A.Word.A.Day Archives
from https://wordsmith.org/awad
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Date: Wed Feb 1 00:03:14 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--don
X-Bonus: Troubles are like babies; they only grow by nursing.
1. don \'da:n\ n [Sp, fr. L dominus master - more at DAME] 1: a Spanish
nobleman or gentleman - used as a title prefixed to the Christian name
archaic 2a: a person of consequence : GRANDEE 2b: a head, tutor, or fellow
in a college of Oxford or Cambridge
2. don \'da:n\ vt or donned; or don.ning [do + on] 1: to put on (an
article of wear) 2: to envelop oneself in : ASSUME
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Date: Thu Feb 2 00:03:16 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--slosh
X-Bonus: These are only my opinions. You should see my convictions.
1. slosh \'sla:sh, 'slo.sh\ n [prob. blend of slop and slush] 1: SLUSH 2:
the slap or splash of liquid
2. slosh vi 1: to flounder or splash through water, mud, or slush 2: to
move with a splashing motion 1: to splash about in liquid 2: to splash (a
liquid) about or on something 3: to splash with liquid
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Date: Fri Feb 3 04:49:45 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--doff
X-Bonus: A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
doff \'da:f, 'do.f\ vt [ME doffen, fr. don to do + of off] 1: to take off
(one's clothes); esp : to take off or lift up (the hat) 2: to rid oneself
of
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Date: Sat Feb 4 00:56:37 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cynosure
X-Bonus: Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress. -Mahatma Gandhi
cy.no.sure \'si--n*-.shu.(*)r, 'sin-*-\ n [MF & L; MF, Ursa Minor, guide,
fr. L cynosura Ursa Minor, fr. Gk kyno]soura, fr. kynos oura dog's tail cap
1: the northern constellation Ursa Minor; also : NORTH STAR 2: a center of
attraction or attention
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Date: Sun Feb 5 00:30:14 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--friable
X-Bonus: Nature is full of Genius, full of Divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand. - Henry David Thoreau
Cross references:
1. fragile
fri.a.ble \'fri--*-b*l\ aj [MF or L; MF, fr. L friabilis, fr. friare to
crumble] : easily crumbled or pulverized - fri.a.ble.ness n
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Date: Mon Feb 6 00:15:21 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--piebald
X-Bonus: If all the world's managers were laid end to end, it would be an improvement.
1. pie.bald \'pi--.bo.ld\ aj 1: of different colors : 1a: spotted or
blotched with black and white 1b: SKEWBALD 2: composed of incongruous parts
: HETEROGENEOUS
2. piebald n : a piebald animal (as a horse)
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Date: Tue Feb 7 00:15:20 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--doddered
X-Bonus: It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it. -Dan Quayle
dod.dered \'da:d-*rd\ aj [prob. alter. of dodded, fr. pp. of E dial. dod to
lop, fr. ME d]odden 1: deprived of branches through age or decay {a ~ oak}
2: ENFEEBLED, INFIRM
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Date: Wed Feb 8 00:15:16 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--boustrophedon
X-Bonus: This statement is in no way to be construed as a disclaimer.
bou.stro.phe.don \.bu:-str*-'fe-d-.a:n, -*n\ aj [Gk boustrophe-don, adv.,
lit., turning like oxen in plowing, fr. -bou]s ox, cow + strephein to turn
- more at COW, STROPHE : of or relating to the writing of alternate lines
in opposite directions
--
Today's word was sent by Alistair Kilgour of hw.ac.uk who pointed out that
it describes among other things the way some serial printers used to work.
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Date: Thu Feb 9 00:15:18 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--velleity
X-Bonus: Are they taking DDT? -US Vice President Dan Quayle asking doctors at a Manhattan AIDS clinic about their treatments of choice
vel.le.ity \ve-'le--*t-e-\ n [NL velleitas, fr. L velle to wish, will -
more at WILL] 1: the lowest degree of volition 2: a slight wish or tendency
: INCLINATION
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Date: Fri Feb 10 00:15:14 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--selenography
X-Bonus: If I have not seen so far it is because I stood in giant's footsteps.
sel.e.nog.ra.phy \.sel-*-'na:g-r*-fe-\ n 1: the science of the physical
features of the moon 2: the physical geography of the moon
--
from Selene, the goddess of the moon in Greek mythology.
