GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)
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CodeBlower
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Word of the Day Archive Monday May 14, 2007
internecine \in-tuhr-NES-een; -NEE-syn; -NEE-sin\, adjective: 1. Of or relating to conflict within a nation, an organization, or a group. 2. Mutually destructive; involving or accompanied by mutual slaughter. 3. Deadly; destructive; marked by slaughter.
It was directed locally and regionally by mid-level party bosses . . . who were likely to be engaged in internecine feuding.
-- Michael H. Kater, The Twisted Muse
The Mexican government, wracked with internecine struggle and hopelessly in debt, had threatened to nationalize American oil companies.
-- Susan Hertog, Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life
While the Seven Years' War resolved none of Europe's internecine conflicts, so far as North America and the British Empire were concerned, this immense conflict changed everything, and by no means only for the better.
-- Fred Anderson, Crucible of War
During the months of war and the internecine street fighting, coal and wood supplies ran out and houses went unheated.
-- Edmund White, Marcel Proust
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Internecine is from Latin internecinus, from internecare, "to destroy utterly, to exterminate," from inter- + necare, "to kill," from nec-, nex, "violent death."
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Word of the Day Tuesday May 15, 2007
vitiate \VISH-ee-ayt\, transitive verb: 1. To make faulty or imperfect; to render defective; to impair; as, "exaggeration vitiates a style of writing." 2. To corrupt morally; to debase. 3. To render ineffective; as, "fraud vitiates a contract."
MacNelly is one of the few contemporary political cartoonists who can use humor to accentuate, not vitiate, his points.
-- Richard E. Marschall, "The Century In Political Cartoons", Columbia Journalism Review, May/June 1999
Their religious convictions and conduct were held to be vitiated by hideous error.
-- David Vital, A People Apart
Whatever a "real contradiction" might be, "apparent contradictions" are quite sufficient to vitiate a doctrine of biblical authority that is based on the supposedly apparent reading of the text.
-- Robert M. Price, "The Psychology of Biblicism", Humanist, May 2001
It seems churlish to say of a book that is beautifully written, richly allusive, learned, elegant, Proustian in tone and mode, that precisely these qualities vitiate its ostensible purpose, distracting attention from the subject and focusing it upon the very gifted author.
-- Gertrude Himmelfarb, "A Man's Own Household His Enemies", Commentary, July 1999
It is conceivable that an error could be so serious as to vitiate the entire body of the work.
-- Linda Hawes Clever and Lois Ann Colaianni, "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals", Public Health Reports, May/June 1997
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Vitiate comes from Latin vitiare, from vitium, fault. It is related to vice (a moral failing or fault), which comes from vitium via French.
internecine \in-tuhr-NES-een; -NEE-syn; -NEE-sin\, adjective: 1. Of or relating to conflict within a nation, an organization, or a group. 2. Mutually destructive; involving or accompanied by mutual slaughter. 3. Deadly; destructive; marked by slaughter.
It was directed locally and regionally by mid-level party bosses . . . who were likely to be engaged in internecine feuding.
-- Michael H. Kater, The Twisted Muse
The Mexican government, wracked with internecine struggle and hopelessly in debt, had threatened to nationalize American oil companies.
-- Susan Hertog, Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life
While the Seven Years' War resolved none of Europe's internecine conflicts, so far as North America and the British Empire were concerned, this immense conflict changed everything, and by no means only for the better.
-- Fred Anderson, Crucible of War
During the months of war and the internecine street fighting, coal and wood supplies ran out and houses went unheated.
-- Edmund White, Marcel Proust
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internecine is from Latin internecinus, from internecare, "to destroy utterly, to exterminate," from inter- + necare, "to kill," from nec-, nex, "violent death."
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Word of the Day Tuesday May 15, 2007
vitiate \VISH-ee-ayt\, transitive verb: 1. To make faulty or imperfect; to render defective; to impair; as, "exaggeration vitiates a style of writing." 2. To corrupt morally; to debase. 3. To render ineffective; as, "fraud vitiates a contract."
MacNelly is one of the few contemporary political cartoonists who can use humor to accentuate, not vitiate, his points.
-- Richard E. Marschall, "The Century In Political Cartoons", Columbia Journalism Review, May/June 1999
Their religious convictions and conduct were held to be vitiated by hideous error.
-- David Vital, A People Apart
Whatever a "real contradiction" might be, "apparent contradictions" are quite sufficient to vitiate a doctrine of biblical authority that is based on the supposedly apparent reading of the text.
-- Robert M. Price, "The Psychology of Biblicism", Humanist, May 2001
It seems churlish to say of a book that is beautifully written, richly allusive, learned, elegant, Proustian in tone and mode, that precisely these qualities vitiate its ostensible purpose, distracting attention from the subject and focusing it upon the very gifted author.
