A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Fri May 1 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--precocious X-Bonus: Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. -Joseph Addison, writer (1 May 1672-1719) This week's theme: Words to describe people precocious (pri-KOH-shuhs) adjective Exhibiting advanced development at an early age. [From Latin praecox (premature, early ripening), from praecoquere (to ripen early), from prae- (pre) + coquere (to cook or ripen). 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: 1650.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/precocious "In 1971 a precocious German academic -- at 32 years old, the holder of five degrees in engineering and economics -- hosted a conference." A Tour of the Magic Mountain; The Economist (London, UK); Jan 18, 2020. -------- Date: Mon May 4 00:01:04 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--handfast X-Bonus: It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence. -William Kingdon Clifford, mathematician and philosopher (4 May 1845-1879) A handshake signals the beginning (and end) of many human interactions. There's something to be said about firmly clasping the hand of another and looking them in the eye to convey that human bond. But no handshakes, at least for now. It's hard to shake hands from six feet. There has been talk of doing away with handshakes for good, even when we don't have to do social distancing. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fauci-perfect-world-americans-stop-shaking-hands/story?id=70062797 What can we switch to? A nod? Vulcan salute? Namaste? Curtsy? Bow? Whether handshakes come back or not, the English language has dozens of terms and metaphors related to hands. This week we'll see a handful of them. handfast (HAND-fast) noun: A contract or agreement, especially about a betrothal or marriage. verb tr.: To engage to be married or to bind in wedlock. [From Old English handfæsten (to pledge or betroth), from hand + fæstan (to fasten). Earliest documented use: 1275.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/handfast_large.jpg Image: Caroline McCarthy https://yourcelebrant.ie/media/ "The couple's decision to be handfasted under the full moon is particularly blessed and by our lights very romantic." Dear Abby: I Agree with You; The Washington Post; Oct 13, 2002. -------- Date: Tue May 5 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--repugnant X-Bonus: That's the terrible hypnotism of war, the brute mass-impulse, the pride and national spirit, the instinctive simplicity of men that makes them worship what is their own above everything else. I've thrilled and shouted with patriotic pride, like everyone else. Music and flags and men marching in step have bewitched me, as they do all of us. And then I've gone home and sworn to root this evil instinct out of my soul. God help -- let's love the world, love humanity -- not just our own country! -Christopher Morley, writer (5 May 1890-1957) This week's theme: Words related to the hand repugnant (ri-PUHG-nuhnt) adjective Distasteful; offensive; objectionable. [From Old French répugnant (disgusting), from Latin repugnant (contrary, opposed), from repugnare, from re- (again) + pugnare (to fight), from pugnus (fist). Ultimately from the Indo-European root peuk- (to prick), which is also the source of point, puncture, pungent, punctual, poignant, pounce, poniard, impugn https://wordsmith.org/words/impugn.html , pugilist https://wordsmith.org/words/pugilist.html , and pugnacious https://wordsmith.org/words/pugnacious.html . Earliest documented use: 1425.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/repugnant "Aid for schools does not automatically raise spending on schools. The government may react by diverting the money it was going to spend on schools to another purpose, such as weapons or presidential palaces. Even attempts to fund worthwhile projects can facilitate repugnant ones." Bankrolling Bigotry; The Economist (London, UK); Mar 14, 2020. -------- Date: Wed May 6 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--backhanded X-Bonus: Thinking is an experimental dealing with small quantities of energy, just as a general moves miniature figures over a map before setting his troops in action. -Sigmund Freud, neurologist, founder of psychoanalysis (6 May 1856-1939) This week's theme: Words related to the hand backhanded (BAK-han-did) adjective 1. Indirect or ambiguous, having double meaning; sarcastic or malicious. 2. Performed with the back of the hand facing forward. [The metaphorical sense of the term derives from the image of a hand facing backward being indirect or hiding something. Earliest documented use: 1800. The word forehanded https://wordsmith.org/words/forehanded.html is not an opposite of this word.