A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Jul 1 00:57:52 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--abrogate X-Bonus: A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Cross references: 1. nullify ab.ro.gate \'ab-r*-.ga-t\ \.ab-r*-'ga--sh*n\ vt [L abrogatus, pp. of abrogare, fr. ab- + rogare to ask,] propose a law - more at RIGHT 1: to abolish by authoritative action : ANNUL 2: to do away with - ab.ro.ga.tion n 1862 LD. BROUGHAM, Brit. Constitn. i. 22 "But the same power which formed these rules may abrogate or suspend them." -------- Date: Tue Jul 2 00:51:21 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--delphian X-Bonus: Confidence is the feeling you have before you understand the situation. Del.phi.an or Del.phic \'del-fe--*n\ \-fik\ aj 1: of or relating to ancient Delphi or its oracle 2: AMBIGUOUS, OBSCURE -------- Date: Wed Jul 3 00:51:20 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--narcissism X-Bonus: He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened. nar.cis.sism \'na:r-s*-.siz-*m\ \'na:r-s*-s*st\ \.na:r-s*-'sis-tik\ n [G narzissismus, fr. Narziss Narcissus, fr. L Narcissus] 1: EGOISM, EGOCENTRISM 2: love of one's own body - nar.cis.sist nor ;aj 1969 P. LOEWENBERG, in B. B. Wolman Psychoanal. Interpretation of Hist. vi. 182 "He [sc. Herzl] regressed to the stage of narcissism in which his only sexual object was his own ego and its fantasies." -------- Date: Thu Jul 4 00:51:23 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sardonic X-Bonus: If you want truly to understand something, try to change it. -Kurt Lewin sar.don.ic \sa:r-'da:n-ik\ \-i-k(*-)le-\ aj [F sardonique, fr. Gk sardonios] : BITTER, MOCKING - sar.don.i.cal.ly av 1872 DARWIN, Emotions x. 251 "We see a trace of this same expression [the sneer] in what is called a derisive or sardonic smile." -------- Date: Fri Jul 5 00:51:27 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--raillery X-Bonus: Man is not the creature of circumstances. Circumstances are the creatures of men. -Benjamin Disraeli rail.lery \'ra--l*-re-\ n [F raillerie, fr. MF, fr. railler to mock] 1: good-natured ridicule : BANTER 2: JEST 1806-7 J. BERESFORD, Miseries Hum. Life (1826) VII. x, "A company in which you have been galled by the raillery of some wag by profession." -------- Date: Sat Jul 6 00:51:20 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--eupeptic X-Bonus: A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry eu.pep.tic \-'pep-tik\ aj 1: of, relating to, or having good digestion 2: CHEERFUL, OPTIMISTIC 1871 COLLINS, Mrq. & Merch. III. ii. 60 "Terrell, never scientifically eupeptic, went in for a couple of dozen [oysters]." -------- Date: Sun Jul 7 00:51:31 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--connate X-Bonus: The worst of all deceptions is self-deception. -Plato con.nate \ka:-'na-t, 'ka:n-.a-t\ aj [LL connatus, pp. of connasci to be born together, fr. L com-] + nasci to be born 1: INNATE, INBORN 2: AKIN, CONGENIAL 3: born or originated together 4: congenitally or firmly united - con.nate.ly av -------- Date: Mon Jul 8 05:15:34 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--juggernaut X-Bonus: The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust jug.ger.naut \'j*g-*r-.no.t, -.na:t\ n [Hindi Jaganna-th, title of Vishnu, lit., lord of the world] : a massive inexorable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path 1995 IT Digest 19 Jan "While Apple Computer has finally made its long-anticipated move to license Macintosh technology to computer manufacturers, this is only the beginning of its strategy to challenge the Microsoft juggernaut." -- A language expands its vocabulary by many means one of which is by taking words from other languages. Such words are called loanwords or borrowings although these terms are misnomers--the "borrowed" word is not returned to the "lender" (it never left the source language). This week's theme is loanwords from Hindi. Hindi is the predominant language of India, a country with 18 national languages. Some of the everyday English words: loot, punch (the beverage), guru are all taken from Hindi. During the week we'll see seven more loanwords from Hindi. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 9 00:49:54 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pukka X-Bonus: Lead me not into temptation. I can find it myself. puk.ka \'p*k-*\ aj [Hindi pakka- cooked, ripe, solid, fr. Skt pakva; akin to Gk ]pessein to cook - more at COOK : GENUINE, AUTHENTIC; also : FIRST-CLASS, COMPLETE 1976 Physics Bull. Nov. 480/1 "What it does show is a pukka trade union doing a proper trade union job." -------- Date: Wed Jul 10 00:51:11 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wallah X-Bonus: Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you. -Andre Gide wal.lah \'wa:l-*, in combination usu .wa:l-*\ n [Hindi -wa-la- man, one in charge, fr. Skt pa-la protector]; akin to Skt pa-ti he protects - more at FUR : a person who is associated with a particular work or who performs a specific duty or service - usu. used in combination 1982 B. TRAPIDO, Brother of more Famous Jack xxxvi. 124, "I thought briefly of Roger who, being a music wallah, had always made a thing of St. Cecilia's Day." -------- Date: Thu Jul 11 00:51:32 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pundit X-Bonus: If you want good service, then serve yourself. -Spanish Proverb pun.dit \'p*n-d*t\ n [Hindi pansub-dot>dsub-dot>dit, fr. Skt pansub-d]ot>dsub-dot>ita, fr. pansub-dot>dsub-dot>ita learned 1: PANDIT 2: a learned man : TEACHER 3: an authority or one who gives opinions in an authoritative manner : CRITIC 1976 Times 30 Sept. 8/7 "Though frowned upon by some pundits as out-of-date and middle-class, Swallows and Amazons and its many sequels remain immensely popular with children." -------- Date: Fri Jul 12 00:51:16 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shroff X-Bonus: If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them. -Thoreau 1. shroff \'shra:f, 'shro.f, esp South 'sra:f, 'sro.f\ n [Hindi ssub-dot>arra-f, fr. Ar] : a banker or money changer in the Far East; esp : one who tests and evaluates coin 2. shroff vt : to sort (coins) into good and bad pieces 1888 KIPLING, Departm. Ditties (ed. 3) 81 "Deeply indebted to the village shroff." -------- Date: Sat Jul 13 00:51:28 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jungle X-Bonus: Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm. -Winston Churchill jun.gle \'j*n-g*l\ \-g(*-)le-\ n [Hindi jangal] often attrib 1a: an impenetrable thicket or tangled mass of tropical vegetation 1b: a tract overgrown with thickets or masses of vegetation 2: a hobo camp 3a1: a confused or chaotic mass of objects : JUMBLE 3a2: something that baffles or frustrates by its tangled or complex character : MAZE 3b: a place of ruthless struggle for survival - jun.gly aj 1971 Times 17 July 5/2 "New York seemed to me infernal... By night the streets become concrete jungles, their occupants hysteric, terrified of predators. -------- Date: Sun Jul 14 00:52:34 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nabob X-Bonus: Doust thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of. -Benjamin Franklin na.bob \'na--.ba:b\ \-*s\ n [Hindi nawwa-b, fr. Ar nuwwa-b, pl. of na-'ib govern]or 1: a provincial governor of the Mogul empire in India 2: a man of great wealth or prominence - na.bob.ess n 1830 MACAULAY, Ess., Southey's Colloq. (1851) I. 103 "The glorified spirit of a great statesman and philosopher dawdling, like a bilious old nabob at a watering place." -------- Date: Mon Jul 15 07:31:36 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--olympian X-Bonus: Charity is injurious unless it helps the recipient to become independent of it. -John D. Rockefeller 1. Olym.pi.an \*-'lim-pe--*n, o--\ aj 1: of or relating to the ancient Greek region of Olympia 2: of, relating to, or constituting the Olympian games 2. Olympian n : a participant in Olympic Games 3. Olympian aj 1: of or relating to Mount Olympus in Thessaly 2: befitting or characteristic of the gods of Olympus : LOFTY 4. Olympian n 1: one of the Greek deities of highest rank dwelling on Olympus 2: a being of lofty detachment or superior attainments 1995 Time 11 May "Virtually every week for the past three decades, pioneering transplant surgeon John Najarian--an Olympian figure with the physique of a linebacker and the self-confidence to match--has ventured into the operating room at the University of Minnesota Hospital to battle death." -- While glory of the Olympics spreads over Atlanta, athletes from around the world aspire for what is best summed up by the Games' motto: "Citius, Altius, Fortius" - to be faster, higher, and stronger. Like the athletes, the words for this week may be Greek, German or French but all of them pertain to the Games. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 16 00:49:56 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--natation X-Bonus: He who foresees calamities suffers them twice over. na.ta.tion \na--'ta--sh*n, na-\ n : the action or art of swimming -------- Date: Wed Jul 17 00:51:32 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--equitation X-Bonus: There is no greater sorrow than to recall a time of happiness in misery. -Dante eq.ui.ta.tion \.ek-w*-'ta--sh*n\ n : the act or art of riding on horseback -------- Date: Thu Jul 18 00:51:24 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--atlantean X-Bonus: I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year. -The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957 1. At.lan.te.an \.at-.lan-'te--*n, *t-'lant-e--\ aj : of, relating to, or resembling Atlas : STRONG 2. Atlantean aj : of or relating to Atlantis -------- Date: Fri Jul 19 00:51:38 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--quadrennial X-Bonus: A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do. -Walter Bagehot qua.dren.ni.al \kwa:-'dren-e--*l\ \-e--*-le-\ aj 1: consisting of or lasting for four years 2: occurring or being done every four years - quadrennial n -------- Date: Sat Jul 20 00:52:57 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pugilism X-Bonus: When in doubt, do as doubters do. pu.gi.lism \'pyu:-j*-.liz-*m\ \.pyu:-j*-'lis-tik\ n [L pugil boxer; akin to L pugnus fist - more at PUNGENT] : BOXING - pu.gi.lis.tic aj -------- Date: Sun Jul 21 00:52:03 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--aedile X-Bonus: Pay no attention to what the critics say; no statue has ever been erected to a critic. -Jean Sibelius ae.dile \'e--.di-l\ n [L aedilis, fr. aedes temple - more at edify] : an official in ancient Rome in charge of public works and games, police, and the grain supply 1995 Journal of Architectural Education Vol. 48, No. 4 May "Puerto Rico '98 is a countermonument, a sort of apostate aedile that violates and condemns the colonial city for its past and present crimes." -------- Date: Tue Jul 23 02:25:22 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gerrymander X-Bonus: There is an easy answer to your problem that is neat, plausible, and wrong. 1. ger.ry.man.der \.jer-e--'man-d*r, 'jer-e--. also .ger-, 'ger-\ n [Elbridge Gerry -1814 Am statesman + salamander; fr. the shape of] an election district formed during Gerry's governorship 1: the act or method of gerrymandering 2: a district or pattern of districts varying greatly in size or population as a result of gerrymandering 2. gerrymander \-d(*-)rin\ vt or ger.ry.man.der.ing 1: to divide (a territorial unit) into election districts to give one political party an electoral majority in a large number of districts while concentrating the voting strength of the opposition in as few districts as possible 2: to divide (an area) into political units to give special advantages to one group {~ a school district} 1884 Times (weekly ed.) 17 Oct. 4/1 "A question how the constituencies can be gerrymandered." -------- Date: Wed Jul 24 00:49:52 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--grangerize X-Bonus: Formula for success: Underpromise and overdeliver. -Tom Peters gran.ger.ize \'gra-n-j*-.ri-z\ vt [James Granger -1776 E biographer; fr. his method of illustrating his (XBiographical History of England (1769) : to illustrate by inserting engravings or photographs collected from other books; also : to mutilate (books) to obtain material for such illustration - gran.ger.iz.er n 1889 N.Y. Tribune 13 Jan. (Cent.), "The portraits of actors will be paged separately, with blank backs, for the benefit of grangerizers." -- This week's theme is bad-people-in-history-who-got-a-word-after-themselves. Though it might appear that it is easier to get into the dictionary via infamy than by doing benevolent deeds, the truth is quite the opposite. Hundreds of inventors, physicians, scientists, and others have found place