Felix
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Post by Felix on Feb 25, 2010 9:21:03 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for February 24, 2010 is: abrupt • \uh-BRUPT\ • adjective 1 a : characterized by or involving action or change without preparation or warning : unexpected * b : unceremoniously curt c : lacking smoothness or continuity 2 : giving the impression of being cut or broken off; especially : involving a sudden steep rise or drop Felix's Example Sentence:The chief of staff's habit of giving abrupt answers to polite requests made for a tense workplace. Did you know? We’ll break it to you gently: "abrupt" derives from "abruptus," the past participle of the Latin verb "abrumpere," meaning "to break off." "Abrumpere" combines the prefix "ab-" with "rumpere," which means "break" and which forms the basis for several other words in English that suggest a kind of breaking, such as "interrupt," "rupture," and "bankrupt." Whether being used to describe a style of speaking that seems rudely short (as in "gave an abrupt answer"), something with a severe rise or drop ("abrupt climate change"), or something that seems rash and unprecipitated ("made the abrupt decision to quit college"), "abrupt," which first appeared in English in the 16th century, implies a kind of jarring unexpectedness that catches people off guard. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Felix on Feb 25, 2010 9:43:05 GMT -5
… courtesy of [url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Feb.25.2010 ]Merriam Webster[/url], with slight modifications by me:
The Word of the Day for February 25, 2010 is: proscribe • \proh-SCRYBE\ • verb
1 : outlaw
*2 : to condemn or forbid as harmful or unlawful
Felix's Example Sentence:
If you ascribe guilt to an accused criminal, you must describe your proofs, in order to proscribe him for his crime, thereafter inscribing his name on a list of convicted felons.
Did you know?
"Proscribe" and "prescribe" each have a Latin-derived prefix that means "before" attached to the verb "scribe" (from "scribere," meaning "to write"). Yet the two words have very distinct, often nearly opposite meanings. Why? In a way, you could say it's the law. In the 15th and 16th centuries both words had legal implications. To "proscribe" was to publish the name of a person who had been condemned, outlawed, or banished. To "prescribe" meant "to lay down a rule," including legal rules or orders.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Felix on Feb 26, 2010 14:35:08 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for February 26, 2010 is: thew • \THOO\ • noun 1 a : muscular power or development b : strength, vitality *2 : muscle, sinew -- usually used in plural 1Example Sentence: "Care I for the limb, the thews, the stature, bulk, and big / assemblance of a man! Give me the spirit," retorts Falstaff to Justice Shallow in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 2. Did you know? "Thew" has had a long, difficult past during which it discovered its strengths and weaknesses. In Middle English it carried a number of meanings, referring to a custom, habit, personal quality, or virtue. The word began to tire in the 16th century but was soon revitalized with a new meaning: it began to be used specifically for the quality of physical strength and later for the muscles demonstrating that quality. In time, the word buddied up with "sinew" in both literal and figurative turns of phrase, as in "the thews and sinews of my body ached" and "their love affair was the thew and sinew of the story." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 1There is no way I could equal Shakespeare in his use of the WOD, nor find a character more entertaining than Falstaff to say it. Props to Merriam-Webster for coming up with this example.
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Post by Felix on Feb 28, 2010 16:41:39 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for February 27, 2010 is: apex • \AY-peks\ • noun : the highest point : peak Felix's Example Sentence: English literature counts a long roll of great writers who shaped the language to their purposes, the work of each seeming the apex of their art to contemporaries, but looking back from the 21st century, William Shakespeare seems to hold the highest ground. Did you know? "Apex" entered English from Latin, where it originally meant "a small rod at the top of a flamen's cap." What's a flamen's cap? Flamens were priests who devoted themselves to serving just one of the many ancient Roman gods (for instance, just Jupiter or Mars). Those priests wore distinctive conical caps that English speakers dubbed "flamen's caps." Fifteenth- and sixteenth-century dramatist Ben Jonson was one of the few English writers known to have used "apex" in its flamen's-cap sense: "Upon his head a hat of delicate wool, whose top ended in a cone, and was thence called apex."
