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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

obtain: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 31 is:

obtain \ub-TAYN \ verb
*1 : to gain or attain usually by planned action or effort
2 : to be generally recognized or established : prevail

Example sentence:
The experiment was designed to obtain more accurate data about weather patterns.

Did you know?
"Obtain," which was adopted into English in the 15th century, comes to us via Anglo-French from the Latin "obtinere," meaning "to take hold of." "Obtinere" was itself formed by combination of "ob-," meaning "in the way," and the verb "tenere," meaning "to hold." If you have the kind of memory that holds on to etymological sources, you will likely remember that we featured another descendent of "tenere" just days ago. For those whose memories have a less tenacious grip, we'll remind you now that the featured word was "untenable" (and that "tenacious" was also mentioned as a relative).

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.


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Monday, July 30, 2007

verdigris: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 30 is:

verdigris \VER-duh-greess\ noun
: a green or bluish deposit especially of copper carbonates formed on copper, brass, or bronze surfaces

Example sentence:
It seems like every building on campus features some combination of brick, ivy, and verdigris.

Did you know?
"Green of Greece" -- that is the literal translation of "vert de Grece," the Anglo-French phrase from which the modern word "verdigris" descends. A coating of verdigris forms naturally on copper and copper alloys such as brass and bronze when those metals are exposed to air. (It can also be produced artificially.) The word "verdigris" has been associated with statuary and architecture, ancient and modern, since it was first used in the 14th century. Some American English speakers may find that they know it best from the greenish blue coating that covers the copper of the Statue of Liberty.


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Sunday, July 29, 2007

null: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 29 is:

null \NULL\ adjective
*1 : having no legal or binding force : invalid
2 : having no value : insignificant
3 : of, being, or relating to zero

Example sentence:
The entertainer's contract will be rendered null and void if he should miss more than five appearances during the year.

Did you know?
English borrowed "null" from the Anglo-French "nul," meaning "not any." That word, in turn, traces to the Latin word "nullus," from "ne-," meaning "not," and "ullus," meaning "any." "Null" often pops up in legal and scientific contexts. It was originally used in Scottish law and still carries the meaning "having no legal or binding force." In math, it is sometimes used to mean "containing nothing"; for example, the set of all whole numbers that are divisible by zero is the "null set" (that is, there are no numbers that fit that description). But "null" also has some more general uses. We often use it with the meaning "lacking meaning or value" (as in "by the time I heard it, the news was null").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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Saturday, July 28, 2007

quisling: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 28 is:

quisling \KWIZ-ling\ noun
: one who commits treason : collaborator

Example sentence:
The country is ruled by a puppet government composed of quislings.

Did you know?
Vidkun Quisling was a Norwegian army officer who in 1933 founded Norway's fascist party. In December 1939, he met with Adolf Hitler and urged him to occupy Norway. Following the German invasion of April 1940, Quisling served as a figurehead in the puppet government set up by the German occupation forces, and his linguistic fate was sealed. Before the end of 1940, "quisling" was being used generically in English to refer to any traitor. Winston Churchill, George Orwell, and H. G. Wells used it in their wartime writings. Quisling lived to see his name thus immortalized, but not much longer. He was executed for treason soon after the liberation of Norway in 1945.


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Friday, July 27, 2007

untenable: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 27 is:

untenable \un-TEN-uh-bul\ adjective
*1 : not able to be defended
2 : not able to be occupied

Example sentence:
The contractor made the untenable demand that all work be paid for up front, at which point we decided to take our business elsewhere.

Did you know?
"Untenable" and its opposite "tenable" come to us from Old French "tenir" and ultimately from Latin "tenere," both of which mean "to hold." We tend to use "untenable" in situations where an idea or position is so off base that holding on to it is unjustified or inexcusable. One way to hold on to the meaning of "untenable" is to associate it with other "tenere" descendants whose meanings are associated with "holding" or "holding on to." "Tenacious" ("holding fast") is one example. Others are "contain," "detain," "sustain," "maintain," and "retain."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.


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Thursday, July 26, 2007

zydeco: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 26 is:

zydeco \ZYE-duh-koh\ noun
: popular music of southern Louisiana that combines tunes of French origin with elements of Caribbean music and the blues and that features guitar, washboard, and accordion

Example sentence:
Thanks to delicious food and live zydeco every night, the new restaurant is a big success.

