Vaudeville

WORD OF THE DAY

VAUDEVILLE \ VAUD-vil \ noun

 

Definition

1: a light often comic theatrical piece frequently combining pantomime, dialogue, dancing, and song

 

2: stage entertainment consisting of various acts (such as performing animals, comedians, or singers)

 

Examples

Andrew's interest in vaudeville can be traced to his grandparents, who met as performers in the 1920s.

"This show is a throwback to vaudeville, with cheesy humor, plenty of audience participation, classic card tricks, flying arrows, colored live birds, fire, snow, choreography and just plain fun."
—Tom Wharton, The Salt Lake Tribune, 25 June 2015

 

Did You Know?

In the 15th century, several amusing songs became popular across France. These songs were said to have been written by a man named Olivier Basselin who lived in the valley of the river Vire in northwest France. The songs eventually became known as chansons du vau-de-Vire, meaning "songs of the valley of Vire."

Other people began writing and performing similar songs, and as this form of entertainment became more widespread, the link to vau-de-Vire was forgotten, and the nickname was shortened to one word: vaudevire. As the phenomenon spread beyond France, further changes in pronunciation and spelling shifted vaudevire into vaudeville. The meaning also broadened to include humorous performances and variety shows.

Prevaricate

WORD OF THE DAY

 

PREVARICATE \ prih-VAIR-uh-kayt \ verb

 

Definition

 

1a: to deviate from the truth

1b: equivocate

 

Examples

In Henry Fielding's novel Tom Jones, Squire Allworthy demands of Mr. Dowling, "Do not hesitate nor prevaricate; but answer faithfully and truly to every question I ask."

"Some … do a good job informing voters of issues while others exaggerate, obfuscate and prevaricate."
—Bill Bauer, The Santa Monica (California) Daily Press, 3 Nov. 2014

 

Did You Know?

Prevaricate and its synonyms lie and equivocate all refer to playing fast and loose with the truth. Lie is the bluntest of the three. When you accuse someone of lying, you are saying he or she was intentionally dishonest, no bones about it.

Prevaricate is less accusatory and softens the bluntness of lie, usually implying that someone is evading the truth rather than purposely making false statements.

Equivocate is similar to prevaricate, but it generally implies that someone is deliberately using words that have more than one meaning as a way to conceal the truth.

Sychophant

WORD OF THE DAY:

 

SYCHOPHANT \ SIK-uh-funt \ noun

Definition

: a servile self-seeking flatterer

 

Examples

Rosemary has little use for sycophants in her office, so if you want that promotion, do your best and let your work speak for itself.

"'Have I just surrounded myself with sycophants who are just telling me whatever I want to hear, regardless of the truth?' [Silicon Valley character Gavin Belson] asks his spiritual advisor, whose gulping response is a perfect 'No.'" —Caleb Pershan, SFist (sfist.com), 18 May 2015

Did You Know?

In the language of ancient Greece, sykophantēs meant "slanderer." The word derives from two other Greek words, sykon (meaning "fig") and phainein (meaning "to show or reveal"). How did fig revealers become slanderers? One theory has to do with the taxes Greek farmers were required to pay on the figs they brought to market.

Apparently, the farmers would sometimes try to avoid making the payments, but squealers—fig revealers—would fink on them, and they would be forced to pay. Another possible source is a sense of the word fig meaning "a gesture or sign of contempt (such as thrusting a thumb between two fingers)." In any case, Latin retained the "slanderer" sense when it borrowed a version of sykophantēs, but by the time English speakers in the 16th century borrowed it as sycophant, the squealers had become flatterers.

Draconian

WORD OF THE DAY

 

DRACONIAN \ dray-KOH-nee-un \ adjective

 

Definition

1: of, relating to, or characteristic of Draco or the severe code of laws held to have been framed by him

 

2a: cruel

2b: severe

 

Examples

The editorial asserts that a life sentence for any non-violent crime is draconian.

"As electronic highway signs implore Californians to 'Save Water' and municipalities impose increasingly draconian conservation measures, we are seeing a phenomenon known as 'drought-shaming'—the humiliation of water-wasters among both the rich and famous and more ordinary residents."
—Henry I. Miller, Forbes.com, 1 July 2015

 

Did You Know?

