cogent \KOH-junt\ adjective 1 : having power to compel or constrain 2 a : appealing forcibly to the mind or reason : convincing b : pertinent, relevant
Did you know? "Trained, knowledgeable agents make cogent suggestions . . . that make sense to customers." It makes sense for us to include that comment from the president of a direct marketing consulting company because it provides such a nice opportunity to point out the etymological relationship between the words "cogent" and "agent." "Agent" derives from the Latin verb "agere," which means "to drive," "to lead," or "to act." Adding the prefix "co-" to "agere" gave Latin "cogere," a word that literally means "to drive together"; that ancient term ultimately gave English "cogent." Something that is cogent figuratively pulls together thoughts and ideas, and the cogency of an argument depends on a driving intellectual force behind it.
prodigal \PRAH-dih-gul\ adjective 1 : recklessly extravagant 2 : characterized by wasteful expenditure : lavish 3 : yielding abundantly : luxuriant -- often used with of
Did you know? Which of these words do you think share the same Latin root as "prodigal"?
active agenda exact chasten react transact
The root in question is "agere," Latin for "to drive," "to lead," "to act," or "to do." Each of the words above came to English by a different route, but all include the productive "agere" among their ancestors. "Prodigal" is from "agere" plus the prefix "prod-," which means "forth." That combination rendered the Latin verb "prodigere," meaning "to drive away" or "to squander," and the Latin adjective "prodigus," from which we derived our adjective "prodigal." The past participle of "agere" is "actus"-- thus "agere" is the parent of many words that contain "act."
nonplus \nahn-PLUSS\ verb : to cause to be at a loss as to what to say, think, or do : perplex
Did you know? Does "nonplus" perplex you? You aren't alone. Some people believe the "non" in "nonplus" means "not" and assume that to be "nonplussed" is to be calm and poised when just the opposite is true. If you are among the baffled, the word's history may clarify things. In Latin, "non plus" means "no more." When "nonplus" debuted in English in the 16th century, it was used as a noun synonymous with "quandary." Someone brought to a nonplus had reached an impasse in an argument and could say no more. Within 10 years of the first known use of the noun, people began using "nonplus" as a verb, and today it is often used in participial form (as in "Joellen's nasty remark left us utterly nonplussed").
volition \voh-LIH-shun\ noun 1 : an act of making a choice or decision; also : a choice or decision made 2 : the power of choosing or determining : will
Did you know? "Volition" ultimately derives from the Latin verb "velle," meaning "to will" or "to wish." English speakers borrowed the term from French in the 17th century, using it at first to mean "an act of choosing." Its earliest known English use appeared in Thomas Jackson's 1615 _Commentaries upon the Apostle's Creed_: "That such acts, again, as they appropriate to the will, and call volitions, are essentially and formally intellections, is most evident." The second sense of "volition," meaning "the power to choose," had developed by the mid-18th century.
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It is not the volition that matters -- not the long dissembling process punctuated by several winks and a strange grin -- but the aftereffects, the elimination of cogent possibilities, the will to nonplus, the forced shudder on to a new, prodigal track.
[Profligate would be better than prodigal, but that was the word of the day back on page whatever]
In what has to be an astounding coincidence, that sentence is actually the opening line of my latest magnum opus "Love in the Time of Disintegrating Corporate Cultures."
Copy, paste, and bam! -- ten points for Zal.
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Did you know? The practice of fighting for sport was in place in a number of Mediterranean civilizations by 1500 B.C. (and recent evidence suggests that it may have flourished in parts of eastern Africa before that). By the 7th century B.C., boxing had become a staple of the Olympic Games in Greece. Soon afterward, the Romans picked up the sport and introduced the word "pugil" (a noun related to the Latin "pugnus," meaning "fist") to refer to a boxer. Boxing faded out with the decline of the Roman Empire, but resurged in popularity in the18th century. By the 1790s, "pugilist" and "pugilism" were firmly entrenched in the English lexicon.
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As one of the preeminent and highly publicized supporters of this oldest of sports it is my pleasure and my duty to disabuse the notions of the naive naysayers who say the practice of pugilism has somehow declined in this 21st of all centuries. I say the evidence is to the contrary. Never have there been so many fine and talented gentlemen at so many weight classes. I predict that the battles that we shall bring to the viewing public over the next few years will be epic and entertaining.
