GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:52 pm

So that's five of us so far... I'm curious now

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:01 pm

There is also marcyb. He is a german native speaker I found him by a more or less systematic search. He mostly posts in the Modesitt subforum that I do not visit much.

Post by **laurie** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:40 pm

Don't forget Ausfi (Finnish).

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 5:54 am

laurie wrote:Don't forget Ausfi (Finnish).

Yes!
I got it mixed up. I thought I remembered he was Australian living in Finland, but it is exactly the reverse.

Then there is felonius. He is so fluent in english, I somehow supposed he is an anglophone from Hong Kong, but maybe I am totally wrong.

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 7:38 am

Felon is a Canadian living in Hong Kong, actually. He went there to teach English, I think...

Are we up to six or seven? (cause I included myself...)

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 9:41 am

Seven so far (unless I am wrong for Blackwing, the Tampere address is no formal proof, but I'm basing myself on his MSN address which looks like a very finnish name)

Reede Kullervo, KeE, Blackwing, marcyb, Ausfi, you and me.

By hte way, any non-english speaker is welcome to denounce him/herself, and if I am wrong in counting you, Blackwing, please correct me.

Post by **Darb** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:42 am

I was born fluent in babyspeak, and learned English as my 2nd language. Does that count ?

Post by **Ghost** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 12:33 pm

Word of the Day Friday March 23, 2007

animadversion \an-uh-mad-VUHR-zhuhn\, noun: 1. Harsh criticism or disapproval. 2. Remarks by way of criticism and usually of censure -- often used with 'on'.

No weakness of the human mind has more frequently incurred animadversion.
-- Samuel Johnson, Rambler No. 155, October 17, 1908

This animadversion pales before those of other critics.
-- Scott C. Martin, "Violence, Gender, and Intemperance in Early National Connecticut", Journal of Social History, Winter 2000

This is neither a compliment nor an animadversion -- just a conclusion.
-- Robert Schwarz, "Passion: Ein Gestandnis", World Literature Today, January 1, 1995

It is unfortunate, therefore, that Stephen Holmes mars his otherwise helpful Anatomy of Antiliberalism with a few stray animadversions on libertarianism.
-- Hayward, Steven, "Political Liberalism", Reason, February 1, 1994

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Animadversion is from Latin animadversio, animadversion-, from animadversus, past participle of animadvertere, "to turn the mind toward," from animus, "mind, spirit" + advertere, "to turn toward," from ad, "toward" + vertere, "to turn."

CodeBlower · Post by **CodeBlower** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 12:51 pm

Brad wrote:I was born fluent in babyspeak, and learned English as my 2nd language. Does that count ?

I'm beginning to think that you have a language all your own anyway ..

Ghost wrote:animadversion

That's a tongue-tier .. (Is that how you spell that? Maybe that's why they say tongue-twister instead.)

Post by **Darb** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:55 pm

I'm fluent in Babyspeak, English, 1337 leet-speak, canine, feline, catering/bar sign language, drow sign language, vulcan tush pinchery, pig latin, lydexia, pun-speak, vast-right-wing-conspiracy code, masonic cyphery, goat, zymurgy-speak, high somellier, gutter slang, jive, distributed computing speak, and several others.

However, I think Spiphany has us all beat, and I'm almost certain that my list of languages will draw considerable animadversion from her, since as a student of philology, she's doubless a purist.

KeE · Post by **KeE** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 5:01 am

Ah, but some of your languanges are so easy to achieve fluency in!
Take "vast-right-wing-conspiracy code" for example. All you need is to express animadversion on the clerisy and you're almost there. Throw in a few whining tones about the PC-ness (and by that the idiocy) of anyone slightly more leftleaning than you, and you have mastered it.

KEE

By the way- I am Norwegian. But with dark hair and whatnot I've been known to unconcsiously imitate mediterraneans; on my first ever trip to Italy I was repeatedly asked (by other tourists) to give directions in cities I just had arrived at myself, and knew nothing about. In Real Life (tm) Looks do still play a part in where you think somebody comes from.

CodeBlower · Post by **CodeBlower** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 2:49 pm

Brad wrote:.., lydexia, ..

OLL!

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 3:39 pm

CodeBlower wrote:
Brad wrote:.., lydexia, ..
OLL!

Wosrt is, "lydexia" is nto raelly a lysdexai, yuo wnat to intrecahnge tow lettesr, or maybe double the wrong leeter, not jut drop one.

Btu if tehre is oen thign wehre I cna baet Bard, it is tehre: I cna out-lysdex hmi ayn tmie! );

Hey! Why don't I see the "wink" smiley up here?

Post by **Ghost** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 3:48 pm

Word of the Day Monday March 26, 2007

autochthonous \aw-TOK-thuh-nuhs\, adjective: 1. Aboriginal; indigenous; native. 2. Formed or originating in the place where found.

