sic (sik) verb tr.
To incite to attack, especially as a command to dog: Sic 'em!
[Variant of seek.]
adverb
Thus; so. (Used after an incorrect or unusual word or
phrase to indicate that it has been quoted verbatim.)
[From Latin sic.]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus:
tog (tog) noun
1. A coat.
2. Togs: Clothes.
verb tr.
To dress up for a particular occasion or activity.
[From shortening of earlier cant togeman, from Latin toga (toga),
ultimately from Indo-European root (s)teg- (to cover) that's also
the ancestor of other words such as thatch,
sumptuary (SUMP-choo-er-ee) adjective
1. Relating to or regulating expenses.
2. Regulating personal habits or behavior on moral or religious grounds.
[From Latin sumptuarius, from sumptus expense, past participle of sumere
(to take up), from emere (to take). Ultimately from Indo-European
backwardation (BAK-wuhr-DAY-shuhn) noun
A premium paid by the seller to the buyer for deferring delivery
of stock or some other product. Opposite of contango.
[From backward, from Middle English bakwarde.]
Another major reason for backwardation or lower volumes in derivatives
is that
pileous (PY-lee-uhs, PIL-ee-) adjective
Covered with hair.
[From Latin pileus, from pilus (hair).]
What pileous sculptures was the young man creating on that lovely
head?
Andrew Miller; Casanova in Love; Harvest Books; 2000.
A pileous alternative without slippage concerns is
calvity (KAL-vi-ti) also calvities, noun
Baldness.
[From Latin calvities (baldness), from calv-us (bald).]
He wore his own hair - what there was left of it: short tight curls
round a shining calvity, though he was in his thirties.
Patrick O'Brian; Post Captain; W.W. Norton; 1990.
lissotrichous (li-SO-tri-kuhs) adjective
Having straight or smooth hair.
[From Greek lissós (smooth) + trich-, from thrix, (hair). Some cousins
of this word are cymotrichous (having wavy hair), trichotillomania (the
compulsion to pull out one's hair), and its end result atrichia (baldness).]
crispin (KRIS-pin) noun
A shoemaker.
[After St. Crispin, patron saint of shoemakers. He and his brother
St. Crispinian were martyred as Christian missionaries. They made
their living as shoemakers.]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=crispin
The draft then
Darwinian (dar-WIN-ee-uhn) adjective
1. Relating to Charles Darwin or his theory of evolution.
2. Marked by competitive behavior, suggesting survival of the fittest.
[After Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882), English naturalist and author
whose published his groundbreaking theory of
Goldwynism (GOLD-wi-niz-em) noun
A humorous statement or phrase resulting from the use of incongruous
or contradictory words, situations, idioms, etc.
[After Samuel Goldwyn (1879-1974), Polish-born US film producer, known
for such remarks. Born Schmuel Gelbfisz, he changed his name to
renitent (re-NYT-uhnt, REN-i-tuhnt) adjective
Resistant; recalcitrant.
[From Latin renitent-, renitens, present participle of reniti
(to resist), from re- + niti (to strive, to struggle).]
And this is the pledge for restoration of democracy. But our leaders
are reluctant and renitent
nark (nark) noun
1. An annoying person.
2. A stool pigeon or informer
verb intr.
1. To irritate or annoy.
2. To be an informer.
[From Romany nak (nose). Ultimately from Indo-European root nas- (nose)
that is also the source of other words for nose: English nose, Hindi nak,
AWADmail Issue 150
January 9, 2004
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
From: Shara Svendsen (sharasvenAThotmail.com)
Subject: Re:
grip (grip) noun
A general assistant on a movie set responsible for handling production
equipment, such as setting up and moving camera dollies, lighting, etc.
The head grip is called the key grip.
[From English grip since the task required firmly holding bulky material.]
Today's word
stuntman (stunt-man) noun
A man who substitutes for an actor in scenes involving dangerous feats.
Also known as double.
[From English word stunt (an unusual or dangerous feat) which is of unknown
origin.]
Don Haggerty, 78, wrestler turned actor and stunt man, portrayed
imposing
airy-fairy (AIR-ee FAIR-ee) adjective
1. Light, delicate, fragile.
2. Fanciful, impractical, unrealistic.
[From Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 1830 poem Lilian whose opening lines are:
Airy, Fairy Lilian,
Flitting, fairy Lilian,
When I ask her if she love me,
Claps her tiny hands above me,
feme covert (fem KOV-uhrt) noun, plural femes covert
A married woman.