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respite \RES-pit\ noun 1 : a period of temporary delay; especially : reprieve 2 : an interval of rest or relief
Did you know? Originally, beginning in the late 13th century, a respite was a delay or extension asked for or granted for a specific reason -- to give someone time to deliberate on a proposal, for example. Such a respite offered an opportunity for the kind of consideration inherent in the word's etymology. "Respite" traces from the Latin term "respectus," which comes from a verb meaning, both literally and figuratively, "to turn around to look at" or "to regard." By the 14th century, we had granted "respite" the sense we use most often today -- "a welcome break."
cockalorum \kah-kuh-LOR-um\ noun 1: a boastful and self-important person 2 : boastful talk
Did you know? The image of a rooster (a.k.a. cock) strutting confidently across the barnyard or belting out triumphant crow has long been associated with brash self-confidence. It's an association that has left quite a mark on the English language, giving us "crow" ("to brag"),"cock" ("a self-important person"), and "cocky" ("overconfident"), just to name a few. "Cockalorum" (which may have derived from the obsolete Flemish word "kockeloeren," meaning "to crow") is another example. It dates back to 1715 when it was used to describe the Marquis of Huntly -- son of the Duke of Gordon, a Celtic Highlander chief who was himself known as the "Cock of the North." Presumably, the Marquis was not exactly known for his humility!
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"Will I ever find respite? Am I doomed to forever hear the inance chatterings of this cagey cockalarum? Will his acerbic, ill-informed pronouncements ever cease to pound into my ear and rattle around my head, cluttering my aching, overstuffed mind?"
"Dude. Drop the theatrics. If you don't want to listen to talk radio, pop in a CD. There's a whole stack of them in the glove compartment."
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con amore \kahn-uh-MOR-ee\ adverb 1 : with love, devotion, or zest 2 : in a tender manner -- used as a direction in music
Did you know? "No matter what the object is, whether business, pleasures, or the fine arts; whoever pursues them to any purpose must do so con amore." Wise words -- and the 18th-century Englishman who wrote them under the pseudonym Sir Thomas Fitzosborne may have been drawing on his own experience. At the time those words were written (around 1740), the author, whose real name was William Melmoth, had recently abandoned the practice of law to pursue his interest in writing and classical scholarship, which were apparently his true loves. In any case, by making use of "con amore," a term borrowed from Italian, Melmoth gave us the first known use of the word in English prose.
epitaph \EP-uh-taf\ noun 1 : an inscription on or at a tomb or a grave in memory of the one buried there 2 : a brief statement commemorating or epitomizing a deceased person or something past
Did you know? "And were an epitaph to be my story / I'd have a short one ready for my own. / I would have written of me on my stone: / I had a lover's quarrel with the world." That's what Robert Frost had to say about epitaphs in _The Lesson for Today_ (1942). We can't hope to wax so elegantly poetic, but if we were to write an epitaph for the word "epitaph," it might go something like this: "A classical upbringing and a French fling framed its days, before it gave English a word for 'final praise.'" It's a little premature ("epitaph" is alive and well in Modern English), but it's etymologically accurate. English acquired "epitaph" from Middle French, which garnered it from the Latin word for "funeral oration"; the Latin term ultimately traces to the Greek "taphos," meaning "tomb" or "funeral."
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I read the epitaph on my aunt's grave the other day and the funny/sad thing is, it didn't sound a bit like the aunt I knew.
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Did you know? It would be quite convenient to know where the word "prevenient" comes from. Can you find two relatives of "prevenient" in that sentence? You probably guessed that "convenient" is a cousin; it derives from the Latin verb "convenire," meaning "to come together" or "to be suitable," which is itself from "venire," meaning "to come." "Prevenient," which first appeared in English in the mid- 1600s, comes to us from the Latin "praevenire" ("to come before, to precede"), which is also from "venire." The third (albeit distant) relative of "prevenient" in the opening sentence is "come"; it shares an ancient ancestor with "venire."
cacography \kak-AH-gruh-fee\ noun *1 : bad spelling 2 : bad handwriting
Example sentence: "I always wanted to be a contestant in the National Spelling Bee," said Pat, "but an unfortunate tendency to cacography prevented me from qualifying."
