A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Dec 1 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cordate X-Bonus: I took a speed reading course and read 'War and Peace' in twenty minutes. It involves Russia. -Woody Allen, author, actor, and filmmaker (b. 1935) Did you hear about this schoolteacher from Romania? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2803394/Class-3C-bones-Romanian-headteacher-donates-SKELETON-students-learn-anatomy.html He taught for 50 years. Always wanted to have a skeleton for the biology lessons in his school, but never got one. So he willed his body and now his skeleton hangs in the class. There are many dedicated teachers, but he takes the apple. This week I'm going to help you learn words derived from body parts. And while I admire this teacher, I'm not going as far as he did for this lesson. What I have done, though, and I hope you do too, is pledge to be an organ donor http://www.organdonor.gov/ . cordate (KOR-dayt) adjective Heart-shaped. [From Latin cor (heart). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kerd- (heart), which also gave us cardiac, cordial, courage, record, concord, discord, and accord https://wordsmith.org/words/accord.html . Earliest documented use: 1651.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/cordate https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cordate_large.jpg Photo: Lea Aharonovitch https://www.flickr.com/photos/hagoleshet/11643731876 "The cordate leaves were large and broad, and ended in a single point." Yann Martel; Life of Pi; Knopf; 2001. -------- Date: Tue Dec 2 00:01:02 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--amanuensis X-Bonus: I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend? -Robert Redford, actor, director, producer, and environmentalist (b. 1936) This week's theme: Words derived from body parts amanuensis (uh-man-yoo-EN-sis) noun A person employed to take dictation or to copy manuscripts. [From Latin servus a manu (slave at hand[writing]), from manus (hand). Ultimately from the Indo-European root man- (hand), which also gave us manual, manage, maintain, manicure, maneuver, manufacture, manuscript, command, manque https://wordsmith.org/words/manque.html , legerdemain https://wordsmith.org/words/legerdemain.html , manumit https://wordsmith.org/words/manumit.html , and mortmain https://wordsmith.org/words/mortmain.html . Earliest documented use: 1619.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/amanuensis "Strange to say but many writers, Wordsworth and Tennyson included, are averse to the act of writing. Once they have heard the words in their heads, an amanuensis is needed to put them down on paper." Frances Wilson; The Lady Vanishes; New Statesman (London, UK); Feb 6, 2014. -------- Date: Wed Dec 3 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--impedimenta X-Bonus: A belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness. -Joseph Conrad, novelist (1857-1924) This week's theme: Words derived from body parts impedimenta (im-ped-uh-MEN-tuh) plural noun Baggage, supplies, or equipment related to an activity or expedition, especially when regarded as slowing one's progress. [From Latin, plural of impedimentum, from impedire (to impede), from im-/in- (in) + ped- (foot). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ped- (foot) which also gave us pedal, podium, octopus, impeach, antipodal https://wordsmith.org/words/antipodal.html , expediency https://wordsmith.org/words/expediency.html , peccadillo (alluding to a stumble or fall) https://wordsmith.org/words/peccadillo.html , impeccable https://wordsmith.org/words/impeccable.html , and peccavi https://wordsmith.org/words/peccavi.html . Earliest documented use: 1600.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/impedimenta https://wordsmith.org/words/images/impedimenta_large.jpg "Games impedimenta -- hockey-sticks, boxing-gloves, a burst football, a pair of sweaty shorts turned inside out -- lay all over the floor." George Orwell; Nineteen Eighty-Four; Secker and Warburg; 1949. -------- Date: Thu Dec 4 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--spleen X-Bonus: Conscience is thoroughly well-bred and soon leaves off talking to those who do not wish to hear it. -Samuel Butler, writer (1835-1902) This week's theme: Words derived from body parts spleen (spleen) noun 1. An abdominal organ serving to clean blood. 2. Bad temper. [From French esplen, from Latin splen, from Greek splen. Earliest documented use: 1300.