A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Wed Oct 1 00:03:04 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--indicia X-Bonus: The older a man gets, the farther he had to walk to school as a boy. in.di.cia pl.n. 1. Identifying marks; indications. 2. Markings on bulk mailings used as a substitute for stamps or cancellations.[Lat., pl. of indicium, sign (index] Jet Reply., SoftBase, 06-01-1997. "Graphics and fonts for postal indicia are all easily generated from a user-friendly, menu-driven format." This week's theme: words about stamps. -------- Date: Thu Oct 2 00:03:00 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--se-tenant X-Bonus: Warranty and guaranty clauses are voided by payment of the invoice. se-ten.ant n. A block of commemorative stamps printed together on the same sheet but differing in design, color, value, or overprint. [Fr. : se, reflexive pron. + tenant, pp. of tenir, to hold.] Barbara R. Mueller, Philately., Vol. 18, Colliers Encyclopedia CD-ROM, 02-28-1996. "Stamps intended for sale in booklets are often deliberately printed se-tenant to allow for the inclusion of more than one denomination in a single booklet." This week's theme: words about stamps. -------- Date: Fri Oct 3 00:03:10 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--frank X-Bonus: When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers. -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900) frank adj. 1. Open and sincere in expression; straightforward. 2. Clearly manifest; evident: frank enjoyment.-tr.v. 1. a. To put an official mark on (a piece of mail) so that it can be sent free of postage. b. To send (mail) free of charge. 2. To place a stamp or mark on (a piece of mail) to show the payment of postage. 3. To enable (a person) to come and go easily.-n. 1. a. A mark or signature placed on a piece of mail to indicate the right to send it free of postage. b. The right to send mail free. 2. A franked piece of mail.[ME, free (OFr. franc (Med. Lat. francus (LLat. Francus, Frank] Frank n. A member of one of the Germanic tribes of the Rhine region in the early Christian era, esp. one of the Salian Franks who conquered Gaul about a.d.500 and established an extensive empire that reached its greatest power in the ninth century.[ME (OE Franca and OFr. Franc (LLat. Francus, of Germanic orig] Crown Postage Not Valid After June 30: Postmaster., Xinhua News Agency, 06-22-1997. "Robert Footman, postmaster general of Hong Kong, announced here today that with effect from July 1, all Hong Kong postage stamps and franking machine impressions bearing signs of British ruling sign will not be valid for prepayment of postage in Hong Kong." This week's theme: words about stamps. -------- Date: Sat Oct 4 00:03:11 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--imperforate X-Bonus: All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. -Martin Luther King, Jr. im.per.fo.rate adj. 1. Not perforated; having no opening. 2. Not perforated into perforated rows. Used of stamps and sheets of stamps.-n. An imperforate stamp. This week's theme: words about stamps. -------- Date: Sun Oct 5 00:03:09 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--tete-beche X-Bonus: Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him, and then choose that way with all his strength. -Hasidic saying te.te-be.che adj. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of postage stamps printed upside-down in relation to one another.[Fr., head to foot: te^te, head + OFr. bechevet, head to foot] "Tete-beche is usually a natural by-product of certain printing processes, although accidental tete-beches do occasionally occur." Barbara R. Mueller, PHILATELY., Vol. 18, Colliers Encyclopedia CD-ROM, 02-28-1996. This week's theme: words about stamps. -------- Date: Mon Oct 6 01:26:19 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fescennine X-Bonus: There is no right way to do wrong. fes.cen.nine adj. Licentious; obscene.[Lat. Fescinninus, of Fescennia, a town in ancient Etruria noted for its licentious poetry] Joshua Quittner, Technology: Vice Raid on the Net, Time, 04-03-1995, pp 63. "And while they're online, you can tap into another computer and view their fescennine photos, which are supposedly updated every six minutes." This week's theme: toponyms, words derived after place names. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Oct 7 00:03:10 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--mecca X-Bonus: It is one of the commonest of mistakes to consider that the limit of our power of perception is also the limit of all there is to perceive. -C.W. Leadbeater mec.ca n. 1. a. A place that is regarded as the center of an activity or interest. b. A goal to which adherents of a religious faith or practice fervently aspire. 2. A place visited by many people: a mecca for tourists.