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Monday, December 10, 2012

Word of the Day for December 10, 2012



  • pomander
  • \POH-man-der\
  • DEFINITION
noun
1
: a mixture of aromatic substances enclosed in a perforated bag or box and used to scent clothes and linens or formerly carried as a guard against infection; also : a clove-studded orange or apple used for the same purposes
2
: a box or hollow fruit-shaped ball for holding pomander
  • EXAMPLES
Tuck a homemade pomander in a gift basket to lend it that wonderful holiday aroma.

"Apple pomanders are still much used to scent linen closets and store with furs to prevent moths." — From an article by Ellen Probert Williamson in the Roane County News (Kingston, Tennessee), October 1, 2012
  • DID YOU KNOW?
In earlier times, there was more at stake in the use of an "apple of amber" (the literal meaning of Anglo-French "pomme de ambre," modified to "pomander" in Middle English) than the addition of holiday spirit. Pomanders were used to offset foul odors and were also believed to protect against disease. Early pomanders were usually mixtures of fragrant spices, herbs, etc. in small metal containers, and they were often worn on chains, as jewelry, around the neck or at the waist. Today, we no longer believe pomanders ward off infections, but we still like nice-smelling things, and the word "pomander" survives to name the modern version of this aromatic, decorative object.

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/#CBTUF87bfqysW2i4.99 
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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Word of the day for December 09, 2012


  • tutelary
  • \TOO-tuh-lair-ee\
  • DEFINITION
adjective
1
: having the guardianship of a person or a thing
2
: of or relating to a guardian
  • EXAMPLES
The ancient Romans revered certain gods and goddesses as tutelarydeities.

"You can see a similar restlessness in the range of C.K.'s influences.... Indie film pioneer John Cassavettes may be anothertutelary spirit." — From a review by Adam Wilson in Salon.com, September 25, 2012
  • DID YOU KNOW?
"Tutelary" derives from the Latin noun "tutelarius," meaning "guardian." "Tutelarius," in turn, was formed by combining the word "tutela" ("protection" or "guardian") and "-arius," a suffix that implies belonging and connection. A more familiar descendant of "tutela" in English might be "tutelage," which initially described an act or process of serving as a guardian or protector but has also come to refer to teaching or influence. If you suspect that "tutor" is also related, you are correct. "Tutelary" can also be a noun referring to a power (such as a deity) who acts as a guardian.

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/#FUVVXL6CARsvzciX.99 
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Friday, December 7, 2012

Word of the Day for December 07, 2012


  • tamale
  • \tuh-MAH-lee\
  • DEFINITION
noun
: cornmeal dough rolled with ground meat or beans seasoned usually with chili, wrapped usually in corn husks, and steamed
  • EXAMPLES
"The Mexican Dinner has a little of everything; the moist tamale and cheese enchilada, both with chili, are especially good." — From a restaurant review in Texas Monthly, November 2012

"You think I'm full of shame and regret for what I've done now, Sister? You could shave me bald as a cue ball and I'll still be the hottest tamale in this joint." — Chloë Sevigny in the television series American Horror Story, October 2012
  • DID YOU KNOW?
"Hot tamale" is sometimes used figuratively, as in our second example, to suggest sexual attractiveness, but it's the word's literal use that puts it in an interesting category. How many English food words can you name that derive from Nahuatl, a group of languages spoken by native peoples of Mexico and Central America? You've probably guessed that "tamale" gives you one; it came to us (by way of Mexican Spanish) from the Nahuatl "tamalli," a word for steamed cornmeal dough. Add to the menu "chili" (from "chīlli," identifying all those fiery peppers); "chocolate" (from "chocolātl," first used for a beverage made from chocolate and water); "guacamole" (from "āhuacatl," meaning "avocado," plus "mōlli," meaning "sauce"); and "tomato" (from "tomatl"). Top it all off with "chipotle" (a smoked and dried pepper), from "chīlli" and "pōctli" (meaning "something smoked").

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/#cZGFMmZQq0EXEmtg.99 
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Thursday, December 6, 2012

Word of the Day for December 06, 2012


  • nobby
  • \NAH-bee\
  • DEFINITION
adjective
: cleverly stylish : chic, smart
  • EXAMPLES
"[Mrs. Vance] ... reappeared, stunningly arrayed in a dark-blue walking dress, with a nobby hat to match." — From Theodore Dreiser's 1900 novel Sister Carrie

"This 'Members Only' club was where Chicago's nobbiest [people] gathered to shut out people who were not like them in order to lead the good life of golf, horses, bathing on a private beach, and social events." — From an article by Henry Kisor in the Chicago Sun-Times, November 4, 2001
  • DID YOU KNOW?
"Nobby" comes from the noun "nob," which is used in British English to mean "one in a superior position in life." ("Nob" may have begun as a slang word for "head," but etymologists aren't completely sure. A possible connection to "noble" has been suggested as well.) Appearing in English in 1788, "nobby" was first used to describe people of strikingly exquisite appearance. It has since extended in usage to describe the places frequented by such people, as well as their genteel customs. Charles Dickens, for example, wrote in Bleak House (1853) of "[r]especting this unfortunate family matter, and the nobbiest way of keeping it quiet."

