A.Word.A.Day Archives
from https://wordsmith.org/awad
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Date: Mon Aug 2 00:02:10 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--troglodyte
X-Bonus: A man should live with his superiors as he does with his fire: not too near, lest he burn; nor too far off, lest he freeze. -Diogenes, philosopher (412?-323 BCE)
Mark Twain once said, "When angry, count to four; when very angry, swear."
While swearing is considered uncouth and vulgar, it has its place and
purpose. It helps provide an emotional release and clears the system.
Isn't a verbal venting of emotions better than a physical manifestation?
You don't have to rely on those worn-out four-letter terms to inflict
rude remarks on the offending party. With a careful selection of words,
it's possible to elevate insults to an art form. Why not use this week's
select words for one of those times when nothing less will do?
But remember, everything in moderation.
troglodyte (TROG-luh-dyt) noun
1. Someone who is brutish, reactionary, or primitive.
2. A cave dweller.
3. An animal that lives underground.
[From Latin troglodytae (cave dwellers), from Greek troglodytai, from trogle
(hole) + dyein (to enter).]
"The recruitment officer was a mean-looking troglodyte who squatted behind
his desk licking his lips and cracking his knuckles."
Ben Trovato; It's a Sad Day When Not Even the Army Wants You; The Times
(Johannesburg, South Africa); Jan 17, 2010.
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Date: Tue Aug 3 00:02:11 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--puerile
X-Bonus: In youth we feel richer for every new illusion; in maturer years, for every one we lose. -Madame Anne Sophie Swetchine, mystic (1782-1857)
This week's theme: Words for insults
puerile (PYOO-uhr-il, -uh-ryl, PYOOR-il, -yl) adjective
1. Immature; silly; childish.
2. Relating to childhood.
[From Latin puer (boy). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pau-
(few, little), which is also the source of paucity, few, foal, filly, pony,
pullet, poultry, pupa, poor, pauper, poco, and Sanskrit putra (son).]
"An Australian friend recently jolted me with an apparently aesthetic but
obviously puerile suggestion, 'Mate, can we amend this burqa ban so that
only ugly women are required to wear them while the good-looking ones are
mandated to wear bikinis?' He was referring to the boiling controversy in
Europe over the body-covering burqa."
Chan Akya; Burqa Over the Bastille; Asia Times (Hong Kong); Jul 24, 2010.
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Date: Wed Aug 4 00:02:11 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--odoriferous
X-Bonus: Poetry, indeed, cannot be translated; and, therefore, it is the poets that preserve the languages; for we would not be at the trouble to learn a language if we could have all that is written in it just as well in a translation. But as the beauties of poetry cannot be preserved in any language except that in which it was originally written, we learn the language. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)
This week's theme: Words for insults
odoriferous (o-duh-RIF-uhr-uhs) adjective
1. Giving off an odor.
2. Morally offensive.
[From Latin odor + -ferous (bearing), from ferre (to bear).]
"Boys are fully aware of their odoriferous ways and are reluctant to change
without the proper inspiration."
Curtis Weber; When Guiding Boys, Better to Open Your Heart Than Follow Your
Nose; Kansas City Star; Mar 12, 2010.
"It's dead certain that when Arnold Schwarzenegger walks out of the
governor's Capitol office next January, he'll leave the odoriferous budget
mess behind."
Dan Walters; Candidates All Agree on Silence; Sacramento Bee (California);
Mar 14, 2010.
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Date: Thu Aug 5 00:02:13 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--jejune
X-Bonus: How easy to be amiable in the midst of happiness and success. -Madame Anne Sophie Swetchine, mystic (1782-1857)
This week's theme: Words for insults
jejune (ji-JOON) adjective
1. Dull; insipid.
2. Lacking maturity; juvenile.
3. Lacking in nutrition.
[From Latin jejunus (empty, hungry, fasting, meager). A related word is
jejunum, the middle part of the small intestine. It was so called because
it was usually found empty after death.]
