A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Feb 1 00:31:09 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--milliner X-Bonus: Ah, good taste, what a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness. -Pablo Picasso, painter and sculptor (1881-1973) This week's theme: Words derived from the names of places milliner (MIL-uh-nuhr) noun Someone who designs, makes, or sells women's hats. [After Milan, Italy, from where women's wares were imported. First recorded use: 1530.] Notes: The word used to appear as the derogatory term "man milliner" implying someone who busies himself with trifling occupations. Poet Robert Southey said in 1796: "I look upon a man milliner not only as one of the most despicable members of society, but as one of the most injurious." The term for someone who deals in men's furnishings is haberdasher. "James Faulkner is not your average milliner. At 27 years old, he is making a name for himself in the world of fashion with unique headgear made from roadkill." Jen Bowden; Interview: James Faulkner, Milliner; Scotland on Sunday (Edinburgh); Apr 20, 2010. -------- Date: Wed Feb 2 00:35:06 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--helot X-Bonus: Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself. -James Anthony Froude, author and editor (1818-1894) This week's theme: Words derived from the names of places helot (HEL-uht, HEE-luht) noun A serf or slave. [After Helos, a town in Laconia in ancient Greece, whose inhabitants were enslaved. First recorded use: 1579.] Notes: Another word derived from the name of a town in Laconia is spartan, which is coined after Sparta, the capital of Laconia. And Laconia has a word coined after it too: laconic https://wordsmith.org/words/laconic.html . "Many wind up in jobs irrelevant to their training. That helot frothing your coffee expected to become a barrister, not a barista." Jonathan Guthrie; Russell Groupies to Target Newbie Unis; Financial Times (London, UK); Sep 23, 2010. -------- Date: Thu Feb 3 00:35:06 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--spartan X-Bonus: Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies. -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900) This week's theme: Words derived from the names of places spartan (SPAR-tn) adjective Lacking in comforts; marked by self-discipline or self-restraint. [After Sparta, an ancient town in southern Greece whose residents were known for strict discipline. First recorded use: 1425.] Notes: Sparta was the capital of Laconia, which has given another word to the language: laconic https://wordsmith.org/words/laconic.html . Also, there's another word coined after a town in Laconia: helot https://wordsmith.org/words/helot.html "Jens Jacob cooks and sleeps in the van, his mobile home, sometimes under the stars. It's a spartan existence for the man on the move." Allan Jacob; On the Road to...; Khaleej Times (Dubai, UAE); Nov 5, 2010. -------- Date: Fri Feb 4 00:35:16 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--verdigris X-Bonus: Perhaps the best cure for the fear of death is to reflect that life has a beginning as well as an end. There was a time when you were not: that gives us no concern. Why then should it trouble us that a time will come when we shall cease to be? To die is only to be as we were before we were born. -William Hazlitt, essayist (1778-1830) This week's theme: Words derived from the names of places verdigris (VUHR-di-grees, -gris, -gree) noun A bluish-green patina formed on copper, brass, and bronze when exposed to air or water for a long time. [From Old French verte grez, corruption of vert de Grece (green of Greece). It was earlier used as a pigment by artists. The Greek connection is not clear. Earliest documented use: 1336.] Verdigris on the Statue of Liberty: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/verdigris_large.jpg [Photo: Video4net http://www.flickr.com/photos/video4net/4079991429/] "The time capsule, made of copper, showed the verdigris of age." Jacqueline L. Urgo; Time Capsule Reveals 1936 Atlantic City; The Philadelphia Inquirer; Jul 14, 2010. -------- Date: Mon Feb 7 00:12:05 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dyspeptic X-Bonus: It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do. There is no fun in doing nothing when you have nothing to do. Wasting time is merely an occupation then, and a most exhausting one. Idleness, like kisses, to be sweet must be stolen. -Jerome K. Jerome, humorist and playwright (1859-1927) Oscar Wilde once said, "It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious." This week we'll offer five words you can safely use to describe your co-workers, associates, and others. Try these elegantly veiled insults without fear of offending. Just make sure your targets are not already AWAD subscribers! dyspeptic (dis-PEP-tik) adjective: 1. Relating to or suffering from dyspepsia (indigestion). 