A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu Mar 1 00:02:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lyceum X-Bonus: If only I may grow: firmer, simpler, -- quieter, warmer. -Dag Hammarskjold, Secretary General of the United Nations, Nobel laureate (1905-1961) This week's theme: Words with hidden animals lyceum (ly-SEE-uhm) noun 1. A lecture hall or an institution that provides public lectures, discussions, concerts, etc. 2. A secondary school. [From Latin lyceum, from Greek Lykeion, an epithet of Apollo https://wordsmith.org/words/apollonian.html meaning wolf-slayer, from lykos (wolf) which also gave us words such as lupine (like a wolf) and lycanthropy (the delusion of being a wolf). In ancient Greece lyceum was a gymnasium so named because it was near a temple of Apollo. Aristotle established his school here. Earliest documented use: 1579.] The School of Athens https://wordsmith.org/words/images/lyceum_large.jpg Artist: Raphael, painted 1509-1510 "Liberty Hall served as a lyceum for reading and speaking engagements." Steve Urbon; A Tale of One City; The Standard-Times (New Bedford, Massachusetts); Dec 25, 2011. -------- Date: Fri Mar 2 00:02:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jubilee X-Bonus: Contempt is the weapon of the weak and a defense against one's own despised and unwanted feelings. -Alice Miller, psychologist and author (1923-2010) This week's theme: Words with hidden animals jubilee (JOO-bih-lee, -LEE) noun 1. A special anniversary of an event, especially a 50th anniversary. 2. Rejoicing or celebration. [Via French, Latin, and Greek from Hebrew yobel (ram, ram's horn trumpet). Traditionally a jubilee year was announced by blowing a ram's horn. Earliest documented use: 1382.] Learn how to blow a shofar (a trumpet made of a horn) http://www.howcast.com/videos/237556-How-To-Blow-a-Shofar https://wordsmith.org/words/images/jubilee.jpg "Two weeks ago, I visited Benin City at the invitation of my Uncle, Ben, to mark the golden jubilee celebration of his marriage." Tonnie Iredia; High Court Judge of The Year; Nigeria Today; Feb 12, 2012. -------- Date: Mon Mar 5 00:02:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--phat X-Bonus: We should not write so that it is possible for the reader to understand us, but so that it is impossible for him to misunderstand us. -Quintilian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus), rhetorician (c. 35-100) Poet Carl Sandburg once described slang as "a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and goes to work." Nothing wrong with words in a tie and suit, but sometimes only slang can do the job. Since slang is often born in the back alleys of language rather than in a sanitized hospital room, it's not always easy to pin down its origins. Does that matter? Go ahead, hire this week's five hardworking words for your verbal mill. phat (fat) adjective Great; excellent. [Respelling of fat. Various acronyms have been suggested as possible origins of the word, but they are examples of backronyms https://wordsmith.org/words/backronym.html . The word phatic https://wordsmith.org/words/phatic.html has nothing to do with phat. Earliest documented use: 1963.] "When I was seventeen I got a phat job at a dry cleaner. Making $4.75 an hour I felt kingly compared to my prior job at McDonald's." Steve Hilton; Ask Steve; Telephony; Jul 28, 2009. "It took twice as long as the original did but the end result is phat." Kim Dawson; Hollyoaks Star is a Decks Maniac!; Daily Star (London, UK); Mar 15, 2008. -------- Date: Tue Mar 6 00:02:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--goo-goo X-Bonus: When you see a man led to prison say in your heart, "Mayhap he is escaping from a narrower prison." And when you see a man drunken say in your heart, "Mayhap he sought escape from something still more unbeautiful." -Kahlil Gibran, poet and artist (1883-1931) This week's theme: Slang goo-goo (goo-goo) adjective: Amorous. [Perhaps from goggle (to stare with bulging eyes). Earliest documented use: 1900.] noun: A naive advocate of a political reform. [Shortening of "good government". Earliest documented use: 1912.] "Of course former rivals morph into allies all the time. John McCain now makes goo-goo eyes at Romney." Frank Bruni; Embracing the Pretzel; The New York Times; Jan 16, 2012. "His once frequent talk of changing Washington helped create the impression that Obama was a goo-goo, a dreamer, when he is in fact more of a realist than a radical." Jon Meacham; What Happened to Obama's Armageddon?; Newsweek (New York); May 14, 2010. -------- Date: Wed Mar 7 00:02:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--props X-Bonus: It is impossible to live pleasurably without living prudently, honorably, and justly; or to live prudently, honorably, and justly, without living pleasurably. -Epicurus, philosopher (c. 341-270 BCE) This week's theme: Slang props (props) noun Due respect; an expression of approval or regard. [Shortening and plural of proper, as in "proper respect". Earliest documented use: 1980s.] "Jagz must have hugged or given props to every player on the team." Don Brennan; Spezza Finds His Five; The Ottawa Sun (Canada); Jan 3, 2012. -------- Date: Thu Mar 8 00:02:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--glom X-Bonus: Wars damage the civilian society as much as they damage the enemy. Soldiers never get over it. -Paul Fussell, historian, author, and professor (b. 1924) This week's theme: Slang glom (glom) verb tr.: 1. To steal. 