A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Nov 1 00:01:05 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--charientism X-Bonus: The wisest man is he who does not fancy that he is so at all. -Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux, poet and critic (1 Nov 1636-1711) We have a new ocean on the Earth. No, we didn't get more water from the Amazon (or order it from Amazon.com) to build this fifth ocean. It's just that the National Geographic Society has recognized a new ocean, called the Southern Ocean, around Antarctica, because it is a distinct body of water with its unique characteristics. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/theres-a-new-ocean-now-can-you-name-all-five-southern-ocean So it goes with words. Most things or ideas or concepts have been around for a long time. Sometimes we coin words for them. Eventually, lexicographers add it to their dictionaries. This week we'll feature five such words. What are some of the things and ideas for which we don't have a word, but we should? Email us at words@wordsmith.org. Include your location (city, state). On to today's word. Here's an example of charientism. The story goes that Benjamin Disraeli or William Gladstone or someone, on receiving a book from an author, sent this response: Thanks for sending your book. I shall lose no time in reading it. What charientisms have you heard or come up with? Write to us at words@wordsmith.org. (Please share only original charientisms. Skip the ones you read somewhere -- we shall lose no time in reading them). As always, include your location (city, state). charientism (KAR-ee-uhn-tiz-uhm) noun An insult disguised as a jest or a compliment. [From Latin charientismus, from Greek kharientismos (gracefulness of style). Earliest documented use: 1589.] "Bryant, ever the master of charientism, cheerfully waved the thought away." Christopher Fowler; Bryant & May: The Lonely Hour; Bantam; 2019. -------- Date: Tue Nov 2 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--oracy X-Bonus: All great human deeds both consume and transform their doers. Consider an athlete, or a scientist, or an artist, or an independent business creator. In the service of their goals they lay down time and energy and many other choices and pleasures; in return, they become most truly themselves. -Lois McMaster Bujold, author (b. 2 Nov 1949) This week's theme: There's a word for it oracy (OHR-uh-see) noun The ability to express oneself in speech. [Coined as a blend of oral + literacy. Earliest documented use: 1965.] "Passing things on. Oracy, storytelling. My wife says that for us, word of mouth is first and foremost." Paula Coston; On the Far Side, There's a Boy; John Hunt Publishing; 2014. "There was so much he had wanted to say but could not. Words had formed in his mind but he had been deprived of oracy." Peter Clements; The Third Temple; Strategic Book Group; 2012. -------- Date: Wed Nov 3 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--haecceity X-Bonus: This is the devilish thing about foreign affairs: they are foreign and will not always conform to our whim. -James Reston, journalist (3 Nov 1909-1995) This week's theme: There's a word for it haecceity or hecceity (hek/hik-SEE-uh-tee) noun The quality that makes something or someone what they are. [From Latin haecceitas (thisness), from Latin haec, feminine of hic (this). Earliest documented use: 1635. Also see quiddity https://wordsmith.org/words/quiddity.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/haecceity "Because what it is to love someone is to, in a sense, love them independently of their qualities. It's to love them. Their essence, their haecceity, their utter specificity." Ezra Klein Interviews Amia Srinivasan: The New York Times; Sep 3, 2021. -------- Date: Thu Nov 4 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--balter X-Bonus: I would rather be the man who bought the Brooklyn Bridge than the one who sold it. -Will Rogers, humorist (4 Nov 1879-1935) This week's theme: There's a word for it balter (BAHL-tuhr) verb intr.: To dance clumsily or walk unsteadily. verb tr., intr.: To clot, clog, or tangle. [For 1. Probably from Old Norse. Earliest documented use: 1400. For 2: Probably a frequentative of the verb ball. Earliest documented use: 1601.] "Knock back a few and you'll be baltering all around the lounge room." Rory Gibson; How to Live on a Beer Budget; Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia); Apr 