A.Word.A.Day Archives from http://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Fri Apr 1 00:01:04 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--entoptic X-Bonus: Mankind's true moral test, its fundamental test (which lies deeply buried from view), consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals. And in this respect mankind has suffered a fundamental debacle, a debacle so fundamental that all others stem from it. -Milan Kundera, novelist, playwright, and poet (b. 1 Apr 1929) This week's theme: There's a word for it entoptic (en-TOP-tik) adjective Relating to images that originate within the eye (as opposed to images resulting from the light entering the eye). Example: floaters, thread-like fragments that appear to float in front of the eye but are caused by the matter within the eye. [From Greek ento- (within) + optic (relating to the eye or sight). Earliest documented use: 1876.] Floaters: http://wordsmith.org/words/images/entoptic.png Image: Wikimedia "The people whom we loved seem to float across our hearts (like those entoptic specks that drift across our eyeballs)." Mark Leyner; My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist; Vintage; 1990. -------- Date: Mon Apr 4 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lunkhead X-Bonus: We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color. -Maya Angelou, poet (4 Apr 1928-2014) What do you call it when you have a tofurkey and a mocktail for brunch? Yes, that would be an odd meal*, but here we're talking about binging on blends. Blend words, to be precise. You'd be feasting on tofurkey (tofu + turkey), brunch (breakfast + lunch), and a mocktail (mock + cocktail). And don't even think of using a spork (spoon + fork) there. Or a chork https://www.google.com/search?q=chork&tbm=isch . Blend words are words coined by fusing two or more words. They are also known as portmanteau words, from French portmanteau, a suitcase that opens into two halves. Such words are not limited to food. This week we'll see five such blend words. * Better to eat that odd meal than be hangry (hungry + angry). lunkhead (LUNGK-hed) noun A dull or slow-witted person. [From lunk (a blend of lump + hunk) + head. Earliest documented use: 1884.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/lunkhead "[Rugby] is about more than 30 lunkheads beating seven kinds of nonsense out of each other." Stuart Jeffries; Sex, Violence, Class, Power, Politics -- the School Rugby Row Has it All; The Guardian (London, UK); Mar 5, 2016. -------- Date: Tue Apr 5 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--clairaudience X-Bonus: Curiosity is the lust of the mind. -Thomas Hobbes, philosopher (5 Apr 1588-1679) This week's theme: Blend words clairaudience (kler-AW-dee-uhns) noun The supposed ability to hear what is inaudible. [A blend of clairvoyance http://wordsmith.org/words/clairvoyance.html + audience (the act of hearing), from audire (to hear). Ultimately from the Indo-European root au- (to perceive), which also gave us audio, audit, obey, auditorium, anesthesia, aesthetic, and synesthesia http://wordsmith.org/words/synesthesia.html . Earliest documented use: 1864.] "Paul Solotaroff said that in his time with Trump, he found 'a guy with two extraordinary senses. One is something I call clairvoyance, the ability to read a market way before it is formed and get there first. The second is clairaudience, hear what is in people's hearts and minds.' He described clairaudience this way: 'There's Donald, on the 26th floor of his massive office in the Trump Tower, and somehow he read and saw and heard into the hearts of disaffected underemployed white people in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, in, you know, West Virginia, in Ohio. And not only was he able to hear that seething rage, he was able to read it back to them, word for word, in ways that no Republican has ever done before.'" Brian Stelter; Rolling Stone Writer: Trump 'Was Not Talking About Her Persona'; CNNMoney (Atlanta); Sep 11, 2015. http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/11/media/rolling-stone-response-donald-trump/ -------- Date: Wed Apr 6 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--affluential X-Bonus: Conscience is a dog that does not stop us from passing but that we cannot prevent from barking. -Nicolas de Chamfort, writer (6 Apr 1741-1794) This week's theme: Blend words affluential (a-floo-EN-shuhl) adjective: Having power and influence because of wealth. noun: Rich and powerful person. [A blend of affluence + influential. Both words are from Latin fluere (to flow). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhleu- (to swell or overflow), from which flow words such as influence, fluctuate, fluent, fluid, fluoride, flush, flux, reflux, superfluous, fluvial http://wordsmith.org/words/fluvial.html , profluent http://wordsmith.org/words/profluent.html , and affluenza http://wordsmith.org/words/affluenza.html . Earliest documented use: 1842.] "The thing to remember is that, for affluentials, money has become the tool with which to buy non-material things -- space, time, health, fitness, and meaningful experiences." Shane Watson; The Art of Being Affluential; The Guardian (London, UK); Jun 22, 2001. -------- Date: Thu Apr 7 00:01:04 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bankster X-Bonus: Nature never did betray the heart that loved her. -William Wordsworth (7 Apr 1770-1850) This week's theme: Blend words bankster (BANGK-stuhr) noun A banker who engages in dishonest or illegal behavior. [A blend of banker + gangster. From the derogatory suffix -ster which also gave us poetaster http://wordsmith.org/words/poetaster.html , mathematicaster http://wordsmith.org/words/mathematicaster.html , and philosophaster http://wordsmith.org/words/philosophaster.html . Earliest documented use: 1893.] "So far for example, no bankster has been indicted/convicted for having a major hand in running the global economy to the ground." Demise of the Prevalent Political Economy; Capital (Addis Abada, Ethiopia); Mar 11, 2013. -------- Date: Fri Apr 8 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sheeple X-Bonus: Life is short, short, brother! / Ain't it the truth? / And there is no other / Ain't it the truth? / You gotta rock that rainbow while you still got your youth! -Yip Harburg, lyricist (8 Apr 1896-1981) This week's theme: Blend words sheeple (SHEE-puhl) noun People who unquestioningly accept what's said by a political leader, marketer, etc. [A blend of sheep + people. Earliest documented use: 1945.] "The general public -- the mass of sheeple -- want to cling to two core beliefs." Pinchas Landau; Who's in Charge?; Jerusalem Post (Israel); Nov 14, 2014. -------- Date: Mon Apr 11 00:02:05 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--snowclone X-Bonus: No greater mistake can be made than to think that our institutions are fixed or may not be changed for the worse. ... Increasing prosperity tends to breed indifference and to corrupt moral soundness. Glaring inequalities in condition create discontent and strain the democratic relation. The vicious are the willing, and the ignorant are unconscious instruments of political artifice. Selfishness and demagoguery take advantage of liberty. The selfish hand constantly seeks to control government, and every increase of governmental power, even to meet just needs, furnishes opportunity for abuse and stimulates the effort to bend it to improper uses. ... The peril of this nation is not in any foreign foe! We, the people, are its power, its peril, and its hope! -Charles Evans Hughes, jurist and statesman (11 Apr 1862-1948) A language is a very democratic thing. People who use it own it. No royalty or committee can dictate it. Some may try to dam its flow, but they rarely succeed. If people find a word useful, they'll use it, even if they have to borrow it from another language. If they need a word to describe something new, they will coin a word for it. Sometimes they repurpose existing words for new purposes. So grows language. Like people, the only languages that do not grow are those that are dead. This week we'll feature five coined words. Well, all words are coined words in the sense that someone used them for the first time. It's just that we know for certain who used this week's words for the very first time and when. snowclone (SNO-klon) noun A cliché adapted to a new use. For example, a statement of the form "X is the new Y" (such as "Gray is the new black"). See more examples in the snowclone database http://snowclones.org/index/ . [Coined by economics professor Glen Whitman in 2004, after the popular (but erroneous) idea that Eskimos have many words for snow, which is extended by others into the form: If Eskimos have N words for snow, X surely have N words for Y.] "The next time you read about a 'hidden epidemic', be aware that you are drifting into a snowclone: recent hidden epidemics have involved chlamydia, illiteracy, autism, and gambling." David Rowan; The Next Big Thing; The Times (London, UK); Dec 3, 2005. -------- Date: Tue Apr 12 00:02:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ecdysiast X-Bonus: All religions united with government are more or less inimical to liberty. All, separated from government, are compatible with liberty. -Henry Clay, statesman and orator (12 Apr 1777-1852) This week's theme: Coined words ecdysiast (ek-DIZ-ee-ast) noun A person who disrobes to provide entertainment for others. [Coined by writer and editor H.L. Mencken in 1940, from ecdysis (shedding or molting), from Greek ekdysis (casting off), from ek- (out) + dyein (to put on).] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ecdysiast "Lena Dunham drenched the market with her formidable musings under the title of Not That Kind of Girl, a biography memoir in the great tradition of Pamela Anderson and other literary ecdysiasts." Rex Murphy; The Year in Activist Feminism; National Post (Canada); Dec 27, 2014. -------- Date: Wed Apr 13 00:12:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--petrichor X-Bonus: There is also an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government, and provisions should be made to prevent its ascendancy. -Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect, and author (13 Apr 1743-1826) This week's theme: Coined words petrichor (PET-ri-kuhr) noun The pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell. [Coined by researchers I.J. Bear and R.G. Thomas in 1964, from Greek petros (stone) + ichor (the fluid that supposedly flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology).] "They declared