A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Jun 1 00:07:25 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pundit X-Bonus: An idea is salvation by imagination. -Frank Lloyd Wright pundit (PUN-dit) noun also pandit 1. A source of opinion. 2. A learned person. [Hindi pandit, learned man, from Sanskrit panditah, learned; scholar, perhaps of Dravidian origin.] "Since the beginning of the current sex scandal in Washington, pundits from every part of the political spectrum have differed in their opinions of how or whether President Clinton should be punished for his actions." Dara Horn, The Monica of Mesopotamia, University Wire, 15 Oct 1998. This week's theme: loanwords from Hindi and Sanskrit. -------- Date: Wed Jun 2 00:07:19 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--swami X-Bonus: Everything considered, work is less boring than amusing oneself. -Charles Baudelaire swami (SWAM-ee) noun 1. A religious teacher. 2. A mystic; a yogi. 3. Used as a form of address for such a person. [Hindi svami, master, swami, from Sanskrit svami, nominative sing. of svamin-, being one's own master, possessing proprietary rights.] "Martin said, `Being 7-0 was exactly what we were trying to do. We're no swamis or anything. We can't predict the future. But that's what we were working hard for this summer.'" Duncan Mansfield, Fulmer keeping No. 2 Volunteers focused, AP Online, 6 Nov 1998. This week's theme: loanwords from Hindi and Sanskrit. -------- Date: Thu Jun 3 00:07:24 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sannyasi X-Bonus: The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them. -Henry David Thoreau sannyasi (sun-YA-see) or sannyasin (-sin) noun A wandering mendicant and ascetic. [Hindi sannyasi, from Sanskrit samnyasi, from samnyasyati, he renounces : sam, together, + ni, down + asyati, he throws.] "Meanwhile her mother had died and her father had renounced life and became a sanyasi." Thiruchandran, Selvy, Ideology, Caste, Class and Gender [Part 12 of 35], Contemporary Women's Issues Database, 1 Jan 1997. This week's theme: loanwords from Hindi and Sanskrit. -------- Date: Fri Jun 4 00:07:31 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--maharajah X-Bonus: The flower that follows the sun does so even on cloudy days. -Robert Leighton (1611-1684) maharajah or maharaja (ma-ha-ra-juh, -zhuh) noun 1. A king or prince in India ranking above a rajah, especially the sovereign of one of the former native states. 2. Used as a title for such a king or prince. [Hindi maharaja, from Sanskrit : maha-, great, + raja, king] "Two models wore the land Rover badge of the British maker famous for supplying state-of-the-art 4x4 trucks to customers ranging from maharajahs to military commanders." Sherman, Don, Masters of mobility, Popular Science, 1 Oct 1995. This week's theme: loanwords from Hindi and Sanskrit. -------- Date: Sat Jun 5 00:07:29 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mahatma X-Bonus: Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much of life. So aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something. -Henry David Thoreau mahatma (muh-HAT-muh) noun 1. In India and Tibet, one of a class of persons venerated for great knowledge and love of humanity. 2. Mahatma. Used as a title of respect for a person renowned for spirituality and high-mindedness. [Sanskrit mahatma : maha-, great. See meg-. + atma, life, spirit.] "How could our `mahatma of mulch` Ketzel Levine excite such emotion." Holiday Gift Ideas for Gardeners, Weekend Edition - Saturday (NPR), 16 Dec 1995. "On 9 January, 1915,..Gandhi landed in Bombay... Soon after..in a published letter, the poet Rabindranath Tagore conferred on him the title of 'Mahatma`, of which the literal meaning is 'great soul`. H. N. Brailsford, in H. S. L. Polak, 1949 This week's theme: loanwords from Hindi and Sanskrit. -------- Date: Sun Jun 6 00:07:25 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nabob X-Bonus: It is impossible to live pleasurably without living prudently, honorably, and justly; or to live prudently, honorably, and justly, without living pleasurably. -Epicurus (BCE 341-270) nabob (NAY-bob) noun 1. A governor in India under the Mogul Empire. Also called nawab. 2. A person of wealth and prominence. [Hindi nawab, nabab, from Arabic nuwwab, pl. of na'ib, deputy.] American History since 1865: Spiro Agnew (SPEER-oh AG-nooh, AG-nyooh), The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, 1 Jan 1988. "Agnew was elected vice president in 1968 and 1972 as the running mate of Richard Nixon. He attacked opponents of the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War, calling them `an effete corps of impudent snobs' and `nattering nabobs of negativism.' In 1973 Agnew pleaded nolo contendere to charges of income tax evasion, and resigned from office." This week's theme: loanwords from Hindi and Sanskrit. -------- Date: Mon Jun 7 00:07:47 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sounder X-Bonus: Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go; it is the fragile blossom that opens in the snow. -Alice M. Swaim sounder (SOUN-duhr) noun 1. One that makes a sound. 