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The Word of the Day for Nov 12 is: ennead \ EH-nee-ad\ noun
: a group of nine
Example sentence: "An ennead of gorillas — four bachelors on one side of a waterfall, a family of five safely on the other — scuff their knuckles as they proudly prowl." (Richard Corliss, Time, April 20, 1998)
Did you know? To the ancients, nine was a very special number, one often associated with gods and divinity. Legends and literature have long characterized groups of nine as having a special, in some cases magical, significance. Ancient Egyptians organized their gods into groups of nine; even today, their principal group of gods (headed by sun god Re-Atum) is called the "Great Ennead of Heliopolis." The "Ennead" English speakers use in that name traces to "ennea," the Greek word for "nine." "Ennead" is also used generally to refer to other groups of ancient gods. Furthermore, it is the name given to six sets of nine treatises by Greek philosopher Plotinus that were collected and organized by his 3rd-century disciple, Porphyry.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
posted
The Word of the Day for Nov 13 is: gumption \GUMP-shun\ noun
1 chiefly dialect : common sense, horse sense *2 : enterprise, initiative
Example sentence: "It took a lot of gumption to keep the family farm going," said Jake, "when all the farmers around us were selling out to developers."
Did you know? English speakers have had "gumption" (the word, that is) since the early 1700s. The term's exact origins aren't known, but its earliest known uses are found in British and especially Scottish dialects (which also include the forms "rumblegumption" and "rumgumption"). In its earliest uses, "gumption" referred to intelligence or common sense, especially when those qualities were combined with high levels of energy. By the 1860s, American English speakers were also using "gumption" to imply ambition or tenacity, but it wasn't until the early 1900s that "gumption" began to appear in English texts as a direct synonym of "courage" or "get-up-and-go." American showman P.T. Barnum also claimed that "gumption" named a particular kind of hard cider, but that sense is far from common today.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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The Word of the Day for Nov 14 is: flummox \FLUH-muks\ verb
: confuse
Example sentence: Peter was flummoxed by the directions given to him by the gas station attendant, as they called for him to turn the wrong way onto a one-way street.
Did you know? No one is completely sure where the word "flummox" comes from, but we do know that its first known use in English is found in Charles Dickens' 1837 novel The Pickwick Papers. One theory expressed by some etymologists is that it was influenced by "flummock," a word of English dialectical origin used to refer to a clumsy person (and perhaps this word is the source of "lummox" as well). By no means is "flummox" just a relic of the Victorian era — by the end of the 19th century the word had become quite common in both British and American English.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
posted
The Word of the Day for Nov 15 is: perspicacious \per-spuh-KAY-shuss\ adjective
: of acute mental vision or discernment : keen
Example sentence: The average time for solving the puzzle was seven minutes, but some of the more perspicacious subjects did it in under three minutes.
Did you know? "Perspicacious" is similar in meaning to "shrewd" and "astute," but a sharp mind will discern subtle differences among them. All three mean acute in perception and sound in judgment, but "shrewd" stresses practical, hardheaded cleverness ("a shrewd judge of character"), whereas "perspicacious" implies unusual power to see through and comprehend what is puzzling or hidden ("the perspicacious general correctly determined the enemy's next move"). "Astute" suggests both shrewdness and perspicacity, as well as diplomatic skill ("an astute player of party politics").
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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The Word of the Day for Nov 16 is: conciliate \kun-SIH-lee-ayt\ verb
1 : to gain (as goodwill) by pleasing acts *2 : to make compatible : reconcile 3 : appease 4 : to become friendly or agreeable
Example sentence: The negotiating team was faced with the difficult task of conciliating the views of two nations whose leaders disagreed on nearly every foreign policy topic.
