realize that I am a putterer, a grazer, a dilettante. I create the impression of getting a lot done by dabbling through my days: I read two pages of a book, write half a letter, paint a portion of the front porch, bake half a tin of muffins, teach a class, wash a window." Robert Klose; Confessions of a Dedicated Dilettante; The Christian Science Monitor (Boston, Massachusetts); May 10, 2004. -------- Date: Thu Feb 9 00:02:05 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--roue X-Bonus: I shall live badly if I do not write, and I shall write badly if I do not live. -Francoise Sagan, playwright and novelist (1935-2004) This week's theme: Words to describe people roue (roo-AY, ROO-ay) noun A debauched man, especially an elderly man from a wealthy or aristocratic family. [From French roué (literally, broken on a wheel), from rouer (to break on the wheel), from Latin rota (wheel). The word arose from the belief that such a person deserved this punishment. Earliest documented use: 1781.] NOTES: The word was first applied to the companions of Philippe II, Duke of Orleans. The breaking wheel was an instrument of torture on which a victim was put and bludgeoned to death. Breaking wheel, Germany: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/roue_large.jpg A woodcut illustrating an execution on a wheel, of Peter Stumpp (died 1589) who was accused of being a werewolf among other crimes "Patrick Lichfield, the Queen's dandified cousin, invested in the shop because its founders were, as he said with a roue's smirk, 'two of my old girlfriends'." Peter Conrad; The Big Picture; The Observer (London, UK); Nov 20, 2011. -------- Date: Fri Feb 10 00:02:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--poseur X-Bonus: Never cut what you can untie. -Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824) This week's theme: Words to describe people poseur (poh-ZUHR) noun One who behaves in an affected manner to impress others. [From French poseur (poser), from poser (to pose), from Latin pausa (pause). Earliest documented use: 1869.] "Is Alain de Botton the biggest pseud and poseur of all time, or a brilliant writer who asks intriguing questions?" Lynn Barber; The Way Words Work; The Age (Melbourne, Australia); Apr 5, 2009. -------- Date: Mon Feb 13 00:02:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--promethean X-Bonus: Habit with him was all the test of truth, / It must be right: I've done it from my youth. -George Crabbe, poet and naturalist (1754-1832) Ralph Waldo Emerson summed it up well when he said, "The religion of one age is the literary entertainment of the next." At one time there were magnificent temples of Apollo and Zeus, people prayed to them, made offerings to them. Today no one believes that those gods and goddesses were anything but figments of ancient people's imagination. Today we learn about these gods as part of myths. All these ancient deities are history now, but they have left their mark on the language. This week we'll look at five words that are derived from the names of gods and goddesses. I could say mythological gods and goddesses, but then I'd be repeating myself. [I'll be speaking at the Northwest Freethought Conference in Seattle this March. My talk is titled "Waiter, there's a god in my language!" Come say hello and you'll get to hear Richard Dawkins among other speakers. More details here: https://wordsmith.org/awad/speaking.html .] Promethean (pruh-MEE-thee-uhn) adjective: Boldly creative; defiant; audacious. noun: A person who is boldly creative or defiantly original. [After Prometheus, a Titan in Greek mythology. He made man from clay, stole fire from Zeus by trickery, and gave it to humans. For his crime he was chained to a rock and an eagle devoured his liver to have it grow again to be eaten again the next day. The name means forethinker, from Greek pro- (before) + manthanein (to learn). Earliest documented use: 1594.] Prometheus brings fire to mankind: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/promethean_large.jpg Art: Heinrich Füger (1751-1818) "A Promethean impulse lives on in the financial markets, where quantitative investors hubristically strive to invent and speculate beyond their capacity to understand." Ben Wright; Fear, Frankenstein and the Rise of the Machines; Financial News (London, UK); Oct 10, 2011. -------- Date: Tue Feb 14 00:02:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dionysian X-Bonus: Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock. -Ben Hecht, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, novelist, director, and producer (1894-1964) This week's theme: Words coined after