A.Word.A.Day Archives from http://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu Jul 1 00:01:32 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--corky X-Bonus: The machine does not isolate man from the great problems of nature but plunges him more deeply into them. -Antoine De Saint-Exupery [Wind, Sand, Stars] corky (KAWR-kee) adjective 1. Of or resembling cork. 2. Lively; buoyant. "Koogle: And on the branding side, you know, people always have viewed us as slightly irreverent, kind of fun, corky, a little bit zany." Ann Sundius, Interview with Tim Koogle, CEO, YAHOO!, MSNBC Private Financial Network, 30 Jul 1997. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Fri Jul 2 00:01:33 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--clamant X-Bonus: The habit of reading is the only enjoyment in which there is no alloy; it lasts when all other pleasures fade. -Anthony Trollope clamant (KLAY-mant, KLAM-uhnt) adjective 1. Clamorous; loud. 2. Demanding attention; pressing. [Latin clamans, clamant-, present participle of clamare, to cry out.] "The only national political figure who speaks in the isolationist accent of Middle America is the Republican Patrick J. Buchanan, who has denounced the war as imperialistic and called for a withdrawal of all US troops from Europe. Mr. Buchanan has been the most clamant anti-war voice of the 1990s .... Bill Kauffman, The Americans who won't be celebrating NATO's 50th, Independent on Sunday, 25 Apr 1999. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Sat Jul 3 00:01:22 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--distingue X-Bonus: The wise through excessive wisdom is made a fool. -Ralph Waldo Emerson distingue (dees-tang-GAY, dis-, di-STANG-gay) adjective Distinguished in appearance, manner, or bearing. [French, past participle of distinguer, to distinguish, from Old French.] "FRED HERSCH: [singing] `I used to visit all the very gay places,/ come what may places,/ where one relaxes on the axis of the wheel of life/ to get the feel of life from jazz and cocktails./ The girls I knew had sad and sullen gray faces,/ with distingue traces, ...." The Life and Music of Billy Strayhorn, Weekend Edition - Sunday (NPR), 7 Jul 1996. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Sun Jul 4 00:01:43 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--simpatico X-Bonus: God is a comic playing to an audience that's afraid to laugh. -Voltaire (1694-1778) simpatico (sim-PA-ti-ko, -PAT-i-) adjective 1. Of like mind or temperament; compatible. 2. Having attractive qualities; pleasing. [Italian simpatico (from simpatia, sympathy), or Spanish simpatico, from simpatia, sympathy, both from Latin sympathia.] "He (Roger Rosenblatt) didn't even care for many of the self-indulgent baby boomers who peopled his classes, though he let them think he was simpatico." Chris Tucker, `Mr. Everything' played both sides, The Dallas Morning News, 1 Jun 1997. This week's theme: words to describe people. -------- Date: Mon Jul 5 00:01:41 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cogitate X-Bonus: The illusion that we are separate from one another is an optical delusion of our consciousness. -Albert Einstein cogitate (KOJ-i-tayt) verb intr. To take careful thought or think carefully about; ponder. [Latin cogitare, cogitat- : co-, intensive pref + agitare, to consider.] "Interestingly, on a second drawing he had her cogitating on a chaise longue, English guitar in her lap, cat at her feet, with perhaps a view to trees to the left." Rosenthal, Michael, Thomas Gainsborough's Ann Ford, The Art Bulletin, Jan 12 1998. "They've a temper, some of them--particularly verbs, they're the proudest--adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs--however, I can manage the whole lot of them!" boasts Humpty-Dumpty in Lewis Carroll's 1872 classic "Through the Looking Glass." If they are in fact as conceited as Humpty-Dumpty claims them to be, perhaps verbs can be forgiven for their hoity-toity ways -- after all they are the ones that bring a sentence to life. How many of this week's seven words can you manage? -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 6 00:01:28 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--decoct X-Bonus: We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world. -Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968) decoct (di-KOKT) verb tr. 1. To extract the flavor of by boiling. 2. To make concentrated; boil down. [Middle English decocten, to boil, from Latin decoquere, decoct-, to boil down or away : de- + coquere, to boil, to cook.] "Ning decocted the herbs, but the boy disliked the bitter liquid." Ha Jin, New arrival. (short story), Chicago Review, 22 Sep 1995. This week's theme: verbs. -------- Date: Wed Jul 7 00:01:41 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--perorate X-Bonus: I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You couldn't park anywhere near the place. -Steven Wright perorate (PER-uh-rayt) verb intr. 1. To conclude a speech with a formal recapitulation. 