The Internet Book Database of Fiction

Algot Runeman wrote:augur
...
noun
2.1 (in ancient Rome) a religious official who observed natural signs, especially the behaviour of birds, interpreting these as an indication of divine approval or disapproval of a proposed action.
...

2.2 - with suffix -k (suffix -ken for plural)
Dutch augurk, the small green fruit of a plant related to the cucumber, used for pickling.
Early 17th century: Dutch augurk, gurk, from Slavic, based on medieval Greek angourion ‘cucumber’.
‘The augurken, dills and cornichons are used almost exclusively for pickles.’ 2.3 De Augurk, Dutch name for the Gherkin, a landmark building in London.

E.P.S.,

While I cannot prove it or supply any examples to support my belief, I think your'e gherkin my chain on this one.

glitterati

/ˌɡlɪtəˈrɑːti/
plural noun
informal
The fashionable set of people engaged in show business or some other glamorous activity.

Origin
1950s (originally US): blend of glitter and literati.

==========

Though WotD groupies may be more impressed with literati, a small bit of attention might be set aside for appreciating glitterati.

Algot Runeman wrote:E.P.S.,

While I cannot prove it or supply any examples to support my belief, I think your'e gherkin my chain on this one.

Guilty as charged ...

multiplicand

/ˌmʌltɪplɪˈkand//ˈmʌltɪplɪˌkand/
noun
A quantity which is to be multiplied by another (the multiplier).

Origin
Late 16th century: from medieval Latin multiplicandus ‘to be multiplied’, gerundive of Latin multiplicare (see multiply).

==========

Honestly, I have trouble telling the multiplicand and multiplier apart, especially considering that pesky commutative property, you know.

toxic

/ˈtɒksɪk/
adjective
1 Poisonous.
1.1 Relating to or caused by poison.
1.2 Very bad, unpleasant, or harmful.
2 Finance - Denoting or relating to debt which has a high risk of default.
2.1 Denoting securities which are based on toxic debt and for which there is not a healthy or functioning market.

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Tina rode past the lava flow which outgassed toxic fumes. She stayed at a distance, and carefully upwind. An active volcano's eerie beauty can be lethal in many ways.

impudent

/ˈɪmpjʊd(ə)nt/
adjective
Not showing due respect for another person; impertinent.

Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense ‘immodest, indelicate’): from Latin impudent-, from in- ‘not’ + pudent- ‘ashamed, modest’ (from pudere ‘be ashamed’).

==========

Don't be impudent.
You know you owe the rent.
Give it to me now or
Before you know it's spent.

Right after posting about impudent, I realized that the sample rhyme and the spirit of the image might apply just as well to "imprudent".

So in an unusual double-dip this Sunday...

imprudent

/ɪmˈpruːd(ə)nt/
adjective
Not showing care for the consequences of an action; rash.

Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin imprudent- ‘not foreseeing’, from in- ‘not’ + prudent- (see prudent).

==========

Don't be imprudent.
You know you owe the rent.
So give it to me now or
Before you'll know, it's spent.



[Doing two words a day won't happen often, but the reality is that we really are not likely to soon run out of words available for this game. The Oxford English Dictionary has 171,476 in current use with another 47,156 considered obsolete. Besides, as the current guide for this period of time, I am notably impudent and imprudent on a regular basis. What's an extra letter among friends, after all? So there!]

basho

/ˈbaʃəʊ/
noun
A sumo wrestling tournament.

Origin
Japanese, from ba ‘place, occasion’ + shō ‘place, locality’.

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Marco took a break from the World Cup tournament by visiting a basho on his Asian trip.

He was surprised to find the wrestlers were having their own difficulty concentrating.

A sumo wrestler who, during a basho, would think about soccer (EPS : this means football, in most EU vernaculars) would be both very imprudent since his adversary might well catch him unawares, but also impudent as sumo has a lot to do with propriety and due respect for one's adversary.
All in all, I really think that soccer is toxic with respect to sumo !

adamantine

/ˌadəˈmantʌɪn/
adjective
literary
Unable to be broken.

==========

José chose an arcane passphrase to use with his RSA encryption software to create an adamantine lock on his data.

[All by itself, this example may be too cryptic to be easily understood!]

Algot Runeman wrote:adamantine

/ˌadəˈmantʌɪn/
adjective
literary
Unable to be broken.

==========

José chose an arcane passphrase to use with his RSA encryption software to create an adamantine lock on his data.

[All by itself, this example may be too cryptic to be easily understood!]

Just by seeing the name "ACME" on the safe, I automatically concluded that the Coyote, having impudently bought an adamantine safe so that the Road Runner that he hopes to catch won't ever be able to escape, imprudently managed to get himself locked inside it. The Road Runner in fact has the combination to open the safe, but why wuould he bother to do such a thing ????

cation

/ˈkatʌɪən/
noun
Chemistry
A positively charged ion, i.e. one that would be attracted to the cathode in electrolysis.