Did you know?
You might say that the lively form of music known as zydeco is full of beans, etymologically speaking. Legend has it that the word "zydeco" originated in the lyrics of _Les Haricots Sont Pas Sales_, a popular Cajun dance tune. Loosely translated, the song's title means "the beans are not salty," and when spoken in French Creole, "les haricots" (French for "beans") sounds something like "zydeco." "Zydeco" first appeared in print in 1960 and has been used to describe this kind of music ever since.


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Wednesday, July 25, 2007

caducity: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 25 is:

caducity \kuh-DOO-suh-tee\ noun
1 : senility
*2 : the quality of being transitory or perishable

Example sentence:
"Awareness of death -- a vivid realization of the caducity of life and its joys and miseries -- provides the strongest motive for metaphysics." (F. Gonzalez-Crussi, _The New Yorker_, November 1, 1993)

Did you know?
"Caducity" derives by way of the French "caduc," meaning "transitory," from the Latin "caducus," meaning "tending to fall," a product of the verb "cadere," meaning "to fall." Words that share the "cadere" root with "caducity" include "accident," "coincide," "cadaver," and "chance." "Caducity" usually refers to the fleeting or perishable nature of something. More specifically, it can refer to the perishable nature of cognitive abilities and can be used as a synonym of senility. Both senses of the word first appeared in English in the second half of the 18th century.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.


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Tuesday, July 24, 2007

monocracy: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 24 is:

monocracy \muh-NAH-kruh-see\ noun
: government by a single person

Example sentence:
After years of subjugation, the citizens of the country rose up against the oppressive monocracy.

Did you know?
In society's search for the best kind of government, the suffix "-cracy" (which means "form of government" and traces to the Greek "kratos," meaning "strength" or "power") has worn many hats. "Monocracy" pairs "-cracy" with a descendant of "monos," meaning "alone" or "single." The suffix also underlies other governmental terms including "democracy" ("government by the people"), "aristocracy" ("government by a small privileged class"), "theocracy" ("government by divine guidance"), "ochlocracy" ("government by the mob"), and "gerontocracy" ("rule by elders").


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Monday, July 23, 2007

extirpate: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 23 is:

extirpate \EK-ster-payt\ verb
1 *a : to destroy completely : wipe out b : to pull up by the root
2 : to cut out by surgery

Example sentence:
By insisting that he has a plan to extirpate crime and corruption in our cities, the governor might have bitten off more than he can chew.

Did you know?
If we do a little digging, we discover that "extirpate" finds its roots in, well, roots (and stumps). Early English uses of the word in the 16th century carried the meaning of "to clear of stumps" or "to pull something up by the root." "Extirpate" grew out of a combination of the Latin prefix "ex-" and the Latin noun "stirps," meaning "trunk" or "root." The word "stirp" itself remains rooted in our own language as a term meaning "a line descending from a common ancestor."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.


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Sunday, July 22, 2007

panoptic: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 22 is:

panoptic \pan-OP-tik\ adjective
: being or presenting a comprehensive or panoramic view

Example sentence:
At the top of the mountain is a sightseeing point that provides climbers with a panoptic view of the surrounding valleys.

Did you know?
The establishment of "panoptic" in the English language can be attributed to two inventions known as panopticons. The more well-known panopticon was conceived by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham in 1787. Bentham's panopticon was a circular prison with cells arranged around a central tower from which guards could see the inmates at all times. The other panopticon, also created in the 18th century, was a device containing pictures of attractions, such as European capitals, that people viewed through an opening. Considering the views that both inventions gave, it is not hard to see why "panoptic" (a word derived from Greek "panoptes," meaning "all-seeing") was being used by the early 19th century.


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Saturday, July 21, 2007

moot: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 21 is:

moot \MOOT\ adjective
1 a : open to question : debatable b : subjected to discussion : disputed
*2 : deprived of practical significance : made abstract or purely academic

Example sentence:
Since the team would have lost anyway, it's a moot point whether the umpire?s call was right or not.

Did you know?
"Moot" derives from "gemot," an Old English name for a judicial court. Originally, "moot" named either the court itself or an argument that might be debated by one. By the 16th century, the legal role of judicial moots had diminished, and the only remnant of them were "moot courts," academic mock courts in which law students could try hypothetical cases for practice. Back then, "moot" was used as a synonym of "debatable," but because the cases students tried in moot courts were simply academic exercises, the word gained the second sense, "deprived of practical significance." Some commentators still frown on using "moot" to mean "purely academic," but most editors now accept both senses as standard.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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Friday, July 20, 2007

disinformation: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 20 is:

disinformation \dis-in-fer-MAY-shun\ noun
: false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth

Example sentence:
The writer's latest book examines the effects of propaganda and disinformation during the Cold War.

