A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Apr 3 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chrysalis X-Bonus: I am only one, / But still I am one. / I cannot do everything, / But still I can do something; / And because I cannot do everything, / I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. -Edward Everett Hale, author (3 Apr 1822-1909) "We'll begin with box, and the plural is boxes; But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes." So begins a poem lamenting the quirks of English spelling. https://wordsmith.org/awad/english3.html If only things were simpler and every word could be made plural by adding an s or es to the end. But no, that's what a thousand years of history will do to a language. English has borrowed words from more than a hundred languages it has come in contact with, in conquests, trade, and travel, over the years. When a word is borrowed from another language, it comes with its care and handling instructions. For example, "Don't change the spelling in plural," or "The last syllable is nasal." Sometimes we follow these instructions, sometimes not. One chrysalis, two chrysalides, you say? Why not with one chrysalis, two chrysalises? Sometimes the original plural fades away, sometimes both coexist. This week we'll feature five words with irregular plurals. chrysalis (KRIS-uh-lis), plural chrysalises or chrysalides (kri-SAL-i-deez) noun: 1. A pupa of a moth or butterfly, enclosed in a cocoon. 2. A protective covering. 3. A transitional or developmental stage. [From Latin chrysallis (gold-colored pupa of a butterfly), from Greek khrusos (gold). Earliest documented use: 1658.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/chrysalis https://wordsmith.org/words/images/chrysalis_large.jpg Image: Jason Wintz https://www.flickr.com/photos/silent-e/3935198255/ "He saw her straighten her shoulders and peel away the chrysalis of her innocent youth." Lisa Ann Verge; The Celtic Legends Series; Bay Street Press; 2014. -------- Date: Tue Apr 4 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--imago X-Bonus: Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends. -Maya Angelou, poet (4 Apr 1928-2014) This week's theme: Words with irregular plurals imago (i-MAY-go, -MAH-), plural imagoes or imagines (i-MAY-guh-neez) noun: 1. The final or adult stage of an insect. 2. An idealized image of someone, formed in childhood and persisting in later life. [From Latin imago (image). Ultimately from the Indo-European root aim- (copy), which also gave us emulate, imitate, image, imagine, and emulous https://wordsmith.org/words/emulous.html . Earliest documented use: 1787.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/imago https://wordsmith.org/words/images/imago_large.jpg Photo: Daniel Koerner https://www.flickr.com/photos/danielkoerner/6922255872/ "In my dream I was joined by the cybernetic imago of Katia, my wife." Alastair Reynolds; Galactic North; Ace; 2007. -------- Date: Wed Apr 5 00:01:04 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tour de force X-Bonus: It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties which make the defense of our nation worthwhile. -Earl Warren, jurist (1891-1974) This week's theme: Words with irregular plurals tour de force (toor duh FORS), plural tours de force (toor duh FORS) noun: A feat of strength, skill, or ingenuity: an exceptional performance or achievement. [From French tour (turn, feat) + de (of) + force (strength). Earliest documented use: 1802.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/tour%20de%20force https://wordsmith.org/words/images/tour_de_force_large.jpg Image: Okay Yaramanoglu https://www.flickr.com/photos/23397895@N08/8659300624 "Listening to this breathtakingly brilliant tour de force made me appreciate why they call Pushkin the Russian Shakespeare." Sue Arnold; Evgenii Onegin by Pushkin; The Guardian (London, UK); Jun 8, 2012. -------- Date: Thu Apr 6 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bourgeois X-Bonus: We take our colors, chameleon-like, from each other. -Nicolas de Chamfort, writer (6 Apr 1741-1794) This week's theme: Words with irregular plurals bourgeois (boor-ZHWAH, BOOR-zhwah), plural bourgeois (boor-ZHWAH, BOOR-zhwah) noun: 1. A member of the middle class. 2. One who exhibits behavior in conformity to the conventions of the middle class. 3. In Marxist theory, a member of the capitalist class. adjective: 1. Belonging to the middle class. 2. Marked by a concern for respectability and material interests. 3. Mediocre or unimaginative: lacking artistic refinement. [From French bourgeois, from Latin burgus (fortress, fortified town), from West Germanic burg. Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhergh- (high) which is also the source of iceberg, belfry, borough, burg, burglar, bourgeois, fortify, and force. Earliest documented use: 1564.