A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Fri Aug 1 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pabulum X-Bonus: Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed. -Herman Melville, novelist and poet (1819-1891) This week's theme: Words that have changed with time pabulum (PAB-yuh-luhm) noun: Bland intellectual fare: insipid or simplistic ideas, entertainment, writing, etc. [From Latin pabulum (food, fuel, fodder), from pascere (to feed). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pa- (to protect or feed), which also gave us food, foster, fodder, forage, pasture, pantry, and companion. Earliest documented use: 1661.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/pabulum NOTES: Originally pabulum was something that nourished. During the 1920s, three Canadian pediatricians developed a bland, soft infant formula http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablum that was later marketed under the brand name Pablum and eventually the words pabulum/pablum came to refer to things simplistic or banal. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pabulum.jpg "'This is not art,' I said. 'This is casual diversion, pabulum for the merchant class.'" Haim Watzman; Interzmezzo; The Jerusalem Report (Israel); Dec 19, 2011. -------- Date: Mon Aug 4 00:01:04 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stalagmite X-Bonus: Our sincerest laughter With some pain is fraught; Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought. -Percy Bysshe Shelley, poet (1792-1822) While the main job of usage examples included with words is to help illustrate the words, sometimes they go beyond that. This week's usage examples may use a good turn of phrase. Great writing evokes images. It paints pictures. Instead of describing stacks of paper on the floor, it evokes paper stalagmites. Or it may be an unusual take on everyday things. It may be a curious state of affairs. Well, you'll just have to read the examples. This week we'll feature five words with usage examples that might make you say: I subscribe to A.Word.A.Day just for the usage examples. stalagmite (stuh-LAG-myt, STAL-uhg-myt) noun A conical column on the floor of a cave, formed by minerals in dripping water. [From Greek stalaktos (dripping), from stalassein (to drip). Earliest documented use: 1681.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/stalagmite NOTES: A similar tapering structure hanging from the roof of a cave is called a stalactite. It's easy to remember which is which. Ground: stalaGmite; Ceiling: stalaCtite. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/stalagmite_large.jpg Photo: Valter Venturelli https://www.flickr.com/photos/valter_venturelli/11805944603/ "Chuck Davis worked from a home office through which passage was made treacherous by paper stalagmites of uncertain stability." Tom Hawthorn; 'Mr. Vancouver' Loved a Good Fact; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Nov 22, 2010. -------- Date: Tue Aug 5 00:01:05 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stroppy X-Bonus: Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched. -Guy de Maupassant, short story writer and novelist (1850-1893) This week's theme: Interesting usage examples stroppy (STROP-ee) adjective Bad-tempered, belligerent, or touchy. [Possibly from shortening of obstreperous https://wordsmith.org/words/obstreperous.html . Earliest documented use: 1951.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/stroppy "Stroppy Alex Karpenko has told cosmetics giants to shove their big bills for fancy razors -- after teaching himself to shave with a spade." Ace Of Shaves; Austrian Times; Sep 30, 2011. http://austriantimes.at/news/Around_the_World/2011-09-30/36604/Ace_Of_Shaves_ strop https://wordsmith.org/words/strop.html -------- Date: Wed Aug 6 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pettifogger X-Bonus: You can't do anything with anybody's body to make it dirty to me. Six people, eight people, one person -- you can do only one thing to make it dirty: kill it. Hiroshima was dirty. -Lenny Bruce, comedian and social critic (1925-1966) This week's theme: Interesting usage examples pettifogger (PET-ee-fog-uhr) noun 1. A petty, unscrupulous lawyer. 2. One who quibbles over trivial matters. [From petty (small) + fogger, perhaps after Fuggers, a Bavarian family of merchants in the 15th and 16th centuries. Earliest documented use: 1564.