A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon May 2 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gapeseed X-Bonus: Man can be the most affectionate and altruistic of creatures, yet he's potentially more vicious than any other. He is the only one who can be persuaded to hate millions of his own kind whom he has never seen and to kill as many as he can lay his hands on in the name of his tribe or his God. -Benjamin Spock, pediatrician and author (2 May 1903-1998) Letters go missing from where you'd expect them. Sounds appear where you wouldn't expect them. English spelling is a great whodunit. What's the letter b doing in the word debt? Well, it was stuffed into the word to make it look more like Latin (as in debitum). In French they still spell it dette. Where did the r sound in the word colonel come from? In short, we borrowed (from French and Italian) two variants of the term: colonel and coronel. After a period of trying out both, we decided to keep spelling from one and pronunciation from the other version. (While we are talking about colonels, a colonel is, literally, a little column, because he heads a column of soldiers.) So who did it? We all did. Every time we use the language in a particular way, we cast a vote for that usage. Some usage (or misusage) gathers enough votes to kick out the existing spelling or pronunciation. The words in this week's selection may look like they are misspellings, but they are not. gapeseed (GAYP-seed) noun 1. One who stares especially with an open mouth. 2. Something that is an object of staring: anything unusual. [From gape + seed, from Old Norse gapa (to open the mouth, stare) + Old English saed (seed). Earliest documented use: 1598.] NOTES: The idiom "to sow gapeseed" means to gape at something (say, a fair) instead of doing some useful work (say, sowing wheat). This, and other idioms, hint at our agrarian roots: -to sow wild oats -to sow the seeds (of something) -as you sow, so shall you reap, etc. "'And you have not spoken to him since?' 'Not a word. But that does not stop him from staring at me like a fool. He might be a wonder in Parliament, but here in Bath he looks the veriest gapeseed.'" Catherine Blair; Athena's Conquest; Zebra Regency Romance; 2001. -------- Date: Tue May 3 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--windrow X-Bonus: The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him. -Niccolo Machiavelli, political philosopher and author (3 May 1469-1527) This week's theme: Words that appear misspelled windrow (WIND-ro) noun: 1. A row of raked hay laid to dry in the wind before being baled. 2. A row of leaves, dust, snow, or other material swept together. verb tr.: To arrange in a windrow. [From wind + row, from Old English row + raew. Earliest documented use: 1523.] https://wordsmith.org/words/images/windrow_large.jpg Photo: Daniel Plazanet https://www.flickr.com/photos/33603984@N00/ "If the crop was harvested, it should be placed in windrows up to 2.5m high and 6m wide." Pat Deavoll; Beet Success is All in the Preparation; Timaru Herald (New Zealand); Mar 28, 2015. -------- Date: Wed May 4 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--unwonted X-Bonus: It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence. -William Kingdon Clifford, mathematician and philosopher (4 May 1845-1879) This week's theme: Words that appear misspelled unwonted (un-WON-tid) adjective Unusual or unaccustomed. [From un- + Middle English woned, wont (accustomed), past participle of wonen (to be used to, to dwell). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wen- (to desire or to strive for), which is also the source of wish, win, Venus, overweening, venerate, venison, and banyan, venial https://wordsmith.org/words/venial.html , and ween https://wordsmith.org/words/ween.html . Earliest documented use: 1553.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/unwonted "[The play] looks at why the placid-seeming Howe was driven to such unwonted ferocity." Michael Billington; Dead Sheep Review; The Guardian (London, UK); Apr 6, 2015. -------- Date: Thu May 5 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--angor X-Bonus: Life is a foreign language; all men mispronounce it. -Christopher Morley, journalist, novelist, essayist, and poet (5 May 1890-1957) This week's theme: Words that appear misspelled angor (ANG-guhr) noun Extreme anguish or mental distress. [If you've ever been so angry, or so anguished, that you felt choked you've personally experienced the origin of this term. It comes from Latin angor (strangling, suffocation, mental distress), from angere (to squeeze). Ultimately from the Indo-European root angh- (tight, suffocating, painful), which also gave us