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Date: Sat Feb 11 00:15:18 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--agio
X-Bonus: No one is much pleased with a companion who does not increase, in some respect, their fondness for themselves. -Samuel Johnson
agio \'aj-(.)o-, -e--.o-\ n [It, alter. of It dial. lajje:, fr. MGk
allagion exchange, fr. Gk]allage- exchange, fr. allos other - more at ELSE
: a premium or percentage paid for the exchange of one currency for
another; also : the premium or discount on foreign bills of exchange
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Date: Sun Feb 12 00:24:48 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cachinnate
X-Bonus: God's retirement plan is out of this world.
cach.in.nate \'kak-*-.na-t\ \.kak-*-'na--sh*n\ vi [L cachinnatus, pp. of
cachinnare, of imit. origin] : to laugh loudly or immoderately -
cach.in.na.tion n
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Date: Sun Feb 12 18:55:12 EST 1995
Subject: Portmanteaux
Finally I got around to compiling a follow up to portmanteau week. Here
is a compendium of few other portmanteaux, home-brewn and otherwise.
Karen Traylor of mot.com informed: "Deirdre's mom uses buffled, a combo
of buffaloed and baffled to indicate to be confused by someone who is
snowing you."
Anne R. Carroll and Bruno M. Franck of umn.edu sent this message:
In case you don't have these already...please let me know if you'd prefer
your life not be clutted (oops, a typo, but in the same category; here,
cluttered and glutted...hm...) with such additions:
gritch, gritchy: from grumble + bitch; used by adults with adults, usually
in a somewhat light-hearted manner, as in, "Don't be so gritchy!"
half-hazard, half-hazardly: from haphazard + half-hearted; used to describe
something that is poorly thought out and weakly executed; a client of mine
used it (as a slip of the tongue in his case) to describe a federal
clean-up effort
David Cronkite from umontreal.ca cited styleme (stylistic element) used in
_The Open Work_ by Umberto Eco.
Portmanteaux are an efficient way to convey the information in a compact
manner. No wonder they are generously used where ever new words are needed
to be coined.
Computers have pixel, bit, Fortran, Prolog, to name a few.
Biology has spawned many too: there is liger (an offspring of male
lion and a female tiger) and tigon (tiger + lion). I have also heard
of yow (yak + cow).
Meteorology: smoke, for some reason, has tendency to combine with anything
it can lay its hands on. So we have smog, smice, smist and smaze (smoke + fog,
ice, mist, haze).
Chemistry: large number of compounds are named using portmanteau technique.
e.g. viosterol (ultraviolet + sterol)
Portmanteaux are used quite often in creating names for businesses and products
as in Microsoft (microcomputer + software), Digiphone (digital + telephone).
Some of my favorites are:
californicate: using one US state's policy in the other, as in Don't
californicate with Oregon.
Cocacolonization: implying major influence of American culture over a country.
confusage: confuse + usage
Finally, a note on the word "slosh" which made an appearance during portmanteau
week. Charles Lyne (gpsemi.com) and Nigel Winters (demon.co.uk) pointed out two
colloquial usage of the word in UK:
1. to hit violently, as in "Johnny got sloshed by the teacher."
2. to get drunk, e.g. "He was so sloshed, he could hardly stagger out
of the pub!".
Thank you all for writing.
From the snowy shores of Lakerie,
Anu
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Date: Mon Feb 13 00:15:35 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--puissance
X-Bonus: The business of life is to go forward. -Samuel Johnson
puis.sance \'pwis-*n(t)s, 'pyu:-*-s*n(t)s, pyu:-'is-*n(t)s\ \-*nt, -s*nt\ n
[ME, fr. MF, fr. OF, fr. puissant powerful, fr. poeir to be able, b]e
powerful - more at POWER : STRENGTH, POWER - puis.sant aj
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Date: Tue Feb 14 00:15:36 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--raptorial
X-Bonus: Apathy Error: Don't bother striking any key.