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/pettifogger "Many banks [in Pakistan] refuse to give lawyers loans, and landlords won't rent them property, fearful that the pettifoggers will find loopholes to worm out of making payments." Richard Leiby; In Pakistani City, Lawyers Go from Heroes to 'Gangsters'; The Washington Post; Nov 12, 2012. -------- Date: Thu Aug 7 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Philadelphia lawyer X-Bonus: No amount of belief makes something a fact. -James Randi, magician and skeptic (b. 1928) This week's theme: Interesting usage examples Philadelphia lawyer (fil-uh-DEL-fee-uh LOI-yuhr) noun A shrewd lawyer, one who is adept at exploiting legal technicalities. [The term is said to have been inspired by Philadelphia-based Andrew Hamilton's successful defense of the New York printer John Peter Zenger from libel charges. This decision helped establish the idea that truth is a defense in a libel accusation and affirmed the freedom of the press in America. Though the incident took place in 1735, the earliest documented use unearthed so far is from 1788.] Andrew Hamilton's grave marker https://wordsmith.org/words/images/philadelphia_lawyer_large.jpg Photo: Art Moore http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=30971014&PIpi=13690133 "Then Willie Lee nailed me those many years ago. With a woman's way she said to Bob, 'Bob, this man's been here three days and he's complimented my cooking more than you have in thirty years of marriage.' "A death pall lay over the burdened table. Willie Lee had pierced both of us with two horns of the same bull. I gulped and floundered -- helpless to assist my wounded friend -- but Bob never missed a spoonful as he said, 'I've been too busy eatin'.' "No Philadelphia lawyer ever saved (himself and) the condemned with so few words, so coolly and ably stated. I was in Bob's debt and learned that moment to keep my compliments to a peck and not a bushel." Bill Tarrant; Hunting the Russian Boar; Field & Stream (Los Angeles); Apr 1998. -------- Date: Fri Aug 8 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bailiwick X-Bonus: Pick a flower on earth and you move the farthest star. -Paul Dirac, theoretical physicist (1902-1984) This week's theme: Interesting usage examples bailiwick (BAY-luh-wik, -lee-) noun A person's area of expertise or interest. [From Middle English bailliwik, from bailie (bailiff), from bail (custody), from Latin baiulare (to serve as porter) + Middle English wick (dairy farm or village), from Old English wic (house or village), from Latin vicus (neighborhood). Ultimately from the Indo-European root weik- (clan), which is also the forebear of vicinity, village, villa, and villain (originally, a villain was a farm servant, one who lived in a villa or a country house), ecumenical https://wordsmith.org/words/ecumenical.html , and ecesis https://wordsmith.org/words/ecesis.html . Earliest documented use: 1460.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bailiwick "Ms. Sarah Palin took the extraordinary step Tuesday of filing an ethics complaint against herself, making the matter fall within the bailiwick of the personnel board. Her lawyer Mr. Van Flein then asked the Legislature to drop its inquiry." Peter S. Goodman and Michael Moss; Alaska Lawmakers to Seek Subpoenas in Palin Inquiry; The New York Times; Sep 6, 2008. -------- Date: Mon Aug 11 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--inveigle X-Bonus: The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself. -Robert Green Ingersoll, lawyer and orator (1833-1899) The human body has been described as the most complex machine around. No wonder Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, said, "The life so short, the craft so long to learn." The parts of this machine have become such a part of the language that we use them without even realizing it. This week we'll review five body parts (eye, hand, head, heel, and throat) that are embedded in our language in the form of verbs. inveigle (in-VAY-guhl, -VEE-) verb tr. To get something or to persuade someone to do something by deception or flattery. [From Old French aveugle (blind), from Latin ab- (away from) + oculus (eye). Earliest documented use: 1513.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/inveigle "The Internet has changed the way new late-night hosts inveigle their ways into the hearts of fans." Bill Carter; Familiar Night Bird Reclaims a Perch; The New York Times; Sep 9, 2013. -------- Date: Tue Aug 12 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--emancipate X-Bonus: It has always seemed strange to me that in our endless discussions about education so little stress is laid on the pleasure of becoming an educated person, the enormous interest it adds to life. To be able to be caught up into the world of thought -- that is to be educated. -Edith Hamilton, educator and writer (1867-1963) This week's theme: Verbs derived from body parts emancipate (i-MAN-suh-payt) verb tr. To set free. [From Latin emancipare (to set free), from ex- (out) + mancipium (slave), from manus (hand) + capere (to take). Earliest documented use: 1605.