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Post by Felix on Jul 22, 2007 14:11:35 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for July 22, 2007 is: panoptic • \pan-OP-tik\ • adjective : being or presenting a comprehensive or panoramic view Marvell's Example Sentence: In politics, the panoptic view is little valued, since only one portion of the horizon, left or right, is of importance. Did you know? The establishment of "panoptic" in the English language can be attributed to two inventions known as panopticons. The more well-known panopticon was conceived by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham in 1787. Bentham's panopticon was a circular prison with cells arranged around a central tower from which guards could see the inmates at all times. The other panopticon, also created in the 18th century, was a device containing pictures of attractions, such as European capitals, that people viewed through an opening. Considering the views that both inventions gave, it is not hard to see why "panoptic" (a word derived from Greek "panoptēs," meaning "all-seeing") was being used by the early 19th century. Wide-angle Words
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Felix
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Post by Felix on Jul 23, 2007 10:08:46 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for July 23, 2007 is: extirpate • \EK-ster-payt\ • verb *1 a : to destroy completely : wipe out b : to pull up by the root 2 : to cut out by surgery Marvell's Example Sentence: On the legendary Doctor Who television show, some robotic bad actors called the Daleks were frightfully keen to extirpate the Doctor and any of his companions. Did you know? If we do a little digging, we discover that "extirpate" finds its roots in, well, roots (and stumps). Early English uses of the word in the 16th century carried the meaning of "to clear of stumps" or "to pull something up by the root." "Extirpate" grew out of a combination of the Latin prefix "ex-" and the Latin noun "stirps," meaning "trunk" or "root." The word "stirp" itself remains rooted in our own language as a term meaning "a line descending from a common ancestor." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Wipe-out Words
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Post by Felix on Jul 24, 2007 6:43:45 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for July 24, 2007 is: monocracy • \muh-NAH-kruh-see\ • noun : government by a single person Marvell's Example Sentence: The accession to political power not infrequently tempts a leader into seeking monocracy, suppressing other branches of government to produce one-person rule. Did you know? In society's search for the best kind of government, the suffix "-cracy" (which means "form of government" and traces to the Greek "kratos," meaning "strength" or "power") has worn many hats. "Monocracy" pairs "-cracy" with a descendant of "monos," meaning "alone" or "single." The suffix also underlies other governmental terms including "democracy" ("government by the people"), "aristocracy" ("government by a small privileged class"), "theocracy" ("government by divine guidance"), "ochlocracy" ("government by the mob"), and "gerontocracy" ("rule by elders"). Dictatorial Words
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Post by Felix on Jul 25, 2007 15:31:33 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for July 25, 2007 is: caducity • \kuh-DOO-suh-tee\ • noun 1 : senility *2 : the quality of being transitory or perishable Marvell's Example Sentence: Most of our lives are spent avoiding contemplating the caducity of our time on earth, until sudden news or shocks bring us face to face with mortality, our own or that of others. Did you know? "Caducity" derives by way of the French "caduc," meaning "transitory," from the Latin "caducus," meaning "tending to fall," a product of the verb "cadere," meaning "to fall." Words that share the "cadere" root with "caducity" include "accident," "coincide," "cadaver," and "chance." "Caducity" usually refers to the fleeting or perishable nature of something. More specifically, it can refer to the perishable nature of cognitive abilities and can be used as a synonym of senility. Both senses of the word first appeared in English in the second half of the 18th century. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Mutable Words
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Post by Felix on Jul 26, 2007 7:31:22 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for July 26, 2007 is: zydeco • \ZYE-duh-koh\ • noun : popular music of southern Louisiana that combines tunes of French origin with elements of Caribbean music and the blues and that features guitar, washboard, and accordion Marvell's Example Sentence: For a few years zydeco was the signature music for Nightfall and the Bessie Smith Strut. Did you know? You might say that the lively form of music known as zydeco is full of beans, etymologically speaking. Legend has it that the word "zydeco" originated in the lyrics of Les Haricots Sont Pas Salés, a popular Cajun dance tune. Loosely translated, the song's title means "the beans are not salty," and when spoken in French Creole, "les haricots" (French for "beans") sounds something like "zydeco." "Zydeco" first appeared in print in 1960 and has been used to describe this kind of music ever since. Acadian Words
