A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu Jul 1 00:02:12 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fimicolous X-Bonus: Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970) This week's theme: Dirty words fimicolous (fy-MIK-uh-luhs, fuh-) adjective Living in or growing in animal excrement. [From Latin fimus (dung) + colere (to inhabit).] "The shameless consumption of fimicolous humanity was really amusing them." Jonathan J. Malone; The Chronicles of Kingdom Come; BookSurge Publishing; 2009. -------- Date: Fri Jul 2 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--feculent X-Bonus: Literature is the language of society, as speech is the language of man. -Louis de Bonald, philosopher and politician (1754-1840) This week's theme: Dirty words feculent (FEK-yuh-luhnt) adjective Full of filth or waste matter. [From Latin faeculentus (full of dregs), from faeces, plural of faex (dregs).] "And there is the pool of trash sitting in the North Pacific -- a continent of plastic that will not decompose. Imagine if another species just shoveled feculent matter all over our home?" Brittany De Avilan; Deny Warming If You Wish, But Pollution Is Real; The Bee (Sacramento, California); Dec 24, 2009. -------- Date: Mon Jul 5 00:02:15 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--plutocracy X-Bonus: No matter that we may mount on stilts, we still must walk on our own legs. And on the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592) It's a good thing we don't have to go with the literal meaning of words or we'd be exercising in the nude in the gymnasia. The word gymnasium is derived from the combining form gymno-, meaning nude or bare (in ancient Greece, they did train in their birthday suits). Other words similarly formed are gymnoplast (protoplasm without surrounding wall) and gymnosophy (a form of philosophy practiced by those refusing to wear clothes). What are combining forms? You can think of them as the Legos of language. As their name indicates, a combining form is a linguistic atom that occurs only in combination with some other form. This week we'll feature five words made using combining forms: pluto- (wealth), biblio- (book), epi- (upon), anemo- (wind), steno- (small) and -cracy (rule), -latry (worship), -graph (writing), and -meter (measure). plutocracy (ploo-TOK-ruh-see) noun 1. Government by the wealthy. 2. A country or state governed by the wealthy people. 3. Wealthy ruling class. [From pluto- (wealth) + -cracy (rule). From Greek ploutokratia, from ploutos (wealth, overflowing riches). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pleu- (to flow), that is also the source of flow, float, flit, fly, flutter, pulmonary, pneumonia, pluvial https://wordsmith.org/words/pluvial.html , and fletcher https://wordsmith.org/words/fletcher.html .] "California is much closer to a plutocracy than a grass-roots democracy. It takes lots of money to draft initiatives, get them on the ballot and run a media campaign for or against them." Bruce E. Cain; Five Myths About California Politics; The Washington Post; Jun 6, 2010. -------- Date: Tue Jul 6 00:02:13 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bibliolatry X-Bonus: It is not how old you are, but how you are old. -Jules Renard, writer (1864-1910) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms bibliolatry (bib-lee-OL-uh-tree) noun 1. Excessive devotion to the Bible, especially to its literal interpretation. 2. Extreme devotion to books. [From Greek biblio- (book) + -latry (worship).] "Fifty percent of college graduates expect Jesus to be here any day now. We are, says Paul Boyer, almost unique in the Western World in combining high educational levels with high levels of bibliolatry." Martin Gardner; Waiting for the Last Judgement; The Washington Post; Nov 8, 1992. "Bibliophilia: the love, and collecting, of books. No problems there... But watch out. The next step up may be bibliolatry: an extreme fondness for books." David McKie; The Baron of Bibliomania; The Guardian (London, UK); May 5, 2008. -------- Date: Wed Jul 7 00:02:11 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--epigraph X-Bonus: I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice. -Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President (1809-1865) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms epigraph (EP-i-graf) noun 1. An inscription on a building or statue. 