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/spleen NOTES: In earlier times it was believed that four humors controlled human behavior and an imbalance resulted in disease. According to this thinking, an excess of black bile secreted by the spleen resulted in melancholy or ill humor. Also, spleen was considered to be the seat of emotions. To vent one's spleen was to vent one's anger. "On other issues Mr Ivanishvili has been full of spleen about misrule, but hazy about what he would do differently." A Stunning Victory; The Economist (London, UK); Oct 6, 2012. -------- Date: Fri Dec 5 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mansuetude X-Bonus: Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes, work never begun. -Christina Rossetti, poet (1830-1894) This week's theme: Words derived from body parts mansuetude (MAN-swi-tood, -tyood) noun Gentleness; meekness. [From Latin mansuescere (to make tame: to accustom to handling), from manus (hand) + suescere (to become accustomed). Ultimately from the Indo-European root man- (hand), which is also the source of manual, manage, maintain, manicure, maneuver, manufacture, manuscript, command, manque https://wordsmith.org/words/manque.html , amanuensis https://wordsmith.org/words/amanuensis.html , legerdemain https://wordsmith.org/words/legerdemain.html , and mortmain https://wordsmith.org/words/mortmain.html . Earliest documented use: 1390.] "Presently, with the blessing, you will see Padeen's face return to its usual benevolent mansuetude." Patrick O'Brian; The Letter of Marque; HarperCollins; 1988. "She had heard me and returned to me and saved me; embraced me, in her might as much as her mansuetude." Michael Nesmith; The Long, Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora; St. Martin's Press; 1998. -------- Date: Mon Dec 8 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--juggernaut X-Bonus: The real index of civilization is when people are kinder than they need to be. -Louis de Bernieres, novelist (b. 1954) I gave the artist Leah Palmer Preiss (curiouser AT mindspring.com) five words and she illustrated them as you'll see in this week's A.Word.A.Day. After looking at her art, I may have to amend the popular saying. I think a picture is worth a million words. Every year for the last several years she has shared her art with readers of A.Word.A.Day, and this week again we'll feature five words illustrated in Leah's palette. See earlier years here https://wordsmith.org/words/redolent.html , here https://wordsmith.org/words/bursiform.html , and here https://wordsmith.org/words/felicitous.html . Visit her website at http://www.leahpalmerpreiss.com/ . juggernaut (JUG-uhr-not) noun 1. Anything requiring blind sacrifice. 2. A massive relentless force, person, institution, etc. that crushes everything in its path. [From Hindi jagannath (one of the titles Krishna, a Hindu god, has), from Sanskrit jagannath, from jagat (world) + nath (lord). A procession of Jagannath takes place each year at Puri, India. Devotees pull a huge cart carrying the deity. Some have been accidentally crushed under the wheels (or are said to have thrown themselves under them). Earliest documented use: 1638.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/juggernaut https://wordsmith.org/words/images/juggernaut_large.jpg Art: Leah Palmer Preiss http://www.leahpalmerpreiss.com/ "Amazon is a retailing juggernaut, but its revenues are still a fraction of those of Walmart, whose tills ring up about $900,000 a minute." Big Companies' Revenue and Profit; The Economist (London); Feb 8, 2014. -------- Date: Tue Dec 9 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--klatsch X-Bonus: Who overcomes by force hath overcome but half his foe. -John Milton, poet (1608-1674) This week's theme: Illustrated words klatsch (klach, klahch) noun A casual gathering of people for conversation, etc. [From German Klatsch (gossip). Earliest documented use: 1953. Also see kaffeeklatsch https://wordsmith.org/words/kaffeeklatsch.html .] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/klatsch_large.jpg Art: Leah Palmer Preiss http://www.leahpalmerpreiss.com/ "An employee entertained a group of about four other store employees. I stood nearby, looking around and wondering if I'd have to break up their klatsch." Smokepole Questions Bring Out Hot Air; SHOT Business (New York); Oct/Nov 2012. -------- Date: Wed Dec 10 00:01:05 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--oneiric X-Bonus: "Faith" is a fine invention / For gentlemen who see -- / But microscopes are prudent / In an emergency. -Emily Dickinson, poet (1830-1886) This week's theme: Illustrated words oneiric (oh-NY-rik) adjective Of or relating to dreams; dreamy. [From Greek oneiros (dream). Earliest documented use: 1859.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/oneiric https://wordsmith.org/words/images/oneiric_large.jpg Art: Leah Palmer Preiss http://www.leahpalmerpreiss.com/ "Fellini's films, always fantastical, soon took a distinctly oneiric turn, and he eventually filled some five hundred sheets with drawings and descriptions of his dreams." The Book of Dreams; The New Yorker; Sep 1, 2008. -------- Date: Thu Dec 11 00:15:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scandent X-Bonus: The luck of having talent is not enough; one must also have a talent for luck. -Hector Berlioz, composer (1803-1869) This week's theme: Illustrated words scandent (SKAN-duhnt) adjective Climbing or ascending. [From Latin scandere (to climb). Ultimately from the Indo-European root skand- (to leap or climb), which also gave us ascend, descend, condescend, transcend, echelon, and scale. Earliest documented use: 1682.