WORD OF THE DAY
lycanthropy / noun / lye-KAN-thruh-pee
Definition
1: a delusion that one has become a wolf
2: the assumption of the form and characteristics of a wolf held to be possible by witchcraft or magic
Examples
The 1941 film The Wolf Man starred Lon Chaney, Jr., as a man cursed with lycanthropy.
"Born in 1859, Alfred Edward Housman came from a talented family…. His sister Clemence's novella, The Were-Wolf, is one of the most powerful stories ever written about lycanthropy."
— Michael Dirda, The Washington Post, 13 July 2017
Did You Know?
If you happen to be afflicted with lycanthropy, the full moon is apt to cause you an inordinate amount of distress. Lycanthropy can refer to either the delusional idea that one is a wolf or to the werewolf transformations that have been the stuff of superstitions for centuries.
In some cultures, similar myths involve human transformation into other equally feared animals: hyenas and leopards in Africa, for example, and tigers in Asia.
The word lycanthropy itself, however, comes from the Greek words lykos, meaning "wolf," and anthrōpos, meaning "human being."
Werewolf myths are usually associated with the phases of the moon; the animal nature of the werewolf (or lycanthrope) is typically thought to take over when the moon is full.
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Caterwaul
WORD OF THE DAY
caterwaul / verb / KAT-er-wawl
Definition
1: to make a harsh cry
2: to protest or complain noisily
Examples
The woods were quiet until the sound of a chainsaw caterwauling in the distance broke the calm.
"Between begging calls, the young birds made more practice launches, flapping their wings and jumping. Paired adults were re-forming their relationships; returning birds went in for bouts of head flicking and kissing. Neighbors were in dispute, caterwauling above the din."
— Tim Dee, The New York Review of Books, 11 Sept. 2018
Did You Know?
An angry (or amorous) cat can make a lot of noise. As long ago as the mid-1300s, English speakers were using caterwaul for the act of voicing feline passions.
The cater part is, of course, connected to the cat, but scholars disagree about whether it traces to Middle Dutch cāter, meaning "tomcat," or if it is really just cat with an "-er" added. The waul is probably imitative in origin; it represents the feline howl itself.
English's first caterwaul was a verb focused on feline vocalizations, but by the 1600s it was also being used for similar non-cat noises and for noisy people or things.
caterwaul / verb / KAT-er-wawl
Definition
1: to make a harsh cry
2: to protest or complain noisily
Examples
The woods were quiet until the sound of a chainsaw caterwauling in the distance broke the calm.
"Between begging calls, the young birds made more practice launches, flapping their wings and jumping. Paired adults were re-forming their relationships; returning birds went in for bouts of head flicking and kissing. Neighbors were in dispute, caterwauling above the din."
— Tim Dee, The New York Review of Books, 11 Sept. 2018
Did You Know?
An angry (or amorous) cat can make a lot of noise. As long ago as the mid-1300s, English speakers were using caterwaul for the act of voicing feline passions.
The cater part is, of course, connected to the cat, but scholars disagree about whether it traces to Middle Dutch cāter, meaning "tomcat," or if it is really just cat with an "-er" added. The waul is probably imitative in origin; it represents the feline howl itself.
English's first caterwaul was a verb focused on feline vocalizations, but by the 1600s it was also being used for similar non-cat noises and for noisy people or things.
Monday, October 29, 2018
Shambles
WORD OF THE DAY
shambles / noun / SHAM-bulz
Definition
1: slaughterhouse
2a: a place of mass slaughter or bloodshed
2b: a scene or a state of great destruction
2c: wreckage
2d: a scene or a state of great disorder or confusion
2e: great confusion
2f: mess
Examples
"The scene is reminiscent of the opening of the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, when Indiana Jones flees a cave half a step ahead of a giant boulder. Instead of running from a rock, Croft spends the game running through a city that crumbles around her as the world is reduced to shambles."
— Bob Fekete, Newsweek, 21 Sept. 2018
"Career success does not exist in a vacuum. If the home life is a mess and the children and bills and house are in shambles, then it's very hard, if not impossible, to succeed at work."
— Gail Saltz, quoted in Psychology Today, 1 May 2018
Did You Know?
How does a word meaning "footstool" turn into a word meaning "mess"? Start with the Latin scamillum, meaning "little bench." Modify the spelling and you get the Old English sceamol, meaning "footstool" or "a table used for counting money or exhibiting goods."
Alter again to the Middle English shameles, and the meaning can easily become more specific: "a table for the exhibition of meat for sale." Pluralize and you have the base of the 15th-century term shambles, meaning "meat market."
A century takes shambles from "meat market" to "slaughterhouse," then to figurative use referring to a place of terrible slaughter or bloodshed (say, a battlefield).
The scene of a slaughter can get messy, so it's logical for the word to pick up the modern sense "mess" or "state of great confusion." Transition accomplished.
shambles / noun / SHAM-bulz
Definition
1: slaughterhouse
2a: a place of mass slaughter or bloodshed
2b: a scene or a state of great destruction
2c: wreckage
2d: a scene or a state of great disorder or confusion
2e: great confusion
2f: mess
Examples
"The scene is reminiscent of the opening of the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, when Indiana Jones flees a cave half a step ahead of a giant boulder. Instead of running from a rock, Croft spends the game running through a city that crumbles around her as the world is reduced to shambles."
— Bob Fekete, Newsweek, 21 Sept. 2018
"Career success does not exist in a vacuum. If the home life is a mess and the children and bills and house are in shambles, then it's very hard, if not impossible, to succeed at work."
— Gail Saltz, quoted in Psychology Today, 1 May 2018
Did You Know?
How does a word meaning "footstool" turn into a word meaning "mess"? Start with the Latin scamillum, meaning "little bench." Modify the spelling and you get the Old English sceamol, meaning "footstool" or "a table used for counting money or exhibiting goods."
