Cherish Life

Word of the day: leviathan (noun)

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:35:35 GMT

SATURDAY

leviathan • \luh-VYE-uh-thun\ • noun
1 : the political state; especially : a totalitarian state having a vast bureaucracy
*2 : something large or formidable

Example Sentence:
Towering leviathans of the forest, these giant sequoias often reach heights of more than 200 feet.

Did you know?</b>
Old Testament references to a huge sea monster, "Leviathan" (in Hebrew, "Liwyāthān"), are thought to spring from an ancient myth in which the god Baal slays a multiheaded sea monster. Leviathan appears in the book of Psalms, as a sea serpent that is killed by God and then given as food to the Hebrews in the wilderness, and it is referred to in the book of Job as well. We began equating "Leviathan" with the political state after the philosopher Thomas Hobbes used the word in (and as the title of) his 1651 political treatise on government. Today, "Leviathan" often suggests a crushing political bureaucracy. "Leviathan" can also be immensely useful as a general term meaning "something monstrous or of enormous size."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Word of the day: bark (noun)

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:01:54 GMT

SATURDAY

Main Entry: bark
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse bark-, bǫrkr; akin to Middle Dutch & Middle Low German borke bark
Date: 14th century

A candy containing chocolate and nuts that is made in a sheet and broken into piece

Word of the day: sacerdotal (adj.)

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:04:21 GMT

SUNDAY

sacerdotal • \sass-er-DOH-tul\ • adjective
*1 : of or relating to priests or a priesthood : priestly
2 : of, relating to, or suggesting religious belief emphasizing the powers of priests as essential mediators between God and mankind

Example Sentence:
It surprised Jim whenever Father Thomas would shed his sacerdotal role to take up a secular topic of conversation such as contemporary rock music.

Did you know?
"Sacerdotal" is one of a host of English words derived from the Latin adjective "sacer," meaning "sacred." Other words derived from "sacer" include "desecrate," "sacrifice," "sacrilege," "consecrate," "sacrament," and even "execrable" (developed from the Latin word "exsecrari," meaning "to put under a curse"). One unlikely "sacer" descendant is "sacrum," referring to the series of five vertebrae in the lower back connected to the pelvis. In Latin this bone was called the "os sacrum," or "holy bone," a translation of the Greek "hieron osteon."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Word of the day: ripsnorter (noun)

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:40:30 GMT

MONDAY

ripsnorter • \RIP-SNOR-ter\ • noun
: something extraordinary : humdinger

Example Sentence:
"Inevitably, good and evil clash in a ripsnorter of a final battle, but along the way, there is action, adventure, danger, comic relief and -- always -- very good eating." (Sue Corbette, The Miami Herald, January 22, 1999)

Did you know?
English speakers of the mid-19th century already had the term "snorter" at their disposal if they wanted a colorful term for something extraordinary, but that didn't stop speakers in the U.S. from throwing the verb "rip" onto the front of the word to create "ripsnorter." And they didn't stop there: By the time the 20th century had reached its quarter mark, U.S. speakers had added "hummer," "humdinger" (probably an alteration of "hummer"), "pip" (from "pippin," a kind of crisp, tart apple and a term for a highly admirable person or thing), and "doozy" (thought to be an alteration of "daisy") to the catalog of words for the striking or extraordinary.

Word of the day: dead hand (noun)

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:34:32 GMT

WEDNESDAY

dead hand • \DED-HAND\ • noun
1 : an inalienable possession of property by a church or corporation
*2 : the oppressive influence of the past

Example Sentence:
"If newspapers wish to survive," said Edward, "then editors need to wrest free from the dead hand of print journalism and embrace the more dynamic capabilities of the Web."

Did you know?
Does "dead hand" make you picture a pale dismembered hand creeping slowly toward its next unsuspecting victim? If so, you're in for a surprise -- but not a scary one. "Dead hand" is a literal translation of the etymology of an older English word, "mortmain," which comes from the Old French words "morte" (meaning "dead") and "main" (meaning "hand"). In very unspooky terms, the words describe property that is left to a company, church, or charity in perpetuity. The "oppressive past influence" sense of both "mortmain" and "dead hand" developed from the idea of the dead exercising posthumous control over their property by dictating how it must be used after they die.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Word of the day: contemn (verb)

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:11:50 GMT

THURSDAY

contemn • \kun-TEM\ • verb
: to view or treat with contempt : scorn

Example Sentence:
Jacob believes that any rational scientist must contemn theories of magic and the supernatural.

