A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Nov 3 00:01:04 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dragoman X-Bonus: It is more often from pride than from ignorance that we are so obstinately opposed to current opinions; we find the first places taken, and we do not want to be the last. -Francois de La Rochefoucauld, moralist (1613-1680) Most everyday words in the English language, such as bread, house, and love, are home-grown, coming to us from Old English. But English does not shy away from adopting words from other languages. Often the path a word takes to join the English language is straightforward. The word table comes to us from Latin tabula, for example. There are instances where a word has taken a scenic route on its way to English. Take the word cider, for instance. It traveled from Hebrew to Greek to Latin to French before landing on the shores of English language. Travel changes everyone and words are no exception. By the time they reach us, they have encountered a little wear and tear. They have experienced some smoothing, picked up some new ideas, and often they have a slightly different shade of meaning (cider in Hebrew means strong drink). This week we'll look at words that have accumulated enough frequent-flier miles to earn a free trip (or two) around the dictionary. dragoman (DRAG-uh-man) noun, plural dragomans or dragomen An interpreter or guide. [From French dragoman, from Italian dragomanno, from Latin/Greek dragoumanos, from Arabic tarjuman, and Aramaic, from Akkadian targumanu (interpreter). Earliest documented use: 1300s. Akkadian is a now-extinct Semitic language once spoken in ancient Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and written in cuneiform. Earliest documented use: 14th century.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dragoman "The pig doesn't express himself in some exotic swine-dialect, the farmer has no need to summon a dragoman fluent in grunts, each understands the other perfectly." Eric Ormsby; Ambitious Diminutives; Parnassus: Poetry in Review; 2008. -------- Date: Tue Nov 4 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--golgotha X-Bonus: I would rather be the man who bought the Brooklyn Bridge than the one who sold it. -Will Rogers, humorist (1879-1935) This week's words: Well-traveled words Golgotha (GOL-guh-thuh) noun 1. A place or occasion of great suffering. 2. A burial place. [After Golgotha, the hill near Jerusalem believed to be the site of Jesus's crucifixion. From Latin, from Greek golgotha, from Aramaic gulgulta, from Hebrew gulgolet (skull). The hill was perhaps named from the resemblance of its shape to a skull. Earliest documented use: 1597.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Golgotha "A soldier from Mississippi called Spotsylvania 'one vast Golgotha in immensity of the number of the dead'." Michael Ruane; 'Were Turned into Fiends and Brutes'; The Washington Post; Apr 27, 2014. -------- Date: Wed Nov 5 00:01:02 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mandarin X-Bonus: To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men. -Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet (1850-1919) This week's words: Well-traveled words mandarin (MAN-duh-rin) noun: 1. A member of one of nine ranks of public officials in the Chinese Empire. 2. A powerful government official or bureaucrat. 3. A member of an elite group, especially one having influence in intellectual or literary circles. 4. Capitalized: the national language of China. 5. A citrus tree, Citrus reticulata, that is native to China. adjective: 1. Of or relating to a mandarin. 2. Marked by refined or ornate language. [From Portuguese mandarim, from Malay menteri, from Hindi, from Sanskrit mantri (counselor), from mantra (word or formula), from manyate (he thinks). Earliest documented use: 1589.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/mandarin "Narendra Modi's real challenge begins once he gets down to the brass tacks of realpolitik with Obama and the White House mandarins." The Modi Sales Pitch; Gulf News (Dubai); Sep 30, 2014. "No one would accuse James Swain of writing mandarin prose; in fact, he uses language with such blunt force he could be hammering in nails." Marilyn Stasio; After-School Special; The New York Times Book Review; Oct 7, 2007. -------- Date: Thu Nov 6 00:01:04 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jubilee X-Bonus: I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice. -Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President (1809-1865) This week's words: Well-traveled words jubilee (JOO-buh-lee, -LEE) noun 1. A special anniversary of an event, especially a 50th anniversary. 2. Rejoicing or celebration. [From Old French jubile, from Latin jubilaeus, and Greek iobelaios, from Hebrew yobel (ram, ram's horn trumpet). Traditionally a jubilee year was announced by blowing a ram's horn. Earliest documented use: 1382.