WORD OF THE DAY
solicitous \ suh-LIS-uh-tus \ adjective
Definition
1a: showing attentive care or protectiveness
1b: manifesting or expressing solicitude
2a: full of concern or fears
2b: apprehensive
3: meticulously careful
4a: full of desire
4b: eager
Examples
Lyle has developed a reputation as one of the best tailors in the area because he is solicitous of his customers and their needs.
"Any given meal included a plethora of delectable choices, including barbecued ribs, schnitzel, ice cream and German chocolate cake, served up by solicitous staff."
— Erica Rosenberg, The Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
If you're solicitous about learning the connections between words, you'll surely want to know about the relationship between solicitous and another word you've probably heard before—solicit. Solicitous doesn't come from solicit, but the two words are related. They both have their roots in the Latin word sollicitus, meaning "anxious." Solicitous itself came directly from this Latin word, whereas solicit made its way to English with a few more steps. From sollicitus came the Latin verb sollicitare, meaning "to disturb, agitate, move, or entreat." Forms of this verb were borrowed into Anglo-French, and then Middle English, and have survived in Modern English as solicit.
Friday, December 30, 2016
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Beleaguer
WORD OF THE DAY
beleaguer \ bih-LEE-gur \ verb
Definition
1a: to cause distress to
1b: besiege
2 : trouble, harass
Examples
Despite being beleaguered by injuries, the scrappy football team fought hard and managed to make the playoffs.
"We must work to implement reforms like the Baltimore Metropolitan Council's Plan for Sustainable Development that offer practical remedies for the extensive pockets of generational poverty that beleaguer our region."
— Elijah E. Cummings, The Baltimore Sun, 22 Apr. 2016
Did You Know?
English speakers created beleaguer from the Dutch word belegeren in the 16th century. "[Military men] will not vouchsafe … to use our ancient terms belonging to matters of war, but do call a camp by the Dutch name," commented the English soldier and diplomat Sir John Smyth in 1590. The word for "camp" that he was referring to is leaguer.
That term in turn comes from Dutch leger, which is one of the building blocks of belegeren (literally, "to camp around"). But neither leaguer nor beleaguer were in fact utterly foreign. Old English leger, the source of our modern lair, is related to the Dutch word. And Old English be- ("about, around"), as seen in besiege and beset, is related to the Dutch prefix be- in belegeren.
beleaguer \ bih-LEE-gur \ verb
Definition
1a: to cause distress to
1b: besiege
2 : trouble, harass
Examples
Despite being beleaguered by injuries, the scrappy football team fought hard and managed to make the playoffs.
"We must work to implement reforms like the Baltimore Metropolitan Council's Plan for Sustainable Development that offer practical remedies for the extensive pockets of generational poverty that beleaguer our region."
— Elijah E. Cummings, The Baltimore Sun, 22 Apr. 2016
Did You Know?
English speakers created beleaguer from the Dutch word belegeren in the 16th century. "[Military men] will not vouchsafe … to use our ancient terms belonging to matters of war, but do call a camp by the Dutch name," commented the English soldier and diplomat Sir John Smyth in 1590. The word for "camp" that he was referring to is leaguer.
That term in turn comes from Dutch leger, which is one of the building blocks of belegeren (literally, "to camp around"). But neither leaguer nor beleaguer were in fact utterly foreign. Old English leger, the source of our modern lair, is related to the Dutch word. And Old English be- ("about, around"), as seen in besiege and beset, is related to the Dutch prefix be- in belegeren.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Ultima
WORD OF THE DAY
ultima \ UL-tuh-muh \ noun
Definition
: the last syllable of a word
Examples
For the last line of her poem, Sheila needed a word with an ultima that rhymed with "green," so she tried "magazine."
"A grave accent can occur only on the ultima."
— Rodney J. Decker, Reading Koine Greek, 2015
Did You Know?
In Latin, ultima is the feminine form of the adjective ultimus ("farthest or last"), the superlative form of ulter, meaning "situated beyond."
The ultima is the last syllable of a word; the second-to-last syllable in a word is called the penult or penultima (literally, "that which is almost last"); and the third-to-last syllable is called the antepenult or antepenultima ("that which comes before what is almost last").
The related word ultimate, while known to most people as meaning "the best or most extreme of its kind" (as in "surfers finding the ultimate wave"), has an original meaning referring to the last of something in a series.
ultima \ UL-tuh-muh \ noun
Definition
: the last syllable of a word
Examples
For the last line of her poem, Sheila needed a word with an ultima that rhymed with "green," so she tried "magazine."
"A grave accent can occur only on the ultima."
— Rodney J. Decker, Reading Koine Greek, 2015
Did You Know?
In Latin, ultima is the feminine form of the adjective ultimus ("farthest or last"), the superlative form of ulter, meaning "situated beyond."
The ultima is the last syllable of a word; the second-to-last syllable in a word is called the penult or penultima (literally, "that which is almost last"); and the third-to-last syllable is called the antepenult or antepenultima ("that which comes before what is almost last").
The related word ultimate, while known to most people as meaning "the best or most extreme of its kind" (as in "surfers finding the ultimate wave"), has an original meaning referring to the last of something in a series.
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Veridical
WORD OF THE DAY
veridical \ vuh-RID-ih-kul \ adjective
Definition
1 : truthful, veracious
2a : not illusory
2b : genuine
Examples
"All psychotherapies are based on the fact that memory is not veridical, that unconscious desires and fantasies exert their force on us all.…"
— Henry Kaminer, The Weekly Standard, 31 July 2000
"In this book, therefore, 'perception' is used to cover all sensory experience, whether veridical or not."
— Jeffrey Gray, Consciousness: Creeping Up on the Hard Problem, 2004
Did You Know?
We'll tell only the truth here: veridicalcomes from the Latin word veridicus, which itself is from two other Latin words: verus, meaning "true," and dicere, meaning "to say."
Verus is an ancestor of several English words, among them verify and very (which originally meant "true"). The word verdict is related to veridical on both sides of the family: it also traces back to verus and dicere. Veridical itself is the least common of the veruswords. You're most likely to encounter it in contexts dealing with psychology and philosophy.
veridical \ vuh-RID-ih-kul \ adjective
Definition
1 : truthful, veracious
2a : not illusory
2b : genuine
Examples
"All psychotherapies are based on the fact that memory is not veridical, that unconscious desires and fantasies exert their force on us all.…"
— Henry Kaminer, The Weekly Standard, 31 July 2000
"In this book, therefore, 'perception' is used to cover all sensory experience, whether veridical or not."
— Jeffrey Gray, Consciousness: Creeping Up on the Hard Problem, 2004
Did You Know?
We'll tell only the truth here: veridicalcomes from the Latin word veridicus, which itself is from two other Latin words: verus, meaning "true," and dicere, meaning "to say."
Verus is an ancestor of several English words, among them verify and very (which originally meant "true"). The word verdict is related to veridical on both sides of the family: it also traces back to verus and dicere. Veridical itself is the least common of the veruswords. You're most likely to encounter it in contexts dealing with psychology and philosophy.
Monday, December 26, 2016
Kwanzaa
WORD OF THE DAY
Kwanzaa \ KWAHN-zuh \ noun
Definition
: an African-American cultural festival held from December 26 to January 1
Examples
A joyous family spirit pervaded the Allen family's Kwanzaa celebration as three generations came together for a delightful meal and a beautiful candle-lighting ceremony.
"The dynamic, multicultural Forces of Nature Dance Company celebrates Kwanzaa with dance, music, drumming and audience-engaging activities."
— Jill Schensul, NorthJersey.com, 21 Nov. 2016
Did You Know?
In 1966, Maulana Karenga, a Black Studies professor at California State University at Long Beach, created a new holiday patterned after traditional African harvest festivals. He called it Kwanzaa, a name he took from a Swahili term that means "first fruits."
The holiday, which takes place from December 26th to January 1st, was originally intended as a nonreligious celebration of family and social values. Each day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of seven principles: unity, self-determination, collective responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
Kwanzaa \ KWAHN-zuh \ noun
Definition
: an African-American cultural festival held from December 26 to January 1
Examples
A joyous family spirit pervaded the Allen family's Kwanzaa celebration as three generations came together for a delightful meal and a beautiful candle-lighting ceremony.
"The dynamic, multicultural Forces of Nature Dance Company celebrates Kwanzaa with dance, music, drumming and audience-engaging activities."
— Jill Schensul, NorthJersey.com, 21 Nov. 2016
Did You Know?
In 1966, Maulana Karenga, a Black Studies professor at California State University at Long Beach, created a new holiday patterned after traditional African harvest festivals. He called it Kwanzaa, a name he took from a Swahili term that means "first fruits."
The holiday, which takes place from December 26th to January 1st, was originally intended as a nonreligious celebration of family and social values. Each day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of seven principles: unity, self-determination, collective responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
Friday, December 23, 2016
Vulpine
WORD OF THE DAY
vulpine \ VUL-pine \ adjective
Definition
1 : of, relating to, or resembling a fox
2 : foxy, crafty
Examples
"There is something Gatsby-esque about the whole story. [Bernie] Madoff is a clear proxy for Meyer Wolfsheim, the vulpine, self-satisfied criminal seducer."
— Daniel Gross, Newsweek, 12 Jan. 2009
"Flashing a vulpine grin, he's not a typical hunk—but like Casanova, a maestro of stylish manners and clever entrapment, an incorrigible cad proud of his powers of improvisational manipulation."
— Misha Berson, The Seattle Times, 30 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
In Walden (1854), Henry David Thoreau described foxes crying out "raggedly and demoniacally" as they hunted through the winter forest, and he wrote, "Sometimes one came near to my window, attracted by my light, barked a vulpine curse at me, and then retreated."
Thoreau's was far from the first use of vulpine; English writers have been applying that adjective to the foxlike or crafty since at least the 15th century, and the Latin parent of our term, vulpinus (from the noun vulpes, meaning "fox"), was around long before that.
vulpine \ VUL-pine \ adjective
Definition
1 : of, relating to, or resembling a fox
2 : foxy, crafty
Examples
"There is something Gatsby-esque about the whole story. [Bernie] Madoff is a clear proxy for Meyer Wolfsheim, the vulpine, self-satisfied criminal seducer."
— Daniel Gross, Newsweek, 12 Jan. 2009
"Flashing a vulpine grin, he's not a typical hunk—but like Casanova, a maestro of stylish manners and clever entrapment, an incorrigible cad proud of his powers of improvisational manipulation."
— Misha Berson, The Seattle Times, 30 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
In Walden (1854), Henry David Thoreau described foxes crying out "raggedly and demoniacally" as they hunted through the winter forest, and he wrote, "Sometimes one came near to my window, attracted by my light, barked a vulpine curse at me, and then retreated."
Thoreau's was far from the first use of vulpine; English writers have been applying that adjective to the foxlike or crafty since at least the 15th century, and the Latin parent of our term, vulpinus (from the noun vulpes, meaning "fox"), was around long before that.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Lave
WORD OF THE DAY
lave \ LAYV \ verb
Definition
1a : wash, bathe
1b: to flow along or against
2 : pour
Examples
"The captain walked up past the horses holding his arm and he knelt and drank and laved water over the back of his neck with his good hand."
— Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses, 1992
"On that first day she rode out to the beach on the ocean side of the island, dismounted to walk along the sand and watch the breakers lave the shore, and felt, for a moment, wholly content."
— Sara Taylor, The Shore, 2015
Did You Know?
Lave is a simple, monosyllabic word that magically makes the mundane act of washing poetic. Shakespeare used it in The Taming of the Shrew when Gremio assured the father of his beloved Bianca that she would have "basins and ewers to lave her dainty hands."
And in Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop, Nell "laved her hands and face, and cooled her feet before setting forth to walk again." The poetry of lave is also heard when describing water washing against the shore, or even the pouring of water. Before washing our hands of lave, we'll tell you that it comes from the same root as our word lavatory: the Latin verb lavare, meaning "to wash."
lave \ LAYV \ verb
Definition
1a : wash, bathe
1b: to flow along or against
2 : pour
Examples
"The captain walked up past the horses holding his arm and he knelt and drank and laved water over the back of his neck with his good hand."
— Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses, 1992
"On that first day she rode out to the beach on the ocean side of the island, dismounted to walk along the sand and watch the breakers lave the shore, and felt, for a moment, wholly content."
— Sara Taylor, The Shore, 2015
Did You Know?