2. One that sounds, especially a device for making soundings of the sea. 3. A herd of wild boar. [Middle English, from Old French sondre, of Germanic origin.] "When young pigs are old enough to travel and to join the female herd, they are known as sounders." George G. Goodwin, Boar, Colliers Encyclopedia CD-ROM, 28 Feb 1996. The English language is rich in words that describe groups and collections, whether things, places or living beings; a bouquet of roses, a flight of stairs, a cast of actors, and so on. What is even more fascinating are words -- often poetic, and occasionally descriptive -- used to denote groups of animals; such as a school of fish, a pride of lions, or a murder of crows. In this week's AWAD we feature seven lesser known terms used for collections of specimens from the animal kingdom. There are proper terms for almost all animals, but one can't just say a bunch of this or a bunch of that. In fact, some animals take different group nouns depending on where they happen to be. Ducks are a paddling only if in water; in flight they become a team. Next time you camp out in the wilds and receive a visit from some uninvited guests in the form of, say, boars, you'll know what to say: "Help, I'm surrounded by a sounder of swine". Anything else and the ranger may not come to your rescue. -Anu P.S. How about coining some new words for collections? A diction of word-junkies? A linkup of webmasters? A bugaboo of computer programs? Can you think of some creative group nouns? Email them to (garg AT wordsmith.org) and I'll feature a compilation of selected ones next week. (The compilation is available on the Web as AWADmail Issue 13 at https://wordsmith.org/awad/awadmail.html or get it by email by sending a blank message to wsmith@wordsmith.org with the Subject line as: awadmail 13) -------- Date: Tue Jun 8 00:07:29 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nide X-Bonus: When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. -Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968) nide (nyde) noun A nest or brood of pheasants. [Latin nidus, nest.] "It was those birds that inspired Draper to start his own `nide' - flock, in more common parlance - of pheasants." Vanessa Thorpe, Pheasants looking forward to Christmas, Independent on Sunday, 19 Oct 1997. This week's theme: collective nouns for birds and animals. -------- Date: Wed Jun 9 03:47:31 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--covey X-Bonus: To wish to be well is a part of becoming well. -Seneca covey (KUV-ee) noun 1. A family or small flock of birds, especially partridge or quail. 2. A small group, as of persons. [Middle English, from Old French covee, brood, from feminine past participle of cover, to incubate, from Latin cubare, to lie down.] "A black-tailed jackrabbit walks slowly down the wash, ambling tall-eared amid a covey of Gambel's quail, like a cowboy driving his herd." Howe, Steve, The kingdom of the cactus: in a land where even the shadows hide from the sun, one living thing thrives. (Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona), Backpacker, 1 Sep 1995. This week's theme: collective nouns for birds and animals. -------- Date: Thu Jun 10 00:13:29 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pod X-Bonus: Noise proves nothing--often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she had laid an asteroid. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) pod (pod) noun 1. Botany. A dehiscent fruit of a leguminous plant such as the pea. A dry, several-seeded, dehiscent fruit. Also called seedpod. 2. Zoology. A protective covering that encases the eggs of some insects and fish. 3. A casing or housing forming part of a vehicle, as: A streamlined external housing that encloses engines, machine guns, or fuel. Aerospace. A detachable compartment on a spacecraft for carrying personnel or instrumentation. 4. Something resembling a pod, as in compactness. verb intr. 1. To bear or produce pods. 2. To expand or swell like a pod. verb tr. To remove (seeds) from a pod. noun A school of marine mammals, such as seals, whales, or dolphins. noun 1. The lengthwise groove in certain boring tools such as augers. 2. The socket for holding the bit in a boring tool. [Origin unknown.] "Being a male, it's very possible he would have difficulty in trying to get back into a group of whales, or a pod of whales, out in the wild." Keiko the Whale to be Sent to Better Digs in Oregon, Morning Edition (NPR), 3 Jan 1996. This week's theme: collective nouns for birds and animals. -------- Date: Fri Jun 11 00:13:20 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--skein X-Bonus: For sleep, riches, and health to be truly enjoyed, they must be interrupted. -Jean Paul Richter, writer (1763-1825) skein (skayn) noun 1. A length of thread or yarn wound in a loose, elongated coil. Something suggesting the coil of a skein; a complex tangle. 