Word of the Day
cruciverbalist
noun
a designer or aficionado of crossword puzzles.
More about cruciverbalist
Cruciverbalist is a combination of two Latin words—crux “cross” and verbum “word”—and in this way, it’s a direct translation of the word crossword using Latin elements. Crux is also the source of numerous words related to crosses or, more figuratively, focal points, such as crucial and excruciating, while verbum’s descendants include verbal, verbiage, and verbose, all of which pertain to words.
how is cruciverbalist used?
There is an honour among crossword-solvers. I would never give away an answer to a fellow cruciverbalist, unless specifically asked to do so. And if someone did ask me for an answer, I have to confess that I wouldn’t regard that person as a proper cruciverbalist.
David Crossland was the cruciverbalist’s cruciverbalist. The crossword setter, who has died aged 70, was known as “Dac” to readers of The Independent for which he produced cryptic puzzles for 16 years from 2002.
orogeny
noun
the process of mountain making or upheaval.
More about orogeny
Orogeny is essentially a fusion of two Ancient Greek words: óros “mountain” and -géneia “origin.” While óros and its derivatives are largely technical terms, -géneia is related to numerous words pertaining to birth or family, such as gene, genesis, genetics, and genealogy.
how is orogeny used?
Two hundred and forty million years ago, waves left ripples in soft sands and silts. [S]ediments swept in and buried the ripples whole. They lay there under their blanket for hundreds of millions of years, as ages passed, an orogeny lifted the plateau, time turned ancient muds to rock, and erosion wore the blanket away. Now here we are, in the middle of a desert, looking at the echo of wetter days.
Our reluctant heroine, Essun, is still on the search for her missing daughter in the Stillness but feels responsible for the community that she saved—yet partially destroyed—with her orogeny, the ability to harness the energy of the Earth.
Xanadu
noun
a place of great beauty, luxury, and contentment.
More about Xanadu
You may recognize Xanadu from the notorious cult classic film of the same name that starred Olivia Newton-John and spawned a Tony Award-nominated musical, but the word dates not to the ’80s but rather to 800 years ago. Xanadu is an English transliteration of the name of the summer palace belonging to Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan and emperor during the Yuan dynasty; the palace’s name in Mandarin is Shàngdū “upper capital,” and its remains are still visitable today in the Inner Mongolia region of northern China.
how is Xanadu used?
To most people, Britain is a mythological realm on par with Atlantis or Shangri-La or El Dorado, the Lost City of Gold. Does it even exist? … And much like any other fabled empire, this real-life Xanadu boasts its own elite class of pleasure dome-dwelling artists!