A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon May 3 00:02:06 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--asseverate X-Bonus: I speak the truth not so much as I would, but as much as I dare, and I dare a little more as I grow older. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592) If verbs ever needed a spokesperson, they'd find the perfect candidate in the naturalist and author Terry Tempest Williams, who once said: This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, walk, run, dance, play, eat, love, learn, dare, taste, touch, smell, listen, argue, speak, write, read, draw, provoke, emote, scream, sin, repent, cry, kneel, pray, bow, rise, stand, look, laugh, cajole, create, confront, confound, walk back, walk forward, circle, hide, and seek. To seek: to embrace the questions, be wary of answers. Williams said it well. Verbs make words come alive. Verbs are *the* words, literally, from Latin verbum (word). This week we'll look at five specimens from this tribe of words. asseverate (uh-SEV-uh-rayt) verb tr. To affirm solemnly. [From Latin asseverare (to declare in earnest), from severus (serious). Ultimately from the Indo-European root segh- (to hold), which is also the source of words such as hectic, scheme, scholar, and cathect https://wordsmith.org/words/cathect.html ] "I asseverate from experience that some of my correspondence opponents do make use of a program." Peter Gibbs; Pastimes: Chess; Birmingham Post (UK); Oct 9, 2004. -------- Date: Tue May 4 00:02:07 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scarper X-Bonus: In International / Consequences / the players must reckon / to reap what they've sown. / We have a defence / against other defences, / but what's to defend us / against our own? -Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996) This week's theme: Verbally speaking scarper (SKAHR-puhr) verb intr. To flee, especially without paying one's bills. [The term is a Briticism and its origin isn't confirmed. It's probably from Italian scappare (to escape), influenced by Cockney rhyming slang Scapa Flow, to go. Scapa Flow is an area of water off the northern coast of Scotland, in the Orkney Islands. It was the main British naval base during WW I & II, known for the scuttling of the German fleet.] "I am indebted to the British welfare state; the very one that Mr Cameron would like to replace with charity handouts. When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become under John Major's Government, was there to break the fall. I cannot help feeling, therefore, that it would have been contemptible to scarper for the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque. This, if you like, is my notion of patriotism." J.K. Rowling; The Single Mother's Manifesto; The Times (London, UK); Apr 14, 2010. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article7096786.ece -------- Date: Wed May 5 00:04:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--imbricate X-Bonus: Every man is a creature of the age in which he lives, and few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of the time. -Voltaire, philosopher (1694-1778) This week's theme: Verbally speaking imbricate (IM-bri-kit, -kayt) adjective Having overlapping edges, as tiles on a roof or scales on a fish. imbricate (IM-bri-kayt) verb tr., intr. To overlap as roof tiles or fish scales. [From Latin imbricare (to cover with pantiles: semicylindrical tiles), from imbrex (pantile), from imber (rain).] "In that region [Skopje], yesterday as today, allegiance to the Church was more than a merely confessional matter. It was, and is, imbricated with a series of loyalties to nation, region, and even party." Christopher Hitchens; The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice; Verso Books; 1995. http://amazon.com/o/asin/185984054X/ws00-20 -------- Date: Thu May 6 00:04:08 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--batten X-Bonus: The ultimate sense of security will be when we come to recognize that we are all part of one human race. Our primary allegiance is to the human race and not to one particular color or border. -Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (b. 1942) This week's theme: Verbally speaking batten (BAT-n) verb: To fatten or to grow fat; to thrive and prosper at another's expense. [From Old Norse batna (to improve). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhad- (good), which is also the source of the words better and best.] noun: A long strip of wood, metal, or plastic used for strengthening something. verb: To fasten or secure using battens. [From Old French batre (to beat), from Latin battuere (to beat).] NOTES: The term is often heard in the idiom "to batten down the hatches" meaning to prepare for a difficult situation or an impending disaster. It is nautical in origin. Literally speaking, to batten down is to cover a ship's hatch (an opening in the deck) with a tarpaulin and strips of wood in preparation for an imminent storm. A battened-down hatch on an old boat: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/batten_large.jpg [Photo: Derek White http://5cense.com/] "Once-promising migrant visa plan shelved as U.S. battens down the hatches." James Blears; Stuck in Limbo; Business Mexico (Mexico City); 2003. "You've battened on me for a bitter-long day; But I'm driving you forth, and forever and aye, Hunger and Thirst and Cold." Robert William Service; The Bohemian; 1914. -------- Date: Fri May 7 00:02:08 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vellicate X-Bonus: If there is a God, I don't think He would demand that anyone bow down or stand up to Him. -Rebecca West, author and journalist (1892-1983) This week's theme: Verbally speaking vellicate (VEL-i-kayt) verb tr., intr. 1. To twitch or to cause to twitch. 2. To pluck, nip, irritate, etc. [From Latin vellicare, frequentative of vellere (to pull, pluck, or twitch).] The great lexicographer Samuel Johnson used this word in one of his definitions "Cough: A convulsion of the lungs, vellicated by some sharp serosity" and broke one of the premier commandments of dictionary making: don't define a word using a harder word (serosity refers to serum: watery fluid in an animal body). "I have seen old folk flung to the ground by these paroxysmal and vellicating vehicles." Paul Johnson; And Another Thing; The Spectator (London, UK); Jun 25, 2005. -------- Date: Mon May 10 00:02:11 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--utopia X-Bonus: Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't. -Richard Bach, writer (b. 1936) With all the hassles of air travel, it's no fun flying any more. Things are different in A.Word.A.Day though. We'll fly you to places far and wide without having to remove your shoes and jacket and walk through the see-thru scanners at the airport. This week we have picked five fabled destinations, places that exist only in our collective imagination. So tighten your seat belts and enjoy the ride. You're not in Kansas anymore. utopia (yoo-TOH-pee-uh) noun 1. An ideal place or state. 2. An impractical scheme for social or political reform. [After Utopia, an imaginary ideal island in the book Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More, from Greek ou (not) + topos (place).] Sir Thomas More: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/utopia_large.jpg [Artist: Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497-1543)] "As we believe simplicity contributes to a peaceful life, we have not bought into the utopia promised by consumerism." Harry MacLure; Mush Register; The Hindu (Chennai, India); Mar 22, 2010. -------- Date: Tue May 11 00:02:08 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cockaigne X-Bonus: The only way human beings can win a war is to prevent it. -George Marshall, US Army Chief, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Nobel laureate (1880-1959) This week's theme: Words derived after mythical places cockaigne (kaw-KAYN) noun An imaginary land of luxury and idleness. [From Middle French pais de cocaigne (land of plenty), from Middle Low German kokenje, diminutive of koke (cake). Cockaigne was a fabled place of ease and luxury, a land overflowing with milk and honey where food fell into your mouth by itself. It was an imaginary place a medieval peasant could aspire to, a place away from the harsh reality of life.] The Land of Cockaigne: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cockaigne_large.jpg [Artist: Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525-1569)] "This was a land of Cockaigne, a place of total self-indulgent enchantment where I sat alone for hours contemplating." Christopher Moore; Broad Horizons; The Press (Christchurch, New Zealand); Jan 4, 1999. -------- Date: Wed May 12 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shangri-la X-Bonus: If the world ever advances beyond what it is today, it must be led by men who express their real opinions. -Robert G. Ingersoll, lawyer and orator (1833-1899) This week's theme: Words derived after mythical places Shangri-la (shang-gri-LAH) noun An imaginary, idyllic place that is remote and secluded. [After Shangri-La, a Tibetan utopia in the novel Lost Horizon (1933) by James Hilton (1900-1954). From Shangri (a coined