2. To speak at great length, often in a grandiloquent manner; declaim. [Latin perorare, perorat- : per- + orare, to speak.] "With a professional city manager to run the place, Brown is free to cogitate and perorate, the two things he arguably does best." Mark Z. Barabak, Thinking smaller: Will Jerry Brown now act locally? Minneapolis Star Tribune, 4 Jun 1997. This week's theme: verbs. -------- Date: Thu Jul 8 00:01:40 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shamble X-Bonus: There are two kinds of light--the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures. -James Thurber shamble (SHAM-buhl) verb intr. To walk in an awkward, lazy, or unsteady manner, shuffling the feet. noun A shuffling gait. [Probably from obsolete shamble, awkward, ungainly, from Middle English schamil, butcher's table.] "Zinnemann: In terms of the movement of the various ceremonies we needed people who could respond to rhythm, not just extras who would shamble around." Neve, Brian, A past master of his craft: an interview with Fred Zinnemann. (filmmaker), Cineaste, 1 Jan 1997. This week's theme: verbs. -------- Date: Fri Jul 9 00:01:41 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ruminate X-Bonus: Errors like straws upon the surface flow: / Who would search for pearls must dive below. -John Dryden ruminate (ROO-mi-nayt) verb intr. 1. To turn a matter over and over in the mind. 2. To chew cud. verb tr. To reflect on over and over again. [Latin ruminare, ruminat-, from rumen, rumin-, throat.] "Consider it a little cranium teaser for an August day. You think about it for a while, you ruminate and cogitate, and you let me know as soon as you've come up with an answer." Rick Horowitz, August, that time of year when there's no there there, The Dallas Morning News, 24 Aug 1997. This week's theme: verbs. -------- Date: Sat Jul 10 00:01:40 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--redact X-Bonus: Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. -Cicero redact (ri-DAKT) verb tr. 1. To draw up or frame (a proclamation, for example). 2. To make ready for publication; edit or revise. [Middle English redacten, from Latin redigere, redact-, to drive back : re-, red-, re- + agere, to drive.] "In preparing documents released to New York Newsday earlier this year the agency ruled that the dinner was a private affair that did not relate to Power Authority business. A reference to it was blacked out - redacted, in legal jargon - from Flynn's appointment logs by agency attorneys because it was deemed a personal matter - which government officials by law are allowed to withhold from public scrutiny." Michael Moss, Authority To Spend, Newsday, 9 Aug 1993. This week's theme: verbs. -------- Date: Sun Jul 11 00:01:50 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rusticate X-Bonus: It's time for the human race to enter the solar system. -Dan Quayle, Former U.S. Vice President (1947-) [on the concept of a manned mission to Mars] rusticate (RUS-ti-kayt) verb intr. To go to or live in the country. verb tr. 1. To send to the country. 2. Chiefly British. To suspend (a student) from a university. 3. To construct (masonry) with conspicuous, often beveled points. [Latin rusticari, rusticat-, from rusticus, rustic.] "Here, in a villa above the small town of Erbusco, one of Italy's greatest chefs, Gualtiero Marchesi, has rusticated himself and found happiness far from the madding crowds of Milan ...." Mariani, John, L'Albereta (Erbusco, Italy, restaurant reviews) Esquire, 1 May 1996. "According to the Equitable Schools Book, which outlines discipline policies, Eton would expect to rusticate or expel those caught smoking." Judith Judd, Education: Hard decisions about soft drugs, Independent, 16 Jun 1994. This week's theme: verbs. -------- Date: Mon Jul 12 00:01:55 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--parlous X-Bonus: Nature, Time and Patience are the three great physicians. -Bulgarian Proverb parlous (PAR-luhs) adjective 1. Perilous; dangerous. 2. Obsolete. Dangerously cunning. [Middle English, variant of perilous, perilous, from peril, peril.] "The unhealthy commercial dominance of South Korea by its big business conglomerates, or chaebol, is legendary, as is the parlous state of some chaebol finances." South Korean finance: Junk funk, The Economist, 5 Dec 1998. At first glance, this week's words may appear to be misspellings, but they are not. Mostly variants of more common words, these will add to your verbal arsenal, especially if you are playing a game like Scrabble, or may come in handy if your keyboard happens to have a broken key. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 13 00:01:39 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--alarum X-Bonus: Never rise to speak till you have something to say; and when you have said it, cease. -John Witherspoon (1723-1794) alarum (a-LAH-ruhm) noun A warning or an alarm, especially a call to arms. [Middle English alarom, variant of alarm, alarm.] "The latest alarum comes in a report from the Office of Technology Assessment, an advisory arm of Congress, called `Multinationals and the National Interest: Playing by Different Rules.'" Susan Dentzer, Meet the new economic bogymen, U.S. News & World Report, 18 Oct 1993. This week's theme: words with variant spellings. -------- Date: Wed Jul 14 00:01:39 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cultus X-Bonus: If you don't learn to laugh at troubles, you won't have anything to laugh at when you grow old. -Ed Howe cultus (KUL-tuhs) noun A cult, especially a religious one. [Latin cultus, worship, from past participle of colere, to cultivate.] "The bloody sacrifices of the popular religions, and, indeed, the whole cultus, necessarily seemed to him to express a no less false and unworthy idea of the deity than the mythology as commonly understood." Foot Moore, George, History Of Religions: Chapter VIII, History of the World, 1 Jan 1992. This week's theme: words with variant spellings. -------- Date: Thu Jul 15 00:01:40 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--compeer X-Bonus: We should every night call ourselves to an account: What infirmity have I mastered today? what passions opposed? what temptation resisted? what virtue acquired? Our vices will abate of themselves if they be brought every day to the shrift. -Seneca (BCE 3-65 A.D.) compeer (KOM-pier, kuhm-PIER) noun 1. A person of equal status or rank; a peer. 2. A comrade, companion, or associate. [Middle English comper, from Old French, from Latin compar, equal.] "Mrs. King, left with four children to rear when her husband was assassinated April 4, 1968, has remained a respected voice for racial equity as founder of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta. Shabazz, however, led a less public life than her compeers." As Malcolm's Widow, Shabazz's Ordeal a Blow to Blacks, Los Angeles Sentinel, 18 Jun 1997. This week's theme: words with variant spellings. -------- Date: Fri Jul 16 11:36:58 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--frangible X-Bonus: What is Art? It is the response of man's creative soul to the call of the Real. -Rabindranath Tagore, poet (1861-1941) frangible (FRAN-juh-buhl) adjective Capable of being broken; breakable; fragile. [Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin frangibilis, from Latin frangere, to break.] "The red-gray, meringue like substance ices some of the cave's surfaces and ledges like cake frosting, from a millimeter to several inches thick, and is so frangible you could cut it with a butter knife." Nelson, Peter, The cave that holds clues to life on Mars. (Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico), National Wildlife, 18 Aug 1996. This week's theme: words with variant spellings. -------- Date: Sat Jul 17 00:01:37 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--renascence X-Bonus: Music is a higher revelation than philosophy. -Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) renascence (ri-NAS-uhns, -NAYS-uhns) noun 1. A new birth or life; a rebirth. 2. A cultural revival; a renaissance. 3. Renascence. Renaissance. McSween, H., Russell the regionalist, Vol. 68, Virginia Quarterly Review, 04-01-1992, pp 395. "Of the many Southerners engaged in literature or politics during the epoch of the Southern literary renascence two embody and dominate the canons: William Faulkner the novelist and Richard Russell the statesman." This week's theme: words with variant spellings. -------- Date: Sun Jul 18 00:01:50 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--extensile X-Bonus: The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. -Amos Bronson Alcott extensile (ik-STEN-sil) adjective 1. Capable of being extended or protruded; extensible. 2. Computer Science. Of or relating to a programming language or a system that can be modified by changing or adding features. "The Mylodon, moreover, was furnished with a long extensile tongue like that of the giraffe, which, by one of those beautiful provisions of nature, thus reaches with the aid of its long neck its leafy food." Darwin, Charles, Voyage Of The Beagle: Part I This week's theme: words with variant spellings. -------- Date: Mon Jul 19 00:01:46 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--orwellian X-Bonus: They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. -Carl W. Buechner orwellian (or-WEL-ee-uhn) adjective Of, relating to, or evocative of the works of George Orwell, especially the satirical novel 1984, which depicts a futuristic totalitarian state. "Military satellites designed to guide nuclear missiles are being used to monitor prison parolees and probationers in a technological advance designed to reduce the nation's skyrocketing prison population. But critics say it also raises the specter of an Orwellian future." Gary Fields, Satellite 'Big Brother' eyes parolees Technology is same as that used to guide nuclear missiles, USA Today, 8 Apr 1999. Today's AWAD word would perhaps have been Blairian had English author George Orwell (1903-1950) chosen to write as Eric Arthur Blair, his given name, instead of using a pen name. No matter, it would still be an eponym, a word derived from a person's name. Although Orwell is best known for his satires "Animal Farm" and "1984", he wrote many compelling essays and articles. In one of his essays, 'Politics and the English Language', he translates this verse from Ecclesiastes to show how language can be, and often is, used not only to illuminate but also to obscure: "I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." And here is how it might appear in bureaucratic English: "Objective consideration of contemporary phenomena compels the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account." Now how would you want that memo, report, proposal, thesis, letter or email of yours to read? -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 20 00:01:39 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--berserk X-Bonus: The world is a looking glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. -William Thackeray berserk (ber-SURK, -ZURK) adjective 1. Destructively or frenetically violent. 