Word of the Day - Dictionary.com

[Pah]

Word of the Day for Saturday July 24, 2004

sciolism \SY-uh-liz-uhm\, noun:
Superficial knowledge; a superficial show of learning.

Religion was mostly superstition, science for the most part sciolism, popular education merely a means of forcing the stupid and repressing the bright, so that all the youth of the rising generation might conform to the same dull, dead level of democratic mediocrity.
--Charles Waddell Chesnut, Conjure Tales and Stories of the Color Line

American classics teachers' choice in the early national period to focus on gammer rather than other aspects of the classical inheritance resulted from their primary pedagogical goals: to mold gentlemen who navigated between sciolism and pedantry, ministers who could intelligently read the Bible, and citizens who were moral and dutiful.
--Caroline Winterer, The Culture of Classicism

 

[Pah]

Word of the Day for Sunday July 25, 2004
beau ideal \boh-ay-DEEL\, noun;
plural beau ideals:
A perfect or an idealized type or model.

Their commentaries inspired generations of schoolboys to pen compositions in praise of the Spartan lad who flinched not as the fox gnawed his vitals, and shaped the American beau ideal of the "strong silent type."
--Florence King, "Oh, Sparta!" National Review, September 12, 1994

To the populace, of course, Hindenburg remains the national hero and beau ideal; nay, almost the national Messiah.
--H.L. Mencken, "Ludendorff," The Atlantic, June 1917

 

[Pah]

Word of the Day for Monday July 26, 2004

incarnadine \in-KAR-nuh-dyn\, adjective:
1. Having a fleshy pink color.
2. Red; blood-red.

transitive verb:
To make red or crimson.

Captain Dobo opened the castle's wine cellars and broke open the casks for his men, who greeted the sultan's soldiers without first politely wiping the incarnadine wine from their blood-red lips and bearded chins.
--Kevin Keating, "Kilroy Was Here!" International Travel News, October 1, 2001

The more he scrubbed it, the more it bled.
It made the seas incarnadine, he said.
--Judy Driscoll, "Biddy takes pink gin to the country dance," Hecate, May 1, 1993

In a night of rain, the ruddy reflections of their lights incarnadine the clouds till the entire city appears to be the prey of a monster conflagration.
--Alvan F. Sanborn, "New York After Paris," The Atlantic, October 1906

Will all great NeptuneÕs ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.
--Shakespeare, Macbeth


from Italian incarnatino, which came from the Latin incarnato, something incarnate, made flesh, from in + caro, carn-, "flesh." It is related to carnation, etymologically the flesh-colored flower; incarnate, "in the flesh; made flesh"; and carnal, "pertaining to the body or its appetites."

 

[Pah]

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day


The Word of the Day for July 26 is:

magniloquent • \mag-NIL-uh-kwunt\ • adjective
: speaking in or characterized by a high-flown often bombastic style or manner

Example sentence:
Poet Edward Weismiller told The Baltimore Sun (April 10, 2004) that his former tendency to be magniloquent "was stamped out" of him by his mentor John Berryman.

Did you know?
"Magnus" means "great" in Latin; "loqui" is a Latin verb meaning "to speak." Combine the two and you get "magniloquus," the Latin predecessor of "magniloquent." English speakers started using "magniloquent" for the bombastic in the 1600s—even though we’d had its synonym "grandiloquent" since the 1500s. ("Grandiloquent" comes from Latin "grandiloquus," which combines "loqui" and "grandis," another word for "great" in Latin.) Today, these synonyms continue to exist side by side and to be used interchangeably, though "grandiloquent" is the more common of the two.

 

[Pah]

Word of the Day for Tuesday July 27, 2004

roborant \ROB-uh-ruhnt\, adjective:
Strengthening; restoring vigor.
adjective:
A strengthening medicine; a tonic; a restorative.

A major field study of the effect of pollen extracts on the common cold and its roborant . . . effects in 775 Swedish military recruits did not give unequivocal results in relation to the prophylactic effect of the preparation used against the common cold.
--James P. Carter, Racketeering in Medicine

That day, I felt the need of a roborant after my ghost-ridden night, and I swigged down two doses.
--William Least Heat Moon, River Horse

 

[Pah]

The Word of the Day for July 27 is:

causerie • \koh-zuh-REE\ • noun
*1: an informal conversation : chat
2: a short informal essay

Example sentence:
After the table was cleared and coffee was served, the dinner guests rose and continued their causerie in the other room.

