Words that you don't see everyday

icarian


PRONUNCIATION:
(i-KAR-ee-uhn, eye-)

MEANING:
adjective: Of or relating to an over-ambitious attempt that ends in ruin.

ETYMOLOGY:
After Icarus in Greek mythology who flew so high that the sun melted the wax holding his artificial wings. Icarus plunged to his death into the sea. Earliest documented use: 1595.

USAGE:
"But the film is a warning about flying too high. Philippe Petit may have succeeded in the high wire walk, but he suffers an Icarian fall in his personal life."
Monica Heisey; Masterwork on Wire; The Queen's Journal (Kingston, Canada); Nov 14, 2008.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
This above all: to thine own self be true, / And it must follow, as the night the day, / Thou canst not then be false to any man. -William Shakespeare, poet and dramatist (1564-1616)

concinnity


PRONUNCIATION:
(kuhn-SIN-i-tee)

MEANING:
noun: A harmonious arrangement of various parts.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin concinnare (to put in order). Earliest documented use: 1531.

USAGE:
"There was a moment of inner peace in which belief and doubt merged into a strangely comforting concinnity."
Thomas Dulski; To Emily on the Ecliptic; Analog Science Fiction & Fact; Jul/Aug 2004.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Permanent good can never be the outcome of untruth and violence. -Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

lachrymal

PRONUNCIATION:
(LAK-ruh-muhl)

MEANING:
adjective: Relating to or inducing tears.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin lacrima (tear). Earliest documented use: 1541.

USAGE:
"She wiped his tears with the edge of her garment, but that made him more lachrymal."
Udai Rathor; Kojia, the Ugly; Strategic Book Publishing; 2012.

Explore "lachrymal" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Everybody, soon or late, sits down to a banquet of consequences. -Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist, essayist, and poet (1850-1894)

wassail

PRONUNCIATION:
(WOS-uhl, wo-SAYL)


MEANING:
verb tr.: To toast.
verb intr.: To go from house to house singing carols at Christmas.
noun: 1. A toast to someone's health.
2. A festivity with much drinking.
3. A drink for toasting, especially spiced ale.
4. The singing of Christmas carols going from house to house.



ETYMOLOGY:
From Old Norse ves heill (be well). Earliest documented use: 1275.


USAGE:
"Cows and oxen used to be wassailed too for the same reason, to bring luck and encourage good health in the coming year."
Days Lengthen, Cold Strengthens; Beverley Guardian (UK); Jan 16, 2012.

Explore "wassail" in the Visual Thesaurus.


A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
When money speaks, the truth keeps silent. -Russian proverb

phantasmagoria

PRONUNCIATION:
(fan-taz-muh-GOR-ee-uh)

MEANING:
noun:
1. A shifting scene made up of many elements.
2. A sequence of fantastic imagery, illusions, etc.


ETYMOLOGY:
From French fantasmagorie, from fantasme (phantasm), perhaps combined with Greek agora (assembly). Earliest documented use: 1802.

NOES:
In the late 18th and 19th century, use of a magic lantern (an early form of slide projector) to display fantastic images was popular. It was known as a phantasmagoria and was first exhibited in London in 1802.

USAGE:
"We are increasingly immersed in a phantasmagoria of screens and streams and tunes."
Tom & Jeanne Lombardo; Mind Flight: A Journey Into the Future; Xlibris; 2011.

Explore "phantasmagoria" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Nothing ruins a face so fast as double-dealing. Your face telling one story to the world. Your heart yanking your face to pieces, trying to let the truth be known. Jessamyn West, novelist (1902-1984)

Numbers are everywhere, though it may not always be obvious. A twine is, literally, two threads. A siesta is sixth hour. And to atone is to be "at one" or be in agreement.
You can say this week's words are numbered. All of them are based on numbers, though their numeric origin is often hidden.


septentrional


PRONUNCIATION:
(sep-TEN-tree-uh-nuhl)

MEANING:
adjective: Northern.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin septentriones, literally the seven ploughing oxen, a name for the seven stars of the Great Bear constellation that appears in the northern sky. From Latin septem (seven) + triones (ploughing oxen). Earliest documented use: around 1400.

USAGE:
"Once the tourists have filtered back to their septentrional homes in Europe, the men of Spetsai [Greece] resume their norm of shooting birds."
C.L. Sulzberger; A Return Visit to Glistening Spetsai; The New York Times; Sep 28, 1986.

"The first entailed ... traveling north at a snail's pace through the septentrional regions of North Korea."
Claude Lanzmann; The Patagonian Hare: A Memoir; Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 2012.
(translation by Frank Wynne)

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry. -Thomas Paine, philosopher and writer (1737-1809)

decimate

PRONUNCIATION:
(DES-i-mayt)

MEANING:
verb tr.: To destroy a large part of something.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin decimare (to take the tenth), from decem (ten). Earliest documented use: around 1600. Also see hecatomb.


