A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Jul 2 00:01:21 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--generic X-Bonus: Shall I tell you the secret of the true scholar? It is this: every man I meet is my master in some point, and in that I learn of him. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882) generic (juh-NEHR-ik) adjective 1. Of or pertaining to a genus. 2. Sold without a brand name. 3. Relating to a whole group or class. [From French generique, from Latin gener-, genus kind, class.] "The Brennans made a commitment to drastically reduce spending and to begin investing more of their six-figure income for the future. `I even started buying generic toilet paper that felt like sandpaper to save money,' admits Kathleen." Mari McQueen, Making Money Against the Odds, Money (New York) Nov 1998. Erics may take over the world. We're everywhere... World-famous musician Eric Clapton, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki (he's a living Gen eric!), South Park's Eric Cartman ... and the list goes on and on. "There is an Eric Conspiracy," declares Eric S. Raymond, an Internet developer and writer, who describes himself as an observer-participant anthropologist in the Internet hacker culture. His research has helped explain the decentralized open-source model of software development. The latest Eric/Erik to hit the headlines is Erik Weihenmayer, the blind mountain climber who scaled Mt. Everest a few weeks ago. As a guest wordsmith this week, I'll feature five words that end with eric. You can read my free e-book at http://www.bdb.co.za/shackle/ebook.htm . This month's edition features a story about AWAD's near half-million wordlovers. -Eric Shackle (eshackleATozemail.com.au) (This week's Guest Wordsmith, Eric Shackle, is a retired journalist who has written for the New York Times, the Sydney Morning Herald, and the Straits Times, among others. He is also the copy editor for AWAD, and lives near Sydney, Australia. -Anu) -------- Date: Tue Jul 3 00:01:20 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--choleric X-Bonus: When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it sport; when the tiger wants to murder him he calls it ferocity. -George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (1856-1950) choleric (KOHL-uhr-ik) adjective Easily irritated or angered: hot-tempered. [Middle English colerik, from Latin cholericus, from Greek cholerikos.] "Continually throwing off cuttings from its mown prose, the novel delights in word-play. Umeed is, at times, an angry photographer, `a choleric snappeur,' who resents playing second fiddle to the brilliant spectacle, and final demise, of Ormus and Vina: `second-fiddling while Rome burns'." James Wood, Books: Review: The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie, The Guardian (London, UK), Apr 3, 1999. This week's theme: words ending in eric. Apologies to Eric Cartman, Kenny, and all South Park fans. Yesterday I erred in spelling Eric Cartman's name, and in suggesting he has more lives than a cat (that applies to Kenny, not Eric). Irate South Park fans as far away as Tokyo have corrected me. -Eric Shackle (eshackleATozemail.com.au) -------- Date: Wed Jul 4 00:01:34 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--congeneric X-Bonus: Oftentimes excusing of a fault / Doth make the fault the worse by th' excuse. -William Shakespeare, playwright and poet (1564-1616) congeneric (kon-juh-NER-ik) adjective, also congenerous 1. Belonging to the same genus. 2. Of the same kind or similar in nature. noun A company offering closely related services. [From Latin, con- together + gener- race.] "Some taxonomists have considered Elephas and Mammuthus to be quite close, even congeneric; thus, an Asian elephant living today in Thailand is more closely related to the extinct mammoths of North America than to its African cousin." Paul Martin and David Burney, Bring Back the Elephants, Whole Earth, Spring 2000. "`Merely putting together a financial services congeneric with all the constituent parts does not guarantee success,' Mr. Cleghorn said in a speech." Jeffrey Kutler, First Union Chief's Assertions Rile Skeptics on Benefits of Size Series, American Banker (New York), Dec 10, 1997. This week's theme: words ending in eric. -------- Date: Thu Jul 5 00:01:23 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--neoteric X-Bonus: The man who is denied the opportunity of taking decisions of importance begins to regard as important the decisions he is allowed to take. -C. Northcote Parkinson, author and historian (1909-1993) neoteric (nee-uh-TER-ik) adjective New; recent; modern. [Late Latin neotericus, from Greek