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Post by petpeeve on May 25, 2009 8:35:25 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for May 25, 2009 is: obnubilate • \ahb-NOO-buh-layt\ • verb : becloud, obscure Example Sentence: The essays include a significant amount of digression and extra commentary, all of which tends to obnubilate the author's main point. Did you know? The meaning of "obnubilate" becomes clearer when you know that its ancestors are the Latin terms "ob-" (meaning "in the way") and "nubes" ("cloud"). It's a high-flown sounding word, which may be why it often turns up in texts by and about politicians. In fact, when the U.S. Constitution was up for ratification, 18th-century Pennsylvania statesman James Wilson used it to calm fears that the president would have too much power: "Our first executive magistrate is not obnubilated behind the mysterious obscurity of counsellors. . . . He is the dignified, but accountable magistrate of a free and great people."
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Post by petpeeve on May 26, 2009 8:44:26 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for May 26, 2009 is: Philadelphia lawyer • \fill-uh-DELL-fee-uh-LAW-yer\ • noun : a lawyer knowledgeable in the most minute aspects of the law Example Sentence: When they realized that their broker had cozened them to gain fatter commissions, Brad and Julia quickly hired a team of Philadelphia lawyers to comb through their financial contracts and file a lawsuit. Did you know? The reputation of the Philadelphia lawyer dates back to the colonial period, when our legal system was in its infancy and lawyers had to be especially astute. Many noted attorneys seem to have hailed from early Philadelphia, and probably no single lawyer is the source of the term, but several have been suggested. Although not strictly a lawyer, Benjamin Franklin is sometimes claimed to have inspired the expression through his cunning in diplomatic negotiations with the British and French. Another possible source is the Scottish-American Philadelphia attorney Andrew Hamilton, who famously got newspaper publisher John Peter Zenger acquitted of libel charges in 1735, paving the way for the principle of freedom of the press in the process.
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Post by petpeeve on May 27, 2009 8:20:43 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for May 27, 2009 is: jocund • \JAH-kund\ • adjective : marked by or suggestive of high spirits and lively mirthfulness Example Sentence: I had heard that Perry had been in a sour mood lately, so I was surprised and relieved to discover that he was his usual jocund self when he met me for coffee. Did you know? Don't let the etymology of "jocund" play tricks on you. The word comes from "jucundus," a Latin word meaning "agreeable" or "delightful," and ultimately from the Latin verb "juvare," meaning "to help." But "jucundus" looks and sounds a bit like "jocus," the Latin word for "joke." These two roots took a lively romp through many centuries together and along the way the lighthearted "jocus" influenced the spelling and meaning of "jucundus," an interaction that eventually produced our Modern English word "jocund" in the 14th century.
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Post by petpeeve on May 28, 2009 19:06:15 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for May 28, 2009 is: eclogue • \ECK-log\ • noun Example Sentence: "Be it in the appropriation of the goatherd or shepherd in the pastoral eclogue, or the neatly controlled terraces of the Georgics, the pastoral has always been an idyllicised representation of the rural world...." (John Kinsella, The Literary Review, January 2005) Did you know? Although the eclogue first appeared in the Idylls of the Greek poet Theocritus, it was the 10 Eclogues (or Bucolics) of the Roman poet Virgil that gave us the word "eclogue." (The Latin title "Eclogae" literally meant "selections.") The eclogue was popular in the Renaissance and through the 17th century, when less formal eclogues were written. As our example sentence suggests, the eclogue traditionally depicted rural life as free from the complexity and corruption of more citified realms. The poets of the Romantic period rebelled against the artificiality of the older pastoral, and the eclogue fell out of favor. In more modern times, though, the term "eclogue" has been applied to pastoral poems involving the conversations of people other than shepherds, often with heavy doses of irony.
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Post by petpeeve on May 29, 2009 9:33:23 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for May 29, 2009 is: malinger • \muh-LING-gur\ • verb : to pretend or exaggerate incapacity or illness (as to avoid duty or work) Example Sentence: The beautiful spring weather put Lynn in a mood to malinger, so she called in sick to work and headed to the park. Did you know? Do you know someone who always seems to develop an ailment when there's work to be done? Someone who merits an Academy Award for his or her superb simulation of symptoms? Then you know a malingerer. The verb "malinger" comes from the French word "malingre," meaning "sickly," and one who malingers feigns illness. In its earliest uses in the 19th century, "malinger" usually referred to a soldier or sailor pretending to be sick or insane to shirk duty. Later, psychologists began using "malingering" as a clinical term to describe the feigning of illness in avoidance of a duty or for personal gain. Today, "malinger" is used in just about any context in which someone fakes sickness or injury to get out of an undesirable task.
