A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Wed Nov 1 00:01:15 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--third degree X-Bonus: Many a man thinks he is buying pleasure, when he is really selling himself to it. -Benjamin Franklin, statesman, author, and inventor (1706-1790) This week's theme: ordinal words. third degree (thurd di-GREE) noun Intensive questioning using rough treatment. adjective Pertaining to the third degree. verb To subject to such treatment. [There are many folk etymologies regarding possible origins of this term but lexicographers are not certain. The more popular of the stories suggests it came from the third degree in freemasonry that was the most difficult to achieve. One aspiring to that rank was supposed to undergo intense questioning and grilling.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "[John Dingell] loved nothing more than to call witnesses before his committee and give them the third degree." Thomas Bray; Do Elephants Have Ideas?; The New York Sun; Oct 25, 2006. -------- Date: Thu Nov 2 00:01:26 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--second fiddle X-Bonus: The belly is the reason why man does not mistake himself for a god. -Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) [Beyond Good and Evil, 1886] This week's theme: ordinal words. second fiddle (SEK-uhnd FID-uhl) noun Secondary role. A person in such a role. [In an orchestra, the first violins carry the main melody while second violins are considered to be in a subordinate position.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "Felipe Massa is in the unfortunate position of having to play second fiddle to Schumacher." Norris McDonald; Bad News is No Star to Replace Michael; Toronto Star (Canada); Oct 14, 2006. -------- Date: Fri Nov 3 00:01:21 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--first water X-Bonus: Whenever people say 'We mustn't be sentimental,' you can take it they are about to do something cruel. And if they add 'We must be realistic,' they mean they are going to make money out of it. -Brigid Brophy, writer (1929-1995) This week's theme: ordinal words. first water (furst WA-tuhr) noun 1. The highest degree of quality in a precious stone, especially a diamond. 2. The best grade or quality. [Transparency is highly desirable in diamonds, and when they are nearly as transparent as water, they are known as diamonds of the first water. As the transparency decreases, we get second or third water. Hence figuratively, something or someone of the first water is first grade, first class, or of the best in its class.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "In a too-rare appearance with the San Antonio Symphony on Friday, pianist Horacio Gutierrez proved once again to be a romanticist of the first water." Pianist Delivers a Top-flight Show; San Antonio Express-News; Mar 23, 2003. -------- Date: Mon Nov 6 00:01:15 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bodacious X-Bonus: People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt. -Otto von Bismarck, statesman (1815-1898) This week's selection features words coined by fusing two separate words. What is unique about these words, as opposed to the words formed by simply placing two words next to each other, e.g. lovesick, is that the former are blended together in such a way that each participating word contributes a fragment of its whole, both in letters and in meaning to the new word. Such an amalgamated word is also known as a portmanteau (from French, carrying case for clothes, usually with two compartments) since Lewis Carroll gave them this moniker in his 1872 classic "Through the Looking-Glass". Carroll himself coined some great portmanteaux, such as chortle (chuckle + snort), and slithy (slimy + lithe). Many of these portmanteaux words are clunky (infotainment: information + entertainment) while others are fluid (smog: smoke + fog) but they all serve a purpose and that's why they stay in the language. bodacious (boh-DAY-shuhs) adjective 1. Outright, thorough. 2. Remarkable, impressive. 3. Gutsy, brazen. 4. Voluptuous. [A blend of bold and audacious.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "Amy (Jessica Simpson) is the bodacious new cashier whose virtue is reputedly available only to employee-of-the-month title holders." 'Employee of the Month' (movie) Nothing to Brag About; Chicago Tribune; Oct 7, 2006. -------- Date: Tue Nov 7 00:01:24 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jounce X-Bonus: O Liberty! how many crimes are committed in thy name! -Jeanne-Marie Roland, revolutionary (1754-1793) This week's theme: blend words. jounce (jouns) verb tr., intr. To bounce along. noun A jolting movement. [Of uncertain origin, apparently a blend of joll (to knock or bump) and bounce.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "We jounced along the rutted, rock-strewn roads in the rural bush of Ethiopia to the man's hut, which was shaped like a beehive." Hope Anderson Brumbach; Into Africa; Daily News (Longview, Washington); Oct 14, 2006. -------- Date: Wed Nov 8 00:01:16 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tween X-Bonus: Words ought to be a little wild, for they are the assault of thoughts on the unthinking. -John Maynard Keynes, economist (1883-1946) This week's theme: blend words. tween (tween) noun A youngster between middle childhood and adolescence, usually between 8 and 12 years. [A blend of teen and between.