word of the day :: spectre

spectre:

[spek-ter]

–noun Chiefly British

1. a visible incorporeal spirit, esp. one of a terrifying nature; ghost; phantom; apparition.

2. some object or source of terror or dread.

Origin:

1595-1605; < L spectrum; see SPECTRUM

"It was a foggy day in London, and the fog was heavy and dark. Animate London, with smarting eyes and irritated lungs, was blinking, wheezing, and choking; inanimate London was a sooty spectre, divided in purpose between being visible and invisible, so being wholly neither."

 :: Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens ::

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

word of the day :: offal

offal:

[aw-fuhl, of-uhl]

–noun

1. the parts of a butchered animal that are considered inedible by human beings; carrion.

2. the parts of a butchered animal removed in dressing; viscera.

3. refuse; rubbish; garbage.

Origin:

1350-1400; ME, equiv. to of OFF + fal FALL; cf. D afval

"I have often told you that I am that little fish who swims about under a shark and, I believe, lives indelicately on its offal. Anyway, that is the way I am. Life moves over me in a vast black shadow and I swallow whatever it drops with relish, having learned in a very hard school that one cannot be both a parasite and enjoy self-nourishment without moving in worlds too fantastic for even my disordered imagination to people with meaning."

 :: Zelda Fitzgerald ::

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

word of the day :: concupiscence

concupiscence:

[kon-kyoo-pi-suh ns, kong-]

–noun

1. sexual desire; lust.

2. ardent, usually sensuous, longing.

Origin:

1300-50; ME < LL concupīscentia. See CONCUPISCENT, -ENCE.

"Concupiscence and force are the sources of all our actions; concupiscence causes voluntary actions, force involuntary ones." (Blaise Pascal)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

word of the day :: persnickety

persnickety:

[per-snik-i-tee']

–adjective Informal.

1. overparticular; fussy.

2. snobbish or having the aloof attitude of a snob.

3. requiring painstaking care.

Origin:

1885-90; orig. Scots, var. of PERNICKETY.

"When the men appeared, the more persnickety ones washed in a tin basin." (Edward Everett Dale, Frontier Ways: Sketches of Life in the Old West)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

word of the day :: ha-ha

ha-ha:

[hä'hä']
n. see sunk fence

[French, exclamation of surprise, ha-ha (from its being designed not to be seen until closely approached).]

 

sunk fence  
n.  A walled ditch or sunken obstacle, such as a hedge, serving especially as a barrier to livestock without impairing the view or scenic appeal. Also called ha-ha.

"After sitting a little while, Miss Crawford was up again. 'I must move,' said she, 'resting fatigues me. I have looked across the ha-ha till I am weary. I must go and look through that iron gate at the same view, without being able to see it so well.''" (Miss Crawford in Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

word of the day :: indubitable

indubitable:

[in-doo-bi-tuh-buhl, -dyoo-]

–adjective

that cannot be doubted; patently evident or certain; unquestionable.

Origin:

1615-25; < L indubitābilis.

"There is one evident, indubitable manifestation of the Divinity, and that is the laws of right which are made known to the world through Revelation.'" (Leo Tolstoy)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

this is fun to say

ever and anon

(AKA: now and then; occasionally)

What a great phrase! I really wish people still used the word "anon" in everyday speech. My co-worker (a fellow word lover and avid book reader) and I like to use it in the office sometimes. Just because we can. He recently spotted "anon" in the English translation of a contemporary Swedish novel. I like to think that the translator chose to use "anon" in the translation, because he/she too regrets that it is somewhat obsolete.

word of the day :: cicatrised

cicatrize:

[sik-uh-trahyz]

–verb (used with object)

1. Physiology. to heal by inducing the formation of a cicatrix.

–verb (used without object)

1. to become healed by the formation of a cicatrix.

Also, especially in British, cicatrise.

Origin:

1350-1400; ME < ML cicātrizāre.

FROM THE MEDICAL DICTIONARY

cicatrize cic·a·trize (sĭk'ə-trīz')
v. cic·a·trized, cic·a·triz·ing, cic·a·triz·es 
To heal by forming scar tissue.

"'As for myself, I was settling down to my work with the enthusiasm which I used to have for it, so that I might fairly have said that the wound which poor Lucy had left on me was becoming cicatrised.'" (Dr. John Seward in Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

from Edith

"We will open the book. It's pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."

~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce ~

word of the day [a day late] :: verdure

verdure:

[vur-jer]

–noun

1. greenness, esp. of fresh, flourishing vegetation.
2. green vegetation, esp. grass or herbage.
3. freshness in general; flourishing condition; vigor.


Origin:

1250-1300; ME < MF, equiv. to verd green (see VERT) + -ure

"'Society is like a lawn where every roughness is smoothed, every bramble eradicated, and where the eye is delighted by the smiling verdure of a velvet surface." (Washington Irving)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

word of the day :: soliloquy

soliloquy:

[suh-lil-uh-kwee]

–noun, plural -quies
1. an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is disregardful or oblivious to any hearers present.
2. the act of talking while or as if alone.


Origin:

1595–1605; < LL sōliloquium a talking to oneself, soliloquy, equiv. to sōli + loqu(ī) to speak + ium -IUM.

"'Religion is the everlasting dialogue between humanity and God. Art is its soliloquy." (Franz Werfel)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

I'm done!

Last night I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! I probably stayed up too late, but the last few chapters simply must be read in immediate succession. You can't stop in the middle of the conclusion of a seven book series to go to sleep!