Did you know?
"Contemn" is derived from the Latin verb "contemnere," a word formed by combining "con-" and "temnere" ("to despise"). Surprisingly, our verb may have come within a hair's breadth of being spelled "contempn." The Middle French word "contempner" arrived in Middle English as "contempnen," but that extra "p" disappeared, leaving us with "contemn." You may be wondering about the connection between "contemn" and "contempt," and not surprisingly, they are related. "Contempt" comes from Latin "contemptus," which comes from "contemnere." "Contemn" first turned up in print in the 15th century; "contempt" dates from the 14th century.

Word of the day: dernier cri (noun)

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:40:24 GMT

TUESDAY

dernier cri • \dairn-yay-KREE\ • noun
: the newest fashion

Example Sentence:
When it came to shopping for a new wardrobe for school, Jacqueline tended to ignore the dernier cri and would instead pick clothes that suited her own tastes.

Did you know?
Paris has long been the last word in fashion, but hot designer clothes from the city's renowned runways aren’t the only stylish French exports. Words, too, sometimes come with a French label. "Dernier cri," literally "last cry," is one such chic French borrowing. The word is no trendy fad, however. More than a century has passed since "dernier cri" was the latest thing on the English language scene (and cut-steel jewelry was declared the dernier cri by the Westminster Gazette of December 10, 1896), but the term (unlike cut-steel) remains as modish as ever. Other fashionable French words have walked the runways of the English language since then: "blouson" (1904); "couture" (1908); "culotte" (1911); "lamé" (a clothing fabric, 1922); and "bikini" (1947), to name a few.

Word of the day: expatiate (verb)

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:11:06 GMT

SATURDAY

expatiate • \ek-SPAY-shee-ayt\ • verb
1 : to move about freely or at will : wander
*2 : to speak or write at length or in detail

Example Sentence:
The middle schoolers grew restless as Mr. Donald expatiated on Pluto's classification as a dwarf planet.

Did you know?
The Latin antecedent of "expatiate" is "exspatiari," which combines the prefix "ex-" ("out of") with "spatiari" ("to take a walk"), itself from "spatium" ("space" or "course"). "Exspatiari" means "to wander from a course" and, in the figurative sense, "to digress." But when English speakers began using "expatiate" in 1538, we took "wander" as simply "to move about freely." In a similar digression from the original Latin, we began using "expatiate" in a figurative sense of "to speak at length." That's the sense of the word most often used these days, usually in combination with "on" or "upon."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Word of the day: gallimaufry (noun)

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 02:50:06 GMT

SATURDAY

gallimaufry • \gal-uh-MAW-free\ • noun
: hodgepodge

Example Sentence:
I was ready to leave the flea market, when, on one table, among a gallimaufry of undistinguished objects, I caught sight of an exquisite silver spoon engraved with my initials.

Did you know?
If the word "gallimaufry" doesn't make your mouth water, it may be because you don't know its history. In the 16th century, Middle-French speaking cooks made a meat stew called "galimafree." It must have been a varied dish, because English speakers chose its name for any mix or jumble of things. If "gallimaufry" isn't to your taste, season your speech with one of its synonyms: "hash" (which can be a muddle or chopped meat and potatoes), "hotchpotch" (a stew or a hodgepodge), or "potpourri" (another stew turned medley).

Word of the day: mohair (noun)

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:04:49 GMT

TUESDAY

mohair • \MOH-hair\ • noun
: a fabric or yarn made wholly or in part of the long silky hair of the Angora goat; also : this hair

Example Sentence:
This year's product line includes coats and sweaters made from mohair produced in Texas.

Did you know?
"Mohair" entered the English language in the 16th century, spelled variously as "mocayare," "mockaire," "mokayre," and "moochary." It was borrowed from Italian "mocaiarro," a word which itself was borrowed from Arabic "mukhayyar." The adjective "mukhayyar" meant "select" or "choice." How this Arabic adjective came to be the English noun "mohair" is a bit of a mystery. It is possible that "mukhayyar" was used as a colloquial noun in the sense of "wool of prime quality" (that is, "choice wool"). In English, the shift from "mocayare" and similar spellings to "mohair" was likely influenced by the more familiar English word "hair."

Word of the day: reiterate (verb)

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 01:43:37 GMT

SATURDAY

reiterate • \ree-IT-uh-rayt\ • verb
: to state or do over again or repeatedly sometimes with wearying effect

Example Sentence:
Megan rolled her eyes as her mother reiterated the rules for the umpteenth time.

