A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Sun Oct 1 00:24:11 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lazaretto X-Bonus: This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it. -Emerson laz.a.ret.to or laz.a.ret also laz.a.rette n, pl -rettos or -rets also -rettes [It lazzaretto, alter. of Nazaretto, quarantine station in Venice, fr. Santa Maria di Nazareth, church on the island where it was located] (1549) 1 usu lazaretto: an institution (as a hospital) for those with contagious diseases 2: a building or a ship used for detention in quarantine 3 usu lazaret: a space in a ship between decks used as a storeroom -------- Date: Mon Oct 2 00:22:26 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--interpellate X-Bonus: Curiosity is the lust of the mind. -Thomas Hobbes in.ter.pel.late vt -lat.ed ; -lat.ing [L interpellatus, pp. of interpellare to interrupt, fr. inter- + -pellare (fr. pellere to drive)--more at felt] (1874): to question (as a foreign minister) formally concerning an official action or policy or personal conduct -- in.ter.pel.la.tion n -- in.ter.pel.la.tor n -------- Date: Tue Oct 3 00:23:41 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lamster X-Bonus: Life is a series of collisions with the future; it is not the sum of what we have been, but what we yearn to be. -Jose Ortega y Gasset lam.ster also lam.is.ter n [lam + -ster] (1904): a fugitive esp. from the law -------- Date: Wed Oct 4 00:22:15 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gravitas X-Bonus: You wish to see; listen. Hearing is a step toward Vision. -St. Bernard grav.i.tas n [L] (1924): high seriousness (as in a person's bearing or in the treatment of a subject) -------- Date: Thu Oct 5 00:24:18 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--commove X-Bonus: Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence. -Robert Frost com.move vt com.moved ; com.mov.ing [ME commoeven, fr. MF commuev-, pres. stem of commovoir, fr. L commovere, fr. com- + movere to move] (14c) 1: to move violently: agitate 2: to rouse intense feeling in: excite to passion -------- Date: Fri Oct 6 00:23:30 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--odorous X-Bonus: Kings have long arms, but misfortune longer; let none think themselves out of reach. -Ben Fanklin odor.ous adj (15c): having an odor: as a: fragrant b: malodorous -- odor.ous.ly adv -- odor.ous.ness n syn odorous, fragrant, redolent, aromatic mean emitting and diffusing scent. odorous applies to whatever has a strong distinctive smell whether pleasant or unpleasant . fragrant applies to things (as flowers or spices) with sweet or agreeable odors . redolent applies usu. to a place or thing impregnated with odors . aromatic applies to things emitting pungent often fresh odors . -------- Date: Sat Oct 7 00:22:21 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--incipit X-Bonus: Friend - One who knows all about you and likes you just the same. in.ci.pit n [L, it begins, fr. incipere] (1897): the first part: beginning; specif: the opening words of a text of a medieval manuscript or early printed book -------- Date: Sun Oct 8 00:23:17 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--limn X-Bonus: All things are possible, except skiing through a revolving door. limn vt limned ; limn.ing [ME luminen, limnen to illuminate (a manuscript), fr. MF enluminer, fr. L illuminare to illuminate] (1592) 1: to draw or paint on a surface 2: to outline in clear sharp detail: delineate 3: describe -- limn.er n -------- Date: Sun Oct 8 12:14:27 EDT 1995 Subject: AWADmail: Mail from County Jail One of the joys of running the wordserver is receiving your messages-- with comments, suggestions, complaints, and queries. I read all of them, however, due to time constraints I'm not able to reply to them individually. Each weekend, I have decided to share a few of them on the list. Here are a couple: From: Margaret Lewis (netcom.com) > I just want to thanks you for loving and sharing words. > I am a literacy instructor in a county jail. All of my guys have less > than 4th grade reading levels when they test into the class. > I have started printing out and posting some of the words you send out. > One guy said, "Wow! Nobody never showed me nothing like this before." > Of course, most of them can't sound out the words, so often we put them > on the board, bread into syllables, look for parts we know, etc, etc. > There is a new interest in words and dictionary fun that is starting to > sparkle around