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/jubilee "Pupils at a Bradford school crowned their diamond jubilee celebrations by starting the new academic year in the new school colour -- gold." Chris Young; A Golden Year Begins for Pupils With New School Uniforms; Telegraph and Argus (Bradford, UK); Oct 3, 2014. -------- Date: Fri Nov 7 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Mata Hari X-Bonus: Too many have dispensed with generosity in order to practice charity. -Albert Camus, writer and philosopher (1913-1960) This week's words: Well-traveled words Mata Hari (MA-tuh HAR-ee, MAT-uh HAR-ee) noun A seductive woman who works as a spy. [After exotic dancer Mata Hari, a stage name of Margaretha Geertruida Zelle (1876-1917). She was a Dutch woman, who took a Malay name, allegedly spied for the Germans, and was executed by the French. Her stage name Mata Hari means sun, literally "eye of the day", from Malay mata (eye) + hari (day, dawn). Earliest documented use: 1936.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Mata%20Hari Mata Hari: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/mata_hari_large.jpg Photo: Wikimedia "In London, Sophia joins the war effort ... and embarks upon improbable espionage escapades, hoping to come off as a Mata Hari in furs and printed chiffon." Liesl Schillinger; The Persistence of Levity; Newsweek (New York); Sep 20, 2013. -------- Date: Mon Nov 10 00:02:04 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tegular X-Bonus: Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except the best. -Henry van Dyke, poet (1852-1933) No, I didn't type the words for this week on a tiny cellphone keyboard. I didn't use a voice-to-text program either. Even though they appear badly misspelled, all of the words featured this week are spelled just fine. So no need to adjust your glasses. Just keep an eye on your spellchecker -- don't let its blood pressure rise too much as it sees the words this week. tegular (TEG-yuh-luhr) adjective Relating to, resembling, or arranged like tiles. [From Latin tegula (tile), from tegere (to cover). Ultimately from the Indo-European root (s)teg- (to cover), which is also the source of thatch, deck, detect, stegosaur, tog https://wordsmith.org/words/tog.html , and protege https://wordsmith.org/words/protege.html . Earliest documented use: 1828.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/tegular "The town council has contributed £70,000 to the scheme to pay for tegular paving to match other areas of the town centre." Jon Bennett; Traders Angry Over Road Resurfacing Work; Kent and Sussex Courier (UK); Mar 14, 2008. -------- Date: Tue Nov 11 00:02:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--refection X-Bonus: A brother is a friend given by nature. -Gabriel Legouve, poet (1764-1812) This week's theme: Words that appear to be misspelled refection (ri-FEK-shuhn) noun 1. Refreshment with food or drink. 2. A light meal. 3. The reingesting of fecal pellets, as practiced by rabbits. [Via French from Latin reficere (to renew or restore), from re- (back) + facere (to make). Earliest documented use: 1398.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/refection "Mr March and the Professor retired to the study, Meg and Amy went to look after the little refection of fruit and cake which was to come." Louisa May Alcott; Jo's Boys; Roberts Brothers; 1886. -------- Date: Wed Nov 12 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--frustraneous X-Bonus: Patience is also a form of action. -Auguste Rodin, sculptor (1840-1917) This week's theme: Words that appear to be misspelled frustraneous (fruhs-TRAY-nee-uhs) adjective Useless; unprofitable. [From Latin frustra (in vain). Earliest documented use: 1643.] "As the author of Onania expresses it, a 'frustraneous [exercise] ... center[ing] in nothing but the pleasure of sense." Anne Elizabeth Carson; "Exquisite Torture"; Eighteenth-Century Studies; Summer 2007. -------- Date: Thu Nov 13 00:08:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wonted X-Bonus: Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant. -Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist, essayist, and poet (1850-1894) This week's theme: Words that appear to be misspelled wonted (WON-tid) adjective Usual; accustomed. [From Middle English woned, wont (accustomed), past participle of wonen (to be used to, to dwell). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wen- (to desire or to strive for), which is also the source of wish, win, Venus, overweening, venerate, venison, and banyan, venial https://wordsmith.org/words/venial.html , and ween https://wordsmith.org/words/ween.html . Earliest documented use: 1408.