Did you know?
Can you guess the meaning of "iterate," a less common relative of "reiterate"? It must mean simply "to state or do," right? Nope. Actually, "iterate" also means "to state or do again." It's no surprise, then, that some usage commentators have insisted that "reiterate" must always mean "to say or do again AND AGAIN." No such nice distinction exists in actual usage, however. Both "reiterate" and "iterate" can convey the idea of a single repetition or of many repetitions. "Reiterate" is the older of the two words -- it first appeared in the 15th century, whereas "iterate" turned up around 1533. Both stem from the Latin verb "iterare," which is itself from "iterum" ("again"), but "reiterate" took an extra step, through Latin "reiterare"("to repeat").

Word of the day: weird (adj.)

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:18:02 GMT

SATURDAY

weird • \WEERD\ • adjective
1 : of, relating to, or caused by witchcraft or the supernatural
*2 : of strange or extraordinary character : odd, fantastic
Example Sentence:
"Again was I suddenly recalled to my immediate surroundings by a repetition of the weird moan from the depths of the cave." (Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars)

Did you know?
You may know today’s word as a generalized term describing something unusual, but "weird" also has older meanings that are more specific. "Weird" derives from the Old English noun "wyrd," essentially meaning "fate." By the 8th century, the plural "wyrde" had begun to appear in texts as a gloss for "Parcae," the Latin name for the Fates -- three goddesses who spun, measured, and cut the thread of life. In the 15th and16th centuries, Scots authors employed "werd" or "weird" in the phrase "weird sisters" to refer to the Fates. William Shakespeare adopted this usage in Macbeth, in which the "weird sisters" are depicted as three witches. Subsequent adjectival use of "weird" grew out of a reinterpretation of the "weird" used by Shakespeare.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
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Word of the day: periphrasis (noun)

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:39:26 GMT

TUESDAY

periphrasis • \puh-RIFF-ruh-sis\ • noun
1 : use of a longer phrasing in place of a possible shorter form of expression
*2 : an instance of periphrasis

Example Sentence:
The college English teacher warned her students against padding their essays with periphrases solely to reach the required length.

Did you know?
It's easy enough to point out the origins of "periphrasis": the word was borrowed into English in the early 16th century via Latin from Greek "periphrazein," which in turn comes from the prefix "peri-," meaning "all around," and the verb "phrazein," "to point out." Two common descendants of "phrazein" in English are "phrase" and "paraphrase," the latter of which combines "phrazein" with the prefix "para-," meaning "closely resembling." Another "phrazein" descendant is the less familiar word "holophrasis," meaning "the expression of a complex of ideas in a single word or in a fixed phrase." (The prefix "holo-" can mean "completely.")

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Word of the day: roman à clef (noun)

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:19:47 GMT

SATURDAY

roman à clef • \roh-mahn-ah-KLAY\ • noun
: a novel in which real persons or actual events figure under disguise

Example Sentence:
Critics quickly identified the ex-press secretary’s new novel as a roman a clef with characters closely resembling figures from the current presidential administration.

Did you know?
"Unlock the fiction, open the door and see the very real people behind it," wrote Jeff Simon in The Buffalo News (March 19, 1998). That can be easily done when a roman à clef uses fictitious names to present thinly veiled depictions of well-known people or events. But what if only a few insiders know the real people or incidents? In the 1800s, such romans a clef sometimes included a key, a list matching fictional characters with their real-life counterparts, that helped readers recognize the players. Such keys made "roman a clef" (from a French phrase meaning "a novel with a key") an apt term for such works. Nowadays, there are no published keys in a roman à clef -- merely veiled (or sometimes blatant) references that connect fact with fiction.

Word of the day: cavalcade (noun)

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:38:39 GMT

TUESDAY: Train sounds are sort of fun to listen to.

cavalcade • \kav-ul-KAYD\ • noun
1 a : a procession of riders or carriages * b : a procession of vehicles or ships
2 : a dramatic sequence or procession : series

Example Sentence:
The crowds cheered and waved as the cavalcade of fire trucks rolled through the streets along the parade route.

Did you know?
When "cavalcade" was first used in English, it meant "a horseback ride" or "a march or raid made on horseback." Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, used it this way in his 1647 History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England : "He had with some Troops, made a Cavalcade or two into the West." From there came the "procession of riders" meaning and eventual applications to processions in a broader sense. "Cavalcade" came to English via French from the Old Italian noun "cavalcata," which in turn came from an Old Italian verb, "cavalcare," meaning "to go on horseback." Ultimately, these words came from the Latin word "caballus," meaning "horse."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Word of the day: occiput (noun)

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:56:11 GMT

MONDAY: Free day. Woohoo!

occiput • \AHK-sih-put\ • noun
: the back part of the head or skull

Example Sentence:
"So let me suggest that everyone put away their pitchforks and firebrands and stop trying to 'bury the hatchet' by planting it in the other fellow's occiput." (Allan Falk, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, May 7, 2007)

