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Post by Tsavodiner on Dec 2, 2007 21:13:47 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. Name your own poison....
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Post by Felix on Dec 3, 2007 7:27:37 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 03, 2007 is: escapade • \ESS-kuh-payd\ • noun : a usually adventurous action that runs counter to approved or conventional conduct Marvell's Example Sentence: Much of the action in the classic television comedy, I Love Lucy, results from the escapades of Lucy and her friend Ethel. Did you know? When it was first used in English, "escapade" referred to an act of escaping or fleeing from confinement or restraint. The relationship between "escape" and "escapade" does not end there. Both words derive from the Vulgar Latin verb "excappare," meaning "to escape," a product of the Latin prefix "ex-" and the Late Latin noun "cappa," meaning "head covering or cloak." While "escape" took its route through Anglo-French and Middle English, however, "escapade" made its way into English by way of the Spanish "escaper" ("to escape") and the French "escapade." merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.pl]Capers in Words[/img]
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Post by used2bskeeter on Dec 3, 2007 14:28:28 GMT -5
funicular doesnt sound like what it is
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Post by used2bskeeter on Dec 3, 2007 22:51:04 GMT -5
flange is another one of those words that sounds tasty but far from it...depending on material used
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Post by Felix on Dec 4, 2007 9:25:58 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 04, 2007 is: rambunctious • \ram-BUNK-shuss\ • adjective : marked by uncontrollable exuberance : unruly Marvell's Example Sentence: More than one Notta Party has involved participants becoming increasingly rambunctious as the night grew later. Did you know? "Rambunctious" first appeared in print in 1830, at a time when the fast-growing United States was forging its identity and indulging in a fashion for colorful new coinages suggestive of the young nation's optimism and exuberance. "Rip-roaring," "scalawag," "hornswoggle," and "skedaddle" are other examples of the lively language of that era. Did Americans alter the largely British "rumbustious" because it sounded, well, British? That could be. "Rumbustious," which first appeared in Britain in the late 1700s, was probably based on "robustious," a much older adjective that meant both "robust" and "boisterous." Rowdy Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 5, 2007 3:42:06 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 05, 2007 is: toady • \TOH-dee\ • noun : one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors : sycophant Marvell's Example Sentence: In the seasonally ubiquitous movie Christmas Story, the bully kid with braces and a coonskin cap has a smaller and obsequious toady to support all abuse meted out to younger kids. Did you know? We can thank old-time toadeaters for today's word. In 17th-century Europe, a toadeater was a showman's assistant whose job was to make the boss look good. The toadeater would eat (or pretend to eat) what were supposed to be poisonous toads. His or her charlatan master would then "save" the toad-afflicted assistant by expelling the poison. It's little wonder that such assistants became symbolic of extreme subservience, and that "toadeater" became a word for any obsequious underling. By the early 1800s, it had been shortened and altered to "toady," our current term for a servile self-seeker. Fawning Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 6, 2007 6:56:48 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 06, 2007 is:
Locofoco • \loh-kuh-FOH-koh\ • noun 1 : a member of a radical group of New York Democrats organized in 1835 in opposition to the regular party organization *2 : a member of the Democratic party of the United States Marvell's Example Sentence: In view of the many derogatory names applied to Democratic Party supporters by the "angry white men" of talk radio and blogs, it is odd that the venerable term of derision, locofoco, has not made an appearance along with "demoncrats" etcetera. Did you know? "Locofoco" burned brightest in 19th-cenutry America, where it designated a new type of self-igniting match or cigar capable of being lit by friction on a hard surface. The word is believed to combine the adjective "locomotive" (which was commonly taken to mean "self-propelled," though "loco" actually means "place," not "self," in Latin) and the Italian word for "fire," "fuoco." The political meaning of "Locofoco" is a story in itself. In 1835, a group of radical Democrats brought locofoco matches to one of their meetings after hearing that their adversaries were plotting to disrupt the meeting by putting out the gas lights. The room did indeed go black but was soon relit, thus earning the group its name. