A.Word.A.Day Archives
from https://wordsmith.org/awad
--------
Date: Tue Sep 1 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--caballine
X-Bonus: The less a statesman amounts to, the more he loves the flag. -Kin Hubbard, humorist (1 Sep 1868-1930)
This week's theme: Words with horse-related origins
Caballine or caballine (KAB-uh-lyn/leen) adjective
1. Giving inspiration.
2. Relating to horses.
[From Latin caballus (horse). Earliest documented use: 1430.]
NOTES: In Greek mythology, Hippocrene https://wordsmith.org/words/hippocrene.html
was a spring on Mt. Helicon that was created by a stroke of Pegasus's hoof.
If we can have a word coined after Greek hippos (horse), why not coin one
after Latin caballus (horse), as well.
"In memory of which nobody is now matriculated in the said University
of Poitiers unless he has drunk from the Caballine fountain of Croustelles."
Francois Rabelais (Translation: M.A. Screech); Gargantua and Pantagruel; 1938.
--------
Date: Wed Sep 2 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--horse's mouth
X-Bonus: There are conditions of blindness so voluntary that they become complicity. -Paul Bourget, novelist (2 Sep 1852-1935)
This week's theme: Words with horse-related origins
horse's mouth (HOR-ses/siz mouth) noun
The original or authentic source of some information.
[The term has its origin in horse racing. If you wanted tips on how a
horse was doing on a particular day, what better way than to hear it
directly from the horse's mouth? Earliest documented use: 1896.]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/horses_mouth_large.jpg
Photo: Rachel C / Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yawning_horse,_Scotland.jpg
"Mrs Bates was fishing. She knew full well that he and Lula had been
seeing each other -- she just wanted confirmation from the horse's mouth."
Louisa Heaton; His Perfect Bride?; Harlequin; 2015.
--------
Date: Thu Sep 3 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chivalrous
X-Bonus: A harbor, even if it is a little harbor, is a good thing, since adventurers come into it as well as go out, and the life in it grows strong, because it takes something from the world, and has something to give in return. -Sarah Orne Jewett, poet and novelist (3 Sep 1849-1909)
This week's theme: Words with horse-related origins
chivalrous (SHIV-uhl-ruhs) adjective
Having qualities of chivalry, such as courtesy, honor, bravery, gallantry, etc.
[From Old French chevalerie, from chevalier (knight), from Latin caballus
(horse). Earliest documented use: 1374.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/chivalrous
"Having been ensnared by talk of work as 'fashion models' or 'dancers',
a growing number of such women are rescued by semi-chivalrous male
customers, who alert the police."
A Tragic Crossroads; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 16, 2008.
--------
Date: Fri Sep 4 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cock-horse
X-Bonus: In a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy. -Ivan Illich, philosopher and priest (4 Sep 1926-2002)
This week's theme: Words with horse-related origins
cock-horse (KAHK-hors)
adverb: Mounted with a leg on each side.
noun: A hobby horse.
[From cock (rooster) + horse, perhaps from the strutting of a rooster.
Earliest documented use: 1566.]
NOTES: The best-known use of the term is in this nursery rhyme:
Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross,
To see a fine lady upon a white horse;
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
And she shall have music wherever she goes.
As in this nursery rhyme, the term is often used in contexts where a
child is riding a hobby horse. The use of the term in today's usage
example though is not as innocent as it sounds. We'll leave it at that.
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cock-horse_large.jpg
Illustration: William Wallace Denslow, 1901
"'Do you want to ride a cock-horse today, Johnny?' she asked."
Jak. E. Rander; An Eye for an Eye; Xlibris; 2012.
--------
Date: Mon Sep 7 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Ballardian
X-Bonus: I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it. -Edith Sitwell, poet (7 Sep 1887-1964)
"Don't be a Johnny!" Chances are you have said something like this some
time. (Replace Johnny with the name of someone you know.) What you meant
was: Don't be whiny or don't be greedy or don't be finicky or a quality
that characterized Johnny.