2. Mentally or emotionally upset; deranged. 3. Unrestrained, as with enthusiasm or appetite; wild. noun 1. One that is violent, upset, or unrestrained. 2. A berserker. [From berserker, one of a band of ancient Norse warriors legendary for their savagery and reckless frenzy in battle. Old Norse berserkr : *bera, feminine of bjorn, bear + serkr, shirt.] "The film is a wonderful satire of the perils of modern life. Charlie plays a factory worker who goes berserk, tries his hand at a variety of jobs, and befriends a homeless young woman--played by his wife Goddard-- who steals his heart." Movie Review: Modern Times, Cineman Syndicate, 1 Jan 1994. This week's theme: eponyms -------- Date: Wed Jul 21 00:01:34 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--macadam X-Bonus: Today I am more than ever frightened. I wish it would dawn upon engineers that, in order to be an engineer, it is not enough to be an engineer. -Jose Ortega y Gasset macadam (ma-KAD-uhm) noun Pavement made of layers of compacted broken stone, now usually bound with tar or asphalt. [After John Loudon McAdam (1756-1836), Scottish civil engineer.] "The man speaking is Marty PerlAmutter. He is pointing to the worn macadam of Third Street in the SOMA district of San Francisco." Scott Burns, SF hides a 50,000-lane highway, The Dallas Morning News, 14 Mar 1999. This week's theme: eponyms -------- Date: Thu Jul 22 00:01:42 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mansard X-Bonus: The more I study physics, the more I am drawn to metaphysics. -Albert Einstein mansard (MAN-sard) noun 1. A roof having two slopes on all four sides, with the lower slope almost vertical and the upper almost horizontal. 2. The upper story formed by the lower slope of a mansard roof. [French mansardeafter Francois Mansart (1598-1666), French architect.] "They have mansard roofs and mullioned windows, satellite dishes, tennis courts, seven-car garages, and swimming pools and decks adorned with Victorian gas lamps." Kratochvil, Antonin, Border war.(US-Mexican border), Esquire, 1 Oct 1996. This week's theme: eponyms -------- Date: Fri Jul 23 00:01:55 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stakhanovite X-Bonus: Weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society - things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed. -E.B. White Stakhanovite (sta-KA-nuh-vyt) noun A Soviet worker honored and rewarded for exceptional diligence in increasing production. [After Aleksei Grigorievich Stakhanov (1906-1977), Soviet miner.] "With characteristic Stakhanovite energy, Rea has a whole new album of jazz-blues tracks, entitled The Blue Cafe, out in October." John Walsh, The reluctant rocker, Independent, 3 May 1997. "Experts confirm the boomers' reports of Stakhanovite schedules." Walter Kiechel, III and Susan E. Kuhn, The Workaholic Generation, Fortune, 10 Apr 1989. This week's theme: eponyms -------- Date: Sat Jul 24 00:01:48 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--euhemerism X-Bonus: One is always a long way from solving a problem until one actually has the answer. -Stephen Hawking euhemerism (yoo-HEE-muh-riz-uhm, -HEM-) noun A theory attributing the origin of the gods to the deification of historical heroes. [After Euhemerus, fourth-century BCE Greek philosopher.] "The Euhemerism of later scholiasts derived the name from a king Adrastos, who was said to have been the first to build a temple to Nemesis, and so the power thus worshipped was called after his name." Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound: Part II., Great Works of Literature, 1 Jan 1992. This week's theme: eponyms -------- Date: Sun Jul 25 00:01:57 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--argonaut X-Bonus: Whoever heard of a hundred thousand animals rushing together to butcher each other, as men do everywhere [during war]? -Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) argonaut (AR-go-not) noun A cephalopod mollusk (Argonauta argo) with eight tentacles, the female of which inhabits a paper-thin shell that later acts as an egg case. Also known as paper nautilus. [Latin, Argonaut.] Argonaut noun 1. Greek Mythology. One who sailed with Jason on the Argo in search of the Golden Fleece. 2. Also argonaut. A person who is engaged in a dangerous but rewarding quest; an adventurer. [Latin Argonauta, from Greek Argonautes : Argo, the ship Argo + nautes, sailor (from naus, ship).] "In essence, these argonauts of the local competitive rebirth were on the same difficult side of the financial coin as their early 20th century ancestors." Royce J. Holland, Future Vision, Telephony, 20 May 1996. This week's theme: eponyms -------- Date: Mon Jul 26 00:01:49 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--edentulous X-Bonus: He who seizes the right moment is the right man. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) edentulous (ee-DEN-chuh-lus) adjective Having no teeth; toothless. [From Latin edentulus : e-, ex- + dens, dent-, tooth.] "Mike Peart sees a staple-remover as `the essential rescue equipment to release centrefold models from their pain and discomfort'. He also mentions dentures for edentulous snakes ...." William Hartson, Games Creativity, Independent, 18 Nov 1997. Did you ever wonder why some dentists try to engage in conversation after dumping all sorts of contraptions in your mouth? Well, we are not going to ask you any more questions while you sink your teeth into this week's words. Open wide and let these words give more bite to your vocabulary. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 27 00:01:38 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--diastema X-Bonus: Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains. -Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) diastema (die-uh-STEE-mah) noun A gap or space between two teeth. [Late Latin, interval, from Greek diastema, from diastenai, to separate, second aorist of diistanai.] "So far as Bruce Manchion was concerned, the gap between his two front teeth was part of the whole Manchion package, an integral part of his personality. When he would hold training or consulting sessions at dentists' and orthodontists' offices, he made it clear his diastema -- dental talk for the gap between his teeth -- was his, and was going to stay." Sue MacDonald, Braces: not just for kids anymore, Gannett News Service, 30 Jun 1998. This week's theme: words about teeth. -------- Date: Wed Jul 28 00:01:39 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dentifrice X-Bonus: Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. -William Somerset Maugham dentifrice (DEN-tih-fris) noun A substance, such as a paste or powder, for cleaning the teeth. [French, from Old French, from Latin dentifricium : denti- + fricare, to rub.] "The Diana Memorial Fund has filed 26 colour and 26 black and white photographs of the Princess in its trademark application. [...] The application at the Trade Marks Registry covers, among other categories, `bleaching preparations and other substances for laundry use; cleaning, polishing, scouring and abrasive preparations; soaps; perfumery; essential oils, cosmetics, hair lotions and dentifrices'." Robert Uhlig, Technology Correspondent, Princess's face as trademark `could start picture ban', The Daily Telegraph, 14 Jan 1999. This week's theme: words about teeth. -------- Date: Thu Jul 29 00:01:43 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--malocclusion X-Bonus: Vague and insignificant forms of speech, and abuse of language have so long passed for mysteries of science; and hard and misapplied words, with little or no meaning, have, by prescription, such a right to be mistaken for deep learning and height of speculation, that it will not be easy to persuade either those who speak or those who hear them, that they are but the covers of ignorance, and hindrance of true knowledge. -John Locke, philosopher (1632-1704) malocclusion (mal-uh-KLOO-zhun) noun Faulty contact between the upper and lower teeth when the jaw is closed. [Middle English, from Old French : mal- + occlusus, past participle of Latin occludere, to occlude.] "The factory makes thousands of custom-made model jaws - many of them specially ordered to contain cavities, malocclusions, missing teeth, gum disease - for use in about 40 of the nation's 54 dental schools." Caryn Eve Murray, Queens Business Spotlight/Building a Model Business, Newsday, 19 May 1996. This week's theme: words about teeth. -------- Date: Fri Jul 30 00:01:48 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bruxism X-Bonus: Speak the truth, then leave quickly. -Serbian Proverb bruxism (BRUK-si-zehm) noun The habitual, involuntary grinding or clenching of the teeth, usually during sleep, as from anger, tension, fear, or frustration. [From New Latin bruxis, a gnashing, from Greek brukein, to gnash.] "It could be bad dreams, it could be bad luck, but for whatever reason, an estimated 15% of Americans clench and grind their teeth at night. The condition, known as bruxism, can accelerate tooth decay and gum disease." Martin Miller, Booster Shots; Smokin' in the Boys Room; Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan 1998. This week's theme: words about teeth. -------- Date: Sat Jul 31 00:01:43 EDT 1999 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dentate X-Bonus: "Stay" is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary. -Louisa May Alcott, writer and reformist (1832-1888) dentate (DEN-tayt) adjective Edged with toothlike projections; toothed. [Latin dentatus, from dens, dent-, tooth.] "The percent of dentate Americans with untreated decay declines with age to age 74, then rises slightly." Mogelonsky, Marcia, Dentists are forever, American Demographics, 1 Aug 1996. This week's theme: words about teeth.