The Internet Book Database of Fiction

conspectus

Pronunciation: /kənˈspektəs/

noun
a summary or overview of a subject:five of his works give a rich conspectus of his art

Origin:
mid 19th century: from Latin, past participle (used as a noun) of conspicere 'look at attentively'

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The one-sheet brief in a crisp manila folder sadly provided a complete conspectus of his life's work.

droolworthy

Pronunciation: /ˈdro͞olˌwərT͟Hē/

adjective
informal
extremely attractive or desirable:up close he was even more droolworthy
(of food or drink) smelling or looking delicious:droolworthy pastries and baked goods



-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

My dog seems to think most food is droolworthy. Our kitchen floor needs at least a quick mop swipe after every meal.

Algot Runeman wrote:droolworthy

That's what grandpa thought of grandma, every time she modelled some fur clothing or accoutrement for him. The smaller the fur, the more he thought her droolworthy, which was exactly what she intended.

With each new piece of fur she tried out all combinations with her complete wardrobe, starting with the largest and progressing to the smallest.

Had skimpy bikinis existed in her day, grandma would doubtlessly have had a prehistoric furry model, to shame Raquel Welch in "One Million Years B.C.".

Algot Runeman wrote:autarch

Hm ...
Reminds me of Davy Jones, also a kind of autarch ...

solander

Pronunciation: /səˈlandər/

(also solander box)

noun
a protective box made in the form of a book, for holding such items as botanical specimens, maps, and color plates.

Origin:
late 18th century: named after Daniel C. Solander (1736–82), Swedish botanist


Marie Brannon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\_/

Joe's father had been a field botanist. Joe kept keepsakes of his father in one of the solanders that was once used for plant specimens.

illation

Pronunciation: /əˈlāSHən/


noun
archaic
the action of inferring or drawing a conclusion.
an inference.

Origin:
mid 16th century: from Latin illatio(n-), from illat- 'brought in', from the verb inferre (see infer)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joe spent his day making one illation after another. Sadly, he lacked any evidence for his conclusions.

aptronym

Pronunciation: /ˈaptrəˌnim/
(also aptonym)

noun
a person’s name that is regarded as amusingly appropriate to their occupation:he began collecting aptronyms when he saw an ad for a flower shop operated by Flora Gardner while Maryland lacks a ‘Judge Judge’, there are many attorneys here with aptonyms

Derivatives
aptronymic
(also aptonymic) adjective

Origin:
1920s: from apt + -onym, probably on the pattern of patronym

-----------------------------------------------------------*-----------------------------------------------------------

After drinking his Harvey Wallbanger, Judge Judge had difficulty making any judgments. Aptronym, never more apt.

bugbear

Pronunciation: /ˈbəgˌbe(ə)r/

noun
a cause of obsessive fear, irritation, or loathing.
archaic an imaginary being invoked to frighten children, typically a sort of hobgoblin supposed to devour them.

Origin:
late 16th century: probably from obsolete bug 'bogey' (of unknown origin) + bear2

--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--

Bob treated all bugs the same. He stomped them. That is, he stomped them until he met the 900 pound bugbear who stomped him!

Algot Runeman wrote:bugbear
...
Bob treated all bugs the same. He stomped them. That is, he stomped them until he met the 900 pound bugbear who stomped him!

I guess it's time to call the bogeyman to stomp the bugbear?

pistil

Pronunciation: /ˈpistl/

noun
Botany
the female organs of a flower, comprising the stigma, style, and ovary.

Origin:
early 18th century: from French pistile or Latin pistillum 'pestle'


Berkeley T. Compton

-*-
\|/------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Pistil packin' Pete" was his knickname, but his NRA card just identified him as Pete.

Harry had a passel of pretty pistils in a bunch of dandelion flowers. He didn't realize it, though. He was no botanist.

Priscilla Pistil, like so many of her gender, was routinely surrounded by several stammering stamens, you know, the ones who stay, that you just can't seem to get rid of.

Algot Runeman wrote:pistil

Jezus-Enrique preferred saffron in powdery form to give his delicious paella its appetising colour.

He ground the saffron strands to powder in the old-fashioned way, but not with just any plebeian pestle ... oh no, he used what he claimed was an antique apothecary's pistil made of finest grade white arkansas stone.

vair

Pronunciation: /ve(ə)r/

noun
1fur, typically bluish-gray, obtained from a variety of squirrel, used in the 13th and 14th centuries as a trimming or lining for garments.

2 Heraldry fur, represented by interlocking rows of shield-shaped or bell-shaped figures that are typically alternately blue and white, as a tincture.

Origin:
Middle English: via Old French from Latin varius (see various)



-=-=-^-=-=-^-=-=-^-=-=-^-=-=-^-=-=-^-=-=-^-=-=-^-=-=-^-=-=-^-=-=-^-=-=-^-=-=-^-=-=-

"I don't know about you, but I think that shield is vair-ee nice," said Harold in his role as a herald.

