A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Sep 3 00:01:06 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--facetiae X-Bonus: The world owes all its onward impulses to men ill at ease. The happy man inevitably confines himself within ancient limits. -Nathaniel Hawthorne, novelist and short-story writer (1804-1864) I've just returned from a six-week trip to India and Europe, an Indo-European tour, if you will. While I recover from the jetlag, I've arranged an Indo-European tour for you, and this one comes with no jetlag. This week we'll see five words that have come to us from Indo-European roots. About 6000 years ago, people in that region spoke a language that was the ancestor of most languages now spoken around the world -- languages as varied as Albanian, English, French, German, Greek, Norwegian, and Sanskrit. There is no written record of the language but linguists now call this reconstructed language Proto-Indo-European. Let's look at a few words that trace their origin to this prehistoric source. facetiae (fuh-SEE-shee-ee) noun Witty or humorous remarks or writings. [From Latin facetia (jest). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dhe- (to set or put) which is also the source of do, deed, factory, fashion, face, rectify, defeat, sacrifice, satisfy, Sanskrit sandhi (literally, joining), Urdu purdah (literally, veil or curtain), and Russian duma (council).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Guy is a writer of facetiae. He asks the tough questions. Why do they make so much of Cactus Jack Garner's remark about the Vice Presidency not being worth a pitcher of warm spit when 'there really shouldn't be anything disgusting about the thought of drinking spit, one's own at least, because spit is what is in our mouths all the time'?" Christopher Buckley; White House Spouse Tells All; The New York Times; Jun 10, 1990. -------- Date: Tue Sep 4 00:01:06 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--puissant X-Bonus: Victory breeds enmity; the defeated live in pain. The peaceful live happily, avoiding both victory and defeat. -Buddha (c. 563-483 BCE) This week's theme: words derived from Indo-European roots. puissant (PWIS-uhnt, PYOO-uh-suhnt) adjective Potent. [Via French from Latin posse (to be able), ultimately from the Indo-European root poti- (powerful, lord) that is also the source of power, potent, possess, possible, posse, Italian podesta, and Turkish pasha (via Persian).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "The full-race Evo is about 557 pounds lighter and 30 horsepower more puissant." Dan Neil; A Beast in the 'burbs; Los Angeles Times; Jun 16, 2004. -------- Date: Wed Sep 5 00:01:06 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--junta X-Bonus: It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) This week's theme: words derived from Indo-European roots. junta (HOON-tuh, JUHN-) noun A group, especially one made of military officers, ruling a country after a coup. [From Spanish and Portuguese junta (committee, association), from Latin jungere (to join). Ultimately from the Indo-European root yeug- (to join) that also gave us yoke, junction, jugular, adjust, Sanskrit yoga, and Greek zeugma.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Burma's military junta has been freeing prisoners from jail and then recruiting them to bolster gangs that have been used to attack pro-democracy activists." Daniel Howden; Junta Frees Prisoners For Anti-protest Mobs; The Independent (London, UK); Aug 29, 2007. -------- Date: Thu Sep 6 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--syllogistic X-Bonus: I tried to find Him on the Christian cross, but He was not there; I went to the temple of the Hindus and to the old pagodas, but I could not find a trace of Him anywhere. I searched on the mountains and in the valleys, but neither in the heights nor in the depths was I able to find Him. I went to the Kaaba in Mecca, but He was not there either. I questioned the scholars and philosophers, but He was beyond their understanding. I then looked into my heart, and it was there where He dwelled that I saw Him; He was nowhere else to be found. -Jalaluddin Rumi, poet and mystic (1207-1273) This week's theme: words derived from Indo-European roots. syllogistic (sil-uh-JIS-tik) adjective 1. Of or relating to syllogism (a form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion). 2. Subtle or specious. noun 1. Deductive reasoning. 2. A subtle or specious piece of reasoning. [Via Middle English, French, and Latin from Greek syllogizesthai (to syllogize). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leg- (to collect, speak) that is also the source of other words such as lexicon, lesson, lecture, legible, legal, and select.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "To suggest that all this means, ipso facto, the media are politically biased in their news coverage is syllogistic reasoning at its worst." David Shaw; The More Pernicious Bias is Less Substance, More Fluff; Los Angeles Times; Jan 19, 2003. -------- Date: Fri Sep 7 00:01:06 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hypergolic X-Bonus: To see ourselves as others see us is a most salutary gift. Hardly less important is the capacity to see others as they see themselves. -Aldous Huxley, novelist (1894-1963) This week's theme: words derived from Indo-European roots. hypergolic (hy-puhr-GOL-ik) adjective Igniting on contact. [From German Hypergol (hypergolic fuel), from Greek hyper- (over, above) + erg- (work). Ultimately from the Indo-European root werg- (to do) which gave us ergonomic, work, energy, metallurgy, surgery, wright, and