A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Apr 1 00:01:04 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--magnanimous X-Bonus: In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. -Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, musician, Nobel laureate (1875-1965) "Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else." Like all genuine humor, this waggish remark carries a grain of truth. There are seven billion of us around, and we are very different -- in our demeanor, diction, and dreams, as well as in our fingerprints, retinal patterns, and DNA sequences. Yet, no matter which hand we write with, what language we speak, or what we eat, there is something that binds us all, whether it's our preference for a life free from fear, our efforts to make this world a better place, our appreciation of beauty, or our longing for love. With so many people, so many shared traits, and so many differences, there's no wonder we have so many words to describe people. This week we'll look at five of them. magnanimous (mag-NAN-i-muhs) adjective Generous or forgiving, especially towards a weak rival. [From Latin magnanimus (great-souled), from magnus (great) + animus (soul, mind). Ultimately from the Indo-European root meg- (great), which also gave us magnificent, maharaja, master, mayor, maestro, magnate, magistrate, maximum, magnify, mahatma https://wordsmith.org/words/mahatma.html , magisterial https://wordsmith.org/words/magisterial.html , mickle https://wordsmith.org/words/mickle.html , and hermetic https://wordsmith.org/words/hermetic.html . Earliest documented use: 1547.] "Breslin was magnanimous in victory, paying tribute to the efforts of Glenavon." Gordon Hanna; Cliftonville in Cruise Control; Belfast Telegraph (Northern Ireland); Mar 19, 2013. -------- Date: Tue Apr 2 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--percipient X-Bonus: Everyone, in some small sacred sanctuary of the self, is nuts. -Leo Rosten, author (1908-1997) This week's theme: Words to describe people percipient (per-SIP-ee-ant) adjective Having deep insight or understanding. [From Latin percipere (to perceive), from per- (thoroughly) + capere (to seize). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kap- (to grasp), which also gave us captive, capsule, capable, capture, cable, chassis, occupy, deceive, gaff https://wordsmith.org/words/gaff.html , caitiff https://wordsmith.org/words/caitiff.html , and captious https://wordsmith.org/words/captious.html . Earliest documented use: 1659.] "I am a percipient and keen observer and manage an asset class which has long-term return potential." Sanket Dhanorkar; Fund Manager's Pharma; The Economic Times (New Delhi, India); Mar 6, 2012. -------- Date: Wed Apr 3 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sagacious X-Bonus: It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them. -Cesare Beccaria, philosopher and politician (1738-1794) This week's theme: Words to describe people sagacious (suh-GAY-shuhs) adjective Having keen judgment or wisdom. [From Latin 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: 1607.] "Even Warren Buffett is looking less than sagacious after his holding company posted its worst year ever." The Long and the Short; The Economist (London, UK); Mar 12, 2009. -------- Date: Thu Apr 4 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--temerarious X-Bonus: The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best -- and therefore never scrutinize or question. -Stephen Jay Gould, paleontologist, biologist, author (1941-2002) This week's theme: Words to describe people temerarious (tem-uh-RAR-ee-uhs) adjective Presumptuously or recklessly daring or bold. [From Latin temere (rashly). Earliest documented use: 1532.] "So, on a pleasant weekend in March, one crew member and three fellow hardy fools -- a truly temerarious team -- set off across the ice." Rare Look Inside Caves; St. Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota); Apr 27, 2008. -------- Date: Fri Apr 5 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--malapert X-Bonus: What is the purpose of the giant sequoia tree? The purpose of the giant sequoia tree is to provide shade for the tiny titmouse. -Edward Abbey, naturalist and author (1927-1989) This week's theme: Words to describe people malapert (MAL-uh-puhrt) adjective Boldly disrespectful. [From Old French mal- (bad, wrong) + apert (bold, insolent, clever), from Latin apertus (open). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wer- (to cover), which also gave us overt, cover, warranty, warren, garage, garret, garment, garrison, garnish, guarantee, and pert. Earliest documented use: 1400.] "Malapert and cheeky, she gazed up at him." Susan Johnson; Wicked; Bantam Books; 1996. -------- Date: Mon Apr 8 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lex loci X-Bonus: To have great poets, there must be great audiences. -Walt Whitman, poet (1819-1892) I make laws. More precisely, I invent laws. "Can you take a look at this leaky faucet?" asks my wife, Stuti https://wordsmith.org/~stutig . "I can't." "Why?" "It's unlawful in Washington state for those with names beginning with the letter A to do plumbing work when the moon is gibbous." "Never heard of it." She rolls her eyes. "Did they pass it this morning in Olympia?" Ignorance of the law is no excuse, I tell her. And neither is not knowing terms from the law. To keep you up to date on legal matters, this week we'll bring you five terms from the world of law. Also, as you might know, under international law, those 18 and over are required to know the five terms featured this week. lex loci (leks LOH-sy, -kee, -ky) noun The law of the place. [From Latin lex (law) + locus (place). Earliest documented use: 1832.] NOTES: Lex loci says that the law of that country or jurisdiction applies where the act was done. "Another statute book named Conscience is observed lex loci wherever God sees." David Mitchell; Cloud Atlas; Random House; 2004. "He is also survived by his two Labrador retrievers: Lex Loci and Stare Decisis*." Obituary: Nathan S. Heffernan, Chief Justice (Ret.); Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Apr 17, 2007. * https://wordsmith.org/words/stare_decisis.html -------- Date: Tue Apr 9 00:01:10 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hereditament X-Bonus: The world, we are told, was made especially for man -- a presumption not supported by all the facts... Why should man value himself as more than a small part of the one great unit of creation? -John Muir, naturalist and explorer (1838-1914) This week's theme: Terms from law hereditament (her-i-DIT-uh-ment) noun Inheritable property. [From Latin hereditare (to inherit), from heres (heir). Earliest documented use: 1461.] NOTES: Hereditament is of two kinds: corporeal and incorporeal. If your grandfather willed you his collection of Superman comics, that would be corporeal hereditament. If he awarded you only the right to read those comics from time to time, it'd be incorporeal hereditament. "The Panadura Recreation Club was established seventy years ago on a hereditament of land." Indoor Badminton Court; Ceylon Daily News (Sri Lanka); Sep 7, 2002. "Sir, having no disease, nor any taint Nor old hereditament of sin or shame." Sidney Lanier; Poems of Sidney Lanier; 1916. -------- Date: Wed Apr 10 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--suborn X-Bonus: If words are to enter men's minds and bear fruit, they must be the right words shaped cunningly to pass men's defenses and explode silently and effectually within their minds. -J.B. Phillips, writer and clergyman (1906-1982) This week's theme: Terms from law suborn (suh-BORN) verb tr. To induce another to perform an unlawful act or give false testimony. [From Latin subornare, from sub- (secretly) + ornare (to equip). Other words that derive from ornare are adorn and ornate. Earliest documented use: 1534.] "Would a senior lawyer, proven in a court of law to attempt to suborn a witness, be allowed to continue to practice law?" TSR Subramanian; It's Imperative to Free CBI and ED from Government Control; The New Indian Express (Chennai, India); Mar 3, 2013. "Regulators were suborned by lobbyists and ministers." Simon Jenkins; Ignore Their Howls of Protest; The Guardian (London, UK); Mar 5, 2013. -------- Date: Thu Apr 11 00:01:10 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mens rea X-Bonus: I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their songs. -Joseph Addison, essayist and poet (1672-1719) This week's theme: Terms from law mens rea (MENZ REE-uh) noun Criminal intent. [From Latin mens rea (guilty mind). Earliest documented use: 1861.] "She appealed against her conviction on the basis that she did not have the required mens rea, in that she was not aware she was carrying drugs." Minimum 10-Year Drug Term Reduced for 'Naive' Offender; Irish Times (Dublin); Jan 16, 2012. -------- Date: Fri Apr 12 00:01:05 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--attorn X-Bonus: A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books. -Walt Whitman, poet (1819-1892) This week's theme: Terms from law attorn (uh-TUHRN) verb tr.: To turn over rent, goods, etc. to another. verb intr.: To agree to be a tenant of a new landlord of the same property. [From Old French atorner (to assign to), from a- (to) + torner (to turn). An attorney is the person one turns to to represent oneself. Earliest documented use: 1458.] "So there was no reason to proceed with the extradition, because they'd already attorned to that jurisdiction." Windsor Men Won't Be Extradited to US; CBC News (Canada); May 27, 2010. -------- Date: Mon Apr 15 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--peeping Tom X-Bonus: Only mediocrity can be trusted to be always at its best. Genius must always have lapses proportionate to its triumphs. -Max Beerbohm, essayist, parodist, and caricaturist (1872-1956) A name is just a label. Or is it? Research has shown that a name may have a profound effect on a person's life. People choose their professions and much more under the influence of their names. Scientist and writer Isaac Asimov even wrote a short story on this topic, titled "Spell My Name with an S". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spell_My_Name_with_an_S This week we have picked five words based on names. Now that we know what Tom is doing, this week we'll also find out what Nelly, Parker, Thomas, and Susan are up to. peeping Tom (PEE-ping tom) noun Someone who gets sexual pleasure from secretly watching others; voyeur. [From the legend of Lady Godiva who rode unclothed through the streets of Coventry, England to persuade her husband to lower taxes on the people. All the townsfolk shuttered their windows, except for a tailor named Tom who couldn't resist and watched. Earliest documented use: 1769.] Lady Godiva: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/peeping_tom_large.jpg Art: John Collier, c. 1897 "A peeping Tom who used a stealth camera to photograph up the skirt of a cabin attendant during a flight last month has avoided charges." Airborne Peeping Tom Photog Slips Through Jurisdictional Cracks; The Japan Times (Tokyo); Oct 13, 2012. -------- Date: Tue Apr 16 00:01:04 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nice nelly X-Bonus: Art is the elimination of the unnecessary. -Pablo Picasso, painter and sculptor (1881-1973) This week's theme: Words coined after proper names nice nelly (nys NEL-ee) noun: A person excessively concerned with propriety, modesty, etc. [A specialized use of the name Nelly, a nickname for Helen or Eleanor. Earliest documented use: 1922.] "Glen Rounds wrote: Instead of trying to make a nice nelly of me they encourage me to be my own nasty self, or even more so." Russell Freedman & Barbara Elleman; Holiday House: The First Sixty-Five Years; Holiday House; 2000. -------- Date: Wed Apr 17 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nosy parker X-Bonus: Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on "I am not too sure." -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (1880-1956) This week's theme: Words coined after proper names nosy parker or nosey parker (NOH-zee PAHRK-uhr) noun An overly inquisitive person. [From nosy + the name Parker. It's not clear who this person was. Earliest documented use: 1890. Also see, quidnunc https://wordsmith.org/words/quidnunc.html .] "Rural societies are relatively transparent: the nosy parker can sniff out all the gossip after mass or in the pub." Fintan o'Toole; Gossip is Dead. Long Live Gossip; The Irish Times (Dublin); Dec 3, 2011. -------- Date: Thu Apr 18 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--doubting Thomas X-Bonus: Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher. -Japanese proverb This week's theme: Words coined after proper names doubting Thomas (DOU-ting TOM-uhs) noun A person who is habitually doubtful or someone who refuses to believe something until given proof. [After Saint Thomas, apostle, who doubted Jesus Christ's resurrection according to the Bible. Earliest documented use: 1877.] "At four, our daughter is a doubting Thomas so we pry open the mouths of snapdragons* to show her the reason behind the name." Megan Fulweiler; Tales to Inspire the Young Gardener; The New York Times; Dec 12, 1982. * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antirrhinum Here's to doubting Thomases of the world! Too many of us shut off our critical thinking ability and begin to take things on faith. As Mark Twain once said, "Faith is believing what you know ain't so." -------- Date: Fri Apr 19 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lazy Susan X-Bonus: Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold. -Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (1828-1910) This week's theme: Words coined after proper names lazy Susan (LAY-zee SOO-zuhn) noun A revolving tray used for serving food, or a similar structure used to keep objects within easy reach. [It's not clear who the eponymous Susan in this term was. Earliest documented use: 1917.] "Lang Lang ate more than anyone, spinning the lazy Susan at the center of the table and scooping off." David Remnick; The Olympian; The New Yorker; Aug 4, 2008. -------- Date: Mon Apr 22 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bombilate X-Bonus: Society is like a lawn, where every roughness is smoothed, every bramble eradicated, and where the eye is delighted by the smiling verdure of a velvet surface; he, however, who would study nature in its wildness and variety, must plunge into the forest, must explore the glen, must stem the torrent, and dare the precipice. -Washington Irving, writer (1783-1859) Bees buzz, clocks go tick-tock, and train engines hiss (or used to). Where there's sound there is onomatopoeia -- our interpretation of the sound in the form of a word (from Greek onoma: name + poiein: to make). This week we'll see five words coined by imitating the supposed sound of what is being described. bombilate (BOM-bi-layt) verb intr. To make a humming or buzzing