A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Jul 1 00:02:57 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wheelwright X-Bonus: Time is nature's way of making sure everything doesn't happen at once. wheel.wright n. A man whose occupation is to make or repair wheels and wheeled vehicles, as carts, wagons, and the like. Lossing, Benson J., LL.D., Our Country: Volume 2: Chapter XXVI., U.S. History, 09-01-1990. "He proceeded to execute his vow by murdering an unoffending Dutchman in his wheelwright shop high upon Manhattan Island." This week's theme: professions of yesterday that now exist only as surnames. -------- Date: Wed Jul 2 00:02:52 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bowyer X-Bonus: You can't hear it, but the universe is laughing at you behind your back. bow.yer n. [From Bow, like lawyer from law.] 1. An archer; one who uses bow. 2. One who makes or sells bows. Robyn Jackson, Mississippian Makes Bows the Old-fashioned Way -- by Hand., Gannett News Service, 09-02-1994. "Ladner, assistant principal at Petal Middle School in Petal, Miss., is a bowyer, a man who makes bows and arrows the traditional way." This week's theme: professions of yesterday that now exist only as surnames. -------- Date: Thu Jul 3 00:02:58 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cooper X-Bonus: Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. coop.er n. [From Coop.] One who makes barrels, hogsheads, casks, etc. coop.er v.t. [imp. & p. p. Coopered; p. pr. & vb. n. Coopering.] To do the work of a cooper upon; as, to cooper a cask or barrel. coop.er n. Work done by a cooper in making or repairing barrels, casks, etc.; the business of a cooper. This week's theme: professions of yesterday that now exist only as surnames. In yesterday's post, the definition for "bowyer" somehow got dropped off. It is: bow.yer n. [From Bow, like lawyer from law.] 1. An archer; one who uses bow. 2. One who makes or sells bows. -------- Date: Fri Jul 4 00:03:39 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sawyer X-Bonus: Would you live with ease, do what you ought, and not what you please. -Benjamin Franklin saw.yer n. [Saw + -yer, as in lawyer. Cf. Sawer.] 1. One whose occupation is to saw timber into planks or boards, or to saw wood for fuel; a sawer. 2. A tree which has fallen into a stream so that its branches project above the surface, rising and falling with a rocking or swaying motion in the current. [U.S.] 3. (Zovl.) The bowfin. [Local, U.S.] This week's theme: professions of yesterday that now exist mostly as surnames. -------- Date: Sat Jul 5 00:02:57 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tinker X-Bonus: I shall live badly if I do not write, and I shall write badly if I do not live. -Francoise Sagan tink.er n. [From Tink, because the tinker's way of proclaiming his trade is to beat a kettle, or because in his work he makes a tinkling noise. Johnson.] 1. A mender of brass kettles, pans, and other metal ware. "Tailors and tinkers." -Piers Plowman. 2. One skilled in a variety of small mechanical work. 3. (Ordnance) A small mortar on the end of a staff. 4. (Zool.) (a) A young mackerel about two years old. (b) The chub mackerel. (c) The silversides. (d) A skate. [Prov. Eng.] 5. (Zool.) The razor-billed auk. tink.er v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tinkered; p. pr. & vb. n. Tinkering.] To mend or solder, as metal wares; hence, more generally, to mend. tink.er v. i. To busy one's self in mending old kettles, pans, etc.; to play the tinker; to be occupied with small mechanical works. Comedies of William Shakespeare: The Taming Of The Shrew: Act 1., Monarch Notes, 01-01-1963. "This scene takes place before an alehouse on a heath. The hostess of the alehouse enters with Christopher Sly, a tinker who is obviously drunk, and demands payment for the glasses that Sly has broken." This week's theme: professions of yesterday that now exist mostly as surnames. -------- Date: Sun Jul 6 00:02:41 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fletcher X-Bonus: Mistakes live in the neighbourhood of truth and therefore delude us. -Rabindranath Tagore fletch.er n [ME fleccher, fr. OF flechier, fr. fleche arrow -- more at fleche : 14th c. : a maker of arrows This week's theme: professions of yesterday that now exist mostly as surnames. -------- Date: Mon Jul 7 00:03:23 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--demonology X-Bonus: It is the first of all problems for a man to find out what kind of work he is to do in this universe. -Thomas Carlyle de.mon.ol.o.gy