Did you know? A council is "an assembly or meeting for consultation, advice, or discussion," and it is often the task of a council to conciliate opposing views. It is perhaps fitting, therefore, that the words "council" and "conciliate" both derive from the Latin word "concilium," which means "assembly, council." "Conciliate" comes to us from the Latin "conciliatus," the past participle of the verb "conciliare" (meaning "to assemble, unite, win over"), which in turn is from "concilium." ("Council," on the other hand, derives from the Anglo-French "cunseil" or "cuncile," from "concilium.") Other "concilium" descendants in English include "conciliar" ("of, relating to, or issued by a council") and the rare "conciliabule" ("a clandestine meeting especially of conspirators or rebels").
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
posted
*snickers at today's WotD, but posts it anyway*
The Word of the Day for Nov 17 is: hegemony \hih-JEH-muh-nee\ noun
*1 : preponderant influence or authority over others : domination 2 : the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group
Example sentence: The nation maintained unrelenting hegemony over its young, struggling colonies.
Did you know? "Hegemony" comes to English from the Greek "hēgemonia," a noun formed from the verb "hēgeisthai" ("to lead"), which also gave us the word "exegesis" ("exposition" or "explanation"). The word was first used in English in the mid-16th century in reference to the control once wielded by the ancient Greek states, and it was reapplied in later centuries as other nations subsequently rose to power. By the 20th century, it had acquired a second sense referring to the social or cultural influence wielded by a dominant member over others of its kind, such as the domination within an industry by a business conglomerate over smaller businesses.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
posted
The Word of the Day for Nov 18 is: brusque \ BRUSK\ adjective
1 : markedly short and abrupt *2 : blunt in manner or speech often to the point of ungracious harshness
Example sentence: Her curt, brusque manner, often mistaken by newcomers as unfriendliness, is actually caused by extreme shyness.
Did you know? We borrowed "brusque" from French in the 1600s. They, in turn, had borrowed it from Italian, where it was "brusco" and meant "tart." It could suggest something good when used of wine, but it could also refer to a sour disposition. French "brusque" in the 1600s meant "brisk and lively," and "vin brusque" was pleasantly sharp, effervescent wine. But "brusque" ultimately comes from "bruscus," the Medieval Latin name for butcher's broom, a shrub whose bristly leaf-like twigs have long been used for making brooms. In the end, the good senses were swept aside in English (as well as in French). "Brusque" came to denote a harsh and stiff manner — which is just what you might expect of a word bristling with associations to stiff, scratchy brooms.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
posted
The Word of the Day for Nov 19 is: florilegium \flor-uh-LEE-jee-um\ noun, plural florilegia
: a volume of writings : anthology
Example sentence: One prominent critic hailed Tara's third poetry collection as "an elegant florilegium of old favorites and sophisticated new works."
Did you know? Editors who compile florilegia can be thought of as gathering a bouquet of sweet literary blossoms. English speakers picked up "florilegium" from a New Latin word that derives from the Latin "florilegus," which can be translated as "culling flowers." In fact, "florilegium" initially applied to a collection of flowers, and later to books about flowers, but it wasn't long before it began to be used for (as the Oxford English Dictionary puts it) "a collection of the flowers of literature." And "florilegium" isn't the only English collecting term with a floral heritage; its synonym "anthology" comes from the Greek word for "flower gathering."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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The Word of the Day for Nov 20 is: plenary \PLEE-nuh-ree\ adjective
*1 : complete in every respect : absolute, unqualified 2 : fully attended or constituted by all entitled to be present
Example sentence: The U.S. Congress has plenary power to pass laws regulating immigration and naturalization.
Did you know? In the 14th century, the monk Robert of Brunne wrote, "When Arthures court was plener, and alle were comen, fer and ner. . . ." For 200 years, "plener" (also spelled "plenar"), served us well for both senses that we reserve for "plenary" today. (Our monk was saying that all the knights of King Arthur's Round Table were present at court.) But we'd borrowed "plener" from Anglo-French, and, although the French had relied on Latin "plenus" ("full") for their word, the revival of interest in the Classics during the English Renaissance led scholarly types to prefer purer Latin origins. In the 1500s, English speakers turned to Late Latin "plenarius" and came up with "plenary." ("Plenarius" also comes from "plenus," which is the source of our "plenty" and "replenish" as well.)