-- Gertrude Himmelfarb, "A Man's Own Household His Enemies", Commentary, July 1999
It is conceivable that an error could be so serious as to vitiate the entire body of the work.
-- Linda Hawes Clever and Lois Ann Colaianni, "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals", Public Health Reports, May/June 1997
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Vitiate comes from Latin vitiare, from vitium, fault. It is related to vice (a moral failing or fault), which comes from vitium via French.
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Wednesday May 16, 2007
penchant \PEN-chunt\, noun: Inclination; decided taste; a strong liking.
Ben was a dreamy little boy, recalls Hiddy, who always thought her brother's penchant for reveries might lead him to become an artist or a great philosopher.
-- Thomas Maier, Dr. Spock: An American Life
Field, in his personal comportment, maintained a penchant for austerity, a contempt for frivolity, and a "steely cold" disdain for any decision not based on fundamental business principles.
-- RolandMarchand, Creating the Corporate Soul
Even as an adolescent bookkeeper in a trading house in Cleveland, Rockefeller minutely recorded his charitable donations in ledgers, which confirm that from an early age he had a penchant for giving money no less than for making it.
-- Ron Chernow, "Mystery of the Generous Monopolist", New York Times, November 18, 1998
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Penchant comes from the present participle of French pencher, "to incline, to bend," from (assumed) Late Latin pendicare, "to lean," from Latin pendere, "to weigh."
penchant \PEN-chunt\, noun: Inclination; decided taste; a strong liking.
Ben was a dreamy little boy, recalls Hiddy, who always thought her brother's penchant for reveries might lead him to become an artist or a great philosopher.
-- Thomas Maier, Dr. Spock: An American Life
Field, in his personal comportment, maintained a penchant for austerity, a contempt for frivolity, and a "steely cold" disdain for any decision not based on fundamental business principles.
-- RolandMarchand, Creating the Corporate Soul
Even as an adolescent bookkeeper in a trading house in Cleveland, Rockefeller minutely recorded his charitable donations in ledgers, which confirm that from an early age he had a penchant for giving money no less than for making it.
-- Ron Chernow, "Mystery of the Generous Monopolist", New York Times, November 18, 1998
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Penchant comes from the present participle of French pencher, "to incline, to bend," from (assumed) Late Latin pendicare, "to lean," from Latin pendere, "to weigh."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
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CodeBlower
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Hmm ... how best to use penchant here ...voralfred wrote:Just used four WoTD in a seven words sentence.. and I don't even know what I am talking about....
"Budge up, yeh great lump." -- Hagrid, HP:SS
-=-
The gelding is what the gelding is, unlike people who change in response to their perceptions of events that may benefit or threaten their power. -- Lorn, Chapter LXXXII, Magi'i of Cyador
-=-
The gelding is what the gelding is, unlike people who change in response to their perceptions of events that may benefit or threaten their power. -- Lorn, Chapter LXXXII, Magi'i of Cyador
Word of the Day Thursday May 17, 2007
flagitious \fluh-JISH-uhs\, adjective: 1. Disgracefully or shamefully criminal; grossly wicked; scandalous; -- said of acts, crimes, etc. 2. Guilty of enormous crimes; corrupt; profligate; -- said of persons. 3. Characterized by enormous crimes or scandalous vices; as, "flagitious times."
However flagitious may be the crime of conspiring to subvert by force the government of our country, such conspiracy is not treason.
-- Ex parte Bollman & Swartwout, 4 Cranch 126 (1807)
The Grinch, a nefarious, flagitious, sly, nasty, troublesome, bad-tempered, intolerant and foul-smelling character who, for reasons never fully explained, lives in a cave above the town.
-- Robin Greer, "Carrey Christmas", News Letter, December 1, 2000
These men were reported to be heretics . . . , seducers of youth, and men of flagitious life.
-- Isaac Taylor, History of the World
During the Whiskey Rebellion 200 years ago, a preacher declared: "The present day is unfolding a design the most extensive, flagitious and diabolical, that human art and malice have ever invented . . . If accomplished, the earth can be nothing better than a sink of impurities."
-- George Will, "Paranoiac Terrorism Is Part of American History", Newsday, April 25, 1995
Break heart, drop blood, and mingle it with tears, Tears falling from repentant heaviness Of thy most vile and loathsome filthiness, The stench whereof corrupts the inward soul With such flagitious crimes of heinous sins As no commiseration may expel, But mercy, Faustus, of thy Saviour sweet, Whose blood alone must wash away thy guilt.