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Post by Felix on Jul 27, 2007 15:04:08 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for July 27, 2007 is: untenable • \un-TEN-uh-bul\ • adjective *1 : not able to be defended 2 : not able to be occupied Marvell's Example Sentence: When a poster finds that poorly reasoned and incoherently expressed posts have left her in an untenable position, she changes the subject. Did you know? "Untenable" and its opposite "tenable" come to us from Old French "tenir" and ultimately from Latin "tenēre," both of which mean "to hold." We tend to use "untenable" in situations where an idea or position is so off base that holding on to it is unjustified or inexcusable. One way to hold on to the meaning of "untenable" is to associate it with other "tenēre" descendants whose meanings are associated with "holding" or "holding on to." "Tenacious" ("holding fast") is one example. Others are "contain," "detain," "sustain," "maintain," and "retain." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Defenseless Words
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Post by Felix on Jul 28, 2007 9:19:05 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for July 28, 2007 is: quisling • \KWIZ-ling\ • noun : one who commits treason : collaborator Marvell's Example Sentence: In the tangled reality that is Iraqi politics, it is hard to determine those loyal to the concept of a free Iraq, as opposed to the quislings in the service of other interest, from Iran to al Queda. Did you know? Vidkun Quisling was a Norwegian army officer who in 1933 founded Norway's fascist party. In December 1939, he met with Adolf Hitler and urged him to occupy Norway. Following the German invasion of April 1940, Quisling served as a figurehead in the puppet government set up by the German occupation forces, and his linguistic fate was sealed. Before the end of 1940, "quisling" was being used generically in English to refer to any traitor. Winston Churchill, George Orwell, and H. G. Wells used it in their wartime writings. Quisling lived to see his name thus immortalized, but not much longer. He was executed for treason soon after the liberation of Norway in 1945. Treacherous Words
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Post by Felix on Jul 29, 2007 9:02:21 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for July 29, 2007 is: null • \NULL\ • adjective *1 : having no legal or binding force : invalid 2 : having no value : insignificant 3 : of, being, or relating to zero Marvell's Example Sentence: The incoherent rantings of the poster who knew not logic gave a new meaning to the term, ' null arguments.' Did you know? English borrowed "null" from the Anglo-French "nul," meaning "not any." That word, in turn, traces to the Latin word "nullus," from "ne-," meaning "not," and "ullus," meaning "any." "Null" often pops up in legal and scientific contexts. It was originally used in Scottish law and still carries the meaning "having no legal or binding force." In math, it is sometimes used to mean "containing nothing"; for example, the set of all whole numbers that are divisible by zero is the "null set" (that is, there are no numbers that fit that description). But "null" also has some more general uses. We often use it with the meaning "lacking meaning or value" (as in "by the time I heard it, the news was null"). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Empty Words
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Post by Felix on Jul 30, 2007 8:28:32 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for July 30, 2007 is: verdigris • \VER-duh-greess\ • noun : a green or bluish deposit especially of copper carbonates formed on copper, brass, or bronze surfaces Marvell's Example Sentence: Having verdigris on bronze statuary is a sign of venerable age, but the same coating on one's teeth is simply disgusting. Did you know? "Green of Greece" -- that is the literal translation of "vert de Grece," the Anglo-French phrase from which the modern word "verdigris" descends. A coating of verdigris forms naturally on copper and copper alloys such as brass and bronze when those metals are exposed to air. (It can also be produced artificially.) The word "verdigris" has been associated with statuary and architecture, ancient and modern, since it was first used in the 14th century. Some American English speakers may find that they know it best from the greenish blue coating that covers the copper of the Statue of Liberty. Verdant Patina