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
posted
The Word of the Day for Nov 21 is: quixotic \kwik-SAH-tik\ adjective
*1 : foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals; especially : marked by rash lofty romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action 2 : capricious, unpredictable
Example sentence: Marta tried desperately to convince her friends to give up their cars and computers and return to nature on Earth Day, but it was a quixotic crusade.
Did you know? If you guessed that "quixotic" has something to do with Don Quixote, you're absolutely right. The romance of chivalry so enamored old Alonso Quijano that he assumed the title Don Quixote and set out to undo the wrongs of the world. The hero of the 17th-century novel Don Quixote de la Mancha (by Miguel de Cervantes) didn't change the world through his battles with windmills, but he did leave the legacy of "quixotic." The word is based on his name and has been used in English to describe unrealistic idealists since at least the early 18th century.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
posted
To be brusque, a Card florilegium would fast become plenary reading for all who wish to experience the quixotic hegemony of our host and favorite author.
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posted
I'd invite you to fawn over my rare orchids and roses florilegium, but I'm afraid you might find the experience too taxing.
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posted
The Word of the Day for Nov 22 is: eschew \es-CHOO\ verb
: to avoid habitually especially on moral or practical grounds
Example sentence: In his stand-up comedy routines, Michael eschews the vulgar language and gross humor frequently used by his colleagues.
Did you know? "Eschew" derives from the Anglo-French verb "eschiver" and is akin to the Old High German "sciuhen" ("to frighten off"), an ancestor of our word "shy." In his famous dictionary of 1755 Dr. Samuel Johnson characterized "eschew" as "almost obsolete." History has proven that the great lexicographer was wrong on that call, however. William Thackeray found "eschew" alive enough to use it almost one hundred years later in his classic novel Vanity Fair: "He has already eschewed green coats, red neckcloths, and other worldly ornaments." The word swelled in usage in English during the 19th and 20th centuries and is now common enough to be included even in small paperback dictionaries.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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The Word of the Day for Nov 23 is: demesne \dih-MAYN\ noun
1 : legal possession of land as one's own 2 a : the land attached to a mansion b : landed property : estate *c : region, territory 3 : realm, domain
Example sentence: Lewis and Clark were commissioned to explore the vast demesne of forests and plains that the United States acquired in the Louisiana Purchase.
Did you know? Why isn't "demesne" pronounced the way it's spelled? Our word actually began as "demayn" or "demeyn" in the 14th century, when it was borrowed from Anglo-French property law. At that time, the Anglo-French form was "demeine." Later, the Anglo-French spelling changed to "demesne," perhaps by association with another term from Anglo-French property law: "mesne," meaning "intermediate." ("Mesne" has entered English as a legal term as well.) According to rules of French pronunciation, the "s" was silent and the vowel was long. English speakers eventually followed suit, adopting the "demesne" spelling. Our word "domain" (which overlaps with the meaning of "demesne" in some applications) also comes from Anglo-French "demeine."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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The Word of the Day for Nov 24 is: temerity \tuh-MAIR-uh-tee\ noun
*1 : unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger or opposition : rashness, recklessness 2 : an act or instance of temerity
Example sentence: Kenny had the temerity to talk back to his father, and his impudence got him grounded for two weeks.
Did you know? When it comes to flagrant boldness, "temerity," "audacity," and "effrontery" have the cheek to get your meaning across. Of those synonyms, "temerity" (from the Latin "temere," meaning "blindly" or "recklessly") suggests boldness arising from contempt of danger, while "audacity" implies a disregard of the restraints commonly imposed by convention or prudence ("an entrepreneur of audacity and vision"). "Effrontery" suggests a shameless disregard of propriety and courtesy ("had the effrontery to pretend to be innocent"). If you're looking for a more informal term for a brash attitude, you might consider "nerve" ("the nerve of that guy!"), "cheek" ("had the cheek to call herself a singer"), "gall" ("had the gall to demand proof"), or "chutzpah" ("the chutzpah needed for a career in show business").
