A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Fri May 1 00:04:21 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--importune X-Bonus: Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment, and especially on their children, than the unlived lives of the parents. -Carl Jung importune (im-pawr-TOON, im-pawr-TYOON, im-PAWR-chuhn) tr.verb 1. To beset with insistent or repeated requests; entreat pressingly. 2. Archaic. To ask for urgently or repeatedly. 3. To annoy; vex. importune intr.verb To plead or urge irksomely, often persistently. importune adjective Importunate. [French importuner, from Old French importun, inopportune, from Latin importunus : in-, not. + portus, port, refuge.] "There's a poignant little scene halfway into Primary Colors. It's primary night in New Hampshire, and candidate Jack Stanton (John Travolta) stands alone on a rainy street, knocking on car windows and importuning drivers for last-minute votes like a squeegee guy cadging a dollar." The Arts/Cinema, Time, Richard Corliss,03-16-1998; This week's theme: Words about the quality of speech. -------- Date: Sat May 2 00:05:11 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--implore X-Bonus: It is our relation to circumstances that determines their influence over us. The same wind that carries one vessel into port may blow another off shore. -Christian Bovee implore (im-PLOHR) tr.verb 1. To appeal to in supplication; beseech: implored the tribunal to have mercy. 2. To beg for urgently; entreat. implore intr.verb To make an earnest appeal. [Latin implorare : in-, toward. See IN-2 + plorare, to weep.] "She also implored airlines to reduce airfares if they were to compete with their Zimbabwean counterparts. Administrative secretary of the Mukuni Curio Sellers Association Phenius Kachuzu also implored Government to abolish visa fees." Victoria Falls: Sleeping Beauty to Get Kiss of Life., Africa News Service, 03-05-1998. This week's theme: Words about the quality of speech. -------- Date: Sun May 3 00:04:59 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bluster X-Bonus: Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant indicate a plot. -Sun Tzu [The Art of War] bluster (BLUS-tuhr) intr.verb 1. To blow in loud, violent gusts, as the wind during a storm. 2. To speak in a loudly arrogant or bullying manner. To brag or make loud, empty threats. bluster tr.verb To force or bully with swaggering threats. bluster noun 1. A violent, gusty wind. 2. Turbulence or noisy confusion. 3. Loud, arrogant speech, often full of empty threats. [Middle English blusteren, from Middle Low German blusteren.] "There let him reign, the jailer of the wind, With hoarse commands his breathing subjects call, And boast and bluster in his empty hall." Virgil, Aeneid: Part I, Great Works of Literature, 1 Jan 1992. -------- Date: Mon May 4 02:17:25 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--caduceus X-Bonus: Love me or hate me, but spare me your indifference. -Libbie Fudim caduceus (kuh-DOO-si-uhs, -shuhs, -dyoo-) noun 1. A herald's wand or staff, especially in ancient times. Greek Mythology. A winged staff with two serpents twined around it, carried by Hermes. 2. An insignia modeled on Hermes' staff and used as the symbol of the medical profession. [Latin caduceus, alteration of Greek karukeion, from karux, herald.] "Much of the medical profession, it now turns out, has been practicing under the wrong symbol. We are accustomed to seeing, in connection with doctors and hospitals, a symbol called the Caduceus, two snakes entwined around a staff, beneath a pair of wings. But the Minnesota Medical Association says that's not right. The correct Greek symbol for medicine is the staff of Aesculapius. " Medical Symbol Wrong Says Minnesota Association, All Things Considered (NPR), 6 Oct 1994. One snake or two? The staff of Aesculapius, the god of medicine and healing in Roman mythology, has only one snake curling around it. However, two snaked caduceus, the symbol of trade and communication, is widely confused with the Aesculapii staff. With that little tidbit let's start this week's theme and learn some more words about symbols. -Anu -------- Date: Tue May 5 00:04:26 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chevron X-Bonus: If I could drop dead right now, I'd be the happiest man alive. -Samuel Goldwyn chevron (SHEV-ruhn) noun 1. A badge or insignia consisting of stripes meeting at an angle, worn on the sleeve of a military or police uniform to indicate rank, merit, or length of service. 2. Heraldry. A device shaped like an inverted V. 3. A V-shaped pattern, especially a kind of fret used in architecture. [Middle English cheveron, from Old French chevron, rafter (from the meeting of rafters at an angle), probably from Vulgar Latin *caprio, caprion-, from Latin caper, capr-, goat.] "The famous Marlboro chevron is a military insignia. Both Marlboro and Pall Mall carry military mottoes of conquering Roman emperors on every pack. One analyst thinks the Marlboro chevron hard pack subconsciously functions as a medal, which the smoker "pins on" himself each time he stuffs it in his shirt pocket. Maybe, maybe not. But don't underestimate the industry's commitment to finding powerful nonverbal hooks, particularly for young beginning smokers. A lot of psychologists are reportedly on the payroll, and rumor has it that they include child psychologists, too." John Leo, Boyz to (Marlboro) men., Vol. 122, U.S. News & World Report, 06-02-1997, pp 18. This week's theme: words about symbols. -------- Date: Wed May 6 00:05:10 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--escutcheon X-Bonus: What I do today is important because I am paying a day of my life for it. What I accomplish must be worthwhile because the price is high. escutcheon (i-SKUCH-uhn) noun. 1. Heraldry. A shield or shield-shaped emblem bearing a coat of arms. 2. An ornamental or protective plate, as for a keyhole. 