A.Word.A.Day Archives
from https://wordsmith.org/awad
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Date: Fri Feb 1 00:01:06 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--suppurate
X-Bonus: Society is composed of two great classes: those who have more dinners than appetite, and those who have more appetite than dinners. -Sebastien-Roch-Nicolas de Chamfort, writer (1741-1794)
This week's theme: what does that company name mean?
suppurate (SUHP-yuh-rayt) verb intr.
To produce or secrete pus.
[From Latin suppuratus, past participle of suppurare, from sub- + pur- (pus).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"From one perspective, a certain irony attends the publication of any
good new book on American usage. It is that the people who are going to
be interested in such a book are also the people who are least going to
need it. ... The sorts of people who feel that special blend of wincing
despair and sneering superiority when they see EXPRESS LANE - 10 ITEMS
OR LESS or hear dialogue used as a verb or realize that the founders of
the Super 8 motel chain must surely have been ignorant of the meaning
of suppurate."
David Foster Wallace; Tense Present: Democracy, English, And the Wars Over
Usage; Harper's Magazine (New York); Apr 2001.
"We do not expect the son of the England football team captain to follow
him in the job or John Major's son to be Prime Minister. So why do we
exalt the law of succession in the case of kings and queens? Because
THEY want to keep it that way. They rather enjoy the ruling biz. It beats
emptying bedpans in an NHS hospital. Simple Sophie has brought this
suppurating carbuncle on the face of public life to the boil."
Paul Routledge; Why We Must Axe the Royals; The Mirror (London);
Apr 10, 2001.
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Date: Mon Feb 4 00:01:06 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--somniloquy
X-Bonus: We all have handicaps. The difference is that some of us must reveal ours, while others must conceal theirs, to be treated with mercy. -Yahia Lababidi, writer (b. 1973)
Sleep has been called temporary death, but there's so much that goes on
during that time of repose. While visiting that other world one might walk,
talk, grind teeth, and sometimes dream.
Your brain is more active while you're asleep than when watching television.
And that's even when you don't walk or talk in sleep. No wonder our
language is rife with sleep-related idioms. You can sleep in, on, out, around,
with, and over. You can lose sleep over things.
You can go without food for a while but you can't cheat on sleep. It demands
its dues. According to a report, you would be 25% less alert on the loss of
just an hour's worth of sleep.
This week's five words are all about sleep.
somniloquy (som-NIL-uh-kwee) noun
The act or habit of talking while asleep.
[From Latin somnus (sleep) + loqui (to speak).]
Read about a man whose nighttime soliloquies sold as LP albums:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dion_McGregor
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"Somniloquy can occur in all stages of sleep (both dream and nondream
sleep), though individuals awakened while talking in their sleep will
often recall dreaming. Sleep talking usually does not result in
significant problems for individuals; however, it may be embarrassing
if noted by family or friends."
Sleep Talking Usually Not Serious; The Cincinnati Post; May 4, 2004.
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Date: Tue Feb 5 00:01:07 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--diurnation
X-Bonus: The door of a bigoted mind opens outwards so that the only result of the pressure of facts upon it is to close it more snugly. -Ogden Nash, poet (1902-1971)
This week's theme: words related to sleep.
diurnation (dy-uhr-NAY-shuhn) noun
The habit of sleeping or being dormant during the day.
[From Latin diurnus (daily), from dies (day).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"Many others hide away in the daytime, an adaptation called diurnation."
Neil Champion; Deserts; Black Rabbit Books; 2007.
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Date: Wed Feb 6 00:01:06 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--soporose
X-Bonus: The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary. -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (1880-1956)
This week's theme: words related to sleep.
soporose (SOP-uh-ros) adjective
Sleepy; in an unusually deep sleep.
[From Latin sopor (a deep sleep). Ultimately from the Indo-European root swep-
(to sleep) that is also the source of insomnia, hypnosis, and somnambulate
(to walk in sleep).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"We have a world-class orchestra and a world-class young conductor in
Esa-Pekka Salonen. Let's develop a world-class audience to enjoy their
music. This can be done by making certain that difficult music is heard
at concerts before the old chestnuts lull the 'music lovers' into their
customary soporose state."
On a Dissonant Note; Los Angeles Times; Sep 18, 1999.