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Post by Felix on Feb 28, 2010 16:44:09 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for February 28, 2010 is: waggish • \WAG-ish\ • adjective *1 : resembling or characteristic of a wag : displaying good-humored mischief 2 : done or made for sport : humorous Felix's Example Sentence: In my teenage years, the long and stifling conformity of the fifties seems to have produced a reactive and waggish rebellion that erupted well before the sixties, in pranks and escapades such as a mock gangland slaying in a tourist-filled parking lot in 1958. Did you know? One who is waggish acts like a wag. What, then, is a wag? Etymologists think "wag" probably came from "waghalter," a word that was once used for a "gallows bird" (that is, a person who was going to be, or deserved to be, hanged). "Waghalter" was apparently shortened to "wag" and used jokingly or affectionately for mischievous pranksters or youths. Hence a wag is a joker, and waggery is merriment or practical joking. "Waggish" can describe the prank itself as well as the prankster type; the class clown might be said to have a "waggish disposition" or might be said to be prone to "waggish antics." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Felix on Mar 1, 2010 13:38:05 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 01, 2010 is: asterisk • \ASS-tuh-risk\ • noun : the character * used in printing or writing as a reference mark, as an indication of the omission of letters or words, to denote a hypothetical or unattested linguistic form, or for various arbitrary meanings Felix's Example Sentence: Internet posting has generated a number of new uses for various characters, including the asterisk paired in place of italics or boldface to emphasize words. Did you know? If someone asked you to associate the word "asterisk" with a heavenly body, you would probably have no problem relating it to a star -- even if you didn't know that the word "asterisk" derives from "asteriskos," a Greek word meaning "little star." "Asterisk" has been a part of the constellation of English since at least the late 1300s, but it is far from the only shining star in our language. The Greek forms "astēr," "astro," and "astrum" (all of which mean "star") still cast their light in English by way of such words as "asteroid," "astral," and "disaster" (which originally meant "an unfavorable aspect of a planet or star"). Even "star" itself is a distant relative of "asterisk." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Felix on Mar 2, 2010 10:19:07 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 02, 2010 is: didactic • \dye-DAK-tik\ • adjective 1 a : designed or intended to teach * b : intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment 2 : making moral observations Felix's Example Sentence: Rewarding dogs with tasty treats for learning tricks is motivational in a didactic way. Did you know? "Didaktikos" is a Greek word that means "apt at teaching." It comes from "didaskein," meaning "to teach." Something "didactic" does just that: teaches or instructs. "Didactic" conveyed that neutral meaning when it was first borrowed in the 17th century, and still does; a didactic piece of writing is one that is meant to be instructive as well as artistic. Parables are generally didactic because they aim to teach a moral lesson. "Didactic" now sometimes has negative connotations, too, however. Something "didactic" is often overburdened with instruction to the point of being dull. Or it might be pompously instructive or moralistic. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Felix on Mar 3, 2010 14:52:37 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 03, 2010 is: transmogrify • \transs-MAH-gruh-fye\ • verb : to change or alter greatly and often with grotesque or humorous effect Felix's Example Sentence: Various image morphing programs can transmogrify snapshots of people into comically distorted creatures. Did you know? We know that the prefix "trans-" means "across" or "beyond" and appears in many words that evoke change, such as "transform" and "transpire," but we don't know the exact origins of "transmogrify." The 17th-century dramatist, novelist, and poet Aphra Behn, who is regarded as England's first female professional writer, was among the first English authors to use the word. In her 1671 comic play The Amorous Prince, Behn wrote, "I wou'd Love would transmogriphy me to a maid now." A century later, Scottish poet Robert Burns plied the word again in verse, aptly capturing the grotesque and sometimes humorous effect of transmogrification: "Social life and Glee sit down, . . . Till, quite transmugrify'd, they're grown Debauchery and Drinking."
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Post by Felix on Mar 8, 2010 8:47:00 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 04, 2010 is: licit • \LISS-it\ • adjective : conforming to the requirements of the law : not forbidden by law : permissible Felix's Example Sentence: The line between licit campaign funding, and the more prevalent shady practice, is vague enough to invite abuse. Did you know? "Licit" is far less common than its antonym "illicit," but you probably won’t be surprised to learn that the former is the older of the two. Not by much, though: the first known use of "licit" in print is from 1483, whereas "illicit" shows up in print for the first time in 1506. For some reason "illicit" took off while "licit" just plodded along. When "licit" appears these days it often modifies "drugs" or "crops." Meanwhile, "illicit" shows up before words like "thrill" and "passion" (as well as "gambling," "relationship," "activities," and, of course, "drugs" and "crops.") The Latin word "licitus," meaning "lawful," is the root of the pair; "licitus" itself is from "licēre," meaning "to be permitted."
