A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Sep 1 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--consonance X-Bonus: Every burned book or house enlightens the world; every suppressed or expunged word reverberates through the earth from side to side. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) Some of the people I admire in history had multifarious talents: Rabindranath Tagore (poet, novelist, dramatist, composer, musician, artist, educator, Nobelist), Leonardo da Vinci (painter, engineer, musician, scientist), Isaac Asimov (scientist, writer of about 500 books on all sorts of topics), among others. Humans were meant to do many things. So can be said of this week's words. Each word featured here has multiple, often unrelated, meanings. consonance (KON-suh-nuhns) noun 1. Agreement or accord. 2. A combination of sounds pleasing to the ear. 3. The repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the ends of words, such as "st" in the phrase "first and last". [Via French, from Latin con- (with) + sonare (to sound), from sonus (sound). Ultimately from the Indo-European root swen- (to sound), which also gave us sound, sonic, sonnet, sonata, and unison. Earliest documented use: 1430.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/consonance "Chin said the stance was in full consonance with the policy of the party." Jacob Achoi; SUPP Reconciliation 'Bright'; The Borneo Post (Malaysia); Mar 23, 2014. "The show felt like the sweetest kind of chamber music, with perfectly satisfying intervals, cadences, rhythms; but to achieve that consonance, every part of the ensemble had to be just so." Hugh Laurie; Saying Goodbye to 'House'; Entertainment Weekly (New York); May 18, 2012. "Despite the many decades that their lives overlapped and the consonance of their names, like the setup of a joke, Bruch and Bruckner have little in common." Zachary Woolfe; Come Together; The New York Times; Jan 11, 2013. -------- Date: Tue Sep 2 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--levee X-Bonus: I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone. -Edith Cavell, nurse and humanitarian (1865-1915) This week's theme: Words that have many unrelated meanings levee (LEV-ee) noun 1. An embankment made to prevent flooding. 2. An embankment around a field that is to be irrigated. 3. A landing place; a quay. [From French levée, past participle of lever (to raise). Earliest documented use: 1718.] A formal reception. [From French levé, variant of lever (rising from bed), from lever (to rise). Originally, a levee was a meeting held on a royal's rising from bed. Earliest documented use: 1700.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/levee The Countess's Morning Levee https://wordsmith.org/words/images/levee_large.jpg Art: William Hogarth (1697-1764) "The tears had broken over the levee of her black lashes now." Cynthia Robinson; The Barbary Dogs; Minotaur Books; 2011. "The president and I would like you to be our guest at the levee tonight." Phyllis Phillips; Memories: The Guardian of the Heart; AuthorHouse; 2013. -------- Date: Wed Sep 3 00:01:04 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--prow X-Bonus: If a rabbit defined intelligence the way man does, then the most intelligent animal would be a rabbit, followed by the animal most willing to obey the commands of a rabbit. -Robert Brault, writer (b. 1938) This week's theme: Words that have many unrelated meanings prow (prou) noun: 1. The front of a ship or a boat above the water; the bow. 2. The projecting front part of something, as a building. [From Middle French proue, from Old Italian dialect prua, from Latin prora. Ultimately from the Indo-European root per- (forward), which also gave us paramount, prime, proton, Czech prám (raft), German Frau (woman), and Hindi purana (old). Earliest documented use: 1555.] adjective: Valiant. [From Middle French prou, from Old English prud. Earliest documented use: 1350.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/prow Viking prow https://wordsmith.org/words/images/prow_large.jpg Photo: Luigi Guarino https://www.flickr.com/photos/luigi_and_linda/5404800618/ "With his hard nose protruding like a ship's prow ... he took to business as if it were war." Cornelius Vanderbilt: Bare-Knuckled Capitalism; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 16, 2009. "Forty years on, Sir Henry Bunbury remembered him as '... the prowest of Black Edward's knights.'" Piers Mackesy; British Victory in Egypt, 1801: The End of Napoleon's Conquest; Routledge; 1995. -------- Date: Thu Sep 4 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rote X-Bonus: In a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy. -Ivan Illich, philosopher and priest (1926-2002) This week's theme: Words that have many unrelated meanings rote (roht) noun A mechanical or unthinking way of doing something. [Of obscure origin. Earliest documented use: 1325.] The sound of surf. [Perhaps of Scandinavian origin. Earliest documented use: 1610.] A medieval stringed instrument or Celtic origin. Also known as crowd or crwth. [From Middle French rote. Earliest documented use: 1330.