there. And the one who as a new student told me that he > didn't need any new words because he has all he needed to fit in on the > streets is beginning to re-think my statement that words can > bestow power. Thanks Margaret, for taking the time to write, and for reminding us of the power of words. From: Patrick Driscoll (medicaldata.com) > Here's a word question that has as yet evaded answer. In Microsoft Word > 5.1's (mac version) thesaurus, under the word "common" is listed this > synonym: "coaybtete-leranus". Now, I would certainly try to call Microsoft > and have them define the word and, in some ways more importantly, give us the > word's origins, but with the release of Windows 95, I'm sure customer service > has their hands full. > > Is this a joke by Microsoft, or does this word really exist? Tell us, > please, oh Wordmeister. > If coay... means common, it is certainly an uncommon synonym for that word. My copies of American Heritage and Merriam-Webster do not list this word. However, if Microsoft sells sufficiently large number of copies of their wordprocessor, it has the potential of becoming a proper word someday. As the breeze picks up off the lake, Anu -------- Date: Mon Oct 9 00:34:27 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lachrymal X-Bonus: Millihelen: The amount of beauty required to launch one ship. lach.ry.mal or lac.ri.mal adj [MF or ML; MF lacrymal, fr. ML lacrimalis, fr. L lacrima tear, fr. OL dacrima, prob. fr. Gk dakry--more at tear] (15c) 1 usu lacrimal: of, relating to, or being glands that produce tears 2: of, relating to, or marked by tears -------- Date: Tue Oct 10 00:23:07 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--seance X-Bonus: From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life. -Arthur Ashe se.ance n [F, fr. seoir to sit, fr. L sedere--more at sit] (1803) 1: session, sitting 2: a spiritualist meeting to receive spirit communications -------- Date: Wed Oct 11 00:22:48 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--deadeye X-Bonus: A sweater is a garment worn by a child when his mother feels chilly. dead.eye n (1748) 1: a rounded wood block that is encircled by a rope or an iron band and pierced with holes to receive the lanyard and that is used esp. to set up shrouds and stays 2: an unerring marksman -------- Date: Thu Oct 12 00:24:29 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--revanche X-Bonus: There's not enough sax and violins on television. re.vanche n [F, fr. MF, alter. of revenche--more at revenge] (1882): revenge esp: a usu. political policy designed to recover lost territory or status -- re.vanch.ism n -------- Date: Fri Oct 13 00:23:20 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--triskaidekaphobia X-Bonus: The world isn't worse. It's just that the news coverage is so much better. tris.kai.deka.pho.bia n [NL, fr. Gk treiskaideka thirteen (fr. treis three + kai and + deka ten) + NL phobia--more at three, ten] (ca. 1911): fear of the number 13 -------- Date: Wed Oct 18 00:22:04 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--recondite X-Bonus: Patience is counting down without blasting off. re.con.dite adj [L reconditus, pp. of recondere to conceal, fr. re- + condere to store up, fr. com- + -dere to put--more at com-, do] (1649) 1: hidden from sight: concealed 2: difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend: deep 3: of, relating to, or dealing with something little known or obscure <~ fact about the origin of the holiday --Floyd Dell> -- re.con.dite.ly adv -- re.con.dite.ness n -- No postings went out during the last four days as our computer caught flu over the weekend. -Anu -------- Date: Thu Oct 19 00:23:01 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--propinquity X-Bonus: Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity. -Kahlil Gibran pro.pin.qui.ty n [ME propinquite, fr. L propinquitat-, propinquitas kinship, proximity, fr. propinquus near, akin, fr. prope near--more at approach] (14c) 1: nearness of blood: kinship 2: nearness in place or time: proximity -------- Date: Fri Oct 20 00:23:19 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--thank-you-ma'am X-Bonus: Don't mistake pleasure for happiness. They're a different breed of dog. -Josh Billings thank-you-ma'am n [prob. fr. its causing a nodding of the head] (1849): a bump or depression in a road; esp: a ridge or hollow made across a road on a hillside to cause water to run off -------- Date: Sat Oct 21 00:25:46 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wraith