6, 2020. "Think of journaling as baltering with a pen in hand. Free to doodle or draw or paint." Terry Hershey; Praying on Paper; St. Anthony Messenger (Cincinnati, Ohio); Dec 2020/Jan 2021. -------- Date: Fri Nov 5 00:01:02 EDT 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--caducous X-Bonus: Do you wish the world were happy? / Then remember day by day, / Just to scatter seeds of kindness / As you pass along the way. -Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet (5 Nov 1850-1919) This week's theme: There's a word for it caducous (kuh-DOO/DYOO-kuhs) adjective Tending to fall easily or before the usual time. [From Latin caducus (falling), from cadere (to fall). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kad- (to fall), which is also the source of cadence, cascade, casualty, cadaver, chance, chute, accident, occident, decay, deciduous https://wordsmith.org/words/deciduous.html , recidivism https://wordsmith.org/words/recidivism.html , perchance https://wordsmith.org/words/perchance.html , escheat https://wordsmith.org/words/escheat.html , and casuistry https://wordsmith.org/words/casuistry.html . Earliest documented use: 1684.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/caducous "It was a morning after storm ... the dishevelled lawn littered with a caducous fall of leaves." John Banville; The Sea; Knopf; 2007. "Caducous ideas could set back any efforts to achieve unity." Carmen Madera; Enkindled: The Wild Scent of Desire; Xlibris; 2014. -------- Date: Mon Nov 8 00:01:02 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--materteral X-Bonus: Once and for all / the idea of glorious victories / won by the glorious army / must be wiped out / Neither side is glorious / On either side they're just frightened men messing their pants / and they all want the same thing / Not to lie under the earth / but to walk upon it / without crutches. -Peter Weiss, writer, artist, and filmmaker (8 Nov 1916-1982) Did you hear about the new competitor to the gas station chain Arco? They are calling it Pizzicato.* This joke came to my mind the other day while I was filling my Prius. Next to the pump was a convenience store named ampm. I started thinking about other examples of counterparts of words: am/pm, AC/DC, treble/bass, aa/pahoehoe https://wordsmith.org/words/aa.html , and so on. Those you knew. For this week's A.Word.A.Day I have picked counterparts of words that are not as common. What word is missing a counterpart? What would you like its counterpart to be? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/materteral.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. As always, include your location (city, state). *What the pluck does that mean?! If you find yourself scratching your head, consult your nearest violinist. Arco: Playing a violin or another string instrument with a bow (from Italian arco: bow) Pizzicato: Playing by plucking the strings instead (from Italian pizzicare: to pluck) The gas store name Arco is an initialism for Atlantic Richfield Company. There's no music in oil. Not even rock music, even though petroleum is, literally, _rock_ oil. materteral (muh-TUHR-tuhr-uhl) adjective Characteristic of, or in the manner of, an aunt. [From Latin matertera (maternal aunt), from mater- (mother). Ultimately from the Indo-European root mater (mother), which also gave us mother, material, matter, matrix, and matrimony. Earliest documented use: 1823.] NOTES: This word is the feminine counterpart of the word avuncular https://wordsmith.org/words/avuncular.html (like an uncle). Materteral has its origin in the maternal aunt, but now it's applied to aunts on both sides, just as the word aunt originally meant paternal aunt, from Latin amita (father's sister), from amare (to love), but now applies to aunts of all kinds (including an ant's aunt). 9 out of 10 children get their awesomeness from their aunt https://wordsmith.org/words/images/materteral_large.png Image: https://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMi0zYjlmYmQzNjU0M2I2YjM0/ "Several things had prevented me from giving full attention to my nephew, X. Let us examine this lack of materteral attention and its causes." Kirstin Scott; Motherlunge; Western Michigan University; 2013. -------- Date: Tue Nov 9 00:01:03 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--attrite X-Bonus: For all our conceits about being the center of the universe, we live in a routine planet of a humdrum star stuck away in an obscure corner ... on an unexceptional galaxy which is one of about 100 billion galaxies. ... That is the fundamental fact of the universe we inhabit, and it is very good for us to understand that. -Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (9 Nov 1934-1996) This week's theme: Counterpart words attrite (uh-TRYT) adjective: Regretting one's wrongdoing only because of the fear of punishment. verb tr., intr.: also attrit (uh-TRIT). 