A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Fri Jan 1 00:31:08 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--meticulous X-Bonus: When love is not madness, it is not love. -Pedro Calderon de la Barca, poet and dramatist (1600-1681) This week's theme: Words that have changed with time meticulous (muh-TIK-yuh-luhs) adjective Extremely careful, precise, or thorough. [From Latin meticulosus (fearful), from metus (fear). Originally the term meant one who was fearful and eventually it acquired a positive sense.] "It was a movement that required the meticulous precision of a master surgeon." George Pelletier; A Christmas Story in Two Parts Eggnog; Nashua Telegraph (New Hampshire); Dec 24, 2009. -------- Date: Mon Jan 4 00:01:30 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cothurnal X-Bonus: When I go into the garden with a spade, and dig a bed, I feel such an exhilaration and health that I discover that I have been defrauding myself all this time in letting others do for me what I should have done with my own hands. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) In this part of the world, this time of the year means cold: rain, snow, and ice. Covering extremities is essential. In A.Word.A.Day this week we'll cover extremities. We'll feature five words, often used metaphorically, about gloves, socks, and shoes. Philosopher John Locke once said, "Our incomes are like our shoes; if too small, they gall and pinch us; but if too large, they cause us to stumble and to trip." In the new year, may your incomes be like a nice pair of shoes, not too small, but large enough to slip into and be comfortable. cothurnal (koh-THUR-nuhl) adjective Of or related to tragedy or tragic acting. [From Latin, from Greek kothornos (a thick-soled laced boot worn by tragic actors in ancient Athenian tragedies).] "The first thing that strikes the listeners is the grotesque and parodic transformation of the habitual musical idioms, ... devoid of any shade of elevation and enthusiasm inherent in oratorical declarations, as if an imaginary hero, invisibly assuming a cothurnal pose, is just going to make faces and put out his tongue at the public." V. Tsenova; Underground Music from the Former USSR; Routledge; 1998. -------- Date: Tue Jan 5 00:01:25 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gauntlet X-Bonus: Naive you are / if you believe / life favours those / who aren't naive. -Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996) This week's theme: Covering the extremities gauntlet (GONT-let, GAHNT-) noun 1. A long thick glove worn as part of medieval armor. 2. A challenge. To throw down the gauntlet: to challenge someone. To take up the gauntlet: to accept a challenge. [From Old French gantelet, diminutive of gant (glove). The metaphorical sense of the word arises from the medieval custom of a knight throwing his gauntlet to the ground to challenge someone. An opponent would pick it up to indicate that he accepted the challenge.] Gauntlet: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gauntlet1_large.jpg [Illustration: Handbuch der Waffenkunde, 1890] 1. A form of military punishment where a person was forced to run between two rows of people who struck him as he passed in front of them. Used in the phrase: to run the gauntlet. 2. An attack from all sides; a severe trial or ordeal. [An alteration of gantlope, influenced by the word gauntlet, from Swedish gatlopp (lane run).] Running the gauntlet: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gauntlet2_large.jpg [Illustration: Frundsberger Kriegsbuch (war-book) of Jost Ammann, 1525] "Qantas's budget airline Jetstar has thrown down the gauntlet to other no-frills airlines by adding an extra 700,000 seats with discounted fares." Andrew Heasley; Jetstar Ramps Up Discount War; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Dec 10, 2009. "We had to run the gauntlet of well-financed and powerful opposition to secure the assets for the future of the game and our new league," said AF1 board member William Niro." Arena Football One completes purchase of AFL assets; The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, California); Dec 21, 2009. -------- Date: Wed Jan 6 00:01:16 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--buskin X-Bonus: Is man one of God's blunders or is God one of man's? -Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900) This week's theme: Covering the extremities buskin (BUS-kin) noun 1. A thick-soled laced boot, reaching to the knee or calf, worn by actors of ancient Greek tragedies. Also known as cothurnus. 