name) + Tibetan la (mountain pass).] Shangri-la, a still from the 2004 film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/shangri-la_large.jpg "For just one hour you think you are living in dreamland, a Shangri-La, where if life is not yet quite perfect, it will be very soon." Simon Hoggart; Budget 2010; The Guardian (London, UK); Mar 25, 2010. -------- Date: Thu May 13 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Garden of Eden X-Bonus: I abhor vivisection. It should at least be curbed. Better, it should be abolished. I know of no achievement through vivisection, no scientific discovery, that could not have been obtained without such barbarism and cruelty. The whole thing is evil. -Charles Mayo, physician and founder of the Mayo Clinic (1865-1939) This week's theme: Words derived after mythical places Garden of Eden (GAHR-dn of EED-n) noun A place of unspoilt happiness and beauty. [From Hebrew eden (delight, pleasure). The Garden of Eden refers to the Biblical place where Adam and Eve lived before being expelled.] Garden of Eden: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/garden_of_eden_large.jpg [Artist: Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553)] "Long before the Spaniards arrived in Palos Verdes, a nation of people lived in a veritable Garden of Eden. Lush and teeming with wild game and fish, life on the Peninsula for its native people, the Tongva, was rich and abundant." Mary Scott; Paradise Lost -- And Found?; Peninsula News (California); Mar 25, 2010. -------- Date: Fri May 14 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Land of Oz X-Bonus: The death of dogma is the birth of morality. -Immanuel Kant, philosopher (1724-1804) This week's theme: Words derived after mythical places Land of Oz (land ov oz) noun An unreal or magical place. [A mythical and magical place, first introduced in the children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) by L. Frank Baum (1856-1919). The legend that Baum came up with the name when he saw a filing cabinet drawer labeled O-Z (below the drawers A-G and H-N) is disputed. See http://www.snopes.com/language/literary/oz.asp .] Map of Oz https://wordsmith.org/words/images/land_of_oz_large.jpg [Illustrator: John R. Neill] "Perhaps you were living in the Land of Oz if you had been expecting anything but what we were handed by an Ontario Government up to its snoot in red ink." Tayler Parnaby; Don't Peek Behind the Curtain; Caledon Enterprise (Canada); Mar 30, 2010. -------- Date: Mon May 17 00:02:07 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Ockham's razor X-Bonus: Sometimes I wish I were a little kid again; skinned knees are easier to fix than broken hearts. -Anonymous Our language is sprinkled with terms coined with the formula X's Y. There's baker's dozen https://wordsmith.org/words/bakers_dozen.html and bull's eye https://wordsmith.org/words/bulls-eye.html and deadman's hand https://wordsmith.org/words/deadmans_hand.html (a poker hand). There are diseases and syndromes and body parts named after physicians (Parkinson's disease); there are theorems, laws, and numbers named after scientists (Avogadro's number); there are plants named after botanists (Ahnfelt's seaweed); and there are places named after explorers, though some are named after no one ("no man's land" :-). This week we'll look at five terms that follow this X's Y or "someone's something" formula, terms named after specific people that answer: Whose what? Ockham's razor also Occam's razor (OK-ehmz RAY-zuhr) noun The maxim that the simplest of explanations is more likely to be correct than any other. [After William of Ockham (c. 1288-1348), a logician and theologian, who is credited with the idea.] Notes: Ockham's razor states that "entities should not be multiplied needlessly". It's also called the principle of parsimony. It's the idea that other things being equal, between two theories the simpler one is preferable. Why razor? Because Ockham's razor shaves away unnecessary assumptions. Ockham's razor has applications in fields as diverse as medicine, religion, crime, and literature. Medical students are told, for example, "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." William of Ockham: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/ockhams_razor_large.png [Section of a stained glass window at a church in Surrey, UK] "But not everyone in Washington is a believer in Occam's razor, so all manner of other theories flourished." A DC Whodunit: Who Leaked And Why?; Reuters (UK); Sep 22, 2009. -------- Date: Tue May 18 00:02:11 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Morton's fork X-Bonus: Ethiopians imagine their gods as black and snub-nosed; Thracians blue-eyed and red-haired. But if horses or lions had hands, or could draw and fashion works as men do, horses would draw the gods shaped like horses and lions like lions, making the gods resemble themselves. -Xenophanes, philosopher and poet (c.570-475 BCE) This week's theme: Whose what? Morton's fork (MOR-tuhns fork) noun A situation involving choice between two equally undesirable outcomes. [After John Morton (c. 1420-1500), archbishop of Canterbury, who was tax collector for the English King Henry VII. To him is attributed Morton's fork, a neat argument for collecting taxes from everyone: those living in luxury obviously had money to spare and those living frugally must have accumulated savings to be able to pay.] "[Japan's political elites] face a Morton's fork between being ignored or being seen as a problem to which there is little solution." Michael Auslin; Japan Dissing; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Apr 22, 2010. -------- Date: Wed May 19 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Hobson's choice X-Bonus: Our choicest plans / have fallen through, / our airiest castles / tumbled over, / because of lines / we neatly drew / and later neatly / stumbled over. -Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996) This week's theme: Whose what? Hobson's choice (HOB-sonz chois) noun An apparently free choice that offers no real alternative: take it or leave it. [After Thomas Hobson (1544?-1630), English keeper of a livery stable, from his requirement that customers take either the horse nearest the stable door or none.] Thomas Hobson, 1629 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/hobsons_choice_large.jpg [Artist unknown] Notes: Hobson had some 40 animals in his rent-a-horse business and a straightforward system: a returning horse goes to the end of the line, and the horse at the top of the line gets to serve next. He had good intentions -- rotating horses so his steeds received good rest and an equal wear, but his heavy-handed enforcement of the policy didn't earn him any customer service stars. He could have offered his clients the option of choosing one of the two horses nearest the stable door, for instance, and still achieve nearly the same goal. More recently Henry Ford offered customers a Ford Model T in any color as long as it was black. "There, many are given a legal Hobson's choice: Plead guilty and go home or ask for a lawyer and spend longer in custody." Sean Webby; No Lawyer in Sight for Many Making Way Through System; San Jose Mercury News (California); Dec 30, 2009. -------- Date: Thu May 20 00:02:08 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Achilles' heel X-Bonus: Though I have been trained as a soldier, and participated in many battles, there never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword. I look forward to an epoch when a court, recognized by all nations, will settle international differences. -Ulysses S. Grant, military commander, 18th US President (1822-1885) This week's theme: Whose what? Achilles' heel (uh-KIL-eez heel) noun A seemingly small but critical weakness in an otherwise strong position. [After Achilles, a hero in the Greek mythology. When Achilles was a baby, his mother Thetis dipped him into the magical river Styx to make him invincible. She held him by the heel which remained untouched by the water and became his weak point. He was killed when the Trojan prince Paris shot an arrow that pierced his one vulnerable spot: his heel. After him, the tendon in the lower back of the ankle is also known as the Achilles tendon.] Dying Achilles, a sculpture on the Greek island of Corfu, 1884: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/achilles_heel_large.jpg Sculptor: Ernst Herter (1846-1917) "Economics, once the Coalition's strength, is in danger of becoming its achilles heel." Laurie Oakes; Coalition Weak on Economics; Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia); Apr 3, 2010. -------- Date: Fri May 21 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--St. Elmo's fire X-Bonus: I need someone to protect me from all the measures they take in order to protect me. -Banksy, street artist (b. 1974) This week's theme: Whose what? St. Elmo's fire (saynt EL-mohz fyr) noun An electrical discharge visible at the surface of a conductor, as a ship's mast or an airplane's wing. [After St. Erasmus (mispronounced as Elmo by sailors) who is regarded as the patron saint of sailors and an electrical discharge on the mast of a ship is believed to be a sign of his protection. This phenomenon of corona