A.Word.A.Day Archives
from https://wordsmith.org/awad
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Date: Wed Feb 1 00:01:03 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dingbat
X-Bonus: When you turn the corner / And you run into yourself / Then you know that you have turned / All the corners that are left. -Langston Hughes, poet and novelist (1 Feb 1902-1967)
This week's theme: Words with multiple meanings
dingbat (DING-bat)
noun: 1. An eccentric or crazy person.
2. An ornamental typographical symbol, such as ✲, ❏, ☛, ♥.
3. An object, such as a brick, used as a missile.
4. A gadget or an object whose name is unknown or forgotten. Aka, thingamajig, gizmo, etc.
5. A two- to three-story boxy apartment building with parking spaces directly under it.
adjective: Eccentric or crazy.
[Origin unknown. Earliest documented use: 1838.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dingbat
Dingbat (building) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/dingbat_building_large.jpg
Image: Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingbat_%28building%29
Dingbat (characters) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/dingbat_characters_large.jpg
Image: Google https://fonts.google.com/knowledge/glossary/dingbat
"In Arizona, for example, Mr McCain faces a tough primary battle against
a dingbat [J.D. Hayworth] who frets about man-on-horse nuptials."
United States: The Anti-Crist; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 3, 2010.
"When something blows, you don't muck around trying to find one transistor
or whatever the little dingbat is."
Poul Anderson; Tales of the Flying Mountains; Collier; 1971.
"'It wasn't an awareness of its seismic vulnerability that stopped the
expansion of dingbats. It was more to do with the price of land,' Hess
said."
Rosanna Xia & Jon Schleuss; Many Buildings Likely Need Quake Retrofit;
Los Angeles Times; Apr 16, 2016.
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Date: Thu Feb 2 00:01:03 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--decollate
X-Bonus: Mistakes are the portals of discovery. -James Joyce, novelist (2 Feb 1882-1941)
This week's theme: Words with multiple meanings
decollate (dee-KAH-layt) verb tr.
To behead.
[From Latin decollare, from de- (from) + collum (neck). Earliest
documented use: 1599.]
decollate (DEK-uh-layt) verb tr.
To separate sheets of paper, from a multiple-copy printout, for example.
[From de- (from) + collate (to gather, merge, etc.), from conferre
(to bring together). Earliest documented use: 1967.]
NOTES: Sometimes the word decollate is used as an alternate spelling for
the decollete (which is a short for decolletage: a low neckline on a
woman's dress) https://wordsmith.org/words/decolletage.html . If your
name is Chasity https://amazon.com/stores/author/B008TCYXA4/allbooks
and you're writing a romance novel ("The Other Wife"), any spelling is
fine. But when you need to refer to a low neckline in a formal context
-- an office memo, a research paper, a court brief, a patent application,
etc. -- it's best to go with decollete.
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/decollate
"The Decollation of Saint John the Baptist" (1520) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/decollate_large.jpg
Artist unknown. Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Austrian_(Tyrolean)_School_-_The_Decollation_of_Saint_John_the_Baptist_-_PD.28-1988_-_Fitzwilliam_Museum.jpg
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/decollate_paper.jpg
Image: Amazon https://amazon.com/dp/B00ZANCRUS/ws00-20
"But supple loops of the Grene's tail whipped around the neck of the
silver behemoth as if to decollate."
R. Dennis Baird; Talon of Light; AuthorHouse; 2004.
"These printouts were then manually decollated, bursted, sorted,
folded, and inserted into envelopes."
Subashini Selvaratnam; Boosting Operational Efficiency; New Straits
Times (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); Sep 26, 2005.
"The decollate was quite revealing but not unseemly. I didn't do it
for him. Even telling herself that, it rang false."
Chasity Bowlin; The Other Wife; Amazon; 2021.
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Date: Fri Feb 3 00:01:02 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lave
X-Bonus: Everybody knows if you are too careful you are so occupied in being careful that you are sure to stumble over something. -Gertrude Stein, novelist, poet, and playwright (3 Feb 1874-1946)
This week's theme: Words with multiple meanings
lave (layv)
noun: Residue or remainder.