2. A tragic drama. [Perhaps from Middle French brousequin.] NOTES: A thick-soled boot was a distinctive feature of a tragic actor in ancient Greece. It elevated him and raised his stature. Because those big shoes were often worn by tragedians, we came to refer to a tragedy itself as a buskin. A counterpart of buskin is sock (a comedy) after soccus, a lightweight low shoe worn by comic actors. https://wordsmith.org/words/images/buskin_large.jpg [Source: Wikipedia] "'My vein,' wrote Corneille, 'often combines the lofty buskin with the comic sock, and ... pleases the audience by striking contrasting notes.'" Linda Winer; Corneille With Kushner's Help; Newsday (New York); Jan 20, 1994. -------- Date: Thu Jan 7 00:01:28 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sock X-Bonus: Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth. -Blaise Pascal, philosopher and mathematician (1623-1662) This week's theme: Covering the extremities sock (sawk) noun A light, low-heeled shoe worn by ancient Greek comic actors, and by extension a comedy. [From Latin soccus (slipper). Compare with buskin https://wordsmith.org/words/buskin.html The term "sock and buskin" refers to the theatrical profession collectively.] "In both images, the face is obscured by a bulbous spherical helmet, bearing a triangle in one photograph, a star in the other, a sinister update to the sock and buskin masks of classical theatre." Works That Fizz With Unexpected Connections; The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland); Jul 27, 2007. -------- Date: Fri Jan 8 00:01:24 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--discalced X-Bonus: The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. -Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (1934-1996) This week's theme: Covering the extremities discalced (dis-KALST) adjective Without shoes. [From Latin dis- (apart, away) + calceare (to fit with shoes), from calceus (shoe), from calx (heel). The word discalced is often used of members of religious orders who go barefoot or wear sandals.] "There were several pairs of shoes involved as well, which the otherwise discalced women had a hard time getting on and off." Christine Temin; 'Straight Up!' Falls Down With Dance Premieres; The Boston Globe; Feb 11, 2005. -------- Date: Mon Jan 11 00:01:17 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sacerdotal X-Bonus: The noble art of losing face / may one day save the human race / and turn into eternal merit / what weaker minds would call disgrace. -Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996) The word religion derives from Latin ligare (to tie or to bind, as in 'ligament'), but it best serves as a tool to divide people. My religion is better than yours. My god true, yours false. What, we have the same religion? No problem, my sect is better than yours. I recently read a thought-provoking book "50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God" by Guy Harrison http://amazon.com/o/asin/1591025672/ws00-20 I found the author's patient and thoughtful discussion worthwhile reading and I highly recommend it to all, believers and non-believers. This week in AWAD we'll look at five words related to religion. sacerdotal (sas-uhr-DOHT-l, sak-) adjective Of or relating to priests: priestly. [Via French from Latin sacerdotalis (priestly), from sacerdos (priest, literally one who offers sacrifices), from sacer (holy, sacred) + dare (to give).] "My student came from a country where professors hold a sacerdotal status and so took my jest as a brushoff." David D Perlmutter; Are You A Good Protege?; Chronicle of Higher Education (Washington, DC); Apr 18, 2008. -------- Date: Tue Jan 12 00:01:28 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--precatory X-Bonus: Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings -- always darker, emptier, and simpler. -Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900) This week's theme: Words relating to religion precatory (PREK-uh-tor-ee) adjective 1. Expressing a request. 2. Nonbinding: only expressing a wish or giving a suggestion. [From Latin precari (to pray). Ultimately from the Indo-European root prek- (to ask) that is also the source of words such as pray, precarious, deprecate, and postulate.] "Even worse, [the proposed amendment] is a deception because it amounts to nothing more than a precatory expression of pious hope." Robert C. Byrd; A Hollow and Dangerous Promise; The Washington Post; Oct 31, 1993. "'The laws are precatory as opposed to mandatory,' said Scott Sommer, 'They say the city "may", rather than "shall", enforce the housing code.'" Deborah Sontag; A Weak Housing Agency Seems to Be a Step Behind; The New York Times; Oct 7, 1996. -------- Date: Wed Jan 13 00:01:27 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vatic X-Bonus: In an earlier stage of our development most human