A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Tue Apr 2 00:23:19 EST 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--farouche X-Bonus: If it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. fa.rouche \f*-'ru:sh\ aj [F, wild, shy, fr. LL forasticus belonging outside, fr. L foras out]doors; akin to L fores door - more at DOOR : marked by shyness and lack of polish; also : WILD 1880 OUIDA, Moths I. 298 "She is a little farouche." -------- Date: Wed Apr 3 02:10:15 EST 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gehenna X-Bonus: One cannot always be a hero, but one can always be a human. -Goethe Ge.hen.na \gi-'hen-*\ n [LL, fr. Gk Geenna, fr. Heb Ge^' Hinno-m, lit., valley of Hinno]m 1: HELL 2: a place or state of misery 1883 Punch 8 Sept. 119/1 "A Gehenna of flaring gas-flames and a howling warder stop the way again." -------- Date: Thu Apr 4 00:24:54 EST 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--billet-doux X-Bonus: I have often regretted my speech, never my silence. bil.let-doux \.bil-(.)a--'du:\ \-(.)a--'du:(z)\ n or billets-doux [F billet doux, lit., sweet letter] pl : a love letter 1848 THACKERAY, Van. Fair iv, "To see whether there was a billet-doux hidden among the flowers." -------- Date: Fri Apr 5 00:23:32 EST 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mulct X-Bonus: If something is confidential, it will be left in the copy machine. 1. mulct \'m*lkt\ n [L multa, mulcta] : FINE, PENALTY 2. mulct vt 1: to punish by a fine 2a: to defraud esp. of money : SWINDLE 2b: to obtain by fraud, duress, or theft 1851 DIXON, W. Penn xv. (1872) 131 "The new sect were..mulcted in heavy fines." -------- Date: Sat Apr 6 00:26:01 EST 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jabberwocky X-Bonus: It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. -Albert Einstein jab.ber.wocky \'jab-*r-.wa:k-e-\ n [Jabberwocky, nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll] : meaningless speech or writing -------- Date: Sun Apr 7 00:24:53 EST 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chiliad X-Bonus: If you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it. chil.i.ad \'kil-e--.ad, -*d\ n [LL chiliad-, chilias, fr. Gk, fr. chilioi thousand] 1: a group of 1000 2: a period of 1000 years -------- Date: Mon Apr 8 00:24:16 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tmesis X-Bonus: Work to become, not to acquire. -Elbert Hubbard tme.sis \(t*-)'me--s*s\ n [LL, fr. Gk tme-sis act of cutting, fr. temnein to cut - more]at TOME : separation of parts of a compound word by the intervention of one or more words (as what place soever for whatsoever place) 1678 PHILLIPS, (ed. 4), "Tmesis,..a figure of Prosody, wherein a compounded word is, as it were, cut asunder, and divided into two parts by some other word which is interposed, as Septem Subjecta Trioni, for Subjecta Septemtrioni." -- While my daily reading serves as a fodder of many words in AWAD, I'll admit to peeking in the dictionaries to seek out more obscure ones. When I stumble upon an interesting word, I feel as excited as a geologist who just discovered a new form of rock. For this week, I've collected words about words. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Apr 9 00:25:50 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sesquipedalian X-Bonus: Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. -Ambrose Redmoon ses.qui.pe.da.lian \.ses-kw*-p*-'da-l-y*n\ aj [L sesquipedalis, lit., a foot and a half long, fr. sesqui- + pe]d-, pes foot - more at FOOT 1: having many syllables : LONG 2: given to or characterized by the use of long words 1830 Fraser's Mag. I. 350 "What an amazing power in writing down hard names and sesquipedalians does not the following passage manifest!" -------- Date: Wed Apr 10 00:28:13 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--polysemous X-Bonus: Don't be afraid to take a big step. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. -David Lloyd George poly.se.mous \.pa:l-i-'se--m*s\ aj [LL polysemus, fr. Gk polyse-mos, fr. poly- + se-ma)X sign : marked by multiplicity of meaning -------- Date: Thu Apr 11 00:26:34 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--zeugma X-Bonus: More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren't so busy denying they made them. zeug.ma \'zu:g-m*\ n [L, fr. Gk, lit., joining, fr. zeugnynai to join; akin to L jungere] to join - more at YOKE : the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usu. in such a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one 1882 FARRAR, Early Chr. II. 560 "By the figure of speech called zeugma, or rather syllepsis, the same word..is often made to serve two purposes in the same sentence. A verb is often used with two clauses which is only appropriate to one of them, as in Pope's line-'See Pan with flocks, with fruits Pomona crowned.