anger, anguish, anxious, angst, angina, and hangnail. Earliest documented use: 1440.] "But each word helps to create the tone of the story, set the mood, build the atmosphere, and illustrate the characters' sense of angor." Anu Garg; Confessions of a Word Addict; Writer Magazine (Waukesha, Wisconsin); Dec 2003. -------- Date: Fri May 6 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--refect X-Bonus: Thinking is an experimental dealing with small quantities of energy, just as a general moves miniature figures over a map before setting his troops in action. -Sigmund Freud, neurologist, founder of psychoanalysis (6 May 1856-1939) This week's theme: Words that appear misspelled refect (ri-FEKT) verb tr. To refresh with food or drink. [From Latin reficere (to renew or restore), from re- (back) + facere (to make). Earliest documented use: 1488.] "[I attempt] recipes that refect thrill-seeking appetites, and which can be served together like a spread-out picnic." Rose Prince; Spring Free; Telegraph Magazine (London, UK); Apr 4, 2015. -------- Date: Mon May 9 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--licit X-Bonus: Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. -James Matthew Barrie, author (9 May 1860-1937) Last month, a North Carolina judge sentenced a veteran to 24 hours in jail, then joined him behind bars. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/04/22/a-judge-sentences-a-veteran-to-24-hours-in-jail-then-joins-him-behind-bars/ http://www.webcitation.org/6h00OzwLI What a positive, heartwarming story, different from the typical mayhem that appears in the news! Well, in the language also, there's much that's negative, but this week we'll look at the positive words that don't get much circulation. This week we dedicate to forgotten positives. licit (LIS-it) adjective Legal or legitimate. [From licere (to be allowed), which also gave us license and leisure. Earliest documented use: 1483.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/licit "Many officials in governance and administration have undergone an accelerated improvement in lifestyle based on no visible, or licit, revenue streams." Lifestyle Audits Will Sniff Out Corruption; The Star (Nairobi, Kenya); Nov 17, 2015. -------- Date: Tue May 10 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--peccable X-Bonus: The higher up you go, the more mistakes you are allowed. Right at the top, if you make enough of them, it's considered to be your style. -Fred Astaire, dancer, actor, singer, musician, and choreographer (10 May 1899-1987) This week's theme: Forgotten positives peccable (PEK-uh-buhl) adjective Imperfect; flawed; capable of sinning. [From Latin peccare (to err or sin). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ped- (foot), which also gave us pedal, podium, octopus, impeach, peccavi https://wordsmith.org/words/peccavi.html , and peccadillo (alluding to a stumble or fall) https://wordsmith.org/words/peccadillo.html . Earliest documented use: 1604.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/peccable "We picked up a Peugeot 406 automatic at Toulouse airport. I approached the glossy woman at the airport desk and announced in extremely peccable French: 'The car is here, brothel-owning lady, for us.'" Mark Dapin; Lost in France; The Times (London, UK); Aug 21, 2004. -------- Date: Wed May 11 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--clement X-Bonus: The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad. -Salvador Dali, painter (11 May 1904-1989) This week's theme: Forgotten positives clement (KLEM-uhnt) adjective Mild; gentle; lenient. [From Latin clemens (gentle, mild). Earliest documented use: 1483.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/clement "When the alpine grasses go brown, when the frosts hit, when the snow flies, the elk have got to come down from these highlands and all the others to find more clement conditions." David Quammen; Into the Backcountry; National Geographic (Washington, DC); May 2016. -------- Date: Thu May 12 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--effable X-Bonus: I do not torture animals, and I do not support the torture of animals, such as that which goes on at rodeos: cowardly men in big hats abusing simple beasts in a fruitless search for manhood. -George Carlin, comedian, actor, and author (12 May 1937-2008) This week's theme: Forgotten positives effable (EF-uh-buhl) adjective Capable of being expressed. [From Latin fari (to speak). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bha- (to speak), which also gave us fable, fairy, fate, fame, blame, confess, and infant (literally, one unable to speak). Earliest documented use: 1637.] "The humanities, whose products are necessarily less tangible and effable than their science and engineering peers (and less readily yoked to the needs of the corporate world), have been an easy target for this sprawling new management class." Alex Preston; The War Against Humanities at Britain's Universities; The Observer (London, UK); Mar 30, 2015. -------- Date: Fri May 13 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--scrutable X-Bonus: The Panama Canal was dug with a microscope. -Ronald Ross, doctor and Nobel Prize laureate (13 May 1857-1932) [alluding to the research done to get rid of the mosquito] http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/history/index.html#panamacanal This week's theme: Forgotten positives scrutable (SKROO-tuh-buhl) adjective Capable of being understood. [From Latin scrutari (to examine), from scruta (trash), which also gave us scrutiny, scrutator https://wordsmith.org/words/scrutator.html , and scrutate https://wordsmith.org/words/scrutate.html . Earliest documented use: 1604.] "In fact, that's the great irony of the court's decision: By ruling that Google had to alter its 'memories' for some, it essentially ruled that it should become less scrutable and less transparent for others." Caitlin Dewey; Europe's Highest Court Says People Have 'the Right to Be Forgotten'; The Washington Post; May 13, 2014. -------- Date: Mon May 16 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--factious X-Bonus: I want people to talk to one another no matter what their difference of opinion might be. -Studs Terkel, author and broadcaster (16 May 1912-2008) "No man is an island ... any man's death diminishes me," wrote the poet John Donne back in 1624. Some 350 years later, the engineer Robert Metcalfe formulated his Metcalfe's Law that describes how the value of a network grows rapidly with each new node. A telephone or a human, it's our interconnectedness that enriches us. Just ask a poet or an engineer. Or a linguist. Language shows our common humanity. About half of the world's population speaks languages that came from the same parent language (we call it Proto-Indo-European). Languages as different as English, Farsi, German, Hindi, Irish, and Spanish came from the same parent. Ultimately, we are all related. Leave it to opportunist politicians to use trumped-up accusations to divide people into us vs. them. This week we'll see five miscellaneous words, each of which adds to the richness of the language. factious (FAK-shuhs) adjective Divisive; seditious; relating to or arising from faction. [From French factieux (seditious) and Latin factiosus (partisan), from facere (to do). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dhe- (to set or put), which is also the source of do, deed, factory, fashion, face, rectify, defeat, sacrifice, satisfy, Sanskrit sandhi (joining), Urdu purdah (veil, curtain), and Russian duma (council). Earliest documented use: 1527.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/factious "The agreement last month of Syria's traditionally factious and fractious three million Kurds to put aside their differences and form the Kurdish National Council has alarmed neighbouring Turkey." Jonathan Manthorpe; Arab Spring Awakens Kurdish Dreams of Autonomy; The Vancouver Sun (Canada); Aug 3, 2012. -------- Date: Tue May 17 00:01:01 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--repudiate X-Bonus: A change in perspective is worth 80 IQ points. -Alan Kay, computer scientist (b. 17 May 1940) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words repudiate (ri-PYOO-dee-ayt) verb tr. To reject, refuse, or disown. [From Latin repudiare (to divorce, reject), from repudium (divorce). Earliest documented use: 1534.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/repudiate "Callers repudiated the new tax but most also took the Senate to task for its factious role in delaying the legislation." Patrick Conlon; Public Opinion; The Globe and Mail (Canada); Apr 1, 1991. -------- Date: Wed May 18 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--blandishment X-Bonus: Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear. -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (18 May 1872-1970) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words blandishment (BLAN-dish-muhnt) noun Something (action, speech, etc.) designed to flatter, coax, or influence. [From Latin blandiri (to flatter). Ultimately from the Indo-European root mel- (soft), which also gave us bland, melt, smelt, malt, mild, mulch, mollify, mollusk, emollient, enamel, smalto https://wordsmith.org/words/smalto.html , and schmaltz https://wordsmith.org/words/schmaltz.html . Earliest documented use: 1591.