Abhor

Pronunciation:
\əb-hor, ab-\

Definition:
to regard with extreme repugnance : loathe

Etymology:
Middle English abhorren, from Latin abhorrēre, from ab- + horrēre to shudder

First Known Use: 15th century

Isn't that a great etymology? From the Latin word meaning "to shudder." I like that because it paints a vivid word picture.

When Strat was in fifth grade, he had a friend (with whom he is still friends) named Christian. We happened to be taking Christian somewhere with us, and the conversation turned to a teacher at their junior high school. From the back seat, this eleven-year-old scholar said, "I abhor her." I almost laughed out loud! Of course, I had to ask him what he said to make sure that my ears did not play a trick on me. This is a great word that is horribly underused.

Malcontent

Pronunciation:
\mal-kən-ˈtent\

Definition:
1 : a discontented person
1a : one who bears a grudge from a sense of grievance or thwarted ambition
1b : one who is in active opposition to an established order or government : rebel

Etymology:
1580s, from Fr. malcontent, formed in Old French; see mal- + content (adj.). The adj. is attested from 1580s.

I ran across this comic from Natalie Dee and thought it was so funny. It is so true that some people seem to live a life a disliking everything. Nothing is ever quite good enough, or what they have could always be better. Now you have a word to go with the feeling.

Another word from the 16th century. Just saying.

Obsequious

Pronunciation:

\əb-ˈsē-kwē-əs, äb-\

Definition:
: marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness

Etymology:
Middle English, compliant, from Latin obsequiosus, from obsequium compliance, from obsequi to comply, from ob- toward + sequi to follow

First Known Use: 15th century

Have you noticed how rich the 15th century was for language? I am seeing more and more "first known use" in the 15th and 16th centuries. Curious.

I quite liked this word, found in my reading yesterday. Time was, you'd just call someone a "brown-noser. However, obsequious is so much more descriptive and, well, just sounds better.

Ecumenical

Pronunciation:
\e-kyə-ˈme-ni-kəl, -kyü-\

Definition:
1 : worldwide or general in extent, influence, or application
2a : of, relating to, or representing the whole of a body of churches b : promoting or tending toward worldwide Christian unity or cooperation

Etymology:
Late Latin oecumenicus, from Late Greek oikoumenikos, from Greek oikoumenē the inhabited world, from feminine of oikoumenos, present passive participle of oikein to inhabit, from oikos house

First Known Use: circa 1587

I am currently reading a vocabulary-rich book, "The Widower's Tale" by Julia Glass. I am in the habit of keeping a small notebook nearby so I can write interesting sections, quotes, and unfamiliar words from my latest read. Yesterday, I copied the following:

I have always been an avid and fairly ecumenical reader of fiction: I relish the pretend, the invented, the convincingly contrived. p314

I had heard the word ecumenical used with regards to religion, but never in a case like this, and I thought it very appropriate.

Milieu

Pronunciation:
\mēl-ˈyə(r), -ˈyü, -ˈyœ; ˈmēl-yü\

Definition:
: the physical or social setting in which something occurs or develops : environment

Etymology:

French, from Old French, midst, from mi middle (from Latin medius) + lieu place, from Latin locus

First Known Use: 1854

I am currently reading the very cleverly written "The Widower's Tale" by Julia Glass. While reading an online review of the book, I ran across today's word in the following sentence:
 
Julia Glass gets plenty of things right in her expansive fourth novel, but no feature is more successful than the book's artfully conjured milieu.In most cases, and especially in Glass's books, "milieu" means not just an environment but a prevailing mood. Here, that mood is giddy bewilderment.
 
Not only does the writer of the article explain the word, but also adds to it! You gotta love it!!

Recalcitrant

Pronunciation:
\ri-ˈkal-sə-trənt\

Definition:
1 : obstinately defiant of authority or restraint;
2 : Having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority.
3a : difficult to manage or operate b : not responsive to treatment

Etymology:

Late Latin recalcitrant-, recalcitrans, present participle of recalcitrare to be stubbornly disobedient, from Latin, to kick back, from re- + calcitrare to kick, from calc-, calx heel

First Known Use: 1843

First of all, I find it very interesting that there is an exact year noted for the first known use. How do they know that?