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/bourgeois "Les Bourgeois de Calais" by Rodin https://wordsmith.org/words/images/bourgeois_large.jpg Photo: Michael Leuty https://www.flickr.com/photos/gmleuty/2556524209/ "By all means get stuck into the people who stall at bourgeois and never move past the obsession with acquisition and security." Lisa Pryor; Relax; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Dec 29, 2007. -------- Date: Fri Apr 7 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--oxymoron X-Bonus: The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love. -William Wordsworth, poet (7 Apr 1770-1850) This week's theme: Words with irregular plurals oxymoron (ok-see-MOR-on, -mor-), plural oxymorons or oxymora (ok-see-MOR-uh, -mor-uh) noun: A figure of speech in which two contradictory terms appear together for emphasis, for example, "deafening silence". [From Greek oxymoron, from neuter of oxymoros (sharp dull), from oxys (sharp) + moros (dull). The word moron comes from the same root. Earliest documented use: 1656.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/oxymoron https://wordsmith.org/words/images/oxymoron_large.jpg Photo: Jim Doss https://www.flickr.com/photos/w9jim/536809057/ "Karen ... stood regal and slim, statuesque even, or just plain beautiful, oxymoron notwithstanding." Nicholas Aharon Boggioni; The Fundamentalist's Daughter; Xlibris; 2016. -------- Date: Mon Apr 10 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--orphic X-Bonus: Joy is the best makeup. -Anne Lamott, writer (b. 10 Apr 1954) A story is like a magic carpet. It can take us across oceans, over the mountains, and to exotic places. And each word in a story has its own story. Think of it as a rolled-up carpet. This week we'll take five words from Greek mythology and unroll them and take you on a ride to the world of magical stories. orphic (OR-fik) adjective 1. Melodious; entrancing. 2. Mystical; occult. [After Orpheus, a musician, poet, and prophet in Greek mythology. His lyre playing and singing could charm animals, trees, and even rocks. After his wife Eurydice, a nymph, died of a snakebite, he traveled to the underworld to bring her back. His music melted the heart of Hades, the god of the underworld, who allowed him to take his wife back on the condition that he not look back at her until they had reached the world of the living. They had almost made it when he looked back and lost her again. His mother Calliope/Kalliope has also given a word to the English language: calliopean https://wordsmith.org/words/calliopean.html . Earliest documented use: 1656.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/orphic Orpheus and Euridice https://wordsmith.org/words/images/orphic_large.jpg Art: Joseph Paelinck (1781-1839) Image: Wikimedia "Rana's playing has a kind of Orphic seductiveness." Hugh Canning, et al; Classical; The Sunday Times (London, UK); Feb 19, 2017. "'Rumi's Secret' is a strangely dry read considering it has a literally whirling mystic as its subject. As if fearing that too lyrical an approach to such an orphic figure would result in incoherence, Gooch describes this poet's life in a decidedly unpoetic way." Alexander C. Kafka; The Mysterious Life of America's Most Popular Poet; The Washington Post; Jan 19, 2017. -------- Date: Tue Apr 11 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--myrmidon X-Bonus: Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom. -Theodore Rubin, psychiatrist and writer (b. 11 Apr 1923) This week's theme: Words from Greek mythology myrmidon (MUHR-mi-dahn, -duhn), plural myrmidons or myrmidones (muhr-MID-n-eez) noun: One who unquestioningly follows orders. [In Greek mythology, the Myrmidons were led by Achilles https://wordsmith.org/words/achilles_heel.html in the Trojan War. The name is possibly from Greek myrmex (ant). In a version of the story, Zeus created Myrmidons from ants. Earliest documented use: 1425.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/myrmidon "Dr. Marsh refuses to comply and serve as a myrmidon." Jerome Groopman; Brain Surgeons; The New York Times; May 21, 2015. -------- Date: Wed Apr 12 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nemesis X-Bonus: All religions united with government are more or less inimical to liberty. All, separated from government, are compatible with liberty. -Henry Clay, statesman and orator (12 Apr 1777-1852) This week's theme: Words from Greek mythology nemesis (NEM-uh-suhs), plural nemeses (NEM-uh-seez) noun: 1. A formidable opponent or an archenemy. 2. A source of harm or ruin. 3. Retributive justice. [In Greek mythology, Nemesis was the goddess of vengeance. From Greek nemesis (retribution), from nemein (to allot). Ultimately from the Indo-European root nem- (to assign or take), which also gave us number, numb, astronomy, renumerate https://wordsmith.org/words/renumerate.html , and anomie https://wordsmith.org/words/anomie.html . Earliest documented use: 1542.