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Date: Thu Feb 7 00:01:05 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hypnopompic
X-Bonus: If a man would register all his opinions upon love, politics, religion, learning, etc., beginning from his youth and so go on to old age, what a bundle of inconsistencies and contradictions would appear at last! -Jonathan Swift, satirist (1667-1745)
This week's theme: words related to sleep.
hypnopompic (hip-no-POM-pik) adjective
Pertaining to the semiconscious state before waking.
[From Greek hypnos (sleep) + pompe (sending away).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"In my customarily prolonged hypnopompic condition on Saturday morning,
I became aware that there was a government 'initiative' about passports."
Bryan Appleyard; My Life As a Sock Puppet; New Statesman (London, UK);
Feb 26, 2007.
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Date: Fri Feb 8 00:01:06 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lychnobite
X-Bonus: Crown: A headgear that makes the head superfluous. -Gabriel Laub, author (1928-1998)
Upcoming talks by Anu Garg:
Feb 9: Woodinville: Journey of a Thousand Words
Feb 14: Bainbridge Island: Words of Love & Love of Words
Feb 29: Seattle: Language Myths & Hoaxes
See details at https://wordsmith.org/awad/speaking.html
This week's theme: words related to sleep.
lychnobite (LIK-nuh-byt) noun
One who works at night and sleeps during the day.
[From Greek lychnos (lamp) + bios (life).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"Before the enfeebled of the dull-eyed lychnobite of the press could
succumb to its influence, the cheerful voice of the magician awoke him."
Observer Journal (Dunkirk, New York); Nov 5, 1887.
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Date: Mon Feb 11 00:01:06 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sequela
X-Bonus: To freely bloom - that is my definition of success. -Gerry Spence, lawyer (b. 1929)
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." This complex machine has an equally bewildering
number of terms to describe its various conditions, symptoms, cures,
effects, and side-effects. This week we review five of them.
sequela (si-KWEL-uh) noun, plural sequelae (si-KWEL-ee)
A pathological condition resulting from a previous disease or injury.
[From Latin sequela (sequel).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"Lin noted that usually, patients who receive cardiovascular stent
operations have a 50 percent risk of getting coronary artery narrowing
as a sequela from the operation."
Gene Related to Curbing Cancer Found; The China Post (Taipei, Taiwan);
Jan 31, 2008.
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Date: Tue Feb 12 00:01:06 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nosology
X-Bonus: Evil is like a shadow - it has no real substance of its own, it is simply a lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to disappear by trying to fight it, stamp on it, by railing against it, or any other form of emotional or physical resistance. In order to cause a shadow to disappear, you must shine light on it. -Shakti Gawain, teacher and author (b. 1948)
This week's theme: words related to medicine.
nosology (no-SOL-uh-jee) noun
1. The branch of medical science that deals with classification of
diseases.
2. A systematic classification or list of diseases.
[From New Latin nosologia, from Greek nosos (disease) + -logy (study).]
No, you wouldn't go to a nosologist if you have nose trouble. The term
for the branch of medicine that deals with the ear, nose, and throat is
otorhinolaryngology (or otolaryngology). You have to use all three to
pronounce it.
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"Marvin's Room is so loaded up with terminal illness that it has
as much nosology as narrative: there are paralysing strokes, mental
illness, asphyxiation, leukaemia, senility and chronic back pain.
Even the doctor's receptionist is on lithium. But above all, there's
the Big C -- Crying."
Matthew Sweet; Cinema: When DJ Just Stands For Dirty Jokes;
Independent on Sunday (London, UK); Jun 22, 1997.
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Date: Wed Feb 13 00:01:06 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--idiopathy
X-Bonus: I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way. -Edgar Guest, poet (1881-1959)
This week's theme: words related to medicine.
idiopathy (id-ee-OP-uh-thee) noun
A disease of unknown origin or one having no apparent cause.
[From New Latin idiopathia (primary disease), from Greek idiopatheia,
from idios (one's own, personal) + -pathy (feeling, suffering).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"Beneath the complexity and idiopathy of every cancer lies a limited
number of 'mission critical' events that have propelled the tumour cell
and its progeny into uncontrolled expansion and invasion."
Gerald I Evan and Karen H Vousden; Proliferation, Cell Cycle And Apoptosis*
in Cancer; Nature (London, UK); May 17, 2001.
*Apoptosis is the word for a cell's death by suicide, also known as
Programmed Cell Death (PCD).
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Date: Thu Feb 14 00:01:05 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sternutation
X-Bonus: If you wish to be loved, show more of your faults than your virtues. -Edward Bulwer-Lytton, author (1803-1873)
This week's theme: words related to medicine.
sternutation (stur-nyuh-TAY-shuhn) noun
The act of sneezing or a sneeze.