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Post by Felix on Mar 8, 2010 9:13:57 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 05, 2010 is: journeyman • \JER-nee-mun\ • noun 1 : a worker who has learned a trade and works for another person *2 : an experienced reliable worker, athlete, or performer Felix's Example Sentence: Although brilliant star turns in acting get more attention, the performances of journeyman actors, from Alec Guinness to Robert Duvall, build more lasting dramatic legacies. Did you know? The "journey" in "journeyman" refers to a sense of this familiar word not often used anymore: "a day's labor." This sense of "journey" was first used in the 14th century. When "journeyman" appeared the following century, it originally referred to a person who, having learned a handicraft or trade through an apprenticeship, worked for daily wages. In the 16th century, "journeyman" picked up a figurative (and mainly deprecatory) sense; namely, "one who drudges for another." These days, however, "journeyman" has little to do with drudgery, and lots to do with knowing a trade inside out. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Felix on Mar 8, 2010 9:26:00 GMT -5
… courtesy of [url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Mar.06.2010 ]Merriam Webster[/url], with slight modifications by me:
The Word of the Day for March 06, 2010 is: zaftig • \ZAHF-tig\ • adjective
: having a full rounded figure : pleasingly plump
Felix's Example Sentence:
The preference in our society for thin women, at least in advertising and entertainment, has always warred with the appeal of zaftig females, Anita Ekberg and Marilyn Monroe being two well-rounded examples.
Did you know?
"Real women have curves," as a 2002 movie title proclaimed. They are pleasingly plump, full-figured, shapely, womanly, curvy, curvaceous, voluptuous, statuesque. They are, in a word, zaftig. "Zaftig" has been juicing up our language since the 1930s (the same decade that gave us Yiddish-derived "futz," "hoo-ha," "nosh," and "schmaltz," not to mention "lox"). It comes from the Yiddish "zaftik," which means "juicy" or "succulent" and which in turn derives from "zaft," meaning "juice" or "sap."
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Post by Felix on Mar 8, 2010 9:48:41 GMT -5
… courtesy of [url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Mar.07.2010 ]Merriam Webster[/url], with slight modifications by me:
The Word of the Day for March 07, 2010 is: exponent • \ik-SPOH-nunt\ • noun
1 : a symbol written above and to the right of a mathematical expression to indicate the operation of raising to a power
2 a : one that expounds or interprets * b : one that champions, practices, or exemplifies
Felix's Example Sentence:
Bluegrass music is deeply rooted in the Scots-Irish culture of immigrants to colonial America, seasoned in long migrations down the Appalachians, until the modern amalgam seemed to spring full-blown from the performances of the formidable Bill Monroe, its foremost exponent.
Did you know?
You probably won't be surprised to learn that "exponent" shares an ancestor with "proponent" -- and indeed, the Latin "ponere" ("to put") is at the root of both terms. "Exponent" descends from "exponere" ("to explain" or "to set forth"), which joins "ponere" with "ex-" ("out"). "Proponent" traces to "proponere" ("to display" or "to declare"), from "ponere" and "pro-" ("before"). "Proponent" can describe someone who offers a proposal (it's related to "propose," which also ultimately comes from "proponere"), but today it usually means "one who argues in favor of something." "Exponent" can also refer to someone who is an advocate, but it tends to refer especially to someone who stands out as a shining representative of something, and in addition it has retained its earlier meaning of "one who expounds."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Felix on Mar 8, 2010 10:52:06 GMT -5
… courtesy of [url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Mar.08.2010 ]Merriam Webster[/url], with slight modifications by me:
The Word of the Day for March 08, 2010 is: lave • \LAYV\ • verb
1 a : wash, bathe * b : to flow along or against
2 : pour
Felix's Example Sentence:
After the imposition of ashes during the Ash Wednesday service, the priest briefly leaves the sanctuary for the lavatory, where lavage gently laves away the sooty residue of repentance.
Did you know?
