A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Jun 1 00:02:14 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dernier cri X-Bonus: Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful. -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900) dernier cri (DERN-yay KREE) noun The latest fashion. [From French, literally, last cry.] "The retro lineup of vegetables which came with our mains ... was good, bringing back memories of going round to the neighbour's for dinner in the days when the microwave was still a novelty and cheesy veges were the dernier cri in suburban chic." Eleanor Black; Gumdiggers, Birkenhead; The New Zealand Herald (Auckland, NZ); Feb 14, 2004. "Open any British gossip magazine, fashion supplement or tabloid and you will find ... the pages are saturated with the dernier cri in baby spa merchandise." Ellen Himelfarb; A Hip-hop Mom's Playstation; National Post (Canada); Dec 13, 2003. This week's theme: words from French. -------- Date: Wed Jun 2 00:02:20 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--au naturel X-Bonus: Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back and drain your mind of all thought. And there you are watching the bubbles in the primeval ooze. You don't have to concentrate. You don't have to react. You don't have to remember. You don't miss your brain because you don't need it. Your heart and liver and lungs continue to function normally. Apart from that, all is peace and quiet. You are in the man's nirvana. And if some poor nasty minded person comes along and says you look like a fly on a can of garbage, pay him no mind. He probably hasn't got the price of a television set. -Raymond Thornton Chandler, writer (1888-1959) au naturel (o nach-uh-REL, o nah-tu-REL) adjective 1. Uncooked or cooked plainly. 2. Nude. 3. In the natural state. [From French au naturel (in the natural state).] "As the author of Raw: The Uncook Book, the bible of raw-foodists everywhere, Brotman has established himself as a guru in the art of serving food as au naturel as possible." Peta Bee; Chuck Out Your Oven; The Times (London, UK); Feb 27, 2003. "Increasingly, people are choosing 'green graves' - being buried au naturel amid the fields, forests and even the waters of the seas." Thinking Outside the Box; Better Nutrition (Atlanta, Georgia); Feb 2003. This week's theme: words from French. -------- Date: Thu Jun 3 00:02:22 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bouleversement X-Bonus: There are no persons capable of stooping so low as those who desire to rise in the world. -Marguerite Gardiner, writer (1 Sep 1789-1849) bouleversement (BOO-luh-vers-MAWN) noun 1. Reversal. 2. Violent uproar, upheaval, or disorder. [From French bouleversement (upheaval), from bouleverser (to overturn), from boule (ball) + verser (to turn).] "The merger of the Chapters and Indigo bookstore chains began as a hostile takeover, a David-and-Goliath bouleversement in which small, scrappy Indigo toppled huge, swollen Chapters with a well-aimed shot." Rebecca Wigod; At Last, Canada Becomes a Genre; Vancouver Sun (Canada); Aug 25, 2001. "The timing of this week's bouleversement in Brussels was rotten. It is less than a month since Prime Minister Tony Blair decided to break cover, stand up in the House of Commons, launch his 'national changeover plan,' and make it plain to anyone who had ever doubted it that he really did intend to lead Britain into the promised land of the euro, the single European currency. After a long period of cautious equivocation, the prime minister had, in his own words, 'shifted up a gear' ..." Moses Blair And His Promised Euroland; The Economist (London, UK); Mar 20, 1999. This week's theme: words from French. -------- Date: Fri Jun 4 00:02:14 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--entente X-Bonus: A person is never happy except at the price of some ignorance. -Anatole France, novelist, essayist, Nobel laureate (1844-1924) entente (ahn-TAHNT) noun 1. A friendly understanding or agreement between two or more parties, governments, etc. 2. The parties to such an agreement. [From French entente (understanding), from Old French entente (intent), past participle of entendre (to understand, intend), from Latin intendere, from in- (toward) + tendere (to stretch). Other words derived from the same Latin root are attend, extend, pretend, tense, and tender.] The year 2004 marks the hundredth anniversary of the Entente Cordiale, the agreement signed between the UK and France in 1904, ending centuries of hostilities: http://www.entente-cordiale.org. "Now that America's GOP and India's BJP-led government are enjoying a new entente exactly 20 years later, this echo seems entirely appropriate." Reshmi R Dasgupta; Feel-good Theme Has a