Draconian comes from Draco, the name of a 7th-century B.C.E. Athenian legislator who created a written code of law. Draco's code was intended to clarify existing laws, but its severity is what made it really memorable. In Draco's code, even minor offenses were punishable by death, and failure to pay one's debts could result in slavery. Draconian, as a result, became associated with things cruel or harsh. Something draconian need not always be as cruel as the laws in Draco's code, though; today the word is used in a wide variety of ways and often refers to measures (steep parking fines, for example) that are relatively minor when compared with the death penalty.

Grog

WORD OF THE DAY

 

GROG \ GRAHG \ noun

 

Definition

1a: alcoholic liquor; especially

1b: liquor (such as rum) cut with water and now often served hot with lemon juice and sometimes sugar

 

Examples

The reviewer praised the restaurant for serving an eclectic range of beers and wines and not just any old grog.

"In 1917 the Historical Society of the Town of Warwick held its first George Washington Day Picnic to celebrate and commemorate the visit of Washington and his entourage to Warwick's Baird's Tavern. A meticulous record keeper, Washington recorded this 1782 visit in his journal along with an itemized purchase of grog."
— Roger Gavan, The Warwick (New York) Advertiser, July 16, 2015

 

Did You Know?

Eighteenth-century English admiral Edward Vernon reputedly earned the nickname "Old Grog" because he often wore a cloak made from grogram (a coarse, loosely woven fabric made of silk or silk blended with mohair or wool). In Old Grog's day, sailors in the Royal Navy were customarily given a daily ration of rum, but in 1740 the admiral, concerned about the health of his men, ordered that the rum should be diluted with water. The decision wasn't very popular with the sailors, who supposedly dubbed the mixture grog after Vernon. Today, grog can be used as a general term for any liquor, even undiluted, and someone who acts drunk or shaky can be called groggy.

Cannibalize

WORD OF THE DAY

 

CANNIBALIZE \ KAN-uh-buh-lyze \ verb

 

Definition

1: to take salvageable parts from (as a disabled machine) for use in building or repairing another machine

 

2a: to take (sales) away from an existing product by selling or being sold as a similar but new product usually from the same manufacturer
2b: to affect (as an existing product) adversely by cannibalizing sales

 

3: to practice cannibalism

 

Examples

The company is risking cannibalizing sales of its flagship truck with this impressive—and less expensive—new model.

"Of the 71 buses in the district's current fleet, three are no longer operational but are being cannibalized for parts—everything from mirrors and batteries to compressors and alternators."
— Pat Maio, The San Diego Union-Tribune, July 2, 2015

 

Did You Know?

During World War II, military personnel often used salvageable parts from disabled vehicles and aircraft to repair other vehicles and aircraft. This sacrifice of one thing for the sake of another of its kind must have reminded some folks of cannibalism by humans and animals, because the process came to be known as cannibalizing. The armed forces of this time were also known to cannibalize—that is, to take away personnel from—units to build up other units. It didn't take long for this military slang to become civilianized. Since its demobilization, the term has been used in a variety of contexts.

Beholden

WORD OF THE DAY

BEHOLDEN \ bih-HOHL-dun \ adjective

 

Definition

1a: being under obligation for a favor or gift

1b: indebted

 

Examples

"I am thankful for myself, at any rate, that I can find my tiny way through the world, without being beholden to anyone…."
— Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, 1850

"Such voices would indicate that we are a nation of independent thinkers, inspired by the grand principles of the Revolution that created the modern political system, not beholden to narrow partisan interests or affiliations."
— Anouar Majid, The Portland (Maine) Press Herald, July 5, 2015

 

Did You Know?

Have you ever found yourself under obligation to someone else for a gift or favor? It's a common experience, and, not surprisingly, many of the words describing this condition have been part of the English language for centuries. Beholden was first recorded in writing in the 14th century poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Indebted, which entered English through Anglo-French, is even older, first appearing in the 13th century. English speakers in the 14th century would also have had another synonym of beholden to choose from: bounden. That word, though obscure, is still in use with the meaning "made obligatory" or "binding" (as in "our bounden duty"), but its "beholden" sense is now obsolete.

Obeisance

WORD OF THE DAY

 

OBEISANCE \ oh-BEE-suns \ noun

 

Definition

1a: a movement of the body made in token of respect or submission

1b: bow

 

2a: acknowledgment of another's superiority or importance

2b: homage

 

Examples

"They took their hats off and made obeisance and many signs, which however, I could not understand any more than I could their spoken language …"
— Bram Stoker, Dracula, 1897

"College presidents and school officials frequently explain their obeisance to their athletic departments by saying that without big-time sports programs, they'd never get any money out of their alumni."
— Murray A. Sperber, The Washington Post, March 15, 2015

 

Did You Know?