orgy.] The term hypergolic refers to substances that ignite or explode on contact (without needing an external aid such as a spark). Hypergolic substances are used as rocket fuel and explosives. -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "From the moment they jumped in Lenny's Cadillac on the Sunshine Skyway fishing pier, there was instant hypergolic chemistry." Tim Dorsey; Hammerhead Ranch Motel; William Morrow; 2000. -------- Date: Mon Sep 10 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--eyas X-Bonus: It seems to me that our three basic needs for food and security and love are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. -M.F.K. (Mary Frances Kennedy) Fisher, writer (1908-1992) What's common among an orange and an omelet... and an uncle and an umpire? Earlier all these words used to take the indefinite article "a", not "an". They were coined by a process called false splitting. Let's take orange. The original word was Sanskrit naranga. By the time it reached English, the initial letter n had joined the article a, resulting in "an orange". The word for orange is still narangi in Hindi, naranja in Spanish, and naranj in Arabic. This false splitting caused what should have been "a napron" to become "an apron". The same process transformed "a nadder" into "an adder", and reshaped many other words. The n went the other way too. "Mine uncle" was interpreted as "my nuncle" resulting in a synonym nuncle for uncle. The word newt was formed the same way: "an ewte" misdivided into "a newte". Could false splitting turn "an apple" into "a napple" or "a nail" into "an ail" some day? Before the advent of printing, the language was primarily oral/aural, resulting in mishearing and misinterpreting. Today, spelling is mostly standardized, so chances of false splitting are slim, though not impossible. This week we'll look at a few more examples of words formed by false splitting. eyas (EYE-uhs) noun A nestling, especially a young falcon or hawk. [By erroneous splitting of the original "a nyas" into "an eyas". From Latin nidus (nest), ultimately from the Indo-European root sed- (to sit) that is also the source of sit, chair, saddle, soot, sediment, cathedral, and tetrahedron.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "One of the three peregrine falcon chicks nesting atop downtown Seattle's Washington Mutual Bank died early Wednesday. A wildlife expert who spotted the struggling eyas freed it and then transported it to the Woodland Park Zoo." Marc Powell; Ailing Falcon Chick Dies in Seattle; The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington); Jun 30, 1994. -------- Date: Tue Sep 11 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ouch X-Bonus: A man who is 'ill-adjusted' to the world is always on the verge of finding himself. One who is adjusted to the world never finds himself, but gets to be a cabinet minister. -Hermann Hesse, novelist, poet, Nobel laureate (1877-1962) This week's theme: words formed by false splitting. ouch or ouche (ouch) noun A brooch or buckle set with precious stones. [From the misdivision of the phrase "a nouche" as "an ouche", from Anglo-Norman ouche (brooch). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ned- (to bind) that is also the source of node, noose, annex, and connect.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "No store of well-drilled needles, nor ouches of amber pale; No new-cut tongues of the bison, nor meat of the stranded whale." Rudyard Kipling; The Story of Ung; 1896. -------- Date: Wed Sep 12 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--atomy X-Bonus: To use bitter words, when kind words are at hand is like picking unripe fruit when the ripe fruit is there. -Thiruvalluvar, poet (c. 1st century BCE or 6th century CE) This week's theme: words formed by false splitting. atomy (AT-uh-mee) noun A skeleton. [From the word anatomy taken as "an atomy". From Latin anatomia, from Greek ana- (up) + tomia (a cutting). Ultimately from the Indo-European root tem- (to cut) that is also the source of tonsure, temple, epitome, and contemplate.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "That eyes, that are the frail'st and softest things, Who shut their coward gates on atomies, Should be call'd tyrants, butchers, murderers!" William Shakespeare; As You Like It; 1599. -------- Date: Thu Sep 13 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--auger X-Bonus: When we enlarge upon the affection our friends have for us, this is very often not so much out of a sense of gratitude as from a desire to persuade people of our own great worth, that can deserve so much kindness. -Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld, moralist (1613-1680) This week's theme: words formed by false splitting. auger (AW-guhr) noun Any of various boring tools resembling a corkscrew, used in carpentry, digging, etc. [From the misdivision of "a nauger" as "an auger". Ultimately from the Indo-European root nobh- (navel) that is also the source of nave, navel, umbilical, omphaloskepsis (navel gazing), and Hindi nabhi (navel).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "What is the strangest thing you've seen coming out of the ground? Once I had a T-shirt come out of the ground as we pulled the auger up." Francois Marchand; Q&A with Kathy Fiebich; Edmonton Journal (Canada); Sep 2, 2007. -------- Date: Fri Sep 14 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nonce X-Bonus: After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on -- have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear -- what remains? Nature remains. -Walt Whitman, poet (1819-1892) This week's theme: words formed by false splitting. nonce (nons) noun 1. The present or immediate occasion. 