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Post by Felix on Nov 8, 2007 8:39:13 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 08, 2007 is: fungible • \FUN-juh-bul\ • adjective 1 : being of such a nature that one part or quantity may be replaced by another equal part or quantity in the satisfaction of an obligation *2 : interchangeable 3 : flexible Marvell's Example Sentence: The fast food industry grew on the model of fungible staff, with minimal pay and training, making a constant supply of new hires crucial to the strategy. Did you know? "Fungible" -- which derives from the Latin verb "fungi," meaning "to perform" (no relation to the noun "fungus" and its plural "fungi") -- is a word that often shows up in legal contexts. Something fungible can be exchanged for something else of the same kind. For example, we could say "oil is a fungible commodity." That means that when a purchaser is expecting a delivery of oil, any oil of the stipulated quantity and quality will usually do. Another example of something fungible is cash. It doesn't matter what twenty dollar bill you get -- it's still worth the same amount as any other twenty dollar bill. In contrast, something like a painting isn't fungible; a purchaser would expect a specific, identifiable item to be delivered. In broader use, "fungible" can mean "interchangeable" or sometimes "changeable, fluid, or malleable." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Expendable Words
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Post by Felix on Nov 9, 2007 8:21:31 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 09, 2007 is: octothorpe • \AHK-tuh-thorp\ • noun : the symbol # Marvell's Example Sentence: Phone geeks may call '#' an " octothorpe", but the legions of computer geeks will continue to call it a "pound sign." Did you know? Stories abound about who first called the # sign an "octothorpe" (which can also be spelled "octothorp"). Most of those tales link the name to various telephone workers in the 1960s, and all claim the "octo-" part refers to the eight points on the symbol, but the "thorpe" remains a mystery. One story links it to a telephone company employee who happened to burp while talking about the symbol with co-workers. Another relates it to the athlete Jim Thorpe, and a third claims it derives from an Old English word for "village." If the plethora of theories leaves your head spinning, you might want to take the advice of the wag who asked (poetically), "Can we simply just say, / Ere it spoils your day, / It's the thorp between seven and nine?" Words for Keys
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Post by Felix on Nov 12, 2007 8:52:49 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 10, 2007 is: peripeteia • \pair-uh-puh-TEE-uh\ • noun : a sudden or unexpected reversal of circumstances or situation especially in a literary work Marvell's Example Sentence: In a time of confounded expectations and sudden defeats, storytellers of the 21st century have apt opportunities for the peripeteia in their works, marking the point at which the Great Wheel turns downward for characters or nations. Did you know? "Peripeteia" comes from Greek, in which the verb "peripiptein" means "to fall around" or "to change suddenly." It usually indicates a turning point in a drama after which the plot moves steadily to its denouement. In his Poetics, Aristotle describes peripeteia as the shift of the tragic protagonist's fortune from good to bad—a shift that is essential to the plot of a tragedy. The term is also occasionally used of a similar change in actual affairs. For example, in a June 7, 2006 article in The New York Times, Michael Cooper described William Weld's second term as Massachusetts' governor as "political peripeteia": it "began with a landslide victory and ended with frustrated hopes and his resignation." Reversing Words
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Post by Felix on Nov 12, 2007 8:55:57 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 11, 2007 is: commove • \kuh-MOOV\ • verb *1 : to move violently : agitate 2 : to rouse intense feeling in : excite to passion Marvell's Example Sentence: Pervez Musharraf has discovered that a nation commoved by repressive government measures may be preferable to a nation in which dissent is rife. Did you know? Eighteenth-century English lexicographer Samuel Johnson declared "commove" as being "not in use," but the word had not really disappeared from the language; it was simply, at that time, popular primarily with Scottish writers. The 14th-century poet Geoffrey Chaucer is credited with the first use of "commove," and many writers since have used the word, including Sir Walter Scott and George Eliot. Though not so common today, "commove" does occasionally pop up (to the chagrin of Johnsonians). "Market values tend to commove over time," read one such recent example, which appeared in the February 2007 issue of The Journal of Banking and Finance. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Turbulent Words