neoterikos, youthful, from neoterios, comparative of neos new.] "Electronic books, they say, are asking them to make a mental transition -- to veer from their ingrained appreciation for the printed books that fill our nation's more than 120,000 public, academic and special interest libraries -- to depend on a neoteric gizmo that disrupts the sacred union between man and book. Welcome to the changing world of publishing." Charlotte Moore, Bedtime for binderies? The Austin American Statesman (Texas), Jul 28, 2000. This week's theme: words ending in eric. -------- Date: Fri Jul 6 00:01:31 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--suberic X-Bonus: It is as hard for the good to suspect evil, as it is for the bad to suspect good. -Marcus Tullius Cicero, statesman, orator, writer (106-43 BCE) suberic (soo-BEHR-ik) adjective Of or pertaining to cork. [From French suberique, from Latin suber, cork.] "Chufa de Valencia: Tuber of the species Cyperus esculentus. This comes in various shapes and sizes, has a thin outer skin, suberic tissue and a high fat and sugar content." Source: A Report from British Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. http://www.maff.gov.uk/foodrin/foodname/fruitveg/spain/chufa.htm This week's theme: words ending in eric. -------- Date: Mon Jul 9 00:01:39 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pyrrhic victory X-Bonus: I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, man's being unable to sit still in a room. -Blaise Pascal, philosopher and mathematician (1623-1662) Pyrrhic victory (PIR-ik VIK-tuh-ree) noun A victory won at too great a cost. [After Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, who suffered staggering losses while defeating Romans.] "With lawsuits multiplying like crazy and mutual accusations of stealing the election spiralling out of control, almost any result now looks as if it will be a Pyrrhic victory." United States: Whatever Will They Think of Next? The Economist (London), Nov 25, 2000. "One more such victory and we are lost," exclaimed Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, as he described his costly success in the battle of Asculum in Apulia. With these words he gave us a metaphor to refer to a victory so costly, it's hardly better than defeat. Yet, if we talk to those who lost their sons, husbands, or fathers to war, every victory is a pyrrhic victory. A war is perhaps the only occasion when killing a person is not only accepted but rewarded. If only we could learn to do war with words, instead. Till then, let's look at a few words of war. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 10 00:01:24 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--casus belli X-Bonus: Every civilizing step in history has been ridiculed as 'sentimental', 'impractical', or 'womanish', etc., by those whose fun, profit or convenience was at stake. -Joan Gilbert (1931- ) casus belli (KAY-suhs BEL-y, BEL-ee) noun, plural casus belli An action or event that causes or is used to justify starting a war. [From New Latin casus belli, from Latin casus, occasion, belli, genitive of bellum, war.] "RAI's news operations are still heavily politicized, with every channel following a political bent and news editors' appointments becoming a casus belli for political battles." Yaroslav Trofimov, RAI Chief Turns State Network Into Modern Firm, The Wall Street Journal, Dec 13, 2000. This week's theme: words from war. -------- Date: Wed Jul 11 00:02:12 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fetial X-Bonus: When the master has come to do everything through the slave, the slave becomes his master, since he cannot live without him. -George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (1856-1950) fetial (FEE-shuhl) adjective, also fecial Relating to declarations of war and treaties of peace. [From Latin fetialis, a member of Roman college of priests, who performed the rites in such matters.] "President Clinton has already demonstrated his command of the fetial arts; therefore it may be Congress's place to dictate policy here." Answering Beijing, The Princeton Spectator, Mar 1996. "Nevertheless, we can accept that as ambassadors of peace, fetials employed legalistic language and forms to demand reparations from the guilty party." Richard E. Mitchell, Reviews of books -- International Law in Archaic Rome: War and Religion, The American Historical Review, (Washington, DC), Feb 1995. This week's theme: words from war. -------- Date: Thu Jul 12 00:01:50 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--polemology X-Bonus: As often as Herman had witnessed the slaughter of animals and fish, he always had the same