Thought you might like to see one of the actual squirrels from which the fur was taken.

Algot Runeman wrote:vair

Her furrier told grandma: "Sorry, Mz., but my traders told me that the trappers claimed that the critters are becoming much harder to catch. I'm a couple of skins short and I'm afraid the hem of your new coat will be a bit higher than we planned at first."

"Vair enough." said grandma, "Fashion continues to get shorter anyway."

It is usually believed by english speaking people that Cinderella had glass slippers.
This, however, is bizarre. Glass can break and cut. Badly. At that time, they did not have safety glass...
I have always been convinced (and I am not, by far, the only one: just google in french "cendrillon pantoufles verre ou vair") that her "pantoufles" were not made of "verre" (= glass) but of "vair", same meaning in french as in english, and since the final "e" at the end of "verre" is not prononced, nor does the doubling of the consonant "r" have any effect beyond inducing the "e" just before to be sounded "è", just like "ai", rather than almost muted, the sound is exactly the same...
Since it is a rather precious material, this goes well with the remainder of the setting.
The third option, that Cinderalla had around her feet a lot of worms ("vers", in french) that would somehow wriggle together to keep a slipper-shaped global aspect, does not appeal to me that much...

Sorry for this delayed post, I had to save it before it was done and forgot to edit it and post it on time

It is amazing how many scientits have aptonyms : Ampère, Volta, Watt, Ohm all did work in relation with electricty or energy, and their name coincide with (or in the case of Volta, contain) electricity units.

More seriously, now : there is a unit of viscosity called "poise"
Now one word for "viscous" in french is "poisseux" (from "poix"="pitch")
I have long thought that the name of the unit was related to this adjective.
Later I found out that it really comes from the name of the scientist Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille. A different unit of viscosity is indeed called "poiseuille"
So his name was really an aptonym: he was predestined to work on fluid flows and viscosity...

voralfred wrote:...
Now one word for "viscous" in french is "poisseux"
...

"Poisseux" reminds me of "soupe au pois" (pea soup) aka "potage St Germain", which is quite viscous.

On a side-note or two:

You can add to the list of aptonyms "Gauss", which I guess is a unit extremely important to the LHC at CERN.

Is "Poubelle" also a unit of trash?

consentient

Pronunciation: /kənˈsenCHənt/

adjective
archaic
of the same opinion in a matter; in agreement.

Origin:
early 17th century: from Latin consentient- 'agreeing', from the verb consentire (see consent)




```````````````````````````````````````````````^```````````````````````````````````````````````

Though Doris shared consentient feelings with her boyfriend, Dave, it didn't mean she would consent to his lustful intent.

[It is wonderful to read the consentient feelings of fellow WotD contributors.]

debutante

Pronunciation: /ˈdebyo͝oˌtänt, ˈdebyə-/


noun
an upper-class young woman making her first appearance in fashionable society.

Origin:
early 19th century: from French débutante (feminine) 'leading off', from the verb débuter

encephalic

Pronunciation: /ˌensəˈfalik/

adjective
Anatomy
relating to, affecting, or situated in the brain.

Origin:
mid 19th century: from Greek enkephalos 'brain' (from en- 'in' + kephalē 'head') + -ic


Reigh LeBlanc

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was intended to be a lighthearted illustration, but I "drew" an encephalic blank. Thus, you see a photo from Flickr.

Algot Runeman wrote:encephalic
Anatomy
relating to, affecting, or situated in the brain.

Does the "phalic" in the word encephalic also point out that only men have brains?

<ducking and hiding>

Actually, E.P.S. ducking doesn't help. Ducking protects the skull. The "phalic" reference has clearly been demonstrated to indicate not the presence of brains, but their location and focus of interest.

Fauntleroy

Pronunciation: /ˈfôntləˌroi/

(also Little Lord Fauntleroy)

noun
an excessively well-mannered or elaborately dressed young boy.

Origin:
from the name of the boy hero of Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886)


[Fair Use image of book cover via Wikipedia]

----------------------------------------------------------@---------------------------------------------------------

I prefer to appreciate the book's character, Fauntleroy rather than use his name in a disparaging remark.

To avoid boneheaded jokes from the official WotD, here's an extra offering.

flapjack

noun
US: pancake which is the older meaning even in the UK
UK: oat-bar or "granola bar" since around 1935

A school in Essex has banned the practice of cutting flapjacks into triangular shape after an isolated incident in which a child was struck in the face by a triangular flapjack. Going forward, only rectangular or square shapes will be allowed.

I am concerned that this is only the "tip" of a bigger push. Will conical-sharpened pencil points be banned, too? "No, Sarah, you must only use the broad, ball-tipped pencils in this classroom!"

phenom

Pronunciation: /ˈfēˌnäm, fiˈnäm/

noun
informal
a person who is outstandingly talented or admired, especially an up-and-comer.

Origin:
late 19th century: abbreviation of phenomenon

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No attribution of "phenom" will accrue to the WotD people who are late in delivering words of the day.