1. To wear down, erode, or weaken through sustained attacks, friction, etc. 2. To reduce the size of a workforce by not replacing those who leave. 3. To drop out from a course of study, job, training, etc. [From Latin attritus (worn down), past participle of atterere (to rub against), from at- (to/toward) + terere (to rub). Earliest documented use: 1475. A counterpart of the adjectival form of this word is contrite, describing someone who is genuinely repentant.] "His heart is 'attrite' ... there will be parts of his life that he must deeply regret, parts that will not fit." Philip Kitcher; Joyce's Kaleidoscope; Oxford University Press; 2009. "Would it be death by 100 cuts as they nicked up the rent and attrited our spirit with a collapsed infrastructure (the toilet at my end of the hall had been clogged for a month) or would they simply burst in and begin defenestrating us?" Larry Duberstein; The Day the Bozarts Died; Permanent Press; 2015. https://wordsmith.org/words/defenestrate.html "The coastline shifts, sands attrite and recede with little regard to human desires." Dominick Mazzagetti; The Jersey Shore; Rutgers University Press; 2018. -------- Date: Wed Nov 10 00:01:03 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--autonym X-Bonus: As freely as the firmament embraces the world, / or the sun pours forth impartially his beams, / so mercy must encircle both friend and foe. -Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, poet and dramatist (10 Nov 1759-1805) This week's theme: Counterpart words autonym (O-tuh-nim) noun 1. A person's own name, as distinguished from a pseudonym. 2. A work published under the real name of the author. [From Greek auto- (self) + -onym (name). Earliest documented use: 1854.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/autonym_large.jpg Illustration: Aubrey Beardsley, 1894 Image: Amazon https://amazon.com/dp/B07CG6V1NV/ws00-20 "If Macmillans refused then some other house should be tried. Why not send to F. Unwin -- it might do for the pseudonym series -- or autonym if you do not like the idea of a nom de guerre." Joseph Conrad; The Selected Letters of Joseph Conrad; Cambridge University Press; 2015. https://wordsmith.org/words/nom_de_guerre.html -------- Date: Thu Nov 11 00:01:02 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--exoteric X-Bonus: Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. -Joyce (from "Children's Letters to God") This week's theme: Counterpart words exoteric (ek-so-TER-ik) adjective 1. Not limited to an inner circle of select people. 2. Suitable for the general public. 3. Relating to the outside; external. [From Latin exotericus, from Greek exoterikos (external), from exotero, comparative form of exo (outside). Earliest documented use: 1656.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/exoteric https://wordsmith.org/words/images/exoteric_large.jpg Image: https://memegenerator.net/instance/59046765/ancient-aliens-secret-government-knowledge-acronyms "Ancient commentators distinguish between [Aristotle's] esoteric and exoteric writings -- the former were highly technical pieces, written for use within the school, and the latter well-crafted pieces for public consumption." Jeremy Stangroom & James Garvey; The Great Philosophers; Arcturus; 2015. -------- Date: Fri Nov 12 00:01:02 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--spear side X-Bonus: An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason. -Joseph McCabe, writer, speaker, and former priest (12 Nov 1867-1955) This week's theme: Counterpart words spear side (SPEER syd) noun 1. The male line of descent. 