filch \filch\, verb:
To steal (especially something of small value); pilfer: to filch ashtrays from fancy restaurants.
To steal (especially something of small value); pilfer: to filch ashtrays from fancy restaurants.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
pseudepigraph
pseudepigraphy \soo-duh-PIG-ruh-fee\, noun:
The false ascription of a piece of writing to an author.
The false ascription of a piece of writing to an author.
vertex
vertex \VUR-teks\, noun:
1. The highest point of something; apex; summit; top: the vertex of a mountain.
2. Anatomy, Zoology. The crown or top of the head.
3. Craniometry. The highest point on the midsagittal plane of the skull or head viewed from the left side when the skull or head is in the Frankfurt horizontal.
4. Astronomy. A point in the celestial sphere toward which or from which the common motion of a group of stars is directed.
5. Geometry. A. The point farthest from the base: the vertex of a cone or of a pyramid. B. A point in a geometrical solid common to three or more sides. C. The intersection of two sides of a plane figure.
1. The highest point of something; apex; summit; top: the vertex of a mountain.
2. Anatomy, Zoology. The crown or top of the head.
3. Craniometry. The highest point on the midsagittal plane of the skull or head viewed from the left side when the skull or head is in the Frankfurt horizontal.
4. Astronomy. A point in the celestial sphere toward which or from which the common motion of a group of stars is directed.
5. Geometry. A. The point farthest from the base: the vertex of a cone or of a pyramid. B. A point in a geometrical solid common to three or more sides. C. The intersection of two sides of a plane figure.
eurhythmic
eurhythmic \yoo-RITH-mik\, adjective:
1. Characterized by a pleasing rhythm; harmoniously ordered or proportioned.
2. Of or pertaining to eurhythmics.
1. Characterized by a pleasing rhythm; harmoniously ordered or proportioned.
2. Of or pertaining to eurhythmics.
They were eurhythmic athletes, proud as archers, discus or javelin throwers embraced
also-ran
also-ran \AWL-soh-ran\, noun:
1. Informal. A person who loses a contest, election, or other competition.
2. Sports. A. (In a race) a contestant who fails to win or to place among the first three finishers. B. An athlete or team whose performance in competition is rarely, if ever, a winning or near-winning one.
3. Informal. A person who attains little or no success: For every great artist there are a thousand also-rans.
1. Informal. A person who loses a contest, election, or other competition.
2. Sports. A. (In a race) a contestant who fails to win or to place among the first three finishers. B. An athlete or team whose performance in competition is rarely, if ever, a winning or near-winning one.
3. Informal. A person who attains little or no success: For every great artist there are a thousand also-rans.
boustrophedon
boustrophedon \boo-struh-FEED-n\, noun:
an ancient method of writing in which the lines run alternately from right to left and from left to right.
an ancient method of writing in which the lines run alternately from right to left and from left to right.
This, they call the boustrophedon form because it mimics the back-and-forth pacing of an ox tied to a tether.
-- Chuck Palahniuk, Lullaby
Saturday, March 31, 2012
adroit
adroit \uh-DROIT\, adjective:
1. Cleverly skillful, resourceful, or ingenious.
2. Expert or nimble in the use of the hands or body.
He knows that Jory is handsome, talented, and most of all, adroit. Bart is not adroit at anything but pretending.
-- V.C. Andrews, If There Be Thorns
It requires finesse. She was very adroit — oh, very adroit — but Hercule Poirot, my good George, is of a cleverness quite exceptional.
-- Agatha Christie, The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
Adroit is from the Old French meaning "elegant, skillful" from the roots a- meaning "increase" and droit meaning "correct."
1. Cleverly skillful, resourceful, or ingenious.
2. Expert or nimble in the use of the hands or body.
He knows that Jory is handsome, talented, and most of all, adroit. Bart is not adroit at anything but pretending.
-- V.C. Andrews, If There Be Thorns
It requires finesse. She was very adroit — oh, very adroit — but Hercule Poirot, my good George, is of a cleverness quite exceptional.
-- Agatha Christie, The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
Adroit is from the Old French meaning "elegant, skillful" from the roots a- meaning "increase" and droit meaning "correct."
Tellurian
Tellurian \te-LOOR-ee-uhn\, adjective:
1. Of or characteristic of the earth or its inhabitants.
noun:
1. An inhabitant of the earth.
We must keep in mind that we are, or should I say have become, hybrid personae, part tellurian, and part extraterrestrial.
-- Robert Silverberg and Karen Haber, Universe 3
What special affinities appeared to him to exist between the moon and woman? Her antiquity in preceding and surviving successive tellurian generations…
-- James Joyce, Ulysses
Tellurian was first used by Thomas DeQuincy in 1846, even though it has classical Latin roots literally meaning "one of the earth."