If so, you made a personal eponym, a word coined after someone. This
week we'll see five eponyms, from Greek ep- (after) + -onym (name), coined
after characters from both fact and fiction.
Ballardian (ba-LAHR-dee-uhn) adjective
Relating to a dystopian world, especially one characterized by social
and environmental degradation, assisted by technology.
[After the novelist and short story writer J.G. Ballard (1930-2009), whose
works depict such post-apocalyptic scenarios.]
"The Drowned World: A Novel" https://amazon.com/o/asin/0871403625/ws00-20
"'Bunker', self-evidently a work for our times, shimmers with a Ballardian
imagery of disaster and melt-down."
Ian Thomson; Bunker: Building for the End Times by Bradley Garrett - Review;
The Spectator (London, UK); Aug 22, 2020.
--------
Date: Tue Sep 8 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Griselda
X-Bonus: If more politicians in this country were thinking about the next generation instead of the next election, it might be better for the United States and the world. -Claude Pepper, senator and representative (8 Sep 1900-1989)
This week's theme: Eponyms
Griselda (gri-ZEL-duh) noun
A meek and patient woman.
[After Griselda, a woman in various medieval tales, who suffers without
ever complaining as her husband puts her through various tests. The name
Griselda is from Germanic roots meaning "gray battle-maid". Talk about
misnaming your character (see below)! Earliest documented use: 14th century.]
NOTES: Griselda has appeared in many stories over the years, including
Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales", and was the inspiration for
Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale". The best-known version of the story
is the one told by Giovanni Boccaccio, c. 1350.
In the story, Gualtieri, Marquis of Saluzzo, marries a peasant girl named
Griselda. After some time when a daughter is born, Gualtieri decides to
test his wife and declares that the newborn is to be killed and sends her
away supposedly to be killed. Griselda accepts her husband's will without
ever complaining.
A son is born a few years later and again: lather, rinse, repeat.
For the final test, he leaves her. After a few years he announces he's
remarrying and asks Griselda to come work as a servant in the wedding. She
meekly complies.
The woman he's supposedly marrying is their daughter who is now grown up,
all of 11 years old. Seeing Griselda remain steadfast and loyal through
all this, he finally declares: It has been a test. Only a test.
Congratulations, you passed!
The whole family reunites. Happy ending. Good old times!
One of Griselda's children is taken away from her https://wordsmith.org/words/images/griselda_large.jpg
Illustration: H.R. Haweis, in "Chaucer for Children" (1877)
"Quite evidently she is not a Griselda, but possessed with a shocking
desire to exculpate herself and her friends."
Harriet Beecher Stowe; Lady Byron Vindicated; Boston, Fields, Osgood,
& Co.; 1870.
--------
Date: Wed Sep 9 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Homeric
X-Bonus: On seeing weather-beaten trees: Is it as plainly in our living shown, / By slant and twist, which way the wind hath blown? -Adelaide Crapsey, poet (9 Sep 1878-1914)
This week's theme: Eponyms
Homeric (ho-MER-ik) adjective
1. Relating to Homer, his works, or his time.
2. Epic; large-scale; heroic.
[After Homer (c. 750 BCE), who is presumed to have composed the epic
poems the "Iliad" https://wordsmith.org/words/iliad.html and the
"Odyssey" https://wordsmith.org/words/odyssey.html . Earliest documented
use: 1594.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Homeric
"Homer and His Guide" (1874) https://wordsmith.org/words/images/homeric_large.jpg
Art: William-Adolphe Bouguereau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer#/media/File:William-Adolphe_Bouguereau_(1825-1905)_-_Homer_and_his_Guide_(1874).jpg
"During the summer holidays, my school friends and I played Homeric games
of hide-and-seek that lasted for weeks and covered the whole of Shanghai."