Did you know? In its earliest use in the 16th century, "cacography" meant not "incorrect spelling" but "a bad system of spelling." Today people worry about misspelling words, but back then there was little need for such concern. English spelling was far from standardized; people spelled words any way that made sense to them. Not every one was happy with such laxity, however, and over the coming centuries spelling reformers pressed for regularization. Some reformers thought spelling should reflect the etymological background of words; others thought words should be spelled the way they sound. And of course, everyone believed his or her own way of spelling was the best! Our present inconsistent system was arrived at over time. Today "cacography" usually suggests deviation from the established standards.
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In what must be one of the most prevenient example of cacography in human history, archeaologists have recently discovered communications between two young Greek citizens. Classics scholars say that the cacographic nature of the letters means that they won't be fully translated for at least 5 or 6 years. They have, however, determined that the authors of the messages appear to be named Maethea and Hobbeseus.
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banausic \buh-NAW-sik\ adjective : relating to or concerned with earning a living -- used pejoratively; also : utilitarian, practical
Example sentence: Each summer, countless college students set aside their books and turn to more banausic tasks, such as waiting tables, to earn tuition and spending money for the coming year.
Did you know? The ancient Greeks held intellectual pursuits in the highest esteem, and they considered ideal a leisurely life of contemplation. A large population of slaves enabled many Greek citizens to adopt that preferred lifestyle. Those who had others to do the heavy lifting for them tended to regard professional labor with contempt. Their prejudice against the need to toil to earn a living is reflected in the Greek adjective "banausikos" (the root of "banausic"), which not only means "of an artisan" and "nonintellectual," but also "vulgar."
stultify \STUL-tuh-fye\ verb 1 : to cause to appear stupid, foolish, or absurdly illogical 2 : to impair, invalidate, or make ineffective : negate 3 : to have a dulling effect on
Did you know? Comedy is sometimes generated by stupid or absurd behavior, but there is nothing especially funny about the original usage of "stultify." In the mid-1700s, it was first used in legal contexts with the meaning "to allege or prove (oneself or another) to be of unsound mind so that the performance of some act may be avoided." The word was then adapted to refer to the process of making someone appear incompetent. Over time, "stultify" was generalized to cover any process that could make someone or something dull or ineffective.
brainiac \BRAY-nee-ack\ noun : a person characterized by unusual brainpower
Did you know? Happy Birthday to the Man of Steel! The Superman Action Comics series was launched on June 1, 1938. In honor of the anniversary, we've chosen to feature "brainiac." Why? Because -- as Superman fans know -- "Brainiac" was the superintelligent villain in the comic-book series and its spin-offs. You don't need x-ray vision to see the connection here. Etymologists are pretty sure Superman's brainy adversary was the inspiration for our modern term "brainiac."
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Despite the beige walls, the low-protein gruel, the hard labour, the gray smocks, and the repetitive chants, I have been able to stultify the creativity of my adherents. Well, I guess were about to go from a peace-loving, waiting-for-the-nice-aliens-to-come cult to a fiery, apocalyptic, stockpile ammunition one.
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hew \HYOO\ verb 1 : to cut or fell with blows (as of an ax) 2 : to give shape to with or as if with an ax *3 : to conform, adhere
Example sentence: It was simpler and cheaper to hew to tradition when it came to a wedding dress, Sylvia found out, and finally she gave up on the pale green satin gown she'd dreamed of.
Did you know? "Hew" is a strong, simple word of Anglo-Saxon descent. It can suggest actual ax-wielding, or it can be figurative: "If... our ambition hews and shapes [our] new relations, their virtue escapes, as strawberries lose their flavor in garden-beds" (Ralph Waldo Emerson). It's easy to see how the figurative "shape" sense of "hew" developed from the literal hacking sense, but what does chopping have to do with adhering and conforming? That sense first appeared in the late 1800s in the phrase "hew to the line." The "hew line" is a line marked along the length of a log indicating where to chop in order to shape a beam. "Hewing to the line," literally, is cutting along the mark -- adhering to it -- until the side of the log is squared.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. (c) 2003 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
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posted
Try as he might Hugh McDonough could not force his banausic soul to hew to his wife's taste in hues, a situation that caused no small amount of difficulties in their domestic situation, especially when she painted his den, the last refuge of the dark, dank, rough-hewn [bonus!] and masculine, a lovely shade of sea-foam green on it's way to becoming turquoise.