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/rote Listen to the sound of a rote playing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6brp0PTlb4 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/rote.jpg "From learning by rote they graduated to living by rote." Ashwini Bhatnagar; Dina Nath (MBA); 2014. "The dull mist immediately broke, blossomed with marvelous colors, all kinds of sounds burst forth -- the rote of the sea, the clapping of the wind, human cries." The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov; Knopf; 1995. "One played the harp; another a viol; another, the flute; another, a fife; one played a rebeck; another, a rote." E.D. Blodgett, translator; Romance of Flamenca; Routledge; 1995. -------- Date: Fri Sep 5 00:01:04 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--loblolly X-Bonus: Plenty of kind, decent, caring people have no religious beliefs, and they act out of the goodness of their hearts. Conversely, plenty of people who profess to be religious, even those who worship regularly, show no particular interest in the world beyond themselves. -John Danforth, priest, ambassador, senator (b. 1936) This week's theme: Words that have many unrelated meanings loblolly (LOB-lol-ee) noun 1. A thick gruel. 2. Mire; mudhole. 3. An assistant to a ship's surgeon. 4. A pine tree with long needles and strong wood (Pinus taeda). 5. An evergreen, loblolly-bay (Gordonia lasianthus). [Apparently from lob (an onomatopoeic word representing the sound of bubbling while boiling) + lolly (an English dialectal word for broth, soup, etc.). The use of the word for mire or a mudhole is from the porridge-like consistency of the contents of mire or mudhole. The word came to be used for a medical assistant because he fed the patients. The trees received this name from their prevalence in swamp lands. Earliest documented use: 1597.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/loblolly Loblolly pine cone https://wordsmith.org/words/images/loblolly_large.jpg Photo: Chesapeake Bay Program https://www.flickr.com/photos/29388462@N06/5451429848/ "Lawson especially enjoyed a meal of loblolly 'made with Indian Corn, and dried Peaches'." James E. McWilliams; A Revolution in Eating; Columbia; 2005. "When the spring thaw finally came, everything outside that was not concrete or asphalt turned into a total loblolly mess." Gary Tucker; The Day Jim Got Shot and Other Semi-Truthful Stories; AuthorHouse; 2010. "They brand each other with their wedding rings and too soon get caught in a loblolly of the unforeseen, he says." Susan Froderberg; Old Border Road; Little, Brown and Company; 2010. "The loblolly looked frightened. 'I -- I don't know!' he whispered. 'But you've been surgeon's mate all this while,' Renzi coaxed." Julian Stockwin; Artemis; Scribner; 2002. "Violent winter weather has left scores of trees bent, bowed, and broken across the continent, but the most famous succumbed at Augusta National, home to the Masters golf tournament. Club officials said there was no saving the famed 'Eisenhower tree' that loomed menacingly over the left side of the 17th fairway. Ironically enough, the 100-year-old loblolly pine was named for the US president (and frustrated club member) who unsuccessfully petitioned to have it chopped down nearly 60 years ago." Good News; Maclean's (Toronto; Canada); Mar 3, 2014. -------- Date: Mon Sep 8 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--disaffect X-Bonus: If more politicians in this country were thinking about the next generation instead of the next election, it might be better for the United States and the world. -Claude Pepper, senator and representative (1900-1989) "They've a temper, some of them -- particularly verbs, they're the proudest -- adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs -- however, I can manage the whole lot of them!" boasts Humpty-Dumpty in Lewis Carroll's 1872 classic, "Through the Looking Glass". If verbs are in fact as conceited as Humpty-Dumpty claims them to be, perhaps they can be forgiven for their hoity-toity ways -- after all, they are the ones that bring a sentence to life. How many of this week's five verbs can you manage? disaffect (dis-uh-FEKT) verb tr. To alienate the support or loyalty of someone. [From Latin dis- (away) + affectare (to aim at, to strive after), from ad- (to) + facere (to do). Earliest documented use: 1621.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/disaffect "Richard Riordan also risks de-energizing or disaffecting the base." Sherry Jeffe; The Great GOP Hope: Independents?; Los Angeles Times; Feb 24, 2002. -------- Date: Tue Sep 9 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vouchsafe X-Bonus: There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth. -Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (1828-1910) Verbs vouchsafe (vouch-SAYF) verb tr.: To grant or give something as if as a favor. verb intr.: To condescend. [Via French, from Latin vocare (to call) + salvus (whole, intact). Earliest documented use: 1303.