A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Jan 2 00:01:06 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--numinous X-Bonus: My own experience and development deepen every day my conviction that our moral progress may be measured by the degree in which we sympathize with individual suffering and individual joy. -George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), novelist (1819-1880) A joyous and peaceful new year to all linguaphiles. New hopes, new beginnings, a new year promises an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and begin afresh. In AWAD, we'll begin the new year with new words. Well, they aren't really that new, they just sound new. This week we'll feature five words that begin with the "new" sound. numinous (NOO-muh-nuhs, NYOO-) adjective Supernatural, mysterious, or awe-inspiring. [From Latin numen (nod of the head, command, divine will). Earliest documented use: 1647.] "Rol and Noey's lives unfold in an atmosphere of mildly magical realism: a numinous shimmer at the edges of the everyday." Geordie Williamson; Unsettled by Pain; The Australian (Sydney); Dec 3, 2011. -------- Date: Tue Jan 3 00:01:05 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--noosphere X-Bonus: I dreamt that my hair was kempt. Then I dreamt that my true love unkempt it. -Ogden Nash, poet (1902-1971) This week's theme: "New" words noosphere (NOH-uh-sfeer) noun The sum of human knowledge, thought, and culture. [From French noösphere, from Greek noos (mind) + sphere. Earliest documented use: 1930.] "This avalanche of information is threatening to swallow us whole, to waste our days and to overwhelm our own thoughts. Essentially, it's the noosphere on steroids." Frank Bures; Digitized to Distraction; National Post (Canada); Nov 15, 2008. -------- Date: Wed Jan 4 00:01:06 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nutate X-Bonus: To be capable of embarrassment is the beginning of moral consciousness. Honor grows from qualms. -John Leonard, critic (1939-2008) This week's theme: "New" words nutate (NOO-tayt, NYOO-) verb intr. 1. To nod the head. 2. To oscillate while rotating (as an astronomical body). 3. To move in a curving or circular fashion (as a plant stem, leaf, etc.). [Back-formation from nutation, from Latin nutare (to nod repeatedly), frequentative of -nuere (to nod), from numen (nod of the head, command, divine will). Earliest documented use: 1880.] Rotation (green), precession (blue), and nutation (red): https://wordsmith.org/words/nutate_large.png Illustrator: Herbye Nutation video: A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVKz9G3YXiw "Down she slides not wanting to lose consciousness, chin nutating into bosom, yet straining in her mind to stay present." Forrest Gander; As A Friend; New Directions; 2008. "In pubs across the land, the customers speak of little else but lunar nutation, especially since the moon is nutating at this very moment." Tom Shields; Fur Coats and No Moral Fibre?; The Sunday Herald (Glasgow, Scotland); Oct 1, 2006. "Tendrils of pea plants nutate in the air and when come in contact of any support, they coil around it." Competition Science Vision; Apr 1999. -------- Date: Thu Jan 5 00:01:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--newspeak X-Bonus: It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. -Robert A. Heinlein, science-fiction author (1907-1988) This week's theme: "New" words newspeak (NOO-speek, NYOO-) noun Deliberately ambiguous or euphemistic language used for propaganda. [Coined by George Orwell in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Newspeak was the official language of Oceania. In Newspeak, English was called Oldspeak. Earliest documented use: 1949.] NOTES: The most insidious newspeak term to come out in recent years is for torture. In newspeak it becomes "enhanced interrogation", as if regular torture makes use of tap water, but in enhanced interrogation you get nothing less than Evian. "An Imperial Tobacco memo predicted that the trend towards fewer smokers could 'virtually wipe us off the map' within 50 years. The writer recommended the company target 'starters' -- company newspeak for teens." Mindelle Jacobs; Smoke And Mirrors Fool No One; The Edmonton Sun (Canada); Nov 23, 1999. -------- Date: Fri Jan 6 00:01:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pneumatic X-Bonus: There is no exception to the rule that every rule has an exception. -James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961) This week's theme: "New" words pneumatic (noo-MAT-ik, nyoo-) adjective 1. Of or relating to air, wind, or gases. 2. Spiritual. 3. Buxom, zaftig https://wordsmith.org/words/zaftig.html . [From Greek pneuma (breath, wind, spirit). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pneu- (to breathe), which is also the source of pneumatic, pneumonia, apnea, sneer, sneeze, snort, snore, and pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis https://wordsmith.org/words/pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.html . Earliest documented use: 1624.] "The Greyhound from Toronto pulled up and with a sucking pneumatic hiss." James Bartleman; As Long as the Rivers Flow; Knopf; 2011. "This in itself set up a kind of suspicion about pneumatic claims that is, if someone said, 'The Spirit told me.'" Ben Witherington; Is There a Doctor in the House?; Zondervan; 2011. "Uncorseted, her friendly bust Gives promise of pneumatic bliss." T.S. Eliot; Whispers of Immortality; 1920. -------- Date: Mon Jan 9 00:01:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--duopsony X-Bonus: Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility. -James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961) Poets, novelists, essayists, and anyone who writes uses the same currency: words. That's all they need to say to say all there is to say. The trick is to choose the right denomination and arrange them in the right way. There are times when nothing quite fits, and then you can invent your own. You have the building blocks. This week we'll feature five words made by using combining forms. What are combining forms? You can think of them as Lego (from Danish, leg: play + godt: well) bricks of language. As the term indicates, a combining form is a linguistic atom that occurs only in combination with some other form which could be a word, another combining form, or an affix (unlike a combining form, an affix can't attach to another affix). duopsony (doo-OP-suh-nee, dyoo-) noun A market condition in which there are only two buyers, thus exerting great influence on price. [From Greek duo- (two) + -opsony, from opsonia (purchase).] Here's a little chart that explains it all: monopoly: one seller, many buyers duopoly: two sellers, many buyers oligopoly: a few sellers, many buyers monopsony: one buyer, many sellers duopsony: two buyers, many sellers oligopsony: a few buyers, many sellers "The BBC-ITV duopsony was gone for good, and the competition between the TV companies as purchasers of the rights intensified." Stephen Dobson and John Goddard; The Economics of Football; Cambridge University Press; 2011. -------- Date: Tue Jan 10 00:01:06 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hypochondriac X-Bonus: Remorse is a violent dyspepsia of the mind. -Ogden Nash, poet (1902-1971) This week's theme: Words coined using combining forms hypochondriac (hy-puh-KON-dree-ak) noun One who is excessively and chronically preoccupied with imaginary or innocuous symptoms as indicators of some serious disease. [From Greek hypochondrios (abdomen, which was believed to be the seat of melancholy), from hypo- (under) + khondros (cartilage [of the breastbone]). Earliest documented use: 1599.] "'Gadhafi was described as a hypochondriac who insisted that all examinations and procedures be filmed and then spent hours reviewing them with physicians whom he trusted,' the ambassador reported." Joshua Norman; U.S. Envoy to Libya Wikileaks' First Casualty?; CBS News (New York); Jan 5, 2011. -------- Date: Wed Jan 11 00:01:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dysthymia X-Bonus: There is something beautiful about all scars of whatever nature. A scar means the hurt is over, the wound is closed and healed, done with. -Harry Crews, novelist and playwright (b. 1935) This week's theme: Words coined using combining forms dysthymia (dis-THY-mee-uh) noun A mild depression. [From Greek dys- (bad) + -thymia (mental disorder), from thymos (mind, soul). Earliest documented use: 1842.] "It was as if my mood had been goaded away from situational discontentedness into a dysthymia that seemed now to be heading into full-fledged depression." Meghan Daum; Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived in That House; Knopf; 2011. -------- Date: Thu Jan 12 00:01:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--autologous X-Bonus: Most people think that shadows follow, precede, or surround beings or objects. The truth is that they also surround words, ideas, desires, deeds, impulses and memories. -Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1928) This week's theme: Words coined using combining forms autologous (ah-TOL-uh-guhs) adjective Involving a situation in which the donor and the recipient (of blood, skin, bone, etc.) are the same person. [From Greek auto- (self) + -logous (as in homologous), from logos (proportion, ratio, word). Earliest documented use: 1911.] "They talked about autologous fat transfer, where they extract the fat from your behind and stick it in your face -- cheek to cheek, as it were." Isabel Wolff; A Vintage Affair; Bantam; 2010. http://amazon.com/o/asin/0553807838/ws00-20 -------- Date: Fri Jan 13 00:01:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gerontology X-Bonus: And the fox said to the little prince: men have forgotten this truth, but you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. -Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author and aviator (1900-1944) This week's theme: Words coined using combining forms gerontology (jer-uhn-TOL-uh-jee) noun The scientific study of aging. [From Greek geronto-, from geras (old age) + -logy (study). Earliest documented use: 1903.] Geriatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the