I will post my review later...for now, I just wanted to announce that I have finished.

By the by, the whole time I was reading this book, I was intrigued by the word "hallows." What truly is a hallow? All I could think of was, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..."

I know it's not Monday (which is when I post the Word of the Day), but here's what I've found, courtesy of Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary:

hallow
Pronunciation: ˈha-(ˌ)lō 
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English halowen, from Old English hālgian, from hālig holy

1: to make holy, or set apart for holy use
2: to respect greatly: VENERATE

Function: noun
obsolete: a saint, a shrine, or a relic

Interestingly enough, M-W notes in this entry that the use of hallow as a noun has been rare over the past several hundred years and is considered obsolete (other than in words like Halloween and Allhallows), and does not appear in most dictionaries anymore. M-W's Online Dictionary only added it to their database because of the "renewed interest" kindled by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I give three silent cheers to J. K. Rowling for resurrecting a nearly extinct word. The title makes perfect sense now if you have read the story and know what the deathly hallows are.

word of the day :: lacuna

lacuna:

[luh-kyoo-nuh]

–noun, plural -nae [-nee]
1. a gap or missing part, as in a manuscript, series, or logical argument; hiatus.
2. Anatomy. one of the numerous minute cavities in the substance of bone, supposed to contain nucleate cells.
3. Botany. an air of space in the cellular tissue of plants.



Origin:

1655–65; < L lacūna ditch, pit, hole, gap, deficiency; akin to lacus vat, LAKE. Cf. LAGOON.

"'Our young friend makes up for many obvious mental lacunae by some measure of primitive common sense,' remarked Challenger." (Professor Challenger in The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

word of the day :: sartorial

sartorial:

[sahr-tawr-ee-uh l, -tohr-]

–adjective
1. of or pertaining to tailors or their trade: sartorial workmanship.
2. of or pertaining to clothing or style or manner of dress: sartorial splendor.
3. Anatomy. Pertaining to the sartorius.



Origin:

1815–25; < LL sartor tailor + IAL

"I'm a lot more sartorial than thespian. They come to see me and go out humming the costumes." (Constance Bennett, American actress)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

word of the day :: coxcomb

coxcomb:

[koks-kohm]

–noun
1. a conceited, foolish dandy; pretentious fop.
2. Archaic. head; pate
3. Obsolete. COCKSCOMB.



Origin:

1565–75; sp. variation of cockscomb

"Twice two makes four seems to me simply a piece of insolence. Twice two makes four is a pert coxcomb who stands with arms akimbo barring your path and spitting. I admit that twice two makes four is an excellent thing, but if we are to give everything its due, twice two makes five is sometimes a very charming thing too." (Fyodor Dostoevsky)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

word of the day :: pagoda

pagoda:

[puh-goh-duh]

–noun
1. (in India, Burma, China, etc.) a temple or sacred building, usually a pyramidlike tower and typically having upward-curving roofs over the individual stories.
2. any of several former gold or silver coins of southern India, usually bearing a figure of such a temple, first issued in the late 16th century and later also by British, French, and Dutch traders.



Origin:

1625–35; < Pg pagode temple ≪ Pers butkada (but idol + kada temple, dwelling)

"Whenever we encounter the Infinite in man, however imperfectly understood, we treat it with respect. Whether in the synagogue, the mosque, the pagoda, or the wigwam, there is a hideous aspect which we execrate and a sublime aspect which we venerate. So great a subject for spiritual contemplation, such measureless dreaming--the echo of God on the human wall!" (Victor Hugo)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

from Will

"When words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain."

~William Shakespeare~

(King Richard II)

word of the day :: hullabaloo

hullabaloo:

[huhl-uh-buh-loo]

–noun, plural -loos.
a clamorous noise or disturbance; uproar.



Origin:

1750–60; appar. var. of haloobaloo, rhyming compound based on Scots baloo lullaby

"In this world without quiet corners, there can be no easy escapes from from history, from hullabaloo, from terrible, unquiet fuss." (Salman Rushdie)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

word of the day :: asinine

asinine:

[as-uh-nahyn]

–adjective
1. foolish, unintelligent, or silly; stupid: It is surprising that supposedly intelligent people can make such asinine statements.
2. of or like an ass: asinine obstinacy; asinine features. 

Origin:

1600–10; < L asinīnus, equiv. to asin(us)

"Trying to be fascinating is an asinine position to be in" (Katherine Hepburn)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

word of the day :: scallywag

scallywag:
[skal-ee-wag]
–noun
a scamp; rascal

Origin:
1850–55, Americanism; orig. uncert.

" For my part," said Armitage, " I call him a scallywag."

" What's a scallywag ?" Nea Blair asked, looking up at him from her seat with inquiring wonder.

Armitage paused a moment, and perused his boots. It's so hard on a fellow to be pounced upon like that for a definition offhand. " Well, a scallywag," he answered, leaning his back for moral support against the big eucalyptus tree beside which he stood, " a scallywag, I should say, well— well, is—why, he's the sort of man, you know, you wouldn't like to be seen walking down Piccadilly with."

" Oh, I see," Nea exclaimed, with a bright little laugh. " You mean, if you were walking down Piccadilly, yourself, in a frock coat and shiny tall hat, with an orchid from Bull's stuck in your buttonhole ! Then I think, Mr. Armitage, I rather like scallywags."

 (Grant Allen, The Scallywag)

* Definition from www.dictionary.com