Did you know?
"Causerie" first appeared in English in the early 19th century, and it can be traced back to the French "causer" ("to chat") and ultimately to the Latin "causa" ("cause, reason"). The word was originally used to refer to a friendly or informal conversation. Then, in 1849, the author and critic Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve began publishing a weekly column devoted to literary topics in the French newspaper Le Constitutionnel. These critical essays were called "Causeries du lundi" ("Monday chats") and were later collected into a series of books of the same name. After that, the word "causerie" acquired a second sense in English, referring to a brief, informal article or essay.

 

[Pah]

Word of the Day for Wednesday July 28, 2004

aerie or eyrie \EYE-ree\, noun:
1. The bird's nest built on a lofty place, such as a cliff or mountaintop.
2. A dwelling or stronghold located in a lofty place.

The sun is beating down on the Braes of Balquhidder, at the fringes of the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, as three of us, each trying to ignore a halo of midges, are peering through binoculars, surveying a cleft in a rock face where an untidy rickle of twigs indicates a golden eagle's eyrie.
--Jim Gilchrist, "End of a golden age?" The Scotsman, August 18, 2001

Saunière regaled them with sumptuous banquets and other forms of largess, maintaining the life-style of a medieval potentate presiding over an impregnable mountain domain. In his remote and well-nigh inaccessible aerie he received a number of notable guests.
--Michael Baigent, Holy Blood, Holy Grail

We could not afford a nicer house and all those luxuries besides; he did elaborate sums on the backs of envelopes to regretfully prove it -- and then would climb back happily to the little eyrie he'd made for himself in the attic, where he would lie on his bed listening to obscure continental stations on his radio, smoking his pipe.
--Angela Carter, Shaking a Leg

 

[Pah]

ord of the Day for Thursday July 29, 2004

ensorcell or ensorcel \en-SOR-suhl\, transitive verb:
To enchant; to bewitch.

Had she tried to ensorcell him with a charm spell?
--Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb, Finder's Bane

That was a very serious accusation to make, and Gruffydd realized he'd gone too far; he had no proof whatsoever that Joanna had ever used the Black Arts to ensorcell his father.
--Here be Dragons Sharon Kay Penman

I have been a journalist too long to be ensorcelled by conspiracy theories.
--Nat Hentoff, Speaking Freely

 

[Runt]

I really like this thread. Good idea, Pah!

 

[Pah]

The Word of the Day for July 29 is:

incumbent • \in-KUM-bunt\ • noun
1 : the holder of an office or ecclesiastical benefice
*2 : one that occupies a particular position or place

Example sentence:
The two-term incumbent has already raised almost a million dollars for the upcoming congressional race.

Did you know?
When "incumbent" was first used in English in the 15th century, it referred to someone who occupied a "benefice," or a paid religious position. This was often a lifetime appointment; the person could only be forced to leave the office in the case of certain specific legal conflicts. In the mid-17th century, "incumbent" came to refer to anyone holding any office, including elected positions. These days, in the American political system, "incumbent" generally refers to someone who is the current holder of a position during an election to fill that position. "Incumbent" came to English through Anglo-French, and derives from the Latin "incumbere," meaning "to lie down on."

 

[Pah]

Word of the Day for Friday July 30, 2004

lapidary \LAP-uh-dair-ee\, adjective:
1. Of or pertaining to the art of cutting stones or engraving on them.
2. Engraved in stone.
3. Of or pertaining to the refined or terse style associated with inscriptions on monumental stone.

noun:
1. One who cuts, polishes, and engraves precious stones.
2. A dealer in precious stones.

Here, disgusted by venality and intrigue, the retired courtier would come to compose lapidary maxims and wise but sympathetic letters to ardent youth.
--Michael Foley, Getting Used to Not Being Remarkable

If I asked how long it took to simmer the meat sauce, Emilia would answer with a grumble and her usual lapidary phrase: "Quanto basta. As long as it takes."
--Patrizia Chen, Rosemary and Bitter Oranges

The settings for Jim Crace's fiction are always evoked with superb, lapidary precision.
--Caroline Moore, "The timid Don Juan," Sunday Telegraph, August 31, 2003

Nor is he dismissive of the benefits of modern technology; but a constant theme, like a mounting basso continuo in his story, is the destructive modern emergence of "the cult of the quantitative method known as scientism, physicalism, and reductionism," leading to what C. S. Lewis called in a lapidary phrase "the abolition of man."
--M. D. Aeschliman, "Faithful Reason," National Review, September 16, 2002

These writers have long and eloquently regretted the latter's lapsed reputation and the unavailability (until now) of his work, pointing to his plain, unobtrusive prose and to his bleak take on life (traits that can be traced, in their view, to Hemingway's lapidary sentences and to his Lost Generation pessimism).
--Lee Siegel, "The Easter Parade," Harper's Magazine, July 2001


P.S. I used to do this as a hobby - definition #1, that is.