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/nemesis Nemesis, Copehhagen, Denmark https://www.flickr.com/photos/28846807@N05/5575889266/ Photo: Thomas Noble https://www.flickr.com/photos/28846807@N05/5575889266/ "With only one slot available to the nationals, it promises to be a bruising battle between the two nemeses." Brian Yonga; Fired-Up Upper Hill Out to Retain Titles; Daily Nation (Nairobi, Kenya); Mar 24, 2017. -------- Date: Thu Apr 13 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--amazon X-Bonus: What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. -Christopher Hitchens, author and journalist (13 Apr 1949-2011) This week's theme: Words from Greek mythology Amazon (AM-uh-zon, -zuhn) noun: A tall, strong, powerful woman. [In Greek mythology, Amazons were a race of women warriors in Scythia (in modern Russia). One of the labors of Hercules was to obtain the magical girdle from the Amazon queen Hippolyta. Earliest documented use: 1398.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/amazon The Wounded Amazon https://wordsmith.org/words/images/amazon_large.jpg Roman copy of the original by Kresilas (c. 430 BCE), Vatican, Rome Photo: Nick Thompson https://www.flickr.com/photos/pelegrino/7062938143/ "You're tall ... I ask for a clerk, and they send me an Amazon." Kathleen Tessaro; Rare Objects; Harper; 2016. -------- Date: Fri Apr 14 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--muse X-Bonus: Many people consider the things government does for them to be social progress but they regard the things government does for others as socialism. -Earl Warren, jurist (1891-1974) This week's theme: Words from Greek mythology muse (myooz) noun: A source of inspiration. [In Greek mythology, the Muses were nine goddesses, each of whom presided over an art or science. A museum is, literally speaking, a shrine to the Muses. Earliest documented use: 1390. Some other words related to the Muses are terpsichorean https://wordsmith.org/words/terpsichorean.html and calliopean https://wordsmith.org/words/calliopean.html .] verb intr.: To be absorbed in thought. verb tr.: To think or say something thoughtfully. noun: A state of deep thought. [From Old French muser (to meditate, to idle). Earliest documented use: 1500.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/muse The Muses Melpomene, Erato, and Polyhymnia: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/muse_large.jpg Art: Eustache Le Sueur (1617-1655) "She was his muse. His obsession. His everything. He stopped painting the day she left." Bella Andre; Now That I've Found You; Oak Press; 2016. -------- Date: Mon Apr 17 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cramoisy X-Bonus: Everybody's talking about people breaking into houses but there are more people in the world who want to break out of houses. -Thornton Wilder, writer (17 Apr 1897-1975) At one time people ate what was grown around them. If they woke up after a long sleep and didn't know what time of the year it was, they could just look at the food on the table and make a pretty good guess. With technologies such as refrigeration and air travel, things have changed. Today, a typical grocery store might have lettuce from Spain, avocados from Mexico, and pomegranates from Israel. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/graphic-science-where-in-the-world-your-fruits-vegetables-come-from-interactive/ While this level of food travel is relatively new, words have been traveling across oceans for a long time. The word orange came to us from a Dravidian language, stopping by several ports along the way: Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Italian, and French. By the time it reached us, it must have been fully ripe. This week we'll feature five words that have crossed many oceans before reaching the shores of the English language. cramoisy (KRAM-oi-zee, kruh-MOI-) adjective: Of a crimson color. noun: Crimson cloth. [From French cramoisi, from Spanish carmesi, from Arabic qirmizi (of kermes). Earliest documented use: 1423.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cramoisy_large.jpg Photo: Kate Toft https://www.flickr.com/photos/tastykaeru/4636177577/ "The whippet Narcisse would sit at table upon a cramoisy cushion." Geoffrey Wolff; Black Sun; Random House; 1976. -------- Date: Tue Apr 18 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kaput X-Bonus: The objector and the rebel who raises his voice against what he believes to be the injustice of the present and the wrongs of the past is the one who hunches the world along. -Clarence Darrow, lawyer and author (18 Apr 1857-1938) This week's theme: Well-traveled words kaput also kaputt (kuh-PUT, -POOT, kah-) adjective Broken; ruined; finished. [From German kaputt (broken, ruined), from French ĂȘtr capot (to be without winning a trick in a game of piquet), perhaps from Provencal. Earliest documented use: 1895.