X-Bonus: We will cross out that bridge when we come back to it later. wraith n, pl wraiths [origin unknown] (1513) 1 a: the exact likeness of a living person seen usu. just before death as an apparition b: ghost, specter 2: an insubstantial form or semblance: shadow 3: a barely visible gaseous or vaporous column -- wraith.like adj -------- Date: Sun Oct 22 00:22:12 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--torpid X-Bonus: Nothing ruins the truth like stretching it. tor.pid adj [L torpidus, fr. torpere to be sluggish or numb; akin to Lith tirpti to become numb] (1613) 1 a: having lost motion or the power of exertion or feeling: dormant, numb b: sluggish in functioning or acting 2: lacking in energy or vigor: apathetic, dull -- tor.pid.i.ty n -------- Date: Sun Oct 22 12:05:54 EDT 1995 Subject: AWADmail X-Bonus X-posed Some of the most beautiful letters I receive bear the postmarks of South Korea. AWAD statistics mirror their evident fondness for the English language -- the addresses with "kr" domain make the third largest number of linguaphiles from a country on the list (trailing only US and Canada). In spite of his apparent new affair with English, Jung-Sun has gotten his message across. Charmingly. : > From: Jung-Sun > > Greetlings! > > It is lovely to say hello to you. > I found this WWW on the magazine.Then I entered this world. > Feeling is good. > > I can not English..well > I want your 'daily word mail' > Please send me some vocabulary. > I want to you thank me. Dear Jung-Sun, You're welcome. And you are part of the list now. > From: Paul Hruska > > Good morning, > > I would like to pose a request that you may have had before. Would it > be possible to change your sending procedure so that the informational > portions of your mailing that occur in the message header (reply and > quote info) are appended to the message instead? I have recently > changed mail packages, and very much miss the 'quote of the day', and > additionally am guessing at the address to post this query. > > I suppose you have had this request before, but perhaps a vote from > another fan of your postings will have some sway. > > Thanks for letting me bend your ear. Dear Paul, As you can see from the new format of AWAD postings, your message did have a lot of sway. I understand that many linguaphiles were missing the quotes included in the headers. In fact, many were not even aware that daily quotes (known as X-Bonus in AWAD world) are part of daily postings since many mailers gobble up most of the headers. So, I have moved the X-Bonus to the message body. Also the instructions to join the list or sign-off are in the message body now. > From: Mark Lakata > Speaking of words and computers, what is the official spelling of email? > > E-mail e-mail email > > The N.Y. Times claims that the spelling is E-mail, in light of words like > T-shirt, A-frame, H-bomb. However, those last three require the use of a > capital letter because the item either looks like the letter (T -shirt and > A-frame) or the first letter is the standard symbol for something (H = > Hydrogen). However, E-mail does not look like the letter E nor is E a > standard abbreviation for electronic. I don't see any good reason for > the hyphen either-- it doesn't bring any more meaning to the word besides > etymology. I think "email" is the best. > > Also, as there is no singular form for the noun "mail", is it ok to use > the singular form of "email", e.g. "I received an email this morning"? > It may sound awkward, but the meaning is clear and less wordy than "email > message". I think this usage was first brought about by foreigners ... > at least I remember getting messages like this from my German > collaborators several years ago (Of course some of them still say, "I > received a bitnet this morning"). Dear Mark, Thanks for your email. Feedback-------------------------------------------------------- Previous issue of AWADmail carried a missive from a linguaphile wondering about "coaybtete-leranus" he found in Microsoft Word thesaurus. Your letters had many suggestions about the origins of the word. Here are some selections from all the speculations, guesses, musings, and expert opinions... Verify-it-first department: Lee Dickey Instead of "coaybtete-leranus" I found "coaybtete-leranous" Helfrich Raymond YES, my Mac Word 5.1 shows this synonym for common!!! Disgruntled ex-employee on the way out? Or, soon-to-be-ex-disgruntled-employee? Jeffrey Windsor The OED doesn't list it either. I checked