A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Thu Jan 1 00:01:08 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--imprimis X-Bonus: The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust, novelist (1871-1922) This week's theme: Uncommon adverbs imprimis (im-PRY-mis, -PREE-) adverb In the first place. [From contraction of Latin phrase in primis (among the first), from in (among) and primus (first). The word was originally used to introduce the first of a number of articles in a list, such as a will, inventory, etc.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "So you see, imprimis the Queen of Scots cannot commit treason against me because she is not my subject." Patricia Finney; Unicorn's Blood; Picador; 1998. -------- Date: Fri Jan 2 00:01:08 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--shilly-shally X-Bonus: We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it -- and stop there -- lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again, and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one any more. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910) This week's theme: Uncommon adverbs shilly-shally or shillyshally (SHIL-ee-shal-ee) adverb: Hesitantly; irresolutely. adjective: Hesitant; vacillating. noun: Hesitation; vacillation. verb intr.: To vacillate; to dawdle. [From reduplication of the question Shall I?] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "We go after bigger things, and don't stand shilly-shally on the brink as you do." Anthony Trollope; The Way We Live Now; 1875. -------- Date: Mon Jan 5 00:31:16 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--liminal X-Bonus: I have never gone to sleep with a grievance against anyone. And, as far as I could, I have never let anyone go to sleep with a grievance against me. -Abba Agathon, monk (4th/5th century) I'm back home from India. Back to the snow and sub-freezing temperatures of Seattle. A few random observations from my three weeks in Mumbai... There appears to be some law there that everyone has to have at least one cellphone. And you're required to answer the phone when it rings, even if it's in the middle of your own wedding. In the absence of a cellphone, any small portable electronic device can satisfy the regulation. I swear I saw a beggar on the sidewalk with the wires of an mp3 player hanging out of his ears. You have a higher chance of dying in a traffic accident than in a terrorist attack, especially if you are a pedestrian. A rule of thumb: the bigger the vehicle, the greater the right of way it has. Only in Mumbai: A shop selling $100,000 Porsches can be around the block to a shop selling bananas (with a total inventory of perhaps $100). Only in Mumbai too: Space is at such a premium that in certain neighborhoods, buying a parking spot for a Toyota in the parking lot of your building might cost you a Porsche. Well, adjusting the clock on my laptop computer took only a few seconds, but my body clock is still getting used to the 13.5 hour time difference. Meantime in AWAD this week we'll see five miscellaneous words. liminal (LIM-uh-nl) adjective 1. At an intermediate state. 2. At the threshold of consciousness. [From Latin limen (threshold).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Jolted is funny and smart and fast paced. And it's written with real love for that fascinating liminal creature called the young teenager, for whom the sky is always just about to fall." Tim Wynne-Jones; Electrifying; The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Sep 13, 2008. -------- Date: Tue Jan 6 00:31:16 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--avenaceous X-Bonus: For money you can have everything it is said. No, that is not true. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; soft beds, but not sleep; knowledge but not intelligence; glitter, but not comfort; fun, but not pleasure; acquaintances, but not friendship; servants, but not faithfulness; grey hair, but not honor; quiet days, but not peace. The shell of all things you can get for money. But not the kernel. That cannot be had for money. -Arne Garborg, writer (1851-1924) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words avenaceous (av-uh-NAY-shuhs) adjective Relating to or like oats. [From Latin avena (oats).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "See birds that know our avenaceous store, Stoop to our hand, and then repleted soar." The Poems of H.C. Burner; Scribner; 1896. (written as a parody of Alexander Pope) -------- Date: Wed Jan 7 00:31:17 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--span-new X-Bonus: Society is like a stew. If you don't keep it stirred up you get a lot of scum on the top. -Edward Abbey, naturalist and author (1927-1989) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words span-new (span-noo, -nyoo) adjective Brand-new. [From Middle English spannewe, from Old Norse spannyr, from spann (chip of wood) + nyr (new). Ultimately from the Indo-European root newo- (new) that also gave us new, neo-, neon, novice, novel, novelty, innovate, and renovate. The same term appears in the phrase spick-and-span-new which was later shortened into spick-and-span. A spick is a spike; a spick-and-span-new ship referred to a brand new ship, one that is made up of new nails and new wood.