"Some songs are inspired and done with a knowing sense of irony. Others
are jaw-droppingly jejune."
John Doyle; Glee's Back; Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Apr 13, 2010.
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Date: Fri Aug 6 00:02:12 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--vainglorious
X-Bonus: Truth, in matters of religion, is simply the opinion that has survived. -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900)
This week's theme: Words for insults
vainglorious (vayn-GLOR-ee-uhs) adjective
Filled with, exhibiting, or proceeding from excessive pride, especially in
one's achievements or abilities.
[From Latin vana gloria (empty pride), from vana, feminine of vanus (empty) +
gloria (pride, glory).]
All is Vanity: An optical illusion https://wordsmith.org/words/images/vainglorious_large.jpg
Illustration: C. Allan Gilbert (1873-1929)
"But some see James Cameron as a vainglorious auteur and seek to puncture
his perceived pretension."
Nick Watt; Is the 'Avatar' Movie Making Viewers Nauseous?; ABC News
(New York); Dec 18, 2009.
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Date: Mon Aug 9 00:02:11 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--drumlin
X-Bonus: Poetry is the art of saying what you mean but disguising it. -Diane Wakoski, poet (b. 1937)
The planet is getting warmer. Glaciers are melting. Then and now pictures
leave no doubt about the severity of the problem.
http://www.windows2universe.org/teacher_resources/glacier_then_now.pdf
When glaciers retreat, they carve out landforms in all kinds of shapes and
sizes.
In this week's words we take the time to explore some of the formations
resulting from the glacial melt. These words derive from languages that
are as varied -- Irish, French, and Norwegian -- as the diversity of the
forms sculpted by the glaciers.
drumlin (DRUM-lin) noun
A long, narrow, whale-shaped hill of gravel, rock, and clay debris,
formed by the movement of a glacier.
[From Irish druim (back, ridge) + -lin, a variant of -ling (a diminutive
suffix, as in duckling).]
A drumlin in Clew Bay, Ireland: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/drumlin_large.jpg
Photo: Brendan Conway
"The bluffs are actually the ends of drumlins, the elongated hills shaped
centuries ago by retreating glaciers. Drumlins are common in Western New
York, but almost all are covered with trees, shrubs, grapevines, and other
vegetation."
Martin Naparsteck; Lake Ontario Exposes Natural Wonders; The Buffalo News
(New York); Jun 13, 2010.
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Date: Tue Aug 10 00:02:11 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--moraine
X-Bonus: Animals give me more pleasure through the viewfinder of a camera than they ever did in the crosshairs of a gunsight. And after I've finished "shooting", my unharmed victims are still around for others to enjoy. -Jimmy Stewart, actor (1908-1997)
This week's theme: Glacial landforms
moraine (muh-RAYN) noun
An accumulation of boulders, gravel, or other debris carried and
deposited by a glacier.
[From French moraine, from Savoy dialect morena (mound).]
Moraine at Gokyo, Nepal: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/moraine_large.jpg
Photo: alanneyoung http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanne/2056451642/
"Professor Shulmeister's team believes a large landslide dumped a huge
volume of rock on top of the glacier, causing it to advance and, when
the advance stopped, the moraine was created."
Angela Gregory; Glacial Find Pours Cold Water on World Theory;
The New Zealand Herald (Auckland); Jun 30, 2008.
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Date: Wed Aug 11 00:02:11 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--esker
X-Bonus: Oh, threats of hell and hopes of paradise! / One thing at least is certain -- this life flies; / One thing is certain, and the rest is lies; / The flower that once has blown forever dies. -Omar Khayyam, poet, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, and physician (1048-1131)
This week's theme: Glacial landforms
esker (ES-kuhr) noun
A long, narrow ridge of gravel and sand deposited by a stream flowing in
or under a retreating glacier.
[From Irish eiscir (ridge of gravel).]