2. Having a bad temper; gloomy; irritable. noun: One suffering from dyspepsia. [Via Latin from Greek dys- (bad) + peptos (digested). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pekw- (to cook or ripen), which is also the source of cook, cuisine, kitchen, kiln, biscuit, apricot (an early-ripening peach, literally speaking), pumpkin, and Hindi pakka (ripened, cooked). Earliest documented use: 1694.] "It's the 1300s, and plague and pestilence have left those still alive in sour, dyspeptic moods." Steven Rea; Sir Knight Nicolas in a 1300s' Slog; Philadelphia Inquirer; Jan 8, 2011. -------- Date: Tue Feb 8 00:12:06 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--caitiff X-Bonus: There is no greater mistake than the hasty conclusion that opinions are worthless because they are badly argued. -Thomas Huxley, biologist and writer (1825-1895) This week's theme: Words to describe people caitiff (KAY-tif) noun: A cowardly and despicable person. adjective: cowardly, despicable. [Via French from Latin captivus (captive), from capere (to seize). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kap- (to grasp), which is also the root of captive, capsule, capable, capture, cable, chassis, occupy, deceive, captious https://wordsmith.org/words/captious.html , and gaff https://wordsmith.org/words/gaff.html . Earliest documented use: Before 1300.] "I followed him through the streets, listening to his rant, the insults directed at me for knowing cutpurses and caitiffs, and how dare I lead him into such dens of ordure." Frank McCourt; From an Affair with Books to a Book Fair; The New York Times; Sep 19, 1997. -------- Date: Wed Feb 9 00:01:17 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tetchy X-Bonus: Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed. -Herman Melville, novelist and poet (1819-1891) This week's theme: Words to describe people tetchy or techy (TECH-ee) adjective Easily annoyed; oversensitive. [Of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Middle English tache/teche (blemish). Earliest documented use: 1597.] "O comes across as tired and tetchy, and fed up with being unfairly treated by the press." So Who Wrote O?; Daily Mail (London, UK); Jan 21, 2011. -------- Date: Thu Feb 10 00:01:05 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--valetudinarian X-Bonus: Between truth and the search for truth, I opt for the second. -Bernard Berenson, art historian (1865-1959) This week's theme: Words to describe people valetudinarian (val-i-too-duh-NAYR-ee-uhn, -tyood-) noun: A weak or sickly person, especially one who is constantly or overly worried about his or her health. adjective: Chronically sick or concerned about one's health. [From Latin valetudo (state of health), from valere (to be strong or well). Ultimately, from the Indo-European root wal- (to be strong), which is also the source of valiant, avail, valor, value, countervail https://wordsmith.org/words/countervail.html, polyvalent https://wordsmith.org/words/polyvalent.html, and wieldy https://wordsmith.org/words/wieldy.html . Earliest documented use: 1703.] "Broadway theatre has long been known as 'the fabulous invalid', but could the old valetudinarian finally have caught a fatal cold?" Charles Spencer; British Theatre Will Thrive in a Downturn; The Telegraph (London, UK); Dec 10, 2008. -------- Date: Fri Feb 11 00:01:08 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--reticent X-Bonus: Like all weak men he laid an exaggerated stress on not changing one's mind. -William Somerset Maugham, writer (1874-1965) This week's theme: Words to describe people reticent (RET-i-suhnt) adjective 1. Reluctant to share one's thoughts and feelings. 