2. To seize or grab. 3. To look at. verb intr.: To latch onto something. noun: A glimpse. [Probably alteration of Scots glam/glaum (to snatch at). Earliest documented use: 1907.] "There will still be a mixture of homegrown material and features glommed from Wired's American edition." Bobbie Johnson; The UK Gets reWired; The Guardian (London, UK); Mar 23, 2009. "Aaron, two years old, was happily smearing his face with ketchup-soaked fries and glomming the fish in his little mouth." Peter Kuitenbrouwer; Fish and Chips Biz is Just Ducky; National Post (Canada); Mar 15, 2010. "Scads of lesser imitators have glommed onto Strait's pop savvy but not necessarily the musicianship that lies at the core of it." Jason Bracelin; Strait Talk; Las Vegas Review-Journal; Feb 5, 2010. -------- Date: Fri Mar 9 00:02:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shambolic X-Bonus: The only fence against the world is a thorough knowledge of it. -John Locke, philosopher (1632-1704) This week's theme: Slang shambolic (sham-BOL-ik) adjective Chaotic, disorganized, or confused. [From shambles https://wordsmith.org/words/shambles.html (a state of disorder). Earliest documented use: 1970.] "Music critic Glenn A Baker says Whitney Houston's shambolic tour of Australia in 2010 highlighted her personal struggles." Whitney Houston's death 'tragic, but no surprise'; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Feb 12, 2012. -------- Date: Mon Mar 12 00:02:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--preantepenultimate X-Bonus: Errors like straws upon the surface flow: / Who would search for pearls must dive below. -John Dryden, poet and dramatist (1631-1700) This week marks Wordsmith.org's octodecennary. It was 18 years ago on March 14, 1994, that I began what has become Wordsmith.org. It has been an enjoyable ride. Thanks for being part of it -- above anything, it's readers like you who make it what it is. To celebrate the octodecennial, this week we'll look at a few 18-letter words. preantepenultimate (pri-an-tee-pi-NUHL-tuh-mit) adjective Fourth from the last. [From Latin pre- (before) + ante- (before) + pen- (almost) + ultimus (last). Earliest documented use: 1746. For another example of prefixes gone wild, see hemidemisemiquaver https://wordsmith.org/words/hemidemisemiquaver.html .] "Alert! You have just made it through the preantepenultimate paragraph." A Purist's Erstwhile Latitudinarianism; The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana); Jun 29, 2002. "The female in question ... was the preantepenultimate ex-wife of ol' Josh P." Esther Friesner; Just Another Cowboy; Fantasy & Science Fiction (Cornwall, Connecticut); Apr 2002. -------- Date: Tue Mar 13 00:05:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gedankenexperiment X-Bonus: Laugh, and the world laughs with you; / Weep, and you weep alone. / For this brave old earth must borrow its mirth, / But has trouble enough of its own.-Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet (1850-1919) This week's theme: 18-letter words to mark Wordsmith.org's octodecennial Gedankenexperiment or gedankenexperiment (guh-DAHNG-kuhn-ik-SPER-uh-muhnt) noun A thought experiment: an experiment carried out in imagination only. [From German Gedanke (thought) + Experiment (experiment). Earliest documented use: 1913.] Here's an example of a famous Gedankenexperiment on gravity to determine whether a heavier object falls faster than a lighter one: Galileo's Leaning Tower of Pisa experiment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo%27s_Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa_experiment "I watched a TSA officer confiscate my father's aftershave at the airport ... Feeling curiouser, I did a gedankenexperiment: What if the bottle had been completely empty -- would he have taken it then?" Steve Mirsky; Not a Close Shave; Scientific American (Washington, DC); Jan 30, 2009. -------- Date: Wed Mar 14 00:01:06 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--reductio ad absurdum X-Bonus: A sound mind in a sound body, is a short but full description of a happy state in this world. -John Locke, philosopher (1632-1704) This week's theme: 18-letter words to mark Wordsmith.org's octodecennial reductio ad absurdum (ri-DUHK-tee-o ad ab-SUHR-duhm) noun Demonstration of the falsity of a premise by showing an absurdity to which it would logically lead. [From Latin reductio ad absurdum (reduction to the absurd), from reductio (reduction) + ad (to) + Latin absurdum (absurdity). Earliest documented use: 1659.] "Their reductio ad absurdum: why not just bypass the blog, too, and move right on to 140 characters about Shermn's Mrch?" Matt Richtel; Blogs vs. Term Papers; The New York Times; Jan 20, 2012. "I'm sorry, but all these 'life begins at conception' arguments are sheer nonsense. Killing a cluster of cells that has the potential of becoming human life is not the same as killing a human being. Here is a reductio ad absurdum argument for all the extreme pro-lifers. With modern cloning technology, a simple skin cell is a potential baby. Where do pro-life people stand on removing a wart or a mole? Are dermatologists the latest in the long list of baby killers?" Dialogue is Needed on Abortion; St. Petersburg Times (Florida); May 20, 2009. -------- Date: Thu Mar 15 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--plurisignification X-Bonus: Hate is a dead thing. Who of you would be a tomb? -Kahlil Gibran, poet and artist (1883-1931) This week's theme: 18-letter words to mark Wordsmith.org's octodecennial plurisignification (ploo-ri-sig-ni-fi-KAY-shuhn) noun The use of a word to convey multiple meanings at the same time. [From Latin pluri- (plus) + significare (to signify), from signum (sign). Earliest documented use: 1940.] "The Norwegian Dahle understood that ambiguity and plurisignification were essential to Merina ways of speaking." Lee Haring; Stars and Keys; Indiana University Press; 2007. -------- Date: Fri Mar 16 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--princesse lointaine X-Bonus: It is not so much our friends' help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they will help us. -Epicurus, philosopher (c. 341-270 BCE) This week's theme: 18-letter words to mark Wordsmith.org's octodecennial princesse lointaine (PRIN-ses/sis LWAN*-tayn) noun [* this syllable is nasal] An ideal but unattainable woman. [From French princesse lointaine (distant princess). It was the title of the 1895 play La Princesse Lointaine by Edmond Rostand, the man who also wrote Cyrano de Bergerac. The play is based on the story of the troubadour Jaufré Rudel who falls in love with the Countess of Tripoli without even having seen her. Earliest documented use: 1921.] Jaufré Rudel dying in the arms of his love, Countess of Tripoli https://wordsmith.org/words/images/princesse_lointaine_large.jpg From a 13th-century Italian manuscript "The form Umberto Eco tests most severely here is the Romance, with a princesse lointaine whom Roberto loves and can never attain." Marina Warner; Inside the Big Mind; Los Angeles Times; Dec 17, 1995. "Jude Law is a man pursuing a dream of love, using the ideal of a Princesse Lointaine captured on a tintype portrait to sustain him on his journey." Philippa Hawker; Cold Mountain; The Age (Melbourne, Australia); Jan 1, 2004. -------- Date: Mon Mar 19 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--doxy X-Bonus: One unerring mark of the love of truth is not entertaining any proposition with greater assurance than the proofs it is built upon will warrant. -John Locke, philosopher (1632-1704) "That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone. "When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra." Alice and Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass might as well have been talking about this week's words. While the word "set" has the largest number of meanings -- the Oxford English Dictionary has 26 pages devoted to this little three-letter word -- each of this week's hard-working words has many unrelated meanings that are interesting. Come to think of it, Alice's one word mean can mean more than one mean word. With this week's words in AWAD Humpty Dumpty is going to have to pay a lot. Let's get our money's worth. doxy (DOK-see) noun A mistress or a promiscuous woman. [Of uncertain origin, perhaps from obsolete Dutch docke (doll). Earliest documented use: around 1530.] Opinion or doctrine. [Back-formed from orthodoxy, heterodoxy, etc. From Greek doxa (opinion), from dokein (to think). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dek- (to take or accept), which is also the root of words such as paradox, orthodox, doctor, disciple, discipline, doctrine, dogma, decent, decorate, dignity, disdain, condign https://wordsmith.org/words/condign.html , and deign https://wordsmith.org/words/deign.html . Earliest documented use: around 1730.] "The arresting officer would still be filling out paperwork and the doxy would be collecting her things and heading back to the street." Neil Steinberg; Blinded by Race; Chicago Sun-Times; Dec 31, 2008. "But for Lady Luck, quirky doxy that she is, Sarah Palin might have been a septuagenarian's heartbeat away from the presidency." Donald Mitchell; Palin Pulls a Palin; Los Angeles Times; Oct 9, 2011. "In that twilight zone of the Anglican double standard, orthodoxy is really just a word for my doxy. Heterodoxy means everyone else's doxy." Hywel Williams; Let Us All Err and Stray; The Guardian (London, UK); Jul 