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/backhanded https://wordsmith.org/words/images/backhanded_large.jpg "You're prettier in person." "I think what you meant to say is 'you're really ugly in photos.'" Illustration: Vanessa Papastavros @vanscribbles https://vanscribbles.tumblr.com/ "In an extraordinary backhanded compliment, Pierre Rolin compared Helen Macintyre to the Dr Seuss character the Grinch, saying: 'I think deep down there is a beautiful heart, a lovely person, who was damaged and who was absorbed by tragedy.'" Polly Dunbar and Alexis Parr; Boris Johnson's Amazing Love Pentagon!; Daily Mail (London, UK); Feb 6, 2011. -------- Date: Thu May 7 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ironfisted X-Bonus: On each race is laid the duty to keep alight its own lamp of mind as its part in the illumination of the world. To break the lamp of any people is to deprive it of its rightful place in the world festival. -Rabindranath Tagore, poet, philosopher, author, songwriter, painter, educator, composer, Nobel laureate (7 May 1861-1941) This week's theme: Words related to the hand ironfisted (EYE-uhrn-fis-tid) adjective 1. Ruthless; tyrannical. 2. Stingy; tight-fisted. [For sense 1, from the allusion to someone wielding a crushing fist. For 2, from the allusion to a hard-to-open fist clutching money. Earliest documented use: 1852.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/ironfisted_large.jpg Sculpture: Liu Bolin https://liubolinstudio.com/ Photo: Dominique Bergeron https://www.flickr.com/photos/dominiqueb/3481699085/ "There is no way that this ironfisted approach will bring about reconciliation." Veera Prateepchaikul; Sonthi's Efforts to Do Right May Backfire; Bangkok Post (Thailand); Apr 2, 2012. -------- Date: Fri May 8 00:01:04 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dead hand X-Bonus: If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers. -Thomas Pynchon, novelist (b. 8 May 1937) This week's theme: Words related to the hand dead hand (DED hand) noun 1. The stifling influence of something, especially of the past on the present. 2. The perpetual ownership of property by institutions, such as churches. [A literal translation of the term mortmain https://wordsmith.org/words/mortmain.html . Earliest documented use: 1615.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dead%20hand "If the corona curves continue to crest, Covid-19 might expose as much about the dead hand of capitalism (the corruption, the hubris, the greed) as Chernobyl ever did about communism." Ben Schott; Diary; The Spectator (London, UK); Apr 4, 2020. -------- Date: Mon May 11 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gazump X-Bonus: You are the sky. Everything else -- it's just the weather. -Pema Chodron, Buddhist nun and author (b. 1936) The English language has lots of words. More than half a million by one count. It's just that many of them are not widely known. It's a catch-22. You avoid using unusual words because you fear that others may not know them. And people do not know those words because they haven't come across them. In this week's A.Word.A.Day we do our part to get rid of this catch-22. We feature five words that may make one say: I didn't know there was a word for it. gazump (guh-ZUHMP) verb tr. 1. To raise the price after accepting an offer from a buyer. 2. To offer a higher price to a seller on something that's already being sold to another. 3. To preempt something, especially by questionable means. 4. To swindle. [Of uncertain origin, perhaps from Yiddish gezumph (to overcharge). Earliest documented use: 1928.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gazump NOTES: Gazumping often happens in house sales. You have found your dream house, everything looks great, price negotiations are finished, inspection is done, you are ready to sign the contract, and then the seller receives a higher bid and gazumps: raises the price on you. It's mostly seen in the UK. The term is often used in an extended sense: to trump something by the use of dubious methods. There's a counterpart to today's word. Meet it on Friday. "Its 'final' offer was gazumped by a last-minute interloper." Alistair Osborne; Hedge Your Bets over Sirius Bid; The Times (London, UK); Feb 20, 2020. "Ms. Lively used her website to gazump all gossip sites by announcing her pregnancy." Vanessa Friedman; The Goop Effect; The New York Times; Nov 16, 2014. -------- Date: Tue May 12 00:01:02 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--al desko X-Bonus: I never lose sight of the fact that just being is fun. -Katharine Hepburn, actress (12 May 1907-2003) This week's theme: There's a word for it al desko (al DES-ko) adverb At one's desk. [Patterned after alfresco https://wordsmith.org/words/alfresco.html , from desk, from Latin desca (desk), from discus (disk), from Greek diskos (disk). Earliest documented use: 1981.