Pronunciation: /vɔːnt /
verb
[with object] (usually as adjective vaunted)
Boast about or praise (something), especially excessively: the much vaunted information superhighway
noun
archaic
A boast.
Origin
late Middle English: the noun a shortening of obsolete avaunt 'boasting, a boast'; the verb (originally in the sense 'use boastful language') from Old French vanter, from late Latin vantare, based on Latin vanus 'vain, empty'.
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Greta Garbo was misunderstood. She didn't seek solitude. She actually said, "I vaunt to be alone." which she intended to mean that she could praise her work and others would simply turn away. She didn't seek an entourage.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 10:56 am
by Algot Runeman
coolth
Pronunciation: /kuːlθ /
noun
[mass noun]
1 Pleasantly low temperature: the coolth of the evening
2 informal The quality of being fashionable: the pinnacle of 1960s coolth
Origin
mid 16th century (but rare before the 20th century): from cool + -th2.
-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?-=?
"In the coolth, coolth, coolth of the evening
Tell 'em I'll be there.
In the coolth, coolth, coolth of the evening
Better have a chair."
Pronunciation: /ˈrɛtɪs(ə)nt /
adjective
Not revealing one’s thoughts or feelings readily: she was extremely reticent about her personal affairs
Origin
mid 19th century: from Latin reticent- 'remaining silent', from the verb reticere, from re- (expressing intensive force) + tacere 'be silent'.
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Rachel is never reticent. She babbles on about everything, all the time. She's also known for her Facebook "contributions." It does not seem to matter to her fans that Rachel's information is consistently incomplete, regularly inaccurate and frequently pointless.
[Then, again, some of the sample sentences submitted here are similarly silly. ]
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2014 11:42 am
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote:reticent
What with all the -scent words we've had, somehow I feel a letter was dropped from reticent.
(though I suspect this could be a "shopped" picture)
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2014 3:31 pm
by Algot Runeman
E.P.S. wrote:What with all the -scent words we've had, somehow I feel a letter was dropped from reticent.
There you go, E.P.S., raising a "stink" again.
Stinky Rhyme
The -scent was meant
To to have intent
When the post
Was recently sent.
Some read it straight
As E.P.S. planned.
One twisted hard
To make it bent.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 8:34 am
by Algot Runeman
timorous
Pronunciation: /ˈtɪm(ə)rəs /
adjective
Showing or suffering from nervousness or a lack of confidence: a timorous voice
Origin
late Middle English (in the sense 'feeling fear'): from Old French temoreus, from medieval Latin timorosus, from Latin timor 'fear', from timere 'to fear'.
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Tommy was never timorous. He stood bravely at the bow in any kind of weather. He stared haughtily at the crashing waves, not like his brother Tim or us. No, we all cowered and cringed at any sluce of sea foam along the yacht's deck.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 9:15 am
by Algot Runeman
toboggan
Pronunciation: /təˈbɒɡ(ə)n /
noun
A long, light, narrow vehicle, typically on runners, used for sliding downhill over snow or ice.
verb
[no object] (usually as noun tobogganing) Back to top
Ride on a toboggan: he thought he would enjoy the tobogganing
Origin
early 19th century: from Canadian French tabaganne, from Micmac topaĝan 'sled'.
The toboggan was hidden in the attic, waiting for Christmas day. The family would also have to wait for some snow to go sliding. This year, it was not looking good for a white Christmas.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 4:20 pm
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote:toboggan
I shall let this toboggan slide right by me ...
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 11:47 pm
by voralfred
E Pericoloso Sporgersi wrote:
Algot Runeman wrote:toboggan
I shall let this toboggan slide right by me ...
Strange !
You are not so reticent, usually.
Has your coolth melted away ? Are you becoming timorous
In the series: "faux amis", toboggan in present-day continental french is very rarely used to mean a sled (in fact I never heard it used this way, but apparently Google Translate does mention the meaning "sled" though other dictionaries do not). The normal meaning is the chute, the slide, along which one goes down, sometimes riding a sled (in sky resorts, but on a few special slopes carefully separated from the skiers) but mostly just "bodily" (children's toboggans in playgrounds, water toboggans in waterparks...) Whether the Quebequois use it mostly to mean the sled itself, even now, I cannot vouch.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2014 8:11 am
by Algot Runeman
bourgeoisie
Pronunciation: /ˌbʊəʒwɑːˈziː /
noun
[treated as singular or plural]
1 The middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes: the rise of the bourgeoisie at the end of the eighteenth century the landed gentry were replaced by a local bourgeoisie
1.1 (In Marxist contexts) the capitalist class who own most of society’s wealth and means of production: the conflict of interest between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
Origin
early 18th century: French, from bourgeois.
Robert wanted nothing more than to be seen as part of the bourgeoisie. Of course, working as a burger flipper at a fast food establishment didn't give him much social leg up, nor did his minimum wage earnings.