3. Nautical. The plate on the stern of a ship inscribed with the ship's name. Idiom: a blot on (one's) escutcheon. Dishonor to one's reputation. [Middle English escochon, from Anglo-Norman escuchon, from Vulgar Latin *scutio, scution-, from Latin scutum, shield.] "The pride of the hovel is an escutcheon suspended against the wall, in which are emblazoned quarterings of the arms of the Marquis of Caiesedo, and of various other noble houses, with which this poverty-stricken brood claim affinity." Irving, Washington, Alhambra, The: Inhabitants Of The Alhambra This week's theme: words about symbols. -------- Date: Thu May 7 00:05:17 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--totem X-Bonus: I am I plus my surroundings and if I do not preserve the latter, I do not preserve myself. -Jose Ortega Y Gasset [Meditations on Quixote] (1883-1955) totem (TOE-tuhm) noun 1. An animal, a plant, or a natural object serving among certain tribal or traditional peoples as the emblem of a clan or family and sometimes revered as its founder, ancestor, or guardian. A representation of such an object. A social group having a common affiliation to such an object. 2. A venerated emblem or symbol: "grew up with the totems and taboos typical of an Irish Catholic kid in Boston" (Connie Paige). [Ojibwa nindoodem, my totem.] "'GM still worships at the totem of Sloan,' says Harvard's Zaleznik. 'You have to burn your totems. It's not disrespectful.'" Jeremy Main, Wanted: Leaders Who Can Make a Difference Mere Management isn't Good Enough Anymore., Fortune, 28 Sep 1987, pp. 92. This week's theme: words about symbols. -------- Date: Fri May 8 00:04:41 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ideogram X-Bonus: I live in the crowd of jollity, not so much to enjoy company as to shun myself. -Samuel Johnson ideogram (ID-EE-uh-gram, AI-dee-) noun 1. A character or symbol representing an idea or a thing without expressing the pronunciation of a particular word or words for it, as in the traffic sign commonly used for "no parking" or "parking prohibited." Also called ideograph. 2. A graphic symbol, such as *, $, or @. "Butterflies flutter like the last load of laundry hung out to dry. The beach looks littered with summer people's broken furniture but it is just the tide's huge ideograms...--Jennifer Rose" Altman, Meryl, Reconstructive criticism, Vol. XI, Women's Review of Books, 1 Jan 1994, pp. 17-8. This week's theme: words about symbols. -------- Date: Sat May 9 00:04:33 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--oriflamme X-Bonus: It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people. -Giordano Bruno oriflamme (OR-i-flam, AWR-) noun 1. An inspiring standard or symbol. 2. The red or orange-red flag of the Abbey of Saint Denis in France, used as a standard by the early kings of France. [Middle English oriflamble, banner of St. Denis, from Old French, variant of oriflambe, possibly from Medieval Latin aurea flamma, auriflamma : Latin aurea, feminine of aureus, golden (from aurum, gold + Latin flamma, flame.), or alteration of Old French *lorie flambe, from Late Latin laurea flammula, laureled standard : Latin laureus, of laurel + Latin flammula, banner, diminutive of flamma, flame.] "Press where you see my white plume shine amidst the ranks of war, And be your oriflamme to-day the helmet of Navarre." Thomas Babington Macaulay, Ivry. This week's theme: words about symbols. -------- Date: Sun May 10 00:04:29 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hieroglyphic X-Bonus: Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. hieroglyphic (hy-uhr-o-GLIF-ik, hy-ruh-) also hieroglyphical adjective 1. Of, relating to, or being a system of writing, such as that of ancient Egypt, in which pictorial symbols are used to represent meaning or sounds or a combination of meaning and sound. Written with such symbols. 2. Difficult to read or decipher. hieroglyphic noun 1. A hieroglyph. Often hieroglyphics (used with a sing. or pl. verb. Hieroglyphic writing, especially that of the ancient Egyptians). 2. Something, such as illegible or undecipherable writing, that is felt to resemble a hieroglyph. [French hieroglyphique, from Late Latin hieroglyphicus, from Greek hierogluphikos : hieros, holy. See eis-. + gluphe, carving (from gluphein, to carve.] "The fascination with hieroglyphics, with emblems and impresas, or `pictures without words,' as Ernst Robert Curtius tells us, has continually occupied the minds of Western humanists since the beginning of the fifteenth century. " Zhang Longxi, What is 'wen' and why is it made so terribly strange?., Vol. 23, College Literature, 02-01-1996, pp 15(21). This week's theme: words about symbols. -------- Date: Mon May 11 01:03:43 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--earwig X-Bonus: They came for the communists, and I did not speak up because I wasn't a communist; They came for the socialists, and I did not speak up because I was not a socialist; They came for the union leaders, and I did not speak up because I wasn't a union leader; They came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak up for me. -Martin Niemoller (1892-1984) earwig (EER-wig) noun Any of various elongate insects of the order Dermaptera, having a pair of pincerlike appendages protruding from the rear of the abdomen. earwig tr.verb To attempt to influence by persistent confidential argument or talk. [Middle English erwig, from Old English earwicga : eare, ear + wicga, insect.] WORD HISTORY: In an Anglo-Norman text written around the beginning of the 15th century we are told that elephants guard their ears diligently against flies and earwigs. Elephants have good cause to protect themselves against these insects if, as folklore has it, earwigs go through the ear into the head. The earwig, however, prefers to dine on things such as flowers, fruit, and small insects rather than brain tissue. Folklore is responsible, though, for the insect's name, which was formed in Old English from eare, the Old English source of our word ear, and wicga, "insect," a word presumably related to our word wiggle. "Suppose he was to do all this, and besides to blow upon a plant we've all been in, more or less- of his own fancy; not grabbed, trapped, tried, earwigged by the parson and brought to it on bread and water,- but of his own fancy..." Dickens, Charles, Oliver Twist, 1850. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -Anu -------- Date: Tue May 12 00:04:39 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chaperon X-Bonus: There is no right way to do wrong. chaperon or chaperone (SHAP-uh-rohn) noun 1. A person, especially an older or married woman, who accompanies a young unmarried woman in public. 2. An older person who attends and supervises a social gathering for young people. 3. A guide or companion whose purpose is to ensure propriety or restrict activity: "to see and feel the rough edges of the society ... without the filter of official chaperones" (Philip Taubman). chaperon tr.verb To act as chaperon to or for. [French, from chaperon, hood, from Old French, diminutive of chape, cape, head covering.] WORD HISTORY: The chaperon at a high-school dance seems to have little relationship to what was first signified by the English word chaperon, "a hood for a hawk," and not even that much to what the word later meant, "a protectress of a young single woman." The sense "hood for a hawk," recorded in a Middle English text composed before 1400, reflects the original meaning of the Old French word chaperon, "hood, headgear." In order to understand why our chaperon came to have the sense "protectress," we need to know that in French the verb chaperonner, meaning "to cover with a hood," was derived from chaperon and that this verb subsequently developed the figurative sense "to protect." Under the influence of the verb sense the French noun chaperon came to mean "escort," a meaning that was borrowed into English, being found first in a work published in 1720. In its earlier use English chaperon referred to a person, commonly an older woman, who accompanied a young unmarried woman in public to protect her. The English verb chaperon, "to be a chaperon," is first recorded in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, begun in 1796 as a sketch called "Elinor and Marianne" and published as a novel in 1811. Denny's Apologizes to Black Students; Los Angeles Times, 6 May 1998. "Four years after settling a discrimination lawsuit for $46 million, Denny's apologized to 40 black sixth-graders and their chaperons who said they were denied service at a Florida restaurant." This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Wed May 13 00:05:13 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--impeach X-Bonus: The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated. -Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) impeach (im-PEECH) tr.verb 1. To make an accusation against. To charge (a public official) with improper conduct in office before a proper tribunal. 2. To challenge the validity of; try to discredit: impeach a witness's credibility. [Middle English empechen, to impede, accuse, from Anglo-Norman empecher, from Late Latin impedicare, to entangle : Latin in-, + Latin pedica, fetter.] WORD HISTORY: Nothing hobbles a President so much as impeachment, and there is an etymological as well as procedural reason for this. The word impeach can be traced back through Anglo-Norman empecher to Late Latin impedicare, "to catch, entangle," from Latin pedica, "fetter for the ankle, snare." Thus we find that Middle English empechen, the ancestor of our word, means such things as "to cause to get stuck fast," "hinder or impede," "interfere with," and "criticize unfavorably." A legal sense of empechen is first recorded in 1384. This sense, which had previously developed in Old French, was "to accuse, bring charges against." A further development of the sense had specific reference to Parliament and its formal accusation of treason or other high crimes, a process that the United States borrowed from the British. Although we have used it rarely at the federal level, impeachment stands as the ultimate snare for those who would take advantage of the public trust. "Antipholus of Syracuse: Thou art a villain to impeach me thus: I'll prove mine honour and mine honesty Against thee presently, if thou darest stand." Shakespeare, William, The Comedy of Errors: Act V, Scene I This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Thu May 14 00:04:53 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--dirge X-Bonus: When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts....A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. -Sophia Loren dirge (durj) noun 1. Music. A funeral hymn or lament. A slow, mournful musical composition. 2. A mournful or elegiac poem or other literary work. 3. Roman Catholic Church. The Office for the Dead. [Middle English, an antiphon at Matins in the Office for the Dead, from Medieval Latin dirige Domine, direct, O Lord (the opening words of the antiphon), imperative of dirigere, to direct.] WORD HISTORY: The history of the word dirge illustrates how a word with neutral connotations, such as direct, can become emotionally charged because of a specialized use. The Latin word dirige is a form of the verb dirigere, "to direct, guide," that is used in uttering commands. In the Office for the Dead dirige is the first word in the antiphon for the first nocturn of matins. The complete opening words of this antiphon are "Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam," "Direct, O Lord, my God, my way in thy sight." The part of the Office for the Dead that begins with this antiphon was named Dirige in Ecclesiastical Latin, a use of dirige as an English word that is first recorded in a work possibly written before 1200. Dirige was then extended to refer to the chanting or reading of the Office for the Dead as part of a funeral or memorial service. In Middle English the word was shortened to dirge, although it was pronounced as two syllables. After the Middle Ages the word took on its more general senses of "a funeral hymn or lament" and "a mournful poem or musical composition" and developed its one-syllable pronunciation. "With