Lave is a simple, monosyllabic word that magically makes the mundane act of washing poetic. Shakespeare used it in The Taming of the Shrew when Gremio assured the father of his beloved Bianca that she would have "basins and ewers to lave her dainty hands."
And in Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop, Nell "laved her hands and face, and cooled her feet before setting forth to walk again." The poetry of lave is also heard when describing water washing against the shore, or even the pouring of water. Before washing our hands of lave, we'll tell you that it comes from the same root as our word lavatory: the Latin verb lavare, meaning "to wash."
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Gallimaufry
WORD OF THE DAY
gallimaufry \ gal-uh-MAW-free \ noun
Definition
1: a heterogeneous mixture
2: jumble
Examples
The essay collection covers a gallimaufry of subjects, from stamp collecting to Portuguese cooking.
"Upon entering the gallery, one of the first things that catches my eye is a gallimaufry of vibrant, oversized collages." \
— Rosalie Spear, The Las Vegas Weekly, 29 Mar. 2016
Did You Know?
If the word gallimaufry doesn't make your mouth water, it may be because you don't know its history. In the 16th century, Middle-French speaking cooks made a meat stew called galimafree.
It must have been a varied dish because English speakers chose its name for any mix or jumble of things. If gallimaufry isn't to your taste, season your speech with one of its synonyms: hash (which can be a muddle of chopped meat and potatoes), hotchpotch (a stew or a hodgepodge), or potpourri (another stew turned medley).
gallimaufry \ gal-uh-MAW-free \ noun
Definition
1: a heterogeneous mixture
2: jumble
Examples
The essay collection covers a gallimaufry of subjects, from stamp collecting to Portuguese cooking.
"Upon entering the gallery, one of the first things that catches my eye is a gallimaufry of vibrant, oversized collages." \
— Rosalie Spear, The Las Vegas Weekly, 29 Mar. 2016
Did You Know?
If the word gallimaufry doesn't make your mouth water, it may be because you don't know its history. In the 16th century, Middle-French speaking cooks made a meat stew called galimafree.
It must have been a varied dish because English speakers chose its name for any mix or jumble of things. If gallimaufry isn't to your taste, season your speech with one of its synonyms: hash (which can be a muddle of chopped meat and potatoes), hotchpotch (a stew or a hodgepodge), or potpourri (another stew turned medley).
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Eternize
WORD OF THE DAY
eternize \ ih-TER-nyze \ verb
Definition
1a : to make eternal
1b : to prolong indefinitely
2 : immortalize
Examples
The photograph eternizes the joy that Colin felt when he held his daughter in his arms for the first time.
"Sometimes it seems that Hopper (1882-1967) could have eternized almost any undistinguished moment of introspection or inaction in anyone's life. That's why his paintings can make us wonder about the opportunities for consciousness and revelation we have been blind to in ourselves."
— Roberta Smith, The New York Times, 6 June 2013
Did You Know?
Eternize shows up in the works of literary greats, such as John Milton, Edmund Spenser, and Herman Melville, and it sees occasional use in modern-day sources, but it is far from common.
The same can be said of its slightly longer and related synonym eternalize. Eternize is the older of the two; our earliest evidence of the word dates to 1566, while evidence of eternalize dates to 1620.
But there's a third relative that predates them both, and it's far more common than either of them. That would be eternal, which has been with us since the 14th century. All three words are ultimately rooted in Latin aevum, meaning "age" or "eternity."
eternize \ ih-TER-nyze \ verb
Definition
1a : to make eternal
1b : to prolong indefinitely
2 : immortalize
Examples
The photograph eternizes the joy that Colin felt when he held his daughter in his arms for the first time.
"Sometimes it seems that Hopper (1882-1967) could have eternized almost any undistinguished moment of introspection or inaction in anyone's life. That's why his paintings can make us wonder about the opportunities for consciousness and revelation we have been blind to in ourselves."
— Roberta Smith, The New York Times, 6 June 2013
Did You Know?
Eternize shows up in the works of literary greats, such as John Milton, Edmund Spenser, and Herman Melville, and it sees occasional use in modern-day sources, but it is far from common.
The same can be said of its slightly longer and related synonym eternalize. Eternize is the older of the two; our earliest evidence of the word dates to 1566, while evidence of eternalize dates to 1620.
But there's a third relative that predates them both, and it's far more common than either of them. That would be eternal, which has been with us since the 14th century. All three words are ultimately rooted in Latin aevum, meaning "age" or "eternity."
Monday, December 19, 2016
Nosocomial
WORD OF THE DAY
nosocomial \ nah-suh-KOH-mee-ul \ adjective
Definition
: acquired or occurring in a hospital
Examples
A minor nosocomial outbreak of the disease occurred when doctors failed to diagnose the infected patient's illness in time.
"… there are things we handle a lot and never really clean. One study, for instance, found that about 95 percent of mobile phones carried by health care workers were contaminated with nosocomial bacteria."
— Aaron E. Carroll, The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
Nosocomial is a word that usually occurs in formal medical contexts—specifically, in reference to hospital-acquired sickness. We hope you never encounter nosocomial as part of your own medical diagnosis, but if you do, you might want to remember that the term descends from nosocomium, the Late Latin word for "hospital." Nosocomium in turn traces to the Greek nosos, meaning "disease." That root has given English other words as well, including zoonosis ("a disease communicable from animals to humans under natural conditions") and nosology ("a classification or list of diseases" or "a branch of medical science that deals with classification of diseases").
nosocomial \ nah-suh-KOH-mee-ul \ adjective
Definition
: acquired or occurring in a hospital
Examples
A minor nosocomial outbreak of the disease occurred when doctors failed to diagnose the infected patient's illness in time.
"… there are things we handle a lot and never really clean. One study, for instance, found that about 95 percent of mobile phones carried by health care workers were contaminated with nosocomial bacteria."
— Aaron E. Carroll, The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
Nosocomial is a word that usually occurs in formal medical contexts—specifically, in reference to hospital-acquired sickness. We hope you never encounter nosocomial as part of your own medical diagnosis, but if you do, you might want to remember that the term descends from nosocomium, the Late Latin word for "hospital." Nosocomium in turn traces to the Greek nosos, meaning "disease." That root has given English other words as well, including zoonosis ("a disease communicable from animals to humans under natural conditions") and nosology ("a classification or list of diseases" or "a branch of medical science that deals with classification of diseases").
Friday, December 16, 2016
Impetuous
WORD OF THE DAY
Impetuous \ im-PECH-uh-wus \ adjective
Definition
1 : marked by impulsive vehemence or passion
2 : marked by force and violence of movement or action
Examples
The impetuous winds forced the hikers to postpone their expedition to the mountain's peak.
"… you care so much that you want to get it right and you're not going to indulge in either impetuous or, in some cases, manufactured responses that make good sound bites but don't produce results. The stakes are too high to play those games."
— Barack Obama, quoted in The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2016
Did You Know?
When we borrowed impetuous in the late 14th century, we used it of people and their actions. About a hundred years later, we added another sense to describe physical things like wind or storms or seas—this second sense we don't use much anymore.
The word comes via Anglo-French from Late Latin impetuosus, which is from impetus. Latin impetus (which of course gave us our own impetus, meaning "driving force") essentially means "assault," but it also has figurative senses ranging from "violence" to "ardor." Our impetuous has a similar range of meaning, from "violent" to "passionate."
It also carries the suggestion of impulsiveness. Often, we put a light touch on the word, as when we refer—somewhat longingly, perhaps—to our "impetuous youth."
Impetuous \ im-PECH-uh-wus \ adjective
Definition
1 : marked by impulsive vehemence or passion
2 : marked by force and violence of movement or action
Examples
The impetuous winds forced the hikers to postpone their expedition to the mountain's peak.
"… you care so much that you want to get it right and you're not going to indulge in either impetuous or, in some cases, manufactured responses that make good sound bites but don't produce results. The stakes are too high to play those games."
— Barack Obama, quoted in The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2016
Did You Know?
When we borrowed impetuous in the late 14th century, we used it of people and their actions. About a hundred years later, we added another sense to describe physical things like wind or storms or seas—this second sense we don't use much anymore.
The word comes via Anglo-French from Late Latin impetuosus, which is from impetus. Latin impetus (which of course gave us our own impetus, meaning "driving force") essentially means "assault," but it also has figurative senses ranging from "violence" to "ardor." Our impetuous has a similar range of meaning, from "violent" to "passionate."
It also carries the suggestion of impulsiveness. Often, we put a light touch on the word, as when we refer—somewhat longingly, perhaps—to our "impetuous youth."
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Objurgation
WORD OF THE DAY
objurgation \ ahb-jer-GAY-shun \ noun
Definition
: a harsh rebuke
Examples
"I had early formed my opinion of him; and, in spite of Miss Murray's objurgations, was fully convinced that he was a man of strong sense, firm faith, and ardent piety, but thoughtful and stern."
— Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey, 1847
"It always amazes me to sit at a sporting event and hear members of the audience shout objurgations at a pro player who has just dropped a ball or made some other error."
— R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., The New York Sun, 25 Apr. 2003
Did You Know?
Objurgation traces to the Latin objurgare ("to scold or blame"), which was formed from ob- ("against") and jurgare ("to quarrel" or, literally, "to take to law"—in other words, "to bring a lawsuit").
Jur- in Latin means "law," and there are several English words related to objurgation that have legal implications, including perjury, abjure, jurisprudence, and even injury.
But despite its etymological connection to the law, the word objurgation carries no legal weight. It refers to nothing more than an unusually harsh or severe scolding.
objurgation \ ahb-jer-GAY-shun \ noun
Definition
: a harsh rebuke
Examples
"I had early formed my opinion of him; and, in spite of Miss Murray's objurgations, was fully convinced that he was a man of strong sense, firm faith, and ardent piety, but thoughtful and stern."
— Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey, 1847
"It always amazes me to sit at a sporting event and hear members of the audience shout objurgations at a pro player who has just dropped a ball or made some other error."
— R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., The New York Sun, 25 Apr. 2003
Did You Know?
Objurgation traces to the Latin objurgare ("to scold or blame"), which was formed from ob- ("against") and jurgare ("to quarrel" or, literally, "to take to law"—in other words, "to bring a lawsuit").
Jur- in Latin means "law," and there are several English words related to objurgation that have legal implications, including perjury, abjure, jurisprudence, and even injury.
But despite its etymological connection to the law, the word objurgation carries no legal weight. It refers to nothing more than an unusually harsh or severe scolding.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Kapellmeister
WORD OF THE DAY
Kapellmeister \ Kuh-PELL-mye-ster \ noun
Definition
: (often capitalized Kapellmeister) the director of a choir or orchestra
Examples
The Kapellmeister brought his hands up slowly to signal to the musicians a shift to a slower tempo.
"Schwader joined them onstage for an account of the apparently dagger-toting Johann Sebastian Bach's tussle with a bassoonist he allegedly insulted. Using a humorous German accent during dialogue, it was an amusing anecdotal introduction to the portly bewigged Kapellmeister we recognize from portraits and intricate counterpoint…."
— Libby Hanssen, The Kansas City Star, 13 November 2016
Did You Know?
As you may have guessed, Kapellmeister originated as a German word—and in fact, even in English it is often (though not always) used for the director of a German choir. Kapelle once meant "choir" in German, and Meister is the German word for "master."
The Latin magister is an ancestor of both Meister and master, as well as of our maestro, meaning "an eminent composer or conductor." Kapelle comes from cappella, the Medieval Latin word for "chapel." As it happens, we also borrowed Kapelle into English, first to refer to the choir or orchestra of a royal or papal chapel, and later to describe any orchestra. Kapellmeister is used somewhat more frequently than Kapelle in current English, though neither word is especially common.
Kapellmeister \ Kuh-PELL-mye-ster \ noun
Definition
: (often capitalized Kapellmeister) the director of a choir or orchestra
Examples
The Kapellmeister brought his hands up slowly to signal to the musicians a shift to a slower tempo.
"Schwader joined them onstage for an account of the apparently dagger-toting Johann Sebastian Bach's tussle with a bassoonist he allegedly insulted. Using a humorous German accent during dialogue, it was an amusing anecdotal introduction to the portly bewigged Kapellmeister we recognize from portraits and intricate counterpoint…."
— Libby Hanssen, The Kansas City Star, 13 November 2016
Did You Know?
As you may have guessed, Kapellmeister originated as a German word—and in fact, even in English it is often (though not always) used for the director of a German choir. Kapelle once meant "choir" in German, and Meister is the German word for "master."