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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The Word of the Day for Nov 25 is: extemporaneous \ek-stem-puh-RAY-nee-us\ adjective
*1 : composed, performed, or uttered on the spur of the moment : impromptu 2 : provided, made, or put to use as an expedient : makeshift
Example sentence: After receiving the award, Jodi was urged by the enthusiastic applause into making an extemporaneous speech.
Did you know? "Extemporaneous," which comes from Latin "ex tempore" ("out of the time"), joined the English language in 1673. About a century later, "impromptu" appeared as a synonym for it. In general usage, "extemporaneous" and "impromptu" are used interchangeably to describe off-the-cuff remarks or speeches, but this is not the case when they are used in reference to the learned art of public speaking. Teachers of speech will tell you that an extemporaneous speech is one that has been thoroughly prepared and planned but not memorized, whereas an impromptu speech is one for which absolutely no preparations have been made.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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The Word of the Day for Nov 26 is: envisage \in-VIZ-zij\ verb
1 : to view or regard in a certain way *2 : to have a mental picture of especially in advance of realization
Example sentence: The mayor's revitalization plan envisages a dynamic new development along the riverfront that includes a park, shops, and restaurants.
Did you know? "Envisage" has been part of the English language since the 17th century. In the early 19th century, it was sometimes used with the now archaic sense of "to meet squarely" or "to confront." By 1837, the word had developed the sense "to have a mental picture of." In the 1920s, some usage commentators began deriding "envisage" for reasons not entirely clear, declaring it "undesirable." Today, time and usage have won out, and "envisage" is widely used and accepted, though it is slightly formal in tone. The same can be said of its near twin "envision" ("to picture to oneself"), which has been with us since the late 19th century and is interchangeable with "envisage" in many contexts.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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The Word of the Day for Nov 27 is: cornucopia \kor-nuh-KOH-pee-uh\ noun
1: a curved goat's horn overflowing with fruit and ears of grain that is used as a decorative motif emblematic of abundance *2: an inexhaustible store : abundance 3 : a receptacle shaped like a horn or cone
Example sentence: The Web site contained a cornucopia of useful information.
Did you know? "Cornucopia" comes from the Latin "cornu copiae," which translates literally as "horn of plenty." A traditional staple of feasts, the cornucopia is believed to represent the horn of a goat from Greek mythology. According to legend, it was from this horn that the god Zeus was fed as an infant. Later, the horn was filled with flowers and fruits, and given as a present to Zeus. The filled horn (or a receptacle resembling it) has long served as a traditional symbol in art and decoration to suggest a store of abundance. The word first appeared in English in the early 16th century; a century later, it developed the figurative sense of an overflowing supply.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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The Word of the Day for Nov 28 is: zeugma \ZOOG-muh\ noun
: the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usually in such a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one (as in "opened the door and her heart to the homeless boy")
Example sentence: "She left in a huff and a Chevy," said Jack, employing vivid zeugma to report of Marissa's departure.
Did you know? "Zeugma, like the pun, is economical: it contracts two sentences into one . . . it links unrelated terms — mental with moral, abstract with physical, high with low — and thus generates surprise."(Walter Redfern & Basil Blackwell, Puns) "Zeugma," which has been with us since the 15th century, comes from Greek, where it literally means "a joining." The Greek word has another connection to English as well. In the early 1970s, a chemistry professor named Paul Lauterbur developed a technique for producing images of internal organs. He called it "zeugmatography," because it involved the joining of magnetic fields. The name didn't stick (the technique is known today as magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI), but Lauterbur was awarded a Nobel Prize.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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The Word of the Day for Nov 29 is: whimsical \WIM-zih-kul\ adjective
1 : full of, actuated by, or exhibiting whims *2 : resulting from or characterized by whim or caprice; especially : lightly fanciful 3 : subject to erratic behavior or unpredictable change
Example sentence: The whimsical decor of Mary's home reflects her playful personality.