2. A flock of geese or similar birds in flight. [Middle English skeine, from Old French escaigne.] "The article, described as a tale of `bank fraud, oil trading, and bombs,' prompted Norman to follow a tangled skein of connections to a second, much broader, story." Linda Grant, Newstrends: A Story You Won't Read in Forbes, Fortune, 2 Oct 1995. "Arrowhead skeins of geese fly northward and land at Walker Bay to breed." Thorson, Bruce, Boom and bus, Canadian Geographic, 13 Mar 1998. (When not in flight, it is a gaggle of geese. -Anu) This week's theme: collective nouns for birds and animals. -------- Date: Sat Jun 12 00:13:26 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--skulk X-Bonus: Success is not measured by the position one has reached in life, rather by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed. -Booker T. Washington skulk (skulk) verb intr. 1. To lie in hiding, as out of cowardice or bad conscience; lurk. 2. To move about stealthily. 3. To evade work or obligation; shirk. noun 1. One who hides, lurks, or practices evasion. 2. A congregation of vermin, especially foxes, or of thieves. [Middle English skulken, of Scandinavian origin.] "Heaven's Acre Wildlife Center has a gaggle of geese, a skulk of foxes, an over-abundance of raccoons and a singular problem - it violates city zoning." Gary Gerhardt, Wildlife Rehab Center Runs Into the Teeth of Arvada's Zoning Rules, Denver Rocky Mountain News, 6 Aug 1998. This week's theme: collective nouns. -------- Date: Sun Jun 13 00:13:23 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bevy X-Bonus: A man of Seville is shaved by the Barber of Seville if and only if the man does not shave himself. Does the barber shave himself? -Bertrand Russell bevy (BEV-ee) noun 1. A group of animals or birds, especially larks or quail. 2. A group or an assemblage. [Middle English, from Anglo-Norman bevee.] "A bevy of birds, winging silently across the sky on a clear moonless night, is like a shipful of sailors in the middle of the sea." Kathy Wollard, How Come? / Discoveries For Young People / They're No Birdbrains On a Trip, Newsday, 24 Jun 1997. This week's theme: collective nouns. -------- Date: Mon Jun 14 00:13:42 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--synonym X-Bonus: My wife and I were happy for 20 years - then we met. -Rodney Dangerfield synonym (SIN-uh-nim) noun 1. A word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or other words in a language. 2. A word or an expression that serves as a figurative or symbolic substitute for another. 3. A scientific name of an organism or of a taxonomic group that has been superseded by another name at the same rank. [Middle English sinonyme, from Old French synonyme, from Latin synonymum, from Greek sunonumon, from neuter of sunonumos, synonymous.] "The big shift in the last 20 years has been from the public to the private sector. The word `public' has become a synonym for corruption and futility. All things bright and beautiful flow forth from the clear stream of the private sector." Clark, Josh; Krasny, Michael; Walljasper, Jay, 20 ways we've changed, Mother Jones, 11 Jan 1996. Why doesn't synonym have any synonyms? Imagine for a moment that words were living breathing things you could speak with. Which words would you like to meet? What would you ask them? In this week's AWAD you'll see seven words to get you started. For some more tongue-in-cheek questions about words that make one ask why see the theme, "Words that go out of their way not to apply to themselves" in the AWAD archives: https://wordsmith.org/awad/themes.html -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jun 15 00:13:28 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--thesaurus X-Bonus: Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. -Plato thesaurus (thi-SOR-uhs) noun 1. A book of synonyms, often including related and contrasting words and antonyms. 2. A book of selected words or concepts, such as a specialized vocabulary of a particular field, as of medicine or music. [Latin thesaurus, treasury, from Greek thesauros.] "Next time you find yourself before your PC waiting for a Microsoft Word file to print, here's a neat little trick. Highlight some text, click the thesaurus tool, and see what you get. The results can be revealing, if not alarming.... If you look up... Microsoft Word's thesaurus suggests... Larry Ellison larva Paul Allen paunch Scott McNealy scoundrel Lou Gerstner loud anticompetitive competitive ... Klein, Joel kleptomania Reno, Janet no DoJ doldrums Andreessen, Marc android Buffett, Warren buffoon" Fun Office Activity: Harmless Thesaurus? Or Key to Bill Gates' Soul?, Fortune, 3 Aug 1998. Why doesn't a thesaurus have another word for thesaurus? This week's theme: What