NOTES:
In the ancient Roman army a group of soldiers guilty of mutiny were punished by killing every tenth soldier. Today the word has evolved to mean large-scale damage where a major proportion is annihilated. Instead of 10%, today it's more like 90%.

USAGE:
"The World T20 showed now they have the batting firepower to decimate their opponents."
Shamik Chakrabarty; IPL's Gangnam Effect; Financial Express (New Delhi, India); Oct 14, 2012.

Explore "decimate" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Mankind's true moral test, its fundamental test (which lies deeply buried from view), consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals. And in this respect mankind has suffered a fundamental debacle, a debacle so fundamental that all others stem from it. -Milan Kundera, novelist, playwright, and poet (b.1929)

hebdomad

PRONUNCIATION:
(HEB-duh-mad)

MEANING:
noun:
1. A group of seven.
2. A period of seven days; a week.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin hebdomas, from Greek hepta (seven). Earliest documented use: 1545.

USAGE:
"As a string quartet, the excellent Brooklyn Rider is all about the number four. But on their new album, Seven Steps, its members circle around the mysterious -- and some might even say spiritual -- power of the hebdomad."
Anastasia Tsioulcas; Brooklyn Rider, 'Seven Steps'; National Public Radio (Washington, DC); Feb 5, 2012.

Explore "hebdomad" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
That sorrow which is the harbinger of joy is preferable to the joy which is followed by sorrow. -Saadi, poet (c.1213-1291)

doyen


PRONUNCIATION:
(doi-EN, DOI-uhn)

MEANING:
noun: The senior member of a group, profession, etc.

ETYMOLOGY:
From French doyen (most senior member), from Latin decanus (chief of ten), from decem (ten). Earliest documented use: 1422.

USAGE:
"[The financial sector's] doyens have gained powerful positions in government, although this may be down to the modern assumption that if people are rich they must be smart."
The War on Finance; The Economist (London, UK); Feb 4, 2012.

Explore "doyen" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
No man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honesty whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same. -Viktor Frankl, author, neurologist and psychiatrist, Holocaust survivor (1905-1997)

dubious


PRONUNCIATION:
(DOO-bee-uhs, DYOO-)

MEANING:
adjective:
1. Marked by doubt.
2. Of questionable character.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin dubius (wavering), from duo (two). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dwo- (two) that also gave us dual, double, doubt, diploma, twin, between, redoubtable, and didymous. Earliest documented use: 1548.

USAGE:
"A scandal over dubious transfers of millions of euros is creating turbulence for European defense giant EADS."
Investigation into Dubious EADS Austria Deal Intensifies; Der Spiegel (Hamburg, Germany); Nov 12, 2012.

Explore "dubious" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
One who condones evils is just as guilty as the one who perpetrates it. -Martin Luther King Jr., civil-rights leader (1929-1968)

"I love mankind. It's the people I can't stand." Do you ever find yourself repeating those words of cartoonist Charles Schulz? Maybe you're surrounded by persons described in this week's A.Word.A.Day.
There are times when everyone around us seems less than charming. It's not fun, but now at least you have colorful words to describe those people. And remember, just like the fingers of your hand, it takes all kinds to make this world.


princox


PRONUNCIATION:
(PRIN-koks)

MEANING:
noun: A conceited person; a coxcomb. Also princock.

ETYMOLOGY:
Of uncertain origin. Earliest documented use: 1540.

USAGE:
"The crowing princock wouldn't mind his tongue, practically begged for a beating with his back talk."
Jennifer Bray-Weber; A Kiss in the Wind; Harlequin; 2012.

"You are a saucy boy ... You are a princox."
William Shakespeare; Romeo & Juliet; 1590s.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Writing is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as the headlights, but you make the whole trip that way. -E.L. Doctorow, writer (b. 1931)

nincompoop


PRONUNCIATION:
(NIN-kuhm-poop, NING-)

MEANING:
noun: A silly or stupid person.

ETYMOLOGY:
Origin unknown. Earliest documented use: 1673.

USAGE:
"I was a nincompoop. A moron. A blockhead."
Jeanne Birdsall; The Penderwicks at Point Mouette; Knopf; 2011.

Explore "nincompoop" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Reason often makes mistakes, but conscience never does. -Josh Billings, columnist and humorist (1818-1885)

malingerer


PRONUNCIATION:
(muh-LING-gehr-uhr)

MEANING:
noun: One who feigns illness in order to avoid work.

ETYMOLOGY:
From French malingre (sickly). Earliest documented use: 1785.

