A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Fri Jul 1 00:01:01 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sepia X-Bonus: The American who first discovered Columbus made a bad discovery. -Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, scientist and philosopher (1 Jul 1742-1799) Color words derived from animals sepia (SEE-pee-uh) noun: 1. A reddish brown color. 2. A brown pigment originally made from the cuttlefish ink. 3. A drawing made with this pigment. 4. A monochrome photograph in this color. adjective: Of a reddish-brown color. [From Latin sepia (cuttlefish), from Greek sepia (cuttlefish). Earliest documented use: 1569.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sepia A drawing by Leonardo da Vinci in sepia ink https://wordsmith.org/words/images/sepia.jpg "I know it sounds strange to invoke the sepia-toned suffering of the 1930s when we're talking about an economy that has only 5.1 percent unemployment." Matt O'Brien; Brexit' and the Far Right's Rise in UK and Elsewhere; The Washington Post; Jun 1, 2016. -------- Date: Mon Jul 4 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--knavery X-Bonus: Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn-out soil. My children have had other birthplaces, and, so far as their fortunes may be within my control, shall strike their roots into unaccustomed earth. -Nathaniel Hawthorne, writer (4 Jul 1804-1864) Is there life in outer space? What's the meaning of life? Is it the letter s or c that is silent in the word 'scent'? Great mysteries of life! Fortunately, we have the answer to at least one of them. Over its long and checkered history spanning 600 years, the word scent has changed its appearance more readily than a chameleon getting ready for a party. It has appeared as "sent" and "cent", among other forms. In "Taming of the Shrew", Shakespeare has a huntsman say that his hound "pick'd out the dullest sent." That still doesn't tell us the answer. Well, etymology to the rescue. The word scent comes to us from Latin sentire (to feel) which became French sentir (to smell), before making its way to English. So why this hotchpotch of spelling? To understand this we have to realize that language was spoken long before writing came on the scene. Few people were literate. When it came to writing, any spelling (sent/cent/scent/etc.) was good as long as it sounded right. Shakespeare spelled his name every which way -- the plaque on his tomb spells it as "Shakspeare". Eventually spelling became standardized. Among many competing spellings, one took scepter as the official spelling of the word, not necessarily because it was more virtuous than the rest. This week we'll see a few more words with silent letters. knavery (NAY-vuh-ree, NAYV-ree) noun Dishonest dealing or an instance of this. [From knave, from Old English cnafa (boy, servant). Earliest documented use: 1528.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/knavery "Each nation is fighting a righteous war, brought about by the intolerable knavery of the other." Kenneth Roberts; Boon Island; Doubleday; 1956. -------- Date: Tue Jul 5 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wroth X-Bonus: It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning. -Bill Watterson, comic strip artist (b. 5 Jul 1958) [Calvin & Hobbes] This week's theme: Words with initial silent letters wroth (roth) adjective Extremely angry. [From Old English wrath. Ultimately from Indo-European root wer- (to turn or bend), which is also the progenitor of words such as wring, weird, writhe, worth, revert, and universe. Earliest documented use: 893.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/wroth Wroth birds https://wordsmith.org/words/images/wroth_large.jpg Photo: Jeremy Brooks https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremybrooks/7570214904 "The fat man was so wroth that he took a vow to live on bread and wine till he had his vengeance." George R. R. Martin; A Dance with Dragons; Bantam; 2011. -------- Date: Wed Jul 6 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--knar X-Bonus: All the arguments to prove man's superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: in suffering the animals are our equals. -Peter Singer, philosopher and professor (b. 6 Jul 1946) This week's theme: Words with initial silent letters knar (nahr) noun A knot on a tree or in wood. [From Middle English knarre. Earliest documented use: 1250.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/knar_large.jpg Photo: Kim Manley Ort https://www.flickr.com/photos/kimmanleyort/14609365599/ "When Gong Chun decided to make a teapot that resembled the knar of an old ginkgo tree, he did it by hand." Kuei-hsiang Lo; The Stonewares of Yixing; Hong Kong University Press; 1986. -------- Date: Thu Jul 7 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--wrick X-Bonus: Men rarely (if ever) managed to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child. -Robert A. Heinlein, science-fiction author (7 Jul 1907-1988) This week's theme: Words with initial silent letters wrick (rik) verb tr., intr.: To sprain or wrench. noun: Sprain. [From Middle Low German wricken (to sprain). Earliest documented use: 1305.