1. Of or characteristic of the earth or its inhabitants.
noun:
1. An inhabitant of the earth.
We must keep in mind that we are, or should I say have become, hybrid personae, part tellurian, and part extraterrestrial.
-- Robert Silverberg and Karen Haber, Universe 3
What special affinities appeared to him to exist between the moon and woman? Her antiquity in preceding and surviving successive tellurian generations…
-- James Joyce, Ulysses
Tellurian was first used by Thomas DeQuincy in 1846, even though it has classical Latin roots literally meaning "one of the earth."
catechize
catechize \KAT-i-kahyz\, verb:
1. To question closely.
2. To instruct orally by means of questions and answers, especially in Christian doctrine.
3. To question with reference to belief.
He sent her off when the dial made it five o'clock every fourth Sunday—for we had service only once a month, the parson having a church at Brampton, where he lived, and another as well, which made it the more wicked of us to play truant—but whether she got there early or late, or got there at all, he'd never ask, let alone catechize her about the sermon.
1. To question closely.
2. To instruct orally by means of questions and answers, especially in Christian doctrine.
3. To question with reference to belief.
He sent her off when the dial made it five o'clock every fourth Sunday—for we had service only once a month, the parson having a church at Brampton, where he lived, and another as well, which made it the more wicked of us to play truant—but whether she got there early or late, or got there at all, he'd never ask, let alone catechize her about the sermon.
chelonian
chelonian \ki-LOH-nee-uhn\, adjective:
1. Belonging or pertaining to the order Chelonia, comprising the turtles.
noun:
1. A turtle.
At the truly chelonian pace of somewhat under two miles per hour, the passengers and crew onboard would cover the twenty-seven hundred miles in just over two months.
-- Caleb H. Johnson, The Mayflower and Her Passengers
The study door crashed back and a seventy-year-old politician stood there, top hat firmly on his head, collar awry around his scrawny, chelonian neck.
-- M. J. Trow, Lestrade and the Sawdust Ring
What pair of messiahs could differ more harshly than Hiram and Magnus, the one a pedantic little fellow with a chelonian paunch and gold eye-glasses and the other a rough, shaggy, carnivorous revivalist from the dreadful steppes?
1. Belonging or pertaining to the order Chelonia, comprising the turtles.
noun:
1. A turtle.
At the truly chelonian pace of somewhat under two miles per hour, the passengers and crew onboard would cover the twenty-seven hundred miles in just over two months.
-- Caleb H. Johnson, The Mayflower and Her Passengers
The study door crashed back and a seventy-year-old politician stood there, top hat firmly on his head, collar awry around his scrawny, chelonian neck.
-- M. J. Trow, Lestrade and the Sawdust Ring
What pair of messiahs could differ more harshly than Hiram and Magnus, the one a pedantic little fellow with a chelonian paunch and gold eye-glasses and the other a rough, shaggy, carnivorous revivalist from the dreadful steppes?
uxate
uxate \LUHK-seyt\, verb:
To put out of joint; dislocate.
When I began to luxate the tooth I heard a crack.
-- Nathan Jorgenson, A Crooked Number
But at the same time he thinks, that the reduced bone will not remain in it's [sic] place, but luxate itself again, and fall back into the new-formed articulation, which it has formed to itself.
-- Royal Society of London, The Philosophical Transactions and Collections
Luxate is not related to any word for "light." Rather, it is from the Greek word for "oblique," which was loxós.
To put out of joint; dislocate.
When I began to luxate the tooth I heard a crack.
-- Nathan Jorgenson, A Crooked Number
But at the same time he thinks, that the reduced bone will not remain in it's [sic] place, but luxate itself again, and fall back into the new-formed articulation, which it has formed to itself.
-- Royal Society of London, The Philosophical Transactions and Collections
Luxate is not related to any word for "light." Rather, it is from the Greek word for "oblique," which was loxós.
eudemonia
eudemonia \yoo-di-MOH-nee-uh\, noun:
1. Happiness; well-being.
2. Aristotelianism. Happiness as the result of an active life governed by reason.
We all seek eudemonia, but he thinks that it takes a great deal of reflection and education to get a clear enough conception of it really to aim at it in our practice.
-- Robert Campbell Roberts, Intellectual Virtues
They may have believed that we already do value duty, utility, and eudemonia, but it is debatable whether they need to make such descriptive claims.
-- Jesse J. Prinz, The Emotional Construction of Morals
From Aristotle, eudemonia comes from the Greek word eudaímōn which meant "a good or benevolent spirit."
1. Happiness; well-being.
2. Aristotelianism. Happiness as the result of an active life governed by reason.
We all seek eudemonia, but he thinks that it takes a great deal of reflection and education to get a clear enough conception of it really to aim at it in our practice.