Alter again to the Middle English shameles, and the meaning can easily become more specific: "a table for the exhibition of meat for sale." Pluralize and you have the base of the 15th-century term shambles, meaning "meat market."
A century takes shambles from "meat market" to "slaughterhouse," then to figurative use referring to a place of terrible slaughter or bloodshed (say, a battlefield).
The scene of a slaughter can get messy, so it's logical for the word to pick up the modern sense "mess" or "state of great confusion." Transition accomplished.
Friday, October 26, 2018
Rebuff
WORD OF THE DAY
rebuff / verb / rih-BUFF
Definition
1: to reject or criticize sharply
2: snub
Examples
"The wait at [Sushi Sho in the Ritz-Carlton] is worth it for a chance to dine with the chef most famously known for rebuffing Michelin inspectors back home and eschewing the stars they'd have borne."
— Cliff Lee, The Globe and Mail (Canada), 14 July 2018
"When the 49ers first tried to trade for Jimmy Garoppolo early in the 2017 offseason, general manager John Lynch was rebuffed by Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who told Lynch that Garoppolo was unavailable."
— Eric Ting, SFGate.com (San Francisco), 28 Aug. 2018
Did You Know?
Occurring frequently in news articles and headlines, rebuff derives (via Middle French rebuffer) from Old Italian ribuffare, meaning "to reprimand," and ultimately from the imitative verb buffare, meaning "to puff." (You might guess that the verb buff, meaning "to polish," is a buffare descendant, but it is actually unrelated. It is derived from Middle French buffle, meaning "wild ox.")
A similar word, rebuke, shares the "criticize" sense of rebuff, but not the "reject" sense (one can rebuke another's actions or policies, but one does not rebuke the advances of another, for example). Like rebuke, rebuff can also be used as a noun, as in "His proposal was met with a stern rebuff from the Board of Trustees."
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Fugacious
WORD OF THE DAY
fugacious / adjective / fyoo-GAY-shus
Definition
1: lasting a short time
2: evanescent
Examples
The rock band's rise in popularity turned out to be fugacious, and within two years its members had moved on to other careers.
"The maple leaves are a yellow light signaling me to slow down and take in the last pulse of color of a fugacious fall."
— David Johnson, The Daily News of Newburyport (Massachusetts), 26 Nov. 2013
Did You Know?
Fugacious is often used to describe immaterial things like emotions, but not always. Botanists, for example, use it to describe plant parts that wither or fall off before the usual time.
Things that are fugacious are fleeting, and etymologically they can also be said to be fleeing. Fugacious derives from the Latin verb fugere, which means "to flee."
Other descendants of fugere include fugitive, refuge, and subterfuge.
fugacious / adjective / fyoo-GAY-shus
Definition
1: lasting a short time
2: evanescent
Examples
The rock band's rise in popularity turned out to be fugacious, and within two years its members had moved on to other careers.
"The maple leaves are a yellow light signaling me to slow down and take in the last pulse of color of a fugacious fall."
— David Johnson, The Daily News of Newburyport (Massachusetts), 26 Nov. 2013
Did You Know?
Fugacious is often used to describe immaterial things like emotions, but not always. Botanists, for example, use it to describe plant parts that wither or fall off before the usual time.
Things that are fugacious are fleeting, and etymologically they can also be said to be fleeing. Fugacious derives from the Latin verb fugere, which means "to flee."
Other descendants of fugere include fugitive, refuge, and subterfuge.
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Indoctrinate
WORD OF THE DAY
indoctrinate / verb / in-DAHK-truh-nayt
Definition
1a: to instruct especially in fundamentals or rudiments
1b: teach
2: to imbue with a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or principle
Examples
"Clearly, [in the television series 'The Handmaid's Tale'] the Sons of Jacob have been scarily successful in indoctrinating Americans—or, more specifically, young former Americans—to accept a new set of social mores."
— Elena Nicolaou, Refinery29.com, 24 May 2018
"There were two academies in the frigate. One comprised the apprentice boys, who, upon certain days of the week, were indoctrinated in the mysteries of the primer by an invalid corporal of marines, a slender, wizzen-cheeked man, who had received a liberal infant-school education."
— Herman Melville, White Jacket, 1850
Did You Know?
Indoctrinate simply means "brainwash" to many people. But its meaning isn't always so negative. When this verb first appeared in English in the 17th century, it simply meant "to teach"—a meaning that followed logically from its Latin root.
The "doc" in the middle of indoctrinate derives from the Latin verb docēre, which also means "to teach." Other offspring of docēre include docent (referring to a college professor or a museum guide), docile, doctor, doctrine, and document.
It was not until the 19th century that indoctrinate began to see regular use in the sense of causing someone to absorb and take on certain opinions or principles.
indoctrinate / verb / in-DAHK-truh-nayt
Definition
1a: to instruct especially in fundamentals or rudiments
1b: teach
2: to imbue with a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or principle
Examples
"Clearly, [in the television series 'The Handmaid's Tale'] the Sons of Jacob have been scarily successful in indoctrinating Americans—or, more specifically, young former Americans—to accept a new set of social mores."
— Elena Nicolaou, Refinery29.com, 24 May 2018
"There were two academies in the frigate. One comprised the apprentice boys, who, upon certain days of the week, were indoctrinated in the mysteries of the primer by an invalid corporal of marines, a slender, wizzen-cheeked man, who had received a liberal infant-school education."
— Herman Melville, White Jacket, 1850
Did You Know?
Indoctrinate simply means "brainwash" to many people. But its meaning isn't always so negative. When this verb first appeared in English in the 17th century, it simply meant "to teach"—a meaning that followed logically from its Latin root.
The "doc" in the middle of indoctrinate derives from the Latin verb docēre, which also means "to teach." Other offspring of docēre include docent (referring to a college professor or a museum guide), docile, doctor, doctrine, and document.