The Latin magister is an ancestor of both Meister and master, as well as of our maestro, meaning "an eminent composer or conductor." Kapelle comes from cappella, the Medieval Latin word for "chapel." As it happens, we also borrowed Kapelle into English, first to refer to the choir or orchestra of a royal or papal chapel, and later to describe any orchestra. Kapellmeister is used somewhat more frequently than Kapelle in current English, though neither word is especially common.
Fillip
WORD OF THE DAY
fillip \ FIL-up \ verb
Definition
1a: to strike by holding the nail of a finger against the ball of the thumb and then suddenly releasing it from that position
1b: to make a filliping motion with
2a: to project quickly by or as if by a filliping motion
2b: snap
3 : to urge on : stimulate
Examples
As their parents finished up dinner, the two boys entertained themselves at the table by filliping crumbs into an overturned cup.
"He leaves behind a business … which senior sources say will deliver record pre-tax profits in the region of [euros] 30 million this year, filliped by strong fundraising and private client business and surging stock markets."
— Róisín Burke, The Sunday Business Post (Ireland), 7 Dec. 2014
Did You Know?
Like flip and flick, fillip is considered a phonetic imitation of the sharp release of a curled-up finger aimed to strike something. Language history suggests that people were filliping in the 15th-century, well before they were flipping and flicking. Specifically, fillip describes a strike or gesture made by the sudden straightening of a finger curled up against the thumb—a motion commonly referred to as a flick.
It didn't take long before the sensational stinging smartness of filliping was extended to figurative use. "I mark this in our old Mogul's wine; it's quite as deadening to some as filliping to others," observes Herman Melville's Dutch sailor of wine's "stimulating" effect in Moby Dick.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Objurgation
WORD OF THE DAY
objurgation \ ahb-jer-GAY-shun \ noun
Definition
: a harsh rebuke
Examples
"I had early formed my opinion of him; and, in spite of Miss Murray's objurgations, was fully convinced that he was a man of strong sense, firm faith, and ardent piety, but thoughtful and stern."
— Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey, 1847
"It always amazes me to sit at a sporting event and hear members of the audience shout objurgations at a pro player who has just dropped a ball or made some other error."
— R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., The New York Sun, 25 Apr. 2003
Did You Know?
Objurgation traces to the Latin objurgare ("to scold or blame"), which was formed from ob- ("against") and jurgare ("to quarrel" or, literally, "to take to law"—in other words, "to bring a lawsuit").
Jur- in Latin means "law," and there are several English words related to objurgation that have legal implications, including perjury, abjure, jurisprudence, and even injury. But despite its etymological connection to the law, the word objurgation carries no legal weight. It refers to nothing more than an unusually harsh or severe scolding.
objurgation \ ahb-jer-GAY-shun \ noun
Definition
: a harsh rebuke
Examples
"I had early formed my opinion of him; and, in spite of Miss Murray's objurgations, was fully convinced that he was a man of strong sense, firm faith, and ardent piety, but thoughtful and stern."
— Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey, 1847
"It always amazes me to sit at a sporting event and hear members of the audience shout objurgations at a pro player who has just dropped a ball or made some other error."
— R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., The New York Sun, 25 Apr. 2003
Did You Know?
Objurgation traces to the Latin objurgare ("to scold or blame"), which was formed from ob- ("against") and jurgare ("to quarrel" or, literally, "to take to law"—in other words, "to bring a lawsuit").
Jur- in Latin means "law," and there are several English words related to objurgation that have legal implications, including perjury, abjure, jurisprudence, and even injury. But despite its etymological connection to the law, the word objurgation carries no legal weight. It refers to nothing more than an unusually harsh or severe scolding.
Monday, December 12, 2016
Methuselah
WORD OF THE DAY
Methuselah \ muh-THOO-zuh-luh \ noun
Definition
1 : an ancestor of Noah held to have lived 969 years
2 : an oversize wine bottle holding about six liters
Examples
The winery has started bottling their champagne in Methuselahs.
"People still write of the Krug 1928 as the best bottle of wine made in the last century. A bottle of it sold in 2009 for $21,200, and that wasn't a 6-liter Methuselah. It was a standard 750 milliliters of amazing."
— Julie Glenn, The News-Press (Fort Myers, FL), 21 Jan. 2015
Did You Know?
What do Jeroboam, Methuselah, Salmanazar, Balthazar, and Nebuchadnezzar have in common? Larger-than-life biblical figures all, yes (four kings and a venerable patriarch), but they're all also names of oversized wine bottles.
A Jeroboam is usually the equivalent of about four 750-milliliter bottles (about 3 liters). One Methuselah holds about eight standard bottles' worth, a Salmanazar 12, a Balthazar 16, and a Nebuchadnezzar a whopping 20. (Each of these terms is also sometimes styled lowercase.)
No one knows who decided to use those names for bottles, but we do know that by the 1800s Jeroboam was being used for large goblets or "enormous bottles of fabulous content." It wasn't until sometime early in the 20th century that Methuselah and all the other names were chosen for specific bottle sizes.
Friday, December 9, 2016
Daedal
WORD OF THE DAY
daedal \ DEE-dul \ adjective
Definition
1 a : skillful, artistic
1b : intricate
2 : adorned with many things
Examples
The filmmaker makes daedal use of lighting effects and camera angles to create a noirish atmosphere.
"Applying makeup on trains … is not easy. That innumerable Japanese women choose to do so while commuting should, therefore, be seen as a testament to their steady hands as well as that country's steady trains. Indeed, undertaking such a daedal exercise on the Indian railway system—or any other public transport—would be foolhardy unless the intention is to emerge looking like Heath Ledger as the Joker."
— The Economic Times, 29 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
You might know Daedalus as the mythological prisoner who fashioned wings of feathers and wax to escape from the island of Crete with his son Icarus.
But it was as architect and sculptor, one said to have designed a labyrinth for King Minos on Crete, that he earned his name. Daedalus (from Greek daidalos) is Latin for "skillfully wrought."
The same "skillful" Latin adjective gave English the adjectives daedal (in use since the 16th century) and Daedalian (or Daedalean), a synonym of daedal.
daedal \ DEE-dul \ adjective
Definition
1 a : skillful, artistic
1b : intricate
2 : adorned with many things
Examples
The filmmaker makes daedal use of lighting effects and camera angles to create a noirish atmosphere.
"Applying makeup on trains … is not easy. That innumerable Japanese women choose to do so while commuting should, therefore, be seen as a testament to their steady hands as well as that country's steady trains. Indeed, undertaking such a daedal exercise on the Indian railway system—or any other public transport—would be foolhardy unless the intention is to emerge looking like Heath Ledger as the Joker."
— The Economic Times, 29 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
You might know Daedalus as the mythological prisoner who fashioned wings of feathers and wax to escape from the island of Crete with his son Icarus.
But it was as architect and sculptor, one said to have designed a labyrinth for King Minos on Crete, that he earned his name. Daedalus (from Greek daidalos) is Latin for "skillfully wrought."
The same "skillful" Latin adjective gave English the adjectives daedal (in use since the 16th century) and Daedalian (or Daedalean), a synonym of daedal.
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Qui Vive
WORD OF THE DAY
qui vive \ kee-VEEV \ noun
Definition
: alert, lookout
Examples
"All right. Lieutenant Howard, go see how the artillery wagons are managing, and on the way tell Major Mason that I need him again. Stay on the qui vive; you may find evidence of liquor."
— William T. Vollmann, The Dying Grass: A Novel of the Nez Perce War, 2015
"Pasadena Heritage staged its Colorado Street Bridge Party July 16, and Police Chief Phillip Sanchez was clearly on the qui vive at the entrance to the bridge."
— Patt Diroll, The Pasadena Star News, 24 July 2016
Did You Know?
When a sentinel guarding a French castle in days of yore cried, "Qui vive?," your life depended upon your answer. The question the sentinel was asking was "Long live who?"
The correct answer was usually something like "Long live the king!" Visitors not answering the question this way were regarded as suspect, and so to be "on the qui vive" meant to be on the alert or lookout, and qui vive came to mean "alert" or "lookout" soon afterward.
Nowadays, the term is most often used in the phrase "on the qui vive," meaning "on the lookout."
qui vive \ kee-VEEV \ noun
Definition
: alert, lookout
Examples
"All right. Lieutenant Howard, go see how the artillery wagons are managing, and on the way tell Major Mason that I need him again. Stay on the qui vive; you may find evidence of liquor."
— William T. Vollmann, The Dying Grass: A Novel of the Nez Perce War, 2015
"Pasadena Heritage staged its Colorado Street Bridge Party July 16, and Police Chief Phillip Sanchez was clearly on the qui vive at the entrance to the bridge."
— Patt Diroll, The Pasadena Star News, 24 July 2016
Did You Know?
When a sentinel guarding a French castle in days of yore cried, "Qui vive?," your life depended upon your answer. The question the sentinel was asking was "Long live who?"
The correct answer was usually something like "Long live the king!" Visitors not answering the question this way were regarded as suspect, and so to be "on the qui vive" meant to be on the alert or lookout, and qui vive came to mean "alert" or "lookout" soon afterward.
Nowadays, the term is most often used in the phrase "on the qui vive," meaning "on the lookout."
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Bamboozle
WORD OF THE DAY
bamboozle \ bam-BOO-zul \ verb
Definition
1 : to deceive by underhanded methods : dupe, hoodwink
2 : to confuse, frustrate, or throw off thoroughly or completely
Examples
"Some consumers are so bamboozled by slick sales talk that they pay extra for amazingly bad deals. Just one example, a $49.99, four-year service plan on a DVD player that sells for $39.99."
— Mike McClintock, The Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2009
"We agree with those who filed the suits challenging the wording of the ballot question. We believe it is deceitful—and deliberately so, designed to bamboozle voters into thinking they are voting on a minor issue that simply codifies existing law instead of adding five years to a judge's term."
— The Philadelphia Daily News, 10 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
In 1710, Irish author Jonathan Swift wrote an article on "the continual Corruption of our English Tongue" in which he complained of "the Choice of certain Words invented by some pretty Fellows." Among the inventions Swift disliked were bamboozle, bubble (a dupe), put (a fool), and sham. (Perhaps he objected to the use of sham as a verb; he himself had used the adjective meaning "false" a couple of years previously.)
What all these words appear to have in common is a connection to the underworld as jargon of criminals. Other than that, the origin of bamboozle remains a mystery, but the over-300-year-old word has clearly defied Swift's assertion that "All new affected Modes of Speech . . . are the first perishing Parts in any Language."
bamboozle \ bam-BOO-zul \ verb
Definition
1 : to deceive by underhanded methods : dupe, hoodwink
2 : to confuse, frustrate, or throw off thoroughly or completely
Examples
"Some consumers are so bamboozled by slick sales talk that they pay extra for amazingly bad deals. Just one example, a $49.99, four-year service plan on a DVD player that sells for $39.99."
— Mike McClintock, The Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2009
"We agree with those who filed the suits challenging the wording of the ballot question. We believe it is deceitful—and deliberately so, designed to bamboozle voters into thinking they are voting on a minor issue that simply codifies existing law instead of adding five years to a judge's term."
— The Philadelphia Daily News, 10 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
In 1710, Irish author Jonathan Swift wrote an article on "the continual Corruption of our English Tongue" in which he complained of "the Choice of certain Words invented by some pretty Fellows." Among the inventions Swift disliked were bamboozle, bubble (a dupe), put (a fool), and sham. (Perhaps he objected to the use of sham as a verb; he himself had used the adjective meaning "false" a couple of years previously.)
What all these words appear to have in common is a connection to the underworld as jargon of criminals. Other than that, the origin of bamboozle remains a mystery, but the over-300-year-old word has clearly defied Swift's assertion that "All new affected Modes of Speech . . . are the first perishing Parts in any Language."
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Salient
WORD OF THE DAY
salient \ SAIL-yunt \ adjective
Definition
1 : moving by leaps or springs : jumping
2 : jetting upward
3a : standing out conspicuously : prominent; especially
3b: of notable significance
Examples
The speech was filled with so much twisted rhetoric that it was hard to identify any salient points.
"Among the projects: … an $18 million makeover of Freedom Hall, substantial new meeting and storage space, a new ballroom and a new $70 million exhibit hall…. Those were the salient recommendations of a new master plan for the Kentucky Exposition Center…."