When it first appeared in English in the late 14th century, obeisance shared the same meaning as obedience. This makes sense given that obeisance can be traced back to the Anglo-French verb obeir, which means "to obey" and is also an ancestor of our word obey. The other senses of obeisance also date from the 14th century, but they have stood the test of time whereas the obedience sense is now obsolete.

Exculpatory

WORD OF THE DAY

 

EXCULPATORY \ ek-SKUL-puh-tor-ee \ adjective

 

Definition

: tending or serving to clear from alleged fault or guilt

 

Examples

The DNA found at the crime scene proved to be exculpatory; it did not match that of the defendant, and so he was acquitted.

"Authorities also were faulted for withholding exculpatory evidence from the defense, including an initial statement by Herrington to police that two men he identified as Jim and Ed were the real killers."
— Jim Dey, The News-Gazette (Champaign, Illinois), July 19, 2015

 

Did You Know?

Exculpatory is the adjectival form of the verb exculpate, meaning "to clear from guilt." The pair of words cannot be accused of being secretive—their joint etymology reveals all: they are tied to the Latin verb exculpatus, a word that combines the prefix ex-, meaning "out of" or "away from," with the Latin noun culpa, meaning "blame." The related but lesser-known terms inculpate and inculpatory are antonyms of exculpate and exculpatory. Inculpate means "to incriminate" and inculpatory means "incriminating." A related noun, culpable, means "meriting condemnation or blame for doing something wrong."

Lodestone

WORD OF THE DAY

 

LODESTONE \ LOHD-stohn \ noun

 

Definition

1: magnetite possessing polarity

 

2: something that strongly attracts

 

Examples

"The Miami thoroughfare formally known as Southwest Eighth Street is the heart of Little Havana. It's the next-best-thing to visiting Cuba for many Americans, the lodestone of the large Cuban-American community that settled in Miami in waves after Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution."
— John Borsden, Charlotte News & Observer, June 13, 2015

"The map shows the distribution of high-tech manufacturing firms in the southeastern United States. Viewing the information this way allows Jim and Deb to see where these firms are clustered, helping to identify towns and cities that are lodestones of high-tech entrepreneurialism."
— John Tierney, The Atlantic, February 18, 2014

 

Did You Know?

Lodestone (also spelled loadstone) is made up of distinctly English components, ones that have been part of our language since before the 12th century. Lode comes from the Old English lād, which meant "way," "journey," or "course." The word stone derives from the Old English stān, which had the same meaning as the modern term. When the two ancient words were combined to form lodestone around 1518, the new term referred to magnetite, an oxide of iron that forms a natural magnet. Later, the word came to describe anything that strongly attracts.

Refractory

WORD OF THE DAY

 

REFRACTORY \ rih-FRAK-tuh-ree \ adjective

Definition

1a: resisting control or authority
1b: stubborn, unmanageable

 

2: resistant to treatment or cure

 

3: capable of enduring high temperatures

 

Examples

"In patients with severe asthma that is refractory to standard treatment, intravenous magnesium sulfate is widely used…."
— Stephen C. Lazarus, M.D., New England Journal of Medicine, August 19, 2010

"This, 2012, is Louis' moment. Rewind a couple of years and his voice was higher, his face narrower and more worried. He was connecting, but only just. Now he's expansive, authoritative, with bags of rough-edged charm. After years … of small clubs and refractory crowds, Louis has experience."
— James Parker, The Atlantic, May 2012

 

Did You Know?

Refractory is from the Latin word refractarius. During the 17th century, it was sometimes spelled as refractary, but that spelling, though more in keeping with its Latin parent, had fallen out of use by the century's end. Refractarius, like refractory, is the result of a slight variation in spelling. It stems from the Latin verb refragari, meaning "to oppose." Although refractory often describes things that are unpleasantly stubborn or resistant (such as diseases and unruly audiences), not all senses of refractory are negative. Refractory clays and bricks, for example, are capable of withstanding high temperatures.

Quaggy

WORD OF THE DAY

 

QUAGGY \ KWAG-ee \ adjective

 

Definition

1: marshy or boggy

 

2: flabby or soft

 

Examples

"Today is the opening of 'Expedition Alaska: Dinosaurs,' the latest installation at the museum chronicling the reptilian behemoths—and even the little ones, too—that once spanned the state from the frozen North Slope to the quaggy Southeast."
— Gary Black, Newsminer.com (Fairbanks, Alaska), May 23, 2015

"Life is a never-ending succession of tasks, some with quaggy deadlines, others with strict ones."
— Hayley Mortimer, Gloucestershire Echo, June 6, 2015

 

Did You Know?