[From Old English laf (remainder). Earliest documented use: 971.]
verb tr.: 1. To wash or bathe.
2. To flow.
3. To pour.
[From Old English lafian (to pour or wash), from Latin lavare (to wash).
Ultimately from the Indo-European root leue- (to wash), which also gave
us lavatory, launder, lotion, lye, and lavish. Earliest documented use:
450.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/lave
"She took nearly a quarter of the butter home with her, and ate most
of it, and gave the lave to her cat."
Colin MacKay; The Song of the Forest; Canongate; 1986.
"The ocean laves his feet."
Anthony Lane; Heat of the Action; The New Yorker; Feb 7, 2022.
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Date: Mon Feb 6 00:01:04 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--armipotent
X-Bonus: A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist. -Louis Nizer, lawyer (6 Feb 1902-1994)
A hippie has just as much to do with hips as the earth has to do with
ears. The resemblance is superficial. That's language for you. Don't
look for a chin in chintz https://wordsmith.org/words/chintz.html or
a nose in nostrums either.
This week we have put together a body of words in which you might find
an arm and a leg, a lip and a nose, even a rib, but they are not connected.
Not connected to the body. Not connected in the sense they have anything
to do with the body, rather they have distinctly different origins.
armipotent (ahr-MIP-uh-tuhnt) adjective
Strong in war, battle, contest, etc.
[From Latin arma (arms) + potent (powerful). Earliest documented
use: 1405.]
"The ever-looming contest she engaged in every hour of the day placed
her clearly in the path of ... some force much larger than McCutcheon
and more armipotent than an indirect application of any given sermon."
C. Coolidge Wilson; A Box of Crosses; Wipf and Stock; 2018.
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Date: Tue Feb 7 00:01:03 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--legation
X-Bonus: I have known a vast quantity of nonsense talked about bad men not looking you in the face. Don't trust that conventional idea. Dishonesty will stare honesty out of countenance, any day in the week, if there is anything to be got by it. -Charles Dickens, novelist (7 Feb 1812-1870)
This week's theme: Misleading words
legation (li-GAY-shuhn) noun
1. A diplomatic mission ranking below an embassy.
2. The premises of such a mission.
3. The diplomat and staff of such a mission.
[From Latin legare (to depute). Earliest documented use: 1425.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/legation
"The opening of a papal legation [in Saudi Arabia] and construction of
a church, predicts a royal adviser, are only a matter of time."
Hosannahs in the Sand?; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 4, 2018.
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Date: Wed Feb 8 00:01:03 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lipography
X-Bonus: I believe that the first test of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of his own powers. But really great men have a curious feeling that the greatness is not in them, but through them. And they see something divine in every other man and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful. -John Ruskin, author, art critic, and social reformer (8 Feb 1819-1900)
This week's theme: Misleading words
lipography (li-POG-ruh-fee, ly-) noun
The omission of a letter or syllable in writing.
[From Greek lipo- (lacking) + -graphy (writing). Earliest documented use:
1888.]
NOTES: In spite of what it sounds like, lipography is not writing with
lips. Instead, it's the omission, inadvertent or on purpose, of a letter
or syllable in writing.
Imagine you've just started your great epic novel and one of the keys on
your keyboard is broken. It would be trivial to manage without a Q, X,
or Z, but writing without a single E -- that'd be some challenge. If it
sounds undoable, consider that whole books have been written without
an E, the most used letter in the English language. Without an E, one has
to give up some of the most common pronouns such as he, she, we, me, and
so on. What's more, even the article "the" is barred.
Coming back to books written without Es (not something one can do with
ease), Ernest Vincent Wright's 1939 novel "Gadsby" is written without
https://amazon.com/dp/1530934575/ws00-20
the second vowel. One of the best known E-less works is Georges Perec's
lipogrammatic French novel, "La Disparition" (The Disappearance). Its
https://amazon.com/dp/2207280470/ws00-20
plot is full of wordplay, puzzles, and other word fun. For example, a
character is missing eggs, or is unable to remember his name because it
needs E in the spelling.
