A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Sun Jun 1 00:03:07 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gamp X-Bonus: Genderplex: Trying to determine from the cutesy pictures which restroom to use. gamp n. [fr. Sarah Gamp, nurse with a large umbrella in Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens : 1864] British : a large umbrella This week's theme: Dickensian characters who became eponyms. Some other words based on characters in Charles Dickens' novels are pecksniffian, scrooge, fagin, and pickwickian. These words have appeared in AWAD in the past. -Anu -------- Date: Mon Jun 2 00:02:57 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--usufructuary X-Bonus: Is not the core of nature in the heart of man? -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe usu.fruc.tu.ary n. [L. usufructuarius.] (Law) A person who has the use of property and reaps the profits of it. Stanton, Kristen, Moscow's gardens beset by sprawl.., Vol. 8, Earth Island Journal, 01-01-1992, pp 14. "The retirees argue that the toil that they have invested in this land gives them a moral right to the property -- an argument once enunciated by Thomas Jefferson who espoused the principle of usufructuary rights, under which people who farmed abandoned land gained title to the harvest." 1997 Spelling Bee concluded to a nail-biting finish in Washington DC last Thursday. This week's AWAD features some of the words used in the contest that participants (less than 16 years of age) spelled. To see all the words or to know more about Spelling Bee, visit http://www.spellingbee.com . -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jun 3 00:03:57 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--deliquesce X-Bonus: Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time. -Mark Twain del.i.quesce vi. [imp. & p.p. deliquesced; p. pr. & vb. n. deliquescing.] [L. deliquescere to melt, dissolve; de- + liquescere to become fluid, melt, fr. liquere to be fluid. See Liquid.] (Chem.) To dissolve gradually and become liquid by attracting and absorbing moisture from the air, as certain salts, acids, and alkalies. Bridges, Linda, Once more, with panache.(American Ballet Theatre comes back after decline)., Vol. 47, National Review, 06-12-1995, pp 72(2). "The full-length ballets were often good, but since they depend so much more on their leading dancers, they started to deliquesce with the various departures, and the corps -- which had started to look something like the Royal's or the Paris Opera's under Miss Makarova's coaching for La Bayadcre -- was losing its esprit." This week's theme: words from 1997 Spelling Bee. -------- Date: Wed Jun 4 00:03:24 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--enfilade X-Bonus: Lots of folks confuse bad management with destiny. -Kin Hubbard en.fi.lade n. [F., fr. enfiler to thread, go through a street or square, rake with shot; pref. en- (L. in) + fil thread. See File a row.] 1. A line or straight passage, or the position of that which lies in a straight line. [R.] 2. (Mil.) A firing in the direction of the length of a trench, or a line of parapet or troops, etc.; a raking fire. en.fi.lade v.t. [imp. & p. p. Enfiladed; p. pr. & vb. n. Enfilading.] (Mil.) To pierce, scour, or rake with shot in the direction of the length of, as a work, or a line of troops. Shacochis, Bob, The immaculate invasion, Harper's Magazine, 02-01-1995, pp 44 "Then, in the enfilade of noise, there is the more distinct crack of a real gun being fired." This week's theme: words from 1997 Spelling Bee. -------- Date: Thu Jun 5 00:03:10 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bruit X-Bonus: The belly is the reason why man does not mistake himself for a god. -Friedrich Nietzsche bruit n. [OE. bruit, brut, noise, bruit, F. bruit, fr. LL. brugitus; cf. L. rugire to roar; perh. influenced by the source of E. bray to make a harsh noise, Armor. brud bruit.] 1. Report; rumor; fame. The bruit thereof will bring you many friends. -Shakespeare 2. [French pron. ?.] (Med.) An abnormal sound of several kinds, heard on auscultation. bruit v.t. [imp. & p. p. Bruited; p. pr. & vb. n. Bruiting.] To report; to noise abroad. I find thou art no less than fame hath bruited. -Shakespeare This week's theme: words from 1997 Spelling Bee. -------- Date: Fri Jun 6 00:03:11 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--quodlibet X-Bonus: The young wish to give their elders the full benefits of their inexperience. quod.li.bet n. [L., what you please.] 