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Nita Patton: 'I had fun last time and I'd have fun again, especially as Columbus now boasts a bran, span-new hotel." Stanley P. Hirshson; General Patton; HarperCollins; 2003. -------- Date: Thu Jan 8 00:08:16 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--etesian X-Bonus: I need someone to protect me from all the measures they take in order to protect me. -Banksy, street artist (b. 1974) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words etesian (i-TEE-zhuhn) adjective Occurring annually. [The word refers to the annual summer winds of the Mediterranean. It's derived from Latin etesius, from Greek etesios, from etos (year). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wet- (year) that is also the source of such words as veteran, veal (in the sense of yearling), and veterinary (relating to the beasts of burden, perhaps alluding to old cattle), inveterate, wether, and bellwether.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "British gold medal hope Paula Radcliffe suffers from asthma. She will be praying Greece's etesian wind will blow away much of the Athens smog." Paula Radcliffe Suffers From Asthma; The News of the World (London, UK); Aug 8, 2004. -------- Date: Fri Jan 9 00:43:30 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ecumenical X-Bonus: I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. -Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words ecumenical (ek-yoo-MEN-i-kuhl, ee-kyoo-) adjective 1. Having a mix of diverse elements. 2. Universal; general. 3. Pertaining to the whole Christian church; concerned with promoting unity among churches or religions. [From Latin oecumenicus (general, universal), from Greek oikoumenikos, from oikein (to inhabit), from oikos (house). Ultimately from the Indo-European root weik- (clan) that is also the forebear of vicinity, village, villa, and villain (originally, a villain was a farm servant, one who lived in a villa or a country house).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "An ecumenical group of Cincinnati area leaders called for an end Wednesday to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the Gaza Strip." Rebecca Goodman; Area Groups Call For End to Gaza Conflict; Cincinnati Enquirer; Dec 31, 2008. -------- Date: Mon Jan 12 00:01:08 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pneuma X-Bonus: Memories are interpreted like dreams. -Leo Longanesi, journalist and editor (1905-1957) A new year has begun and new things are in the offing around the world. In the US, we eagerly await a new president to assume office, a week from now. In AWAD, we'll mark the new year with new words. Well, they aren't really that new, they just sound new. This week we'll feature five words that begin with the "new" sound. pneuma (NOO-muh, NYOO-) noun Spirit, soul. [From Greek pneuma (breath, wind, spirit). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pneu- (to breathe) that is also the source of pneumatic, pneumonia, apnea, sneer, sneeze, snort, snore, and pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis https://wordsmith.org/words/pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.html .] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Eva Mendes is publicizing the new release The Spirit (oh, yes, even the pneuma needs a publicist in this age)." Tirdad Derakhshani; 'Phantom' Sequel is Near; The Philadelphia Inquirer; Dec 31, 2008. -------- Date: Tue Jan 13 00:01:08 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nugatory X-Bonus: Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another. -John Muir, naturalist and explorer (1838-1914) This week's theme: "New" words nugatory (NOO-guh-tor-ee, NYOO-) adjective 1. Of little value; trifling. 2. Having no force; ineffective. [From Latin nugatorius (trifling), from nugari (to trifle).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "A profound shift in the balance of power between labour and capital over the past three decades has resulted in nugatory increases in real earnings for most but massive rewards for those at the top." Larry Elliott; Why Obama Has to Find Answer to the Worst Economic Mess Since FDR's Day; The Guardian (London, UK); Nov 22, 2008. -------- Date: Wed Jan 14 00:01:08 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--newel X-Bonus: The souls of emperors and cobblers are cast in the same mold. The same reason that makes us wrangle with a neighbor creates a war betwixt princes. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592) This week's theme: "New" words newel (NOO-uhl, NYOO-) noun 1. A center column that supports the steps of a spiral staircase. 2. A post supporting the handrail of a staircase. [From Middle English nowel, from Middle French nouel (kernel), from Late Latin nucalis (nutlike), from Latin nuc-, nux (nut).] A newel in a spiral staircase: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/newel.jpg [Photo: http://flickr.com/photos/frizztext/] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Midway through the stair project he appeared with a solid pine stair newel, stripped and sanded." Mary Meier, A Millworker's House Remade, The Boston Globe, Feb 24, 2000. -------- Date: Thu Jan 15 00:01:11 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--neuston X-Bonus: The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith, economist (1908-2006) This week's theme: "New" words neuston (NOO-ston, NYOO-) noun The aggregate of minute aquatic organisms that inhabit the surface of a body of water. [From Greek neuston (swimming), from nein to (swim).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "In the 1970s, when [Jacques Cousteau] joined Soviet scientists studying neuston, minute organisms in the upper layers of the ocean, the researchers could not get clean samples." Marlise Simons; Jacques Cousteau's Righteous Crusade; The New York Times; Feb 13, 1994. -------- Date: Fri Jan 16 00:01:08 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nubilous X-Bonus: A time will come when a politician who has wilfully made war and promoted international dissension will be as sure of the dock and much surer of the noose than a private homicide. It is not reasonable that those who gamble with men's lives should not stake their own. -H.G. Wells, writer (1866-1946) This week's theme: "New" words nubilous (NOO-buh-luhs, NYOO-) adjective 1. Cloudy, misty, or foggy. 2. Vague or obscure. [From Latin nubilosus (cloudy), from nubes (cloud).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Antonioni is probably best known for Blow-Up, a nubilous 1966 drama set in swinging London about a fashion photographer who comes to believe that a photograph he took of two lovers in a public park also shows, hidden in the background, evidence of a murder." Rick Lyman; Michelangelo Antonioni, Subversive Filmmaker; International Herald Tribune (Paris, France); August 1, 2007. "All of which nubilous musing serves little purpose, except to show that cloud-gazing, as a way of passing time, has appealed to all humanity since the earliest of times." Andy Drought; We Really Don't Know Clouds At All; The Herald (Glasgow, UK); Oct 27, 2001. -------- Date: Mon Jan 19 00:01:10 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cohere X-Bonus: I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. -Martin Luther King, Jr., civil-rights leader (1929-1968) Tomorrow Barack Obama will become president of the US, and not a moment too soon. This week we'll feature words from Obama, words from his books, speeches, and interviews. Unlike most politicians, who hire ghostwriters, Obama writes his own books. He's a gifted writer. Reading his words you can see the way he thinks. He's not one who sees the globe in black and white. He has lived outside the US and has been exposed to other cultures. He realizes that just because someone has a different set of beliefs, just because someone looks different, doesn't mean he's wrong -- sometimes there can be two ways to do something and both can be right. Obama is to be commended for his accomplishments. We've come a long way in this country. But we still have far to go before we can call ourselves truly unbiased. Real progress will be when any capable person can have a fair chance at winning the highest office, even someone who happens to be, say, a black gay vegan atheist woman. Anything is possible... but don't hold your breath. cohere (ko-HEER) verb intr. To be united; to work or hold together. [From Latin cohaerere, from co- (together) + haerere (to stick).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "I learned to slip back and forth between my black and white worlds, understanding that each possessed its own language and customs and structures of meaning, convinced that with a bit of translation on my part the two worlds world eventually cohere." Barack Obama; Dreams From My Father; Times Books; 1995. http://amazon.com/o/asin/1400082773/ws00-20 -------- Date: Tue Jan 20 00:01:09 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--syncretic X-Bonus: I happen temporarily to occupy this big White House. I am living witness that any one of your children may look to come here as my father's child has. -Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the U.S. (1809-1865) This week's words: Words from Obama syncretic (sin-KREH-tik) adjective Combining different forms of belief or practice. [From Latin syncretismus, Greek synkretismos (union), from synkretizein (to unite in the manner of the Cretan cities), from syn (together) + Kret-, Kres (Cretan).