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/vouchsafe "Is Homo sapiens the only species vouchsafed to be in the afterlife club?" Jeremie Harris; Soul Searching: When Did We Become So Special?; Skeptic (Altadena, California); Issue 2, 2014. -------- Date: Wed Sep 10 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--disabuse X-Bonus: The most important scientific revolutions all include, as their only common feature, the dethronement of human arrogance from one pedestal after another of previous convictions about our centrality in the cosmos. -Stephen Jay Gould, paleontologist, biologist, author (1941-2002) Verbs disabuse (dis-uh-BYOOZ) verb tr. To free from a mistaken belief or error. [Via French, from Latin dis- (away) + abusus (misuse, wasting). Earliest documented use: 1611.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/disabuse "Pang's first job is to disabuse you of the common misconception that doing two things at once allows you to get more done." Lisa Zeidner; This is Not the Inbox You're Looking for; The Washington Post; Aug 18, 2013. -------- Date: Thu Sep 11 00:01:05 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--promulgate X-Bonus: You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty. -Jessica Mitford, author, journalist, and civil rights activist (1917-1996) Verbs promulgate (PROM-uhl-gayt, pro-MUHL-) verb tr. 1. To make a law, rule, etc. known by public declaration. 2. To make publicly known an idea, belief, etc. [From Latin promulgare (to make known), from pro- (forward) + mulgere (to milk, to cause to come out). Earliest documented use: 1526.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/promulgate "In recent years the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] has also promulgated rules limiting the release of mercury and other toxins from power plants." Appalachian Fall; The Economist (London, UK); Sep 28, 2013. -------- Date: Fri Sep 12 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dissuade X-Bonus: The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself -- the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us -- that's where it's at. -Jesse Owens, four-time Olympic gold medalist (1913-1980) This week's theme: Verbs dissuade (di-SWAYD) verb tr. To convince someone not to do something. [From Latin dissuadere (to advise against), from dis- (away) + suadere (to advise), from suavis (sweet). Ultimately from the Indo-European root swad- (sweet, pleasant), which also gave us sweet, suave, hedonism, persuade, Hindi swad (taste), and suasion https://wordsmith.org/words/suasion.html . Earliest documented use: 1535.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dissuade "I attempted to dissuade Sonia Gandhi but she did not relent." K. Natwar Singh; One Life Is Not Enough; Rupa Publications; 2014. -------- Date: Mon Sep 15 00:01:04 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mayhap X-Bonus: There is no disguise that can for long conceal love where it exists or simulate it where it does not. -Francois, duc de La Rochefoucauld, aphorist (1613-1680) The author Mark Twain once wrote, "I am dead to adverbs; they cannot excite me. To misplace an adverb is a thing which I am able to do with frozen indifference; it can never give me a pang." Twain is not alone in dissing the adverb. From Strunk & White to Stephen King and many other writers in between, they all treat this part of speech as the pariah of the language. They sure know what they are talking about. Overuse of adverbs is a sure way to kill the writing. That said, there are times when a judicious use of the adverb works. There are adverbs beyond hopefully, carefully, and quickly. This week we'll share five such adverbs with you. mayhap (may-HAP, MAY-hap) adverb Perhaps. [From the phrase 'it may hap', from Middle English hap, from Old Norse happ (luck, chance). Earliest documented use: 1533.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/mayhap "The Marine motto was the 'first to fight' -- and mayhap to die." Bing West; Bold in battle, Wily in Washington; The Washington Post; Nov 25, 2012. -------- Date: Tue Sep 16 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--a fortiori X-Bonus: The man who is always waving the flag usually waives what it stands for. -Laurence J. Peter, educator and author (1919-1990) This week's theme: Uncommon adverbs a fortiori (ah fort-tee-OR-ee, ay-for-shee-OR-eye) adverb For an even stronger reason; even more so. [From Latin, literally, from the stronger. Earliest documented use: 1569.