diseases and problems associated with old age. "Emma had been on a gerontology ward where most of her patients were suffering dementia and a laundry list of physical ailments associated with advanced age." Gary Braver; Tunnel Vision; Forge Books; 2011. -------- Date: Mon Jan 16 00:01:06 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sagacity X-Bonus: I prayed for freedom for twenty years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs. -Frederick Douglass, Former slave, abolitionist, editor, and orator (1817-1895) Why do you learn new words? For some, it's the joy of discovering new and unusual specimens in the language and the stories behind them. For others, it's to improve their vocabulary, whether for college or work. Sometimes readers write to say, "I'll never have a chance to use these words!" You will. As you can see from the usage examples taken from newspapers, magazines, and books, words featured in AWAD are not from a museum. They're words that are in current use, even though you may not read them as often. Still, we take the point. What some are looking for are more practical words: words they can use in an office memo or in a term paper; words they are more likely to come across in a trade report or college exam. This week we'll offer you five such practical words. Go ahead, employ them, put them into practice. sagacity (suh-GAS-i-tee) noun Keen judgment or wisdom. [From Latin sagacitas (wisdom), from sagire (to perceive keenly). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sag- (to seek out), which is also the source of seek, ransack, ramshackle, forsake, and hegemony https://wordsmith.org/words/hegemony.html . Earliest documented use: 1548.] "In a moment of odd sagacity, Sarah Palin lamented that the contest for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination had become just another reality television show." Donald Mitchell; Palin Pulls a Palin; Los Angeles Times; Oct 9, 2011. -------- Date: Tue Jan 17 00:01:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stochastic X-Bonus: There are two kinds of light -- the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures. -James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words stochastic (stuh-KAS-tik) adjective Involving chance; random; probabilistic. [From Greek stokhos (aim, target, a pointed stake for an archer to aim at). Earliest documented use: 1662.] "Medicine is a stochastic science -- no doctor can predict the future." Sandeep Jauhar; When Doctors Slam the Door; The New York Times; Mar 16, 2003. -------- Date: Wed Jan 18 00:01:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--immanent X-Bonus: There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. -Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1928) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words immanent (IM-uh-nuhnt) adjective 1. Inherent; spread throughout. 2. Subjective: taking place within the mind and having no effect outside of it. [From Latin immanere (to remain in place), from in- (in) + manere (to remain). Ultimately from the Indo-European root men- (to remain), which is also the source of mansion, manor, remain, and permanent (but not 'imminent' with which 'immanent' is often confused). Earliest documented use: 1535.] "The invisible but somehow immanent presence of Sep 11's inferno over New Jersey serves to remind us that Updike has written about apocalypse before." Robert Stone; Updike's Other America; The New York Times; Jun 18, 2006. -------- Date: Thu Jan 19 00:01:05 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--venial X-Bonus: In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends imprisoned by an enchanter in paper and leathern boxes. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words venial (VEE-nee-uhl, VEEN-yuhl) adjective Minor; easily excused. [From Latin venia (forgiveness). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wen- (to desire or to strive for), which is also the source of wish, win, ween, overweening, venerate, venison, Venus, and banyan. Earliest documented use: before 1300.] "Wealthy fraudsters are given chieftaincy titles and venerated, and their nefarious deeds are euphemistically tagged venial." Chiedu Uche Okoye; Victims of Illusion; Daily Independent (Nigeria); Jun 27, 2011. "The production takes a few venial liberties with the text." Ben Brantley; Railing at a Money-Mad World; The New York Times; Jul 1, 2010. -------- Date: Fri Jan 20 00:01:05 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--connubial X-Bonus: So many gods, so many creeds, So many paths that wind and wind, While just the art of being kind is all the sad world needs. -Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet (1850-1919) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words connubial (kuh-NOO-bee-uhl, -NYOO-) adjective Pertaining to marriage or the married state. [From Latin con- (with) + nubere (to marry) which is also the source of nubile https://wordsmith.org/words/nubile.html and nuptial. Earliest documented use: 1656.] "You wouldn't think Donald Trump would need much connubial coaxing