For cultures are not monoliths. They are fragmentary, patchworks of autochthonous and foreign elements.
-- Anthony Pagden, "Culture Wars", The New Republic, November 16, 1998

I thought of the present-day Arcadians, autochthonous, sprung from the very earth on which they live, who with every draught from a stream drink up millennia of history and legend.
-- Zachary Taylor, "Hot Land, Cold Water", The Atlantic, June 17, 1998

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Autochthonous derives from Greek autochthon, "of or from the earth or land itself," from auto-, "self" + chthon, "earth." One that is autochthonous is an autochthon.

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 3:59 pm

I still haven't found an autochthonous frenchman that would not feel animadversion against jellied eels (against eating them, anyway).

CodeBlower · Post by **CodeBlower** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 1:04 pm

Nasty!

Post by **Ghost** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:21 pm

R/L has been busy.

Word of the Day Archive Tuesday March 27, 2007

roborant \ROB-uh-ruhnt\, adjective: 1. Strengthening; restoring vigor. noun: 1. A strengthening medicine; a tonic; a restorative.

A major field study of the effect of pollen extracts on the common cold and its roborant . . . effects in 775 Swedish military recruits did not give unequivocal results in relation to the prophylactic effect of the preparation used against the common cold.
-- James P. Carter, Racketeering in Medicine

That day, I felt the need of a roborant after my ghost-ridden night, and I swigged down two doses.
-- William Least Heat Moon, River Horse

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Roborant derives from the present participle of Latin roborare, "to strengthen," from robur, roboris, "strength."

Word of the Day Wednesday March 28, 2007

presentiment \prih-ZEN-tuh-muhnt\, noun: A sense that something will or is about to happen; a premonition.

He'd had a presentiment of this. Yes, he had known that this was precisely what would be said.
-- Nina Berberova, Cape of Storms (translated by Marian Schwartz)

High ranking North Korean officers had "only the barest presentiment" of hostilities until the final orders were issued for the attack.
-- Nicholas Eberstadt, The End of North Korea

Lituma pictured the blank faces and icy narrow eyes that the people in Naccos . . . would all turn toward him when he asked if they knew the whereabouts of this woman's husband, and he felt the same discouragement and helplessness he had experienced earlier when he tried to question them about the other men who were missing: heads shaking no, monosyllables, evasive glances, frowns, pursed lips, a presentiment of menace.
-- Mario Vargas Llosa, Death in the Andes

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Presentiment derives from Latin praesentire, "to feel beforehand," from prae-, "before" + sentire, "to feel."

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:30 pm

I have a presentiment my dear wife is going to cook us a delicious and roborant dinner, with the autochthonous products I bought yesterday, having an animadversion for imports.

My favorite adage: "Il n'est bon goÃ»t que de Paris" (which I share with RÃ©my the Rat, the new Chef at "Gusteau's" - did you see the trailers of the latest Pixar movie?)

Post by **Ghost** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 10:52 am

Word of the Day Thursday March 29, 2007

excursus \ik-SKUR-sus\, noun: 1. A dissertation that is appended to a work and that contains a more extended exposition of some important point or topic. 2. A digression.

And the eels not only have a role in the narrator's story . . . but receive a 12-page excursus on their genesis and (as it were) life style.
-- William H. Pritchard, "The Body in the River Leem", New York Times, March 25, 1984

Sometimes, however, Mr. Honan's historical digressions wander far away from Jane Austen's concerns. An excursus on George III's insanity has precious little to do with "Pride and Prejudice," the subject nominally under discussion.
-- Peter Conrad, "Beside Her Joyce Seems Innocent as Grass'", New York Times, February 28, 1988

Perhaps the most important objection to Mr. Hughes's method is that he views structural changes in both the Western and the Communist world systems chiefly through the filter of his rebels; sometimes I would have preferred an excursus on economic issues to one on intellectual history.
-- Peter Schneider, "A New Breed at the Barricades", New York Times, January 8, 1989

Somewhat sprightlier than the long chapter on Stolypin is his 80-page historical excursus about Nicholas II, the last of Russia's hereditary autocrats.
-- Irving Howe, "The Great War and Russian Memory", New York Times, July 2, 1989

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Excursus comes from the past participle of Latin excurrere, "to run out," from ex-, "out" + currere, "to run."

Post by **Ghost** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 6:40 pm

Word of the Day Monday April 2, 2007

arriviste \a-ree-VEEST\, noun: A person who has recently attained success, wealth, or high status but not general acceptance or respect; an upstart.

Sherman, in his $1,800 imported suit and British hand-lasted shoes is . . . an arriviste and a poseur.
-- Frank Conroy, "Urban Rats in Fashion's Maze", New York Times, November 1, 1987

He excavates enough dirt that, midway through the book, the reader loses sympathy with Bernays, who comes across as an insufferable egotist and insecure, name-dropping arriviste.
-- Ron Chernow, "First Among Flacks", New York Times, August 16, 1998

Since January its market value in Europe has risen more than threefold, topping $7.5 billion and making its founder, a 34-year-old Cambridge University Ph.D., a billionaire arriviste.
-- Elizabeth Corcoran, "The Searcher", Forbes, April 2000

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Arriviste comes from French, from arriver, "to arrive," from (assumed) Vulgar Latin arripare, "to reach the shore," from Latin ad-, "to, toward" + ripa, "shore."