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Post by petpeeve on May 30, 2009 11:32:19 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for May 30, 2009 is: subvention • \sub-VEN-shun\ • noun 1 a : the provision of assistance or financial support: as b : endowment * c : a subsidy from a government or foundation Example Sentence: The earliest documented subvention for the museum was a grant from the federal government in 1853. Did you know? A subvention is a form of assistance, so it should come as no surprise to learn that the term "subvention" can be traced back to the Late Latin noun "subventio," meaning "assistance." "Subventio" in turn derives from Latin "subvenire," meaning "to come up" or "to come to the rescue." (Another descendant of "subvenire" in English is the more common word "souvenir.") "Subvention" also functions as a verb meaning "to provide with a subvention." The verb "subvention" is a very uncommon word, and it has an equally uncommon synonym, "subvent." The latter was likely coined by speakers unaware that the verb "subvention" already existed.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by petpeeve on May 31, 2009 7:08:18 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for May 31, 2009 is: spurious • \SPYUR-ee-us\ • adjective 1 : of illegitimate birth *2 : not genuine : false Example Sentence: Reid’s claim that his grandfather was friends with Mickey Mantle sounded spurious to me, and I didn't believe it until he showed me a photo of his grandfather alongside the legendary slugger. Did you know? The classical Latin adjective "spurius" started out as a word meaning "illegitimate." In the days of ancient Rome, it was sometimes even used as a first name for illegitimate offspring (apparently with no dire effects). There was a certain Spurius Lucretius, for example, who was made temporary magistrate of Rome. In less tolerant times, 18th-century English writer Horace Walpole noted that Henry VII "came of the spurious stock of John of Gaunt." Today, we still use "spurious" to mean "illegitimate," but the more common meaning is "false" (a sense introduced to "spurious" in Late Latin). Originally our "false" sense emphasized improper origin, and it still often does ("a spurious signature"), but it can also simply mean "fake" or "not real."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by petpeeve on Jun 1, 2009 10:12:13 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for June 01, 2009 is: tenebrous • \TEN-uh-brus\ • adjective *1 : shut off from the light : dark, murky 2 : hard to understand : obscure 3 : causing gloom Example Sentence: "A zigzag line of windows … cuts up from the base of the building, bringing light into its once-tenebrous interior." (Philip Kennicott, The Washington Post, September 28, 2008) Did you know? "Tenebrous" means "obscure" or "murky," but there's nothing unclear about its history. Etymologists know that the word derives from the Latin noun "tenebrae," which means "darkness." "Tenebrous" has been used in English since the 15th century, and in the 20th century it was joined by some interesting relations. "Tenebrionid" is the name of a nocturnal beetle that is usually dark-colored and is also called a "darkling beetle." "Tenebrism" refers to a style of painting -- associated with the Italian painter Caravaggio -- in which most of the figures are engulfed in shadow but some are dramatically illuminated by concentrated light.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by petpeeve on Jun 2, 2009 9:50:04 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for June 02, 2009 is: melee • \MAY-lay\ • noun : a confused struggle; especially : a hand-to-hand fight among several people Example Sentence: The shoppers' voices grew tense as they argued over the last Cool Sally doll, and for a moment I feared that a melee might erupt. Did you know? "Fray," "donnybrook," "brawl," "fracas": there are many English words for confused and noisy fights, and in the 17th century "melee" was thrown into the mix. It comes from the French "melee," which in turn comes from the Old French "meslee," meaning "mixture." "Meslee" comes from the Old French verb "mesler," or "medler," which means "to mix." This verb is also the source of "medley" ("a mixture or hodgepodge") and "meddle" ("to mix oneself in others' affairs" or "to interfere").
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Post by petpeeve on Jun 3, 2009 6:26:31 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for June 03, 2009 is: pompadour • \PAHM-puh-dor\ • noun 1 a : a man's style of hairdressing in which the hair is combed into a high mound in front b : a woman's style of hairdressing in which the hair is brushed into a loose full roll around the face *2 : hair dressed in a pompadour Example Sentence: The actress Katherine Hepburn is nearly as well known for her pompadour as she is for her portrayals of independent, feisty women. Did you know? The Marquise de Pompadour, mistress of the French King Louis XV, exerted much influence over French tastes in the mid-18th century. The Marquise continues to exert linguistic influence on English, and not only through the hairdos styled after her. "Pompadour" is also used (though now rarely) for a pink or crimson fabric and for a textile design of small printed or woven floral effects. It's also the name of a small South American bird that is bright reddish-purple with white wings.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Post by petpeeve on Jun 4, 2009 8:57:31 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for June 04, 2009 is: deterge • \dih-TURJ\ • verb : to wash off : to cleanse Example Sentence: In order to prevent infection, it is necessary to properly deterge and disinfect the wound. Did you know? "Deterge" is not a particularly common word in the English language. However, it is related to a word with which most of us are likely familiar: "detergent." Like "detergent," "deterge" comes (possibly by way of French "déterger") from the Latin verb "detergçre," itself from "de-" and "tergçre" ("to wipe"). "Deterge" entered the English language in the early 1600s and has primarily been used in medical contexts, such as Ambrose Cooper's 1757 recipe for Vulnerary Water: "This Water is of excellent Service in Contusions, Tumors attending Dislocation, Fractures and Mortifications, the Part affected being bathed with it. Some also use it to deterge foul Ulcers, and incarn Wounds…."
