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Post by petpeeve on Apr 13, 2012 10:47:55 GMT -7
April 09, 2012 Word of the Day
alleviate \uh-LEE-vee-ayt\ DEFINITION
verb
a : relieve, lessen: as b : to make (as suffering) more bearable c : to partially remove or correct EXAMPLES
Mom suggested that ibuprofen and tea would perhaps alleviate some of the misery of my cold.
"Public health officials are pushing to alleviate crowds at Boston's emergency rooms by redirecting patients without life-threatening ailments to one of the city's 25 community health centers …" — From an article by Andrew Ryan in The Boston Globe, March 6, 2012 DID YOU KNOW?
"Alleviate" derives from the past participle of Late Latin "alleviare" ("to lighten or relieve"), which in turn was formed by combining the prefix "ad-" and the adjective "levis," a Latin word meaning "light" or "having little weight." ("Levis" comes from the same ancient word that gave rise to "light" in English.) We acquired "alleviate" in the 15th century, and for the first few centuries the word could mean either "to cause (something) to have less weight" or "to make (something) more tolerable." The literal "make lighter" sense is no longer used, however, so today we have only the "relieve" sense. Incidentally, not only is "alleviate" a synonym of "relieve," it's also a cousin; "relieve" comes from "levare" ("to raise"), which in turn comes from "levis."
Read more at www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/1969/12/31#3v6y1PeefFtEFXYh.99
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Post by petpeeve on Apr 13, 2012 10:49:00 GMT -7
April 10, 2012 Word of the Day
picaresque \pik-uh-RESK\ DEFINITION
adjective
: of or relating to rogues or rascals; also : of, relating to, suggesting, or being a type of fiction dealing with the episodic adventures of a usually roguish protagonist EXAMPLES
"His specialty was the picaresque novel, which took the hero (with the reader happily perched on his shoulder) on a wild ride…." — From an article by Martin Rubin in The Washington Times, March 16, 2012
"Joey embarks on an unwitting, picaresque odyssey through this terrible 'war to end all wars,' crossing paths with a pair of young German deserters and a French teenage girl, and then doing hard time hauling cannons and supplies for the Germans."— From a review by Kevin Lally in Film Journal, December 21, 2011 DID YOU KNOW?
"Picaresque" derives from Spanish "picaresco," which means "of or relating to a picaro." The word "picaro," which also derives from Spanish, means "rogue" or "bohemian." "Picaro" describes a type of character that has long been a popular subject for fictional narrative. Typically, the picaresque novel centers around a wandering individual of low standing who happens into a series of adventures among people of various higher classes, often relying on wits and a little dishonesty to get by. The first known novel in this style is Lazarillo de Tormes (circa 1554), an irreverent work about a poor boy who works for a series of masters of dubious character. The novel has been attributed to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, but his authorship is disputable.
Read more at www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/1969/12/31#XrqUkzlLs2irf4T6.99
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Post by petpeeve on Apr 13, 2012 10:50:51 GMT -7
April 11, 2012 Word of the Day
emote \ih-MOHT\ DEFINITION
verb
: to give expression to emotion especially in acting EXAMPLES
The star of the show stood center stage, emoting and gesturing wildly.
"It's not always immediately obvious, but sometimes you fall in love with a band for the way the singers emote." — From a review by James Reed in The Boston Globe, January 24, 2012 DID YOU KNOW?
"Emote" is an example of what linguists call a back-formation — that is, a word formed by trimming down an existing word (in this case, "emotion"). From the time "emote" was coined in the early 20th century, its use has tended to be less than entirely serious. It most often appears in humorous or deprecating descriptions of the work of actors. It is similarly used to describe theatrical behavior by nonactors, as in this passage by David Fontana, published in The New Republic on March 11, 2012: "We might not want our president to emote about economics or war; but why shouldn't a fan, or for that matter a sports announcer, emote about athletics, which is not after all a matter of world historical importance?"
Read more at www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/1969/12/31#KCIGhL20e8V0e4QB.99
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Post by petpeeve on Apr 13, 2012 10:52:29 GMT -7
April 12, 2012 Word of the Day
tragus \TRAY-gus\ DEFINITION
noun
: the prominence in front of the external opening of the outer ear EXAMPLES
"The tragus, she explains, is the tough fold of cartilage that sticks out from the ear at the entrance to the ear canal." — From an article in the Irish Independent, December 5, 2011
"Siobhan … got her nose pierced as soon as she got to the State University of New York campus in Buffalo last September, and on Halloween pierced her tragus, the cartilage at the front of her ear." — From an article by Nancy Hass in The New York Times, November 6, 2005 DID YOU KNOW?