USAGE:
"Various studies have undertaken how to separate malingerers from the legitimately brain-injured."
Shawn Vestal; Trooper's Tangle; Spokesman Review (Spokane, Washington); Aug 17, 2012.

Explore "malingerer" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. The covetous man cannot so properly be said to possess wealth, as that may be said to possess him. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626)

curmudgeon


PRONUNCIATION:
(kuhr-MUJ-uhn)

MEANING:
noun: An ill-tempered, stubborn person, usually an old man.

ETYMOLOGY:
Origin unknown. Earliest documented use: 1587.

USAGE:
"Fred Eaglesmith can sound like a curmudgeon at times, delivering cynical proclamations on the state of music."
Cathalena Burch; Success Finds Man of the Road; Arizona Daily Star (Tucson); Feb 2, 2012.

Explore "curmudgeon" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture and, if it were possible, speak a few reasonable words. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher (1749-1832)

whippersnapper


PRONUNCIATION:
(HWIP-uhr-snap-uhr, WIP-)


MEANING:
noun: A person regarded as unimportant and presumptuous, especially someone young.


ETYMOLOGY:
Perhaps an alteration of whipsnapper, representing noise and uselessness, or an alteration of snippersnapper, similar in sense. Earliest documented use: 1674.


USAGE:
"Young high-flyers find it hard to manage older workers, and older curmudgeons resent being bossed about by whippersnappers."
Age Shall Not Wither Them; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 7, 2011.

Explore "whippersnapper" in the Visual Thesaurus.


A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him he must regard himself as greater than he is. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher (1749-1832)

This week's words may appear to be chosen at random, but they are not. It took a bit of effort to find these five words so they'd fit. In what way? Well, that's for you to find out.
CONTEST: Can you discover the reason these words were selected to be featured? Send your answers to contest@wordsmith.org by Friday this week. One entry per person. Be sure to include your location (city/state/country). Results will be announced this weekend. A reader randomly selected from all the correct entries will receive the T-shirt AWAD to the wise is sufficient.


wakerife

PRONUNCIATION:
(WAYK-ryf)


MEANING:
adjective: Wakeful; alert.


ETYMOLOGY:
From Old English wacan (to wake up) + rife (abundant, common). Earliest documented use: around 1480.


USAGE:
"If you're still wakerife let me suggest another, possibly chastening, exercise in memory."
S.L. McKinlay; The Shots That Count; Glasgow Herald (Scotland); Dec 14, 1965.

"As for me, I'm wakerife and morne, but hope springs eternal. I don't know how she does it, what with those leg irons on, but spring she does."
Ben Tripp; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Agenda; CounterPunch (Petrolia, California); May 30, 2003.


A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools. -Spanish proverb

quadrennium

PRONUNCIATION:
(kwa-DREN-ee-uhm)

MEANING:
noun: A period of four years.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin quadri (four) + annus (year), ultimately from the Indo-European root at- (to go), which is also the source of annual, annals, annuity, anniversary, and perennial. Earliest documented use: 1779.

USAGE:
"Maybe it's because I'm an Olympic dad, but my wife and I had a baby each quadrennium."
Jean Lopez, et al.; Family Power; Celebra; 2009.

Explore "quadrennium" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf and take an insect view of its plain. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862)

subjugate

PRONUNCIATION:
(SUHB-juh-gayt)

MEANING:
verb tr.: To bring under control or to make submissive.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin subjugare (to subjugate), from sub- (under) + jugum (yoke). Ultimately from the Indo-European root yeug- (to join), which is also the ancestor of such words as junction, yoke, yoga, adjust, juxtapose, junta, jugular, and jugulate. Earliest documented use: 1429.

USAGE:
"Even more families lost control of their land, as the Indonesian army divided and relocated communities in its attempt to subjugate the population."
Country Plots; The Economist (London, UK); May 5, 2012.

Explore "subjugate" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
My soul is a broken field, plowed by pain. -Sara Teasdale, poet (1884-1933)

xerophyte

PRONUNCIATION:
(ZEER-uh-fyt)

MEANING:
noun: A plant adapted to growing in a very dry or desert environment.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek xero- (dry) + phyton (plant). Earliest documented use: 1897.

USAGE:
"Saavik's bemused comment when Captain Howe, her former first officer, had sent her a 'get well cactus' was that on Vulcan it was a superfluous xerophyte."
Keith R.A. DeCandido; Star Trek: Tales of the Dominion War; Simon & Schuster; 2004.

Explore "xerophyte" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, poet (1807-1882)

conversazione

PRONUNCIATION:
(kon-vuhr-sayt-see-O-nee, kahn-, -nay)

MEANING:
noun: A formal gathering for conversation, especially on arts, literature, etc.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Italian conversazione (conversation), from Latin conversari (to associate with). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wer- (to turn or bend), also the source of wring, weird, writhe, worth, revert, universe, verso, versicolor, and animadvert. Earliest documented use: 1740.