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Post by Felix on Jul 31, 2007 5:00:56 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for July 31, 2007 is: obtain • \ub-TAYN\ • verb *1 : to gain or attain usually by planned action or effort 2 : to be generally recognized or established : prevail Marvell's Example Sentence: I obtain more satisfaction where I give more pleasure. Did you know? "Obtain," which was adopted into English in the 15th century, comes to us via Anglo-French from the Latin "obtinēre," meaning "to take hold of." "Obtinēre" was itself formed by combination of "ob-," meaning "in the way," and the verb "tenēre," meaning "to hold." If you have the kind of memory that holds on to etymological sources, you will likely remember that we featured another descendent of "tenere" just days ago. For those whose memories have a less tenacious grip, we'll remind you now that the featured word was "untenable" (and that "tenacious" was also mentioned as a relative). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Terms of Procurement
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RuneDeer
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Post by RuneDeer on Jul 31, 2007 11:33:39 GMT -5
There's a subtle difference between "obtain" and "attain" ... as I understand it, "obtain" has more of a concrete quality -- you "obtain" a car or a Coach purse or a job, but you "attain" the position of CEO, or a net worth of $1M, etc. It has more to do with reaching a goal.
If this is wrong, please enlighten. Thanks!!
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Post by Felix on Aug 1, 2007 8:12:35 GMT -5
That's a good point, RuneDeer, which touches on the way language never stands still.
In the M-W definition, the two words are used interchangeably. I haven't looked, but other dictionaries might prefer your distinction.
Some words over time are generalized, losing the finer distinctions you cite for 'obtain' and 'attain.' Check out the changes over time for 'nice.' There's a word that once stood for extremely narrow decisions or interpretations, and now is simply an adjective of vague approval. And the long, strange trip of 'nice' is not uncommon.
Dictionaries come to recognize such generalizing, not necessarily all at the same time. Another example is 'decimate,' the word derived from the Latin for a military punishment involving executing every tenth man in a military unit. Now it is most often defined as synonymous with 'exterminate,' or at least nearly exterminate.
Well. That's enough OCD pedantry over words. Now I am chuckling over the mild fun M-W has with the word for today. I am easily amused in these little touches.
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Post by Felix on Aug 1, 2007 8:15:37 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 01, 2007 is: august • \aw-GUST\ • adjective : marked by majestic dignity or grandeur Marvell's Example Sentence: Following the ceremonies dedicating the cemetery at Gettysburg, Edward Everett, the renowned orator whose august phrases had rolled on for two hours, sent a letter to Abraham Lincoln expressing admiration for Lincoln's simpler two minute speech, which Everett said was much the more effective. Did you know? "August" comes from the Latin word "augustus," meaning "consecrated" or "venerable," which in turn is related to the Latin "augur," meaning "consecrated by augury" or "auspicious." In 8 B.C. the Roman Senate honored Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor, by changing the name of their month "Sextilis" to "Augustus." Middle English speakers inherited the name of the month of August, but it wasn't until the mid-1600s that "august" came to be used generically in English, more or less as "augustus" was in Latin, to refer to someone with imperial qualities. Stately Words
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Post by gridbug on Aug 1, 2007 8:28:22 GMT -5
July - marked by squabbling and spiders Good thing it just turned August
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Post by Felix on Aug 2, 2007 7:58:47 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 02, 2007 is: deliquesce • \del-ih-KWESS\ • verb *1 : to dissolve or melt away 2 : to become soft or liquid with age or maturity -- used of some fungal structures (as the gills of a mushroom) Marvell's Example Sentence: In the long dark following our shuffling off the stage, both our bodies and our memory in the minds of those left behind deliquesce, and generations rise to replace us; we are here such a little while, we ought to make use of every day. Did you know? "Deliquesce" derives from the prefix "de-" ("completely, away") and a form of the Latin verb "liquēre," meaning "to be fluid." Things that deliquesce, it could be said, turn to mush in more ways than one. In scientific contexts, a substance that deliquesces absorbs moisture from the atmosphere until it dissolves in the absorbed water and forms a solution. When plants and fungi deliquesce, they lose rigidity as they age. When "deliquesce" is used in non-scientific contexts, it is often in a figurative or humorous way to suggest the act of "melting away" under exhaustion, heat, or idleness, as in "teenagers deliquescing in 90-degree temperatures." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Evaporating Words
