A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu May 1 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--unicity X-Bonus: Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. -Joseph Addison, writer (1 May 1672-1719) This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be unicity (yoo-NIS-uh-tee) noun The quality of being the only one of its kind: uniqueness or oneness. [From Latin unicus (one, unique). Earliest documented use: 1691. A synonym is uniquity https://wordsmith.org/words/uniquity.html .] NOTES: Philosophers use "unicity" when talking about things like the unicity of God or the unicity of truth; or you might do so in reference to the unicity of your Bluetooth connection when it's finally working properly for once in its life. Not to be confused with duplicity, when one is being two-faced (aka Janus-faced https://wordsmith.org/words/janus-faced.html ). https://wordsmith.org/words/images/unicity_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "[Emmanuel Macron] asks what is the unicity of the EU and defines it as a unique political body without hegemony, sharing sovereignty and uniting people democratically." Paul Gillespie; Germany Must Meet Macron's Demands; Irish Times (Dublin); May 13, 2017. -------- Date: Fri May 2 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--piepowder X-Bonus: Man can be the most affectionate and altruistic of creatures, yet he's potentially more vicious than any other. He is the only one who can be persuaded to hate millions of his own kind whom he has never seen and to kill as many as he can lay his hands on in the name of his tribe or his God. -Benjamin Spock, pediatrician and author (2 May 1903-1998) This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be piepowder (PY-pow-duhr) noun A traveler, especially a traveling merchant. [From Old French pie (foot) + poudre (powder, dust). Earliest documented use: 1436.] NOTES: Back in the pre-sneaker, pre-sidewalk, pre-horseless-carriage era, travelers https://wordsmith.org/words/alsatia.html earned their name the hard way: one dusty footstep at a time. The term piepowder literally means dusty-foot, a poetic nod to the grime that clung to merchants as they wandered from fair to fair, hawking wares and dodging pickpockets. Itinerant merchants were the original pop-up shops. Because disputes over goods, weights, and prices were inevitable, special Courts of Piepowders were held on the spot to mete out justice, fairground-style. Think Judge Judy, but with more livestock and fewer microphones. "Bartholomew Fair" (1807) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/piepowder_large.jpg Etching: Thomas Rowlandson, after John Nixon https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bartholomew_Fair_MET_DP873843.jpg "I had the rogues up at the court of piepowder, and they will harm no more peaceful traders." Arthur Conan Doyle; The White Company; Smith, Elder & Co.; 1891. -------- Date: Mon May 5 00:01:03 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--elucidatory X-Bonus: When a clown moves into a palace, he does not become a king. The palace becomes a circus. -Elizabeth Bangs, writer (b. 30 Oct 1956) I like people who practice what they preach. But I love words that do. Take pentasyllabic, a word that both means and is five syllables long. Talk about walking the syllabic walk. (More here https://wordsmith.org/words/monosemous.html ) That got me wondering: Why doesn't the word _vowel_ include all the vowels? Where are a, i, and u hiding? It's like a party missing half the guests. Let's fix it. We make some progress with _vowelize_. But that still leaves it without a and u. How about _vowelization_? Now all we need is a u. Where do we go from here? Maybe u can help? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/elucidatory.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Include your location: city, state. We're all ears. And eyes. And sometimes y. In the meantime, we vow to bring you words this week with all vowels: aeiou, and yes, even the sometime-shy y. Some vowely good fun from our archives: Shortest word with all five vowels: eunoia https://wordsmith.org/words/eunoia.html Shortest with all six vowels: oxygeusia https://wordsmith.org/words/oxygeusia.html Words with vowels in order: See here https://wordsmith.org/words/abstentious.html here https://wordsmith.org/words/anemious.html and here https://wordsmith.org/words/affectious.html Vowels once and in alphabetical order: https://wordsmith.org/words/abstemious.html All six vowels, any order: https://wordsmith.org/words/elocutionary.html Only one vowel (because why not do the opposite): https://wordsmith.org/words/parastatal.html elucidatory (i-LOO/LYOO-si-duh-tuh-ree) adjective Serving to clarify or explain. [From Latin elucidare (to make clear), from lucid (bright, clear), from lucere (to shine), from lux (light). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leuk- (light), which also gave us lunar, lunatic, light, lightning, lucid, illuminate, illustrate, lustration https://wordsmith.org/words/lustration.html , Lucifer, translucent, lux, and lynx. Earliest documented use: 1774.] NOTES: Something elucidatory is a flashlight in the fog of confusion. It’s what a good teacher provides, what a user manual _tries_ to be, and what this very entry hopes to accomplish. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/elucidatory_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Fans scrambled to decode and catalogue all this information online, providing elucidatory footnotes." Rachel Aroesti; From Baby Reindeer to Taylor Swift, How Amateur Sleuths Ruined Pop Culture; The Guardian (London, UK); May 25, 2024. -------- Date: Tue May 6 00:01:03 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--questionary X-Bonus: In the small matters trust the mind, in the large ones the heart. -Sigmund Freud, neurologist, founder of psychoanalysis (6 May 1856-1939) This week's theme: Words with all the vowels questionary (KWES-chuh-ner-ee) noun: 1. A list of questions: a questionnaire. 