The tragus is the tongue-like projection of the outer ear. Its name comes from the Greek word "tragos," meaning "he-goat." According to hearsay, the Greek word was influenced by Peloponnesian tragedy. In this style of drama, satyrs were represented as goatlike creatures, and their prominent ears became associated with a feature of our own human ears. "Tragos" contributed to the English language in another way as well; it is also the word from which "tragedy" is derived.
Read more at www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/1969/12/31#ZYaCuK6HvARDg4E2.99
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Post by petpeeve on Apr 13, 2012 10:54:27 GMT -7
April 13, 2012 Word of the Day
querulous \KWAIR-yuh-lus\ DEFINITION
adjective
1 : habitually complaining
2 : fretful, whining EXAMPLES
“Are we there yet?” asked a querulous voice from the back seat of the car.
"In his personal affairs [Joseph] Roth is querulous here to the point of annoyance. He complains about everything: his health, his squabbles with editors, the shabby hotels where he lived, the bad translations of his work, his problems with women and, most of all, his unending financial woes, some of them self-inflicted by the penchant for drink that contributed to his early death." — From a book review by Larry Rohter in the New York Times, March 4, 2012 DID YOU KNOW?
English speakers have tagged fearful whiners "querulous" since late medieval times. The Middle English form of the word, "querelose," was an adaptation of the Latin adjective, "querulus," which in turn evolved from the Latin verb "queri," meaning "to complain." "Queri" is also an ancestor of the English words "quarrel" and "quarrelsome," but it isn't an ancestor of the noun "query" (meaning "question"). No need to complain that we're being coy; we're happy to let you know that "query" descends from the Latin verb "quaerere," meaning "to ask."
Read more at www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/1969/12/31#pBgvDg6RFORKyjOD.99
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Post by petpeeve on Apr 16, 2012 19:50:04 GMT -7
April 14, 2012 Word of the Day
derring-do \dair-ing-DOO\ DEFINITION
noun
: daring action : daring EXAMPLES
In a spectacular feat of derring-do, the stuntman leaped from the overpass and landed on top of the train as it passed below.
"It's a bit of a letdown when, near its end, the book reverts to more conventional Bond-style derring-do, as our hero struggles to recapture the warheads and save Isabella from the villains…." — From a book review by Patrick Anderson in The Washington Post, January 16, 2012 DID YOU KNOW?
"Derring-do" is a quirky holdover from Middle English that came to occupy its present place in the language by a series of mistakes and misunderstandings. In Middle English, "dorring don" meant simply "daring to do." For example, Geoffrey Chaucer used "dorring don" around 1374 when he described a knight "daring to do" brave deeds. The phrase was misprinted as "derrynge do" in a 16th-century edition of a 15th-century work by poet John Lydgate, and Edmund Spenser took it up from there, assuming it was meant as a substantive or noun phrase. (A glossary to Spenser's work defined it as "manhood and chevalrie.") Sir Walter Scott and others in the 19th century got the phrase from Spenser and brought it into modern use.
Read more at www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/1969/12/31#xQrr0DlSQ6SjSlEX.99
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Post by petpeeve on Apr 16, 2012 19:51:30 GMT -7
April 15, 2012 Word of the Day
four-flush \FOR-FLUSH\ DEFINITION
verb
: to bluff in poker holding a four flush; broadly : to make a false claim : bluff EXAMPLES
We found an old newspaper article in which a candidate promised he would never "four-flush" or mislead voters.
"Royal is a not quite legal lawyer, four-flushing his way around New York, long separated from his wife and three children…." — From a review by Stanley Kauffman in The New Republic, December 31, 2001 DID YOU KNOW?
The term "four-flush" comes to us from stud poker. In that game, a player is dealt one card face down and four cards face up, with betting taking place each time a face-up card is dealt. A four-card flush — that is, all four cards of the same suit — is worthless in poker; it takes five cards to make a flush. A player who has four cards of the same suit showing is in a good position to bluff. Pretending to hold a flush with four cards showing — ''four-flushing'' — came to be a skill among gamblers, one so common that the term spread to everyday use to describe the actions of one who makes false or dishonest claims.