[After Mecca, Saudi Arabia, from its being a place of pilgrimage] Andy Reinhardt, Books: Book Briefs : Valley of the Chips., Vol. 3520, Business Week, 03-31-1997, pp 18E6. "It's a powerful metaphor for the often brutal business culture of Silicon Valley, and an apt precis of Bronson's entertaining second novel about power, greed, technical showmanship, and corporate chicanery--this one set in America's high-tech mecca." This week's theme: toponyms, words derived after place names. -------- Date: Wed Oct 8 00:03:45 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--golgotha X-Bonus: If people listened to themselves more often, they would talk less. gol.go.tha n. A place or occasion of great suffering.[After Golgotha, the hill near Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified] The Rainbow; Raduga., Magill's Survey of Cinema, 06-15-1995. "She endures her suffering like a true heroine, all the way to her snow-covered Golgotha when, after trials and tortures, after giving birth and then seeing her newborn son murdered, she, too, is killed by the Nazis." This week's theme: toponyms, words derived after place names. -------- Date: Thu Oct 9 00:03:28 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--marathon X-Bonus: No problem is so formidable that you can't just walk away from it. mar.a.thon n. 1. A cross-country footrace of 26 miles, 385 yards. 2. A long distance race: a swimming marathon. 3. A contest of endurance: a dance marathon. 4. A task or action that requires prolonged effort or endurance: a radio fund-raising marathon.[After Marathon, Greece (so called because a messenger ran from there to Athens to announce a victory over the Persians in 490 b.c.)] Ann Cooper, Korva Coleman, Mandela Anniversary., Weekly Edition (NPR), 08-02-1997. "The inmates conducted marathon debates, some lasted for months or even years, ending in collectively-produced essays on political theory." This week's theme: toponyms, words derived after place names. -------- Date: Fri Oct 10 00:03:37 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--waterloo X-Bonus: Sign on bank: We can loan you enough money to get you completely out of debt. wa.ter.loo n., pl. -loos. A disastrous or crushing defeat: finally met his waterloo.[After Waterloo, Belgium, the town where Napoleon was defeated in 1815] Thomas Sancton: TIME International, 09-04-1995, pp 14+. "Though no Waterloo threatens Chirac, whose term lasts until 2002, the neo-Gaullist leader is taking grapeshot from all fronts." This week's theme: toponyms, words derived after place names. -------- Date: Sat Oct 11 00:03:03 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--hallmark X-Bonus: When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it. -Clarence Darrow hall.mark n. 1. A mark used in England to stamp gold and silver articles that meet established standards of purity. 2. A mark indicating quality or excellence. 3. A conspicuous feature or characteristic: ``The sense of guilt is the hallmark of civilized humanity'' (Theodor Reik).-tr.v. -marked,- mark-ing,- marks. To mark with a hallmark.[After Goldsmith's Hall in London, England, where gold and silver articles were appraised and stamped] Saguino, Stephanie, Gender Wage Inequality and Export-led Growth in South Korea., Vol. 11, Women's Studies Forum, 01-01-1995, pp 197-210. "This is not an insignificant fact and is indeed a hallmark of patriarchal systems that disproportionately distribute labor burdens to women without compensating them with increased access to and control over resources." This week's theme: toponyms, words derived after place names. -------- Date: Sun Oct 12 00:03:03 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--watergate X-Bonus: Accustom to the veneer of noise, to the shibboleths of promotion, public relations, and market research, society is suspicious of those who value silence. -John Lahr Wa.ter.gate n. Informal. A scandal that involves officials violating public or corporate trust through perjury, bribery, and other acts of abuse of power in order to keep their elective or appointive positions.[After Watergate, a building complex in Washington, D.C., the site of illegal activities that gave rise to such a scandal] Ken Foskett, Partisanship slowing probe of fund-raising., The Atlanta Constitution, 01-30-1997, pp A06. "`We're talking about another Watergate here,' said Sen. Ted Stevens..." This week's theme: toponyms, words derived after place names. -------- Date: Mon Oct 13 00:05:32 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--antipodal X-Bonus: If you want your eggs hatched, sit on them yourself. -Haitian proverb an.tip.o.dal adj. 1. Of, pertaining to, or situated on the opposite side or sides of the earth. 