» Home Drop | Word Relish | Spiritual Drop | Jesuit Links
Home Drop | Scenic Drop | Prodigal Mother | Spiritual Drop | Word Relish | Writer | Help | Privacy Policy

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

ruly: M-W's Word of the Day

****************************************************************
Do you enjoy challenging word games? Try WORD SWEEP!, the new board game featuring official Merriam-Webster definitions!
http://gifts.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?ISBN=9780971348769&z=y&TYP=T
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for September 4 is:

ruly \ROO-lee\ adjective
: obedient, orderly

Example sentence:
Concert organizers worried that rambunctious fans might get out of hand, but the crowd was surprisingly ruly.

Did you know?
You're probably familiar with "unruly," meaning "not readily controlled or disciplined." Have you ever wondered, "Is there a 'ruly' too?" If so, did it seem to you that such a word should exist? A little over 150 years ago, someone apparently followed that same thought process, creating "ruly" by dropping the prefix from "unruly." Whoever did so probably thought the coinage was a new one, but that's not quite the case. There had once been another "ruly" with much the same meaning as the modern term, but it had been out of use for over 200 years. Ultimately, "ruly" and "unruly" come from "reuly," a Middle English word meaning "disciplined." "Reuly" in turn comes from Middle English "reule," a predecessor of "rule."

You Are Subscribed As: silentdewdrops.word@blogger.com

To unsubscribe, please click here:
http://www.drhinternet.net/mw/u/982089/568f14b4ab4f050b/N17L6

To change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:
http://mw.drhinternet.net/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102

Monday, September 03, 2007

insinuate: M-W's Word of the Day

****************************************************************
Introducing WORD SWEEP!, the first board game to feature Merriam-Webster definitions! Enjoy hours of challenging fun. Try it at:
http://www.wordsweep.com

****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for September 3 is:

insinuate \in-SIN-yuh-wayt\ verb
1 a : to introduce (as an idea) gradually or in a subtle, indirect, or covert way *b : to impart or suggest in an artful or indirect way : imply
2 : to introduce (as oneself) by stealthy, smooth, or artful means

Example sentence:
Caleb wouldn't openly accuse Trudy of lying, but he wasn't above insinuating it.

Did you know?
The meaning of "insinuate" is similar to that of another verb, "suggest." Whether you "suggest" or "insinuate," you are conveying an idea indirectly. But although these two words share the same basic meaning, each gets the idea across in a different way. When you "suggest," you put something into the mind by associating it with other ideas, desires, or thoughts. You might say, for example, that a book's title suggests what the story is about. "Insinuate," on the other hand, usually includes a sense that the idea being conveyed is unpleasant, or that it is being passed along in a sly or underhanded way.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

You Are Subscribed As: silentdewdrops.word@blogger.com
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://mw.drhinternet.net/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102

pillory: M-W's Word of the Day

****************************************************************
Attention word gurus: try WORD SWEEP!, the first board game to feature Merriam-Webster definitions! Available at Borders Bookstores.
http://www.wordsweep.com
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for September 2 is:

pillory \PILL-uh-ree\ noun
1 : a device formerly used for publicly punishing offenders consisting of a wooden frame with holes in which the head and hands can be locked
*2 : a means for exposing one to public scorn or ridicule

Example sentence:
"Whenever [Charlie Brown] stepped onto a baseball field, the mound turned into a pillory, the boos and catcalls flying at him with the speed of a fastball." (Robert Seltzer, _San Antonio Express-News_, February 26, 2006)

Did you know?
In days gone by, criminals who got caught might well have found themselves in the stocks (which held the feet or both feet and hands) or a pillory. Both of those forms of punishment -- and the words that name them -- have been around since the Middle Ages. We latched onto "pillory" from the Anglo-French "pilori" (which has the same meaning as our English term), but the exact origins of the French term are uncertain. For centuries, "pillory" referred only to the wooden frame used to hold a ne'er-do-well, but by the early 1600s, folks had turned the word into a verb for the act of putting someone in a pillory. Within a century, they had further expanded the verb to cover any process that led to as much public humiliation as being pilloried.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

You Are Subscribed As: silentdewdrops.word@blogger.com
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://mw.drhinternet.net/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102

Saturday, September 01, 2007

stipulate: M-W's Word of the Day

****************************************************************
Do you enjoy challenging word games? Try WORD SWEEP!, the new board game featuring official Merriam-Webster definitions!
http://gifts.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?ISBN=9780971348769&z=y&TYP=T
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for September 1 is:

stipulate \STIP-yuh-layt\ verb
1 : to make an agreement to do something : contract
*2 : to specify (something) as a condition or requirement (as of an agreement or offer)

Example sentence:
The lease stipulates that the tenant's failure to pay rent by the end of the month may result in eviction.

Did you know?
Like many terms used in the legal profession, "stipulate" has its roots in Latin. It derives from "stipulatus," the past participle of "stipulari," a verb meaning "to demand a guarantee (as from a prospective debtor)." "Stipulate" has been a part of the English language since the 17th century. In Roman law, oral contracts were deemed valid only if they followed a proper question-and-answer format; "stipulate" was sometimes used specifically of this process of contract making, though it also could be used more generally for any means of making a contract or agreement. The "specify as a condition or requirement" sense of the word also dates from the 17th century, and it is the sense that is most often encountered in current use.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

You Are Subscribed As: silentdewdrops.word@blogger.com
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://mw.drhinternet.net/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102