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Post by Felix on Aug 3, 2007 8:02:39 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 03, 2007 is: Walter Mitty • \wawl-ter-MITT-ee\ • noun : a commonplace unadventurous person who seeks escape from reality through daydreaming Marvell's Example Sentence: A British movie from the 1960s titled Billy Liar, used a Walter Mitty character, played by Tom Courtenay, to illustrate the gritty desperation of young people in a crumbling industrial town. Did you know? The original "Walter Mitty" was created by humorist James Thurber, who wrote the famous story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." In Walter's real life, he is a reticent, henpecked proofreader befuddled by everyday life. But in his fantasies, Walter imagines himself as various daring and heroic characters. Thurber's popular story, which was first published in The New Yorker in 1939, was later made into a movie. Walter Mitty has since become the eponym for dreamers who imagine themselves in dramatic or heroic situations. Fanciful Words
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Post by Felix on Aug 4, 2007 8:24:38 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 04, 2007 is: nomenclator • \NOH-mun-klay-ter\ • noun 1 : a book containing collections or lists of words *2 : one who gives names to or invents names for things Marvell's Example Sentence: Traditionally, even amateur astronomers who discover a new celestial body may become the nomenclator for that object. Did you know? "Nomenclator" means "name caller" in Latin (from "nomen," meaning "name," and the verb "calare," meaning "to call"). In ancient Rome, the nomenclator's job was to call out or whisper the names of people as they approached a candidate during a political rally. Whether the idea was to make the politician look good, as though he himself remembered everyone personally, or simply to apprise him of more names than he was ever expected to remember himself is open to question. What's quite certain is that in modern times the job title names one who creates new names for things. "Nomenclator" is applied especially to those who help create a "nomenclature" -- a system of terms for a particular discipline. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Words of enTitlement
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Post by Felix on Aug 5, 2007 9:51:25 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 05, 2007 is: peruse • \puh-ROOZ\ • verb 1 a : to examine or consider with attention and in detail : study b : to look over or through in a casual or cursory manner *2 : read; especially : to read over in an attentive or leisurely manner Marvell's Example Sentence: If you peruse the directions before assembling appliances or electronics, you have no spirit of adventure; you will probably also have difficulty reading the "Engrish" instructions, whether from Japan, China or other Asian manufacturing centers. Did you know? "Peruse" has long been a literary word, used by such famous authors as Shakespeare, Tennyson, and Thomas Hardy, and it tends to have a literary flavor even in our time. "Peruse" can suggest paying close attention to something, but it can also simply mean "to read." The "read" sense, which is not especially new and was in fact included in Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary, has drawn some criticism over the years for being too broad. Some commentators have recommended that "peruse" be reserved for reading with great care and attention to detail. But the fact remains that "peruse" is often used in situations where a simple "read" definition could be easily substituted. It may suggest either an attentive read or a quick scan. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Wordy Delving
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Post by Felix on Aug 6, 2007 8:46:55 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 06, 2007 is: turbid • \TER-bid\ • adjective
*1 a : thick or opaque with or as if with roiled sediment b : heavy with smoke or mist
2 a : deficient in clarity or purity : foul, muddy b : characterized by or producing obscurity (as of mind or emotions)
Marvell's Example Sentence:
Thirty years after the war in Vietnam, Robert McNamara, referencing the difficulty of reading the turbid waters of fact, surmise, hope and opinion surrounding that conflict, wrote a book about his time as Secretary of Defense that he titled The Fog of War.