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/#1iIlGOrL7uFUkqxY.99 
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Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Word of The Day for December 05, 2012


  • connive
  • \kuh-NYVE\
  • DEFINITION
verb
1
: to pretend ignorance of or fail to take action against something one ought to oppose
2
a : to be indulgent or in secret sympathy : winkb : to cooperate secretly or have a secret understanding
3
: to engage in secret scheming : conspire
  • EXAMPLES
He is not above conniving against his own co-workers if he thinks it will benefit his own career.

"Families fare badly in Western drama. Oedipus kills his father, Lear's daughters connive against one another, and Ibsen's Nora walks out on her husband and their three young children." — From a theater review by Steven G. Kellman in Current (San Antonio), August 22–28, 2012
  • DID YOU KNOW?
"Connive" may not seem like a troublesome term, but it was to Wilson Follett, a usage critic who lamented that the word "was undone during the Second World War, when restless spirits felt the need of a new synonym for plotting, bribing, spying, conspiring, engineering a coup, preparing a secret attack." Follett thought "connive" should only mean "to wink at" or "to pretend ignorance." Those senses are closer to the Latin ancestor of the word ("connive" comes from the Latin "connivēre," which means "to close the eyes" and which is descended from "-nivēre," a form akin to the Latin verb "nictare," meaning "to wink"). But many English speakers disagreed, and the "conspire" sense is now the word's most widely used meaning.

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/#Hv4Qb1LhzwsRDkt3.99 
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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Word of the Day for December 4, 2012


  • cloche
  • \KLOHSH\
  • DEFINITION
noun
1
: a transparent plant cover used outdoors especially for protection against cold
2
: a woman's close-fitting hat usually with deep rounded crown and narrow brim
  • EXAMPLES
You may be able to extend your own garden's growing season considerably by using cloches to protect plants from colder temperatures.

"Another popular hat is the cloche, which rose to fame in the 1920s. The bell-shaped hats come in a variety of patterns, colors and textures." — From an article by Julia Hatmaker in the Patriot News (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), September 23, 2012
  • DID YOU KNOW?
The word "cloche" refers to very different things but the connection between them is apparent in the word's meaning: "cloche" is French for "bell," and both the gardening cloche and the hat cloche are typically shaped like the archetypal bell. The gourmands among you may be aware of another kind of cloche as well. Covered in our unabridged dictionary, Webster's Third New International, "cloche" also refers to a bell-shaped cover placed over food in cooking or serving. The French word "cloche" comes from Medieval Latin "clocca," which is also the source of the words "cloak" and "clock."

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/#5gWGQqDVhcSr1xoZ.99 
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Monday, December 3, 2012

Word of The Day for December 3, 2012


  • hotdog
  • \HAHT-dawg\
  • DEFINITION
verb
: to perform in a conspicuous or often ostentatious manner; especially : to perform fancy stunts and maneuvers (as while surfing or skiing)
  • EXAMPLES
The wide receiver hotdogged in the end zone after catching the touchdown pass.

"Benson hotdogged with her usual flair..." — From Matt Warshaw's 2010 book The History of Surfing
  • DID YOU KNOW?
The verb "hotdog" first appeared in the 1960s as slang for surfing with fast turns and quick movements. Surfers adopted it from the use of the noun "hot dog" for someone who is very good at something, which was popularized around the turn of the 19th century along with the interjection "hot dog" to express approval or gratification. In time, the noun became mainly associated with people who showed off their skills in sports, from basketball to skiing, and the verb form came to be used for the spectacular acts of these show-offs. (As a side tidbit to chew on, the word for the frankfurter that might be eaten while watching athletes perform is believed to have been first used by college students. That "hot dog" was current at Yale in 1895.)

