A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Jul 2 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--monology X-Bonus: One does not love a place the less for having suffered in it, unless it has been all suffering, nothing but suffering. -Jane Austen, novelist (1775-1817) Give a man (or a woman) a few words and he'll use them for a while (before repeating himself). Teach a man how to make new words and he'll always have fresh words. This week we'll give you some building blocks for words -- also known as combining forms -- that you can join as you like. Put two or more of these combining forms together and you can come up with a new word in short order. In some cases, you may be ahead of time -- you may have a word to describe something that does not yet exist. What are combining forms? You can think of them as Lego (from Danish, leg: play + godt: well) bricks of language. As the term indicates, a combining form is a linguistic atom that occurs only in combination with some other form which could be a word, another combining form, or an affix (unlike a combining form, an affix cannot attach to another affix). monology (muh-NOL-uh-jee) noun 1. A long speech by someone, especially when interfering with conversation. 2. The habit of monologizing. [From Greek mono- (one) + -logy (speech). Earliest documented use: 1608.] "She mumbled, continuing her monology." Paul Jopling; Boleslaw's Curse; Dog Ear Publishing; 2006. -------- Date: Tue Jul 3 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--logomachy X-Bonus: Lovemaking is radical, while marriage is conservative. -Eric Hoffer, philosopher and author (1902-1983) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms logomachy (luh-GOM-uh-kee) noun 1. A dispute about words. 2. A battle fought with words. [From Greek logo- (word) + -machy (battle). Earliest documented use: 1569.] "Raymond Queneau's most attractive books are founded on a logomachy in which fine words are pitted against the not so fine." John Sturrock; The Word From Paris; Verso; 1998. -------- Date: Wed Jul 4 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--phylogeny X-Bonus: In the face of suffering, one has no right to turn away, not to see. -Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1928) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms phylogeny (fy-LOJ-uh-nee) noun The evolutionary development of a species, a group of organisms, or a particular feature of an organism. [From Greek phylo- (race, class) + -geny (origin). Phylogeny is very different from philogyny https://wordsmith.org/words/philogyny.html . Earliest documented use: 1869.] See the Interactive Tree of Life http://itol.embl.de/ "Recognize your phylogeny. You are a Great Ape. We're more related to gorillas than most warblers are to each other." Audrey Schulman; Three Weeks in December; Europa; 2012. -------- Date: Thu Jul 5 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scotophobia X-Bonus: The ring always believes that the finger lives for it. -Malcolm De Chazal, writer and painter (1902-1981) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms scotophobia (sko-tuh-FOH-bee-uh) noun Fear of the dark. [From Greek scoto- (darkness) + -phobia (hatred, fear). The opposite is photophobia and a synonym is nyctophobia https://wordsmith.org/words/nyctophobia.html . Earliest documented use: 1844.] Scotophobia (ska-tuh-FOH-bee-uh) noun Fear or hatred of Scottish people or culture. [From Scoto- (Scottish) + -phobia (hatred, fear). Earliest documented use: 1828.] "In the grip of scotophobia -- those palpitations, that slurry speech, the way she shook when it grew dark." Matthew Emmens; Zenobia: The Curious Book of Business; Berrett-Koehler; 2008. "Alan Riach, professor of Scottish literature at the University of Glasgow, said he detected a trace of Scotophobia in Paxman's views." Jeremy Paxman Ridicules Robert Burns as King of Doggerel; The Times (London, UK); Aug 15, 2008. -------- Date: Fri Jul 6 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--epigraphy X-Bonus: I am only one, / But still I am one. / I cannot do everything, / But still I can do something; / And because I cannot do everything, / I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. -Edward Everett Hale, author (1822-1909) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms epigraphy (i-PIG-ruh-fee) noun 1. The study of ancient inscriptions. 