discharge is also called St. Elmo's light.] St. Elmo's fire on a ship: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/st_elmos_fire_large.jpg [An illustration from the book The Aerial World by Dr. G. Hartwig, London, 1875] "When Capt Moody opened the door to the cockpit he saw the windscreen ablaze with a St. Elmo's fire -- a discharge of static electricity." When Volcanic Ash Stopped a Jumbo at 37,000ft; BBC News (London, UK); Apr 15, 2010. "Donald Holder's lighting design needed more pizzazz, particularly in scenes like the storm that sparks St. Elmo's fire on the ship's masts." Heidi Waleson; Taming the Whale; The Wall Street Journal (New York); May 4, 2010. -------- Date: Mon May 24 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jactitation X-Bonus: Memories are interpreted like dreams. -Leo Longanesi, journalist and editor (1905-1957) Some of the people I admire in history had multifarious talents: Rabindranath Tagore (poet, novelist, dramatist, composer, musician, artist, educator, Nobelist), Leonardo da Vinci (painter, engineer, musician, scientist), Isaac Asimov (scientist, writer of about 500 books on all sorts of topics), among others. Humans were meant to do many things. So can be said of this week's words. Each word featured here has multiple, often unrelated, meanings. jactitation (jak-ti-TAY-shun) noun 1. A false boast or claim that is intended to harm someone, especially a malicious claim by a person that he or she is married to a particular person. 2. Involuntary tossing and twitching of the body and limbs. [From Latin jactitation (tossing, false declaration), past participle of jactitare (to throw out publicly, to boast), frequentative of jactare (to throw about), frequentative of jacere (to throw).] "Film actress Meera has filed a suit for jactitation of marriage against her alleged husband Attique Ur Rehman, seeking court directions to stop him from claiming her as his legal wife." Meera Files for Marriage Jactitation; The Pak Banker (Pakistan); Feb 10, 2010. "Tizanidine hydrochloride has been used for the treatment of jactitation." How to Relieve Chronic Pain After Amputation; Pulse (UK); May 5, 2001. -------- Date: Tue May 25 00:02:12 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bagman X-Bonus: Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another. -John Muir, naturalist and explorer (1838-1914) This week's theme: Words having many unrelated meanings bagman (BAG-man, BAG-muhn) noun 1. One who collects or distributes money from illicit activities, for example, in a protection racket. 2. UK: A traveling salesman. 3. Canada: A political fundraiser. 4. Australia: A tramp; swagman. 5. Golf: A caddie hired to carry a golf player's clubs. [From the literal senses of the words bag and man.] "Andres Butron confessed to being a bagman in a drug operation, transporting cash collected in drug sales to Mexico." William Lee; 3 Men Found Dead; Chicago Tribune; May 19, 2010. "Here is an account of how the hawker, the street peddler, the lowly bagman, evolved into the mighty selling and marketing gurus of today." Birth of a Salesman; Financial Times (London, UK); May 22, 2004. "The party also has turned a fundraising corner with its new and energetic bagman Rocco Rossi." Barbara Yaffe; Struggling Ignatieff Needs Peter Donolo; The Ottawa Citizen (Canada); Nov 2, 2009. "Anyone who wants to know just how the lot of the caddie has changed need only look at Steve Williams, Tiger Woods's bagman. He is frequently referred to as the highest-paid sportsman in New Zealand." Nomadic Life Became Byrne's Bag; Irish Times (Dublin); Nov 21, 2009. -------- Date: Wed May 26 00:02:09 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cashier X-Bonus: I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. -Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955) This week's theme: Words having many unrelated meanings cashier (ka-SHEER) verb tr.: To dismiss from service, especially with disgrace. [From Dutch kasseren, from Middle French casser (to break, to discharge), from Latin quassare (to quash), frequentative of quatere (to shake).] noun: An employee who handles payments and receipts in a store, bank, or business. [From Dutch kassier or French caissier, both from French caisse (cashbox), from Latin capsa (case).] "Iraq is thick with bitter men. Some 400,000 were cashiered from the army." Mideast Carnage Tests Our Resolve; Toronto Star (Canada); Aug 20, 2003. -------- Date: Thu May 27 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--meiosis 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 betwixt princes. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592) This week's theme: Words having many unrelated meanings meiosis (my-O-sis) noun 1. Understatement for rhetorical effect. 2. The process of cell division in which the number of chromosomes per cell is reduced to one half. [From Greek meiosis (lessening), from meioun (to lessen), from meion (less).] Notes: Meiosis is a figure of speech in which underemphasis is used to achieve a greater effect, for example, "It took a few days to build the Great Wall of China." Also see litotes https://wordsmith.org/words/litotes.html "At times I have a problem with this understatement. Understatement is effective only when there is real purpose to the meiosis." James Gardner; Cold Mountain; National Review (New York); Dec 31, 1997. "I took two years of biology in secondary school and couldn't today tell you the difference between meiosis and mitosis without a little help from Google, yet no one's arguing that studying cellular processes is a waste of precious school resources." Kate Sommers-Dawes; Foreign Language in High Schools is Worthwhile; Washington Post; May 13, 2010. -------- Date: Fri May 28 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tabby X-Bonus: And this our life, exempt from public haunt, / Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, / Sermons in stones, and good in everything. -William Shakespeare, playwright and poet (1564-1616) This week's theme: Words having many unrelated meanings tabby (TAB-ee) noun 1. A domestic cat with a striped or brindled coat. 2. A domestic cat, especially a female one. 3. A spinster. 4. A spiteful or gossipy woman. 5. A fabric of plain weave. 6. A watered silk fabric. [From French tabis, from Medieval Latin attabi, from Arabic attabi, from al-Attabiya, a suburb of Baghdad, Iraq, where silk was made, from the name of Prince Attab. Cats got the name tabby after similarity of their coats to the cloth; the derivations of words for females are probably from shortening of the name Tabitha.] 7. A building material made of lime, oyster shells, and gravel. [From Gullah tabi, ultimately from Spanish tapia (wall).] "I was playing whist with the tabbies when it occurred, and saw nothing of the whole matter." Charles James Lever; Jack Hinton, the Guardsman; 1857. "Kay Sekimachi uses tabby and twill weaving to contrast black and beige linens." Stunning 30-year Retrospective at San Jose Museum of Quilts Textiles; Independent Coast Observer (California); Jan 4, 2008. "Mayor Carl Smith suggested that tabby fence posts be used around the cemetery's perimeter because the oyster-based concrete would better fit the island's character." Jessica Johnson; Group Restoring Cemetery; The Post and Courier (South Carolina); Jan 21, 2010. -------- Date: Mon May 31 00:02:08 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--McKenzie X-Bonus: Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence. -Hal Borland, journalist (1900-1978) Give credit where credit is due, goes the expression, but in this week's words the credit is misplaced. Each of these words is coined after the wrong person. It's not always easy to assign credit, however, as the contention on the naming of diseases shows http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/303/4/372 . There's even a law about misplaced credits. Stigler's law of eponymy says, "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." Stigler credits this law to sociologist Robert K. Merton (thus making the law self-referential). Check out this week's five words not named after the person they should be. McKenzie (muh-KEN-zee) noun Someone who attends a court trial as an adviser to one of the parties. This person works not as a legal representative, but as an informal adviser. Also known as a "McKenzie friend". [The term arose from the 1970 divorce case McKenzie v. McKenzie in the UK. The man in this case didn't have a lawyer. An Australian barrister, Ian Hanger, wanted to help, but could not as he was not qualified to practice in the UK. The man represented himself; Hanger offered to sit with him and provide advice as a friend, but he was denied this by the court. The man lost the case, and this denial became the basis for appeal which affirmed the position that a litigant can, in fact, have someone attend the trial to help in a non-professional capacity. Given the role of the barrister Hanger, a better choice of coinage for this word would have been Hanger, instead of McKenzie.] "A measure, of benefit to women especially, would be to permit the litigant to have a McKenzie friend in the course of the case." Chitra Narayan; On An Obstacle Course; Hindu (Chennai, India); Nov 17, 2005.