Did you know?
In 1939, a writer describing Nazi intelligence activities noted, "The mood of national suspicion prevalent during the last decade ... is well illustrated by General Krivitsky's account of the German 'Disinformation Service,' engaged in manufacturing fake military plans for the express purpose of having them stolen by foreign governments." Although the Nazis were accused of using disinformation back in the 1930s, the noun and the practice are most often associated with the Soviet KGB. Many people think "disinformation" is a literal translation of the Russian "dezinformatsiya," which means "misinformation," a term the KGB allegedly used in the 1950s to name a department created to dispense propaganda.


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indomitable: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 19 is:

indomitable \in-DAH-muh-tuh-bul\ adjective
: incapable of being subdued : unconquerable

Example sentence:
Molly has always admired the indomitable spirit of her great-grandparents, who endured many hardships when they emigrated from Ireland.

Did you know?
The prefix "in-" means "not" in numerous English words (think of "indecent," "indecisive," "inconvenient," and "infallible"). When "in-" teamed up with the Latin "domitare" ("to tame"), the result was a word meaning "unable to be tamed." "Indomitable" was first used in English in the 1600s as a synonym of "wild," but over time its sense of untamability turned from a problem to a virtue. By the 1800s, "indomitable" was being used for people whose courage and persistence helped them to succeed in difficult situations.


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Wednesday, July 18, 2007

garderobe: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 18 is:

garderobe \GAR-drohb\ noun
1 : a wardrobe or its contents
2 : a private room : bedroom
*3 : privy, toilet

Example sentence:
"On our tour of Castle Rushen, begun in 1200 and enhanced over the years, [caretaker Ian] McKinlay made sure to point out the garderobe -- because nature calls, even in a castle...." (Gemma Tarlach, _Milwaukee Journal Sentinel_, July 25, 2004)

Did you know?
"Garderobe" entered the English language in the 15th century and continues in use to this day, though its frequency has diminished significantly since the 19th century. Originally, its primary duty was to provide English speakers with a word for a room or closet in which to store clothing. Later, by extension, it was used for private bedrooms and bathrooms. Today you are most likely to encounter the word in a description of an old castle, such as our example sentence. "Garder," the French word for "guard" on which "garderobe" is based, has also served English well by directly contributing to the formation of such words as "award," "guard," "regard," and, yes, "wardrobe."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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Tuesday, July 17, 2007

binary: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 17 is:

binary \BYE-nuh-ree\ adjective
*1 : compounded or consisting of or marked by two things or parts
2 a : relating to, being, or belonging to a system of numbers having 2 as its base b : involving a choice or condition of two alternatives (as on-off or yes-no)

Example sentence:
Brass is a binary alloy, having the two metallic elements copper and zinc.

Did you know?
"The animals went in two by two, the elephant and the kangaroo...." It was a binary parade of sorts that went into Noah's ark "for to get out of the rain" -- the critters were represented in pairs. If you recall those partnered beasts, you'll remember the etymology of "binary," because it traces to the Latin "bini," which translates as "two by two." Although "binary" can be used for anything with two parts, it is now used especially in relation to computers and information processing. Digital computers use the binary number system, which includes only the digits 0 and 1, to process even complex data. In binary form, for instance, the word "HELLO" looks like this: 1001000 1000101 1001100 1001100 1001111.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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Monday, July 16, 2007

onomastics: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 16 is:

onomastics \ah-nuh-MAS-tiks\ noun
1 a : the science or study of the origins and forms of words especially as used in a specialized field b : the science or study of the origin and forms of proper names of persons or places
*2 : the system underlying the formation and use of words especially for proper names or of words used in a specialized field

Example sentence:
Dr. Donn will be presenting a paper at the conference on the onomastics used in naming towns during the early Republic.

Did you know?
The original word for the science of naming was "onomatology," which was adopted from French in the mid-19th century. About a century later, however, people began referring to the science as "onomastics," a term based on the Greek verb "onomazein" ("to name"). Like many sciences, onomastics is itself composed of special divisions. An onomastician might, for example, study personal names or place names, names of a specific region or historical period, or even the character names of a particular author, like Charles Dickens.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.