`" -------- Date: Fri Apr 12 00:23:46 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pleonasm X-Bonus: The way of the mystic and the way of the artist are related, except that the mystic doesn't have the craft. -Jean Erdman ple.o.nasm \'ple--*-.naz-*m\ \.ple--*-'nas-tik\ \-ti-k(*-)le-\ n [LL pleonasmus, fr. Gk pleonasmos, fr. pleonazein to be exces]sive, fr. pleio-n, pleo-n more - more at PLUS : the use of more words than those necessary to denote mere sense (as in the man he said) : REDUNDANCY; also : an instance or example of such use of words - ple.o.nas.tic aj 1911 A. BIERCE, Devil's Dictionary "PLEONASM, n. An army of words escorting a corporal of thought." -- Here are some more examples of yesterday's word: zeugma. -Anu She took the point, but she also took the spoons. -J.R.R. Tolkien Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana. -Groucho Marx -------- Date: Sat Apr 13 00:25:00 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--periphrasis X-Bonus: The value of the average conversation could be enormously improved by the constant use of four simple words: "I do not know." -Andre Maurois pe.riph.ra.sis \p*-'rif-r*-s*s\ \-r*-.se-z\ n or pe.riph.ra.ses [L, fr. Gk, fr. periphrazein to express periphrastically, fr. peri-] pl + phrazein to point out 1: use of a longer phrasing in place of a possible shorter and plainer form of expression : CIRCUMLOCUTION 2: an instance of periphrasis -------- Date: Sun Apr 14 00:27:09 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--verbile X-Bonus: Try to relax and enjoy the crisis. -Ashleigh Brilliant, writer (1933- ) ver.bile \'v*r-.bi-l\ n [L verbum word] : one whose mental imagery consists of words -------- Date: Mon Apr 15 00:06:39 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--turnverein X-Bonus: Advertising may be described as the science of arresting human intelligence long enough to get money from it. -Stephen Leacock turn.ver.ein \'t*rn-v*-.ri-n, 'tu.(*)rn-\ n [G, fr. turnen to perform gymnastic exercises + verein club] : an athletic club -------- Date: Tue Apr 16 00:41:42 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--upas X-Bonus: All progress is based upon a universal innate desire of every organism to live beyond its means. -Samuel Butler upas \'yu:-p*s\ n [Malay pohon upas poison tree] 1a: a tall Asiatic and East Indian tree (Antiaris toxicaria) of the mulberry family with a latex that contains poisonous glucosides used as an arrow poison 1b: a shrub or tree (Strychnos tieute of the family Loganiaceae) of the same region also yielding an arrow poison 2: a poisonous concentrate of the juice or latex of a upas 3: a poisonous or harmful influence or institution -------- Date: Wed Apr 17 00:41:45 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ana X-Bonus: Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. -Ambrose Redmoon 1. ana \'an-*\ av [ME, fr. ML, fr. Gk, at the rate of, lit., up] : of each an equal quantity - used in prescriptions 2. ana \'an-*, 'a:n-\ n or ana or anas [-ana] pl 1: a collection of the memorable sayings or table talk of a person 2: a collection of anecdotes or interesting or curious information about a person or a place 1881 Sat. Rev. No. 1320. 214 "To sweep ana and gossip out of..biographies." -------- Date: Thu Apr 18 00:41:42 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fug X-Bonus: I am a creationist; I refuse to believe that I could have evolved from humans. 1. fug \'f*g\ \'f*g-e-\ n [prob. alter. of 2fog] : an odorous emanation; esp : the stuffy atmosphere of a poorly ventilated space - fug.gy aj 2. fug vb or fugged; or fug.ging : to loll indoors in a stuffy atmosphere : to make stuffy and odorous 1971 H. C. RAE, Marksman I. v. 45 "The room was stuffy, fugged with tobacco smoke." -------- Date: Fri Apr 19 00:41:40 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--olio X-Bonus: It is our duty as men and women to proceed as though the limits of our abilities do not exist. -Pierre Teilhard de Chardin olio \'o--le--.o-\ n [modif. of Sp olla] 1: OLLA PODRIDA 2: a miscellaneous mixture or collection : HODGEPODGE, MEDLEY 1976 Publishers Weekly 9 Feb. 96/3 "It is a mixture of self-indulgent prose, sickening violence and unbelievable happenings. The whole olio is, clearly, a bid for Bicentennial attention." -------- Date: Sat Apr 20 00:41:46 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--unco X-Bonus: If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. -Anatole France 1. un.co \'*n-(.)ko-, -k*\ aj [ME (Sc) unkow, alter. of ME uncouth] chiefly Scot 1a: STRANGE, UNKNOWN 1b: UNCANNY, WEIRD chiefly Scot 2: EXTRAORDINARY 2. unco av : EXTREMELY, REMARKABLY, UNCOMMONLY 3. unco n pl, chiefly Scot 1: NEWS, TIDINGS chiefly Scot 2: STRANGER -------- Date: Sun Apr 21 00:41:40 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--assiduous X-Bonus: The journey of a thousand leagues begins from beneath your feet. -Lao Tzu as.sid.u.ous \*-'sij-(*-)w*s\ aj [L assiduus, fr. asside-re] : steadily attentive -------- Date: Mon Apr 22 00:41:43 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kef X-Bonus: War spares not the brave, but the