Though it may be hard to believe considering the restriction under
which it is written, the novel is said to be quite engrossing. Apparently,
many reviewers were not even aware that a special constraint was used in
writing it. After writing the novel, Perec faced a protest from the A, I,
O, and U keys on his keyboard that they had to do all the work and E was
leading an e'sy life. Perec had no choice but to write a short work
called Les Revenentes, where he put to work all those idle Es: the only
vowel used was E.
If that doesn't sound incredible enough, here is more. "La Disparition" has
been translated into English as "A Void" by Gilbert Adair. Of course, the
https://amazon.com/dp/B00J1FQNH4/ws00-20
translation also doesn't have any E in it. And A Void's protagonist is named
Anton Vowl.
Here's a way to try lipography: write numbers from zero, one, two,...
onwards. You wouldn't need the letter A until reaching thousand. As for
the literary merit of that composition, I'm not very certain.
"It fell upon these saints of adultery, Robert Barker and Martin Lucas,
to accomplish by art, or by the error that is art, a masterpiece of
lipography. For the omission of the word 'not' from Exodus XX:14 --
'Thou shalt commit adultery' -- they received a fine of £300 and
then, it seems, they were lost in history."
Cliff Fell; The Adulterer's Bible: Poems; Victoria University Press; 2003.
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Date: Thu Feb 9 00:01:04 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ribald
X-Bonus: I find it difficult to feel responsible for the suffering of others. That's why I find war so hard to bear. It's the same with animals: I feel the less harm I do, the lighter my heart. I love a light heart. And when I know I'm causing suffering, I feel the heaviness of it. It's a physical pain. So it's self-interest that I don't want to cause harm. -Alice Walker, author (b. 9 Feb 1944)
This week's theme: Misleading words
ribald (RI-buhld, RAI-bald)
adjective: Relating to coarse humor of sexual nature.
noun: A person who uses such language or humor.
[From Anglo-French, from Old French riber (to be wanton), from riban
(to be in heat or to copulate). Earliest documented use: 1250.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ribald
"Time had not dimmed Mrs. Sapia's ribald sense of humor and joie de vivre.
'At Brightview, she had a sign on her door that said, Hot Men Only
Allowed Here,' Ms. Fowler said, with a laugh. When she fell in a parking
lot and they were waiting for the paramedics, her son Ralph asked his
mother, 'What's going on, Mom?' She answered, 'I wanted to see if those
firefighters are really hot.'"
Frederick N. Rasmussen; Anna E. 'Betty' Sapia, Ocean City Restaurateur;
The Baltimore Sun (Maryland); Sep 28, 2022.
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Date: Fri Feb 10 00:01:02 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nosography
X-Bonus: I see too plainly custom forms us all. Our thoughts, our morals, our most fixed belief, are consequences of our place of birth. -Aaron Hill, dramatist and writer (10 Feb 1685-1750)
This week's theme: Misleading words
nosography (no-SOG-ruh-fee) noun
The systematic description of diseases.
[From Greek noso- (disease) + -graphy (writing). Earliest documented
use: 1654.]
"The author's predilection for clinical notation accentuates the case
history aspect of the novel: At the thought of an impending visit to
her father, Lisa 'felt a burning in her bladder and an uneasiness in
her stomach. Her kidneys constricted at the base of her back.' This
nosography intrudes rather unpleasantly on the ordinary
stream-of-consciousness-plus-recollection style of narrative technique."
Sally Poivoir; The Abuse of Little Lisa; Houston Chronicle (Texas);
Sep 9, 1990.
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Date: Mon Feb 13 00:01:03 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--aeneous
X-Bonus: The crucial disadvantage of aggression, competitiveness, and skepticism as national characteristics is that these qualities cannot be turned off at five o'clock. -Margaret Halsey, novelist (13 Feb 1910-1997)
Fingernails are tiny canvases and they deserve to be painted like works of art.
You'd think that nail polishes came in red, green, blue, etc., and you'd
be wrong.
These days, the nail polish names themselves are colorful. Often there's
no connection between the whimsical name and the actual shade. How many
of these colors can you guess? (Try to guess the color before clicking on a link.)