n : 1597 1 : the study of demons or evil spirits 2 : belief in demons : a doctrine of evil spirits 3 : a catalog of enemies Neal Gabler, The New Gilded Age; Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb 1996. "Of course, the robber barons weren't idle during these attacks. To counter the idea that they were plundering America, they promoted a demonology of their own--portraying the complaining farmers and laborersas dangerous radicals out to subvert the meritocracy of which the barons were allegedly the outstanding examples." Tired of same old job pushing papers 9 to 5? Considering a change in field? This week's AWAD features some unusual areas to work in. On a more serious note, here is your chance for 15 minutes of fame: If you do make a living working in any of these fields, drop me a line. I'll publish your names here next week. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 8 00:03:17 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cryptozoology X-Bonus: No wonder nobody comes here--it's too crowded. -Yogi Berra cryp.to.zo.ol.o.gy n. 1969 : the study of the lore concerning legendary animals (as Sasquatch) especially in order to evaluate the possibility of their existence Maria Goodavage, Most scientists merely amused., USA TODAY, 05-24-1996, pp 08A. "But J. Richard Greenwell, a zoologist at the International Society of Cryptozoology, which studies evidence of unverified animals, cites the example of the mountain gorilla, thought to be a myth until the early 1900s. `It's the largest known primate in the world, and it took a long, long time to prove it really exists,' he says." This week's theme: AWAD's recommendations for some unusual areas to work in. -------- Date: Wed Jul 9 00:03:27 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ufology X-Bonus: Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. ufol.o.gy n. : UFO + -logy : 1959 : the study of unidentified flying objects Siano, Brian, Hangin' with Zontar at the grassy knoll, Humanist, 1 Nov 1992 "But in UFOlogy, the sky's the limit. Some UFOlogists claim to have determined the different species of aliens, which star systems they've come from, what their technology is like, and where their underground bases are." This week's theme: AWAD's recommendations for some unusual areas to work in. -------- Date: Thu Jul 10 00:03:09 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--phyllotaxis X-Bonus: Time is the best teacher; unfortunately, it kills all its students. phyl.lo.tax.is also phyl.lo.taxy n. NL phyllotaxis, from phyll- + -taxis : 1857 1 : the arrangement of leaves on a stem and in relation to one another 2 : the study of phyllotaxis and of the laws that govern it Kemp, Martin, Doing what comes naturally: morphogenesis and the limits of the genetic code., Art Journal, 1 Mar 1996. "There are, however, artists whose work has consciously created analogues for the structures of growth in nature and for whom the spirals of phyllotaxis have become a major expression of the forces of nature." This week's theme: AWAD's recommendations for some unusual areas to work in. -------- Date: Fri Jul 11 00:03:09 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--myrmecology X-Bonus: Why kill time when one can employ it. -French proverb myr.me.col.o.gy n. ISV : cir. 1902 : the scientific study of ants Roger Lewin, Down on the Ant Farm; Los Angeles Times, 05-05-1996, pp 3. "Already primed by his Chaco epiphany, Hoyt was now hooked by the world of myrmecology, the study of ants. Early in 1987 he joined Wilson and fellow ant enthusiast William Brown of Cornell University for several weeks as they poked and prodded tree stumps and underbrush in La Selva, often finding familiar species, always looking for new ones. Always immersed in the ants' world." This week's theme: AWAD's recommendations for some unusual areas to work in. -------- Date: Sat Jul 12 00:02:44 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pharology X-Bonus: Fear is the tax that conscience pays to guilt. -George Sewell pha.rol.o.gy n. [Gr. a lighthouse + -logy.] The art or science which treats of lighthouses and signal lights. This week's theme: AWAD's recommendations for some unusual areas to work in. -------- Date: Sun Jul 13 00:03:02 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--aristology X-Bonus: Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater. -Gail Godwin ar.is.tol.o.gy n. [Gr. dinner + -logy.] The science of dining. This week's theme: AWAD's recommendations for some unusual areas to work in. -------- Date: Mon Jul 14 00:02:51 