groups held to a tribal ethic. Members of the tribe were protected, but people of other tribes could be robbed or killed as one pleased. Gradually the circle of protection expanded, but as recently as 150 years ago we did not include blacks. So African human beings could be captured, shipped to America, and sold. In Australia white settlers regarded Aborigines as a pest and hunted them down, much as kangaroos are hunted down today. Just as we have progressed beyond the blatantly racist ethic of the era of slavery and colonialism, so we must now progress beyond the speciesist ethic of the era of factory farming, of the use of animals as mere research tools, of whaling, seal hunting, kangaroo slaughter, and the destruction of wilderness. We must take the final step in expanding the circle of ethics. -Peter Singer, philosopher, professor of bioethics (b. 1946) This week's theme: Words relating to religion vatic (VAT-ik) adjective Of or related to a prophet or a prophecy: prophetic. [From Latin vates (prophet). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wet- (to blow or inspire) which is also the source of fan, atmosphere, Vatican, and Wednesday (literally, Woden's day, after a Norse god).] "'I know one day we will all die,' replied Adi, making a valiant stab at vatic foresight." Tom Sutcliffe; Not All of It Added Up; The Independent (London, UK); Jan 29, 2009. -------- Date: Thu Jan 14 00:01:20 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--canonical X-Bonus: What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. -Christopher Hitchens, author and journalist (b. 1949) This week's theme: Words relating to religion canonical (kuh-NON-i-kuhl) adjective 1. Authorized; recognized. 2. Religion: Relating to canon law. 3. Art: Relating to a particular artist's works established as authentic and complete. 4. Literature: Relating to a list of literary works permanently established as having highest merit. 5. Math: In simplest or standard form. 6. Music: Relating to a piece of music in which a melody is played by different overlapping voices. [From Latin canon (measuring rod, rule), from Greek kanon (rule).] "Shakespeare, Shaw, Ibsen, and heaven knows what other canonical heavyweights one might care to name?" Matt Wolf; Newcomers Who Stole the Show; The New York Times; Dec 29, 2009. "Watching John Mighton's play [Half Life] a second time, I found myself wondering how many drafts it must have gone through before reaching its canonical form." Robert Cushman; Welcome Back to T.O.; Financial Post (Canada); Jan 20, 2007. -------- Date: Fri Jan 15 00:11:13 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--eremite X-Bonus: There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew. -Marshall McLuhan, educator and philosopher (1911-1980) This week's theme: Words relating to religion eremite (AIR-uh-myt) noun A recluse, especially for religious reasons. [From Latin eremita, from Greek eremia (desert), from eremos (solitary).] "Poor Joyce Maynard. Not since Martina Hingis submarined a serve to Steffi Graf in the French Open has a woman been so universally excoriated for underhanded conduct. And all Maynard did was sell a bunch of mash notes she had saved from a boyfriend of 27 years ago to raise college tuition for her children. Except that the boyfriend happened to be J.D. Salinger -- the eremite of Cornish, N.H." Mark Leyner; How to Avoid Salinger Syndrome; Time (New York); Jul 5, 1999. "Thou Spirit, who led'st this glorious Eremite Into the desert, his victorious field Against the spiritual foe, and brought'st him thence." John Milton; Paradise Regained; 1671. -------- Date: Mon Jan 18 00:01:16 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--asperity X-Bonus: Real misanthropes are not found in solitude, but in the world; since it is experience of life, and not philosophy, which produces real hatred of mankind. -Giacomo Leopardi, poet, essayist, and philosopher (1798-1837) Have you ever opened a dictionary to look up a word, only to find yourself distracted by another word on the page? The definition of that word steers you to yet another, some two hundred pages ahead, and before you know it your fingers are cavorting as if in a random dance on the leaves of the lexicon. This week's words in AWAD were chosen by following precisely that route. You could call it Brownian Motion, Browsing the Web, or Looking Words Up In a Dictionary. asperity (ah-SPER-i-tee) noun Harshness or roughness. [Via French from Latin asper (rough).] "We must expect posterity to view with some asperity the marvels and the wonders we're passing on to it; but it should change its attitude to one of heartfelt gratitude when thinking of the blunders we didn't quite commit." Our Greatest Achievement; Piet Hein; Grooks. "Dressed in Robert Jones's well-cut, earth-toned '60s' pantsuits, Lagerfelt wittily mixes languor and asperity." David Benedict; Greta Garbo Came to Donegal; Variety (Los Angeles); Jan 13, 2010 -------- Date: Tue Jan 19 00:01:17 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--obscurantism X-Bonus: Insane people are always sure that they are fine. It is only the sane people who are willing to admit that they are crazy. -Nora Ephron, novelist (b. 1941) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words obscurantism (uhb-SKYOOR-uhn-tiz-uhm, ob-skyoo-RAN-tiz-uhm) noun 1. Opposition to the spread of knowledge. 