Taupe-Less Beach https://amazon.com/dp/B00HOD8HEM/ws00-20/
Another Ramen-tic Evening https://amazon.com/dp/B07KY26H48/ws00-20/
Raisin Your Voice https://amazon.com/dp/B0987HBDW8/ws00-20/
Alpaca My Bags https://amazon.com/dp/B07D5R5DSY/ws00-20/
The names are flirty, sassy, maybe even provocative. Often punny. And
why not? Much more fun wearing a nail polish named "Squeeze Me" instead
of just "orange".
When Unicorn Puke https://in.pinterest.com/pin/454089574898959258/
and Don't Make Me Wine https://nails24.shop/product/china-glaze-nail-polish-dont-make-me-wine-14ml-1233/
become popular enough in the English language to enter the pages of the
dictionary as names of colors, we'll make sure you are informed.
Meanwhile, this week we'll feature other words for colors: not as creative
as "Squeeze Me" but not as straightforward as "pink" or "purple" either.
Painting nails may be one of those rare instances in which it's actually
fun to watch paint dry. What are your favorite shades? What's your
relationship with colors, nail polish, and beyond? Do you paint your
nails defying the traditional nail polish gender binary? Email us at
words@wordsmith.org or share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/aeneous.html .
Include your location (city, state).
PS: And if you have the ambition to start your own nail polish empire,
here's a handy nail polish name generator to get you started:
https://www.nancyorgan.com/portfolio/colorselect.html
aeneous (ay-EE-nee-uhs, EE-nee-uhs) adjective
Bronze- or brass-colored.
[From Latin aes (bronze, brass, copper). Earliest documented use: 1808.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/aeneous_large.jpg
Photo: Jernej Furman https://flickr.com/photos/91261194@N06/51846597365/
"The sifting dust scattered aeneous light, making everything around
the company glow as with fairy fire."
Kenneth Mark Hoover; Quaternity; Chizine; 2015.
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Date: Tue Feb 14 00:01:02 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--argent
X-Bonus: The hands that help are better far / Than lips that pray. / Love is the ever gleaming star / That leads the way, / That shines, not on vague worlds of bliss, / But on a paradise in this. -Robert Green Ingersoll, lawyer and orator (1833-1899)
This week's theme: Words for colors
argent (AHR-juhnt) adjective
Of the color silver or white.
[From Latin argentum (silver). Ultimately from the Indo-European root arg-
(to shine; white) that is also the source of argue (from Latin arguere,
to make clear), argillaceous https://wordsmith.org/words/argillaceous.html ,
and French argent (money). The word also appears in the chemical symbol
for silver (Ag) and in the name of the country Argentina where Rio
de la Plata (literally, river of silver) flows. Earliest documented use: 1500.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/argent
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/argent_large.jpg
"In bright sunlight the fish's argent color is iridescent."
Scenes from the Beach; Sun Herald (Gulfport, Mississippi); Oct 29, 2001.
https://wordsmith.org/words/iridescent.html
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Date: Wed Feb 15 00:01:03 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stramineous
X-Bonus: The question is not Can they reason?, nor Can they talk?, but Can they suffer? -Jeremy Bentham, jurist and philosopher (15 Feb 1748-1832)
This week's theme: Words for colors
stramineous (struh-MIN-ee-uhs) adjective
1. Straw-colored.
2. Of or relating to straw.
3. Like straw: Valueless.
[From Latin stramen (straw). Earliest documented use: 1624.]
A stramineous purse https://wordsmith.org/words/images/stramineous_large.jpg
Meaning 1: Yes
Meaning 2: Yes
Meaning 3: No (this straw bag sells for $60)
Image: Hobbs https://www.hobbs.com/product/blakeney-straw-clutch-bag-/0122-1296-020000-NATURAL-1SIZE.html
"Glistening yellow in the stramineous light, the worms boiled and reared
and thudded in fury."
Brian Aldiss; Hothouse; Faber and Faber; 1962.
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Date: Thu Feb 16 00:01:02 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rubicund
X-Bonus: Politics, as a practice, whatever its professions, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds. -Henry Adams, historian and teacher (16 Feb 1838-1918)
This week's theme: Words for colors
rubicund (ROO-bi-kuhnd) adjective
Red or reddish.