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--indubitability X-Bonus: It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do. -Jerome K. Jerome in.du.bi.ta.bil.i.ty n: the quality of being beyond question or dispute or doubt [syn: indisputability; unquestionability; unquestionableness] E. M. Adams, Phenomenalism, Vol. 18, Colliers Encyclopedia CD-ROM, 02-28-96. "A similar conclusion has been reached by a different route. Rene Descartes (1596-1650), for instance, assuming that knowledge must involve logical indubitability, thought that one cannot have knowledge of the external." Try saying aloud the word "sixish" quickly six times. How did you fare? That is the theme of this week: tongue twisters. Look for six more words to exercise your tongue this week. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 15 00:03:16 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vicissitudinous X-Bonus: Is this true or only clever? -Augustine Birrell vi.cis.si.tu.di.nous a. Full of, or subject to, changes. Huffman, Larry, Signal provides communications support for Bright Star exercise.., Vol. 21, Army Communicator, 06-01-1996, pp 2. "This may sound like a simple model, but it's difficult to execute, again based upon the vicissitudinous nature of JTF organizations and their complex requirements." This week's theme: tongue-twisters. -------- Date: Wed Jul 16 00:03:07 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--latitudinarian X-Bonus: Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. -Ralph Waldo Emerson (Circles) lat.i.tu.di.nar.i.an n (1662): a person who is broad and liberal, especially in matters of religious belief and conduct. "It amounts to a golf course, a tennis court and a restaurant, Ohia Lodge, with a dress code quite a lot more latitudinarian than, say, the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center." Tim Appelo, Traveling in Style, Los Angeles Times, 03-17-1996, pp 2-10. This week's theme: tongue-twisters. For even better results, try: "latitudinarianism." -Anu -------- Date: Thu Jul 17 00:03:00 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--indefatigability X-Bonus: The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. -Alvin Toffler in.de.fat.i.ga.bil.i.ty n. The state of being indefatigable. in.de.fat.i.ga.ble a. [L. indefatigabilis: cf. OF. indefatigable. See In- not, and Defatigable, and cf. Infatigable.] Incapable of being fatigued; not readily exhausted; unremitting in labor or effort; untiring; unwearying; not yielding to fatigue; as, indefatigable exertions, perseverance, application. "And though Rodman's indefatigability helps him collect rebounds at the same rate that Imelda Marcos collected footwear, he is not the only player in the NBA who works hard." Jack Mccallum and Richard O'Brien, Scorecard., Sports Illustrated, 03-18-1996, pp 15+. This week's theme: tongue-twisters. -------- Date: Fri Jul 18 00:03:04 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--incogitativity X-Bonus: These are the tries that time men's soles. -Heard at a track and field tryout in.cog.i.ta.tiv.i.ty n. The quality of being incogitative; want of thought or of the power of thinking. This week's theme: tongue-twisters. -------- Date: Sat Jul 19 00:02:59 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--incommensurability X-Bonus: Why is it that you drive on the parkway, and park on the driveway? in.com.men.su.ra.bil.i.ty n. [Cf. F. incommensurabilit['e].] : not commensurable; broadly : lacking a basis of comparison in respect to a quality normally subject to comparison "Also, images of total geometric order among all the areas of inquiry begin to have as companions countering images of incommensurability, of things that cannot be measurably compared, of things that are distinctive, singular, dynamic, and interactive, continually changing." Tice, T.N., Visions of teaching, Vol. 57, Education Digest, 03-01-1992, pp 45. This week's theme: tongue-twisters. -------- Date: Sun Jul 20 00:03:07 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--inconsequentiality X-Bonus: A man's first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart, his next to escape the censures of the world. -Joseph Addison, essayist and poet (1672-1719) in.con.se.quen.ti.al.i.ty n. The state of being irrelevant "Traditionally too, the autobiographical nature of women's writing resulted in its marginalization by a literary critical establishment dominated by males, for its perceived inconsequentiality in terms of public/`world' affairs and its inability to contribute to great debates on