thought: in their behavior toward creatures, all men were Nazis. -Isaac Bashevis Singer, writer, Nobel laureate, (1904-1991) polemology (po-luh-MOL-uh-jee) noun The science and study of human conflict and war. [From Greek, polemos, war + -logy.] "Polemology begins, in other words, with a frank recognition of the overpowering superiority of the strong over the weak, and thus of the likelihood of defeat." Simon Joyce, Resisting Arrest/Arresting Resistance, Criticism (Detroit), Spring 1995. This week's theme: words from war. -------- Date: Fri Jul 13 00:01:26 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--spoliation X-Bonus: There is no fire like passion, there is no shark like hatred, there is no snare like folly, there is no torrent like greed. -Buddha spoliation (spo-lee-AY-shun) noun 1. The act of pillaging and plundering. 2. Seizure of neutral ships at sea in time of war. 3. The deliberate destruction or alteration of a document. [From Middle English, from Latin spoliation, past participle of spoliare, to spoil.] "For raids to have an effect, as the Allies quickly learned, they had to be directed not against specific industrial installations but against entire urban centers. The Allied attack on Hamburg in late July 1943 was typical of the kind of spoliation that could be achieved. Half the city's domiciles were destroyed, as were 60% of its water system, 75% of its electricity generation and 90% of its gas works. Forty thousand Germans perished." Gabriel Schoenfeld, The Strategy Behind All That Destruction, The Wall Street Journal, May 8, 2000. This week's theme: words from war. -------- Date: Mon Jul 16 00:01:32 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--louche X-Bonus: Through all the world there goes one long cry from the heart of the artist: Give me leave to do my utmost. -Isak Dinesen (pen name of Karen Blixen), author (1885-1962) louche (loosh) adjective Of questionable character; dubious; disreputable. [From French louche, cross-eyed, from Old French lousche, feminine of lois, from Latin lusca, feminine of luscus, one-eyed.] "They wanted her to be a dancer, but the teenage Bardot fell in with the louche and devious film-maker Roger Vadim, and became the notorious Girl In A Bikini instead." Adam Sweeting, Channel Surfing: Zouzou Exposed, The Guardian (UK), Nov 7, 1998. A popular admonition goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Yet we do it all the time. We ascribe qualities of character to people based on their physical characteristics. And our language takes shape to reflect that attitude. Are cross-eyed people shady? I don't think so. At least not any more than the straight-eyed ones. In this week's AWAD we look at more such words. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 17 00:01:07 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--clochard X-Bonus: One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory. -Rita Mae Brown, author (1944- ) clochard (KLOH-shahr) noun A beggar; vagrant. [From French clocher, to limp, from Latin clopus, lame.] "The bridge is always crowded with vehicles, clochards, salespeople, college students, the aged and infants, and dogs." Kyoko Yoshida, Kyoto Panorama Project, The Massachusetts Review (Amherst), Winter 2000/2001. This week's theme: words for physical characteristics used to describe people figuratively. -------- Date: Wed Jul 18 02:01:52 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--myopic X-Bonus: Even for our enemies in misery--there should be tears in our eyes. -Charan Singh, mystic (1916-1990) myopic (my-OP-ik) adjective 1. Nearsighted; unable to see clearly objects at a distance. 2. Shortsighted; lacking foresight; narrow-minded. [From New Latin, from Greek, myopia, from myop- nearsighted, from myein, to close + ops, eye.] "Three characters dominate the drama: star prosecutor David Boies, whose casual demeanour belied razor-sharp courtroom instincts; Judge Penfield Jackson, the conservative arbitrator who grew increasingly disenchanted with Microsoft's arrogance; and Bill Gates, portrayed as a surly, myopic Napoleon, whose cantankerous, evasive testimony did much to bring about the guilty verdict." Steve Yap, Consequences of Hubris, Far Eastern Economic Review (Hong Kong), Jun 14, 2001. This week's theme: words for physical characteristics used to describe people figuratively. -------- Date: Thu Jul 19 00:01:26 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dexterous X-Bonus: The road uphill and the road downhill are one and the same. -Heraclitus, philosopher (Ca. 540-470 BCE) dexterous (DEK-struhs, -stuhr-uhs) adjective, also dextrous 1. Skillful or adroit, mentally or bodily. 