rap.to.ri.al \rap-'to-r-e--*l, -'to.r-\ aj 1: PREDACIOUS 2: adapted to
seize prey 3: of, relating to, or being a bird of prey
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Date: Wed Feb 15 00:15:27 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--anamnesis
X-Bonus: If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful after all. -Michelangelo Buonarroti, sculptor, painter, architect, and poet (1475-1564)
an.am.ne.sis \.an-.am-'ne--s*s\ \-'ne--.se-z\ \-'nes-tik\ \-ti-k(*-)le-\ n
or an.am.ne.ses [NL, fr. Gk anamne-sis, fr. anamimne-skesthai to remember,
fr] pl . ana- + mimne-skesthai to remember - more at MIND 1: a recalling to
mind : REMINISCENCE 2: a preliminary case history of a medical or
psychiatric patient - an.am.nes.tic aj
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Date: Wed Feb 15 13:50:12 EST 1995
Subject: Portmanteaux - The Sequel
The topic touched the creative fancy of the linguaphiles. Here
are some more selections from the resulting outpourtmanteaux.
Danny Bobrow (xerox.com):
I just received a message that said "I am on the fench about that one"
a combination of fence and bench.
Mel Malinowski (malinowski.com):
Vog: Volcanic fog --> Vog, essentially volcanic smog, common on the Big
Island of Hawaii.
Tim Szeliga (nws.gov):
I wanted to reply to you "ex post hasto".
ex post facto + post-haste,
meaning, almost literally,
"I want it mailed yesterday!"
John J. Mauro (umd.edu):
From my late 50's school years at Eastman in Rochester, N.Y., I believe
to have been coined there by one Bernie Hoffer and not heard elsewhere
since: bastard + bitch = bastrich. Also from this bygone era there was
another word playful tradition of "backwardsing" words, hence, one Noel
Stevens came to be affectionately known a Leon Snevets.
Ward Webber (boeing.com):
Two more portmanteaux for Canadians (I made these up, but I can't
prove it): Raincouver and Cowgary.
David J. Martin (tamu.edu):
I have an additional one for you. Another name for people from Illinois
(I never cared for Illini) is Illinoyances (alternate spelling: Illinoisances),
a combination of Illinois and annoyance. For some reason my wife (who is
from Illinois) has never found that funny or fitting. Oh, well.
Bruce Nevin (lightstream.com):
Eco's "styleme" is not a portmanteau, since -eme is a suffix established
in linguistic studies (phoneme, morpheme, etc.).
A favorite combination: picornavirus: pico- "very small" + RNA + virus.
This would be merely a compound if -rna- were pronounced as RNA,
but the pronunciation is relexified as pi-KORN-a-VI-rus, so it is
Robert Westmoreland (indiana.edu):
Japanese uses a lot of portmanteau words, especially with long names.
For instance, "Toukyou Daigaku" (Tokyo University) becomes "Toudai".
Notable, they often borrow or concoct English expressions, adapt the
pronunciation to Japanese phonotactics and then make portmanteaux from them.
The results are quite unrecognizable to us angloglots, but quite a few
Japanese seems to actually believe they are speaking English when they
use these terms. Two (from among zillions) examples: "Eea-kon" is air-conditioning.
Nintendo prefers its famous product to be known as "fami-con"--for
family computer.
James Dignan (otago.ac.nz):
In New Zealand, Californicate sometimes means to use American spellings/
pronunciations/usages with abandon whenever possible. Don't forget words
like franglais, japlish and scramblish. Surely you have also heard (herd?)
of the yakalo (yak & buffalo).
Ken Laws (sri.com):
I just thought I'd mention: two nights ago, my wife invented a portmanteau word.
"Calciturn." At least, I can't find it in my dictionary. The odd thing is,
we both know what it would mean if it meant anything. It seems to be a combination
of taciturn and recalcitrant, with maybe a touch of calcified. It would refer to
someone who is quietly stubborn or silently resistant to change, stony.
A "Silent Majority" member, perhaps, rather than someone actively plotting sabotage.
Rust (umn.edu):
"conflustered"-a combination of confused and flustered, a state where one
is in a sort of frustrated mental jumble
"traumoil"-trauma and turmoil, usually used to describe a combination
of causes leading to emotional chaos.
Thanks all. Admittedly, Cobol is an acronym -- thanks also for pointing out the
oversight.