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Post by Felix on Nov 12, 2007 8:58:08 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 12, 2007 is: war story • \WOR-STOR-ee\ • noun : a story of a memorable personal experience typically involving an element of danger, hardship, or adventure Marvell's Example Sentence: Aged veterans of conflicts either military or otherwise may exchange war stories that may even contain truth, while others, marked by suffering and horror painful to recall, remain silent. Did you know? People have been telling stories about real wars since long before Washington Irving wrote the following in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: "folks . . . sat smoking at one end of the piazza, . . . drawing out long stories about the war." But today tellers of "war stories" need not have experienced a literal battlefield. Around the middle of the 19th century, "war story" took on a more figurative meaning, and nowadays such accounts can encompass challenges in the workplace, on the campaign trail, in sports, in one's travels . . . wherever difficulties need to be overcome. Wordy Tales of Trial
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Post by Felix on Nov 13, 2007 8:56:25 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 13, 2007 is: transpicuous • \tran-SPIK-yuh-wus\ • adjective : clearly seen through or understood Marvell's Example Sentence: In his "Talking Dustbowl Blues," Woody Guthrie sang of soup so thin it was transpicuous, almost enough so for Depression era politicians to read the truth through. Did you know? "Transpicuous" is derived from the Latin word "transpicere," meaning "to look through." "Transpicere," in turn, is a formation that combines "trans-," meaning "through," and "specere," a verb meaning "to look" or "to see." If you guessed that "transpicuous" is related to "conspicuous," you're correct. It's also possible to see a number of other "specere" descendants in English, including "aspect," "circumspect," "expect," "inspect," "perspective," and "suspect." Another descendant of "specere," and a close synonym of "transpicuous," is "perspicuous," which means "clear and easy to understand," as in "a perspicuous argument." ("Per-," like "trans-," means "through.") There's also "perspicacious," meaning "keen and observant." (You might say that "perspicuous" and "transpicuous" mean "able to be seen through," whereas "perspicacious" means "able to see through.") Words of Perfect Clarity
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Post by Felix on Nov 14, 2007 8:39:10 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 14, 2007 is: denegation • \den-ih-GAY-shun\ • noun : denial Marvell's Example Sentence: The baseless denigration of an applicant's abilities can lead directly to the denegation of his opportunities for employment. Did you know? Even if we didn't provide you with a definition, you might guess the meaning of "denegation" from the "negation" part. Both words are ultimately derived from the Latin verb "negare," meaning "to deny" or "to say no," and both first arrived in English in the 15th century. "Negare" is also the source of our "abnegation" ("self-denial"), "negate" ("to deny the truth of"), and "renegade" (which originally referred to someone who leaves, and therefore denies, a religious faith). Even "deny" and "denial" are "negare" descendants. Like "denegation," they came to us from "negare" by way of the Latin "denegare," which also means "to deny." Words of Rejection
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Post by Felix on Nov 15, 2007 7:54:02 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 15, 2007 is: williwaw • \WILL-ih-waw\ • noun *1 a : a sudden violent gust of cold land air common along mountainous coasts of high latitudes b : a sudden violent wind 2 : a violent commotion Marvell's Example Sentence: Descriptions of williwaws, and their attendant dangers, are part of the atmosphere in the works of wilderness writers such as Jack London. Did you know? In 1900, Captain Joshua Slocum described williwaws as "compressed gales of wind . . . that Boreas handed down over the hills in chunks." To unsuspecting sailors or pilots, such winds might seem to come out of nowhere -- just like word "williwaw" did some 150 years ago. All anyone knows about the origin of the word is that it was first used by writers in the mid-1800s to name fierce winds in the Strait of Magellan at the southern tip of South America. The writers were British, and indications are that they may have learned the word from British sailors and seal hunters. Where they got the word, we cannot say. *Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence. Blustery Words
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Post by Felix on Nov 16, 2007 7:46:47 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 16, 2007 is: chuck-will's-widow • \chuck-willz-WID-oh\ • noun : a nightjar (Caprimulgus carolinensis) of the southeastern United States * WhatBird page for chuck-will's-widow* Marvell's Example Sentence: I have heard the sound of a whipoorwill, as Hank Williams did, but can't recall the sound of a chuck-will's-widow. Did you know? The chuck-will's-widow is a nocturnal bird that can be found in the swamps, rocky uplands, and pine forests of southeastern United States and is often confused with its close relative, the whippoorwill. Like many of our other feathered friends, the chuck-will's-widow got its name through onomatopoeia: "chuck-will's-widow" imitates the sounds of the bird's call. Given that the bird will sometimes repeat its call up to 800 times without stopping, the imitative origin of its name is hardly surprising. Flitting Words