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Sunday, July 15, 2007

distrait: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 15 is:

distrait \dih-STRAY\ adjective
: apprehensively divided or withdrawn in attention : distracted

Example sentence:
Professor Aguilar noticed that Sheldon was often distrait during her lectures, so she pulled him aside one day after class to ask if anything was wrong.

Did you know?
"Distrait" is a somewhat literary word with an unusual history. Borrowed from Anglo-French, it was used in the 15th century in a sense very close to that of "distraught," which means "deeply agitated or troubled." (Both words are ultimately from the Latin adjective "distractus.") Later, during the 18th century, "distrait" appears to have been borrowed again from French in a milder sense closer to "preoccupied" or "distracted." Another peculiarity of the word is that it tends to be treated in English as if it were still a French word: it has a feminine variant, "distraite," like a French adjective, and it is pronounced as if French. It can still suggest agitation, but not as strongly as "distraught"; more often it means simply "mentally remote."


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Saturday, July 14, 2007

pilgarlic: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 14 is:

pilgarlic \pil-GAR-lik\ noun
1 a : a bald head *b : a bald-headed man
2 : a man looked upon with humorous contempt or mock pity

Example sentence:
"Ever since I became a pilgarlic," Dale explained, "I've believed that bald is beautiful!"

Did you know?
The Latin word for "hair" -- "pilus" -- has given us a number of words: "depilation" ("the removal of hair by chemical or mechanical means"), "pilose" ("covered with soft hair"), and "pelage" ("the hairy covering of a mammal"). "Pilgarlic" also has ties to "pilus," although the person who first used the word in the 16th century was probably thinking about cloves, not Latin roots. "Pilgarlic" comes from the supposed resemblance between a bald head and peeled garlic -- "pilled garlic," in British dialect. The verb "pill" comes in part from the Old English "pilian" ("to peel"), which is thought to trace back to "pilus."

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Friday, July 13, 2007

libertine: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 13:

libertine \LIB-er-teen\ noun
1 usually disparaging : a freethinker especially in religious matters
*2 : a person who is unrestrained by convention or morality; specifically : one leading a dissolute life

Example sentence:
The writer was portrayed in the film as a libertine who relied heavily on the vices of drinking and gambling.

Did you know?
The word "libertine," which originally meant "freedman" when it appeared in 14th-century English, traces to the Latin "libertus," a term that in Roman antiquity identified a slave who had been set free. By the late 1500s, "libertine" had been extended to religious and secular freethinkers; Shakespeare used it to refer to anyone who follows his or her own inclinations. By 1600, though, the term had come to imply that an individual was a little too unrestrained, especially in moral situations. And yes, the Latin root of "libertine" is "liber," the ultimate source of our word "liberty."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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herald: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 12 is:

herald \HAIR-uld\ verb
1 : to give notice of : announce
2 a: to greet especially with enthusiasm : hail b : publicize
*3 : to signal the approach of : foreshadow

Example sentence:
The first robin heralded the arrival of spring.

Did you know?
The exact origin of "herald" is uncertain, but it is thought to derive from Germanic roots. Specifically, etymologists believe that "herald" developed from an assumed Frankish compound whose first component is akin to the Old High German "heri-," meaning "army," and whose second component is akin to the Old High German word "waltan," meaning "to rule." When "herald" first appeared on the scene in the 14th century, it referred to an official at a tournament of arms whose duties included the making of announcements. The verb forms, extending the "announcement" idea, soon followed.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.


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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

reprise: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 11 is:

reprise \rih-PREEZ\ noun
*1 : a recurrence, renewal, or resumption of an action
2 a : a musical repetition b : a repeated performance : repetition

Example sentence:
The argument was a reprise of a long-standing disagreement.

Did you know?
When "reprise" was first adopted into English in the 15th century, it referred to a deduction or charge made yearly out of a manor or estate (and was usually used in the plural form "reprises"). It probably won't surprise you, then, to learn that "reprise" comes from an Anglo-French word meaning "seizure, repossession, or expense." Eventually, "reprise" came to refer to any action that was repeated or resumed. A later sense, borrowed from modern French, applies to specific types of repetition in musical compositions and was eventually generalized to describe any subsequent and identical performance. It's possible, for example, to have a reprise of a television program or a book.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

fraught: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 10 is:

fraught \FRAWT\ adjective
*1 : full of or accompanied by something specified -- used with with
2 : causing or characterized by emotional distress or tension : uneasy

Example sentence:
The doctor warned her patient that the experimental procedure was fraught with problems.