in the dictionary as words coined after their valuable contributions. It's just that those words happen to be used in specialized domains and thus not very interesting in the context of this list. -Anu -------- Date: Thu Jul 25 00:51:09 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--machiavellian X-Bonus: Silence is the voice of complicity. Ma.chi.a.vel.lian \.mak-e--*-'vel-e--*n, -'vel-y*n\ aj 1: of or relating to Machiavelli or Machiavellianism 2: suggesting the principles of conduct laid down by Machiavelli; specif : characterized by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith - Machiavellian n 1996 WILLIAM TUOHY, Guardian, "Whatever happened to secret manoeuvring and decisions by the party that invented smoke-filled rooms and refined the Machiavellian arts of dirty politics?" -------- Date: Fri Jul 26 00:51:18 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--highbinder X-Bonus: It is in vain to hope to please all alike. Let a man stand with his face in what direction he will, he must necessarily turn his back on one half of the world. -George Dennison Prentice high.bind.er \-.bi-n-d*r\ n [the Highbinders, gang of vagabonds in New York City ab1806] 1: a professional killer operating in the Chinese quarter of an American city 2: a corrupt or scheming politician 1908 G. H. LORIMER, J. Spurlock xii. 324 "That's what I do mean-it [sc. the railroad]'s been stolen by that Bonsall bunch of highbinders." -------- Date: Sat Jul 27 00:51:15 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--guillotine X-Bonus: Cleanliness is next to clean-limbed, in the dictionary. guil.lo.tine \'gil-*-.te-n, .gil-*-', .ge--(y)*-', 'ge--(y)*-.\ n [F, fr. Joseph Guillotin -1814 F physician] 1: a machine for beheading by means of a heavy blade that slides down in vertical guides 2: an instrument that resembles a guillotine 3: closure by the imposition of a predetermined time limit on the consideration of specific sections of a bill or portions of other legislative business - guillotine vb 1893 Westm. Gaz. 30 June 2/2 "The Coercion Bill (1887) was allowed 15 days in Committee before the application of the guillotine." -------- Date: Sun Jul 28 00:51:27 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--charlatan X-Bonus: Don't wait for the last judgment. It takes place every day. -Albert Camus char.la.tan \'cha:r-l*-t*n\ \-t*-.niz-*m\ \-t*n-re-\ n [It ciarlatano, alter. of cerretano, lit., inhabitant of Cerreto, f]r. Cerreto, village in Italy : a pretender to medical knowledge : QUACK; also : FAKER, FRAUD - char.la.tan.ism n 1841 BREWSTER, Mart. Sc. II. iv. (1856) 153 "The charlatans, whether they deal in moral or in physical wonders, form a race which is never extinct." -------- Date: Mon Jul 29 03:51:24 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--espousal X-Bonus: I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people. -US Vice President J. Danforth Quayle es.pous.al \is-'pau.-z*l, -s*l\ n 1a: BETROTHAL 1b: WEDDING 1c: MARRIAGE 2: a taking up of a cause or belief as a supporter -- Ambrose Bierce, the inimitable author of Devil's Dictionary defined love as, "a temporary insanity, curable by marriage." Well, it was exactly one year ago when I tried this cure to no avail. Today is our first marriage anniversary and that explains this week's selection of words. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 30 03:52:07 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--affine X-Bonus: There are no facts, only interpretations. -Friedrich Nietzsche 1. af.fine \*-'fi-n\ n [MF affin, fr. L affinis, fr. affinis, adj.] : a relative by marriage 2. affine aj [L affinis, adj.] : of, relating to, or being a transformation that transforms straight lines into straight lines and parallel lines into parallel lines but may alter distance between points and angles between lines {~ geometry} -------- Date: Wed Jul 31 03:51:14 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--connubial X-Bonus: He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. con.nu.bi.al \k*-'n(y)u:-be--*l\ \-.n(y)u:-be--'al-*t-e-\ \-'n(y)u:-be--*-le-\ aj [L conubialis, fr. conubium, connubium marriage, fr. com-)X + nubere to marry - more at NUPTIAL : of or relating to marriage or the marriage state : CONJUGAL - con.nu.bi.al.i.ty n