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/blandishment "The House should take the opportunity to demonstrate that it isn't really susceptible to the blandishments of a special interest and repudiate the bill." Big Bucks for Billboards; The Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina); Feb 5, 2006. -------- Date: Thu May 19 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ignominious X-Bonus: Humankind is made up of two sexes, women and men. Is it possible for humankind to grow by the improvement of only one part while the other part is ignored? -Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder and the first president of Turkey (19 May 1881-1938) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words ignominious (ig-nuh-MIN-ee-uhs) adjective Deserving or causing disgrace or shame. [Via French, from Latin ignominia, from ig- (not) + nomen (name). Ultimately from the Indo-European root no-men- (name) which also gave us name, anonymous, noun, synonym, eponym, renown, nominate, misnomer, and moniker. Earliest documented use: 1530.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ignominious "Bureaucratic, hand-typed, without puffery or blandishment, they may be the most ignominious documents in the Jews' 4,000-year history. They are four sheets of paper dated Sep 15, 1935, signed by Adolf Hitler, that legally excluded Jews from German life and set the groundwork for exterminating them from Europe." Daniel B. Wood; Some Dark Words of History Come to Light; The Christian Science Monitor (Boston, Massachusetts); Jul 1, 1999. http://www.csmonitor.com/1999/0701/p1s5.html -------- Date: Fri May 20 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fractious X-Bonus: Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true. -Honore de Balzac, novelist (20 May 1799-1850) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words fractious (FRAK-shuhs) adjective 1. Irritable; cranky. 2. Unruly. [From Latin fractus, past participle of frangere (to break). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhreg- (to break), which also gave us break, breach, fraction, and fragile. Earliest documented use: 1725.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/fractious "This is a tie that could bring an ignominious end to Mourinho's fractious reign in Madrid." Oliver Holt; Thanks to Sir Alex, Jose Will Be Judged at Old Trafford; The Daily Mirror (London, UK); Feb 14, 2013. -------- Date: Mon May 23 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--senescence X-Bonus: If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it. -Margaret Fuller, author (23 May 1810-1850) The English language has more than half a million words, but it wasn't easy to find words for this week. I found them, somehow, and now your job is to find out what's special about these words. If you think you know the answer, send it to contest@wordsmith.org (include your location). Two readers -- the first correct answer and one randomly selected from all correct answers -- win a signed copy of any of my books https://wordsmith.org/awad/books.html or a copy of the word game One Up! http://www.oneupmanship.com/oneup.html . One answer per person, please. Winners will be announced in this weekend's AWADmail. senescence (suh-NES-uhns) noun The process or the state of growing old. [From Latin senescere (to grow old), from senex (old). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sen- (old), which is also the ancestor of senior, senate, senile, Spanish seņor, sir, sire, and surly (which is an alteration of sirly, as in sir-ly). Earliest documented use: 1695.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/senescence "It's delightful to know that as we old-timers pass into senescence, our rivers will be in capable hands." Willem Lange; A Gathering of Wilderness Paddlers; Valley News (White River Junction, Vermont); Mar 8, 2016. -------- Date: Tue May 24 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tromometer X-Bonus: A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do. -Bob Dylan, singer-songwriter (b. 24 May 1941) This week's theme: Yours to discover tromometer (tro-MOM-i-tuhr) noun An instrument for detecting or measuring faint tremors caused by an earthquake. [From Greek tromos (trembling). Earliest documented use: 1878.] "A tromometer being perfectly at rest whilst a heavy gale was blowing round the observatory shows that the connection between two sets of phenomena is not so close as might at first be supposed." John Milne; Seismology; Cambridge; 1898. -------- Date: Wed May 25 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--happenchance X-Bonus: What's madness but nobility of soul at odds with circumstance? -Theodore Roethke, poet (25 May 1908-1963) This week's theme: Yours to discover