GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

epizoic

Pronunciation: /ˌɛpɪˈzəʊɪk/
adjective
Biology
(Of a plant or animal) growing or living non-parasitically on the exterior of a living animal.

Origin
Mid 19th century: from epi- 'upon' + Greek zōion 'animal' + -ic.


marc uhlig

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Barnacles are frequently epizoic hitchhikers on the skin of whales. Humans might have our own epizoic community, though mighty mites might not always be benign.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

epizoic

When grandma grabbed grandpa's arm when attending a social gathering or formal event, the casual observer might think that she was epizoically attached.

Not so! It was mutual, they were totally married.

[Algot Runeman]

ailurophile

Pronunciation: /ʌɪˈljʊərəˌfʌɪl/
noun
A cat lover.

Origin
1930s: from Greek ailuros 'cat' + -phile.


Savannah

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What is the allure of a cat?
Is it the aloof style
Which morphs into a pounce, deadly play with tiny mouse?
Does "meow" seem cute or merely rude,
A blatant ploy to get fresh food
Or in and out and in and out the back door of the house?
And can one be ailurophile
While loving more a dog called Rat?

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

ailurophile

And "cat lover" so easy to remember!

And even "feline aficionado" doesn't need any clarification.

But okay, I do have a fitting use for the word:

Watch this ailurophilic vacuum cleaner try to suck up to the cat.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

Bildungsroman

Pronunciation: /ˈbɪldʊŋzrəʊˌmɑːn/
noun
A novel dealing with one person’s formative years or spiritual education: the book is a bildungsroman of sorts, as Tull overcomes his abused childhood and learns about love

Origin
German, from Bildung 'education' + Roman 'a novel'.


from the cover of the novel

Many books about formative years are stories of tribulation, full of harsh events which, as we read, we hope will be overcome by the hero. Anne of Green Gables is a much more benign bildungsroman.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Bildungsroman

Er ... No. I got nothing ...

[Algot Runeman]

penning

verb (pens, penning, penned)
[with object]
Write or compose: Olivia penned award-winning poetry

Origin
Middle English (originally denoting a feather with a sharpened quill): from Old French penne, from Latin penna 'feather' (in late Latin 'pen').



.........................................................................

Peter spent hours penning poetry about his father whose life was penning pigs.

"Sow what?" you ask.

"I just don't want to boar you," I reply.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

penning

If I'd had a penning (*) for each penned pun I've read, I'd be a rich man.

(*) penning (Dutch) = coin, and also token
as in penningmeester = treasurer, paymaster

[Algot Runeman]

bemuse

Pronunciation: /bɪˈmjuːz/
verb
[with object] (usually as adjective bemused)
Puzzle, confuse, or bewilder: her bemused expression he was bemused by what was happening

Origin
Mid 18th century: from be- (as an intensifier) + muse2.



Ben bemused his readers. It was not what he wanted. He wanted to "amuse" them. His humor was odd, his writing obtuse. He mangled his puns but had no excuse. His mother taught English, though his father did not, still a linguist, a scholar, a true polyglot. Yet, Ben tried his best, first with A, then with B. We'll C what comes next.

[Sadly, I do not think there is a word spelled "cemuse."]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

bemuse
...
Ben bemused his readers. It was not what he wanted. He wanted to "amuse" them. ... Yet, Ben tried his best, first with A, then with B.
...

I think Ben started with just "muse", as in

♫ Be my muse, for no one else can end this yearning;
This need that you and you alone create.
... ♫

Hear the full lyrics at https://youtu.be/8t_D9zqyphw?t=20s

P.S. I don't know why, but in the movie script they used "love" instead.
And later still, the my was dropped to get "bemuse".

[Algot Runeman]

brusque

Pronunciation: /brʊsk/
/bruːsk/
/brʌsk/

adjective
Abrupt or offhand in speech or manner: she could be brusque and impatient

Origin
Mid 17th century: from French, 'lively, fierce', from Italian brusco 'sour'

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The police were brusque with the buskers, sending them off to sing, dance and play somewhere else. The long line outside the theater crowd them.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

brusque

At first Stendhal named it "Le Rouge et le Brusque".

Then all of a sudden he dropped Brusque and inserted Noir.

Hey, how could I know why? I never suggested it!

[Algot Runeman]

pharmacognosy

Pronunciation: /ˌfɑːməˈkɒɡnəsi/
noun
[mass noun]
The branch of knowledge concerned with medicinal drugs obtained from plants or other natural sources.

Origin
Mid 19th century: from pharmaco- 'of drugs' + gnōsis 'knowledge'.



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Scientists are nosy. Some of the most nosy study pharmacognosy. The grind, extract, make infusions and tinctures, grow stuff in agar culture and generally try to reproduce and legitimize the knowledge of herbalists and shamans.

[Algot Runeman]

supposititious

Pronunciation: /səˌpɒzɪˈtɪʃəs/
adjective
Substituted for the real thing; not genuine: the supposititious heir to the throne

Origin
Early 17th century: from Latin supposititius (from supponere 'to substitute') + -ous.