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/wonted "With wonted grace, Carey concedes that mass hunger is a seemly matter for clerical concern." Matthew Norman; By George, Dr Carey's Right!; The Independent (London, UK); Feb 26, 2014. -------- Date: Fri Nov 14 00:08:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ambagious 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 (b. 1947) This week's theme: Words that appear to be misspelled ambagious (am-BAY-juhs) adjective Roundabout; circuitous. [From Middle English ambages (equivocation), taken as a plural and the singular ambage coined from it. From Latin ambages, from ambi- (both, around) + agere (to drive). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ag- (to drive, draw, or move), which also gave us act, agent, agitate, litigate, synagogue, ambassador, agonistes https://wordsmith.org/words/agonistes.html , axiomatic https://wordsmith.org/words/axiomatic.html , cogent https://wordsmith.org/words/cogent.html , incogitant https://wordsmith.org/words/incogitant.html , exigent https://wordsmith.org/words/exigent.html , exiguous https://wordsmith.org/words/exiguous.html , intransigent https://wordsmith.org/words/intransigent.html . Earliest documented use: 1656.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ambagious "... Mandelstam's ambagious passage to a common grave outside a transit camp." Andrew Hudgins; Stalin's Laughter; The Kenyon Review (Gambier, Ohio); Spring 2010. -------- Date: Mon Nov 17 00:08:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gemeinschaft X-Bonus: We are a landscape of all we have seen. -Isamu Noguchi, sculptor and architect (1904-1988) While German's reputation for long words is well-deserved (average word length in English: 8.2 characters, in German: 11.7 characters, source: http://www.ravi.io/language-word-lengths), it does have words of varying lengths. English doesn't hesitate to borrow words from another language even if it makes it look fat. From German we have borrowed one-syllable putsch https://wordsmith.org/words/putsch.html and kitsch http://wordsmith.org/words/kitsch.html , as well as Scrabble-defying gotterdammerung https://wordsmith.org/words/gotterdammerung.html , sprachgefuhl https://wordsmith.org/words/sprachgefuhl.html , and weltanschauung https://wordsmith.org/words/weltanschauung.html . Mark Twain once said, "I would do away with those great long compounded words; or require the speaker to deliver them in sections, with intermissions for refreshments." This week we'll see some loanwords from German, words that are short and words that are long. Don't hesitate to take a break for refreshments, as needed. Gemeinschaft (guh-MYN-shaft) noun Social relations based on personal ties, affection, kinship, etc. [From German Gemeinschaft (community), from gemein (common) + -schaft (-ship). Earliest documented use: 1937.] NOTES: The counterpart of Gemeinschaft (community) is Gesellschaft (society), that is, social relations marked by impersonal ties, such as duty to society or to an organization. "Die Gemeinschaft" a sculpture by Ferdinand Lackner, Salzburg, Austria: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gemeinschaft_large.jpg Photo: Sergey Smirnov https://www.flickr.com/photos/sergeysmirnov/7893796952 "As with those small-town figures, the doorman's knowledge of a person can be worrying, but it is comforting, too. The doorman is a touch of Gemeinschaft in an ever more Gesellschaft world." James Collins; Why Doormen?; The New York Times; Apr 25, 2010. -------- Date: Tue Nov 18 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--strafe X-Bonus: Wanting to meet an author because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like paté. -Margaret Atwood, novelist and poet (b. 1939) This week's theme: Words borrowed from German strafe (strayf) verb tr.: 1. To attack with machine-gun fire or bombs from a low-flying aircraft. 2. To criticize severely. noun: 1. An attack from a low-flying aircraft. 2. A severe criticism. [From the German slogan "Gott strafe England!" (God punish England!) during WWI. From German strafen (to punish). Earliest documented use: 1915.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/strafe Unofficial stamps produced in Germany during WWI: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/strafe_large.jpg "Alanis is strafed with scorn no matter what she does, and her attachment parenting style is often derided on Internet sites." Bruce Ward; Alanis at 40; Ottawa Citizen (Canada); May 21, 2014. -------- Date: Wed Nov 19 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gleichschaltung X-Bonus: You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist. -Indira Gandhi, prime minister of India (1917-1984) This week's theme: Words borrowed from German Gleichschaltung (GLYK-shalt-toong) noun The forced standardization of political, economic, and cultural institutions, as in an authoritarian state. [From German gleichschalten (to bring into line), from gleich (same) + schalten (to switch, turn). The term was used by the Nazi regime for totalitarian control. Earliest documented use: 1933.