A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu May 1 00:04:11 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tendinous X-Bonus: Eyes are vocal, tears have tongues, \ And there are words not made with lungs. -Crashaw ten.di.nous aj [NL tendinosus, fr. tendin-, tendo tendon, alter. of ML tendon-, tendo : 1658] 1 : consisting of tendons : SINEWY 2 : of, relating to, or resembling a tendon Darwin, Charles, Voyage Of The Beagle: Part I "...the eye is in an almost rudimentary state, and is covered by a tendinous membrane and skin." This week's theme: telling tenacious from tenuous, and other ten* words. -------- Date: Fri May 2 00:02:56 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tenebrous X-Bonus: The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven. -John Milton ten.e.brous aj [ME, fr. MF tenebreus, fr. L tenebrosus, fr. tenebrae : 15th c] 1 : shut off from the light : DARK, MURKY 2 : hard to understand : OBSCURE 3 : causing gloom "The poet's dream stole over him like sunlight And passed into the tenebrous thickets." Simon Haydon, Irish poet Seamus Heaney wins Nobel prize, Reuters, 10-05-1995 This week's theme: telling tenacious from tenuous, and other ten* words. -------- Date: Sat May 3 00:03:07 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tenesmus X-Bonus: The world is filled with willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them. -Robert Frost te.nes.mus n [L, fr. Gk teinesmos, fr. teinein to stretch, strain -- more at THIN Date: 1527] a distressing but ineffectual urge to evacuate the rectum or bladder This week's theme: telling tenacious from tenuous, and other ten* words. -------- Date: Sun May 4 00:03:50 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tenuis X-Bonus: The ability to piece together work that will both satisfy and support us is the secret to surviving, even thriving. -Wendy Reid Crisp ten.u.is n [ML, fr. L, thin, slight : 1650] : an unaspirated voiceless stop This week's theme: telling tenacious from tenuous, and other ten* words. -------- Date: Mon May 5 00:54:32 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lariat X-Bonus: Sight is a faculty; seeing is an art. lar.i.at n. [Sp. la reata the rope; la the + reata rope. Cf. Reata.] A long, slender rope made of hemp or strips of hide, esp. one with a noose; -- used as a lasso for catching cattle, horses, etc., and for picketing a horse so that he can graze without wandering. [Mexico & Western U.S.] lar.i.at v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lariated; p. pr. & vb. n. Lariating.] To secure with a lariat fastened to a stake, as a horse or mule for grazing; also, to lasso or catch with a lariat. [Western U.S.] Rohwer, Jim, American hero.., Vol. 329, Economist, 10-30-1993, pp 104. "If you look at surviving bits of film of Rogers, dressed as a cowboy, twirling a lariat and delivering comments on the state of the world, or if you turn up his syndicated newspaper column, said to have had 40m readers, it is difficult to fathom the massive appeal he generated." From the mighty waters of the Grand Canyon to the sometimes-dry riverbed of the Rio Grande, English and Spanish speakers have moved back and forth across the changing border over the centuries. As a tribute to Cinco de Mayo (May 5), and the influence of Spanish (especially Mexican Spanish) on English, this week's theme is loanwords from Spanish. -Jeffrey Henning (jahenningATaol.com) (Jeffrey, a model languages enthusiast and creator of LangMaker software , is A.Word.A.Day's Guest Wordsmith this week. -Anu) -------- Date: Tue May 6 00:02:49 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--disembogue X-Bonus: Give me ambiguity or give me something else. dis.em.bogue v.t. [imp. & p. p. disembogued (?); p. pr. & vb. n. disemboguing.] [Sp. desembocar; pref. des- (L. dis-) + embocar to put into the mouth, fr. en (L. in) + boca mouth, fr. L. bucca cheek. Cf. debouch, embogue.] 1. To pour out or discharge at the mouth, as a stream; to vent; to discharge into an ocean, a lake, etc. 2. To eject; to cast forth. [R.] Swift. dis.em.bogue v.i. To become discharged; to flow put; to find vent; to pour out contents. Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy, The: Canto VIII. "From where the Trento disembogues his waves With Verde mingled, to the salt - sea flood." This week's theme: loanwords from Spanish. -------- Date: Wed May 7 00:02:59 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vaquero X-Bonus: I have every sympathy with the American who was so horrified by what he had read about the effects of smoking that he gave up reading. -Henry G. Strauss va.que.ro n. [Sp., cowherd, fr. vaca a cow, L. vacca. Cf. Vacher.] One who has charge of cattle, horses, etc.; a herdsman. [Southwestern U.S.] McCrathy, Cormac, The wolf hunter. (short story)., Vol. 213, Sports Afield, 01-01-1995, pp 68(11). "Two days later riding down the Cloverdale Road he turned off for no reason at all and rode out to where the vaqueros had noon and sat his horse looking down at the dead black fire." This week's theme: loanwords from Spanish. -------- Date: Thu May 8 00:02:58 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--aficionado X-Bonus: It is not worth an intelligent man's time to be in the majority. By definition, there are already enough people to do that. -G. H. Hardy afi.cio.na.do n. [Sp., fr. pp of aficionar to inspire affection, fr. afici.n affection, fr. L. affection-, affectio -- more at AFFECTION : 1845] : a person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a usually fervently pursued interest or activity : DEVOTEE Bebe Bahnsen, Don't cry, tango fans; you can dance: Club organizes its own parties., The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 01-02-1997, pp H07. "But if this warning makes the Argentine tango sound more like drudgery than dancing, listen to some local aficionados talk about what the dance means to them." This week's theme: loanwords from Spanish. -------- Date: Fri May 9 00:02:57 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bonanza X-Bonus: No wonder nobody comes here--it's too crowded. -Yogi Berra bo.nan.za n. [Sp., prop. calm., fair weather, prosperity, fr. L. bonus good.] In mining, a rich mine or vein of silver or gold; hence, anything which is a mine of wealth or yields a large income. [Colloq. U. S.] Denise M. Topolnicki, Money Bonus: Retirement Living: How You Can Tame the New Tax Rules., Money, 01-01-1997, pp A9+. "Late last summer, Congress enacted legislation that promised a tax bonanza for anyone who is retired or planning to call it quits within a few years." This week's theme: loanwords from Spanish. -------- Date: Sat May 10 00:03:05 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bastinado X-Bonus: Remember, life is not what happens to you but what you make of what happens to you. Everyone dies, but not everyone fully lives. Too many people are having "near-life experiences. bas.ti.na.do n.; pl. bastinadoes. [Sp. bastonada (cf. F. bastonnade), fr. baston (cf. F. baton) a stick or staff. See Baston.] 1. A blow with a stick or cudgel. 2. A sound beating with a stick or cudgel. Specifically: A form of punishment among the Turks, Chinese, and others, consisting in beating an offender on the soles of his feet. bas.ti.na.do, v.t. [imp. & p.p. bastinadoes; p. pr. & vb. n. bastinadoing.] To beat with a stick or cudgel, especially on the soles of the feet. Shakespeare, William, King John: Act II, Scene I. "He speaks plain cannon fire, and smoke and bounce; He gives the bastinado with his tongue: Our ears are cudgell'd; not a word of his But buffets better than a fist of France:" This week's theme: loanwords from Spanish. -------- Date: Sun May 11 00:02:51 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--calaboose X-Bonus: They used to say that knowledge is power. I used to think so, but I now know that they mean money. -Lord Byron, poet (1788-1824) cal.a.boose n. [A corruption of Sp. calabozo dungeon.] A prison; a jail. [Local, U.S.] This week's theme: loanwords from Spanish. -------- Date: Mon May 12 00:02:41 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--deinstitutionalization X-Bonus: Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it. -Ralph Waldo Emerson deinstitutionalization Chiefly N. Amer. [fr. de- II. 2 + institutionalization] The process or action of removing (a person) from an institution, such as a mental hospital, or from the effects of institutional life. 1967 Listener 20 Apr. 518/3 "Russell has never been academic; he has not been confined in a university, except for very short periods; and this gives him a deinstitutionalized setting, which enables him to speak as a human being to great numbers of persons." 1974 Science 2 Aug. 423/2 "A major current trend is toward deinstitutionalization. People who are down on jails believe that the institutional setting is too dehumanizing for any meaningful rehabilitation to take place." One of the questions I get asked quite often (perhaps second only to the words-ending-in-gry question that pops up in my mailbox about every hour), is: "What is the longest word in the English Language?" Most of the longest words in English are names of chemical compounds, names of diseases or technical words, and not very interesting to remember or talk about. This week, I'll feature seven of the longest words that are fun to write and recite. As an aside, it is worth noting that most of the time, the only purpose these words serve is to be cited as examples of longest words. -Anu -------- Date: Tue May 13 00:02:55 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--honorificabilitudinity X-Bonus: A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. -George Bernard Shaw honorificabilitudinity Obs. rare - 0. [ad. med.L. honorificabilitudinitas (Mussatus c 1300 in Du Cange), a grandiose extension of honorificabilitudo honourableness The longest word Shakespeare ever used, is a variant of today's word. -Anu "I marvel thy master hath not eaten thee for a word; for thou art not so long by the head as honorificabilitudinitatibus: thou art easier swallowed than a flap-dragon." [Love's Labour's Lost, Act 5, Scene 1] This week's theme: sesquipedalian words. -------- Date: Wed May 14 00:02:53 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--antidisestablishmentarianism X-Bonus: Do you know what a pessimist is? A person who thinks everybody as nasty as himself, and hates them for it. -George Bernard Shaw antidisestablishmentarianism [fr. anti- + disestablishmentarian + -ism.] Properly, opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England (rare): but popularly cited as an example of a long word. So antidisestablishmentarian. 1900 N. & Q. 25 Aug. 147/1 In the recent biography of Dr. Benson is an entry from the Archbishop's diary to the effect that `the Free Kirk of the North of Scotland are strong antidisestablishmentarians'. This week's theme: sesquipedalian words. -------- Date: Thu May 15 00:02:46 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--floccinaucinihilipilification X-Bonus: I think there is a world market for maybe five computers. -Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1958 floccinaucinihilipilification humorous. [f. L. flocci, nauci, nihili, pili words signifying `at a small price' or `at nothing' enumerated in a well-known rule of the Eton Latin Grammar + -fication] The action or habit of estimating as worthless. 1829 SCOTT Jrnl. 18 Mar., They must be taken with an air of contempt, a floccipaucinihilipilification [sic, here and in two other places] of all that can gratify the outward man. This week's theme: sesquipedalian words. -------- Date: Fri May 16 00:04:16 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian X-Bonus: When you've seen one non-sequitur, the price of tea in China. hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian adj : pertaining to a very, very long word This week's theme: some really loooong words. -------- Date: Sat May 17 00:02:58 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--supercalifragilisticexpialidocious X-Bonus: Listen or thy tongue will keep thee deaf. -American Indian Proverb supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, a. Also supercalifragilistic; formerly also other varr. [Fanciful: cf. SUPER a. 3.] A nonsense-word used esp. by children, now chiefly expressing excited approbation: fantastic, fabulous. Made popular by the Walt Disney film `Mary Poppins' in 1964. The song containing the word was the subject of a copyright infringement suit brought in 1965 against the makers of the film by Life Music Co. and two song-writers: cf. quots. 1949, 1951. In view of earlier oral uses of the word sworn to in affidavits and dissimilarity between the songs the judge ruled against the plaintiffs. 1971 Daily Tel. 6 Nov. 13/5 If you can stand more than a day of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious entertainment you can settle in at the concrete Contemporary Resort Hotel. This week's theme: hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian words. For those doubting the validity of yesterday's word, calling it a made-up word (aren't all the words made up?), please see the book "Mrs. Byrne's dictionary of unusual, obscure, and preposterous words". It is a delightful compendium of bizarre, curious, and outlandish words. -Anu -------- Date: Sun May 18 00:02:41 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis X-Bonus: The cruelest lies are often told in silence. -Robert Louis Stevenson pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis n [NL, fr. Gk pneumo-n + ISV ultramicroscopic + NL silicon + ISV volcano + Gk konis dust] : a pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of very fine silicate or quartz dust This week's theme: hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian words. Today's word is the longest word in the OED. -Anu -------- Date: Mon May 19 00:02:56 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--minatory X-Bonus: The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously. -Samuel Butler min.a.to.ry a. [L. minatorius, fr. minari to threaten. see menace.] threatening; menacing. "Number 3, Lauriston Gardens wore an ill-omened and minatory look." Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous subject, Sherlock Holmes, was introduced to the world in "A Study in Scarlet". The work includes many words that would repay a wordsmith's study. So this week, let us join the master and say, "Come along, Watson, the game's afoot!" This and other Sherlockian works are available on the web at http://www3.nf.sympatico.ca/dave.pack/holmes2.html -Pauline E. Finnegan (pfinnegaATsrs.lmco.com) Pauline, the word detective, is AWAD's Guest Wordsmith for this week. -Anu -------- Date: Tue May 20 00:02:55 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ineffable X-Bonus: Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. in.ef.fa.ble a. [L. ineffabilis: cf. F. ineffable. see in- not, and effable, Fame.] Incapable of being expressed in words; unspeakable; unutterable; indescribable; as, the ineffable joys of heaven. "`What ineffable twaddle!' I cried, slapping the magazine down on the table; `I never read such rubbish in my life.'" This week's theme: words from Sherlock Holmes' debut, "A Study in Scarlet." -------- Date: Wed May 21 00:02:56 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bumptious X-Bonus: Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. -Henry David Thoreau bump.tious a. Self-conceited; forward; pushing. [Colloq.] "I was still annoyed at his bumptious style of conversation. I thought it best to change the topic." This week's theme: words from Sherlock Holmes' debut, "A Study in Scarlet." -------- Date: Thu May 22 00:02:53 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sonorous X-Bonus: Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt. -Abraham Lincoln so.no.rous a. [L. sonorus, fr. sonor, -oris, a sound, akin to sonus a sound. See Sound.] 1. Giving sound when struck; resonant; as, sonorous metals. 2. Loud-sounding; giving a clear or loud sound; as, a sonorous voice. 3. Yielding sound; characterized by sound; vocal; sonant; as, the vowels are sonorous. 4. Impressive in sound; high-sounding. "The Italian opera, amidst all the meanness and familiarty of the thoughts, has something beautiful and sonorous in the expression." -Addison "There is nothing of the artificial Johnsonian balance in his style. It is as often marked by a pregnant brevity as by a sonorous amplitude." -E. Everett 5. (Med.) Sonant; vibrant; hence, of sounds produced in a cavity, deep-toned; as, sonorous rhonchi. Sonorous figures (Physics), figures formed by the vibrations of a substance capable of emitting a musical tone, as when the bow of a violin is drawn along the edge of a piece of glass or metal on which sand is strewed, and the sand arranges itself in figures according to the musical tone. Called also acoustic figures. -- Sonorous tumor (Med.), a tumor which emits a clear, resonant sound on percussion. -- so.no.rous.ly, adv. -- so.no.rous.ness, n. "Sometimes the chords were sonorous and melancholy." This week's theme: words from Sherlock Holmes' debut, "A Study in Scarlet." -------- Date: Fri May 23 00:02:52 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--piquant X-Bonus: God gave us two ends. One to sit on and one to think with. Success depends on which one you use; heads you win-tails yo lose. pi.quant a. [F., p.pr. of piquer to prick or sting. see pike.] Stimulating to the taste; giving zest; tart; sharp; pungent; as, a piquant anecdote. "As piquant to the tongue as salt." -Addison. "`Oh! a mystery is it?' I cried, rubbing my hands. `This is very piquant. I am much obliged to you for bringing us together.'" This week's theme: words from Sherlock Holmes' debut, "A Study in Scarlet." -------- Date: Sat May 24 00:02:47 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--necromancer X-Bonus: If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. -Mark Twain [Puddin'head Wilson] nec.ro.man.cer n. one who practices necromancy; a sorcerer; a wizard. "So startling would his results appear to the uninitiated that until they learned the processes by which he had arrived at them they might well consider him as a necromancer." This week's theme: words from Sherlock Holmes' debut, "A Study in Scarlet." -------- Date: Sun May 25 00:03:26 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--effusion X-Bonus: I have often regretted my speech, never my silence. ef.fu.sion n. [L. effusio: cf. F. effusion.] 1. The act of pouring out; as, effusion of water, of blood, of grace, of words, and the like. "To save the effusion of my people's blood." Dryden. 2. That which is poured out, literally or figuratively. "Wash me with that precious effusion, and I shall be whiter than snow." -Eikon Basilike. "The light effusions of a heedless boy." Byron. 