gods and goddesses dionysian (dy-uh-NISH-uhn, -NIS-ee-uhn) adjective Uninhibited; undisciplined; spontaneous; wild; orgiastic. [After Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility in Greek mythology. He was a son of Zeus and considered the opposite of his brother, Apollo. His Roman equivalent is Bacchus. Earliest documented use: before 1610.] Bacchus/Dionysus: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/dionysian_large.jpg Art: Caravaggio (1571-1610) "Nigella Lawson, who tends towards the indulgent side, revels in the wickedness of dionysian excess." Doug Anderson; Television; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Nov 29, 2011. -------- Date: Wed Feb 15 00:02:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--palladium X-Bonus: Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592) This week's theme: Words coined after gods and goddesses palladium (puh-LAY-dee-uhm) noun A safeguard. [After Athena (also known as Pallas Athena), a goddess in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of Zeus and was born fully grown from his forehead. Palladium was a statue of Athena that was believed to protect Troy. Earliest documented use: before 1393.] A rare, silvery-white metal. [Palladium was discovered by chemist and physicist William Hyde Wollaston in 1803. He named it after the asteroid Pallas which had been discovered the year before. The asteroid was named after Pallas Athena. Earliest documented use: 1803.] Pallas Athena, Vienna, Austria https://wordsmith.org/words/images/palladium_large.jpg Photo: David Ryan Photography http://www.davidryanphotography.com "Mr. Fawehinmi secured the release of Mr. Ayodeji after successfully invoking that great palladium of civil liberty, the writ of habeas corpus." Dr. G. Olu Onagoruwa; The Man Gani; Vanguard (Apapa, Nigeria); Sep 7, 2009. -------- Date: Thu Feb 16 00:02:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--junoesque X-Bonus: Every burned book or house enlightens the world; every suppressed or expunged word reverberates through the earth from side to side. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) This week's theme: Words coined after gods and goddesses Junoesque (joo-noh-ESK) adjective Having a stately bearing and regal beauty; statuesque. [After Juno, the principal goddess in Roman mythology. She was the wife and sister of Jupiter. Earliest documented use: 1888.] Juno Ludovisi https://wordsmith.org/words/images/junoesque_large.jpg Museo Nazionale Romano, 1st century CE "Claudia and Holli are tall, Junoesque women with powerful voices." Paula Citron; Shakespeare Proves Inspiring; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Aug 13, 2008. -------- Date: Fri Feb 17 00:02:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--apollonian X-Bonus: I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone. -Edith Cavell, nurse and humanitarian (1865-1915) This week's theme: Words coined after gods and goddesses apollonian (ap-uh-LOH-nee-uhn) adjective Serene; harmonious; disciplined; well-balanced. [After Apollo, the god of music, poetry, prophecy, healing, and more in Greek and Roman mythologies. He is considered the opposite of his brother, Dionysus https://wordsmith.org/words/dionysian.html . Earliest documented use: 1664.] Apollo: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/apollonian_large.jpg (Roman copy of a Greek original of the 4th century) Palazzo Nuovo, Rome "The end result was that the once-Dionysian Jagger became trapped in the crisp, precise Apollonian realm and was no longer capable of producing lyrics that matched Richards's thunderous, blues-based inventions." Camille Paglia; Dancing As Fast As She Can; Salon (New York); Dec 2, 2005. -------- Date: Mon Feb 20 00:02:02 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--truce X-Bonus: We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. -John F. Kennedy, 35th US president (1917-1963) The word agenda is a plural form, but only a most die-hard literalist would insist on using agendum when talking about a single item to discuss. The word has lost all hints of its once plural life and now goes proudly solo. If you have many lists of things to do or discuss, you have agendas. At any rate, if you have that much to do, all this would be the least of your concerns. There are many everyday words in English that we use as singular, oblivious of their etymology: opera (plural of opus), stamina (plural of stamen: fiber), magazine (plural of Arabic makhzan: storehouse, used figuratively as "storehouse of information" for books, and later for periodicals). This week we'll look at five words that are formed