A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Apr 1 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--basilic X-Bonus: A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be. -Abraham Maslow, psychologist (1908-1970) This week's theme: Words from royalty basilic (buh-SIL-ik, -ZIL-) adjective Kingly; royal. [From Latin basilicus, from Greek basilikos (royal). Earliest documented use: 1727.] NOTES: Many things are named after this kingly word: plants, animals, architecture, and more. Basil, the aromatic herb of the mint family, is named so because it was used in royal preparations for medicine, bath, etc. A large vein of the upper arm is called the basilic vein due to its supposed importance. The basilisk lizard (and the legendary reptile) are named for their crown-like crest. In ancient Rome, a basilica was a large public court building and the word began to be applied to churches of the same form. "The fair Prince Filiberto solemnly approached the Pope. ... 'Are You quite good now?' the boy continued, with great black basilic eyes." Frederick Rolfe; Hadrian the VII; 1904. -------- Date: Wed Apr 2 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kingdom come X-Bonus: One forges one's style on the terrible anvil of daily deadlines. -Emile Zola, writer (1840-1902) This week's theme: Words from royalty kingdom come (KING-duhm kuhm) noun 1. The next world; heaven. 2. A place or future time very remote; the end of time. [From the phrase "Thy kingdom come" in the New Testament. Earliest documented use: 1785.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/kingdom%s20come "The teenage Davy Land, is able not only to shoot a flying goose with thrilling accuracy, but to kill a man as well -- two in fact, villains both. ... in defence of his family he blows them both to kingdom come." Big, Bold, Bare and Spare; The Economist (London, UK); Sep 6, 2001. "Television channels have found a lazy template, putting out one or the other opinion poll every week and discussing it till kingdom come." Ashok Malik; India in the Sound & Fury of Polls; The Asian Age (New Delhi, India); Feb 9, 2014. -------- Date: Thu Apr 3 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--royal road X-Bonus: There is an eloquence in true enthusiasm that is not to be doubted. -Washington Irving, writer (1783-1859) This week's theme: Words from royalty royal road (ROI-uhl road) noun An easy way to achieve something. [According to the philosopher Proclus, when King Ptolemy asked for an easy way to learn, Euclid replied that there is no royal road to geometry. Royal Road was a highway in ancient Persia. Earliest documented use: 1793.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/royal%20road "Although no royal road for malaria control exists, research can provide solutions." Andrew Lover & Richard Coker; The Challenges of Malaria Elimination; The Lancet (London, UK); Nov 23, 2013. -------- Date: Fri Apr 4 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kingmaker X-Bonus: There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you. -Maya Angelou, poet (b. 1928) This week's theme: Words from royalty kingmaker (KING-may-kuhr) noun A person or organization having great power and influence in the selection of a candidate for an important position. [The term was originally applied to Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, as "Warwick the Kingmaker" during the Wars of the Roses. Earliest documented use: 1595.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/kingmaker "In recruiting them for SNL, Lorne Michaels has played kingmaker to some of US comedy's biggest names. 'Think the Godfather with a whoopee cushion', one critic wrote." Jon Swaine; The Inscrutable Kingmaker of Comedy; The Guardian (London, UK); Feb 17, 2014. -------- Date: Mon Apr 7 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--belfry X-Bonus: The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love. -William Wordsworth, poet (1770-1850) A camera was once a specialized gadget, costing lots of money. Who would have guessed that one day most of us would carry a camera or two in our pockets as part of a smartphone? That brings us to selfie, a *self*-portrait taken by a camera phone. Some people have misinterpreted the word as cellphie http://www.google.com/search?q=cellphie . You have to admit this interpretation makes sense; after all, it's a picture taken by a cell phone. While the chance of the spelling cellphie taking over selfie is slim, changes in spelling do happen. This week we'll see five words that had their spellings changed owing to misunderstandings or errors. belfry (BEL-free) noun 1. A bell tower; also the part of a tower where a bell is hung. 2. Head. Usually in the phrase "to have bats in the belfry", meaning "to be crazy". [From Old French berfrei, from High German bergan (to protect or shelter) and Old English frith (peace). Originally the term was berfrei and it was a siege tower or watchtower. Since it had bells, people began to think the term was belfry. Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhergh- (high), which also gave us iceberg, borough, burg, burglar, bourgeois, fortify, force, bourgeois, inselberg https://wordsmith.org/words/inselberg.html , and sforzando https://wordsmith.org/words/sforzando.html . Earliest documented use: 1300.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/belfry "I received a rap on my head accompanied by a deluge of water. I carefully examined my belfry and found out I was not dead." Jerome A. Greene; Indian War Veterans; Savas Beatie; 2007. "Lula put her finger to the side of her head and made circles. The international sign for bats in her belfry." Janet Evanovich; Twelve Sharp; St. Martin's Press; 2006. -------- Date: Tue Apr 8 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ambage X-Bonus: Good fiction creates empathy. A novel takes you somewhere and asks you to look through the eyes of another person, to live another life. -Barbara Kingsolver, novelist, essayist, and poet (b. 1955) This week's theme: Words formed in error ambage (AM-bij) noun Ambiguity; circumlocution. [From Middle English ambages (equivocation), taken as a plural and the singular ambage coined from it. From Latin ambages, from ambi- (both, around) + agere (to drive). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ag- (to drive, draw, or move), which also gave us act, agent, agitate, litigate, synagogue, ambassador, agonistes https://wordsmith.org/words/agonistes.html , axiomatic https://wordsmith.org/words/axiomatic.html , cogent https://wordsmith.org/words/cogent.html , incogitant https://wordsmith.org/words/incogitant.html , exigent https://wordsmith.org/words/exigent.html , exiguous https://wordsmith.org/words/exiguous.html , intransigent https://wordsmith.org/words/agonistes.html . Earliest documented use: 1374.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ambage "This increase in ambage measures increased arbitrariness." Harrison C. White; Identity and Control; Princeton University Press; 2008. -------- Date: Wed Apr 9 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--arrant X-Bonus: Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us. -Paul Theroux, novelist (b. 1941) This week's theme: Words formed in error arrant (AR-uhnt) adjective Complete; thorough. [Here's a word that has had both its spelling and meaning bent out of shape from use. It's a variant of errant (wandering). Earlier the word was used in the sense of wandering or vagrant, for example, an arrant thief or an arrant knave. Over time the word began to be taken as an intensifier so an arrant fool was no longer a vagrant fool, but a complete fool. Via French, from Latin iterare (to journey), from iter (journey). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ei- (to go), which is also the ancestor of words such as exit, transit, circuit, itinerary, obituary, and adit https://wordsmith.org/words/adit.html . Earliest documented use: 1386.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/arrant "Norman Macrae also dismissed the Club of Rome's prediction that the world was about to run out of food as arrant nonsense." The Unacknowledged Giant; The Economist (London, UK); Jun 17, 2010. -------- Date: Thu Apr 10 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sashay X-Bonus: An honest man speaks the truth, though it may give offence; a vain man, in order that it may. -William Hazlitt, essayist (1778-1830) This week's theme: Words formed in error sashay (sa-SHAY) verb intr. 1. To move, walk, or glide along nonchalantly. 2. To strut or move in a showy manner. [From switching of initial consonants in a mispronunciation of French chassé (a ballet movement involving gliding steps with the same foot always leading), past participle of chasser (to chase), from captare (to try to catch), frequentative of Latin capere (to take). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kap- (to grasp), which also gave us captive, capsule, chassis, cable, occupy, deceive, behoof https://wordsmith.org/words/behoof.html , caitiff https://wordsmith.org/words/caitiff.html , percipient https://wordsmith.org/words/percipient.html , captious https://wordsmith.org/words/captious.html , and gaff https://wordsmith.org/words/gaff.html . Earliest documented use: 1836.