2. The male part of a family, group, etc. [From Old English spere-healfe. Earliest documented use: 1861.] NOTES: Why the term "spear side" to refer to the male line of descent? It's not known if there are any Freudian allusions. Apparently, the term arose because in olden times men performed the spear business, i.e., fighting. A variation of the term, sword side, is also used. The female counterpart is distaff side https://wordsmith.org/words/distaff.html or spindle side. The term for the side of a family that spins tales is the Shake spear side. "Who Stole My Spear?" https://amazon.com/dp/178475336X/ws00-20 "If I wanted to be facetious, I would declare that I am descended from Turing's machine on my spear side, and from a library on my spindle side." Stanislaw Lem; Imaginary Magnitude; Harcourt Brace; 1981. "With [Gabby] Logan being lined up as one of the faces of BBC Sport and with Jacqui Oatley doing a decent job on Match of the Day, the distaff side may soon equalise against the spear side." Andrew Tong; Captain Terry Is Subjected to Fresh Trial by Gabby; The Independent on Sunday (London, UK); May 6, 2007. -------- Date: Mon Nov 15 00:01:03 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--farouche X-Bonus: He who, when called upon to speak a disagreeable truth, tells it boldly and has done, is both bolder and milder than he who nibbles in a low voice and never ceases nibbling. -Johann Kaspar Lavater, poet, writer, philosopher (15 Nov 1741-1801) Communication. That's what language is for. But you might have second thoughts after seeing this week's words. Does anyone even know what a word means, you might say. That's because each word featured this week can't seem to make up its mind. Each word has two meanings that are opposite or contradictory. How're we going to get anything done?! Despair not. All is not lost. Language is all about context. Most of the time, context will tell you where a word stands, what it means. Sometimes, it's the case of British vs American senses. For example, in the UK to table something is to bring it forward for discussion while in the US it's to put it away or postpone it. That said, can you construct a sentence for any of the words featured this week that can make the word work in both of its opposite senses? Share on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/farouche.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. As always, include your location (city, state). farouche (fuh-ROOSH) adjective 1. Wild; fierce. 2. Shy; unsociable. [From Old French faroche, from forasche, from Latin forasticus (living outside), from foras (outdoors). Earliest documented use: 1765.] L'ami Farouche https://wordsmith.org/words/images/farouche_large.jpg Art: Évariste Carpentier (1845-1922) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:L%27ami_farouche...jpg "I badly needed a guide to get me to the Khyber Pass, and I decided that what I required was the most farouche-looking guy ... and the toughest modern automobile." Christopher Hitchens; Love, Poverty, and War; Nation Books; 2004. "At an event organised by the Writers' Centre in Norwich the other week, one of the volunteers ... observed that when she was young, writers were semi-mythical creatures, farouche, barely ever seen in the flesh." Will Self; The Novelist Offers His Tips for Reading Your Work Aloud; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); May 25, 2013. -------- Date: Tue Nov 16 00:01:02 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dinky X-Bonus: The sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them. -Chinua Achebe, writer and professor (16 Nov 1930-2013) This week's theme: Words with opposite or contradictory meanings dinky (DING-kee) adjective 1. (In the US) Small; insignificant; undesirable. 2. (In the UK) Attractively tiny; cute. [From Scots dink (neat, trim). Earliest documented use: 1788.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dinky "My hometown is a dinky place no one's ever heard of, and it could use some philanthropic donations for the budget gaps." Kylie Gilmore; Rogue Beast; Extra Fancy Books; 2020. "Ms [Ghislaine] Maxwell was invariably described as an 'Oxford-educated British socialite'. She dropped dinky British phrases into her conversation." Fading Anglophilia; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 11, 2020. -------- Date: Wed Nov 17 00:01:01 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shifty X-Bonus: We are a landscape of all we have seen. -Isamu Noguchi, sculptor and architect (17 Nov 1904-1988) This week's theme: Words with opposite or contradictory meanings shifty (SHIF-tee) adjective 1. Evasive; untrustworthy. 2. Changing directions frequently. 3. Resourceful: able to accomplish what needs done. [From Old English sciftan (to arrange or divide). Earliest documented use: 1570.