Word of the Day
pettifog
verb
to bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters.
More about pettifog
The verb pettifog is a back formation from the noun pettifogger, originally “ambulance chaser, shyster, fixer.” Pettifogger is a compound of the adjective petty “of minor importance” and fogger “a middleman.” Fogger itself probably derives ultimately from Fugger, the name of a prominent family of German bankers of the 15th and 16th centuries. The family name became a common noun in German and Dutch, meaning “rich man, monopolist, usurer.” Pettifog entered English in the 17th century.
how is pettifog used?
Marius, my boy, you are a baron, you are rich, don’t pettifog—I beg of you.
The way for the President to protect his prerogatives of office is not to pettifog about war powers but to go to the nation with his case.
More about melic
Melic comes from the Greek adjective melikós “lyric (poetry, poet),” a derivative of the noun mélos “limb (of a body), member, musical member, musical phrase, music, song.” Melic is not a common word, unlike its cousin melody, from mélos and ōidḗ “song” (the source of English ode). Melic entered English at the end of the 17th century.
how is melic used?
… anapaests are commonly used either as a sung form, “melic anapaests”, or chanted, a form sometimes called “marching anapaests.”
The earliest discussions call this kind of verse ‘melic’ (the Greek melos means ‘song’), and roughly distinguish sung poems from epic and tragedy.
animus
noun
strong dislike or enmity; hostile attitude; animosity.
More about animus
In Latin the noun animus has many meanings: “the mind (as opposed to the body), the mind (or soul) that with the body constitutes a person, the mind as the seat of consciousness, the immortal part of a person (the soul)….” Animus comes from the same Proto-Indo-European source (anә– “to breathe”) as Greek ánemos “the wind.” The modern sense “strong dislike, enmity” is a development within English, appearing only at the end of the 18th century.
how is animus used?
This time, it’s not a border wall or a health care proposal driving the animus, but an online ad for a men’s razor, because, of course.
Second, people should not let their animus toward him—and his animus toward the truth—trick them into trafficking in conspiracy theories.