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/scandent https://wordsmith.org/words/images/scandent_large.jpg Art: Leah Palmer Preiss http://www.leahpalmerpreiss.com/ "They come and vegetate -- early-goers and scandent socialites -- loitering about and small-talking on the pavement; gradually they edge indoors to the crawl of ivy and creeping plants, spreading like gossip through rooms and around corners." Kol; Fools; Xlibris; 2012. -------- Date: Fri Dec 12 00:09:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--zymology X-Bonus: The sun is pure communism everywhere except in cities, where it's private property. -Malcolm De Chazal, writer and painter (1902-1981) This week's theme: Illustrated words zymology (zy-MOL-uh-jee) noun The science of fermentation. [From Greek zym- (ferment) + -logy (science, study). Earliest documented use: 1753.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/zymology https://wordsmith.org/words/images/zymology_large.jpg Art: Leah Palmer Preiss http://www.leahpalmerpreiss.com/ "Covering from aardvarks (do you share their DNA?) to zymology (much ado about yeast), the book takes a scientific look at a plethora of stuff." Sharon Verbeten, et al.; Reference; Library Journal (New York); May 15, 2013. -------- Date: Mon Dec 15 00:06:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dog's chance X-Bonus: I believe that life can go on forever. It takes a million years to evolve a new species, ten million for a new genus, one hundred million for a class, a billion for a phylum -- and that's usually as far as your imagination goes. In a billion years, it seems, intelligent life might be as different from humans as humans are from insects. But what would happen in another ten billion years? It's utterly impossible to conceive of ourselves changing as drastically as that, over and over again. All you can say is, on that kind of time scale the material form that life would take is completely open. To change from a human being to a cloud may seem a big order, but it's the kind of change you'd expect over billions of years. -Freeman Dyson, physicist (b. 1923) There's this road sign that has been on my street corner for a while. It reads: "Please drive carefully for our childrens sake" https://wordsmith.org/words/images/please_drive_carefully_for_our_childrens_sake.jpg While driving, I like myself to be punctual, my tires unpunctured, and my signs punctuated. One day I couldn't hold back any longer and called the of transportation department. Me: I'm calling about a missing apostrophe. Whom can I talk with? Transportation: Huh? Me: Don't you have a manager of punctuation, or something? Transportation: Not sure what you're talking about. Me: Well, if you are short on apostrophes, I know of some greengrocers who might be able to help. https://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/2436190153/ Someone there must be punctilious https://wordsmith.org/words/punctilious.html . To my surprise, a few months later they replaced all such signs in the neighborhood (and elsewhere, I presume). https://wordsmith.org/words/images/please_drive_carefully_for_our_childrens_sake_updated.jpg (Welcome to the grammatically-correct -- and speedier-- neighborhood.) All except the one on my street corner. I'd like to think that it's because they had run short of these squiggly things again, just one short. Maybe even greengrocers are out of them. Perhaps this guy https://wordsmith.org/words/crows_feet.html can spare one. While that guy may be unsure about the use of the apostrophe, you can be sure that each of the terms featured in A.Word.A.Day takes an apostrophe, whether indicating a possessive or a contraction. Have something to say? Now you can share a comment directly on our website. Give it a try: https://wordsmith.org/words/dogs_chance.html dog's chance (DOGZ chans) noun A poor chance. [In modern times dogs may be pampered, but historically a dog's life wasn't much to bark about. Hence a dog's chance is a small chance. Earliest documented use: 1890.] "When election day rolls around, Otto trounces his running mates, who don't have a dog's chance." Jennifer M. Brabander; Otto Runs for President; The Horn Book Magazine (Boston); Jul/Aug 2008. -------- Date: Tue Dec 16 00:06:05 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gentleman's agreement X-Bonus: To delight in war is a merit in the soldier, a dangerous quality in the captain, and a positive crime in the statesman. -George Santayana, philosopher (1863-1952) This week's theme: Terms with apostrophes gentleman's agreement (JEN-tl-manz uh-GREE-muhnt) noun An agreement that's based on honor and not legally binding. [From the idea that a gentleman (a civilized man of good standing) will honor an agreement he has entered. Earliest documented use: 1821.