GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

shortly

/ˈʃɔːtli/
adverb
1 In a short time; soon.
2 In a few words; briefly.
2.1 Abruptly, sharply, or curtly.

Origin
Old English scortlīce (see short, -ly).

==========

Having finished his complex morning tasks, Fred will shortly take his mid-morning coffee break. After late morning meetings, lunch and a routinely busy afternoon will follow in due course.

[Algot Runeman]

lacklustre
(US lackluster)

/ˈlaklʌstə/
adjective
1 Lacking in vitality, force, or conviction; uninspired or uninspiring.
2 (of the hair or the eyes) not shining; dull.

==========

Lou left a line of lacklustre lorries in the lot. He hoped the new paint jobs would liven them up.

[voralfred]

Let me put is shortly : I admit my posts are definitely lacklustre, particularly if compared to the one Algot linked to in his gruesome post

[Algot Runeman]

satellite

/ˈsatəlʌɪt/
noun
1 (also artificial satellite) - An artificial body placed in orbit round the earth or moon or another planet in order to collect information or for communication.
1.1 as modifier Transmitted by satellite; using or relating to satellite technology.
1.2 mass noun - Satellite television.
2 Astronomy - A celestial body orbiting the earth or another planet.

Origin

Mid 16th century (in the sense ‘follower, obsequious underling’): from French satellite or Latin satelles, satellit- ‘attendant’.

==========

As this post is being written, less than an hour remains in the countdown of the launch of a commercial rocket carrying sixty broadband communications satellites into orbit around the earth.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

satellite

In this little talk about "satellite" I miss two words designating celestial bodies which can be the primary or the satellite themselves: the words "star" and "galaxy". Where "sun" is synonymous and included with "star".

Then there are the satellite gears in a gearbox.

The objects hitting the train operator (in the animation below) are not satellites because they don't orbit.

[Algot Runeman]

pretend

/prɪˈtɛnd/
verb
1 with clause or infinitive - Behave so as to make it appear that something is the case when in fact it is not.
1.1 Engage in an imaginative game or fantasy.
1.2 with object Give the appearance of feeling or possessing (an emotion or quality); simulate.
2 pretend to - no object - Lay claim to (a quality or title)
adjective
informal attributive
Not really what it is represented as being; imaginary.

Origin
Late Middle English from Latin praetendere ‘stretch forth, claim’, from prae ‘before’ + tendere ‘stretch’. The adjective dates from the early 20th century.

==========

It's just in your mind,
The skill you would find,
So pretend if you wish
To turn birds into fish.

[Algot Runeman]

function

/ˈfʌŋ(k)ʃ(ə)n/
noun
1 An activity that is natural to or the purpose of a person or thing.
1.1 mass noun Practical use or purpose in design.
1.2 A basic task of a computer, especially one that corresponds to a single instruction from the user.
2 Mathematics
A relation or expression involving one or more variables.
2.1 A variable quantity regarded in relation to one or more other variables in terms of which it may be expressed or on which its value depends.
2.2 Chemistry - A functional group.
3 A thing dependent on another factor or factors.
4 A large or formal social event or ceremony.

verb
[no object]
1 Work or operate in a proper or particular way.
1.1 function asFulfil the purpose or task of (a specified thing)

Origin
Mid 16th century from French fonction, from Latin functio(n-), from fungi ‘perform’.

==========

I have no real compunctions
When talking of bodily functions,
But often get great satisfaction
By watching for your reaction!

[Algot Runeman]

brainwave

/ˈbreɪnweɪv/
noun
1 usually brainwaves - An electrical impulse in the brain.
2 informal usually in singular - A sudden clever idea.

==========

After extensive searching for my brainwaves, I've drawn out almost nothing worth mentioning.

[Algot Runeman]

perishable

/ˈpɛrɪʃəb(ə)l/
adjective

1 (especially of food) likely to decay or go bad quickly.
1.1 (of something abstract) having a brief life or significance; transitory.
noun
perishables
Things, especially foodstuffs, likely to decay or go bad quickly.