The Keptie Hills esker, Arbroath, Scotland: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/esker_large.jpg
Photo: Stevie D. http://www.flickr.com/photos/earthwatcher/419780743/
"Skiing the moraine is always a seminar in geology, but this particular
jumble of drumlins and eskers -- characteristic landforms left by restless
glaciation -- puts it in a nutshell. My Grade 11 geography teacher likened
an esker to the mess left by a drunk simultaneously walking backward and
throwing up."
John Barber; Ski Country, Without the Traffic Jams; The Globe and Mail
(Toronto, Canada); Dec 6, 2008.
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Date: Thu Aug 12 00:02:13 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fjord
X-Bonus: The past, -- well, it's just like / our Great-Aunt Laura, / who cannot or will not perceive / that though she is welcome, / and though we adore her, / yet now it is time to leave. -Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996)
This week's theme: Glacial landforms
fjord or fiord (fyord) noun
A long, narrow inlet of the sea, bordered by steep cliffs,
and carved by glacial action.
[From Norwegian fjord, from Old Norse. Ultimately from the Indo-European
root per- (to lead, pass over), which also gave us support, comport,
petroleum, sport, passport,
colporteur (a peddler of religious books) https://wordsmith.org/words/colporteur.html ,
Swedish fartlek (a training technique) https://wordsmith.org/words/fartlek.html ,
rapporteur https://wordsmith.org/words/rapporteur.html and Sanskrit parvat (mountain). ]
Geiranger Fjord, Norway: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/fjord_large.jpg
[Photo: Faisal http://www.flickr.com/photos/faisals/3796818553/ ]
"Fiordland is most celebrated for the 14 fjords that slash into its
coastline, carved by glaciers from erosion-proof granite more than
10,000 years ago."
Alex Hutchinson; In Frodo's Footsteps; The New York Times; Jul 29, 2010.
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Date: Fri Aug 13 00:02:13 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cirque
X-Bonus: The World is divided into armed camps ready to commit genocide just because we can't agree on whose fairy tales to believe. -Ed Krebs, photographer (b. 1951)
This week's theme: Glacial landforms
cirque (suhrk) noun
1. A bowl-shaped semicircular mountain basin carved by glacial erosion.
Also called cwm https://wordsmith.org/words/cwm.html
2. A ring; a circle.
[Via French from Latin circus (circle). Ultimately from the Indo-European root
sker- (to turn or bend) which is also the source of other words such as ranch,
rank, shrink, circle, crisp, search, ring, curb, ridge, curve, and circa
https://wordsmith.org/words/circa.html .]
Cirque de Gavarnie, France: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/cirque_large.jpg
[Photo: Jean-Christophe Benoist]
"In the Snowies, cirques only occur on sheltered mountain faces where the
snow first fell and slowly compacted into glacial ice."
Peter Veness; Australia: Peak-Time Perfection Just Across the Ditch;
The New Zealand Herald (Auckland); Feb 22, 2009.
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Date: Mon Aug 16 00:02:11 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--estival
X-Bonus: Familiarity is a magician that is cruel to beauty but kind to ugliness. -Ouida [pen name of Marie Louise de la Ramee], novelist (1839-1908)
In Indian mythology, Ganesha, the rotund god regarded as the remover of
all obstacles, sports the head of an elephant. It wasn't always like this.
According to the story he was born a regular boy with a regular head.
Something he did annoyed his father, Shiva, so much that he chopped his son's
head off. Later when it came out that it wasn't the poor boy's fault,
the father had the head replaced with that of an elephant.
It's unclear why an all-knowing god couldn't figure out the truth in the
first place without needing to decapitate someone. It's also not clear why
an all-powerful god couldn't reinstate the original head instead of having
to sacrifice a pachyderm. But gods are like that. They fall apart as you begin
to consider things logically, no matter what the religion.
This week's words look somewhat like Ganesha before the restoration job. They
appear beheaded (some more than others), though they can survive like this
too. Your role is that of Lord Shiva. Can you find a letter for each word to
rehead it?
estival or aestival (ES-ti-vuhl) adjective
Relating to or occurring in summer.