2. A quotation introducing a book or a chapter. [From Greek epi- (on, upon) + -graph (writing).] An epigraph on the Taj Mahal https://wordsmith.org/words/images/epigraph_large.jpg [Photo: Soam P. Lall http://www.flickr.com/photos/32061920@N00/102377409/] "A Counterfeit Silence includes an epigraph from Thornton Wilder: 'Even speech was for them a debased form of silence.'" William Grono and Dennis Haskell; Solitary Writer Randolph Stow Chose Silence; The Australian (Sydney); Jun 1, 2010. -------- Date: Thu Jul 8 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--anemometer X-Bonus: Power is only important as an instrument for service to the powerless. -Lech Walesa, human rights activist, Polish president, Nobel laureate (b. 1943) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms anemometer (an-uh-MOM-i-tuhr) noun An instrument for measuring the speed of wind. [From Greek anemo- (wind) + -meter (measure).] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/anemometer_large.jpg [Illustration: from the book A Treatise on Meteorology by Elias Loomis; 1880.] Make your own anemometer, and more: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/for_fun/BuildyourownWeatherStation.pdf "The highest three-second wind gust measured by the anemometer on the Mile High Swinging Bridge was 77 mph May 9." Above-Average Temperatures, Dryness in May at Grandfather Mountain; Asheville Citizen-Times (North Carolina); Jun 4, 2010. -------- Date: Fri Jul 9 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stenosis X-Bonus: The artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and he does it without destroying something else. -John Updike, writer (1932-2009) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms stenosis (sti-NO-sis) noun, plural stenoses A narrowing of a passage, vessel, or an opening in the body. [From steno- (narrow, small) + -osis (condition). From Greek stenosis (a narrowing), from stenoun (to narrow), from stenos (narrow).] Bronchial stenosis: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/stenosis_large.jpg [CT Scan: Le Guen, et al. http://ccforum.com/content/11/5/R94] "[The device] is placed onto a patient's chest and a microphone picks up coronary sounds associated with stenosis, in which a patient's arteries are clogged with plaque blocking blood flow to the heart." Wendy Lee; New Phone Apps Aim to Boost; Minneapolis Star Tribune; Jun 12, 2010. -------- Date: Mon Jul 12 00:02:11 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--paean X-Bonus: The propagandist's purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human. -Aldous Huxley, novelist (1894-1963) Post No Bills. Have you ever seen a wall with that notice pasted on it? That reminds me of books, manuals, and annual reports with a "blank" page bearing the text: "This page intentionally left blank." In the same vein, this week's A.Word.A.Day theme is intentionally left blank. Instead, I've selected a potpourri of interesting words to examine this week. paean (PEE-uhn) noun An expression of praise, joy, or triumph, traditionally in the form of a song. [From Latin paean, from Greek paian (hymn of thanksgiving to Apollo), after Paian, Paion (epithet of Apollo in the hymn).] "Hitch-22 is among the loveliest paeans to the dearness of one's friends." Dwight Garner; In Memoir, Christopher Hitchens Looks Back; The New York Times; Jun 1, 2010. http://amazon.com/o/asin/0446540331/ws00-20 -------- Date: Tue Jul 13 00:02:11 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mephitic X-Bonus: Like cars in amusement parks, our direction is often determined through collisions. -Yahia Lababidi, author (b. 1973) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words mephitic (muh-FIT-ik) adjective Poisonous or foul-smelling. [From Latin mephitis (foul smell).] "Jack Black is a sterling example of the actor who starts out seeming like a breath of fresh air, and then turns into something stale, fetid, mephitic, nauseating." Joe Queenan; Do You Remember When Jack Black Was Funny?; The Guardian (London, UK); Oct 9, 2009. -------- Date: Wed Jul 14 00:02:18 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--equipoise X-Bonus: Conscience is a man's compass, and though the needle sometimes deviates, though one often perceives irregularities when directing one's course by it, one must still try to follow its direction. -Vincent van Gogh, painter (1853-1890) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words equipoise (EE-kwuh-poiz, EK-wuh-) noun 1. A state of balance. 