1. A nice point; a subtilty; a debatable point. 2. (Mus.) A medley improvised by several performers. Sidney, Sir Philip, Defense Of Poesy: England: A Hard Stepmother To Poets., Great Works of Literature, 01-01-1992. "Our matter is quodlibet indeed, though wrongly performing Ovid's verse, never marshalling it into any assured rank, that almost the readers cannot tell where to find themselves." This week's theme: words from 1997 Spelling Bee. -------- Date: Sat Jun 7 00:03:08 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cenotaph X-Bonus: When a man is wrapped up in himself he makes a pretty small package. -John Ruskin cen.o.taph n. [Gr. empty + ? burial, tomb: cf. F. c['e]notaphe.] An empty tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person who is buried elsewhere. Day Jr., Samuel, Two Hiroshimas.., Vol. 58, Progressive, 08-01-1994, pp 29. "Then I joined the throngs at the cenotaph inscribed NEVER AGAIN, at an eternal flame above a reflecting pool, and at the crane-festooned statue of Sadako Sasaki, a bomb victim who died at the age of twelve while attempting to fold a thousand paper cranes in the hope this would prolong her life." This week's theme: words from 1997 Spelling Bee. Many of you have sent messages about the word `subtilty' in yesterday's definition. It is a (mostly obs.) variant of `subtlety,' not a typo. -Anu -------- Date: Sun Jun 8 00:03:01 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--appulse X-Bonus: As great scientists have said and as all children know, it is above all by the imagination that we achieve perception, and compassion, and hope. -Ursula LeGuin ap.pulse, n. [L. appulsus, fr. appellere, appulsum, to drive to; ad + pellere to drive: cf. F. appulse.] 1. A driving or running towards; approach; impulse; also, the act of striking against. 2. (Astron.) The near approach of one heavenly body to another, or to the meridian; a coming into conjunction; as, the appulse of the moon to a star, or of a star to the meridian. Schaaf, Fred, Touring the summer sky, Sky & Telescope, 08-01-1994, pp 68. "Observers in Japan and Australia can watch the star's appulse with Jupiter around 9:40 UT August 21st, when the star appears only about 33" -- one Jupiter diameter! -- from the planet's northern limb." This week's theme: words from 1997 Spelling Bee. -------- Date: Mon Jun 9 00:02:57 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pule X-Bonus: Gleemites: Petrified deposits of toothpaste found in sinks. pule vi. [imp. & p. p. Puled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Puling.] [F. piauler; cf. L. pipilare, pipire, to peep, pip, chirp, and E. peep to chirp.] 1. To cry like a chicken. 2. To whimper; to whine, as a complaining child. The Golden Ocean, Norton paperback, pp. 105. "He is a prodigious good Fellow and a very Fine Gentleman, but is not quite suited for a Life at Sea. He is to have a Pair of Colours in the Company's India service, but vows he will go there by Land, for the Sea-passage would make him pule into a Lethargy." This week's words taken from Patrick O'Brian's eighteen-volume series (so far) of historical novels of the sea. O'Brian is still very much alive, but he evokes the era of the Napoleonic Wars with such grace, humor, effortless erudition, and penetrating insight into human affairs that his writing stands much closer to Austen than Clavell. And he tells a ripping good yarn, to boot. -Stephen Zimmermann (srzATrela.uucp.netcom.com) (Steve is AWAD's Guest Wordsmith (or should I say Guest Listswain?) for this week. -Anu) -------- Date: Tue Jun 10 00:03:39 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--contubernal X-Bonus: Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago. -Bernard Berenson con.tu.ber.nal (also contubernial), a. [L. contubernalis a tent companion, fr. contubernium tent companionship.] Living or messing together; familiar; in companionship. The Nutmeg of Consolation, Collins Hardback, pp. 32. "Another misery of human life," remarked Stephen to the morning darkness, is having a contubernal that snores like ten." This week's theme: words from Patrick O'Brian's nautical fiction. -------- Date: Wed Jun 11 00:03:13 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--grizzle