Word of the day strikes back

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Richard Frost
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Word of the day

Post by Richard Frost » Mon Mar 22 2021 11:09am

Word of the Day : March 22, 2021 - https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day

inimitable

adjective in-IM-it-uh-bul

Definition
: not capable of being imitated : matchless

Did You Know?
Something that is inimitable is, literally, not able to be imitated. In actual usage the word describes things so uniquely extraordinary as to not be copied or equalled, which is why you often hear it used to praise outstanding talents or performances. (The antonym imitable describes things that are common or ordinary and could easily be replicated or surpassed.) Inimitable derives via Middle English from Latin inimitabilis. Be careful not to confuse it with inimical or inimicable, two adjectives meaning "hostile" or "harmful"; those words derive from the same Latin root that gave English enemy—inimīcus.

Examples
"Both writers were inimitable even as they were widely imitated.… Barthelme's particular brilliance was so original, so sui generis, despite its tutelage at the feet of pages by Joyce, Beckett, and Stein, that even his own brothers Frederick and Steven, also fiction writers of intelligence and style, wrote more like Carver." — Lorrie Moore, The New York Review of Books, 26 Mar. 2009

"There aren't that many beauty and fashion icons who can captivate fans for a span of decades, but Miss Piggy is surely one of them. To celebrate her inimitable look, she now has her very own makeup collection, a collaboration between Disney and Ciaté London." — Celia Shatzman, Variety, 2 Nov. 2020
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Word of the day strikes back

Post by Richard Frost » Tue Mar 23 2021 9:53am

Word of the day 23rd March - https://www.merriam-webster.com/diction ... orological

meteorology

me·​te·​o·​rol·​o·​gy | \ ˌmē-tē-ə-ˈrä-lə-jē \

Definition of meteorology
1: a science that deals with the atmosphere and its phenomena and especially with weather and weather forecasting
studied the principles of meteorology

2: the atmospheric phenomena and weather of a region
the meteorology of the Gulf of Mexico

meteorologic \ ˌmē-​tē-​ə-​rə-​ˈlä-​jik \ or meteorological \ ˌmē-​tē-​ə-​rə-​ˈlä-​ji-​kəl \ adjective
meteorologically \ ˌmē-​tē-​ə-​rə-​ˈlä-​ji-​k(ə-​)lē \ adverb
meteorologist \ ˌmē-​tē-​ə-​ˈrä-​lə-​jist \ noun

Examples of meteorology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
That was followed by a Ph.D. in meteorology in 1968 and a doctorate of philosophy, the most advanced degree in the Swedish system, in 1973.
— John Schwartz, BostonGlobe.com, "Paul Crutzen, Nobel laureate who fought climate change, dies at 87," 5 Feb. 2021

The meteorology was definitely extreme, though not unprecedented for Dallas.
— Jennifer Gray, CNN, "It's going to be nearly 80 degrees warmer in Texas than this time last week," 22 Feb. 2021

First Known Use of meteorology
1563, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for meteorology
French or Greek; French météorologie, from Middle French, from Greek meteōrologia, from meteōron + -logia -logy
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Word of the day strikes back

Post by Richard Frost » Wed Mar 24 2021 10:44am

Word of the Day : March 24, 2021 - https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day

quash

verb KWAHSH

Definition
: to nullify especially by judicial action

Did You Know?
There are two quash verbs in the English language, and although their meanings are similar, they have entirely different origins. Both essentially mean to get rid of something—you can quash a rumour, for example, or you can quash a judicial order. The legal term quash (meaning "to nullify") comes from the Anglo-French words casser or quasser, meaning "to annul," and is ultimately from Latin cassus, "to void." The other quash means "to suppress or extinguish summarily and completely." It derives from the Middle English word quashen, meaning "to smash," and is ultimately from a form of the Latin verb quatere, meaning "to shake."

Examples
"His appeal [of a zoning decision allowing the school to be built], which attorneys for the district and developer said threatened the entire project, was quashed by a judge in February for being late." — Jack Tomczuk, Northeast Times (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 11 Mar. 2020

"In Chesterfield County, a tenant had to request an emergency hearing when the landlord refused to call off a scheduled eviction after receiving a signed declaration. A judge quashed the eviction….. " — Mark Robinson, The Richmond (Virginia) Times Dispatch, 27 Sept. 2020
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Word of the day

Post by Richard Frost » Thu Mar 25 2021 9:08am

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2021 - https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-day/

concatenation

[ kon-kat-n-ey-shuhn ]
noun

a series of interconnected or interdependent things or events.

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF CONCATENATION?
Concatenation comes straight from the Late Latin noun concatēnātiō (stem concatēnātiōn-) “connection, sequence” (literally “chaining together”), a derivation of catēna “chain.” The Italian and Spanish words for “chain” (catena and cadena, respectively) far more closely resemble the Latin original than does the modern French chaîne (the English source for “chain”), which passed through the stages chaeine (Old French), from caeine (Old North French), from Latin catēna. Concatenation entered English in the early 17th century.