2. Something that serves as a counterbalance. verb tr. To counterbalance. [From Latin aequi- (equal) + Old French pois (weight), from Latin pendere (to weigh). Ultimately from the Indo-European root (s)pen- (to draw, to spin), which is also the source of pendulum, spider, pound, pansy, pendant, ponder, appendix, penthouse, depend, and spontaneous.] "In his [Denzel Washington's] luminous portrait, dignity and destructiveness find a perfect equipoise." John Lahr; Theatre: Wheels of Misfortune; The New Yorker; May 10, 2010. -------- Date: Thu Jul 15 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--risible X-Bonus: Gold in its native state is but dull, unornamental stuff, and only lowborn metals excite the admiration of the ignorant with an ostentatious glitter. However, like the rest of the world, I still go on underrating men of gold and glorifying men of mica. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words risible (RIZ-uh-buhl) adjective 1. Laughable; ludicrous. 2. Disposed to laugh. 3. Relating to laughter. [From Latin risus, past participle of ridere (to laugh). Other words that share the same root are ridiculous, deride, rident https://wordsmith.org/words/rident.html, and riant https://wordsmith.org/words/riant.html] "The judge said that John Harrison's statement in which he said he found it hard to get up in the morning was risible." Drug Dealer Told to Expect Lengthy Time Behind Bars; The Medway Messenger (UK); Jul 2, 2010. -------- Date: Fri Jul 16 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--folderol X-Bonus: "Faith" is a fine invention / For gentlemen who see -- / But microscopes are prudent / In an emergency. -Emily Dickinson, poet (1830-1886) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words folderol (FOL-duh-rol) noun, Also spelled as falderal 1. Nonsense; foolishness. 2. A trifle; gewgaw. [From a nonsense refrain in some old songs.] "Canonisation is a slow business in the Catholic church: all that folderol about miracles and devil's advocates." John Sutherland; What's Wrong With Teaching Rap in Schools?; The Guardian (London, UK); Jul 5, 2004. -------- Date: Mon Jul 19 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--contumely X-Bonus: Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) "Did you receive my invite?" If the noun use of the word "invite" grates on you, you are not alone. Perhaps you could simply respond with, "Yes, didn't you get my accept?" Or you could go to such great lengths as to create a website about it: http://IsInviteaNoun.com . The truth is that the nouning of verbs (and verbing of nouns) is nothing new. The OED shows the word "invite" used as a noun going as far back as 1659 (the verb sense is from 1553). There are numerous words in the English language that do double duty as nouns and verbs (permit, look, commute, transport, address, to name a few). These noun senses usually follow a short while after the verb sense. Most such nouns become an everyday part of the language, while some continue to carry a stigma, as does the noun invite. Usually we can tell the part of speech by looking at the ending of a word (-ly: adverb, -ish: adjective, etc.), but as in the noun sense of the word "invite", our expectations are thrown off. This week we feature five words like that. contumely (KON-too-muh-lee, kuhn-TOO-muh-lee, KON-tuhm-lee, -tyoo-, -tyoom-) noun Contemptuous or insulting treatment arising from arrogance. [Via French from Latin contumelia (insult), probably from con- (with) + tumere (to swell).] "Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot was greeted mostly with boos, bafflement, and contumely when it was first seen in 1955." Robert Gore-Langton; Wating for Godot vs Legally Blonde; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Jan 21, 2010. "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely?" William Shakespeare; Hamlet; c. 1600. -------- Date: Tue Jul 20 00:02:13 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--panegyric X-Bonus: We are all of us more or less echoes, repeating involuntarily the virtues, the defects, the movements, and the characters of those among whom we live. -Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824) This week's theme: Words that look one part of speech but are other panegyric (pan-i-JIR-ik, -JY-rik) noun A formal or elaborate oration in praise of someone or something; eulogy. [From Latin panegyricus, from Greek panegyrikos (of or for an assembly), from paneguris (public assembly), from pan- (all) + aguris (assembly, marketplace). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ger- (to gather) that is also the source of gregarious, aggregate, congregation, egregious, and segregate.] "Gov. George Pataki's 10th State of the State speech yesterday was more a panegyric to freedom and security than a rousing promise to fix what's clearly wrong with New York's government." A Real State of New York; The New York Times; Jan 8, 2004. -------- Date: Wed Jul 21 00:02:13 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nebbish X-Bonus: They are happy men whose natures sort with their vocations. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626) This week's theme: Words that look one part of speech but are other nebbish (NEB-ish) noun A pitifully timid or ineffectual person. [From Yiddish nebekh (poor, unfortunate), of Slavic origin. Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhag- (to share) that is also the source of baksheesh https://wordsmith.org/words/baksheesh.html , Sanskrit bhagya (good fortune), and words related to -phagy (eating), such as onychophagia https://wordsmith.org/words/onychophagia.html and xerophagy https://wordsmith.org/words/xerophagy.html .] "Jay Baruchel plays the hero -- a security officer at the Pittsburgh airport -- as such a tongue-tied, head-ducking nebbish that it's inconceivable that he would end up with the gorgeous, smart, kind, hockey-loving woman played by Alice Eve." Mike Hale; Playing the Odds of Love; The New York Times; Mar 12, 2010. -------- Date: Thu Jul 22 00:02:11 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gloaming X-Bonus: I once met a man who had forgiven an injury. I hope some day to meet the man who has forgiven an insult. -Charles Buxton, brewer, philanthropist, writer, and politician (1823-1871) This week's theme: Words that look one part of speech but are other gloaming (GLO-ming) noun Twilight; dusk. [From Middle English gloming, from Old English glomung, from glom (dusk). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ghel- (to shine), which is also the source of words such as yellow, gold, glimmer, glimpse, glass, arsenic, melancholy, and cholera.] "The book is a marked departure from previous (Robert) Harris works set in the chill gloaming of mid-20th-century European history, an era that has fascinated him since he was a child." Alan Cowell; A Writer's Allegories For Today; International Herald Tribune (Paris, France); Nov 18, 2003. -------- Date: Fri Jul 23 00:02:12 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--beggar X-Bonus: Pride, like laudanum and other poisonous medicines, is beneficial in small, though injurious in large, quantities. No man who is not pleased with himself, even in a personal sense, can please others. -Frederick Saunders, librarian and essayist (1807-1902) This week's theme: Words that look one part of speech but are other beggar (BEG-uhr) verb tr. 1. To exhaust the resources or ability; to defy. 2. To impoverish. [From Middle English beggare, beggere, from beggen (to beg).] "Geraldine Feeney said the story told by Mr Boyle beggared belief. 'If I heard him right, a 26-year-old is in a mental institution for five years because someone belonging to her thinks she will be promiscuous if she is out in the world.'" Jimmy Walsh; Call for Review of Psychiatric 'Detention'; The Irish Times (Dublin); Jun 23, 2010. -------- Date: Mon Jul 26 00:02:12 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--artificer X-Bonus: Nothing which does not transport is poetry. The lyre is a winged instrument. -Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824) Illustrating the importance of using the right word, Mark Twain once said, "The difference between the almost-right word & the right word is really a large matter -- it's the difference between the lightning-bug & the lightning." Choosing the right word is critical, but with a million words in the language, it's hard to get to know them all. Sometimes we have to hazard a guess, and try to figure out a word by its looks and sounds. It doesn't always work and results can be similar to placing the publication Style http://www.style.niu.edu/current.html (instead of InStyle http://www.instyle.com/instyle/) in the waiting area of a hair salon. This week we feature five words whose meanings are different from what one might first guess. artificer (ahr-TIF-uh-suhr) noun 1. An inventor. 2. A craftsperson. 