-- Christopher Marlowe, The Tragical History Of Doctor Faustus
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Flagitious comes from Latin flagitiosus, from flagitium, "a shameful or disgraceful act," originally, "a burning desire, heat of passion," from flagitare, "to demand earnestly or hotly," connected with flagrare, "to blaze, to burn."
flagitious \fluh-JISH-uhs\, adjective: 1. Disgracefully or shamefully criminal; grossly wicked; scandalous; -- said of acts, crimes, etc. 2. Guilty of enormous crimes; corrupt; profligate; -- said of persons. 3. Characterized by enormous crimes or scandalous vices; as, "flagitious times."
However flagitious may be the crime of conspiring to subvert by force the government of our country, such conspiracy is not treason.
-- Ex parte Bollman & Swartwout, 4 Cranch 126 (1807)
The Grinch, a nefarious, flagitious, sly, nasty, troublesome, bad-tempered, intolerant and foul-smelling character who, for reasons never fully explained, lives in a cave above the town.
-- Robin Greer, "Carrey Christmas", News Letter, December 1, 2000
These men were reported to be heretics . . . , seducers of youth, and men of flagitious life.
-- Isaac Taylor, History of the World
During the Whiskey Rebellion 200 years ago, a preacher declared: "The present day is unfolding a design the most extensive, flagitious and diabolical, that human art and malice have ever invented . . . If accomplished, the earth can be nothing better than a sink of impurities."
-- George Will, "Paranoiac Terrorism Is Part of American History", Newsday, April 25, 1995
Break heart, drop blood, and mingle it with tears, Tears falling from repentant heaviness Of thy most vile and loathsome filthiness, The stench whereof corrupts the inward soul With such flagitious crimes of heinous sins As no commiseration may expel, But mercy, Faustus, of thy Saviour sweet, Whose blood alone must wash away thy guilt.
-- Christopher Marlowe, The Tragical History Of Doctor Faustus
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Flagitious comes from Latin flagitiosus, from flagitium, "a shameful or disgraceful act," originally, "a burning desire, heat of passion," from flagitare, "to demand earnestly or hotly," connected with flagrare, "to blaze, to burn."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
I must confess that I have flagitious penchants...voralfred wrote:
Just used four WoTD in a seven words sentence.. and I don't even know what I am talking about....
Seriously now, did any of you ever heard of the word "flagitious"? or "termagant", for that matter?
Last edited by voralfred on Fri May 25, 2007 11:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
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CodeBlower
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No. But these are way more fun than Reader's Digest and I haven't heard of half of those either. That's why I read this thread.voralfred wrote:Seriously now, did any of you ever heard of the word "flagitious"? or "termagant", for that matter?
Edit: *plus* - some of them are just so darned much fun to pronounce ..
"Budge up, yeh great lump." -- Hagrid, HP:SS
-=-
The gelding is what the gelding is, unlike people who change in response to their perceptions of events that may benefit or threaten their power. -- Lorn, Chapter LXXXII, Magi'i of Cyador
-=-
The gelding is what the gelding is, unlike people who change in response to their perceptions of events that may benefit or threaten their power. -- Lorn, Chapter LXXXII, Magi'i of Cyador
Word of the Day Friday May 18, 2007
bombast \BOM-bast\, noun: Pompous or pretentious speech or writing.
A more serious difficulty, though, is that "love" has inspired a vast deal of high-toned rhetoric, and Ms. Ackerman seems determined to boost the bombast that already engulfs this troublesome word.
-- "This Crazy Thing Called Love", New York Times, June 26, 1994
It was partly this gift for nuance that caused Kempton to notice, while reviewing the work of Whittaker Chambers, something undeniably authentic beneath the bombast and self-pity.
-- "Age of Ideology: Murray Kempton on the 30's", New York Times, January 31, 1999
He especially loved pro wrestling shows, where he learned the importance of bombast, and how to immobilize a larger opponent.
-- John Brady, Bad Boy: The Life and Politics of Lee Atwater
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Bombast comes from Medieval French bombace, "cotton, hance padding," from Late Latin bombax, "cotton."
bombast \BOM-bast\, noun: Pompous or pretentious speech or writing.
A more serious difficulty, though, is that "love" has inspired a vast deal of high-toned rhetoric, and Ms. Ackerman seems determined to boost the bombast that already engulfs this troublesome word.
-- "This Crazy Thing Called Love", New York Times, June 26, 1994
It was partly this gift for nuance that caused Kempton to notice, while reviewing the work of Whittaker Chambers, something undeniably authentic beneath the bombast and self-pity.
-- "Age of Ideology: Murray Kempton on the 30's", New York Times, January 31, 1999
He especially loved pro wrestling shows, where he learned the importance of bombast, and how to immobilize a larger opponent.