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/#vtFYWHwY4DmyBpF4.99 
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Sunday, December 2, 2012

Word of the Day for December 02, 2012



  • campestral
  • \kam-PESS-trul\
  • DEFINITION
adjective
: of or relating to fields or open country : rural
  • EXAMPLES
"Santiago's proximity to ski resorts, beach resorts, and the idyllic countryside, with its campestral and ranching traditions and colonial estates, offer plenty for the traveler to see and do." — FromFrommer’s Chile and Easter Island, 2011

"Just about any amateur naturalist who pays attention to the birds, beasts, flowers and seasons in campestral Maine will find an eye-opener or two here." — From a book review by Dana Wilde in theBangor (Maine) Daily News, October 26, 2009
  • DID YOU KNOW?
Scamper across an open field, then, while catching your breath, ponder this: "scamper" and "campestral" both ultimately derive from the Latin noun "campus," meaning "field" or "plain." Latin "campester" is the adjective that means "pertaining to a campus." In ancient Rome, a campus was a place for games, athletic practice, and military drills. "Scamper" probably started with a military association, as well (it is assumed to have evolved from the Latin verb "excampare," meaning "to decamp"). In English, "campestral" took on an exclusively rural aspect upon its introduction in the 18th century, while "campus," you might say, became strictly academic.

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/#ZvTMtVjF0dR1xQRI.99 
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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Word of The Day for 10th October, 2012


  • viand
  • \VYE-und\
  • DEFINITION
noun
1
: an item of food; especially : a choice or tasty dish
2
: provisions, food
  • EXAMPLES
"The family sat down to table, and a frugal meal of cold viandswas deposited before them." — From Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles, 1891

"While living in the South's grand old Charleston, S.C., my Yankee roots still were evident but my appetite craved those rich and satisfying calorie-laden viands." — From an article by Doris Reynolds in Naples Daily News (Florida), February 16, 2011
  • DID YOU KNOW?
Are you someone who eats to live, or someone who lives to eat? Either way, you'll find that the etymology of "viand" reflects the close link between food and life. "Viand" entered English in the 15th century from Anglo-French ("viande" means "meat" even in modern French), and it derives ultimately from Latin "vivere," meaning "to live." "Vivere" is the ancestor of a number of other lively and life-giving words in English, including "victual," "revive," "survive," "convivial," and "vivacious."

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/#5wgijzdcjv8886Iy.99 
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Monday, October 8, 2012

Word of The Day for 8th of October, 2012



  • illustrious
  • \ih-LUSS-tree-us\
  • DEFINITION
adjective
: notably or brilliantly outstanding because of dignity or achievements or actions : eminent
  • EXAMPLES
During the ceremony, the illustrious star of stage and screen was presented with a lifetime achievement award.

"Born in 1843 to a wealthy, intellectual Boston family, Marian (Clover) Hooper moved in the most illustrious circles of nineteenth-century America." — From a book review in the New Yorker, March 19, 2012.
  • DID YOU KNOW?
Illustrious people seem to light up everything around them. The etymology of "illustrious" makes it clear that a shining glow (both literal and figurative) has long been associated with the word. "Illustrious" ultimately derives from the Latin verb "lustrare," which means "to purify" or "to make bright," and which is related to the noun that gave us "luster." At one time, "illustrious" was used in the literal sense of "shining brightly with light," but that meaning is now considered archaic. The word is now almost exclusively used in its figurative application to describe something that stands out brilliantly, much like a bright star stands out in the sky.

Name That Synonym: Fill in the blanks to create a synonym of "illustrious": r_d_u_t_b_e. The answer is ... 

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/#2TO8SPWkiG4916oH.99 
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Sunday, October 7, 2012

Word of The Day for October 7, 2012


  • memento
  •  
  • \muh-MEN-toh\
  • DEFINITION
noun
: something that serves to warn or remind; also : souvenir
  • EXAMPLES
The attic is filled with mementos of Julie's basketball career—awards, newspaper clippings, team photographs, her old uniform.

"All season long Michel Hazanavicius and Bérénice Bejo, the husband-and-wife writer-director and star of 'The Artist,' have been recording their adventures on the awards circuit, whipping out their smartphone … at each ceremony and red carpet. It's amemento for their kids, to show what mom and dad have been up to for the last few months." —From an article by Melena Ryzik in the New York Times, February 23, 2012
  • DID YOU KNOW?
"Memento" comes from the imperative form of "meminisse," a Latin verb that literally means "to remember." (The term "memento mori," meaning "a reminder of mortality," translates as "remember that you must die.") The history of "memento" makes it clear where its spelling came from, but because a memento often helps one remember a particular moment, people occasionally spell the term "momento." That second version is usually considered a misspelling, but it appears often enough in edited prose to have been considered acceptable for entry in Webster's Third New International Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary.

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/#UCXVyH0G41XwwYYf.99 
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Friday, October 5, 2012

Recent Words


October 06, 2012

Word of the Day

  • conjecture
  • \kun-JEK-cher\
  • DEFINITION
verb
1
: to arrive at or deduce by surmise or guesswork : guess
2
: to form a supposition or inference
  • EXAMPLES
Some scientists have conjectured that the distant planet could sustain life.