Global Trail; The Economic Times (New Delhi, India); Feb 29, 2004. "Responding to speculation about a potential post-election entente between the Conservatives and the separatist Bloc Quebecois, Harper lashed out Wednesday at similar talk of a Liberal-NDP deal." Bruce Cheadle; Stronach, Clement Stump in Final Bid to Woo Support; London Free Press (Canada); Mar 19, 2004. This week's theme: words from French. -------- Date: Mon Jun 7 00:02:08 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--amerce X-Bonus: If you came and you found a strange man... teaching your kids to punch each other, or trying to sell them all kinds of products, you'd kick him right out of the house, but here you are; you come in and the TV is on, and you don't think twice about it. -Jerome Singer, psychology professor amerce (uh-MURS) verb tr. 1. To punish by a fine. 2. To punish by imposing a penalty in an arbitrary manner. [From Middle English amercy, from Anglo-French amercier (to fine), from Old French a merci (at one's mercy), from Latin merces (wages). Other words derived from the same root are commerce, mercenary, market, merchant, and mercy.] "Uncouth though he was, (Geoffroi) le Brun was at least more sophisticated an operator than some of his neighbours. Most of them simply mulcted, amerced, plundered, ravaged, and otherwise terrified their trembling feudal subordinates. Le Brun, advised by a monk skilled in public relations, proceeded more cautiously. He wrote them long letters explaining why what he did was entirely necessary and in their best interests. Only then did he mulct, amerce, plunder, ravage and otherwise terrify them." Smallweed; The Guardian (London, UK); Jan 28, 1995. "But only three in all God's universe Have heard this word thou hast said, -- Himself, beside Thee speaking, and me listening! and replied One of us ... that was God, ... and laid the curse So darkly on my eyelids, as to amerce My sight from seeing thee." Elizabeth Barrett Browning; Sonnets From the Portuguese; 19th C. It appears the verb has been downsized. We've always thought it was indispensable -- try saying anything meaningful without using a verb. But a French writer using the penname of Michel Thaler has done the unthinkable. He's written a 233-page novel Le Train de Nulle Part (The Train From Nowhere) devoid of any verb! http://amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/2848140194/ws01-21 The French have a long tradition of such experiments and wordplay. Writers in the famous group OULIPO (Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle: Workshop of Potential Literature) have written entire novels under extreme constraints, for example, without using the letter e. If you think it's easy, try writing a single meaningful paragraph. While Thaler's feat is commendable, we believe that reports of the verb's demise are greatly exaggerated. Without a verb, that train is getting nowhere. The verbs are all there in the book all right - it's just that they've been given non-speaking roles. We certainly haven't given up on verbs; on the contrary, we promote them. This week we highlight five unusual verbs, words that bring sentences to life. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Jun 8 00:02:08 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--deracinate 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 (1902-1994) deracinate (di-RAS-uh-nayt) verb tr. 1. To uproot. 2. To displace someone or something from a native culture or environment. [From French deraciner, from de- + racine (root), from Late Latin radicina, from Latin radix (root), ultimately from Indo-European root wrad (root) which is also the source of words, such as root, wort, licorice, radical, radish, rutabaga, eradicate, and ramify.] "There is an acute paradox here: the well-meaning China hands award the Olympics to Beijing; that empowers the government to deracinate the wild grass growing around its feet." Bruce Gilley; Books of the Times; The New York Times; May 19, 2004. "'We lived in a an apartment that was part of a series of 1950s housing projects, and every floor was inhabited by a family that came from a different country. There was a sense of all these deracinated identities that were unrelated to one another or to the environment they lived in, all of them engaged in continuing some kind of dialogue with their countries of origin,' she told me when we first met." Talya Halkin; Domestic Nightmare; Jerusalem Post (Israel); Feb 26, 2004. This week's theme: verbs. -------- Date: Wed Jun 9 00:02:11 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wamble X-Bonus: Everyone wishes to have truth on his side, but not everyone wishes to be on the side of truth. -Richard Whately, philosopher, reformer, theologian, economist (1787-1863) wamble (WOM-buhl) verb intr. 1. To move unsteadily; to totter, waver, roll, etc. 2. To feel nausea. 