Urticaria

Word of the Day

urticarial \ er-tuh-KAIR-ee-uh \ noun

 

: hives

 

EXAMPLES

The first sign of the patient's allergic reaction to the medication was an outbreak of urticaria.

"Chronic urticaria is common and can appear on any part of the body. Sunlight and heat can be triggers for some people, whereas cold is a trigger for others."

— Keith Roach, Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), October 14, 2014

 

DID YOU KNOW?

Hives can be caused by a number of things. It can be a reaction to a piece of food you ate, a new medication you took, or irritants in the air you're breathing—or to wandering into a patch of nettles.

 

Urticaria, the medical term for hives, points the finger at nettles, at least etymologically: it comes from the Latin word urtica, meaning "nettle." Urtica itself is related to the Latin verb urere, meaning "to burn," a nod to the stinging hairs many species of nettle possess.

Disingenuous

Word of the Day

disingenuous \ dis-in-JEN-yuh-wuss \ adjective

 

: lacking in candor

: giving a false appearance of simple frankness

: calculating

 

EXAMPLES

Be aware that their expressions of concern may in truth be disingenuous and self-serving.

"He said the group's claims were wildly disingenuous and its objections politically and financially motivated."

— James L. Rosica, The Tampa Tribune, December 18, 2014

 

DID YOU KNOW?

Today's word has its roots in the slave-holding society of ancient Rome. Its ancestor ingenuus is a Latin adjective meaning "native" or "freeborn" (itself from gignere, meaning "to beget").

 

Ingenuus begot the English adjective ingenuous. That adjective originally meant "freeborn" (as in "ingenuous Roman subjects") or "noble and honorable," but it eventually came to mean "showing childlike innocence" or "lacking guile." In the mid-17th century, English speakers combined the negative prefix dis- with ingenuous to create disingenuous, meaning "guileful" or "deceitful."

Retronym

Word of the Day

retronym \ REH-troh-nim \ noun

 

: a term (such as analog watch or snail mail) that is newly created and adopted to distinguish the original or older version, form, or example of something from other, more recent versions, forms, or examples

 

EXAMPLES

"… first came paperback book, differentiated from a book with a cloth or leather binding, provoking the retronym hardcover book."

— William Safire, The New York Times Magazine, November 18, 2007

''Nowadays we need such distinctions as free-range chickens, birth mother, natural blonde, … and manual toothbrushes. The faster we advance, the more retronyms we enlist."

— David Astle, Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald, November 1, 2014

 

DID YOU KNOW?

Remember way back when cameras used film? Back then, such devices were simply called cameras; they weren't specifically called film cameras until they needed to be distinguished from the digital cameras that came later. Similarly, the term desktop computer wasn't often used until laptops became prevalent.

A lot of our common retronyms have come about due to technological advances: acoustic guitar emerged to contrast with electric guitar, and brick-and-mortar store to distinguish traditional stores from online retailers. Retronym was coined by Frank Mankiewicz, an American journalist and former president of National Public Radio, and first seen in print in 1980.

Incontrovertible

Word of the Day

incontrovertible \ in-kahn-truh-VER-tuh-bul \ adjective

 

: not open to question
: indisputable

 

EXAMPLES

The manager presented the clerk's time card as incontrovertible evidence that the employee had been late for work all five days the previous week.

"No matter where you are on the political spectrum, the midterm elections produced one incontrovertible fact—there are more women in Congress than ever before."

— Editorial Board, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 16, 2014

DID YOU KNOW?

If something is indisputable, it's incontrovertible. But if it is open to question, is it controvertible? It sure is. The antonyms controvertible and incontrovertible are both derivatives of the verb controvert (meaning "to dispute or oppose by reasoning"), which is itself a spin-off of controversy. And what is the source of all of these controversial terms? The Latin adjective controversus, which literally means "turned against."

Legerdemain

Word of the Day

legerdemain \ lej-er-duh-MAYN \ noun

 

1: sleight of hand

 

2: a display of skill and adroitness (having or showing skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness in handling situations)

 

EXAMPLES

The company's accountants used financial legerdemain to conceal its true revenues and avoided paying $2 million in taxes as a result.