2. Inscriptions collectively. [From Greek epi- (on, upon) + -graph (writing). Earliest documented use: 1851.] "An example of ancient epigraphy was found by early Bermudians, carved into a rock 70 feet above the sea." Local Historian Debunks the 'Spanish' in Spanish Rock; The Royal Gazette (Bermuda); Nov 4, 1999. -------- Date: Mon Jul 9 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--risque X-Bonus: The cure for anything is salt water -- sweat, tears, or the sea. -Isak Dinesen (pen name of Karen Blixen), author (1885-1962) We equate French with sophistication and when we import French words into English, we look at them with rose-colored glasses. We often give them special meanings. In French, concubin/concubine are simply people living together. In English, a concubine has a more specialized sense: a mistress. In French a rendez-vous is any meeting -- you might have a rendez-vous with a hairdresser. But when we bring this word over to English, a rendezvous is not just any run-of-the-mill meeting. It may be, for example, a meeting, perhaps illicit, between two lovers, or something as lofty as between two spacecraft. This week we'll feature five terms from French that relate to love, lust, and sex. risque or risqué (ri-SKAY) adjective Bordering on indelicacy or impropriety, especially in a sexually suggestive manner. [From Fremch risqué (risky), past participle of risquer (to risk). Earliest documented use: 1867.] "A woman who was fired from her job at a NY lingerie business says she was fired because her employer complained her work attire was too risque." Lingerie Employee Fired for Risque Attire; Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); May 23, 2012. "The normally pristine Senator Evan Bayh made a risqué joke about a fellow Indianan from a town called French Lick." Sleepless in Manhattan; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 1, 2002. -------- Date: Tue Jul 10 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--billet-doux X-Bonus: Every human being's essential nature is perfect and faultless, but after years of immersion in the world we easily forget our roots and take on a counterfeit nature. -Lao-Tzu, philosopher (6th century BCE) Words borrowed from French billet-doux (bil-ay-DOO) noun, plural billets-doux (bil-ay-DOOZ) A love letter. [From French billet doux (love letter), from billet (note) + doux (sweet). Earliest documented use: 1673.] "Pete Hamill, journalist and novelist, loves his city and this novel is his billet-doux." Margaret Cannon; New in Crime Fiction; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Dec 9, 2011. -------- Date: Wed Jul 11 00:01:08 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--femme fatale X-Bonus: Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage. -Ray Bradbury, writer (1920-2012) Words borrowed from French femme fatale (fem fuh-TAHL) noun, plural femmes fatales (fem fuh-TAHLZ) An attractive and seductive woman, especially one who leads others into disaster. [From French, literally fatal woman. Earliest documented use: 1879.] Mata Hari, the archetypal femme fatale: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/mata_hari_large.jpg Photo: Lucien Walery "The film sees Depp's math teacher character falling for Jolie's femme fatale as she spins a web of mystery." John Irish; A Minute With: Angelina Jolie; Reuters (UK); Dec 9, 2010. -------- Date: Thu Jul 12 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pudeur X-Bonus: Should you shield the canyons from the windstorms you would never see the true beauty of their carvings. -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, psychiatrist and author (1926-2004) Words borrowed from French pudeur (pyoo-DUHR, -DUH) noun A sense of shame, especially in se xual matters; modesty. [From French pudeur (modesty), from Latin pudere (to make or be ashamed) which also gave us pudibund (prudish) https://wordsmith.org/words/pudibund.html and pudency (modesty) https://wordsmith.org/words/pudency.html . Earliest documented use: 1876.] "Alexandra Styron first started reading her father's novel Sophie's Choice as soon as it came out, in 1979, when she was a preteenager. A few chapters in, encountering a steamy se x scene, she rushed from the room, overcome with adolescent pudeur." Liesl Schillinger; Literary Lions, by Their Cubs; The New York Times; Aug 10, 2011. -------- Date: Fri Jul 13 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dishabille X-Bonus: I begin to see what marriage is for. It's to keep people away from each other. Sometimes I think that two people who love each other can be saved from madness only by the things that come between them: children, duties, visits, bores, relations, the things that protect married people from each other. -Edith Wharton, novelist (1862-1937) Words borrowed from French dishabille or deshabille (dis-uh-BEEL, -BEE) noun 1. The state of being partly dressed. 