3. (Of a stomach) To rumble or growl. noun 1. An unsteady motion. 2. A feeling of nausea. [From Middle English wamelen (to feel nausea). Ultimately from Indo-European root wem- (to vomit) that's also the source of words such as vomit and emetic (something that induces vomiting).] "In her (Janice Daugharty's) hands, dogs don't just run and bark at moving wagons. Instead, 'rawboned and hollow, the ... heart-faced curs came on, yipping at the spinning wagon wheels and wambling between the legs of the horses." Hal Jacobs; Reading the South: New fiction; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia); May 27, 2004 "But then add the black warrior: the focus settles on the black guy, the theme blurs, the angle grows acute, the last reel resolution wambles." Thomas Cripps; Frederick Douglass: The Absent Presence in Glory; The Massachusetts Review (Amherst); Spring 1995. This week's theme: verbs. -------- Date: Thu Jun 10 00:02:10 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--embrangle X-Bonus: As no roads are so rough as those that have just been mended, so no sinners are so intolerant as those that have just turned saints. -Charles Caleb Colton, author and clergyman (1780-1832) embrangle (em-BRANG-guhl) verb tr. To embroil or entangle. [From en- + brangle (to shake), from French branler (to shake).] "This particular sentence - which I can already tell will not be anything to brag about by the time we get to the end of it, because it's going to be too long and embrangled - is being composed at 7 a.m. on the 25th of December 1995, so it's a genuine Christmas sentence." Leon Hale; Still on Deadline on Christmas; The Houston Chronicle; Dec 26, 1995. "And you, God, why embrangle the spirit in flesh?" Mary Potter Engel; A Woman of Salt: A Novel; Counterpoint Press; 2001. This week's theme: verbs. -------- Date: Fri Jun 11 00:02:09 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--obtund X-Bonus: If we had paid no more attention to our plants than we have to our children, we would now be living in a jungle of weeds. -Luther Burbank, horticulturist (1849-1926) obtund (ob-TUND) verb tr. To blunt, deaden, or dull. [From Middle English, from Latin obtundere (to beat against), from ob- (against) + tundere (to beat). Other words derived from the same Latin root are pierce and contuse.] "Self-improvement books are narcotics in ink. They obtund with false promise." Tom Tiede; Self-Help Nation; Atlantic Monthly Press; 2001. "It seemed wise to attack when the better part of their foes, complacent with garrison duty, would be obtunded from holiday celebrations." S.N. Dyer; Resolve and Resistance; Omni (New York); Apr 1, 1995. This week's theme: verbs. -------- Date: Mon Jun 14 00:02:10 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--napiform X-Bonus: It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. -Upton Sinclair, novelist and reformer (1878-1968) napiform (NAY-puh-form) adjective Turnip-shaped: round at the top and tapering down sharply at the bottom. [From Latin napus (turnip) + -form.] "'Is he upstairs, is that it?' she demanded of the blunted eyes and napiform head of the elder Thompson." T. Coraghessan Boyle; Riven Rock; Penguin; 1999. "He took a napiform bun from the bread basket and, nibbling its nobble, said ..." Reginald Hill; Recalled to Life; Dell Publishing; 1993. When I was a graduate student at CWRU in Cleveland, Ohio, the International Student Office held drawings for free tickets to various events every week. Sports tickets were eagerly sought by most of the students while those for the classical music concerts were last to go. That made it easier for me to win them. My computer science department building was located cater-corner from Severance Hall, home of the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra. Often I'd work late in the lab and then walk straight down to attend a concert. Among the audience I was perhaps the only one with a T-shirt, tennis shoes and backpack. But I think I enjoyed Beethoven, Haydn, and Dvorak as much as anyone dressed up. Though looking at the program booklets filled with the ads for plastic surgery, lifts, and tucks, I was beginning to get a nagging feeling I might have enjoyed all those great composers even more had I undergone a few of the procedures. I mean, why else would the printed programs have such a preponderance of those ads? Maybe that's because before we discover the music in someone's soul, we notice their hair color or various bodily proportions. This week we'll present words to describe physical characteristics of people. It's good to have words for what we see on the outside, but let's not forget to discover what lies deep within. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Jun 15 00:02:07 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--labrose X-Bonus: The drying up a single tear has more of honest fame than shedding seas of gore. -Lord Byron, poet (1788-1824) labrose (LA-bros) adjective Having thick or large lips. [From Latin labrosus, from labrum (lip). Other words derived from the same Latin root are lip, labial, and labret (an ornament worn in a pierced lip).] "Maybe yu wouldn't mind talling us, my labrose lad ..." James Joyce; Finnegans Wake; 1939. This week's theme: words to describe physical characteristics of people. -------- Date: Wed Jun 16 00:02:07 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--papuliferous X-Bonus: I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862) papuliferous (pa-pu-LIF-uhr-uhs) adjective, also papilliferous Having pimples. [From Latin papula (pimple) + -ferous (bearing).] "He was immediately sympathetic when I told him about the bishop's book, and the papuliferous exegete's laboring of it." H.L. Mencken; Heathen Days: 1890-1936. "It (Zitlover) is possibly the grossest film ever made. Even Briggs declined to describe most of it, but the plot involved a spectacularly be-pimpled lad who stole and then bathed in a 5-gallon can of the orange goo that stands in for cheese on convenience-store nachos. That transformed his merely papuliferous hide into a carbuncular expanse, and mayhem ensued when the cheese owner hunted him down." John Foyston; PDX Life Out There Splatter Patter; The Oregonian (Portland, Oregon); May 10, 2002. This week's theme: words to describe physical characteristics of people. -------- Date: Thu Jun 17 00:02:08 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--unguinous X-Bonus: We have just enough religion to make us hate but not enough to make us love one another. -Jonathan Swift, satirist (1667-1745) unguinous (UNG-gwi-nuhs) adjective Greasy, oily. [From Latin unguinosus, from unguin-, stem of unguen (ointment). Other words from the same root are ointment, anoint, unction, and unctuous.] "Evelyn welcomed them in her various homes with unguinous familiarity." Gary Indiana; Depraved Indifference; St. Martin's Press; 2003. "Anointed from head to toe with an unguinous, aromatic oil, her pomaded hair suffused with a sharp scent." Shulamith Hareven, Hillel Halkin; Thirst: The Desert Trilogy; Mercury House; 1996. This week's theme: words to describe physical characteristics of people. -------- Date: Fri Jun 18 00:02:12 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gauche X-Bonus: One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter. -James Earl Jones, actor (1931- ) gauche (GOsh) adjective Lacking grace; tactless; awkward. [From French gauche (literally left-handed, awkward), from Old French, from gauchir (to turn).] "And, no, it wasn't another gauche instance of a designer cherry-topping a banal performance with a celebrity ..." Cathy Horyn; High Concept, Multiple Meanings; The New York Times; Mar 10, 2003. "The little gesture of respect to Robson's team was not just a matter of etiquette. Newcastle may have been gauche before the interval but there is gusto about them that is hard to balk over an entire afternoon on their own pitch." Kevin McCarra; Football: Premiership: Arsenal Keep the Chasing Pack at Bay; The Guardian (London, UK); Feb 10, 2003. This week's theme: words to describe physical characteristics of people. -------- Date: Mon Jun 21 00:02:10 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--disparage X-Bonus: Rain! whose soft architectural hands have power to cut stones, and chisel to shapes of grandeur the very mountains. -Henry Ward Beecher, preacher and writer (1813-1887) disparage (di-SPAR-ij) verb tr. 1. To speak slightingly; to belittle. 2. To lower in rank or estimation. [From Middle English, from Old French desparage (to match unequally), from dis- + parage (equality), from per (peer), from Latin par (equal). A few cousins of this word are par, parity, peer, compare, and nonpareil.] "He said he was not disparaging dealers, collectors or museum directors, but the 'degrading market hysteria'." Maev Kennedy; Art Market 'A Cultural Obscenity'; Guardian (London, UK); Jun 2, 2004. "Instead, she said First Selectman Paul Santoro refused to put the items on the agenda and has continued making disparaging comments about her." Jennifer Babulsky; Town Clerk Not on Board Agenda ... Again; Norwich Bulletin (Connecticut); Jun 15, 2004. This week's Guest Wordsmith, Robert W. Fuller (bfullerATigc.org) writes: Appears Everywhere Except the Dictionary: Rankism. In kindergarten, I was put behind the piano on parents' visiting day for some minor infraction. My mother