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/wrick "Fraulein Hunyády had wricked her ankle that afternoon when coming down stairs." Dennis Wheatley; The Duke de Richleau Series; Bloomsbury; 2014. -------- Date: Fri Jul 8 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gnomic X-Bonus: People are like stained glass windows: they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within. -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, psychiatrist and author (8 Jul 1926-2004) This week's theme: Words with initial silent letters gnomic (NO-mik) adjective 1. Relating to a gnome (an aphorism or a pithy saying). 2. Puzzling, ambiguous, or incomprehensible yet seemingly profound. [From Greek gnome (judgment, opinion), from gignoskein (to know). Ultimately from the Indo-European root gno- (to know), which also gave us knowledge, prognosis, ignore, narrate, normal, and gnomon https://wordsmith.org/words/gnomon.html . Earliest documented use: 1815.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gnomic "Others believed that George arrived every year with a single guiding business idea. 'Information cannot be taxed' or 'Improbability is the river in which we fish' or some other gnomic pronouncement. One year, the rumors ran, George uttered a single word: 'China'." Stephen Marche; The Hunger of the Wolf; Simon & Schuster; 2015. "Charles was finding the conversation a little gnomic. 'I'm sorry, I don't quite get what you mean.'" Simon Brett; The Cinderella Killer; Severn House; 2015. -------- Date: Mon Jul 11 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--probative X-Bonus: We grow tyrannical fighting tyranny. The most alarming spectacle today is not the spectacle of the atomic bomb in an unfederated world, it is the spectacle of the Americans beginning to accept the device of loyalty oaths and witchhunts, beginning to call anybody they don't like a Communist. -E.B. White, writer (11 Jul 1899-1985) So many books, so little time! Do you say that sometimes? I do too, but I also find myself saying: So many words, so little time! There are hundreds of thousands of words that I want to get to know better. Each with a biography (in the word trade we call it etymology). Each with a unique story. Each with cousins and parents and children. One lifetime is not enough to know all the words we have. We'll never be able to read all the books we want to read, visit all the places we want to visit, know all the words we want to know. But that's OK. As long as we are making progress, even if a little slow, we are heading in the right direction. This week we continue making progress as we meet five words from various books, magazines, and newspapers. probative (PRO-buh-tiv, PROB-uh-) adjective Serving to test something or providing a proof. [From Latin probare (to test or prove), from probus (upright, good). Ultimately from the Indo-European root per- (forward), which also gave us paramount, prime, proton, prow https://wordsmith.org/words/prow.html , German Frau (woman), and Hindi purana (old). Earliest documented use: 1453.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/probative "There seems to be a slight trail here, but we haven't found anything probative yet." Jack Phillips; Off the Deep End; Page Publishing; 2015. -------- Date: Tue Jul 12 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jobbery X-Bonus: Words / as slippery as smooth grapes, / words exploding in the light / like dormant seeds waiting / in the vaults of vocabulary, / alive again, and giving life: / once again the heart distills them. -Pablo Neruda, poet, diplomat, Nobel laureate (12 Jul 1904-1973) Miscellaneous words jobbery (JOB-uh-ree) noun The use of a public office for private gain. [From jobber (wholesaler; one who does odd jobs), from job, of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1769.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/jobbery Peculation https://wordsmith.org/words/peculate.html and Jobbery http://wordsmith.org/words/images/jobbery_large.jpg Photo: National Library NZ https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationallibrarynz_commons/21479450819/ "Scandals about cronyism, jobbery, and the overzealous advancement of party advantage caused deep and lasting damage." Liam Fay; Independent TDs are Losing Their Way in a Fog of Self-Importance; Irish Independent (Dublin); Jan 17, 2015. -------- Date: Wed Jul 13 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ostensible X-Bonus: The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny. -Wole Soyinka, playwright, poet, Nobel laureate (b. 13 Jul 1934) Miscellaneous words ostensible (ah-STEN-suh-buhl) adjective Appearing as such; supposed. [From French ostensible, from Latin ostendere (to show, stretch out), from ob- (in front of) + tendere (to stretch). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ten- (to stretch), which also gave us tense, tenet, tendon, tent, tenor, tender, pretend, extend, tenure, tetanus, hypotenuse, pertinacious https://wordsmith.org/words/pertinacious.html , detente https://wordsmith.org/words/detente.html , countenance https://wordsmith.org/words/countenance.html , distend https://wordsmith.org/words/distend.html , extenuate https://wordsmith.org/words/extenuate.html , tenable https://wordsmith.org/words/tenable.html , tenuous https://wordsmith.org/words/tenable.html , abstentious https://wordsmith.org/words/tenable.html , and impertinent https://wordsmith.org/words/tenable.html . Earliest documented use: 1743.