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Striking Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 7, 2007 6:17:43 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 07, 2007 is: confabulate • \kun-FAB-yuh-layt\ • verb 1 : to talk informally : chat *2 : to hold a discussion : confer 3 : to fill in gaps in memory by fabrication Marvell's Example Sentence: When local government bodies confabulate, the citizenry should be paying close attention. Did you know? "Confabulate" is a fabulous word for making fantastic fabrications. Given the similarities in spelling and sound, you might guess that "confabulate" and "fabulous" come from the same root, and they do -- the Latin "fabula," which means "conversation, story." Another "fabula" descendant that continues to tell tales in English is "fable." All three words have long histories in English: "fable" first appeared in writing in the 14th century, and "fabulous" followed in the 15th. "Confabulate" is a relative newcomer, appearing at the beginning of the 1600s. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Meeting of Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 8, 2007 5:45:05 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 08, 2007 is: supercilious • \soo-per-SILL-ee-us\ • adjective : coolly and patronizingly haughty Marvell's Example Sentence: The constant efforts of the poster to adopt a supercilious role were comic due to his tone-deaf ear for irony. Did you know? Arrogant and disdainful types tend to raise an eyebrow at anything they consider beneath them. The original supercilious crowd must have shown that raised-eyebrow look often, because the adjective "supercilious" derives from "supercilium," Latin for "eyebrow." (We plucked our adjective and its meaning from the Latin adjective "superciliosus.") "Supercilious" has been used to describe the censoriously overbearing since the late 1600s, but there was a time in the 1700s when it was also used as a synonym of another "supercilium" descendent, "superciliary" ("of, relating to, or adjoining the eyebrow"). Although the eyebrow sense of "supercilious" is now obsolete, it does help explain what ornithologist John Latham meant in 1782 when he described a "Supercilious K[ingfisher]" with a narrow orange stripe over its eyes. High-horse Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 9, 2007 11:22:18 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 09, 2007 is: limpid • \LIM-pid\ • adjective 1 *a : marked by transparency : pellucid b : clear and simple in style 2 : absolutely serene and untroubled Marvell's Example Sentence: Hemingway's prose style is as limpid as the waters of the trout stream in his short story, "Big Two-Hearted River." Did you know? Since the early 1600s, "limpid" has been used in English to describe things that have the soft clearness of pure water. The aquatic connection is not incidental; language scholars believe that "limpid" probably traces to "lympha," a Latin word meaning "water." That same Latin root is also the source of the word "lymph," the English name for the pale liquid that helps maintain the body's fluid balance and that removes bacteria from tissues. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Clearly Worded
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Post by Felix on Dec 10, 2007 5:40:05 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 10, 2007 is: imprecate • \IM-prih-kayt\ • verb : to invoke evil on : curse Marvell's Example Sentence: When many English-speakers wish to imprecate, the predicate they may choose, strangely enough, is also often used to denote an act of love. Did you know? It may surprise you to learn that a word that refers to wishing evil upon someone has its roots in praying, but "imprecate" ultimately derives from the Latin verb "precari," meaning "to pray, ask, or entreat." "Precari" is also the ancestor of such English words as "deprecate" (which once meant "to pray against an evil," though that sense is now archaic), "precatory" ("expressing a wish") and even "pray" itself (which has deeper roots in the Latin noun for a request or entreaty, "prex"). Words that Anathematize
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Post by Felix on Dec 11, 2007 10:46:58 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 11, 2007 is: soporific • \sah-puh-RIFF-ik\ • adjective 1 *a : causing or tending to cause sleep b : tending to dull awareness or alertness 2 : of, relating to, or marked by sleepiness or lethargy Marvell's Example Sentence: I possess a couch with such soporific properties that simply sitting on it makes the eyes heavy, and reclining on it induces coma. Did you know? "It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is 'soporific.' I have never felt sleepy after eating lettuces; but then I am not a rabbit." In The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies by Beatrix Potter, the children of Benjamin Bunny were very nearly done in by Mr. McGregor because they ate soporific lettuces that put them into a deep sleep. Their near fate can help you recall the history of "soporific." That term traces to the Latin noun "sopor," which means "deep sleep." (That root is related to "somnus," the Latin word for sleep and the name of the Roman god of sleep.) French speakers used "sopor" as the basis of "soporifique," which was probably the model for the English "soporific." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Somnolent Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 12, 2007 9:11:40 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 12, 2007 is: harry • \HAIR-ee\ • verb 1 : to make a pillaging or destructive raid on : assault 2 : to force to move along by harassing *3 : to torment by or as if by constant attack Marvell's Example Sentence: The evidently mentally unbalanced person hiding behind a screen name harried random other posters with little logic, but much inapproriate and venomous invective. Did you know? Was there once a warlike man named Harry who is the source for today's word? One particularly belligerent Harry does come to mind: Shakespeare once described how "famine, sword, and fire" accompanied "the warlike Harry," England's King Henry the Fifth. But neither this king nor any of his namesakes are the source for the verb "harry." Rather, "harry" (or a word resembling it) has been a part of English for as long as there has been anything that could be called English. It took the form "hergian" in Old English and "harien" in Middle English, passing through numerous variations before finally settling into its modern spelling. The word's Old English ancestors are related to Old High German words "heriōn" ("to lay waste") and "heri" ("army"). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Hectoring Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 13, 2007 8:38:49 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 13, 2007 is: ingenue • \AN-juh-noo\ • noun 1 : a naïve girl or young woman *2 : the stage role of an ingenue; also: an actress playing such a role Marvell's Example Sentence: For an actress to specialize in roles for an ingenue necessarily shortens her career arc. Did you know? Although Becky Sharp, the ambitious heroine of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel Vanity Fair, is not usually thought of as innocent or naïve, the first recorded use of "ingenue" in English does refer to her. Thackeray's use was attributive: "When attacked sometimes, Becky had a knack of adopting a demure ingenue air, under which she was most dangerous." The word "ingenue" typically refers to someone who is innocent to the ways of the world, so you probably won't be too surprised to learn that it shares an ancestor, Latin "ingenuus," with "ingenuous," a word meaning "showing innocent or childlike simplicity and candidness." More directly, our "ingenue" comes from French "ingénue," the feminine form of "ingénu," meaning "ingenuous." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Fresh-faced Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 14, 2007 6:44:25 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 14, 2007 is: folderol • \FAHL-duh-rahl\ • noun 1 : a useless ornament or accessory : trifle *2 : nonsense Marvell's Example Sentence: "Fiddle-de-dee" was Scarlett O'Hara's usual response to Mammy's rebukes, all of which Scarlett considered so much folderol. Did you know? Hogwash. Claptrap. Hooey. Drivel. Malarkey. English is rife with words that mean "nonsense," and "folderol" is one of the many. Though not the most common of the words for nonsense, it's been around since 1820 and is still heard today. "Folderol" comes from "fol-de-rol" (or "fal-de-ral"), which used to be a nonsense refrain in songs, much like "tra-la-la." The oldest recorded instance of someone "singing folderol" occurs in Irish dramatist George Farquhar's 1701 play Sir Harry Wildair, in which a character sings, "Fal, al, deral!" *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Gingerbread Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 15, 2007 9:34:46 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 15, 2007 is: ubiquitous • \yoo-BIK-wuh-tuss\ • adjective : existing or being everywhere at the same time : constantly encountered : widespread Marvell's Example Sentence: Spending time on internet blogs, message boards and chat rooms will soon expose you to ubiquitous malformed personalities ceaselessly seeking attention through reams of irritating messages. Did you know? "Ubiquitous" comes to us from the noun "ubiquity," meaning "presence everywhere or in many places simultaneously." "Ubiquity" first appeared in print in the late 16th century, but "ubiquitous" didn't make an appearance until 1830. (Another noun form, "ubiquitousness," arrived around 1874.) Both words are ultimately derived from the Latin word for "everywhere," which is "ubique." "Ubiquitous," which has often been used with a touch of exaggeration for things and people that seem to turn up everywhere, has become a more widespread and popular word than "ubiquity." It may not quite be ubiquitous, but if you keep your eyes and ears open, you're apt to encounter the word "ubiquitous" quite a bit. Pervasive Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 16, 2007 5:48:14 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 16, 2007 is: desuetude • \DESS-wih-tood\ • noun : discontinuance from use or exercise : disuse Marvell's Example Sentence: The staggering variety of websites cause formerly favorite sites to fall into desuetude. Did you know? "Desuetude" must be closely related to "disuse," right? Wrong. Despite the similarities between them, "desuetude" and "disuse" derive from two different Latin verbs. "Desuetude" comes from "suescere," a word that means "to accustom" (it also gave us the word "custom"). "Disuse" descends