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gleichschaltung_large.jpg Cartoon: Walter Wesinger http://www.waldah.de/ from the book Regionalwährungen" by Margrit Kennedy & Bernard A. Lietaer "I think they will see them as a small part of a pattern of the destruction of the independence not only of the medical profession, but of all professions, that is part of the great bureaucratic Gleichschaltung of British society." Theodore Dalrymple; In Defence of David Southall; The Spectator (London, UK); Sep 6, 2008. -------- Date: Thu Nov 20 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sitzkrieg X-Bonus: The truth isn't always beauty, but the hunger for it is. -Nadine Gordimer, novelist, Nobel laureate (1923-2014) This week's theme: Words borrowed from German sitzkrieg (SITS-kreeg) noun A period of war marked by little or no active hostilities. [Modeled after German blitzkrieg https://wordsmith.org/words/blitzkrieg.html , from sitzen (to sit) + Krieg (war). Earliest documented use: 1940.] NOTES: In Sep 1939, France and Britain declared war on Germany, but didn't launch a major ground offensive until the next year. This phase, from Sep 1939 to May 1940, came to be known as sitzkrieg or the sitting war. It has also been called by other names, such as the Phoney War, the Twilight War, and the Bore War (a pun on Boer Wars). Sitzkrieg needs sitzfleisch https://wordsmith.org/words/sitzfleisch.html . UK army personnel, Nov 28, 1939: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/sitzkrieg_large.jpg Photo: Lt. Keating G. "This has been a period of lull: this war's first, but not last, sitzkrieg." Michael Kelly; What Now?; The Atlantic Monthly (Boston); Oct 2002. -------- Date: Fri Nov 21 00:01:02 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--leitmotif X-Bonus: Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do. -Voltaire, philosopher (1694-1778) This week's theme: Words borrowed from German leitmotif or leitmotiv (LYT-mo-teef) noun A recurrent theme in a piece of music or literature, situation, etc. [From German Leitmotiv (lead motif), from leit- (leading) + Motiv (motive). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leit- (to go forth, to die), which also gave us lead, load, lode, and livelihood. Earliest documented use: 1937.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/leitmotif "Smart women speaking makes many men angry. Looking back, I see that this has been a leitmotif of my life. This may not surprise you, but it surprises me, every time." Elizabeth Farrelly; If Only the World Boasted More Uppity Women; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Feb 13, 2014. -------- Date: Mon Nov 24 00:04:02 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--solon X-Bonus: Flags are bits of colored cloth that governments use first to shrink-wrap people's brains and then as ceremonial shrouds to bury the dead. -Arundhati Roy, writer and activist (b. 1961) What does a luddite https://wordsmith.org/words/luddite.html have in common with a mentor https://wordsmith.org/words/mentor.html and a scrooge https://wordsmith.org/words/scrooge.html ? All three are words coined from the names of people, real or fictional. Luddite, after Ned Ludd, a textile worker who destroyed machinery; mentor, after an adviser in Homer's Odyssey; and scrooge, after the miserly money-lender in Dickens's "A Christmas Carol". Such words are called eponyms, from Greek ep- (after) + -onym (name). This week we'll meet five people, all real, who became words. solon (SOH-luhn) noun 1. A wise lawgiver. 2. A legislator. [After Solon (c. 638-558 BCE), an Athenian lawmaker who introduced political, economic, and moral reforms and revised the harsh code of laws established by Draco. https://wordsmith.org/words/draconian.html Earliest documented use: 1631.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/solon A bas-relief from the chamber of the US House of Representatives https://wordsmith.org/words/images/solon_large.jpg Photo: Wikimedia "After due consideration and debate, our solons last week offered new rules designed to prevent dangerous practices." Randall W. Forsyth; Riskless Business; Barron's (New York); Dec 16, 2013. -------- Date: Tue Nov 25 00:02:02 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mazarine X-Bonus: There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. -Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1928) This week's theme: Eponyms mazarine (maz-uh-REEN, MAZ-uh-reen, -rin) adjective A deep, rich shade of blue. [After either Cardinal Jules Mazarin (1602-1661) or his niece, Duchess Hortense Mancini (1646-1699). Why this color is associated with them is not entirely clear. Earliest documented use: 1684.] A butterfly named Mazarine Blue https://wordsmith.org/words/images/mazarine_large.jpg Photo: Aurélien Baudoin https://www.flickr.com/photos/111763853@N05/14243657018 "'This,' said Ned, 'is a mazarine blue. Very, very rare!'" Elizabeth Palmer; The Distaff Side; Thomas Dunne Books; 2004. -------- Date: Wed Nov 26 00:02:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--platonic X-Bonus: If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality. -Desmond Tutu, clergyman (b. 1931) This week's theme: Eponyms platonic (pluh-TON-ik, play-) adjective 1. Relating to Plato or his ideas. 