It was not until the 19th century that indoctrinate began to see regular use in the sense of causing someone to absorb and take on certain opinions or principles.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Mawkish
WORD OF THE DAY
mawkish / adjective / MAW-kish
Definition
1 : lacking flavor or having an unpleasant taste
2 : exaggeratedly or childishly emotional
Examples
"Naomi Watts gives a committed, grounded performance as a single mother who finds herself surprisingly agreeable to doing whatever it takes to stay connected to her beloved older son. Few films aspire to be both a mawkish tearjerker and a Hitchcockian thriller, and The Book Of Henry makes a pretty convincing case why more shouldn't."
— Tim Grierson, Screen International, 15 June 2017
"Now for the tears of joy, the kind to which mawkish septuagenarians fall prey. First was the experience of taking the grandchildren to Giffords Circus…. "
— Max Hastings, The Spectator, 26 Aug. 2017
Did You Know?
The etymology of mawkish really opens up a can of worms—or, more properly, maggots. The first part of mawkish derives from Middle English mawke, which means "maggot." Mawke, in turn, developed from the Old Norse word mathkr, which had the same meaning as its descendant.
The majority of English speakers eventually eschewed the word's dipteran implications (mawk still means "maggot" in some dialects of British English), and began using it figuratively instead.
As language writer Ivor Brown put it in his 1947 book Say the Word, "Time has treated 'mawkish' gently: the wormy stench and corruption of its primal state were forgotten and 'mawkish' became sickly in a weak sort of way instead of repulsive and revolting."
Monday, October 22, 2018
Brouhaha
WORD OF THE DAY
brouhaha / noun / BROO-hah-hah
Definition
1: a state of commotion or excitement
2: hubbub, uproar
Examples
There was much brouhaha in the tabloids over the young actor's sudden marriage to the woman who had been his high school sweetheart.
"But where do you go, when the temperatures are soaring and you want to cool off but without all of the brouhaha that comes along with a trip to one of our more popular, crowded city beaches?"
— Ji Suk Yi, The Chicago Sun-Times, 25 July 2018
Did You Know?
Some etymologists think brouhaha is onomatopoeic in origin, but others believe it comes from the Classical Hebrew phrase 'barukh habba', meaning "blessed be he who arrives" (Psalms 118:26).
Although we borrowed brouhaha directly from French in the late 18th century, etymologists have connected the French derivation to that frequently recited Hebrew phrase, distorted to something like brouhaha by worshippers whose knowledge of Hebrew was limited.
The word eventually came to be used in a sense similar to "applause" and in the sense of "a noisy confusion of sound"—the latter being the sense that was later extended in English to refer to any tumultuous and confused situation.
brouhaha / noun / BROO-hah-hah
Definition
1: a state of commotion or excitement
2: hubbub, uproar
Examples
There was much brouhaha in the tabloids over the young actor's sudden marriage to the woman who had been his high school sweetheart.
"But where do you go, when the temperatures are soaring and you want to cool off but without all of the brouhaha that comes along with a trip to one of our more popular, crowded city beaches?"
— Ji Suk Yi, The Chicago Sun-Times, 25 July 2018
Did You Know?
Some etymologists think brouhaha is onomatopoeic in origin, but others believe it comes from the Classical Hebrew phrase 'barukh habba', meaning "blessed be he who arrives" (Psalms 118:26).
Although we borrowed brouhaha directly from French in the late 18th century, etymologists have connected the French derivation to that frequently recited Hebrew phrase, distorted to something like brouhaha by worshippers whose knowledge of Hebrew was limited.
The word eventually came to be used in a sense similar to "applause" and in the sense of "a noisy confusion of sound"—the latter being the sense that was later extended in English to refer to any tumultuous and confused situation.
Friday, October 19, 2018
Linchpin
WORD OF THE DAY
linchpin / noun / LINCH-pin
Definition
1: a locking pin inserted crosswise (as through the end of an axle or shaft)
2: one that serves to hold together parts or elements that exist or function as a unit
Examples
Investors are betting that the new product line will be the linchpin that secures the company's place in the very competitive market in the years and decades to come.
"Saudi Arabia planned to take its giant oil company, Saudi Aramco, to the public markets. It was to be the linchpin of a grand economic vision, generating billions of dollars to pay for future-proofing the kingdom's economy, including huge investments in technology."
— Michael J. de la Merced, The New York Times, 25 Aug. 2018
Did You Know?
In his 1857 novel, Tom Brown's School Days, Thomas Hughes describes the "cowardly blackguard custom" of "taking the linch-pins out of the farmers' and bagmens' gigs at the fairs."
The linchpin in question held the wheel on the gig and removing it made it likely that the wheel would come off as the vehicle moved.
Such a pin was called a lynis in Old English; Middle English speakers added pin to form lynspin. By the early 20th century, English speakers were using linchpin for anything as critical to a complex situation as a linchpin is to a wagon, as when Winston Churchill, in 1930, wrote of Canada and the role it played in the relationship between Great Britain and the United States, that "no state, no country, no band of men can more truly be described as the linchpin of peace and world progress."
linchpin / noun / LINCH-pin
Definition
1: a locking pin inserted crosswise (as through the end of an axle or shaft)
2: one that serves to hold together parts or elements that exist or function as a unit
Examples
Investors are betting that the new product line will be the linchpin that secures the company's place in the very competitive market in the years and decades to come.
"Saudi Arabia planned to take its giant oil company, Saudi Aramco, to the public markets. It was to be the linchpin of a grand economic vision, generating billions of dollars to pay for future-proofing the kingdom's economy, including huge investments in technology."
— Michael J. de la Merced, The New York Times, 25 Aug. 2018
Did You Know?
In his 1857 novel, Tom Brown's School Days, Thomas Hughes describes the "cowardly blackguard custom" of "taking the linch-pins out of the farmers' and bagmens' gigs at the fairs."
The linchpin in question held the wheel on the gig and removing it made it likely that the wheel would come off as the vehicle moved.