the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., and found nothing near to "coayete-leranus." As a matter of fact, there is nothing between "coax" and "cob." And if it's not in the OED, it isn't. To-err-is-human-to-really-foul-it-up-takes-a-computer department: David J. Swift I bet it's an algorithm belch. Bob Funchess I suspect this is an artifact caused by the way many computerized spelling dictionaries and thesauri store words. Ask-the-source department: Jason Reed I called Microsoft, as I live in Seattle and the call is local, contacted somebody in MS-Word (Mac) (206-635-7200), anyway... they told me that it was a unknown word placed there by mistake. It's-a-plagiarism-protection-device department: Andy Eddy, Editorial Manager, New Media Group Authors of reference material often put misspellings, fake words or phrases into their work. That way, if there's a question of another reference copying material, words like this would be red flags of where the material came from and very strong evidence in a legal argument. Thomas Hudson ... putting in tiny inconsistencies that shouldn't interfere with normal use (who's going to use "coaybtete-leranus"?) but would be an instant tipoff if somebody steals their thesaurus database. Bernard Booth When I ran my bookshop we often resorted to various versions of Books In Print - an extremely useful resource, we discovered, however, that BiP was littered with bogus entries (which were occasionally ordered by customers), the reason for this was to provide proof of plagiarism if someone ever released their own list. All D.J.Dwyer would have to do is to cite the deliberate errors in the text to prove that it was merely a copy of their own work. Lee Dickey Map makers are known to include things in their maps that are deliberately wrong, just to use in the event that they find a blatant copy, because then they can prove that it came from _their_ map, and not from other source. Other-interesting-tid-bits department: Jim Falconer I tried re-arranging the letters, in case this was an anagram. I came up with "Your Seattle Beacon", which seems just too damn coincidental not to have been done on purpose (not to mention that it was set up to be a synonym for "stodgy" or "dull"). Luke McGuff I've heard that if you type `supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' into an otherwise-empty Word document, you get `precocious.' Most of the responses suggested that the word was a deliberate inclusion, designed to thwart unauthorized copying. That seems like the most valid explanation. Thank you all for helping solve the mystery of the Word! Rolling in autumn colors, Anu -------- Date: Mon Oct 23 00:35:24 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--milquetoast X-Bonus: The older a man gets, the farther he had to walk to school as a boy. Milque.toast n [Caspar Milquetoast, comic strip character created by H. T. Webster d. 1952 Am. cartoonist] (1935): a timid, meek, or unassertive person -- Eponyms are the words with tales behind them. Mr. Silhouette, the French controller general of finances, immortalized himself with his petty economies when "silhouette" came to be known for any outline. For this week, you'll find seven words, each with a story to tell. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Oct 24 00:23:27 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gongorism X-Bonus: While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, another is busy making mistakes and becoming superior. -Henry C. Link Gon.go.rism n [Sp gongorismo, fr. Luis de Gongora y Argote d. 1627 Span. poet] (1813): a literary style characterized by studied obscurity and by the use of various ornate devices -- gon.go.ris.tic adj -------- Date: Wed Oct 25 00:24:12 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ignoramus X-Bonus: You have to decide at the end of the day if you can live with yourself. -Princess Anne ig.no.ra.mus n, pl -mus.es also -mi [Ignoramus, ignorant lawyer in Ignoramus (1615), play by George Ruggle, fr. L, lit., we are ignorant of] (ca. 1616): an utterly ignorant person: dunce -------- Date: Thu Oct 26 00:22:56 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tontine X-Bonus: Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. -Mark Twain ton.tine n [F, fr. Lorenzo Tonti d. 1695 Ital. banker] (1765): a joint financial arrangement whereby the participants usu. contribute equally to a prize that is awarded entirely to the participant who survives all the others -------- Date: Fri Oct 27 00:23:13 