----
Any GreNMEtics who regularly read this thread are going to have a definite edge in the guess-the-hack contest when my submission comes up.
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vermicular \ver-MIH-kyuh-ler\ adjective *1 a : resembling a worm in form or motion b : vermiculate
2 : of, relating to, or caused by worms
Example sentence: Viewed from above, the stream's vermicular course undulated across the landscape, winding and twisting like a living thing.
Did you know? What does the word "vermicular" have in common with the pasta on your plate? If you're eating vermicelli (a spaghetti- like pasta made in long thin strings) the answer is "vermis," a Latin noun meaning "worm." If you dig deep enough, you'll find that "vermis" is the root underlying not only "vermicular" and "vermicelli," but also "vermiculate" (which can mean either "full of worms" or "tortuous") and even "worm" itself.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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There it was -- floating gently in the water, nudging against the grate, bloated and vermicular, beautiful in a doggy, corpsey kind of way.
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Dunkirk \DUN-kerk\ noun 1 : a retreat to avoid total defeat *2 : a crisis situation that requires a desperate last effort to forestall certain failure
Example sentence: "In 1981, [President Ronald] Reagan said the country faced an 'economic Dunkirk' if tax rates weren't slashed." (Fred Barnes, _The Weekly Standard_, April 9, 2001)
Did you know? "Dunkirk" is the English spelling of the name of the French town of Dunkerque, which is located on the Dover Strait near the Belgian border. In 1940, Dunkerque was the scene of a massive evacuation of Allied forces to England after the fall of France to Germany during World War II. Death seemed certain for the 300,000 soldiers who had retreated to Dunkerque until hundreds of naval and civilian vessels arrived to ferry them to safety. The impact of the event was so great that within a year "Dunkirk" was being used for any military retreat carried out to avoid total defeat. Soon after, the word was extended beyond the military sphere and it is now used for any crisis that needs a miracle to save the day.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Somewhere, back inside his alcohol-addled, Details-oriented, J. Crew mind Chad was secretely hoping to meet his own personal Dunkirk -- to test the limits of his masculinity in some shameful way and then bow ungracefully out of the game, dignity untact -- and for that reason he had come to New Orleans, come to Mardis Gras, come to Bourbon St., to revel and drink and maybe, just maybe, stumble into a role on an episode of COPS, or barring that, Worlds Wildest Police Videos.
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posted
The citizens of Dunkirk, realizing that their town's reputation was now blighted by it's role in WW II, have reached a marketing Dunkirk, of sorts, and have cancelled a recent order for over 1 million "You are Now Leaving Dunkirk" keychains.
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flivver \FLIH-ver\ noun : a small cheap usually old automobile
Example sentence: Uncle Edward refuses to trade in his beloved flivver for a newer car even though he could easily afford to do so.
Did you know? In 1908, Henry Ford changed the world with the Model T, the first affordable automobile. English speakers quickly coined an array of colorful terms for the Model T and the other relatively inexpensive cars that followed it. No one is sure why cheap cars came to be called "flivvers," but we do know that in the early 1900s that colorful term was also used as a slang verb meaning "to fail," as in "If this film flivvers, I'll be in trouble." In _Flappers 2 Rappers: American Youth Slang_, author Tom Dalzell lists "flivver" (which made its print debut in 1910, just two years after the Model T) among a number of terms applied to "the humble Ford." Others included "bone crusher," "bouncing Betty," "Henry's go-cart," "puddle jumper," "Spirit of Detroit," and "Tin Lizzie."
jettison \JEH-tuh-sun\ verb 1 : to throw (goods) overboard to lighten a ship or aircraft in distress *2 : discard
Example sentence: When they realized how much money and work a big, formal wedding would require, Beth and Mike jettisoned the idea and planned a small, quiet ceremony instead.
