AWADmail Issue 187
November 19, 2005
A Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day
and Other Interesting Tidbits about Words and Languages
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From: Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org)
Subject: Interesting stories from the net
Talking the Tawk:
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/051114ta_talk_seabrook
Noam Chomsky On The Spontaneous Invention Of Language:
http://www.forbes.com/2005/10/19/chomsky-noam-language-invention-comm05-cx_de_1024chomskyinvent.html
2b?Ntb?:
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,6109,1644241,00.html
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From: Scout Hatfield-Gonzales (scoutsATgmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--tropism
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/tropism.html
An interesting example of tropism, of which most people are unaware, can
be seen in the new craze of "lucky bamboo". The plant (which is actually a
Dracaena, and not a bamboo at all) would grow straight without an external
stimulus. Nurseries restrict the light source for the stalks as they grow,
forcing them to reach for an ever-adjusting light source, and causing the
characteristic spiral patterns which are so attractive to buyers. In most
cases, this takes years to accomplish, and I'm always amazed by how cheap
the individual plants are.
Here's a particularly pretty example:
http://www.espaflor.com/images/pictures/lucky_bamboo/lucky_bamboo_1.jpg
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From: Evelyn Widhalm (evelynwATblackfoot.net)
Subject: Tropism
I am a school counselor at Clinton, Montana and when I talk to the students
about resiliency I am going to use the word tropism and bring in a plant to
demonstrate. It will be a great object lesson I think.
----------------------------
From: Greg Chubak (greg.chubakATinternational.gc.ca)
Subject: tropism
Which would beget 'malatropism' - when one reacts improperly to an
external stumulus.
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From: Keith Goeringer (kegoeringerAThotmail.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--ecesis
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/ecesis.html
The word oikos 'house' also comes from the same root, and gives part of
the word 'economy' -- depending on how you look at the "nomos" part, it
could be 'management of the house', 'rule of the house', or something
similar. So 'home economics' is somewhat redundant, at least etymologically.
----------------------------
From: Sharon Smith (mainelyneuropsychATprexar.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--dendrochronology
When one of my children was about three years old, she looked up at me so
sweetly as I was tucking her into bed. Clearly searching her small lexicon
to come up with just the right words to show how much she loved me, she
said: "Mommy, your wrinkles are just like ocean waves!"
If I looked like that in 1982, you can only imagine what I must look like
now!
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From: Katy Keenan (katykeenanATyahoo.com)
Subject: Re: dendrochronology
Just the day after this word was on AWAD, I read in "Heritage Today",
a magazine for members of English Heritage, that they have used
dendrochronology to identify the oldest door in Britain. A detailed
archaeological study of the "Pyx" door, which opens into the outer vestibule
of Westnimster Abbey's octagonal Chapter House, reveals that the wood in the
door was felled between 1032 and 1064AD, and that the door was made some
time in the 1050s. The article also goes on to quote: "It is incredible to
think that when the Pyx door was made, the Norman Conquest had not yet
happened and William of Normandy was still a young man of about 20."
----------------------------
From: Robert Sanford (rsanfordATteleport.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--dendrochronology
Here's a lovely poem that expresses what you said about people's faces
reflecting their lives as tree rings reflect the age of trees.
On Seeing Weather-Beaten Trees
In our own lives, is it as plainly shown,
By every slant and twist, which way the wind has blown?
Adele Crapsey
----------------------------
From: Lee Triesler (lee.trieslerATdoverpost.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--dendrochronology
Perhaps we will be the society known as much for the erasure of facial
dendrochronology (plasticochronology? Botoxochronology?) as we're known for
killing off so many of the trees (would that be called dendrochronology
prevention?)
----------------------------
From: Yocheved Desnick (ydesnickATnds.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--palmy
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/palmy.html
Living here in the Middle East where palm trees are indigenous, I feel
as if I have developed a stronger relationship with them emotionally than
I ever had when I lived in the US.
I think that the association of palm tress with prosperity goes even further
than what you have mentioned below. Palm trees are proof of the existence of
water. That is, wandering through a desert and finding an abundance of palm
trees would signify an oasis or some other natural water source. Water = life,
especially here in the parched deserts. Oases and areas with a central water
source were also frequently centers of commerce on anything from a small to
more grand scale. Hence, in my opinion, the association of prosperity.
----------------------------
From: Chris Johansen (johansenATmain.nc.us)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--palmy
>palmy (PAH-mee) adjective
>Why the association of palm with prosperity? The branches
>of the palm tree were carried as symbols of victory in
>ancient times. There is a related term, palmary, meaning
>outstanding or praiseworthy.
As in Palme d'Or ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palme_d'Or ).
----------------------------
From: Art Haykin (theartATwebtv.net)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--palmy
>From the palm tree we get:
palmy (PAH-mee) adjective
1. Abounding in palm trees.
2. Flourishing; prosperous.
And from the balm tree, (a small evergreen African and Asiatic tree of
the terebinthine family (Balsamodendron Gileadense); its leaves yield,
when bruised, a strong aromatic scent; and from this tree is obtained
the balm of Gilead of the shops), we get:
balmy (BALL-mee) adjective
1. Off in the head a bit
2. Harmlessly crazy
3. A soothing ointment
............................................................................
The greatest masterpiece in literature is only a dictionary out of order.
-Jean Cocteau, writer, artist, and filmmaker
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