— Sheldon Shafer, The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), 28 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
Salient first popped up in English in the 16th century as a term of heraldry meaning "rampant but leaning forward as if leaping." By the mid-17th century, it had leaped into more general use in the senses of "moving by leaps or springs" or "spouting forth." Those senses aren't too much of a jump from the word's parent, the Latin verb salire, which means "to leap."
Salire also occurs in the etymologies of some other English words, including somersault and sally, as well as Salientia, the name for an order of amphibians that includes frogs, toads, and other notable jumpers. Today, salient is usually used to describe things that are physically prominent (such as a salient nose) or that stand out figuratively (such as the salient features of a painting or the salient points in an argument).
Monday, December 5, 2016
Ziggurat
WORD OF THE DAY
ziggurat \ ZIG-uh-rat \ noun
Definition
: an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top; also : a structure or object of similar form
Examples
"The building itself is certainly distinctive: The bronze-meshed ziggurat moves upwards toward the sky and into the light."
— Lisa Benton-Short, GWToday (gwtoday.gwu.edu, George Washington
University), 10 Oct. 2016
"The opulence remains in Barbara de Limburg's expansive sets, but the dramatic point is the contrast of the family's poverty with the consumerist rapacity suggested by the Witch's lair—not the usual gumdrop-bedecked gingerbread house but a towering ziggurat of brightly packaged junk food…."
— Gavin Borchart, The Seattle Weekly, 19 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
French professor of archaeology François Lenormant spent a great deal of time poring over ancient Assyrian texts. In those cuneiform inscriptions, he recognized a new language, now known as Akkadian, which proved valuable to the understanding of ancient Mesopotamian civilization. Through his studies, he became familiar with the Akkadian word for the towering Mesopotamian temples: ziqqurratu.
In 1877 he came out with Chaldean Magic, a scholarly exposition on the mythology of the Chaldeans, an ancient people who lived in what is now Iraq. In his work, which was immediately translated into English, he introduced the word ziggurat to the modern world in his description of the ziggurat of the Iraqi palace of Khorsabad.
ziggurat \ ZIG-uh-rat \ noun
Definition
: an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top; also : a structure or object of similar form
Examples
"The building itself is certainly distinctive: The bronze-meshed ziggurat moves upwards toward the sky and into the light."
— Lisa Benton-Short, GWToday (gwtoday.gwu.edu, George Washington
University), 10 Oct. 2016
"The opulence remains in Barbara de Limburg's expansive sets, but the dramatic point is the contrast of the family's poverty with the consumerist rapacity suggested by the Witch's lair—not the usual gumdrop-bedecked gingerbread house but a towering ziggurat of brightly packaged junk food…."
— Gavin Borchart, The Seattle Weekly, 19 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
French professor of archaeology François Lenormant spent a great deal of time poring over ancient Assyrian texts. In those cuneiform inscriptions, he recognized a new language, now known as Akkadian, which proved valuable to the understanding of ancient Mesopotamian civilization. Through his studies, he became familiar with the Akkadian word for the towering Mesopotamian temples: ziqqurratu.
In 1877 he came out with Chaldean Magic, a scholarly exposition on the mythology of the Chaldeans, an ancient people who lived in what is now Iraq. In his work, which was immediately translated into English, he introduced the word ziggurat to the modern world in his description of the ziggurat of the Iraqi palace of Khorsabad.
Friday, December 2, 2016
Wane
WORD OF THE DAY
wane \ WAYN \ verb
Definition
1 : to decrease in size, extent, or degree
2 : to fall gradually from power, prosperity, or influence
Examples
"Last year, the station offered fans the chance to buy the CD online for the first time and also sold it in Target stores as usual. But unlike previous years, the limited-run compilation didn't sell out immediately, suggesting its popularity may be waning."
— Ross Raihala, The Pioneer Press (TwinCities.com), 14 Oct. 2016
"And as public and political interest in space exploration waxed and waned over the following decades, the funding for the space program did too."
— Dianna Wray, The Houston Press, 26 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
"Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour / Draws on apace four happy days bring in / Another moon: But oh, methinks how slow / This old moon wanes!" So Theseus describes his eagerness for his wedding night in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
As illustrated by Theseus' words, wane is a word often called upon to describe the seeming decrease in size of the moon in the later phases of the lunar cycle. The traditional opposite of wane is wax, a once common but now infrequently used synonym of grow. Wane and wax have been partnered in reference to the moon since the Middle Ages.
wane \ WAYN \ verb
Definition
1 : to decrease in size, extent, or degree
2 : to fall gradually from power, prosperity, or influence
Examples
"Last year, the station offered fans the chance to buy the CD online for the first time and also sold it in Target stores as usual. But unlike previous years, the limited-run compilation didn't sell out immediately, suggesting its popularity may be waning."
— Ross Raihala, The Pioneer Press (TwinCities.com), 14 Oct. 2016
"And as public and political interest in space exploration waxed and waned over the following decades, the funding for the space program did too."
— Dianna Wray, The Houston Press, 26 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
"Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour / Draws on apace four happy days bring in / Another moon: But oh, methinks how slow / This old moon wanes!" So Theseus describes his eagerness for his wedding night in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
As illustrated by Theseus' words, wane is a word often called upon to describe the seeming decrease in size of the moon in the later phases of the lunar cycle. The traditional opposite of wane is wax, a once common but now infrequently used synonym of grow. Wane and wax have been partnered in reference to the moon since the Middle Ages.
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Thaumaturgy
WORD OF THE DAY
thaumaturgy \ THAW-muh-ter-jee \ noun
Definition
1a: the performance of miracles; specifically
1b: magic
Examples
"The place is still a favourite pilgrimage, but there seems to be some doubt as to which Saint John has chosen it as the scene of his posthumous thaumaturgy; for, according to a local guide-book, it is equally frequented on the feasts of the Baptist and of the Evangelist."
— Edith Wharton, Italian Backgrounds, 1905
"Indeed, so keen was the horror at the hysteria that had taken hold in Salem that the mere mention of the place was sufficient to cool any passions that looked in danger of spiraling into outmoded and dangerous thaumaturgy."
— Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 16 Dec. 2011
Did You Know?
The magic of thaumaturgy is miraculous. The word, from a Greek word meaning "miracle working," is applicable to any performance of miracles, especially by incantation.
It can also be used of things that merely seem miraculous and unexplainable, like the thaumaturgy of a motion picture's illusions (aka "movie magic"), or the thaumaturgy at work in an athletic team's "miracle" comeback.
In addition to thaumaturgy, we also have thaumaturge and thaumaturgist, both of which mean "a performer of miracles" or "a magician," and the adjective thaumaturgic, meaning "performing miracles" or "of, relating to, or dependent on thaumaturgy."
thaumaturgy \ THAW-muh-ter-jee \ noun
Definition
1a: the performance of miracles; specifically
1b: magic
Examples
"The place is still a favourite pilgrimage, but there seems to be some doubt as to which Saint John has chosen it as the scene of his posthumous thaumaturgy; for, according to a local guide-book, it is equally frequented on the feasts of the Baptist and of the Evangelist."
— Edith Wharton, Italian Backgrounds, 1905
"Indeed, so keen was the horror at the hysteria that had taken hold in Salem that the mere mention of the place was sufficient to cool any passions that looked in danger of spiraling into outmoded and dangerous thaumaturgy."
— Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 16 Dec. 2011
Did You Know?
The magic of thaumaturgy is miraculous. The word, from a Greek word meaning "miracle working," is applicable to any performance of miracles, especially by incantation.
It can also be used of things that merely seem miraculous and unexplainable, like the thaumaturgy of a motion picture's illusions (aka "movie magic"), or the thaumaturgy at work in an athletic team's "miracle" comeback.
In addition to thaumaturgy, we also have thaumaturge and thaumaturgist, both of which mean "a performer of miracles" or "a magician," and the adjective thaumaturgic, meaning "performing miracles" or "of, relating to, or dependent on thaumaturgy."
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Soporific
WORD OF THE DAY
soporific \ sah-puh-RIFF-ik \ adjective
Definition
1a : causing or tending to cause sleep
1b : tending to dull awareness or alertness
2 : of, relating to, or marked by sleepiness or lethargy
Examples
The soporific effects of the stuffy classroom and the lecturer's droning voice left more than one student fighting to stay awake.
"The prose sparkles at every turn, but that's not to say it's without flaws. Some entire chapters … struck me as wholly soporific."
— Andrew Ervin, The Washington Post, 13 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
"It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is 'soporific.' I have never felt sleepy after eating lettuces; but then I am not a rabbit." In The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies by Beatrix Potter, the children of Benjamin Bunny were very nearly done in by Mr. McGregor because they ate soporific lettuces that put them into a deep sleep. Their near fate can help you recall the history of soporific.
The term traces to the Latin noun sopor, which means "deep sleep." (That root is related to somnus, the Latin word for sleep and the name of the Roman god of sleep.) French speakers used sopor as the basis of soporifique, which was probably the model for the English soporific.
soporific \ sah-puh-RIFF-ik \ adjective
Definition
1a : causing or tending to cause sleep
1b : tending to dull awareness or alertness
2 : of, relating to, or marked by sleepiness or lethargy
Examples
The soporific effects of the stuffy classroom and the lecturer's droning voice left more than one student fighting to stay awake.
"The prose sparkles at every turn, but that's not to say it's without flaws. Some entire chapters … struck me as wholly soporific."
— Andrew Ervin, The Washington Post, 13 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
"It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is 'soporific.' I have never felt sleepy after eating lettuces; but then I am not a rabbit." In The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies by Beatrix Potter, the children of Benjamin Bunny were very nearly done in by Mr. McGregor because they ate soporific lettuces that put them into a deep sleep. Their near fate can help you recall the history of soporific.
The term traces to the Latin noun sopor, which means "deep sleep." (That root is related to somnus, the Latin word for sleep and the name of the Roman god of sleep.) French speakers used sopor as the basis of soporifique, which was probably the model for the English soporific.
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Cabbage
WORD OF THE DAY
cabbage \ KAB-ij \ verb
Definition
: steal, filch
Examples
"When these ruffians were in a relatively mild mood they were content to chase us off the diamond, but when their glands were flowing freely they also cabbaged our bats, balls and gloves."
— H. L. Mencken, Happy Days, 1940
"More and more people are trying to get their 'news' free from online sources, unreliable as some of these fly-by-night wanna-bes are. In truth, the information is usually cabbaged from the website (or the print edition) of the local paper."
— Kim Poindexter, The Tahlequah (Oklahoma) Daily Press, 24 Aug. 2015
Did You Know?
Does the "filching" meaning of cabbage bring to mind an image of thieves sneaking out of farm fields with armloads of pilfered produce? If so, you're in for a surprise. Today's featured word has nothing to do with the leafy vegetable. It originally referred to the practice among tailors of pocketing part of the cloth given to them to make garments.
The verb was cut from the same cloth as an older British noun cabbage, which meant "pieces of cloth left in cutting out garments and traditionally kept by tailors as perquisites." Both of those ethically questionable cabbages probably derived from cabas, the Middle French word for "cheating or theft." The cabbage found in coleslaw, on the other hand, comes from Middle English caboche, which meant "head."
cabbage \ KAB-ij \ verb
Definition
: steal, filch
Examples
"When these ruffians were in a relatively mild mood they were content to chase us off the diamond, but when their glands were flowing freely they also cabbaged our bats, balls and gloves."
— H. L. Mencken, Happy Days, 1940
"More and more people are trying to get their 'news' free from online sources, unreliable as some of these fly-by-night wanna-bes are. In truth, the information is usually cabbaged from the website (or the print edition) of the local paper."
— Kim Poindexter, The Tahlequah (Oklahoma) Daily Press, 24 Aug. 2015
Did You Know?
Does the "filching" meaning of cabbage bring to mind an image of thieves sneaking out of farm fields with armloads of pilfered produce? If so, you're in for a surprise. Today's featured word has nothing to do with the leafy vegetable. It originally referred to the practice among tailors of pocketing part of the cloth given to them to make garments.
The verb was cut from the same cloth as an older British noun cabbage, which meant "pieces of cloth left in cutting out garments and traditionally kept by tailors as perquisites." Both of those ethically questionable cabbages probably derived from cabas, the Middle French word for "cheating or theft." The cabbage found in coleslaw, on the other hand, comes from Middle English caboche, which meant "head."