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/shifty "Shifty" 2008 film https://wordsmith.org/words/images/shifty_large.jpg Poster: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1104126/ "He was shifty and sly -- there was something very distasteful and loathsome about him." Mari Emm; A Rumour From The Firehouse; AuthorHouse; 2015. "The smart, shifty forward showed he could excel at the pro game." Jason Bell; Just Ducky; Winnipeg Free Press (Canada); Oct 13, 2021. -------- Date: Thu Nov 18 00:01:03 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--endsville X-Bonus: A scientist is in a sense a learned small boy. There is something of the scientist in every small boy. Others must outgrow it. Scientists can stay that way all their lives. -George Wald, scientist and Nobel laureate (18 Nov 1906-1997) This week's theme: Words with opposite or contradictory meanings Endsville (ENDZ-vil) noun: 1. Something that is most excellent or the ultimate. 2. Something that is most undesirable; the end. adjective: 1. Most excellent. 2. Most undesirable. [From end + French ville (city). Earliest documented use: 1954.] "'To have peace in yourself -- that must be the greatest thing in the world,' he said soberly. 'That is what I am looking for. To me that is the greatest thing in living. It is Endsville itself.'" Hal Boyle; La Rosa Hopes to Launch Own Television Program; Zanesville Signal (Ohio); Oct 19, 1954. "'Once they start involving the cattle grounds and building networks of roads it will be Endsville for the caribou,' he warns." Darcy Henton; Diamond Fever Gripping N.W.T. Amid Enthusiasm Comes Concern Over Environment, Land Claims; Toronto Star (Canada); Mar 31, 1996. -------- Date: Fri Nov 19 00:01:02 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--presently X-Bonus: There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all. -Peter Drucker, management consultant, professor, and writer (19 Nov 1909-2005) This week's theme: Words with opposite or contradictory meanings presently (PREZ-uhnt-lee) adverb 1. In a short while: soon. 2. At the present time: now. [From English present, from Old French, from Latin praesent- (stem of praesens), from present participle of praeesse (to be present before others), from prae- (pre-) + esse (to be). Earliest documented use: 1385.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/presently NOTES: The word "presently" can mean "soon" or "now". There's also an archaic sense "immediately". If all this ambiguity bothers you, I'd like you to meet Spanish mañana which can mean "morning" or "tomorrow" or "future". Then there's Hindi kal which can mean "yesterday" or "tomorrow". "Presently, it has 56 permanent workers and engages an average of 100 casual workers daily." Alberto Mario Noretti; Maphlix Trust Ghana to Employ 400 Workers; Ghanaian Times (Accra); Sep 30, 2021. "These hills, now motionless as statues, would presently glide forward." Algernon Blackwood; Four Weird Tales; Good Press; 2019. -------- Date: Mon Nov 22 00:01:02 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Piltdowner X-Bonus: What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other? -George Eliot (pen name of Mary Ann Evans), novelist (22 Nov 1819-22 Dec 1880) It takes a village to raise a child, they say. The same can be said for a language. In the case of the English language, it took many countries. England is considered its home, but to nurture it and to help it thrive, the language had generous assistance* from assorted Germanic tribes, the Vikings, and the French. Also, from people who spoke many other languages around the world. A global village raised it and made it what a good little language it is. Empires come and go, but languages last longer. Many of the words in English are named after places in England. The cheddar cheese is named after Cheddar (a village in Somerset, England), worsted cloth is after Worstead (a village in Norfolk, England), and the Oxford comma is named after Oxford University Press (in Oxford, England). This week we'll look at five other toponyms** coined after places in England. These are unusual words, and chances are even people in the UK may not be familiar with most of them. If you live in the UK, drop us a line (words@wordsmith.org) on Fri and tell us about your experience with these words. *"Generous assistance" in this context should be interpreted by taking ample liberties with the words "generous" and "assistance". England was conquered and/or populated in many