2. Restrained or unwilling. [From Latin reticere (to keep silent), from tacere (to be silent). Earliest documented use: 1825.] "Lester is usually among the more reticent Red Sox, so a statement from him falling somewhere between candid and brash rates as a surprise." Gabe Lacques; Red Sox's Jon Lester; USA Today (Washington, DC); Jan 25, 2011. -------- Date: Mon Feb 14 00:01:08 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fell X-Bonus: Animals have these advantages over man: they never hear the clock strike, they die without any idea of death, they have no theologians to instruct them, their last moments are not disturbed by unwelcome and unpleasant ceremonies, their funerals cost them nothing, and no one starts lawsuits over their wills. -Voltaire, philosopher and writer (1694-1778) According to recent research, longer words carry more information http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110124/full/news.2011.40.html http://www.webcitation.org/5w5dDeG8t . It's obviously true for scientific terminology, for example names for chemical compounds in which those polysyllabic constructions try to describe all about the compounds. But is it true for words used in everyday human languages? In general, the shorter the word, the more meanings it has, though in a given context usually only one of those meanings applies. This week we have selected five words, each of which has multiple, unrelated meanings. And speaking of words carrying information, if the old saying about a picture being worth a thousand words is true, each of this week's words accompanies many more words. They are illustrated by artist Rebekah Potter http://www.rpotterstudio.etsy.com/ (rebekah.l.potter at gmail.com) in her heartwarming style. fell (fel) adjective: 1. Fierce; cruel; lethal. 2. In the idiom, in one fell swoop (all at once, as if by a blow). [From Old French, variant of felon (wicked, a wicked person). Earliest documented use: Before 1300.] verb tr.: 1. To knock down, strike, or cut down. 2. To sew a seam by folding one rough edge under the other, flat, on the wrong side, as in jeans. noun: 1. The amount of timber cut. 2. In sewing, a felled seam. [From Old English fellan/fyllan (to fall). Earliest documented use: Around 1000.] noun: A stretch of open country in the highlands. [From Old Norse fjall/fell (hill). Earliest documented use: Before 1300.] noun: The skin or hide of an animal. [From Old English fel/fell (skin or hide). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pel- (skin or hide), which also gave us pelt, pillion, and film. Earliest documented use: Around 1000.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/fell_large.jpg [Illustration: Rebekah Potter http://www.rpotterstudio.etsy.com/ ] "So you spend most of the movie worried that Shepherd has some fell disease." Mary McNamara; A Ham-fisted Dish; Los Angeles Times; May 19, 2003. "In one fell swoop, most of the top politicians of this impoverished West African country surrendered themselves to the cadre of junior officers." Jeffrey Gettleman; A Largely Welcomed Coup in Guinea; The New York Times; Dec 25, 2008. "The government has granted sanction to fell a tree to facilitate new construction." No Move to Lift Construction Ban in Green Belt; The Indian Express (New Delhi); Oct 13, 2010. "I suppose that good-quality cloth and thread, rivets, and felled seams have something to do with it." Andrew Bevan and David Wengrow; Cultures of Commodity Branding; Left Coast Press; 2010. "California Fish and Game officials stated that a tranquilizer gun can take up to 15 minutes to fell an animal." Patti Davis; Death of a Tiger; Newsweek (New York); Feb 26, 2005. "After a day spent tramping across the snowy fells of the Lake District National Park, a period of R and R is most definitely required." James White; Hotel Review; Daily Mail (London, UK); Jan 19, 2011. "Felt bearing pads are made from non-tanned fell." A.S.G. Bruggeling and G.F. Huyghe; Prefabrication with Concrete; Taylor & Francis; 1991. -------- Date: Tue Feb 15 00:01:08 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pip 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: Polysemantic words pip (pip) noun 1. The small seed of a fruit, such as an apple or an orange. 2. Something or someone wonderful. [Short for pippin, from Anglo-French pepin. Earliest documented use: c. 1450.] 3. One of the dots or symbols on a die, playing card, or domino. 4. Any of the diamond-shaped segments on the surface of a pineapple. 5. An insignia on the shoulder indicating an officer's rank. [Origin unknown. Earliest documented use: 1604.] 6. A disease of birds marked by mucus in the mouth. 7. Any minor, nonspecific ailment in a person. [From Middle Dutch pippe, from Vulgar Latin pipita, from Latin pituita (phlegm).] 8. The smallest change in the exchange rate for a given currency pair. Most major currencies (except yen) are priced to the fourth decimal place, so a pip is 1/100 of one percent (.0001). [Acronym, from Percentage in Point.] verb tr.: 1. To defeat, especially by a narrow margin or at the last moment. 2. To hit with a gunshot. 3. To blackball https://wordsmith.org/words/blackball.html . [Perhaps from pip, from pippin. Earliest documented use: 1838.] verb intr.: 4. To peep or chirp. verb tr.: 5. To break through the shell of an egg when hatching. [Origin unknown. Earliest documented use: 1846.