Word of the Day
kinesthetic
adjective
needing to move.
More about kinesthetic
Kinesthetic “needing to move” is a compound of the Ancient Greek verb kīneîn (stem kīnē-) “to move, set in motion” and esthetic, the adjective form of the English noun esthesia “capacity for sensation or feeling.” The verb kīneîn is also the source of terms such as kinetic, a type of energy, and telekinesis, the superhuman ability to move objects with one’s mind. The noun esthesia ultimately derives from the Ancient Greek verb aisthánesthai (stem aisthë-) “to perceive,” which is the root of terms such as aesthetics, the philosophy of beauty, and synesthesia, the instinctive visualization of colors when hearing sounds. Kinesthetic was first recorded in English in the late 1870s.
how is kinesthetic used?
The idea that individuals have different learning styles, such as auditory or kinesthetic, is a pernicious myth. [Education scholar Ulrich] Boser compares it to the flat-earth myth — highly intuitive, but wrong …. One major recent review of research, among many others, stated that the authors “found virtually no evidence” for the idea.
A couple of years ago, [Kelly Rahmeier] had a child in her class with partial hearing loss. She decided then to start teaching ASL to all of her students. It quickly caught on, and the students loved it …. ASL is not only an official language used within the deaf community, but it is also beneficial for children who are more kinesthetic learners as they can connect some sort of movement with a word or concept.
distelfink
noun
a stylized bird motif traditional in Pennsylvania German art.
More about distelfink
Distelfink “a stylized bird motif traditional in Pennsylvania German art” is an adaptation of the Pennsylvania Dutch word dischdelfink “goldfinch,” a compound of dischdel “thistle” and fink “finch.” Although it contains the word Dutch, Pennsylvania Dutch is in fact a dialect of German, which is why it is also known as Pennsylvania German. A common misconception is that Dutch appears in this dialect’s name as an anglicized form of the German word Deutsch “German,” but in fact, the use of Dutch here reflects an archaic definition in English: “continental Germanic.” Distelfink was first recorded in English in the 1930s.
how is distelfink used?
Inside the house a few hornets bumped along the walls and went wobbling across the room. The house was clean and tidy, with a few well-used pieces of furniture, the best of which was a schrank, or wardrobe, made of figured walnut. On one wall hung a framed piece of fraktur art. This fraktur had no brightly colored distelfink, the thistle finch that foretold happiness and good fortune—a common motif, and the one that decorated a painting in the parlor of the house where Gideon had grown up.
haphephobia
noun
an extreme fear or dislike of touching or being touched.
More about haphephobia
Haphephobia “an extreme fear or dislike of touching or being touched” is a compound of the Ancient Greek noun haphḗ “a touch” and the combining form -phobia “fear,” from Ancient Greek phóbos. Haphḗ is a derivative of the verb háptein “to grasp, sense,” which is also the source of the adjective haptic “of or relating to touch.” Ancient Greek has two letters similar to English P: pi, which represents the “p” sound in spin, and phi, which represents the aspirated “p” sound in pin. Because pi and phi are pronounced similarly, many Greek verbs containing a “p” sound regularly alternate between pi and phi across tenses and forms, which is how the verb háptein, spelled with a pi, leads to the noun form haphḗ, spelled with a phi. Haphephobia was first recorded in English in the early 1890s.
how is haphephobia used?
Pilati, a powerful captain of industry who happens to have haphephobia and dreads being touched, has thrown his support behind Claudia’s campaign to become the town’s first woman mayor. Perhaps Roberto’s time might be better spent tweaking both his surveillance equipment and his home life, and not playing junior crime solver.