2. Diametrically opposed; exactly opposite. Fiske, John, Discovery Of America: Part VIII., History of the World, 01-01-1992. "In the Middle Ages there was more or less discussion as to the possible existence of such an antipodal world as Mela had described; and among the clergy there was a strong disposition to condemn the theory on the ground that it implied the existence of a race of men cut off (by an impassable torrid zone) from the preaching of the gospel." Did you ever get lost while on a trip? Sometimes it's the best way to make an otherwise routine journey memorable. This week's words describe the position of a person, place, or thing in relation to another person, place, or thing. -Paul Fessenden (Paul [paul_a_fessendenATccmail.orl.lmco.com], a system test engineer by profession and a lifelong pursuer of unusual words and phrases, is AWAD's Guest Wordsmith during this week. -Anu) -------- Date: Tue Oct 14 00:04:56 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--intercostal X-Bonus: The best way to inspire fresh thoughts is to seal the envelope. in.ter.cos.tal adj. Located or occurring between the ribs.[NLat. intercostalis : inter-+ Lat. costa, rib] Bringing up Baby., Magill's Survey of Cinema, 06-15-1995. "David has just received a package containing the intercostal clavicle bone that he needs to complete the reconstruction of a huge brontosaurus on which he has been working for four years." This week's theme: positional words. -------- Date: Wed Oct 15 00:03:11 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--obverse X-Bonus: If you judge, investigate. -Seneca ob.verse adj. 1. Facing or turned toward the observer: the obverse side of a statue. 2. Bot. Having a narrower base than top, as certain leaves; inverse. 3. Serving as a counterpart or complement.-n. 1. The side of a coin, medal, or badge that bears the principal stamp or design. 2. The more conspicuous of two possible alternatives, cases, or sides: the obverse of this issue. 3. Logic. The counterpart of a proposition obtained by exchanging the affirmative for the negative quality of the whole proposition and then negating the predicate: The obverse of ``every act is predictable'' is ``no act is unpredictable.''[Lat. obversus, p.part. of obvertere, to turn toward.^ see obvert] How lucky can you get? (Australia's economic problems)., Vol. 337, The Economist, 11-04-1995, pp 20(2). "In one sense a current-account deficit is merely the necessary obverse of a capital-account surplus; it may simply reflect a country's ability to attract foreign investment." This week's theme: positional words. -------- Date: Thu Oct 16 00:03:24 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--antepenult X-Bonus: It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help. -Judith S. Martin an.te.pe.nult n. The third syllable from the end in a word, as te in antepenult.[Short for LLat. antepaenultima antepaenultimus, antepenultimate] Steyn, Mark, Noel Coward: A Biography.(book reviews)., Vol. 48, National Review, 09-16-1996, pp 60(2). "As a lyricist, for example, he recycles the same few tricks over and over, like rhyming (obtrusively) on the antepenult..." This week's theme: positional words. -------- Date: Fri Oct 17 00:03:37 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--primogeniture X-Bonus: Language is a city to the building of which every human being brought a stone. -Emerson [Letters and Social Aims] pri.mo.gen.i.ture n. 1. The state or condition of being the first-born or eldest child of the same parents. 2. Law. The right of the eldest child, esp. the eldest son, to inherit the entire estate of one or both of his parents.[Med. Lat. primogenitura : Lat. primus, first + Lat. genitura, birth gignere, to beget] Ernest C. Mossner, HUME, DAVID (1711-1776)., Vol. 12, Colliers Encyclopedia CD-ROM, 02-28-1996. "Though the family was moderately well off, David as the younger son under the system of primogeniture inherited less than L.50 a year..." This week's theme: positional words. -------- Date: Sat Oct 18 00:03:02 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--cater-cornered X-Bonus: The surest sign of intelligent life in the universe is that they haven't attempted to contact us. -Bill Watterson cat.er.cor.nered or cat.er.cor.ner or cat.ty.cor.nered adj. Diagonal.-adv. Diagonally.[obs. cater, four at dice ME OFr. catre, four Lat. quattuor] Greene, Gael, Lespinasse.(New York, New York)(restaurant reviews)., Vol. 150, Town & Country Monthly, 02-01-1996, pp 114(1). "Ask for a corner table so you're cater-cornered and can look into each other's eyes as discreet waiters deliver Chef Kunz's exquisite tasting lunch..." This week's theme: positional words. -------- Date: Sun Oct 19 00:03:06 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--geostationary X-Bonus: Troubles are like babies; they only grow by nursing. ge.o.sta.tion.ar.y adj. Of or pertaining to a satellite that travels about the earth's equator at an altitude of at least 35,000 kilometers at a speed matching that of the earth's rotation, thus maintaining a constant relation to points on the earth. Jube Shiver Jr., The Cutting Edge; Down to Earth; New Generation of Low-Orbiting Communications Satellites Has Lofty Ambitions; Home Edition., Los Angeles Times, 09-09-1996, pp D-1. "The biggest payloads, gigantic geostationary satellites twice the size of dump trucks and weighing as much as 3 tons each, orbit 25,700 miles above Earth." This week's theme: positional words. -------- Date: Mon Oct 20 00:03:09 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--abstemious X-Bonus: You can always get a good book out of a bad habit. -Oscar Levant ab.ste.mi.ous adj. 1. Eating and drinking in moderation. 