GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

implore

/ɪmˈplɔː/
verb
1 reporting verb Beg someone earnestly or desperately to do something.
with object and infinitive ‘he implored her to change her mind’
with direct speech ‘‘Please don't talk that way,’ Ellen implored’
1.1 archaic with object Beg earnestly for.

Origin
Early 16th century: from French implorer or Latin implorare ‘invoke with tears’.

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He wanders along the shore
To see just what's in store,
What driftwood will he find
Or shiny shells if he's inclined?
Perhaps a faded soccer ball
Wilson's face not big or small.
Backpack full returning home,
The proximal cause of this poem.
"Don't bring back any more!"
Long-suffering wife will implore.

[Algot Runeman]

inquorate

/ɪnˈkwɔːrət//ɪnˈkwɔːreɪt/
adjective
British
(of an assembly) unable to proceed effectively because not enough members are present to make up a quorum.

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Benjamin and Charles were in place, but powerless. The Council was inquorate. There would be no vote to close the Senior Center today.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

inquorate

Fortunately with Statler and Waldorf always present and ready to critisize, the Muppet Show was never inquorate.

Spoiler: show

[voralfred]

An assembly does not need many people to avoid being inquorate. The WOTD thread has been proceeding smoothly for quite some time with only three members, two of which are only occasional...

[Algot Runeman]

strigil

/ˈstrɪdʒɪl/
noun
1 An instrument with a curved blade used, especially by ancient Greeks and Romans, to scrape sweat and dirt from the skin in a hot-air bath or after exercise; a scraper.
2 Entomology
A comblike structure on the forelegs of some insects, used chiefly for grooming.

Origin
From Latin strigilis, from stringere ‘touch lightly’. The term in entomology dates from the late 19th century.

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Tassitus Maximus Jones scraped the sweat/powder sludge from his skin with an HDPE strigil after an hour of exercise and a bit of a steam. The others in the YMCA shower room used ordinary soap and kept their distance.

[Algot Runeman]

loiter

/ˈlɔɪtə/
verb
1 no object, with adverbial of place Stand or wait around without apparent purpose.
1.1 with adverbial of direction Walk slowly and with no apparent purpose; dawdle.

Origin
Late Middle English: perhaps from Middle Dutch loteren ‘wag about’.

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"Standing on the corner, watching all the girls go by", by Frank Loesser, music to loiter by.

Dean Martin sings

[Algot Runeman]

gallipot

/ˈɡalɪpɒt/
noun
historical
A small pot made from glazed earthenware or metal, used by pharmacists to hold medicines or ointments.

Origin
Late Middle English: probably from galley + pot (because gallipots were brought from the Mediterranean in galleys).

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The drugs stored in gallipots, old and new, are prescribed through apothecaries "just for you".

[Algot Runeman]

frons

/frɒnz/
noun
Zoology
The forehead or equivalent part of an animal, especially the middle part of an insect's face between the eyes and above the clypeus.

Origin
Mid 19th century: from Latin, ‘front, forehead’.

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Franz had a prominent frons, not helped by the fact he was losing hair from the front to back. In spite of his prominence, he rarely committed any effrontery.

[Algot Runeman]

precocial

/prɪˈkəʊʃ(ə)l/
adjective
Zoology
1 (of a young bird or other animal) hatched or born in an advanced state and able to feed itself almost immediately.
Often contrasted with altricial Also called nidifugous
1.1 (of a particular species) having precocial young.

Origin
Late 19th century: from modern Latin Praecoces (the name of a former division of birds, plural of Latin praecox ‘mature before its time’) + -ial.

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Benjamin enjoys closely studying animals, particularly precocial ones like turtles which fend for themselves immediately after hatching. He's ten and his family thinks him precocious.

[voralfred]

I've been loitering around this thread waiting for a word that inspired me, while eating chowder out of a gallipot till I got replete.
Then I saw today's WOTD, namely precocial and I immediately thought, "Great ! I'll be able to make a pun with precocious."
Only after scraping my brain as if with a strigil did I finish reading your post to realise that you had already made it...
I'll be more precautious next time !

[Algot Runeman]

cantle

/ˈkant(ə)l/
noun
The raised curved part at the back of a horse's saddle.

Origin
Middle English (in the sense ‘a corner’): from Anglo-Norman French cantel, variant of Old French chantel, from medieval Latin cantellus, from cantus ‘corner, side’.

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Samuel stood beside his horse. He loved to ride, but even with the cantle at the back for a little support, he was glad to get out of the saddle for a bit. He used that as his excuse for standing next to the pretty girl.