2. The time being. [From the phrase "for the nonce", a misdivision of "for then anes", from for + then (the) + anes (one).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "I pursed my lips and set aside my thirst for the nonce." C Sanford Lowe and G David Nordley; Loki's Realm; Analog Science Fiction & Fact (New York); Jul/Aug 2007. -------- Date: Mon Sep 17 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--linsey-woolsey X-Bonus: It is a very lonely life that a man leads, who becomes aware of truths before their times. -Thomas Brackett Reed, politician (18391902) We're advised not to wash our dirty linen in public. Our leaders seek to project a homespun image, even though they may be shrewd, dyed-in-the-wool politicians. Well, you may have cottoned on to the fact that today I'm talking about words related to fabrics. Clothing is one of the three basic necessities in life and it's no wonder that our language has many idioms based on words related to cloths. This week's A.Word.A.Day is woven around words related to fabrics that are often used metaphorically. linsey-woolsey (LIN-zee WOOL-zee) noun 1. A strong, coarse fabric of wool and cotton or wool and linen. 2. An incongruous mix. [From Middle English linsey (linen, or from Lindsey, a village in Suffolk, UK) + woolsey (a rhyming compound of wool).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "This is no linsey-woolsey, tawdry romance: rather, it is the credible story of two people who must be together, whatever the enormous costs to them and those they love." Valerie Ryan; An Affair To Remember; The Seattle Times; Jan 2, 2000. -------- Date: Tue Sep 18 00:01:06 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--buckram X-Bonus: Political history is largely an account of mass violence and of the expenditure of vast resources to cope with mythical fears and hopes. -Murray Edelman, professor, author (1919-2001) This week's theme: fabric words used metaphorically. buckram (BUK-ruhm) noun 1. A stiff cotton fabric used in interlining garments, in bookbinding, etc. 2. Stiffness; formality. verb tr. 1. To strengthen with buckram. 2. To give a false appearance of strength, importance, etc. [Of uncertain origin. Perhaps after Bukhara, Uzbekistan, a city noted for textiles.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Dick and his father were henceforth on terms of coldness. The upright old gentleman grew more upright when he met his son, buckramed with immortal anger." Robert Louis Stevenson; The Story of a Lie; 1879. -------- Date: Wed Sep 19 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--grog X-Bonus: No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed, and love of power. -P.J. O'Rourke, writer (1947- ) This week's theme: fabric words used metaphorically. grog (grog) noun 1. An alcoholic drink, especially rum diluted with water. 2. Any strong alcoholic drink. [After Old Grog, nickname of Admiral Edward Vernon (1684-1757), who ordered diluted rum to be served to his sailors. The admiral earned the nickname from his habit of wearing a grogram cloak. Grogram is a coarse fabric of silk, wool, mohair, or a blend of them. The word grogram is from French gros grain (large grain or texture).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Knowing the value of terse composition and wordplay, Mr. Paisley scored a country hit a couple of years ago with 'Alcohol': A droll defense of grog from the drink's point of view ('I've been known to cause a few breakups/And I've been known to cause a few births.')" Movies, Performing Arts; The New York Times; Jul 27, 2007. -------- Date: Thu Sep 20 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bombast X-Bonus: A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it. -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900) This week's theme: fabric words used metaphorically. bombast (BOM-bast) noun Pompous speech or writing. [From Old French bombace (cotton padding), from Latin bombax (cotton).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "The much-unloved advertising slogan proclaiming Scotland as 'The Best Small Country in the World' is ... seen to combine the worst of both bombast and cringe." Robbie Dinwoodie; Best Small Country in the World; The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland); Sep 10, 2007. -------- Date: Fri Sep 21 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fustian X-Bonus: The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart. -Iris Murdoch, writer (1919-1999) [World Carfree Day is Sep 22: http://www.worldcarfree.net/wcfd/ ] This week's theme: fabric words used metaphorically. fustian (FUS-chuhn) adjective Bombastic: marked by pretentiousness or pomposity. noun 1. Pretentious speech or writing. 