Such a pin was called a lynis in Old English; Middle English speakers added pin to form lynspin. By the early 20th century, English speakers were using linchpin for anything as critical to a complex situation as a linchpin is to a wagon, as when Winston Churchill, in 1930, wrote of Canada and the role it played in the relationship between Great Britain and the United States, that "no state, no country, no band of men can more truly be described as the linchpin of peace and world progress."
Thursday, October 18, 2018
De rigueur
WORD OF THE DAY
de rigueur / adjective / duh-ree-GUR
Definition
1: prescribed or required by fashion, etiquette, or custom
2: proper
Examples
"[Emma] Stone, who patiently smiled through the de rigueur photo shoot in front of a backdrop emblazoned with the logos of the festival and its sponsors, should be extra light on her feet these days after singing and dancing with co-star Ryan Gosling in one of the opening night movies, 'La La Land.'"
— Paul Liberatore, The Marin Independent Journal (Marin County, California), 6 Oct. 2016
"It's fascinating to compare not only the speeches that Robert and the king's heir give before heading into combat, but also Robert's words with those Gibson's Wallace delivers in 'Braveheart.' So much has changed in nearly a quarter century's time that Mackenzie's idea of blockbuster heroism robs his 'Outlaw King' of the bombastic pep talk that would have been de rigueur for a studio movie."
— John Simon, The Weekly Standard, 2 Mar. 2018
Did You Know?
If you're invited to a ball or other social function and the invitation includes the French phrase costume de rigueur, you are expected to adhere to a very strict dress code—typically, a white tie and tails if you're a man and a floor-length evening gown if you're a woman.
In French, de rigueur means "out of strictness" or "according to strict etiquette"; one definition of our word rigor, to which rigueur is related, is "the quality of being strict, unyielding, or inflexible."
In English, we tend to use de rigueur to describe a fashion or custom that is so commonplace within a context that it seems a prescribed, mandatory part of it.
de rigueur / adjective / duh-ree-GUR
Definition
1: prescribed or required by fashion, etiquette, or custom
2: proper
Examples
"[Emma] Stone, who patiently smiled through the de rigueur photo shoot in front of a backdrop emblazoned with the logos of the festival and its sponsors, should be extra light on her feet these days after singing and dancing with co-star Ryan Gosling in one of the opening night movies, 'La La Land.'"
— Paul Liberatore, The Marin Independent Journal (Marin County, California), 6 Oct. 2016
"It's fascinating to compare not only the speeches that Robert and the king's heir give before heading into combat, but also Robert's words with those Gibson's Wallace delivers in 'Braveheart.' So much has changed in nearly a quarter century's time that Mackenzie's idea of blockbuster heroism robs his 'Outlaw King' of the bombastic pep talk that would have been de rigueur for a studio movie."
— John Simon, The Weekly Standard, 2 Mar. 2018
Did You Know?
If you're invited to a ball or other social function and the invitation includes the French phrase costume de rigueur, you are expected to adhere to a very strict dress code—typically, a white tie and tails if you're a man and a floor-length evening gown if you're a woman.
In French, de rigueur means "out of strictness" or "according to strict etiquette"; one definition of our word rigor, to which rigueur is related, is "the quality of being strict, unyielding, or inflexible."
In English, we tend to use de rigueur to describe a fashion or custom that is so commonplace within a context that it seems a prescribed, mandatory part of it.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Acceptation
WORD OF THE DAY
acceptation / noun / ak-sep-TAY-shun
Definition
1a: acceptance
1b: favorable reception or approval
2: a generally accepted meaning of a word or understanding of a concept
Examples
"About 40 fine arts students filled out a two-page application to be a part of the project, Rodriguez said.... Some have done commissioned work and sold their art on Etsy. One received an automatic acceptation to a prestigious art school in Chicago on National Portfolio Day last fall."
— Laura Gutschke, The Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News, 8 Apr. 2018
"For its primary definition of 'money,' the same source states, 'In usual and ordinary acceptation it means gold, silver, or paper money used as circulating medium of exchange, and does not embrace notes, bonds, evidences of debt, or other personal or real estate.'"
— Tom Egan, The Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 1 June 2017
Did You Know?
Acceptation is older than its synonym acceptance; it first appeared in print in the 15th century, whereas acceptance makes a 16th-century appearance.
Grammarian H. W. Fowler insisted in 1926 that acceptation and acceptance were not actually synonymous (he preferred to reserve acceptation for the "accepted meaning" use), but the earliest meaning of acceptation was indeed acceptance.
Both words descend from the Anglo-French word accepter ("to accept"), but acceptation took an extra step. Anglo-French added the -ation ending, which was changed to form acceptacioun in Middle English. (English embraced the present-day -ation ending later.)
Acceptance simply comes from accepter plus the Anglo-French -ance.
acceptation / noun / ak-sep-TAY-shun
Definition
1a: acceptance
1b: favorable reception or approval
2: a generally accepted meaning of a word or understanding of a concept
Examples
"About 40 fine arts students filled out a two-page application to be a part of the project, Rodriguez said.... Some have done commissioned work and sold their art on Etsy. One received an automatic acceptation to a prestigious art school in Chicago on National Portfolio Day last fall."
— Laura Gutschke, The Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News, 8 Apr. 2018
"For its primary definition of 'money,' the same source states, 'In usual and ordinary acceptation it means gold, silver, or paper money used as circulating medium of exchange, and does not embrace notes, bonds, evidences of debt, or other personal or real estate.'"
— Tom Egan, The Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 1 June 2017
Did You Know?
Acceptation is older than its synonym acceptance; it first appeared in print in the 15th century, whereas acceptance makes a 16th-century appearance.
Grammarian H. W. Fowler insisted in 1926 that acceptation and acceptance were not actually synonymous (he preferred to reserve acceptation for the "accepted meaning" use), but the earliest meaning of acceptation was indeed acceptance.