"U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden is trying for a bit of late-session congressional magic to finally get some movement on proposals to increase federal timber harvests in western Oregon. The Oregon Democrat has pulled off some last-minute feats of legislative legerdemain in the past, so it's not at all out of the question that he can do it again…."

— The Associated Press, November 17, 2014

 

DID YOU KNOW?

In Middle French, folks who were clever enough to fool others with fast-fingered illusions were described as leger de main, literally "light of hand." English speakers condensed that phrase into a noun when they borrowed it in the 15th century and began using it as an alternative to the older sleight of hand. (That term for dexterity or skill in using one's hands makes use of sleight, an old word from Middle English that derives from an Old Norse word meaning "sly.") In more modern times, a feat of legerdemain can even be accomplished without using your hands, as in, for example, "an impressive bit of financial legerdemain."

Pandiculation

Word of the Day

pandiculation \ pan-dik-yuh-LAY-shun \ noun

 

: a stretching and stiffening especially of the trunk and extremities (as when fatigued and drowsy or after waking from sleep)

 

EXAMPLES

"He was coming on to yawn. His breath sucked in the draught from the window. His shoulders hunched, his legs stretched to their toes, he made claws of his fingers in his hands—a fierce pandiculation of his limbs."

— Jamie O'Neill, At Swim, Two Boys, 2001

"Carefully orchestrated pandiculations follow a routine: Lips part, the tongue hunkers down, and muscles in the face, mouth and diaphragm engage as the head tilts back."

— Laura Sanders, Science News, May 7, 2011

 

DID YOU KNOW?

Cat and dog owners who witness daily their pets' methodical body stretching upon awakening might wonder if there is a word to describe their routine—and there is: pandiculation.

Pandiculation (which applies to humans too) is the medical term for the stretching and stiffening of the trunk and extremities, often accompanied by yawning, to arouse the body when fatigued or drowsy.

The word comes from Latin pandiculatus, the past participle of pandiculari ("to stretch oneself"), and is ultimately derived from pandere, meaning "to spread."

Pandere is also the source of expand.

Tintinnabulation

Word of the Day

tintinnabulation \ tin-tuh-nab-yuh-LAY-shun \ noun

 

1: the ringing or sounding of bells

 

2: a jingling or tinkling sound as if of bells

 

EXAMPLES

The tintinnabulation that could be heard throughout the village was from the church on the common announcing morning services.

"The song opens with the far-away electric tintinnabulation of an ice cream truck."

— Colette McIntyre, Styleite, September 4, 2014

 

DID YOU KNOW?

If the sound of tintinnabulation rings a bell, that may be because it traces to a Latin interpretation of the sound a ringing bell makes. Our English word derives from tintinnabulum, the Latin word for "bell."

That Latin word, in turn, comes from the verb tintinnare, which means "to ring, clang, or jingle." Like the English terms "ting" and "tinkle," tintinnare originated with a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it—that is, it is onomatopoeic.

Edgar Allan Poe celebrates the sonic overtones of tintinnabulation in his poem "The Bells," which includes lines about "the tintinnabulation that so musically wells / From the bells, bells, bells, bells, / Bells, bells, bells—/ From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells"

Warp Speed

Word of the Day

warp speed \ WORP-SPEED \ noun

 

: the highest possible speed

 

EXAMPLES

When Mario saw Helen enter the elevator, he grabbed his laptop and vaulted down the stairs at warp speed to get to the meeting room ahead of her.

"You may have noticed that time, which is fleeting in the best of circumstances, has a way of moving at warp speed when you reach a certain age."

— Ed Gebhart, Delaware County Daily Times, December 28, 2014

 

DID YOU KNOW?

 

Warp speed is an example of a phrase that entered the public consciousness through science fiction and eventually gained enough popularity to end up in the dictionary. The expression was popularized on the science-fiction show Star Trek in the 1960s. On the show, warp speed referred to a specific concept, namely the idea of faster-than-light travel.

Within a relatively short period of time, Star Trek gained a devoted and intense following. Fans were soon discussing the fictional concepts of the show, including warp speed, with great enthusiasm. Eventually, the term warp speed was adopted by the general population. In the process, however, it lost its specific fictional meaning and came to mean simply "the highest possible speed."