"Lave" is a simple, monosyllabic word that magically makes the mundane act of washing poetic. Shakespeare used it in The Taming of the Shrew, when Gremio assured the father of his beloved Bianca that she would have "basins and ewers to lave her dainty hands." And in Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop, Nell "laved her hands and face, and cooled her feet before setting forth to walk again." The poetry of "lave" is also heard when describing water washing against the shore, as in our example sentence, or even the pouring of water: "He … laved a few cool drops upon his brow" (John Lockhart, Reginald Dalton). Before washing our hands of "lave," we'll tell you its etymology: it, as well as "lavatory," comes from Latin "lavare," meaning "to wash."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Felix on Mar 9, 2010 11:47:45 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 09, 2010 is: eclectic • \ih-KLEK-tik\ • adjective 1 : selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles *2 : composed of elements drawn from various sources; also : heterogeneous Felix's Example Sentence: The "shuffle" feature of MP3 players can produce an eclectic mix of songs and instrumentals. Did you know? "Eclectic" comes from a Greek verb meaning "to select" and was originally applied to ancient philosophers who were not committed to any single system of philosophy; instead, these philosophers selected whichever doctrines pleased them from every school of thought. Later, the word's use broadened to cover other selective natures. "Hard by, the central slab is thick with books / Diverse, but which the true eclectic mind / Knows how to group, and gather out of each / Their frequent wisdoms...." In this 19th century example from a poem by Arthur Joseph Munby, for example, the word is applied to literature lovers who cull selective works from libraries. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Felix on Mar 10, 2010 11:34:46 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 10, 2010 is: petard • \puh-TAHRD\ • noun 1 : a case containing an explosive to break down a door or gate or breach a wall *2 : a firework that explodes with a loud report Felix's Example Sentence: In a Greenwich Village townhouse December of 1969, bomb makers for the Weathermen group were literally hoist on their own petard when a bomb they were constructing blew up during assembly, killing several of the terrorists and leveling the building. Did you know? Aside from historical references to siege warfare, and occasional contemporary references to fireworks, "petard" is almost always encountered in variations of the phrase "hoist with one's own petard," meaning "victimized or hurt by one's own scheme." The phrase comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet: "For 'tis the sport to have the enginer / Hoist with his own petar." "Hoist" in this case is the past participle of the verb "hoise," meaning "to lift or raise," and "petar(d)" refers to an explosive device used in siege warfare. Hamlet uses the example of the engineer (the person who sets the explosive device) being blown into the air by his own device as a metaphor for those who schemed against Hamlet being undone by their own schemes. The phrase has endured, even if its literal meaning has largely been forgotten. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Well, now I learned something, I always assumed "petard" was some sort of spear, summoning up images of a careless soldier spitted on his own weapon.
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Post by Felix on Mar 11, 2010 9:07:26 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 11, 2010 is: will-o'-the-wisp • \will-uh-thuh-WISP\ • noun 1 : a light that appears at night over marshy ground *2 : a misleading or elusive goal or hope Felix's Example Sentence:For the past year and counting, the Obama Administration's pursuit of health care reform has increasingly seemed like a will-o'-the-wisp, fading before the partisan winds. Did you know? The will-o'-the-wisp is a flame-like phosphorescence caused by gases from decaying plants in marshy areas. In olden days, it was personified as "Will with the wisp," a sprite who carried a fleeting "wisp" of light. Foolish travelers were said to try to follow the light and were then led astray into the marsh. (An 18th-century fairy tale described Will as one "who bears the wispy fire to trail the swains among the mire.") The light was first known, and still also is, as "Ignis Fatuus," which in Latin means "foolish fire." Eventually, the name "will-o'-the-wisp" was extended to any impractical or unattainable goal. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Felix on Mar 12, 2010 12:00:01 GMT -5
… courtesy of [url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Mar.12.2010 ]Merriam Webster[/url], with slight modifications by me:
The Word of the Day for March 12, 2010 is: sub rosa • \sub-ROH-zuh\ • adverb
: in confidence : secretly
Felix's Example Sentence:
Faced with serious political scandal, the Congressman foolishly continued to talk about actions and conversations best kept sub rosa.
Did you know?
"Sub rosa" literally means "under the rose" in New Latin. Since ancient times, the rose has often been associated with secrecy. In ancient mythology, Cupid gave a rose to Harpocrates, the god of silence, to keep him from telling about the indiscretions of Venus. Ceilings of dining rooms have been decorated with carvings of roses, reportedly to remind guests that what was said at the table should be kept confidential. Roses have also been placed over confessionals as a symbol of the confidentiality of confession. "Sub rosa" entered the English language in the 17th century, and even before then, people were using the English version, "under the rose." Earlier still, "unter der Rose" was apparently used in Germany, where the phrase is thought to have originated.