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gentlemen's%20agreement "[The teams] are under no requirement to exchange films with a non-conference team. It is simply a gentleman's agreement when they do." Jorge Arangure, Jr.; Playing Detective in Finding Films of Opponents; The New York Times; Sep 4, 2013. -------- Date: Wed Dec 17 00:06:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cat's cradle X-Bonus: For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: "It might have been!" -John Greenleaf Whittier, poet (1807-1892) This week's theme: Terms with apostrophes cat's cradle (kats kraydl) noun 1. A children's game in which a string is wrapped around one player's hands in complex symmetrical patterns and transferred to another player's hands to form a different pattern. 2. Something elaborate or intricate, especially when without an apparent purpose. [Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1768.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/cat's%20cradle https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cats_cradle_large.jpg The lovers Okiku and Yosuke play cat's cradle, 1804 Art: Eishosai Choki How to play cat's cradle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpHTPnrYLzQ "But policymakers seem trapped in a cat's cradle of economic, political, and legal constraints that is preventing effective action." Guntram B. Wolff; Europe's Fiscal Wormhole; The Business Times (Singapore); Oct 31, 2014. -------- Date: Thu Dec 18 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--who's who X-Bonus: Art should be like a holiday: something to give a man the opportunity to see things differently and to change his point of view. -Paul Klee, painter (1879-1940) This week's theme: Terms with apostrophes who's who (hooz hoo) noun 1. A reference work containing concise biographical sketches of well-known people. 2. Well-known people in a particular profession, region, etc. [The first Who's Who was published in the UK in 1849. Now the term is in wider use and there are thousands of specialized Who's Whos publications, for high school students, for Nebraskans, and for the dead (Who Was Who). There's even a Who's Who in Hell http://amazon.com/o/asin/1569801584/ws00-20 . Earliest documented use of the generic use of the term is from 1917.] Who's Who of Tintin https://wordsmith.org/words/images/whos_who_large.png Art: Herge "When Ratko Mladic arrives at the international war crimes detention center in The Hague, he will join a who's who of accused genocidal dictators, warlords, and mass murderers." Ivana Sekularac and Aaron Gray-Block; Dutch Seaside Cell Awaits Mladic; Reuters (New York); May 31, 2011. -------- Date: Fri Dec 19 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lion's share X-Bonus: And the evil is done in hopes that evil surrenders / But the deeds of the devil are burned too deep in the embers / And a world of hunger in vengeance will always remember. -Phil Ochs, folksinger (1940-1976) This week's theme: Terms with apostrophes lion's share (LY-uhnz shair) noun The largest part of something. [From the Aesop's fable in which the lion claimed all of the spoils instead of sharing with other animals who took part in the hunt. Earliest documented use: 1790.] The lion's share: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/lions_share_large.jpg Photo: Louise Restell https://www.flickr.com/photos/loulie1/4718569788 "Enterprise, the largest firm, with about 40% of the world market ... in America it has the lion's share of the market for the cars that insurers lend to policyholders after crashes." Hire Purpose; The Economist (London, UK); Sep 13, 2014. -------- Date: Mon Dec 22 00:01:05 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--optics X-Bonus: It may sound trite, but using the weapons of the enemy, no matter how good one's intentions, makes one the enemy. -Charles de Lint, writer and folk musician (b. 1951) Adam Smith once said, "Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition." What did the great economist have against enthusiasm? To find out we'll have to go back to his time. Smith was born in 1723. The literal meaning of the word enthusiasm still applied at the time. The word is coined from Greek theos (god). So if you had enthusiasm, you were supposed to be possessed by a god or displaying religious emotion. With time we are going away from such "enthusiasm" and superstition. And with time, words are also developing new meanings. This week we'll feature five words from the world of science that have also developed different meanings in day-to-day language. optics (OP-tiks) noun 1. The study of light, vision, etc. 2. The way a situation or action is perceived by the public. [From French optique, from Latin opticus, from Greek optikos, from ops (eye). Earliest documented use: 1579; for sense 2: 1973.