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This post is supposititious.

It was supposed to be a WotD with a witty example. This one appears in the place of that enjoyable post. Your potential for gaining mastery of a new and useful word has been sidetracked by this fake. Sorry. --The Management

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

supposititious

I really don't like the word "supposititious".

It's much too similar to that hateful invasive medication method: suppository, suppositoire (French and vernacular Flemish), zetpil (standard Dutch).

Though there is one Flemish slang word that tries to soothe the anticipation and experience of this unpleasant insertion: poepsnoepje, which translates as "butt candy" ...

P.S.
I guess that explains the Mona Lisa's suppressed grin: She's preparing with anticipatory glee to apply a suppository to Leonardo (or she just did).

[Algot Runeman]

rhetor

Pronunciation: /ˈriːtə/
noun
1 (In ancient Greece and Rome) a teacher of rhetoric.
1.1 An orator.

Origin
Via Latin from Greek rhētōr.


msulibrary1

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The rhetor spoke with enthusiasm. His hands circled the concepts and jabbed holes through the ones he wished to attack. For those ideas he espoused, the encircling motion seemed to embrace and almost caress the points. It did not matter that the hall was empty except for the janitor eating a sandwich in the back of the auditorium while on his lunch break.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

rhetor

Frank, Rhet or Rowan?
Choices ... choices. Poor Scarlett.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

loosey-goosey

Pronunciation: /luːsɪˈɡuːsi/
adjective
North American informal
Relaxed and comfortable.

Origin
1980s: fanciful formation from loose + goosey.

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We of WotD are always staid and formal. We reject the loosey-goosey attitude of some word lovers. Only cold, unwaveringly accurate usage and strict academic perspective is acceptable here.

[Yeah, ri-i-ght!]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

loosey-goosey
...
We of WotD are always staid and formal. We reject the loosey-goosey attitude of some word lovers. Only cold, unwaveringly accurate usage and strict academic perspective is acceptable here.

Data would sincerely remark that: "I would love to be loosey-goosey, but I'm afraid I haven't yet sufficiently mastered human humour."

While Sheldon Cooper would, with a bland innocent face, complain: "I don't understand this loosey-goosey. Is it slang for sarcasm?"

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

barrage

Pronunciation: /ˈbarɑːʒ/
Definition of barrage in English:
noun
1 A concentrated artillery bombardment over a wide area: his forces launched an artillery barrage on the city
1.1 An overwhelming number of questions, criticisms, or complaints delivered simultaneously or in rapid succession: a barrage of questions
2 An artificial barrier across a river or estuary to prevent flooding, aid irrigation or navigation, or to generate electricity by tidal power: they are considering a tidal barrage built across the Severn estuary

Origin
Mid 19th century (in sense 2 of the noun): from French, from barrer 'to bar', of unknown origin.


Kyle at Untour

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Right after the game, the bar was overrun by exuberant fans. The barrage of orders lead to some delay. Some of the patrons were already over the limit and that lead to some bar rage. There was little time to ensure that everyone trying to get a drink was of appropriate bar age.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

barrage

My grandma never actually *said* that she didn't consider clothes much of a barrage to grandpa's amorous advances, though sometimes, when wearing just furs, she playfully *pretended* so.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

adhibit

Pronunciation: /ədˈhɪbɪt/
verb (adhibits, adhibiting, adhibited)
[with object] formal
Apply or affix (something) to something else: signed by a partner who would either adhibit the firm’s signature or his own

Origin
Early 16th century (in the sense 'take in, include'): from Latin adhibit- 'brought in', from the verb adhibere, from ad- 'to' + habere 'hold, have'.



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Though I've not heard them use the term, I guess a notary adhibits their seal to documents they notarize.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

adhibit

It's an on-going struggle between websites and my browser.

They try all sorts of tricks to adhibit banners and ads to the pages I visit, while my browser's settings and add-ons vigourously inhibit downloading these annoyances.

[Algot Runeman]

alterity

Pronunciation: /alˈtɛrɪti/
/ɒlˈtɛrɪti/
noun
[mass noun] formal
The state of being other or different; otherness: the problem of alterity occurs also in homogeneous societies

Origin
Mid 17th century: from late Latin alteritas, from alter 'other'.



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Teens struggle to achieve alterity while maintaining a strong connection to their tribal peers. They neither want to stand out nor blend in so well as to lose all personality. Adults believe they no longer need to worry about that, but they are wrong.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

alterity
...
maintaining a strong connection to their tribal peers.
...

My grandma thought her tribal peers could go climb a tree (run to the pump, in Flemish slang), or dry up and blow away.

She had a very distinct but variable alterity to grandpa.

To high society she was an intelligent, well educated and impressive lady escorted by an exceedingly courteous gentleman (my grandpa very au qui-vive).

But in their private bedroom she was a shameless hussy, to grandpa's (equally au qui-vive) delight.

Spoiler: show