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Post by daworm on Mar 12, 2010 18:32:37 GMT -5
And now you know, Marx Brothers fans, the rest of the story...
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Post by Felix on Mar 14, 2010 9:55:14 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 13, 2010 is: acronym • \AK-ruh-nim\ • noun : a word formed from the beginning letter or letters of each or most of the parts of a compound term; also : an abbreviation formed from initial letters Felix's Example Sentence: In 1943, my Naval Ensign father worked briefly in the magnificently acronymic CINCPAC communications center, and had once to deliver decoded cables to Admiral Nimitz, a moment when, my father said, he felt more fear than in all of the rest of WWII Did you know? "Acronym" was created by combining "acr-" ("beginning") with "-onym," ("name" or "word"). You may recognize "-onym" in other familiar English words such as "pseudonym" and "synonym." English speakers borrowed "-onym" directly from the Greek (it derives from "onyma," the Greek word for "name"). "Acr-" is also from Greek, but it made a side trip through Middle French on its way to English. When "acronym" first entered English, some usage commentators decreed that it should refer to combinations of initial letters that were pronounced as if they were whole words (such as "radar" or "scuba"), differentiated from an "initialism," which is spoken by pronouncing the component letters (as "FBI" and "CEO"). These days, however, that distinction is largely lost, and "acronym" is a common label for both types of abbreviation.
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Post by Felix on Mar 14, 2010 9:59:52 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 14, 2010 is: postulate • \PAHSS-chuh-layt\ • verb 1 : demand, claim 2 a : to assume or claim as true, existent, or necessary * b : to assume as an established truth (as in logic or mathematics) Felix's Example Sentence:Advocates for free market economics postulate that government regulation stunts job growth and saps the energy of the U.S. economy. Did you know? In 1703, the dedication of the City and County Purchaser and Builders Dictionary included the following words: "These your extraordinary Favours … seem to Postulate from me … a Publick Recognition." That's also how the verb "postulate" was used when English speakers first began using it back in the late 1500s, as a synonym of "require" or "demand." (The word's Latin grandparent, "postulare," has the same meaning.) "Postulate" was also used as a noun in the late 1500s, with the meaning "demand" or "stipulation." That sense is now considered archaic, but we still use the noun "postulate." Today, it usually means "a hypothesis advanced as an essential presupposition, condition, or premise of a train of reasoning." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Felix on Mar 16, 2010 10:33:34 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 15, 2010 is: haywire • \HAY-wyre\ • adverb or adjective *1 : being out of order or having gone wrong 2 : emotionally or mentally upset or out of control : crazy Felix's Example Sentence:Punning on her last name, Brooke Hayward, daughter of theatrical producer Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan, titled her autobiography " Haywire", an account of her dysfunctional family. Did you know?The wire used in baling hay -- haywire -- is often used in makeshift repairs. This hurried and temporary use of haywire gave rise to the adjective "haywire." When the adjective was first used in the early 20th century, it was primarily found in the phrase "haywire outfit," which originally denoted a poorly equipped group of loggers and then anything that was flimsy or patched together. This led to a "hastily patched-up" sense, which, in turn, gave us the more commonly used meaning, "being out of order or having gone wrong." The "crazy" sense of "haywire" may have been suggested by the difficulty of handling the springy wire, its tendency to get tangled around legs, or the disorderly appearance of the temporary repair jobs for which it was used. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence
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Post by Felix on Mar 16, 2010 10:42:21 GMT -5
… courtesy of [url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Mar.16.2010 ]Merriam Webster[/url], with slight modifications by me:
The Word of the Day for March 16, 2010 is: archetype • \AHR-kih-type\ • noun
: the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies : prototype; also : a perfect example
Felix's Example Sentence:
Edgar Allan Poe's fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin, is the acknowledged archetype of later such characters, from Sherlock Holmes to Hercule Poirot.
Did you know?