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sashay "Tyler switched to 6th Street, the car swaying and sashaying through the leafy old homes of Hancock Park." Denise Hamilton; Damage Control; Scribner; 2011. -------- Date: Fri Apr 11 00:01:05 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--viperine X-Bonus: I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer (1564-1642) This week's theme: Words formed in error viperine (VY-puhr-in, -puh-ryn) adjective Of or relating to a viper; venomous; malicious. [From Latin vipera (snake), which arose from a mispronunciation/contraction of vivipera, from vivus (alive) + parere (to give birth). Vipers are named so because most vipers give birth to live young (instead of eggs). The eggs stay within the mother's body till they are ready to hatch. Earliest documented use: around 1540.] "The musical taught a generation of viperine office politicians how to stick a shiv into their bosses without leaving any fingerprints on the handle." Terry Teachout; Lovable, Huggable, and Unscrupulous Too; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Mar 29, 2011. -------- Date: Mon Apr 14 00:10:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dogberry X-Bonus: A lexicographer's business is solely to collect, arrange, and define the words that usage presents to his hands. He has no right to proscribe words; he is to present them as they are. -Noah Webster, lexicographer (1758-1843) Shakespeare has been dead for centuries, but he continues to haunt high school students around the world. They have to study his plays year after year. They have to dig deep and analyze. And then they have to produce reports in Times New Roman 12-point, double spaced, one-inch margins, at least three pages. But there's a reason Shakespeare is still with us after all this time. In his poems and plays, he has captured human foibles, discontent, ambition, and almost every human quality. His influence on the English language is enormous. It's not surprising that his characters have come alive in our language. Next week marks the 450th birthday of the Bard of Avon. In his honor we have picked five words that have been coined after his characters. We'll meet characters from the plays Much Ado About Nothing, Merchant of Venice, Timon of Athens, The Tempest, and Romeo and Juliet. Dogberry (DOG-ber-ee, -buh-ree) noun A pompous, incompetent, self-important official. [After Dogberry, a constable in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, in which he goes about his blundering ways while mouthing malapropisms https://wordsmith.org/words/malapropism.html . Earliest documented use: 1801.] Dogberry Examining Conrade and Borachio https://wordsmith.org/words/images/dogberry_large.jpg Art: Henry Stacy Marks, 1853 "Why doesn't he do something, then? Ignorant Dogberry! Useless bumpkin! Calls himself a copper and doesn't even know where to start!" Edmund Crispin; The Glimpses of the Moon; Gollancz; 1977. "The mayor of Bangor, Maine, vetoed a time-altering resolution passed by its city council ... for which Railway Age lampooned him in an editorial that began 'A Dogberry who holds the office of mayor.'" Jack Beatty; Age of Betrayal; Knopf; 2007. -------- Date: Tue Apr 15 00:06:06 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--portia X-Bonus: As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death. -Leonardo da Vinci, painter, engineer, musician, and scientist (1452-1519) This week's theme: Words coined after Shakespearean characters Portia (POR-shuh, -shee-uh) noun A female lawyer. [After Portia, the heroine of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Portia is a rich heiress who disguises herself as a lawyer to save Antonio's life. Earliest documented use: 1869.] Portia https://wordsmith.org/words/images/portia_large.jpg Art: Henry Woods, 1888 "'Listen sister...law isn't the only subject I've mastered!' snaps Betty, ... 