2. One who asks questions. adjective: 1. Inquisitive. 2. Having or relating to questions. [From question, from Middle French question, from Latin quaerere (to ask). Earliest documented use: 1541.] NOTES: A questionary can be both the interrogator and the instrument. How handy! Whether you're handing out a survey or peppering someone with pointed queries, you're being delightfully -- or annoyingly -- questionary. Could Sherlock Holmes be called a questionary detective? Or is that just elementary? See also: sixty-four-dollar question https://wordsmith.org/words/sixty-four_dollar_question.html "Counsel shall limit the cross examination to no more than twenty questions, confining them solely to matters related to animals, vegetables, or minerals." https://wordsmith.org/words/images/questionary_large.jpg Cartoon: Dan Piraro https://www.facebook.com/bizarrocomics/ "The depth and relevance of the testing offered by these companies varies widely, as does the usefulness of the information they provide. Some rely on detailed questionaries." Adam Piore; Forget Fad Diets. AI Knows Exactly What You Should Eat for Your Best Health; Newsweek (New York); Mar 17, 2023. "The look on her face now was very questionary, and the answer was unspoken in his mouth like a song yet unsung." Devaughn Jackson; The Voodoo Queen; D. Jackson; 2022. -------- Date: Wed May 7 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cylindraceous X-Bonus: By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower. -Rabindranath Tagore, poet, philosopher, author, songwriter, painter, educator, composer, Nobel laureate (7 May 1861-1941) This week's theme: Words with all the vowels cylindraceous (sil-in-DRAY-shuhs) adjective Resembling a cylinder. [From Latin cylindrus, from Greek kylindros, from kylindein (to roll). Earliest documented use: 1676.] NOTES: Something cylindraceous rolls into your life like a can of soup: efficient, symmetrical, and always ready to store something. The word shows up in botany too, describing tube-shaped structures like flower stalks or plant stems. So if someone says you have a cylindraceous head, they might mean you're well-rounded, at least vertically. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cylindraceous_large.jpg Photo: Amy Buthod https://www.flickr.com/photos/akbuthod/2483115620/ "Sherrie [was] bending down to examine a rigid cylindraceous thingy attached to a harness." Donald Huffman Graff; Madstones; BookLocker; 2024. -------- Date: Thu May 8 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--autocephality X-Bonus: Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear. -Harry S. Truman, 33rd US president (8 May 1884-1972) This week's theme: Words with all the vowels autocephality (ah-to-suh-FAL-i-tee) noun Self-rule. [From Greek auto- (self) + -cephal (head).] NOTES: Autocephality is a fancy word for self-governance. It's especially used in the context of Eastern Orthodox Churches that independently govern their spiritual affairs without a higher ecclesiastical authority. Think of it as running their own spiritual show. No higher-ups pulling the incense strings. Not to be confused with autocephalopods. Those would be self-governing squids. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/autocephality_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Autocephality in Bulgaria and the rest of the Balkans made the churches a tool for nationalist propaganda and war in the nineteenth century." Alex Moldovan ; The Orthodox Church and a Very Balkan Affair; OpenDemocracy (London, UK); Nov 5, 2018. -------- Date: Fri May 9 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--quodlibetary X-Bonus: How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause... It is such a splendid sunny day, and I have to go. But how many have to die on the battlefield in these days, how many young, promising lives. What does my death matter if by our acts thousands are warned and alerted. -Sophie Scholl, student and anti-Nazi activist (9 May 1921-1943) [Her last words before being executed by guillotine.] This week's theme: Words with all the vowels quodlibetary (kwod-LIB-uh-ter-ee) adjective: Relating to a discussion or debate involving subtle or hypothetical points. noun: 1. One who takes part in such a discussion. 2. One who does whatever pleases them. 3. A subtle or hypothetical point. [From Latin quodlibetum (whatever pleases), from Latin quod (what) + libet (it pleases). Earliest documented use: 1604.] NOTES: In medieval universities, a quodlibetary question was one posed at will -- anything the audience pleased -- and answered by a scholar in public debate. These discussions could range from profound to playful, often spotlighting a debater’s wit and agility. The word also lives on in music: a quodlibet is a medley of familiar tunes humorously combined. Think of it as a musical potluck -- whatever pleases. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/quodlibetary_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Down with the disputations, cardinal and quodlibetary." Victor Hugo (Translation: J.C. Beckwith); The Hunchback of Notre-Dame; Routledge; 1891. -------- Date: Mon May 12 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--renunciatory X-Bonus: The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. -Dante Alighieri, poet (c. May 1265-1321) A dictionary definition is like a passport photo of a word: flat, official, and a little lifeless. It captures the essence of a word. A great usage example, on the other hand, catches the word in action. Rather than rely on contrived sentences, we comb the real world for organic usage examples. Ones that do more than explain a word. Sometimes they go beyond the mundane: they tell a clever story, reveal something about the human condition, or simply bring a smile. This week we'll share five words with such usage examples. renunciatory (ri-NUHN-see-uh-tor-ee) adjective Relating to giving up, renouncing, or rejecting. [From Latin renuntiare (renounce or report). Earliest documented use: 1667.