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Word of the day

cheville

[ shuh-vee ]

noun

Prosody. a word or expression whose only function is to fill a metrical gap in a verse or to balance a sentence.

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More about cheville

Cheville represents the normal northern French phonetic development of Latin clāvīcula “key, tendril, pivot,” a diminutive of clāvis “key, bar, hook.” In French cheville means “ankle, peg, dowel, pin, plug.” It is this latter sense “plug” that gave rise to the English meaning of a filler word or phrase in a sentence or line of verse. Clāvis derives from the Proto-Indo-European root klēu-, klāu- “hook, peg,” the same source of the very many Greek forms, e.g., kleís, klēī́s, klāī́s (all from assumed klāwis, identical to the Latin noun), Celtic (Old Irish) clō “nail,” Baltic (Lithuanian) kliū́ti “to hang, hang on,” and Slavic (Polish) klucz “key.” Cheville entered English in the 19th century.

how is cheville used?

The languages were by this time close enough to each other to make this easy, and when there was any difficulty it scarce required the wit of a Chaucer to supply such a cheville as “An emperesse or crowned queen” … (though it may be observed that “crowned” is a distinct improvement to the sound, if not to the sense of the line) …

George Saintsbury, A History of English Prosody, Volume I, 1906

But when we discover that … the word “Sparte” has been dragged in at any cost for the rhyme’s sake, we feel that a cheville, like some other concessions to the intractable nature of things, is least offensive when it asks for no admiration.

Frederic William Henry Myers, "Victor Hugo," Essays, Modern, 1883
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Word of the day

magisterial

[ maj-uh-steer-ee-uhl ]

adjective

authoritative; weighty; of importance or consequence; of, relating to, or befitting a master: a magisterial pronouncement by the director of the board.

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More about magisterial

Magisterial comes directly from Late Latin magisteriālis “pertaining to a teacher or magistrate,” a development of Latin magistrālis, a derivative of Latin magister “magistrate, master, teacher.” Magister is formed from the adverb magis “more” and the Proto-Indo-European suffix -ter, used to form natural or opposing pairs, e.g., dexter “right-hand” and sinister “left-hand,” noster “our” and vester “your,” and magister “master,” literally “the bigger guy,” and minister “servant, assistant,” literally “the smaller guy” (from the adverb minus “less”). Magisterial entered English in the 17th century.

how is magisterial used?

This is an impressive, magisterial book whose steady, earnest gaze also encompasses the lives of pickpockets and poets.

Robert McCrum, "Nightwalking review – an enthralling study of London after dark," Guardian, March 29, 2015

They heard a magisterial speech from A. Lawrence Lowell: “As wave after wave rolls landward from the ocean, breaks and fades away sighing down the shingle of the beach, so the generations of men follow one another, sometimes quietly, sometimes, after a storm, with noisy turbulence.”

William Martin, Harvard Yard, 2003
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Word of the day

garbology

[ gahr-bol-uh-jee ]

noun

the study of the material discarded by a society to learn what it reveals about social or cultural patterns.

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More about garbology

Garbology is proof of the complete naturalization in English of the originally Greek combining form -ología “study of, science of.” The “correct” Greek word for the hybrid garbology is—or would be—tracheliology, from Greek trachḗlia “scraps of meat and gristle from the neck thrown away with offal,” or more simply “scraps, offal,” and -ología. The meaning of trachḗlia coincides very neatly with the meaning of garbage, originally “discarded bits of butchered fowl.” Garbology entered English in the 20th century.

how is garbology used?

The thing about garbology at that level, Smith says, is that it lets anyone–kids, teachers, parents–understand their own footprint, as well as their friends’. And once that’s understood, it’s possible to do something about it.

Edward Humes, Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash, 2012

Had the Puente Hills landfill called it back in 2007, when the U.S. was on the verge of the Great Recession, perhaps we’d all be singing the praises of garbology as economic indicator.

Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley, "Touring the Largest Active Landfill in America," Atlantic, April 5, 2013
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