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Post by Felix on Nov 17, 2007 8:53:53 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 17, 2007 is: ashram • \AHSH-rum\ • noun 1 : a secluded dwelling of a Hindu sage; also : the group of disciples instructed there *2 : a religious retreat Marvell's Example Sentence: How are you going to keep your children down on the ashram when they've seen a Notta Halloween Party? Did you know? "Ashram" first appeared in English in the early 1900s and gained traction after Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi founded his famous ashrams at Sabarmati near Ahmadabad and at Sevagram near Wardha. The word "ashram" derives from a Sanskrit word, "srama," which means "religious exertion." Later in the 20th century, English speakers broadened the term "ashram" to encompass any sort of religious retreat, regardless of denomination. In addition to practicing yoga and mediation, Susan from our example sentence may also receive instruction from a religious teacher and do some type of manual or mental work during her stay at the ashram. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Words of Contemplation
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Post by Felix on Nov 19, 2007 8:26:31 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 18, 2007 is: lenitive • \LEN-uh-tiv\ • adjective : alleviating pain or harshness : soothing Marvell's Example Sentence: Laughter is lenitive of the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to. Did you know? "Lenitive" first appeared in English in the 15th century. It derived from the Latin verb "lenire" ("to soften or soothe"), which was itself formed from the adjective "lenis," meaning "soft" or "mild." "Lenire" also gave us the adjective "lenient," which usually means "tolerant" or "indulgent" today but in its original sense carried the meaning of "relieving pain or stress." Often found in medical contexts, "lenitive" can also be a noun referring to a treatment (such as a salve) with soothing or healing properties. Therapeutic Words
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Post by Felix on Nov 19, 2007 8:28:18 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 19, 2007 is: besmirch • \bih-SMERCH\ • verb : sully, soil Marvell's Example Sentence: Political operatives find besmirching the reputations of their opponents a challenge, not through lack of material, but in the superfluity of slurs and slanders already adhering to the average politician, a sort of inoculation of mud. Did you know? Since the prefix "be-" in "besmirch" means "to make or cause to be," when you besmirch something, you cause it to have a smirch. What's a smirch? A smirch is a stain, and "to smirch" is to stain or make dirty. By extension, "to smirch" came to mean "to bring discredit or disgrace on." "Smirch" and "besmirch," then, mean essentially the same thing. We have William Shakespeare to thank for the variation in form. Shakespeare's 1599 use of the term in Henry V is the first known appearance of "besmirch" in English. Staining with Words
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Post by Felix on Nov 20, 2007 12:42:00 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 20, 2007 is: skulduggery • \skull-DUG-uh-ree\ • noun : underhanded or unscrupulous behavior; also : a devious device or trick Marvell's Example Sentence: Hamlet was briefly diverted from his rage at Claudius's skulduggery by, oddly enough, the skull of a clown. Did you know? "Skulduggery," which can also be spelled "skullduggery," was first documented in the mid-19th century spelled as "scull-duggery." Etymologists aren't sure exactly how the word arrived in English, but they do not believe it has anything to do with skulls. It is possibly derived from the now-very-rare "sculduddery," a term once used to refer to gross or lewd conduct, but unfortunately the origins of that word are also unknown. Words of Malfeasance
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Post by Felix on Nov 21, 2007 13:20:12 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 21, 2007 is: mulct • \MULKT\ • verb 1 : to punish by a fine 2 *a : to defraud especially of money : swindle b : to obtain by fraud, duress, or theft Marvell's Example Sentence: The mulcting of the lonely, ignorant and bigoted supports many televangelists, not to mention providing votes for the Republican Party. Did you know? A fine assessed as a penalty for an infraction is generally considered justifiable. Fraud, on the other hand, is wrong -- it's just the sort of thing that deserves a fine. So in "mulct" we have a unique word, one that means both "to fine" and "to defraud." The "fine" sense came first. "Mulct" was borrowed from the Latin word for a fine, which is "multa" or "mulcta." The "fine" sense is still in use, mostly in legal contexts ("the court mulcted the defendant for punitive damages"), but these days "mulct" is more often used for an illegal act. It has been speculated that the use may have come about by association with the verb "milk," in its sense "to exploit, to coerce profit from" (as in "she was milked by the lawyers for everything she had"), but that speculation has never been proven. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Words to Bilk By