[From Anglo-French feme covert, from feme (woman) + covert (protected).]
A feme covert is not the feminine equivalent of 007. Rather, it's a legal
term to describe a married woman, one who is covered or protected by a
grisaille (gri-ZAI, ZAYL) noun
A painting in tones of a single color, especially gray, to represent
objects in relief.
[From French grisaille (grayness), from gris (gray).]
An example: Odalisque in Grisaille by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.
AWADmail Issue 154
February 19, 2005
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
From: Roderic Williams (rjwill6ATpacbell.net)
Subject: Re:
temblor (TEM-bluhr) noun
An earthquake.
[From Spanish temblor (trembling), from temblar (to tremble), from Vulgar
Latin tremulare, from Latin tremulus (tremulous), from tremere (to tremble).]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus 3 (New): http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=tremor
The temblor
incommunicado (in-kuh-myoo-ni-KA-do) adjective, adverb
Out of contact, either voluntarily or deprived of the right to
communicate with anyone; in solitary confinement.
[From Spanish incomunicado, past participle of incomunicar (to deprive of
communication), from in- (not) + comunicar (to
; Political Discourse in Early Modern Britain;
Cambridge University Press; 1993.
Yet far more terrible the line that flows
From ebrious passion to supine remorse.
Richard Monckton Milnes (1809-1885); The Fall of Alipius.
Guest wordsmith Brett Jocelyn Epstein writes:
Food, glorious food! All
sitophobia (sy-tuh-FO-bee-uh) noun
Morbid aversion to food.
[From Greek sito- (food) + -phobia (fear, aversion).]
The word is also spelled as sitiophobia. Two related words are sitomania
(abnormal craving for food), and sitology (the study of nutrition).
By the time (Mollie) Fancher took
vernissage (ver-nuh-SAZH) noun
A private showing or preview of an art exhibition before the public
opening; also the reception celebrating the opening of an art exhibition.
[From French vernissage (varnishing), from vernis (varnish), ultimately
from Berenik, the name of an ancient city in
Finlandization (fin-luhn-duh-ZAY-shuhn) noun
The policy of neutrality of a country under the influence of another
more powerful one without being formally allied to it, similar to the
neutralization of Finland with respect to the Soviet Union after 1944.
[After Finland.]
When Sri
hendecasyllabic (hen-dek-uh-si-LAB-ik) adjective
Having eleven syllables.
noun
A word or line of eleven syllables.
[From Latin hendecasyllabus, from Greek hendekasyllabos, from hendeca-
(eleven), from hen, neuter of heis (one) + deka (ten), + syllabic.]
Alfred, Lord Tennyson's
pontificate (pon-TIF-i-kayt) verb intr.
To speak in a pompous and dogmatic manner.
[From Medieval Latin pontificatus, past participle of pontificare (to
be an ecclesiastic), from ponti-, from pons (bridge) + facere (to make).
So a pontifex (priest) was literally a bridge-maker between here
festschrift (FEST-shrift) noun, plural festschriften or festschrifts
A volume of writing by many authors as a tribute to a scholar,
for example, on the occasion of retirement of a colleague.
[From German Festschrift, from Fest (celebration) + Schrift (writing).
Ultimately from
feuilleton (FOI-i-ton) noun
1. The part of a European newspaper devoted to light literature,
criticism, and the like; also something printed in this section.
2. A novel published in installments.
3. A short literary piece
[From French, from feuillet (sheet of paper), diminutive
(shieldsbrownATcox.net)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--colporteur
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/colporteur.html
Dang, it's a good think I subscribe to Wordsmith, to correct my ignorance.
Here all these years I'd believed that colporteur meant peddler of popular
songs. From the French col (neck
animadvert (an-uh-mad-VURT) verb intr.
To comment critically (upon) or to express criticism.
[From Latin animadvertere (to turn the mind to), from animus (mind)
+ advertere (to turn).]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=thesaurus
Ask pundits across the entire
gorgonize or gorgonise (GOR-guh-nyz) verb tr.
To paralyze, petrify, or hypnotize.
