parsimonious

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parsimonious

PRONUNCIATION:

(par-si-MO-nee-uhs)

MEANING:

adjective: Excessively sparing or frugal. 

ETYMOLOGY:

From Middle English parcimony, from Latin parsimonia, from parcere (to spare). First recorded use: 1598. 

USAGE:

"President Calvin Coolidge was so parsimonious with words that he became known as 'Silent Cal'."

Rob Christensen; Interesting, But Not Quite Convincing; The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina); Sep 12, 2010. 

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, or a new country. -Anais Nin, author (1903-1977) 

nacreous: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

Word of the Day for Saturday, November 6, 2010 nacreous \NEY-kree-uhs\, adjective: Resembling nacre (mother-of-pearl); lustrous; pearly. Nacreous pearl light swam faintly about the hem of the lilac darkness; the edges of light and darkness were stitched upon the hills. -- Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel For the first time in his life Stephen found that he and Rubens were of one mind, particularly as their generous decolletes and their diaphanous gowns showed expanses of that nacreous Rubens flesh that had so puzzled him before. -- Patrick O'Brian, The nutmeg of consolation Nacreous is the adjectival form of nacre, a "type of shellfish that yields mother-of-pearl." The word may ultimately derive from the Arabic nakara, "to hollow out," in reference to the shape of the mollusk shell.

emote

emote

PRONUNCIATION:

(i-MOHT)

MEANING:

verb intr.: To express emotion in an excessive or theatrical manner. 

ETYMOLOGY:

Back-formation from emotion, from Old French esmovoir (to excite, stir up), from Latin emovere (to remove or displace), from ex- (out of) + movere (to move). Earliest recorded use: 1917. 

USAGE:

"Doctors are trained to always look serious and never emote." Ninad Siddhaye; Doctors Self-Medicate With Theatre; Daily News & Analysis (Mumbai, India); Oct 9, 2010. 

Explore "emote" in the Visual Thesaurus. 

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Because we don't understand the brain very well we're constantly tempted to use the latest technology as a model for trying to understand it. In my childhood we were always assured that the brain was a telephone switchboard. (What else could it be?) And I was amused to see that Sherrington, the great British neuroscientist, thought that the brain worked like a telegraph system. Freud often compared the brain to hydraulic and electromagnetic systems. Leibniz compared it to a mill, and now, obviously, the metaphor is the digital computer. -John R. Searle, philosophy professor (b. 1932)

aesthete

aesthete or esthete

PRONUNCIATION:

(ES-theet)

MEANING:

noun: Someone who has or affects high sensitivity to beauty, especially in art. 

ETYMOLOGY:

Back-formation from aesthetic. Via Latin from Greek aisthesis (sensation or perception). Ultimately from the Indo-European root au- (to perceive) which is the source of other words such as audio, audience, audit, obey, oyez, auditorium, anesthesia, aesthetic, and synesthesia. Earliest recorded use 1881. 

USAGE:

"Alex is a secret aesthete, a slum-dwelling intellectual who finds redemption through Beethoven rather than the pumping dance beats down at the Korova milk bar."

Neil Cooper; A Clockwork Orange, Citizens Theatre, Glasgow; The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland); Oct 18, 2010. 

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Creative activity could be described as a type of learning process where teacher and pupil are located in the same individual. -Arthur Koestler, novelist and journalist (1905-1983) 

caterwaul: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

There will be no caterwauling in this office. caterwaul \KAT-uhr-wawl\, intransitive verb: 1. To make a harsh cry. 2. To have a noisy argument. noun: 1. A shrill, discordant sound. John met Angela head-to-head and there was a lot of bellowing and caterwauling. -- Matthew Parris, "Prescott grapples with his feminine side", Times (London), December 14, 2000 In the early days, when people were still shocked by the novelty of cursing, screaming, caterwauling emotional incontinents attacking each other on stage, he [Jerry Springer] used to produce high-falutin' justifications for the show. -- Paul Hoggart, "Paul Hoggart's television choice", Times (London), December 9, 2000 The forest silence is impermeable, entirely undisturbed by the soft bell notes of hidden birds, the tick of descending leaves and twigs or soft thump of falling fruit, or even the far caterwaul of monkeys. -- Peter Matthiessen, African Silences Caterwaul is from Middle English caterwawen, "to cry as a cat," either from Medieval Dutch kater, "tomcat" + Dutch wauwelen, "to tattle," or for catawail, from cat-wail, "to wail like a cat."

Words of the Day? How about words of timeless wisdom? Introducing our Quotes channel! "Life itself is a quotation." - Jorge Luis Borges Check out the Quote of the Day ››

 

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Contrite

contrite   \kun-TRYTE\   adjective
: feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for a sin or shortcoming

Examples:
Mom finally let Jamie off the hook for the prank when she believed he understood why
she was angry and was truly contrite.

"A contrite, clean-shaven Joaquin Phoenix returned to David Letterman and his 'Late
Show' last night to confirm that his February 2009 dead man walking appearance was in
fact a stunt. He apologized, and Letterman -- who seemed to suggest that he was not in
on the ruse -- happily accepted the apology." -- From an article by Verne Gay in Newsday
(New York), September 23, 2010

Did you know?
A person who is contrite may have rubbed someone the wrong way and caused bruised
feelings -- and there is a hint about the origins of the word in that thought. "Contrite"
came to English by way of Anglo-French from the Latin verb "conterere,"
meaning "to grind" or "to bruise." "Conterere," in turn, was formed by combining the
prefix "com-" and "terere," meaning "to rub." If you've guessed that "trite" is a cousin
of "contrite" (through "terere"), you are correct. Other "terere" descendants in English
include "detriment" and "tribulation," and very possibly the familiar verb "try."

enceinte

enceinte \en-SEYNT\, adjective:

1. Pregnant; with child

noun:
1. A wall or enclosure, as of a fortified place.

"Tell them you are enceinte and ask for food. They will give you a good meal and ask no questions."
-- George Orwell, Down and out in Paris and London

The young countess, now visibly enceinte beneath her gown, was radiantly happy, for her husband was obviously deeply in love with her.
-- Bertrice Small, This Heart of Mine

Enceinte derives from the Latin cingere, "to belt, gird, or surround."