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#65851 04/19/02 12:58 AM
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I'm the only one.
Oh, III'm the only one! (The only WO'N)


Well said, Dr. Bill!


The Only WO'N!

#65852 04/19/02 01:22 AM
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Oh! Albumen...egg white; albedo...the white inner peel...and, reflecting light; albino--white pigmentation.
Okay, you etymologists--IS there a connection here? Does alb mean white, in some language? (Hmm, memory's telling me this has been discussed before, but I'm too lazy to LIU.)


#65853 04/19/02 01:34 AM
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Dear Jackie, perhaps an albino from perfidious Albion could tell you what a bishop's alb is.


#65854 04/19/02 02:12 AM
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I think, Bill, anyone can say what an alb is: a word much beloved by crossword puzzle constructors.


#65855 04/19/02 04:42 AM
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albus (a.) - white


#65856 04/19/02 04:46 AM
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Stales - what about "verbiphile"?

Mind you - we often hear phrases such as "Well I guess I'll just have to eat my words", so verbiphagia lives!




#65857 04/19/02 10:38 AM
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alb:

NOUN: Ecclesiastical A long white linen robe with tapered sleeves worn by a priest at Mass.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English albe, from Old English, from Medieval Latin alba, from (vestis) alba, white (garment), feminine of Latin albus, white. See albho- in Appendix I.


American Heritage Dictionary

Book regards,
WW


#65858 04/19/02 11:35 AM
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Another "alb" word: in Italian: alba = dawn, and albeggiare = to dawn (verb). Again, you can see the theme of light, or white.


#65859 04/19/02 11:40 AM
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OK, since no one else has done this, I went to AWAD and looked it up:

Date: Mon May 21 00:21:12 EDT 2001
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--albedo
X-Bonus: Talking is like playing the harp; there is as much in laying the hand on the strings to stop their vibrations as in twanging them to bring out their music. -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., poet, novelist, essayist, and physician (1809-1894)

albedo (al-BEE-doh) noun

1. The fraction of light reflected from a body or surface.
For example, earth's albedo is around 0.39.

2. The white, spongy inner lining of a citrus fruit rind.

[From Late Latin albedo, whiteness, from Latin albus, white.]

"The more powerful magnetic fields generated by the Sun during maximum
activity are known to block many of the particles, which would
theoretically lead to less cloud cover and less reflection, or a lower
albedo."
James Glanz, Scientists Find Way to Gauge Earth's Glow,
The New York Times, Apr 21, 2001.

"We don't need to tell you that oranges are full of vitamin C. But did you
know that the white membrane under the skin, called the albedo, contains
almost as much C as the flesh of the fruit itself?
Myra Kornfeld, Giving Thanks, Vegetarian Times (Stamford, CT), Nov 2000.



I have a friend who loves to eat the albedo of oranges so she was just thrilled there was a word for it!


#65860 04/19/02 11:55 AM
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Sounds like something on a French restaurant menu, doesn't it? And then the waiter brings in, on a silver tray, a crystal plate with little curled strips of albino delicately arranged for artistic presentation, perhaps with a dripped swirl of orange marmelade...

Bean, tell your friend she's dines among gourmets!


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