had to ask where I was and, even then, the teacher wouldn't let me out. Later in life, as an ex-college president I noticed that many whom I thought were friends didn't return my calls, or no longer kept their promises to me, once I lost my title. Racism is in the dictionary. It means race-based abuse and discrimination. Sexism is in the dictionary. It's gender-based abuse and discrimination. Rankism isn't in the dictionary, but it should be because it's as pervasive and as damaging as the familiar "isms". "Rankism" is the abuse of the power inherent in rank. Rankism happens every day: a teacher humiliates a student, a boss harasses an employee, a cleric abuses a parishioner, a guard degrades a prisoner, one group of people discriminates against another. Rank in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. Pilots, professors, politicians - many people have earned their rank and use it to serve others. However, others "pull rank", using their status to diminish, even exploit, others. That's rankism. A dignitarian society is one that disallows rankism. (Robert W. Fuller taught at Columbia University and served as president of Oberlin College. Reader reviews of his book Somebodies and Nobodies can be found at: http://amazon.com/o/asin/0865714878/ws00-20 ) To help raise awareness about rankism, The Harnisch Family Foundation has offered to send a free copy of Dr. Robert W. Fuller's book, "Somebodies and Nobodies", to the first five hundred AWAD readers who request it at http://dignitarians.org/freebook2.html -------- Date: Tue Jun 22 00:02:08 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--denigrate X-Bonus: He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals. -Immanuel Kant, philosopher (1724-1804) denigrate (DEN-i-grayt) verb tr. To defame or belittle. [From Latin denigratus, past participle of denigrare (to blacken), from de- (completely) + nigrare (to make black), ultimately from Indo-European root nek(w)t (night). Other words derived from the same root are night, nocturnal, and equinox.] "He told them they were not expected to be Sunday-school teachers. 'But often you feel compelled to berate and denigrate people you have to apprehend, but your behaviour must not blur your image as a police officer.'" Ucill Cambridge; Mind Your Manners, Cops Told; Trinidad and Tobago Express; Jun 14, 2004. "It found most (films) contain characters portrayed as 'crazy,' 'nuts' and 'mad' and who were shunned and denigrated as a result." Disney Cartoons Give Mentally Ill a Rough Ride, Canadian Study Says; Montreal Gazette (Canada); May 20, 2004. This week's theme: words to highlight rankism ( http://breakingranks.net ) -------- Date: Wed Jun 23 00:02:09 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--deride X-Bonus: In the faces of men and women I see God. -Walt Whitman, poet (1819-1892) deride (di-RYD) verb tr. To laugh at in scorn or contempt. [From Latin deridere, from de- + ridere (to laugh). Other words that share the same root are ridiculous and risible.] "At first, Mr. Feinberg, whose official title was special master, was derided as an arrogant Solomon, even though he was working on the fund with no compensation." David W. Chen; Special Master Steered a Program Through Its Many Curves; The New York Times; Jun 16, 2004. "Mr. Hubbert's analysis was derided - until it turned out to be correct." Review: Warning to All Gas Guzzlers: Expect a Crude Awakening; Dallas Morning News (Texas); Jun 11, 2004. This week's theme: words to highlight rankism ( http://breakingranks.net ) -------- Date: Thu Jun 24 00:02:14 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--deign X-Bonus: Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members. -Pearl S. Buck, Nobelist novelist (1892-1973) deign (dayn) verb tr. and intr. To do something reluctantly as if it's beneath one's dignity; to condescend. [From Middle English deinen, from Old French deignier (to deem worthy), from Latin dignare, a form of dignari, from dignus (worthy). Ultimately from Indo-European root dek- (to take or accept). Other words from the same root are decent, doctor, paradox, decorate, dignity, disdain, indignant, and disciple.] "But he deigned to unleash several less than flattering comments ..." Andy Edelstein; Memorable Moments; Newsday (New York); May 23, 2004. "After a quarter of an hour, he even deigns to remove his sunglasses (always a good idea when inside a windowless room)." Usher: King of Bling; Independent (London, UK); May 29, 2004. This week's theme: words to highlight rankism ( http://breakingranks.net ) -------- Date: Fri Jun 25 00:02:10 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dis X-Bonus: The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself. -Richard Francis Burton, explorer