"[Kim Kardashian's] changing wardrobe, everyone conjectured, must be Kanye's influence—he's a bona fide designer these days with affinity for top models like Chanel Iman and Anja Rubik and top labels like Givenchy, Celine and Hermes." —From an article in the Style section of The Huffington Post, August 24, 2012
  • DID YOU KNOW?
When the noun "conjecture" entered English in the 14th century, it referred to the act of interpreting signs or omens (as for making prognostications). That sense is now obsolete, but by the 16th century both the noun and verb "conjecture" had acquired the meanings of speculation and inference that we use today. "Conjecture" derived via Middle English and Middle French from the Latin verb "conicere" ("to throw together"), a combination of "com-" ("together") and "jacere" ("to throw").

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2012/10/06/#M21iXuRK2Uu8ylxf.99 

Word of the Day for Friday, October 5, 2012

hirtellous \hur-TEL-uhs\, verb:
Minutely hirsute.
Any noticeable hirsute or even hirtellous shadings visible upon the represented, unclothed, female form, anywhere below the eyebrows, say, is, in the judgment of this Department…
-- Frank Yerby, Tobias and the Angel
A small annual herb commonly 20 to 40 cm. tall, sparingly branched above, hirtellous on the stems with small downwardly curled hairs…
-- Carnegie Institution of Washington, Botany of the Maya Area
Hirtellous comes from the Latin word hirt meaning "hairy." The suffix -ellus is a diminutive adjective suffix.

Word of the Day for Thursday, October 4, 2012

agita \AJ-i-tuh\, noun:
1. Agitation; anxiety.
2. Heartburn; indigestion.
And my being named after the patron saint of love, St. Valentine, when I've had nothing but agita in romance just makes it more painfully ironic.
-- Rosanna Chiofalo, Bellla Fortuna
I'm eighty-two years old and I don't need this agita in my life!
-- Rita Lakin, Getting Old Is Murder
Agita was coined in America in the 1980s. It comes from the Italian word agitare meaning "to bother."

Word of the Day for Wednesday, October 3, 2012

true \troo\, verb:
1. To make true; shape, adjust, place, etc., exactly or accurately: to true the wheels of a bicycle after striking a pothole.
2. (Especially in carpentry) to make even, symmetrical, level, etc. (often followed by up): to true up the sides of a door.
Have your shop replace the spoke and true the wheel, and make sure they check all spokes for signs of damage or wear.
-- Wes Hobson, Clark Campbell, Michael F. Vickers, Swim, Bike, Run
…fresh new magazines, in stacks lovingly squared and trued, waited on shelves cunningly sited just inside the front door.
-- Robert Sampson, Yesterday's Faces
But in its inner chamber, it's about the way the mind fetishizes the smallest acts—the gears that keep life trued—even as our bodies enter a final winter.
-- Paul Harding, Tinkers
True, in the common sense of "real and authentic," has been in the English language since at least the 1200s. The less-common verb form of the word was first used in the 1840s, particularly with reference to mechanics.

Word of the Day for Tuesday, October 2, 2012

hamartia \hah-mahr-TEE-uh\, noun:
Tragic flaw.
What is Oedipus' hamartia that leads to his self-fulfilling self-reversal?
-- Laszlo Versényi, Man's Measure
We called it by many different things, such as hubris or hamartia, but given the way you butcher Latin, let's stick with English.
-- Stephanie Draven, The Fever and the Fury

Hamartia stems from the Greek word hamartánein which meant "to err." However, it entered English in the late 1800s.

Word of the Day for Monday, October 1, 2012

utile \YOO-til\, adjective:
Useful.
They have been accredited variously to the respective signs of the Zodiac, but to the end that resultant opinions have failed to be utile value.
-- John Hazelrigg, Astrosophic Principles And Astrosophic Tractates
It was located in an industrial warehouse but he had tricked it out smartly. It was altogether utile but not precisely cozy.
-- Eve Howard, Shadow Lane Volume 8
Utile comes directly from the French word of the same spelling which also means "useful." It entered English in the late 1400s.

Word of the Day for Sunday, September 30, 2012

thetic \THET-ik\, adjective:
Positive; dogmatic.
Thetic constructions, on the other hand, are not subject to this sort of contextual requirements.
-- Andreas Dufter and Daniel Jacob, Focus and Background in Romance Languages
His genius was not thetic, but synthetic, not creative but constructive.
-- Andrew Martin Fairbairn, "The Primitive Polity of Islam," The Contemporary Review
Thetic is derived from the Greek word thetikós from the root thet meaning "placed, set."