Origin
Mid 19th century: from cata- ‘alongside’ or from cathode, + ion.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ions happen in solutions of many chemicals and a positively charged cation moves toward (and typically combines with) a metal cathode like a copper strip which is attached to a source of DC electricity. Do not expect this illustration to clarify much.

Algot Runeman wrote:cation

So a cation has a positive electric charge.

Is then an ion with a negative electric charge called a dogion?

E.P.S.

Umm...

Well...

There was that warning about the illustration offering little help.

tarzy

noun
regional
impromptu rope swing typically used to swing from shore out over a lake.

Origin
1930s - Shortened from "Tarzan swing" which derived from the movies made of Edgar Rice Burroughs' character.



[Image derived from the OED blog photo.]

coulrophobia


/ˌkɒlrəˈfəʊbɪə//ˌkəʊlrəˈfəʊbɪə/
noun
mass noun
rare
Extreme or irrational fear of clowns.

Origin
1980s: from Greek kōlobatheron ‘stilt’ + -phobia.

==========

I cannot imagine having coulrophobia when I think of somebody dressed like this!

fragile

/ˈfradʒʌɪl/
adjective
1 (of an object) easily broken or damaged.
1.1 Easily destroyed or threatened.
1.2 (of a person) not strong or sturdy; delicate and vulnerable.

Origin
Late 15th century (in the sense ‘morally weak’): from Latin fragilis, from frangere ‘to break’. The sense ‘liable to break’ dates from the mid 16th century.

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Tom's fragile ego kept him from accepting life's most interesting challenges.

[At least once, fragile has been misinterpreted as an Italian word.]

The circus clown-acrobat's act included tarzying high over the ring. But a criminally insane coulrophobiac replaced the secure rope to be used by a fragile one.
RIP the clown


More seriously, some of these clown masks are downright frightening. I can understand that if a kid is confronted to one ore more clowns with such masks he develops a coulrophobia that might last even when he becomes an adult.

uplift

/ʌpˈlɪft/
verb
[with object]
1 usually as adjective uplifted Lift (something) up; raise.
1.1 Scottish Pick up or take away.
1.2 be uplifted (of an island, mountain, etc.) be created by an upward movement of the earth's surface.
adjective uplifted Elevate (someone) morally or spiritually.
noun
/ˈʌplɪft/
1 An act of uplifting something.
1.1 Geology An upward movement of part of the earth's surface.
1.2 mass noun, often as modifier Support from a garment, especially for a woman's bust.
2 A morally or spiritually elevating influence.

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When possible, the Word of the Day is intended to uplift people and not to depress.

The exchange between EPS and Algot about cations and dogions surely uplifted me !

BTW, dogions are more generally called anions, but I think EPS's choice is better. If instead of anions the name were onions, it would be even worse

voralfred wrote: If instead of anions the name were onions, it would be even worse

Yes! Your eloquence brings tears to my eyes, as well.

pummel

/ˈpʌm(ə)l/
verb
[with object]
1 Strike repeatedly with the fists.
1.1 North American informal Criticize severely.

Origin
Mid 16th century: variant of pommel.

The World Cup
A quadrennial matchup between the pummeled and the proud,
During which the cheers and cries are equally loud.
The fans in the stadium and the fans who watch from home.
Will probably never have the chance to read this silly poem.

[Today's ODO recommended word kvell has been used before. At that time, the photo used as an illustration showed excited fans whose dreams were still alive. A vague connection, I'm sure.]

fulcrum

/ˈfʊlkrəm//ˈfʌlkrəm/
noun
1 The point against which a lever is placed to get a purchase, or on which it turns or is supported.
1.1 A thing that plays a central or essential role in an activity, event, or situation.

Origin
Late 17th century (originally in the general sense ‘a prop or support’): from Latin, literally ‘post of a couch’, from fulcire ‘to prop up’.

Though Joe didn't think about it, the mechanics of his digging involved his right hand providing a fulcrum point as the dirt came up on the shovel.

“Give me a fulcrum and a lever long enough and I will move the earth,”
boasted Archimedes. But he never managed to d oit.

Giving us a WOTD does indeed uplift us all every day.

So Algot, you deliver what Archimedes could not !

BTW, I just severely pummeled Archimedes.


In your old post about today repeated ODO's WOTD "kvell" you wrote

- about the origin of the word
1960s: from Yiddish kveln, from Middle High German, literally 'well up'.


-and you added a poem :

You sail and spot whale
Which eats krill with skill.
You kvell and feel well.
You're proud and shout loud.
"To shore!" There's no more.

It took me some time and my vague memory of the little german I learned long ago to understand that "well up" was related to water (Quelle= well as in source, spring, fountain, ...), and not to "well" as in "feel well"

WOTD is really a good intellectual exercise !