culture and morality." de Mel, Nelufer, Images: Women as Gendered Subject and Other Discourses in Contemporary Sri Lankan Fiction in English [Part 1 of 2]., Contemporary Women's Issues Collection, 01-01-1994, pp 114-125. This week's theme: tongue-twisters. -------- Date: Mon Jul 21 03:32:03 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--crapulous X-Bonus: Nurture your minds with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes. -Benjamin Disraeli crap.u.lous a. also crap.u.lent [L. crapulentus, crapulosus: cf. F. crapuleux.] Surcharged with liquor; sick from excessive indulgence in liquor; drunk; given to excesses. Aristophanes, Frogs, The: Part I, Great Works of Literature, 1 Jan 1992. "When the revel-tipsy throng, all crapulous and gay, To our precinct reeled along on the holy Pitcher day." In response to the unusual words featured here, many times I get mail saying, "Didn't you make this one up?" (I got a deluge of these messages the day "urinator" meaning "diver" made its appearance). As AWAD long-timers already know, every one of the words in AWAD is a genuine dictionary word, though it may not be listed in some college dictionaries. Let's look at seven more real words this week. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 22 00:03:05 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--callipygian X-Bonus: I have lived in this world just long enough to look carefully the second time into things that I am most certain of the first time. -Josh Billings cal.li.pyg.ian a. also cal.li.py.gous [Gk. kallipygos, fr. kalli- + pyge buttocks] having shapely buttocks Stacey D'erasmo, Holiday Books / Fashion / The Secret History of Clothes, Newsday, 10 Dec 1995. "While Martin sighs over Versace's `callipygian physicality' and naked youths cavort, pouting, in callipygian gangs, painted gold or wearing nothing but fetchingleaf-hats..." This week's theme: "these are all real words." -------- Date: Wed Jul 23 00:03:08 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fard X-Bonus: In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true. -John Lilly fard n. [F., prob. fr. OHG. gifarit, gifarwit p. p. of farwjan to color, tinge, fr. farawa color, G. farbe.] Paint used on the face. fard v. t. [F. farder to paint one's face.] To paint; -- said esp. of one's face. Edmond W Jones, Email, 21 Jul 1997. "I saw her farding in her car on the way to work." This week's theme: "these are all real words." -------- Date: Thu Jul 24 00:03:23 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hootenanny X-Bonus: It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he is. -Desiderius Erasmus hoo.te.nan.ny n. 1: Gadget 2: A gathering at which folksingers entertain often with the audience joining in John M. Broder, Clintons at Home on the Range, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug 1995. "Dinner was followed by an intimate hootenanny featuring songs by James Taylor, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Carly Simon." This week's theme: "these are all real words." -------- Date: Fri Jul 25 00:03:22 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ripsnorter X-Bonus: No man is a hero to his valet. -Anne Bigot Cornuel rip.snort.er n. something extraordinary : humdinger Tom Gliatto; Leah Rozen; Jeff Schnaufer, Picks & Pans: Screen., People, 12-16-1996, pp 23+. "Dern's reply, though unprintable, is a ribald ripsnorter." This week's theme: "these are all real words." -------- Date: Sat Jul 26 00:03:14 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nuncupative X-Bonus: The heart has its reasons that the mind knows nothing of. -Blaise Pascal nun.cu.pa.tive a. [L. nuncupativus nominal: cf. F. nuncupatif.] Oral; not written. Nuncupative will or testament, a will or testament made by word of mouth only, before witnesses, as by a soldier or seaman, and depending on oral testimony for proof. Franklin, Benjamin, Autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin: Part IV: My Employment At Palmer's And Watt's., Great Works of Literature, 01-01-1992. "He left me a small legacy in a nuncupative will, as a token of his kindness for me, and he left me once more to the wide world; for the store was taken into the care of his executors, and my employment under him ended." This week's theme: "these are all real words." -------- Date: Sun Jul 27 00:03:18 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--formication X-Bonus: There is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to other animals as well as humans, it is all a sham. -Anna Sewell [Black Beauty] for.mi.ca.tion