Did you know?
"The drowmound was so hevy fraught / That unethe myght it saylen aught." That verse, written in the 14th-century poem "Richard Coer de Lion," says that a large ship (a dromond) was so heavily loaded that it could barely sail. That's the first instance we have on record of the adjective "fraught." The word came to Middle English from the Middle Dutch or Middle Low German noun "vracht," which meant "load" and which is also the source of the word "freight." Middle English also possessed a noun "fraught" that meant "load" and a verb "fraughten" that meant "to load" (meanings still retained in Scottish English by "fraught," the verb and noun). For centuries, "fraught" continued to be used only of loaded ships, but its use was eventually broadened.

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Monday, July 09, 2007

tincture: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 9 is:

tincture \TINK-cher\ noun
1 : color, tint
2 a : a characteristic quality : cast *b : a slight admixture : trace
3 : a solution of a medicinal substance in an alcoholic solvent

Example sentence:
Mabel's stories contain just the right tincture of macabre humor to be enjoyed by readers young and old alike.

Did you know?
"Tincture" derives from the same root as "tint" and "tinge" -- the Latin verb "tingere," meaning "to moisten or dip." "Tincture" specifically derives via Middle English from the Latin "tinctus," the past participle of "tingere." When the word first appeared in English in the 14th century, "tincture" referred to a coloring matter or dye, but by the 17th century the word had acquired a number of additional meanings, including "a slight infusion or trace of something." "Tinge" and "shade" are two other words referring to color that can be used the same way. "Tincture" can also refer, among other things, to the colors used in a coat of arms or an herbal or medicinal solution.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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Sunday, July 08, 2007

cavil: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 8 is:

cavil \KAV-il\ verb
: to raise trivial and frivolous objection

Example sentence:
It may seem petty to cavil at minor flaws given the film's excellence as a whole, but the ending did seem to lack some credibility.

Did you know?
"You must be joking!" That's just one of the things you might be tempted to exclaim if you found yourself quarreling with a caviler -- and you'd be right, etymologically speaking at least. "Cavil" derives from the Latin verb "cavillari," meaning "to jest" or "to raise silly objections," which in turn derives from the Latin noun "cavilla," meaning "raillery." In case you're wondering, "cavil" is not related to the adjective "cavalier" ("marked by or given to offhand and often disdainful dismissal of important matters"). "Cavalier," which is also a noun for a gentleman trained in arms and horsemanship, traces back via Middle French to the Late Latin "caballarius," meaning "horseman."

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Saturday, July 07, 2007

antithetical: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 7 is:

antithetical \an-tuh-THET-ih-kul\ adjective
1 : constituting or marked by the rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences
*2 : being in direct and unequivocal opposition

Example sentence:
Your suggestion is completely antithetical to my morals and beliefs.

Did you know?
"Antithetical" and "antithesis" entered English in the 16th century. Their etymological paths pass through Late Latin and ultimately lead to Greek (the Greek words "antitithenai" and "antithesis" mean "to oppose" and "opposition," respectively). The oldest sense of the English "antithesis" refers to a language pattern that contrasts parallel ideas, as in "action, not words" or "they promised freedom and provided slavery." "Antithetical" can mean "constituting or marked by such language patterns." For example, you could say "The phrase 'action, not words' is an antithetical construction." It is more common in current use, however, for "antithesis" to mean "the exact opposite" and for "antithetical" to mean "directly opposite."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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Friday, July 06, 2007

waddy: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 6 is:

waddy \WAH-dee\ noun, West
: cowboy

Example sentence:
"The cowboy of today is a sort of sophisticated waddy, driving trucks, flying airplanes and applying scientific resources to successful ranching." (Willard H. Porter, _Chicago Tribune_, July 3, 1988)

Did you know?
It's easier to rope a wild mustang than to round up the origin of "waddy." Some folks claim it comes from "wadding" (the material used in stuffing or padding) because waddies were once extra hands hired to fill in when extra cowhands were needed. But other evidence suggests that "waddy" originally referred to a cattle rustler, a usage that wouldn't support the "wadding" theory. There is also an Australian "waddy" meaning "stick" or "club," but definitive evidence of a connection between the Australian and American words remains elusive. All researchers can say with certainty is that "waddy" has been used to name a cowboy since at least the late 19th century.