Did you know? "Jettison" comes via Anglo-French from the Old French "getaison," meaning "action of throwing," and ultimately from the Latin verb "jactare," meaning "to throw." The noun "jettison" ("a voluntary sacrifice of cargo to lighten a ship's load in time of distress") entered English in the 15th century; the verb has been with us since the 19th century. The noun is also the source of the word "jetsam" ("jettisoned goods"), which is often paired with "flotsam"("floating wreckage"). These days you don't have to be on a sinking ship to jettison something. In addition to literally "throwing overboard," "jettison" means simply "to get rid of." You might jettison some old magazines that are cluttering your house. Or you might make plans, but jettison them at the last minute.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
posted
The old flivver just wasn't going to make it up the steep grade, so we had to jettison grandma.
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gambol \GAM-bul\ verb : to skip about in play : frisk, frolic
Example sentence: "The dawn of spring also brings out animals, and, closest to home, rabbits gambol and frolic nearby...." (Frank Curcio, [Bridgewater, NJ] _Courier News_, April 16, 2003)
Did you know? In Middle French, the noun "gambade" referred to the frisky spring of a jumping horse. In the early 1500s, the English word "gambol" romped into print as both a verb and a noun. (The noun means "a skipping or leaping about in play.") The English word is not restricted to horses, but rather can be used of any frolicsome creature. It is a word that suggests levity and spontaneity, and it tends to be used especially of the lively activity of children or animals engaged in active play.
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When he was little, Bambi had a gamboling problem. He couldn't even make it 3 steps, let alone complete the full 12-step program.
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shivaree \shih-vuh-REE\ noun : a noisy mock serenade to a newly married couple
Example sentence: On the night of Sally and Henry's wedding, the townspeople gathered outside the couple's window to participate in a raucous shivaree.
Did you know? In 19th century rural America, a newly-married couple might be treated to a mock serenade, performed with pots, pans, homemade instruments, and other noisemakers. Such cacophonous serenades were traditionally considered especially appropriate for second marriages or for unions deemed incongruous because of an age discrepancy or some other cause. In the eastern U.S. this custom, imported from rural England, was simply called a "serenade" or known under various local names. In much of the central U.S. and Canada, however, it was called a "shivaree," a loan from French "charivari," which denotes the same folk custom in France. In more recent years, "shivaree" has also developed broader senses; it is sometimes used to mean simply "a cacophony" or "a celebration."
redbrick \RED-brick\ adjective 1 : built of red brick *2 often capitalized : of, relating to, or being the British universities founded in the 19th or early 20th century
Example sentence: Maureen graduated with a Redbrick degree three years ago and now works in London.
Did you know? Although red brick is a perfectly innocent building material in America, the British usage of "redbrick" is often potentially uncomplimentary. "Redbrick" is a British coinage created to denote the universities which were newer and perhaps less prestigious than Oxford and Cambridge (and sometimes the ancient universities of Scotland). These newer universities tended to be constructed of red brick, rather than the stone used for Oxford and Cambridge, and were most often created in industrial cities such as Liverpool. Sometimes the term is also used to distinguish these universities from those built after World War II. Limited evidence suggests that "redbrick" may be developing an extended meaning of "lower-class" or "working class," but this is not established enough to merit dictionary entry.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
vespertine \VESS-per-tyne\ adjective *1 : of, relating to, or occurring in the evening 2 : active, flowering, or flourishing in the evening : crepuscular
Example sentence: A vespertine fog crept over the farm, concealing the outbuildings and the orchard and stranding the house in an inky ocean of darkness as the evening turned to night.
Did you know? Imagine this vespertine scenario: Hesperus, the Evening Star, shines in a clear sky; little brown bats flutter near the treetops; somewhere in the distance a church bell calls worshipers to the evening service. Can you find three words (other than "vespertine") associated with the Latin root "vesper," which means "evening," hidden in that scene? The evening star was once known as "Vesper" ("Hesperus" is from the Greek for "evening"); "vespertilian" means "batlike" (the Latin for bat is "vespertilio"); and we still call an evening worship service "vespers."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Ella's voice grew huskier and deeper at dusk, as if she needed a long, hard day of living to get to a place where she could wearily unfold herself -- the sounds rising from her throat in thick profusions, a vespertine performance that clung to the air and your senses like a cloud of expensive perfume.