[From Latin rubere (to be red). Ultimately from the Indo-European root
reudh- (red), which also gave us red, rouge, ruby, ruddy, rubella,
robust, rambunctious, raddle https://wordsmith.org/words/raddle.html ,
corroborate https://wordsmith.org/words/corroborate.html ,
roborant https://wordsmith.org/words/roborant.html ,
robustious https://wordsmith.org/words/robustious.html ,
rufescent https://wordsmith.org/words/rufescent.html , and
russet https://wordsmith.org/words/russet.html . Earliest documented use: 1425.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/rubicund
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/rubicund_large.jpg
Photo: jessmonster https://flickr.com/photos/jessmonster/176321558/
"I may blush easily, go rubicund in the sun, and have covert yet
mentally alert blue eyes."
Ron Charles; Race Reversal; The Washington Post; Jan 18, 2009.
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Date: Fri Feb 17 00:01:02 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--virescent
X-Bonus: Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire his experience? -Thomas J. Watson, Chairman and CEO of IBM (17 Feb 1874-1956)
This week's theme: Words for colors
virescent (vuh/vy/vi-RES-uhnt) adjective
1. Greenish.
2. Turning green.
[From Latin virescere (to become green), from virere (to be green).
Earliest documented use: 1826.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/virescent_large.jpg
Photo: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1157157
Sky turned green in South Dakota in 2022 https://www.today.com/news/news/rare-storm-south-dakota-green-sky-derecho-rcna37062
When God takes a day off and uses a green screen instead of creating real weather
"Flaxenhaired and grayeyed, the woman was an ethereal vision in gold
and alabaster rising from the virescent sea mists swirling around her."
Laurie McBain; Dark Before the Rising Sun; Avon; 1982.
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Date: Mon Feb 20 00:01:03 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--memoriter
X-Bonus: Jokes of the proper kind, properly told, can do more to enlighten questions of politics, philosophy, and literature than any number of dull arguments. -Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (1920-1992)
“God says Christian women dress modest.”¹ A preacher held this sign on a Florida beach in an attempt to shame women. God also says to feed the hungry and help the poor, but it’s more fun to stroll around women in bikinis in the guise of doing God’s work.
God also says to pay attention to grammar. OK, she may or may not have said it, but as long as we are being cafeteria believers (we pick which of the directives to believe in), among thousands of religions around, surely at least one has something to say about using words proper.
Or properly.
That brings us to adverbs. To be sympathetic to the preacher -- and yes, it takes a lot of fortitude on our part to be sympathetic to him -- language usually doesn’t go with fixed rules (it’s not a religion). Like most things in this world, language is all about context,² about what’s idiomatic, what we are used to hearing.³
Think different OR Think differently?
Drive safe OR Drive safely?
Don’t drive fast OR Don’t drive fastly?
While you mull over these, this week we’ll share with you five adverbs where one doesn’t need to worry about -ly.
¹Video here. User comments are the best. https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2021/07/22/a-christian-preacher-demanded-modesty-on-the-beach-this-woman-wasnt-having-it/
²What may not be appropriate in a church may be perfectly appropriate on a beach.
³We are used to hearing wild stories of our religion since childhood and they sound just fine. Similar stories from other religions we can laugh at.
PS: Maybe the preacher was avoiding adverbs because, as the writer Stephen King put it, “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”
memoriter (muh-MOR-uh-ter)
adverb: By memory; by heart.
adjective: Involving memorization.
[From Latin memoriter (by memory), from memor (mindful). Earliest documented
use: 1612.]
"I'll have the English major's breakfast - eggs over easily." https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cartoon_bizarro_adverb_large.jpg
Cartoon: Dan Piraro https://www.facebook.com/bizarrocomics/
"A mere presentation of data that the student might be expected to
repeat memoriter."
Louis Gottschalk; A Professor of History in a Quandary; American
Historical Review; 1954.