-- John Brady, Bad Boy: The Life and Politics of Lee Atwater
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bombast comes from Medieval French bombace, "cotton, hance padding," from Late Latin bombax, "cotton."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Monday May 21, 2007
insuperable \in-SOO-pur-uh-bul\, adjective: Incapable of being passed over, surmounted, or overcome; insurmountable; as, "insuperable difficulties."
They have overcome almost insuperable odds that the poor facilities and elements have brought about.
-- Raimund E. Goerler (Editor), To the Pole: The Diary and Notebook of Richard E. Byrd, 1925-1927
Once the Soviet Union acquired the bomb, in 1949, proposals for nuclear disarmament were rejected on grounds that the character of the Soviet regime posed an insuperable obstacle.
-- Jonathan Schell, The Gift of Time
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Insuperable comes from Latin insuperabilis, from in-, "not" + superare, "to go above or over, to surmount," from super, "above, over."
insuperable \in-SOO-pur-uh-bul\, adjective: Incapable of being passed over, surmounted, or overcome; insurmountable; as, "insuperable difficulties."
They have overcome almost insuperable odds that the poor facilities and elements have brought about.
-- Raimund E. Goerler (Editor), To the Pole: The Diary and Notebook of Richard E. Byrd, 1925-1927
Once the Soviet Union acquired the bomb, in 1949, proposals for nuclear disarmament were rejected on grounds that the character of the Soviet regime posed an insuperable obstacle.
-- Jonathan Schell, The Gift of Time
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Insuperable comes from Latin insuperabilis, from in-, "not" + superare, "to go above or over, to surmount," from super, "above, over."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Tuesday May 22, 2007
delectation \dee-lek-TAY-shun\, noun: Great pleasure; delight, enjoyment.
In the eighteenth century, the Qing emperor, Qianlong, created . . . a park for his own delectation, full of diminutive Chinese landmarks, so that he could canter round his whole kingdom without leaving home.
-- Kate Lowe and Eugene McLaughlin, "Dollars and dim sum", History Today, June 1995
At other times she'll get so worked up by some pet poeticism that she forgets she's not writing just for her own delectation.
-- David Klinghoffer, "Black madonna", National Review, February 9, 1998
Animals are not puppets, put on earth for our delectation.
-- Colin Tudge, "Why this scene is unnatural", New Statesman, February 18, 2002
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Delectation derives from Latin delectatio, from the past participle of delectare, "to please."
delectation \dee-lek-TAY-shun\, noun: Great pleasure; delight, enjoyment.
In the eighteenth century, the Qing emperor, Qianlong, created . . . a park for his own delectation, full of diminutive Chinese landmarks, so that he could canter round his whole kingdom without leaving home.
-- Kate Lowe and Eugene McLaughlin, "Dollars and dim sum", History Today, June 1995
At other times she'll get so worked up by some pet poeticism that she forgets she's not writing just for her own delectation.
-- David Klinghoffer, "Black madonna", National Review, February 9, 1998
Animals are not puppets, put on earth for our delectation.
-- Colin Tudge, "Why this scene is unnatural", New Statesman, February 18, 2002
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Delectation derives from Latin delectatio, from the past participle of delectare, "to please."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Wednesday May 23, 2007
redolent \RED-uh-luhnt\, adjective: 1. Having or exuding fragrance; scented; aromatic. 2. Full of fragrance; odorous; smelling (usually used with 'of' or 'with'). 3. Serving to bring to mind; evocative; suggestive; reminiscent (usually used with 'of' or 'with').
The 142-foot-long sidewheeled steamer . . . ferried people from place to place, . . . its two decks redolent with the aroma of fresh grapes, peaches, and other fruit headed for the rail spur at the Canandaigua pier, then on to markets in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.
-- A. M. Sperber and Eric Lax, Bogart
The simple, semisweet and moist cake was redolent of cinnamon and nutmeg and studded with Mr. McCartney's favorite nuts, pecans.
-- Bryan Miller, "Lots of Smidgens, But Hold the Meat", New York Times, September 7, 1994
Backed by soaring sax and energetic percussion, Martin makes the sort of celebratory, Spanish party music redolent of warm weather and cocktails.
-- Lisa Verrico, Times (London), November 10, 2000
It's a fine word, "Fellowship", redolent of Oxbridge high tables and intellectual excellence.
-- Paul Hoggart, Times (London), February 24, 2001
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Redolent derives from Latin redolens, -entis, present participle of redolere, "to emit a scent, to diffuse an odor," from red-, re- + olere, "to exhale an odor."
redolent \RED-uh-luhnt\, adjective: 1. Having or exuding fragrance; scented; aromatic. 2. Full of fragrance; odorous; smelling (usually used with 'of' or 'with'). 3. Serving to bring to mind; evocative; suggestive; reminiscent (usually used with 'of' or 'with').
