A Word A Day... Quotes and Other stuff...

superbious

PRONUNCIATION:

(su-PUHR-bee-uhs)



MEANING:

adjective: Proud; insolent.



ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin superbiosus (proud or insolent), from superbia (pride), from superbus (superb, proud). Earliest documented use: 1509.



USAGE:

“I find myself a superbious match,

That, of course, being me.

I made my mind up long ago:

I am what is best for me and all those with me.

Nobody else, just me.”

Cameron Mcnaughton; Imaginings; AuthorHouse; 2019.

hoary

PRONUNCIATION:

(HOHR-ee)



MEANING:

adjective:

1. Gray or white, as from age.

2. Ancient.

3. Trite.



ETYMOLOGY:

From hoar (frost), from Old English har. Earliest documented use: 1530.



USAGE:

“They are a cool blend of youth and experience, with a couple of hoary veterans to keep the kids from spinning into space.”

Brad Rock; Jazz Dreaming of a Blazing Future; Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah); Dec 9, 2013.



See more usage examples of hoary in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

precocious

PRONUNCIATION:

(pri-KOH-shuhs)



MEANING:

adjective: Exhibiting advanced development at an early age.



ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin praecox (premature, early ripening), from praecoquere (to ripen early), from prae- (pre) + coquere (to cook or ripen).
Ultimately from the Indo-European root pekw- (to cook or ripen), which is also the source of cook, cuisine, kitchen, kiln, biscuit,
apricot (an early-ripening peach, literally speaking), pumpkin, and Hindi pakka (ripened, cooked). Earliest documented use: 1650.



USAGE:

“In 1971 a precocious German academic -- at 32 years old, the holder of five degrees in engineering and economics -- hosted a conference.”

A Tour of the Magic Mountain; The Economist (London, UK); Jan 18, 2020.



See more usage examples of precocious in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg



Rivers were the lifeblood of early human settlements and it’s not surprising that we have been getting inspiration from them ever since.



Bertrand Russell once said, “An individual human existence should be like a river: small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past rocks and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being.”



Civilization started along rivers. Rivers are also derivers* of this week’s words. The five words we feature are based on the names of rivers around the world. We’ll start in Turkey, take a scamandering path through Scotland, Australia, the US, and end up back in Turkey.



*To derive is to, literally, flow from; from Latin de- (from) + rivus (stream). Rivus also gave us rival (literally, one who uses the same stream), but not river, which is from Latin ripa (bank, shore).


Pactolian

PRONUNCIATION:

(pak-TOH-lee-uhn)



MEANING:

adjective: Golden; lavish.



ETYMOLOGY:

After Pactolus (now called Sart Çayı), a river in ancient Lydia (in modern Turkey), known for its golden sands. Earliest documented use: 1586.



NOTES:

According to the legend, King Midas bathed in the river Pactolus to get rid of his golden touch, really a golden curse.
Midas’s story has given us such terms as Midas touch and Midas-eared. It was this golden sand that supposedly made Croesus rich.



USAGE:

“Governmental support of science was not yet Pactolian, but the well-connected Pasteur never had to stop research for lack of funds.”

H.W. Paul; Science, Vine, and Wine in Modern France; Cambridge University Press; 1996.

Jedburgh justice

PRONUNCIATION:

(JED-buh-ruh juhs-tis)



MEANING:

noun: Punishment before trial.



ETYMOLOGY:

After Jedburgh, a town in Scotland, where in the 17th century people were summarily executed.
The town lies on the Jed Water river. Earliest documented use: 1698.



NOTES:

Jedburgh justice, also known as Jedwood justice or Jeddart justice, is, in essence: Hang now, ask questions later.
The term is coined after Jedburgh, a town near Edinburgh, where under the orders of King James VI and I, people were executed without trial. See also: lynch.



USAGE:

“A Black defendant is presumed guilty and he or she has a legal duty to prove his or her innocence beyond a shadow of a doubt.
There are still no guarantees, however. This is Jedburgh justice.”

Alton H Maddox, Jr.; FDR’s “Raw Deal and Blacks”; New York Amsterdam News; Jun 14, 2007.

Derwenter

PRONUNCIATION:

(DUHR-wuhnt-uhr)



MEANING:

noun: An ex-convict.



ETYMOLOGY:

After Derwent, a river in Tasmania. There used to be a convict settlement on its banks. Earliest documented use: 1853.



USAGE:

“A visitor to the tent of a pair of newlyweds at Forest Creek found the digger’s wife ...
barely sober enough to utter these memorable words, ‘I’m a Derwenter, and I don’t care who knows it.’”

Robyn Annear; Nothing But Gold; Text Publishing; 1999.