cowardly. kef \'kef, 'ka-f\ n [Ar ke^f pleasure] 1: a state of dreamy tranquility 2: a smoking material (as Indian hemp) that produces kef 1897 KEITH, Plea Simpler Faith 137 "To him [the Bedouin] the greatest enjoyment is his kef, his perfect idleness." -------- Date: Tue Apr 23 00:41:41 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vigesimal X-Bonus: It is easier to get forgiveness than permission. -Cecile Stewart vi.ges.i.mal \vi--'jes-*-m*l\ aj [L vicesimus, vigesimus twentieth; akin to L viginti twenty;]akin to Gk eikosi twenty : based on the number 20 1881 TAYLOR Anthropol. xiii (1904) 312 The vigesimal counting (by twenties) which is the regular mode in many languages. -------- Date: Wed Apr 24 00:41:41 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--inerrancy X-Bonus: If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both. in.er.ran.cy \(')in-'er-*n-se-\ n : exemption from error : INFALLIBILITY -------- Date: Thu Apr 25 00:41:40 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sapid X-Bonus: Behaviorism is the art of pulling habits out of rats. -O'Neill sap.id \'sap-*d\ aj [L sapidus tasty, fr. sapere to taste - more at SAGE] 1a: affecting the organs of taste : possessing flavor 1b: having a strong agreeable flavor 2: agreeable to the mind 1868 Sat. Rev. 19 Dec. 794/2 "Quite as important as the possession..of all these faculties, is the temper, spirit, tone, or manner of their use, the something which makes them sapid." -- Lately I've received huge amount of mail with the query: "There are three words in the English language ending in gry: angry, hungry... what is the third one?" Perhaps some contest on the Internet has this as one of the questions. You can find the answer in an earlier issue of in AWADmail (https://wordsmith.org/awad/awadmail4.html). This reminds me how long it has been since the last issue of AWADmail. I have not been able to find time to write AWADmail column for quite some time now, but I'll try resume it soon. -Anu -------- Date: Fri Apr 26 00:41:42 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tsunami X-Bonus: Friend - One who knows all about you and likes you just the same. tsu.na.mi \(t)su:-'na:m-e-\ \-ik\ n [Jap] : a great sea wave produced by submarine earth movement or volcanic eruption - tsu.na.mic aj " 1984 W. GOLDING, Paper Men viii. 89 "It seemed to me that I could feel the indifferent threat of the earth through the soles of my feet, the volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, terrors of nature's fact." -------- Date: Sat Apr 27 00:41:44 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--loquacious X-Bonus: If triangles had a God, he would have three sides. -Montesquieu Cross references: 1. talkative lo.qua.cious \lo--'kwa--sh*s\ \-'kwas-*t-e-\ aj [L loquac-, loquax, fr. loqui to speak] : given to excessive talking : GARRULOUS - lo.qua.cious.ly av 1849 MACAULAY, Hist. Eng. iv. I. 460 "He was not loquacious: but, when he was forced to speak in public, his natural eloquence moved the envy of practised rhetoricians." -------- Date: Sun Apr 28 00:41:41 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chimera X-Bonus: Man is by nature an artist. -Tagore chi.me.ra or chi.mae.ra \ki--'mir-*, k*-\ n [L chimaera, fr. Gk chimaira she-goat, chimera; akin to Gk cheim]o-n winter cap 1a: a she-monster in Greek mythology usu. with a lion's head vomiting flames, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail 1b: an imaginary monster compounded of incongruous parts 2: an illusion or fabrication of the mind; esp : an unrealizable dream 3: an individual, organ or part consisting of tissues of diverse genetic constitution and occurring esp. in plants and most frequently at a graft union 1832 G. DOWNES, Lett. Cont. Countries I. 27 "The exterior of the Church..is a chimera in architecture, being Doric below, Corinthian above, and Ionic in the middle." -------- Date: Mon Apr 29 00:41:43 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lakh X-Bonus: Some people develop eye strain looking for trouble. lakh \'la:k, 'lak\ n [Hindi la-kh] India 1: one hundred thousand India 2: a great number - lakh aj 1969 National Herald (New Delhi) 29 July 6/5 "The labour acts which relate to factories, mines, plantation, transport, shops and establishments, wages, safety and welfare, industrial relations and protection of children are expected to benefit lakhs of workers and wage-earners in the state." -------- Date: Tue Apr 30 00:41:46 EDT 1996 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sesquicentennial X-Bonus: The worst of all deceptions is self-deception. -Plato ses.qui.cen.ten.ni.al \.ses-kwi-(.)sen-'ten-e--*l\ n : a 150th anniversary or its celebration - sesquicentennial aj 1978 Nature 8 June 421/2 This year is the sesquicentennial of the announcement by Wohler that marked the birth of synthetic organic chemistry. -- OK, so you learnt your numbers in kindergarten... here is another number quiz. How many of this week's number words do you know? -Anu