from "uti," which means "to use" (that Latin word also gave us "use" and "utility"). Of the two, "disuse" is now the more common. "Desuetude" hasn't fallen into desuetude yet, and it was put to good use in the past, as in the 17th-century writings of Scottish Quaker Robert Barclay, who wrote, "The weighty Truths of God were neglected, and, as it were, went into Desuetude." Fallow Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 17, 2007 8:29:11 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 17, 2007 is: craven • \KRAY-vun\ • adjective : lacking the least bit of courage : contemptibly fainthearted Marvell's Example Sentence: When a woman says to her man, "We need to talk," even the toughest, most macho of men turns craven. Did you know? "Craven" and its synonyms "dastardly" and "pusillanimous" are all basically fancy words for "cowardly." Don't be afraid to use them -- here's a little information to help you recognize the subtle distinctions in their connotations. "Craven" suggests extreme defeatism and complete lack of resistance. One might speak of "craven yes-men." "Dastardly" often implies behavior that is both cowardly and treacherous or skulking or outrageous, as in this example: "a dastardly attack on unarmed civilians." "Pusillanimous" suggests a contemptible lack of courage (e.g., "After the attack, one editorialist characterized the witnesses as 'the pusillanimous bystanders'"). Words to Flee by
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Post by Felix on Dec 18, 2007 4:27:34 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 18, 2007 is: auctorial • \awk-TOR-ee-ul\ • adjective : of or relating to an author Marvell's Example Sentence: Other than lexicographers, few English-speakers would employ the word auctorial, rather than use the synonymous and more firmly established "authorial." Did you know? In ancient Rome, auctioneers, grantors, and vendors were known as "auctors." The title is based on the Latin verb "augēre," meaning "to promote" or "to increase." The word "auctor," which was also used for a person who creates something, passed through Anglo-French and Middle English, eventually evolving (somewhat perplexingly) into the Modern English word "author." English writers dug up "auctor" again in the early 19th century to form the adjective "auctorial." The coinage was a somewhat surprising one, given that the word "authorial" had been firmly established in English for over a quarter of a century. Today, "authorial" is the more common of the two words, but modern-day wordsmiths continue to put "auctorial" to use on occasion. Word Conjuror
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Post by Felix on Dec 19, 2007 8:16:59 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 19, 2007 is: voracious • \vaw-RAY-shus\ • adjective 1 : having a huge appetite : ravenous *2 : excessively eager : insatiable Marvell's Example Sentence: The expansion of media for the distribution of information and entertainment, from cable and satellite television to the vast reaches of the internet, has generated a voracious collective appetite for content of all kinds. Did you know? "Voracious" is one of several English words that derive from the Latin verb "vorare," which means "to eat greedily" or "to devour." "Vorare" is also an ancestor of "devour" and of the "-ivorous" words, which describe the diets of various animals. These include "carnivorous" ("meat-eating"), "herbivorous" ("plant-eating"), "omnivorous" ("feeding on both animals and plants"), "frugivorous" ("fruit-eating"), "graminivorous" ("feeding on grass"), and "piscivorous" ("fish-eating"). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Bottomless Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 20, 2007 9:21:19 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 20, 2007 is: audition • \aw-DISH-un\ • noun 1 : the power or sense of hearing 2 : the act of hearing; especially : a critical hearing *3 : a trial performance to appraise an entertainer's merits Marvell's Example Sentence: If there were auditions for presidential candidates, most of those presently running would be encouraged not to quit their day jobs. Did you know? Today, "audition" most often refers to a theatrical tryout, but that wasn't always the case. "Audition" is rooted in the Latin verb "audire," meaning "to hear," and was first used in the late 16th century to refer to the power or sense of hearing. "Audire" is also the root of such "hearing" words in English as "audible," "audience" (which first meant "the act or state of hearing"), and the prefix "audio-," which appears in various words relating to sound. It wasn't until late 19th century that the noun "audition" began being used for an entertainer's trial performance. And the verb "audition," meaning "to test or try out in an audition," didn't appear on the English language stage until the mid-20th century. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Words of Evaluation