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Date: Tue Feb 21 00:01:03 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--astern
X-Bonus: The little I know, I owe to my ignorance. -Sacha Guitry, actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright (21 Feb 1885-1957)
This week's theme: Adverbs
astern (uh-STUHRN) adverb, adjective
1. At the rear of a ship or another vessel.
2. In a reverse direction.
3. Backward.
[From a- (toward) + stern (back part), probably from Old Norse stjorn
(steering). Earliest documented use: 1627.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/astern
I never use adverbs - literally never https://wordsmith.org/words/images/adverb_i_never_use_large.jpg
Image: Make a Meme https://makeameme.org/meme/i-never-use-5a81f4
"He kept staring astern , and now I saw he wasn't looking at the line,
he was gazing much farther back, to the horizon."
Grant Sutherland; The Consignment; Bantam; 2003.
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Date: Wed Feb 22 00:01:02 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sinistrad
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 (22 Feb 1819-1891)
This week's theme: Adverbs
sinistrad (SIN-uh-strad) adverb, adjective
Toward the left side.
[From Latin sinister (left, left hand, unlucky). Earliest documented
use: 1803.]
Adverbs are disappearing rapid. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/adverbs_are_disappearing_rapid_large.jpg
Photo: Karen Gronau https://flickr.com/photos/46051074@N03/28884538071/
"The ascending colon ... turns sinistrad."
D.R. Khanna & P.R. Yadav; Biology of Mammals; Discovery; 2005.
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Date: Thu Feb 23 00:01:03 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--agley
X-Bonus: The theory of democratic government is not that the will of the people is always right, but rather that normal human beings of average intelligence will, if given a chance, learn the right and best course by bitter experience. -W.E.B. Du Bois, educator, civil rights activist, and writer (23 Feb 1868-1963)
This week's theme: Adverbs
agley (uh-GLEE/GLAY/GLY) adverb, adjective
1. Awry.
2. Wrong.
[From Scots agley, from a- (toward) + gley/glee (to squint). Earliest
documented use: 1785.]
NOTES: The earliest citation for the word is in Robert Burns's poem
"To a Mouse":
"The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley" [Go oft awry]
Drive Nice https://wordsmith.org/words/images/adverb_drive_nice_large.jpg
Photo: Thomas Cizauskas https://flickr.com/photos/cizauskas/52205582542/
"Upstairs, things weren't precisely going wrong, but they were going
just a bit agley."
Donald E. Westlake; Dancing Aztecs; M. Evans; 2011.
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Date: Fri Feb 24 00:01:03 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gratis
X-Bonus: Come, live in my heart and pay no rent. -Samuel Lover, songwriter, composer, novelist, and artist (24 Feb 1797-1868)
This week's theme: Adverbs
gratis (GRAT-is, GRA/GRAY-tis) adverb, adjective
Without payment; free.
[From Latin gratis, contraction of gratiis (out of kindness), from
gratia (grace, kindness). Earliest documented use: 1477.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gratis
Live simply
Love generously
Care deeply
Speak kindly
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/adverb_church_sign_large.jpg
Photo: Michael Coghlan https://flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/46139734381/
"All involved volunteered their services and worked gratis."
Barry Davis; The Jerusalem Art Show Goes on; Jerusalem Post (Israel);
Apr 17, 2020.
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Date: Mon Feb 27 00:01:04 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pinion
X-Bonus: Talk not of wasted affection; affection never was wasted. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, poet (27 Feb 1807-1882)
The other day, in downtown Seattle I saw a bumper sticker that said:
BIRD IS A VERB https://www.flickr.com/photos/wordsmithorg/52700021862/
Yes, it is. It has been for 450 years (noun for more than 1000).
In the beginning, to bird was to catch a bird. It took us some 350 years
to realize that we can watch from a distance instead. The first citation
of the verb bird meaning to watch birds is from 1917.
When we imprison a bird, or any animal, we have captured its body, but
not its essence.
While researching pinioning, I came across a website called "Swan Lovers"
that gives instructions on how to clip the wings of a swan. Some love.
You can't love a caged being. Caged literally or metaphorically. Human
or non-human. If you love them, set them free. Forced love is no love.