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "At ever-earlier ages, teens and tweens are becoming java junkies, a trend some experts warn carries health risks." Jill Mahoney; Wired Teens' Latest Fix: a Jolt of Java; Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Oct 28, 2006. -------- Date: Thu Nov 9 00:01:14 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vespiary X-Bonus: There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration. -Andrew Carnegie, industrialist (1835-1919) This week's theme: blend words. vespiary (VES-pee-er-ee) noun A nest or colony of wasps. [Blend of Latin vespa (wasp) and apiary (a place where bees are kept).] Italian scooter company Piaggio named their first product Vespa because they felt it looked and perhaps sounded like a wasp. -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "[William Bullitt] had moved into Charles Bedaux's Château de Candé, a perfect vespiary of Nazi spies and collaborators." Charles Higham; The Duchess of Windsor: The Secret Life; John Wiley & Sons; 2004. -------- Date: Fri Nov 10 00:01:16 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wangle X-Bonus: Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, and author (1872-1970) This week's theme: blend words. wangle (WANG-guhl) verb To achieve something by scheming or manipulating. [Of uncertain origin, apparently a blend of wag and dangle.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "As interested as I was in seeing the Little Chapman Mansion, I never would have tried to wangle an invitation." Steve Brown; Little Chapman Mansion Shows Centuries of Architecture; Chico Enterprise-Record (California); Oct 16, 2006. -------- Date: Mon Nov 13 00:01:16 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--alchemy X-Bonus: My two favorite things in life are libraries and bicycles. They both move people forward without wasting anything. The perfect day: riding a bike to the library. -Peter Golkin, museum spokesman (1966- ) "Battery not included." Buy a $150 gadget and chances are it doesn't come with batteries that cost, maybe, $2. I'm sure manufacturers have their reasons, perhaps something to do with the shelf life of the batteries. If this week's words came packaged, their box would say "Definite articles included." No need to shop around for a definite article in the right size and sex. When English borrows a word from another language, it sometimes takes its definite article too. We imported the word alligator from the Spanish el lagarto (the lizard). Alcohol came from the Arabic al-kul (the powdered antimony, and by association, substances obtained by sublimation or distillation). Many, such as alkali, algebra, lacrosse (from French: the crook: the staff carried by an abbot or bishop), and others, are among the words bringing their own definite article, but it's not always so obvious, as we'll see later this week. An extreme example of this inadvertent duplication of definite articles is in the name of the Los Angeles site of prehistoric fossils of animals that had been stuck in tar pits. It's called The La Brea Tar Pits which would literally translate as The The Tar Tar Pits. alchemy (AL-kuh-mee) noun 1. A medieval predecessor of chemistry devoted to things such as converting common metals into precious metals, finding a universal solvent (alkahest), and finding a universal remedy for diseases. 2. A mysterious or magical process of transformation. [Via Old French and Medieval Latin from Arabic al-kimiya (the chemistry), from Greek khemeia (transmutation).] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "An obscure mix of alchemy and chemistry yielded a waxy, glowing goo that spontaneously burst into flame -- the element now known as phosphorus." Sean Markey; 20 Things You Didn't Know About; Discover (New York); Nov 2006. -------- Date: Tue Nov 14 00:59:12 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lariat X-Bonus: Money is human happiness in the abstract: he, then, who is no longer capable of enjoying human happiness in the concrete devotes his heart entirely to money. -Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher (1788-1860) This week's theme: words with a built-in definite article. lariat (LAIR-ee-uht) noun A long, light rope with a running noose, used to catch cattle, horses, etc. Also known as a lasso. [From Spanish la reata (the rope), from reatar (to tie again), from re- (again) + atar (tie), from Latin aptare (join, fit), from aptus (apt, fit).] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "[Will] Rogers, often referred to as the nation's "poet lariat", was about a lot more than rope tricks." Kerry Clawson; Roped Into Revue on Poet Lariat; Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio); Jun 30, 2002. -------- Date: Wed Nov 15 00:01:20 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--albatross X-Bonus: Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action. -George Washington, 1st US president (1732-1799) This week's theme: words with a built-in definite article. albatross (AL-buh-tros) noun, plural albatross or albatrosses 1. Any of the Diomedeidae family of large, web-footed seabirds. 2. A persistent wearisome burden, as of guilt, for example. [Apparently an alteration of Portuguese or Spanish alcatraz, from Arabic al-gattas (the diver, name for a kind of sea eagle).] The name of Alcatraz Island near San Francisco, the site of a former maximum security prison, has the same origin. The metaphorical second sense of the term goes back to The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In the poem, a mariner kills an albatross for no reason. His shooting down of the bird brings a curse to the ship, and his shipmates throw the carcass of the dead bird around his neck, thus giving a powerful idiom to the English language. As a penance, the wizened mariner wanders, recounting his tale. -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "What started off as a popular war has turned out to be something of an albatross around Mr Bush's neck." A Push for Bush; Business Standard (New Delhi, India); Nov 9, 2006. -------- Date: Thu Nov 16 00:01:18 