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Word of the dayPrevious Week Next WeekThursday, September 13, 2018
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What is the origin of exoteric?
Exoteric, the opposite of esoteric, comes from Latin exōtericus “popular (e.g., of books); not overly technical or abstruse,” a borrowing of Greek exōterikós “external, outside, popular.” The first element of the Greek word is the adverb éxō “out, out of, outside”; the last element, -ikós, is a typical adjective suffix. The middle element, -ter-, is usually called a comparative suffix, which is only one of its functions. The suffix -ter is also used in Latin and Greek to form natural or complementary pairs, e.g., Latin nōster “our” and vester “your,” and dexter “right (hand)” and sinister “left (hand).” The Latin adjectives correspond with Greek hēméteros “our” and hyméteros “your,” and dexiterós “right (hand)” and aristerós “left (hand).” Aristerós is a euphemism meaning “better (hand)” (áristos means “best” in Greek, as in aristocracy “rule of the best”). Exoteric entered English in the 17th century.Previous DayHow is exoteric used?
I was on a holiday, and was engaged in that rich and intricate mass of pleasures, duties, and discoveries which for the keeping off of the profane, we disguise by the exoteric name of Nothing. G. K. Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles, 1909
Practical or exoteric alchemy was concerned chiefly with attempts to prepare the philosopher's stone, a hypothetical transmuting and healing agent capable of curing the imagined diseases of metals and the real ones of man. John Read, "A grandiose philosophical system," New Scientist, February 21, 1957
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Word of the dayWednesday, September 12, 2018
reticulation
noun [ri-tik-yuh-ley-shuhn]a netlike formation, arrangement, or appearance; network.Look it upWhat is the origin of reticulation?
Reticulation Is a derivative of the adjective reticulate (and the noun suffix -ion), of Latin origin. Reticulate comes from Latin rēticulātus “covered with a net, having a netlike pattern,” a derivative of the noun rēticulum “small net, a network bag,” itself a derivative of rēte “net (for hunting, fishing, fowling).” Reticulation entered English in the 17th century.Previous DayHow is reticulation used?
... Ralph Marvell, stretched on his back in the grass, lay gazing up at a black reticulation of branches between which bits of sky gleamed with the hardness and brilliancy of blue enamel. Edith Wharton, The Custom of the Country, 1913
Her appearance has changed as well, and I don't mean just the intense reticulation of lines and wrinkles, the true stigmata of life. Rabih Alameddine, An Unnecessary Woman, 2013
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Word of the dayTuesday, September 11, 2018
What is the origin of atweel?
Atweel is an alteration and contraction of Scots (I) wat weel, (I) wot well in standard if archaic English, meaning (I) know well in modern standard English. Unsurprisingly, atweel is found only in Scottish authors, the two most famous being Robert Burns (1759–1796) and Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832). Atweel entered English in the 18th century.Previous DayHow is atweel used?
Atweel, I can do that, and help her to buy her parapharnauls. John Galt, The Entail, 1823
Atweel, I dinna ken yet. George MacDonald, Robert Falconer, 1868
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Word of the dayMonday, September 10, 2018
tautology
noun [taw-tol-uh-jee]needless repetition of an idea, especially in words other than those of the immediate context, without imparting additional force or clearness, as in “widow woman.”Look it upWhat is the origin of tautology?
Tautology comes from Late Latin tautologia, a borrowing of a Hellenistic Greek rhetorical term tautología “repetition of something already said.” The second half of tautology is clear enough, being the same suffix as in theology or philology. The first element tauto- needs some clarification: it comes from tò autó “the same,” formed from the neuter singular of the definite article and the third person pronoun (the combination of tò autó to tautó is called krâsis “mixture,” which appears in idiosyncrasy “personal temperament”—a “personal blend” as it were. Tautology entered English in the 16th century.Previous DayHow is tautology used?
Take away perspective and you are stranded in a universal present, something akin, weirdly, to the unhistoried — and, at the risk of tautology, perspective-less — art of the Middle Ages. Geoff Dyer, "Andreas Gursky's photos visually articulate the world around us, framing modern society," Los Angeles Times, October 17, 2015
... the central moral question is whether we are going to use the language of tautology and self-justification – one that gives us alone the right to be called reasonable and human – or whether we labour to discover other ways of speaking and imagining. Rowan Williams, "What Orwell can teach us about the language of terror and war," The Guardian, December 12, 2015
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Word of the daySunday, September 09, 2018
What is the origin of sweeting?
Sweeting is an obvious noun formed from the adjective sweet and the noun suffix -ing “one belonging to, descended from.” The sense “sweetheart,” not used nowadays, dates from about 1300; the sense “a variety of sweet apple” dates from the 16th century.Previous DayHow is sweeting used?
... I do give her the frut of two appel trees one a sweeting ye nothermost of ye sweetings in ye Lower yard and ye westermost tree by ye highway. "A Trip to Old Harwich," The Owl, September 1903
They be not righteous actions that make a righteous man; nor be they evil actions that make a wicked man: for a tree must be a sweeting tree before it yield sweetings; and a crab tree before it bring forth crabs. John Bunyan, A Discourse Upon the Pharisee and the Publican, 1685
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Word of the daySaturday, September 08, 2018
caboshed
adjective [kuh-bosht]Heraldry. (of an animal, as a deer) shown facing forward without a neck: a stag's head caboshed.Look it upWhat is the origin of caboshed?
Caboshed, also spelled caboched and cabossed is a technical term in heraldry referring to a beast decapitated behind its horns. The -ed shows that the variant spellings are all past participles of the very rare and obsolete verb cabochen, cabachen “to behead (a deer or other beast) right behind its horns.” The English verb comes from the French verb cabocher (past participle caboché), a derivative of caboche (Old French caboce), a pejorative northern French dialect (Norman, Picard) word meaning “head” (literally “cabbage”). Caboche may be a development of Latin caput “head.” Caboshed entered English in the 16th century.Previous DayHow is caboshed used?
... an heraldic shield featuring a lion's head caboshed, with medusa hair, a single bulging eye, a beard, and tusks ... John Clute, Appleseed, 2001
A fanciful menagerie flourished on the banners: the caboshed boar of Janos of Hungary, the naiant dolphin of a Sicilian Norman, the salient-countersalient white stags of Conrad's men, and everywhere the Templars' Pegasus. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Crusader's Torch, 1988
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Word of the dayFriday, September 07, 2018
locavore
noun [loh-kuh-vawr, -vohr]a person who makes an effort to eat food that is grown, raised, or produced locally, usually within 100 miles of home.Look it upWhat is the origin of locavore?
Locavore was coined in 2005 by Jessica Prentice (born 1968), an American chef and author, and a co-founder of Three Stone Hearth, a community-supported kitchen in Berkeley, California. Locavore is a compound of English local, from Latin locālis “pertaining to a place” (from locus "place") and Latin vorāre “to swallow ravenously,” which also appears in devour “to swallow down, gulp down,” carnivore “meat eater,” and herbivore “grass eater.”Previous DayHow is locavore used?
The pomegranates, Boston lettuce, and tomatoes came from out of state--it was hard to be a complete locavore in New England during the winter. Steven Raichlen, Island Apart, 2012
The locavore movement aims to capture that flavor difference and promote sustainable, community-based agriculture by favoring "low-mileage" foods over ones that have traveled long distances to arrive at your plate. Christie Aschwanden, "The Locavore," Runner's World, October 2008