J.G. Ballard; The Kindness of Women; HarperCollins; 1991.
--------
Date: Thu Sep 10 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Juno
X-Bonus: The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best -- and therefore never scrutinize or question. -Stephen Jay Gould, paleontologist, biologist, and author (10 Sep 1941-2002)
This week's theme: Eponyms
Juno (JOO-noh) noun
A woman of stately bearing and beauty.
[After Juno, a goddess in Roman mythology. The name is from Latin Iuno, from
iuvenis (young). Ultimately from the Indo-European root yeu- (vital force),
which also gave us youth, juvenile, rejuvenate, junior, and June. Earliest
documented use: 1606. The adjectival form is junoesque https://wordsmith.org/words/junoesque.html .]
NOTES: Juno was the goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth in Roman
mythology. She was the sister *and* wife of Jupiter https://wordsmith.org/words/jovial.html .
He was known for chasing women and that did not make Juno very happy.
As a result, the name Juno is sometimes also used as a synonym for a jealous
woman.
"Jupiter and Juno" c. 1597 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/juno_large.jpg
Art: Annibale Carracci
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Juno
"'She's a Juno,' said the excavator, decisively; and she seemed indeed an
embodiment of celestial supremacy and repose. Her beautiful head, bound
with a single band, could have bent only to give the nod of command."
Henry James; The Turning; Penguin; 2019.
--------
Date: Fri Sep 11 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Pavlovian
X-Bonus: A straw vote only shows which way the hot air blows. -O. Henry, short-story writer (11 Sep 1862-1910)
This week's theme: Eponyms
Pavlovian (pav-LO-vee-uhn) adjective
Relating to a conditioned or predictable response; automatic; involuntary.
[After the physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), known for his work in
classical conditioning. Earliest documented use: 1922.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Pavlovian
NOTES: In an experiment, Pavlov rang a bell when he offered a dog some food.
After a while the dog began to associate the sound with food and salivated
just at the sound of the bell. For a change of perspective, see this cartoon
https://dornsife.usc.edu/labs/social-behavior .
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pavlovian.jpg
Image: Memedroid https://www.memedroid.com/memes/detail/2711710/Americans-wont-get-ot
"It wasn't that I actively disliked football, it was more a Pavlovian
response to having spent every weekend travelling from stadium to stadium
for five long years with my ex."
Lindsey Kelk; One in a Million; HarperCollins; 2018.
--------
Date: Mon Sep 14 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--toxophily
X-Bonus: Patriotism is proud of a country's virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country's virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, "the greatest", but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is. -Sydney J. Harris, journalist and author (14 Sep 1917-1986)
The Limerick Writers' Centre http://www.limerickwriterscentre.com/ is not
about writing limericks https://wordsmith.org/words/limerick.html, but
then they were not trying to be intentionally misleading.
The same is true with this week's words. You can't tell what's going on
just by looking at the spelling.*
At first look you might think this week's five words are about the love of
toxins, big cargo, voting, turning words into verbs, and redoing something,
but no. What are they about? You'll see this week.
*Names and words do make sense once in a while, such as when you can tell what's going
on just by looking at the spelling. An island *is land* (not water). Don't try
too hard to make much sense out of words though. Island is from Old English
ig meaning island. So an "island" is "island land" then?!
toxophily (tok-SAH-fuh-lee) noun
The practice of, love of, or addiction to, archery.
[From Greek toxon (bow) + -phily (love), based on toxophilite
https://wordsmith.org/words/toxophilite.html coined by Roger Ascham
(1515-1568). Earliest documented use: 1887.]
NOTES: Roger Ascham was the tutor for teen Lizzie, future Queen
Elizabeth I. His book "Toxophilus" was the first book on archery in
English. It was a treatise on archery, but it was also an argument for
writing in the vernacular: in English. You could say he shot two birds
with one arrow.