would you ask words if you could speak with them? -------- Date: Wed Jun 16 00:01:43 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mnemonic X-Bonus: When spiders unite, they can tie down a lion. -Ethiopian proverb mnemonic (ni-MON-ik) adjective Relating to, assisting, or intended to assist the memory. noun A device, such as a formula or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering. [Greek mnemonikos, from mnemon, mnemon-, mindful.] "Creative use of mnemonics helps. `Beware of hot gorillas eating nitrates casually, pop' is code for the Central American countries of Belize, Honduras,Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama." Sam Allis, Quick! Name Togo's Capital: An inventive teacher battles against geographic illiteracy, Time, 16 Jul 1990. Why is it so difficult to remember the spelling of the word mnemonic? This week's theme: What would you ask words if you could speak with them? -------- Date: Thu Jun 17 00:01:38 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dyslexic X-Bonus: A + B + C = Success if, A = Hard Work, B = Hard Play, C = Keeping your mouth shut. -Albert Einstein dyslexic (dis-LEK-sik) noun A person who is affected by dyslexia. adjective Of or relating to dyslexia, a learning disorder marked by impairment of the ability to recognize and comprehend written words. [New Latin : dys- + Greek lexis, speech (from legein, to speak).] "A dyslexic schoolboy who was told by teachers that he would never read or write has become one of Britain's youngest entrepreneurs, setting up a computer business which already has a pounds 60,000 turnover." Caroline Davies, `Unteachable' boy runs pounds 60,000 firm, The Daily Telegraph, 18 Sep 1998. Why is dyslexic so difficult to read/spell? This week's theme: What would you ask words if you could speak with them? -------- Date: Fri Jun 18 00:01:44 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--onomatopoeia X-Bonus: The past exists only in our memories, the future only in our plans. The present is our only reality. -Robert Pirsig onomatopoeia (on-uh-mat-uh-PEE-uh) noun The formation or use of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to. [Late Latin, from Greek onomatopoiia, from onomatopoios, coiner of names : onoma, onomat-, name + poiein, to make.] "I couldn't say the `f' word for a while. I would explain the situation and not say the word. It is one of those words that sounds like what it is. I think that is called onomatopoeia. Fired is a harsh cutting word." Linney, Barbara J., Rising from the ashes: the aftermath of being fired. Physician Executive, 1 Mar 1996. Why doesn't onomatopoeia sound the way it is? This week's theme: What would you ask words if you could speak with them? -------- Date: Sat Jun 19 00:01:38 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--anagram X-Bonus: The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity. -William Butler Yeats [The Second Coming] anagram (AN-a-gram) noun 1. A word or phrase formed by reordering the letters of another word or phrase, such as satin to stain. 2. anagrams noun (used with a sing. verb) A game whose object is to form words from a group of randomly picked letters. [New Latin anagramma, from Greek anagrammatismos, from anagrammatizein, to rearrange letters in a word : ana-, from bottom to top + gramma, grammat-, letter] "The friend who told me mournfully, a few days after his wedding, `You know those mother-in-law jokes? Well, they're all true,' should look up the anagram for mother-in-law in the anagram hall of fame, part of the Internet Anagram Server (or, as it calls itself, I, Rearrangement Servant), at ( http://www.wordsmith.org/anagram/index.html )." Jeff Abramowitz, How to answer Holocaust-deniers, Jerusalem Post, 2 May 1997. Why isn't there another word that can be made by rearranging the letters of the word anagram? This week's theme: What would you ask words if you could speak with them? -------- Date: Sun Jun 20 00:01:39 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--palindrome X-Bonus: Do not keep the slanderer away, / treat him with affection and honor: / Body and soul, he scours all clean, / babbling about this and that. -Kabir palindrome (PAL-in-droam) noun 1. A word, phrase, verse, or sentence that reads the same backward or forward. For example: A man, a plan, a canal, Panama! 