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/emancipate "But the larger picture is to urgently emancipate women from the clutches of poor self-esteem. The more they are encouraged to view violence against them as unacceptable, the more they can contribute to ending this social scourge." Violence Against Women Posts Disturbing Numbers; Gulf News (Dubai); May 20, 2014. -------- Date: Wed Aug 13 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--capitulate X-Bonus: Drama is life with the dull bits cut out. -Alfred Hitchcock, film-maker (1899-1980) This week's theme: Verbs derived from body parts capitulate (kuh-PICH-uh-layt) verb intr. To cease resisting; surrender. [From Latin capitulare (to draw up under headings [the articles of agreement]), from capitulum (little head, chapter), from caput (head). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kaput- (head), also the origin of head, captain, chef, chapter, cadet, cattle, chattel, achieve, biceps, mischief, and occiput https://wordsmith.org/words/occiput.html , (but not of kaput). Earliest documented use: 1537.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/capitulate https://wordsmith.org/words/images/capitulate_large.jpg "I'll do whatever you want... please just don't tickle my belly!" Source: http://kizzmekitty.wordpress.com/photos-other-cats/funny-cats-005/ "Hard fighting continued for two months, until the Poles were forced finally to capitulate on 2 October 1944." Richard Evans; Bloodbath Before Dawn; New Statesman (London, UK); Oct 18, 2013. -------- Date: Thu Aug 14 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--inculcate X-Bonus: The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy. -John Galsworthy, author, Nobelist (1867-1933) This week's theme: Verbs derived from body parts inculcate (in-KUHL-kayt, IN-kuhl-) verb tr. To instill something into the mind of a person by repetition. [From Latin inculcare (to tread on), from in- (in) + calcare (to tread), from calx (heel). Earliest documented use: 1559.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/inculcate "Hong Leong Foundation also hopes to inculcate an appreciation of the arts within the group and its employees." Long Service Awards; The Business Times (Singapore); Jul 17, 2014. -------- Date: Fri Aug 15 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ruminate X-Bonus: The willow which bends to the tempest, often escapes better than the oak which resists it; and so in great calamities, it sometimes happens that light and frivolous spirits recover their elasticity and presence of mind sooner than those of a loftier character. -Walter Scott, novelist and poet (1771-1832) This week's theme: Verbs derived from body parts ruminate (ROO-mi-nayt) verb tr., intr. 1. To think deeply upon. 2. To chew the cud. [From Latin ruminare (to chew the cud), from rumen (throat). Earliest documented use: 1533.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ruminate A ruminating giraffe: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bugeyed_g/3645489497/ Video, 1 min., by G Vargas "It's like having little wormholes to slip into and ruminate humanity before being slapped out by the sharp turns of the plot." Human/Being; Tehelka (New Delhi, India); Jun 18, 2012. -------- Date: Mon Aug 18 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--presentiment X-Bonus: The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible. -Vladimir Nabokov, novelist (1899-1977) Why do you like to learn new words? For some, it's the joy of discovering new and unusual specimens in the language and the stories behind them. For others, it's to improve their vocabulary, whether for college or work. Sometimes readers write to say, "I'll never have a chance to use these words!" You will. As you can see from the usage examples taken from newspapers, magazines, and books, words featured in AWAD are not from a museum. They're words that are still used though not often. Still, we take the point. What some are looking for are more practical words; words that can be used in an office memo or in a term paper; words they are more likely to come across in a trade report or college exam. This week we'll offer you five such practical words. Go ahead, employ them, put them into practice. presentiment (pri-ZEN-tuh-ment) noun A sense that something is going to happen, especially something bad. [From French pressentiment (premonition), from pressentir (to have a premonition), from Latin pre- (before) + sentire (to feel). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sent- (to head for or to go), that is also the source for send, scent, sense, sentence, assent, consent, and ressentiment https://wordsmith.org/words/ressentiment.html . Earliest documented use: 1663.