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Post by Felix on Dec 21, 2007 7:32:58 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 21, 2007 is: passel • \PASS-ul\ • noun : a large number or amount Marvell's Example Sentence: This time of year folks risk being buried under a passel of parcel post packages. Did you know? Loss of the sound of "r" after a vowel and before another consonant in the middle of a word is common in spoken English. This linguistic idiosyncrasy has given our language a few new words, including "cuss" from "curse," "bust" from "burst," and our featured word "passel" from "parcel." The spelling "passel" originated in the 15th century, but the word's use as a collective noun for an indefinite number is a 19th-century Americanism. It was common primarily in local-color writing before getting a boost in the 1940s, when it began appearing in popular weekly magazines such as Time, Newsweek, and the Saturday Review. A Gracious Plenty of Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 22, 2007 13:07:51 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 22, 2007 is: prerogative • \prih-RAH-guh-tiv\ • noun 1 a : an exclusive or special right, power, or privilege: as b : one belonging to an office or an official body *c : one belonging to a person, group, or class of individuals d : one possessed by a nation as an attribute of sovereignty 2 : a distinctive excellence Marvell's Example Sentence: For an elected or hired public servant, there is a tendency to confuse governmental prerogatives with their personal rights, a cast of mind that leads to abuse of those powers. Did you know? In ancient Rome, voting at legal assemblies was done by group, with the majority in a group determining its vote. The group chosen to vote first on an issue was called the "praerogativa" (that term traces to a verb meaning "to ask for an opinion before another"). Because the first vote was considered to be of great importance, Latin speakers also used the noun "praerogativa" to mean "preference" and later "privilege." As "praerogativa" passed through Anglo-French and Middle English, its spelling shifted to create the noun we know today. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Words by Right
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Post by Felix on Dec 24, 2007 6:32:52 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 23, 2007 is: rescind • \rih-SIND\ • verb 1 : to take away : remove *2 : take back : cancel 3 : to make void (as an act) by action of the enacting authority or a superior authority : repeal Marvell's Example Sentence: More than a few have opined that considering the failure of Prohibition to stop the use of alcohol, the similar efforts to stop drug use through a legal jungle of "War on Drugs" laws should likewise be rescinded. Did you know? "Rescind" and the lesser-known words "exscind" and "prescind" all come from the Latin verb "scindere," which means "to cut" or "to split." "Rescind" was adapted from its Latin predecessor "rescindere" in the second half of the 16th century, and "prescind" (from "praescindere") and "exscind" (from "exscindere") followed in the mid-17th century. "Exscind" means "to cut off" or "to excise," and "prescind" means "to withdraw one's attention," but neither appears frequently in contemporary English. Of the three borrowings, only "rescind" established itself as a common English term. You might hear of someone rescinding a contract or an offer, or of a legislative body rescinding a law. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Words of Repeal
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Post by Felix on Dec 24, 2007 6:39:37 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 24, 2007 is: kith • \KITH\ • noun : familiar friends, neighbors, or relatives Marvell's Example Sentence: Beyond the circle of family relationships, a wider range of unrelated friends, co-workers and others of our kith also make up our world. Did you know? "Kith" has had many meanings over the years. In its earliest uses it referred to knowledge of something, but that meaning died out in the 1400s. Another sense, "one's native land," had come and gone by the early 1500s. The sense "friends, fellow countrymen, or neighbors" developed before the 12th century and was sometimes used as a synonym of "kinsfolk." That last sense got "kith" into hot water after people began using the word in the alliterative phrase "kith and kin." Over the years, usage commentators have complained that "kith" means the same thing as "kin," so "kith and kin" is redundant. Clearly, they have overlooked some other historical definitions, but if you want to avoid redundancy charges, be sure to include friends as well as relatives among your "kith and kin." Words of Association
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Post by Felix on Dec 25, 2007 8:19:19 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 25, 2007 is: grinch • \GRINCH\ • noun : killjoy, spoilsport Marvell's Example Sentence: In the manner of group names for birds, you might refer to a grumble of grinches, the antithesis of an exaltation of larks. Did you know? When Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, wrote the children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 1957, he probably had no idea that in 20 years "grinch" would enter the general lexicon of English. Like Charles Dickens' Ebenezer Scrooge (whose name has become synonymous with "miser"), the Grinch changes his ways by the story's end, but it's the unreformed character who "hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!" who