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--thrasonical X-Bonus: Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught. -Winston Churchill thra.son.i.cal adj [L Thrason-, Thraso Thraso, braggart soldier in the comedy Eunuchus by Terence] (1564): of, relating to, resembling, or characteristic of Thraso: bragging, boastful -- thra.son.i.cal.ly adv -- Here is an interesting tidbit from Mitchel J.Schapira, Esq. (alaska.net) about "ignoramus", which went out a couple of days ago. > When a charge is submitted to a grand jury, and the grand jury declines to > indict, they return an ignoramus. It has the effect of saying "we don't know > whether these charges are valid or not." If they do choose to indict the > document they return is called variously, an indictment or a true bill. > Thus, a synonym for an ignoramus is a "no true bill." Thanks Mitchel, for taking the time to send this delightful chunk of legal lingo. -Anu -------- Date: Sat Oct 28 00:22:44 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--moxie X-Bonus: Triumph is just "umph" added to try. mox.ie n [fr. Moxie, a trademark for a soft drink] (1930) 1: energy, pep 2: courage, determination 3: know-how, expertise -- Some interesting comments on "tontine". Thanks all. -Anu ton.tine n [F, fr. Lorenzo Tonti d. 1695 Ital. banker] (1765): a joint financial arrangement whereby the participants usu. contribute equally to a prize that is awarded entirely to the participant who survives all the others > From: Scott Clayton (novell.com) > Then the prize is awarded to the defense attorney who defends the sole > survivor against homicide charges. > > From: Dave Horsfall (esi.com.au) > It's also the brand name of a pillow in Australia. > > From: Mahesh Jagannathan (hawaii.edu) > A tontine is the crux of P.G. Wodehouse's "Butler Did It". -------- Date: Sun Oct 29 00:22:26 EDT 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--algorithm X-Bonus: Sometimes it's a little better to travel than to arrive. -Robert Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) al.go.rithm n [alter. of ME algorisme, fr. OF & ML; OF, fr. ML algorismus, fr. Ar al-khuwarizmi, fr. al-Khuwarizmi fl a.d. 825 Arab mathematician] (ca. 1894): a procedure for solving a mathematical problem (as of finding the greatest common divisor) in a finite number of steps that frequently involves repetition of an operation; broadly: a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem or accomplishing some end esp. by a computer -- al.go.rith.mic adj -- al.go.rith.mi.cal.ly adv -------- Date: Sun Oct 29 12:01:00 EDT 1995 Subject: AWADmail: _y_y_y: What's the good word? The registered subscription of AWAD has crossed 25,000 mark. Welcome the lucky 25,000th, Jelle Foks of scintilla.nl. Thanks also to the previous 24,999 who joined and made the list what it is. Quick math tells me that over 5 million pieces of email have gone out in AWAD so far. > From: Charles E. Friederich (netins.net) > > Have you discovered the joys of the word "syzygy?" It's perfect for > playing Hangman. Everybody calls out "a-e-i-o-u" first, forgetting that "y" > can also be a vowel. And when they finally offer "y," they get more than > they bargained for. Also, writing the word in cursive lower case is great > wrist exercise. After the first letter, it's a series of loops. For the > definition, find "T" on your thumb-index dictionary. Look back one > word...it's probably the last one under "S". Dear Charles, Thanks for your delightful letter. If you look closely, the appearance of the word seems to convey its meaning: sy-zy-gy -- the straight line configuration of three heavenly bodies. In Scrabble, one could make a respectable score with this word (though getting three y's would be a challenge), but the word is a nightmare for anagrammists. And you are right about where to find syzygy, if you let go of some hot Chinese food, such as Szechuan. > From: Paul (aol.com) > > Hi...I've been keeping a card file of all the words you supply since about > July or august, I think... I see all the letters covered except J, K, W, > X, & Z. I'll be looking for your words that start with these letters > I'm a Toastmaster in my home area and this set of words really is useful at > our meetings...some words are really hard to use in a speech, but we try!! > From: Vern Paxson (lbl.gov) > > It's not clear from the FAQ (at least the copy of it from last April that > I squirreled away) whether you're interested in submissions. But if so, a > word I keep running across (because