noise. [From Latin bombilare to (hum, buzz). Earliest documented use: 1600s.] "The entire building was bombilating like a cicada." Matt Cantor; Some Cures for Noisy Neighbors; The Berkeley Daily Planet (California); Oct 9, 2008. -------- Date: Tue Apr 23 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fanfaron X-Bonus: That sorrow which is the harbinger of joy is preferable to the joy which is followed by sorrow. -Saadi, poet (c.1213-1291) [Gulistan] This week's theme: Onomatopoeic words fanfaron (FAN-fuh-ron) noun A boaster or a braggart. [From French fanfaron, from Spanish fanfarrón (braggart), perhaps from Arabic farfar (talkative), of expressive origin. The words fanfaronade https://wordsmith.org/words/fanfaronade.html and fanfare have the same origin. Earliest documented use: 1622.] "I yelled in his ear congratulations for not spending his egg money on fancy clothes and strutting about like a fanfaron." Moritz Thomsen; Living Poor: A Peace Corps Chronicle; University of Washington Press; 1990. "Well made and thought-provoking the program may be, but it's unlikely to drag viewers away from the exotic fanfaron that is Celine Dion's head." Shane Danielsen; Waiting for the Ship to Come in on Oscar Night; The Australian (Sydney); Mar 23, 1998. -------- Date: Wed Apr 24 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cachinnate X-Bonus: No man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honesty whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same. -Viktor Frankl, author, neurologist, and psychiatrist (1905-1997) This week's theme: Onomatopoeic words cachinnate (KAK-i-nayt) verb intr. To laugh very loudly or immoderately. [From Latin cachinnare (to guffaw), of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1824.] "'Butler' is so deliciously zany and funny, we cachinnated until our sides hurt." Christopher Muther; It's Oh So Quiet; Boston Globe (Massachusetts); Mar 20, 2004. -------- Date: Thu Apr 25 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fillip X-Bonus: One who condones evils is just as guilty as the one who perpetrates it. -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., civil-rights leader (1929-1968) This week's theme: Onomatopoeic words fillip (FIL-ip) noun: 1. A stimulus. 2. A snap made by pressing a fingertip against the thumb and suddenly releasing it. verb tr.: 1. To stimulate or to incite to action. 2. To make a snap by a fingertip against the thumb. [Apparently of onomatopoeic origin. Earliest documented use: 1530.] "Intel splashed out $884 million ... to give its efforts in the embedded-chip market a fillip." Space Invaders; The Economist (London, UK); Jan 7, 2012. -------- Date: Fri Apr 26 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--brouhaha X-Bonus: Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we can. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) This week's theme: Onomatopoeic words brouhaha (BROO-ha-ha, broo-ha-HA, broo-HA-ha) noun Noise, confusion, and excitement, especially over something insignificant. [From French, of imitative origin. It has been also suggested it's an alteration of the Hebrew term barukh habba (welcome, literally, "blessed be the one who comes"). It was also used in French drama for a devil's cry as: brou, ha, ha! Earliest documented use: 1890.] "The brouhaha threatened to create a political firestorm in Ottawa." Paul Koring; Key Democrat Pelosi Voices Doubts on Keystone; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Mar 14, 2013. -------- Date: Mon Apr 29 00:01:03 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mojo X-Bonus: Useless laws weaken the necessary laws. -Charles de Montesquieu, philosopher and writer (1689-1755) The world has many voices. Each has its unique way to describe the world. Each of these voices adds to the beauty of the human race. While words originating in Latin, Greek, French, etc. appear often in the English language, this week we've picked words borrowed from languages we don't see here as much. mojo (MO-jo) noun Magical power; charm. [Apparently of W. African origin, akin to Gullah moco (witchcraft), Fula moco'o (medicine man). Fula is a language of West Africa. Earliest documented use: 1926.] "After losing their mojo, formerly high-flying tech firms rarely recover it." Googling A New Boss; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 21, 2012. -------- Date: Tue Apr 30 00:01:02 EDT 2013 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--boondocks X-Bonus: There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book we read becomes luminous with manifold allusion. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) This week's theme: Words borrowed from other languages boondocks (BOON-doks) noun Rough country; backwoods. [From Tagalog bundok (mountain). Earliest documented use: 1944.] "No one uses landlines to make or receive a call any more, unless you live in the boondocks, far away from cell phone towers." Dilip Bobb; Extinct in Our Time; Financial Express (New Delhi, India); Mar 31, 2013.