8, 2003. -------- Date: Tue Mar 20 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--enceinte X-Bonus: If what you are getting online is for free, you are not the customer, you are the product. -Jonathan Zittrain, professor of Internet law (b. 1969) Also see http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/futureoftheinternet/2012/03/21/meme-patrol-when-something-online-is-free-youre-not-the-customer-youre-the-product/ or http://www.webcitation.org/6Y2G0OvH7 This week's theme: Words with multiple, unrelated meanings enceinte (en-SANT, ahn*-SANT) [* this syllable is nasal] adjective: Pregnant. [From French enceinte (pregnant), from Latin in- (not) + cincta (girded). Earliest documented use: 1708.] noun: Fortification around a fort, castle, or town; area so enclosed. [From enceinte (surrounding wall, compound), from Latin in- (in, into, within) + cincta (girded). Earliest documented use: 1602.] NOTES: Does having an enceinte make a place impregnable? Despite similar sounds, the word impregnable has nothing to do with impregnate. The former is from Latin prendre (to seize, take) while the latter is from gignere (to bring into being). "Now comes word from Star that Britney Spears knew she was enceinte in January, but waited to tell Federline, because she was worried he wouldn't be happy." Kristin Dizon; Is Britney's Belly Bubble a Baby?; Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Mar 13, 2006. "What are the circumstances under which towns or their rulers choose to undertake the labor of surrounding cities with enceintes?" James D. Tracy; City Walls; Cambridge University Press; 2000. -------- Date: Wed Mar 21 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bravo X-Bonus: Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play. -Heraclitus, philosopher (500 BCE) This week's theme: Words with multiple, unrelated meanings bravo (BRAH-vo, brah-VOH) interjection: Used to express approval, especially to applaud a performance. [From Italian bravo (brave, good, clever), from Latin barbarus (barbarous), from Greek barbaros (foreign, barbarian). Earliest documented use: 1761.] noun: A villain, especially a hired killer. [From Italian bravo. Earliest documented use: 1597.] "Soon Gustavo Dudamel's galvanizing pasión with the baton was coaxing reluctant audiences in London, Paris, and New York to give standing ovations of 'Bravo, Gustavo!'" Chris Lee; Dude Is a Rock Star; Newsweek (New York); Feb 13, 2012. "Men have before hired bravos to transact their crimes, while their own person and reputation sat under shelter." Robert Louis Stevenson; The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde; 1886. -------- Date: Thu Mar 22 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cant X-Bonus: A man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of life getting his living. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862) This week's theme: Words with multiple, unrelated meanings cant (kant) noun: 1. Hypocritically pious talk. 2. The private language of an underworld group. 3. Whining speech, especially of beggars. [From Latin cantus (song). Earliest documented use: variously 1640-1706.] noun: 1. A slope or tilt. 2. A motion that tilts something. 3. An outer corner. 4. A log slabbed on one or more sides. verb tr.: To set at an oblique angle; tilt. adjective: Oblique. [From Latin cantus (corner). Earliest documented use: 1542.] "It is such a huge relief that even Dr. Emmah Isong recognised the fact that his cant and humbug are not known to the Nigerian constitution and we will not be delayed any further by it." Muyiwa Apara; Jonathan, Democracy, and 2011; Sunday Tribune (Nigeria); May 16, 2010. "Once again she's the village girl who can't comprehend the cant of the black-clad men who surround that platform." Benedict Nightingale; This is a Joan That Stirs the Soul; The Times (London, UK); Jul 12, 2007. "Mitchell not only must follow the contours of the letter or design but also must adjust for the depth of the cut and the cant of the groove." Art Carey; Doylestown Woman Brings Passion to Artful Engraving; The Philadelphia Inquirer; Aug 6, 2009. -------- Date: Fri Mar 23 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pug X-Bonus: Talent develops in tranquillity, character in the full current of human life. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher (1749-1832) This week's theme: Words with multiple, unrelated meanings pug (puhg) verb tr.: 1. To knead clay with water. 2. To fill with clay or mortar. 