different forms (see a very brief history of the English language here http://wordsmith.org/words/behoove.html ). They, in turn, went around and conquered and colonized other countries. Whenever two languages come into contact, they borrow words from each other. **A toponym is a word derived from the name of a place, from Greek topos (place) + -onym (name, word). Piltdowner (PILT-dau-nuhr) noun Someone who is crude, uncouth, or unintelligent. [After Piltdown, a village in Sussex, England, where a fossil skull, called the Piltdown Man, supposedly from an early human, was found. Earliest documented use: 1941. Also see neanderthal https://wordsmith.org/words/neanderthal.html .] NOTES: In 1912, the lawyer and amateur archeologist Charles Dawson claimed to have found a fossil skull, supposedly belonging to an early human, in Piltdown, England. It was later proven to be fraud. Dawson made a career out of forgeries. Before the Piltdown Man he had presented a toad entombed in flint, a Chinese vase, horseshoe, among dozens of other archeological finds, all fraudulent. The word skulduggery, also spelled as skullduggery, https://wordsmith.org/words/skulduggery.html has nothing to do with the Piltdown saga. Piltdown skull being examined. The forger Charles Dawson is third from left in the back row https://wordsmith.org/words/images/piltdowner_large.jpg Art: John Cooke, 1915 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piltdown_Man#/media/File:Piltdown_gang_(dark).jpg "He really talks like this, the Piltdowner. No wonder he's thick." Jonathan Gash; Gold from Gemini; Harper & Row; 1978. -------- Date: Tue Nov 23 00:01:02 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Devonshire X-Bonus: To seek understanding before taking action, yet to trust my instincts when action is called for. Never to avoid danger from fear, never to seek out danger for its own sake. Never to conform to fashion from fear of eccentricity, never to be eccentric from fear of conformity. -Steven Brust, novelist (b. 23 Nov 1955) This week's theme: Toponyms from England Devonshire (DEV-uhn-shur) verb tr. To clear land by burning turf, stubble, etc. [From Devonshire, a county in SW England. It's not clear how the place came to be associated with the clearing of land. Earliest documented use: 1607.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Devonshire "The Devonshired land came to no more than ten of the two thousand acres that comprised Walton's commons." Ineke Murakami; Winstanley's "Righteous Actors"; Theatre Survey (New York); Sep 2021. -------- Date: Wed Nov 24 00:01:02 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kersey X-Bonus: Do we need weapons to fight wars? Or do we need wars to create markets for weapons? -Arundhati Roy, author (b. 24 Nov 1961) This week's theme: Toponyms from England kersey (KUHR-zee) adjective Plain; simple. [After Kersey, a village in Suffolk, England. Earliest documented use: 1390.] NOTES: The word is believed to be coined after the village Kersey in England where a kind of coarse cloth was apparently first made. The word kersey today is applied to the coarse ribbed cloth and clothing made from it. An opposite of this word could be fustian https://wordsmith.org/words/fustian.html , also coined after a cloth, and this word also is, perhaps, coined after a place name. "Henceforth my wooing mind shall be express'd In russet yeas and honest kersey noes." William Shakespeare; Love's Labour's Lost; 1590s. russet = plain, simple -------- Date: Thu Nov 25 00:01:02 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Halifax X-Bonus: When a man wantonly destroys one of the works of man we call him Vandal. When he wantonly destroys one of the works of God we call him Sportsman. -Joseph Wood Krutch, writer and naturalist (25 Nov 1893-1970) This week's theme: Toponyms from England Halifax (HAL-uh-faks) noun Hell. [After Halifax, a town in West Yorkshire, England. Earliest documented use: 1630.