[Via French from Latin aestivus (of or relating to summer).]
"Ms. Croghan confides that she is sometimes known as a battle ax, both to
locals and estival visitors."
Joanne Kaufman; Prep Work; The New York Times; Apr 25, 2008.
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Date: Tue Aug 17 00:02:12 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--auteur
X-Bonus: A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor. -Victor Hugo, novelist and dramatist (1802-1885)
This week's theme: Words that appear beheaded
auteur (O-tuhr) noun
A filmmaker, such as a director, who has a distinct personal style and
is involved in all aspects of movie-making, giving a film the unique
imprint of the filmmaker.
[From French auteur (originator or author), from Latin auctor (originator),
from augere (to originate, to increase). Some other words derived from the
same root are auction, author, and inaugurate, and augment.]
"Ang Lee, a Taiwanese director who'd been working as a kind of
auteur-for-hire on the US indie circuit for several years suddenly found
himself poised to become the next Kurosawa, but -- sad to say -- he blew
it off to 'go Hollywood' and make the most regressive career move possible,
a comic-book flick."
Giovanni Fazio; Heros at Large; The Japan Times (Tokyo); Aug 13, 2003.
"If we can discern anything from interviews with auteur Mel Gibson,
however, The Passion looms as possibly one of the most presumptuous,
intelligence-insulting biblical adaptations since The Ten Commandments,
a film that managed to depict the exodus of the Jews without ever once
referring to them as 'Jews'."
Lynn Coady; The Dolorous Passion of Mad Max; Globe and Mail (Toronto,
Canada); Aug 19, 2003.
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Date: Wed Aug 18 00:02:14 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--irenic
X-Bonus: You desire to know the art of living, my friend? It is contained in one phrase: make use of suffering. -Henri Frederic Amiel, philosopher and writer (1821-1881)
This week's theme: Words that appear beheaded
irenic (eye-REN-ik, eye-REE-nik) adjective
Promoting peace or conciliation.
[From Greek eirene (peace). Eirene/Irene was the Greek personification of peace.]
Eirene holding the child Plutus (wealth):
https://wordsmith.org/words/images/irenic_large.jpg
[Translation: Peace raises wealth.]
Roman copy of a Greek statue by Kephisodotos (c. 370 BCE)
"Kate Neal's Hourly Scrutinising floated ecstatically, emphasising irenic
calm and harmony."
Peter McCallum; A Beautiful Darwinian Experience; The Sydney Morning Herald
(Australia); Nov 21, 2009.
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Date: Thu Aug 19 00:02:14 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--utilitarian
X-Bonus: Remarriage: A triumph of hope over experience. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)
This week's theme: Words that appear beheaded
utilitarian (yoo-til-i-TAYR-ee-uhn) adjective
1. Emphasizing usefulness and practicality over other considerations
such as beauty.
2. Of or relating to utilitarianism: the doctrine that something's value
is measured by its usefulness, especially as expressed by greatest
happiness for the greatest number of people.
noun
An adherent of utilitarianism.
[From Latin utilis (useful), from uti (to use).]
"Gone is the utilitarian Subaru interior of old. This new Subaru was
downright luxurious."
John Paul; What Hyundai Needs to Sell the 2011 Equus; The Boston Globe;
Aug 6, 2010.
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Date: Fri Aug 20 00:02:12 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--rotund
X-Bonus: It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one's life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than "try to be a little kinder." -Aldous Huxley, novelist (1894-1963)
This week's theme: Words that appear beheaded
rotund (ro-TUND) adjective
1. Plump; fat.
2. Round in shape.
3. Having a full-toned, resonant sound.
[From Latin rotundus (round), from rota (wheel). Ultimately from the
Indo-European root ret- (to run or to roll), which is also the source
of rodeo, rotunda, rotate, rotary, roulette, and orotund
https://wordsmith.org/words/orotund.html .]