Did you know?
"Turbid" and "turgid" (which means "swollen or distended" or "overblown, pompous, or bombastic") are frequently mistaken for one another, and it's no wonder. Not only do the two words differ by only a letter, they are often used in contexts where either word could fit. For example, a flooded stream can be simultaneously cloudy and swollen, and badly written prose might be both unclear and grandiloquent. Nevertheless, the distinction between these two words, however fine, is an important one for conveying exact shades of meaning, so it's a good idea to keep them straight.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by Felix on Aug 7, 2007 20:08:41 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 07, 2007 is: scaramouch • \skair-uh-MOOSH\ • noun 1 capitalized : a stock character in the Italian commedia dell'arte that burlesques the Spanish don and is characterized by boastfulness and cowardliness 2 a : a cowardly buffoon *b : rascal, scamp Marvell's Example Sentence: Falstaff, Shakespeare's great creation, in his mixed braggadocio and cowardice, is a first-rate example of a scaramouch. Did you know? In the commedia dell'arte, Scaramouch was a stock character who was constantly being cudgeled by Harlequin, which may explain why his name is based on an Italian word meaning "skirmish," or "a minor fight." The character was made popular in England during the late 1600s by the clever acting of Tiberio Fiurelli. During that time, the name "Scaramouch" also gained notoriety as a derogatory word for "a cowardly buffoon" or "rascal." Today not many people use the word (which can also be spelled "scaramouche"), but you will encounter it while listening to Queen's ubiquitous rock song "Bohemian Rhapsody," in the lyric "I see a little silhouetto of a man / Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the fandango?" *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Picaresque Words
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Post by Felix on Aug 8, 2007 7:23:50 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 08, 2007 is: aught • \AWT\ • pronoun 1 : anything *2 : all, everything Marvell's Example Sentence: "The turn of a sentence has decided the fate of many a friendship and, for aught we know, the fate of many a kingdom" —Jeremy Bentham Did you know? "If you know aught which does behove my knowledge / Thereof to be inform'd, imprison't not / In ignorant concealment," Polixenes begs Camillo in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, employing the "anything" sense of "aught." Shakespeare didn't coin the pronoun "aught," which has been a part of the English language since before the 12th century, but he did put it to frequent use. Writers today may be less likely to use "aught" than were their literary predecessors, but the pronoun does continue to turn up occasionally. "Aught" can also be a noun meaning "zero," and for a while the phrase "the aughts" was bandied about as a proposed label for the decade that began in the year 2000. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Words of Content
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Post by Felix on Aug 9, 2007 6:24:10 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 09, 2007 is: transpontine • \trans-PAHN-tyne\ • adjective *1 : situated on the farther side of a bridge 2 British : situated on the south side of the Thames Marvell's Example Sentence: Perhaps the most famous transpontine event is Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon River, thereby defying the rule of the Roman Senate and setting out on the road to dictatorship and the death of the Republic. Did you know? Usually the prefix "trans-," meaning "across," allows for a reciprocal perspective. Whether you're in Europe or America, for example, transoceanic countries are countries across the ocean from where you are. But that's not the way it originally worked with "transpontine." The "pont-" in "transpontine" is from the Latin "pons," meaning "bridge," and the bridge in this case was, at first, any bridge that crossed the River Thames in the city of London. "Across the bridge" meant on one side of the river only -- the south side. That's where the theaters that featured popular melodramas were located, and Victorian Londoners first used "transpontine" to distinguish them from their more respectable "cispontine" ("situated on the nearer side of a bridge") counterparts north of the Thames. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Riverine Words