Monday, November 28, 2016
Vicissitude
WORD OF THE DAY
vicissitude \ vuh-SISS-uh-tood \ noun
Definition
1 : the quality or state of being changeable : mutability
2a : a favorable or unfavorable event or situation that occurs by chance : a fluctuation of state or condition
2b : a difficulty or hardship usually beyond one's control
Examples
"The vicissitudes of life strike us all. But when life gets difficult for the poor, economically or emotionally, or most often both at once, it can pitch them into complete chaos."
— The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 22 Aug. 2016
"A good coach on tour is at once a friend and a taskmaster, a psychologist and an emotional buffer against the vicissitudes of competing at the highest level of the game."
— Geoff Macdonald, The New York Times, 1 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
"Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better," wrote British theologian Richard Hooker in the 16th century. That observation may shed some light on vicissitude, a word that can refer simply to the fact of change, or to an instance of it, but that often refers specifically to hardship or difficulty brought about by change.
To survive "the vicissitudes of life" is thus to survive life's ups and downs, with special emphasis on the downs. Vicissitude is a descendant of the Latin noun vicis, meaning "change" or "alternation," and it has been a part of the English language since the 16th century. In contemporary usage, it most often occurs in the plural.
vicissitude \ vuh-SISS-uh-tood \ noun
Definition
1 : the quality or state of being changeable : mutability
2a : a favorable or unfavorable event or situation that occurs by chance : a fluctuation of state or condition
2b : a difficulty or hardship usually beyond one's control
Examples
"The vicissitudes of life strike us all. But when life gets difficult for the poor, economically or emotionally, or most often both at once, it can pitch them into complete chaos."
— The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 22 Aug. 2016
"A good coach on tour is at once a friend and a taskmaster, a psychologist and an emotional buffer against the vicissitudes of competing at the highest level of the game."
— Geoff Macdonald, The New York Times, 1 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
"Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better," wrote British theologian Richard Hooker in the 16th century. That observation may shed some light on vicissitude, a word that can refer simply to the fact of change, or to an instance of it, but that often refers specifically to hardship or difficulty brought about by change.
To survive "the vicissitudes of life" is thus to survive life's ups and downs, with special emphasis on the downs. Vicissitude is a descendant of the Latin noun vicis, meaning "change" or "alternation," and it has been a part of the English language since the 16th century. In contemporary usage, it most often occurs in the plural.
Friday, November 25, 2016
Cavalcade
WORD OF THE DAY
cavalcade \kav-ul-KAYD \ noun
Definition
1a : a procession of riders or carriages
1b : a procession of vehicles or ships
2a: a dramatic sequence or procession
2b: series
Examples
"Giant helium balloons, beautifully decorated, horse-drawn carriages and antique cars, along with uniformed cavalcades performing their routines, will thrill parade goers."
— San Antonio Magazine, 22 Apr. 2016
"In the first video released by the PAC, a cavalcade of Hollywood's finest appear to underline the importance of voting in November's election. From 'Avengers' alumni Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson … to Julianne Moore, Keegan-Michael Key, … and many more …"
— Libby Hill, The Los Angeles Times, 21 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
When cavalcade was first used in English, it meant "a horseback ride" or "a march or raid made on horseback." Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, used it this way in his 1647 History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England: "He had with some Troops, made a Cavalcade or two into the West."
From there came the "procession of riders" meaning and eventual applications to processions in a broader sense. Cavalcade came to English via French from the Old Italian noun cavalcata, which in turn came from an Old Italian verb, cavalcare, meaning "to go on horseback."
Ultimately, these words came from the Latin word caballus, meaning "horse." The combining form –cade also appears in other words describing particular kinds of processions, such as motorcade or the less common aquacade.
cavalcade \kav-ul-KAYD \ noun
Definition
1a : a procession of riders or carriages
1b : a procession of vehicles or ships
2a: a dramatic sequence or procession
2b: series
Examples
"Giant helium balloons, beautifully decorated, horse-drawn carriages and antique cars, along with uniformed cavalcades performing their routines, will thrill parade goers."
— San Antonio Magazine, 22 Apr. 2016
"In the first video released by the PAC, a cavalcade of Hollywood's finest appear to underline the importance of voting in November's election. From 'Avengers' alumni Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson … to Julianne Moore, Keegan-Michael Key, … and many more …"
— Libby Hill, The Los Angeles Times, 21 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
When cavalcade was first used in English, it meant "a horseback ride" or "a march or raid made on horseback." Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, used it this way in his 1647 History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England: "He had with some Troops, made a Cavalcade or two into the West."
From there came the "procession of riders" meaning and eventual applications to processions in a broader sense. Cavalcade came to English via French from the Old Italian noun cavalcata, which in turn came from an Old Italian verb, cavalcare, meaning "to go on horseback."
Ultimately, these words came from the Latin word caballus, meaning "horse." The combining form –cade also appears in other words describing particular kinds of processions, such as motorcade or the less common aquacade.
Thursday, November 24, 2016
Sabot
WORD OF THE DAY
sabot \ sa-BOH \ noun
Definition
1a : a wooden shoe worn in various European countries
1b : a strap across the instep in a shoe especially of the sandal type; also : a shoe having a sabot strap
2 : a thrust-transmitting carrier that positions a missile in a gun barrel or launching tube and that prevents the escape of gas ahead of the missile
3 : a dealing box designed to hold several decks of playing cards
Examples
"The spin imparted by rifling lets slugs separate cleanly from the sabot, makes them fly true, and allows them to expand."
— Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, November 2014
"The man is a venerable but unprepossessing figure; he rests his hands on a cane, he has sabots on his feet, wears cinched gaiters over his trousers and has two medals on his greatcoat."
— Michael Prodger, The New Statesman, 17 June 2015
Did You Know?
The term sabot may have first been introduced into English in a 1607 translation from French: "wooden shoes," readers were informed, are "properly called sabots." The gun-related sense appeared in the mid-1800s with the invention of a wooden gizmo that kept gun shells from shifting in the gun barrel. Apparently, someone thought the device resembled a wooden shoe and named it sabot (with later generations of this device carrying on the name).
Another kind of French sabot—a metal "shoe" used to secure rails to railway ties—is said to be the origin of the word sabotage, from workers destroying the sabots during a French railway strike in the early 1900s. The word sabot is probably related to savate, a Middle French word for an old shoe.
sabot \ sa-BOH \ noun
Definition
1a : a wooden shoe worn in various European countries
1b : a strap across the instep in a shoe especially of the sandal type; also : a shoe having a sabot strap
2 : a thrust-transmitting carrier that positions a missile in a gun barrel or launching tube and that prevents the escape of gas ahead of the missile
3 : a dealing box designed to hold several decks of playing cards
Examples
"The spin imparted by rifling lets slugs separate cleanly from the sabot, makes them fly true, and allows them to expand."
— Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, November 2014
"The man is a venerable but unprepossessing figure; he rests his hands on a cane, he has sabots on his feet, wears cinched gaiters over his trousers and has two medals on his greatcoat."
— Michael Prodger, The New Statesman, 17 June 2015
Did You Know?
The term sabot may have first been introduced into English in a 1607 translation from French: "wooden shoes," readers were informed, are "properly called sabots." The gun-related sense appeared in the mid-1800s with the invention of a wooden gizmo that kept gun shells from shifting in the gun barrel. Apparently, someone thought the device resembled a wooden shoe and named it sabot (with later generations of this device carrying on the name).
Another kind of French sabot—a metal "shoe" used to secure rails to railway ties—is said to be the origin of the word sabotage, from workers destroying the sabots during a French railway strike in the early 1900s. The word sabot is probably related to savate, a Middle French word for an old shoe.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Obfuscate
WORD OF THE DAY
obfuscate \ AHB-fuh-skayt \ verb
Definition
1a : darken
1b : to make obscure
2 : confuse
3 : to be evasive, unclear, or confusing
Examples
"Time and again he has shifted, shaded or obfuscated his policy positions—piling on new ideas, which sometimes didn't fit with the old."
— David Fahrenthold and Katie Zezima, The Washington Post, 23 Apr. 2016
"It was the trademark of San Francisco psychedelia to never put the year on a concert poster, and to obfuscate important details."
— Sam Whiting, The San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
To obfuscate something means to make it so that it isn't clear or transparent, much like dirty water makes it hard to see to the bottom of a pond.
The verb shares its ob- root (meaning "over, completely") with obscure, another word that can refer to the act of concealing something or making it more difficult to see or understand.
The rest of obfuscate comes from Latin fuscus, which means "dark brown" and is distantly related to our word dusk.
obfuscate \ AHB-fuh-skayt \ verb
Definition
1a : darken
1b : to make obscure
2 : confuse
3 : to be evasive, unclear, or confusing
Examples
"Time and again he has shifted, shaded or obfuscated his policy positions—piling on new ideas, which sometimes didn't fit with the old."
— David Fahrenthold and Katie Zezima, The Washington Post, 23 Apr. 2016
"It was the trademark of San Francisco psychedelia to never put the year on a concert poster, and to obfuscate important details."
— Sam Whiting, The San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
To obfuscate something means to make it so that it isn't clear or transparent, much like dirty water makes it hard to see to the bottom of a pond.
The verb shares its ob- root (meaning "over, completely") with obscure, another word that can refer to the act of concealing something or making it more difficult to see or understand.
The rest of obfuscate comes from Latin fuscus, which means "dark brown" and is distantly related to our word dusk.
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Protocol
| WORD OF THE DAY protocol \ PROH-tuh-kawl \ noun Definition 1 : an original draft or record of a document or transaction 2 : a preliminary memorandum of diplomatic negotiation 3 : a code prescribing strict adherence to correct etiquette and precedence 4 : a set of conventions for formatting data in an electronic communications system 5 : a detailed plan of a scientific or medical experiment, treatment, or procedure Examples "A protocol that arose from Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, research has led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of a biological drug for the treatment of a certain form of lung cancer." — USA Today, 1 Oct. 2016 "Throughout Obama's first term, critics described him as naïve, particularly in the area of foreign relations—so ignorant of practical realities that he didn't even understand the symbolic protocols of a state visit. In 2009, when he bowed to Emperor Akihito, on a trip to Tokyo, he was referred to on the far right as 'treasonous.'" — Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2016 Did You Know? In Late Greek, the word prōtokollon referred to the first sheet of a papyrus roll bearing the date of its manufacture. In some instances, it consisted of a flyleaf that was glued to the outside of a manuscript's case and provided a description of its contents. Coming from the Greek prefix prōto- ("first") and the noun kolla ("glue"), prōtokollon gave us our word protocol. In its earliest uses in the 15th century, the word referred to a prologue or preface and also to a record of a document or transaction. In the late 19th century, it began to be used in reference to the etiquette observed by the Head of State of France in ceremonies and relations with other dignitaries. This sense has since extended in meaning to cover any code of proper conduct. |
Monday, November 21, 2016
Nictitate
WORD OF THE DAY
nictitate \ NIK-tuh-tayt \ verb
Definition
1a : to close and open quickly : to shut one eye briefly
1b: wink
2 : to close and open the eyelids
Examples
"Dermaq's third eyelids nictitated over his corneas as though to wash away the image, and momentarily he looked away, then back at his superior."
— Charles L. Harness, Firebird, 1981
"The hump shifted, raised a hairless head of chitinous scales. Almond eyes of burning gold nictitated to life. A broad chest of angular plates swelled with breath."
— Ian C. Esslemont, Night of Knives, 2004
Did You Know?
Nictitate didn't just happen in the blink of an eye; it developed over time as an alteration of the older verb nictate, which also means "to wink." Both verbs trace to the Latin word for winking, nictare. The addition of the extra syllable was apparently influenced by Latin verbs ending in -itare, such as palpitare and agitare (which gave us palpitate and agitate, respectively).
Today, nictitate has a special use in the animal world. Since the early 18th century, scientists have used nictitating membrane to describe the so-called "third eyelid": the thin, usually transparent membrane in the eyes of birds, fishes, and other vertebrates that helps keep the eyeball moist and clean.
nictitate \ NIK-tuh-tayt \ verb
Definition
1a : to close and open quickly : to shut one eye briefly
1b: wink
2 : to close and open the eyelids
Examples
"Dermaq's third eyelids nictitated over his corneas as though to wash away the image, and momentarily he looked away, then back at his superior."
— Charles L. Harness, Firebird, 1981
"The hump shifted, raised a hairless head of chitinous scales. Almond eyes of burning gold nictitated to life. A broad chest of angular plates swelled with breath."
— Ian C. Esslemont, Night of Knives, 2004
Did You Know?