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Post by Felix on Nov 22, 2007 22:55:51 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 22, 2007 is: victual • \VIT-ul\ • noun 1 : food usable by people *2 plural : supplies of food : provisions Marvell's Example Sentence: When you got to the table you couldn't go right to eating, but you had to wait for the widow to tuck down her head and grumble a little over the victuals, though there warn't really anything the matter with them... from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Did you know? If you're hungry for the story behind "victual," get ready to dig into a rich and fulfilling history. The word derives via Middle English and Anglo-French from the Latin noun "victus," meaning "nourishment" or "way of living." "Victus" derives from the verb "vivere," which means "to live" and which is the source of a whole smorgasbord of other English words like "vital," "vivid," and "survive." It's also the root of "viand," another English word referring to food. There's also "vittles," a word that sounds like it might be an alteration of the plural "victuals" but which actually entered English a century before "victual." *Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence. Words of Provender
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Post by Felix on Nov 23, 2007 8:30:08 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 23, 2007 is: cotton • \KAH-tun\ • verb *1 : to take a liking -- used with to 2 : to come to understand -- used with to or on to Marvell's Example Sentence: Although fond of arcane and regional music, I could never cotton to "Cotton-Mouth Joe." Did you know? The noun "cotton" first appeared in English around 700 years ago. It comes, via Anglo-French and Old Italian, from the Arabic word for cotton, "quṭun" or "qutn." In the 15th century, "cotton" acquired a verb use meaning "to form a nap on (cloth)." Though this verb sense is now obsolete, our modern-day use might have spun from it. In 1822, English philologist Robert Nares reported that "cotton" had been used to mean "to succeed" and speculated that this use came from "the finishing of cloth, which when it cottons, or rises to a regular nap, is nearly or quite complete." The meaning of "cotton" shifted from "to get on well" to "to get on well together," and eventually to the sense we know today, "to take to." The "understand" sense appeared later, in the early 20th century. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Words of Affinity
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Post by Felix on Nov 25, 2007 6:27:59 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 24, 2007 is: minatory • \MIN-uh-tor-ee\ • adjective : having a menacing quality : threatening Marvell's Example Sentence: In our youth, ignoring the minatory admonitions of our parents seems an act of independence, seen in retrospect to be folly. Did you know? Knowing that "minatory" means "threatening," can you take a guess at a related word? If you're familiar with mythology, perhaps you guessed "Minotaur," the name of the bull-headed, people-eating monster of Crete. "Minotaur" is a good guess, but as terrifying as the monster sounds, its name isn't related to today's word. The relative we're searching for is actually "menace." "Minatory" and "menace" both come from derivatives of the Latin verb "minari," which means "to threaten." "Minatory" was borrowed directly from Late Latin "minatorius." "Menace" came to English via Anglo-French "manace, menace," which came from Latin "minac-, minax," meaning "threatening." Warning Words
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Post by Felix on Nov 25, 2007 6:34:23 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 25, 2007 is: anent • \uh-NENT\ • preposition : about, concerning Marvell's Example Sentence: ... though an host of overjoyed noncoms(first knocking on the head him)do through icy waters roll that helplessness which others stroke with brushes recently employed anent this muddy toiletbowl ... -from i sing of olaf glad and big by e e cummings Did you know? "Anent" looks like a rather old-fashioned word. It is, in fact, very old (an earlier sense of the word can be found in Beowulf, from approximately 800 A.D.), and at one point it was almost obsolete. It had nearly died out by the 17th century, but it was revived in the 19th century. Various usage commentators have decried "anent" as "affected" and "archaic." It is not archaic, however. Although "anent" is rarely found in speech, plenty of examples of current use can be found in written sources. Dead words do occasionally rise from the grave, and "anent" is one of them. Regardful Words