Word of the Day for Saturday, September 29, 2012

catholicon \kuh-THOL-i-kuhn\, noun:
A universal remedy; panacea.
And then they sweep out again, leaving the fevered peasants their catholicon of faith, while, overhead, vultures ebonize the sky.
-- Thomas H. Cook, The Orchids
At any rate, this same humor has something, there is no telling what, of beneficence in it, it is such a catholiconand charm—nearly all men agreeing in relishing it, though they may agree in little else—and in its way it undeniably does such a deal of familiar good in the world, that no wonder it is almost a proverb, that a man of humor, a man capable of a good loud laugh—seem how he may in other things—can hardly be a heartless scamp.
-- Herman Melville, The Confidence-Man
Catholicon stems from the Greek word katholikós which meant "according to the whole, universal."

Word of the Day for Friday, September 28, 2012

fiducial \fi-DOO-shuhl\, adjective:
1. Based on or having trust: fiducial dependence upon God.
2. Accepted as a fixed basis of reference or comparison: a fiducial point; a fiducial temperature.
Knowing the sincerity of her concern for my well-being as I did, I can say with fiducial confidence she was attached to the phone, where she'd no doubt made a beeline the very moment after I'd stormed out of the house, awaiting a call from me announcing I was alright.
-- William Cook, Love in the Time of Flowers
No, it was a par excellence speech, one that neither he nor anyone else was to give in front of an audience, one that wasn't going to be subjected to criticism, for how can you compare when you have no fiducial point?
-- Thomas Justin Kaze, The Year of the Green Snake
Fiducial comes from the Late Latin word fīdūciālis meaning "trust."

Word of the Day for Thursday, September 27, 2012

austral \AW-struhl\, adjective:
1. Southern.
2. (Initial capital letter) Australian.
That, at least, was not difficult to do; as they filtered through branches and thick treetops, the rays of the australsun covered bodies and houses and all the objects of the inhabited area with undulating patterns of light and shadow that blended spectrally into random jungle forms.
-- Carlos Fuentes, Terra Nostra
The church, from the north, seems a precious stone, on its austral side it is blood-colored, to the west white as snow, and above it shine countless stars more splendid than those in our sky.
-- Umberto Eco, Baudolino
Austral is derived from the Latin word austrālis meaning "southern."

Word of the Day for Wednesday, September 26, 2012

palter \PAWL-ter\, verb:
1. To talk or act insincerely or deceitfully; lie or use trickery.
2. To bargain with; haggle.
3. To act carelessly; trifle.
Since murder was that man's intention, why should he palter with small details?
-- Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad
Bathsheba would probably have terminated the conversation there and then by flatly forbidding the subject, had not her conscious weakness of position allured her to palter and argue in endeavors to better it.
-- Thomas Hardy, Far From the Maddening Crowd
Palter is of unknown origin. It first arose in the 1540s, and it may be a variation of the word falter.

Word of the Day for Tuesday, September 25, 2012

privity \PRIV-i-tee\, noun:
1. Participation in the knowledge of something private or secret, especially as implying concurrence or consent.
2. Private or secret knowledge.
3. Law. The relation between privies.
4. Obsolete. Privacy.
Kazbitch — at least I imagine so — thought that Azamat had robbed him of his horse, with his father's privity and consent.
-- Mikhail Y. Lermontov, A Hero of Our Own Times
But Judith had not meddled with the arrangement, and every necessary disposition was made without her privity or advice.
-- James Fenimore Cooper, The Leatherstocking Tales
Privity stems from the Old French words prive meaning "private, close friend, private place."

Word of the Day for Monday, September 24, 2012

sententious \sen-TEN-shuhs\, adjective:
1. Abounding in pithy aphorisms or maxims: a sententious book.
2. Given to excessive moralizing; self-righteous.
3. Given to or using pithy sayings or maxims: a sententious poet.
4. Of the nature of a maxim; pithy.
For he was a poet and drowned untimely, and his verse, mild as it is and formal and sententious, sends forth still a frail fluty sound like that of a piano organ played in some back street resignedly by an old Italian organ-grinder in a corduroy jacket.
-- Virginia Woolf, "Street Haunting: A London Adventure," Collected Essays
It was inconceivable that she was using the boring, sententious, contentious Shepherd for anything but a hollow threat to him, but this semblance of wrongdoing could now be turned to advantage.
-- Kurt Vonnegut, Player Piano
Sententious is related to sententia, the Latin root for the word sentence. The Latin word sententiosus meant "full of meaning, pithy."