The 142-foot-long sidewheeled steamer . . . ferried people from place to place, . . . its two decks redolent with the aroma of fresh grapes, peaches, and other fruit headed for the rail spur at the Canandaigua pier, then on to markets in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.
-- A. M. Sperber and Eric Lax, Bogart
The simple, semisweet and moist cake was redolent of cinnamon and nutmeg and studded with Mr. McCartney's favorite nuts, pecans.
-- Bryan Miller, "Lots of Smidgens, But Hold the Meat", New York Times, September 7, 1994
Backed by soaring sax and energetic percussion, Martin makes the sort of celebratory, Spanish party music redolent of warm weather and cocktails.
-- Lisa Verrico, Times (London), November 10, 2000
It's a fine word, "Fellowship", redolent of Oxbridge high tables and intellectual excellence.
-- Paul Hoggart, Times (London), February 24, 2001
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Redolent derives from Latin redolens, -entis, present participle of redolere, "to emit a scent, to diffuse an odor," from red-, re- + olere, "to exhale an odor."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Thursday May 24, 2007
polymath \POL-ee-math\, noun: A person of great or varied learning; one acquainted with various subjects of study.
A century after Aristotle, in 240 B.C., a brilliant polymath, Eratosthenes, is appointed chief librarian of the Museum at Alexandria--the most cosmopolitan city and center of learning in the Mediterranean world.
-- Alan Gurney, Below the Convergence
Alan Kay, for instance, one of the wizards of PARC and now an Apple fellow, is a polymath accomplished in math, biology, music, developmental psychology, philosophy, and several other disciplines.
-- Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius
Like her literary heroine, George Eliot, Kingsolver is an old-fashioned polymath, curious about all branches of human learning.
-- Sarah Kerr, "The Novel As Indictment", New York Times, October 11, 1998
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Polymath is from Greek polymathes, "having learned much," from poly-, "much" + manthanein, "to learn."
polymath \POL-ee-math\, noun: A person of great or varied learning; one acquainted with various subjects of study.
A century after Aristotle, in 240 B.C., a brilliant polymath, Eratosthenes, is appointed chief librarian of the Museum at Alexandria--the most cosmopolitan city and center of learning in the Mediterranean world.
-- Alan Gurney, Below the Convergence
Alan Kay, for instance, one of the wizards of PARC and now an Apple fellow, is a polymath accomplished in math, biology, music, developmental psychology, philosophy, and several other disciplines.
-- Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius
Like her literary heroine, George Eliot, Kingsolver is an old-fashioned polymath, curious about all branches of human learning.
-- Sarah Kerr, "The Novel As Indictment", New York Times, October 11, 1998
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Polymath is from Greek polymathes, "having learned much," from poly-, "much" + manthanein, "to learn."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
-
laurie
- Spelling Mistress
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But the real questions are:
1) Do the crows understand those big words better than most humans do?
2) Do scarecrow jobs pay more than English teaching jobs?
1) Do the crows understand those big words better than most humans do?
2) Do scarecrow jobs pay more than English teaching jobs?
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." -- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
"So where the hell is he?" -- Laurie
"So where the hell is he?" -- Laurie
Word of the Day Friday May 25, 2007
polyglot \POL-ee-glot\, adjective: 1. Containing or made up of several languages. 2. Writing, speaking, or versed in many languages.
noun: 1. One who speaks several languages.
Yes, Burgess loved to scatter polyglot obscurities like potholes throughout his more than 50 novels and dozens of nonfiction works. He could leap gaily from Welsh to French to Malay to Yiddish in one breath.
-- "Byrne", Chicago Sun-Times, August 24, 1997
There should be polyglot waiters who can tell us when the train starts in four or five languages.
-- Hamerton, Intelligent Life
My parents are both polyglots--they speak five Indian languages each, I speak seven--and they would encourage my reading.
-- Lawrence Weschler, A Wanderer in the Perfect City
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Polyglot derives from Greek polyglottos, from poly-, "many" + glotta, "tongue, language."
polyglot \POL-ee-glot\, adjective: 1. Containing or made up of several languages. 2. Writing, speaking, or versed in many languages.
noun: 1. One who speaks several languages.
Yes, Burgess loved to scatter polyglot obscurities like potholes throughout his more than 50 novels and dozens of nonfiction works. He could leap gaily from Welsh to French to Malay to Yiddish in one breath.
-- "Byrne", Chicago Sun-Times, August 24, 1997
There should be polyglot waiters who can tell us when the train starts in four or five languages.
-- Hamerton, Intelligent Life
My parents are both polyglots--they speak five Indian languages each, I speak seven--and they would encourage my reading.