Anyway, when I was at the library the other day, one of the librarians SHUSHED me! I, of course, posted this on facebook, where a friend of mine asked "Are you chastised or indignant?" She knows me so well!

I would say that I was recalcitrant. After all, I know that I am supposed to be quiet in the library, but I guess I was just obstinately talking too loudly. When I heard the "shhh", I turned to her (I think I was mid-sentence and I was talking to the other librarian, thank you very much) looked her in the eye and said, "Did you just shush me?" I was incredulous (that's a word for another day). So, while I did lower my voice, I remained uncooperative in my attitude toward her authority.

As a follow-up, I visited the library again yesterday evening and said library lady didn't even look at me. Indeed.

Bated vs Baited Breath

A copy from the website World Wide Words. This term is used often and misspelled enough so that the correct spelling is threatened.

The correct spelling is actually bated breath but it’s so common these days to see it written as baited breath that there’s every chance that it will soon become the usual form, to the disgust of conservative speakers and the confusion of dictionary writers. Examples in newspapers and magazines are legion; this one appeared in the Daily Mirror on 12 April 2003: “She hasn’t responded yet but Michael is waiting with baited breath”.

It’s easy to mock, but there’s a real problem here. Bated and baited sound the same and we no longer use bated (let alone the verb to bate), outside this one set phrase, which has become an idiom. Confusion is almost inevitable. Bated here is a contraction of abated through loss of the unstressed first vowel (a process called aphesis); it means “reduced, lessened, lowered in force”. So bated breath refers to a state in which you almost stop breathing as a result of some strong emotion, such as terror or awe.

Shakespeare is the first writer known to use it, in The Merchant of Venice, in which Shylock says to Antonio: “Shall I bend low and, in a bondman’s key, / With bated breath and whisp’ring humbleness, / Say this ...”. Nearly three centuries later, Mark Twain employed it in Tom Sawyer: “Every eye fixed itself upon him; with parted lips and bated breath the audience hung upon his words, taking no note of time, rapt in the ghastly fascinations of the tale”.

I found this hilarious explanation, too, complete with illustration:

Baited – lured to a trap with the promise of a reward, or the act of having placed that reward in the trap.


Bated – diminished, reduced, basically the same thing as “abated.”

So if we baited the trap with cheese, then everything about the rat is bated – its life is bated, our rat problem is bated, and its breath is definitely bated. Yes, folks, it’s “waiting with bated breath” not baited. (And not “weighting,” for that matter.) It means to hold your breath in excited anticipation, it doesn’t mean your breath smells like cheese. Though you still might consider a mint now and then, for reals.

Concupiscence

Pronunciation:
kän-ˈkyü-pə-sən(t)s, kən-\

Definition:
strong desire; ardent longing; eagerly desirous

Etymology:
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin concupiscentia, from Latin concupiscent-, concupiscens, present participle of concupiscere to desire ardently, from com- + cupere to desire

First Known Use: 14th century

My Sunday School teacher gave us homework last week to read the next chapter (7) in the book of Romans. While I was studying, I came across this word in the 8th verse:

But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
 
When we were talking about the lesson today, I told the teacher that I had a question about a word with which I was unfamiliar, and she knew which one I was thinking of! It is a beautifully descriptive word meant to convey an intense longing for something. Of course, when I looked at several references for the word, it gave the definition in terms of sensual longing, but this is not the entire meaning at all.
 
Debbie (my teacher) used Candid Camera (remember that old show?) as an example where there is a sign reading "Do Not Touch - Wet Paint". Seven out of ten people had to touch the wall to see if the paint was wet! Here is a sign for your good, and it creates such a desire in the passersby that it becomes almost an insatiable need to do exactly what the sign warns against. Just like the Bible verse of sin and the law.
 
A beautiful word for a life lesson.

Erudite

Pronunciation:
\ˈer-ə-dīt, ˈer-yə-\

Definition:
having or showing knowledge that is gained by studying
 
Etymology:
Middle English erudit, from Latin eruditus, from past participle of erudire to instruct, from e- + rudis rude, ignorant

First Known Use: 15th century


Have you seen the iPad commercial that asks questions as they show the answer on the iPad? Like, "Do you want to learn a new language? Do you want to learn a new word?" The word that it shows for that question is erudite. How fitting!