Word of the Day for Sunday, September 23, 2012

pharisaic \far-uh-SEY-ik\, adjective:
1. Practicing or advocating strict observance of external forms and ceremonies of religion or conduct without regard to the spirit; self-righteous; hypocritical.
2. Of or pertaining to the Pharisees.
"And yet that reverend gentleman," said Pleydell, "whom I love for his father's sake and his own, has nothing of the sour or pharisaical pride which has been imputed to some of the early fathers of the Calvinistic Kirk of Scotland."
-- Sir Walter Scott, Guy Mannering or the Astrologer
"Of course," he said gloomily, "it is one of those Pharisaical cruelties of which only such heartless men are capable."
-- Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
Pharisaic comes from the story in the Bible about the Pharisees, a religious sect who purportedly only practiced the doctrine and ritual of their faith without corresponding inner devotion.

Word of the Day for Saturday, September 22, 2012

hematic \hi-MAT-ik\, adjective:
1. Of or pertaining to blood; hemic.
2. Acting on the blood, as a medicine.
noun:
1. Hematinic.
However, if you think such drinks smack too much of medicine, you can console yourself with bread or tofu fortified with DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), a substance that is good for the retina and brain and the hematic level of cholesterol.
-- Carlo Petrini, Slow Food
A love transfusion is essentially the same as a blood transfusion. Just as humans are divided into four hematicgroups, they're also grouped into four erotic types…
-- Juan Filloy, Op Oloop
Hematic was invented in the 1850s. It comes from the Greek word haîma meaning "blood."

Word of the Day for Friday, September 21, 2012

strepitous \STREP-i-tuhs\, adjective:
boisterous; noisy.
But what strepitous sounds, what harmonious tumult diverts my attention to another part ?
-- José Francisco de Isla, The History of the Famous Preacher, Friar Gerund de Campazas
Here is no idyllic meditative retreat from the strepitous city but a scene of virile action—fields sounding with human labor, vibrating with human energy.
-- Beulah B. Amram, "Swinburne and Carducci," The Yale Review
Strepitous stems from the Latin word strepit which meant "noise."

Word of the Day for Wednesday, September 19, 2012

bollix \BOL-iks\, verb:
1. To do (something) badly; bungle (often followed by up): His interference bollixed up the whole deal.
noun:
1. A confused bungle.
People always bollix up the things that are most important to them.
-- Eric Gabriel Lehman, Summer's House
It was a sort of cruel fun watching this guy bollix up his life, like watching a cat fight duct tape.
-- Sarah Smith, Chasing Shakespeares
Bollix arose in the 1930s. It's a variation on the slang word bollocks.

Word of the Day for Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Tartuffery \tahr-TOOF-uh-ree\, noun:
Behavior or character of a Tartuffe, especially hypocritical piety.
When Terry had finished showing his contempt and had left the office in disgust at the head's Tartuffery, Jan had calmly got up from her seat and looked hard at the shell-shocked, speechless woman before addressing her.
-- Derryl Flynn, The Albion
Not the sophistry, the malevolence, the restless apathy of the masses, the arrogance and insensitivity of the ruling class, the vulgarity, the bigotry, the intemperance, the maniacal piety and the ungodly Tartuffery.
-- W.E. Gutman, Nocturnes
Tartuffery comes from the comedy by French playwright Molière. The central character of the eponymous play Tartuffe was a hypocritical pretender.

Word of the Day for Monday, September 17, 2012

diapason \dahy-uh-PEY-zuhn\, noun:
1. A full, rich outpouring of melodious sound.
2. The compass of a voice or instrument.
3. A fixed standard of pitch.
4. Either of two principal timbres or stops of a pipe organ, one of full, majestic tone (open diapason) and the other of strong, flutelike tone (stopped diapason).
5. Any of several other organ stops.
6. A tuning fork.
During the whole interval in which he had produced those diapason blasts, heard with such inharmonious feelings by the three auditors outside the screen, his thoughts had wandered wider than his notes in conjectures on the character and position of the gentleman seen in Ethelberta's company.
-- Thomas Hardy, The Hand of Ethelberta
And so those two, angry accuser and indifferent accused, faced each other for a moment; while, incessant, dull, might, the thunders of the great cataract mingled with the trembling diapason of the stupendous turbines in the rock-hewn caverns where old Niagara now toiled in fetters, to swell their power and fling gold into their bottomless coffers.
-- George Allan England, The Air Trust
Diapason was originally an abbreviation of the Greek phrase "hē dià pāsôn chordôn symphōnía" which meant "the concord through all the notes of the scale."