-- Lawrence Weschler, A Wanderer in the Perfect City
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Polyglot derives from Greek polyglottos, from poly-, "many" + glotta, "tongue, language."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Archive Tuesday May 29, 2007
fecund \FEE-kuhnd; FEK-uhnd\, adjective: 1. Capable of producing offspring or vegetation; fruitful; prolific. 2. Intellectually productive or inventive.
For 21 years after the birth of the Prince of Wales, the fecund royal couple produced children at the rate of two every three years -- eight boys and six girls in all.
-- Saul David, Prince of Pleasure
In her first novel she portrays a lush, fecund landscape palpable in its sultriness and excess.
-- Barbara Crossette, "Seeking Nirvana", New York Times, April 29, 2001
Miss Ozick can convert any skeptic to the cult of her shrewd and fecund imagination.
-- Edmund White, "Images of a Mind Thinking", New York Times, September 11, 1983
Wainscott's book is . . . focused squarely and surely on probably the most astonishingly fecund period in American theater history, 1914-1929.
-- James Coakley, Comparative Drama
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Fecund comes from Latin fecundus, "fruitful, prolific." The noun form is fecundity.
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Word of the Day Wednesday May 30, 2007
chortle \CHOR-tl\, transitive and intransitive verb: 1. To utter, or express with, a snorting, exultant laugh or chuckle.
noun: 1. A snorting, exultant laugh or chuckle.
Benjamin himself chortled now, an odd laugh to which I grew accustomed in years to come.
-- Jay Parini, Benjamin's Crossing
Even Isaksson's stern wife, who rarely cracked a smile, chortled with glee, and Old Mothstead slapped his thighs and flapped his apron and danced around the couple, who moved in ever larger rings amongst the kegs.
-- Kerstin Ekman, Witches' Rings, translated by Linda Schenck
A nation that was used to chortling over Charlie Chaplin or rejoicing with the high-stepping Ziegfeld girls found itself drawn to this more refined, decidedly European entertainment.
-- Larry Tye, The Father of Spin
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Chortle a combination of chuckle and snort. It was coined by Lewis Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson), in Through the Looking-Glass, published in 1872.
fecund \FEE-kuhnd; FEK-uhnd\, adjective: 1. Capable of producing offspring or vegetation; fruitful; prolific. 2. Intellectually productive or inventive.
For 21 years after the birth of the Prince of Wales, the fecund royal couple produced children at the rate of two every three years -- eight boys and six girls in all.
-- Saul David, Prince of Pleasure
In her first novel she portrays a lush, fecund landscape palpable in its sultriness and excess.
-- Barbara Crossette, "Seeking Nirvana", New York Times, April 29, 2001
Miss Ozick can convert any skeptic to the cult of her shrewd and fecund imagination.
-- Edmund White, "Images of a Mind Thinking", New York Times, September 11, 1983
Wainscott's book is . . . focused squarely and surely on probably the most astonishingly fecund period in American theater history, 1914-1929.
-- James Coakley, Comparative Drama
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Fecund comes from Latin fecundus, "fruitful, prolific." The noun form is fecundity.
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Word of the Day Wednesday May 30, 2007
chortle \CHOR-tl\, transitive and intransitive verb: 1. To utter, or express with, a snorting, exultant laugh or chuckle.
noun: 1. A snorting, exultant laugh or chuckle.
Benjamin himself chortled now, an odd laugh to which I grew accustomed in years to come.
-- Jay Parini, Benjamin's Crossing
Even Isaksson's stern wife, who rarely cracked a smile, chortled with glee, and Old Mothstead slapped his thighs and flapped his apron and danced around the couple, who moved in ever larger rings amongst the kegs.
-- Kerstin Ekman, Witches' Rings, translated by Linda Schenck
A nation that was used to chortling over Charlie Chaplin or rejoicing with the high-stepping Ziegfeld girls found itself drawn to this more refined, decidedly European entertainment.
-- Larry Tye, The Father of Spin
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Chortle a combination of chuckle and snort. It was coined by Lewis Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson), in Through the Looking-Glass, published in 1872.
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Friday June 1, 2007
omnipresent \om-nuh-PREZ-uhnt\, adjective: Present in all places at the same time; ubiquitous.
It was rather that myth was omnipresent; the whole people thought in this way and were long confirmed in their belief.
-- Jacob Burckhardt, The Greeks and Greek Civilization
But the music of Bortnyansky was exultant, and the canticleswere borne aloft to God the omnipotent, the omniscient, the omnipresent.
-- Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin, How it All Began (translated by George Shriver)
The novella moves at a pace as sluggish as that of the omnipresent moon making its way across the limpid summer sky.
-- Tobin Harshaw, "Pay the Piper", New York Times, November 14, 1999
Civilization is the preserve of the rich, with their polished cars, their locked houses and their omnipresent police force.