n. [L. formicatio, fr. formicare to creep like an ant, to feel as if ants were crawling on one's self, fr. formica ant: cf. F. formication.] (Med.) A sensation resembling that made by the creeping of ants on the skin. Menopause-What's Happening to Me?, Vol.1, MidLife Woman, 01-01-1992, pp 2. "Many women also experience "formication" -- a tingling, itchy, crawling sensation on the arms or legs -- or fidgety feet and tender joints." This week's theme: "these are all real words." -------- Date: Mon Jul 28 00:03:11 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--contumacious X-Bonus: You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. -Mark Twain con.tu.ma.cious a. [L. contumax, -acis. See Contumacy.] 1. Exhibiting contumacy; condemning authority; obstinate; perverse; stubborn; disobedient. 2. (Law) Willfully disobedient to the summons or orders of a court. Syn: Stubborn; obstinate; obdurate; disobedient; perverse; unyielding; headstrong. Hallam, Henry; Macaulay, Lord, Abolition Of The Court Of Star-Chamber., History of the World, 01-01-1992. "Their demeanor was what the court deemed intolerably contumacious, arising, in fact, from the despair of men who knew that no humiliation would procure them mercy." --- con.tu.me.li.ous a. [L. contumeliosus.] 1. Exhibiting contumely; rudely contemptuous; insolent; disdainful. Shakespeare, William, King Henry VI, Part I: Act I, Scene IV. "With scoffs and scorns and contumelious taunts." This Friday thousands of twins -- from infants to people in their nineties -- gather in the town of Twinsburg Ohio to celebrate the annual Twins Festival ( http://www.twinsburg.com/twinsdays/ ). To mark this occasion, this week's AWAD features two words a day - words that appear and sound somewhat alike and thus are easy to confuse. -Anu P.S.: Just wondering if there are any twins both of whom are subscribed to this list... -------- Date: Tue Jul 29 00:03:49 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--perspicacious X-Bonus: We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another. -Luciano de Crescenzo per.spi.ca.cious a. [L. perspicax, -acis, fr. perspicere to look through: cf. F. perspicace. See Perspective.] 1. Having the power of seeing clearly; quick-sighted; sharp of sight. 2. Fig.: Of acute discernment; keen. Yeltsin Sends Greetings to Dostoyevsky Conference, ITAR-TASS, 12 Nov 1996. "According to Alexander Solzhenitsin who spoke at the opening of the conference, Dostoyevsky is `the most perspicacious of all Russian authors and philosophers. He was a prophet who could penetrate into the future with his piercing thoughts and became contemporary already to the 21st century.'" --- per.spic.u.ous a. [L. perspicuus, from perspicere to look through. Clear to the understanding; capable of being clearly understood; clear in thought or in expression; not obscure or ambiguous; as, a perspicuous writer; perspicuous statements. The philosophers that Sophie skipped.(modern philosophers; book 'Sophie's World'), The Economist, 7 Dec 1996. "The theory showed how various tricky propositions could be translated into something more perspicuous and less puzzling..." This week's theme: twin words. -------- Date: Wed Jul 30 00:02:51 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--provenance X-Bonus: I think, therefore I am paid. prov.e.nance n. [F., fr. provenir to originate, to come forth, L. provenire. Cf. Provenience.] Origin; source; provenience. Narayan, Kirin, Women's Songs, Women's Lives: A View From Kangra, Manushi, 1 Mar 1994. "Lavdu Devi could give me no clues on the provenance of this song for she simply did not remember when it had joined her vast repertoire. --- prev.e.nance n. [F. pr['e]venance.] (Metaph.) A going before; anticipation in sequence or order. "The law of prevenance is simply the well-known law of phenomenal sequence." -Ward. This week's theme: twin words. -------- Date: Thu Jul 31 00:03:14 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--acerbate X-Bonus: I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. -George Bernard Shaw a.cerb.ate v. t. [L. acerbatus, p. p. of acerbare, fr. acerbus.] To sour; to imbitter; to irritate. Private Chat Areas Not Monitored For Content, Says AOL, Newsbytes News Network, 27 Jan 1997. "To further acerbate that problem, AOL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Case said last week the company is not considering refunds to users who couldn't log on due to continual busy signals." --- a.cer.vate a. Heaped, or growing in heaps, or closely compacted clusters. This week's theme: twin words.