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pip_large.jpg [Illustration: Rebekah Potter http://www.rpotterstudio.etsy.com/ ] "Chairman Ian Palmer is spitting pips." Jon Morgan; Apple Growers Get the Pip as the Bite Goes on Prices; The Dominion Post (Wellington, New Zealand); Nov 5, 2010. "Today the politician gambles with a die so rough-used that none of the pips on its six faces can be read." Gopalkrishna Gandhi; We, the People; The Hindu (Chennai, India); Dec 26, 2010. "Wash those cups again. And this time, sterilize them. Want everybody around here to come down with the pip?" Robert A. Heinlein; Red Planet; Scribner; 1949. "The euro fell around 35 pips versus the dollar to trade at $1.3672." Euro Falls as Ireland Denies Bailout; Reuters (New York); Nov 12, 2010. "Grant Skinner of Glencorse pipped former Scottish international Mike Thomson to the top spot." Martin Dempster; Golf: Skinner Pips Thomson; Scotsman (Edinburgh, Scotland); Nov 12, 2010. "The author's photos of all the life stages of eagles -- from a chick pipping from an egg ... to the final pure white head and tail of adulthood -- are one of the strengths of the book." Nancy Bent; The Majesty of Flight; Booklist (Chicago); Dec 1, 1999. -------- Date: Wed Feb 16 00:01:05 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--parity X-Bonus: I have gained this by philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law. -Aristotle, philosopher (384-322 BCE) This week's theme: Polysemantic words parity (PAR-i-tee) noun 1. Equality in amount, status, etc. [Via French from Latin paritas, from par (equal). Earliest documented use: 1572.] 2. The condition of having given birth. 3. The number of children borne by a woman. [From Latin parere (to give birth). Earliest documented use: 1877.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/parity_large.jpg [Illustration: Rebekah Potter http://www.rpotterstudio.etsy.com/ ] "That means that the parity of the Australian dollar against the greenback, loved by Aussies heading overseas but hated by exporters, is more accident than design." Ian McIlwraith; Pressure on China for Yuan Move; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Nov 12, 2010. "It wasn't just ageing parity -- women waiting until their mid-30s to have a child -- that forced the change." Zoe Williams; How the Inventor of the Pill Changed the World for Women; The Guardian (London, UK); Oct 30, 2010. -------- Date: Thu Feb 17 00:01:05 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--seadog X-Bonus: There is no absurdity so palpable but that it may be firmly planted in the human head if you only begin to inculcate it before the age of five, by constantly repeating it with an air of great solemnity. -Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher (1788-1860) This week's theme: Polysemantic words seadog (SEE-dog) noun 1. A veteran sailor. 2. A harbor seal. 3. A pirate or privateer. 4. A faint rainbow-like formation seen in foggy conditions. Also called mistbow, fogbow, and white rainbow. [From sea + dog, from use of the word dog as a playful term to refer to someone, as in old dog. Earliest documented use: 1598.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/seadog_large.jpg [Illustration: Rebekah Potter http://www.rpotterstudio.etsy.com/ ] "But seadog Cyril Howarth -- who is nicknamed Admiral Cyril -- fears his days navigating his favourite waters could be torpedoed after an investigation was launched by canal bosses." Paul Fielding; Fylde Sailor Builds Nazi Submarine; The Gazette (Blackpool, UK); Oct 7, 2010. "Forget the seadogs that Captain Hook unleashed on the Lost Boys. Forget Long John Silver and his parrot. The most famous brigands debuted in 1879." Lawrence Bommer; Light Opera Revives Pirates of Penzance; Chicago Tribune; Dec 20, 2002. -------- Date: Fri Feb 18 00:01:05 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fluke X-Bonus: If you want to understand your government, don't begin by reading the Constitution. It conveys precious little of the flavor of today's statecraft. Instead, read selected portions of the Washington Telephone Directory, such as pages 354-58, which contain listings for all the organizations with titles beginning with the word "National". There are, of course, the big ones, like the National Association of Manufacturers, and the National Association of Broadcasters. But the pages teem with others, National Cigar Leaf Tobacco Association, National Association of Mirror Manufacturers, National Association of Miscellaneous Ornamental and Architectural Products Contractors, National Association of Margarine Manufacturers. -George Will, columnist and author (b.1941) This week's theme: Polysemantic words fluke (flook) noun 1. The flat, triangular piece at the end of an arm of an anchor. 