Reheading this week's words:
festival, hauteur, sirenic, futilitarian, and orotund
"The famously rotund Drew Carey has lost 80 pounds."
Pamela Sitt; Reality Show Shake-ups; Kansas City Star; Aug 3, 2010.
"A few years ago, Japanese watermelon lovers suddenly found the normally
rotund fruit sitting squarely on the shelves of supermarkets."
Piali Banerjee; Food or Fool's Paradise?; The Times of India (New Delhi);
Oct 19, 2003.
"With his rich, rotund voice, Jonathan Lemalu has thrilled audiences around
the world."
Christopher Moore; Powerful Accolades; The Press (Christchurch, New Zealand);
Jul 26, 2006.
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Date: Mon Aug 23 00:02:12 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fluvial
X-Bonus: There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626)
It's nice to see more and more of the world's information getting
organized -- sorted, indexed, and cataloged -- making it easy to find. We now
know more of what is where and how to access it.
But there's something to be said about serendipity. Sometimes there's no
substitute for walking into a random aisle in a library and perusing books
one might bump into. Sometimes getting lost results in finding what you may
need.
Recognizing this, there are websites to suggest a website at random for you:
http://www.randomwebsite.com/. And we have a way for you to see a word at
random from AWAD archives (https://wordsmith.org/words/random.cgi), and so on.
In that spirit, this week's words have been selected randomly, by getting lost in
the dictionary and landing on a word.
fluvial (FLOO-vee-uhl) adjective
Of or relating to a river or stream.
[From Latin fluvius (river), from fluere (to flow). Ultimately from the
Indo-European root bhleu- (to swell or overflow), from which flow words
such as affluent, influence, influenza, fluctuate, fluent, fluid, fluoride,
flush, flux, reflux, and superfluous.]
A fluvial procession in Naga City, Philippines https://wordsmith.org/words/images/fluvial_large.jpg
Photo: Perry M. Calara http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmcalara/2877804317/
"Our fiesta celebration featured a fluvial procession on the Marikina
and Pasig Rivers."
Jaime Laya; A Manila-Marikina-Valencia Connection; Manila Bulletin
(Philippines); May 16, 2010.
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Date: Tue Aug 24 00:02:10 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sidereal
X-Bonus: Oh, how small a portion of earth will hold us when we are dead, who ambitiously seek after the whole world while we are living! -Philip of Macedon, king, father of Alexander the Great (382-336 BCE)
This week's theme: Random words
sidereal (sy-DEE-ree-uhl) adjective
1. Relating to the stars.
2. Measured with reference to the apparent motion of the stars.
For example, sidereal time.
[From Latin sidus (star).]
"The silvery, coarse grain of Maisel's prints in negative makes it hard to
tell whether they present day or night views. In several, a darkness looms
different from that of sidereal night."
Kenneth Baker; 'Home Movies' Not Like the Ones Your Dad Made; San Francisco
Chronicle; Apr 14, 2007.
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Date: Wed Aug 25 00:02:15 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--orison
X-Bonus: Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900)
This week's theme: Random words
orison (OR-uh-suhn, -zuhn) noun
A prayer.
[Via French from Latin oration (speech, prayer), from orare (to speak, pray),
from os (mouth).]
"David Carlin's brilliant title, Our Father Who Wasn't There, mingles
orison and lament. It is the apparent opening of a prayer for an absent
or lost father."
A Son Searches for the Father Who Wasn't There; The Canberra Times
(Australia); Feb 6, 2010.
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Date: Thu Aug 26 00:02:11 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--macerate
X-Bonus: Although a democracy must often fight with one hand tied behind its back, it nonetheless has the upper hand. -Aharon Barak, law professor, former President of the Supreme Court of Israel (b.1936)
This week's theme: Random words
macerate (MAS-uh-rayt) verb tr., intr.