2. A coarse, sturdy cloth, blend of cotton and linen, usually having twill weave. [From Old French fustaigne, from Latin fustanum, from fustis (tree trunk, stick), or from El Fostat (a suburb of Cairo, Egypt, where it was first made).] "Despite its fustian moments and overuse of exclamation points, I find Modern Love greatly moving." Michael Dirda; Scenes from a Marriage; The Washington Post; Oct 5, 2003. -------- Date: Mon Sep 24 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--abderian X-Bonus: The butterfly flitting from flower to flower ever remains mine, I lose the one that is netted by me. -Rabindranath Tagore, philosopher, author, songwriter, painter, educator, composer, Nobel laureate (1861-1941) Once upon a time, a person's name was his complete identification and address. It could comprise his given name, profession, father or mother's name, a personal trait, and even the name of his village. That was because where one lived defined a person as much as anything else. The place of origin often turned into a generic term for some personal characteristic. The English language is replete with such expressions where the name of a place has become associated with a particular quality, such as laconic (using few words) from Laconia in ancient Greece or bohemian (unconventional) from Bohemia in the Czech Republic. There are hundreds of toponyms -- words derived from the names of places. This week we visit five places that have become toponyms in the English language. abderian (AB-dir-ee-uhn) adjective Given to excessive or incessant laughter. [After Abdera, in ancient Thrace (present day Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece), the birth place of Democritus, the Laughing Philosopher. Location on the map: https://wordsmith.org/awad/toponyms.html ] It's not certain why Democritus was nicknamed the Laughing Philosopher. It may be owing to his stress on the value of cheerfulness. It's also said that he often appeared in public laughing while expressing his contempt of human follies. Paintings frequently show him laughing: http://images.google.com/images?q=Democritus+painting The opposite of an abderian person is an agelast, someone who never laughs. -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "The latest interview with Errol Flynn on the subject of his marriage affairs doesn't inspire me to pat my hands in behalf of abderian actor and bistro brawler." Wood Soanes; Curtain Calls: Maybe Flynn is Fooling Himself!; Oakland Tribune (California); Oct 28, 1941. -------- Date: Tue Sep 25 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--artesian X-Bonus: Sin lies only in hurting others unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. -Robert A. Heinlein, science-fiction author (1907-1988) This week's theme: toponyms -- words derived from the names of places. artesian (ahr-TEE-zhuhn) adjective Pertaining to a well that has water rising to the surface under natural pressure, without the need of a pump. [After Artois, a former province in France, where many such wells were drilled.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "When settlers first came to Pullman, they found artesian water bubbling out of the ground. A hundred years later, those springs are gone, and the source of this hydrological abundance continues to drop 1.5 feet per year. Water mining is just that -- and sooner or later, someone's going to have to pay the piper." Chuck Pezeshki; Seattle Post-Intelligencer; WSU, Enviros Teeing Off Over Water Rights; Sep 5, 2007. -------- Date: Wed Sep 26 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hessian X-Bonus: Unless a good deed is voluntary, it has no moral significance. -Everett Dean Martin, columnist, preacher, and philosopher (1880-1941) This week's theme: toponyms -- words derived from the names of places. hessian (HESH-uhn) noun 1. A mercenary soldier or a ruffian. 2. Burlap. [After Hesse, a state in central Germany. Sense 1 derives from the fact that Hessian mercenaries served in the British army in America during the American Revolution.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "If he waits long enough to get into the race, all the usual-suspect-consultants will be booked -- which would be a boon for Mr. Gore, since his hessian strategists in 2000 made him soft-pedal the environment, the very issue that makes him seem most passionate and authentic." Maureen Dowd; Ozone Man Sequel; The New York Times; Feb 28, 2007. -------- Date: Thu Sep 27 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vaudeville X-Bonus: Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone's soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd. -Jalaluddin Rumi, poet and mystic (1207-1273) This week's theme: toponyms -- words derived from the names of places. vaudeville (VAWD-vil) noun Theatrical entertainment featuring a variety of acts such as songs, dances, comedy, acrobatics, magic, pantomime, etc. [From French vaudeville, from Old French vaudevire, a shortening of chanson du Vau de Vire (song of the Valley of Vire), from Vire, a valley of Calvados, Normandy in France where satirical folksongs were composed by Olivier Basselin in the fifteenth century.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "The family travelled around Australia with their big tent show, entertaining crowds with vaudeville acts and horse stunts until the 1950s." Eamon Hamilton; A Hundred Years Young; Hawkesbury Gazette (Australia); Jun 2, 2005. -------- Date: Fri Sep 28 00:01:07 EDT 2007 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--brigadoon X-Bonus: You have your brush, you have your colors, you paint paradise, then in you go. -Nikos Kazantzakis, poet and novelist (1883-1957) This week's theme: toponyms -- words derived from the names of places. brigadoon (BRIG-uh-doon) noun An idyllic place that is out of touch with reality or one that makes its appearance for a brief period in a long time. [From Brigadoon, a village in the musical of the same name, by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, based on the story Germelshausen by Friedrich Gerstacker. Brigadoon is under a spell that makes it invisible to outsiders except on one day every 100 years.] "There is a feel of Brigadoon to Cooperstown, the lush village of baseball and opera tucked into the middle of an idyllic nowhere in upstate New York." Elisabeth Bumiller, Cooperstown, The New York Times, Jul 1, 2001.