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hoi polloi X-Bonus: As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, American writer and philosopher (1803-1882) This week's theme: words with a built-in definite article. hoi polloi (hoi puh-LOI) noun The common people, the masses. [From Greek hoi polloi (the many).] The phrase is often mistakenly used to refer to the elite or the snobbish, quite opposite of what it really means. That usage arises probably from the first part sounding similar to "high" or from confusion with the term hoity toity. The term often appears as "the hoi polloi". Some pedants object to that construction, claiming "the" is already part of the term. If you find such people, tell them to go study gebra and drink cohol. -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "Fans were delighted to see their heroes riding with the hoi polloi." Tom Parfitt; Spartak in Subway Sprint; Guardian (London, UK); Nov 1, 2006. -------- Date: Fri Nov 17 00:01:15 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--amalgam X-Bonus: Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not. -Dr. Seuss, author and illustrator (1904-1991) This week's theme: words with a built-in definite article. amalgam (uh-MAL-guhm) noun 1. A mixture of diverse elements 2. An alloy of mercury with another metal. [Via French and Latin from Arabic al-malgham (the ointment), from Greek malagma (softening agent).] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "Many people are going to love this book [Night of the Fireflies], which is a strange amalgam of religion, science and sci-fi." Jane Rosenthal; Stranger Phenomena of Post-colonial Africa; Mail and Guardian (Johannesburg, South Africa); Nov 10, 2006. -------- Date: Mon Nov 20 00:01:30 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--exigent X-Bonus: Politeness is to human nature what warmth is to wax. -Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher (1788-1860) Why do you learn new words? For some, it's the joy of discovering new and unusual specimens in the language and stories behind them. For others, it's to improve their vocabulary, whether for college or work. It's from this latter group, we hear from time to time. "I'll never have a chance to use these words," they write. You will. As you can see from the usage examples taken from newspapers, magazines, and books -- words in AWAD are not from a museum. They are words that are in current use, though not very often. Still, we take the point. What some are looking for are more practical words: words they can use in an office memo or in a term paper; words they are more likely to come across in a trade report or college exam. This week we'll offer you five such practical words. Go ahead, employ them, put them into practice. exigent (EK-si-jent) adjective 1. Requiring urgent attention. 2. Demanding; exacting. [From Latin exigent-, stem of exigens, present participle of exigere (to demand, to drive out), from ex- + agere (to drive). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ag- (to drive, draw) that is also the source of such words as act, agent, agitate, litigate, synagogue, and ambassador.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "Taiwan's vast reserves of foreign exchange can be tapped once, perhaps twice, in exigent times. But these reserves ... must be used sparingly." Mark T. Fung; Rumblings from Taiwan; The Christian Science Monitor (Boston, Massachusetts); Jan 10, 2001. -------- Date: Tue Nov 21 00:01:20 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--subjacent X-Bonus: As far as I'm concerned, 'whom' is a word that was invented to make everyone sound like a butler. -Calvin Trillin, writer (1935- ) This week's theme: miscellaneous words. subjacent (sub-JAY-suhnt) adjective Lying under or below something. [From Latin subjacent- (stem of subjacens), present participle of subjacere (to underlie), from sub- (under) + jacere (to lie). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ye- (to throw), that is also the source of jettison, eject, project, reject, object, subject, adjective, joist, and ejaculate.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "Is surface-derived water, circulating deeply and heated passively by subjacent magma intrusions, sufficient to leach metals from solid rocks and make an ore deposit?" Christoph A. Heinrich; How Fast Does Gold Trickle Out of Volcanoes?; Science Magazine (Washington, DC); Oct 12, 2006. -------- Date: Wed Nov 22 00:01:19 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--invidious X-Bonus: At times it may be necessary to temporarily accept a lesser evil, but one must never label a necessary evil as good. -Margaret Mead, anthropologist (1901-1978) This week's theme: miscellaneous words. invidious (in-VID-ee-uhs) adjective Unjust, offensive, or hateful, and likely to arouse resentment, ill will, anger, etc. [From Latin invidiosus (envious, envied, hostile), from invidia (envy, hostility), from videre (to see). Ultimately from the Indo-European root weid- (to see) that is also the source of words such as guide, wise, vision, advice, idea, story, and history.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "A small wrinkle of worry crosses Sword Gusmao's brow as she discusses her husband's invidious position." Steve Waldon; Kirsty's Crusade; The Age (Melbourne, Australia); Nov 1, 2006. -------- Date: Thu Nov 23 00:01:19 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--circumscribe X-Bonus: He who binds to himself a joy, / Does the winged life destroy; / He who kisses the joy as it flies, / Lives in Eternity's sun rise. -William Blake, poet, engraver, and painter (1757-1827) This week's theme: miscellaneous words. circumscribe (SUHR-kuhm-skryb) verb tr. To draw a line around, to enclose within bounds, to limit or restrict. [From Latin circumscribere, from circum- (around) + scribere (to write). Ultimately from the Indo-European root skribh- (to cut, separate, or sift) that has resulted in other terms such as manuscript, subscribe, scripture, scribble, describe, circumflex, and circumspect.