Read more at www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/1969/12/31#5MdfjtZRoJFiMolL.99
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Post by petpeeve on Apr 16, 2012 19:57:36 GMT -7
April 16, 2012 Word of the Day
piquant \PEE-kunt\ DEFINITION
adjective
1 : agreeably stimulating to the palate; especially : spicy
2 : engagingly provocative; also : having a lively arch charm EXAMPLES
Reggie's piquant commentary always makes for interesting listening, though sometimes his remarks can go too far.
"Our main courses were preceded by green salads, which were bright and crisp with a suitably piquant balsamic vinegar dressing."— From a review by Irv Dean in The Daily Gazette, February 19, 2012 DID YOU KNOW?
Piquant flavors "sting" the tongue and piquant words "prick" the intellect, arousing interest. These varying senses reflect the etymology of the word "piquant," which first appeared in English in the 17th century and which derives from the Middle French verb "piquer," meaning "to sting" or "to prick." Though first used to describe foods with spicy flavors, the word is now often used to describe things that are spicy in other ways, such as engaging conversation. Have we piqued your curiosity about another "piquer" offspring? If you’ve already guessed that the verb "pique," meaning "to offend" or "to arouse by provocation," comes from "piquer," too, you’ve got a sharp mind.
Read more at www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/1969/12/31#rAtsCkByaL2rYYQ0.99
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Post by petpeeve on Apr 18, 2012 20:27:26 GMT -7
April 17, 2012 Word of the Day
nebbish \NEB-ish\ DEFINITION
noun
: a timid, meek, or ineffectual person EXAMPLES
As a teenager, Lyle was a nebbish who could never stand up to the bullies who gave him such a hard time.
"The play started off deadly dull and only picked up when Lore came on stage. He embodied the myopic, nebbish caricature…. His best moments came in Act II, when he attempted to woo Gretchen. His Robert was so bad at it that it was comical." — From a review by Kathy Greenberg in the Tampa Tribune, February 29, 2012 DID YOU KNOW?
"From what I read …. it looks like Pa isn't anything like the nebbish Ma is always making him out to be…." Sounds like poor Pa got a bum rap, at least according to a 1951 book review that appeared in The New York Times. The unfortunate Pa unwittingly demonstrates much about the etymology of "nebbish," which derives from the Yiddish "nebekh," meaning "poor" or "unfortunate." As you might expect for a timid word like "nebbish," the journey from Yiddish to English wasn't accomplished in a single bold leap of spelling and meaning. In its earliest English uses in the 1840s, it was spelled "nebbich" and used interjectionally as an expression of dismay.
Read more at www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/1969/12/31#8mM1bQ4TF7CruIF7.99
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Post by petpeeve on Apr 18, 2012 20:29:32 GMT -7
April 18, 2012 Word of the Day
bedizen \bih-DYE-zun\ DEFINITION
verb
: to dress or adorn gaudily EXAMPLES
The children entertained themselves for hours with the contents of the old trunk, donning fancy dresses and bedizening themselves with jewelry and scarves.
"Critics love to bedizen her photographs in fancy theories, but [photographer Cindy] Sherman seldom overthinks. The most impressive aspect of her work may be how economically she orchestrates her three-ring circus of effects." — From a review by Richard B. Woodward in the Wall Street Journal, March 7, 2012 DID YOU KNOW?
"Bedizen" doesn’t have the flashy history you might expect — its roots lie in the rather quiet art of spinning thread. In times past, the spinning process began with the placement of fibers (such as flax) on an implement called a "distaff"; the fibers were then drawn out from the distaff and twisted into thread. "Bedizen" descends from the older, now obsolete, verb "disen," which meant "to dress a distaff with flax" and which came to English by way of Middle Dutch. The spelling of "disen" eventually became "dizen," and its meaning expanded to cover the "dressing up" of things other than distaffs. In the mid-17th century, English speakers began using "bedizen" with the same meaning. The figurative use in our second quotation is also well-established. Such uses date to the late 18th century.
Read more at www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/1969/12/31#65oJKetAIoqGlcDw.99
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