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The sounds of guests clanging glasses and scraping silverware on (real!) plates, loud chatter about private schools, retirement planning, world travel and who is still married and who is divorced (and why), constant billowing laughter, the occasional punctuation of a ringing cell phone, the half-hearted exhortations and blurry, tinny spinnings of a nebbish dj, Mark saw it all as a modern-day shivaree and knew that it was time to either flee or -- dance!
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Example sentence: "Few things in life are better than a good chin-wag over a cup of tea," my aunt often said, and I have fond memories of our many teatime chats.
Did you know? In English, phrases about wagging tongues have suggested the act of speech since at least the late 1500s. The pairing of "chin" with "wag" to refer to talk didn't occur until several centuries later, but when it did, "chin" took on a life of its own as a term for idle chatter. Other "chin" expressions for loose lips include "chin-music" (a noun meaning "idle talk, chatter"), "chinfest" (another noun synonymous with "chat"), and "chin" itself (which can be used either as a verb meaning "to chatter" or a noun meaning "a chat").
posted
Hey-Bob-I've got a question. I've been reading along on this thread for the past couple of weeks, and I was wondering if the word of the day for June 22nd (in honor of my 21st birthday) could be discombobulated? I love that word! He he he...
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Well, actually, I might be out of town that day and forget, but otherwise, I'll see what I can do.
The Word of the Day for June 14 was:
vexillologist \vek-suh-LAH-luh-jist\ noun : one who studies flags
Example sentence: Any true vexillologist in America would know that although Betsy Ross made flags for the navy she did not actually make the first national flag as legend holds.
Did you know? "The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history." Woodrow Wilson was speaking of the U.S. flag when he made that statement in an address in June of 1915, but vexillologists would likely find the comment applicable to any national banner. Vexillologists undertake scholarly investigations of flags, producing papers with titles such as "A Review of the Changing Proportions of Rectangular Flags Since Medieval Times, and Some Suggestions for the Future." In the late 1950s, they coined a name for their field of research ("vexillology") and for members of their profession ("vexillologists") from "vexillum," the Latin term for a square flag or banner of the ancient Roman cavalry.
ragtag \RAG-tag\ adjective 1 : ragged, unkempt *2 : composed of diverse often incongruous elements : motley
Example sentence: Despite fielding a ragtag collection of players unwanted by other teams, the Barons finished the season with a winning record.
Did you know? "Tag and rag" was a relatively common expression in the 16th and 17th centuries, and was often used pejoratively to refer to members of the lower classes of society. By the 19th century, the phrase had been incorporated into "rag, tag and bobtail." That expression could mean either "the lower classes" or "the entire lot of something" (as opposed to just the more desirable parts ... the entire unit of an army, for example, not just its more capable soldiers). Something described as "ragtag and bobtail," then, was usually common and unspectacular and not considered the cream of the crop. "Ragtag and bobtail" was eventually shortened to "ragtag," the adjective we know today, which can describe an odd mixture that is often also hastily assembled or second-rate.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
Davy Jones's locker \day-vee-joanz-LAH-ker\ noun : the bottom of the ocean
Example sentence: The old seaman shook his head sadly and said, "That ship was sunk on a reef three years ago, and every poor soul aboard sent to Davy Jones's locker."
Did you know? Was there a real Davy Jones? Folks have been pondering that question for centuries. Sailors have long used "Davy Jones" as the name of a personified evil spirit of the ocean depths, but no one knows exactly why. Some claim the original Davy Jones was a British pirate, but the evidence that this person existed is lacking. Others swear he was a London pub owner who kept drugged ale in a special locker, served it to the unwary, then had them shanghaied. But the theory considered most plausible is that "Davy" was inspired by St. David, the patron saint of Wales. (St. David was often invoked by Welsh sailors.) "Jones" is traced to Jonah, the biblical figure who was swallowed by a whale.
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