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Post by David on Nov 10, 2020 17:09:54 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished.
-Friedrich Schiller, poet, philosopher, physician, historian, and playwright (10 Nov 1759-1805)
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Post by David on Nov 13, 2020 15:08:38 GMT
caesious
PRONUNCIATION:
(SEE-zee-uhs)
MEANING:
adjective: Bluish or grayish green.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin caesius, probably from caelum (sky). Earliest documented use: 1835.
USAGE:
“Leaves [are] medium green on upper surface, caesious beneath.”
Peter Sell and Gina Murrell; Flora of Great Britain and Ireland; Cambridge University Press; 2006.
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Post by David on Nov 13, 2020 15:09:11 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Patience is also a form of action.
-Auguste Rodin, sculptor (12 Nov 1840-1917)
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Post by David on Nov 13, 2020 15:10:07 GMT
annelidous
PRONUNCIATION:
(uh-NEL-uh-duhs)
MEANING:
adjective: Of or relating to worms.
ETYMOLOGY:
From French anneler (to ring), from Latin anellus, diminutive of anus (ring). Earliest documented use: 1835.
USAGE:
“The mud in many places was thrown up by numbers of some kind of worm, or annelidous animal.”
Charles Darwin; Voyage of the Beagle; 1839.
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Post by David on Nov 13, 2020 15:10:57 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
It is perhaps a more fortunate destiny
to have a taste for collecting shells than to be born a millionaire.
-Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist, essayist, and poet (13 Nov 1850-1894)
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Post by David on Nov 13, 2020 16:04:10 GMT
Anu Garg on words
“Overall, the universe’s apostrophe store stays in balance.
It seems our linguistic world was intelligently designed...
for every gratuitous apostrophe there’s an instance where it’s omitted.”
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Post by David on Nov 19, 2020 18:19:54 GMT
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg
As a cushion is for the hip, what is for the elbow? Well, a little etymological dissection is in order to understand the anatomy of these linguistic parts.
The word cushion is from Latin coxa (hip, thigh), because that’s what a cushion was meant for. As it turned out Romans had an elbow cushion as well,
which they called cubital, from Latin cubitus (elbow). That’s where we got the word cubit, the unit of length equal to the length of the forearm.
These body parts have a way of showing up where you’d least expect them. This week we’ll see five words that owe their origins to the body, some obvious, others not.
gambit
PRONUNCIATION:
(GAM-bit)
MEANING:
noun:
1. An opening in which a minor piece is sacrificed to obtain a strategic advantage.
2. A manoeuvre used to secure an advantage.
3. A remark used to open or redirect a conversation.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Spanish gambito, from Italian gambetto (the act of tripping someone), from gamba (leg). Earliest documented use: 1656.
USAGE:
“This was a risky gambit for both cola rivals. But it paid off.”
Fire-Starter; The Economist (London, UK); Sep 26, 2020.
See more usage examples of gambit in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.
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Post by David on Nov 19, 2020 18:20:28 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
It has always seemed to me that the test of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.
-Chinua Achebe, writer and professor (16 Nov 1930-2013)
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Post by David on Nov 19, 2020 18:21:43 GMT
propugnaculum
PRONUNCIATION:
(praw-puhg-NAK-yuh-luhm)
MEANING:
noun: A fortress; defense; protection.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin propugnaculum (bulwark), from propugnare (to fight in defense of something), from pro- (toward) + pugnare (to fight), from pugnus (fist).
Ultimately from the Indo-European root peuk- (to prick), which is also the source of point, puncture, pungent, punctual, poignant, pounce, poniard, oppugn,
repugn, impugn, pugnacious, pugilist, and repugnant. Earliest documented use: 1773.
USAGE:
“Something rather paradoxical has been happening to this Self, this base camp of behaviourism, this propugnaculum of steadfastness, this command post of the soul.”
Philip Mirowski; Machine Dreams; Cambridge University Press; 2002.
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Post by David on Nov 19, 2020 18:22:19 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Through others, we become ourselves.
-Lev Vygotsky, psychologist (17 Nov 1896-1934)
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Post by David on Nov 19, 2020 18:23:31 GMT
consanguineous
PRONUNCIATION:
(kon-sang-GWIN-ee-uhs)
MEANING:
adjective: Related by blood; having a common ancestor.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin consanguineous, from con- (with) + sanguineous (bloody), from sanguis (blood). Earliest documented use: 1616.
USAGE:
“Europe’s royalty is also known for historic inter-familial relationships. Records show that the Spanish Habsburg kings frequently
engaged in consanguineous marriage. Nine of the 11 marriages that occurred over the dynasty’s 200-year reign were consanguineous,
with two uncle-niece marriages and one first-cousin marriage.”
Lianne Kolirin; King Tut Wasn’t the Only One Keeping it in the Family; Express (London, UK); Oct 20, 2014.
See more usage examples of consanguineous in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.
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Post by David on Nov 19, 2020 18:24:12 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
One cannot hire a hand; the whole man always comes with it.
-Peter Drucker, management consultant, professor, and writer (19 Nov 1909-2005)
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Post by David on Nov 19, 2020 18:25:51 GMT
flatfooted
PRONUNCIATION:
(flat-FOOT-id)
MEANING:
adjective:
1. Clumsy; unimaginative; uninspired.
2. Forthright.
3. Unprepared.
4. Uncompromising.
5. Having the arch of the foot flattened so the entire sole touches the ground.
ETYMOLOGY:
From flat, from Old Norse flatr + foot, from Old English fot. Earliest documented use: 1601. (A flatfoot is not necessarily flatfooted.)
USAGE:
“I pick up a book, sigh over its flawed reasoning and flat-footed writing.”
James C. Howell; The Beauty of the Word; Westminster John Knox Press; 2011.
“I want to come out flatfooted and ask you boys to OK the proposition of a Symphony Orchestra for Zenith.”
Sinclair Lewis; Babbitt; Harcourt, Brace & Co.; 1922.
“The dog, caught flatfooted by his master’s sudden move, was forced to run to catch up.”
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman; The Hand of Chaos; Bantam Books; 1993.
“Litvinoff’s life was defined by a delight in the weight of the real; his friend’s by a rejection of reality, with its army of flat-footed facts.”
Nicole Krauss; The History of Love; Norton; 2006.
“Look at these boot prints, amigo. They turn in at the heel, worn down on the inside. This man is flat footed, that’s the way he walks.”
Edna Evans; Gypsy Fires; Writers Club Press; 2001.
See more usage examples of flatfooted in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.
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Post by David on Nov 19, 2020 18:26:35 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Anger is a great force. If you control it,
it can be transmuted into a power which can move the whole world.
-William Shenstone, poet (18 Nov 1714-1763)
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Post by David on Nov 19, 2020 18:27:58 GMT
consanguineous
PRONUNCIATION:
(kon-sang-GWIN-ee-uhs)
MEANING:
adjective: Related by blood; having a common ancestor.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin consanguineus, from con- (with) + sanguineus (bloody), from sanguis (blood). Earliest documented use: 1616.
USAGE:
“Europe’s royalty is also known for historic inter-familial relationships. Records show that the Spanish Habsburg kings
frequently engaged in consanguineous marriage.
Nine of the 11 marriages that occurred over the dynasty’s 200-year reign were consanguineous,
with two uncle-niece marriages and one first-cousin marriage.”
Lianne Kolirin; King Tut Wasn’t the Only One Keeping it in the Family; Express (London, UK); Oct 20, 2014.
See more usage examples of consanguineous in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.
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