Churchill is fond of it in his histories) > that for some reason greatly appeals to me is "mulct" .... Dear Paul and Vern, Since its inception on March 14, 1994, all the letters from the English alphabet have been covered in AWAD, though some less often than others. For example, "k" has made its appearance only once with "kaffeeklatsch". So has "y" which came as "yare". In any case, please feel free to send your suggestions for words. "Mulct" is an interesting word which falls in the category I call fencesitters -- words with a set of two opposite meanings. You could defraud someone of money and it would be called "mulcting". But if you are caught and fined, again, one could say you were "mulcted". Feedback /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ John Kim of U of Southern California has come up with an amazing insight on the letter from South Korea, which appeared here last week: > From: John Kim (usc.edu) > > Dear Anu, > > And as for the letter, I think other mistakes are beginner's mistakes > but "Greetlings!" is quite a useful one. It could mean: "Greetings, > Linguaphiles!" :-) It may even assume some poetic melody when pronounced! > From: Rob Blomquist (accessone.com) > > I have started to use the prefix 'e' to designate Internet related > issues, things or what-have-you. For example: ediscussion is what happens > in newsgroups or on listservers. Efriends are folks that I know only from > across the net, but that they affect my life like only friends can. How > about edebate? Or elove? > From: Hartmut Haberland (ruc.dk) > > May I point out that in Italian and German, 'eine Mail' and 'uno mail' > (turning 'mail' into a [+count] noun) are common expressions for 'a piece of > e-mail' (why it's f. in German and m. in Italian, is everybody's guess.) My > friend, the distinguished pragmatics scholar Jacob L. Mey III of Odense > University, Denmark, used to write 'give me an ezz' some years ago, and when > somebody asked 'what is an ezz?', he replied 'it's the electronic equivalent > of a buzz'. > From: Mitch Silverman (usf.edu) > > When it comes to jargon usage questions, there's an authority I like > to consult: the Jargon File (version 3.2.0, 21 MAR 1995), a (rather > authoritative, IMHO) comprehensive compendium of hacker slang > illuminating many aspects of hackish tradition, folklore, and humor. > > And as the Jargon File puts it: > > :email: /ee'mayl/ (also written `e-mail') > 1. n. Electronic mail automatically passed through computer > networks and/or via modems over common-carrier lines. Contrast > {snail-mail}, {paper-net}, {voice-net}. See {network > address}. 2. vt. To send electronic mail. > > Oddly enough, the word `emailed' is actually listed in the OED; > it means "embossed (with a raised pattern) or perh. arranged in a > net or open work". A use from 1480 is given. The word is derived > from Old French `emmaill"ure', network. A French correspondent > tells us that in modern French, `email' is a hard enamel obtained > by heating special paints in a furnace; an `emailleur' (no final e) > is a craftsman who makes email (he generally paints some objects > like jewels and cook them in a furnace). > > So use "email" after "emailed" -- both uses involve networks, after all! Thanks Mitch for the reference. For those who have not seen this delightful collection of computerese, you can find it at: http://web.cnam.fr/Jargon/ And while you are there, do not forget to look up "progasm". from a soon to be rainy day near lake, Anu -------- Date: Mon Oct 30 00:23:02 EST 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--coven X-Bonus: When a man is wrapped up in himself he makes a pretty small package. -John Ruskin co.ven n [ME covin band, fr. MF, fr. ML convenium agreement, fr. L convenire to agree--more at convenient] (ca. 1520) 1: a collection of individuals with similar interests or activities 2: an assembly or band of usu. 13 witches -- October 31 being All Hallow's Eve or Halloween, here is a week-full of witches and hobgoblins and sorcerers... -Anu -------- Date: Tue Oct 31 00:33:00 EST 1995 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--magus X-Bonus: When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers. -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900) ma.gus n, pl ma.gi [L, fr. Gk magos--more at magic] (1621) 1 a: a member of a hereditary priestly class among the ancient Medes and Persians b often cap: one of the traditionally three wise men from the East paying homage to the infant Jesus 2: magician, sorcerer