Synecdoche

Here's a hard one for you today! Synecdoche

\sə-ˈnek-də-kē\

Definition:
A figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole (as fifty sail for fifty ships), the whole for a part (as society for high society), the species for the genus (as cutthroat for assassin), the genus for the species (as a creature for a man), or the name of the material for the thing made (as boards for stage)

Etymology:
Latin, from Greek synekdochē, from syn- + ekdochē sense, interpretation, from ekdechesthai to receive, understand, from ex from + dechesthai to receive; akin to Greek dokein to seem good
 
Now, this is more common that you may think. From the definition, it is still a little difficult to grasp the true meaning, and the wildly abundant usage of this linguistic term. For a plethora of examples of usage, I turned to Wikipedia.
 
A part referring to the whole

• Prominently used in slang and vulgar speech, where the entire person is referred to by their genitalia.
• Referring to people according to a single characteristic: "the gray beard" representing an older man or "the long hair" representing a hippie. This leads to bahuvrihi compounds.
• Describing a complete vehicle as "wheels"
• Calling workers "hands", e.g. Many hands make light work; All hands on deck!
• Before and during the Cold War, the Soviet Union was commonly referred to by its largest and most well-known member, Russia.
• Use of the names England (only one of the four constituent nations) or Great Britain (the geographical name of the main island) to mean the entire United Kingdom.
• Use of Holland, a region of the Netherlands, to refer to the entire country

The name for a whole when used to describe one part of it

• In the United States, terms like "United States", "(the Commonwealth of) Virginia" or "(the) People (of the State of California)" are used in court trials when the plaintiff, prosecutor or defendant is a government entity, such as in Loving v. Virginia.

A general class name used to denote a specific member of that or an associated class

• "the good book," or "The Book" for the Bible
• "truck" for any four-wheel drive vehicle (as well as long-haul trailers, etc.)
• "He's good people." [Here, the word "people" is used to denote a specific instance of people, i.e. a person. So the sentence would be interpreted as "He's a good person.")

A specific class name used to refer to a general set of associated things

• "John Hancock" for the signature of any person
• a genericized trademark, for example "Coke" for any variety of cola or "Band-Aid" for any variety of adhesive bandage
• "bug" for any kind of insect or arachnid, even if it is not a true bug

The material that a thing is (actually, historically, or supposedly) made of referring to that thing

• "glasses" for spectacles
• "steel" for a sword
• "tin" for a container made with tin plating
• "willow" for a cricket bat or "pigskin" for an American or Canadian football
• "wood" for a type of club used in the sport of golf
• "irons" for shackles placed around a prisoner's wrists or ankles to restrict their movement
• "plastic" for a credit card (asking a merchant) Do you take plastic?
• "lead" for bullets (e.g. They pumped him full of lead.)
• "silver" for flatware or other dishes that were once made of silver metal
• "rubber" for a condom
• "threads" for clothing Yo, check out my new threads!

A container is used to refer to its contents

• "barrel" for a barrel of oil
• "keg" for a keg of beer

See? You probably use this figure of speech several times a day. Now you know what it's called!

Glean

Glean \ˈglēn\

intransitive verb
1: to gather grain or other produce left by reapers
2: to gather information or material bit by bit

transitive verb

1a : to pick up after a reaper b : to strip (as a field) of the leavings of reapers

2a : to gather (as information) bit by bit b : to pick over in search of relevant material <gleaning old files for information>

During my Bible Study class last night, the teacher told the Greek word and meaning for a very common word in scripture (I believe it was favor), and I was surprised at the rich and meaningful definition of the Greek word, as opposed to the word used in my translation. I said, "Wow, I didn't glean that from my reading."

 

This made me think of the word glean. It's a word that is commonly known, but not commonly used. Why not? You hear often, "I didn't get that from the passage," or "I didn't understand that from the passage."

 

To use the word glean here is so much more encompassing and active than the above examples. It's use implies that the person was trying to understand the text, trying to lean, and trying to get more information. There is in innate feeling of difficulty in the word, as if there is a struggle or, at the very least, work done to get to this knowledge. Otherwise, the reader is passive, waiting for information to be handed or given to him.