Both words descend from the Anglo-French word accepter ("to accept"), but acceptation took an extra step. Anglo-French added the -ation ending, which was changed to form acceptacioun in Middle English. (English embraced the present-day -ation ending later.)
Acceptance simply comes from accepter plus the Anglo-French -ance.
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Nary
WORD OF THE DAY
nary / adjective / NAIR-ee
Definition
1: not any
2: not one
Examples
"I must have it back as I have nary other copy."
— Flannery O'Connor, letter, 1961
"Under harsh fluorescent hangar lights that would make even a brand-new Mercedes appear to have been painted with a broom, Symmetry reveals nary ripple nor flaw."
— Stephan Wilkinson, Popular Science, March 2004
Did You Know?
Nary, most often used in the phrase "nary a" to mean "not a single," is an 18th-century alteration of the adjectival phrase "ne'er a," in which ne'er is a contraction of never.
That contraction dates to the 13th century, and the word it abbreviates is even older: never can be traced back to Old English nǣfre, a combination of ne ("not" or "no") and ǣfre ("ever").
Old English ne also combined with ā ("always") to give us nā, the Old English ancestor of our no.
Ā, from the Latin aevum ("age" or "lifetime") and Greek aiōn ("age"), is related to the English adverb aye, meaning "always, continually, or ever."
This aye (pronounced to rhyme with say) is unrelated to the more familiar aye (pronounced to rhyme with sigh) used as a synonym of yes.
nary / adjective / NAIR-ee
Definition
1: not any
2: not one
Examples
"I must have it back as I have nary other copy."
— Flannery O'Connor, letter, 1961
"Under harsh fluorescent hangar lights that would make even a brand-new Mercedes appear to have been painted with a broom, Symmetry reveals nary ripple nor flaw."
— Stephan Wilkinson, Popular Science, March 2004
Did You Know?
Nary, most often used in the phrase "nary a" to mean "not a single," is an 18th-century alteration of the adjectival phrase "ne'er a," in which ne'er is a contraction of never.
That contraction dates to the 13th century, and the word it abbreviates is even older: never can be traced back to Old English nǣfre, a combination of ne ("not" or "no") and ǣfre ("ever").
Old English ne also combined with ā ("always") to give us nā, the Old English ancestor of our no.
Ā, from the Latin aevum ("age" or "lifetime") and Greek aiōn ("age"), is related to the English adverb aye, meaning "always, continually, or ever."
This aye (pronounced to rhyme with say) is unrelated to the more familiar aye (pronounced to rhyme with sigh) used as a synonym of yes.
Monday, October 15, 2018
Tergiversation
WORD OF THE DAY
tergiversation / noun / ter-jiv-er-SAY-shun
Definition
1a: evasion of straightforward action or clear-cut statement
1b: equivocation
2 : desertion of a cause, position, party, or faith
Examples
"Two chapters stand out. One covers the grinding combat in southern Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010, where the horrific daily reality for fighting soldiers is nicely juxtaposed with the tergiversations of generals and officials safe in Kabul and Washington."
— Jason Burke, The Spectator, 3 Feb. 2018
"The emotional leitmotif of Frankel's book is the Wilde-Douglas love story, one of vacillations and tergiversations, perhaps the most spectacular in the annals of literary history. There were various times when each of the lovers declared he would kill the other, only to rush back into his outstretched arms."
— John Simon, The Weekly Standard, 2 Mar. 2018
Did You Know?
The roots of tergiversation are about an unwillingness to pick a course and stay on it. The Latin verb tergiversari means "to show reluctance," and it comes from the combining of tergum, meaning "back," and versare, meaning "to turn."
While versare and its related form, vertere, turn up in the etymologies of many English words, including versatile and invert, tergum is at the root of only a few, among them tergal, an obscure synonym of dorsal.
While the "desertion" meaning of tergiversation is both older and a better reflection of the meanings of its etyma, the word is more frequently used as a synonym of equivocation. The related verb tergiversate is a somewhat rare synonym of equivocate.
tergiversation / noun / ter-jiv-er-SAY-shun
Definition
1a: evasion of straightforward action or clear-cut statement
1b: equivocation
2 : desertion of a cause, position, party, or faith
Examples
"Two chapters stand out. One covers the grinding combat in southern Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010, where the horrific daily reality for fighting soldiers is nicely juxtaposed with the tergiversations of generals and officials safe in Kabul and Washington."
— Jason Burke, The Spectator, 3 Feb. 2018
"The emotional leitmotif of Frankel's book is the Wilde-Douglas love story, one of vacillations and tergiversations, perhaps the most spectacular in the annals of literary history. There were various times when each of the lovers declared he would kill the other, only to rush back into his outstretched arms."
— John Simon, The Weekly Standard, 2 Mar. 2018
Did You Know?
The roots of tergiversation are about an unwillingness to pick a course and stay on it. The Latin verb tergiversari means "to show reluctance," and it comes from the combining of tergum, meaning "back," and versare, meaning "to turn."
While versare and its related form, vertere, turn up in the etymologies of many English words, including versatile and invert, tergum is at the root of only a few, among them tergal, an obscure synonym of dorsal.
While the "desertion" meaning of tergiversation is both older and a better reflection of the meanings of its etyma, the word is more frequently used as a synonym of equivocation. The related verb tergiversate is a somewhat rare synonym of equivocate.
Friday, October 12, 2018
Emblazon
WORD OF THE DAY
emblazon / verb / im-BLAY-zun
Definition
1a: to inscribe or adorn with or as if with heraldic bearings or devices
1b: to inscribe (something, such as heraldic bearings) on a surface
2: celebrate, extol
Examples
Outside the stadium in the hours before the game, thousands of fans wearing shirts and hats emblazoned with the hometown team's logo gathered.
"Berkshire County knows David York as the man just daring enough to open a museum dedicated to dogs and emblazon the sides of a stretch limousine with a depiction of a dachshund."
— Adam Shanks, The Berkshire Eagle (Massachusetts), 19 June 2018
Did You Know?
