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 16 of 26 1 2 14 15 16 17 18 25 26
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1

LAND OF NOD

PRONUNCIATION: (land ov nod)

MEANING: noun: Sleep.

ETYMOLOGY: From a punning reference to the land of Nod in the Bible. Earliest documented use: 1738.
___________________________________

BAND OF NOD - plays nothing but lullabies

LAND IF NOD - stay up in the air until I say so!

LANE OF NOD - the pavement drone induces Highway Hypnosis

LAND OF NED - the Devil's country

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1

APOLLYON

PRONUNCIATION: (uh-POL-yuhn)

MEANING: noun: One who destroys; another name for the Devil.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin, from Greek Apollyon, from apollynai (to destroy), from apo- (from, away) + ollynai (to destroy). Earliest documented use: 1382.

NOTES: The Bible’s Book of Revelation 9:11 introduces Apollyon as: “And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”
_____________________________

APOLLO-N - the fourteenth Moon mission

A POLLY-EON - the interval between crackers

A POLL-CON - fake news

CAPO LLYON - a Mafia don in FFrance

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1

MAGDALENE or MAGDALEN

PRONUNCIATION: (MAG-duh-leen, -luhn)

MEANING: noun: A penitent woman, particularly a reformed prostitute.

ETYMOLOGY: After Mary Magdalene, a Biblical character who was a follower of Jesus. Earliest documented use: 1563.

NOTES: The name Magdalene means “of Magdala” in Greek and is derived after a town on the Sea of Galilee. The name Magdala, in turn, means a tower in Aramaic. So here we have a word coined after a person, who was named after a place, which was named after a thing. The word is also used for a home for reformed/retired prostitutes. Magdalene has given birth to another eponym, maudlin meaning “overly sentimental”.

Pope Gregory I, in a sermon delivered in 581 CE, conflated an unnamed “sinner” with Mary Magdalene. Pope Paul VI fixed the error in 1969, but the damage was done. Mary Magdalene forever remains identified as a former prostitute in popular culture. It took them 1,388 years to acknowledge the error. In comparison, Galileo got off easy. The Church took a mere 359 years to say that he was right after all.
__________________________

MADALENE -
In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines
Llved twelve little girls in two straight lines
...
The smallest one was MADALENE.

-- [Adapted from Ludwig Bemelmans]

MANDALEN - a multi-stringed instrument, played by plucking or picking the strings

MAGNALEN - Bernstein's been putting on weight lately, hasn't he?

PAGDALENE or PAGDELEN - a penitent man, or reformed gigolo

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1

GOLIATH

PRONUNCIATION: (guh-LY-uhth)

MEANING: noun: A giant; a person or organization of enormous size or power.

ETYMOLOGY: After Goliath, a giant Philistine warrior, who was slain by David using a sling and a stone. Earliest documented use: 1607.

NOTES: “David and Goliath” has become a metaphor for an underdog facing a much larger, powerful opponent, in sports, business, politics, and beyond.
_________________________

GO LITH - cheering for Stone Academy (Connecticut)

GLIATH - a supporting structure of nerve cells in the CNS

GOLI ASH - what's left when you've lost the hockey game in a shootout and your defense is really burnt up about it

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1

HOMILY

PRONUNCIATION: (HOM-uh-lee)

MEANING: noun: A lecture of a moralizing or admonishing nature, usually tedious and trite.

ETYMOLOGY: From Old French omelie (homily), from Latin (homilia), from Greek homilia (assembly or sermon), from homilos (crowd), from homou (together). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sem- (one), which also gave us simultaneous, assemble, simple, Sanskrit sandhi (union), Russian samovar (a metal urn, literally, self-boiler), and Greek hamadryad (a wood nymph, who lives in a tree and dies when the tree dies), dissimulate, and simulacrum. Earliest documented use: 1386.
_______________________

HOMINY - 1. a specified quantity
2. What the Boston a capella group sings in perfect

HOPILY - how the rabbit family lived ever after

HO, MILTY - greetings to my favorite comedian (and Uncle)

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1

RAGULY

PRONUNCIATION: (RAG-yuh-lee)

MEANING: adjective: Having a row of oblique notches.

ETYMOLOGY: Probably from Old English ragg. Earliest documented use: 1660.
______________________

RAG UGLY - an unprepossessing rag

RAGALY - like a sitar melody

RAGURY - a branch of nautical law pertaining to anger management

RAGU LYE - used to make soap from spaghetti sauce

RAJULY - the Egyptian Sun God who in mid-summer is unusually powerful (at least in the northern hemisphere)

RAOUL Y. - a Frenchman whose identity is being protected
__________________________

Lots of nice words in this category of "false adverbs." There's
- "apply," which doesn't mean "like a small program for your smartphone"
- "imply" (like one of Santa's elves)
- "reply" (like your fitness or body-building exercise -
- the minimalist "ply"
- the ambivalent "supply," which is either a false adverb or a true one (depending on how you use it)
- "surly" (they don't all have a P in them)
and so on.

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1

EMPANOPLY

PRONUNCIATION: (em-PAN-uh-plee)

MEANING:] . verb tr.: To enclose in complete armor.

ETYMOLOGY: From em- (in) + panoply (a full suit of armor), from Greek panoplia (a complete suit of armor), from pan (all) + hopla (arms, armor), plural of hoplon (weapon). Earliest documented use: 1784.
________________________

ENPANOPLY - to remove half a suit of armor

EMPANOPOLY - a game involving the selection of jurors

EMPANOPLAY - kindly remove performing Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto from your next concert program

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1

LOGODAEDALY

PRONUNCIATION: (log-uh-DEE-duh-lee)

MEANING: noun: Skill in using or coining words.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin logodaedalia, from Greek logodaidalia, from logodaidalos, from logos (word) + daedalus (skillful). Earliest documented use: 1727.
_________________________

LOGODAEDAILY - to coin a word every day (boy, does this sound self-referential!)

LOGO-DAREDALY - like an audacious symbol

BLOGODAEDALY - a weblog consisting of only slanted or even made-up statements

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1

EUTRAPELY

PRONUNCIATION: (yoo-TRAP-uh-lee)

MEANING: noun: Liveliness and ease of conversation.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek (pleasantness in conversation), from eu- (well) + trapely (to turn). Earliest documented use: 1596.

NOTES: Can you talk to anyone on any topic with ease? If so, you have the gift of eutrapely, also known as eutrapelia. It was one of Aristotle’s dozen virtues.
__________________________________

.EDU.TRAPELY - being shmoozed by the University fundraiser

EUTAPELY - recorded in pristine condition, with the 18 minutes intact

EUTRAVELY - the Bon Voyage you wish your departing friends

EXTRAPELY - recently out of a snare

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1

JACTANCY

PRONUNCIATION: (JAK-tuhn-see)

MEANING: noun: Boasting or boastfulness.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin jactantia, from jactantem, present participle of jactare (to throw about), frequentative of jacere (to throw). Earliest documented use: 1623.
_________________________

TACTANCY - of a sensitive and inoffensive nature

FACTANCY - a misrepresentation of the existing state of affairs; see "truthiness"

JACFANCY - the pumpkin has been carved into an very interesting image
(compare JACANCY, where the pumpkin is empty)

Page 16 of 26 1 2 14 15 16 17 18 25 26

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 (), 308 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