'I may be a Portia, but my middle name's Dempsey!'" Mike Madrid; Divas, Dames & Daredevils; Exterminating Angel Press; 2013. -------- Date: Wed Apr 16 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--timon X-Bonus: The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread. -Anatole France, novelist, essayist, Nobel laureate (1844-1924) This week's theme: Words coined after Shakespearean characters Timon (TY-muhn) noun One who hates or distrusts humankind. [After Timon, the misanthropic hero of Shakespeare's play Timon of Athens. Earliest documented use: 1598.] Timon of Athens: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/timon_large.jpg Art: Nathaniel Dance, 1767 Photo: Joseph Haughey https://www.flickr.com/photos/josephhaughey/3696301844/in/set-72157617399219301/ "My soul was swallowed up in bitterness and hate ... I saw nothing to do but live apart like a Timon." Upton Sinclair; Prince Hagen; Heinemann; 1903. -------- Date: Thu Apr 17 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--romeo X-Bonus: If only I could so live and so serve the world that after me there should never again be birds in cages. -Isak Dinesen (pen name of Karen Blixen), author (1885-1962) This week's theme: Words coined after Shakespearean characters Romeo (RO-mee-o) noun A man who is a passionate lover or seducer. [After Romeo, the hero in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. While Shakespeare's play popularized it, the story itself originated in folklore and is much older. Earliest documented use: 1566.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Romeo Detail from The Last Kiss of Romeo and Juliet: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/romeo.jpg https://wordsmith.org/words/images/romeo_large.jpg Art: Francesco Hayez, 1823 "The square's scribes were once famous as stand-in Romeos, writing love letters. Sometimes, the same scribe would find himself handling both sides of the correspondence for a courting pair." The Scribes' Lament; The Economist (London, UK); Nov 20, 2008. -------- Date: Fri Apr 18 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--prospero X-Bonus: To my mind to kill in war is not a whit better than to commit ordinary murder. -Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955) This week's theme: Words coined after Shakespearean characters Prospero (PROS-puh-roh) noun Someone who is capable of influencing others' behavior or perceptions without their being aware of it. [After Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan and a magician, in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Earliest documented use: 1785.] Prospero, detail https://wordsmith.org/words/images/prospero.jpg Prospero and Ariel https://wordsmith.org/words/images/prospero_large.jpg Art: William Hamilton, 1797 "Melliora is the Prospero who engineers a return to social order entirely in accord with her desires." David Oakleaf (ed.), Eliza Haywood; Love in Excess; Broadview Press; 2000. -------- Date: Mon Apr 21 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tractable X-Bonus: In nothing does man, with his grand notions of heaven and charity, show forth his innate, low-bred, wild animalism more clearly than in his treatment of his brother beasts. From the shepherd with his lambs to the red-handed hunter, it is the same; no recognition of rights -- only murder in one form or another. -John Muir, naturalist, explorer, and writer (1838-1914) It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. Sheila is tall. Neil is tired. In English we use the same word "is" to describe the two conditions even though one is a permanent attribute while the other is temporary. Or consider the statement: Joan is quiet. What does that mean? Is she quiet by nature, an introvert, or is she being quiet today? In Spanish, there are two verbs to describe the idea of being. Ser and estar both mean "to be" but with a big difference. Ser describes something that's inherent while estar is temporary. If you want to say someone is tall, you'd go with ser, but if you want to say someone is tired, estar is the one to use. Each language is a different way of describing the world. This week we'll feature five words to describe people. Whether these are temporary conditions or not, is left as an exercise for the reader. tractable (TRAK-tuh-buhl) adjective Easily handled, managed, or controlled. [From Latin tractare (to handle), frequentative of trahere (draw). Earliest documented use: 1504.