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A.Word.A.Day--woof

woof (woof) noun

1. The threads that run crosswise (at right angles with the warp) in a woven cloth. Also known as weft.

2. Texture.

[From Old English wefan (to weave).]

"It had the features of a righteous man,
benevolent in countenance,
but all the rest of it was serpent.
It had forepaws, hairy to the armpits,
and back and chest and both its flanks
were painted and inscribed with rings and curlicues.
So many vivid colors Turk or Tartar never wove
in warp and woof or in embroidery on top,
nor were such colors patterned on Arachne's loom."
Inferno XVII.10-18.

"Dante's description of Geryon, the monster representing Fraud. The passage is often admired for its poetic exuberance. The traveler's trip down into the depths of hell on Geryon's back is one of the most extraordinary descriptions in the entire poem, rendering the height of fantasy as though it had actually occurred."

This week's theme: words from Dante's Inferno, a verse translation by Jean Hollander and Robert Hollander.

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