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Post by petpeeve on Jun 5, 2009 10:37:59 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for June 05, 2009 is: kibitzer • \KIB-it-ser\ • noun : one who looks on and often offers unwanted advice or comment; broadly : one who offers opinions Example Sentence: Sybil warned Jack not to take any advice from Carl, a notorious kibitzer whose suggestions often did more harm than good. Did you know? The Yiddish language has given English some particularly piquant terms over the years, and "kibitzer" (or "kibbitzer") is one such term. "Kibitzer," spelled "kibitser" in Yiddish, came to that language from the German word "kiebitzen," meaning "to look on (at cards)." "Kiebitzen" may or may not be derived from a German word for "lapwing," a type of bird noted for its shrill and raucous cry. (We can speculate that the bird’s cry reminded people of the shrill commentary of onlookers at card games.) The word became more popular and widespread after the 1929 play The Kibitzer came out. Although "kibitzer" usually implies the imparting of unwanted advice, there is a respectable body of evidence for a kibitzer as a person simply making comments.
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Post by petpeeve on Jun 6, 2009 12:27:11 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for June 06, 2009 is: higgledy-piggledy • \hig-ul-dee-PIG-ul-dee\ • adverb : in a confused, disordered, or random manner Example Sentence: Maya and Sandra looked in disbelief at the hundreds of photos of their father and mother scattered higgledy-piggledy across the floor, wondering how they were ever going to find the ideal ones for a photo collage. Did you know? We really have no idea where "higgledy-piggledy" came from, but we do know it's a perfect example of English speakers' fondness for reduplication; that is, for forming new words by repetition of a base word with just a slight change of sound. In this case, the "base" word might actually be the second term, which is loosely reminiscent of "pig" and calls to mind the possible association of pigs with disorderliness. (Nathaniel Hawthorne, at least, noted a connection: "pigs, on a march, do not subject themselves to any leader among themselves, but pass on, higgledy-piggledy, without regard to age or sex.") We also know that the word has been around since before 1600; it appeared as a translation of an Italian word in a 1598 Italian-English dictionary. According to that dictionary, the Italian term could also be translated as "pell-mell" or "helter-skelter" -- two other examples of reduplication. [
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Post by petpeeve on Jun 7, 2009 17:44:10 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for June 07, 2009 is: altruism • \AL-troo-iz-um\ • noun : unselfish interest in the welfare of others Example Sentence: Julian’s altruism is evident in the way he spends his time, including the ten hours per week that he spends volunteering at the homeless shelter. Did you know? "Altruism" refers to a quality possessed by people whose focus is on something other than themselves, and its root reveals the object of those generous tendencies. "Altruism" derives from the French word "autrui," meaning "other people." "Autrui" in turn developed from the Old French term "autre," which means "other" and which itself comes from Latin "alter," also meaning "other." That Latin source eventually caused a curious thing to happen. Under the influence of "alter," the French "autrui" gave rise to the "altrui-" of both the French "altruisme" and the English "altruism." The English term has been in use since at least the mid-1800s.
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Post by petpeeve on Jun 8, 2009 9:13:56 GMT -7
The Word of the Day for June 08, 2009 is: vignette • \vin-YET\ • noun 1 : a running ornament or design (as of vine leaves, tendrils, and grapes) on a page 2 a : a picture (as an engraving or photograph) that shades off gradually into the surrounding paper b : the pictorial part of a postage stamp 3 *a : a short descriptive literary sketch b : a brief incident or scene (as in a play or movie) Example Sentence: As a writing exercise, Jamie filled her journal with vignettes about her teachers and classmates. Did you know? "Vignette" comes from Middle French "vignete," the diminutive form of the noun "vigne," meaning "vine." In English, the word was first used in the mid-18th century for a design or illustration that ran along the blank border of a page, or one that marked the beginning or end of a chapter. Such designs got their name because they often looked like little vines. It wasn’t until the late 19th century that usage of “vignette” had shifted to cover a brief literary sketch or narrative, as we commonly see it used today.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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