-- Robert Campbell Roberts, Intellectual Virtues
They may have believed that we already do value duty, utility, and eudemonia, but it is debatable whether they need to make such descriptive claims.
-- Jesse J. Prinz, The Emotional Construction of Morals
From Aristotle, eudemonia comes from the Greek word eudaímōn which meant "a good or benevolent spirit."
fugitive
fugitive \FYOO-ji-tiv\, adjective:
1. Fleeting, transitory, elusive.
2. Having taken flight, or run away.
3. Changing color as a result of exposure to light and chemical substances present in the atmosphere, in other pigments, or in the medium.
4. Dealing with subjects of passing interest, as writings; ephemeral.
5. Wandering, roving, or vagabond.
I started to write about Sean, and the writing, like a searchlight sweeping wildly, almost caught my fugitive feelings.
-- Edmund White, The Beautiful Room Is Empty
I fill my own glass now, and raise it, unspeaking: to her? to us? to the spirit of fugitive love? Whatever it is I mean, she nods as if to say she understands.
-- Vikram Seth, An Equal Music
First used by Shakespeare in Antony & Cleopatra, fugitive stems from the Latin word fugere meaning "to flee."
1. Fleeting, transitory, elusive.
2. Having taken flight, or run away.
3. Changing color as a result of exposure to light and chemical substances present in the atmosphere, in other pigments, or in the medium.
4. Dealing with subjects of passing interest, as writings; ephemeral.
5. Wandering, roving, or vagabond.
I started to write about Sean, and the writing, like a searchlight sweeping wildly, almost caught my fugitive feelings.
-- Edmund White, The Beautiful Room Is Empty
I fill my own glass now, and raise it, unspeaking: to her? to us? to the spirit of fugitive love? Whatever it is I mean, she nods as if to say she understands.
-- Vikram Seth, An Equal Music
First used by Shakespeare in Antony & Cleopatra, fugitive stems from the Latin word fugere meaning "to flee."
boon
boon \boon\, noun:
1. Something to be thankful for; blessing; benefit.
2. Something that is asked; a favor sought.
China has simultaneously become the greatest boon and the biggest disappointment.
-- Adam Davidson, "Come On, China, Buy Our Stuff!," The New York Times, Jan. 29, 2012
A boon to scholars and to those surreptitiously in search of esoteric knowledge. The reader in the shadowy, out-of-the-way carrel stifled a whoop of delight.
-- Carolyn G. Hart, A Little Class on Murder
Boon comes from the Old Norse word bōn meaning "a prayer."
1. Something to be thankful for; blessing; benefit.
2. Something that is asked; a favor sought.
China has simultaneously become the greatest boon and the biggest disappointment.
-- Adam Davidson, "Come On, China, Buy Our Stuff!," The New York Times, Jan. 29, 2012
A boon to scholars and to those surreptitiously in search of esoteric knowledge. The reader in the shadowy, out-of-the-way carrel stifled a whoop of delight.
-- Carolyn G. Hart, A Little Class on Murder
Boon comes from the Old Norse word bōn meaning "a prayer."
Monday, August 15, 2011
mantic
mantic \MAN-tik\, adjective:
1. Of or pertaining to divination.
2. Having the power of divination.
"She spent some evenings secretly working to expand the ever-present taint of the mantic sight still trapped within her."
-- Barb Hendee, J. C. Hendee, In Shade and Shadow
"It is these mantic responses that alert the intelligence to the presence of something that calls for interpretation."
-- M. R. Wright, Andrew Barker, Reason and Necessity: Essays On Plato's Timaeus
Mantic stems from the Greek mantikos, "of a soothsayer."
1. Of or pertaining to divination.
2. Having the power of divination.
"She spent some evenings secretly working to expand the ever-present taint of the mantic sight still trapped within her."
-- Barb Hendee, J. C. Hendee, In Shade and Shadow
"It is these mantic responses that alert the intelligence to the presence of something that calls for interpretation."
-- M. R. Wright, Andrew Barker, Reason and Necessity: Essays On Plato's Timaeus
Mantic stems from the Greek mantikos, "of a soothsayer."
hoary
hoary \HAWR-ee\, adjective:
1. Tedious from familiarity; stale.
2. Gray or white with age.
3. Ancient or venerable.
Compare that with the elements of a musical in about 1920: the star in a cliche story that was merely a framing device for generic musical numbers, hoary joke-book gags, and the usual specialty performers in a staging more often than not by a hack.
-- Ethan Mordden, Coming Up Roses
Had Mozart lived to the hoary old age of 73, he might indeed have fallen out of favor in an era besotted with Rossini, becoming a "largely forgotten, neglected, unperformed composer."
-- Marilyn Stasio, "Crime", New York Times, June 23, 1996
Hoary derives from Middle English hor, from Old English har, "gray; old (and gray-haired)."