A hazy lazy afternoon near Lake Erie,
Anu
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Date: Thu Feb 16 00:15:27 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--revenant
X-Bonus: program (pro'-gram) [vi] To engage in a pastime similar to banging one's head against a wall but with fewer opportunities for reward.
rev.e.nant \'rev-*-.na:n, -n*nt\ n [F, fr. prp. of revenir to return] : one
that returns after death or a long absence - revenant aj
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Date: Fri Feb 17 00:15:21 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--revest
X-Bonus: Man who falls in vat of molten optical glass makes spectacle of self.
re.vest \(')re--'vest\ vt : REINSTATE, REINVEST {lands ~ed in a former
owner}
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Date: Fri Feb 17 18:17:20 EST 1995
Subject: Mo' po'manteaux
Debbie Williams (wln.com) has informed about a dictionary she discovered,
_The Portmanteau Dictionary_ in the library where she works. She added,
"From the great Northwest we have SeaTac (submitted by Mr. Jeffrey Stone)
a blend of Seattle-Tacoma." Under the place names category we have many more
entries:
Mario Rups (brook.edu):
Friend of mine from Maine always claimed there were two sorts of people to
be found in that state: Mainiacs and Summer Complaints.
Brad Bigelow (radiomail.net):
These notes reminded me of the small (and now non-existent) town in Nebraska
where my grandfather was born: Ohiowa--founded by families from Ohio and Iowa.
Jim Walker (mv.com):
Taxachusetts which is inhabited by Massholes.
Charles Bennett (osf.org):
I grew up in Kenmore, NY, a suburb of Buffalo. As youth we referred to
ourselves as KenMorons.
Larian Johnson (more.net):
Consider my inlaws home, Arkanfar. That's when Arkansas is far away.
Brent D. Hauck (ksu.edu):
Some folks around these parts refer to our college town as
Manhappenin', since the college is located in Manhattan, KS & it sure is
a "happenin'" place.
And here are some other assorted portmanteaux:
Gerry Pang (nhrc.navy.mil):
Someone here was described as a sleasel - combination of sleazy and weasel!
(for some unknown reason, I wonder if Tailhook is a portmanteau. - anu)
Anna Welborne (nd.edu):
seku-haru from the words Sexual Harassment (which, when pronounced in
"Japanese" is sekujuaru harasumento) wapuro from Word Processor (waro purosesu)
I love this thread! It's so creative!
Jim Walker (mv.com):
gription - combination of grip and friction.
Wendy R Hawkins (intel.com):
Ok. Now I can't resist throwing in a family favorite referring to the activity
of our children as Christmas bears down upon us: "Christmas caroming".
David Powers (flinders.edu.au):
idiopathy: found in a student's "show cause" letter describing the idiocy and
apathy leading to his predicament.
Bill Nelson (ti.com):
When my brother, Dale, was small he always refered to something that was to
happen on the following morning as "tomorning" as in "I'll pick up my room
tomorning."
Robert Court (cityscape.co.uk):
A word used quite widely by economists here in the UK is stagflation.
It describes the economic condition where both stagnation and inflation
occur at the same time.
John Cipolla (neu.edu):
At the end of a recent discussion a colleague asked to bring up an
"extrenuous" topic!
Colm Ryan (alcatel.fr):
Here's a popular portmanteau from German: Gestapo (Geheime Staats polizei).
And how about Sysadmin for system administrator, and Sysop for System operator,
in the computing domain?
Ann T. Mosconi (dla.mil)
My dad is fond of telling us he's going to "unlax". I believe this is his
word for Unwind and Relax. And my grandmother has come up with "regusting"
for something that is repulsive and disgusting. I might not have thought of
this but for the above reference, but this is very widesprevalent [oops, just
made one up :^)] in Spain where many common double names are combined e.g.
Maribel = Maria Isabel
Finally, a large number of people sent Spanglish (Spanish), Hinglish (Hindi),
Konglish (Korean), Japlish, Jinglish (both Japanese) and so on, used to
indicate informal English used by people in their respective countries.
Joung-woo John Kim (usc.edu) added, "I wonder if the unnatural Korean
used by Americans should be called Englirean."
from Lake Erie,
Anu
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Date: Sat Feb 18 00:15:20 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sejant
X-Bonus: A lie in time saves nine.