to picture himself in the Trump White House. But a Globe headline this week reads: 'Wife Melania Tells The Donald: America Needs You!'" Maureen Dowd; She Made Me Run!; The New York Times; Dec 31, 2011. -------- Date: Mon Jan 23 00:02:05 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--argosy X-Bonus: Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot. -Charlie Chaplin, actor, director, and composer (1889-1977) Planes crash, ships founder, and trains collide. This week we're going to be traveling virtually. We're heading to Middle Earth and you are invited. No, we have nothing to do with Tolkien. We're just being literal -- our destination is the Mediterranean "sea in the middle of the earth". The countries we're going to be visiting are Croatia, Italy, Syria, Greece, and France. So join us for our toponymic tour in which we'll explore a word coined after each of those places. argosy (AHR-GUH-see) noun 1. A large ship, or a fleet of ships, especially one carrying valuable cargo. 2. A rich source or supply. [Shortening of Italian nave Ragusea (ship of Ragusa), after Ragusa, a maritime city on the Adriatic sea, modern day Dubrovnik, Croatia. Earliest documented use: 1577.] "Shylock: He hath an argosy bound to Tripolis, another to the Indies." William Shakespeare; The Merchant of Venice; 1596. "We get a little bit detective story, a little bit gossip, and an argosy of insight." Amy Wallen; Book Review: 'Nom de Plume'; Los Angeles Times; Aug 8, 2011. -------- Date: Tue Jan 24 00:02:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--paladin X-Bonus: In this world, you must be a bit too kind to be kind enough. -Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux, dramatist and novelist (1688-1763) This week's theme: Words from the Mediterranean paladin (PAL-uh-din) noun 1. A strong supporter of a cause. 2. A heroic champion. [From French paladin, from Italian paladino, from palatinus ([officer] of the palace). After Palatine, the name of the centermost of the seven hills on which ancient Rome was built. Roman emperors had their palaces on this hill. Other words such as palace and palatine https://wordsmith.org/words/palatine.html derive from the same source. The 12 peers in Charlemagne's court were also called paladins. Earliest documented use: 1592.] Ruins of the palace on the Palatine Hill https://wordsmith.org/words/images/paladin_large.jpg [Photo: Anthony Majanlahti http://www.flickr.com/photos/antmoose/11478659/in/set-355533/] "Evo Morales has been a paladin for Mother Earth, recently pushing for international adoption of a Bolivian law granting nature rights." Bolivia's Amazon Highway a Bumpy Road for Morales, Brazil; Bloomberg (New York); Oct 19, 2011. "There are those who want Mario Balotelli to be a trailblazer, a paladin of integration. Some kind of cross between Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Jackie Robinson." The Paradigm of Italian Immigration; The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland); Aug 22, 2010. -------- Date: Wed Jan 25 00:04:02 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--damascene X-Bonus: Some tortures are physical / And some are mental, / But the one that is both / Is dental. -Ogden Nash, poet (1902-1971) This week's theme: Words from the Mediterranean damascene (DAM-uh-seen, dam-uh-SEEN) verb tr.: To inlay a metal object with gold or silver patterns; to gild. noun: A native or inhabitant of Damascus. adjective: 1. Relating to Damascus or the Damascenes. 2. Having a wavy pattern as on Damascus steel. [After Damascus, the capital of Syria. Earliest documented use: around 1386.] 3. Sudden and significant. [From the conversion of St. Paul from an anti-Christian to a Christian while he was on the road to Damascus, as described in the New Testament.] A damascene dish: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/damascene_large.jpg [Photo: Dennis Jarvis http://www.flickr.com/photos/archer10/4325330247/] "John Cheever once declared, 'All literary men are Red Sox fans.' Ever since, the team has been the subject of more damascened prose, more classical analogies, than any franchise in American sports." Charles McGrath; The Way We Live Now; The New York Times; Aug 22, 2004. "Support for Assad is especially strong in Syria's two largest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, where residents are wealthier. Some Damascenes proudly wear baseball caps with Assad's face on it." Why Many Syrians Still Support Assad; The Christian Science Monitor (Boston, Massachusetts); Sep 14, 2011. "The Labour Court backed the employer's volte face https://wordsmith.org/words/volte-face.html act of Damascene proportions." Retrenchment Board; Zimbabwe Independent (Harare); Oct 28, 2010. -------- Date: Thu Jan 26 00:09:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sybarite X-Bonus: Prayers are to men as dolls are to children. They are not without use and comfort, but it is not easy to take them very seriously. -Samuel Butler, novelist (1835-1902) This week's theme: Words from the Mediterranean sybarite (SIB-uh-ryt) noun A person devoted to luxury and pleasure. [After