that they have found the earthy scent of petrichor, as if it was secretly drizzling in some deep corner of the city undetected by meteorologists. And when it rained on Monday, they smiled with pride and said: 'I told you so.'" Eye on Sky; The Times of India (New Delhi); Mar 17, 2016. -------- Date: Thu Apr 14 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--exaptation X-Bonus: The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play. -Arnold J. Toynbee, historian (14 Apr 1889-1975) This week's theme: Coined words exaptation (ek-sap-TAY-shuhn) noun The adaptation of a trait for a purpose other than for which it was evolved. For example, feathers were evolved for warmth and later co-opted for display and/or flight. [Coined by Stephen Jay Gould in 1981. A blend of ex- (out) + adaptation, from ad- (towards) + aptare (to fit), from aptus (apt).] "The gradual development of propulsion devices like wings and flagella, by contrast, can be explained by exaptation, the process by which 'a feature that originally evolved for one purpose is co-opted for a different purpose'. Both feathers and flightless wings might have developed originally for the purpose of thermoregulation rather than flight." Kenneth Krause; Design, Doubts, and Darwin; Skeptical Inquirer (Amherst, New York); Nov 2006. -------- Date: Fri Apr 15 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--blet X-Bonus: Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all. -Thomas Szasz, author, professor of psychiatry (15 Apr 1920-2012) This week's theme: Coined words blet (blet) verb tr. To overripen to the point of rotting. [Coined by the botanist John Lindley in 1835, from French blettir (to overripen).] "She is now bletting a tray of medlars (allowing them to start to rot) for medlar jelly, which is great with cheese." Catherine Cleary; The City Where the Wild Things Are; Irish Times (Dublin); Sep 27, 2011. -------- Date: Mon Apr 18 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--galumph X-Bonus: You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free. -Clarence Darrow, lawyer and author (18 Apr 1857-1938) Odds are higher that you'd win a lottery or be struck by lightning than that you'd coin a word that becomes a part of the language (but that's not a reason to not coin a word). It's rare that a word someone coins goes on to grace the pages of a dictionary. What about multiple words coined by a person? What if those words were in a single work? Well, anything is possible if your name is Lewis Carroll. This week we'll look at words coined by Lewis Carroll in his poem "Jabberwocky" that was part of his 1871 novel "Through the Looking-Glass". The title of the poem itself is a coined word and has become a word in the English language. http://wordsmith.org/words/jabberwocky.html galumph (guh-LUMF) verb intr. To move clumsily or heavily. [Coined by Lewis Carroll in his 1871 novel "Through the Looking-Glass". A blend of gallop + triumph.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/galumph Lewis Carroll, a self-portrait, c. 1856 http://wordsmith.org/words/images/galumph.jpg "It was excruciating, watching him [Froch] galumph around the floor in a giraffe-skin patterned leotard." Matt Butler; It's a 10 for Mediocrity; The Independent (London, UK); Sep 15, 2014. -------- Date: Tue Apr 19 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--slithy X-Bonus: Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later. -Fred Brooks, computer scientist (b. 19 Apr 1931) This week's theme: Words coined by Lewis Carroll slithy (SLY-thee) adjective Smooth and active; slimy; slithery. [Coined by Lewis Carroll in his 1871 novel "Through the Looking-Glass". A blend of slimy + lithe.] Alice through the looking glass: http://wordsmith.org/words/images/slithy.jpg Art: John Tenniel, 1871 "He's still inclined to take the law into his own hands when it needs to be taken -- in this case, against a couple of slithy loan sharks." Pick of the Day; The Times (London, UK); May 9, 2015. -------- Date: Wed Apr 20 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chortle X-Bonus: I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies. -Pietro Aretino, satirist and dramatist (20 Apr 1492-1556) This week's theme: Words coined by Lewis Carroll chortle (CHOR-tuhl) noun: A joyful laugh. verb tr., intr.: To laugh in a joyful manner. [Coined by Lewis Carroll in his 1871 novel "Through the Looking-Glass". A blend of chuckle + snort.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/chortle Alice and friends, Central Park, NY http://wordsmith.org/words/images/chortle_large.jpg Sculpture: Jose de Creeft, 1959 Photo: Jere Keys https://www.flickr.com/photos/tyreseus/2889202476/ "How the 1-percenters would chortle at the thought that the three currently highest valued state houses in the country outside Auckland ... when added together could barely purchase the boat ramp and perhaps a bathroom door on the incinerated Waiheke estate." Rosemary McLeod; Lifestyles of the Flaming Rich; The Dominion Post (New Zealand); Mar 17, 2016. http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/77904345/rosemary-mcleod-lifestyles-of-the-flaming-rich -------- Date: Thu Apr 21 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bandersnatch X-Bonus: As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand. -Josh Billings, columnist and humorist (21 Apr 1818-1885) This week's theme: Words coined by Lewis Carroll bandersnatch (BAN-duhr-snach) noun 1. A fast and ferocious wild creature. 