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/a%20fortiori "Basil found that he never actually knew the people whose picture appeared in papers or magazines, and the same would apply a fortiori, perhaps, to pictures of dogs." Alexander McCall Smith; A Conspiracy of Friends; Polygon; 2011. -------- Date: Wed Sep 17 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--verily X-Bonus: It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there. -William Carlos Williams, poet and physician (1883-1963) This week's theme: Uncommon adverbs verily (VER-uh-lee) adverb In truth, indeed, truly, certainly. [From Middle English verraily, from verrai/verray (very), from Old French verai (true), from vulgar Latin veracus, from Latin verax (truthful). Earliest documented use: 1303.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/verily "An orchard of pistachio trees verily swarmed with a variety of birds." Shula Kopf; Mad About the Bird; The Jerusalem Report (Israel); Jun 16, 2014. -------- Date: Thu Sep 18 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--perchance X-Bonus: Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784) This week's theme: Uncommon adverbs perchance (puhr-CHANS) adverb Perhaps; maybe. [From Old French par cheance (by chance), from Latin per (by, through) + cadentia (fall), from cadere (to fall). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kad- (to fall), which is also the source of cadence, cascade, casualty, cadaver, chance, chute, accident, occident, decay, recidivism https://wordsmith.org/words/recidivism.html , and casuistry https://wordsmith.org/words/casuistry.html . Earliest documented use: 1350.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/perchance "New eyes can see things in Worcester that, perchance and mayhap https://wordsmith.org/words/mayhap.html , a few of us who live right here don't -- such as a potentially luminous future." Nancy Sheehan; Artist Likes What He Sees in Worcester; Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts); Mar 19, 2009. -------- Date: Fri Sep 19 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lief X-Bonus: Art is partly communication, but only partly. The rest is discovery. -William Golding, novelist, playwright, poet, Nobelist (1911-1993) This week's theme: Uncommon adverbs lief (leef) adverb: Willingly; gladly; readily. adjective: 1. Dear, beloved. 2. Willing. [From Old English leof (dear). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leubh- (to love or to care), which also gave us love, belief, and leave (permission). Earliest documented use: 897.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/lief "'Do you fancy squirrel, Reverend?' my Victorian-era grandmother Susie is reported to have asked the family's luncheon guest ... 'Madam,' the Methodist minister replied, 'I'd as lief eat a rat.'" Prudence Mackintosh; I Pore Over My Old Cookbooks; Texas Monthly; Dec 2013. -------- Date: Mon Sep 22 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fissiparous X-Bonus: Loyalty to a petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) There's an effort to make cellphones modular http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara . Instead of discarding the old phone just to get a better camera, you could swap only the camera with a new model. Or pluck a broken speaker and replace it with a new one. While the goal is admirable, I'm skeptical. A tight integration of components is the price one has to pay for a phone that fits in the shirt pocket and yet does everything except walk the dog. There's no such limitation with words. There's no limit to how long a word can be. For this reason, it's easy to form new words by combining building blocks, that are called, appropriately, combining forms. Mix and match. Fit and experiment. And use them as much as you like -- words don't run out of batteries. This week we'll look at five words made from the following combining forms: fissi-, tele-, xero-, dactylo-, pluto-, -parous, -logy, -philous, -scopy, and -mania. What words can you make with them? fissiparous (fi-SIP-uh-ruhs) adjective 1. Tending to break into parts. 2. Reproducing by biological fission. [From Latin fissi- (cleft) + -parous (bearing, producing). Earliest documented use: 1835.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/fissiparous "Some reckon it is even too late to achieve the more modest goals of bringing the fissiparous rebel groups under a single command structure." Barack Obama's Tentative Step; The Economist (London, UK); Jun 22, 2013. -------- Date: Tue Sep 23 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--teleology X-Bonus: Our conscience is not the vessel of eternal verities. It grows with our social life, and a new social condition means a radical change in conscience. -Walter Lippmann, journalist (1889-1974) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms teleology (tel-ee-OL-uh-jee) noun 1. The belief in or the study of design or purpose in nature. 2. Such design or purpose. [From Greek tele- (end) + -logy (study). Earliest documented use: 1742.