3. To make soundproof by packing with clay, sawdust, or mortar. [Origin unknown. Earliest documented use: early 1800s.] noun: A footprint, especially of a wild animal; a pugmark. verb tr.: To track by following footprints. [From Hindi pag (foot, step), from Sanskrit pad (foot). Earliest documented use: 1851.] noun: A boxer. [Short for pugilist (boxer), from Latin pugnus (fist). Earliest documented use: 1858.] noun: A dog of a breed having a snub nose, short hair, wrinkled face, and curled tail. [Of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1702.] "For wheel-throwing, once the clay is pugged and wedged, it can be centred on the wheel." Edwin Wong; Going Potty Over Handmade Dinnerware; New Straits Times (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); Sep 25, 2010. "There is the oddly delicate track of a leopard and the just-plain-scary pugs of a male lion." Mike Leggett; Tales of Life in the Wild; Austin American-Statesman (Texas); Aug 12, 2010. "Sporting comebacks used to be associated with desperate pugs risking their final brain cells for a cheque desperately needed to pay off a bookie or a bar tab." Richard Hinds; Thorpe Brave to Meddle With Golden Legacy; The Age (Melbourne, Australia); Feb 5, 2011. -------- Date: Mon Mar 26 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--subsume X-Bonus: We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using Nature's inexhaustible sources of energy -- sun, wind and tide. ... I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that. -Thomas Edison, inventor (1847-1931) Take it out and the sentence comes crashing down like someone whose soul just left the body. What kind of words are these? They are words that infuse life in conversation, words that perform the job, words that make the world go round, words that do. They are verbs. Five of them will make their appearance in AWAD this week. subsume (suhb-SOOM, -SYOOM) verb tr. To include or incorporate under a more comprehensive category. [From Latin subsumere, from sub- (under) + sumere (to take). Ultimately from the Indo-European root em- (to take or distribute), which is also the source of example, sample, assume, consume, prompt, ransom, vintage, and redeem. Earliest documented use: 1535.] "David Cameron's dream is an authentically British dream -- of a multiethnic United Kingdom, close to but not subsumed by Europe, allied with but not subservient to the United States." Niall Ferguson; The British Prime Minister Is Coming to America; Newsweek (New York); Mar 12, 2012. -------- Date: Tue Mar 27 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--discomfit X-Bonus: What really flatters a man is that you think him worth flattering. -George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (1856-1950) Verbs discomfit (dis-KUHM-fit) verb tr. 1. To confuse or embarrass. 2. To thwart the plans of. [From Old French desconfit (defeated), past participle of desconfire (to defeat), from des- (not) + confire (to make), from Latin facere (to make). Earliest documented use: around 1230.] "Berlusconi accuses politically motivated prosecutors of leaking details of investigations to discomfit him." Unbalanced Scales; The Economist (London, UK); Oct 8, 2011. -------- Date: Wed Mar 28 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--begrudge X-Bonus: A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. -Confucius, philosopher and teacher (c. 551-478 BCE) Verbs begrudge (bi-GRUHJ) verb tr. 1. To envy or resent someone's good fortune. 2. To be reluctant to give. [From Middle English grudgen (to grumble, complain), from Old French grouchier. Earliest documented use: around 1390.] "We do not begrudge Bill Gates or Warren Buffett their billions." Dani Rodrik; Free-Trade Blinders; BusinessDay (Lagos, Nigeria); Mar 12, 2012. "We'd always been an exclusive pair, she never begrudging me with her secrets." Leif Enger; Peace Like A River; Grove/Atlantic; 2001. -------- Date: Thu Mar 29 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--avulse X-Bonus: There is a foolish corner in the brain of the wisest man. -Aristotle, philosopher (384-322 BCE) This week's theme: Verbs avulse (uh-VUHLS) verb tr. To pull off or tear away. [From Latin avellere (to tear off), from a- (away from) + vellere (to pull, pluck). Earliest documented use: before 1765.] "The dog caught his paw in the grates and lacerated his paws and avulsed his nails." Denise Baran-Unland; Animal Health Care Insurance Can Cut Down on Vet Bills; The Herald-News (Joliet, Illinois); Nov 7, 2011. "[The Hoh River] chews, it gnaws and jumps around, avulsing in a tantrum of energy to new channels, taking anything in its way right along with it." Lynda V. Mapes; Besieged by Water; The Seattle Times; Mar 8, 2010. -------- Date: Fri Mar 30 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--machinate X-Bonus: It has been said that a pretty face is a passport. But it's not, it's a visa, and it runs out fast. -Julie Burchill, writer and journalist (b. 1959) This week's theme: Verbs machinate (MAK-uh-nayt, MASH-) verb tr., intr. To plot or scheme. [From Latin machinari (to contrive), from machina (device). Ultimately from the Indo-European root magh- (to be able, have power), which is also the source of might, may, dismay, and magic. Earliest documented use: 1537.] "Most storylines in 'The Bold and the Beautiful' revolve around characters who manipulate and machinate for love and money." Christina Hoag; Skid Row Featured in Soap Opera; AP (New York); Jun 12, 2011.