[From Latin sternuere (to sneeze).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"And all three forget their sectional differences in a delightful concert
of sternutation. No business is too grave; no speaker too elegant to be
sneezed at."
Marjorie Hunter; The Days of Snuff and Such; The New York Times;
Dec 4, 1985.
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Date: Fri Feb 15 00:01:06 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nosocomial
X-Bonus: No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country. -Alexis de Tocqueville, statesman and historian (1805-1859)
This week's theme: words related to medicine.
nosocomial (nos-uh-KO-mee-uhl) adjective
Originating or acquired in hospital. Used to refer to infections.
[From Latin nosocomium (hospital), from Greek nosokomeion (one who tends
the sick).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"'All the patients that died had serious illnesses, and we don't believe
it was a nosocomial infection,' a spokesman for the Sapporo hospital
said."
Outbreak of Drug-resistant Bacteria; The Yomiuri Shimbun (Tokyo, Japan);
Feb 9, 2008.
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Date: Mon Feb 18 00:01:05 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cairn
X-Bonus: A good listener helps us overhear ourselves. -Yahia Lababidi, author (b. 1973)
The sharper the point of the needle, the more easily it goes through. The
thinner the blade of the sword, the more swiftly it cuts through. Often
the same goes for words. A short, potent word helps convey the idea in
just a few letters. This week we'll feature a few single-syllable words,
and in the spirit of this week's theme, we'll keep this paragraph short.
cairn (kairn) noun
A heap of stones set up as a landmark or a memorial.
[From Scottish Gaelic carn (pile of stones).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"Four of us were knackered* after a five-hour walk that followed little
painted cairns around rolling farmland."
Keri Welham; Put Your Best Foot Forward; The Dominion Post (Wellington,
New Zealand); Jan 16, 2008.
*knackered: exhausted (British slang)
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Date: Tue Feb 19 00:01:07 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wax
X-Bonus: A belief which leaves no place for doubt is not a belief; it is a superstition. -Jose Bergamin, author (1895-1983)
This week's theme: short words.
wax (wax) verb intr.
To increase, to grow, or to become.
[From Old English weaxan. Ultimately from the Indo-European root aug-
(increase) which is also the source of auction, authorize, inaugurate,
augment, august, auxiliary, and nickname ("a nickname" is a splitting
of the earlier "an ekename", literally, an additional name).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"The stars are out as we stand on Seven Mile Beach strapping on flippers
while Adrian waxes enthusiastic."
Carol Perehudoff; It's a Dogfish-eat-dogfish World at the bottom of the
Sea; Toronto Star (Canada); Feb 16, 2008.
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Date: Wed Feb 20 00:01:07 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--weald
X-Bonus: Writing the last page of the first draft is the most enjoyable moment in writing. It's one of the most enjoyable moments in life, period. -Nicholas Sparks, author (1965- )
This week's theme: short words.
weald (weeld) noun
A woodland.
[From Old English weald (forest).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"I loved the weald and the buzzards circling in the sky."
Philippa Gregory; The Other Boleyn Girl; Touchstone; 2003.
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Date: Thu Feb 21 00:01:05 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--echt
X-Bonus: No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be. -Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (1920-1992)
This week's theme: short words.
echt (ekht) adjective
Authentic; typical.
[From German echt (genuine, typical).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"Costume and prop man Pete Rush has provided echt polyester '70s garb
for Miles and weathered denim for the farmers."
Barbara Adams; Farm Life Not So Simple in Stellar 'Drawer Boy';
The Ithaca Journal (New York); Oct 28, 2004.
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Date: Fri Feb 22 00:01:06 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lea
X-Bonus: Every man feels instinctively that all the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action. -James Russell Lowell, poet, editor, and diplomat (1819-1891)
This week's theme: short words.
lea (lee, lay) noun
A grassland.
[From Old English leah (meadow). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leuk-
(light) that has resulted in other words such as lunar, lunatic, light,
lightning, lucid, illuminate, illustrate, translucent, lux, and lynx.]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea."
Thomas Gray; Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.
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Date: Mon Feb 25 00:01:06 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Buckley's chance
X-Bonus: Who breaks the thread, the one who pulls, the one who holds on? -James Richardson, poet, professor (b. 1950)
Last year we featured a week of terms in the pattern "x's y", for example
"busman's holiday" (a vacation spent doing things as at work) or "widow's
peak" (a v-shaped hairline at the top of the forehead). Terms that answer
the question "Whose what?" generate a huge response from readers. Perhaps
that's because each of those phrases has a story behind it.