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Traditionally, Indonesians practiced a tolerant, almost syncretic brand of faith, infused with the Buddhist, Hindu, and animist traditions of earlier periods." Barack Obama; The Audacity of Hope; Crown Publishers; 2006. http://amazon.com/o/asin/0307455874/ws00-20 -------- Date: Wed Jan 21 00:01:09 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--endemic X-Bonus: Patriotism is proud of a country's virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country's virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, "the greatest", but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is. -Sydney J. Harris, journalist and author (1917-1986) This week's words: Words from Obama endemic (en-DEM-ik) adjective 1. Natural to a particular people or place; always present in a particular area. 2. Confined to a geographic region. [From Greek endemos (native), from en- (in) + demos (people).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Some of the worst actors on the international stage can also take advantage of the collective exhaustion and outrage that people feel with official corruption, as we've seen with Islamic extremists who promise purification, but deliver totalitarianism. Endemic corruption opens the door to this kind of movement, and in its wake comes a new set of distortions and betrayals of public trust." Barack Obama; An Honest Government, A Hopeful Future; Speech at the University of Nairobi, Kenya; Aug 28, 2006. -------- Date: Thu Jan 22 00:01:08 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--abrogate X-Bonus: There is as much difference between us and ourselves as between us and others. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592) This week's words: Words from Obama abrogate (AB-ruh-gayt) verb tr. To put aside or treat as nonexistent, especially by an authoritative act. [From Latin abrogatus (repealed), past participle of abrogare (to repeal a law), from ab- (away from) + rogare (to ask, propose a law). Ultimately from the Indo-European reg- (to move in a straight line, to lead or rule) that is also the source of regent, regime, direct, rectangle, erect, rectum, alert, source, and surge.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "I am proud to be sponsoring this amendment with the senior senator from West Virginia [Robert Byrd]. He's absolutely right that Congress has abrogated its oversight responsibilities." Remarks of Senator Barack Obama on the Military Commission Legislation; Sep 28, 2006. -------- Date: Fri Jan 23 00:01:09 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sui generis X-Bonus: Thank everyone who calls out your faults, your anger, your impatience, your egotism; do this consciously, voluntarily. -Jean Toomer, poet and novelist (1894-1967) This week's words: Words from Obama sui generis (soo-eye/ee JEN-uhr-is) adjective Of its own kind; unique. [From Latin sui (of its own) + generis (kind).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Time: What's the best piece of advice that you've gotten from someone about being President?" Obama: Well, precisely because it's sui generis, the only people that really know are the collection of ex-Presidents we have." The Interview; Time (New York); Dec 29, 2008. -------- Date: Mon Jan 26 00:45:09 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ex libris X-Bonus: The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them. -George Orwell, writer (1903-1950) The magic of technology is spreading. What we couldn't even imagine only a few years ago is now possible. With just a few clicks of a mouse, someone in one corner of the world can make contact with a fellow human being thousands of miles away and offer to sell her cheap Via gra. In the beginning, most of the spam was in English, but now they are branching out. Can you imagine the suits in their boardrooms at Spam, Inc. plotting the strategy, "We have to diversify our offerings in local languages to broaden our reach." There's a positive side to it though. Comparing these pieces of junk mail with the English version can improve one's knowledge of foreign languages. Example: From: Mariam Abachha Subject: Envie d'associe avec vous ... Translation: Nigerian loot now offered in exquisitely fractured French. So far I haven't received any spam in Latin, but the day can't be far off. Until spammers catch up on Latin, let us this week peruse a few words from that ancient language. ex libris (eks LEE-bris, LI-) 1. From the library of (a phrase inscribed in a book followed by the name of the book owner). 