2. Being deliberately vague or obscure; also a style in art and literature. [From Latin obscurare (to make dark).] "Jeane Kirkpatrick possessed the rare gift of being able to write subtle and challenging studies of international politics and to formulate strikingly simple and apt phrases to cut through obscurantism and cant." Joseph P. Duggan; Jeane Kirkpatrick Set a Very High Bar; St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri); Dec 18, 2006. -------- Date: Wed Jan 20 00:01:25 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sedulous X-Bonus: A beautiful thing is never perfect. -Egyptian proverb This week's theme: Miscellaneous words sedulous (SEJ-uh-luhs) adjective Involving great care, effort, and persistence. [From Latin se (without) + dolus (trickery, guile). Ultimately from the Indo-European root del- (to count or recount) that is also the source of tell, tale, talk, and Dutch taal (speech, language).] "Elizabeth Bishop was sedulous, pernickety, quietly determined; she would work on poems for years." Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell; The Economist (London, UK); Nov 20, 2008. -------- Date: Thu Jan 21 00:01:14 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--surcease X-Bonus: The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth. -Henry Beston, naturalist and author (1888-1968) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words surcease (suhr-SEES) noun Stoppage, especially a temporary one. verb tr., intr. To bring or come to an end. [From Middle English sursesen/surcesen, via French from Latin supersedere (to refrain from), from super- + sedere (to sit). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sed- (to sit) that is also the source of sit, chair, saddle, assess, assiduous, sediment, soot, cathedral, and tetrahedron. The word cease is unrelated, though its spelling has influenced the word.] "It was a labour without rest or surcease." Canon Kik Woods; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Jan 16, 2008. -------- Date: Fri Jan 22 00:01:28 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lineament X-Bonus: Sometimes, exhausted / with toil and endeavour, / I wish I could sleep / for ever and ever; / but then this reflection / my longing allays: / I shall be doing it / one of these days. -Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words lineament (LIN-ee-uh-muhnt) noun 1. A distinctive feature, especially of a face. 2. A linear topographic feature, as of the earth. [From Latin lineamentum (contour, outline), from lineare (to draw a line), from linea (line). Ultimately from the Indo-European root lino- (flax) that is also the source of line, align, lineage, linen, lingerie, lint, and linseed.] "A gleam of exultation shot across the darkly painted lineaments of the inhabitant of the forest." James Fenimore Cooper; The Last of the Mohicans; 1826. "The possibility that the lineament is a fault, and the possibility that it extends under Mt. Natib need urgently to be explored." Kelvin S. Rodolfo; The Geological Hazards of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant; The Philippine Star (Manila); Mar 5, 2009. -------- Date: Mon Jan 25 00:01:24 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--theogony X-Bonus: Losing one glove / is certainly painful, / but nothing / compared to the pain, / of losing one, / throwing away the other, / and finding / the first one again. -Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996) What are combining forms? You can think of them as the Legos of language. As the name indicates, a combining form is a linguistic atom that occurs only in combination with some other form which could be a word, another combining form, or an affix (unlike a combining form, an affix can't attach to another affix). This week we'll feature five words made using combining forms: theo- (god), oligo- (few), artio- (even number), helio- (sun), hagio- (saint) and -gony (origin), -poly (selling), -dactyl (toes or fingers), -latry (worship), -graphy (writing) Using one combining form from