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Post by Felix on Nov 26, 2007 8:23:06 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 26, 2007 is: lares and penates • \LAIR-eez-end-puh-NAY-teez\ • noun 1 : household gods *2 : personal or household effects Marvell's Example Sentence: The dispossessed of our society are identifiable by the large plastic bags containing their pitiful lares and penates, all of which must be carried with them wherever they go. Did you know? The phrase "lares and penates" is at home in the elevated writings of scholars. A classicist could tell you that Lares and Penates were Roman gods once worshipped as guardians of the household, and an avid Walpolian might be able to tell you that his or her favorite author (Horace Walpole) is credited with first domesticating the phrase to refer to a person's possessions. In the centuries since Walpole used "lares and penates" in a 1775 letter to the English poet William Mason, the phrase has become solidly established in the English language, and it continues to be used by authors and journalists today. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Words of Household Detritus
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Post by Felix on Nov 28, 2007 8:34:14 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 27, 2007 is: clairvoyant • \klair-VOI-unt\ • adjective 1 : having the ability to see beyond the range of ordinary perception *2 : of or relating to the power or faculty of discerning objects not present to the senses Marvell's Example Sentence: My great-grandmother was famous within our family for her clairvoyant powers, as when she knew that her brother-in-law had died in Baltimore six hours before the telegram came. Did you know? In French, "clairvoyant" literally means "clear-seeing," mentally or optically. The term made a brief appearance in English in the 17th century, as an adjective suggesting a keen sense of perception, but it did not become firmly established in the language until the 19th century. Today we most often apply this adjective to someone who essentially has ESP, an unexplainable ability to know or perceive things that others cannot. (We also now use "clairvoyant" as a noun for a person who has this ability.) But although "clairvoyant" is nearly always used in the ESP sense these days, the allusion to special powers frequently isn't dead serious. ("Are you clairvoyant? How did you know I was going to wear my flamingo shirt?") *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Words of Foreknowledge
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Post by Felix on Nov 28, 2007 8:37:03 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 28, 2007 is: adversity • \ad-VER-suh-tee\ • noun : a state, condition, or instance of serious or continued difficulty or adverse fortune Marvell's Example Sentence: Nothing inspires activity so much as sudden adversity, although a long enough spell of it saps the will. Did you know? "Adversity," "mischance," "misfortune," and "mishap" all suggest difficulty of one sort or another. "Adversity" particularly applies to a state of grave or persistent misfortune (as in "a childhood marked by great adversity"). "Mishap" suggests an often trivial instance of bad luck (as in "the usual mishaps of a family vacation"). "Misfortune" is the most common and the most general of the terms, often functioning as a simple synonym of "bad luck" (as in "They had the misfortune to get a flat tire on the way to their wedding"). "Mischance" applies especially to a situation involving no more than slight inconvenience or minor annoyance (as in "Some small mischance befell us"). Challenging Words
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Post by Felix on Nov 29, 2007 9:17:56 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 29, 2007 is: favonian • \fuh-VOH-nee-un\ • adjective : of or relating to the west wind : mild Marvell's Example Sentence: In this area most weather blows in from the west, although not all the west winds arriving could be called favonian, especially when involving tornadoes. Did you know? In "Ode to the West Wind," poet Percy Bysshe Shelley called the "wild West Wind" the "breath of Autumn's being." But according to Greco-Roman tradition, the west wind was warm and usually gentle. Its Latin name, "Favonius," is the basis for the English adjective "favonian" and derives from roots that are akin to the Latin "fovēre," meaning "to warm." "Zephyros," a Greek name for the west wind, is the ultimate source of "zephyr," meaning "a gentle breeze." In Greco-Roman tradition, it was the north wind, Boreas (aka Aquilo), who was the rude and blustery type. Words for Zephyrus
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Post by used2bskeeter on Nov 29, 2007 14:36:57 GMT -5
i'm a big fan of DEFENESTRATE. Latin = de ( from, out of) fenestra ( window or opening) the act of throwing something out a window.