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/teleology "We have all encountered parents who view their child's education as a kind of reverse teleology, beginning with the 'right' kind of top job, working backwards through elite university, through school, even into the nursery playground." Ed Smith; Left Field; New Statesman (London, UK); Aug 23-29, 2013. "Believers search for a crumb of comfort or teleology in Darwin, but what looks promising always turns out to be poisoned. At the end of 'The Origin', for instance, Darwin feints toward reassurance, suggesting that life will 'tend to progress' over time. But his insistent, immediately adjacent point is that the future in which that progress may happen will be like the past -- a vast stretch of geologic time, unstructured by plan or purpose." Adam Gopnik; Rewriting Nature; The New Yorker; Oct 23, 2006. -------- Date: Wed Sep 24 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--xerophilous X-Bonus: Men are often capable of greater things than they perform. They are sent into the world with bills of credit, and seldom draw to their full extent. -Horace Walpole, novelist and essayist (1717-1797) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms xerophilous (zee-ROF-uh-luhs) adjective Adapted to a very dry or desert environment. [From Greek xero- (dry) + -philous (liking). Earliest documented use: 1863.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/xerophilous "'We need to focus on the landscaping without using water,' said Plambeck ... She wants to turn the Castaic School site into a xerophilous garden." Bhavna Mistry; Garden May Go on Site; Daily News (Los Angeles, California); Dec 25, 1999. -------- Date: Thu Sep 25 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dactyloscopy X-Bonus: No battle is ever won, he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools. -William Faulkner, novelist (1897-1962) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms dactyloscopy (dak-tuh-LOS-kuh-pee) noun The analysis of fingerprints for identification of individuals. [From Greek dactylo- (finger or toe) + -scopy (observation). Earliest documented use: 1908.] "Doctor Oloriz, from Madrid, tried to introduce dactyloscopy into the police force, with prints from those arrested carefully classified." Marc Pastor; Barcelona Shadows; Pushkin Press; 2014. -------- Date: Fri Sep 26 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--plutomania X-Bonus: In a world of fugitives, the person taking the opposite direction will appear to run away. -T.S. Eliot, poet (1888-1965) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms plutomania (ploo-tuh-MAY-nee-uh) noun An obsession with money or wealth. [From Greek pluto- (wealth) + -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze). Earliest documented use: 1652.] "Plutomania became rare and almost extinct in the days of the Commonwealth. People lost the habit of valuing possessions over personal relationships." W. Warren Wagar; A Short History of the Future; University of Chicago Press; 1989. -------- Date: Mon Sep 29 00:01:03 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--luftmensch X-Bonus: There are two possible outcomes: If the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery. -Enrico Fermi, physicist and Nobel laureate (1901-1954) What does a bagel have in common with lox or a maven https://wordsmith.org/words/maven.html with a golem https://wordsmith.org/words/golem.html? They all are words that have come to us from Yiddish. While Yiddish has words to describe almost everything its speakers need it for, there's no match to its stockpile of colorful words to describe people. From schlemiel https://wordsmith.org/words/schlemiel.html to schlimazel https://wordsmith.org/words/schlimazel.html to schmo http://wordsmith.org/words/schmo.html to schnook https://wordsmith.org/words/schnook.html . This week we'll look at five other words from Yiddish that are now part of the English language. luftmensch (LOOFT-mensh) noun An impractical dreamer. [From Yiddish, from luft (air) + mensch (man, person), from German. Earliest documented use: 1907.] NOTES: A luftmensch is, literally, an airman, someone with his head in the clouds. A luftmensch is unconcerned with such practical matters as earning a living. Read about a luftmensch ("Dentist and Restaurateur") in this short story by Israel Zangwill. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ZegcMACNpUAJ:www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/19207/ "Shavit thinks himself a hardened realist, but maybe he's another kind of luftmensch." Geoffrey Wheatcroft; A Romantic Dream; The Spectator (London, UK); Feb 22, 2014. -------- Date: Tue Sep 30 00:01:02 EDT 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pisher X-Bonus: Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. -Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1928) This week's theme: Words borrowed from Yiddish pisher (PISH-uhr) noun 1. A bedwetter. 2. A young, inexperienced person. 3. An insignificant person: a nobody. [From Yiddish pisher (pisser), from German pissen (to urinate). Earliest documented use: 1941.] "Natey said, 'I wanted to impress you, to show you that the pisher from Cabin Three at Camp Ojibwa was now a serious player.'" Joseph Epstein; Onto a Good Thing; Commentary (New York); May 2013.