2. Restricted to bare necessities; sparing.[Lat. abstemius : ab-, away + temetum, liquor] Boris Goodenough? Vol. 337, The Economist, 11-04-1995, pp 51(2). "His self-discipline seems to be ebbing: he would be less prone to erratic behaviour if he would only pursue a more abstemious life, yet he cannot bring himself to do so." What do this week's words have in common? It is the arrangement of letters in them. All of the words have the vowels aeiou once and only once, exactly in that order or in reverse order. What is more, the `sometimes' vowel y can be introduced by adding the suffix -ly to most of these words. -Anu -------- Date: Tue Oct 21 00:04:02 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--duoliteral X-Bonus: There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness. -Josh Billings, columnist and humorist (1818-1885) du.o.lit.er.al adj. Consisting of two letters only; biliteral. [L. duo two + E. literal.] This week's theme: aeiou words. -------- Date: Wed Oct 22 00:03:25 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--arterious X-Bonus: Boredom is a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half of the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it. -Bertrand Russell ar.te.ri.ous adj. 1. Of, like, or in an artery or arteries. 2. Of or designating the blood in the arteries that has absorbed oxygen in the lungs and is bright red. 3. Of or designating a route of transportation carrying a main flow with many branches.-n. A through road or street. Harvey, William, (On The) Motion Of The Heart And Blood In Animals: Prefatory Remarks., Great Works of Literature, 01-01-1992. Some, whilst they attempt to lessen the difficulty, affirm that the blood is spirituous and arterious, and virtually concede that the office of the arteries is to carry blood from the heart into the whole of the body, and that they are therefore filled with blood; for spirituous blood is not the less blood on that account. This week's theme: aeiou words. -------- Date: Thu Oct 23 00:03:23 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--subcontinental X-Bonus: He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money. -Ben Franklin sub.con.ti.nent.al n. Pertaining to a large land mass, that is separate to some degree but still part of a continent. Cecil Victor, Can India Avoid Falling Into the U.S. Arms Trap?, India Abroad, 11-10-1995, pp PG. "By inducing a flux in the subcontinental security environment, Washington intends to achieve several goals simultaneously. One is to plunge the `can opener' into the lucrative Indian arms bazaar." This week's theme: aeiou words. -------- Date: Fri Oct 24 00:03:54 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--annelidous X-Bonus: Failure is often that early morning hour of darkness that precedes the dawning of the day of success. an.ne.li.dous, adj. rare. Of the nature of an annelid or worm. [NLat. Annelida, phylum name [Fr. annele, ringed [OFr. annel, ring [Lat. anellus, dim. of anulus, ring] Darwin, Charles, Voyage Of The Beagle: Chapter IV.., Great Works of Literature, 01-01-1992. The mud in many places was thrown up by numbers of some kind of worm, or annelidous animal. This week's theme: aeiou words. -------- Date: Sat Oct 25 00:03:00 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--uncomplimentary X-Bonus: Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant indicate a plot. -Sun Tzu [The Art of War] un.com.pli.men.ta.ry adj. Not complimentary; derogatory. Defoe, Daniel, Works of Daniel Defoe: Moll Flanders: Part 1, Chapters 1 - 3., Monarch Notes, 01-01-1963. "Robin's sisters express their conviction that Moll is quite anxious to marry him and make a number of uncomplimentary remarks. " This week's theme: aeiou words. -------- Date: Sun Oct 26 00:03:07 EDT 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--facetious X-Bonus: The eyes are not responsible when the mind does the seeing. -Publilius Syrus fa.ce.tious adj. Playfully jocular; humorous: a facetious remark.