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/kaput "Apparently, the only machine in the country capable of calibrating the quality of vehicle smoke has been kaput for years." Holy Smoke; Republica (Kathmandu, Nepal); Aug 16, 2016. -------- Date: Wed Apr 19 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lilac X-Bonus: There is a beauty in discovery. There is mathematics in music, a kinship of science and poetry in the description of nature, and exquisite form in a molecule. Attempts to place different disciplines in different camps are revealed as artificial in the face of the unity of knowledge. All literate men are sustained by the philosopher, the historian, the political analyst, the economist, the scientist, the poet, the artisan and the musician. -Glenn T. Seaborg, scientist, Nobel laureate (19 Apr 1912-1999) This week's theme: Well-traveled words lilac (LY-luhk, -lahk) noun: 1. Pale purple color. 2. Any of various shrubs having violet, pink, or white flowers. adjective: Of a pale purple color. [From obsolete French lilac (in Modern French: lilas), from Spanish lilac, from Arabic lilak, from Persian lilak, from Sanskrit nil (blue). Earliest documented use: 1625.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/lilac_large.jpg Photo: city_birder https://www.flickr.com/photos/10686579@N00/487503683/ See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/lilac "The lilac gown had darkened her eyes to that deep violet." Carole Mortimer; Zachary Black; Mills & Boon; 2014. -------- Date: Thu Apr 20 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--alembic X-Bonus: History may be read as the story of the magnificent rearguard action fought during several thousand years by dogma against curiosity. -Robert Lynd, writer (20 Apr 1879-1949) This week's theme: Well-traveled words alembic (uh-LEM-bik) noun 1. An apparatus formerly used in distilling. 2. Something that refines, purifies, or transforms. [From Old French, from Latin alembicus, from Arabic al-anbiq (the still), from Greek ambix (cup). Earliest documented use: 1405.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/alembic Old Midleton Distillery, Cork, Ireland Photo: Joao Alves https://www.flickr.com/photos/joaoa/14926936125/ "Don Paterson is a poet who constantly needs and wants to change, whether through pursuing his own intellectual agenda or transformed in the alembic of immersing himself in another poet." Stuart Kelly; Found in Translation; The Scotsman (Edinburgh, Scotland); Oct 8, 2006. "But what was thus refined in the alembic of introspection first had to be gathered by his 'unrivalled powers of observation'." Ekbert Faas; Retreat into the Mind; Princeton University Press; 1988. -------- Date: Fri Apr 21 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--talisman X-Bonus: Neither great poverty nor great riches will hear reason. -Henry Fielding, author (21 Apr 1707-1754) This week's theme: Well-traveled words talisman (TAL-is-man, -iz-) noun 1. An object, such as a stone, believed to have occult powers to keep evil away and bring good fortune to its wearer. 2. Anything that has magical powers and brings miraculous effects. [From French or Spanish, from Arabic tilasm, from Greek telesma (consecration), from telein (to consecrate or complete), from telos (result). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwel- (to revolve), which also gave us colony, cult, culture, cycle, cyclone, chakra, collar, col https://wordsmith.org/words/col.html , and accolade https://wordsmith.org/words/accolade.html . Earliest documented use: 1599.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/talisman https://wordsmith.org/words/images/talisman_large.jpg Photo: Alex Yosifov https://www.flickr.com/photos/sashomasho/719849972/ "He'd clung to that round-eyed, happy-faced stuffed animal every night before he went to sleep like it was some kind of talisman that could force her to keep her word." Sara Arden; Finding Glory; HQN Books; 2015. -------- Date: Mon Apr 24 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sybaritic X-Bonus: History is all explained by geography. -Robert Penn Warren, novelist and poet (24 Apr 1905-1989) The novelist Jules Verne sent his characters around the world in 80 days. For 1873, before jumbo jets took over the skies, 80 days isn't bad. Though it would have been more fun to spend a little time exploring. Well, this week we'll take you on a trip, but instead of whizzing around the world in five days, we'll focus in one area. This week's words are derived from the names of places around the Mediterranean. sybaritic (sib-uh-RIT-ik) adjective Devoted to or relating to luxury and pleasure. [After Sybaris, an ancient Greek city in southern Italy noted for its wealth, whose residents were notorious for their love of luxury. Earliest documented use: 1619.