If you thought your hobby of archery wasn't exotic enough, follow in
the footsteps of amazing Orissa Kelly https://orissakelly.com/ and give
foot archery a try: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/toxophily_large.jpg
Photo: Andi Atherton
"The archers stiffened under his intolerant gaze. I say intolerant
because that Seg surely was when it came to matters concerning
toxophily."
Alan Burt Akers; The Lohvian Cycle II; Bladud Books; 2012.
--------
Date: Tue Sep 15 00:01:02 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--supercargo
X-Bonus: Understand this, I mean to arrive at the truth. The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to seekers after it. -Agatha Christie, author (15 Sep 1890-1976)
This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be
supercargo (soo-puhr-KAHR-goh) noun
1. An officer on a merchant ship who is in charge of the cargo.
2. A superintendent or an agent.
[By alteration of supracargo, from Spanish sobrecargo, from sobre (over),
from Latin super (super) + cargo. Earliest documented use: 1667.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/supercargo
"Thurso carries a passenger nobody sees but himself, a kind of divine
supercargo who relays messages from some more abstract deity."
Barry Unsworth; Sacred Hunger; Hamish Hamilton; 1992.
"Robert Campbell of the University of Rhode Island, one of Healey's
supercargo of scientists, outlined the details."
Awakening; The Economist (London, UK); Feb 14, 2015.
--------
Date: Wed Sep 16 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--votive
X-Bonus: Would the boy you were be proud of the man you are? -Laurence J. Peter, educator and author (16 Sep 1919-1990)
This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be
votive (VOH-tiv) adjective
Relating to a vow, wish, desire, etc.
[From Latin votum (vow), from vovere (to vow), which also gave us vow,
vote, and devote. Earliest documented use: 1582.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/votive
NOTES: If you have ever tossed a coin into a wishing well, you have made
a votive offering: giving a coin to the wishing well god(s) in the hope
they fulfill your wish. More often, a votive offering takes the form of
lighting a candle in a church. These offerings could be made in fulfillment
of a vow or in devotion. In an extended sense, the word votive is also
used as a noun to refer to those candles.
Votive candles at Notre-Dame https://wordsmith.org/words/images/votive_large.jpg
Photo: Dan and Sharon https://www.flickr.com/photos/dakluza/27654315920/
"Prehistoric reverence for watery places might suggest that the shield
was deposited there as a votive gift to the gods -- potentially after
a successful battle."
David Keys; Ancient Celtic Warriors Perfected Bouncy Shields; The
Independent (London, UK); May 24, 2019.
--------
Date: Thu Sep 17 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--verbigerate
X-Bonus: It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there. -William Carlos Williams, poet (17 Sep 1883-1963)
This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be
verbigerate (vuhr-BIJ-uh-rayt) verb intr.
To obsessively repeat meaningless words and phrases.
[From Latin verbigerare (to talk, chat), from verbum (word) + gerere
(to carry on). Earliest documented use: 1656.]
"Then she started verbigerating 'Hallelujah' for hours."
C.G. Jung; Collected Works of C.G. Jung: Psychogenesis of
Mental Disease, Vol 3; Princeton University Press; 1960.
"[Raymond Poincare] never varied his ideas, seldom his expressions; for
his whole term in 1922-24 he went on stubbornly verbigerating in the
face of history."
Vincent Sheean; Personal History; Doubleday; 1935.
--------
Date: Fri Sep 18 00:01:02 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--recreant
X-Bonus: Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (18 Sep 1709-1784)
This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be
recreant (REK-ree-uhnt)
adjective: 1. Unfaithful to a cause, duty, person, belief, etc.
2. Cowardly.
noun: 1. A disloyal person.
2. A coward.
[From Old French recreant, present participle of recroire (to yield, to
surrender allegiance), from Latin recredere (to yield or pledge), from
re- + credere (to believe). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kerd-
(heart), which also gave us cardiac, cordial, courage, record, concord,
discord, credit, credo, and accord https://wordsmith.org/words/accord.html .