Quaggy is related to quag, a word for a marsh or bog, and quagmire—which can refer to wet, spongy land that gives way underfoot or, figuratively, to a predicament. Etymologists claim no firm footing when it comes to the origin of the syllable the words share in common, though it's been suggested that quag is imitative, echoing the soft, mushy sound that wet ground makes when you walk on it. The words are all roughly the same age, with earliest evidence of quagmire, quag, and quaggy dating to 1566, 1589, and 1596, respectively.

Contumely

WORD OF THE DAY

 

CONTUMELY \ kahn-TOO-muh-lee \ noun

 

Definition

1a: harsh language or treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt

1b: an instance of such language or treatment

 

Examples

Deeply hurt by the contumely directed at her, Charlotte burst into tears and ran out of the room.

"She occupied the outer margins of established theater and wore that status as a badge of honor, refusing to join Actors' Equity until the late 1980s and often seeming to revel in the contumely of the mainstream press."
— Ben Brantley, New York Times, October 13, 2013

Did You Know?

English poet Geoffrey Chaucer wrote about the sin of contumelie, as it was spelled in Middle English, while composing "The Parson's Tale" back in the late 1300s. The word is a borrowing from Middle French (whence it had earlier arrived from Latin contumelia), and it has since seen wide literary use. Perhaps its most famous occurrence is in Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy (in which it is pronounced \KAHN-tyoom-lee\ or \KAHN-chum-lee\): "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, / Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely...."

Kindred

WORD OF THE DAY

 

KINDRED \ KIN-drud \ adjective

 

Definition

1a: of a similar nature or character

1b: like

 

2: of the same ancestry

 

Examples

Jessica found a kindred songwriting spirit in Brigid, and soon the two women were collaborating on a new album.

"The boys were well-behaved and inseparable. Kindred souls, as preschoolers they spoke to each other in 'twin language,' their mother said, using words that no one else understood."
— Clare Ansberry, Wall Street Journal, March 3, 2015

 

Did You Know?

If you believe that advice and relatives are inseparable, the etymology of kindred will prove you right. Kindred comes from a combination of kin (a word for one's relatives) and the Old English word ræden ("condition"), which itself comes from the verb ræden, meaning "to advise." Kindred entered English as a noun first, in the 12th century. That noun, which can refer to a group of related individuals or to one's own relatives, gave rise to the adjective kindred in the 14th century.

Zydeco

WORD OF THED DAY

 

ZYDECO \ ZYE-duh-koh \ noun

 

Definition

: popular music of southern Louisiana that combines tunes of French origin with elements of Caribbean music and the blues

 

Examples

The restaurant, with architecture that looks like it's straight from the French quarter of New Orleans, features authentic Cajun cuisine and live zydeco music.

"Prepare your palates for a mouthful of Cajun and Creole fare and your dancing feet for a weekend of zydeco and blues beats, because the Long Beach Bayou Festival, now in its 29th year, has just announced its 2015 lineup."
— Asia Morris, Long Beach (California) Post, April 28, 2015

 

Did You Know?

You might say that the lively form of music known as zydeco is full of beans, etymologically speaking. Legend has it that the word zydeco originated in the lyrics of Les Haricots Sont Pas Salés, a popular Cajun dance tune. Loosely translated, the song's title means "the beans are not salty," and when spoken in French Creole, les haricots (French for "beans") sounds something like zydeco. Zydeco first appeared in print in 1949 and has been used to describe this kind of music ever since.

Multifarious

WORD OF THE DAY

MULTIFARIOUS \ mul-tuh-FAIR-ee-us \ adjective

Definition:

1: Having or occurring in great variety

2: Diverse

Examples:

John listed his multifarious interests and activities on his college application.

"The report presents a convincing case that the agency has been stretched too thin in its  multifarious duties - from combating counterfeiters and computer criminals to standing guard over presidents present  and past and their widows..."
-editorial, New York Times, December 29, 2014

Did You Know?

Dictionary makers have dated the first appearance of multifarious in print as 1593 - and rightly so -  but before that time another word similar in form and meaning was being used: multifary, meaning "in many ways" and appearing (and disappearing) in the 15th century.
Before either of the English words existed, there was the Medieval Latin word multifarius (same meaning as multifarious), from Latin multifarium, meaning "in many places" or "on many sides."
Mulit-, as you may know, is a combining form meaning "many."
A relative of multifarious in English is omnifarious ("of all varieties, forms, or kinds), created with omni- ("all") rather than multi-.

Euphemism

WORD OF THE DAY

 

EUPHEMISM \ YOO-fuh-miz-um \ noun

 

Definition

1: the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant

 

2: the expression so substituted

 

Examples

Aunt Helen would never say that someone had "died"; she preferred to communicate the unpleasant news with euphemisms like "passed on."

"Jane Grigson is sometimes described as 'the food writer's food writer,' which is probably a euphemism for 'the food writer all other food writers would secretly like to be.' I'm sure I'm not alone in the wide-eyed admiration and green-eyed envy with which I read her work."

— Felicity Cloake, The New Statesman, July 9, 2015

 

Did You Know?

Euphemism derives from the Greek euphemos, which means "auspicious, sounding good." The first part of that root is the Greek prefix eu-, meaning "good."

The second part is phēmē, a Greek word for "speech" that is itself a derivative of the verb phanai, meaning "to speak." Among the numerous linguistic cousins of euphemism on the eu- side of the family are eulogy, euphoria, and euthanasia; on the phanai side, its kin include prophet and aphasia (loss of the power to understand words).

Titanic

WORD OF THE DAY

 

TITANIC \tye-TAN-ik \ adjective

 

Definition

1: having great magnitude, force, or power

2: colossal

 

Examples

The slugger launched a titanic home run that landed in the parking lot beyond the stadium's center-field wall.

"Murray has withstood a titanic challenge from Ivo Karlovic to reach his eighth consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final."
— Stuart Bathgate, Evening Times (Glasgow), July 6, 2015

 

Did You Know?

Before becoming the name of the most famous ship in history, titanic referred to the Titans, a family of giants in Greek mythology who were believed to have once ruled the earth. They were subsequently overpowered and replaced by the younger Olympian gods under the leadership of Zeus.

The size and power of the Titans is memorialized in the adjective titanic and in the noun titanium, a chemical element of exceptional strength that is used in the production of steel.

Hermitage

WORD OF THE DAY

 

HERMITAGE \ HER-mih-tij \ noun

 

Definition

1: the habitation of a hermit

 

2a: a secluded residence or private retreat;

2b: monastery

 

3: the life or condition of a hermit

 

Examples

"At a Catholic hermitage near Lac Saint-Jean, the Franciscan Capuchin friar Sylvain Richer told me he grew up saying 'Beam me up, Scotty.'"

— Associated Press, June 29, 2015

"The facility will include a convent, a chapel, a library, a Rosary Walk area, coffee shops, hermitages or small cottages, and areas for larger retreat groups and for people or couples to stay."
— Rebecca McKinsey, Daily Times Herald (Carroll, Iowa), December 22, 2014

 

Did You Know?

Hermitage is of course related to hermit, a word for one who retreats from society to live in solitude, often for religious reasons. The origins of hermitage and hermit are found in Greek. Erēmos (meaning "desolate") gave rise to erēmia (meaning "desert") and eventually to the noun erēmitēs, which was used for a person living in the desert, or, more broadly, for a recluse.

 

The word journeyed from Greek to Latin to Anglo-French to Middle English, where it eventually transformed into hermit. The related hermitage was borrowed into English from Anglo-French in the 14th century.

 

A hermitage can be the dwelling of a hermit (e.g., a mountain shack or a monastery) or simply a secluded home.

Infrangible

WORD OF THE DAY

 

INFRANGIBLE \ in-FRAN-juh-bul \ adjective

 

Definition

1: not capable of being broken or separated into parts

 

2: not to be infringed or violated

 

Examples

He declared firmly that he lived his life by a set of infrangible ethical principles.

"[James Bond] is content enough with his new freedom on the fringe to make it a permanent lifestyle, but it's his infrangible sense of duty to country and M that brings him back to the fold when both are threatened."
— Kirk Baird, Toledo (Ohio) Blade, November 9, 2012

 

Did You Know?

Infrangible comes to us via Middle French from the Late Latin infrangibilis, and it is ultimately derived from the prefix in- and the Latin verb frangere, meaning "to break." (Believe it or not, our break is ultimately derived from the same ancient word that gave rise to frangere.) Infrangible first appeared in print in English in the 16th century with the literal meaning "impossible to break"; it was later extended metaphorically to things that cannot or should not be broken.