2. A barb or barbed head on a harpoon, arrow, etc. 3. Either of the two lobes of a whale's tail. [Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1561.] 4. A chance occurrence, especially a stroke of good luck. [Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1857.] 5. A flatfish, especially a flounder of the genus Paralichthys. 6. A trematode: a type of flatworm. [From Old English floc. Ultimately from the Indo-European root plak- (flat), which is also the source of flake, flaw, placenta, and supple. Earliest documented use: Before 700.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/fluke_large.jpg [Illustration: Rebekah Potter http://www.rpotterstudio.etsy.com/ ] "Ice sculptors carved a throne resembling the fluke of a whale descending into the water." Bryan Boyhan; HarborFrost a Success; The Sag Harbor Express (New York); Feb 6, 2011. "There are very, very sharp indents. They almost look like the fluke of an anchor might have done it." With Surf and Oil Up, California Closes Beaches; The Washington Post; Feb 11, 1990. "It wasn't a fluke. We have been working hard on it." Robert Craddock; Reds Coach Ewen McKenzie; The Courier-Mail (Australia); Feb 2, 2011. -------- Date: Mon Feb 21 00:01:06 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--stele X-Bonus: Absolute justice is achieved by the suppression of all contradiction: therefore it destroys freedom. -Albert Camus, writer, philosopher, Nobel laureate (1913-1960) Many years ago when I was in school, a teacher in a math class told us that the correct plural for the word formula was formulae (pronounced FOR-myuh-lee). I remember thinking: Really? Eventually I discovered other words that follow this rule (antenna/antennae, larva/larvae, etc.) and learned that when we borrow words from another language, we often borrow their pluralization rules as well. But the general trend is toward English-style plural forms -- we simplify pluralization by adding an s or es to the word. So you are more likely to hear formulas than formulae. To make things a little complicated, sometimes the plural depends on the context: antennae is preferred in biology and antennas in radio. So if you bump into a group of eight-armed animals would you call them octopuses, octopi, octopodes, or something else? Go with octopuses, unless they tell you they prefer otherwise. This week we'll see five words that have unusual plurals -- though most of them work with straightforward -s/-es plural form too. stele (STEE-lee, steel) noun, plural stelai (STEE-ly) or steles (STEE-leez, steelz) 1. An upright stone or pillar, having an inscription or a sculptured surface, serving as a monument. Also called stela. 2. The central core of the stem or root of a vascular plant. [From Greek stele (pillar). Ultimately from the Indo-European root stel- (to put or stand), which is also the source of stallion, stilt, install, gestalt, stout, and pedestal, and epistolary https://wordsmith.org/words/epistolary.html . Earliest documented use: 1820.] A stele from Cantabria, Spain: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/stele_large.jpg [Photo: María Victoria Gómez Fernández] "A plaque or a stele is being discussed as a possible monument." Severin Weiland; Son's Tell-All Book Damages Helmut Kohl's Image; Der Spiegel (Hamburg, Germany); Jan 27, 2011. -------- Date: Tue Feb 22 00:01:04 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--eidos X-Bonus: Mere parsimony is not economy. Expense, and great expense, may be an essential part in true economy. -Edmund Burke, statesman and writer (1729-1797) This week's theme: Words with unusual plurals eidos (EYE-dos, AY-) noun, plural eide (EYE-dee, AY-day) The formal sum of a culture, its intellectual character, ideas, etc. [From Greek eidos (form, idea), ultimately from the Indo-European root weid- (to see), which is the source of words such as wise, view, supervise, wit, and eidetic https://wordsmith.org/words/eidetic.html . Earliest recorded use: 1936.] "Picture, if you will, honey, the eidos of repulsive: plaid upholstered chairs, with ruffled skirts, all hideously brown and yellow." Christopher Coe; Such Times; Penguin Books; 1994. -------- Date: Wed Feb 23 00:01:06 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fomes X-Bonus: In matters of conscience the law of majority has no