Word of the Day for Sunday, September 16, 2012


coetaneous \koh-i-TEY-nee-uhs\, adjective:
Of the same age or duration.
Bear with these distractions, with this coetaneous growth of the parts: they will one day be members, and obey one will. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance and Other Essays
We could say that all living people are contemporaneous but not necessarily coetaneous; they live at different age levels. -- Harold C. Raley, A Watch Over Mortality
Coetaneous stems from the Latin roots co- meaning "with, together with," ætat- meaning "age," and the suffix -aneus (which is an adjectival suffix meaning "resembling").

Word of the Day for Saturday, September 15, 2012


quail \kweyl\, verb:

To lose heart or courage in difficulty or danger; shrink with fear.

She would have quailed in the same way if the armored bear had looked at her like that, because there was something not unlike Lorek in Will's eyes, young as they were.
 -- Phillip Pullman, The Subtle Knife

I should have quailed in the absence of moonlight, for it was by the leading of stars only I traced the dim path; I should have quailed still more in the unwonted presence of that which tonight shone in the north, a moving mystery—the Aurora Borealis.
-- Charlotte Brontë, Villette

The verb quail is not related to the more common noun. It comes from the Middle Dutch word quelen meaning "to suffer, be ill." This sense of "to cower" was rare until the late 1800s.


Word of the Day for Friday, September 14, 2012

ecru \EK-roo\, adjective:

1. Very light brown in color, as raw silk, unbleached linen, etc.

noun:

1. An ecru color.
To complete the outfit, she selected an ecru cashmere sweater to drape over her shoulders and tie loosely around her neck.
 -- Pamela Hackett Hobson, The Bronxville Book Club
She was wearing an ecru gown, giving the illusion of her fading into the grayness of the wall.
 -- JoAnn Smith Ainsworth, Out of the Dark
Ecru stems from the French word of the same spelling which meant "raw, unbleached." It came from the Latin root crudus meaning "raw" and the prefix es- meaning "thoroughly."

Word of the Day for Thursday, September 13, 2012

heliotrope \HEE-lee-uh-trohp\, noun:
1. A light tint of purple; reddish lavender.
2. Any hairy plant belonging to the genus Heliotropium, of the borage family, as H. arborescens, cultivated for its small, fragrant purple flowers.
3. Any of various other plants, as the valerian or the winter heliotrope.
4. Any plant that turns toward the sun.
5. Surveying. An arrangement of mirrors for reflecting sunlight from a distant point to an observation station.
6. Bloodstone.
But the heliotrope envelope with the feminine handwriting and the strange odor immediately suggested queries along lines of investigation which had never before entered her thoughts.
-- George Gibbs, The Vagrant Duke
Blown by steady volumes of roaring wind, everyone's hair is riffled and tangled and leaping in antic wisps, and theheliotrope robes bulk like tumors but flip up in sudden swoops.
-- Edmund White, Forgetting Elena
Heliotrope literally meant "turn towards the sun" in Greek. Flowers that turned towards the sun became associated with this word.

Word of the Day for Wednesday, September 12, 2012

celadon \SEL-uh-don\, noun:
1. A pale gray-green.
2. Any of several Chinese porcelains having a translucent, pale green glaze.
3. Any porcelain imitating these.
adjective:
1. Having the color celadon.
The detail was striking and the cream, salmon, and celadon of the offset colors realistic, if slightly dated.
-- David Foster Wallace, The Pale King
Far out, the bay had a glaze like celadon.
-- Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose
The word celadon stems from the name of a character in the 1610 book L'Astrée by Honoré d'Urfé. The character Céladon was a sentimental lover who wore bright green clothes.

Word of the Day for Tuesday, September 11, 2012

cerise \suh-REES\, noun:
moderate to deep red.
That it did not strike her, Molly Notkin, as improbable that the special limited-edition turkey-shaped gift bottle of Wild Turkey Blended Whiskey-brand distilled sprits with the cerise velveteen gift-ribbon around its neck with the bow tucked under its wattles on the kitchen counter...
-- David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest
It was made of a purple satin sheath with layers of cerise tarleton underskirts.
-- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Cerise comes from the French word of the same spelling meaning "cherry." It entered English in the 1850s describing a shade of cherry red.

Word of the Day for Monday, September 10, 2012

primrose \PRIM-rohz\, noun:
1. Pale yellow.
2. Any plant of the genus Primula, as P. vulgaris (English primrose), of Europe, having yellow flowers, or P. sinensis (Chinese primrose), of China, having flowers in a variety of colors. Compare primrose family.
3. Evening primrose.
The thoughts circling Sarah's head kept time with the rhythm of her spoon as she stirred the pale-primrose mixture of egg yolks and cream in the pan.
-- India Grey, Powerful Italian, Penniless Housekeeper
The room was high and white and primrose gold, flanked by Greek columns that caught the lickety amber light of a thousand candles.
-- Don DeLillo, Underworld
Primrose literally meant "first rose" in Old French. It was so called because the yellow rose is one of the earliest blooming roses in the Spring.

