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Post by David on Sept 7, 2022 23:51:26 GMT
A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
At one time any self-respecting Jane Austenite would be expected to know the language of flowers by heart.
Whole dictionaries were published about what flower symbolized what. They call it floriography: coded communication through the use of flowers. If you knew your floriography, you could probably skip over half of any Victorian romance novel.
In those days a “well-bred”* person was expected to know that a red rose meant love and a yellow rose friendship. A lily was a symbol of purity and innocence while mimosa, aka touch-me-not,** was of chastity. Well, F all that prudish obsession with chastity!
To me, each flower comes with the message that there’s hope for humanity. This week we’ll see five flower-related terms that are used figuratively.
Do you feel partial to some particular flower? Have a story related to flowers? Share below or email us at words@wordsmith.org.
*Not sure what today’s well-bred person is supposed to know. The language of emojis?
roseate PRONUNCIATION: (ROH-zee-uht/ayt)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Like a rose, especially in color: pink, red, etc. 2. Bright; favorable; promising. 3. Unreasonably optimistic.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin roseus (rosy), from rosa (rose), from Greek rhodon (rose). Earliest documented use: 1449. Also see rose-colored.
USAGE: “This roseate future isn’t pending, which causes one to despair.” Randy Boyagoda, Magic and Greed: Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s New Novel; Harper’s Magazine (New York); Sep 2006.
See more usage examples of roseate in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.
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Post by David on Sept 7, 2022 23:52:00 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The more original a discovery, the more obvious it seems afterward.
-Arthur Koestler, novelist and journalist (5 Sep 1905-1983) |
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Post by David on Sept 11, 2022 3:53:30 GMT
A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
At one time any self-respecting Jane Austenite would be expected to know the language of flowers by heart.
Whole dictionaries were published about what flower symbolized what. They call it floriography: coded communication through the use of flowers. If you knew your floriography, you could probably skip over half of any Victorian romance novel.
In those days a “well-bred”* person was expected to know that a red rose meant love and a yellow rose friendship. A lily was a symbol of purity and innocence while mimosa, aka touch-me-not,** was of chastity. Well, F all that prudish obsession with chastity!
To me, each flower comes with the message that there’s hope for humanity. This week we’ll see five flower-related terms that are used figuratively.
Do you feel partial to some particular flower? Have a story related to flowers? Share below or email us at words@wordsmith.org.
*Not sure what today’s well-bred person is supposed to know. The language of emojis? **Mimosa pudica, to be more precise
roseate PRONUNCIATION: (ROH-zee-uht/ayt)
MEANING: adjective: 1. Like a rose, especially in color: pink, red, etc. 2. Bright; favorable; promising. 3. Unreasonably optimistic.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin roseus (rosy), from rosa (rose), from Greek rhodon (rose). Earliest documented use: 1449. Also see rose-colored.
USAGE: “This roseate future isn’t pending, which causes one to despair.” Randy Boyagoda, Magic and Greed: Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s New Novel; Harper’s Magazine (New York); Sep 2006.
See more usage examples of roseate in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary. |
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Post by David on Sept 11, 2022 3:54:29 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The more original a discovery, the more obvious it seems afterward.
-Arthur Koestler, novelist and journalist (5 Sep 1905-1983)
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Post by David on Sept 11, 2022 3:58:40 GMT
daisy-chain PRONUNCIATION: (DAY-zee chayn)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To connect in a sequence, especially in a way such that one element latches on to the next (instead of being connected by another medium, such as a piece of thread). noun: An interlinked sequence of things, events, people, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From allusion to a string of daisies tied together in a garland. From daisy, from Old English dæges éage (day’s eye, referring to the flower closing at night) + chain, from Old French chaine, from Latin catena. Earliest documented use: 1841.
USAGE: “In the somber scene orderlies guide British Tommies blinded by mustard gas ... Daisy-chained like young schoolboys, the helpless soldiers shuffle along a duckboard through a tangle of similarly wounded men as planes dogfight overhead and oblivious footballers hold a match in the far distance.” Museum Showcases Sargent’s Iconic WWI Painting Gassed; Military History (Herndon, Virginia); Jul 2018.
“Life is one long daisy chain of surprises, isn’t it?” Michael J.A. Speyer; The Chronicles of Samuel Sassodoro, Book Two; Lulu; 2007.
See more usage examples of daisy-chain in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.
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Post by David on Sept 11, 2022 3:59:28 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.
-Robert M. Pirsig, author and philosopher (6 Sep 1928-2017) |
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Post by David on Sept 11, 2022 4:00:51 GMT
orchidacity PRONUNCIATION: (or-ki-DAS-i-tee)
MEANING: noun: Showiness.
ETYMOLOGY: From the large and showy flowers in the orchid family. From Latin orchis (orchid), from Greek orkhis (testicle, orchid, from the shape of its tubers). Earliest documented use: 1897. A related word is orchidaceous.