X-Bonus: If you're not afraid to face the music you may some day lead the band. griz.zle vt. & i. To make or become grizzly, or grayish. griz.zle vi. & t. [Etym. uncertain.] To worry; to fret; to bother; grumble. griz.zle n. [F. gris: cf. grisaille hair partly gray, fr. gris gray. See Gris, and cf. Grisaille.] Gray; a gray color; a mixture of white and black. This week's theme: words from Patrick O'Brian's nautical fiction. -------- Date: Thu Jun 12 00:03:08 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--urinator X-Bonus: Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be president but they don't want them to become politicians in the process. -John F. Kennedy u.ri.na.tor n. [L., from urinari to plunge under water, to dive.] One who dives under water in search of something, as for pearls; a diver. Treason's Harbour, Fontana Paperback, pp. 195. "`It is well known that I am a urinator,' said Stephen, looking at him firmly, `and in recent hours I have felt a great moral pressure on me to dive.'" This week's theme: words from Patrick O'Brian's nautical fiction. A bit of warning about Monday's word "pule" from our friend from Norway, Svein Eriksen (svein.eriksenATgods.posten.no): Today's e-mail from A.Word.A.Day was opened in a mix of disbelief and eager hurry as "pule" in Norwegian is known as what in English is called the F-word. Also noted by Marianne Hagen (mahagenAThedda.uio.no). I have a feeling one have to be careful using this word in other countries too, not just in Norway. -Anu -------- Date: Fri Jun 13 00:03:24 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mammothrept X-Bonus: Not that I want to be a god or a hero. Just to change into a tree, grow for ages, not hurt anyone. -Czeslaw Milosz mam.mo.thrept n. [Gr. grandmother + to nourish.] A child brought up by its grandmother; a spoiled child. Master and Commander, Norton Paperback, pp. 275. "And having seen the parents I am impatient to see this youth,... will he be a wretched mammothrept? A little corporal?" This week's theme: words from Patrick O'Brian's nautical fiction. -------- Date: Sat Jun 14 00:03:05 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--miasma X-Bonus: The truth is a precious commodity. That's why I use it so sparingly. -M. Twain mi.as.ma, n. pl. miasmata. [NL., fr. Gr. defilement, fr. to pollute.] Infectious particles or germs floating in the air; air made noxious by the presence of such particles or germs; noxious effluvia; malaria. The Commodore, HarperCollins, pp. 207. "`My dear Stephen, what are you thinking of? Have you forgot your orders that no one was to go ashore after sunset? Though by the way you never told us why. It could not be the falling damps, since there are no falling damps in taverns or bawdy-houses, which is where sailors go by instinct, like the hart to the water-brook.' `It is because of the miasmata.' `Are they like miasmas?' `Much the same, I do assure you Jack; and they are at their worst after sunset.'" This week's theme: words from Patrick O'Brian's nautical fiction. -------- Date: Sun Jun 15 00:39:17 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--esculent X-Bonus: If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live. -Lin Yutang es.cu.lent a. [L. esculentus, fr. escare to eat, fr. esca food, fr. edere to eat: cf. F. esculent. See Eat.] Eatable; edible; as, esculent plants. es.cu.lent n. Anything that is fit for eating; that which may be safely eaten. Desolation Island, Norton Paperback, pp. 289. "`Nonsense,' said Stephen, `it is the most wholesome cabbage I have ever come across in the whole of my career. ... A virtuous esculent!'" This week's theme: words from Patrick O'Brian's nautical fiction. -------- Date: Mon Jun 16 00:03:41 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--samson X-Bonus: To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your principles. sam.son n. An Israelite of Bible record (see --Judges xiii.), distinguished for his great strength; hence, a man of extraordinary physical strength. -------- Date: Tue Jun 17 00:03:35 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vandal X-Bonus: Yesterday is a canceled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have. Spend it wisely. van.dal n. [L. Vandalus, Vandalius; of Teutonic origin, and probably originally signifying, a wanderer. Cf. Wander.] 