Brobdingnagian

Word of the Day

Brobdingnagian \ brob-ding-NAG-ee-un \ adjective

 

: marked by tremendous size

 

EXAMPLES

Our little dog was frightened by the Brobdingnagian proportions of the statues in the park.

"In a clever new show at the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Amy Toscani has mined thrift-store trinkets for inspiration and body parts for Brobdingnagian sculptures, whose huge scale dwarfs viewers."

— Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota), April 26, 2014

 

DID YOU KNOW?

In Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels, Brobdingnag is the name of a land that is populated by a race of human giants "as tall as an ordinary spire steeple." In Gulliver's first close-up encounter with the giants, he is attempting to get past a stile of which every step is six feet high when a group of field-workers approach with strides ten yards long and reaping hooks as large as six scythes. Their voices he at first mistakes for thunder. Swift's book fired the imagination of the public and within two years of the 1726 publication of the story, people had begun using Brobdingnagian to refer to anything of unusually large size. (Swift himself had used Brobdingnagian as a noun to refer to the inhabitants of Brobdingnag.)

Peremptory

Word of the Day

peremptory \ puh-REMP-tuh-ree \ adjective

 

1: barring a right of action, debate, or delay

 

2: expressive of urgency or command

 

3a: marked by arrogant self-assurance

3b: haughty

 

EXAMPLES

The manager's peremptory rejection of any suggestions for improving office efficiency did little to inspire our confidence in his ability to help turn the company around.

"Depending on the situation, Elliott can heap upon her teammates words of encouragement or, when it's needed, she can also be peremptory."

— Chris Hummer, Midland (Texas) Reporter-Telegram, November 10, 2014

 

DID YOU KNOW?

Peremptory is ultimately from Latin perimere, which means "to take entirely" or "destroy" and comes from per- ("thoroughly") and emere ("to take"). Peremptory implies the removal of one's option to disagree or contest something. It sometimes suggests an abrupt dictatorial manner combined with an unwillingness to tolerate disobedience or dissent (as in "he was given a peremptory dismissal"). A related term is the adjective preemptive, which comes from Latin praeemere—from prae- ("before") plus emere. Preemptive means "marked by the seizing of the initiative" (as in "a preemptive attack").

Ex Cathedra

Word of the Day

ex cathedra \ eks-kuh-THEE-druh \ adverb or adjective

 

 

: by virtue of or in the exercise of one's office or position

 

EXAMPLES

When chronic tardiness became a problem among the staff, the manager decided ex cathedra to dock the pay of any employee who arrived late to work.

"Today, though, the MFA mafia holds inordinate sway over what gets published and reviewed, which means that the realist tradition dominates American fiction.… Thankfully, the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami is far too famous and accomplished to worry about the ex cathedra pronouncements emanating from Iowa City."

— Alexandar Nazaryan, Newsweek, August 3, 2014

 

DID YOU KNOW?

Ex cathedra is a Latin phrase, meaning not "from the cathedral" but "from the chair." The phrase does have religious origins though: it was originally applied to decisions made by Popes from their thrones. According to Roman Catholic doctrine, a Pope speaking ex cathedra on issues of faith or morals is infallible. In general use, the phrase has come to be used with regard to statements made by people in positions of authority, and it is often used ironically to describe someone speaking with overbearing or unwarranted self-certainty.

Longueur

Word of the Day

longueur \ lawn-GUR \ noun

 

: a dull and tedious passage or section (as of a book, play, or musical composition) — usually used in plural

 

EXAMPLES

"This production has its occasional longueurs, but glorious singing and energetic choreography quickly rope us back in."

— Rick Rogers, The Oklahoman, June 28, 2007

"The Berg Collection version of 'Camera' … provides an unmediated look at the Master at work, removing dead and dull passages, fixing inept or lame plot developments, eradicating longueurs, and seeking out opportunities to sharpen imagery…."

— John Colapinto, The New Yorker, December 4, 2014

 

DID YOU KNOW?

You've probably come across long, tedious sections of books, plays, or musical works before, but perhaps you didn't know there was a word for them. English speakers began using the French borrowing longueur in the late 18th century. In French, longueurs are tedious passages, and longueur literally means "length." The first recorded use of longueur in English comes from the writer Horace Walpole, who wrote in a letter, "Boswell's book is gossiping; . . . but there are woful longueurs, both about his hero and himself."