2. A deliberately careless or casual manner. [From French déshabillé, past participle of déshabiller (to undress), from des- (apart) + habiller (to clothe). Earliest documented use: 1703.] "Seconds after 7 am on Monday, trousers were dropping and skirts were lifting all along Wall Street. The mass dishabille was part of a site-specific work of performance art." Melena Ryzik; A Bare Market Lasts One Morning; The New York Times; Aug 1, 2011. http://nytimes.com/2011/08/02/arts/design/zefrey-throwells-ocularpation-wall-street.html?pagewanted=all -------- Date: Mon Jul 16 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fey X-Bonus: We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable. -Alexander Solzhenitsyn, novelist, Nobel laureate (1918-2008) Good things come in small packs. And this week we have picked words that are short. Their small size does not mean that they are weak. In fact, that is their strength. These words are full of juice. They pack quite a punch -- they do the job in just a few key strokes. You can say a lot with them, more than you can with long words, e.g. you might find them of use when you send out a tweet or a text. Just like the words this week, each word (bar the last) in this brief is one syllable. fey (fay) adjective 1. Strange; unconventional; otherworldly. 2. Doomed. 3. Able to see the future. [From Old English faege (fated to die). Earliest documented use: before the twelfth century.] "At times, the book The Patron Saint of Eels seems a little fey; perhaps the made-up miracle makes its moral point a little too easily." Lisa Gorton; The Patron Saint of Eels; The Age (Melbourne, Australia); Apr 16, 2005. -------- Date: Tue Jul 17 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--coze X-Bonus: Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you. -Carl Jung, psychiatrist (1875-1961) This week's theme: Short words coze or cose (kohz) verb intr.: To converse in a friendly manner. noun: A friendly talk. [From French causer (to chat), from Latin causari (to plead, discuss), from causa (case, cause). Earliest documented use: 1814.] "She darted a look to the two women cozing over tea." Patricia Rice; The Wicked Wyckerly; Signet; 2010. -------- Date: Wed Jul 18 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fisc X-Bonus: Some stories are true that never happened. -Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1928) This week's theme: Short words fisc (fisk) noun A state treasury; exchequer. [From French fisc (tax office), from Latin fiscus (treasury, purse). Earliest documented use: 1598.] "Houses of worship are free to open schools, but they are expected to pay for them with privately raised funds. None are given access to the public fisc." Rob Boston; Amendment Anxiety; Church & State (Washington, DC); Feb 2012. -------- Date: Thu Jul 19 00:01:07 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cote X-Bonus: Congratulation: The civility of envy. -Ambrose Bierce, author and editor (1842-1914) This week's theme: Short words cote (koht) noun: A shelter for animals. [From Old English cote (cottage). Earliest documented use: before 1034.] verb tr.: To pass by. [Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1555.] "The doves in the cote above flutter, as always, and settle down again." Brian Jackson; Streaming; Routledge; 2012. "We coted them on the way and hither are they coming to offer you service." William Shakespeare; Hamlet; 1603. -------- Date: Fri Jul 20 00:01:09 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--purl X-Bonus: To be sure, the dog is loyal. But why, on that account, should we take him as an example? He is loyal to man, not to other dogs. -Karl Kraus, writer (1874-1936) This week's theme: Short words purl (purl) verb intr.: To flow with a rippling motion. noun: The sound or curling motion made by rippling water. [Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: before 1586.] verb tr., intr: 1. To knit with a reverse stitch. 2. To edge or finish with a lace or embroidery. noun: 1. The reverse of a knit stitch. 2. A decorative border. 3. Gold or silver wire thread used in embroidery. [Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1394.] "The anger purling in her hadn't abated a bit." Donna Fasano; Where's Stanley?; Harlequin; 2012. "Her mother purls away at a beginner's scarf." The Stitch 'n' Bitch Niche; The Economist (London, UK); Feb 2, 2006. -------- Date: Mon Jul 23 00:01:06 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--betimes X-Bonus: A hungry man is not a free man. -Adlai Stevenson, statesman (1900-1965) Writers who offer writing advice have not been kind to the adverb. From Mark Twain to Stephen King to Strunk & White, they all have taken it out on this poor part of speech. To be fair, there's a certain truth to what they say. Overuse of the adverb may indicate a failure of imagination. Too much dependence on the adverb may make the writing stilted. But judicious use of this black sheep of the parts-of-speech family may be useful at times. Instead of softly and quickly and extremely, try this week's adverbs for a change. But use them sparingly. betimes (bih-TYMZ) adverb 1. Sometimes; on occasion. 2. In good time; early. 