"Archetype" derives via Latin from the Greek adjective "archetypos" ("archetypal"), formed from the verb "archein" ("to begin" or "to rule") and the noun "typos" ("type"). ("Archein" also gave us the prefix "arch-," meaning "principal" or "extreme" and used to form such words as "archenemy," "archduke," and "archconservative.") "Archetype" has specific uses in the fields of philosophy and psychology. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato, for example, believed that all things have ideal forms (aka archetypes) of which real things are merely shadows or copies. And in the psychology of C. G. Jung, "archetype" refers to an inherited idea or mode of thought that is present in the unconscious of the individual. In everyday prose, however, "archetype" is most commonly used to mean "a perfect example of something."
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Post by Felix on Mar 17, 2010 18:49:23 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 17, 2010 is: glower • \GLOW-er (the OW is as in "cow")\ • verb : to look or stare with sullen annoyance or anger Felix's Example Sentence: If ever I am thwarted in securing a pint on St. Patrick's Day, owing to a crush of amateur drinkers crowding my usual, bar, I glower as grimly as I can, to little effect, and must wait my turn. Did you know? Do words of uncertain origin make you scowl? If so, "glower" may put a frown on your face, because only part of its history can be validated. The well-established part of its story leads us to Scotland, where "glower" (or "glowren," to use the older Scottish form of the word) has been used since the late Middle Ages. Originally, the word meant simply "to look intently" or "to stare in amazement," but by the late 1700s, glowering stares were being associated with anger instead of astonishment. Beyond that, however, the history of the word is murky. The most we can say is that "glower" is a distant relative of Middle Low German "glūren," which means "to be overcast," and of Middle Dutch "gloeren," meaning "to leer."
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Post by Felix on Mar 18, 2010 10:28:05 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 18, 2010 is: magniloquent • \mag-NIL-uh-kwunt\ • adjective : speaking in or characterized by a high-flown often bombastic style or manner Felix's Example Sentence: In Shakespeare's Henry IV and V plays, the character Pistol constantly declaims in magniloquent language, undermining his message by scrambling words and meanings. Did you know?"Magnus" means "great" in Latin; "loqui" is a Latin verb meaning "to speak." Combine the two and you get "magniloquus," the Latin predecessor of "magniloquent." English speakers started using "magniloquent" in the 1600s -- even though we’d had its synonym "grandiloquent" since the 1500s. ("Grandiloquent" comes from Latin "grandiloquus," which combines "loqui" and "grandis," another word for "great" in Latin.) Today, these synonyms continue to exist side by side and to be used interchangeably, though "grandiloquent" is the more common of the two.
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Felix
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Post by Felix on Mar 19, 2010 15:00:52 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 19, 2010 is: wanderlust • \WAHN-der-lust\ • noun : strong longing for or impulse towards wandering Marvell's Example Sentence: Woody Guthrie left his various wives and families several times during the Depression, drawn by wanderlust and music into the company of the dispossessed. Did you know? "For my part," writes Robert Louis Stevenson in Travels with a Donkey, "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." Sounds like a case of wanderlust if we ever heard one. Those with "wanderlust" don't necessarily need to go anywhere in particular; they just don't care to stay in one spot. The etymology of "wanderlust" is a very simple one that you can probably figure out yourself. "Wanderlust" is lust (or "desire") for wandering. The word comes from German, in which "wandern" means "to wander," and "Lust" means "desire."
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Felix
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Post by Felix on Mar 20, 2010 7:38:14 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 20, 2010 is: verdure • \VER-jer\ • noun *1 : the greenness of growing vegetation; also : such vegetation itself 2 : a condition of health and vigor Felix's Example Sentence: In this latitude, by the time of the vernal equinox, officially beginning of Spring, brown landscapes of dormant grass and barren trees are rapidly acquiring the verdure of a new growing season. Did you know? On this, the Northern Hemisphere's vernal equinox, those of us who've suffered through a long, cold winter welcome the coming verdure. English speakers have had the use of the word "verdure" since the 14th century, when it made its way into Middle English from Anglo-French. Like the more common "verdant," the word traces back to Latin "virēre," meaning "to be green." Since the early 16th century, "verdure" has also been used to refer to a kind of tapestry with a design based on plant forms. The "verdure" that English speakers sometimes encounter on menus is Italian; in that language "verdure" refers to green vegetables or to vegetables in general. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Felix
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Post by Felix on Mar 22, 2010 9:25:19 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 21, 2010 is: obfuscate • \AHB-fuh-skayt\ • verb 1 a : darken * b : to make obscure 2 : confuse 3 : to be evasive, unclear, or confusing Felix's Example Sentence: If you obfuscate your own argument, persuading the other side of your correctness fails, and makes you look a blithering idiot into the bargain. Did you know? The last syllable of "obfuscate" may sound like the "skate" in "ice skate," but the two aren't spelled the same way. How can you keep the correct spelling for "obfuscate" clear in your mind? The knowledge that the word traces to the Latin "fuscus," meaning "dark brown," may be of some help. The fact that "obfuscate" looks and sounds a little like "obscure" (although the two are etymologically distinct) might help too; both "obfuscate" and "obscure" can refer to concealing something or making it more difficult to see or understand. Or maybe alliterative devices are more your cup of tea. If that's the case, you can remember the "c" by recalling that "obfuscate" means to confuse, cloud over, or cover up.