3. A mechanic in the armed forces. [From Latin artificium (craftsmanship, art), from art + facere (to make).] "The artificer turns a little sadly to his king: 'One day, I hope mankind will find a peaceful use for my invention,' he says." Tom Lubbock; Flights of Fantasy; The Independent (London, UK); Sep 18, 2006. -------- Date: Tue Jul 27 00:02:12 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--noisome X-Bonus: One man meets an infamous punishment for that crime which confers a diadem upon another. -Juvenal, poet (c. 60-140) This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be noisome (NOI-suhm) adjective 1. Offensive, especially to the sense of smell. 2. Harmful; noxious. [From Middle English noy (short of annoy), via French, from Latin inodiare (to make hateful), from in- (intensive prefix) + odium (hate).] "Phasing out of noisome exhausts on motorbikes should be handled seriously and urgently." ESG Response; Gibraltar Chronicle; Nov 28, 2009. "The anti-social behaviour order, or Asbo, has helped to bring some relief to hard-pressed communities plagued by noisome neighbours and menacing yobs." Making Justice Swifter; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Oct 8, 2009. -------- Date: Wed Jul 28 00:02:11 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--psychopomp X-Bonus: Some men of a secluded and studious life have sent forth from their closet or their cloister, rays of intellectual light that have agitated courts and revolutionized kingdoms; like the moon which, though far removed from the ocean, and shining upon it with a serene and sober light, is the chief cause of all those ebbings and flowings which incessantly disturb that restless world of waters. -Charles Caleb Colton, author and clergyman (1780-1832) This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be psychopomp (SY-ko-pomp) noun A guide of souls, one who escorts soul of a newly-deceased to the afterlife. [From Greek psychopompos (conductor of souls), from psycho-, from psyche (breath, spirit, soul) + pompos (conductor, guide).] In Greek mythology Charon carries souls across the river Styx: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/psychopomp_large.jpg Art: Alexander Dmitrievich Litovchenko (1835-1890) "Harold Bloom here presents himself as a mystagogue* and a soothsayer, a psychopomp of our times, conducting souls into unknown territories." Marina Warner; Where Angels Tread; The Washington Post; Sep 15, 1996. https://wordsmith.org/words/mystagogue.html -------- Date: Thu Jul 29 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fulsome X-Bonus: I hate with a murderous hatred those men who, having lived their youth, would send into war other youth, not lived, unfulfilled, to fight and die for them; the pride and cowardice of those old men, making their wars that boys must die. -Mary Roberts Rinehart, novelist (1876-1958) This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be fulsome (FUL-suhm) adjective 1. Effusive; lavish. 2. Excessive to the point of being offensive. [A combination of the words full and -some (having a particular quality).] Note: Does the word fulsome have a positive connotation or negative? Depends on whom you ask. The word started out in mid 13th century as a straightforward, unambiguous word to describe abundance. By the 17th century, it had acquired a deprecatory sense, as in the second sense listed above. Then, again, it went around the bend and in the 20th century the positive sense of the word became more common. Language purists continue to stick with the second sense, while others use the word in its first sense. What to do? Avoid it, unless context is clear, as in the two usage examples below. "Dacres offered Hull fulsome compliments on the courage and performance of his men." Ian W. Toll; Blood Brothers; The Economist (London, UK); Nov 4, 2006. "One tires of the fulsome endorsement, the blizzard of exclamation points, the arch locutions." Daniel Aaron; Belle du Jour; The New Republic (Washington, DC); Feb 2, 1998. -------- Date: Fri Jul 30 00:02:10 EDT 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--meretricious X-Bonus: Morality is the custom of one's country and the current feeling of one's peers. Cannibalism is moral in a cannibal country. -Samuel Butler, writer (1835-1902) This week's theme: Words that aren't what they appear to be meretricious (mer-i-TRISH-uhs) adjective 1. Appealing in a cheap or showy manner: tawdry. 2. Based on pretense or insincerity. [From Latin meretricius, meretrix (prostitute), from merere (to earn money).] "For most of the 20th century John Singer Sargent's skills as a portraitist were deemed to be meretricious." Waldemar Januszczak; A Dirty Old Man And the Sea?; The Sunday Times (London, UK); Jul 11, 2010.