Earliest documented use: 1330.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/recreant
"Here are some of the lovely closing lines of 'Fever' -- about a father of
two young children abandoned by his recreant wife -- as he waves goodbye
to a nanny who can no longer help him."
William Giraldi; 'This Life Is Not Easy': The Redemption of Raymond Carver;
Commonweal (New York); May 3, 2019.
--------
Date: Mon Sep 21 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fancy-pants
X-Bonus: Good books don't give up all their secrets at once. -Stephen King, novelist (b. 21 Sep 1947)
If you had to choose, would you rather be shirty https://wordsmith.org/words/shirty.html
or blousy https://wordsmith.org/words/blousy.html? I'm not talking about
your clothing preferences for your upper body.
Whichever way you go, it's not looking good. To be shirty is to be
bad-tempered or irritable and to be blousy is to be disheveled. Though,
to be clear, the word blousy has nothing to do with the blouse (it's
from a dialectal word blowze, meaning wench).
The English language has many idioms involving clothing. To keep one's
shirt on is to refrain from losing one's temper, while to lose one's shirt is
to lose everything. Language is not always logical.
How about pants? To wear the pants in a relationship is to be the dominant
partner. To catch someone with their pants down is to catch them in an
embarrassing or unprepared state.
This week we'll see five terms related to pants and shirts. Whatever you
choose to wear (or not wear), keep your mask on.
fancy-pants (FAN-see-pants)
noun: Someone attractive, silly, or pretentious.
adjective: Snobbish; pretentious; newfangled; overly complicated.
[From fancy, a contraction of fantasy, from Old French fantasie, from Latin
phantasia, from Greek phantasia (imagination, appearance), from phantazein
(to make visible) + pants, short for pantaloons, plural of pantaloon. St.
Pantaleone/Pantalone was a popular saint in Venice. As a result, it was
also a common name among the Venetians. As a result, a comic character in
the Italian commedia dell'arte was named Pantalone. The leggings this
character wore became known as pantalone (plural pantaloni). And that
became pantaloons in English. Earliest documented use: 1870. A related
word is smarty-pants https://wordsmith.org/words/smarty-pants.html .]
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/fancy-pants_large.gif
Cartoon: Dan Piraro https://www.facebook.com/bizarrocomics/
"Let's concentrate on the ones that make it, not waste space on some damn
fancy-pants New Yorker who wants to make a big splash by dragging her
old ideas to a new location."
Lucy Burdette; Death with All the Trimmings; Obsidian; 2014.
"Well, it's not as accurate as DNA testing, but hey, it's what they used
to use before all these fancy-pants tests."
B.J. Daniels; A Woman with a Mystery; Harlequin; 2001.
--------
Date: Tue Sep 22 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shirtsleeve
X-Bonus: Wear your learning, like your watch, in a private pocket, and do not pull it out and strike it merely to show you have one. If you are asked what o'clock it is, tell it, but do not proclaim it hourly and unasked, like the watchman. -Lord Chesterfield, statesman and writer (22 Sep 1694-1773)
This week's theme: Shirts & pants
shirtsleeve (SHUHRT-sleev) adjective
1. Relating to pleasant warm weather.
2. Informal; direct.
3. Hardworking; having a can-do attitude.
[From the idea of rolling up the sleeves of one's shirt in warm weather,
in an informal setting, or in preparation to get down to work. Could also
be from the idea of simply wearing a shirt, without a formal coat. From
shirt, from Old English scyrte + sleeve, from Old English sliefe. Earliest
documented use: 1567.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/shirtsleeve
We Can Do It! / Rosie the Riveter, 1943 http://wordsmith.org/words/images/shirtsleeve_large.jpg
Poster by J. Howard Miller, designed for Westinghouse Electric as a morale booster during WWII
Image: NARA / Wikimedia
"On a shirtsleeves October evening, it was possibly written in the stars."