 

The fact that glean originates from an extinct Celtic language is enticing enough for me to use it more often. It has certainly stood the test of time! Try to incorporate the word glean into your vocabulary and enrich your communication.

Pugnacious

Famed movie critic Roger Ebert has a new memoir coming out. In honor of him and his contribution (as in being the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize), we have our word for today: pugnacious.

\pəg-ˈnā-shəs\
Definition:
having a quarrelsome or combative nature
 
Etymology:
Latin pugnac-, pugnax, from pugnare to fight
 
Why is pugnacious associated with Ebert, you wonder? Ebert co-hosted a television show with Gene Siskel for over 20 years. I loved to watch the show, waiting for the final thumbs-up or thumbs-down from each of them. They disagreed a lot, which made their relationship seem pugnacious.
 
Specifically, I remember a review in 1994 of The Lion King, where Siskel loved the song Hakuna Matata, stating that he often sang it aloud. Ebert challenged him on it, saying that he had never heard him sing it and he was glad because he didn't like the song. Siskel shot it right back to him, stating that he didn't sing it in his hearing in deference to him.
 
Click here for a reel of outtakes from recording promos. You can clearly see that they were extremely pugnacious.

Non Sequitur

My kids like to read the comics in the daily newspaper. Recently, one of them asked me what the comic title "Non Sequitur" means.

The Non Sequitur comic features characters from the fictional town of Whatchacallit, Maine. Created by Wiley Miller, t is the only comic strip to win in its first year of syndication and the only title to ever win both the best comic strip and best comic panel categories. It is, by turns political, satirical and comedic.

\ˈnän-ˈse-kwə-tər also -tu̇r\

Definition:
an inference that does not follow from the premises; specifically : a fallacy resulting from a simple conversion of a universal affirmative proposition or from the transposition of a condition and its consequent result.

Example: We were talking about the new restaurant when she threw in some non sequitur about her dog.
 
Etymology: Literally, the expression is Latin for "it does not follow." It comes from the words "non" meaning not, and the deponent verb sequor, sequi, secutus sum, meaning to follow.

So, why would this latin term apply to this comic? Tell me what you think.

Is God a Bulwark?

Yesterday in church, we sang A Mighty Fortress is our God, with the following words:

A mighty fortress is our God,

a bulwark never failing

What on earth is a bulwark (pronounced ˈbul-wərk, -work)?

Definition: a solid wall-like structure raised for defense.

Well, that certainly makes sense, but can't we just say He is a ... well, a mighty fortress? Where does this word originate?

Bulwark is a noun that has its sources in Middle English and Middle Dutch from the 15th century. In Middle English it comes from the word "bulwerke." In Middle Dutch it comes from the word "bolwerk." The components of the Dutch origin are "bolle" (tree trunk) and "werc" (work).

It seems to be more a military term than anything, and with that in mind, I can certainly see why a songwriter would use it in a hymn. The word fortress is very descriptive, but I find the essence of bulwark to be much stronger when spoken. To pronounce fortress is to keep the sounds at the front and top of the mouth. Bulwark comes from the back and bottom of the mouth, with the throat fully engaged, ending in a gutteral hard "k" ending. It is much more fulfilling to speak and get the idea across of a fully-engaged, from the bottom-up kind of God-protection.

Is God a bulwark? Yes! He is!

Memories Never Die

A pair of 8' bronze hands holding a twisted steel I-beam salvaged from the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Ennui

This is an unusual word to hear, and I ran into it TWICE this week!

Jim and I were watching "Yes Man", a movie starring Jim Carey, where they used this word. When I was surprised at the usage, Jim told me that the band Live uses it in the lyrics to the song "Rattlesnake".

Definition:  a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction; boredom

Example: the kind of ennui that comes from having too much time on one's hands and too little will to find something productive to do

Etymology: French, from Old French enui annoyance, from enuier to vex, from Late Latin inodiare to make loathsome

Intimate

Intimate is a word that I use quite often, but probably not how you imagine.

The first usage (which often means that it is the most common) is an adjective and describes close, personal relationships. It is pronounced [in-tuh-mit]. The following sentences give an array of meaning with this definition:

I have an intimate relationship with my husband.
The cafe offered an intimate atmosphere.
Handling my finances is an intimate affair.