[After Gorgon, any of the three monstrous sisters Stheno, Euryale,
and Medusa in Greek mythology, who had snakes for hair. They turned
into stone anyone who looked into their eyes.]
Today's word in Visual
provender (PROV-uhn-duhr) noun
1. Dry food used as livestock feed.
2. Food or provisions.
[From Middle English provendre, from Old French, alteration of provende,
from Medieval Latin provenda, alteration of praebenda. Ultimately from
Indo-European root ghebh- (to give or receive) that
persiflage (PUR-sih-flazh) noun
Light-hearted or flippant treatment of a subject; banter.
[From French persiflage, from persifler (to banter), from per-
(thoroughly) + siffler (to whistle or hiss), from Old French, from
Late Latin sifilare, an alteration of Latin sibilare (to hiss).]
stet (stet) verb tr., intr.
Let it stand.
[From Latin stet (let it stand), from stare (to stand). Ultimately
from Indo-European root sta- (to stand) that is also the source of
stay, stage, stable, instant, establish, static, and system.]
Stet is used as a direction on a printer's proof or
Stepford (STEP-furd) adjective
Robotic, compliant, submissive; lacking in individuality.
[After the fictional suburb of Stepford, Connecticut in Ira Levin's 1972
novel, The Stepford Wives, later made into movies (in 1975 and 2004).
In the story, men of this seemingly ideal town have replaced
Zelig (ZEL-ig) noun
A chameleon-like person who can change his or her persona to fit in any
surrounding; one who appears to be present everywhere and unexpectedly
associated with famous people or events.
[After Leonard Zelig, hero of the 1983 movie Zelig by Woody Allen. In the
movie,
dowse (douz) verb tr., intr.
To search for underground water or minerals with a divining rod.
[Of obscure origin.]
Dowsing is usually performed using a forked twig. With two ends on each
hand and the other end pointing out, a dowser walks forward and the pointer
is supposed to lead towards
sortilege (SOR-tl-ij) noun
1. Divination by drawing lots.
2. Sorcery; magic.
[From Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin sortilegium,
from Latin sortilegus, from sort-, from sors (lot) + legere (to read
or gather).]
A 43-year-old citizen of Ghana was sentenced to
potter's field (POT-uhrs feeld) noun
A burial place for poor or unidentified people.
[The term derives from the name of the area where Judas was buried
after he hanged himself. The land was bought with pieces of silver
he had received for betraying Christ.]
This term in Visual Thesaurus:
insouciant (in-SOO-see-uhnt) adjective
Happily unconcerned; carefree; nonchalant.
[From French insouciant, from in- (not) + souciant, present participle
of soucier (to care), from Vulgar Latin sollicitare (to vex), from Latin
sollicitus (anxious), from sollus (entire) + citus, past participle
AWADmail Issue 173
August 13, 2005
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
From: Betsy Boyer (miacomet4ATcox.net)
Subject: Re:
apposite (AP-uh-zit, uh-POZ-it) adjective
Highly appropriate; relevant; apt.
[From Latin appositus, past participle of apponere (to put near), from
ponere (to put). Ultimately from Indo-European root apo- (off or away)
that is also the source of after, off, awkward, post, and puny.]
Today's
propitious (pruh-PISH-uhs) adjective
1. Presenting favorable conditions.
2. Favorably inclined; kindly.
[From Middle English propicius, from Latin propitius, ultimately from
Indo-European root pet- (to rush, fly). Other words from this root are
feather, pin, impetus, and pinnacle.]
legerity (luh-JER-i-tee) adjective
Nimbleness; agility.
[From French légèreté, from léger (light), from Vulgar Latin leviarius,
from Latin levis (light).]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=legerity
I began to follow at the same rate, but immediately
axiomatic (ak-see-uh-MAT-ik) adjective
1. Indisputably true; self-evident.
2. Aphoristic.
[From Greek axiomatikos, from axioma (honorable). Ultimately from
Indo-European root ag- (to drive, draw) that's also the fount of such
words as act, agent, agitate, litigate, synagogue, and
sodality (so-DAL-i-tee) noun
1. A fellowship or association.
2. In the Roman Catholic Church, a lay society for devotional or
charitable purposes.
[From Latin sodalitas (fellowship), from sodalis (companion).]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus:
doubt I shall ever stumble over the definition to axiomatic
again! A huge Axios! to Wordsmith for broadening all our horizons.