While noble children may formerly have been called "Childe Harold", it is fairly common today to identify an unborn child as "Baby Jones", using the surname instead of the given name. Nobility isn't in question, either, as far as I know.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 7:30 am
by Algot Runeman
orthoepy
Pronunciation: /ˈɔːθəʊɛpi , -iːpi, ɔːˈθəʊɪpi /
noun
[mass noun]
1 The correct or accepted pronunciation of words.
1.1 The study of correct or accepted pronunciation.
Origin
mid 17th century: from Greek orthoepeia 'correct speech', from orthos 'right or straight' + epos, epe- 'word'.
If you look closely to the definition above, you might see that orthoepy illustrates the challenges of the word itself. There appear to be TWO accepted pronunciations. To me, that smacks of the absurd. Then again, look to the way English speakers cling to the notion that even the names of capitols of foreign nations need not be pronounced as the locals do. Just think "Paris" and how it is said.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 8:22 am
by Algot Runeman
terpsichorean
Pronunciation: /ˌtəːpsɪkəˈriːən /
formal or humorous
adjective
Relating to dancing: ‘the twist’ was a revolutionary terpsichorean innovation
noun
A dancer.
Origin
early 19th century: from Terpsichore (used in the 18th century to denote a female dancer or the art of dance) + -an.
I wonder if that the foot-played keyboard in the movie "Big" with Tom Hanks might be called a terpsichord in reminicence of the harpsichord.
via New York Daily News
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:21 pm
by Algot Runeman
cumbersome
Pronunciation: /ˈkʌmbəs(ə)m /
adjective
1 Large or heavy and therefore difficult to carry or use; unwieldy: cumbersome diving suits
1.1 Slow or complicated and therefore inefficient: organizations with cumbersome hierarchical structures
Origin
late Middle English (in the sense 'difficult to get through'): from cumber + -some1.
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Carl, the new building superintendent, carried the cumbersome screwdriver up two flights from the basement. Then he examined the screw head and decided he might do better with a slightly smaller tool.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 7:24 am
by Algot Runeman
emulous
Pronunciation: /ˈɛmjʊləs /
adjective
formal
1 Seeking to emulate someone or something.
1.1 Motivated by a spirit of rivalry: emulous young writers
Origin
late Middle English (in the sense 'imitating'): from Latin aemulus 'rival'. Current senses date from the mid 16th century.
The bookstore was his haven,
His source of King and Poe.
On the window drawn a raven.
Black contrast to Maine's snow.
Charlie there stood tremulous
At King's signing table.
Wanting to be emulous,
Doubting he was able.
After the signing, King spent an extra hour talking in the back room with the employees and a few super-regular customers like Charlie. King revealed himself as a regular guy and encouraged Charlie to write, write, write. It was obvious that Charlie also was willing to read, read, read.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 11:07 am
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote:emulous
Though Pyrite Amos's mule was normally very sure-footed, this time his pack animal skidded, lost its balance and fell to its death in the ravine.
He found a way to climb down to the ravine's floor to retrieve his gear.
Stubborn as he was, he wanted to continue his prospecting, but he would be emulous henceforth.
Pyrite Amos wisely decided he had better return to town to get a new mule first.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 7:51 am
by Algot Runeman
tenebrous
Pronunciation: /ˈtɛnɪbrəs /
adjective
literary
Dark; shadowy or obscure: the tenebrous spiral staircase of the self
Origin
late Middle English: via Old French from Latin tenebrosus, from tenebrae 'darkness'.
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Hiding in the secluded, tenebrous corner, Jake hoped he would not be seen. Because it was dark and his mood matched, he decided to get tenebriated with his usual bottle of rum. He did not want to share.
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 9:18 am
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote:tenebrous
The Inverness constable replied:
"Look laddie, that you got inebriated and in this pea soup lost your way in the docklands, I can understand.
But it's entirely tenebrous to me how you managed to lose three teeth without remembering it.
Perhaps our ME, Dr. Bell, can explain it, but I myself or even Mr. Holmes haven't the foggiest idea."
Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2014 7:02 am
by Algot Runeman
labrum
Pronunciation: /ˈleɪbrəm /
noun (plural labra /-brə/)
Zoology
A structure corresponding to a lip, especially the upper border of the mouthparts of a crustacean or insect.
Origin
early 18th century: from Latin, literally 'lip'; related to labium.
Considering that crustaceans and insects have exoskeletons, it is very clear that they would show strong resolve because of having a stiff upper labrum. Tut, tut, old bean, and all that rot.
[E.P.S. Just how does a dentist deal with a patient with a stiff upper lip? It must be difficult to get at the front teeth!]
[[A side note, interesting if only to me, ODO showed me yesterday's WotD when I went to the website. Undaunted, this intrepid purveyor of words selected another. Just after the job was done, though, ODO bounced right back with a new word: resilient. You may feel free to plafully palaver at will. (Er, does one who talks too much get called a palaverer?)]]