Do you see how they all result in a "close to" meaning?

The way I use this word is the second and less common usage of hinting, implying or suggesting. In this case, it is a verb. It is pronounced [in-tuh-meyt]. A few sentences:

I didn't not mean to intimate that I don't like the color.
Are you intimating that you want to go?

For some reason, you will see this usage in written form much more often than hear it in conversation. I am not sure why, other than the fact that many people may simply not be comfortable using it. I am certainly not intimating that they are ignorant.

Luddite

While watching the Republican presidential debates on television last night, one of the commentators used the word Luddite when referring to a candidate's outlook on the economy. I believe he said, "His Luddite mentality with regard to the economy." I immediately ran to the dictionary!

When the Industrial Revolution was sweeping across England, skilled textile workers found themselves out of a job, and unable to find other, similar work. Textile workers, more specifically hosiery and lace weavers, began to meet secretly, planning the destruction of new mechanized looms. They signed their threatening letters and cases of industrial sabotage with the fictional name King Ludd.

Much like a Robin Hood-type figure, King Ludd was anonymous and stood for a principle rather than a real person. Some accounts even have King Ludd as living in Sherwood Forrest.

Often painted as technophobes, Luddites were more likely trying to save the essence of their industry. They considered themselves artisans and not merely weavers. They were creating items meant to be passed down from generation to generation. This did not include mass-produced, identical, cheaply made items. The only way they could have their voice heard was through the destruction of the machines that threatened, not only their livelihood, but also their art and the reputation of their trade.

Is it Fall or is it Autumn?

The word autumn comes from the Old French word autompne (automne in modern French), and was later normalised to the original Latin word autumnus.There are rare examples of its use as early as the 12th century, but it became common by the 16th century.

Before the 16th century, harvest was the term usually used to refer to the season, as it is common in other West Germanic languages to this day. However, as more people gradually moved from working the land to living in towns (especially those who could read and write, the only people whose use of language we now know), the word harvest lost its reference to the time of year and came to refer only to the actual activity of reaping, and autumn, as well as fall, began to replace it as a reference to the season.

The alternative word fall for the season traces its origins to old Germanic languages. The exact derivation is unclear, the Old English fiæll or feallan and the Old Norse fall all being possible candidates. However, these words all have the meaning "to fall from a height" and are clearly derived either from a common root or from each other. The term came to denote the season in 16th century England, a contraction of Middle English expressions like "fall of the leaf" and "fall of the year".

During the 17th century, English emigration to the British colonies in North America was at its peak, and the new settlers took the English language with them. While the term fall gradually became obsolete in Britain, it became the more common term in North America.

So, either one you choose to use, use it while holding a cup of tea and wearing your favorite sweater!

Okay, let's get this going again!

Now that Dana is married (YES!! MARRIED!!!) and I have no excuse whatsoever, I am going to get our site started again with a random post.

Guess what it's been doing since Sunday. Yep! Raining cats and dogs! Where on earth did that saying generate?

Here is a very good summary of several possible etymologies from the Ask Yahoo site:

As with many such questions, the jury is out on this one. World Wide Words offers several possible derivations for the saying, including an old sailor's myth that cats have sway over the weather. Feline meteorological magic, coupled with a symbolic association of storms with dogs, may be the genesis for the phrase. But we can't be sure.


The chatty etymology newsletter Take Our Word For It mentions another intriguing possibility. On account of the notorious inefficiency of 17th-century sewage and drainage systems, the streets of European cities were often littered with debris and dead animals after heavy rainstorms. They had to come from somewhere, right?

Animalplanet.com offers yet two more possibilities for this colorful expression. It could liken the racket made by a storm to the thunderous noise made by fighting cats and dogs. Or, it may arise from the era of thatched roofs when downpours would bring cats and dogs dozing atop houses down onto the occupants.

A general interest weather site run by Wheeling Jesuit University traces the history of raining wildlife. There are several accounts of frogs, fish, and grasshoppers falling from the sky, usually as a result of tornado-like whirlwinds. Cats and dogs, however, have yet to make the list.

The leading theory seems to be that animals have been associated with weather for centuries. Cats stand for rain, and dogs for wind.

There you have it! That is UNCANNY!