and writer (1821-1890) dis (dis) verb tr., also diss To show disrespect for. [Of uncertain origin, apparently a shortening of disrespect.] "Lumka cringes when she realises the customer she dissed is in fact Karabo, the owner of the bar and her employer." On The Small Screen; Post (South Africa); Jun 2, 2004. "After dissing the victims, Jerry Sensitive led the regents in a ringing defense of the four CU officials whose lax supervision may have contributed to the scandal." Bob Ewegen; 'Dear Old Sleaze U'; Denver Post (Colorado); May 22, 2004. This week's theme: words to highlight rankism ( http://breakingranks.net ) -------- Date: Mon Jun 28 00:02:10 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--klieg light X-Bonus: If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other cause for prejudice by noon. -George D. Aiken, US senator (1892-1984) klieg light (kleeg lyt) noun 1. A carbon-arc lamp for producing light, used in moviemaking. 2. The center of public attention. [After brothers and inventors, lighting experts John H. Kliegl (1869-1959) and Anton T. Kliegl (1872-1927). The last letter "L" of their name apparently became fused with the word "light" in the term "klieg light".] Klieg light is a modern synonym of the word limelight. In earlier times, white lime was used to produce intense light for illuminating the theater stage. Metaphorically, people -- famous and infamous -- continue to be in the limelight or klieg light, as popular media trains its spotlight on them. "And on this night, Billups and Hamilton were twin klieg lights at a shopping mall opening, and Kobe was a 25-watt bulb." Mitch Albom; Pistons Proving Team Might be Better Than Hall of Famers; Kansas City Star (Missouri); Jun 11, 2004. "With flashing eyes, klieg-light smile, and raven hair that increased in sheer mass over the years, (Ann) Miller arrived in Hollywood as a dancing gamine -- she was once clocked at 500 taps a minute, and a studio insurance policy covered her literally million-dollar legs ..." Ty Burr; With Endless Energy And Optimism, Ann Miller Was a Showbiz Survivor; Boston Globe; Jan 24, 2004. Self-improvement author Dale Carnegie once said, "A person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language." No wonder we put it to use any chance we get: from naming a business (Wal-Mart) to naming a child (Ron Jr.). For the same reason, we insist that a hospital auditorium or a park bench carry our name in return for our money. We name inventions, diseases, countries, products, plants, mountains, planets and more after people's names. We even coin words after them. Such words are called eponyms, from epi- (upon) + -onym (name). This week's AWAD examines five words named after people, from either fact or fiction. -Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org) -------- Date: Tue Jun 29 00:02:08 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--brainiac X-Bonus: The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of government power, not the increase of it. -Woodrow Wilson, 28th president of the U.S., Nobel peace prize winner (1856-1924) brainiac (BRAY-nee-ak) noun A very intelligent person. adjective Highly intelligent. [After Brainiac, a highly intelligent villainous character in the Superman comic strip.] "Who would you have bet on - the teenage coke-fiend or the brainiac Yalie?" John Patterson; Beautiful Minds; The Guardian (London, UK); Apr 25, 2003. "Don't be surprised if the person sipping a latte next to you is a brainiac from one of La Jolla's renowned research centers - the Scripps Institution of Oceanography or the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, founded by polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk." Katherine Kam; Good Looks, Money - and Brains, Too; San Francisco Examiner; Aug 20, 2000. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Wed Jun 30 00:02:09 EDT 2004 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Socratic irony X-Bonus: It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. -Voltaire, philosopher (1694-1778) Socratic irony (suh-KRAT-ic EYE-ruh-nee) noun A profession of ignorance in a discussion in order to elicit clarity on a topic and expose misconception held by another. [After Greek philosopher Socrates (470?-399 BCE).] "John, who'd been sitting in a plastic waiting-room chair not saying a word, looked up, shrugged his shoulders and replied with an air of Socratic irony that he honestly didn't understand." Tristan Egolf; Lord of the Barnyard; Grove Press; 2000. "Indeed, from one point of view, Socratic irony seems analogous to false speech, in the sense that it is not straightforward and direct." J. Peter Euben; Corrupting Youth; Princeton University Press; 1997. This week's theme: eponyms.