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/presentiment "That the reader has a presentiment of what will happen doesn't necessarily impoverish its affecting mystery." Ten White Geese; The New Yorker; Mar 11, 2013. -------- Date: Tue Aug 19 00:01:51 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fungible X-Bonus: There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to have either a clear conscience or none at all. -Ogden Nash, poet (1902-1971) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words fungible (FUHN-juh-buhl) adjective Interchangeable. [From Latin fungi (to perform in place). Earliest documented use: 1765.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/fungible NOTES: When you lend someone a dollar bill, you don't care if he returns the same bill or a different one because money is fungible. Same with things such as gold, a cup of sugar, etc. However, if you lend someone your cell phone, you wouldn't be pleased if he returned a different phone even if it's exactly the same model. That would be an example of something nonfungible. "Forbidden to own land for most of our two millennia of exile, we gradually became experts in accumulating capital, which is portable, easily inheritable, fungible, and expandable." Ellen Frankel; Taking Stock; The Jerusalem Report (Israel); May 19, 2014. -------- Date: Wed Aug 20 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--plangent X-Bonus: Creative minds are uneven, and the best of fabrics have their dull spots. -HP Lovecraft, short-story writer and novelist (1890-1937) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words plangent (PLAN-juhnt) adjective 1. Loud and resounding. 2. Sad or mournful. [From Latin plangere (to beat the br- east, lament). Ultimately from the Indo-European root plak- (to strike), which also gave us plague, plankton, fling, and complain. Earliest documented use: 1666.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/plangent "When the two horns answered each other's plangent calls from opposite sides of the vast auditorium the effect was electrifying." A Majestic Canon; The Economist (London, UK); Sep 4, 2003. "Enthrallingly told, beautifully written, and so emotionally plangent that some passages bring tears." Amanda Vaill; A Luminous Novel of Children in War ("All the Light We Cannot See"); The Washington Post; May 6, 2014. -------- Date: Thu Aug 21 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--deportment X-Bonus: Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day. -AA Milne author (1882-1956) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words deportment (di-PORT-ment) noun The manner in which one conducts oneself in public. [From French déportement, from Latin deportare, from de- (away) + portare (carry). Ultimately from the Indo-European root per- (to lead, pass over), which also gave us support, comport, petroleum, sport, passport, colporteur (a peddler of religious books) https://wordsmith.org/words/colporteur.html , rapporteur https://wordsmith.org/words/rapporteur.html , Norwegian fjord https://wordsmith.org/words/fjord.html (bay), and Sanskrit parvat (mountain). Earliest documented use: 1601.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/deportment "To etiquette expert Judi James, Kate's deportment contrasts pleasingly with other royals' fidgety stiffness." Charlie Gillis; Queen Making; Maclean's (Toronto, Canada); May 2, 2011. -------- Date: Fri Aug 22 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--puissance X-Bonus: The television, that insidious beast, that Medusa which freezes a billion people to stone every night, staring fixedly, that Siren which called and sang and promised so much and gave, after all, so little. -Ray Bradbury, science-fiction writer (1920-2012) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words puissance (PWIS-uhns, PYOO-i-suhns) noun Power or strength. [From Old French puissance (power), from Latin posse (to be able). Ultimately from the Indo-European root poti- (powerful, lord) which also gave us possess, power, possible, posse, potent, plenipotentiary https://wordsmith.org/words/plenipotentiary.html , Italian podesta, and Turkish pasha (via Persian). Earliest documented use: 1420.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/puissance "If a recent negotiated deal between Washington and Tehran reaches fruition, Turkey will achieve its goal of limiting Kurdish puissance without firing a shot." Linda S. Heard; Kurdish Rebel Action Tests Turkey-US Ties; Gulf News (Dubai); Jun 5, 2007. -------- Date: Mon Aug 25 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--recapitulate X-Bonus: Bullets cannot be recalled. They cannot be uninvented. But they can be taken out of the gun. -Martin Amis, novelist (b. 1949) "Include" is the opposite of "exclude", but "intend" is not the opposite of "extend". "Delist" is the opposite of "list", but "devote" is not the opposite of "vote". To "redo" something is to "do" it again, but "recapitulate" is not to "capitulate" https://wordsmith.org/words/capitulate.html again. Dissecting a word into its parts usually helps us figure it out, but at times this rule of thumb points us in the wrong direction. This week we'll look at other words with meanings that can't always deduced from their looks. We'll discuss such words, but we'll neither dis https://wordsmith.org/words/dis.html them, nor cuss them. recapitulate (ree-kuh-PICH-uh-layt) verb tr., intr. To recap or to repeat. [From Latin recapitulare (to sum up), re- (again) + capitulare (to draw up under headings), from capitulum (little head, chapter), from caput (head). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kaput- (head), also the origin of head, captain, chef, chapter, cadet, cattle, chattel, achieve, biceps, mischief, and occiput https://wordsmith.org/words/occiput.html . Earliest documented use: 1551.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/recapitulate "The discovery of the Higgs particle is an astonishing triumph of mathematics' power to reveal the workings of the universe. It's a story that's been recapitulated in physics numerous times, but each new example thrills just the same." Brian Greene; Mind Over Matter; Smithsonian (Washington, DC); Jul/Aug 2013. -------- Date: Tue Aug 26 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--degust X-Bonus: No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots. -Barbara Ehrenreich, journalist and author (b. 1941) This week's theme: Words that can't be analyzed easily degust (di-GUHST) verb tr. To taste or savor appreciatively. [From Latin degustare (to taste), from de- (completely) + gustare (to taste). Ultimately from the Indo-European root geus- (to taste or choose), which also gave us choice, choose, gusto, ragout, and disgust. Earliest documented use: 1623.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/degust "Within a decade, the first insects [beetles] crossed the western border of the Soviet Union to degust Ukrainian and Belarusan potatoes." Laura Williams; The Bug That Brought Russia to its Knees; Russian Life (Montpelier, Vermont); Jul/Aug 2007. -------- Date: Wed Aug 27 00:01:04 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--reprove X-Bonus: Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion. -Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, philosopher (1770-1831) This week's theme: Words that can't be analyzed easily reprove (ri-PROOV) verb tr. To reprimand or censure. [From Latin reprobare (to disapprove), from re- (opposite) + probare (to approve), from probus (good). Earliest documented use: 1330.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/reprove "The coroner then reproved them for their 'un-Englishman-like conduct'." Sandra Hempel; John St John Long; The Lancet (London, UK); May 3, 2014. -------- Date: Thu Aug 28 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--prorogue X-Bonus: For many years, I thought a poem was a whisper overheard, not an aria heard. -Rita Dove, poet (b. 1952) This week's theme: Words that can't be analyzed easily prorogue (pro-ROHG) verb tr. 1. To discontinue a session of something, for example, a parliament. 2. To defer or to postpone. [From French proroger (to adjourn), from Latin prorogare (to prolong or defer), from pro- (before) + rogare (to ask). Ultimately from the Indo-European root reg- (to move in a straight line, to lead or rule), which is also the source of regime, direct, rectangle, erect, rectum, alert, source, and surge. Earliest documented use: 1419.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/prorogue "This sitting will be the last one before Parliament is prorogued." Lee U-Wen; Cost of Catching Sports on TV a Hot House Topic; The Business Times (Singapore); Apr 12, 2014. -------- Date: Fri Aug 29 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--repose X-Bonus: The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts. -John Locke, philosopher (1632-1704) This week's theme: Words that can't be analyzed easily repose (ri-POHZ) noun: 1. A state of rest. 2. Calmness. verb tr. To lay at rest. verb intr. 1. To lie down. 2. To lie dead. [From Latin repausare (to cause to rest), from re- (intensive prefix) + pausare (to rest), from pausa (rest). Earliest documented use: 1450.] verb tr.: 1. To place confidence in someone or something. 2. To put something somewhere. [From Latin reponere (to store up), from ponere (to put). Ultimately from the Indo-European root apo- (off or away) that is also the source of after, off, awkward, post, and puny. Earliest documented use: 1440.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/repose "Matisse wanted 'anyone tired, worn down, driven to the limits of endurance, to find calm and repose' in his art. In this he certainly succeeded." Carving into Colour; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 12, 2014.