Nictitate didn't just happen in the blink of an eye; it developed over time as an alteration of the older verb nictate, which also means "to wink." Both verbs trace to the Latin word for winking, nictare. The addition of the extra syllable was apparently influenced by Latin verbs ending in -itare, such as palpitare and agitare (which gave us palpitate and agitate, respectively).
Today, nictitate has a special use in the animal world. Since the early 18th century, scientists have used nictitating membrane to describe the so-called "third eyelid": the thin, usually transparent membrane in the eyes of birds, fishes, and other vertebrates that helps keep the eyeball moist and clean.
Friday, November 18, 2016
Lambent
WORD OF THE DAY
lambent / LAM-bunt / adjective
Definition
1a: playing lightly on or over a surface
1b: flickering
2 : softly bright or radiant
3 : marked by lightness or brilliance especially of expression
Examples
"It's an early May morning and the air is cool and still and filled with lambent light."
— Christopher Norment, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 4 May 2015
"There's nothing like the swell of a powerful pipe organ in the right room. You can feel the lowest pedal notes in your stomach, or the lambent whisper of the tiniest pipes, with their delicate, shimmering sound."
— T. R. Goldman, The Washington Post, 31 July 2016
Did You Know?
Fire is frequently associated with lapping or licking imagery: flames are often described as "tongues" that "lick." Lambent, which first appeared in English in the 17th century, is a part of this tradition, coming from lambens, the present participle of the Latin verb lambere, meaning "to lick."
In its earliest uses, lambent meant "playing lightly over a surface," "gliding over," or "flickering." These uses were usually applied to flames or light, and by way of that association, the term eventually came to describe things with a radiant or brilliant glow, as Alexander Pope used it in his 1717 poem "Eloisa to Abelard": "Those smiling eyes, attemp'ring ev'ry ray, Shone sweetly lambent with celestial day."
In its earliest uses, lambent meant "playing lightly over a surface," "gliding over," or "flickering." These uses were usually applied to flames or light, and by way of that association, the term eventually came to describe things with a radiant or brilliant glow, as Alexander Pope used it in his 1717 poem "Eloisa to Abelard": "Those smiling eyes, attemp'ring ev'ry ray, Shone sweetly lambent with celestial day."
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Jejune
WORD OF THE DAY
jejune \ jih-JOON \ adjective
Definition
1 : lacking nutritive value
2a : devoid of significance or interest
2b: dull
3 : juvenile, puerile
Examples
"I have not, however, been a fan of the Broadway singer … in the past, and her jejune performances here—complete with some tap dancing that belied the lyrics of 'I Got Rhythm'—did not convert me."
— Anne Midgette, The Washington Post, 22 Sept. 2015
"He complains about wasting his talent 'writing songs for frogs' (he is a composer of jejune melodies for a children's television show called Mr. Bungee's Lily Pad)."
— Nancy Chen, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 21 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
Starved for excitement? You won't get it from something jejune. That term derives from the Latin jejunus, which means "empty of food," "meager," or "hungry." Back in the 1600s, English speakers used jejune in senses very similar to those of its Latin parent, lamenting "jejune appetites" and "jejune morsels."
Something that is meager rarely satisfies, and before long jejune was being used not only for meager meals or hunger, but for things wanting in intellectual or emotional substance. The word most likely gained its "childish" sense when people confused it with the look-alike French word jeune, which means "young."
jejune \ jih-JOON \ adjective
Definition
1 : lacking nutritive value
2a : devoid of significance or interest
2b: dull
3 : juvenile, puerile
Examples
"I have not, however, been a fan of the Broadway singer … in the past, and her jejune performances here—complete with some tap dancing that belied the lyrics of 'I Got Rhythm'—did not convert me."
— Anne Midgette, The Washington Post, 22 Sept. 2015
"He complains about wasting his talent 'writing songs for frogs' (he is a composer of jejune melodies for a children's television show called Mr. Bungee's Lily Pad)."
— Nancy Chen, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 21 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
Starved for excitement? You won't get it from something jejune. That term derives from the Latin jejunus, which means "empty of food," "meager," or "hungry." Back in the 1600s, English speakers used jejune in senses very similar to those of its Latin parent, lamenting "jejune appetites" and "jejune morsels."
Something that is meager rarely satisfies, and before long jejune was being used not only for meager meals or hunger, but for things wanting in intellectual or emotional substance. The word most likely gained its "childish" sense when people confused it with the look-alike French word jeune, which means "young."
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Facetious
WORD OF THE DAY
facetious \ fuh-SEE-shuss \ adjective
Definition
1a : joking or jesting often inappropriately
1b: waggish
2a : meant to be humorous or funny
2b: not serious
Examples
"My proposal to tax estates heavily is neither entirely serious nor wholly facetious."
— Martha Viehmann, The Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, 17 Aug. 2016
"When I was a kid, I wanted to be a garbage man. I'm not being facetious or silly…. As a four-year-old, my room window faced the street, and I remember being mesmerized by these wild guys waking me up twice a week. They were raucous and loud, they yelled and threw things around with reckless abandon, they dangerously climbed on and hung off a large moving vehicle…."
— Andy Nulman, quoted in The Globe and Mail, 11 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
Facetious—which puzzle fans know is one of the few English words containing the vowels a, e, i, o, u in order—came to English from the Middle French word facetieux, which traces to the Latin word facetia, meaning "jest." Facetia seems to have made only one other lasting contribution to the English language: facetiae, meaning "witty or humorous writings or sayings."
Facetiae, which comes from the plural of facetia and is pronounced \fuh-SEE-shee-ee\ or \fuh-SEE-shee-eye\, is a far less common word than facetious, but it does show up occasionally.
For example, American essayist Louis Menand used it in his 2002 book American Studies to describe the early days of The New Yorker. "The New Yorker," he wrote, "started as a hectic book of gossip, cartoons, and facetiae."
facetious \ fuh-SEE-shuss \ adjective
Definition
1a : joking or jesting often inappropriately
1b: waggish
2a : meant to be humorous or funny
2b: not serious
Examples
"My proposal to tax estates heavily is neither entirely serious nor wholly facetious."
— Martha Viehmann, The Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, 17 Aug. 2016
"When I was a kid, I wanted to be a garbage man. I'm not being facetious or silly…. As a four-year-old, my room window faced the street, and I remember being mesmerized by these wild guys waking me up twice a week. They were raucous and loud, they yelled and threw things around with reckless abandon, they dangerously climbed on and hung off a large moving vehicle…."
— Andy Nulman, quoted in The Globe and Mail, 11 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
Facetious—which puzzle fans know is one of the few English words containing the vowels a, e, i, o, u in order—came to English from the Middle French word facetieux, which traces to the Latin word facetia, meaning "jest." Facetia seems to have made only one other lasting contribution to the English language: facetiae, meaning "witty or humorous writings or sayings."
Facetiae, which comes from the plural of facetia and is pronounced \fuh-SEE-shee-ee\ or \fuh-SEE-shee-eye\, is a far less common word than facetious, but it does show up occasionally.
For example, American essayist Louis Menand used it in his 2002 book American Studies to describe the early days of The New Yorker. "The New Yorker," he wrote, "started as a hectic book of gossip, cartoons, and facetiae."
Monday, November 14, 2016
Hoke
WORD OF THE DAY
hoke \ HOHK \ verb
Definition
: to give a contrived, falsely impressive, or hokey quality to — usually used with up
Examples
"Its okay that everybody looks great, though certain scenes seem hoked up. A black cat crossing the path of a motorcade about to explode feels more like Hollywood moviemaking than truth telling…."
— D.J. Palladino, The Santa Barbara Independent, 10 Jan. 2013
"'Concussion' has the sober, patient earnestness of a lawyer preparing a major case—it's a dramatization of true events and occasionally hoked up in the finest Hollywood tradition, but it wants to stir you into being convinced instead of the other way around."
— Ty Burr, The Boston Globe, 25 Dec. 2015
Did You Know?
Hoke is a back-formation of hokum, which was probably created as a blend of hocus-pocus and bunkum. Hokum is a word for the theatrical devices used to evoke a desired audience response. The verb hoke appeared in the early 20th century and was originally used (as it still can be today) when actors performed in an exaggerated or overly sentimental way.
Today, it is often used adjectivally in the form hoked-up, as in "hoked-up dialogue." The related word hokey was coined soon after hoke to describe things that are corny or phony.
hoke \ HOHK \ verb
Definition
: to give a contrived, falsely impressive, or hokey quality to — usually used with up
Examples
"Its okay that everybody looks great, though certain scenes seem hoked up. A black cat crossing the path of a motorcade about to explode feels more like Hollywood moviemaking than truth telling…."
— D.J. Palladino, The Santa Barbara Independent, 10 Jan. 2013
"'Concussion' has the sober, patient earnestness of a lawyer preparing a major case—it's a dramatization of true events and occasionally hoked up in the finest Hollywood tradition, but it wants to stir you into being convinced instead of the other way around."
— Ty Burr, The Boston Globe, 25 Dec. 2015
Did You Know?
Hoke is a back-formation of hokum, which was probably created as a blend of hocus-pocus and bunkum. Hokum is a word for the theatrical devices used to evoke a desired audience response. The verb hoke appeared in the early 20th century and was originally used (as it still can be today) when actors performed in an exaggerated or overly sentimental way.
Today, it is often used adjectivally in the form hoked-up, as in "hoked-up dialogue." The related word hokey was coined soon after hoke to describe things that are corny or phony.
Friday, November 11, 2016
Mollify
WORD OF THE DAY
mollify \ MAH-luh-fye \ verb
Definition
1a : to soothe in temper or disposition
1b: appease
2a : to reduce the rigidity of
2b: soften
3a : to reduce in intensity
3b: assuage, temper
Examples
"To some extent, the delay also was intended to mollify the concerns of county leaders that police and fire service responsibilities were being shoved at them on an abrupt timetable, potentially to the detriment of affected residents."
— Lawrence Specker, AL.com, 30 Aug. 2016
"If there were any doubt that Roark, with his 15 wins and top-five ERA, could be a reliable No. 2 starter if Stephen Strasburg cannot pitch in October, he has done all he could to mollify it. He has now thrown 200 innings for the first time. He still leads the league with nine starts of seven or more scoreless innings."
— Chelsea Janes, The Washington Post, 21 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
Mollify, pacify, appease, and placate all mean "to ease the anger or disturbance of," although each implies a slightly different way of pouring oil on troubled waters. Pacify suggests the restoration of a calm or peaceful state, while appease implies the quieting of insistent demands by making concessions; you can appease appetites and desires as well as persons.
Placate is similar to appease, but it often indicates a more complete transformation of bitterness to goodwill. Mollify, with its root in Latin mollis, meaning "soft," implies soothing hurt feelings or anger.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Elicit
WORD OF THE DAY
elicit \ ih-LISS-it \ verb
Definition
1 : to draw forth or bring out (something latent or potential)
2 : to call forth or draw out (as information or a response)
Examples
The announcement of the final amount raised by the charity walk elicited many cheers from the crowd.
"But the big question is whether fragments of pottery, fraying textiles and decaying manuscripts can elicit excitement these days when people are glued to technology."
— Ruth Eglash, The Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
Elicit derives from the past participle of the Latin verb elicere, formed by combining the prefix e- (meaning "away") with the verb lacere, meaning "to entice by charm or attraction." It is not related to its near-homophone, the adjective illicit—that word, meaning "unlawful," traces back to another Latin verb, licēre, meaning "to be permitted." Nor is elicit related to the verb solicit, even though it sounds like it should be. Solicit derives from Latin sollicitare ("to disturb"), formed by combining the adjective sollus, meaning "whole," with the past participle of the verb ciēre, meaning "to move."
elicit \ ih-LISS-it \ verb
Definition
1 : to draw forth or bring out (something latent or potential)
2 : to call forth or draw out (as information or a response)
Examples
The announcement of the final amount raised by the charity walk elicited many cheers from the crowd.
"But the big question is whether fragments of pottery, fraying textiles and decaying manuscripts can elicit excitement these days when people are glued to technology."
— Ruth Eglash, The Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
Elicit derives from the past participle of the Latin verb elicere, formed by combining the prefix e- (meaning "away") with the verb lacere, meaning "to entice by charm or attraction." It is not related to its near-homophone, the adjective illicit—that word, meaning "unlawful," traces back to another Latin verb, licēre, meaning "to be permitted." Nor is elicit related to the verb solicit, even though it sounds like it should be. Solicit derives from Latin sollicitare ("to disturb"), formed by combining the adjective sollus, meaning "whole," with the past participle of the verb ciēre, meaning "to move."