Did you know? As you may have guessed, the words "whimsical," "whim," and "whimsy" are related. All three ultimately derive from the word "whim-wham" ("a whimsical object" or "a whim"), which is of unknown origin and dates to at least 1500. "Whimsy" was the first of the three to spin off from "whim-wham," debuting in print in 1605. English speakers then had the whim to add the adjective suffix "-ical" to "whimsy" to create "whimsical," dated 1653. Not until 1686 do we find evidence of "whim," which came about as a shortened version of "whim-wham."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
posted
The Word of the Day for Nov 30 is: junket \JUNG-kut\ noun
1 : a dessert of sweetened flavored milk set with rennet 2 a : a festive social affair *b : trip, journey
Example sentence: Just as charges of perjury were being brought against him, the senator embarked on an unexpected junket to Mexico.
Did you know? The road "junket" has traveled has been a long one, with frequent stops for food along the way. Since at least the 15th century, the word has named various comestibles, ranging from curds and cream to sweet confections. By the 16th century, "junket" had also come to mean "banquet." In this, it seems to have followed the lead of "junkery," a now-obsolete term that, like "junket," also named both delicacies and feasts. Apparently, traveling must have been involved to reach some junkets, because eventually that term was also applied to pleasure outings or trips (whether or not food was the focus). Today, the word especially refers to pleasure trips taken under the guise of legitimate business, with someone other than the traveler footing the bill.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
posted
The Word of the Day for Dec 01 is: comestible \kuh-MESS-tuh-bul\ adjective : edible
Example sentence: The magazine's December issue features recipes for roast goose, plum pudding, gingerbread, and other comestible treats for the holidays.
Did you know? Did you expect "comestible" to be a noun meaning "food"? You're probably not alone. As it happens, "comestible" is used both as an adjective and a noun. The adjective is by far the older of the two; it has been part of English since at least the 1400s. (In fact, one of its earliest known uses was in a text printed in 1483 by William Caxton, the man who established England's first printing press.) The noun (which is most often used in the plural form, "comestibles") dates only from 1837. It made its first appearance in a novel in which a character fortified himself with "a strong reinforcement of comestibles."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
posted
The Word of the Day for Dec 02 is: bathetic \buh-THEH-tik\ adjective
1 : extremely commonplace or trite *2 : characterized by insincere or overdone pathos : excessively sentimental
Example sentence: The movie is a bathetic weeper, one that all but the most maudlin and sentimental viewers will find overly dramatic and unbelievable.
Did you know? When English speakers turned "apathy" into "apathetic" in the 1700s, using the suffix "-etic" to turn the noun into the adjective, they modeled it on "pathetic," the adjectival form of "pathos" from Greek "pathētikos." People also applied that bit of linguistic transformation to coin "bathetic." In the mid-19th century, English speakers added the suffix "-etic" to "bathos," the Greek word for "depth," which has been used in English since the early 1700s and means "triteness" or "excessive sentimentalism." The result: the ideal adjective for the incredibly commonplace or the overly sentimental.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
posted
The Word of the Day for Dec 03 is: gam \GAM\ verb
intransitive sense : to engage in a gam transitive senses 1 : to have a gam with *2 : to spend or pass (as time) talking
Example sentence: The two strangers discovered that they had a lot in common as they gammed the hours away on the long train ride.