HOW IS CONCATENATION USED?
It took an amazing concatenation of circumstances, from Lyndon Johnson’s withdrawal to Rockefeller’s tergiversations to Humphrey’s disaster at the hands of the left in Chicago, to make him President.
STEWART ALSOP, "NIXON AND THE SQUARE MAJORITY: IS THE FOX A LION?" THE ATLANTIC, FEBRUARY 1972

Before the huge Saturn 1B rocket thundered off its launch pad, the effort had been plagued by an extraordinary concatenation of weather delays, electronic gremlins and other obstacles.
"APOLLO'S FIRST SUCCESS," NEW YORK TIMES, FEBRUARY 27, 1966
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Re: Word of the day strikes back

Post by Sarah » Thu Mar 25 2021 11:23am

Word of the day from Susie Dent today:
Word of the Day is 'catchfart', from the 17th century: one who obsequiously and slavishly follows on the tail of another.
https://twitter.com/susie_dent/status/1 ... 09474?s=20
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Re: Word of the day strikes back

Post by blythburgh » Fri Mar 26 2021 8:46am

Sarah wrote:
Thu Mar 25 2021 11:23am
Word of the day from Susie Dent today:
Word of the Day is 'catchfart', from the 17th century: one who obsequiously and slavishly follows on the tail of another.
https://twitter.com/susie_dent/status/1 ... 09474?s=20
So that is what we can call those poor souls who slavishly follow the Kardashians, who click on the MSN link to see a photo of (insert singer, film star or just famous for being famous) showing amazing body/house in a photo or buy stuff just because (insert singer, film star or just famous for being famous) says they use or is shown wearing it in a photo.
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Keep smiling because the light at the end of someone's tunnel may be you, Ron Cheneler

Richard Frost
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Word of the day

Post by Richard Frost » Fri Mar 26 2021 9:18am

Word of the Day : March 26, 2021 - https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day

sesquipedalian

adjective sess-kwuh-puh-DAIL-yun

Definition
1 : having many syllables : long

2 : using long words

Did You Know?
Horace, the ancient Roman poet known for his satire, was merely being gently ironic when he cautioned young poets against using sesquipedalia verba—"words a foot and a half long"—in his book Ars poetica, a collection of maxims about writing. But in the 17th century, English literary critics decided the word sesquipedalian could be very useful for lambasting writers using unnecessarily long words. Robert Southey used it to make two jibes at once when he wrote "the verses of [16th-century English poet] Stephen Hawes are as full of barbarous sesquipedalian Latinisms, as the prose of [the 18th-century periodical] the Rambler." The Latin prefix sesqui- is used in modern English to mean "one and a half times," as in sesquicentennial (a 150th anniversary).

Examples
Jacob's editor advised him to pare away the sesquipedalian prose he favoured and opt for simpler language that would reach more readers.

"For generations, college-bound kids have memorized sesquipedalian word lists and spent hours or days, if not months, mastering the theory of guessing among other test-taking tricks and gimmicks to propel them to a high score on the pivotal SAT exam." — Jill Tucker, The San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Feb. 2016
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Re: Word of the day strikes back

Post by Sarah » Fri Mar 26 2021 2:17pm

Word of the day from Susie Dent today, which could easily be applied to most of the last 5+ years:
Word of the Day (on repeat) is 'ipsedixitism': the dogmatic assertion that something is 'fact' without any proof to back it up, or because someone, somewhere said it.
https://twitter.com/susie_dent/status/1 ... 97570?s=20
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Word of the day strikes back

Post by Richard Frost » Sat Mar 27 2021 8:39am

Word of the Day : March 27, 2021 - https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day

reminisce

verb rem-uh-NISS

Definition
: to indulge in the process or practice of thinking or telling about past experiences

Did You Know?
Reminisce and its relative reminiscence come from the mind—that is to say, they come from the Latin word for "mind," which is mens. A root related to mens teamed up with the prefix re- to create the Latin verb reminisci ("to remember"), an ancestor of both words. Reminisce is one of several English verbs starting with re- that mean "to bring an image or idea from the past into the mind." Others in this group include remember, recall, remind, and recollect. Reminisce distinguishes itself from the others by implying a casual recalling of experiences long past, often with a sense of nostalgia.

Examples
After the official reunion dinner, the old friends gathered at a pub to reminisce about their high school days, now long past.

"After seeing Giants 2020 first-round draft choice Patrick Bailey arrive for his first major league spring training, fellow catcher Buster Posey said he began reminiscing about his own debut camp in Scottsdale." — Kerry Crowley, The Mercury News (San Jose, California), 18 Feb. 2021
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Word of the day

Post by Richard Frost » Sun Mar 28 2021 9:25am

SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2021 - https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-day/

palmary

[ pal-muh-ree, pahl-, pah-muh- ]
adjective

having or deserving to have the palm of victory or success; praiseworthy.

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF PALMARY?
The adjective palmary, “deserving the palm of victory; praiseworthy,” comes from the Latin adjective and noun palmārius. As an adjective, palmārius means “pertaining to palm trees”; as a neuter noun, palmārium means “masterpiece, masterstroke,” and somewhat less nobly, “the fee for an advocate who wins his case.” Palmārius is a derivative of the noun palma “palm (of the hand); the width of a palm (as a measurement); palm tree (so called from the shape of its leaves); a palm branch awarded to the winner in a contest, first place.” Palma comes from an earlier, unrecorded palama, from Proto-Indo-European pḷəmā, and is closely related to Greek palámē “hand, flat of the hand, means, device,” and also to Old Irish lām (Proto-Celtic loses initial p-), Old High German folma (Proto-Indo-European p becomes f in Proto-Germanic), and Old English folm, all meaning “hand, flat of the hand.” Palmary entered English in the mid-17th century.

HOW IS PALMARY USED?
One of Mr. Seitz’s gifts is his culinary vision, and his successes are palmary.
M. H. REED, "UNHURRIED CULINARY VISION IN BREWSTER," NEW YORK TIMES, AUGUST 29, 1993

Her book is, in fact, a palmary example of a new phenomenon in scholarly publishing, the avowedly imaginative reconstruction of a historical figure’s life and world.
MICHAEL KULIKOWSKI, "BUTCHER BOY," LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS, VOL. 32, NO. 8, APRIL 2010
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