each group you could make 25 words. Whether all those words make sense is another matter. In fact, theoretically you could construct billions of words with just these 10 Lego blocks as a word can have more than one combining forms. Consider pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. https://wordsmith.org/words/pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.html What words can you come up with using these building blocks? How would you define them? Share your constructions and their definitions on the bulletin board Wordsmith Talk https://wordsmith.org/board or by email to (words at wordsmith.org). theogony (thee-OG-uh-nee) noun The origin of gods or an account of this. [From Greek theo- (god) + -gony (origin).] "The poet [Milton] sees the arrival of Christ in the world in terms of its impact on the pagan theogony." A.N. Wilson; World of Books; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Dec 23, 2002. -------- Date: Tue Jan 26 00:01:24 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--oligopoly X-Bonus: Old age deprives the intelligent man only of qualities useless to wisdom. -Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms oligopoly (ol-i-GOP-uh-lee) noun A market condition where there are few sellers. [From Greek oligo- (few) + -poly, patterned after monopoly, from polein (to sell).] Here's a little chart that explains it all: monopoly: one seller, many buyers duopoly: two sellers, many buyers oligopoly: a few sellers, many buyers monopsony: one buyer, many sellers duopsony: two buyers, many sellers oligopsony: a few buyers, many sellers [From Greek opsonia (purchase).] "The country's fair trade regulator suggested Sunday that the long-standing oligopoly of a few gas companies should be phased out by allowing new providers to compete in the market." Jane Han; Gas Monopoly Must Be Dissolved; The Korea Times (Seoul); Jan 3, 2009. -------- Date: Wed Jan 27 00:01:28 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--artiodactyl X-Bonus: If God exists, I hope he has a good excuse. -Woody Allen, author, actor, and filmmaker (b. 1935) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms artiodactyl (ahr-tee-o-DAK-til) adjective Having an even number of toes on each foot. [From Greek artio- (even in number, perfect) + -dactyl (toed, fingered). The mammal order Artiodactyla is made up of animals such as pig, camel, and giraffe. Those having an odd number of toes are called perissodactyl, from Greek perisso- (uneven, strange). Examples: horse, tapir, and rhinoceros.] Toes of a camel: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/artiodactyl.jpg [Photo: Nancy E. Martinez http://www.flickr.com/photos/25960000@N05/2466544684/ ] "Joe Palca: By the way, you may not be aware that the pig is only the second artiodactyl to have its genome sequenced -- the cow came first." Renee Montagne; Scientists Decode DNA of Domestic Pig; Morning Edition; National Public Radio (Washington, DC); Nov 2, 2009. -------- Date: Thu Jan 28 00:01:25 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--heliolatry X-Bonus: We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color. -Maya Angelou, poet (b. 1928) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms heliolatry (hee-lee-OL-uh-tree) noun Worship of the sun. [From Greek helio- (sun) + -latry (worship). A related word is heliotrope (a plant that turns toward the sun).] "Professor Frazer himself has warned that his vaccine is not an invitation to feckless heliolatry, stressing that any jab, no matter how effective, 'is not a replacement for prevention'." Tamara Sheward; Browned Off by a Baking Fad; Herald-Sun (Melbourne, Australia); Jan 7, 2010. -------- Date: Fri Jan 29 00:01:15 EST 2010 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hagiography X-Bonus: When we have exposed the specious reasoning of the hunters' apologists and stripped their sport of its counterfeit legitimacy, the naked brutality of hunting defines itself: killing for the fun of it. -Steve Ruggeri, former hunter and activist (1949-1998) This week's theme: Words made with combining forms hagiography (hag-ee-OG-ruh-fee, hay-jee-) noun 1. A biography of a saint. 2. An uncritical biography, treating its subject with undue reverence. [From Greek hagio- (holy) + -graphy (writing). A related word is hagiocracy (a government by holy persons; also a place thus governed).] A traditional hagiography: http://amazon.com/o/asin/0198609493/ws00-20 and a modern-day hagiography: http://amazon.com/o/asin/1593791011/ws00-20 "There's a whiff of hagiography in the sometimes sympathetic portrayal of the gang. But then, one man's terrorist..." Tim Walker; The Baader-Meinhof Complex; The Independent (London, UK); Apr 17, 2009.