sticks in our minds. The ill-natured Grinch, with his heart "two sizes too small," provides us with a lively symbol of someone we love to hate, and his name has thus come to refer to any disgruntled grump who ruins the pleasure of others. Sour-Hearted Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 26, 2007 5:18:28 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 26, 2007 is: conciliate • \kun-SILL-ee-ayt\ • verb 1 : to gain (as goodwill) by pleasing acts 2 : to make compatible : reconcile *3 : appease Marvell's Example Sentence: The mayor makes limited efforts to conciliate those in the community who value a robust library system, but does not back up his rhetoric with increased funding. Did you know? A council is "an assembly or meeting for consultation, advice, or discussion," and it is often the task of a council to conciliate opposing views. It seems fitting, therefore, that the words "council" and "conciliate" both derive from the Latin word "concilium," which means "assembly" or "council." "Conciliate" comes to us from the Latin "conciliatus," the past participle of the verb "conciliare" (meaning "to assemble, unite, win over"), which in turn is from "concilium." ("Council," on the other hand, derives from the Anglo-French "cunseil" or "cuncile," from "concilium.") Other "concilium" descendants in English include "conciliar" ("of, relating to, or issued by a council") and the rare "conciliabule" ("a clandestine meeting especially of conspirators or rebels"). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Soothing Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 27, 2007 8:35:00 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 27, 2007 is: afflatus • \uh-FLAY-tus\ • noun : a divine imparting of knowledge or power : inspiration Marvell's Example Sentence: The symphony horn player was angered by a critic who meant to compliment a performance by describing the piece as an example of complete afflatus, which the musician associated with a different word, involving the production of wind from quite another orifice. Did you know? Inspiration might be described as a breath of fresh air, and so it is appropriate that "inspire" derives in part from a word meaning "to breathe" (the Latin "spirare"). "Afflatus" is a lesser-known word for inspiration that followed a parallel route. "Afflatus," which in Latin means "the act of blowing or breathing on," was formed from the prefix "ad-" ("to, toward") and the Latin verb "flare" ("to blow"). That same Latin verb gave us such words as "inflate" and (via French) "soufflé." The orator Cicero used "afflatus" in his Latin writings to compare the appearance of a new idea to a breath of fresh air. Nowadays, one often finds the word preceded by the adjective "divine," but poets and artists can find inspiration in the material world as well. Windy Words
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Post by Felix on Dec 28, 2007 8:37:43 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 28, 2007 is: opprobrium • \uh-PROH-bree-um\ • noun 1 : something that brings disgrace 2 a : public disgrace or ill fame that follows from conduct considered grossly wrong or vicious *b : contempt, reproach Marvell's Example Sentence: Inflicting words of extreme opprobrium on the assassins of Benazir Bhutto may seem an appropriate response for the "civilized nations" of the earth, but dealing with entrenched bigotry, ignorance and rage has never been that simple. Did you know? "Opprobrium" was borrowed into English from Latin in the 17th century. It came from the Latin verb "opprobrare," which means "to reproach." That verb in turn came from the noun "probrum," meaning "disgraceful act" or "reproach." These gave us "opprobrium" as well as its adjective form "opprobrious," which means "scurrilous" or "infamous." One might commit an "opprobrious crime" or be berated with "opprobrious language." "Probrum" gave English another word too, but you might have a little trouble guessing it. It's "exprobrate," an archaic synonym of "censure" or "upbraid." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Castigating Words
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Felix
Global Moderator
Tepid One
Happy Morning
Posts: 4,137
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Post by Felix on Dec 29, 2007 8:51:07 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for December 29, 2007 is: prudent • \PROO-dunt\ • adjective *1 : marked by wisdom or judiciousness 2 : shrewd in the management of practical affairs 3 : cautious, discreet 4 : thrifty, frugal Marvell's Example Sentence: The prudent choice in any decision is usually not the easiest choice. Did you know? "Prudent" arrived in Middle English around the 14th century and traces back, by way of Middle French, to the Latin verb "providēre," meaning "to see ahead, foresee, provide (for)." "Providēre" combines "pro-," meaning "before," and "vidēre," meaning "to see," and it may look familiar to you; it is also the source of our "provide," "provident," "provision," and "improvise." "Vidēre" also has many English offspring, including "evident," "supervise," "video," and "vision." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Sage Words
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