-- Peter Conrad, Modern Times, Modern Places
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Omnipresent is from Medieval Latin omnipresens, from Latin omni-, "all" + praesens, present participle of praeesse, "to be before, to be present," from prae-, "before" + esse, "to be."
omnipresent \om-nuh-PREZ-uhnt\, adjective: Present in all places at the same time; ubiquitous.
It was rather that myth was omnipresent; the whole people thought in this way and were long confirmed in their belief.
-- Jacob Burckhardt, The Greeks and Greek Civilization
But the music of Bortnyansky was exultant, and the canticleswere borne aloft to God the omnipotent, the omniscient, the omnipresent.
-- Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin, How it All Began (translated by George Shriver)
The novella moves at a pace as sluggish as that of the omnipresent moon making its way across the limpid summer sky.
-- Tobin Harshaw, "Pay the Piper", New York Times, November 14, 1999
Civilization is the preserve of the rich, with their polished cars, their locked houses and their omnipresent police force.
-- Peter Conrad, Modern Times, Modern Places
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Omnipresent is from Medieval Latin omnipresens, from Latin omni-, "all" + praesens, present participle of praeesse, "to be before, to be present," from prae-, "before" + esse, "to be."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
-
CodeBlower
- Shakespearean Groupie
- Posts: 1760
- Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 12:27 am
- Location: IL, USA
- Contact:
Absolutely no clue why but, I was sitting in the theatre two days ago (waiting for Pirates to start), rolling redolent around on my tongue, trying to remember which syllable the emphasis was on, and then wondering where I'd gotten the word from.
(Only to return here and rediscover it.)
(Only to return here and rediscover it.)
"Budge up, yeh great lump." -- Hagrid, HP:SS
-=-
The gelding is what the gelding is, unlike people who change in response to their perceptions of events that may benefit or threaten their power. -- Lorn, Chapter LXXXII, Magi'i of Cyador
-=-
The gelding is what the gelding is, unlike people who change in response to their perceptions of events that may benefit or threaten their power. -- Lorn, Chapter LXXXII, Magi'i of Cyador
Word of the Day Wednesday June 6, 2007
lumpen \LUHM-puhn; LUM-puhn\, adjective; plural lumpen, also lumpens: 1. Of or relating to dispossessed and displaced individuals, especially those who have lost social status. 2. Common; vulgar.
noun: 1. A member the underclass, especially the lowest social stratum.
. . .an academic sweatshop where underpaid lumpen intellectuals slave for a pittance.
-- Ashlea Ebeling, "I got my degree through e-mail", Forbes, June 16, 1997
If traditionally cricket has been the game of the elite, and football strictly for the lumpen masses, all that's changed now.
-- Louisa Buck, "Fever pitch", ArtForum, October 1996
Though I appreciate that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is a self-made man, having made his billions by selling the voltage of his brainpower to behemoths such as CompuServe and Yahoo!, and though I also appreciate that he has maintained his ability to mingle with the lumpen, he still is a very, very rich man.
-- Sean Deveney, "Mavs make their move, but at what cost?", Sporting News, March 4, 2002
The New Russians are depicted as lumpens who have left the countryside and never fully adjusted to city life.
-- Emil Draitser, "The new Russians' jokelore: Genesis and sociological interpretations", Demokratizatsiya, Summer 2001
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Lumpen is from German Lumpenproletariat, "degraded stratum of the proletariat," from Lump, "a contemptible person" (from Lumpen, "rags") + Proletariat, "proletariat," from French.
lumpen \LUHM-puhn; LUM-puhn\, adjective; plural lumpen, also lumpens: 1. Of or relating to dispossessed and displaced individuals, especially those who have lost social status. 2. Common; vulgar.
noun: 1. A member the underclass, especially the lowest social stratum.
. . .an academic sweatshop where underpaid lumpen intellectuals slave for a pittance.
-- Ashlea Ebeling, "I got my degree through e-mail", Forbes, June 16, 1997
If traditionally cricket has been the game of the elite, and football strictly for the lumpen masses, all that's changed now.
-- Louisa Buck, "Fever pitch", ArtForum, October 1996
Though I appreciate that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is a self-made man, having made his billions by selling the voltage of his brainpower to behemoths such as CompuServe and Yahoo!, and though I also appreciate that he has maintained his ability to mingle with the lumpen, he still is a very, very rich man.
-- Sean Deveney, "Mavs make their move, but at what cost?", Sporting News, March 4, 2002
The New Russians are depicted as lumpens who have left the countryside and never fully adjusted to city life.
-- Emil Draitser, "The new Russians' jokelore: Genesis and sociological interpretations", Demokratizatsiya, Summer 2001
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Lumpen is from German Lumpenproletariat, "degraded stratum of the proletariat," from Lump, "a contemptible person" (from Lumpen, "rags") + Proletariat, "proletariat," from French.