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/al_desko_large.jpg Image: https://memeshappen.com/meme/i-too-like-to-live-dangerously/i-see-you-eat-at-your-desk-i-also-like-to-live-dangerously-58175 "He works in the financial sector, an all-male workplace except for two secretaries, and they all eat lunch al desko." Emma Woolf; The Ministry of Thin; Soft Skull Press; 2014. -------- Date: Wed May 13 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--grinagog X-Bonus: How simple life becomes when things like mirrors are forgotten. -Daphne du Maurier, novelist (13 May 1907-1989) This week's theme: There's a word for it grinagog (GRIN-uh-gog) noun One who is always grinning. [From grin, from Old English grennian (to show the teeth in pain or anger) + apparently -agogue (bringer). Earliest documented use: 1565.] "Now you both look like grinagog, the cat's uncle. Come, Galli, wipe that smile off your face." James G. Anderson & Mark Sebanc; The Stoneholding; Baen; 2009. -------- Date: Thu May 14 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pot-valor X-Bonus: When wealth is passed off as merit, bad luck is seen as bad character. This is how ideologues justify punishing the sick and the poor. But poverty is neither a crime nor a character flaw. Stigmatize those who let people die, not those who struggle to live. -Sarah Kendzior, journalist and author (b. 1978) This week's theme: There's a word for it pot-valor (POT-val-uhr) noun Boldness or courage induced by the consumption of alcohol. [From pot, alluding to a drinking pot + valor (boldness), from Latin valor (worth), from valere (to be well, be of worth). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wal- (to be strong), which also gave us valiant, avail, valor, value, wieldy https://wordsmith.org/words/wieldy.html , countervail https://wordsmith.org/words/countervail.html , valence https://wordsmith.org/words/valence.html , valetudinarian https://wordsmith.org/words/valetudinarian.html , and valorize https://wordsmith.org/words/valorize.html . Earliest documented use: 1623.] NOTES: Also known as liquid courage or Dutch courage. "Along the way, puffed with pot-valor, I imagined how I would scale the wall and enter the loft." Steve Stern; Tikkun (San Francisco, California); Jan/Feb 2000. -------- Date: Fri May 15 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gazunder X-Bonus: As a leader, you have to have the ability to assimilate new information and understand that there might be a different view. -Madeleine Albright, diplomat and author (b. 15 May 1937) This week's theme: There's a word for it gazunder (guh-ZUHN-duhr) verb tr. To reduce the amount of an offer after it has been accepted by the seller. [A blend of gazump https://wordsmith.org/words/gazump.html + under. Earliest documented use: 1988.] NOTES: To gazump is to raise the price after accepting an offer from a buyer, but buyers are not always angels. Sometimes a buyer reduces the offer, just before signing the contract. These typically happen in the housing market. A real-estate company even offers a helpful article on How To Gazunder Successfully https://www.propertyroad.co.uk/how-to-gazunder-successfully/ . While legal, the practice is clearly unethical. It's fitting then, that the word gazunder has another slang meaning, though it's unrelated to today's word. It also refers to a chamber pot, from the condensed spelling of "goes under" referring to where a chamber pot is placed. "What if the buyer tries to gazunder you? 'If you feel your boundaries were transgressed, but you sell, that may affect your self-esteem for decades. But if you are too rigid, that could cost you. Meditation* helps you find a pragmatic middle ground.'" Hugh Graham; What's the Secret of Sealing the Deal? For Britain's First "Mindful Estate Agent", It's a Meditation Session; Sunday Times (London, UK); Feb 9, 2020. [At first I thought it was a typo for "mediation", but no, it *is* "meditation". See the title of the article. -Ed.] -------- Date: Mon May 18 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--transect X-Bonus: The tragedy in the lives of most of us is that we go through life walking down a high-walled lane with people of our own kind, the same economic situation, the same national background and education and religious outlook. And beyond those walls, all humanity lies, unknown and unseen, and untouched by our restricted and impoverished lives. -Florence Luscomb, architect and suffragist (6 Feb 1887-1985) Words are malleable. Words can be squishy, perky, firm. In the right hands, they can be lots of fun. In any hands, they can be fun. Look at the picture here https://www.flickr.com/photos/roomman/34944151122/ My Italian is rusty so I'll rely on the English text: "Do not beyond the yellow line." Language is meant to communicate and, as long as the meaning is clear, there's no wrong way to use the language.* The meaning is absolutely clear on the sign, though I wonder what happens if one decides to beyond the yellow line. You see what is happening to "beyond" here? Yes, it's OK to verb a preposition and to preposition a verb (but not OK to proposition a verb -- they have certain standards). Also, it's OK to verb a noun and noun a verb. Try any permutations and combinations; if it works it's good. This week we give you five words, verbs and nouns. Some of them started out as verbs and, over time, became nouns as well. Some did it the other way. *The only abuse of language I see is when words and actions do not match: people talking about patriotism, morals, following the Constitution, and doing the opposite. transect (tran-SEKT) verb tr.: To cut across. noun: 1. A narrow section through a natural feature. 