Word of the Day
- Giovanni Schwartz
- Posts: 3396
- Joined: Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:41 pm
Re: Word of the Day
Xerophyte, probably.
Bah. Too slow.
Bah. Too slow.
Re: Word of the Day
Giovanni Schwartz wrote:Xerophyte, probably.
Re: Word of the Day
I can think of a word that has m-a-s-t-_-_-_-a-t-e that makes some people tug at their collar when spoken in polite companyDefy V wrote:Masticate is always one of those words I have to remind myself the meaning of. It just means to chew! Why does it sound so dirty?
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.
Re: Word of the Day
doughty - Marked by stouthearted courage; brave. Hardy; resolute
[Old English dohtig; related to Old High German toht worth, Middle Dutch duchtich strong, Greek tukhē luck]
Guessed it meant "old-fashioned" or "stuffy." Sound link to "dowager," perhaps?
ersatz - Made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else.
Not real or genuine.
[German, replacement, from ersetzen, to replace, from Old High German irsezzan : ir-, out; see ud- in Indo-European roots + sezzan, to set; see sed- in Indo-European roots.]
Guessed it meant "makeshift" - was apparent from context! Love the sound.
Apparently reading The Atlantic is good for expanding one's vocabulary.
[Old English dohtig; related to Old High German toht worth, Middle Dutch duchtich strong, Greek tukhē luck]
Guessed it meant "old-fashioned" or "stuffy." Sound link to "dowager," perhaps?
ersatz - Made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else.
Not real or genuine.
[German, replacement, from ersetzen, to replace, from Old High German irsezzan : ir-, out; see ud- in Indo-European roots + sezzan, to set; see sed- in Indo-European roots.]
Guessed it meant "makeshift" - was apparent from context! Love the sound.
Apparently reading The Atlantic is good for expanding one's vocabulary.
- Giovanni Schwartz
- Posts: 3396
- Joined: Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:41 pm
Re: Word of the Day
The Ersatz Elevator, anyone?
Re: Word of the Day
Correct, now that I think about it. They look so different on paper!Marduk wrote:No, you probably had it confused with the word dowdy.
Re: Word of the Day
flight, n. - The tail end of a dart (made of feathers, paper, etc.)
Source: A conversation with a coworker where we realized we didn't know the name for that part of a dart, so he looked it up and now we do!
(I realize that going from meaning to word is the reverse of most word of the day posts, but I think it still counts.)
Source: A conversation with a coworker where we realized we didn't know the name for that part of a dart, so he looked it up and now we do!
(I realize that going from meaning to word is the reverse of most word of the day posts, but I think it still counts.)
Re: Word of the Day
a·nad·ro·mous, adj. - (of a fish, such as the salmon) Migrating up rivers from the sea to spawn. (Fish which migrate in the opposite direction for spawning are said to be catadromous.)
Source: Yet another thesis.
Source: Yet another thesis.
Re: Word of the Day
Isogloss - The geographical boundary of a certain linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or use of some syntactic feature.Katya wrote:Some day, I would love to see an actual smiley-faced isogloss.
Re: Word of the Day
Ha!S.A.M. wrote:Isogloss - The geographical boundary of a certain linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or use of some syntactic feature.Katya wrote:Some day, I would love to see an actual smiley-faced isogloss.
Re: Word of the Day
la·cus·trine, adj. (stress on second syllable) - Of, relating to, or associated with lakes: "fluvial and lacustrine deposits".
Source: Master's thesis in Earth Sciences
Source: Master's thesis in Earth Sciences
Re: Word of the Day
Eponyms are interesting to me because they have built-in stories.
com·stock·er·y
/ˈkämˌstäkərē/
Noun
Excessive opposition to supposed immorality in the arts.
After Anthony Comstock, a very zealous US postal inspector. From that article:
com·stock·er·y
/ˈkämˌstäkərē/
Noun
Excessive opposition to supposed immorality in the arts.
After Anthony Comstock, a very zealous US postal inspector. From that article:
Comstock's ideas of what might be "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" were quite broad. During his time of greatest power, even some anatomy textbooks were prohibited from being sent to medical students by the United States Postal Service.
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.
Re: Word of the Day
I never really thought about that aspect of them before. Nice insight.Digit wrote:Eponyms are interesting to me because they have built-in stories.
Re: Word of the Day
martinet, n. - A strict disciplinarian, esp. in the armed forces.
Etymology: from Jean Martinet, a French soldier who devised a system of strict military drills.
(It's an eponym, Digit!)
Source: An old episode of Bones.
Etymology: from Jean Martinet, a French soldier who devised a system of strict military drills.
(It's an eponym, Digit!)
Source: An old episode of Bones.
Re: Word of the Day
Nice Was Martinet draconian in his punishments?Katya wrote:martinet, n. - A strict disciplinarian, esp. in the armed forces.
Etymology: from Jean Martinet, a French soldier who devised a system of strict military drills.
(It's an eponym, Digit!)
Source: An old episode of Bones.
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.
- Giovanni Schwartz
- Posts: 3396
- Joined: Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:41 pm
Re: Word of the Day
Katya wrote:Source: An old episode of Bones.
+1
Re: Word of the Day
And Machiavellian in his motivations.Digit wrote:Nice Was Martinet draconian in his punishments?Katya wrote:martinet, n. - A strict disciplinarian, esp. in the armed forces.
Etymology: from Jean Martinet, a French soldier who devised a system of strict military drills.
(It's an eponym, Digit!)
Source: An old episode of Bones.
Re: Word of the Day
instantiation: a representation of an idea in the form of an instance of it; "how many instantiations were found?".
reading an academic article on ecological simulations
reading an academic article on ecological simulations