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Word of the Day Tuesday April 3, 2007

errant \AIR-uhnt\, adjective: 1. Wandering; roving, especially in search of adventure. 2. Deviating from an appointed course; straying. 3. Straying from the proper standards (as of truth or propriety). 4. Moving aimlessly or irregularly; as, an errant breeze.

The year 1565 finds him at Ferrara, the city where our errant poet will spend the most stable years of his life.
-- Anthony M. Esolen, introduction to Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso

They called him, "Hey, mister!" and asked him to throw their errant baseballs back to them.
-- Judith McNaught, Night Whispers

Conformity was the rule, and one young mother, imploring Peabody not to expel her errant son because he was a "very unusual" boy, heard the stony response: "Groton, madam, is no place for the unusual boy."
-- Benjamin Welles, Sumner Welles: FDR's Global Strategist

Not anymore, she says, putting her bag between her feet and moving errant hairs out of her face.
-- Joseph Clark, Jungle Wedding

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Errant comes from Middle French errer, "to travel," from Late Latin iterare, from Latin iter, "a journey"; confused somewhat with Latin errare, "to wander; to err."

Post by **Ghost** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:45 am

Word of the Day Wednesday April 4, 2007

tenet \TEN-it\, noun: Any opinion, principle, dogma, belief, or doctrine that a person holds or maintains as true.

. . .the tenet that all men are created equal and seen as such by the eyes of God.
-- Kaye Gibbons, On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon

This kind of tolerance and receptivity is itself a cardinal tenet of Enlightenment thought.
-- Gary B. Nash, History on Trial

Since the 1950s, the central tenet of US foreign policy and security strategy had been to "contain" the Soviet Union and communist domination and influence.
-- George Bush and Brent Scowcroft, A World Transformed

The central tenet of whig theory was the inevitability of progress.
-- William L. Bird Jr., Better Living

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Tenet comes from Latin tenet "he holds" (something as true), from tenere, "to hold."

voralfred · Post by **voralfred** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:13 pm

I am an indefatigable arriviste. My favorite adage is "live, and not let live anything on my path". This is my basic tenet. If you allow me an excursus (and you'd better do, because if you express any animadversion I'll turn you into a very roborant hamburger) I'll add that, having been errant for too long, I have now a presentiment that no autochthonous clerisy is going to displace me yet again.
One more adage: "J'y suis, j'y reste" (I'm here, and I won't budge!)

Post by **Ghost** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:54 am

Word of the Day Thursday April 5, 2007

deign \DAYN\, intransitive verb: 1. To think worthy; to condescend -- followed by an infinitive. 2. To condescend to give or bestow; to stoop to furnish; to grant.

Not until I pour vodka on his shirt does he deign to acknowledge my existence.
-- Jay McInerney, Model Behavior

Maybe the President does not deign to read op-ed pages, but his speechwriters surely do.
-- William Safire, "The Wrong Way.", New York Times, June 14, 1999

Like most healthy, normal people (if you deign to categorize yourself that way), you are probably fraught with worry so intense these days you are sleeping standing up with your eyes open.
-- Lisa Napoli, "Every Little Thing's Gonna Be All Right!", New York Times, December 14, 1996

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Deign comes from Old French deignier, "to regard as worthy," from Latin dignari, from dignus, "worthy." It is related to dignity, "the quality or state of being worthy."

Post by **Ghost** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:10 am

Word of the Day Tuesday April 10, 2007

rivulet \RIV-yuh-lut\, noun: A small stream or brook; a streamlet.

But Stephen speaks of water in the desert, and triumphal swelling progress: raindrop, runnel, rivulet, river, sea.
-- Blake Morrison, As If

There was a rivulet of scummy water heading for his highly polished black shoe.
-- Joanne Harris, Chocolat

After two minutes in the steam chamber, sweat began to flow in rivulets from every pore in my body, dripping steadily from my fingertips.
-- Fen Montaigne, Reeling in Russia

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Rivulet is from Italian rivoletto, diminutive of rivolo, from Latin rivulus, diminutive of rivus, "a brook, a stream."

Post by **Ghost** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:12 am

Word of the Day Wednesday April 11, 2007

putsch \PUCH ('u' as in 'push')\, noun: (Sometimes capitalized) A secretly planned and suddenly executed attempt to overthrow a government.

Hitler operated from Munich where he enjoyed a fair degree of support, and it was here that his Putsch took place in an effort to seize power in Bavaria.
-- Alan Jefferson, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

President Bush, underwriter of the island's nascent democracy, swiftly announced that the coup would not stand, then just as quickly receded into embarrassed silence when informed by his staff that his own crew in Port-au-Prince not only had foreknowledge of the putsch but had allowed it to advance without a word.
-- Bob Shacochis, The Immaculate Invasion

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Putsch comes from German, from Middle High German, literally, "thrust."