From: Diane Wing (diane.wingATfirstdata.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--legerity
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/legerity.html
My friend
rhinorrhea (ry-nuh-REE-uh) noun
A runny nose.
[From Neo-Latin, from Greek rhino- (nose), -rrhea (flow).]
Another word with the same prefix: rhinoceros.
Another word with the same suffix: logorrhea (excessive flow of words:
talkativeness).
So what happens when you combine these two words?
atretic (uh-TRET-ik) adjective
Of or relating to an abnormal closure or congenital absence of
a bodily opening.
[From Neo-Latin, from Greek a- (not) + tresis (perforation).]
'Is that aorta atretic?' Geoff asked.
Michael Ruhlman; Walk on Water: Inside an Elite Pediatric Surgical Unit;
fomites (FOM-i-teez) plural noun
Any inanimate object, such as a book, money, carpet, etc. that can
transmit germs from one person to another.
[From Latin fomites, plural of fomes (touchwood, tinder), from fovere
(to warm).]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus:
Tin Pan Alley (tin pan AL-ee) noun
Popular music industry; composers, songwriters, and music publishers
considered collectively.
[After West 28th Street in New York City where music publishers were
formerly centered. From the cacophony of cheap pianos and hack musicians
the area came to be
Wall Street (wol street) noun
US financial world.
[After a street in lower Manhattan, New York City, that was once home
to most of the major investment firms, banks, analyst firms, and the
New York Stock Exchange. The street got its name from the defensive
wall that the Dutch colonists built
AWADmail Issue 177
September 10, 2005
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
From: David Else (mailATdavidelse.com)
Subject: Re:
bevy (BEV-ee) noun
1. A group of birds or animals, especially larks, quail, or roe buck.
2. A group or collection.
[From Middle English bevey.]
A bevy of birds, winging silently across the sky on a clear moonless
night, is like a shipful of sailors in the middle of the sea.
Kathy
backronym (BAK-ro-nim) noun
A word re-interpreted as an acronym.
[Compound of back + acronym.]
In a backronym, an expansion is invented to treat an existing word as an
acronym. An example is the PERL programming language whose name is now
explained as an acronym of Practical Extraction and
ananym (AN-uh-nim) noun
A name formed by reversing letters of another name, often used as
a pseudonym.
[From Greek ana- (back) + -onym (name).]
Examples:
o Talk show host Oprah's production company is named Harpo.
o Doctor Seuss (Theodore Geisel) wrote many books under the name Theo
charactonym (KAR-ik-tuh-nim) noun
A name of a fictional character that suggests the personality traits
of that character.
[From English character, from Greek charakter (marking or engraving tool)
+ -onym (name).]
Example: Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan's novel The Rivals. She was
known
anonym (AN-uh-nim) noun
1. A false or assumed name.
2. An anonymous person or book.
[From French anonyme, from Latin anonymus, from Greek anonymos, from
an- (not) + -onyma (name).]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=anonym
And at the head of those stairs
AWADmail Issue 180
October 1, 2005
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
From: Alix Janik (ajwisATdiscover-net.net)
Subject: Re:
This week's theme: combining forms.
It's a good thing we don't have to go with the literal meaning of words or
we'd be exercising in the nude in the gymnasia. The word gymnasium derives
from the combining form gymno-, meaning nude or bare. Other words similarly
formed are gymoplast (protoplasm
This week's theme: words formed using combining forms.
Algophobia (al-guh-FO-bee-uh) noun
Usually having a phobia might brand you as a nut but here is a phobia
that indicates you're a regular human being, if you have it. Algophobia
is the fear of pain. Though the word indicates an
This week's theme: eponyms (words coined after people's names).
Maxwellian (maks-WEL-i-an) adjective
Of or relating to shady business practices, financial tricks, misuse
of public funds, etc.
In the US we had Ken Lay and friends from Enron; across the pond in
the UK, there was Ian
This week's theme: eponyms (words coined after people's names).
Heath Robinson (heeth ROB-in-suhn) adjective
Absurdly complex and fancifully impractical.
The term was coined after W. Heath Robinson (1872-1944), a British artist
known for drawing ingeniously complicated devices.
This week's theme: eponyms (words coined after people's names).