==========

Fruit are generally viewed as perishable, though it is up to the individual to decide when they have "perished".

[Algot Runeman]

widen

/ˈwʌɪd(ə)n/
verb
Make or become wider.
with object ‘we should widen the scope of our investigation’
no object ‘his grin widened’

==========

Urban Planning

"We'll just widen the midden."
-- "Twill be tough to keep it hidden."
"Just do as you're bidden."
"Oh, too, plant a row of trees
So my own view will still please."

Thus the masses are overridden.

[Algot Runeman]

twirl

/twəːl/
verb
[no object]
1 Spin quickly and lightly round, especially repeatedly.
1.1 with object Cause to rotate.
noun
1 An act of spinning.
1.1 A spiralling or swirling shape, especially a flourish made with a pen.

Origin
Late 16th century probably an alteration (by association with whirl) of tirl, a variant of archaic trill ‘twiddle, spin’.

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Theresa thrilled the judges and audience alike with her scintillating twirls and athletic leaps.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

twirl

It *is* more elegant than twerk.
Also, twerking my butt makes my back hurt, twirling a stick doesn't.

[voralfred]

I wont pretend that this is a normal function of this thread to suggest future choices of alternate WOTDs if the official one is a repeat. But why not widen our scope ?

EPS has just activated some brainwaves in my skull. He brought to my attention that "borealopithecine" has never been used. In fact this word does not really exist, it is a neologism invented by Charles Spano Jr. in his (quite funny) short SF story Gain of Truth to describe a fictitious primate whose remains were found frozen in the tundra, and who was cloned to recreate the species.

The point is that "australopithecine" has never been used either as WOTD (though it does appear in a post by EPS about the WOTD "holocene"). So either the existing word or the funny neologism might be used.

What do you think, Algot ?

[Algot Runeman]

I wont pretend that this is a normal function of this thread to suggest future choices of alternate WOTDs if the official one is a repeat. But why not widen our scope ?

...

What do you think, Algot ?

Shockt! Yewz naow waant mee 2 alzo think!

It would be interesting to accumulate a set of neologism words to be dropped in as needed. Especially since the forum offers space for an extended explanation of the word origin, something more than usually done. The idea will need to percolate through the active group here. As the current arbiter of word choice, I admit that I am lazy. I happily take the Lexico word and run with it as the easy way out. I'm definitely not a lexicographer and don't have any specific awareness of neologisms in general.

Any neologists watching? (Yes, that's a word, found in at least some online dictionaries.)
Next big question: Should we discriminate among: protologisms, prelogisms and neologisms? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neologism

Please don't get me started on this sort of "definition" in an online dictionary (Lexico, in this case).


[As it turns out, today will be an alternate-word day. Lexico offered "gala", a fine word, but too short for our forum software to validate as used or not. Sigh!]

[Algot Runeman]

nitwit

/ˈnɪtwɪt/
noun
informal
A silly or foolish person (often as a general term of abuse)

Origin
Early 20th century apparently from nit+ wit.

==========

Sometimes it can be difficult to determine if a person is an expert neologist, expanding our language with intent, or merely a babbling nitwit.



[Thanks to praiseworthy, perpetual participant, voralfred, for the impetus to expose us to a nonce or two.]

[Algot Runeman]

apricate

verb - intransitive
(rare)

To bask in the sun, sunbathe

Origin
From Latin apricus (“sunny, having lots of sunshine; warmed by the sun”) +‎ -ate. Apricus is derived from aperiō (“to open; to uncover”) (Wiktionary)

==========

April apricated often at the beach every summer. Arthur and also Andrea appreciated it.



[Today's word was not available in Lexico's lexicon. It is that rare. It isn't, a neologism, though. Lexico's offering today was inscrutable, used here in January 2007.]

[Algot Runeman]

pooch

/puːtʃ/
noun
informal
A dog.

Origin
1920s of unknown origin.