dirges through the night, with the thousand voices rising strong and solemn, With all the mournful voices of the dirges pour'd around the coffin..." Whitman, Walt, When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloom'd This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Fri May 15 00:04:33 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ennui X-Bonus: Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong. -Dandemis ennui (on-WEE, ON-wee) noun Listlessness and dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest; boredom. [French, from Old French enui, from ennuier, to annoy, bore, from Vulgar Latin *inodiare, from Latin in odio (esse), (to be) odious : in, in. + odio, ablative of odium, hate.] WORD HISTORY: Were they alive today, users of Classical Latin might be surprised to find that centuries later a phrase of theirs would still survive, although in the form of a single word. The phrase mihi in odio est (literally translated as "to me in a condition of dislike or hatred is"), meaning "I hate or dislike," gave rise to the Vulgar Latin verb -inodiare, "to make odious," the source of Modern French ennuyer, "to annoy, bore." In the Old French period a noun meaning "worry, boredom," came from the verb ennuier. This noun in its Modern French form ennui was borrowed into English in the sense "boredom," the English word being first recorded in 1732. People may have needed a word for boredom in the polite, cultivated world of the 18th century, but at an earlier period, around 1275, we had already borrowed the French verb ennuier, the source of our word annoy. One of the earliest instances of annoy in English is, in fact, used in the sense "to bore an audience." "But, in their candid moments, they betrayed a lack of fulfillment and a sense of ennui." Leandro Coronel Victoria, Observer: The Court of Mang Pol's, Filipino Express, The, 22 Oct 1995. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Sat May 16 00:04:26 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--acrostic X-Bonus: I would rather be able to appreciate things I can not have than to have things I am not able to appreciate. -Elbert Hubbard acrostic (a-KRAW-stik, a-KRAWS-tik) noun 1. A poem or series of lines in which certain letters, usually the first in each line, form a name, motto, or message when read in sequence. 2. A set of words arranged in a square such that they read the same horizontally and vertically. Also called word square. [French acrostiche, from Old French, from Greek akrostikhis : akron, head, end. acro- + stikhos, line.] WORD HISTORY: An acrostic gives the reader two for one, and the etymology of the word emphasizes one of these two. Our word goes back to the Greek word akrostikhis, "acrostic," which is a combination of Greek akron, "head," and stikhos, "row, line of verse." Literally akrostikhis means "the line at the head," emphasizing the fact that an acrostic has in addition to horizontal rows a vertical row formed of the letters at the "head" or start of each line. In ancient manuscripts, in which a line of verse did not necessarily correspond to a line of text, an acrostic would have looked particularly striking, with each of its lines standing by itself and beginning with a capital letter. Our word for this type of composition is first found in English in the 16th century. "A character is like an acrostic or Alexandrian stanza; - read it forward, backward, or across, it still spells the same thing." Emerson, Ralph Waldo, Self-Reliance: Part I. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Sun May 17 00:05:15 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--exorcise X-Bonus: Every man has his follies - and often they are the most interesting thing he had got. -Josh Billings exorcise (EK-sawr-size, EK-suhr-size) tr.verb 1. To expel (an evil spirit) by or as if by incantation, command, or prayer. 2. To free from evil spirits or malign influences. [Middle English exorcisen, from Late Latin exorcizare, from Greek exorkizein, from ex- (out) + horkizein (to make one swear), from horkos (oath).] WORD HISTORY: An oath is to be found at the etymological heart of exorcise, a term going back to the Greek word exorkizein, meaning "to swear in," "to take an oath by," "to conjure," and "to exorcise." Exorkizein in turn is formed from the prefix ex-, "thoroughly," and the verb horkizein, "to make one swear, administer an oath to," derived from horkos, "oath." Our word exorcise is first recorded in English in a work composed possibly before the beginning of the 15th century, and in this use exorcise means "to call up or conjure spirits" rather than "to drive out spirits," a sense first recorded in 1546. "Hoping it has exorcised the bugs from its cc:Mail-to-Domino tool, IBM's Lotus division last week unveiled the newest version of its Domino Message Transfer Agent for cc:Mail 2.0." John Fontana, News & Analysis: Lotus Hopes New MTA Is Bug-Free, InternetWeek, 2 Mar 1998. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Mon May 18 00:05:43 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--kaput X-Bonus: Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. -Ambrose Redmoon kaput also kaputt (ka-put, -poot, kah-) adjective 1. Having been destroyed; wrecked. 2. Having been incapacitated. [German kaputt, from French capot, not having won a single trick at piquet.] WORD HISTORY: The games people play can become deadly serious, as exemplified by the word kaput. Our word is an adoption of the German word kaputt, whose senses are similar to those of the English word. German in turn borrowed this word from the French gaming tables, where capot as an adjective meant "not having won a single trick at piquet." Devastating as this might be to a piquet player, it would surprise kibitzers to see how widely the word's range of meaning has been extended in German and English, in which it is first recorded in 1895. For example, one's car can be kaput and so can oneself. As for the ultimate source of French capot we cannot be certain, but it seems to go back to a modern Provencal word, of which the first element is cap, "head." "But flying to Mars has proved particularly hazardous. A total of five missions to the planet have gone kaput since the space age began." Blazing a trail to Mars. The Economist, 9 Nov 1996. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Tue May 19 00:04:28 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--embargo X-Bonus: The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for whites or women for men. -Alice Walker embargo (em-BAHR-goh) noun 1. A government order prohibiting the movement of merchant ships into or out of its ports. 2. A prohibition by a government on certain or all trade with a foreign nation: an embargo on the sale of computers to unfriendly nations. 3. A prohibition; a ban: an embargo on criticism. embargo tr.verb To impose an embargo on. [Spanish, from embargar, to impede, from Vulgar Latin *imbarricare, to barricade : Latin in-, in. + Vulgar Latin *barricare, to barricade (from *barrica, barrel, barrier (from *barra, bar, barrier).] WORD HISTORY: Could an embargo on alcoholic beverages be related to a bar other than in the obvious way? The words embargo and bar are related, albeit distantly. Embargo comes to us from Spanish, where it was derived from the verb embargar, "to arrest, impede." This verb came from the Vulgar Latin word -imbarricare, made up of the Latin prefix in-, "in, into," and the assumed Vulgar Latin form -barricare, derived from Vulgar Latin -barrica, "barrier." -Barrica, in turn, was derived from Vulgar Latin -barra, "bar, barrier," the ultimate source of our word bar. Imbarricare meant essentially "to impede with a barrier." Our word baris first recorded in English with the sense "barrier," eventually developing the sense "a counter for serving drinks." "Because most antibiotics are produced under U.S. patents they cannot be exported to Cuba under terms of the embargo. Any third country or foreign enterprise doing so can be slapped with U.S. sanctions. In December 1995 America's largest pharmaceutical corporation announced it would never do business again with Cuba after sanctions were activated and a stiff fine imposed when Merck provided medical information (and only information) to Cuba." Schwab, Peter, Cuban health care and the U.S. embargo.., Vol. 49, Monthly Review, 11-01-1997, pp 15(10). This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Wed May 20 00:05:00 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lucre X-Bonus: Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them. -Paul Valery lucre (LOOK-uhr) noun Money or profits. [Middle English, from Latin lucrum.] WORD HISTORY: When William Tyndale translated aiskhron kerdos, "shameful gain" (Titus 1:11), as filthy lucre in his edition of the Bible, he was tarring the word lucre for the rest of its existence. But we cannot lay the pejorative sense of lucre completely at Tyndale's door. He was merely a link, albeit a strong one, in a process that had begun long before with respect to the ancestor of our word, the Latin word lucrum, "material gain, profit." This process was probably controlled by the inevitable conjunction of profit, especially monetary profit, with evils such as greed. In Latin lucrum also meant "avarice," and in Middle English lucre, besides meaning "monetary gain, profit," meant "illicit gain." Furthermore, many of the contexts in which the neutral sense of the word appeared were not that neutral, as in "It is a wofull thyng ... ffor lucre of goode ... A man to fals his othe [it is a sad thing for a man to betray his oath for monetary gain]." Tyndale thus merely helped the process along when he gave us the phrase filthy lucre. "Lucre is not of overriding importance, Merchant claims, though he is known in the industry as a shrewd businessman." Pia Ganguly, Celluloid Merchant: A candid conversation with Ismail Merchant, India Currents, 31 May 1994. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Thu May 21 00:04:50 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--superman X-Bonus: The truly just is he who feels half guilty of your misdeeds. -Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) superman (SOO-par-man) noun 1. A man with more than human powers. 2. An ideal superior man who, according to Nietzsche, forgoes transient pleasure, exercises creative power, lives at a level of experience beyond standards of good and evil, and is the goal of human evolution. In this sense, also called overman. [Translation of German Ubermensch : uber-, super- + Mensch, man.] WORD HISTORY: Overman and Beyondman hardly seem likely names for a superhero, but perhaps Overman might be "leaping tall buildings at a single bound" had the German word Ubermensch been translated differently than it was. However, Nietzsche's term for the ideal superior man was translated into English as superman, first recorded in a work by George Bernard Shaw published in 1903. Such a term comes to us through a process called loan translation, or calque formation, whereby the semantic components of a word or phrase in one language are literally translated into their equivalents in another language, German Ubermensch, made up of uber, "super-," and Mensch, "man," thus becoming superman. Because uber- can also be translated "beyond" and "over," we also find overman and beyondman as calques for the word Ubermensch, but they did not take root. Shaw, in a letter written before 1917, noted that "some of our most felicitous writers ... had been using such desperate and unspeakable forms as Beyondman, when the glib Superman was staring them in the face all the time." Hence, when it came to naming a new comic strip hero, Superman was the logical choice, a name first recorded in 1938. "Aristotle's preoccupation with the idea of a superman-monarch in the foregoing passage gives us some indication of the impact his experience as tutor to Alexander must have had on his life." Aristotle, Philosophy of Aristotle: The Politics: Books 5 and 6, Monarch Notes, 1 Jan 1963. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Fri May 22 00:04:35 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sarcophagus X-Bonus: You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down. -Mary Pickford sarcophagus (sar-KOF-uh-guhs) noun A stone coffin, often inscribed or decorated with sculpture. [Latin, from Greek sarkophagos, coffin, from (lithos) sarkophagos, limestone that consumed the flesh of corpses laid in it : sarx, sark-, flesh + -phagos, -phagous.] WORD HISTORY: A gruesome name befits a gruesome thing, as in the case of sarcophagus, our term for a stone coffin, often a decorated one, that is located above ground. The word comes to us from Latin and Greek, having been derived in Greek from sarx, "flesh," and phagein, "to eat." The Greek word sarkophagos meant "eating flesh," and in the phrase lithos ("stone") sarcophagos denoted a limestone that was thought to decompose the flesh of corpses placed in it. The Greek term used by itself as a noun then came to mean "coffin." The term was carried over into Latin, where sarcophagus was used in the phrase lapis ("stone") sarcophagus, referring to the same stone as in Greek. Sarcophagus used as a noun in Latin meant "coffin of any material." This Latin word was borrowed into English, first being recorded in 1601 with reference to the flesh-consuming stone and then in 1705 with reference to a stone coffin. "There are wonderful paintings ... and important archaeological finds including the alabaster sarcophagus of an Egyptian pharaoh ... and a pilaster capital from the Pantheon in Rome." Filler, Martin, Soane and the stars. House Beautiful, 1 Jun 1996. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Sat May 23 00:04:23 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--iconoclast X-Bonus: Do you know what a pessimist is? A person who thinks everybody is as nasty as himself, and hates them for it. -George Bernard Shaw iconoclast (eye-KON-uh-klast) noun 1. One who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions. 2. One who destroys sacred religious images. [French iconoclaste, from Medieval Greek eikonoklastes, smasher of religious images : Greek eikono-, icono- + -klastes, breaker (from Greek klan, klas-, to break).] WORD HISTORY: An iconoclast can be unpleasant company, but at least the modern iconoclast only attacks such things as ideas and institutions. The original iconoclasts destroyed countless works of art. Eikonoklastes, the ancestor of our word, was first formed in Medieval Greek from the elements eikon, "image, likeness," and -klastes, "breaker," from klan, "to break." The images referred to by the word are religious images, which were the subject of controversy among Christians of the Byzantine Empire in the 8th and 9th centuries, when iconoclasm was at its height. Those who opposed images did not, of course, simply destroy them, although many were demolished; they also attempted to have the images barred from display and veneration. During the Protestant Reformation images in churches were again felt to be idolatrous and were once more banned and destroyed. It is around this time that iconoclast, the descendant of the Greek word, is first recorded in English (1641), with reference to the Greek iconoclasts. In the 19th century iconoclast took on the secular sense that it has today, as in "Kant was the great iconoclast" (James Martineau). "Years later, Annie's train ride transports her to London, where Hannah the abrasive iconoclast has become Hannah the reluctant executive, complete with power wardrobe and nifty little flat." Marin, Rick, Bandwagon.(movie reviews), Harper's Bazaar, 1 Sep 1997. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Sun May 24 00:05:25 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--typhoon X-Bonus: Why is it when we talk to God we're praying -- but when God talks to us, we're schizophrenic? -Lily Tomlin typhoon (tye-FOON) noun A tropical cyclone occurring in the western Pacific or Indian oceans. [Probably alteration of Chinese (Cantonese) toi fung : Mandarin tai, great + Mandarin feng, wind.] WORD HISTORY: Perhaps few words better illustrate the polyglot background of English than typhoon, with its Chinese, Arabic, East Indian, and Greek background. The Greek word typhon, both the name of the father of the winds and a common noun meaning "whirlwind, typhoon," was borrowed into Arabic (as was many a Greek word during the Middle Ages, when Arabic learning both preserved the classical heritage and expanded upon it, passing it on to Europe). Tufan, the Arabic version of the Greek word, passed into languages spoken in India, where Arabic-speaking Muslim invaders had settled in the 11th century. Thus the descendant of the Arabic word, passing into English (first recorded in 1588) through an Indian language and appearing in English in forms such as touffon and tufan, originally referred specifically to a severe storm in India. China, another great empire, gave us yet another word for a storm, in this case the hurricane that occurred in the waters around China. This Chinese word in its Cantonese form, toi fung, was similar to our Arabic borrowing and is first recorded in English guise as tuffoon in 1699. The various forms coalesced and finally became typhoon. "Research has shown that one way to make peers feel inferior is to deny them the opportunity to have their say. Which is why getting trapped by a talking typhoon can leave you feeling defeated and dominated." Thomas, Rochell Denise, Putting the brakes on a motormouth: listen up carefully to these tips on how to avoid being oratorically mugged!, Cosmopolitan, 1 Dec 1996. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Mon May 25 00:05:54 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ombudsman X-Bonus: When I have been asked during these last weeks who caused the riots and the killing in L.A., my answer has been direct and simple: Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame. -Dan Quayle, Former U.S. Vice President (1947-) ombudsman (OM-budz-man, -buhdz-, -boodz-) noun 1. A man who investigates complaints, reports findings, and mediates fair settlements, especially between aggrieved parties such as consumers or students and an institution, an organization, or a company. 