2. A segment of double-stranded DNA in which the nucleotide sequence of one strand reads in reverse order to that of the complementary strand. [From Greek palindromos, running back again, recurring : palin, again + dromos, a running.] "Dave Otto of the Cubs and Robb Nen of the Marlins pitched in Tuesday's game at Wrigley Field, the first game to feature two palindrome pitchers." Madam, I'm Adam, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 7 Aug 1994. Why doesn't palindrome spell the same backwards? This week's theme: What would you ask words if you could speak with them? -------- Date: Mon Jun 21 00:01:47 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--guyot X-Bonus: We've heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the Complete Works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true. -Robert Wilensky guyot (GEE-oh) noun A flat-topped submarine mountain. [After Arnold Henri Guyot (1807-1884), Swiss-born American geologist and geographer.] "The ocean floor also has many underwater mountains. Some, called guyots, have flat tops." Pacific Ocean, Young Students Learning Library, 1 Jan 1996. The story of the discovery of guyots, also known as tablemounts, is one of serendipity. Harry Hamond Hess (1906-1969) was a professor in the geology department at Princeton University. Called for active duty during World War II, Hess served as commanding officer of USS Cape Johnson. During his expeditions in the Pacific Ocean he continuously used echo sounders to scan the waters beneath him. Understandably, looking for a seamount was the last thing on his mind at the time -- he was more interested in signs of the presence of Axis submarines that could torpedo his ship. However, later analysis of mountains of data of the ocean floor profile so far collected revealed the existence of the flattop seamounts. Hess named them guyots in honor of Arnold Henri Guyot, his predecessor at Princeton. And that's how we got the word for these underwater mesas. Some other above-water geographical landmarks named after Guyot are: Guyot Glacier (in southeastern Alaska), three Mt. Guyots (in the White Mountains, the Great Smoky Mountains, and the Colorado Rockies), and Guyot Crater (on the moon). You can view a profile of Hess's discovery, the first guyot, at: http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/lb_images/historic/c&gs/theb3811.htm Stay tuned as we sound out more eponyms, or words derived from people's names, this week. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jun 22 00:01:44 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--doily X-Bonus: It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them. -Alfred Adler (1870-1937) doily (DOI-lee) noun 1. A small ornamental mat, usually of lace or linen. 2. A small table napkin. [After Doily or Doyly, 18th-century London draper.] "As she grows, as she feels ill at ease, I'll bob my knee What will she forget? Whom will she marry? He better check with me I'll say once she flew dressed like a cake between two doilies of cloud." Poet Naomi Shihab Nye's Works Celebrate Everyday Life, All Things Considered (NPR), 31 Jul 1996. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Wed Jun 23 00:01:33 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cimmerian X-Bonus: Congratulation: The civility of envy. -Ambrose Bierce [Devil's Dictionary] Cimmerian (si-MIR-ee-uhn) adjective Very dark or gloomy. noun Greek Mythology. One of a mythical people described by Homer as inhabiting a land of perpetual darkness. [From Latin Cimmerii, the Cimmerians, from Greek Kimmerioi.] "But much of (Charles Sanders) Peirce's writing is, as William James despairingly said, `flashes of light against Cimmerian darkness.'" Rorty, Richard, Killing Time: The Autobiography of Paul Feyerabend. (book reviews), The New Republic, 31 Jul 1995. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Thu Jun 24 00:01:39 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--galvanize X-Bonus: The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them knows anything about the subject. -Marcus Aurelius, philosopher, writer, and Roman emperor (121-180) galvanize (GAL-vuh-nyze) verb tr. 1. To stimulate or shock with an electric current. 2. To arouse to awareness or action; spur. 3. To coat (iron or steel) with rust-resistant zinc. [After Luigi Galvani (1737-1798), Italian physiologist and physician who asserted that animal tissues generate electricity. Although he was proved wrong, his experiments stimulated research on electricity.] "It's astonishing that such things would galvanize people and became really much more than merely a consumer movement, didn't they?" Jacki Lyden, Washington, DC, Consumer Activist, Weekend All Things Considered (NPR), 13 Jul 1997. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Fri Jun 25 00:01:34 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hansard X-Bonus: I don't divide the world into the weak and the strong, or the successes and the failures, those who make it or those who don't. I divide the world into learners and non-learners. -Benjamin Barber Hansard (HAN-sard) noun The official report of the proceedings and debates of a legislature in the Commonwealth of Nations, especially of the British or Canadian parliament. [After Luke Hansard (1752-1828), British printer.] "The agency pays pounds 600 per month to Citigate Westminster to check on Hansard, government announcements and parliamentary questions which might affect it." Fran Abrams Political Correspondent, Taxpayers' money is being spent on lobbying, Independent, 14 Jul 1998. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Sat Jun 26 00:01:41 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rhadamanthine X-Bonus: The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity. -Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) rhadamanthine (rad-a-MAN-thin) adjective Strictly and uncompromisingly just. [From Rhadamanthus, in Greek Mythology a son of Zeus and Europa who, in reward for his exemplary sense of justice, was made a judge of the underworld after his death.] "Irrespective of amity or animosity between critics, though, it's impossible for anyone attending the Fringe - whether they're writing about it, performing in it, or genuine punters - to show a Rhadamanthine aspect towards the sequel to the now notorious solo show "Critical Mass". Dominic Cavendish, Edinburgh 98, Independent, 10 Aug 1998. This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Sun Jun 27 00:01:39 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--algorism X-Bonus: A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting. -Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) algorism (AL-guh-riz-uhm) noun 1. The Arabic system of numeration; the decimal system. 2. Computation with Arabic figures. [Middle English algorisme, from Old French, from Medieval Latin algorismus after Muhammad ibn Khwarizmi-Musa Al-.] "And other mathematical phenomena need to be explored for their role in determining how mensural systems were designed, particularly the schemes of 'harmonic numbers' which crop up in Vitry's correspondence with Gerson. Christopher Page has also recently drawn our attention to the stimulus of developments in algorism and computus ...." Lefferts, Peter M., Mensuration and Proportion Signs: Origins and Evolution (book reviews), Music & Letters, Feb 1995. Here is another example of algorism. -Anu (-: "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." -Al Gore, US Vice President (in a CNN interview March 9, 1999). This week's theme: eponyms. -------- Date: Mon Jun 28 00:01:43 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--costive X-Bonus: He has no hope who never had a fear. -William Cowper (1731-1800) costive (KOS-tiv) adjective 1. Suffering from constipation. Causing constipation. 2. Slow; sluggish. 3. Stingy. [Middle English costif, from Old French costeve, past participle of costever, to constipate, from Latin constipare.] "Yet at the same time there was something costive about Johns, in sharp contrast to the effusive generosity of Robert Rauschenberg's vision. He didn't want to give anything away." Robert Hughes, The Arts: Behind the Sacred Aura Jasper Johns Gives Nothing Away, Time, 11 Nov 1996. From the most noble soul to the most dastardly individual, we all share traits that extend all over the spectrum. It would be rare to find a person who can be completely characterized by a single word. This week's AWAD discusses seven adjectives that will help you describe people you come across in life. Can you see the face of a friend, relative, neighbor or co-worker in these assorted arrangements of the alphabet? -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jun 29 00:01:35 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--percipient X-Bonus: Corporation: An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. -Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) [The Devil's Dictionary] percipient (per-SIP-ee-ant) adjective Having the power of perceiving, especially perceiving keenly and readily. noun One that perceives. [Latin percipiens, percipient-, present participle of percipere, to perceive.] "With an irony that even the percipient Musil could not quite have appreciated, the novel was dedicated at its outset to `German (de, German and Austrian) youth of the future ... who will have to begin exactly where we stopped before the war'." Binding, Paul, The Man Without Qualities (book reviews), New Statesman & Society, 15 Mar 1996. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Wed Jun 30 00:01:35 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--querulous X-Bonus: Men are equal; it is not birth but virtue that makes the difference. -Voltaire querulous (KWER-uh-luhs, KWER-yuh-) adjective 1. Given to complaining; peevish. 2. Expressing a complaint or grievance; grumbling. [Middle English querulose, litigious, quarrelsome, from Old French querelos, from Late Latin querulosus, querulous, from Latin querulus, from queri, to complain.] "`Take a look at the speeches and letters of the Founding Fathers,' he (Newt Gingrich) says. `Compare them with the querulous whining and petty grievances of so many modern columnists and academics.' But why not compare those statesmen with today's politicians?" Robert Pear, What would Founding Fathers say about today's political process?, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 3 Mar 1996. This week's theme: words to describe people.