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sybaritic A Pythagorean School Invaded by Sybarites https://wordsmith.org/words/images/sybaritic_large.jpg Art: Michele Tedesco, 1877 "His father's sybaritic lifestyle ... inspired in Mario a lifelong interest in worldly pleasures." Mario Reading (obituary); The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Mar 29, 2017. -------- Date: Tue Apr 25 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dalmatic X-Bonus: No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices. -Edward R. Murrow, journalist (25 Apr 1908-1965) This week's theme: Toponyms dalmatic (dal-MAT-ik) noun A loose, wide-sleeved outer garment worn by some monarchs at their coronations and by deacons, bishops, etc. in some churches. [From Old French dalmatique, from Latin dalmatica vestis (Dalmatian garment) since these garments were originally made of Dalmatian wool. Dalmatia is a region along the Adriatic coast of Croatia. That's also where Dalmatian dogs got their name from. Earliest documented use: 1425.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/dalmatic_large.jpg Photo: Fr Lawrence Lew https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/4869567992/ "He loved to kneel down on the cold marble pavement and watch the priest, in his stiff flowered dalmatic." Oscar Wilde; The Picture of Dorian Gray; 1891. -------- Date: Wed Apr 26 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sardine X-Bonus: Oh, the comfort -- the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person -- having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with the breath of kindness blow the rest away. -Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, poet and novelist (20 Apr 1826-1887) This week's theme: Toponyms sardine (sahr-DEEN) verb tr. To pack tightly. [The verb form developed from the tight packing of the sardine in cans. From French sardine, from Latin sardina, from Greek Sardo (Sardinia). Earliest documented use: 1895.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sardine A turtle swims below a school of sardines, Moalboal, Philippines https://wordsmith.org/words/images/sardine_large.jpg Photo: Henry Jager https://www.flickr.com/photos/51305158@N03/15032259137/ "Families of a dozen or more sardined themselves into buzzing, bumblebee-colored auto rickshaws designed for two passengers." Robert Kunzig; Seven Billion; National Geographic (Washington, DC); Jan 2011. -------- Date: Thu Apr 27 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--frieze X-Bonus: The being cannot be termed rational or virtuous, who obeys any authority, but that of reason. -Mary Wollstonecraft, reformer and writer (27 Apr 1759-1797) This week's theme: Toponyms frieze (freez) noun: A decorative horizontal band, as on a building. [After Phrygia, an ancient country in Asia Minor, noted for embroidery. Earliest documented use: 1563.] noun: A coarse woolen fabric. [From French frise, perhaps from Latin frisia (Frisian wool). Earliest documented use: 1418.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/frieze Khajuraho temples, India https://wordsmith.org/words/images/frieze_large.jpg Photo: Nagarjun Kandukuru https://www.flickr.com/photos/nagarjun/6657637019 "He took his place in the line stretching to the next block; attached his chinless profile to the sooty frieze of faces." Seth Morgan; Homeboy; Random House; 1990. "Like handles on either side, they stick out from his head with a frieze of grey tuft embedded in the inner curve." Anita Nair; The Better Man; Picador; 2015. -------- Date: Fri Apr 28 00:01:03 EDT 2017 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--pierian X-Bonus: The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience. -Harper Lee, writer (28 Apr 1926-2016) This week's theme: Toponyms Pierian (py-EER-ee-uhn) adjective Relating to learning or poetry. [After Pieria, a region in Greece. In Greek mythology, Pieria was home to a spring that was sacred to the Muses and inspired anyone who drank from it. Earliest documented use: 1591.] NOTES: Alexander Pope in his poem "An Essay on Criticism" (1709) wrote "A little learning is a dang'rous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring." This week's toponyms on a map: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/pierian.png https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1v-G3keONh590uzVC7CcMg-tJbcQ&ll=30.54039758798729%2C25.202389475000018&z=4 "After I had listed my courses: English, math, and science, he said, 'I see you have begun to drink at the Pierian Spring. In time your appetite will become insatiable.'" Helen Hickok; Short Stories; Lulu; 2015.