1. (Anc. Hist.) One of a Teutonic race, formerly dwelling on the south shore of the Baltic, the most barbarous and fierce of the northern nations that plundered Rome in the 5th century, notorious for destroying the monuments of art and literature. 2. Hence, one who willfully destroys or defaces any work of art or literature. -------- Date: Wed Jun 18 00:02:50 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--solomon X-Bonus: If everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. Sol.o.mon n. One of the kings of Israel, noted for his superior wisdom and magnificent reign; hence, a very wise man. -------- Date: Thu Jun 19 10:53:57 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hegira X-Bonus: Why do grandparents and grandchildren get along so well? They have the same enemy--the mother. -Claudette Colbert He.gi.ra n. [written also hejira.] [Ar. hijrah flight.] The flight of Mohammed from Mecca, September 13, A. D. 622 (subsequently established as the first year of the Moslem era); hence, any flight or exodus regarded as like that of Mohammed. Note: The starting point of the Era was made to begin, not from the date of the flight, but from the first day of the Arabic year, which corresponds to July 16, A. D. 622. Jeff Gordinier, Will the Travolta Phenomenon Keep on., Entertainment Weekly, 06-28-1996, pp 22+. "...the trades reported that Travolta had stormed out after a dustup with the man behind such dark classics as Chinatown and Repulsion. Within hours, lawyers for Travolta and Peter Guber's Mandalay Entertainment, the Sony- based company producing The Double, were gearing up for a legal skirmish, while a Polanski associate was steaming over Travolta's hasty hegira." -------- Date: Fri Jun 20 10:26:58 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--barmecide X-Bonus: The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible. -A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.) bar.me.cide n. Arabian Nights' Tales'', pretended to set before the hungry Shacabac food, on which the latter pretended to feast.] One who proffers some illusory advantage or benefit. Also used as an adj.: Barmecidal. "A Barmecide feast." -Dickens. -------- Date: Sat Jun 21 00:02:56 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dulcinea X-Bonus: Some people would not recognize subtlety if it hit them on the head. dul.cin.e.a n. [Sp., from Dulcinea del Toboso the mistress of the affections of Don Quixote.] A mistress; a sweetheart. -------- Date: Sun Jun 22 00:04:07 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sophist X-Bonus: It is a funny thing about life: if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it. -William Somerset Maugham soph.ist, n. [F. sophiste, L. sophistes See Sophism.] 1. One of a class of men who taught eloquence, philosophy, and politics in ancient Greece; especially, one of those who, by their fallacious but plausible reasoning, puzzled inquirers after truth, weakened the faith of the people, and drew upon themselves general hatred and contempt. Many of the Sophists doubtless card not for truth or morality, and merely professed to teach how to make the worse appear the better reason; but there seems no reason to hold that they were a special class, teaching special opinions; even Socrates and Plato were sometimes styled Sophists. -Liddell & Scott. 2. Hence, an impostor in argument; a captious or fallacious reasoner. -------- Date: Mon Jun 23 00:03:25 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vulpine X-Bonus: The only thing one can do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself. -Oscar Wilde vul.pine a. [L. vulpinus, from vulpes a fox.] Of or pertaining to the fox; resembling the fox; foxy; cunning; crafty; artful. This week's words pertain to animals. While many of the animal words ending in "ine," are common such as canine or feline, in this week's verbal zoo we look at some of the more exotic ones. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jun 24 00:03:29 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ursine X-Bonus: Time has a wonderful way of weeding out the trivial. -Richard Ben Sapir ur.sine\, a. [L. ursinus, from ursus a bear. See Ursa.] Of or pertaining to a bear; resembling a bear. Letters., Time, 02-20-1995, pp 6+. "Readers were intrigued by the discovery of cave paintings in southeastern France [ARCHAEOLOGY, Jan. 30]. Several were struck by the mention of the bear skull that was perched on a stone near a wall that bore an ursine image, and offered opinions about why it was there." This week's theme: a verbal zoo -------- Date: Wed Jun 25 00:03:14 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--leonine X-Bonus: A pessimist is one who is seasick on the entire voyage of life. le.o.nine, a. [L. leoninus, fr. leo, leonis, lion: cf. F. l['e]onin. See Lion.] Pertaining to, or characteristic of, the lion; as, a leonine look; leonine rapacity. -- Le"o*nine*ly, adv. John Micklethwait, FAILURE; Barings' Failure: A Case of 'Upstairs, Downstairs'; Home Edition., Los Angeles Times, 03-05-1995, pp M-1. "It was rather as if, right before the release of "The Lion King," a rogue illustrator had added an unprintable large appendage to the film's leonine star." This week's theme: a verbal zoo -------- Date: Thu Jun 26 00:03:12 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lupine X-Bonus: Don't go through life, grow through life. -Eric Butterworth lu.pine n. [L. lupinus, lupinum, apparently fr. lupinus belonging to a wolf, fr. lupus a wolf; perh. so called because it was supposed to exhaust the soil: cf. F. lupin. Cf. Wolf.] (Bot.) A leguminous plant of the genus Lupinus, especially L. albus, the seeds of which have been used for food from ancient times. The common species of the Eastern United States is L. perennis. There are many species in California. lu.pine a. [See Lupine, n.] Wolfish; ravenous. David Kronke, Movie Review; 'Balto' Tells a Wild Tale of Dogged Heroism; Home Edition., Los Angeles Times, 12-22-1995, pp F-14. "My own dog was annoyed by the film's depiction of distrust toward Balto solely because of his lupine background; she yelped, `How can America ever move forward until it gets over its prejudice toward wolf-like dogs?'" This week's theme: a verbal zoo -------- Date: Fri Jun 27 00:03:29 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--porcine X-Bonus: Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. -Leo Tolstoy por.cine a. [L. porcinus, from porcus a swine. See Pork.] Of or pertaining to swine; characteristic of the hog. "Porcine cheeks." -G. Eliot. Michael Miller, A drunk and a pig look good for Oscar nominations., Reuters, 02-08-1996. "The most unlikely nomination for best picture could well be `Babe,' the low budget barnyard film from Australia about a talking pig who refuses to accept his porcine identity and thinks he is a sheep dog." This week's theme: a verbal zoo -------- Date: Sat Jun 28 00:02:48 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hircine X-Bonus: My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition. -Indira Gandhi hir.cine\, Hircinous \Hir"ci*nous\, a. [L. hircinus, fr. hircus hegoat: cf. F. hircin.] 1. Goatlike; of or pertaining to a goat or the goats. 2. Of a strong goatish smell. This week's theme: a verbal zoo -------- Date: Sun Jun 29 00:02:45 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ranine X-Bonus: Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau. -Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University,1929 ra.nine, a. [L. rana a frog.] 1. (Zool.) Of or pertaining to the frogs and toads. 2. (Anat.) Pertaining to, or designating, a swelling under the tongue; also, pertaining to the region where the swelling occurs; -- applied especially to branches of the lingual artery and lingual vein. This week's theme: a verbal zoo -------- Date: Mon Jun 30 00:02:52 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chandler X-Bonus: The only time you don't fail is the last time you try anything--and it works. -William Strong chan.dler n. [F. chandelier a candlestick, a maker or seller of candles, LL. candelarius chandler, fr. L. candela candle. See Candle, and cf. Chandelier.] 1. A maker or seller of candles. The chandler's basket, on his shoulder borne, With tallow spots thy coat. -Gay. 2. A dealer in other commodities, which are indicated by a word prefixed; as, ship chandler, corn chandler. Anyone who has been on the Internet for more than a few days knows what a webmaster does. Yet only a few years ago if we came across a "webmaster," we'd have been at a loss to understand what she did for living. In a contrast to that, this week we go back in time and look at some professions that now exist mostly as surnames. -Anu