2. An uncouth or bizarre person. [Coined by Lewis Carroll in his 1871 novel "Through the Looking-Glass". The name of a fictional creature.] http://wordsmith.org/words/images/bandersnatch_large.jpg Art: André Jourcin, 1948 "A momma-bear-sized bandersnatch was lumbering toward them, drool oozing out of her spiky-toothed jaw." Shannon Hale; Ever After High; Little, Brown; 2014. -------- Date: Fri Apr 22 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--frabjous X-Bonus: Do not commit the error, common among the young, of assuming that if you cannot save the whole of mankind, you have failed. -Jan de Hartog, playwright and novelist (22 Apr 1914-2002) This week's theme: Words coined by Lewis Carroll frabjous (FRAB-juhs) adjective Wonderful; delightful. [Coined by Lewis Carroll in his 1871 novel "Through the Looking-Glass". A blend of fair, fabulous, and joyous.] Alice Liddell, inspiration behind Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass: thttp://wordsmith.org/words/images/frabjous_large.jpg Photo: Lewis Carroll, 1858 "In a happy development for couch potatoes everywhere, Netflix last week announced a partnership with Epix entertainment channel. This is frabjous news." Monica Hesse; For Fans of Truly Bad Movies; The Washington Post; Aug 20, 2010. -------- Date: Mon Apr 25 00:01:04 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--truculent X-Bonus: The rain begins with a single drop. -Manal al-Sharif, human rights activist (b. 25 Apr 1979) Words such as "nice", "good", "bad", etc., are nice, but can you use some more precise words to describe people around you? If so, try the five words featured in A.Word.A.Day this week. Some of them are for good people, others for bad. Who knows, in this week's selections you might even find the perfect word to describe a presidential candidate. truculent (TRUK-yuh-luhnt) adjective Eager to fight; destructive; cruel; savage. [From Latin trux (savage). Earliest documented use: 1550.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/truculent "Sir Geoffrey also visited PW Botha, the South African president, but found him 'defiant, ill-mannered and truculent', according to a report he wrote for Mrs Thatcher." Britain 'Was Seen as a Friend of Apartheid'; Daily Mail (London, UK); Feb 19, 2016. -------- Date: Tue Apr 26 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--unctuous X-Bonus: A new word is like a fresh seed sown on the ground of the discussion. -Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher (26 Apr 1889-1951) This week's theme: Words to describe people unctuous (UNGK-choo-uhs) adjective Displaying insincere earnestness or piousness; oily. [From Latin unctum (ointment), from unguere (to anoint). Earliest documented use: 1387.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/unctuous "Personally he is sleek and unctuous, is always found among the godly." Clifton Rodman Woolridge; Twenty Years a Detective in the Wickedest City in the World; Library of Alexandria; 2015. -------- Date: Wed Apr 27 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--irresolute X-Bonus: Taught from their infancy that beauty is woman's sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison. -Mary Wollstonecraft, reformer and writer (27 Apr 1759-1797) This week's theme: Words to describe people irresolute (i-REZ-uh-loot) adjective Uncertain or indecisive. [From Latin in- (not) + resolutus, past participle of resolvere (to resolve), from re- + solvere (to untie or loosen). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leu- (to loosen, divide), which is also the source for forlorn, lag, loss, solve, and analysis. Earliest documented use: 1574.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/irresolute "Ayub Khan was seen as a very hesitant and irresolute commander." Sushant Singh; The War No One Lost; Indian Express (Mumbai); Oct 24, 2015. -------- Date: Thu Apr 28 00:31:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--veracious X-Bonus: If you don't turn your life into a story, you just become a part of someone else's story. -Terry Pratchett, novelist (28 Apr 1948-2015) This week's theme: Words to describe people veracious (vuh-RAY-shuhs) adjective Truthful; honest; accurate. [From Latin verus (true). Earliest documented use: 1677.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/veracious "Olivia had instinctively perceived that the girl was neither exaggerating nor embellishing, and she knew she had listened to a veracious witness." Barbara Taylor Bradford; A Woman of Substance; Doubleday; 1979. -------- Date: Fri Apr 29 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--doughty X-Bonus: Science is built with facts as a house is with stones, but a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house. -Jules Henri Poincaré, mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (29 Apr 1854-1912) This week's theme: Words to describe people doughty (DAU-tee) adjective Brave; courageous; determined. [From Old English dohtig (worthy). Earliest documented use: 1030.] "Alex Gordon was also a doughty fighter for the underdog." Alex Gordon; The Herald (Glasgow, UK); Mar 12, 2016.