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Post by used2bskeeter on Nov 29, 2007 14:50:58 GMT -5
Marvell , in the cacophanous din of a populace possessing a less than 500 word vocabulary i find the plethora of your words obscure, obsolete but downright mellifluous. Are you by chance a cruciverbalist?
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Post by Felix on Nov 30, 2007 9:16:32 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for November 30, 2007 is: snowbird • \SNOH-berd\ • noun 1 : any of several birds (as a junco or fieldfare) seen chiefly in winter *2 : one who travels to warm climes for the winter Marvell's Example Sentence: The differences between snowbirds and the migratory homeless are their amounts of baggage and means of conveyance, snowbirds clogging the freeways with oversize campers and the homeless haunting freeway on-ramps carrying garbage bags of possessions. Did you know? "Snowbird" has been in use since the late 1600s, but it has only been applied to humans since the early 1900s. It was first used to describe men who enlisted in the armed forces to get food and clothing during the winter months and then deserted as the warm spring weather approached. Not long after, the term was applied to the northern laborers who would flock down south to work as the cold, harsh winter set in up north. Today, northerners of all kinds, from vacationers to retirees, can be seen migrating as soon as the first frost arrives. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Itinerant Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 1, 2007 8:03:24 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 01, 2007 is: nuance • \NOO-ahnss\ • noun *1 : a subtle distinction or variation 2 : a subtle quality : nicety 3 : sensibility to, awareness of, or ability to express delicate shadings (as of meaning, feeling, or value) Marvell's Example Sentence: Men and women may not be from different planets, but each needs to learn the nuances of the other sex's moods and meanings in order to maintain successful relations. Did you know? The history of "nuance" starts in Latin with the noun "nubes," meaning "cloud." "Nubes" floated into Middle French as "nue," also meaning "cloud," and "nue" gave rise to "nuer," meaning "to make shades of color." "Nuer" in turn produced "nuance," which in Middle French meant "shade of color." English borrowed "nuance" from French, with the meaning "a subtle distinction or variation," in the late 18th century. That use persists today. Additionally, "nuance" is sometimes used in a specific musical sense, designating a subtle, expressive variation in a musical performance (such as in tempo, dynamic intensity, or timbre) that is not indicated in the score. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Shades of Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 1, 2007 8:29:54 GMT -5
Thanks for the comments, used2beskeeter. I would have answered sooner but I misplaced my thesaurus. But there is always Google™.
I have trouble finishing the crossword on Monday, the TFP's easiest puzzle, so, no, "cruciverbalist" is far too arcane a word to apply to me.
I like M-W's Word of the Day for the etymology, mostly. My only contribution is to come up with my own example sentence.
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Post by Felix on Dec 2, 2007 11:01:39 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 02, 2007 is: attenuate • \uh-TEN-yuh-wayt\ • verb 1 : to make thin or slender *2 : to lessen the amount, force, magnitude, or value of : weaken 3 : to reduce the severity, virulence, or vitality of Marvell's Example Sentence: Advancing osteoarthritis has attenuated strength in many areas of my body, especially in my left, non-dominant hand. Did you know? "Attenuate" ultimately comes from a combination of the Latin prefix "ad-," meaning "to" or "toward," and "tenuis," meaning "thin." It has been on the medical scene since the 16th century, when a health treatise recommended eating dried figs to attenuate bodily fluids. That treatment might be outmoded nowadays, but "attenuate" is still used in medicine to refer to procedures that weaken a pathogen or reduce the severity of a disease. Most often, though, "attenuate" implies that something has been reduced or weakened by physical or chemical means. You can attenuate wire by drawing it through successively smaller holes, or attenuate gold by hammering it into thin sheets. You can even attenuate the momentum of a play by including too many costume changes. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Diminishing Words
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Post by used2bskeeter on Dec 2, 2007 11:42:32 GMT -5
gallimaufry.....its out there
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Post by used2bskeeter on Dec 2, 2007 11:46:33 GMT -5
once a year i'll go to the nearest B&N and buy a crossword omnibus , which usually lasts me a year. yesterday i was looking for the newest NY times sunday puzzle book but ran across one published by simon and schuster..... tough, really tough....maybe the hardest ive tried yet.... results and critique pending
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