Which brings to mind another saying: Love is a verb. Yes, it is. A noun
and a verb. Just like _bird_. As happens with words, nouns get verbed
and verbs get nouned. This week we'll feature five nouns that are also
verbs.
pinion (PIN-yuhn)
noun: 1. A feather or a wing, especially the terminal segment of a wing.
2. A small cogwheel engaging with a larger wheel or a rack.
verb tr.: 1. To cut or bind the wing of a bird.
2. To bind, restrain, shackle, etc.
[For noun 2: From French pignon (cogwheel), from Latin pecten (comb), from
pectere (to comb).
For the rest: From French pignon (pinion), from Latin pinna (feather, wing,
fin). Earliest documented use: For noun: 1400; for verb: 1556.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/pinion
NOTES: According to this website https://www.mylot.com/post/3234870/crows-or-ravens-a-matter-of-a-pinion ,
"The raven has five pinions in each wing and the crow has six. So the
true difference between the two is a matter of a pinion!"
Pinion includes carpus (wrist), metacarpus (the part between wrist and fingers), and phalanges (fingers) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pinion_large.jpg
Image: Pinterest https://in.pinterest.com/pin/288652657343369346/
Pinion (gear) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pinion_gear_large.jpg
Image: Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinion#/media/File:Annular_(PSF).svg
"Icarus did it with feathers glued together with wax ... Giovanni
Battista Danti tried it with pinions of iron and feathers."
Obituary: Paul MacCready; The Economist (London, UK); Sep 8, 2007.
"A few years later, Cattelan pinioned his Milan dealer, Massimo De
Carlo, to the gallery wall with several layers of heavy-duty duct tape."
https://www.massimodecarlo.com/artwork/1602/a-perfect-day
Calvin Tomkins; The Prankster; The New Yorker; Oct 4, 2004.
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Date: Tue Feb 28 00:01:03 EST 2023
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--deacon
X-Bonus: The souls of emperors and cobblers are cast in the same mold. The same reason that makes us wrangle with a neighbor creates a war between princes. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (28 Feb 1533-1592)
This week's theme: Nouns that are also verbs
deacon (DEE-kuhn)
noun: In a church, a person appointed as a lay leader to a position
below a pastor, priest, etc.
verb tr.: 1. To present the best part of something.
2. To pack or arrange in a way so that the finest pieces (such as fruit) are visible.
3. To adulterate; to doctor; to falsify.
4. To kill a calf or another animal soon after birth.
5. To ordain as a deacon.
6. To read aloud lines of a verse before singing.
verb intr.: To lie.
[From Old English diacon, from Latin diaconus, from Greek diakonos
(servant, minister). Earliest documented use: for noun: 900; for verb: 1839.]
NOTES: A deacon typically helps with things like ushering, collecting the
offering, visiting church members in their homes, etc.
In churches where not enough copies of religious books were available
for all attendees, a deacon or a choir leader would read one or two lines
at a time before the choir or the congregation would sing them.
It's not clear how the negative meanings of the word arose. Maybe when a
deacon visited, a family did a bit of staging: moved their religious music
records to the front, brought out their best china, even displayed the
best fruit on the table.
Perhaps it's alluding to the deacons themselves, displaying goodness on the
surface (speaking politely) that hid what lies inside. According to a
New England proverb "All deacons are good, but there's odds in deacons."
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/deacon
A deacon (in the middle) assisting a priest https://wordsmith.org/words/images/deacon_large.jpg
Photo: Phil Roussin https://www.flickr.com/photos/pbr-photos/7495791570/
"And again, when you catch a fellow off guard who seemed all right the
first time, you may find that he deaconed himself for your benefit, and
that all the big strawberries were on top."
George Horace Lorimer; Old Gorgon Graham; Doubleday; 1903.
"'It's pretty late,' Andrew said. 'Why don't we just stay at a roadhouse?'
'I don't think so.'
'Why not?'
I deaconed. 'It would be my first time.'
'Don't worry. I'll show you.'
Girls notoriously claimed they did it because they were drunk. But, in
fact, I was drunk -- on euphoria."
Paul M. Levitt; Chin Music; Roberts Rinehart; 2001.