Vulcanian (vul-KAY-nee-uhn) adjective
Relating to a volcanic eruption; volcanic.
Relating to metalworking.
The word is coined after Vulcan, the god of fire and metalworking in
Roman mythology. Other terms derived from
AWADmail Issue 182
October 15, 2005
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
From: Yigal Levin (leviny1ATmail.biu.ac.il)
Subject: Re:
This week's theme: words about words.
lipogram (LIP-uh-gram) noun
A piece of writing that avoids one or more letters of the alphabet.
[From Greek lipo- (lacking) + gram (something written).]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=lipogram
In spite of what it
This week's theme: words about words.
godwottery (god-WOT-uhr-ee) noun
1. Gardening marked by an affected and elaborate style.
2. Affected use of archaic language.
[From the line A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! in a poem by
Thomas Edward Brown (1830-1897).]
Now here is a word
This week's theme: words about words.
allonym (AL-uh-nim) noun
The name of a person, usually historical, taken by an author
as a pen name (as opposed to using a fictional pseudonym).
[From French allonyme, from Greek allo- (other) + -onym (name).]
When one borrows the content of
This week's theme: words about words.
heterography (het-uh-ROG-ruh-fee) noun
1. A spelling different from the one in current use.
2. Use of the same letter(s) to convey different sounds,
for example, gh in rough and ghost.
[From Greek hetero (different) + -graphy (writing).]
This week's theme: words about words.
neologist (nee-OL-uh-gist) noun
One who coins, uses, or introduces new words, or redefines old words
in a language.
[From French néologisme, from Greek neo- (new) + -logy (science, study).]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus:
There is a Word for it.
With the largest vocabulary of any language, in English we have a word
to describe almost everything. And when we can't find one, we're happy
to borrow from another language (from German: schadenfreude, pleasure at
others' misfortune), or just make one up (petrichor, the
This week's theme: There is a word for it.
vagitus (vuh-JI-tuhs) noun
The cry of a newborn.
[From Latin vagire (to wail).]
A newborn child's cry is called vagitus. Babies' cries have been heard
even before their births. It's rare but vagitus uterinus has been
observed on occasions
This week's theme: There is a word for it.
nychthemeron (nik-THEM-er-on) noun
A full period of a day and night: 24 hours.
[From Greek, a combination of nykt- (night) and hemera (day).]
Ever wondered why day and night were divided into 12 hours? The number
12 is not as random as it
This week's theme: words that aren't what they appear to be.
undecimal (UHN-des-uh-muhl) adjective
Based on the number eleven.
[From Latin undecim (eleven).]
Some people do have undecimal hands: they might have eleven fingers.
The bonus digit is called supernumerary. Supernumerary parts
Not that I want to be a god or a hero. Just to change into a tree, grow for
ages, not hurt anyone. Using trees as the metaphor, these poignant words
of Nobel prizewinner Czeslaw Milosz sum up what it truly means to be human.
Perhaps we in the animal kingdom can learn much from those in the plant
This week's theme: words from the plant kingdom.
indehiscent (in-di-HIS-uhnt) adjective
Not bursting open at maturity.
[When a peapod is ripe after a long wait and bursts open, it's yawning,
etymologically speaking. The term indehiscent comes from Latin dehiscere
(to split open), from
This week's theme: uncommon homophones of common words.
copse (kops) noun
A thicket of small trees, bushes, shrubs, etc. especially one grown for
periodical cutting.
[Alteration of coppice. Via Middle English and French from Latin colpare
(to cut).]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus:
This week's theme: uncommon homophones of common words.
auricle (OR-i-kuhl) noun
1. The outer projecting part of the ear; also known as pinna.
2. An ear-shaped part of each atrium of the heart.
[From Latin auricula (little ear), from auris (ear). Ultimately from
Indo-European root
This week's theme: uncommon homophones of common words.
bourn (born) noun
1. A destination or goal.
2. A boundary or limit.
[From Middle French bourne, from Old French bodne (boundary). Ultimately
from Indo-European root bhendh- (to bind) that is also the source of band,
bend, bind,
daughter Laura who is 17 and about to enter Oxford next
year absolutely adores Wordsmith. Her Father tells me that she files each
day's word for reference. This is a young woman who has had enormous
academic success (was in the top five students, i.e. one of the five top
students, in the UK out
Assorted words.