==========

Proud people probably prefer prominent pooches.

[Algot Runeman]

televise

/ˈtɛlɪvʌɪz/
verb
[with object]
Transmit by television.

Origin
1920s back-formation from television.

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Tony talked vehemently about the home team as his image and voice were televised to thousands of adoring fans.



[This word almost qualifies as a neologism, being just 100 years young, and technically almost qualifies as archaic at the same time. The concept of broadcasting video signals as electromagnetic waves was tacked onto the already bold idea of doing audio (radio) signals just about 100 years ago. While I expect we'll still call it "broadcasting" and "televising", the underlying technology will officially alter the words meanings.

Most people no longer watch broadcast (over the air) television, having substituted a wired or fiber optic cable connection carrying digital signals instead. Indeed, even the diminished use of broadcast, OTA is changing. Broadcasters are shifting the electromagnetic frequencies, by July 2020, of their signals in order to accommodate the increasing use of high speed cellphone signals.]

[Algot Runeman]

dwelling

(also dwelling place)

/ˈdwɛlɪŋ/
noun
formal
A house, flat, or other place of residence.

==========

A 20-room mansion is a dwelling, but then, again, so is a rented room with a shared bathroom. Perhaps dwelling on the reasons for the disparity is too difficult for us.

[As a side note, I found it very convenient that the Lexico dictionary definition had a real estate ad on the page.]

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

dwelling

I live in an apartment (a flat ?).

Do I dwell there?

[Algot Runeman]

dwelling

I live in an apartment (a flat ?).

Do I dwell there?

While we probably should not dwell on the minute details, I would say one dwells in any domicile.
Even those who "own" their dwelling are temporary, if lifelong, residents.

I do wonder if residents of the U.K. consider it a "flat" if more than one level is occupied. "Apartment" seems to cover that possibility, by simply suggesting a larger building has been partitioned into separate living spaces to be occupied by different families or individuals.

[Another, somewhat archaic use of dwell is from the period of automotive history when carburetors were common. Timing was a big factor in a tune up. I recall having to use a special tool to set the timing "dwell" so each spark plug would fire just when the cylinder head was just right in it's travel. Modern automobiles use computers and electronic ignition to take care of all that, adjusting such factors on the fly. A lot of things change in a modern lifetime. Skills of one generation are less valid in the next than they once were.]

[Algot Runeman]

singe

/sɪn(d)ʒ/
verb singes, singeing, singed
[with object]
1 Burn (something) superficially or lightly.
1.1 no object Be lightly or superficially burned.
1.2 Burn the bristles or down off (the carcass of a pig or fowl) to prepare it for cooking.
noun
A superficial burn.

Origin
Old English sencgan, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch zengen.

==========

A careless camping cook
Will sadly singe his pinkies
And give us a dirty look
When he later holds his drinkies.



Our beloved forum software offered the very helpful reason explaining why singe had not been used before: "No suitable matches were found"

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

singe...
"No suitable matches were found"
...

Nor were unsuitable matches found. Right?

I wonder if the expression "Who singes their butt has to sit on the blisters" has the same meaning in English as in Flemish?

[Algot Runeman]

garnetting

(gär·net′ing)
noun
A process of reducing wool or cotton shoddy and rags to fibers that can be re-used.
verb
garnett (third-person singular simple present garnetts, present participle garnetting, simple past and past participle garnetted)
To pull apart textile fibre waste material, such as old rags, in preparation for carding
Origin: from Garnett machine, named after the inventor

==========

Though it is stationary inside a mill building, a garnetting machine is functionally similar to the wood chippers which are hauled around from job to job by tree trimmers. Both reduce their input pieces to smaller sizes.

[Algot Runeman]

nostalgic

/nɒˈstaldʒɪk/
adjective
Feeling, evoking, or characterized by nostalgia.
noun
A nostalgic person.

==========

Don't be nostalgic for the "good old days". Work instead for a good tomorrow, and remember to register AND vote.