USAGE:
"We must invite them to our conversazione."
Amanda Grange; Mr. Darcy, Vampyre; Sourcebooks; 2009.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some, and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. -Robert Fulghum, author (b. 1937)

If the English language were a cake, its batter would have Germanic flour. Sugar, butter, and milk would be of Norse, French, and Latin origins, not necessarily in that order. And on top of that would be icing with little flourishes here and there made up of dozens of languages -- Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Hindi, and others -- it has borrowed from.
Of course, that's the simplified view you might see on a Martha Stewart cooking show. The recipe for the making of the English language takes hundreds of ingredients, thousands of years of messy hodgepodge, and it goes on forever -- it's still in the oven. A language is never finished, unless it's a dead language.

Here's a very brief biography of the English language. The 5th century brought Germanic tribes to Britain, pushing away Celtic speakers; in the 9th century it was the Vikings with their Norse; in the year 1066, French became paramount with William the Conqueror. Latin came over from academia and religion in fits and starts at various times throughout. Later, colonization, trade, and exploration brought words from dozens of languages, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, and others into the English language.

This week we'll feature five words to illustrate this mix of ingredients of the English language with words from Old English (Anglo-Saxon), Old Norse, Latin, French, and Chinese.


behoove


PRONUNCIATION:
(bi-HOOV)

MEANING:
verb tr., intr.: To be necessary, worthwhile, or appropriate.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Old English behofian (to need), from behof (profit, need). Earliest documented use: around 890.

USAGE:
"And it will behoove you to keep my visit and our secret to yourself."
Brenda Jackson; A Silken Thread; Kimani Press; 2011.

"It may behoove Google to take these suits to trial in order to clarify a principle."
Old Media Sue; The Economist (London, UK); Mar 14, 2007.

Explore "behoove" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Anger as soon as fed is dead- / 'Tis starving makes it fat. -Emily Dickinson, poet (1830-1886)

ugsome

PRONUNCIATION:
(UG-suhm)

MEANING:
adjective: Dreadful, loathsome.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Old Norse ugga (to fear). As in many typical stories where one child in a family becomes well-known while the other remains obscure, "ugly" and "ugsome" are two words derived from the same root -- one is an everyday word while the other remains uncommon. Earliest documented use: around 1425.

USAGE:
"She believed it was a step in the right direction that would eventually lead to abolishment of the ugsome deeds befalling all of them."
Catherine Ann Sabatino; Voices in the Midst; AuthorHouse; 2010.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Walking is man's best medicine. -Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine (460-377 BCE)

abjure

PRONUNCIATION:
(ab-JOOR)

MEANING:
verb tr.:
1. To avoid or abstain from.
2. To renounce under oath.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin abjurare (to deny on oath), from ab- (away) + jurare (to swear). Earliest documented use: 1430.

USAGE:
"Many modern writers abjure the power of stories in their work, banish them to the suburbs of literature, drive them out toward the lower pastures of the lesser moons."
Pat Conroy; Interpreting the World Through Story; The Writer (Waukesha, Wisconsin); Jun 2012.

Explore "abjure" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
When old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart; and where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders. -Rabindranath Tagore, poet, philosopher, author, songwriter, painter, educator, composer, Nobel laureate (1861-1941)

purlieu


PRONUNCIATION:
(PUHR-loo, PUHRL-yoo)

MEANING:
noun:
1. A neighboring area.
2. A place that one frequents or has control; haunt.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Middle English purlewe (land on the edge of a forest), from puralee, influenced by Old French lieu (place), from Anglo-French pur- (thoroughly) + aler (to go). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ambhi- (around), which is also the source of ambulance, alley, preamble, bivouac, and obambulate. Earliest documented use: 1483.


USAGE:
"Dr Vince Cable remains in his post, though with this particular issue removed from his purlieu."
Simon Heffer; Cameron Punishes Tories; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Dec 22, 2010.

Explore "purlieu" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
We are so vain that we even care for the opinion of those we don't care for. -Marie Ebner von Eschenbach, writer (1830-1916).

cumshaw

PRONUNCIATION:
(KUM-shaw)

MEANING:
noun: A gift or a tip.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Chinese (Amoy/Xiamen dialect), kan (to be grateful) + hsieh (thanks). The term was used by beggars in Chinese ports and picked up by visiting sailors during the 19th century. Earliest documented use: 1839.

USAGE:
"All those extra bodies don't necessarily increase the chances for cumshaw, according to some tip recipients."
Sean M. Wood; Tourism Doesn't Fill Their Tip Jar; San Antonio Express-News (Texas); Apr 7, 2006.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves. -Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the US (1809-1865)