2. Relating to a love free of sensual desire. 3. Confined to words or theories, and not leading to action. [After Greek philosopher Plato (c. 400 BCE). Earliest documented use: 1533.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/platonic Roman copy of a Greek statue of Plato https://wordsmith.org/words/images/platonic_large.jpg Photo: Sergey Sosnovskiy https://www.flickr.com/photos/sssn09/8536313958 "In trendier circles, the French two-cheek kiss has become the greeting of choice. The two-cheeker happens very quickly and therefore requires a great deal of precision and lip-cheek coordination. For this reason, it's not uncommon, when hopping from one cheek to the other, to wind up planting one on your co-kissee's neck or worse, an earlobe. Then suddenly your platonic gesture is transformed into a strangely intimate moment (particularly baffling if the kissee is, say, your mother-in-law)." Lianne George; Have a Merry Christmas Kiss; Maclean's (Toronto, Canada); Dec 27, 2004. "In a rare personal reference, Legrain spoke of the impact of his medical practice on his views: '... living in permanent contact with these victims, I began to understand that the time was no longer appropriate for these platonic efforts that consist of blustering at every turn against the modern scourge.'" Patricia Prestwich; Paul-Maurice Legrain (1860-1939); Addiction (Abingdon, UK); Oct 1997. -------- Date: Thu Nov 27 00:02:02 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tontine X-Bonus: A body of clay, a mind full of play, a moment's life -- that's me. -Harivansh Rai Bachchan, poet (1907-2003) This week's theme: Eponyms tontine (TON-teen, ton-TEEN) noun A form of investment in which participants pool their money into a common fund and receive an annuity. Each person's share increases as members die until the last survivor takes the whole. [From French tontine. Named after Lorenzo Tonti, a Neapolitan banker, who started the scheme in France. Earliest documented use: 1765.] NOTES: A tontine was also used a way to raise money for the state, often for fighting wars, as the fund went to the crown after the last person died. Crown funding via crowdfunding. As there was a perverse incentive to hasten the demise of other members of a tontine to increase one's share, eventually it was made illegal. Tontine has been used as a plot device in many works of fiction. See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/tontine https://wordsmith.org/words/images/tontine.jpg Photo: Nagy-Bagoly Arpad/Shutterstock "I am not saying that tontines should replace life annuities. Rather, they should be reintroduced and then coexist in the market." Moshe A. Milevsky; Wealth Management; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Apr 22, 2013. -------- Date: Fri Nov 28 00:02:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--malthusian X-Bonus: To see a world in a grain of sand, / And a heaven in a wild flower, / Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, / And eternity in an hour. -William Blake, poet, engraver, and painter (1757-1827) This week's theme: Eponyms Malthusian (mal-THOO-zhuhn, -zee-uhn) adjective Relating to the view that population increases faster than its means of subsistence resulting in disaster, unless population is checked by natural calamities or by people exercising control and having fewer children. [After economist and clergyman Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834), a proponent of this idea. Earliest documented use: 1805.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Malthusian Thomas Robert Malthus: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/malthusian_large.jpg "For most of the 20th century humanity managed to stay ahead in the Malthusian race between population growth and food supply." Tim Folger; The Next Green Revolution; National Geographic (Washington, DC); Oct 2014. "Paul Ehrlich, a biologist of Malthusian disposition, argued in 'The Population Bomb', a 1968 book, that rising populations would inevitably exhaust those resources, sending prices soaring and condemning people to hunger." Shocks and Ores; The Economist (London, UK); Jun 6, 2013.