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/optics 1st edition of Newton's Opticks: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/optics_large.jpg "Timothy Geithner worried about the optics of going into finance. 'I think the perception problem ... is very damaging to me.'" Andrew Ross Sorkin; 'Up to My Neck in This Crisis'; The New York Times Magazine; May 11, 2014. -------- Date: Tue Dec 23 00:08:02 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--epicenter X-Bonus: Every noon as the clock hands arrive at twelve, / I want to tie the two arms together, / And walk out of the bank carrying time in bags. -Robert Bly, poet (b. 1926) This week's theme: Words from science that have different senses in everyday use epicenter (EP-i-sen-tuhr) noun 1. The point on the earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake. 2. The center or focal point of an activity or event, especially something unpleasant. [From Latin epicentrum, from Greek epikentros, from epi- (upon) + kentron (needle, pivot point for drawing a circle). Earliest documented use: 1887.] Epicenter: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/epicenter.png Graphic: Wikimedia See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/epicenter "Itu, a commuter city outside Sao Paulo, is at the epicenter of the worst drought to hit southeastern Brazil in more than eight decades." Biggest Brazil City Desperate for Water in Drought; Associated Press (New York); Nov 6, 2014. -------- Date: Wed Dec 24 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--quantum X-Bonus: Where it is a duty to worship the sun, it is pretty sure to be a crime to examine the laws of heat. -John Morley, statesman and writer (1838-1923) This week's theme: Words from science that have different senses in everyday use quantum (KWAHN-tuhm), plural quanta noun: 1. A quantity or amount. 2. A portion. 3. A large amount. 4. The smallest amount of something that can exist independently. adjective: 1. Large. 2. Relating to the quantum theory. [From Latin quantus (how much or how great). In physics, a quantum jump or quantum leap is usually a small change, while in popular usage the term is used to mean a significant change. Earliest documented use: 1567.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/quantum "A quantum jump in the volume of traffic has made major snarls on the capital's periphery a routine affair for commuters." Dipak Kumar Dash; New Roadmap; The Times of India (New Delhi); Nov 7, 2009. -------- Date: Thu Dec 25 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--theory X-Bonus: If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient observation than to any other reason. -Isaac Newton, physicist, mathematician, and philosopher (1642-1727) This week's theme: Words from science that have different senses in everyday use theory (THEE-uh-ree, THEER-ee) noun 1. A set of propositions used to explain some aspect of the natural world, one that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed and widely accepted. For example, Einstein's theory of relativity or Darwin's Theory of Evolution. 2. The body of principles belonging to a field. For example, music theory. 3. A speculation. [From Latin theoria, from Greek theoria (contemplation), from theoros (spectator), from theorein (to consider, look at), which also gave us theorem and theater. Earliest documented use: 1597.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/theory NOTES: In science, a theory is a well-substantiated explanation for some aspect of the natural world. In everyday use, a theory is a conjecture. Some people use "just a theory" to discount the theory of evolution, but don't confuse the scientific use of the word with its everyday use. If evolution is just a theory then relativity is also just a theory. "The theory of evolution explained that every species on earth is related in some way to every other species; more important, we each carry a record of that history in our body." Michael Specter; A Life of Its Own; The New Yorker; Sep 28, 2009. "That is a theory that may soon come to be tested." China's Property Market; The Economist (London, UK); May 31, 2014. -------- Date: Fri Dec 26 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--entropy X-Bonus: If you pray for rain long enough, it eventually does fall. If you pray for floodwaters to abate, they eventually do. The same happens in the absence of prayers. -Steve Allen, television host, musician, actor, comedian, and writer (1921-2000) This week's theme: Words from science that have different senses in everyday use entropy (EN-truh-pee) noun 1. A measure of the disorder in a system. 2. The natural tendency of things to decline into disorder. 