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ostensible "Thoreau disdained his ostensible friends, once responding to a social invitation with the words 'such are my engagements to myself, that I dare not promise.'" Kathryn Schulz; Pond Scum; The New Yorker; Oct 19, 2015. -------- Date: Thu Jul 14 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fane X-Bonus: Literature encourages tolerance - bigots and fanatics seldom have any use for the arts, because they're so preoccupied with their beliefs and actions that they can't see them also as possibilities. -Northrop Frye, writer and critic (14 Jul 1912-1991) Miscellaneous words fane (fayn) noun A place of worship. [From Latin fanum (temple). Earliest documented use: 1400s.] "Here, in a fane of stone she ended her days, a shaved priestess of a grim unloving order." Tanith Lee; Night's Master; DAW Books; 1978. -------- Date: Fri Jul 15 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--arable X-Bonus: Choose only one master -- Nature. -Rembrandt, painter and etcher (15 Jul 1606-1669) Miscellaneous words arable (AR-uh-buhl) adjective: Suitable for farming. noun: Land that's suitable for farming. [From Latin arare (to plow). Earliest documented use: 1400.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/arable "A diet based on plants uses a sixth the arable land as a diet based on meat, poultry, and dairy." David Macfarlane; Are Vegans Right?; The United Church Observer (Toronto, Canada); May 2016. http://www.ucobserver.org/society/2016/05/vegans/ -------- Date: Mon Jul 18 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shermanesque X-Bonus: It is never my custom to use words lightly. If twenty-seven years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact on the way people live and die. -Nelson Mandela, activist, South African president, Nobel laureate (18 Jul 1918-2013) Last year, as soon as my daughter, Ananya, woke up on the morning of her 18th birthday, she came running downstairs to my home office. "How do I register to vote?" she asked. I showed her how http://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/voter.html and she filled out the voter registration form. A few days later, the mail carrier brought an envelope with her voter registration card inside. She thought it was the best birthday gift. When the next election rolled around a few months later, we sat at the dining table with our ballots in hand. We also pulled out the Washington State voter information booklet that came in the mail. We discussed candidates. We read their bios. We researched their positions on various issues. For some local races we didn't find much information so we considered endorsements from other people and organizations. Then we filled out our ballots. While most of our votes were the same, we differed on some candidates and issues. It took a couple of hours, but Ananya thought it was fun. In a race for Washington State Supreme Court justice, in which a judge was running unopposed, she filled in the name of a write-in candidate: her dog Flower. How can we engage more people in politics and elections? I have two suggestions: 1. On their 18th birthday, present students with their voter registration cards in their schools. No need to register. Schools already have their dates of birth and other relevant information. 2. Make the election day a national holiday. Not everyone can afford to take time off from work to go cast a ballot. Even better, make the voting by mail as we have it here in Washington state. No polling booths. No standing in lines. We receive our ballot in the mail a few weeks before the election date and we fill it in at our convenience and mail it back by the election day. "Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you." These words have been attributed to the Greek statesman Pericles. Whoever said it, the words have profound implications. This week we'll take an interest in politics with words related to politics and elections. Shermanesque (shur-muh-NESK) adjective 1. Unequivocal, especially in refusing to run for an office. 2. Brutally thorough, especially in defeating someone. [After William Tecumseh Sherman, Union general in the American Civil War. Earliest documented use: 1918.] William Tecumseh Sherman https://wordsmith.org/words/images/shermanesque.jpg Photo: Mathew Brady, c. 1864 NOTES: The Union general William Tecumseh Sherman didn't mince words. When he was being considered as a presidential candidate, he said, "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected." Since then, a categorical statement, especially a denial, is called Shermanesque. Reporters ask politicians if their announcement not to run for an office is Shermanesque to confirm whether they really mean it. Sherman also didn't beat around the bush when it came to military campaigns. His soldiers destroyed infrastructure, farms, etc. in their wake. So the term Shermanesque is also used to refer to a scorched-earth approach. "Justin Trudeau's Shermanesque statement -- 'Canada does not - and will not - pay ransom to terrorists, directly or indirectly' -- is likely to be tested the next time a Canadian is taken