2. A path along which measurements or observations are made. [From Latin trans- (across) + secare (to cut). Earliest documented use: for verb 1634, for noun 1905.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/transect "The 1.7-square-mile borough is transected by two commercial districts -- Main Street and Route 28." Jill P. Capuzzo; Reaching a Truce with Floodwaters; The New York Times; Oct 20, 2013. "Known among hikers as the PCT, the Pacific Crest Trail is a network of paths that leads from the Mexican border to British Columbia ... The full transect is a massive undertaking and requires months of physical exertion, often at high elevations." Robert Isenberg; US Man to Hike 2,650 Miles to Fund Costa Rican Shrine; McClatchy-Tribune Business News (Washington, DC); May 10, 2014. -------- Date: Tue May 19 00:01:04 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--surfeit X-Bonus: The thing that makes you exceptional, if you are at all, is inevitably that which must also make you lonely. -Lorraine Hansberry, playwright and painter (19 May 1930-1965) This week's theme: Which came first: the noun or the verb? surfeit (SUHR-fit) noun: 1. Excess. 2. Overindulgence in eating or drinking. 3. Satiety or disgust caused by overindulgence. verb tr.: 1. To do or supply anything to excess. verb intr.: 1. To overindulge. 2. To suffer from overindulgence. [From Old French surfait (excess), from past participle of surfaire (to overdo), from sur- (over, above) + faire (to do), from Latin facere (to do). Earliest documented use: for noun 1387, for verb 1400.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/surfeit "With a surfeit of municipal golf courses, including numerous ones like Presidio GC ... people are asking why state-owned land is being used to serve the recreational needs of a few." Meraj Shah; Walk in the Park; Financial Express (New Delhi, India); May 3, 2020. "On April 7 it will be 250 years since William Wordsworth was born ... In usual times we'd probably already be surfeited by anniversary celebrations." Fiona Sampson; Wordsworth's Gracious Straightforwardness Revolutionised English Verse; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Apr 4, 2020. -------- Date: Wed May 20 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--reconnoiter X-Bonus: Kindness is not without its rocks ahead. People are apt to put it down to an easy temper and seldom recognize it as the secret striving of a generous nature; whilst, on the other hand, the ill-natured get credit for all the evil they refrain from. -Honore De Balzac, novelist (20 May 1799-1850) This week's theme: Which came first: the noun or the verb? reconnoiter or reconnoitre (ree-kuh-NOI-tuhr, rek-uh-) verb tr., intr.: To explore or scout an area for gathering information. noun: An act of reconnoitering. [From obsolete French reconnoître, from Latin recognoscere, from re- (again) + gnoscere (to know). Ultimately from the Indo-European root gno- (to know), which is also the source of know, recognize, acquaint, ignore, diagnosis, notice, normal, agnostic https://wordsmith.org/words/agnostic.html , incognito https://wordsmith.org/words/incognito.html , connoisseur https://wordsmith.org/words/connoisseur.html , cognize https://wordsmith.org/words/cognize.html , agnize https://wordsmith.org/words/agnize.html , anagnorisis (the moment of recognition or discovery) https://wordsmith.org/words/anagnorisis.html , and prosopagnosia (inability to recognize faces) https://wordsmith.org/words/prosopagnosia.html . Earliest documented use: for verb 1705, for noun 1781.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/reconnoiter "A river voyage is an easy way to reconnoitre a remote region." Sarah Nicholson; Just Around the Bend; Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia); Feb 24, 2019. "A quick reconnoiter found no kind of habitat, and little of anything made for human hands." C Stuart Hardwick; Dangerous Company; Analog Science Fiction & Fact (New York); Mar/Apr 2019. -------- Date: Thu May 21 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--traject X-Bonus: Be thou the first true merit to befriend, his praise is lost who stays till all commend. -Alexander Pope, poet (21 May 1688-1744) This week's theme: Which came first: the noun or the verb? traject (truh-JEKT) verb tr.: To transport or transmit. noun: Transport, transmission, or passage. [From Latin traicere (to throw across), from trans- (across) + jacere (to throw). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ye- (to throw), which also gave us jet, eject, project, reject, object, subject, adjective, joist, jactitation http://wordsmith.org/words/jactitation.html , subjacent http://wordsmith.org/words/subjacent.html , and jaculate http://wordsmith.org/words/jaculate.html . Earliest documented use: for noun: 1552, for verb 1624.] "As her shot trajected toward the hoop, the whole IU bench rose to its feet." Dylan Wallace; From Walk-on to Scholarship; Indiana Daily Student (Bloomington, Indiana); Mar 4, 2019. "During the whole traject I met with no living things save an enormous black eagle." Edmund O'Donovan; The Merv Oasis; Smith, Elder & Co.; 1882. -------- Date: Fri May 22 00:01:04 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--interpose X-Bonus: It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. -Arthur Conan Doyle, physician and writer (22 May 1859-1930) This week's theme: Which came first: the noun or the verb? interpose (in-tuhr-POHZ) verb tr., intr.: 1. To place in between. 2. To intrude or to interrupt. noun: 1. The act of, or an instance of, putting something in between. 2. An interference or interruption. [From French interposer, from Latin interponere, from inter (between) + ponere (to put). Ultimately from the Indo-European root apo- (off or away), which is also the source of pose, apposite, after, off, awkward, post, puny, apposite https://wordsmith.org/words/apposite.html , and apropos https://wordsmith.org/words/apropos.html . Earliest documented use: for verb: 1599, for noun: 1610.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/interpose "'Right -- of course we're doing right,' William answered her, 'if, after what you've heard, you can marry a man of such incomprehensible confusion, such deplorable --' 'Don't, William,' Katharine interposed." Virginia Woolf; Night and Day; Duckworth; 1919. "Most remarkable is the interpose of Christmas dance during the interval at Sara's. [Walter Murch's journal]" Charles Koppelman; Behind the Seen; Pearson; 2004. -------- Date: Mon May 25 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--heterochromatic X-Bonus: To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common -- this is my symphony. -William Henry Channing, clergyman and reformer (25 May 1810-1884) After I responded to a reader complaining about a picture of two women in wedding dresses, I wondered... https://wordsmith.org/awad/awadmail932.html#reader When my neighbors help themselves to French fries, does it hinder my right to enjoy a kale salad. Should I complain, protest, or call my representatives in Washington to make it illegal to enjoy the fries? Does my argument become any stronger if my favorite Book says so? "Kale salad is the way. French fries are an abomination." (Victuals 3:14) No matter how sincerely I believe in what I believe, do my sincerely-held beliefs give me a right to tell others what to eat? Do I really follow my favorite Book I claim to follow when I pick and choose which verses to follow. It also says "Thou shall not consume anything out of a paper vessel," but, hey, it's just convenient to eat out of the paper cup from the drive-thru. Does it make me any better, any more compassionate, if I say it's OK to *like* French fries but not to actually *consume* them? Does it matter if the majority of people in my neighborhood, in my state, or even in the whole country, like a kale salad? Food for thought.* Whether your food habits are the same as mine, (Greek homo- "same") or different (Greek hetero- "different"), I hope you enjoy this week's selection of words formed by these two prefixes. Share your thoughts on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/heterochromatic.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. *Yes, it's possible to like them both, but that's left as an exercise for the reader. heterochromatic (het-uhr-oh-kroh-MAT-ik) adjective Having many different colors. [From Greek hetero- (different) + chrom- (color). Earliest documented use: 1895.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/heterochromatic_large.jpg Photo: Ludovic Bertron / Wikimedia https://www.flickr.com/photos/23912576@N05/ "Emma's heterochromatic eyes -- one brown and one nearly black -- shone with excitement." Sonali Dev; Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors; William Morrow; 2019. -------- Date: Tue May 26 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--homophene X-Bonus: Satire should, like a polished razor keen, wound with a touch that's scarcely felt or seen. -Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, author (26 May 1689-1762) This week's theme: What the h... homophene (HOM-uh-feen) noun A word or phrase that, when spoken, appears to be the same as a different word or phrase on a person's lips, for example "my" and "pie". [From Greek homo- (same) + phainein (to show). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bha- (to shine), which is also the source of beacon, banner, phantom, photo, phosphorus, phenomenon, fantasy, epiphany, sycophant https://wordsmith.org/words/sycophant.html , and apophenia https://wordsmith.org/words/apophenia.html . Earliest documented use: 1883.] NOTES: Here are some more examples of words/phrases that appear the same to someone lip reading: mark, park, and bark "elephant juice" and "I love you" bargain and market What sentence can you come up with that is a homophene of another sentence? Share it on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/homophene.