Chris Irvine; Grand Finale for Wane; Sunday Times (London, UK); Oct 14, 2018.
"This shirtsleeve diplomacy seems to work."
The Election: 100% United; The Daily Mirror (London, UK); Apr 8, 2005.
--------
Date: Wed Sep 23 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--trouser role
X-Bonus: The radical novelty of modern science lies precisely in the rejection of the belief ... that the forces which move the stars and atoms are contingent upon the preferences of the human heart. -Walter Lippmann, journalist (23 Sep 1889-1974)
This week's theme: Shirts & pants
trouser role (TROU-zuhr rohl) noun
In opera, drama, film, etc.:
1. A role in which a female character pretends to be a male.
2. A male part played by a female actor.
Also known as a breeches role or a pants role.
[From the traditional view of trousers as male clothing. From an alteration of earlier trouse, from Scottish Gaelic triubhas,
influenced by drawers. Earliest documented use: 1955.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9usaRXn1IA
Isabel Leonard as Cherubino in Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro", Metropolitan Opera
"'Ms. Sonnier will be singing the part of Romeo.' I paused, playing back the sentence in my mind.
'Romeo?'
'That's correct, sir. It's a trouser role.'"
Reed Arvin; The Last Goodbye; HarperCollins; 2009.
--------
Date: Thu Sep 24 00:01:02 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--brownshirt
X-Bonus: In my youth I thought of writing a satire on mankind; but now in my age I think I should write an apology for them. -Horace Walpole, novelist and essayist (24 Sep 1717-1797)
This week's theme: Shirts & pants
brownshirt (BRAUN-shuhrt) noun
A member of police or military trained for carrying out a sudden
assault, especially one marked by brutality and violence.
[After Nazi storm troopers, from the color of their shirts. Earliest
documented use: 1932.]
See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/brownshirt
"All the windows had already been smashed, and a brownshirt with a
sledgehammer was dementedly swinging it against the heavy doors. All
this was lit by the bonfire in front of the building, which other
storm troopers kept refueling with stuff brought out from within."
David Downing; Diary of a Dead Man on Leave; Soho Press; 2019.
--------
Date: Fri Sep 25 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--seat-of-the-pants
X-Bonus: I will not play at tug o' war. / I'd rather play at hug o' war, / Where everyone hugs instead of tugs. -Shel Silverstein, writer (25 Sep 1930-1999)
This week's theme: Shirts & pants
seat-of-the-pants (see-tuhv-thuh-PANTS) adjective
1. Using experience, instinct, or guesswork as opposed to methodical planning.
2. Done without instruments.
[The term has its origin in aviation. Before modern instruments, a pilot
flew a plane based on how it felt. For example, in fog or clouds, in the
absence of instrumentation one could tell whether the plane was climbing
or diving by how heavy one feels in the seat. Seat of the pants is the
area where one sits, i.e. the buttocks. Earliest documented use: 1929.]
Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight deck, built in 2011 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/787_large.jpg
Photo: Alex Beltyukov / Wikimedia
Blériot XI, built in 1909 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bleriot_large.jpg
Photo: J.Klank / Wikimedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bl%C3%A9riot_XI#/media/File:Bleriot_XI_Thulin_A_1910_a.jpg
"In a sprint race, he likely wouldn't do all that well against
seat-of-the-pants racers. But make it a test of endurance, which 500
miles most definitely is, and a calm/steady approach could prove to
be the right way."
Norris McDonald; Methodical Racer Kellett Takes Aim at Indy 500;
Toronto Star (Canada); Aug 22, 2020.
--------
Date: Mon Sep 28 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Pactolian
X-Bonus: There is always more goodness in the world than there appears to be, because goodness is of its very nature modest and retiring. -Evelyn Beatrice Hall, biographer (28 Sep 1868-1956)
Rivers were the lifeblood of early human settlements and it's not surprising
that we have been getting inspiration from them ever since.