1. Tedious from familiarity; stale.
2. Gray or white with age.
3. Ancient or venerable.
Compare that with the elements of a musical in about 1920: the star in a cliche story that was merely a framing device for generic musical numbers, hoary joke-book gags, and the usual specialty performers in a staging more often than not by a hack.
-- Ethan Mordden, Coming Up Roses
Had Mozart lived to the hoary old age of 73, he might indeed have fallen out of favor in an era besotted with Rossini, becoming a "largely forgotten, neglected, unperformed composer."
-- Marilyn Stasio, "Crime", New York Times, June 23, 1996
Hoary derives from Middle English hor, from Old English har, "gray; old (and gray-haired)."
deadpan
deadpan \DED-pan\, adjective:
1. Marked by or accomplished with a careful pretense of seriousness or calm detachment.
2. Displaying no emotional or personal involvement.
"He sat down on the top step with a rare deadpan expression, his best attempt yet at a poker face."
-- Carol O'Connell, Shell Game
"She had instructed the kids to remain deadpan, because she did not want to paint from a shot in which they were mugging."
-- Dean Koontz, What the Night Knows
Deadpan is a coinage from the 1930s combining "dead" and the sense of "pan" referring to the head or face.
1. Marked by or accomplished with a careful pretense of seriousness or calm detachment.
2. Displaying no emotional or personal involvement.
"He sat down on the top step with a rare deadpan expression, his best attempt yet at a poker face."
-- Carol O'Connell, Shell Game
"She had instructed the kids to remain deadpan, because she did not want to paint from a shot in which they were mugging."
-- Dean Koontz, What the Night Knows
Deadpan is a coinage from the 1930s combining "dead" and the sense of "pan" referring to the head or face.
aureate
aureate \AWR-ee-it\, adjective:
1. Characterized by an ornate style of writing or speaking.
2. Golden or gilded.
3. Brilliant; splendid.
"Nothing in the aureate language of the English poets can match the splendid virtuosity of Ane Ballat of Our Lady."
-- Whitney French Bolton, The Middle Ages
"Scholasms, by the way, may be divided into two classes: aureate terms and inkhorn terms."
-- Charles Harrington Elster, There's a Word for It!: A Grandiloquent Guide to Life
Aureate originally comes from the Latin aureus, "golden."
1. Characterized by an ornate style of writing or speaking.
2. Golden or gilded.
3. Brilliant; splendid.
"Nothing in the aureate language of the English poets can match the splendid virtuosity of Ane Ballat of Our Lady."
-- Whitney French Bolton, The Middle Ages
"Scholasms, by the way, may be divided into two classes: aureate terms and inkhorn terms."
-- Charles Harrington Elster, There's a Word for It!: A Grandiloquent Guide to Life
Aureate originally comes from the Latin aureus, "golden."
gazump
gazump \guh-ZUHMP\, verb:
To cheat (a house buyer) by raising the price, at the time a contract is to be signed, over the amount originally agreed upon.
"I promise not to gazump you this time," he said, sitting down next to her on the sofa and reaching out to stroke the back of her head."
-- John Trenhaile, Tiger of Desire
"It is yet another thing for me to be paranoid about, but I can't see them letting anyone else gazump you us."
-- Diana Appleyard, Homing Instinct
Gazump evolves from the earlier gazoomph, "to swindle," which is an argot (jargon among thieves) word of uncertain origin.
To cheat (a house buyer) by raising the price, at the time a contract is to be signed, over the amount originally agreed upon.
"I promise not to gazump you this time," he said, sitting down next to her on the sofa and reaching out to stroke the back of her head."
-- John Trenhaile, Tiger of Desire
"It is yet another thing for me to be paranoid about, but I can't see them letting anyone else gazump you us."
-- Diana Appleyard, Homing Instinct
Gazump evolves from the earlier gazoomph, "to swindle," which is an argot (jargon among thieves) word of uncertain origin.
ambsace
ambsace \EYMZ-eys\, noun:
1. The smallest amount or distance.
2. The lowest throw at dice, the double ace (two ones.)
3. Bad luck; misfortune.
"Sleeping is thick arras or ambsace, like an alcatraz across water."
-- Brian Teare, Sight Map: Poems
"We're within ambsace of being done."
-- Jo Ann Ferguson, A Phantom Affair
Ambsace stems from the Old French ambes as, "both aces."
1. The smallest amount or distance.
2. The lowest throw at dice, the double ace (two ones.)
3. Bad luck; misfortune.
"Sleeping is thick arras or ambsace, like an alcatraz across water."
-- Brian Teare, Sight Map: Poems
"We're within ambsace of being done."
-- Jo Ann Ferguson, A Phantom Affair
Ambsace stems from the Old French ambes as, "both aces."
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