overseas. And it may not be as categorical as it seems." Andrew Cohen; Regarding Hostage-Taking, is Justin Trudeau His Father's Son?; The Ottawa Citizen (Canada); May 4, 2016. "After making a Shermanesque march through the Metro League, the Lakeside boys soccer team continued to roll last night, shutting out visiting Lakes 3-0." Craig Smith; Lakeside Extends Win Streak; The Seattle Times; May 16, 2001. -------- Date: Tue Jul 19 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--carpetbagger X-Bonus: I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, "Mother, what was war?" -Eve Merriam, poet and writer (19 Jul 1916-1992) This week's theme: Words related to politics and elections carpetbagger (KAHR-pet-bag-uhr) noun An opportunistic outsider, especially a political candidate who contests election in an area while having little connection to it. [In the US, the term was applied to a Northerner who went to the South after the Civil War during the Reconstruction era. Such a person typically carried his belongings in a bag made of old carpet. Earliest documented use: 1868.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/carpetbagger Carpetbagger: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/carpetbagger_large.jpg Cartoon: Thomas Nast, 1872 Carpetbag, c. 1860 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/carpetbag_large.jpg Photo: Wikimedia "Unlike many of the pro-establishment candidates who have spent years in their respective districts serving residents and neighborhoods with dedication, a number of opposition candidates are carpetbaggers, who suddenly appeared in a district just before election time." Not a Hard Choice; China Daily (Hong Kong); Nov 23, 2015. -------- Date: Wed Jul 20 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--logrolling X-Bonus: The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace. -Carlos Santana, musician (b. 20 Jul 1947) This week's theme: Words related to politics and elections logrolling (LOG-ro-ling) noun 1. The exchanging of favors, especially by legislators by voting for each other's legislation. 2. A sport in which two players stand on a floating log and try to knock each other off by spinning the log with their feet. [From the former practice of neighbors helping each other move logs by rolling them. Earliest documented use: 1792.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/logrolling https://wordsmith.org/words/images/logrolling1_large.jpg Photo: Joe Goldberg https://www.flickr.com/photos/goldberg/482275289/ https://wordsmith.org/words/images/logrolling2_large.jpg Photo: Richard Hurd https://www.flickr.com/photos/rahimageworks/9196120479 "Potential externals are identified by the supervisor and through a system of logrolling enticed to take on the duty -- as a favour that it is anticipated will be returned." John Wakeford; Postgraduate Courses: What Goalposts?; The Guardian (London, UK); Sep 17, 2002. -------- Date: Thu Jul 21 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dog whistle X-Bonus: I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after. -Ernest Hemingway, author, journalist, Nobel laureate (21 Jul 1899-1961) This week's theme: Words related to politics and elections dog whistle (DOG [h]wis-uhl) noun: A coded message that appears innocuous to the general public, but that has an additional interpretation meant to appeal to the target audience, for example, to racists. adjective: Relating to such a message. [From the allusion to a dog whistle whose high-pitched sound is inaudible to humans but can be heard by dogs. Earliest documented use: 1995.] NOTES: An example of a dog whistle is the use of the term "family values". The term sounds harmless, but homophobic politicians use it to convey their opposition to equal rights for everyone. See more examples here http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Dog_whistle_politics "In the early 1970s, 'African American' and 'welfare' were used interchangeably and it was a well-established hallmark of dog-whistle politics, which allowed speakers to appeal to racist beliefs without using openly racist terms." Michael D'Antonio; Is Donald Trump Racist? Here's What the Record Shows; Fortune (New York); Jun 7, 2016. http://fortune.com/2016/06/07/donald-trump-racism-quotes/ -------- Date: Fri Jul 22 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--suffrage X-Bonus: Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, / I lift my lamp beside the golden door! -Emma Lazarus, poet and playwright (22 Jul 1849-1887) [from a poem written to raise funds for building the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty] This week's theme: Words related to politics and elections suffrage (SUF-rij) noun The right to vote; also, the exercise of such a right. [From French suffrage, from Latin suffragium (voting tablet, right to vote). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhreg- (to break), which also gave us break, breach, fraction, fragile, fractal, infringe, irrefragable https://wordsmith.org/words/irrefragable.html , and fractious https://wordsmith.org/words/fractious.html . Suffrage? Because a broken piece of tile was used as a ballot in the past. Earliest documented use: 1380.