Order is good. Mostly. It makes sure that the earth will go around the sun
in the same way as it has in the past and bring the summer to ripen the
mangoes. Patterns are good too -- most of the time. They help us find our
shoes easily among an array of other pairs.
But if we stick
This week in AWAD: assorted words.
velitation (vel-i-TAY-shuhn) noun
A minor dispute or skirmish.
[From Latin velitation-, from velitatus, past participle of velitari
(to skirmish), from veles (light-armed foot soldier). Ultimately from
Indo-European root weg- (to be strong or lively),
This week's theme: eponyms.
Cringeworthy (KRINJ-wur-thee) adjective
Causing extreme embarrassment.
[From Old English cringan (to yield or shrink). So someone cringeworthy
makes you feeling crinkled, etymologically speaking.]
The term was popularized by Cuthbert Cringeworthy, a character in
This week's theme: eponyms.
schmendrik (SHMEN-drik) noun, also shmendrik, schmendrick, shmendrick
A foolish, clueless, and naive person.
[After the name of the title character in an operetta by Abraham Goldfaden
(1840-1908).]
-Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org)
With his nasal whine and
This week's theme: eponyms.
poindexter (POIN-dek-stuhr) noun
An extremely intelligent but socially inept person.
[After Poindexter, a character in the animated series Felix the Cat.]
Poindexter is a synonym of nerd or geek. In the cartoon, Poindexter is the
nephew of The Professor, the
AWADmail Issue 190
December 10, 2005
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
From: Carolyn M. Makovi (carolyn.makoviATcfsan.fda.gov)
The great humorist Mark Twain once said, In Paris they simply stared when
I spoke to them in French; I never did succeed in making those idiots
understand their language. Well, that's the pitfall of learning a foreign
language away from its natural habitat. We might become proficient in the
This week's theme: terms from French.
carte blanche (kart blanch, kart blansh) noun
Unrestricted authority.
[From French carte blanche (blank card or blank document).]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=carte+blanche
-Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org)
Stewart
This week's theme: terms from French.
lese majesty or lèse majesté (leez MAJ-uh-stee) noun
1. An offense against a sovereign power.
2. An attack against someone's dignity or against a custom or institution
held sacred.
[From French lèse-majesté, from Latin crimen laesae maiestatis
AWADmail Issue 191
December 17, 2005
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
From: Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org)
Subject: Interesting
Last spring, I spoke to my daughter's second-grade (or standard) class.
I told the children I was a writer and spent 20 delightful minutes with
them talking about words and wordplay, anagrams and palindromes, puns and
more. Little hands went up throughout the talk. They had questions to ask,
they
This week's theme: words related to words, writing, and language.
Sprachgefuhl (SHPRAKH-guh-fyool) noun
A feeling for language or a sensitivity for what is correct language.
[From German Sprachgefuhl, from Sprache (language) and Gefühl (feeling).]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus:
This week's theme: words related to words, writing, and language.
verso (VUR-so) noun
1. A left-hand page.
2. The back of a page.
[Short for Latin verso folio, from verso (turned) and folio (leaf).
From versus (turning), from vertere (to turn). Ultimately from the
Indo-European root wer-
This week's theme: words related to words, writing, and language.
curlicue or curlycue (KUR-li-kyoo) noun
A decorative curl or twist, in a signature, calligraphy, etc.
[From curly, from curl, from crul (yes, that's how it was spelled earlier)
+ cue, from Old French cue (tail).]
Today's word
AWADmail Issue 192
December 24, 2005
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
From: Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org)
Subject: Wordlovers'
This week's theme: words to describe the Earth's features.
couloir (KOOL-wahr) noun
A steep mountainside gorge or gully.
[From French couloir (passage), from couler (to flow), from Latin colare
(to filter), from colum (sieve).]
-Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org)
The nearby Mont Blanc tunnel
This week's theme: words to describe the Earth's features.
peneplain (PEE-nuh-playn, pee-nuh-PLAYN) noun
An area of nearly flat, featureless land formed by a long period
of erosion.
[From pene- (almost), from Latin paene + plain, from Latin planus.]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus:
AWADmail Issue 193
December 31, 2005
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
From: Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org)
Subject: Interesting
' Messages:
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