-pah-

 

[Pah]

mawkish • \MAW-kish\ • adjective
1 : having an insipid often unpleasant taste
*2 : sickly or puerilely sentimental

Example sentence:
Jessica was surprised to hear her friends rave about the new romantic comedy, for she had felt it was mawkish and predictable.

Did you know?
The etymology of "mawkish" really opens up a can of worms—or, more properly, maggots. The "mawk" of "mawkish" derives from the Middle English "mawke," which means "maggot." "Mawke," in its turn, developed from the Old Norse word "mathkr," which had the same meaning as its descendant. Although "mawkish" literally means "maggoty," since at least the 17th century English speakers have eschewed its decaying carcass implications and used it figuratively instead. As one language writer put it, "Time has treated 'mawkish' gently: the wormy stench and corruption of its primal state were forgotten and 'mawkish' became sickly in a weak sort of way instead of repulsive and revolting."

 

[Pah]

Word of the Day for Saturday July 31, 2004

megrim \MEE-grim\, noun:
1. A migraine.
2. A fancy; a whim.
3. In the plural: lowness of spirits -- often with 'the'.

That might justify her, fairly enough, in being kept away from meeting now and again by headaches, or undefined megrims.
--Harold Frederic, The Damnation of Theron Ware

Tonight, by some megrim of the scheduler, I have the honor of working with the departmental chairman, Dr. B.
--Pamela Grim, Just Here Trying to Save a Few Lives

They do say it's always darkest before the dawn, she thought. I reckon this is proof of it. I've got the megrims, that's all.
--Stephens Mitchell, Scarlett

Kate had learned a long time ago that the best way to deal with Effie's megrims was to maintain an attitude of determined cheerfulness.
--Susan Carroll, Midnight Bride

 

[Pah]

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

The Word of the Day for July 31 is:

poignant • \POY-nyunt\ • adjective
1 : pungently pervasive
2 a (1) painfully affecting the feelings : piercing *(2) deeply affecting : touching b : designed to make an impression : cutting
3 a : pleasurably stimulating b : being to the point : apt

Example sentence:
During the poignant scene in the movie where the long-lost lovers were reunited, sniffles could be heard throughout the theater.

Did you know?
"Poignant" comes to us from Anglo-French, and before that from Latin—specifically, the Latin verb "pungere," meaning "to prick or sting." Several other common English words derive from "pungere," including "pungent," which can refer to, among other things, a "sharp" odor. The influence of "pungere" can also be seen in "puncture," as well as "punctual," which originally meant simply "of or relating to a point." Even "compunction" and "expunge" come from this pointedly relevant Latin word.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

 

[Pah]

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day



The Word of the Day for August 1 is:

cajole • \kuh-JOAL\ • verb
*1 : to persuade with flattery or gentle urging especially in the face of reluctance : coax
2 : to deceive with soothing words or false promises

Example sentence:
Peter's friends cajoled him into coming to the party even though he was not in the mood to go.

Did you know?
You might not think to associate "cajole" with "cage," but it's likely that these two words are connected. Researchers have made an association between the prattle of a caged bird and the persistent wheedling of a person attempting to get something out of someone else. "Cajole" comes from a French verb, "cajoler," which now means "coax" but at one time meant "to chatter like a jay." Some etymologists theorize that "cajoler" is from "gaiole," an Old North French word meaning "birdcage" and ancestor to our word "jail." "Gaiole" derives from a Late Latin word, "caveola," which means "little cage" and is the diminutive of the Latin "cavea" ("cage" or "cavity"). Our word "cage" derives from this noun, and "cave" is a close relative.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

 

[Pah]

Word of the Day for Sunday August 1, 2004

apotheosis \uh-pah-thee-OH-sis; ap-uh-THEE-uh-sis\, noun
plural apotheoses \-seez\:
1. Elevation to divine rank or stature; deification.
2. An exalted or glorified example; a model of excellence or perfection of a kind.