3. (Pathol.) (a) The escape of a fluid out of its natural vessel, either by rupture of the vessel, or by exudation through its walls. It may pass into the substance of an organ, or issue upon a free surface. (b) The liquid escaping or exuded. "At the door of the house we were met by a tall, white-faced, flaxen-haired man, with a notebook in his hand, who rushed forward and wrung my companion's hand with effusion. `It is indeed kind of you to come,' he said, "I have had everything left untouched.'" This week's theme: words from Sherlock Holmes' debut, "A Study in Scarlet." -------- Date: Mon May 26 04:39:21 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bumbledom X-Bonus: Litigant: a person about to give up his skin for the hope of retaining his bones. -Ambrose Bierce bum.ble.dom [fr. Bumble, name of the beadle in Dickens's Oliver Twist + -DOM.] Fussy official pomposity and stupidity, especially as displayed by the officers of petty corporations, vestries, etc.; beadledom in its glory. Foster, Peter, What happened to inflation?, Economist, 10-30-1993, pp 19. "The implications of this statistical bumbledom are far-reaching." Charles Dickens, the greatest novelist of the Victorian era, is especially known for his unforgettable characters. It is no wonder that many of his characters have entered into the English dictionary and become common words. This week we meet some of the lesser known Dickensian characters who have turned into eponyms. -Anu -------- Date: Tue May 27 00:03:21 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--micawber X-Bonus: Night fell again. There was war to the south, but our sector was quiet. The battle was over. Our casualties were some thirteen thousand killed--thirteen thousand minds, memories, loves, sensations, worlds, universes--because the human mind is more a universe than the universe itself--and all for a few hundred yards of useless mud. -John Fowles [The Magus, 1965] Mi.caw.ber n [Wilkins Micawber, character in the novel David Copperfield (1849-50) by Charles Dickens : 1852] : one who is poor but lives in optimistic expectation of better fortune Patrick Mott, Video Rewind; '1000 Clowns': In Praise of Nutty Uncle With Heart; Orange County Edition., Los Angeles Times, 08-18-1994, pp 17. "A Mr. Micawber (`something will turn up') with the sensibility of a holy fool, Murray sits in his alcove and plays the ukulele while below in the street the world scuttles by." This week's theme: Dickensian characters who became eponyms. -------- Date: Wed May 28 00:03:27 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gradgrind X-Bonus: Seek the wisdom of the ages, but look at the world through the eyes of a child. -Ron Wild Grad.grind n. [Name of the mill-owner in Dickens's Hard Times (1854) `a man of facts and calculations'] one who is hard and cold, and solely interested in facts. Brooks, Cleanth, Union comeback.., Vol. 321, Economist, 11-23-1991, pp 81. "This directive is awkward for Britain, whose 1989 Employment Act repealed most British restrictions on child labour. Britain's employment secretary, Michael Howard, has no wish to appear as a latter-day Gradgrind so will likely direct his fire at the directive's more bureaucratic provisions, rather than opposing it altogether." This week's theme: Dickensian characters who became eponyms. -------- Date: Thu May 29 00:03:03 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--podsnap X-Bonus: Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except the best. -Henry Van Dyke Pod.snap n. [The name of a character in Dickens's Our Mutual Friend] a person embodying insular complacency and self-satisfaction and refusal to face up to unpleasant facts. 1960 Times 12 July 13/4 "There are too many Podsnaps of officialdom who treat atheletes and aficionados alike as noisy nuisances." This week's theme: Dickensian characters who became eponyms. -------- Date: Fri May 30 00:02:55 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chadband X-Bonus: A smile is the sensation of feeling good all over and showing it in one spot. chad.band n.[Name of a character, the Rev. Mr. Chadband, in Dickens's Bleak House] A canting unctuous hypocrite. This week's theme: Dickensian characters who became eponyms. -------- Date: Sat May 31 00:03:20 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stiggins X-Bonus: A professional is someone who can do his best work when he doesn't feel like it. -Alistair Cooke Stig.gins n. [The name of a character in Dickens's Pickwick Papers : 1836] used as the type of the pious humbug. 1935 Times 5 Jan. 6/3 "I do protest strongly at any attempt to revive the activities of the Prudes on the Prowl, the spying of the Stigginses, and the chortling of the Chadbands." This week's theme: Dickensian characters who became eponyms.