1. To soften by soaking or steeping in a liquid.
2. To separate into parts by soaking.
3. To weaken or to become thin; to emaciate.
[From Latin macerare (to make soft, weaken). Ultimately from the Indo-European
root mag-/mak- (to knead, to fit) that is also the source of make, mason,
mass, match, among, mongrel, mingle, and maquillage
https://wordsmith.org/words/maquillage.html .]
"The plastic rubbish has been macerated by marine forces and is composed
of small particles that float just below the surface, killing fish that
mistake it for food."
John Maxwell; Boojum Hunting in the Caribbean; Jamaica Observer (Kingston);
Jan 24, 2010.
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Date: Fri Aug 27 00:02:14 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--sward
X-Bonus: Oh, it is excellent to have a giant's strength; but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant. -William Shakespeare, playwright and poet (1564-1616)
This week's theme: Random words
sward (sward) noun
The grassy surface of land: turf.
[From Old English sweard (skin, rind).]
"While one man's six might bring cheers from the crowd, it brings fear
for Mike Robins and his neighbours. They live next to the green sward
of Alphington Cricket Club."
Neighbours 'Under Siege' From Cricket Club's Hard And High Balls;
Express & Echo (Exeter, UK); Aug 5, 2010.
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Date: Mon Aug 30 00:02:13 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--agent provocateur
X-Bonus: Now is the time to understand / That all your ideas of right and wrong / Were just a child's training wheels / To be laid aside / When you finally live / With veracity / And love. -Hafez, poet (1315-1390)
In their advice on good writing, some style guides recommend avoiding
expressions borrowed from a foreign language (for example, savoir-faire:
https://wordsmith.org/words/savoir-faire.html ). While the advice is
well-intentioned, there are situations where a term from another language
sums up an idea precisely in a few syllables that would otherwise take a few
sentences in English.
Besides, if you take a larger view, it's hard to say where one language ends
and another begins. Consider such everyday words as coach, garage, ketchup,
and pal. Do they seem like one hundred percent English language words?
In fact, we borrowed them from Hungarian, French, Chinese, and Romany, respectively.
So when a word appears to be foreign, often it's just that it hasn't tumbled
around in the river of our language long enough to make it look (spelling)
and sound (pronunciation) like a native. Also, some words take longer than
others in getting naturalized.
This week we've picked five terms from French that -- even though they have
been a part of the English language for more than a century -- still look
very French.
Feel free to pepper your lingo with these terms, but remember, just like
pepper, a little goes a long way.
A note about pronunciation: Some of the terms have their pronunciations
naturalized while others are still pronounced as in French.
agent provocateur (ah-ZHON* proh-vok-uh-TUHR) noun
plural agents provocateurs (pronunciation same)
[* the second syllable is nasal]
Someone employed to encourage or provoke suspects into doing something
illegal so they can be arrested or discredited.
[From French agent provocateur (provoking agent).]
"Stanislav Beranek was critical over the creation of the role of agent
provocateur, who will seek to provoke artificial situations in which
someone will accept a bribe."
Cillian O'Donoghue; New Pandur Purchase Inquiry Launched; The Prague Post
(Czech Republic); Jul 21, 2010.
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Date: Tue Aug 31 00:02:17 EDT 2010
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--decolletage
X-Bonus: It has always seemed strange to me that in our endless discussions about education so little stress is laid on the pleasure of becoming an educated person, the enormous interest it adds to life. To be able to be caught up into the world of thought -- that is to be educated. -Edith Hamilton, educator and writer (1867-1963)
This week's theme: Terms from French
decolletage or d�colletage (day-kol-TAZH, -kol-uh-) noun
A low neckline on a woman's dress.
[From French d�colleter (to expose the neck), from de- (away) + collet
(collar), diminutive of col (neck).]
"If you order The Proposal [as an in-flight movie on Saudi Arabian Airlines],
you get a blurry blob over Sandra Bullock's modest decolletage, and even her
clavicles."
Maureen Dowd; A Girls' Guide to Saudi Arabia; Vanity Fair (New York);
Aug 2010.
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/08/maureen-dowd-201008