English speakers have been using the heraldic sense of emblazon since the late 16th century, and before that there was the verb blazon ("to describe heraldically") and the noun blazon ("a heraldic coat of arms"), which descend from Anglo-French blason.
Emblazon still refers to adorning something with an emblem of heraldry, but it is now more often used for adorning or publicizing something in any conspicuous way, whether with eye-catching decoration or colorful words of praise.
Thursday, October 11, 2018
Scintillate
WORD OF THE DAY
scintillate / verb SIN-tuh-layt
Definition
1a: to emit sparks
1b: spark
2a: to emit quick flashes as if throwing off sparks
2b: sparkle
3: to throw off as a spark or as sparkling flashes
Examples
The critics praised Doreen's performance in the play, declaring that she took a rather mundane script and made it scintillate with wit and excitement.
"Stephen Strasburg scintillated with seven scoreless innings in which he allowed two hits with three walks and six strikeouts over 105 pitches."
— Mike Puma, The New York Post, 4 July 2017
Did You Know?
The history of scintillate begins with Latin scintilla, which means "spark." Scintilla, in turn, sparked the development of the verb scintillare, meaning "to sparkle."
Scintillate is the English version of scintillare. Though it sometimes means literally "to sparkle," it more often means "to sparkle" in a figurative sense—that is, to be lively, or to perform brilliantly.
Scintillate is not the only word we get from scintilla. There is also scintilla itself (used as a noun meaning "a little bit"), scintillant (an adjective describing something that scintillates), and scintillation (which, among other things, means "a brilliant outburst").
scintillate / verb SIN-tuh-layt
Definition
1a: to emit sparks
1b: spark
2a: to emit quick flashes as if throwing off sparks
2b: sparkle
3: to throw off as a spark or as sparkling flashes
Examples
The critics praised Doreen's performance in the play, declaring that she took a rather mundane script and made it scintillate with wit and excitement.
"Stephen Strasburg scintillated with seven scoreless innings in which he allowed two hits with three walks and six strikeouts over 105 pitches."
— Mike Puma, The New York Post, 4 July 2017
Did You Know?
The history of scintillate begins with Latin scintilla, which means "spark." Scintilla, in turn, sparked the development of the verb scintillare, meaning "to sparkle."
Scintillate is the English version of scintillare. Though it sometimes means literally "to sparkle," it more often means "to sparkle" in a figurative sense—that is, to be lively, or to perform brilliantly.
Scintillate is not the only word we get from scintilla. There is also scintilla itself (used as a noun meaning "a little bit"), scintillant (an adjective describing something that scintillates), and scintillation (which, among other things, means "a brilliant outburst").
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Luddite
WORD OF THE DAY
Luddite / noun / LUH-dyte
Definition
1: one of a group of early 19th-century English workmen destroying laborsaving machinery as a protest
2: one who is opposed to especially technological change
Examples
Responding to an interview question in Parade, July 2008, actress/screenwriter Emma Thompson jested, "I'm a Luddite, and I write longhand with an old fountain pen."
"It's not that firefighters are Luddites. But in life-and-death situations, they can't afford to rely on solutions that haven't been thoroughly field-tested."
— Carolyn Said, The San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Aug. 2018
Did You Know?
Luddites could be considered the first victims of corporate downsizing. The Luddite movement began in the vicinity of Nottingham, England, toward the end of 1811 when textile mill workers rioted for the destruction of the new machinery that was slowly replacing them.
Their name is of uncertain origin, but it may be connected to a (probably mythical) person known as Ned Ludd. According to an unsubstantiated account in George Pellew's Life of Lord Sidmouth (1847), Ned Ludd was a Leicestershire villager of the late 1700s who, in a fit of insane rage, rushed into a stocking weaver's house and destroyed his equipment; subsequently, his name was proverbially connected with machinery destruction.
With the onset of the information age, Luddite gained a broader sense describing anyone who shuns new technology.
Luddite / noun / LUH-dyte
Definition
1: one of a group of early 19th-century English workmen destroying laborsaving machinery as a protest
2: one who is opposed to especially technological change
Examples
Responding to an interview question in Parade, July 2008, actress/screenwriter Emma Thompson jested, "I'm a Luddite, and I write longhand with an old fountain pen."
"It's not that firefighters are Luddites. But in life-and-death situations, they can't afford to rely on solutions that haven't been thoroughly field-tested."
— Carolyn Said, The San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Aug. 2018
Did You Know?
Luddites could be considered the first victims of corporate downsizing. The Luddite movement began in the vicinity of Nottingham, England, toward the end of 1811 when textile mill workers rioted for the destruction of the new machinery that was slowly replacing them.
Their name is of uncertain origin, but it may be connected to a (probably mythical) person known as Ned Ludd. According to an unsubstantiated account in George Pellew's Life of Lord Sidmouth (1847), Ned Ludd was a Leicestershire villager of the late 1700s who, in a fit of insane rage, rushed into a stocking weaver's house and destroyed his equipment; subsequently, his name was proverbially connected with machinery destruction.
With the onset of the information age, Luddite gained a broader sense describing anyone who shuns new technology.
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Ambivalent
WORD OF THE DAY
ambivalent / adjective / am-BIV-uh-lunt
Definition
1: having or showing simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings toward something
2: characterized by ambivalence
Examples
Bianca was ambivalent about starting her first year away at college—excited for the new opportunities that awaited but sad to leave her friends and family back home.
"A new study from LinkedIn found that many people feel ambivalent in their careers—wondering if they should stay in the same job or take time to invest in learning new skills or even change to a new path altogether."
— Shelcy V. Joseph, Forbes, 3 Sept. 2018
Did You Know?
The words ambivalent and ambivalence entered English during the early 20th century in the field of psychology. They came to us through the International Scientific Vocabulary, a set of words common to people of science who speak different languages.
The prefix ambi- means "both," and the -valent and -valence parts ultimately derive from the Latin verb valēre, meaning "to be strong."