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/renunciatory_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "Six pages in [the book "Deep Work"], I powered down my laptop. Twenty pages in, I left the house to buy an alarm clock so that I wouldn't have an excuse to sleep next to my phone. A hundred pages in, I asked my brother to change my Twitter password so that I could no longer log in to my account. Nothing like starting the new year off with a renunciatory spree!" Molly Young; Help Desk; The New York Times Book Review; Jan 31, 2016. -------- Date: Tue May 13 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--winsome X-Bonus: In a free country there is much clamor, with little suffering: in a despotic state there is little complaint but much suffering. -Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Carnot, statesman and engineer (13 May 1753-1823) This week's theme: Interesting usage examples winsome (WIN-suhm) adjective Pleasing or charming, especially in a childlike or innocent manner. [From Old English wynsum, from wynn (joy) + -sum (-some). Earliest documented use: 450.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/winsome https://wordsmith.org/words/images/winsome_large.jpg Illustration: Anu Garg + AI "The guest lists included women who were 'as winsome as possible' to make the town seem attractive to the (male) engineer in charge of choosing [the site of a nuclear research center https://inl.gov/ ]. The plan worked." Going Nuclear; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 1, 2023. -------- Date: Wed May 14 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--susurrant X-Bonus: You can't be suspicious of a tree, or accuse a bird or a squirrel of subversion or challenge the ideology of a violet. -Hal Borland, author and journalist (14 May 1900-1978) This week's theme: Interesting usage examples susurrant (soo/suh-SUHR-uhnt) adjective Whispering or rustling. [From Latin susurrare (to whisper or hum), of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1791. The verb form is susurrate https://wordsmith.org/words/susurrate.html and the noun is susurrus https://wordsmith.org/words/susurrus.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/susurrant https://wordsmith.org/words/images/susurrant_large.gif Gif: Gifer https://gifer.com/en/7JCR "She decides to seduce the scruffy macho cop with the susurrant name, Detective Scieziesciez." Liam Lacey; One Messy Electra Complex; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Oct 24, 2014. -------- Date: Thu May 15 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ruderal X-Bonus: The past is never where you think you left it. -Katherine Anne Porter, writer and activist (15 May 1890-1980) This week's theme: Interesting usage examples ruderal (ROO-duhr-uhl) adjective: Growing in waste places, disturbed land, or poor soil. noun: A plant that thrives in such conditions. [From Latin rudus (rubble). Earliest documented use: 1835.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ruderal https://wordsmith.org/words/images/ruderal_large.jpg Photo: Julia Hinterseer-Pinter https://www.flickr.com/photos/162657228@N08/42144133204/ "Carl Linneaus revolutionized the way in which [taxonomy] was done. In fact, he courted controversy at the time, using quite explicit sεxual descriptions, such as 'eight men in the same bride's chamber, with one woman'! ["Octandria Monogynia"] The German botanist, Johann Siegesbeck, referred to Linnaeus' work as 'loathsome harlotry', though Linnaeus, believing in revenge as a dish best served well and truly chilled, retorted with taxonomic vengeance, naming a small and insignificant little ruderal plant ("Siegesbeckia") https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigesbeckia after his accuser." Keith Skene; Form, Function, Forests, and Fossils; Contemporary Review (Oxford, UK); Dec 2011. https://picryl.com/media/paxtons-magazine-of-botany-and-register-of-flowering-plants-1842-14759940946-702998 -------- Date: Fri May 16 00:01:02 EDT 2025 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bereft X-Bonus: As a general truth, communities prosper and flourish, or droop and decline, in just the degree that they practise or neglect to practise the primary duties of justice and humanity. -William Henry Seward, Secretary of State, Governor, and Senator (16 May 1801-1872) This week's theme: Interesting usage examples bereft (bi-REFT) adjective Deprived of or lacking. [Past participle of bereave (to deprive), from Old English bereafian (to rob someone of something). Earliest documented use: 1531.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bereft "Bereft" 1893 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bereft_large.jpg Art: William Harris Weatherhead https://www.artnet.com/artists/william-harris-weatherhead/bereft-i1OL7Xpm6SOoR06CbLXJ1Q2 "Too many voters today are easily conned, deeply biased, impervious to fact, and bereft of survival instincts. Contrary to myth, frogs leap out of heating pots. Stampeding cattle stop at a cliff edge. Lemmings don’t really commit mass suicide. We’ll find out about Americans in 2024." Mort Rosenblum; Deadly Hot Air; The Mort Report; Feb 10, 2023.