[OFr. facetieux facetie, jest Lat. facetia facetus, witty] Kevin Phillips, Newt's Formula for Failure., USA Today, 04-03-1995. "At the risk of sounding facetious, the proposals for one special counsel to look at Gingrich (on ethics) seem inadequate." This week's theme: aeiou words. The week is over but there is another aeiou word worth mentioning: arsenious. Talking of constructions with all vowels, few years ago National Public Radio's Sunday Puzzle invited listeners to send phrases with the vowels aeiou. The answers ranged from the esoteric `trade discount' to colorful `Maples is now Trump,' `Was Elvis rotund?' and `Ask me, I'm yours.' -Anu -------- Date: Mon Oct 27 00:02:58 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--perihelion X-Bonus: The older a man gets, the farther he had to walk to school as a boy. per.i.he.li.on n., The point nearest the sun in the orbit of a planet or other celestial body.[peri- + Gk. helios, sun] Wheeler, Mark, Destination: Pluto.., Vol. 172, Popular Mechanics, 07-01-1995, pp 64(3). "Pluto's oddball 248-year orbit can swing it as far as 4.6 billion miles from the Sun. The only time it's thought to have any atmosphere at all is when the planet nears perihelion - the orbital point closest to the Sun. Then, some of the surface ice vaporizes." Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Since we (usually) only view the heavens from Earth, we have accumulated a host of words to describe the positions and motions of heavenly bodies. This week's theme: skywatchers' watchwords. -Jeremy Darling [darlingATastrosun.tn.cornell.edu] (Jeremy, AWAD's Guest Wordsmith during this week, is a graduate student in astronomy and space sciences at Cornell University . -Anu) -------- Date: Tue Oct 28 00:03:08 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--azimuth X-Bonus: There is more to life than increasing its speed. -Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi az.i.muth n. 1. The horizontal angular distance from a fixed reference direction to a position, object, or object referent, as to a great circle intersecting a celestial body, usually measured clockwise in degrees along the horizon from a point due south. 2. The lateral deviation of a projectile or bomb.[ME azimut [OFr. [Ar. as-sumut : as, the + sumut, pl. of samt, compass bearing] Fales, Dan, Sky high. Motor Boating & Sailing, 02-01-1997, pp 78(3). "The company's unique medium-gain antenna finds and tracks the satellite in azimuth, electronically." This week's theme: skywatchers' watchwords. -------- Date: Wed Oct 29 00:03:12 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--occultation X-Bonus: We may pass violets looking for roses. We may pass contentment looking for victory. -Bern Williams oc.cul.ta.tion n. 1. Astron. a. The passage of a celestial body across a line between an observer and another celestial object, as when the moon moves between earth and sun in a solar eclipse. b. The progressive blocking of light, radio waves, or other radiation from a celestial source during such a passage. c. An observational technique for determining the position or radiant structure of a celestial source so occulted: a lunar occultation of a quasar. 2. The act of occulting or the state of being occulted.[Lat. occultatio [occultare, freq. of occulere, to conceal] Joe Palca, Washington, DC, Taping the Occultation., Morning Edition (NPR), 07-28-1997. "Just before dawn tomorrow morning, the moon will pass in front of the bright star Aldebaran. This modest celestial event is what astronomers call an occultation." This week's theme: skywatchers' watchwords. -------- Date: Thu Oct 30 00:03:13 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--ephemeris X-Bonus: A decision is what people make when they can't find anyone to form a committee. e.phem.er.is n., pl. eph.e.mer.i.des A table giving the coordinates of a celestial body at a number of specific times during a given period.[LLat., diary [Gk. [ephemeros, daily, ephemeral] Duane Davis, Benjamin Banneker, a respected mathematician., Michigan Chronicle, 02-15-1994, pp PG. "Containing tide tables, data on eclipses and medical formulas, the almanac was called the `Benjamin Banneker's Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia and Maryland Almanac and Ephemeris,' and grew to be very successful." This week's theme: skywatchers' watchwords. -------- Date: Fri Oct 31 00:03:14 EST 1997 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--retrograde X-Bonus: Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them. -James Baldwin ret.ro.grade adj. 1. Moving or tending backward. 2. Inverted or reversed. 3 Reverting to an earlier or inferior condition. 4. Astron. Having a direction of motion opposite to that of the earth on its axis or of the planets around the sun. 5. Archaic. Opposed; contrary. -intr.v. 1. To move or seem to move backward. 2. To decline; degenerate.[ME [Lat. retrogradus : retro-, back + gradus, step] Astronomy and Calendar., The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997, 11-15-1996. "Mercury begins the year already in retrograde motion, passing through inferior conjunction on the first day of the year..." This week's theme: skywatchers' watchwords.