Last month we featured a week of such terms coined after animals, such
as a dog's letter (the letter R) and a mare's nest (a confused mass;
a hoax). This week we'll discuss terms named after specific persons.
Buckley's chance (BUK-leez chans) noun
No chance at all (or only a very slim chance).
Also called "Buckley's and none" or "Buckley's hope".
[The origin of the term isn't certain but the most popular story pins it
to William Buckley (1780-1856), a British convict transported to Australia.
There, he escaped and found refuge among the Aborigines for more than three
decades. When he was rediscovered he had forgotten how to speak English.
Since survival in the outback was difficult it was said that anyone lost
there had Buckley's chance of making it.
Another possibility is a pun on the Melbourne department store Buckley and Nunn,
i.e. one has two chances: Buckley's and none (both of which are 'no chance').]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"First of all, understand that Kookaburra III has Buckley's chance of
beating Stars & Stripes."
Barry Lorge; It's the Same Language, Almost; The San Diego Union-Tribune;
Feb 2, 1987.
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Date: Tue Feb 26 00:01:06 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Pandora's box
X-Bonus: In the youth of a state arms do flourish; in the middle age of a state, learning; and then both of them together for a time; in the declining age of a state, mechanical arts and merchandise. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626)
This week's theme: Whose what?
Pandora's Box (pan-DOR-uhz boks) noun
A source of many unforeseen troubles.
[In Greek mythology Pandora received a "gift" of a jar which she was told
never to open. Her curiosity got the better of her. She opened the lid,
and out came its contents: all the evils of human life.]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"Many midwives avoid asking difficult questions, says Stanley, 'because
they know that if they open the Pandora's box, they simply will not have
the resources to offer the support that the woman will need.'"
Lucy Atkins; I Felt Completely Out of Control; The Guardian (London, UK);
Jan 29, 2008.
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Date: Wed Feb 27 00:01:06 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Job's comforter
X-Bonus: Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right. -Martin Luther King, Jr.
This week's theme: Whose what?
Job's comforter (johbz KUM-fuhr-tuhr) noun
A person who tries to console or help someone and not only fails but ends
up making the other feel worse.
[Originally there was not just one, but three Job's comforters. In the
Biblical story these people tried to console Job, an upright person, that
his troubles must be divine retribution for his sins.
There are Job's comforters in current times as well: soon after any disaster
these TV preachers are ready to explain how the afflicted had offended gods
and brought it upon themselves.]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"Parting with my son William this past June was difficult. He was going
abroad to study language for two semesters.
'I don't know why I feel so sad,' I told my husband. 'I just feel as if
he is going to the other side of the world.'
'He is,' said my husband in his role as Job's comforter. 'That's where
China is.'"
Julia McCue; Full of Great People ; Portland Press Herald (Maine);
Feb 13, 2005.
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Date: Thu Feb 28 00:01:05 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Buggin's turn
X-Bonus: Eminent posts make great men greater, and little men less. -Jean de la Bruyere, essayist and moralist (1645-1696)
This week's theme: Whose what?
Buggin's turn (BUG-inz turn) noun
Assignment to a position based on seniority or rotation, instead of merit.
Also Buggins's turn.
[The identity of this original Buggin(s) fellow is, unfortunately, lost in
the mist of history.]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"In the [Jamaica Constabulary Force], the law of Buggin's turn is firmly
entrenched. Quality is secondary to seniority and cronyism."
John Maxwell; Justice Not Blind, But Dumb; Jamaica Observer
(Kingston, Jamaica); Jan 8, 2006.
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Date: Fri Feb 29 00:01:05 EST 2008
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Pele's hair
X-Bonus: A child's education should begin at least one hundred years before he is born. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., poet, novelist, essayist, and physician (1809-1894)
This week's theme: Whose what?
Pele's hair (PAY-layz hair) noun
Thin strands of volcanic glass, formed when lava is thrown into
the air by the explosion of a volcano.
[After Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes.]
A picture of Pele's hair:
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Imgs/Jpg/Tephra/30410914_030_caption.html
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"'Look, Pele's hair,' he said. A long glassy filament of lava lay on his
palm."
Anne Chalfant; Blown Away; Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, California);
Jan 1, 2007.