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Harry & Meghan's wedding, A Bad Lip Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKV6h_5XFbk (4 min.) "We had a session on homophenes which could cause misunderstanding, for example, married and buried, wet suit and wedding suit, big kiss and biscuits. Much laughter. Members volunteered their own stories of misunderstandings." David Lodge; Deaf Sentence; Penguin; 2009. -------- Date: Wed May 27 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--heteroclite X-Bonus: Freedom is hammered out on the anvil of discussion, dissent, and debate. -Hubert Humphrey, US Vice President (27 May 1911-1978) This week's theme: What the h... heteroclite (HET-uhr-uh-klyt) noun: 1. A person who is unconventional; a maverick. 2. A word that is irregularly formed. adjective: 1. Deviating from the ordinary rule; eccentric. 2. (In grammar) Irregularly inflected. [From Latin heteroclitus, from Greek heteroklitos, from hetero- (different) + klinein (to lean, inflect). Ultimately from the Indo-European root klei- (to lean), which also gave us decline, incline, recline, lean, client, climax, and ladder. Earliest documented use: 1580.] "South Africa indeed repeated before the executive organ of the UN a heteroclite set of tropes that mixed bad faith with ideological dogmatism from a bygone era." Zweli Matshelwa; The Flagrant Isolation of South Africa; New Zimbabwe; Apr 11, 2020. -------- Date: Thu May 28 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--homologate X-Bonus: We love those who know the worst of us and don't turn their faces away. -Walker Percy, author (28 May 1916-1990) This week's theme: What the h... homologate (huh-MOL-uh-gayt, ho-) verb tr. To approve officially, especially a car, engine, etc., for sale in a particular market or for its use in racing. [From Latin homologare (to agree), from Greek homologein (to agree or allow). Earliest documented use: 1644.] NOTES: Some auto racing competitions require participating vehicles to be available for sale to the general public, and not be custom made for racing. In other words, the vehicle must be a production model, not a prototype. The process of homologation verifies this. The initials GTO listed after some auto names (Ferrari, Pontiac, etc.) stand for "Gran Turismo Omologato", Italian for "Grand Touring, Homologated". Ferrari 288 GTO https://wordsmith.org/words/images/homologate_large.jpg Image: Taylor Ercole https://www.flickr.com/photos/155909398@N02/49224386142/ "In fact we had earlier this year set a date for the UCI (officials) to come here and homologate the track." Covid-19 Slams the Brakes on Johor Velodrome; New Straits Times (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); Apr 30, 2020. -------- Date: Fri May 29 00:01:03 EDT 2020 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--heterography X-Bonus: We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. -John F. Kennedy, 35th US president (29 May 1917-1963) This week's theme: What the h... heterography (het-uh-ROG-ruh-fee) noun 1. A spelling different from the one in current use. 2. Use of the same letter(s) to convey different sounds, for example, gh in rough and ghost. [From Greek hetero- (different) + -graphy (writing). Earliest documented use: 1783.] The memorial plaque on the tomb of "Shakspeare", Stratford-upon-Avon https://wordsmith.org/words/images/heterography_large.jpg Image: Wikimedia Commons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelling_of_Shakespeare%27s_name NOTES: The idea of heterography is a recent phenomenon, relatively speaking. Earlier, when English was mainly a spoken language, it was a free-for-all, spelling-wise. Any spelling was fine as long as you could make yourself understood. Each writer spelled words in their own way, trying to spell them phonetically. Shakespeare spelled his own name in various ways (Shaxspear, Shakespear, and so on). If you read old manuscripts, you can find different spellings of a word on the same page, and sometimes even in the same sentence. Spelling wasn't something sacrosanct: if a line was too long to fit, a typesetter might simply squeeze or expand the word by altering the spelling. If the idea of to-each-one's-own spelling for the same word sounds bizarre, consider how we practice it even today, in the only place we can: in our names. Look around you and you might find a Christina and a Cristina and a Kristina and many other permutations and combinations. With the advent of printing in the 15th century, spelling began to become standardized. By the 19th century, most words had a single "official" spelling, as a consensus, not by the diktat of a committee. Today if you write "definately" and someone points out that you've misspelled the word, just tell them you're a practitioner of heterography. "Rather than a note on orthography, this might better be characterized as an explanation of unavoidable heterography. ... Where alternate spellings might be more familiar to some readers, I have listed them in parentheses." Carolyn J Dean; A Culture of Stone; Duke University Press; 2010.