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/suffrage Suffragists Annie Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/suffrage_large.jpg Photo: Wikimedia "Victoria Claflin Woodhull, a leader in the women's suffrage movement, was the first woman to run for the US presidency, though she couldn't even vote for herself on election day, Nov 5, 1872." Simon Carswell; She is a Tough Lady. She is All of Our Hero; Irish Times (Dublin); Jun 9, 2016. -------- Date: Mon Jul 25 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--equanimous X-Bonus: Hatred is the most accessible and comprehensive of all the unifying agents. Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil. -Eric Hoffer, philosopher and author (25 Jul 1902-1983) Reference http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/16/the-american-prophet-who-predicted-trump.html No two snowflakes are alike, no two fingerprints have the same pattern, and no two humans are the same either. That said, there are attributes they have in common. This week we'll review five adjectives to describe people -- both positive and negative. equanimous (i-KWAN-uh-muhs) adjective Even-tempered: calm and composed in all circumstances. [From Latin aequus (equal, even) + animus (mind, spirit). Earliest documented use: 1656.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/equanimous "AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was seen in the war room, watching the exit polls unfold. Though volunteers claim that he was equanimous throughout, and so are they about winning and losing, the sheer glee is palpable." Aradhna Wal; Door-to-Door Campaign Reaped Votes for AAP; DNA Sunday (Mumbai, India); Feb 8, 2015. -------- Date: Tue Jul 26 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mumpish X-Bonus: I have never thought much of the courage of a lion tamer. Inside the cage he is at least safe from other men. There is not much harm in a lion. He has no ideals, no religion, no politics, no chivalry, no gentility; in short, no reason for destroying anything that he does not want to eat. -George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (26 Jul 1856-1950) This week's theme: Words to describe people mumpish (MUHM-pish) adjective Sullen; silent; depressed. [From mump (grimace), perhaps of imitative origin. Earliest documented use: 1721.] "Nickie seemed a bit mumpish, possibly out of a feeling that he was being railroaded." Peter De Vries; Comfort Me with Apples; Little, Brown; 1956. -------- Date: Wed Jul 27 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--compunctious X-Bonus: In any free society, the conflict between social conformity and individual liberty is permanent, unresolvable, and necessary. -Kathleen Norris, novelist and columnist (1880-1966) This week's theme: Words to describe people compunctious (kuhm-PUNGK-shuhs) adjective Feeling remorse or guilt. [From Latin compungere (to prick hard), from com- (intensive prefix) + pungere (to prick). 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 , oppugn https://wordsmith.org/words/oppugn.html , repugn https://wordsmith.org/words/repugn.html , and pugnacious https://wordsmith.org/words/pugnacious.html . Earliest documented use: 1616.] "Fun often comes in the form of a compunctious husband who can't come up with what to say on the card accompanying his floral offering of atonement to an angry wife." Kelly L. Brooks; Emotional Moments Bloom for Floral Designer; Sarasota Herald Tribune (Florida); Nov 17, 2003. -------- Date: Thu Jul 28 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vituperative X-Bonus: We are social creatures to the inmost centre of our being. The notion that one can begin anything at all from scratch, free from the past, or unindebted to others, could not conceivably be more wrong. -Karl Popper, philosopher and professor (28 Jul 1902-1994) This week's theme: Words to describe people vituperative (vy-TOO-puhr-uh-tiv, -TYOO-, vi-) adjective Criticizing bitterly, scathing, abusive. [From Latin vituperare (to blame), from vitium (fault) + parare (to make or prepare). Earliest documented use: 1727.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/vituperative "Korean Internet users are capable of being equally vituperative, particularly over the disputed island of Tokto." Richard Lloyd; McDonald's Serves Up Asian Bowing Row; The Times (London, UK); Apr 14, 2016. -------- Date: Fri Jul 29 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ingenious X-Bonus: I have noticed that when chickens quit quarreling over their food they often find that there is enough for all of them I wonder if it might not be the same with the human race. -Don Marquis, humorist and poet (29 Jul 1878-1937) This week's theme: Words to describe people ingenious (in-JEEN-yuhs) adjective Clever, creative, inventive. [Via French from Latin ingeniosus (clever, talented, full of intellect), from ingenium (inborn talent), from gignere (to beget). Earliest documented use: 1483. Don't confuse ingenious with ingenuous https://wordsmith.org/words/ingenuous.html even though both words are from the same root.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ingenious "The mothers and their daughters prove to be brave, resourceful, and remarkably ingenious at befuddling the goons." Marilyn Stasio; Predator and Prey; New York Times Book Review; Apr 20, 2014.