3. Quickly; soon. [From Middle English bitimes, from bi (by) + time. Earliest documented use: 1314.] "I'm urged betimes to write something about this book or that author." A Quest to Fix Unfair Neglect; Fort Worth Star-Telegram; Jul 19, 1998. "Since Knott was leaving in the morning, she went to bed betimes." Betty Neels; Roses Have Thorns; Harlequin; 2012. -------- Date: Tue Jul 24 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--incognito X-Bonus: The basis of all animal rights should be the Golden Rule: we should treat them as we would wish them to treat us, were any other species in our dominant position. -Christine Stevens, activist (1918-2002) This week's theme: Adverbs incognito (in-kog-NEE-toh, in-KOG-nee-toh) adverb, adjective: Having one's identity concealed. noun: 1. One whose identity is concealed. 2. The state of having one's identity concealed. [From Italian incognito (unknown), from Latin incognitus (unknown), from in- (not) + cognitus, past participle of cognoscere (to get to know). Earliest documented use: 1638.] "Ancient tales of monarchs passing incognito among their subjects." Of Magic and Daylight; The Economist (London, UK); Jan 13, 2011. -------- Date: Wed Jul 25 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--agee X-Bonus: In the Soviet Union, capitalism triumphed over communism. In this country, capitalism triumphed over democracy. -Fran Lebowitz, author (b. 1950) This week's theme: Adverbs agee or ajee (uh-JEE) adverb To one side; awry. [From Scottish English dialect, from a- (to, toward) + gee (a command to a horse to move to one side). Earliest documented use: before 1805.] "The knaves go all agee when both my lord and myself have our backs turned." Charlotte M. Yonge; Grisly Grisell; Macmillan; 1893. -------- Date: Thu Jul 26 00:01:05 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sine die X-Bonus: To die for an idea; it is unquestionably noble. But how much nobler it would be if men died for ideas that were true. -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (1880-1956) This week's theme: Adverbs sine die (SY-nee DY-ee, SIN-ay DEE-ay) adverb Without designating a future day for action or meeting; indefinitely. [From Latin sine (without) die (day). Earliest documented use: 1631.] "Following the discord, the meeting was adjourned sine die." Meet Turns Into Bedlam; The Times of India (New Delhi); Jun 13, 2012. -------- Date: Fri Jul 27 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--larruping X-Bonus: The big thieves hang the little ones. -Czech proverb This week's theme: Adverbs larruping (LAR-uh-ping) adverb: Very. adjective: Excellent. [From larrup (to beat or thrash), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Dutch larpen (to thrash). Earliest documented use: 1888.] "Little lady, you got any more of these larruping good biscuits?" Bandit's Hope; Marcia Gruver; Barbour Books; 2011. -------- Date: Mon Jul 30 00:01:04 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--corps X-Bonus: The arrow has to draw back to fly ahead. -Proverb Back in 2010, President Obama tripped on the word corps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlKIfzoC8D0 . Given that he is a highly educated person his faux pas was duly criticized. But it's not unusual for people to stumble on words borrowed from other languages. In this regard, French is especially treacherous in which about a quarter of the letters sit idle as if on strike, adding little to the pronunciation. http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/20084/visualisation-of-silent-letters-in-language.html As if that's not enough, there are complications of pluralization. This week we've selected five words that are borrowed from French. In the plural, even though the spelling stays the same as the singular, their pronunciation changes. Though in French even the plural pronunciation remains the same as in the singular. corps (kohr), plural corps (kohrz) noun: A group of persons associated in a common organization or engaged in a common activity. [From French corps (body), from Latin corpus (body). Earliest documented use: 1711.] "The diplomatic corps in Cuba on Tuesday paid homage to the outgoing Angolan ambassador." Diplomatic Corps Pays Homage; Angola Press; Aug 25, 2011. -------- Date: Tue Jul 31 00:01:10 EDT 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--faux pas 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) This week's theme: Words that have the plural spelled the same but pronounced differently faux pas (fo PAH), plural faux pas (fo PAHZ) noun: A blunder, especially a social mistake. [From French, literally, false step. Earliest documented use: 1676.] "[Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, committed] the ultimate classroom faux pas when he addressed [the teacher] Miss Hollender by her first name, Sophie, in front of students." Fiona Hamilton; Boris Johnson Teaches Latin; The Times (London, UK); May 27, 2010.