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Halifax NOTES: Halifax, a town in England, today may be known for toffee, but at one time it had a reputation for harsh punishment. Even petty crime meant being sent to the Halifax gibbet (an early form of guillotine https://wordsmith.org/words/guillotine.html ). The poet John Taylor wrote a poem "Beggar's Litany" (1622) that includes the line: "From Hell, Hull, and Halifax, Good Lord, deliver us!" "'In fact, you can go to Halifax for all I care.' He spit on the floor and stomped out of the door." Lana Mowdy; Tara's Forgotten Son; PublishAmerica; 2007. -------- Date: Fri Nov 26 00:01:02 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Aldermaston X-Bonus: I would not enter on my list of friends, / (Though graced with polish'd manners and fine sense, / Yet wanting sensibility) the man / Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm. -William Cowper, poet (26 Nov 1731-1800) This week's theme: Toponyms from England Aldermaston (AL-duhr-mas-tuhn) adjective Relating to a protest, disapproval, dissent, etc. [After Aldermaston, a village in Berkshire, England. Earliest documented use: 1958.] NOTES: Aldermaston is the home of Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) where the UK designs and builds its nuclear weapons. Since 1958, there have been many marches between London and Aldermaston in protest of nuclear armament. "You who join in marches on the capital and cultivate an Aldermaston mystique on occasion." Umberto Eco (translation: William Weaver); Misreadings; Mariner Books; 1993. "Perhaps they'd met on an Aldermaston march. Hadn't Considine said something about a girl involving him in the campaign in the first place?" Robert Goddard; Beyond Recall; Holt; 1998. -------- Date: Mon Nov 29 00:01:02 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--polyhistor X-Bonus: The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been. -Madeleine L'Engle, writer (29 Nov 1918-2007) The English language is overstaffed with words. There's "freedom". And if that doesn't make you happy, you are welcome to take "liberty". You could "buy" stuff or you could "purchase" it. Fill your "belly" or your "stomach". That's because the English language went around shanghaiing https://wordsmith.org/words/shanghai.html words from distant shores https://wordsmith.org/words/cushy.html . Sometimes other languages came over and gave it words. Example: It received a generous infusion of words from French when William of Normandy conquered England in 1066. So what to do with all those words? Over time even synonymous words develop shades of meanings. For example, the words "beautiful" and "pretty" are close, but not perfect equivalents. That said, there are a few words in the language that have perfect synonyms. This week we'll look at five of them. polyhistor (pol-ee-HIS-tuhr) noun A person of great or wide learning. Also polyhistorian. [From Latin polyhistor, from Greek polyistor (very learned), from poly- (much, many) + histor (learned). Ultimately from the Indo-European root weid- (to see), which is also the source of words such as guide, wise, vision, advice, idea, story and history. Earliest documented use: 1588. A perfect synonym of this word is polymath https://wordsmith.org/words/polymath.html .] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/polyhistor_large.png Image: https://me.me/i/knowledge-is-power-813290f23fd540dc94a9a027639dc5b6 "Roberto Calasso is the consummate polyhistor. He has published books on such diverse subjects as Greek and Hindu mythology, Talleyrand and his age, and Tiepolo and his use of pink ..." John Simon; Paris Review; New York Times Book Review; Nov 18, 2012. "You have to be a polyhistor to run this place. They don't call me genius for nothing." Clinton Smith; Deep Six; HarperCollins; 2004. -------- Date: Tue Nov 30 00:01:02 EST 2021 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bombinate X-Bonus: If a man would register all his opinions upon love, politics, religion, learning, etc., beginning from his youth and so go on to old age, what a bundle of inconsistencies and contradictions would appear at last! -Jonathan Swift, satirist (30 Nov 1667-1745) This week's theme: Perfect synonyms bombinate (BOM-buh-nayt) verb intr. To buzz or hum. [From Latin bombinare, from bombilare (to hum, buzz), from Latin bombus (humming), from Greek bombos (booming, humming). Earliest documented use: 1880. A perfect synonym is bombilate https://wordsmith.org/words/bombilate.html .] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bombinate What's all the buzz about? https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bombinate_large.jpg Image: https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/342502-bees "He hummed a ditty to himself and realized he could bombinate twice as loud in a void thrice as great as his head." Nidhi Singh; In Perpetual Dread of Happiness; Bards and Sages Quarterly (Bellmawr, New Jersey); Apr 2017.