Did you know?
"Occiput" came to English from Latin, where it was created from "ob-," meaning "against," and "capit-" or "caput," meaning "head." Its adjectival form, "occipital," meaning "of, relating to, or located within or near the occiput or the occipital bone," abounds in medical texts but is found in literary ones too, as in George Eliot's description of the coiffure of the "young ladies who frizzed their hair, and gathered it all into large barricades in front of their heads, leaving their occipital region exposed without ornament, as if that, being a back view, was of no consequence…" in Scenes of Clerical Life. Another "caput" derivation is "sinciput," a word used to refer to either the forehead or the upper half of the skull.

Word of the day: complaisant (adj.)

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:48:39 GMT

MONDAY: A bit confusing.

complaisant • \kum-PLAY-sunt\ • adjective
*1 : marked by an inclination to please or oblige
2 : tending to consent to others' wishes

Example Sentence:
Derek was a complaisant boy, always happy to oblige whenever his mother or father asked him to go on an errand.

Did you know?
The homophones "complaisant" and "complacent" are often confused -- and no wonder. Not only do they look and sound alike, but they also both derive ultimately from Latin "complacēre," meaning "to please greatly." "Complacent" usually means "self-satisfied" or "unconcerned," but it also shares with "complaisant" the sense of "marked by an inclination to please or oblige." This sense of "complacent" is an old one, but that hasn't kept language critics from labeling it as an error -- and on the whole, modern writers do prefer "complaisant" for this meaning. Conversely, "complaisant" is sometimes mistakenly used in contexts such as "complaisant about injustices," where "complacent," with its sense of "marked by self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies," should go. One aid is to remember that with the preposition "about," you probably want "complacent."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Word of the day: links (noun)

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:39:36 GMT

THURSDAY

links • \LINKS\ • noun plural
1 Scottish : sand hills especially along the seashore
*2 : golf course

Example Sentence:
Numerous celebrity golfers took to the links this weekend to raise money for charity.

Did you know?
The game of golf originated on the sandy hills of Scotland, on a type of terrain known as "links" or "linksland." Eventually, the game's layout came to be called by the same name as the land, and "links" developed the meaning of "a golf course built on the coastline," which eventually broadened to include any golf course. "Links" is ultimately derived from the Old English word "hlincas" (the plural of "hlinc," meaning "ridge"). Recorded evidence of "hlinces" (a variant of "hlincas") goes back as far as 931, but "links" began appearing in English only in the 15th century. Britain has a number of old-fashioned links courses (built to resemble the Scottish landscape and located on the coastline), and there are a few in the United States as well.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Word of the day: jingoism (noun)

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:31:48 GMT

WEDNESDAY: "Web 2.0" is apparently the millionth English (American) word. Word.

jingoism • \JING-goh-is-uhm\ • noun
: extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy

Example Sentence:
Albert Einstein was a pacifist who found German jingoism, with its ultra-nationalistic ideology and militaristic policy, so objectionable that he left his homeland in 1933, never to return.

Did you know?
"Jingoism" originated during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, when many British citizens were hostile toward Russia and felt Britain should intervene in the conflict. Supporters of the cause expressed their sentiments in a music-hall ditty with this refrain:

"We don't want to fight, yet by jingo if we do,
We've got the ships, we've got the men,
We've got the money, too!"

Someone holding the attitude implied in the song became known as a "jingo" or "jingoist," and the attitude itself was dubbed "jingoism." The "jingo" in the tune is probably a euphemism for "Jesus."

Word of the day: flamboyant (adj.)

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:14:11 GMT

TUESDAY

flamboyant • \flam-BOY-ant\ • adjective
1 : characterized by waving curves suggesting flames
*2 : marked by or given to strikingly elaborate or colorful display or behavior

Example Sentence:
The circus performers were easily identifiable by their flamboyant costumes and stage makeup.

Did you know?
If you've ever heard of a dessert served flambé, you already have some insight into the origins of today's word. "Flamboyant," which was borrowed into English from French in the 19th century, can be traced back to Old French "flambe," meaning "flame." In its earliest uses "flamboyant" referred to a style of architecture, often in the florid French Gothic style, which featured waving curves that suggested flames. Eventually, the word developed a more general second sense for anything eye-catching or showy. As you have no doubt guessed, Old French "flambe" is also the origin of the English adjective "flambé."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Word of the day: spurious (adj.)