Sybaris, an ancient Greek city in southern Italy noted for its wealth, and whose residents were notorious for their love of luxury. Earliest documented use: 1598.] "Tom Naylor sounds like a bit of a sybarite himself, who'd enjoy a good wine, cigar, or work of art." Rick Salutin; Mr. 1 Per Cent Meets His Match; The Toronto Star (Canada); Dec 1, 2011. -------- Date: Fri Jan 27 00:01:04 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gascon X-Bonus: I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862) This week's theme: Words from the Mediterranean gascon (GAS-kuhn) noun: A braggart. adjective: Boastful. [After Gascon, a native of the Gascony region in France, from the stereotype of Gascons as boasters. Earliest documented use: before 1771.] Notes: Were people from Gascony full of boasts and bravado? Not necessarily. Historical rivalries lead one people to generalize others' names as having some shortcoming and some of those names become part of the language. Other examples of such words are solecism https://wordsmith.org/words/solecism.html , Boeotian https://wordsmith.org/words/boeotian.html , and fescennine https://wordsmith.org/words/fescennine.html . "Here indeed the King of Cornwall plays the gascon, not the King of Little Britain." John Wesley Hales and Frederick James Furnivall (eds.); Bishop Percy's Folio Manuscript: Ballads and Romances; 1867. -------- Date: Mon Jan 30 00:01:06 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wellerism X-Bonus: Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the human heart can hold. -Zelda Fitzgerald, novelist (1900-1948) Next week marks the 200th anniversary of the British novelist Charles Dickens's birth. The London of Dickens's time was a bleak place: little social support, debtors' prisons, pollution, and children working in factories. If you look at the Republican presidential aspirants today you'd think they want to return to those good old times: no environmental regulations, no worker protection laws, no social safety net, and children working as janitors. Charles himself was forced to work in a boot polish factory as a child. All that he saw around him and experienced is reflected in his novels. It's a sign of an author's genius when his characters step out of the stories and become words in the language. Dozens of Dickens's characters are now part of the English language. This week we'll meet five of them. WELLERISM CONTEST: Can you come up with an original wellerism? Send it in to the contest. PRIZES: Best entries will receive their choice of any of the following prizes: o One Up! http://uppityshirts.com/oneup.shtml o The T-shirt 'AWAD to the wise is sufficient' http://www.uppityshirts.com/awad.shtml o An autographed copy of any of my books https://wordsmith.org/awad/books.html HOW TO ENTER: Send your entries to (contest AT wordsmith.org) by Friday this week. Be sure to include your location (city/state/country). Selected entries will be featured in this weekend's AWADmail. To get you primed, here are a few wellerisms from off the top of my head: "So far, so good," said the escapee as he looked at the prison in the distance. "Beauty is only skin deep," said the woman as she received a Botox injection. wellerism (WEL-uh-ri-zuhm) noun An expression involving a familiar proverb or quotation and its facetious sequel. It usually comprises three parts: statement, speaker, situation. Examples: "We'll have to rehearse that," said the undertaker as the coffin fell out of the car. "Prevention is better than cure," said the pig when it ran away from the butcher. [After Sam Weller and his father, characters known for such utterances in Charles Dickens's novel Pickwick Papers. Earliest documented use: 1839.] Sam Weller https://wordsmith.org/words/images/wellerism_large.jpg Illustrator: Kyd (Joseph Clayton Clarke) (1856-1937) "A particularly telling example of a wellerism discussed by Dundes is the following: 'Shall I sit awhile?' says the parasite before becoming a permanent dweller." Wolfgang Mieder; Alan Dundes; Western Folklore (Long Beach, California); Jul 2006. -------- Date: Tue Jan 31 00:02:03 EST 2012 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fagin X-Bonus: If you wish to make an apple pie truly from scratch, you must first invent the universe. -Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (1934-1996) This week's theme: Dickensian characters that became words fagin (FAY-gin) noun One who trains others, especially children, in crime. [After Fagin, the leader of a gang of pickpockets, in Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist. Oliver runs away from the cruelty of the undertaker to whom he was apprenticed and ends up in Fagin's gang where he joins other orphans to learn the art of stealing. Earliest documented use: 1847.] Standing: Fagin, Artful Dodger, Oliver https://wordsmith.org/words/images/fagin_large.jpg Illustration: George Cruikshank (1792-1878) "A fagin crook led a gang of young thieves stealing valuable bikes to order across Tyneside." Garry Willey; Fagin's Gang Busted; The Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, UK) Apr 4, 2011.