Advocate

Word of the Day

advocate \ AD-vuh-kayt \ verb

: to plead in favor of

EXAMPLES
Many parents throughout the district have long advocated full-day kindergarten.

"The task force advocates revising the state's social studies standards to promote news literacy and the importance of voting."
— Laurie Levy, ChicagoNow.com, December 4, 2014

DID YOU KNOW?Benjamin Franklin may have been a great innovator in science and politics, but on the subject of advocate, he was against change. In 1789, he wrote a letter to his compatriot Noah Webster complaining about a "new word": the verb advocate. Like others of his day, Franklin knew advocate primarily as a noun meaning "one who pleads the cause of another," and he urged Webster to condemn the verb's use.

In truth, the verb wasn't as new as Franklin assumed (etymologists have traced it back to 1599), though it was apparently surging in popularity in his day. Webster evidently did not heed Franklin's plea. His famous 1828 dictionary, An American Dictionary of the English Language, entered both the noun and the verb senses of advocate.

Claque

Word of the Day

claque \ KLAK \ noun

1: a group hired to applaud at a performance

2: a group of sycophants

EXAMPLES

The senator seems to have a claque of influential supporters in the media who are willing to endorse his every move.

"But the program has gone by the boards now, the victim of an activist federal judge and a claque of feckless politicians."
— Bob McManus, The New York Post, July 1, 2014

DID YOU KNOW?

The word claque might call to mind the sound of a clap, and that's no accident. Claque is a French borrowing that descends from the verb claquer, meaning "to clap," and the noun claque, meaning "a clap." Those French words in turn originated in imitation of the sound associated with them. English speakers borrowed claque in the 19th century.

At that time, the practice of infiltrating audiences with hired members was very common to French theater culture. Claque members received money and free tickets to laugh, cry, shout—and of course clap—in just the right spots, hopefully influencing the rest of the audience to do the same.

Fallible

Word of the Day

fallible \ FAL-uh-bul \ adjective

 

1: liable to be erroneous

 

2: capable of making a mistake

 

EXAMPLES

Though parts of it are well-written, the essay is marred by too many fallible generalizations.

"… [Atul] Gawande has combined his years of experience as a surgeon with his gift for fluid, seemingly effortless storytelling to remind readers that despite stunning technical advances, doctors are human—and as fallible as any of us."

— Jennifer Day, Chicago Tribune, October 10, 2014

 

DID YOU KNOW?

Errare humanum est. That Latin expression translates into English as "To err is human." Of course, cynics might say that it is also human to deceive. The word fallible simultaneously recognizes both of these human character flaws. In modern usage, it refers to one's ability to err, but it descends from the Latin verb fallere, which means "to deceive."

 

Fallible has been used to describe the potential for error since at least the 15th century. Other descendants of the deceptive fallere in English, all of which actually predate fallible, include fallacy (the earliest, now obsolete, meaning was "guile, trickery"), fault, false, and even fail and failure.

Solecism

Word of the Day

Solecism \ SAH-luh-sih-zum \ noun

1a: an ungrammatical combination of words in a sentence
1b: a minor blunder in speech

2: something deviating from the proper, normal, or accepted order

3: a breach of etiquette or decorum

EXAMPLES

As a copyeditor, Jane has the eyes of a hawk; rarely, if ever, does she let a writer's solecism slip past her.

"What [Leonard Lyons] presented in his columns was the essence of the person being reported on, and so even when one comes upon the occasional solecism or inaccuracy, it matters less because the portraits as a whole ring true."
— Martin Rubin, The Washington Times, September 5, 2011

DID YOU KNOW?

The city of Soloi had a reputation for bad grammar. Located in Cilicia, an ancient coastal nation in Asia Minor, it was populated by Athenian colonists called soloikos (literally "inhabitant of Soloi"). According to historians, the colonists of Soloi allowed their native Athenian Greek to be corrupted and they fell to using words incorrectly. As a result, soloikos gained a new meaning: "speaking incorrectly." The Greeks used that sense as the basis of soloikismos, meaning "an ungrammatical combination of words." That root in turn gave rise to the Latin soloecismus, the direct ancestor of the English word solecism. Nowadays, solecism can refer to social blunders as well as sloppy syntax.