Not surprisingly, an ambivalent person is someone who has strong feelings on more than one side of a question or issue.
Monday, October 8, 2018
Gloaming
WORD OF THE DAY
gloaming / noun GLOH-ming
Definition
: twilight, dusk
Examples
"It was in the gloaming at Duke University in late fall of 1966. There was a wet chill in the air, most of the trees were leafless, and a low cloud cover added to the gloom. "
— Bob Williams, The Chronicle (Duke University), 20 Aug. 2018
"Afterward, we meandered up Lincoln Way in the gloaming, and I was delighted at the music sponsored by the Auburn Arts Commission—at Central Square and the Clock Tower. But before we reached the Clock Tower, I saw that the lights were on in Winston Smith. Auburn's bookstore open at an odd hour? Yes, yes, of course that works for me."
— Susan Rushton, The Auburn (California) Journal, 3 August 2018
Did You Know?
If gloaming makes you think of tartans and bagpipes, you've got a good ear and a good eye; we picked up gloaming from the Scottish dialects of English back in the Middle Ages.
The roots of the word trace to the Old English word for "twilight," glōm, which is akin to glōwan, an Old English verb meaning "to glow."
In the early 1800s, English speakers looked to Scotland again and borrowed the now-archaic verb gloam, meaning "to become dusk" or "to grow dark."
gloaming / noun GLOH-ming
Definition
: twilight, dusk
Examples
"It was in the gloaming at Duke University in late fall of 1966. There was a wet chill in the air, most of the trees were leafless, and a low cloud cover added to the gloom. "
— Bob Williams, The Chronicle (Duke University), 20 Aug. 2018
"Afterward, we meandered up Lincoln Way in the gloaming, and I was delighted at the music sponsored by the Auburn Arts Commission—at Central Square and the Clock Tower. But before we reached the Clock Tower, I saw that the lights were on in Winston Smith. Auburn's bookstore open at an odd hour? Yes, yes, of course that works for me."
— Susan Rushton, The Auburn (California) Journal, 3 August 2018
Did You Know?
If gloaming makes you think of tartans and bagpipes, you've got a good ear and a good eye; we picked up gloaming from the Scottish dialects of English back in the Middle Ages.
The roots of the word trace to the Old English word for "twilight," glōm, which is akin to glōwan, an Old English verb meaning "to glow."
In the early 1800s, English speakers looked to Scotland again and borrowed the now-archaic verb gloam, meaning "to become dusk" or "to grow dark."
Friday, October 5, 2018
Peripeteia
WORD OF THE DAY
peripeteia / noun / pair-uh-puh-TEE-uh
Definition
: a sudden or unexpected reversal of circumstances or situation especially in a literary work
Examples
The novel is populated by a number of secondary characters, each of whom plays a crucial role in the protagonist's peripeteia.
"Before ever writing Chapter one, he will write synopsis after synopsis, for up to a year, ironing out all the wrinkles, developing not just plot and peripeteia (or twists) but character."
— Andy Martin, The Independent, 25 Nov. 2016
Did You Know?
Peripeteia comes from Greek, in which the verb peripiptein means "to fall around" or "to change suddenly."
It usually indicates a turning point in a drama after which the plot moves steadily to its denouement. In his Poetics, Aristotle describes peripeteia as the shift of the tragic protagonist's fortune from good to bad—a shift that is essential to the plot of a tragedy.
The term is also occasionally used of a similar change in actual affairs. For example, in a 2006 article in The New York Times, Michael Cooper described William Weld's second term as Massachusetts' governor as "political peripeteia": it "began with a landslide victory and ended with frustrated hopes and his resignation."
Thursday, October 4, 2018
Intestine
WORD OF THE DAY
intestine / adjective / in-TESS-tin
Definition
1: internal
2, specifically: of or relating to the internal affairs of a state or country
Examples
News reports of intestine disagreements between the country's two most powerful political factions led to murmurings that the country was on the precipice of civil war.
"Never, during the whole existence of the English nation, had so long a period passed without intestine hostilities. Men had become accustomed to the pursuits of peaceful industry, and, exasperated, as they were, hesitated long before they drew the sword."
— Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England, 1848
Did You Know?
Bet you thought intestine was a noun referring to a part of the digestive system! It is, of course, but naming that internal body part isn't the word's only function.
Both the noun and the adjective intestine have been a part of English since the 15th century, and both trace to the Latin adjective intestinus, meaning "internal," and ultimately to intus, meaning "within." Though the adjective intestine turns up much less frequently than does its anatomical cousin, it does see occasional use, especially as a synonym for civil and domestic (in contrast to foreign) applied to wars and disturbances.
intestine / adjective / in-TESS-tin
Definition
1: internal
2, specifically: of or relating to the internal affairs of a state or country
Examples
News reports of intestine disagreements between the country's two most powerful political factions led to murmurings that the country was on the precipice of civil war.
"Never, during the whole existence of the English nation, had so long a period passed without intestine hostilities. Men had become accustomed to the pursuits of peaceful industry, and, exasperated, as they were, hesitated long before they drew the sword."
— Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England, 1848
Did You Know?
Bet you thought intestine was a noun referring to a part of the digestive system! It is, of course, but naming that internal body part isn't the word's only function.
Both the noun and the adjective intestine have been a part of English since the 15th century, and both trace to the Latin adjective intestinus, meaning "internal," and ultimately to intus, meaning "within." Though the adjective intestine turns up much less frequently than does its anatomical cousin, it does see occasional use, especially as a synonym for civil and domestic (in contrast to foreign) applied to wars and disturbances.
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Weltschmerz
WORD OF THE DAY
weltschmerz / noun VELT-shmairts
Definition
1 (often capitalized) Weltschmerz : mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state
2 (often capitalized Weltschmerz): a mood of sentimental sadness
Examples
Carson found himself plunging into a state of Weltschmerz as he grew older and discovered that the world was much more complicated than he had envisioned as a youth.