2. Right-handed. [From Latin dexter, right-hand, skillful.] "Paul Frazier was quietly dexterous on bass, always the stealth weapon in Mr. Byrne's music." Ann Powers, Same As He Ever Was, But More Appreciated, The New York Times, May 15, 2001. This week's theme: words for physical characteristics used to describe people figuratively. -------- Date: Fri Jul 20 00:01:40 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ambisinister X-Bonus: When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been murderers and tyrants, and for a time they can seem invincible. But in the end they always fall. Think of it, always. -Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) ambisinister (am-bi-SIN-uh-stuhr) adjective Clumsy with both hands. (Literally, with two left hands.) [Latin ambi- both, + sinister, on the left side.] "Staff sergeant Gawkward hoped to win a medal or two by firing two rifles at the same time. When he managed to hit his fellow soldiers instead, all he earned was the remark ambisinister in his service record." -Anu Garg, AWAD, Jul 20, 2001. This week's theme: words for physical characteristics used to describe people figuratively. -------- Date: Mon Jul 23 00:36:41 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--epizootic X-Bonus: Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night. -Edgar Allan Poe, poet and short-story writer (1809-1849) epizootic (ep-uh-zo-OT-ik) adjective Spreading quickly among many animals. noun Such a disease. [French epizootique, from epi- + Greek zoion animal.] "Nor can today's oldest oldster recall the `great epizootic' of 1872. This was a flulike disease that killed at least 20,000 horse-car horses in the nation. When the epizootic quit killing horses, inventive Americans sought new pulling power." Jack Goodman, 'Broadway Battleship's' Brief Run in New York, The Salt Lake Tribune, Jun 27, 1999. "Said Dr. Anthony Iton, director of health and social services for Stamford. 'We have window screens. We spend more time indoors. What that taught us was you can have a relatively intense epizootic in birds and mosquitoes and not have a human epidemic. Because of our behaviors, we protect ourselves from mosquitoes.'" Christine Woodside, Mosquitoes? Sure. Spraying? Unclear, The New York Times, May 27, 2001. Author and humorist Mark Twain once observed, "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." Open a newspaper or magazine and chances are you'll read about the frightening "epidemic" of mad cow disease. Of course, it is we who are mad when we feed these herbivore animals body parts of other animals, including other cows, but I digress. With today's word we know the right term to use when it comes to an animal disease. The root dem(os) in the word epidemic, meaning `people' is the same root that gave us the word democracy. Here are two other words with their animal equivalents: endemic/enzootic and demography/zoography. In this week's AWAD, we'll look at some other less-known counterparts of everyday words. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 24 00:13:51 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--anile X-Bonus: He acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions. -Confucius, philosopher and teacher (c. 551-478 BCE) anile (AN-yl, AY-nyl) adjective Of or like an old woman. [From Latin anilis, from anus old woman.] "The desire of AngloSaxon Australians to avoid `giving offence' through the spoken word is amply seen in compulsory speech codes in the ABC and the universities. They are, in (Robert) Hughes' words, `the anile priggishness of the Puritan marm, lips pursed, seeking nits to pick.'" Andrew McIntyre, PC? Non merci!, IPA Review (Melbourne) 1996. "Before she is able to act, a bell tolls. The anile amah brings her a card." Ruth Eshow Upton, 42 Across Meets 18 Down, The San Francisco Chronicle, Feb 5, 1989. This week's theme: less-known counterparts of everyday words. Senile is the male equivalent of today's word. -------- Date: Wed Jul 25 00:01:18 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--estivate X-Bonus: There is a pleasure sure, in being mad, which none but madmen know. -John Dryden, poet and dramatist (1631-1700) estivate (ES-tuh-vayt) verb, also aestivate To pass the summer in a dormant state. [From Latin aestivatus, past participle of aestivare, to reside during the summer.] "An occasional Texas tortoise ambles through this unique subtropical forest, and spiral-shaped `Rabdotus' snails estivate through the warm summer months on the trunks of the trees." John Tveten and Gloria Tveten, Birds And Butterflies Among Amenities of New Valley Inn, The Houston Chronicle, Mar 19, 1999. "If the self's immutability