se.jant \'se--j*nt\ aj [modif. of MF seant, prp. of seoir to sit, fr. L
sede-re -m more at SIT heraldry : SITTING {a lion ~}
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Date: Sun Feb 19 00:17:06 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--puisne
X-Bonus: To believe that what has not occured in history will not occur at all, is to argue disbelief in the dignity of man. -Mahatma Gandhi
puis.ne \'pyu:-ne-\ aj [MF puisne` younger - more at PUNY] chiefly Brit :
inferior in rank {~ judge} - puisne n
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Date: Mon Feb 20 00:17:23 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--verdure
X-Bonus: We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain. -Alan Watts
ver.dure \'v*r-j*r\ \'v*rj-(*-)r*s\ n [ME, fr. MF, fr. verd green] 1: the
greenness of growing vegetation itself 2: a condition of health and vigor -
ver.dur.ous aj
--
"Twice had summer her fair verdure
Proffered to the plain"
Emily Dickinson's poetry is as true and evocative today as it was nearly
a century and a half ago. She is known for her vivid metaphors and economy
of words. All the words for this week have been taken from her poems.
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Date: Tue Feb 21 00:17:21 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--elysium
X-Bonus: The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.
Ely.si.um \i-'liz(h)-e--*m\ n [L, fr. Gk E-lysion] 1: the abode of the good
after death in classical mytholody 2: PARADISE
--
"Elysium is as far as to
The very nearest room"
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Date: Wed Feb 22 00:17:32 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sere
X-Bonus: No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else. -Charles Dickens
1. sere \'si(*)r\ aj [ME, fr. OE se-ar dry; akin to OHG so-re-n to wither,
Gk (Xhauos dry 1: WITHERED archaic 2: THREADBARE
2. sere n [L series series] : a series of ecological communities succeeding
one another in the biotic development of an area or formation
--
"Bountiful colored, my morning rose
Early and sere, its end"
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Date: Thu Feb 23 00:17:18 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lethe
X-Bonus: I never said it was possible. I only said it was true. -Charles Richet, Nobel Laureate in Physiology
le.the \'le--the-\ \'le--the--*n, li-'the--\ n [L, fr. Gk Le-the-, fr.
le-the- forgetfulness; akin to]Gk lanthanein to escape notice,
lanthanesthai to forget - more at LATENT cap 1: a river of Hades whose
water according to Greek mythology causes forgerfulness of the past in
those who drink it 2: OBLIVION, FORGETFULNESS often cap - le.the.an aj
--
"Lethe in my flower
Of which they who drink"
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Date: Fri Feb 24 00:17:12 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--joggle
X-Bonus: In nothing do men approach so nearly to the gods as in doing good to men. -Marcus Cicero
1. jog.gle \'ja:g-*l\ \'ja:g-(*-)lin\ \-(*-)l*r\ vb or jog.gling [freq. of
1jog] : to shake slightly : to have or go with a shaking or jerking motion
- jog.gler n
2. joggle n : JOG
3. joggle n [dim. of 3jog] 1: a notch or tooth in the joining surface of a
piece of building material to prevent slipping 2: a dowel for joining two
adjacent blocks of masonry
4. joggle \'ja:g-(*-)lin\ vt or jog.gling : to join by means of a joggle so
as to prevent sliding apart
--
"The wind didn't come from the orchard today
Further than that
Nor stop to play with the hay
Nor joggle a hat"
Interestingly, in juggling lingo "joggle" is used as a portmanteau
(jog+juggle) for juggling while jogging.
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Date: Sat Feb 25 00:17:14 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--prosy
X-Bonus: We should consider ourselves as spirits having a human experience, rather than humans having an occasional spiritual experience.
prosy \'pro--ze-\ aj 1: PROSAIC 2: TEDIOUS
--
"The day was warm, and winds were prosy"
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Date: Sun Feb 26 00:17:18 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--flinty
X-Bonus: Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died. -Erma Bombeck
flinty \'flint-e-\ aj 1: composed of or covered with flint 2: UNYIELDING,
STERN
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Date: Mon Feb 27 00:17:48 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vaticinate
X-Bonus: Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. -Will Rogers
va.tic.i.nate \-*n-.a-t\ vb [L vaticinatus, pp. of vaticinari, fr. vates +
-cinari](akin to L canere to sing) - more at CHANT : PROPHESY, PREDICT
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Date: Tue Feb 28 00:17:57 EST 1995
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--catholicon
X-Bonus: Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not
smart enough to know they were impossible. -Doug Larson
ca.thol.i.con \k*-'tha:l-*-.ka:n\ n [F or ML; F, fr. ML, fr. Gk katholikon,
neut. of katholikos] : CURE-ALL, PANACEA