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "[Michael Bywater] points up the paradox by which we must be allowed to buy and have anything we want, but, because of the dangers inherent in such freedom, must then have our lives circumscribed by endless rules, signs, barriers, alarms, apologies, warnings, protective headgear ..." Tentative Trip to the Old Country; The Times (London, UK); Nov 4, 2006. -------- Date: Fri Nov 24 00:01:14 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--effrontery X-Bonus: Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. -Will Rogers, humorist (1879-1935) This week's theme: miscellaneous words. effrontery (i-FRUN-tuh-ree) noun Shameless boldness; presumptuousness. [From French effronterie, from effronté (shameless), from Latin effrons (barefaced, shameless), from ex- (out of, from) + frons (forehead, brow).] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "The effrontery of such pedestrian politicos to display their appetite for power and authority is stupefying." Uri Dan; Think of Him As 'Last of the Just'; The Jerusalem Post (Israel); Nov 1, 2006. -------- Date: Mon Nov 27 00:01:15 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--prise X-Bonus: Man is the best computer we can put aboard a spacecraft and the only one that can be mass produced with unskilled labor. -Wernher von Braun, rocket engineer (1912-1977) It's good to have modern computers around that can scan thousands of lines of text in a jiffy and provide quick fixes with their handy spellcheck and find-and-replace features. While these electronic beasts are useful to keep our wayward fingers in check and take care of the resulting typos that creep in, they're no substitute for human eyeballing. Stories abound where the careless application of a spellchecker has caused embarrassment or worse. This week's words all give a hissy fit to the spellchecker. You could use them to your advantage: to defeat your opponents in a game of Scrabble, for example. These words appear to be misspellings of common words but they are fully accredited, licensed, certified words from a dictionary -- as official as any word can be in the English language. prise (pryz) verb tr. 1. To force open or part something with a lever. 2. To extract information from someone with difficulty. noun A lever. [From Old French prise, from Latin prehendere (to seize). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ghend-/ghed- (to seize or to take) that is also the source of pry, prey, spree, reprise, surprise, pregnant, osprey, prison, and get.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "Using three tyre levers, [Jessica] Jonsson worked her way round the rim prising the tyre loose." Kristin Edge; The Spannergirl; The Daily Post (Rotorua, New Zealand); Nov 15, 2006. -------- Date: Tue Nov 28 00:01:14 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--virtu X-Bonus: All crime is a kind of disease and should be treated as such. -Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) This week's theme: words that appear to be misspellings. virtu (vuhr-TOO) noun 1. A love of or taste for fine objects of art. 2. Objects of art, curios, etc. [From Italian virtù (virtue), from Latin virtus (worth, excellence). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wi-ro (man) that is also the source of virile, virtue, virago, virtuoso, werewolf, and world.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "The Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College has organized an exhibition ... of optical illusions, stuffed birds, statuettes, objects of virtu and geological specimens." Arthur C. Danto; Hendrick Goltzius and Mannerism; The Nation (New York); Feb 10, 1992. -------- Date: Wed Nov 29 00:01:24 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pencel X-Bonus: We are never more discontented with others than when we are discontented with ourselves. -Henri Frederic Amiel, philosopher and writer (1821-1881) This week's theme: words that appear to be misspellings. pencel or pensil (PEN-suhl) noun A small flag at the end of a lance. [From Old French penoncel, diminutive of penon (pennon), from Latin penna (feather). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pet- (to rush, fly) that is also the root of feather, pin, pinnacle, impetus, symptom, appetite, and petition.] -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "Embroidered and painted pennants and pencels were brought out." Frances May Hendry; Quest for a Maid; Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1992. -------- Date: Thu Nov 30 00:01:15 EST 2006 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--divers X-Bonus: Humor may be defined as the kindly contemplation of the incongruities of life, and the artistic expression thereof. -Stephen Leacock, economist and humorist (1869-1944) This week's theme: words that appear to be misspellings. divers (DY-vuhrz) adjective Various; several. [From Latin diversus, from divertere (to turn aside), from di- (away, apart) + vertere (to turn). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wer- (to turn or bend) that is also the source of words such as wring, weird, writhe, worth, revert, and universe.] Note: This word can sneak through spellcheckers in another garb: as a plural noun. -Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org) "Did he alone represent France in this mysterious association, evidently composed of individuals of divers nationalities?" Jules Verne; Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea; 1870.