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 06:29:52 GMT

THURSDAY

spurious • \SPYUR-ee-us\ • adjective
1 : of illegitimate birth
*2 : not genuine : false

Example Sentence:
Reid’s claim that his grandfather was friends with Mickey Mantle sounded spurious to me, and I didn't believe it until he showed me a photo of his grandfather alongside the legendary slugger.

Did you know?
The classical Latin adjective "spurius" started out as a word meaning "illegitimate." In the days of ancient Rome, it was sometimes even used as a first name for illegitimate offspring (apparently with no dire effects). There was a certain Spurius Lucretius, for example, who was made temporary magistrate of Rome. In less tolerant times, 18th-century English writer Horace Walpole noted that Henry VII "came of the spurious stock of John of Gaunt." Today, we still use "spurious" to mean "illegitimate," but the more common meaning is "false" (a sense introduced to "spurious" in Late Latin). Originally our "false" sense emphasized improper origin, and it still often does ("a spurious signature"), but it can also simply mean "fake" or "not real."

Word of the day: malinger (verb)

Fri, 29 May 2009 06:41:56 GMT

THURSDAY

malinger • \muh-LING-gur\ • verb
: to pretend or exaggerate incapacity or illness (as to avoid duty or work)

Example Sentence:
The beautiful spring weather put Lynn in a mood to malinger, so she called in sick to work and headed to the park.

Did you know?
Do you know someone who always seems to develop an ailment when there's work to be done? Someone who merits an Academy Award for his or her superb simulation of symptoms? Then you know a malingerer. The verb "malinger" comes from the French word "malingre," meaning "sickly," and one who malingers feigns illness. In its earliest uses in the 19th century, "malinger" usually referred to a soldier or sailor pretending to be sick or insane to shirk duty. Later, psychologists began using "malingering" as a clinical term to describe the feigning of illness in avoidance of a duty or for personal gain. Today, "malinger" is used in just about any context in which someone fakes sickness or injury to get out of an undesirable task.

Word of the day: jocund (adj.)

Thu, 28 May 2009 03:39:05 GMT

WEDNESDAY

jocund • \JAH-kund\ • adjective
: marked by or suggestive of high spirits and lively mirthfulness

Example Sentence:
I had heard that Perry had been in a sour mood lately, so I was surprised and relieved to discover that he was his usual jocund self when he met me for coffee.

Did you know?
Don't let the etymology of "jocund" play tricks on you. The word comes from "jucundus," a Latin word meaning "agreeable" or "delightful," and ultimately from the Latin verb "juvare," meaning "to help." But "jucundus" looks and sounds a bit like "jocus," the Latin word for "joke." These two roots took a lively romp through many centuries together and along the way the lighthearted "jocus" influenced the spelling and meaning of "jucundus," an interaction that eventually produced our Modern English word "jocund" in the 14th century.

Word of the day: manumit (verb)

Sat, 23 May 2009 06:42:08 GMT

FRIDAY

manumit • \man-yuh-MIT\ • verb
: to release from slavery

Example Sentence:
After they were manumitted by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, millions of former slaves celebrated their newfound freedom.

Did you know?
To set someone free from captivity is in effect to release that person from the hand, or control, of the captor. You can use this analogy to remember that "manumit" derives ultimately from the Latin noun "manus," meaning "hand," plus the Latin verb "mittere," meaning "to let go" or "send." The two roots joined hands in Latin to form the verb "manumittere" (meaning "to free from slavery"), which in turn passed into Anglo-French as "manumettre" and eventually into Middle English as "manumitten." "Manus" has handed down other words to English as well. One of them is "emancipate," which is both a relative and synonym of "manumit."

Word of the day: plenary (adj.)

Thu, 21 May 2009 07:27:54 GMT

THURSDAY

plenary • \PLEE-nuh-ree\ • adjective
*1 : complete in every respect : absolute, unqualified
2 : fully attended or constituted by all entitled to be present

Example Sentence:
The U.S. Congress has plenary power to pass laws regulating immigration and naturalization.

Did you know?
In the 14th century, the monk Robert of Brunne described a situation in which all the knights of King Arthur's Round Table were present at court by writing, "When Arthures court was plener, and alle were comen, fer and ner. . . ." For 200 years, "plener" (also spelled "plenar") served English well for both senses that we reserve for "plenary" today. But we'd borrowed "plener" from Anglo-French, and, although the French had relied on Latin "plenus" ("full") for their word, the revival of interest in the Classics during the English Renaissance led scholars to prefer purer Latin origins. In the 15th century, English speakers turned to Late Latin "plenarius" and came up with "plenary." ("Plenarius" also comes from "plenus," which is the source of our "plenty" and "replenish" as well.)