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/tractable "'I don't want to go there,' said Sharina, who was normally such a tractable child." Susan Palwick; Hhasalin; Fantasy & Science Fiction (Cornwall, Connecticut); Sep/Oct 2013. -------- Date: Tue Apr 22 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bombastic X-Bonus: Myth: we have to save the earth. Frankly, the earth doesn't need to be saved. Nature doesn't give a hoot if human beings are here or not. The planet has survived cataclysmic and catastrophic changes for millions upon millions of years. Over that time, it is widely believed, 99 percent of all species have come and gone while the planet has remained. Saving the environment is really about saving our environment -- making it safe for ourselves, our children, and the world as we know it. If more people saw the issue as one of saving themselves, we would probably see increased motivation and commitment to actually do so. -Robert M. Lilienfeld, management consultant and author (b. 1953) and William L. Rathje, archaeologist and author (b. 1945) This week's theme: Words to describe people bombastic (bom-BAS-tik) adjective Pompous or pretentious (in speech or writing). [From Old French bombace (cotton padding), from Latin bombax (cotton). Earliest documented use: 1704.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bombastic "Mr. Satya Nadella is a leader with a low-key style that differs from Mr. Ballmer's bombastic manner." Nick Wingfield; Microsoft Names New Chief; The New York Times; Feb 4, 2014. -------- Date: Wed Apr 23 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--impecunious X-Bonus: Action is eloquence. -William Shakespeare, playwright and poet (1564-1616) This week's theme: Words to describe people impecunious (im-pi-KYOO-nee-uhs) adjective Having little or no money. [From Latin im- (not) + pecunia (money), from pecus (cattle). Ultimately from the Indo-European root peku- (cattle, wealth), which also gave us fee, fief, fellow, peculiar, impecunious, and pecuniary https://wordsmith.org/words/pecuniary.html . Earliest documented use: 1596.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/impecunious "The children have no mother, and their father is impecunious, so they have embarked on a series of adventurous money-making schemes." James Wood; The New Curiosity Shop; The New Yorker; Oct 21, 2013. "Discounts for the clever or impecunious greatly reduce the sticker price at many universities." Is College Worth It?; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 5, 2014. -------- Date: Thu Apr 24 00:01:06 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--petulant X-Bonus: I hold that gentleman to be the best-dressed whose dress no one observes. -Anthony Trollope, novelist (1815-1882) This week's theme: Words to describe people petulant (PECH-uh-lent) adjective Bad-tempered; cranky. [From Latin petere (to seek, assail). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pet- (to rush or fly), which also gave us feather, petition, compete, perpetual, propitious https://wordsmith.org/words/propitious.html , pteridology https://wordsmith.org/words/pteridology.html , pinnate https://wordsmith.org/words/pinnate.html , and lepidopterology https://wordsmith.org/words/lepidopterology.html . Earliest documented use: 1598.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/petulant "Idol, like the petulant child who can't understand that her antics have ceased to be entertaining, kept trying to sell it." Jodi Bradbury; American Idol; The Christian Science Monitor (Boston); Feb 14, 2014. -------- Date: Fri Apr 25 00:01:04 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--incorrigible X-Bonus: I don't mind that you think slowly but I do mind that you are publishing faster than you think. -Wolfgang Pauli, physicist, Nobel laureate (1900-1958) This week's theme: Words to describe people incorrigible (in-KOR-i-juh-buhl) adjective Incapable of being corrected or reformed. [From Latin in- (not) + corrigere (to correct). Ultimately from the Indo-European reg- (to move in a straight line, lead, or rule), which also gave us regime, direct, rectangle, erect, rectum, alert, source, surge, recto, regular, abrogate https://wordsmith.org/words/abrogate.html , arrogate https://wordsmith.org/words/arrogate.html , prorogue https://wordsmith.org/words/prorogue.html , interregnum https://wordsmith.org/words/interregnum.html , regent https://wordsmith.org/words/regent.html , and supererogatory https://wordsmith.org/words/supererogatory.html . Earliest documented use: 1340.