Following martyrdom at the Alamo and apotheosis in song, tall tale, and celluloid myth, this bumpkin from west Tennessee [Davy Crockett] became better known and more revered than all but a handful of American presidents.
--Mark Royden Winchell, Cleanth Brooks and the Rise of Modern Criticism

Plato's Athens, conventionally the apotheosis of civilized Western urbanity, endured Diogenes the Cynic, who (according to tradition) dwelt in contented filth under an overturned bathtub outside the city gates, heaping ribald scorn on philosophers and citizens alike.
--Mark Caldwell, A Short History of Rudeness

Charles I's court represented the English apotheosis of this Renaissance ideal of kingship.
--John Brewer, The Pleasures of the Imagination

 

[Pah]

Word of the Day for Monday August 2, 2004

fructuous \FRUHK-choo-uhs\, adjective:
Fruitful; productive.

It had by now reached much beyond even that status to appear in our minds as a place sentient, actively helping these once forlorn and homeless sailors, presenting us with fructuous soil to grow our food, bountifully adding its own edible offerings, its waters supplying us with an abundance of fish.
--William Brinkley, Last Ship

Theory does not provide us worthy marching orders for a fructuous future, for theory in itself tells us nothing about how and when it is applicable.
--Sheila McNamee and Kenneth J. Gergen, Relational Responsibility

 

[Pah]

The Word of the Day for August 2 is:

hebetude • \HEB-uh-tood ("oo" as in "food")\ • noun
: lethargy, dullness

Example sentence:
As the professor droned on and on in the overheated lecture hall, Kim was overcome with such hebetude that she had to fight to keep her eyes open.

Did you know?
The dullness of "hebetude" tends to lean toward mental dullness, often marked by laziness or torpor. As such, it was a good word for one Queenslander correspondent, who wrote in a letter to the editor of the Weekend Australian of "an epidemic of hebetude among young people who . . . are placing too great a reliance on electronic devices to do their thinking and remembering." "Hebetude" comes from Late Latin "hebetudo," which means pretty much the same thing as our word. It is also closely related to the Latin word for "dull"—"hebes," which has extended meanings such as "obtuse," "doltish," and "stupid." Other "hebe-" words in English include "hebetudinous" ("marked by hebetude") and "hebetate" ("to make dull").

 

[Pah]

The Word of the Day for August 3 is:

imperturbable • \im-per-TER-buh-bul\ • adjective
: marked by extreme calm, impassivity, and steadiness : serene

Example sentence:
As an emergency medical technician, Carol was expected to remain imperturbable even under the most chaotic and demanding of circumstances.

Did you know?
There is an interesting time lag between the appearance of "imperturbable" and its antonym, "perturbable." Although "imperturbable" is known to have existed since the middle of the 15th century, "perturbable" didn't show up in written English until 1800. The verb "perturb" (meaning "to disquiet" or "to throw into confusion") predates both "imperturbable" and "perturbable"; it has been part of English since the 14th century. All three words derive from the Latin "perturbare," also meaning "to throw into confusion," which in turn comes from the combination of "per-" and "turbare," which means "to disturb." Other relatives of "imperturbable" include "disturb" and "turbid."

 

[Pah]

Word of the Day for Tuesday August 3, 2004

providential \prov-uh-DEN(T)-shuhl\, adjective:
1. Of or resulting from divine direction or superintendence.
2. Occurring through or as if through divine intervention; peculiarly fortunate or appropriate.

For Boston's progressive Unitarians in this period, rejecting the Calvinism of their forebears increasingly meant opposing the old idea that suffering was inevitable, irremediable, and providential.
--Elisabeth Gitter, The Imprisoned Guest

The laws of nature seem to have been carefully arranged so that they can be discovered by beings with our level of intelligence. That not only fits the idea of design, but it also suggests a providential purpose for humankind -- that is, to learn about our habitat and to develop science and technology.
--Robin Collins, quoted in The Case for a Creator, by Lee Strobel

In the very first sentences of Mein Kampf, Adolf was to emphasize -- what became a Nazi stock-in-trade -- how providential it was that he had been born in Braunau am Inn, on the border of the two countries he saw it as his life's task to unite.
--Ian Kershaw, Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris