February 05, 2012
Word of the Day

CIRCUMVENT
audio pronunciation
\ser-kum-VENT\

DEFINITION

verb
1
: to hem in
2
: to make a circuit around
3
: to manage to get around especially by ingenuity or stratagem

EXAMPLES

Even though a clear detour route has been marked for all to use, some motorists have sought their own creative ways to circumvent the road construction.

"But [non-disclosure agreements] are increasingly rare. Many states do not enforce them; there are easy ways for those with malicious intent to circumvent them; and pursuing legal action is more expensive than most startup companies can afford." -- From an article by Yasine Armstrong in the Albuquerque (New Mexico) Journal, December 19, 2011

DID YOU KNOW?

If you’ve ever felt as if someone were circling around the rules, you have an idea of the origins of "circumvent" -- it derives from the Latin "circum," meaning "circle," and "ventus," the past participle of the Latin verb "venire," meaning "to come." The earliest uses of "circumvent" referred to a tactic of hunting or warfare in which the quarry or enemy was encircled and captured. Today, however, "circumvent" more often suggests avoidance than entrapment; it typically means to "get around" someone or something, as in our example sentences.

Circumvent--politics. Circumcise is base root word to remove in a circular fashion, why can't we do that in D.C.?

February 08, 2012
Word of the Day

PRESCIND
audio pronunciation
\prih-SIND\

DEFINITION

verb
: to withdraw one's attention

EXAMPLES

If we prescind from the main issue for a moment, there is much to be gained by studying some corollary questions.

"For my purposes, we may happily prescind from the metaphysics." -- From John Collins' 2011 book The Unity of Linguistic Meaning

DID YOU KNOW?

"Prescind" derives from the Latin verb "praescindere," which means "to cut off in front." "Praescindere," in turn, was formed by combining "prae-" ("before") and "scindere" ("to cut" or "to split"). So it should come as no surprise that when "prescind" began being used during the 17th century, it referred to "cutting off" one’s attention from a subject. An earlier (now archaic) sense was even clearer about the etymological origins of the word, with the meaning "to cut short, off, or away" or "to sever." Other descendants of "scindere" include "rescind" and the rare "scissile" ("capable of being cut").

February 09, 2012
Word of the Day

ADULATION
audio pronunciation
\aj-uh-LAY-shun\

DEFINITION

noun
: excessive or slavish admiration or flattery

EXAMPLES

The star was somewhat embarrassed by the adulation of his teenage fans.

"I think that I was somebody who was pretty immature emotionally, and when thrust into a situation that was very abnormal of fame and adulation, I wasn't really equipped to deal with it very well. And I think my life goals up to that point were just: get a record deal…." -- Musician Trent Reznor in a December 19, 2011 interview on National Public Radio

DID YOU KNOW?

If "adulation" makes you think of a dog panting after its master, you're on the right etymological track; the word ultimately derives from the Latin verb "adulari," meaning "to fawn on" (a sense used specifically of the affectionate behavior of dogs) or "to flatter." "Adulation," which came to us from Latin by way of Old French, can be traced back as far as the 14th century in English. The verb "adulate," the noun "adulator," and the adjective "adulatory" later joined the language.

February 10, 2012
Word of the Day

LUDIC
audio pronunciation
\LOO-dik\

DEFINITION

adjective
: of, relating to, or characterized by play : playful

EXAMPLES

The members of the acting troupe had become well-known for their ludic behavior, evidenced by the practical jokes they played on each other off-stage.

"Accompanied by his trademark mirror-written notes -- often unrelated to the images -- Leonardo sketches, scribbles and jots his way through the myriad questions that puzzle his ludic, mercurial mind." -- From a review of a museum exhibit by Rachel Spence in Financial Times, January 9, 2012

DID YOU KNOW?

Here's a serious word, just for fun. That is to say, it means "fun," but it was created in all seriousness around 1940 by psychologists. They wanted a term to describe what children do, and they came up with "ludic activity." That may seem ludicrous -- why not just call it "playing"? -- but the word "ludic" caught on, and it's not all child's play anymore. It can refer to architecture that is playful, narrative that is humorous and even satirical, and literature that is light. "Ludic" is ultimately from the Latin noun "ludus," which refers to a whole range of fun things -- stage shows, games, sports, even jokes. The more familiar word "ludicrous" also traces back to the same source.

February 11, 2012
Word of the Day

CATERCORNER
audio pronunciation
\KAT-ee-kor-ner\

DEFINITION

adverb or adjective
: in a diagonal or oblique position : kitty-corner

EXAMPLES

The café was catercorner to the salon, so after I got my hair cut I walked across the intersection to get some lunch.

"Also new to downtown is the Mars & Beyond exhibit in the Rialto building (catercorner from Sparkroot), which opened on October 22." -- From an article by Carolyn Classen in the Tucson Citizen, November 8, 2011

DID YOU KNOW?

"Catercorner" also has the variants "kitty-corner" and "catty-corner," but despite appearances, no cats were involved in the creation of this word. "Cater" derives from the Middle French noun "quatre" (or "catre"), which means "four." English speakers adopted the word to refer to the four-dotted side of a die -- a side important in several winning combinations in dice games. Perhaps because the four spots on a die can suggest an X, "cater" eventually came to be used dialectically with the meaning "diagonal" or "diagonally." This "cater" was combined with "corner" to form "catercorner."

February 12, 2012
Word of the Day

VADE MECUM
audio pronunciation
\vay-dee-MEE-kum\

DEFINITION

noun
1
: a book for ready reference : manual
2
: something regularly carried about by a person

EXAMPLES

Her latest book is an accessible and amusing vade mecum of the English literary tradition.

"Well into the 20th century, John Barlow's Ideal Handbook, the vade mecum of the rifleman, carried instructions for molding the Keene bullet." -- From Dan Shideler's book Gun Digest 2012

DID YOU KNOW?

"Vade mecum" is Latin for "go with me" (it derives from the Latin verb "vadere," meaning "to go"). In English, "vade mecum" has been used (since at least 1629) of manuals or guidebooks sufficiently compact to be carried in a deep pocket. But from the beginning, it has also been used for such constant companions as gold, medications, and memorized gems of wisdom

February 15, 2012
Word of the Day

ABNEGATE
audio pronunciation
\AB-nih-gayt\

DEFINITION

verb
1
: deny, renounce
2
: surrender, relinquish

EXAMPLES

The mayor has ordered the city's finance control board to abnegate its powers.

"Meanwhile, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is charged with protecting reliability, abnegated its statutory responsibilities as the rule was being written." -- From an article in The Wall Street Journal, December 22, 2011

DID YOU KNOW?

There's no denying that the Latin root "negare" has given English some useful words. That verb, which means "to deny," is the ultimate source of the noun "abnegation," a synonym of "denial" that began appearing in English manuscripts in the 14th century. By the 17th century, people had concluded that if there was a noun "abnegation," there ought to be a related verb "abnegate," and so they created one by a process called "back-formation" (that's the process of trimming a suffix or prefix off a long word to make a shorter one). But "abnegate" and "abnegation" are not the only English offspring of "negare." That root is also an ancestor of other nay-saying terms such as "deny," "negate," and "renegade."

Oh I could have fun with this one, considering all the antics the White Hou Er Ah I mean the BIG TOP back east is up to, but I won't. Nope, I WILL NOT anything against YOUR leader. It would just be tacky. Besides he is WAY to easy a target for ridicule.

February 16, 2012
Word of the Day

RABBLE
audio pronunciation
\RAB-ul\

DEFINITION

noun
1
: a disorganized or confused collection of things
2
a : a disorganized or disorderly crowd of people : mob b : the lowest class of people

EXAMPLES

He hasn't become comfortable glad-handing the voters as a gubernatorial candidate and always appears to be merely condescending to an unpleasant stroll among the rabble.

"Recently, the publicity department at Morrow Books told the blogging rabble that it might cut off the flow of requested free books if the bloggers failed to cite those books online." -- From an article by Bob Hoover in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 8, 2012

DID YOU KNOW?

"Rabble" has been with the English language since its appearance in Middle English (as "rabel") in the late 1300s. It may have come from the Middle English verb "rabel" which meant "to babble." (Despite the similarity in sound and meaning, however, "babble" and "rabble" are unrelated.) The verb "rabel" is related to Middle Dutch "rabbelen" and Low German "rabbeln," meaning "to chatter." So how do we get from babbling to crowds of people? The connection may be the idea of confusion. "Rabble," in its earliest uses could not only indicate a pack of animals, swarm of insects, or a confused collection of things, but could also indicate a confused or meaningless string of words.

Hum... Interesting word. Does it remind you of a large group of people back East?

February 17, 2012
Word of the Day

COMIX
audio pronunciation
\KAH-miks\

DEFINITION

noun
: comic books or comic strips

EXAMPLES

Raw, founded by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly in 1980, was the leading avant-garde comix journal of its time.

"[George Kuchar] became involved in comix through his neighbor in San Francisco in the 1980s, Art Spiegelman; he went on to do many comix storyboards as well as underground comix." -- From an article by Charles Bernstein and Susan Bee in The Brooklyn Rail, December, 2011

DID YOU KNOW?

Comix (which are typically understood as distinct from comics in that they intend a mature audience) got their start in the 1960s. Our earliest evidence of the word "comix" used as a generic term dates to 1969, but it had begun appearing in the titles of specific works a little earlier than that: one example is the title of R. Crumb's highly influential Zap Comix, first published in 1968. The kind of alteration that changed "comics" to "comix" isn't a 20th century phenomenon: the word "pox," as in "chicken pox," began as "pocks" but has been spelled with an "x" since around 1475. A similar kind of alteration, though in this case going from a simpler spelling to a less intuitive one, is the word "phat," which is most likely a variation of "fat." "Phat" dates to 1963.


NOPE, I'm not gonna make any comment on this.

February 18, 2012
Word of the Day

CRITIQUE
audio pronunciation
\kruh-TEEK\

DEFINITION

noun
: an act of criticizing; especially : a critical estimate or discussion

EXAMPLES

All Sherry wanted to do was offer critiques of other people's plans; she never had any suggestions of her own.

"In their first critique of the Banning Ranch development plans, California Coastal Commission staff members found that the proposed project would be unlikely to meet state standards." -- From an article by Mike Reicher in the Daily Pilot (California), January 19, 2012

DID YOU KNOW?

"Critique" is an alteration of an archaic word that referred generally to criticism. "Critique" itself dates to the early 18th century and originally referred to a piece of writing that criticized a literary or artistic work. The words "criticism," "critique," and "review" overlap in meaning. "Criticism" usually means "the act of criticizing" or a "remark or comment that expresses disapproval," but it can also refer to the activity of making judgments about the qualities of books, movies, etc. (as in "literary criticism")."Critique" is a somewhat formal word that typically refers to a careful judgment in which someone gives an opinion about something. "Review" can refer to an essay analyzing a literary or artistic work, but can also sometimes imply a more casual or personal opinion.

February 19, 2012
Word of the Day

EXTEMPORANEOUS
audio pronunciation
\ek-stem-puh-RAY-nee-us\

DEFINITION

adjective
1
: composed, performed, or uttered on the spur of the moment : impromptu
2
: provided, made, or put to use as an expedient : makeshift

EXAMPLES

A group of revelers at the pub launched into an extemporaneous rendition of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling."

"Members give prepared speeches at their own pace and receive constructive, supportive feedback from assigned evaluators. There also is an extemporaneous speaking session at each meeting to give members an opportunity to practice speaking without preparation." -- From the Club News feature in Times-Picayune (New Orleans), January 19, 2012

DID YOU KNOW?

"Extemporaneous," which comes from Latin "ex tempore" ("out of the time"), joined the English language sometime in the mid-17th century. The word "impromptu" was improvised soon after that. In general usage, "extemporaneous" and "impromptu" are used interchangeably to describe off-the-cuff remarks or speeches, but this is not the case when they are used in reference to the learned art of public speaking. Teachers of speech will tell you that an extemporaneous speech is one that has been thoroughly prepared and planned but not memorized, whereas an impromptu speech is one for which absolutely no preparations have been made.