3. Disorder, randomness, or chaos. [From Greek en- (in) + trope (transformation). Ultimately from the Indo-European root trep- (to turn), which also gave us troubadour, tropic, contrive, and tropism https://wordsmith.org/words/tropism.html . Earliest documented use: 1868.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/entropy "In the more than 15 years since it was decorated by Marc Charbonnet ... the Fox-Pollan residence had gradually become a monument to entropy." Jesse Kornbluth; Family Wise; Architectural Digest (Los Angeles); Dec 12, 2012. -------- Date: Mon Dec 29 00:01:03 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--prebuttal X-Bonus: The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border. -Pablo Casals, cellist, conductor, and composer (1876-1973) Lexicographer Ernest Weekley once said, "Stability in language is synonymous with rigor mortis." The only languages that do not change are dead languages, such as Latin and Sanskrit. Before I get angry email from Latin or Sanskrit lovers, let me clarify. Both are fine languages, but from a linguistic point of view a language is considered dead if it's no longer in day-to-day use. Living languages continue churning, adding new ones to their word stock, changing meanings (see decimate https://wordsmith.org/words/decimate.html , for example), and even discarding words. As we start the new year, this week we'll see a few new words, relatively speaking. Again, from a lexicographer's point of view, a new word is not necessarily one that has been coined recently. A word may have been coined many decades ago, but it takes a while for it to bubble up and become mainstream. Happy holidays and a happy new year to all our readers! prebuttal (pri-BUH-tl) noun An argument in anticipation of a criticism; a preemptive rebuttal. [A blend of pre- + rebuttal, from rebut (to refute), from Old French rebouter (to push back), from boute (to push). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhau- (to strike), which also gave us refute, beat, button, halibut, and buttress. Earliest documented use: 1996.] "But in a prebuttal to the first lady's visit in Coralville on Monday, Iowa Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds said the Obama administration's decisions have hurt women." James Q. Lynch; First lady: Progress of Last Four Years is at Stake; The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa); Oct 30, 2012. -------- Date: Tue Dec 30 00:01:04 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--captcha X-Bonus: In religion, faith is a virtue. In science, faith is a vice. -Jerry Coyne, biology professor (b. 1949) This week's theme: New words (relatively speaking) Captcha (KAP-chuh) noun A test used to make sure that a human, not a computer program, is using a system. The test typically involves reading distorted text. [An acronym of Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. The Turing test is named after Alan Turing, a mathematician and computer scientist, who proposed that a computer could be considered intelligent if, while interacting with a human and a computer, someone could not tell which is which. A captcha is a kind of reverse Turing test. Earliest documented use: 2001.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/captcha_large.jpg "Yet here we are, watching a carrier [Ryanair] that considered charging passengers to pee, opening a Twitter account, accepting American Express credit cards, and removing its annoying Captcha." Pol O Conghaile; Be Travel Savvy; Irish Independent (Dublin); Oct 5, 2013. -------- Date: Wed Dec 31 00:01:02 EST 2014 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--crowdsource X-Bonus: The only way human beings can win a war is to prevent it. -George Marshall, US Army Chief, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Nobel laureate (1880-1959) This week's theme: New words (relatively speaking) crowdsource (KROUD-sohrs) verb tr. To enlist the services of a large number of people outside the company, for little or no pay, to accomplish a task. [A blend of crowd + outsource. Earliest documented use: 2006.] NOTES: While crowdsourcing is typically associated with the online world, it has been around for a long time. One of the best examples of offline crowdsourcing is lexicography. The Oxford English Dictionary, for example, was produced in large part by the contributions of the general public who sent in quotations for words. You too can take part in it http://public.oed.com/appeals/ . James Murray, first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, reviewing crowdsourced quotations: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/crowdsource_large.jpg Photo: Wikimedia "Bugwolf tests apps and websites for companies by setting loose a global army of crowdsourced testers who could be anywhere from Brisbane to Bulgaria or Bangalore." Rick Wallace; NAB Banks on Local Bug-Buster Start-Up; The Australian (Sydney); Dec 4, 2014.