[voralfred]

I never rode a horse, but I presume the cantle must be especially useful when the horse's gait is the canter, isn't it ?

Ha ! This time I managed to post my pun in time

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

I never rode a horse, but I presume the cantle must be especially useful when the horse's gait is the canter, isn't it ?

Perhaps, but the cantle never could hold a candle to the more versatile pommel.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

comitology (also commitology, committology)

/ˌkɒmɪˈtɒlədʒi/
noun
Originally: the study of the organization and functions of committees. In later use also: committees and their practices considered collectively, now especially in the context of the implementation of European Union legislation and policy.

Origin
1950s. From commit- + -ology.

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It is very clear that we need to form a committee to study the work of this body. We will call it the ad hoc, standing, seated, commitology committee.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

comitology (also commitology, committology)
... in the context of the implementation of European Union legislation and policy.

I don't know whether "committology" and "busybody-ology" may be considered synonyms, but the latter certainly is clearer in its meaning.

[voralfred]

I never rode a horse, but I presume the cantle must be especially useful when the horse's gait is the canter, isn't it ?

Perhaps, but the cantle never could hold a candle to the more versatile pommel.

Spoiler: show

Conversely, the pommel you show does have a built-in candle-holder !

[Algot Runeman]

sudarium

/s(j)uːˈdɛːrɪəm/
noun
(in the Roman Catholic Church) another term for veronica (sense 2)
A cloth supposedly impressed with an image of Christ's face.

Origin
Early 17th century: from Latin, literally ‘napkin’, from sudor ‘sweat’.

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Considering how many sudaria have been promoted, Jesus must have wiped his face a lot and passed the cloth to people in the crowd.

[Algot Runeman]

axiom

/ˈaksɪəm/
noun
1 A statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true.
1.1 Mathematics A statement or proposition on which an abstractly defined structure is based.

Origin
Late 15th century: from French axiome or Latin axioma, from Greek axiōma ‘what is thought fitting’, from axios ‘worthy’.

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"All men are created equal." is an axiom of the US Declaration of Independence. It leaves the question of non-men unresolved. The "discussion" continues.

[Algot Runeman]

aginer
(also agginer, ag'in'er, aginner)

/əˈɡɪnə/
noun
US
informal
A person who is against something; one who opposes a proposal, course of action, point of view, etc. Also more generally: a person having a habitually negative attitude; one who opposes any change as a matter of principle.

Origin
Early 20th century; earliest use found in Westminster (Philadelphia). From agin, regional and colloquial variant of again + -er.

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I'm an aginer when it comes to social justice. I want perks for me and mine. If a program is designed to help "others", I am against it. My daddy and his daddy before him showed me how things ought to work. That's good enough for me.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

aginer

I would much rather be a beginner than an aginner.
A beginner's errors are excused.

[voralfred]

aginer

I would much rather be a beginner than an aginner.
A beginner's errors are excused.

As for me, I am rather a zeeginner.... Or I would, tomorrow, when I finally start to procrastinate !

[Algot Runeman]

sulky

/ˈsʌlki/
adjective
1 Morose, bad-tempered, and resentful; refusing to be cooperative or cheerful.
1.1 Expressing or suggesting gloom and bad temper.
noun
A light two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for one person, used chiefly in trotting races.

Origin
Mid 18th century: perhaps from obsolete sulke ‘hard to dispose of’, of unknown origin.

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I get sulky when ODO repeats words since it requires some thought to produce a new entry for this playful pastime. Still, I will admit, I prefer the sillage of silage to that of a crowded office building elevator at 5:05PM.

[Algot Runeman]

otoscope

/ˈəʊtəskəʊp/
noun
An instrument designed for visual examination of the eardrum and the passage of the outer ear, typically having a light and a set of lenses.
Also called auriscope

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Doctor Mukherjee examined Bob's eardrum using his otoscope. The inflamation had gone down significantly since the scuba diving incident. The eardrum was healing nicely.

[voralfred]

Not being a oto-rhino-laringologist, I do not own any otoscopes.
But I do own several autoscopes, instruments designed for visual examination of self ("auto" in greek, as opposed to "oto" which means ear).
They are more usually called mirrors...

[Algot Runeman]

shack

/ʃak/
noun
A roughly built hut or cabin.
verb
[no object]
shack up
informal
Move in or live with someone as a lover.

Origin
Late 19th century: perhaps from Mexican jacal, Nahuatl xacatli ‘wooden hut’. The early sense of the verb was ‘live in a shack’ (originally a US usage).

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A tiny house is generally built with care and precision, though its size might make you think it is just a shack.