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Post by Felix on Aug 10, 2007 9:54:01 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 10, 2007 is: maître d' or maitre d' • \may-truh-DEE\ • noun : maître d'hôtel, headwaiter Marvell's Example Sentence: Upon arriving in Hell, the glutton found that he was condemned to be the maître d' for a perpetual feast, at which he could never sit down to eat. Did you know? "Maître d'" is short for "maître d'hôtel," which comes from French and literally means "master of the house." "Maître d'hôtel" was first used in English in the 16th century for a head butler or steward of a household, before it was adapted to refer to the head of a dining-room staff around the middle of the 19th century. (For the record, the plural of "maître d'hôtel" is "maîtres d'hôtel," whereas the plural of "maître d'" is "maître d's.") We began dropping the "hôtel" of "maître d'hôtel" about 50 years ago. At first, the abbreviated form was considered slang, but today "maître d'" is widely used in American English and is accepted as a standard American use. Words of Service
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Post by Felix on Aug 11, 2007 10:40:13 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 11, 2007 is: inspissate • \in-SPISS-ayt\ • verb : to make thick or thicker Marvell's Example Sentence: As the elections of 2008 draw nearer, the candidates are guaranteed to further inspissate the already nearly bottomless levels of political rhetoric. Did you know? "Inspissate" is ultimately derived from Latin "spissus" ("slow, dense") and is related to Greek "spidnos" ("compact") and Lithuanian "spisti" ("to form a swarm"). When it appeared in English in the 17th century, "inspissate" suggested a literal thickening. Francis Bacon, for example, wrote in 1626 that "Sugar doth inspissate the Spirits of the Wine, and maketh them not so easie to resolue into Vapour." Eventually "inspissate" was also used metaphorically. Clive Bell once wrote of "parties of school children and factory girls inspissating the gloom of the museum atmosphere." There is also an adjective "inspissate," meaning "thickened in consistency" or "made thick, heavy, or intense," but that word is used even less frequently than the somewhat rare verb. Piling on Words
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Post by Felix on Aug 12, 2007 10:21:42 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 12, 2007 is: erudite • \AIR-uh-dyte\ • adjective : possessing or displaying extensive knowledge acquired chiefly from books : learned Marvell's Example Sentence: A buxom young woman amused herself by wearing a button that said, "I am eruditer than you," giving guys the excuse to lean in and stare at her breasts. Did you know? "Erudite" derives via Middle English "erudite" from Latin "eruditus," the past participle of the verb "erudire," meaning "to instruct." A closer look at that verb shows that it is formed by combining the prefix "e-," meaning "missing" or "absent," with the adjective "rudis," which means "rude" or "ignorant" and is also the source of our word "rude." We typically use the word "rude" to mean "discourteous" or "uncouth" but it can also mean "lacking refinement" or "uncivilized"; someone who is erudite, therefore, has been transformed from a roughened or uninformed state to a polished and knowledgeable one through a devotion to learning. Booklogged
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Post by Felix on Aug 13, 2007 7:07:41 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 13, 2007 is: phalanx • \FAY-lanks\ • noun 1 : a body of heavily armed infantry in ancient Greece formed in close deep ranks and files; broadly : a body of troops in close array 2 plural phalanges : one of the digital bones of the hand or foot of a vertebrate *3 a : a massed arrangement of persons, animals, or things b : an organized body of persons Marvell's Example Sentence: The prospect of fireworks is guaranteed to bring the unwashed masses marching lemming-like, by the phalanx, to gape at nighttime explosions. Did you know? The original sense of "phalanx" refers to a military formation that was used in ancient warfare and consisted of a tight block of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder, several rows deep, often with shields joined. The word "phalanx" comes from the Greeks, though they were not the only ones who used this formation. The Greek term literally means "log" and was used for both this line of battle and for a bone in a finger or toe. The word and its senses passed into Latin and then were adopted into English in the 16th century. These days, a "phalanx" can be any arranged mass, whether of persons, animals, or things, or a body of people organized in a particular effort. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Troops of Words