as a plural but are now used as a singular. truce (troos) noun 1. A suspension of hostilities by mutual agreement; armistice; cease-fire. 2. A temporary respite from something unpleasant. [Respelling of trewes, plural of Middle English trewe (agreement, pledge), from Old English treow (belief, trust). Ultimately from the Indo-European root deru-/dreu- (to be firm), which is also the source of truth, trust, betroth, tree, endure, and druid. Earliest documented use: around 1330.] "The government has instigated a policy of peace talks and truces, although a number of rebel groups remain in conflict." Hundreds of India Separatists Lay Down Arms; BBC News (London, UK); Jan 24, 2012. -------- Date: Tue Feb 21 00:02:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--graffiti X-Bonus: It is more often from pride than from ignorance that we are so obstinately opposed to current opinions; we find the first places taken, and we do not want to be the last. -Francois de La Rochefoucauld, moralist (1613-1680) This week's theme: Words that are formed as a plural but are now used as singular graffiti (gruh-FEE-tee) noun Words or drawing made on a wall or other surface in a public place. [Plural of Italian graffito (a scratching). Ultimately from the Indo-European root gerbh- (to scratch), which also gave us crab, crayfish, carve, crawl, grammar, anagram, program, graphite, and paraph https://wordsmith.org/words/paraph.html . Earliest documented use: 1851.] $200 million graffiti https://wordsmith.org/words/images/graffiti_large.jpg Art: David Choe Photo: Kristy Duncan http://www.flickr.com/photos/k-dj/6777605991/ "Over the years, many lovers have carved their names and words of love on trees, and graffiti has become a problem." Love on the Cheap for Valentine's Day; Shanghai Daily (China); Feb 12, 2012. "$200 million is what graffiti artist David Choe is expected to earn from the listing. He painted Facebook's walls in 2005 and opted to get paid in stock options." Larry Claasen; Facebook in Numbers; Financial Mail (South Africa); Feb 10, 2012. -------- Date: Wed Feb 22 00:02:05 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--insignia X-Bonus: If a rabbit defined intelligence the way man does, then the most intelligent animal would be a rabbit, followed by the animal most willing to obey the commands of a rabbit. -Robert Brault, writer (b. 1938) This week's theme: Words that are formed as a plural but are now used as singular insignia (in-SIG-nee-uh) noun 1. A badge or emblem of rank, office, or membership in a group. 2. A distinguishing mark of something. [Plural of Latin insigne (sign, badge), from signum (sign). Earliest documented use: 1648.] "During the depths of the Great Depression, Rose Nisenbaum's bank refused to allow her to withdraw the $400 emergency fund she had spent her life carefully saving. So she decided to appeal to a higher authority: she wrote to the president, Franklin Roosevelt, much to the amusement of her family. Eight weeks later, everyone but Nisenbaum was shocked when she received a response from the White House. She was instructed to take an enclosed letter to the bank. When she arrived and rapped on the window of the locked building, the manager inside waved her off. But when he saw the White House insignia on the envelope she pressed against the glass, he let her in, read the missive, and promptly gave her the money." Hilary Leila Krieger; Reaching for the Jewish Vote; The Jerusalem Post (Israel); Feb 9, 2012. -------- Date: Thu Feb 23 00:02:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--viscera X-Bonus: To read fast is as bad as to eat in a hurry. -Vilhelm Ekelund, poet (1880-1949) This week's theme: Words that are formed as a plural but are now used as singular viscera (VIS-uhr-uh) noun 1. The internal organs located in the main cavities of the body, especially those in the abdominal cavity. 2. The interior parts. [Plural of Latin viscus (flesh, internal organ). Earliest documented use: 1651.] "There is plenty of action with a chainsaw, and a butcher's shop worth of viscera is scattered about the screen." Ian Bartholomew; Movie Releases; Taipei Times (Taiwan); Apr 29, 2011. "These revelations are now biting deeper into the viscera of the bank's integrity and reputation." Toivo Ndjebela; Agribank Gives Kalomo Hefty Hike; New Era (Namibia); Jan 27, 2012. -------- Date: Fri Feb 24 00:02:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--paraphernalia X-Bonus: Every advance in civilization has been denounced as unnatural while it was recent. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel prize in literature (1872-1970) This week's theme: Words that are formed as a plural but are now used as singular paraphernalia (par-uh-fuhr-NAYL-ya, -fuh-NAYL-ya) noun 1. Articles and equipment related to an activity. 2. Personal belongings. [Plural of paraphernalis, from parapherna (a woman's property besides her dowry), from Greek para- (beyond) + pherne (dowry). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bher- (to carry, to bear children) that gave birth to basket, suffer, fertile, burden, bring, bear, offer, prefer, birth, periphery, phosphorus (literally, bringing light), adiaphorism https://wordsmith.org/words/adiaphorism.html , delate https://wordsmith.org/words/delate.html , and sufferance https://wordsmith.org/words/sufferance.html . Earliest documented use: 1478.] "Shops selling images of gods and Buddha and traditional religious paraphernalia are common." Balinese Beat Goes On; Bangkok Post (Thailand); Feb 12, 2012. "The museum's collection of vintage engines, cars, and all manner of railroad paraphernalia was on full display." Mike Gangloff; Day at Transportation Museum; The Roanoke Times (Virginia); Feb 12, 2012. -------- Date: Mon Feb 27 00:02:05 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--capricious X-Bonus: As freely as the firmament embraces the world, / or the sun pours forth impartially his beams, / so mercy must encircle both friend and foe. -Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, poet and dramatist (1759-1805) I remember that biology class many years back. We took a few drops of water from a nearby pond and put them on a slide under a microscope. When we peeked through the eyepiece we saw all sorts of life forms -- amoeba, paramecium, and others -- floating around. This week's words are something like that. There are animals hidden in the words. You just need to put them under the microscope of etymology to see them. Focus your eyepiece and this week you'll see hedgehog, ox, cuckoo, wolf, and ram. capricious (kuh-PRISH-uhs, -PREE-shuhs) adjective Whimsical, impulsive, unpredictable. [From Italian capriccio (caprice), literally head with hair standing on end, from capo (head) + riccio (hedgehog). Earliest documented use: 1594.] Do I look capricious? https://wordsmith.org/words/images/capricious_large.jpg Photo: Adam Foster http://www.flickr.com/photos/paperpariah/4301471586/ "Such is the peril of entrusting one's employment to the whim of a capricious oligarch." https://wordsmith.org/words/oligarchy.html Rory Smith; Whispers of Disapproval; The Independent (London, UK); Dec 1, 2011. -------- Date: Tue Feb 28 00:02:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bucolic X-Bonus: Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. -William Shakespeare, playwright and poet (1564-1616) This week's theme: Words with hidden animals bucolic (byoo-KOL-ik) adj.: 1. Pastoral; rustic. 2. Of or relating to a herdsman or a shepherd. noun: 1. A pastoral poem. 2. A farmer; shepherd. [From Greek boukolos (herdsman), from bous (ox). Earliest documented use: 1609. Other words derived from the same animal are boustrophedon https://wordsmith.org/words/boustrophedon.html , bovine https://wordsmith.org/words/bovine.html , and hecatomb https://wordsmith.org/words/hecatomb.html .] The Arcadian or Pastoral State: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bucolic_large.jpg Art: Thomas Cole (1801-1848) "War Horse tells the story of Joey, a horse raised in the bucolic English countryside who is torn away from his home and sent to France to the battlefields of World War I." Spielberg Shares Storytelling Secrets in Paris; Daily News Egypt (Cairo); Jan 11, 2012. -------- Date: Wed Feb 29 00:02:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cuckold X-Bonus: The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas. -Linus Pauling, chemist, peace activist, author, educator; Nobel Prize in chemistry, Nobel Peace Prize (1901-1994) This week's theme: Words with hidden animals cuckold (KUHk-uhld) noun: A man whose wife is unfaithful. verb tr.: To make a cuckold of a husband. [From Old French cucu (cuckoo) + -ald (pejorative suffix), from the female cuckoo's habit of leaving eggs in another bird's nest. Earliest documented use: 1250.] A reed warbler raising the young of a cuckoo https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cuckold_large.jpg Photo: Per Harald Olsen http://photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=790998 "Upon release from the trunk of the car, the man told the police that he was kidnapped by the jealous husband of a woman. The alleged cuckold, Ruslan Ivkin denied the motive." Man Found in Car Trunk; The Moscow Times (Russia); Jan 12, 2012.