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
This line extracted a chortle from me. The story of my life!Ghost wrote: . . .an academic sweatshop where underpaid lumpen intellectuals slave for a pittance
My fecund, polymath's imagination is vitiated by omnipresent, flagitious termagants who, despite my intransigent brio and my efficacious celerity, keep me, with their unsuperable internecine acrimony, from reaching the Pantheon, the Empyrean that should, in all justice, crown the denouement of my career. Gregarious autochtonous arrivistes, all of them, with their indefatigable animadversation, surreptitiously keeping me in a malodorant, turbid quagmire
Last edited by voralfred on Wed Dec 05, 2007 4:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
Word of the Day Thursday June 7, 2007
epicene \EP-uh-seen\, adjective: 1. Having the characteristics of both sexes. 2. Effeminate; unmasculine. 3. Sexless; neuter. 4. (Linguistics) Having but one form of the noun for both the male and the female.
noun: 1. A person or thing that is epicene. 2. (Linguistics) An epicene word.
He has a clear-eyed, epicene handsomeness -- cruel, sensuous mouth; cheekbones to cut your heart on -- the sort of excessive beauty that is best appreciated in repose on a 50-foot screen.
-- Franz Lidz, "Jude Law: He Didn't Turn Out Obscure at All", New York Times, May 13, 2001
She smothers (almost literally at times) her weak, epicene son Vladimir, and is prepared to commit any crime to see him become Tsar, despite his reluctance.
-- Ronald Bergan, Sergei Eisenstein: A Life in Conflict
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Epicene derives from Latin epicoenus, from Greek epikoinos, "common to," from epi-, "upon" + koinos, "common."
epicene \EP-uh-seen\, adjective: 1. Having the characteristics of both sexes. 2. Effeminate; unmasculine. 3. Sexless; neuter. 4. (Linguistics) Having but one form of the noun for both the male and the female.
noun: 1. A person or thing that is epicene. 2. (Linguistics) An epicene word.
He has a clear-eyed, epicene handsomeness -- cruel, sensuous mouth; cheekbones to cut your heart on -- the sort of excessive beauty that is best appreciated in repose on a 50-foot screen.
-- Franz Lidz, "Jude Law: He Didn't Turn Out Obscure at All", New York Times, May 13, 2001
She smothers (almost literally at times) her weak, epicene son Vladimir, and is prepared to commit any crime to see him become Tsar, despite his reluctance.
-- Ronald Bergan, Sergei Eisenstein: A Life in Conflict
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Epicene derives from Latin epicoenus, from Greek epikoinos, "common to," from epi-, "upon" + koinos, "common."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams
Word of the Day Friday June 8, 2007
palliate \PAL-ee-ayt\, transitive verb: 1. To reduce in violence (said of diseases, etc.); to lessen or abate. 2. To cover by excuses and apologies; to extenuate. 3. To reduce in severity; to make less intense.
I had held a hope that she would take my class, that I would have the chance not only to cope with but to help palliate her pain.
-- Steven Polansky, "Pantalone", Harper's Magazine, February 1997
He was widely praised in both East and West as a humanitarian seeking to palliate the excesses of a cruel regime.
-- Joseph Finder, "The Trade in Spies: Not All Black or White", New York Times, June 22, 1993
The response to industrial decline was to cling even more to the British state, which had the resources to palliate its effects, and ease a transformation to a new economy -- or, indeed, as many hoped, to prop up the declining industries.
-- Allan Massie, "Scotland not so brave in push for home rule", Irish Times, September 4, 1997
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Palliate derives from Late Latin palliatus, past participle of palliare, "to cloak, to conceal," from Latin pallium, "cloak."
palliate \PAL-ee-ayt\, transitive verb: 1. To reduce in violence (said of diseases, etc.); to lessen or abate. 2. To cover by excuses and apologies; to extenuate. 3. To reduce in severity; to make less intense.
I had held a hope that she would take my class, that I would have the chance not only to cope with but to help palliate her pain.
-- Steven Polansky, "Pantalone", Harper's Magazine, February 1997
He was widely praised in both East and West as a humanitarian seeking to palliate the excesses of a cruel regime.
-- Joseph Finder, "The Trade in Spies: Not All Black or White", New York Times, June 22, 1993
The response to industrial decline was to cling even more to the British state, which had the resources to palliate its effects, and ease a transformation to a new economy -- or, indeed, as many hoped, to prop up the declining industries.
-- Allan Massie, "Scotland not so brave in push for home rule", Irish Times, September 4, 1997
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Palliate derives from Late Latin palliatus, past participle of palliare, "to cloak, to conceal," from Latin pallium, "cloak."
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you,
S Adams
S Adams