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Post by Felix on Aug 14, 2007 16:11:24 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 14, 2007 is: refluent • \REH-floo-unt\ • adjective : flowing back Marvell's Example Sentence: One of the recurrent images in Shakespeare's works is that of a refluent pattern of river flow, in which the water flows backward, an image that literary scholar Carolyn Spurgeon explored in her book, Shakespeare's Imagery..., in which she theorizes that a similar eddy beneath an arch of the Clopton bridge over the Avon River at Stratford was the source of Shakespeare's image. Did you know? "Refluent" was first documented in English during the 15th century, and it can be traced back to the Latin verb "refluere," meaning "to flow back." "Refluere," in turn, was formed from the prefix "re-" and the verb "fluere" ("to flow"). Other "fluere" descendants in English include "confluent" ("flowing together"), "fluent" and "fluid" (both of which share the earliest sense of "flowing easily"), "circumfluent" ("flowing around"), and even "affluent" (which first meant "flowing abundantly"). "Refluent" even has an antonym derived from "fluere" -- "effluent," meaning "flowing out." Eddying Words
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Post by Felix on Aug 15, 2007 11:48:24 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 15, 2007 is: peripatetic • \pair-uh-puh-TET-ik\ • adjective 1 capitalized : Aristotelian 2 a : of, relating to, or given to walking *b : moving or traveling from place to place : itinerant Marvell's Example Sentence: A professional long-haul truck driver by definition is a peripatetic worker, never in one place for long. Did you know? Are you someone who likes to think on your feet? If so, you've got something in common with the followers of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Not only a thinker and teacher, Aristotle was also a walker, and his students were required to walk along beside him as he lectured while pacing to and fro. Thus it was that the Greek word "peripatētikos" (from "peripatein," meaning "to walk up and down") came to be associated with Aristotle and his followers. By the way, the covered walk in the Lyceum where Aristotle taught was known as the "peripatos" (which can either refer to the act of walking or a place for walking). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Moving Words
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Felix
Global Moderator
Tepid One
Happy Morning
Posts: 4,137
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Post by Felix on Aug 16, 2007 7:24:40 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 16, 2007 is: rankle • \RANK-ul\ • verb : to cause irritation or bitterness in Marvell's Example Sentence: The capacity to rankle large numbers of people is almost a one word job description for talk show hosts Did you know? The history of today's word is something of a sore subject. When "rankle" was first used in English, it meant "to fester," and that meaning is linked to the word's Old French ancestor, a noun that was spelled "raoncle" or "draoncle" and meant "festering sore." Etymologists think the Old French noun derived from "dracunculus," a diminutive form of "draco," which is the Latin word for "serpent" and the source of the English word "dragon." The transition from serpents to sores apparently occurred because people thought certain ulcers or tumors looked like small serpents. Simmering Words
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Felix
Global Moderator
Tepid One
Happy Morning
Posts: 4,137
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Post by Felix on Aug 17, 2007 6:11:12 GMT -5
The Word of the Day for August 17, 2007 is: phishing • \FISH-ing\ • noun : a scam by which an e-mail user is duped into revealing personal or confidential information which the scammer can use illicitly Marvell's Example Sentence: Don't be too confident of your security, because some hacker may pown your data by phishing for it. Did you know? "Phishing" is one of the many new computer-related terms that have found their way into the general lexicon over the past decade or so. Its "ph" spelling is influenced by an earlier word for an illicit act: "phreaking." Phreaking involves fraudulently using an electronic device to avoid paying for telephone calls, and its name is suspected of being a shortening of "phone freak." A common phishing scam involves sending e-mails that appear to come from banks requesting recipients to verify their accounts by typing personal details, such as credit card information, into a Web site that has been disguised to look like the real thing. Such scams can be thought of as "fishing" for naive recipients. Angling for Data
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