Bertrand Russell once said, "An individual human existence should be like
a river: small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing
passionately past rocks and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows
wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end,
without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly
lose their individual being."
Civilization started along rivers. Rivers are also derivers* of this week's
words. The five words we feature are based on the names of rivers around
the world. We'll start in Turkey, take a scamandering path through Scotland,
Australia, the US, and end up back in Turkey.
*To derive is to, literally, flow from; from Latin de- (from) + rivus (stream).
Rivus also gave us rival (literally, one who uses the same stream), but
not river, which is from Latin ripa (bank, shore).
Pactolian (pak-TOH-lee-uhn) adjective
Golden; lavish.
[After Pactolus (now called Sart Çayı), a river in ancient Lydia (in modern Turkey),
known for its golden sands. Earliest documented use: 1586.]
"Midas Washing at the Source of the Pactolus" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pactolian_large.jpg
Art: Bartolomeo Manfredi, c. 1617-19
Photo: Regan Vercruysse https://www.flickr.com/photos/rverc/8453696627
NOTES: According to the legend, King Midas bathed in the river Pactolus
to get rid of his golden touch, really a golden curse. Midas's story has
given us such terms as Midas touch https://wordsmith.org/words/midas_touch.html
and Midas-eared https://wordsmith.org/words/midas-eared.html. It was this
golden sand that supposedly made Croesus http://wordsmith.org/words/croesus.html
rich.
"Governmental support of science was not yet Pactolian, but the
well-connected Pasteur never had to stop research for lack of funds."
H.W. Paul; Science, Vine, and Wine in Modern France; Cambridge
University Press; 1996.
--------
Date: Tue Sep 29 00:01:03 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Jedburgh justice
X-Bonus: No fathers or mothers think their own children ugly; and this self-deceit is yet stronger with respect to the offspring of the mind. -Miguel de Cervantes, novelist (29 Sep 1547-1616)
This week's theme: Words originating in rivers
Jedburgh justice (JED-buh-ruh juhs-tis) noun
Punishment before trial.
[After Jedburgh, a town in Scotland, where in the 17th century people were
summarily executed. The town lies on the Jed Water river. Earliest
documented use: 1698.]
NOTES: Jedburgh justice, also known as Jedwood justice or Jeddart justice,
is, in essence: Hang now, ask questions later. The term is coined after
Jedburgh, a town near Edinburgh, where under the orders of King James VI
and I, people were executed without trial. See also lynch
https://wordsmith.org/words/lynch.html .
Jedburgh Court https://wordsmith.org/words/images/jedburgh_justice_large.jpg
Photo: Stuart Smith https://www.flickr.com/photos/studiaphotos/48536589177/
"A Black defendant is presumed guilty and he or she has a legal duty to
prove his or her innocence beyond a shadow of a doubt. There are still
no guarantees, however. This is Jedburgh justice."
Alton H Maddox, Jr.; FDR's "Raw Deal and Blacks"; New York Amsterdam
News; Jun 14, 2007.
--------
Date: Wed Sep 30 00:01:02 EDT 2020
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Derwenter
X-Bonus: No human being is illegal. -Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (30 Sep 1928-2016)
This week's theme: Words originating in rivers
Derwenter (DUHR-wuhnt-uhr) noun
An ex-convict.
[After Derwent, a river in Tasmania. There used to be a convict
settlement on its banks. Earliest documented use: 1853.]
Hobart Town on the river Derwent https://wordsmith.org/words/images/derwenter_large.jpg
Art by convict-artist Alan Carswell, 1821
"A visitor to the tent of a pair of newlyweds at Forest Creek found the
digger's wife ... barely sober enough to utter these memorable words,
'I'm a Derwenter, and I don't care who knows it.'"
Robyn Annear; Nothing But Gold; Text Publishing; 1999.