can bear a hazy long hiatus, estivate, vanish, die - and stay the same -- what were the months and years of pain?" Eric Colburn, The Long Poem, Literary Review (Madison, N.J.), Spring 2001. This week's theme: less-known counterparts of everyday words. Hibernate is the winter equivalent of today's word. -------- Date: Thu Jul 26 00:02:10 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--thegosis X-Bonus: Have patience! In time, even grass becomes milk. -Charan Singh, mystic (1916-1990) thegosis (THE-go-sis) noun Grinding of teeth as a means of sharpening them. [From Greek thegos, to sharpen.] (Bruxism is the word for night-time grinding of teeth.) "Dr Scally says, `If you nearly had an accident, and you're rattled. Or you've found your partner has been unfaithful and you want to kill her, but you're not allowed to because this society says you shouldn't. But the violent, murderous feelings are still there and the weapon-sharpening thegosis will accompany them.'" Yvonne Martin, Jaw Grinders Preparing to Meet Enemies, The Dominion (New Zealand) Jul 1, 1998. This week's theme: less-known counterparts of everyday words. Bruxism is the word for the phenomenon of teeth-grinding while sleeping. -------- Date: Fri Jul 27 00:01:17 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--trilemma X-Bonus: What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness. -Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (1828-1910) trilemma (tri-LEM-uh) noun A situation offering three undesirable options. [Blend of tri- + dilemma.] "She said that ... `It's part of a much larger problem which those in the industry call the trilemma of child care -- availability, affordability and quality.'" Stacy Milbouer, Juggling Jobs And Child Care, The Boston Globe, Nov 9, 1997. This week's theme: less-known counterparts of everyday words. -------- Date: Mon Jul 30 00:21:24 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--humble pie X-Bonus: Sometimes to remain silent is to lie. -Miguel de Unamuno, philosopher and writer (1864-1936) humble pie (HUM-buhl pi) noun Humiliation in the form of apology or retraction. Often in form of the phrase "to eat humble pie." [From the phrase, an umble pie, transformed by folk etymology by resemblance to the word humble. The phrase an umble pie itself was made by false splitting from a numble pie. Numbles or nombles are edible animal entrails. The words came to us from Latin via French.] "Mr. Ivester's apology stopped short of admitting liability; Coca-Cola also released a toxicology report that suggested something else must have caused the symptoms. That made Coke's apology a more limited serving of humble pie than other corporate leaders have had to dish out. In Japan, executives not only apologize publicly but also personally, to each person harmed in incidents." Constance L. Hays, Coca-Cola Hopes Things Go Better With 'Sorry', The New York Times, Jun 27, 1999. A mailing titled "Life in the 1500's" has been making the rounds of the Internet for quite some time. This piece of creative writing purports to depict life at the time of Shakespeare and his wife Ann Hathaway to explain the origins of many popular idioms. While this forwarded mail makes fascinating reading (but the first time only) it is simply a product of some netter's wild imagination. It's a shining example of folk etymologies: popular stories about the origins of words that sound convincing but aren't true. On the other hand, there are cases when a mistaken assumption about the origin or meaning of a word does result in a change in its form. The word shamefaced evolved from Middle English shamefast (meaning modest, or shy) and had nothing to do with face. The similarity of pronunciations of fast and faced made some mistake the sound and we got shamefaced. Another example of an interesting derivation by folk etymology is the term forlorn hope. It was transformed from the Dutch verloren hoop, literally, lost troop. This week's AWAD shows other examples. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Jul 31 00:01:24 EDT 2001 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kickshaw X-Bonus: The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar, and familiar things new. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784) kickshaw (KIK-shaw) noun 1. A fancy dish; delicacy. 2. A trinket. [By folk etymology, from French quelque chose, something.] "They were the first to get into Victorian, into Arts & Crafts and Art Deco, into painted furniture, into ethnic, and kickshaws, and collectibles." Margo Miller, Art of the Deal, The Boston Globe, Dec 12, 1996. This week's theme: words evolved using folk etymologies.