"The mad narrator or central figure is in a world that may be experienced as confusing, grotesque or volatile; above all, it is private, closed in on itself, unavailable to outsiders.… The notion of insanity as a kind of extreme loneliness is good for a wallow in adolescent-romantic weltschmerz, if not much else."
— Scott McLemee, Inside Higher Ed, 29 June 2018
Did You Know?
The word weltschmerz initially came into being as a by-product of the European Romanticism movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A combining of the German words for "world" (Welt) and "pain" (Schmerz), weltschmerz aptly captures the melancholy and pessimism that often characterized the artistic expressions of the era.
The term was used in German by the Romantic author Jean Paul (pseudonym of Johann Paul Friedrich Richter) in his 1827 novel Selina, but it wasn't adopted into English until the middle of the 19th century.
weltschmerz / noun VELT-shmairts
Definition
1 (often capitalized) Weltschmerz : mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state
2 (often capitalized Weltschmerz): a mood of sentimental sadness
Examples
Carson found himself plunging into a state of Weltschmerz as he grew older and discovered that the world was much more complicated than he had envisioned as a youth.
"The mad narrator or central figure is in a world that may be experienced as confusing, grotesque or volatile; above all, it is private, closed in on itself, unavailable to outsiders.… The notion of insanity as a kind of extreme loneliness is good for a wallow in adolescent-romantic weltschmerz, if not much else."
— Scott McLemee, Inside Higher Ed, 29 June 2018
Did You Know?
The word weltschmerz initially came into being as a by-product of the European Romanticism movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A combining of the German words for "world" (Welt) and "pain" (Schmerz), weltschmerz aptly captures the melancholy and pessimism that often characterized the artistic expressions of the era.
The term was used in German by the Romantic author Jean Paul (pseudonym of Johann Paul Friedrich Richter) in his 1827 novel Selina, but it wasn't adopted into English until the middle of the 19th century.
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Cloister
WORD OF THE DAY
cloister / verb / KLOY-ster
Definition
1: to seclude from the world in or as if in a cloister
2: to surround with a cloister
Examples
"They share a desire to let their daughters have a normal childhood. Even as [Nicole] Kidman refuses to discuss them in detail ('Sunday jumps on things if she hears someone at school talking about something I said'), she doesn't want to cloister them either."
— John Powers, Vogue, September 2017
"It differs from traditional artist-in-residence programs in that founder Jessica Moss wanted to emphasize artists helping develop skills and activation in the community, rather than being cloistered away to create."
— Emiene Wright, The Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer, 27 Aug. 2018
Did You Know?
Cloister first entered the English language as a noun in the 13th century; it referred then (as it still does) to a convent or monastery.
More than three centuries later, English speakers began using the verb cloister to mean "to seclude in or as if in a cloister."
Today, the noun can also refer to the monastic life or to a covered and usually arched passage along or around a court.
You may also encounter cloistered with the meaning "surrounded with a covered passage," as in "cloistered gardens."
Cloister ultimately derives from the Latin verb claudere, meaning "to close." Other words that can be traced back to the prolific claudere include close, conclude, exclude, include, preclude, seclude, and recluse.
Monday, October 1, 2018
Manifesto
WORD OF THE DAY
manifesto / noun / man-uh-FESS-toh
Definition
: a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer
Examples
"Mr. Eddie Lampert, the chairman of Sears Holdings and mastermind of the Kmart/Sears merger … famously published a 15-page manifesto in 2009 which covered everything from the economic meltdown to civil liberties, and contained a suggested reading list that included free-market Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek."
— Mary Jane Quirk, Consumerist, 8 Jan. 2013
"American Audacity is the rare example of a collection that coheres into a manifesto. Its essays were published during the last seven years, many in The New Republic and The Daily Beast, on topics as various as the art of hate mail, Herman Melville's life and the Boston Marathon bombing…."
— Nathaniel Rich, The New York Times, 19 Aug. 2018
Did You Know?
Manifesto is related to manifest, which occurs in English as a noun, verb, and adjective. Of these, the adjective, which means "readily perceived by the senses," is oldest, dating to the 14th century.
Both manifest and manifesto derive ultimately from the Latin noun manus ("hand") and -festus, a combining form of uncertain meaning that is also found in the Latin adjective infestus ("hostile"), an ancestor of the English infest.
Something that is manifest is easy to perceive or recognize, and a manifesto is a statement in which someone makes his or her intentions or views easy for people to ascertain. Perhaps the most well-known statement of this sort is the Communist Manifesto, written in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to outline the platform of the Communist League.
manifesto / noun / man-uh-FESS-toh
Definition
: a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer
Examples
"Mr. Eddie Lampert, the chairman of Sears Holdings and mastermind of the Kmart/Sears merger … famously published a 15-page manifesto in 2009 which covered everything from the economic meltdown to civil liberties, and contained a suggested reading list that included free-market Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek."
— Mary Jane Quirk, Consumerist, 8 Jan. 2013
"American Audacity is the rare example of a collection that coheres into a manifesto. Its essays were published during the last seven years, many in The New Republic and The Daily Beast, on topics as various as the art of hate mail, Herman Melville's life and the Boston Marathon bombing…."
— Nathaniel Rich, The New York Times, 19 Aug. 2018
Did You Know?
Manifesto is related to manifest, which occurs in English as a noun, verb, and adjective. Of these, the adjective, which means "readily perceived by the senses," is oldest, dating to the 14th century.
Both manifest and manifesto derive ultimately from the Latin noun manus ("hand") and -festus, a combining form of uncertain meaning that is also found in the Latin adjective infestus ("hostile"), an ancestor of the English infest.
Something that is manifest is easy to perceive or recognize, and a manifesto is a statement in which someone makes his or her intentions or views easy for people to ascertain. Perhaps the most well-known statement of this sort is the Communist Manifesto, written in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to outline the platform of the Communist League.
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