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Triptych
WORD OF THE DAY
triptych \ TRIP-tik \ noun
Definition
1 : an ancient Roman writing tablet with three waxed leaves hinged together
2a : a picture (such as an altarpiece) or carving in three panels side by side
2b : something composed or presented in three parts or sections; especially : trilogy
Examples
The panels of the triptych illustrated the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity.
"'Certain Women,' her latest film and arguably the most precise expression of [Kelly] Reichardt's vision to date, is a triptych based on three short stories by the Montana-raised author Maile Meloy."
— Alice Gregory, The New York Times, 16 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
A painted or carved triptych typically has three hinged panels, and the two outer panels can be folded in towards the central one. A literary or musical triptych generally consists of three closely related or contrasting themes or parts. Triptych derives from the Greek triptychos ("having three folds"), formed by combining tri- ("three") and ptychē ("fold" or "layer").
Although triptych originally described a specific type of Roman writing tablet that had three hinged sections, it is not surprising that the idea was generalized first to a type of painting, and then to anything composed of three parts.
triptych \ TRIP-tik \ noun
Definition
1 : an ancient Roman writing tablet with three waxed leaves hinged together
2a : a picture (such as an altarpiece) or carving in three panels side by side
2b : something composed or presented in three parts or sections; especially : trilogy
Examples
The panels of the triptych illustrated the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity.
"'Certain Women,' her latest film and arguably the most precise expression of [Kelly] Reichardt's vision to date, is a triptych based on three short stories by the Montana-raised author Maile Meloy."
— Alice Gregory, The New York Times, 16 Oct. 2016
Did You Know?
A painted or carved triptych typically has three hinged panels, and the two outer panels can be folded in towards the central one. A literary or musical triptych generally consists of three closely related or contrasting themes or parts. Triptych derives from the Greek triptychos ("having three folds"), formed by combining tri- ("three") and ptychē ("fold" or "layer").
Although triptych originally described a specific type of Roman writing tablet that had three hinged sections, it is not surprising that the idea was generalized first to a type of painting, and then to anything composed of three parts.
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Bully Pulpit
WORD OF THE DAY
bully pulpit \ BULL-ee-PULL-pit \ noun
Definition
: a prominent public position (as a political office) that provides an opportunity for expounding one's views
Examples
"Candidates for governor like to make people think they set the vision. But the governor has a bully pulpit and little else. He or she may be in a position to push or prod or convene a task force or two, but nothing happens if the other players don't agree."
— Jay Evensen, The Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah), 28 Sept. 2016
"Land use is a local responsibility, and the federal government has limited power to make cities build more housing. Still, the Obama administration is increasingly using the bully pulpit to tell urban progressives that if they care about income inequality, they ought to care about building more housing.'"
— Kerry Cavanaugh, The Los Angeles Times, 26 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
Bully pulpit comes from the 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt, who observed that the White House was a bully pulpit. For Roosevelt, bully was an adjective meaning "excellent" or "first-rate"—not the noun bully ("a blustering, browbeating person") that's so common today.
Roosevelt understood the modern presidency's power of persuasion and recognized that it gave the incumbent the opportunity to exhort, instruct, or inspire. He took full advantage of his bully pulpit, speaking out about the danger of monopolies, the nation's growing role as a world power, and other issues important to him. Since the 1970s, bully pulpit has been used as a term for an office—especially a political office—that provides one with the opportunity to share one's views
bully pulpit \ BULL-ee-PULL-pit \ noun
Definition
: a prominent public position (as a political office) that provides an opportunity for expounding one's views
Examples
"Candidates for governor like to make people think they set the vision. But the governor has a bully pulpit and little else. He or she may be in a position to push or prod or convene a task force or two, but nothing happens if the other players don't agree."
— Jay Evensen, The Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah), 28 Sept. 2016
"Land use is a local responsibility, and the federal government has limited power to make cities build more housing. Still, the Obama administration is increasingly using the bully pulpit to tell urban progressives that if they care about income inequality, they ought to care about building more housing.'"
— Kerry Cavanaugh, The Los Angeles Times, 26 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
Bully pulpit comes from the 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt, who observed that the White House was a bully pulpit. For Roosevelt, bully was an adjective meaning "excellent" or "first-rate"—not the noun bully ("a blustering, browbeating person") that's so common today.
Roosevelt understood the modern presidency's power of persuasion and recognized that it gave the incumbent the opportunity to exhort, instruct, or inspire. He took full advantage of his bully pulpit, speaking out about the danger of monopolies, the nation's growing role as a world power, and other issues important to him. Since the 1970s, bully pulpit has been used as a term for an office—especially a political office—that provides one with the opportunity to share one's views
Monday, November 7, 2016
Auriferous
WORD OF THE DAY
auriferous \ aw-RIF-uh-russ \ adjective
Definition
: containing gold
Examples
The mining company has discovered many auriferous deposits throughout the region.
"Development … on the east flank of the Huachuca Mountains occurred after the 1911 discovery of a gold nugget weighing 22 ounces, probably originating from auriferous quartz veins found in the granite beds upstream."
— William Ascarza, The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ), 26 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
Students in chemistry class learn that the chemical symbol for gold is Au. That symbol is based on aurum, the Latin word for the element. In the 17th century, English speakers coined auriferous by appending the -ous ending to the Latin adjective aurifer, an offspring of aurum that means "containing gold" or "producing gold." (The -fer is from ferre, a Latin verb meaning "to produce" or "to bear.")
Not surprisingly, auriferous is a term that shows up in geological contexts. Some other descendants of aurum include aureate ("of a golden color" or "marked by grandiloquent style"), auric ("of, relating to, or derived from gold"), and the noun or ("the heraldic color gold or yellow").
auriferous \ aw-RIF-uh-russ \ adjective
Definition
: containing gold
Examples
The mining company has discovered many auriferous deposits throughout the region.
"Development … on the east flank of the Huachuca Mountains occurred after the 1911 discovery of a gold nugget weighing 22 ounces, probably originating from auriferous quartz veins found in the granite beds upstream."
— William Ascarza, The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ), 26 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
Students in chemistry class learn that the chemical symbol for gold is Au. That symbol is based on aurum, the Latin word for the element. In the 17th century, English speakers coined auriferous by appending the -ous ending to the Latin adjective aurifer, an offspring of aurum that means "containing gold" or "producing gold." (The -fer is from ferre, a Latin verb meaning "to produce" or "to bear.")
Not surprisingly, auriferous is a term that shows up in geological contexts. Some other descendants of aurum include aureate ("of a golden color" or "marked by grandiloquent style"), auric ("of, relating to, or derived from gold"), and the noun or ("the heraldic color gold or yellow").
Friday, November 4, 2016
Titivate
WORD OF THE DAY
titivate \ TIH-tuh-vayt \ verb
Definition
: to make or become smart or spruce
Examples
"It was instantly clear, however, that she had not been idle, but busy titivating: painting her nails, washing her hair, doing her face…."
— Rosamunde Pilcher, September, 1990
"I came here as a student …, but I spent more time in Cannon Hill Park two miles from the city centre. I clearly remember watching the gardeners titivate the flower beds and strolling past the lake through the many choice trees."
— Val Bourne, The Daily Telegraph (London), 21 May 2016
Did You Know?
Titivate, spruce, smarten, and spiff all mean "to make a person or thing neater or more attractive." Titivate often refers to making small additions or alterations in attire ("titivate the costume with sequins and other accessories"), but it can also be used figuratively (as in "titivating the script for Broadway"). Spruce up is sometimes used for cosmetic changes or renovations that give the appearance of newness ("spruce up the house with new shutters and fresh paint before trying to sell it").
Smarten up and spiff up both mean to improve in appearance often by making more neat or stylish ("the tailor smartened up the suit with minor alterations"; "he needed some time to spiff himself up for the party"). The origins of titivate are uncertain, but it may have been formed from the English words tidy and renovate.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Echelon
WORD OF THE DAY
echelon \ ESH-uh-lahn \ noun
Definition
1 : a steplike arrangement (as of troops or airplanes)
2a : one of a series of levels or grades in an organization or field of activity
2b : a group of individuals at a particular level or grade in an organization
Examples
"And I think that … there are more conservatives in Hollywood than one would think in all echelons, even among the actors."
— Jon Voight, speaking on the Fox News Network, 9 Sept. 2016
"There were those in the upper echelons of network news who caught a bit of that altitude sickness and thought it was their job to massage the news on behalf of a greater good only they could see."
— Dalton Delan, The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts), 23 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
Echelon is a useful word for anyone who is climbing the ladder of success. It traces back to scala, a Late Latin word meaning "ladder" that was the ancestor of the Old French eschelon, meaning "rung of a ladder." Over time, the French word (which is échelon in Modern French) came to mean "step," "grade," or "level."
When it was first borrowed into English in the 18th century, echelon referred specifically to a steplike arrangement of troops, but it now usually refers to a level or category within an organization or group of people
echelon \ ESH-uh-lahn \ noun
Definition
1 : a steplike arrangement (as of troops or airplanes)
2a : one of a series of levels or grades in an organization or field of activity
2b : a group of individuals at a particular level or grade in an organization
Examples
"And I think that … there are more conservatives in Hollywood than one would think in all echelons, even among the actors."
— Jon Voight, speaking on the Fox News Network, 9 Sept. 2016
"There were those in the upper echelons of network news who caught a bit of that altitude sickness and thought it was their job to massage the news on behalf of a greater good only they could see."
— Dalton Delan, The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts), 23 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
Echelon is a useful word for anyone who is climbing the ladder of success. It traces back to scala, a Late Latin word meaning "ladder" that was the ancestor of the Old French eschelon, meaning "rung of a ladder." Over time, the French word (which is échelon in Modern French) came to mean "step," "grade," or "level."
When it was first borrowed into English in the 18th century, echelon referred specifically to a steplike arrangement of troops, but it now usually refers to a level or category within an organization or group of people
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Temerarious
WORD OF THE DAY
temerarious \ tem-uh-RAIR-ee-us \ adjective
Definition
1a: marked by temerity
1b: rashly or presumptuously daring
Examples
"Nissan execs are proud of their new 'flagship crossover,' as they call the 2015 Murano, throwing around further clichés like 'concept car for the street' and talking about how much the interior resembles a 'lounge on wheels.' Which is by an appropriate measure less temerarious than the concept's press release, which proclaimed that designers had drawn inspiration from 'the futuristic allure of hypersonic travel.'"
— Jeff Sabatini, CarandDriver.com, December 2014
"More important still—and here he is perceived as either temerarious or feckless—[Pope] Francis has departed radically from his predecessors in that he actively encourages his bishops … to speak boldly when addressing him and in assembly…."
— Michael W. Higgins, The Globe and Mail, 13 Mar. 2015
Did You Know?
If you have guessed that temerarious may be related to the somewhat more common word temerity, you are correct.
Temerarious was borrowed into English in the early 16th century from Latin temerarius, which in turn derives from Latin temere, meaning "blindly" or "recklessly." Temerity, which arrived in English over a century earlier, also derives from temere; another descendant is the rare word intemerate,meaning "pure" or "undefiled."
Temere itself is akin to Old High German demar, Latin tenebrae, and Sanskrit tamas, all of which have associations with darkness.
temerarious \ tem-uh-RAIR-ee-us \ adjective
Definition
1a: marked by temerity
1b: rashly or presumptuously daring
Examples
"Nissan execs are proud of their new 'flagship crossover,' as they call the 2015 Murano, throwing around further clichés like 'concept car for the street' and talking about how much the interior resembles a 'lounge on wheels.' Which is by an appropriate measure less temerarious than the concept's press release, which proclaimed that designers had drawn inspiration from 'the futuristic allure of hypersonic travel.'"
— Jeff Sabatini, CarandDriver.com, December 2014
"More important still—and here he is perceived as either temerarious or feckless—[Pope] Francis has departed radically from his predecessors in that he actively encourages his bishops … to speak boldly when addressing him and in assembly…."
— Michael W. Higgins, The Globe and Mail, 13 Mar. 2015
Did You Know?
If you have guessed that temerarious may be related to the somewhat more common word temerity, you are correct.
Temerarious was borrowed into English in the early 16th century from Latin temerarius, which in turn derives from Latin temere, meaning "blindly" or "recklessly." Temerity, which arrived in English over a century earlier, also derives from temere; another descendant is the rare word intemerate,meaning "pure" or "undefiled."