2. A government official, especially in Scandinavian countries, who investigates citizens' complaints against the government or its functionaries. [Swedish, from Old Norse umbodhsmadhr, deputy, plenipotentiary : umbodh, commission : um, about; + bodh, command. + madhr, man.] WORD HISTORY: The word ombudsman looks as if its constituents would be familiar, judging from the element man, but it is difficult to think of what ombuds could mean. Ombudsman is from Swedish, a Germanic language in the same family as English, and man in Swedish corresponds to our word man. Ombud means "commissioner, agent," coming from Old Norse umbodh, "charge, commission, administration by a delegacy," umbodh being made up of um, "regarding," and bodh, "command." In Old Norse an umbodhsmadhr was a "trusty manager, commissary." In Swedish an ombudsman was a deputy who looked after the interests and legal affairs of a group such as a trade union or business. In 1809 the office of riksdagens justitieombudsman was created to act as an agent of justice, that is, to see after the interests of justice in affairs between the government and its citizens. This office of ombudsman and the word ombudsman have been adopted elsewhere, as in individual states in the United States. The term has also been expanded in sense to include people who perform the same function for business corporations or newspapers. "Seventh, although many viewers are passive and reluctant to formally express their dissatisfaction with TV programs, there is a need to strengthen the ombudsman system which enables viewers to convey their dissatisfaction with programs to the broadcasting companies or to the Korean Broadcasting Commission." Lee, Choon-ah, Women's Reception of Mass Media: Attitudinal and Behavioral Characteristics, Women's Studies Forum, 1 Jan 1996. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Tue May 26 00:05:08 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--diatribe X-Bonus: I hope, there will be no Reason to doubt; Particularly, that where I am not understood, it shall be concluded, that something very useful and profound is coucht underneath. -Jonathan Swift, satirist (1667-1745) diatribe (DI-a-tribe) noun A bitter, abusive denunciation. [Latin diatriba, learned discourse, from Greek diatribe, pastime, lecture, from diatribein, to consume, wear away : dia-, intensive pref. + tribein, to rub.] WORD HISTORY: Listening to a lengthy diatribe may seem like a waste of time, an attitude for which there is some etymological justification. The Greek word diatribe, the ultimate source of our word, is derived from the verb diatribein, made up of the prefix dia-, "completely," and tribein, "to rub," "to wear away, spend, or waste time," "to be busy." The verb diatribein meant "to rub hard," "to spend or waste time," and the noun diatribe meant "wearing away of time, amusement, serious occupation, study," as well as "discourse, short ethical treatise or lecture, debate, argument." It is the serious occupation of time in discourse, lecture, and debate that gave us the first use of diatribe recorded in English (1581), in the now archaic sense "discourse, critical dissertation." The critical element of this kind of diatribe must often have been uppermost, explaining the origin of the current sense of diatribe, "a bitter criticism." "Despite his diatribe against Mr Fayed as an "inveterate liar", Mr Hamilton conceded he still retained some residual sympathy for the way he had been treated by the DTI inspectors." Jon Hibbs, Political Correspondent, I am serving a life sentence, says Hamilton Ex-MP claims `vagueness' of charges is a disgrace, The Daily Telegraph, 15 Oct 1997. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Wed May 27 00:04:31 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--posthumous X-Bonus: Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language. -Ludwig Wittgenstein posthumous (POS-chuh-muhs) adjective 1. Occurring or continuing after one's death: a posthumous award. 2. Published after the writer's death: a posthumous book. 3. Born after the death of the father: a posthumous child. [Middle English posthumus, from Late Latin, alteration (perhaps influenced by Latin humus, earth, and, or humare, to bury), of postumus, superlative of posterus, coming after.] WORD HISTORY: The word posthumous is associated with death, both in meaning and in form. Our word goes back to the Latin word postumus, meaning "last born, born after the death of one's father, born after the making of a will," and "last, final." Postumus was largely used with respect to events occurring after death but not exclusively so, since the word was simply one of the superlative forms of the adverb post, "subsequently, afterward." Because of its use in connection with death, however, later Latin writers decided that the last part of the word must have to do with humus, "earth," or humare, "to bury," and began spelling the word posthumus. This form of the Latin word was borrowed into English, being first recorded in a work composed before 1464. Perhaps the most telling use of the word appears in the poet Robert Southey's comment on the rewards of an author: "It was well we should be contented with posthumous fame, but impossible to be so with posthumous bread and cheese.". "No man, however, who is endowed with a fair share of common sense, and not more than a fair share of vanity, will identify either contemporary or posthumous fame with the highest good." Huxley, Thomas Henry, Science And Culture. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Thu May 28 00:04:30 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mascot X-Bonus: The nice thing about egotists is that they don't talk about other people. -Lucille S. Harper mascot (MAS-kot, -kuht) noun A person, an animal, or an object believed to bring good luck, especially one kept as the symbol of an organization such as a sports team. [French mascotte, sorcerer's charm, mascot, from Provencal mascoto, sorcery, fetish, from masco, witch, ultimately from Late Latin, mask, specter, witch.] WORD HISTORY: The word mascot, which usually denotes something or someone that brings good luck, enjoys a positive meaning that is a distinct improvement over the meanings of some of its ancestors. Mascot came into English as a borrowing of the French word mascotte, meaning "mascot, charm." The English word is first recorded in 1881 shortly after the French word, itself first recorded in 1867, was popularized by the opera La Mascotte, performed in December 1880. The French word in turn came from the Modern Provencal word mascoto, "piece of witchcraft, charm, amulet," a feminine diminutive of masco, "witch." This word can probably be traced back to Late Latin masca, "witch, specter." Perhaps a mascot is as powerful as people think; fortunately, it is now in our corner. "In Texas it (Horny Toad) is the unofficial state reptile, the subject of countless legends, and the mascot for Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. " Texas Horny Toad Population Dwindling, All Things Considered (NPR), 28 May 1993. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Fri May 29 00:04:44 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bigot X-Bonus: The way up and the way down are the same. -Dostoevsky bigot (BIG-uht) noun One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ. [French, from Old French.] WORD HISTORY: A bigot may have more in common with God than one might think. Legend has it that Rollo, the first duke of Normandy, refused to kiss the foot of the French king Charles III, uttering the phrase bi got, his borrowing of the assumed Old English equivalent of our expression by God. Although this story is almost certainly apocryphal, it is true that bigot was used by the French as a term of abuse for the Normans, but not in a religious sense. Later, however, the word, or very possibly a homonym, was used abusively in French for the Beguines, members of a Roman Catholic lay sisterhood. From the 15th century on Old Frenchbigot meant "an excessively devoted or hypocritical person." Bigot is first recorded in English in 1598 with the sense "a superstitious hypocrite.". "The mind of the bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract." Holmes, Oliver Wendell This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Sat May 30 00:04:26 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--goatee X-Bonus: program (pro'-gram) [n] A magic spell cast over a computer allowing it to turn one's input into error messages. goatee (go-TEE) noun A small chin beard trimmed into a point. [Alteration of goaty (from GOAT, from its resemblance to a goat's beard).] WORD HISTORY: When assessing American contributions to the English language and to fashion, let us not forget the goatee. Early comments on this style of beard appear first in American writings, making this word an Americanism. Although the style raises few eyebrows now, the early comments were not favorable: "One chap's ... rigged out like a show monkey, with a little tag of hair hangin down under his chin jest like our old billy goat, that's a leetle too smart for this latitude, I think." This 1842 description, found in William Tappan Thompson's Major Jones's Courtship, also reveals the etymology of the word. The first actual recorded occurrence of the word, found in Daniel Lee and Joseph H. Frost's Ten Years in Oregon, published in 1844, also sounds disapproving: "A few individuals ... leave what is called, by some of their politer neighbors, a 'goaty' under the chin."). "Ruth Rubinstein, a sociologist at the Fashion Institute in New York, sees the resurgence of goatees as today's young men staking their claim to something basic in an increasingly androgynous fashion world, where young women wear baggy pants and caps backward with the boys." Don Oldenburg; 1995, The Washington Post, Fashionable Guys are Taking it on the Chin, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 21 May 1995. This week's theme: words with interesting histories. -------- Date: Sun May 31 00:04:47 EDT 1998 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--chivalry X-Bonus: You wish to see; listen. Hearing is a step toward Vision. -St. Bernard chivalry (SHIV-ahl-ree) noun 1. The medieval system, principles, and customs of knighthood. 2. The qualities idealized by knighthood, such as bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward women. A manifestation of any of these qualities. 3. A group of knights or gallant gentlemen. [Middle English chivalrie, from Old French chevalerie, from chevalier, knight.] WORD HISTORY: The Age of Chivalry was also the age of the horse. Bedecked in elaborate armor and other trappings, horses were certainly well dressed although they might have wished for lighter loads. That the horse should be featured so prominently during the Age of Chivalry is etymologically appropriate, because chivalry goes back to the Latin word caballus, "horse, especially a riding horse or packhorse." Borrowed from French, as were so many other important words having to do with medieval English culture, the English word chivalry is first recorded in works composed around the beginning of the 14th century and is found in several senses, including "a body of armored mounted warriors serving a lord" and "knighthood as a ceremonially conferred rank in the social system." Our modern sense, "the medieval system of knighthood," could not exist until the passage of several centuries had allowed the perspective for such a conceptualization, with this sense being recorded first in 1765. "Today's behavioral waters are considerably muddier than they were in April 1912, when the great ship went down, taking many male passengers who sacrificed their lives in the spirit of chivalry." Ann Weber Toledo Blade, Did Chivalry Go Down With the Titanic?, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 17 Mar 1998. This week's theme: words with interesting histories.