fungible, one more time, from the spelling bee list, with a definition that shows why I was
bullshit to see TIME saying allegiances in Afghanistan were fungible.
' of such a kind that one specimen or part may be used in place of another specimen or
eqyak oart to satisfy an obligation - used of things that can be counted, weighed or
measured and are consumed ir alienated by use (as food, fuel, coal, lumber).
When fungible goods of different countries are mixed together, it is not practical to
identify the origin of one sample of the product."
I say again - allegianes are NOT FUNGIBLE.
I doubt that any of our members are unfamilliar with funnels. But there was an interesting
news item recently about an Australian project to build an enormous upside down funnel
to genererate electric power in me middle of the outback. It would be over two kilometers
in diameter, with a glass paned roof, like a greenhouse, and would produce an immense
volume of air heated by the sun that would rise through a tower in the center, driving
very large turbines to generate electricity. Fun-tastic!
funnel
n.
5ME fonel < (prob. via an OFr form) Prov fonilh, enfonilh < L fundibulum, infundibulum, a funnel < infundere, to pour in < in3, IN31 + fundere, to pour: see FOUND36
1 an instrument consisting of an inverted cone with a hole at the small end, or a tapering or cylindrical tube with a wide, cone-shaped mouth, for pouring liquids and powders into containers that have small openings
furrow - note the etymology from "pig". I had to make a garden out of a field that had been
neglected so long that it was full of trees big enough I could not plow it. But I put in a big pig
pen, and they guickly dug up the roots enough so that my tractor could pull up the stump.
It made me realize what a help to the first settlers in New England to have animals turn up
stones and roots to make land arable.
furrow
n.
5ME forwe < OE furh, akin to Ger furche (OHG furuh) < IE base *perk3, to dig up, furrow > *porkos, L porca, furrow, porcus, pig (lit., digger)6
1 a narrow groove made in the ground by a plow
2 anything resembling this, as a deep, narrow rut made by a wheel, a deep wrinkle on the face, etc.
3 [Obs.] plowed land
vt.
5< the n. 6 to make a furrow or furrows in
vi.
1 to make furrows
2 to become wrinkled
From somewhere I remember a poem about a ship: "....and the furrow followed free...."
Gotta go search for that. Found it. From The Ancient Mariner:
The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free:
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.
Here's where the word "furtuve" comes from:
FURTUM, "theft," is one of the four kinds of delicts which were the
foundation of obligationes; it is also called "crimen." Moveable things only
could be the objects of furtum; for the fraudulent handling (contrectatio
fradulosa) of a thing was furtum, and contrectatio is defined to be "loco
movere." But a man might commit theft without carrying off another
person's property. Thus it was furtum to use a thing which was deposited
(depositum). It was also furtum to use a thing which had been lent for use,
in a way different from that which the lender had agreed to; but with this
qualification, that the borrower must believe that he was doing it against
the owner's consent, and that the owner would not consent to such use if
he was aware of it; for dolus malus was an essential ingredient in furtum.
Another requisite of furtum (Dig.47 tit.2 s1) is the "lucri faciendi gratia,"
the intention of appropriating the property. This was otherwise expressed
by saying that furtum consisted in the intention (furtum ex affectu
consistit; or, sine affectu furandi non committitur, Gaius, ii.50). It was not
necessary, in order to constitute furtum, that the thief should know whose
property the thing was. A person who was in the power of another might
be the object of furtum (Inst. 4 tit.1 §9). A debtor might commit furtum
by taking a thing which he had given as a pledge (pignori) to a creditor; or
by taking his property when in the possession of a bona fide possessor.
Thus there might be furtum either of a moveable thing itself, or of the use
of a thing, or of the possession, as it is expressed (Inst. 4 tit.1 §1).
The famous Albanian kilt (or fustanella as it is known in the Albanian
language) was common dress for men in the 13th century where it was
regularly worn by a tribe of the Dalmatians, one of the Illyrian progenitors of
the Albanians. At that time, the kilt was called "Dalmatica", however,
theories exist that the kilt really had its origin during much earlier times as
a long shirt called "linja" which, when gathered at the waist by a sash, gave
the appearance of a knee- or calf-length kilt. Depending on the social status
of the wearer, materials used in fabricating the fustanella (thereby defining
the number of pleats) ranged fromcoarse linen or woolen cloth for villagers to
luxurious silks for the more affluent. Although the kilt was once worn by
men throughout Albania, today it is seen only on special occasions in
southern Albania, especially in the Gjirokaster area, and in the Albanian
regions of Montenegro, Kosova, Serbia, Macedonia, and Greece.
fustigate
vt.
3gat#ed, 3gat#ing 5< L fustigatus, pp. of fustigare < fustis, a stick + agere: see ACT6 to beat with a stick; cudgel
fus#ti[ga4tion
n.
futon
n.
5Sino-Jpn, orig. round cushions filled with cattail flower spikes < Chin fu, cattail + ton, round6 a thin mattress like a quilt, placed on the floor for use as a bed
futtock
n.
5ME futtek, fottek < ? *fot-hok, foot hook6 any of the curved timbers that make up a rib of a wooden ship
fyfot
n.
5< FILL + FOOT: so called because used to fill the foot of a colored window6 SWASTIKA (sense 1)
gabbro
n.
5It < L glaber, bare: see GLABROUS6 any of a group of dark, heavy igneous rocks, composed chiefly of pyroxene and feldspar
gadoid
adj.
5< ModL gadus, cod < Gr gados, kind of fish + 3OID6 of or like the family (Gadidae, order Gadiformes) of bony fishes including cod, hake, and burbot
n.
any fish of this family
For some reason I am reminded that the USP name for codliver oil (early source of Viatamin A & D)
was oleum morrhuae. ( I couldn't find etymology of "morrhuae") From name Linnaeus gave ;the fish.
In reply to:
It would be over two kilometers
in diameter
Wow! Now that's something to consider! And imagine the supports for such a funnel.
Unfortuately there was no illustration, no description of the way it would be built. But I can
readily imagine heat accumulating, and air in great volumbe rising through the tower in the
middle, driving really large turbines and speed and power greater than it is possible to get
with a simple wind farm. And it wouldn't kill any brids, as the wind warms do. One thing that
was not discussed would be how to profitably use the electricity, such a distance from any city.
What would be the problem with sending generated electricity over great distances?
And could generated electricity be stored in batteries or something along that line?
Gritty Gabbro, a famous dark, heavy-mooded feldspar who wanted to be left alone.
And thanks for this, wwh. I don't think I've ever used furrow as a verb--and do like it very much.
In reply to:
furrow - note the etymology from "pig".
So, is farrow related? Any other animal-specific words for giving birth?
Bingley