Word of the Day for Sunday, September 9, 2012

spleenful \SPLEEN-fuhl\, adjective:

1. Ill-humored; irritable or peevish; spiteful; splenetic.

2. Full of or displaying spleen.
For a blink, Ratcliffe himself, who hated almost beyond telling this spleenful fellowman now well handcuffed and clamped at the ankles with cold stout bilboes, did believe in his intentions, and would have resigned all proceedings if he could; but once the doctor prescribes a purge, how can he countermand himself?
-- William T. Vollmann, Argall
Their attention was focused on Guy Fowler, a surly, spleenful man, but one of few old-salts of white blood.
-- Virginia Van Druten, Bound to Sea
The spleen was regarded as the seat of morose feelings and bad tempers in Medieval physiology. The adjective spleenful arose from this association in the late 1500s.

 Word of the Day for Saturday, September  8, 2012

manifold \MAN-uh-fohld\, adjective:
1. Of many kinds; numerous and varied: manifold duties.
2. Having numerous different parts, elements, features, forms, etc.: a manifold program for social reform.
noun:
1. Something having many different parts or features.
2. A copy or facsimile, as of something written, such as is made by manifolding
verb:
1. To make copies of, as with carbon paper.
The possible moves being not only manifold, but involute, the chances of such oversights are multiplied; and in nine cases out of ten, it is the more concentrative rather than the more acute player who conquers.
 -- Edgar Allen Poe, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
Whatever his arrangements are, however, they are always a pattern of neatness; and every one of the manifold articles connected with his manifold occupations is to be found in its own particular place.
 -- Charles Dickens, Master Humphrey's Clock
Manifold comes from the Old English word monigfald meaning "varied in appearance." The English suffix -fold originally meant "of so many parts."

Word of the Day for Friday, September  7, 2012

rollick \ROL-ik\, verb:
To move or act in a carefree, frolicsome manner; behave in a free, hearty, gay, or jovial way.
Also in old, jolly fishwives, squatted under arches, obscene old women, how deeply they laugh and shake and rollick, when they walk, from side to side, hum, ha!
 -- Virginia Woolf, "The String Quartet," Monday or Tuesday: Eight Stories
A deeper ripple of mirth this time and Bronzini was sad for the boy, skinny Alfonse, but did not rebuke them, kept talking, talked over the momentary rollick—skinny sorry Alfonse, grape-stained with tragic acne.
 -- Don DeLillo, Underworld
Rollick is a portmanteau of "frolic" and "romp." It arose in the 1820s.

 



 

Word of the Day for Thursday, September  6, 2012

piceous \PIS-ee-uhs\, adjective:
1. Inflammable; combustible.
2. Of, pertaining to, or resembling pitch.
3. Zoology. Black or nearly black as pitch.
In the silent and piceous hour just before dawn, they advanced at a slow trot, fanning out through the slave quarters and into the yard that divided the gin house, the mill, and the buildings where Canning and I slept unaware.
 -- Geraldine Brooks, March
Dark pink for the brick buildings, dark green for the doorjambs and the benches, dark iron for the hinges, dark stone for Nathaniel's Tomb; darkness in the piceous roots of trees that broke through the earth like bones through skin.
 -- Roger Rosenblatt, Beet
Piceous stems from the Latin word piceus meaning "made of pitch."            

Word of the Day for Wednesday, September 5, 2012

cacology \ka-KOL-uh-jee\, noun:
Defectively produced speech; socially unacceptable diction.
As to prose, I don't know Addison's from Johnson's; but I will try to mend my cacology.
-- Lord Byron, The Works and Letters of Lord Byron
Such cacology drives some people to distraction.
-- Linton Weeks, "R Grammar Gaffes Ruining the Language? Maybe Not", NPR
Cacology comes from the root caco- meaning "bad." This prefix occurs in loanwords from Greek. Similarly the suffix -logy is a combining form used in the names of sciences and bodies of knowledge.


Word of the Day for Tuesday, September 4, 2012

ramose \REY-mohs\, adjective:
1. Having many branches.
2. Branching.
The exquisite naivete with which, in this passage, the Greek and Anglican Churches are represented as springing into vigorous ramose existence at the precise moment of abscission was too much even for my Protestant simplicity.
-- James Kent Stone, The Invitation Heeded
The ramose or branched root is more frequent than any other.
-- James Lawson Drummond, First Steps to Botany
Ramose is derived from the Latin word rāmōsus which meant "full of boughs."
 

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