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Felix
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Post by Felix on Mar 22, 2010 9:27:44 GMT -5
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me: The Word of the Day for March 22, 2010 is: forte • \FORT\ • noun : something in which one excels : one's strong point Felix's Example Sentence: President Obama's forte is rhetorically well-constructed and reasonable statements of general principles, while his explanations of the nuts and bolts of his policies lack coherence. Did you know? "Forte" derives from the sport of fencing -- when English speakers borrowed the word from French in the mid-17th century, it referred to the strongest part of a sword blade, between the middle and the hilt. It is therefore unsurprising that "forte" eventually developed an extended metaphorical sense for a person's strong point. (Incidentally, "forte" has its counterpoint in the word "foible," meaning both the weakest part of a sword blade and a person's weak point.) There is some controversy over how to correctly pronounce "forte"; common choices in American English are "FOR-tay" and "for-TAY," but many usage commentators recommend rhyming it with "fort." None of these is technically true to the French, in which "forte" would sound more like "for." You can take your choice, knowing that someone somewhere will dislike whichever variant you choose. All, however, are standard.
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Post by Felix on Mar 24, 2010 9:16:26 GMT -5
… courtesy of [url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Mar.23.2010 ]Merriam Webster[/url], with slight modifications by me:
The Word of the Day for March 23, 2010 is: copacetic • \koh-puh-SET-ik\ • adjective
: very satisfactory
Felix's Example Sentence:
Respiratory crud is abating for us both, the sun shines (sort of) and all is copacetic for now.
Did you know?
Theories about the origin of "copacetic" abound. The tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson believed he had coined the word as a boy in Richmond, Virginia. When patrons of his shoeshine stand would ask, "How’s everything this morning?" he would reply, "Oh jes’ copacetic, boss; jes’ copacetic." But the word was current in Southern Black English perhaps as early as 1880, so it seems unlikely that Robinson (born in 1878) could have invented the term. Another explanation is that the word is from the Hebrew phrase "kol be sedher," meaning "everything is in order." Possibly it was coined by Harlem blacks working in Jewish businesses. The word’s popularity among Southern blacks, however, points to its originating in one of the Southern cities in which Jewish communities thrived, such as Atlanta.
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Felix
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Post by Felix on Mar 24, 2010 9:52:17 GMT -5
… courtesy of [url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Mar.24.2010 ]Merriam Webster[/url], with slight modifications by me:
The Word of the Day for March 24, 2010 is: hummock • \HUM-uk\ • noun
*1 : a rounded knoll or hillock
2 : a ridge of ice
3 : a fertile area in the southern United States and especially Florida that is usually higher than its surroundings and that is characterized by hardwood vegetation and deep humus-rich soil
Felix's Example Sentence:
Pressure on ancient lake and sea beds from the upthrusting Unaka mountain range, millions of years ago, folded the layers of sedimentary rock in ridges or isolated hummocks, and eroded valleys between them.
Did you know?
"Hummock" first appeared in English in the mid-1500s as an alteration of "hammock," another word which can be used for a small hill. This "hammock" is not related to the "hammock" we use to refer to a swinging bed made of netting or canvas. That "hammock" comes from the Spanish "hamaca," and ultimately from Taino, a language spoken by the original inhabitants of the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. The origins of the other "hammock" and the related "hummock" are still obscure, though they are related to Middle Low German "hummel" ("small height") and "hump" ("bump"). English also borrowed "hump," another word which can refer to a small hill or hummock.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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