2. A bookplate. [From Latin ex libris (from the books), from ex- (from) + liber (book).] Novelist and Nobelist Anatole France once said, "Never lend books -- nobody ever returns them; the only books I have in my library are those which people have lent me." An ex libris inscription identifies the owner of a book, and supposedly prevents others from building their own libraries by borrowing. I've also seen bookplates that say "Stolen from the library of ..." Typically an ex libris is placed on the inside cover or the front end paper. Earlier bookplates featured coats of arms. Like everything else, there are bookplate enthusiasts and collectors with their own societies, conferences, journals, blogs, and more. Some bookplates: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/ephemera/bookplates.html -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "I found a copy of Mein Kampf with Hitler's ex libris bookplate." Timothy W Ryback; Hitler's Secret Library; The Sunday Times (London, UK); Jan 11, 2009. -------- Date: Tue Jan 27 00:01:09 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--in medias res X-Bonus: The world is mud-luscious ... puddle-wonderful. -E.E. Cummings, poet (1894-1962) This week's theme: Latin terms in English in medias res (in MAY-dee-uhs rays, in MEE-dee-uhs REEZ, in MAY-dee-as RAYS) adverb In or into the middle of things. [From Latin in medias res, from in (in, into) + medius (middle) + res (thing). A related term is ab ovo (from the beginning, literally, from the egg). Both come from Horace's Ars Poetica (Art of Poetry), where the Roman poet advises that an epic poet ought to begin in the middle of the action rather than at the beginning. The story is then told by flashbacks.] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "The story begins in medias res, with Shay dead and Hano and Katie on the run after an unspecified but obviously grave crime." Terrence Rafferty; New Dubliners; The New York Times; Apr 20, 2008. -------- Date: Wed Jan 28 00:01:10 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dramatis personae X-Bonus: The artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and he does it without destroying something else. -John Updike, writer (1932-2009) This week's theme: Latin terms in English dramatis personae (DRAM-uh-tis puhr-SO-nee) noun 1. The characters in a play or story. 2. The people involved in an event. [From Latin dramatis personae (persons of the drama), from drama (play) + persona (mask, character in a play, person).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "The same scene would replay itself again in 2008 with a slight change in the dramatis personae." Kofi Amenyo; Can the NPP Ever Elect A Non-Twi Speaker; Ghana News; Jan 12, 2009. -------- Date: Thu Jan 29 00:01:10 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lares and penates X-Bonus: And this our life, exempt from public haunt, / Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, / Sermons in stones, and good in everything. -William Shakespeare, playwright and poet (1564-1616) This week's theme: Latin terms in English lares and penates (LAR-eez and puh-NAY-teez) noun 1. Household gods: the benevolent gods in an ancient Roman household. 2. Household goods: a family's treasured possessions. [From Latin Lares et Penates, from Lares, plural of Lar (in Roman mythology, the deity or spirit who protected a household) + et (and) + Penates (deities of the household that were believed to bring wealth), from penus (provisions, interior of a house).] In an ancient Roman home a shrine for the guardian spirits was called lararium. A lararium from Pompeii: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/lares_and_penates.jpg [Photo: Patricio Lorente] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "But let's face it, the nearest thing that many Aussies have in the way of religion, or, as it is labelled with new-age vagueness, spirituality, are those little do-it-yourself offerings to the roadside gods, the lares and penates of the new-age pantheists." The Soft Toy Taking on a Religious Symbolism; The Canberra Times (Australia); Jan 14, 2006. "The storehouse of all the shame and vulnerability in [Ben's] life would be locked; a private museum of curios with but one visitor, himself, to stare at the degraded and rejected lares and penates." Kate Fillion; The Artful Forgery of the Self; The Toronto Star (Canada); Feb 6, 1993. -------- Date: Fri Jan 30 00:01:10 EST 2009 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ex parte X-Bonus: No matter that we may mount on stilts, we still must walk on our own legs. And on the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592) This week's theme: Latin terms in English ex parte (eks PAHR-tee) adverb Involving one side only. [From Latin ex parte (from a side).] -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "A notice was served to the company but as no official turned up on its behalf, it was proceeded ex parte." Telephone Company Told to Pay Damages; The Times of India (New Delhi); Jan 13, 2009.