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/incorrigible "I'm an incorrigible scavenger. I've been known to climb into dump trucks because I've seen an interesting table leg sticking out of the rubbish. I've furnished whole apartments from things I've found on the street." Lee Tulloch; My Souvenirs Are Not Snow Globes; The Canberra Times (Australia); Feb 22, 2014. -------- Date: Mon Apr 28 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--quiff X-Bonus: There is a rumor going around that I have found God. I think this is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist. -Terry Pratchett, novelist (b. 1948) Having a character meet his double is a plot device in fiction, but we have such doppelgangers in language as well. We call such words homonyms. A homonym is a word that has the same spelling and pronunciation as another word, but a different meaning. A great example of a homonym is the word sound, which is really four different words under the same spelling and pronunciation: sound (what you hear), from Latin sonus (sound) sound (in good shape), from Old English gesund (sound, safe) sound (to measure), from Old French sonder (to plumb) sound (a narrow passage of water), from Old Norse sund (swimming, strait) Homonyms typically start out as two very different words with different spellings. After centuries of wear and tear, they get smoothed into lookalikes, that is, having the same spelling. This week we'll feature five words, each of which has homonyms. quiff (kwif) noun A tuft of hair brushed up above the forehead. [Origin uncertain, perhaps from coif. Earliest documented use: 1890.] A woman considered as promiscuous. [Origin unknown. Earliest documented use: 1923.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/quiff Tintin with his trademark quiff: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/quiff.png Art: Hergé "Posters of the intrepid boy reporter with the quiff and funny pants plastered the city." Claire Rosemberg; Spielberg 'Brings Tintin Home' Hollywood-Style; Agence France Presse (Paris); Oct 22, 2011. "A certain party got the quiff pregnant." William Deverell; The Dance of Shiva; ECW Press; 2004. -------- Date: Tue Apr 29 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gird X-Bonus: I don't need time. What I need is a deadline. -Duke Ellington, jazz pianist, composer, and conductor (1899-1974) This week's theme: Homonyms gird (guhrd) verb tr. 1. To encircle or bind with a belt or band. 2. To surround. 3. To prepare for action (especially as "to gird one's loins"). [From Old English gyrdan. Ultimately from the Indo-European root gher- (to enclose or grasp), which is also the source of such words as orchard, kindergarten, court, choir, courteous, French jardin (garden), Hindi gherna (to surround), yard, horticulture, curtilage https://wordsmith.org/words/curtilage.html, and garth https://wordsmith.org/words/garth.html . Earliest documented use: 950.] verb tr., intr.: To jeer. noun: A sarcastic remark. [From Middle English girden, to strike. Earliest documented use: 1275.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gird "Metallic rings girded the weapon's shaft." Greg Cox; Star Trek: The Weight of Worlds; Simon & Schuster; 2013. "Both sides have been unwilling to compromise, and their supporters appear to be girding for more violence by forming militias and armed gangs." Thailand at the Brink; The New York Times; Feb 27, 2014. "Falstaff: Men of all sorts take a pride to gird at me: the brain of this foolish-compounded clay, man, is not able to invent any thing that tends to laughter." William Shakespeare; Henry IV. -------- Date: Wed Apr 30 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mew X-Bonus: I learn that ten percent of all the world's species are parasitic insects. It is hard to believe. What if you were an inventor, and you made ten percent of your inventions in such a way that they could only work by harnessing, disfiguring, or totally destroying the other ninety percent? -Annie Dillard, author (b. 1945) This week's theme: Homonyms mew (myoo) noun: 1. A cage for hawks, especially while molting. 2. A place for retiring or hiding. 3. In the UK, as mews, stables with living quarters. Also, a row of apartments converted from stables. verb tr.: To confine. verb intr.: To molt. [From Old French muer (to molt), from Latin mutare (to change). Ultimately from the Indo-European root mei- (to change or move) that has also given us commute, mutual, migrate, common, mistake, immune, and excommunicate. Earliest documented use: 1375.] noun: 1. The high-pitched sound of a cat. 2. The characteristic sound of a gull. [Of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1325.] noun: A seagull (Larus canus). [From Old English maew. Earliest documented use: before 12th c.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/mew "They set him free the last day of October, after he had been mewed up for a month." Lucy Montgomery; Anne of Ingleside; George G. Harrap & Co; 1939. "Up above two falcons were mewing against the brilliant blue of the sky." Robert Twigger; Dr Ragab's Universal Language; Picador; 2009.