place. -Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) This week's theme: Words with unusual plurals fomes (FOH-meez) noun, plural fomites (FOM-i-teez, FOH-mi-teez) An object (for example, clothing or bedding) capable of absorbing and transmitting infectious organisms from one person to another. [From Latin fomes (kindling wood), from fovere (to warm). Earliest documented use: 1658.] Notes: The word is usually used in its plural form fomites, which has led to the back-formation of a new singular form fomite. Another example of a word coined in a similar way is pea (from pease, which was erroneously believed to be a plural). "The sitters didn't catch the virus at all. The cuddlers did, and so did the touchers, pointing up the importance of direct contact with secretions, but especially of fomites -- objects and surfaces with infectious viral particles still on them." Perri Klass; When to Keep a Child Home?; The New York Times; Feb 9, 2009. -------- Date: Thu Feb 24 00:01:07 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lacuna X-Bonus: Religion is something left over from the infancy of our intelligence, it will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970) This week's theme: Words with unusual plurals lacuna (luh-KYOO-nuh) noun, plural lacunae (luh-KYOO-nee) or lacunas An empty space, gap, missing part, an opening. [From Latin lacuna (hole, gap), from lacus (lake). Earliest documented use: 1663.] "Last week's collision between two cargo ships off the coast of Mumbai has exposed several systemic lacunae." Black Waters; The Times of India (New Delhi, India); Aug 11, 2010. -------- Date: Fri Feb 25 00:01:04 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--miasma X-Bonus: That sign of old age, extolling the past at the expense of the present. -Sydney Smith, writer and clergyman (1771-1845) This week's theme: Words with unusual plurals miasma (my-AZ-muh, mee-) noun, plural miasmas, miasmata (my-AZ-muh-tuh, mee-) 1. Noxious emissions: smoke, vapors, etc., especially those from decaying organic matter. 2. An oppressive or unpleasant atmosphere. [From Greek miasma (pollution, defilement), from miainein (to pollute). Earliest documented use: 1665.] Notes: Earlier it was believed that many diseases were caused by bad air from decomposing organic matter, as in a swamp. Malaria, for example, is named from Italian mala aria (bad air). The germ theory of disease has put the bad air theory to rest. "A miasma of smoke from wildfires cloaked the sweltering Russian capital." Jim Heintz; Fires Lay Ghostly Shroud of Smoke on Moscow; Associated Press (New York); Aug 6, 2010. "The region is still wobbling in the miasma of corruption." Bobi Odiko; Region Still Wobbling in Corruption; East African Business Week (Tanzania); Aug 4, 2010. -------- Date: Mon Feb 28 00:01:06 EST 2011 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sitzfleisch X-Bonus: To know how to say what other people only think is what makes men poets and sages; and to dare to say what others only dare to think, makes men martyrs or reformers, or both. Elizabeth Rundle Charles, writer (1828-1896) What comes to mind when you think of Germany? German engineering, of course. Germans are known for it -- putting together little pieces to build magnificent objects, big structures, manufactured precisely to help us make sense of the world. Yes, I'm talking about German engineering with the language, their acumen in combining words to make even longer words, words such as weltanschauung https://wordsmith.org/words/weltanschauung.html and gotterdammerung https://wordsmith.org/words/gotterdammerung.html . This week we'll see five words we've imported from German, words big and small. sitzfleisch (SITZ-flysh, ZITS-) noun 1. The ability to sit through or tolerate something boring. 2. The ability to endure or persist in a task. [From German Sitzfleisch, from sitzen (to sit) + Fleisch (flesh). Earliest documented use: Before 1930.] Notes: Sitzfleisch is a fancy term for what's commonly known as chair glue: the ability to sit still and get through the task at hand. It's often the difference between, for example, an aspiring writer and a writer. Sometimes the word is used in the sense of the ability to sit out a problem -- ignore it long enough in the hope it will go away. "Some prominent seats go to those with prominence. Others go to those with Sitzfleisch, like Representative Eliot L. Engel. Every year since 1989, the Bronx Democrat has won a prime spot at the State of the Union Address simply by showing up early and sitting in it." Elizabeth Kolbert; An Aisle Seat In the House or the Titanic; The New York Times; Jan 30, 1998.