Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#16902 01/25/01 02:46 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 5
D
Dianne Offline OP
stranger
OP Offline
stranger
D
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 5
Hello. I'm new to AWAD and this is my first posting. I recently heard the word, hegemony, that I previously had only seen in print. It's a very strange word. My old standby dictionary didn't give me much info. Can any of you wordies offer details?


#16903 01/25/01 03:12 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
A
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
A
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Hello Diane and welcome. I don't have a dictionary in front of me here, so my definition of "hegemony" may be imprecise. I understand the word to refer to a kind of absolute power or dominance, with perhaps a connotation for the psychological or cultural aspects of power, a sort of monopoly of ideas.

For example at http://slate.msn.com/Features/NaderMS/NaderMS.asp you can read an essay by Ralph Nader titled "The Microsoft Menace
Why I'm leading a crusade to stop its drive for cyberspace hegemony."


#16904 01/25/01 03:24 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
I like Alex's definition better than that of my CD dictionary, which I can have running minimized all the time I'm in AWAD. It only cost ten bucks, and I find it a great help not to have to switch to a book.


#16905 01/25/01 03:35 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 544
H
addict
Offline
addict
H
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 544
Alex's definition is right on, although the word isn't limited to the psychological or cultural aspects of power or ideas. In international relations theory there exists one of my favorite nonsense-sounding terms: when talking about a global political structure where there is one superpower that keeps things from going completely to pieces (e.g. England in the 19th century, some might say the U.S. in the 20th century), the term used is "hegemonic stability." Always loved the sound of it, and the fact that it probably means nothing it all except to a small group of academics.

I guess Anu is the hegemon of AWAD, eh?


#16906 01/25/01 03:36 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
ah, but the W3 (would that that were on CD!) definition is so succinct: a preponderant influence or authority (as of a government or state): dominance




#16907 01/25/01 06:56 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
A
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
A
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
"hegemonic stability" is kinda like the sarcastic "pax romana."


#16908 01/25/01 07:11 PM
A
Anonymous
Unregistered
Anonymous
Unregistered
A
Although i've found it lacking for some of the more obscure words gleaned from this site, i have a m-w button right on my toolbar and use it *all* the time. you can download it at http://www.m-w.com/promos/button/button.htm.

it's a simple drag-and-drop installation, then all you have to do is highlight the word in question with your mouse and click on the 'dictionary' link that it places on your toolbar, and it will provide the definition in record time, with very little effort =)


bridget=)

Ipsa scientia potestas est ~Bacon

#16909 01/25/01 09:55 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 544
H
addict
Offline
addict
H
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 544
m-w button right on my toolbar

Now that is hegemonic. I may have just stumbled on a very time-consuming world of little, tiny ways I can mess with my browser.

Thanks, Ms. 96


#16910 01/26/01 07:06 PM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
J
old hand
Offline
old hand
J
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
About online dictionaries at your fingertips. Jackie told everyone about this eons ago and I've been using it ever since. Atomica (formerly Gurunet) is a great online program that functions as a dictionary (it uses American Heritage), thesaurus, encyclopedia, almanac, history book, search engine, translator, weather ticker, atlas, medical and science dictionary, and wondrous other reference materials. All you have to do is download it at http://www.atomica.com (it's completely free), install it and then you just alt+click on any word in any document on your computer. It will automatically pop up and give you info about the word, term, person, place etc as long as you have the internet on when you want to use it.

Excuse me for sounding like an advertisement, but I think this thing is great.


#16911 01/26/01 08:13 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
>Excuse me for sounding like an advertisement...

maybe you should download the m-w version and give us a Consumer ReportŪ


Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 302 guests, and 2 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5