USAGE: “Where orchidacity is the fashion homespun leaves one unsatisfied.” James Agate; Ego 9; Harrap; 1948.
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Post by David on Sept 11, 2022 4:01:41 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it.
-Edith Sitwell, poet (7 Sep 1887-1964) |
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Post by David on Sept 11, 2022 4:02:53 GMT
tall poppy PRONUNCIATION: (TAWL pop-ee)
MEANING: noun: Someone conspicuously successful, especially one likely to attract hostility.
ETYMOLOGY: From tall, from Old English getæl (quick, prompt) + poppy, from Old English popæg/popig. Earliest documented use: 1858.
NOTES: The word poppy has been used for a prominent person for a long time. The earliest example in the OED is from a 1641, a use by John Milton. Making it “tall poppy” is just a little inflation (or elongation).
The story goes that Sextus, the son of the Roman king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (6th c. BCE), sent a messenger to ask his father for advice on how to control the city of Gabii. Superbus didn’t say anything but chopped off the heads of the tallest poppies in his garden. The messenger told what he saw and the son got the message. He killed the most prominent people in Gabii and overpowered the city.
Tall poppy syndrome is the tendency to cut someone down to size, someone who is successful, rich, or prominent. The expression is popular in Australia and New Zealand. A similar expression is that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. What do you call a person who is too big for their boots in your language or culture? Share on our website or email us at words@wordsmith.org.
USAGE: “It remains a national pastime to scan the landscape for tall poppies, ensuring none of us get above ourselves.” Scanning for Poppies; Toronto Star (Canada); Jul 28, 2017.
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Post by David on Sept 11, 2022 4:03:36 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
If more politicians in this country were thinking about the next generation instead of the next election, it might be better for the United States and the world.
-Claude Pepper, senator and representative (8 Sep 1900-1989) |
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Post by David on Sept 11, 2022 4:04:39 GMT
wallflower PRONUNCIATION: (WAL-flou-uhr)
MEANING: noun 1. Someone who does not mingle at a social event, such as a party, dance, etc. 2. A person or an organization that is forced to stay at the sidelines of some activity.
ETYMOLOGY: From wall, from Old English weall, from Latin vallum (rampart), from vallus (stake) + flower, from Old French flor (flower, flour, the best of anything). Earliest documented use: 1578.
USAGE: “Virgin has been like a wallflower at a wedding reception, watching everyone else pair off.” Always the Bridesmaid: Virgin Atlantic; The Economist (London, UK); Sep 15, 2012.
See more usage examples of wallflower in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary. |
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Post by David on Sept 11, 2022 4:05:38 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The epitaph that I would write for history would say:
I conceal nothing. It is not enough not to lie.
One should strive not to lie in a negative sense by remaining silent.
-Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (9 Sep 1828-1910) |
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Post by David on Sept 22, 2022 15:08:44 GMT
A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
Godzilla, the fictional monster from the eponymous film not only entertained us, but also gave a picturesque word to the English language. Even more, he has given us a handy combining form -zilla. Need to turn anything into a monster? Just add -zilla.
Bridezilla may be the best-known derivation from -zilla, but all kinds of inventive terms have been found in the wild: bosszilla, momzilla, and even groomzilla.
This week we’ll see five terms that are made by similar combining forms.
What are combining forms? Think of them as Lego bricks of language. As the term indicates, a combining form is a linguistic atom that occurs only in combination with some other form which could be a word, another combining form, a prefix, or a suffix. Unlike a combining form, an affix can’t attach to another affix.
Here are the rest of the combining forms we are going to be using this week, though not necessarily in this order: oro- (mountain), auto- (self), zoo- (animal), allotrio- (foreign) -phagy (eating), -anthropy (human), -graphy (writing, study), -latry (worship)
bridezilla PRONUNCIATION: (bryd-ZIL-uh)
MEANING: noun: A woman who is overbearing and obnoxious in planning her wedding.
ETYMOLOGY: A blend of bride + Godzilla, a fictional monster. Earliest documented use: 1995.
USAGE: “She was a bit of a bridezilla herself. At her wedding, Katie changed the bridesmaid dresses at the last minute and put us in ones that we all hated.” Georgina Lawton; You Be the Judge; The Guardian (London, UK); Jul 22, 2022.
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Post by David on Sept 22, 2022 15:09:35 GMT
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
We all have our time machines...
Some take us back, they're called memories.
Some take us forward, they're called dreams.
-Jeremy Irons, actor (b. 19 Sep 1948)
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Post by David on Sept 22, 2022 15:36:01 GMT
autolatry
PRONUNCIATION:
(aw-TOL-uh-tree)
MEANING:
noun: Self-worship.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek auto- (self) + -latry (worship). Earliest documented use: 1861.
USAGE:
“It was not, she dreaded to surmise, the shadow of men merely drunk on vanity ... only as a result of deranged and maniac autolatry could such a construct have been born.”
Chase A Folmar; Frolic on the Amaranthyn; Sable Star Press; 2022.
See more usage examples of autolatry in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.
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