Did you know? "But what is a gam? You might wear out your index-finger running up and down the columns of dictionaries, and never find the word." So says the narrator, who calls himself Ishmael, of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. We imagine you are also wondering what a gam is, and you're in luck, for you will indeed find "gam" entered in dictionaries today. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines the noun "gam" as "a visit or friendly conversation at sea or ashore especially between whalers." (It can also mean "a school of whales.") Melville's narrator explains that when whaling ships met far out at sea, they would hail one another and the crews would exchange visits and news. English speakers have been using the word "gam" to refer to these and similar social exchanges since the mid-19th century.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
posted
I always thought a "gam" was an expression of appreciation for the female lower limb. As in "Look at the gams on that dame".
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posted
That's funny. I just read Moby Dick. Book about a sperm whale, and he includes the word "dick" in the title. What a joker.
Anyway, so I just learned today the origin of the word "decimate" and I figured this would be an appropriate location for that post:
quote:Usage Note: Decimate originally referred to the killing of every tenth person, a punishment used in the Roman army for mutinous legions. Today this meaning is commonly extended to include the killing of any large proportion of a group. Sixty-six percent of the Usage Panel accepts this extension in the sentence The Jewish population of Germany was decimated by the war, even though it is common knowledge that the number of Jews killed was much greater than a tenth of the original population. However, when the meaning is further extended to include large-scale destruction other than killing, as in The supply of fresh produce was decimated by the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, only 26 percent of the Panel accepts the usage.
I got that here. It never occured to me that the root of the word is the latin for "ten," so that it literally means "counting to ten," which is funny when you think that nowadays this is seen as a way of calming yourself down.
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swivet • \SWIV-ut\ • noun : a state of extreme agitation
Example sentence: The residents of Cedar Hills are in a swivet over the state's proposal to extend the highway through their town.
Did you know? People have been in a swivet over one thing or another since the 1890s. That, at least, is when the word first appeared in print in a collection of "Peculiar Words and Usages" of Kentucky published by the American Dialect Society. In the ensuing years, "swivet" popped up in other pockets of the South as well. Chances are it had already been around for some time before it was recorded in writing, and by the time it was, nobody could say where or how it had originated. What we do know is that its use gradually spread, so that by the 1950s it was regularly appearing in national magazines like Time and The New Yorker. Thus, it entered the mainstream of American English.
whinge • \WINJ\ • verb British : to complain fretfully : whine
Example sentence: She urged her fellow workers to stop whinging about how they were victims of "the system" and to do something to change that system.
Did you know? "Whinge" isn't just a spelling variant of "whine." They are actually entirely different words with different histories. "Whine" traces to an Old English verb, "hwīnan," which means "to make a humming or whirring sound." When "hwīnan" became "whinen" in Middle English, it meant "to wail distressfully"; "whine" didn't acquire its "complain" sense until the 16th century. "Whinge," on the other hand, comes from a different Old English verb, "hwinsian," which means "to wail or moan discontentedly." "Whinge" retains that original sense today, though nowadays "whinge" puts less emphasis on the sound of the complaining and more on the discontentment behind the complaint.
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abrogate • \AB-ruh-gayt\ • verb *1 : to abolish by authoritative action : annul 2 : to treat as nonexistent
Example sentence: An old law that abrogated the right of liquor store owners to sell alcohol on Sundays was recently struck from the books.
Did you know? If you can't simply wish something out of existence, the next best thing might be to "propose it away." That's sort of what "abrogate" lets you do, at least etymologically speaking. It comes from the Latin root "rogare," which means "to propose a law," and "ab-," meaning "from" or "away." But we won't propose that you try to get away from the fact that "rogare" is also an ancestor in the family tree of "prerogative" and "interrogate." "Abrogate" first appeared in English as a verb in the 16th century, but was preceded by an adjective sense meaning "annulled" or "cancelled" which is now obsolete.
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posted
I came across this cool word, figured I'd share:
bil·lings·gate ( P ) Pronunciation Key (blngz-gt, -gt) n. Foul, abusive language.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [After Billingsgate, a former fish market in London, England.]
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posted
I have it on good authority that many of the creatures that attacked Saruman's castle were just guys in rubber suits -- they were foments.
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