happenchance (HAP-uhn-chans) noun: A chance occurrence. adjective: Resulting from chance. [Alteration of happenstance, a blend of happening + circumstance. Earliest documented use: 1847.] "Whether this came from happenchance or a carefully crafted winning formula is not clear." Richard Kitheka; Author Jackie Collins Revealed Hollywood Decadence to World; Daily Nation (Nairobi, Kenya); Oct 9, 2015. -------- Date: Thu May 26 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--natant X-Bonus: Historians tell the story of the past, novelists the story of the present. -Edmond de Goncourt, writer, critic, and publisher (26 May 1822-1896) This week's theme: Yours to discover natant (NAYT-nt) adjective Swimming or floating. [From Latin natare (to swim). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sna- (to swim or flow), which also gave us Sanskrit snan (bath). Earliest documented use: 1460.] "Perhaps no other athlete has been under more pressure to perform at these Games than Freeman. Not Marion Jones in her pursuit of five gold medals. Not Ian Thorpe, the 17-year-old swimming prodigy or any of his natant mates." Fran Blinebury; 2000 Sydney Olympic Games; Houston Chronicle; Sep 25, 2000. -------- Date: Fri May 27 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--succus X-Bonus: There are those who say to you -- we are rushing this issue of civil rights. I say we are 172 years late. -Hubert Humphrey, US Vice President (27 May 1911-1978) This week's theme: Yours to discover succus (SUHK-uhs) noun Juice; fluid. [From Latin succus (juice). Earliest documented use: 1771.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/succus "For this reason, the extract and succus are usually prepared during the months of September and October." Hugh Chisholm; Encyclopedia Britannica; 1922. -------- Date: Mon May 30 00:01:02 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--nitty-gritty X-Bonus: Speculation is perfectly all right, but if you stay there you've only founded a superstition. If you test it, you've started a science. -Hal Clement, science fiction author (30 May 1922-2003) If you can scam someone to the tune of $35,000 (see the article linked below) and still have them vote for you, you must have fed them something strong. The secret sauce that Donald Trump has brewed has two main ingredients: hate and fear. Hate and fear are powerful emotions. They can trump everything. At least for a short time. If you can convince people to fear or hate someone different -- a different religion, a different skin tone, a different nationality -- you can have them do anything. Even vote against their self-interest. Consider this week's A.Word.A.Day a form of public service message. This week we've picked miscellaneous words from articles that shine a light on Trump's trumpery https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=trumpery . We'll include links to complete articles. Whether you vote in the US presidential elections or not, these articles are required reading. nitty-gritty (NIT-ee GRIT-ee) noun: The essential, practical, or most important details. [Origin unknown. Earliest documented use: 1940.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/nitty-gritty "Boyce Chait, 84, and his wife Evelyn, 80, live in New Jersey. They demanded but were refused a refund after their $34,995 mentorship [program offered by Trump 'University'] proved, Boyce says, 'to be worth nothing. When it came to the nitty-gritty, there was nothing there.' Nonetheless, Boyce said he and his wife would still 'vote for Trump over Hillary Clinton,' because they are members of the Tea Party." Steven Brill; What the Legal Battle Over Trump University Reveals About Its Founder; Time (New York); Nov 5, 2015. http://time.com/4101290/what-the-legal-battle-over-trump-university-reveals-about-its-founder/ Also see http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/432010/trump-university-scam -------- Date: Tue May 31 00:01:03 EDT 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--blag X-Bonus: I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars. -Walt Whitman, poet (31 May 1819-1892) Miscellaneous words blag (blag) verb tr.: To obtain something by guile; to cheat, rob, snatch, steal, scam, or beg. noun: A robbery, con, or theft. [Origin unknown. Earliest documented use: 1934.] "This ability to blag people into believing he [Trump] was a commercial genius was most vividly illustrated in a helicopter ride we took over New York." Selina Scott; The Comb-Over Creep Who Hates Women; Daily Mail (London, UK); Jan 31, 2016. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3424519/The-comb-creep-hates-women-know-SELINA-SCOTT-reveals-Donald-Trump-failed-seduce-stalked-20-years.html