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Thursday, July 05, 2007

palmy: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 5 is:

palmy \PAH-mee\ adjective
*1 : marked by prosperity : flourishing
2 : abounding in or bearing palms

Example sentence:
"In Beaufort Road was a house, occupied in its palmier days, by Mr Shorthouse, a manufacturer of acids." (J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter, July 1964)

Did you know?
The palm branch has traditionally been used as a symbol of victory. It is no wonder then that the word "palm" came to mean "victory" or "triumph" in the late 14th century, thanks to the likes of Geoffrey Chaucer. Centuries later, Shakespeare would employ "palm" to create a new synonym for "triumphant" or "flourishing." His coinage is found in the tragedy _Hamlet_ when the character Horatio speaks of the "palmy state of Rome / A little ere the mightiest Julius fell."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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Wednesday, July 04, 2007

sycophant: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 4 is:

sycophant \SIK-uh-funt\ noun
: a servile self-seeking flatterer

Example sentence:
"I can't stand sycophants," said Rosemary, "so if you want that promotion, do your best and let your work speak for itself."

Did you know?
In ancient Greece, "sykophantes" meant "slanderer." It derives from two other Greek words, "sykon" (meaning "fig") and "phainein" (meaning "to show or reveal"). How did fig revealers become slanderers? One theory has to do with the taxes Greek farmers were required to pay on the figs they brought to market. Apparently, the farmers would sometimes try to avoid making the payments, but squealers -- fig revealers -- would fink on them, and they would be forced to pay. Another possible source is a sense of the word "fig" meaning "a gesture or sign of contempt (as thrusting a thumb between two fingers)." In any case, Latin retained the "swindler" sense when it borrowed a version of "sykophantes," but by the time English speakers in the 16th century borrowed it as "sycophant," the squealers had become flatterers.


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Tuesday, July 03, 2007

eupeptic: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 3 is:

eupeptic \yoo-PEP-tik\ adjective
1 : of, relating to, or having good digestion
*2 : cheerful, optimistic

Example sentence:
"The generous outpouring of writings devoted to public libraries ... makes me positively eupeptic about the future of scholarship in this area." (E. A. Goedeken, _Libraries & Culture_, March 22, 2004)

Did you know?
"Eupeptic" first appeared around 1700 and was probably created from "eupepsia," a word meaning "good digestion." ("Eupepsia" was cooked up from "eu-," meaning "good," and "-pepsia," meaning "digestion," ingredients that are ultimately of Greek origin.) It seems reasonable that good digestion might enhance one's outlook on life -- and indeed, "eupeptic" can suggest a happy frame of mind as well as a happy digestive system. Along similar lines, someone with poor digestion might be cranky, and the antonymous counterparts of "eupeptic" and "eupepsia" -- "dyspeptic" and "dyspepsia" -- can suggest either indigestion or ill humor.

*Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence.

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Monday, July 02, 2007

jeopardy: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 2 is:

jeopardy \JEP-er-dee\ noun
*1 : exposure to or imminence of death, loss, or injury : danger
2 : the danger that an accused person is subjected to when on trial for a criminal offense

Example sentence:
Rather than risk placing his passengers in jeopardy, the pilot waited for the storm to pass before taking off.

Did you know?
Centuries ago, the Old French term "jeu parti" didn't mean "danger" but rather "an alternative" or, literally, "a divided game." That French expression was used for anything that represented an alternative viewpoint or gave two opposing viewpoints. "Jeu parti" passed into Anglo-French as "juparti," and from there it was borrowed into Middle English and respelled "jeopardie." At first, the English word was used to refer to the risks associated with alternative moves in the game of chess. Soon, however, the term came to be used more generally in the "risk" or "danger" sense that it has today.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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Sunday, July 01, 2007

anchorite: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 1 is:

anchorite \ANG-kuh-ryte\ noun
: a person who lives in seclusion usually for religious reasons

Example sentence:
The anchorite spent most of his days in his small, bare cell, engaged in prayer and meditation.

Did you know?
The term "anchor" was being used for religious hermits about 450 years before "anchorite" came into common use in our language. The reclusive "anchor" and "anchorite" are both derived from the Late Latin "anachoreta," which, in turn, can be traced to the Greek "anachorein," meaning "to withdraw." Are they etymologically related to the kind of anchors you find on ships? Not exactly. The Latin root of sea-going "anchor,"
"anchora," probably influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the words that led to "anchorite" and the reclusive "anchor," but it is not a direct ancestor.

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