Temere itself is akin to Old High German demar, Latin tenebrae, and Sanskrit tamas, all of which have associations with darkness.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Gravid
WORD OF THE DAY
gravid \ GRAV-id \ adjective
Definition
1 : pregnant
2 : distended with or full of eggs
Examples
"We know by intuition and study that great books approach a condition both above and below human … and our job is to place ourselves somewhere on the continuum between those shifting poles, to welcome a gravid agitation …; to have our personhood both threatened and amplified."
— William Giraldi, The New York Times, 26 Jan. 2014
"Her laugh overtakes her.… It's restorative; it brings light into her eyes and her high, round cheekbones into sharp relief. She has a radiance sometimes, almost gravid, and it's usually when she's been laughing."
— Tom Junod, Esquire, 1 Feb. 2016
Did You Know?
Gravid comes from Latin gravis, meaning "heavy." It can refer to a female who is literally pregnant, and it also has the figurative meanings of pregnant: "full or teeming" and "meaningful." Thus, a writer may be gravid with ideas as she sits down to write; a cloud may be gravid with rain; or a speaker may make a gravid pause before announcing his remarkable findings
gravid \ GRAV-id \ adjective
Definition
1 : pregnant
2 : distended with or full of eggs
Examples
"We know by intuition and study that great books approach a condition both above and below human … and our job is to place ourselves somewhere on the continuum between those shifting poles, to welcome a gravid agitation …; to have our personhood both threatened and amplified."
— William Giraldi, The New York Times, 26 Jan. 2014
"Her laugh overtakes her.… It's restorative; it brings light into her eyes and her high, round cheekbones into sharp relief. She has a radiance sometimes, almost gravid, and it's usually when she's been laughing."
— Tom Junod, Esquire, 1 Feb. 2016
Did You Know?
Gravid comes from Latin gravis, meaning "heavy." It can refer to a female who is literally pregnant, and it also has the figurative meanings of pregnant: "full or teeming" and "meaningful." Thus, a writer may be gravid with ideas as she sits down to write; a cloud may be gravid with rain; or a speaker may make a gravid pause before announcing his remarkable findings
Monday, October 31, 2016
Sepulchre
WORD OF THE DAY
sepulchre \ SEP-ul-ker \ noun
Definition
1a : a place of burial
1b: tomb
2 : a receptacle for religious relics especially in an altar
Examples
"The secrets of business—complicated and often dismal mysteries—were buried in his breast, and never came out of their sepulchre save now…."
— Charlotte Brontë, Shirley, 1849
"He had begun making plans for his sepulchre soon after his election to the papacy in 1503, ultimately conceiving of a memorial that was to be the largest since the mausoleums built for Roman emperors such as Hadrian and Augustus."
— Ross King, Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, 2002
Did You Know?
Sepulchre (also spelled sepulcher) first appeared in Middle English around the beginning of the 13th century. It was originally spelled sepulcre, a spelling taken from Anglo-French. Like many words borrowed into English from French, sepulchre has roots buried in Latin.
The word arose from Latin sepulcrum, a noun derived from the verb sepelire, meaning "to bury." Sepultus, the past participle of sepelire, gave us—also by way of Anglo-French—the related noun sepulture, which is a synonym of burial and sepulchre.
sepulchre \ SEP-ul-ker \ noun
Definition
1a : a place of burial
1b: tomb
2 : a receptacle for religious relics especially in an altar
Examples
"The secrets of business—complicated and often dismal mysteries—were buried in his breast, and never came out of their sepulchre save now…."
— Charlotte Brontë, Shirley, 1849
"He had begun making plans for his sepulchre soon after his election to the papacy in 1503, ultimately conceiving of a memorial that was to be the largest since the mausoleums built for Roman emperors such as Hadrian and Augustus."
— Ross King, Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, 2002
Did You Know?
Sepulchre (also spelled sepulcher) first appeared in Middle English around the beginning of the 13th century. It was originally spelled sepulcre, a spelling taken from Anglo-French. Like many words borrowed into English from French, sepulchre has roots buried in Latin.
The word arose from Latin sepulcrum, a noun derived from the verb sepelire, meaning "to bury." Sepultus, the past participle of sepelire, gave us—also by way of Anglo-French—the related noun sepulture, which is a synonym of burial and sepulchre.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Variegated
WORD OF THE DAY
variegated \ VAIR-ee-uh-gay-tud \ adjective
Definition
1 : having discrete markings of different colors
2 : various, diverse, varied
Examples
The flower has bright variegated petals.
"Everyone of significance in the region has multiple agendas and variegated geopolitical interests."
— Robert Robb, The Arizona Republic, 21 Aug. 2016
Did You Know?
Variegated has been adding color to our language since the 17th century. It is used in botany to describe the presence of two or more colors in the leaves, petals, or other parts of plants, and it also appears in the names of some animals (such as the variegated cutworm).
It can be used by the general speaker to refer to anything marked with different colors ("a variegated silk robe," for instance) or to things that are simply various and diverse ("a variegated collection"). Variegated has a variety of relatives in English—it is ultimately derived from the Latin root varius, meaning "varied," which also gave us vary, various, and variety.
variegated \ VAIR-ee-uh-gay-tud \ adjective
Definition
1 : having discrete markings of different colors
2 : various, diverse, varied
Examples
The flower has bright variegated petals.
"Everyone of significance in the region has multiple agendas and variegated geopolitical interests."
— Robert Robb, The Arizona Republic, 21 Aug. 2016
Did You Know?
Variegated has been adding color to our language since the 17th century. It is used in botany to describe the presence of two or more colors in the leaves, petals, or other parts of plants, and it also appears in the names of some animals (such as the variegated cutworm).
It can be used by the general speaker to refer to anything marked with different colors ("a variegated silk robe," for instance) or to things that are simply various and diverse ("a variegated collection"). Variegated has a variety of relatives in English—it is ultimately derived from the Latin root varius, meaning "varied," which also gave us vary, various, and variety.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Myriad
WORD OF THE DAY
myriad \ MEER-ee-ud \ noun
Definition
1 : ten thousand
2 : a great number
Examples
"After sold-out shows in New York and Los Angeles, Rise will make its debut in Boston with a myriad of hand-carved jack o' lanterns that will light up a trail that people can walk on as music plays in the background."
— Matt Juul, Boston Magazine, 21 Sept. 2016
"The robust and metallic nest-like venue, which is the first ever arena to be run entirely on solar power, features additional popular local restaurants, grab-and-go fresh fruits and vegetables, a touch of Sacramento history with their refurbished neon signs, and a myriad of local microbreweries."
— Michael Morris, The Vallejo (California) Times-Herald, 28 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
In English, the "ten thousand" sense of myriad mostly appears in references to Ancient Greece, such as the following from English historian Connop Thirwall's History of Greece: "4000 men from Peloponnesus had fought at Thermopylae with 300 myriads." More often, English speakers use myriad in the broad sense—both as a singular noun ("a myriad of tiny particles") and a plural noun ("myriads of tiny particles").
Myriad can also serve as an adjective meaning "innumerable" ("myriad particles"). While some usage commentators criticize the noun use, it's been firmly established in English since the 16th century, and in fact is about 200 years older than the adjective. Myriad comes from Greek myrias, which in turn comes from myrioi, meaning "countless" or "ten thousand."
myriad \ MEER-ee-ud \ noun
Definition
1 : ten thousand
2 : a great number
Examples
"After sold-out shows in New York and Los Angeles, Rise will make its debut in Boston with a myriad of hand-carved jack o' lanterns that will light up a trail that people can walk on as music plays in the background."
— Matt Juul, Boston Magazine, 21 Sept. 2016
"The robust and metallic nest-like venue, which is the first ever arena to be run entirely on solar power, features additional popular local restaurants, grab-and-go fresh fruits and vegetables, a touch of Sacramento history with their refurbished neon signs, and a myriad of local microbreweries."
— Michael Morris, The Vallejo (California) Times-Herald, 28 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
In English, the "ten thousand" sense of myriad mostly appears in references to Ancient Greece, such as the following from English historian Connop Thirwall's History of Greece: "4000 men from Peloponnesus had fought at Thermopylae with 300 myriads." More often, English speakers use myriad in the broad sense—both as a singular noun ("a myriad of tiny particles") and a plural noun ("myriads of tiny particles").
Myriad can also serve as an adjective meaning "innumerable" ("myriad particles"). While some usage commentators criticize the noun use, it's been firmly established in English since the 16th century, and in fact is about 200 years older than the adjective. Myriad comes from Greek myrias, which in turn comes from myrioi, meaning "countless" or "ten thousand."
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Beatific
WORD OF THE DAY
beatific \ bee-uh-TIFF-ik \ adjective
Definition
1 : of, possessing, or imparting a state of utmost bliss
2 : having a blissful appearance
Examples
"She was Italian, funny, a beatific tomboy, with just the hint of a lazy eye, and wore a pair of glasses that made me think of the wonders of the library."
— Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run, 2016
"Maybe it was the unexpected warmth of the gesture…. Maybe it was his response, the beatific expression on his face, eyes almost closed, head tilted toward her shoulder.… But when Michelle Obama hugged former President George W. Bush … at a ceremony to open the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the image quickly took flight online."
— Mark Landler, The New York Times, 26 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
Beatific—which derives from Latin beatificus, meaning "making happy"—has graced the English language as a word describing things that impart consummate bliss since the 17th century.
In theology, the phrase "beatific vision" gained meaning as an allusion to the direct sight of God enjoyed by the blessed in heaven. Today, the word more frequently describes a blissful look or appearance.
A closely related word is beatitude, which can refer to a state of utmost bliss or to any of the declarations made by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.
beatific \ bee-uh-TIFF-ik \ adjective
Definition
1 : of, possessing, or imparting a state of utmost bliss
2 : having a blissful appearance
Examples
"She was Italian, funny, a beatific tomboy, with just the hint of a lazy eye, and wore a pair of glasses that made me think of the wonders of the library."
— Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run, 2016
"Maybe it was the unexpected warmth of the gesture…. Maybe it was his response, the beatific expression on his face, eyes almost closed, head tilted toward her shoulder.… But when Michelle Obama hugged former President George W. Bush … at a ceremony to open the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the image quickly took flight online."
— Mark Landler, The New York Times, 26 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
Beatific—which derives from Latin beatificus, meaning "making happy"—has graced the English language as a word describing things that impart consummate bliss since the 17th century.
In theology, the phrase "beatific vision" gained meaning as an allusion to the direct sight of God enjoyed by the blessed in heaven. Today, the word more frequently describes a blissful look or appearance.
A closely related word is beatitude, which can refer to a state of utmost bliss or to any of the declarations made by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Imbue
WORD OF THE DAY
imbue \ im-BYOO \ verb
Definition
1 : to permeate or influence as if by dyeing
2 : to tinge or dye deeply
3a : to provide with something freely or naturally
3b: endow
Examples
The children were imbued with a passion for nature by their parents, both
biologists.
"For a 23-year-old newly imbued with national fame, Jacoby Brissett is a man of few vices. One of them is chocolate chip cookies, which in college he baked for his offensive linemen."
— Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post, 22 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
Like its synonym infuse, imbue implies the introduction of one thing into another so as to affect it throughout. A nation can be imbued with pride, for example, or a photograph might be imbued with a sense of melancholy.
In the past imbue has also been used synonymously with imbrue, an obscure word meaning "to drench or stain," but etymologists do not think the two words are related. Imbue derives from the Latin verb imbuere, meaning "to dye, wet, or moisten." Imbrue has been traced back through Anglo-French and Old French to the Latin verb bibere, meaning "to drink."
imbue \ im-BYOO \ verb
Definition
1 : to permeate or influence as if by dyeing
2 : to tinge or dye deeply
3a : to provide with something freely or naturally
3b: endow
Examples
The children were imbued with a passion for nature by their parents, both
biologists.
"For a 23-year-old newly imbued with national fame, Jacoby Brissett is a man of few vices. One of them is chocolate chip cookies, which in college he baked for his offensive linemen."
— Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post, 22 Sept. 2016
Did You Know?
Like its synonym infuse, imbue implies the introduction of one thing into another so as to affect it throughout. A nation can be imbued with pride, for example, or a photograph might be imbued with a sense of melancholy.
In the past imbue has also been used synonymously with imbrue, an obscure word meaning "to drench or stain," but etymologists do not think the two words are related. Imbue derives from the Latin verb imbuere, meaning "to dye, wet, or moisten." Imbrue has been traced back through Anglo-French and Old French to the Latin verb bibere, meaning "to drink."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)