Friday, June 24, 2011

obtest

obtest

PRONUNCIATION:
(ob-TEST) 

MEANING:
verb tr.1. To invoke as a witness. 2. To implore or beseech.
verb intr. 3. To protest. 4. To plead. 

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin obtestari (to implore, affirm, protest), from ob- (on, over), from testari (to bear witness or to make a will), from testis (witness). Ultimately from the Indo-European root trei- (three), which is also the source of three, sitar, trivia (from trivium, place where three roads meet), trivial, troika, trivet, testimony, testament, attest, testify (to be the third person: to bear witness), triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13), tercel (the male of a hawk), andtrammel (restraint, shackle, net). Earliest documented use: 1548. 

USAGE:
"But I obtest, dear readers, I know nothing of any previous correspondence."
Peter Hawes; Turakina Beach, Village of Thieves?; Manawatu Standard (New Zealand); Jul 8, 2008. 

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? -T.S. Eliot, poet (1888-1965) 
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yarely

yarely \YAIR-lee\, adverb:

With quickness or agility.

"Eat with despatch," he said, "and follow me yarely to mine house."
-- Robert Louis Stevenson, The Black Arrow
There was a further commotion as the King insisted on leaving his place to descend to the gravel of the tilt-yard, where he called for stretcher-bearers and a doctor to come yarely, yarely!
-- Joanna Dessau, Take Now, Pay Later

Yarely is based on the Old English word gearu, meaning "ready."

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Refection

refectionAudio Pronunciation\rih-FEK-shun\
 
DEFINITION
 
noun
 
1 :
refreshment of mind, spirit, or body; especially : nourishment
 
2
a :
the taking of refreshment
 
 
b :
food and drink together : repast
 
EXAMPLES
 
 
"Miss Vavasour, so assiduous in other areas of her care of us, is capricious, not to say cavalier, in the matter not only of luncheon but of meals in general, and dinner especially at the Cedars can be an unpredictable refection." — From John Banville's 2005 novel The Sea
 
"The hospital, he added, had been instituted for the reception and refection of the poor and it should concentrate on those duties.…" — From Jonathan Riley-Smith's 2008 book The Crusades, Christianity, and Islam
 
DID YOU KNOW?
 
 
Whether you sit down for nourishment or sustenance, aliment or pabulum, a meal or a repast, you are unlikely to encounter a shortage of English words for food or the partaking of food. "Refection" is just such a word. It was first borrowed by Middle English (as "refeccioun") from Anglo-French "refectiun," which in turn was derived from Latin "refectio" (meaning "refreshment" or "repairing"). "Refectio" comes from the verb "reficere" ("to remake, renew, or restore"), a combination of the prefix "re-" ("again") and the verb "facere" ("to make or do"). "Refection" is not only applied to food, however. It has been used to describe many means of restoring or refreshing one's body, and of mental and spiritual sustenance as well.
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Vituperate

vituperate

Audio Pronunciation\vye-TOO-puh-rayt\
 
DEFINITION
 
verb
 
1 :
to abuse or censure severely or abusively
 
2 :
to use harsh condemnatory language
 
EXAMPLES
 
 
During the team's recent seven-game losing streak, the coach was vituperated by many local sportswriters.
 
"No one likes to be belittled, ignored, vituperated, or unappreciated. Everyone warms to kindness, patience, and respect." — From Susan Smith Jones's 2011 book The Joy Factor
 
DID YOU KNOW?
 
 
"Vituperate" has several close synonyms, including "berate" and "revile." "Berate" usually refers to scolding that is drawn out and abusive. "Revile" means to attack or criticize in a way prompted by anger or hatred. "Vituperate" adds to the meaning of "revile" by stressing an attack that is particularly violent in nature. It first appeared in English in the mid-16th century and can be traced back to two Latin words: the noun "vitium," meaning "fault," and the verb "parare," meaning "to make or prepare."
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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

xenogenic: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

Word of the Day for Wednesday, June 22, 2011

xenogenic \zen-uh-JEN-ik\, adjective:

1. To be completely different from either parent, or from the source of an object's creation.
2. In biology, originating outside the organism or from a foreign substance introduced into the organism.

 
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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Crapulous - and a "test your memory" quiz

The Word of the Day for November 16 is: 

crapulous   \KRAP-yuh-lus\   adjective
1 : marked by intemperance especially in eating or drinking
2 : sick from excessive indulgence in liquor

Examples:
Most of the guests were still crapulous from the previous night's bacchic revelry.

"They were crapulous and carrying blue cans of beer, one of them with a can in each hand." -- From Paul Theroux's 2008 book Ghost Train to the Eastern Star

Did you know?
"Crapulous" may sound like a word that you shouldn't use in polite company, but it actually has a long and perfectly respectable history (although it's not a particularly kind way to describe someone). It is derived from the Late Latin adjective "crapulosus," which in turn traces back to the Latin word "crapula," meaning "intoxication." "Crapula" itself comes from a much older Greek word for the headache one gets from drinking. "Crapulous" first appeared in print in 1536. Approximately 200 years later, its close cousin "crapulence" arrived on the scene as a word for sickness caused by drinking. "Crapulence" later acquired the meaning "great intemperance especially in drinking," but it is not an especially common word.

Test Your Memory: What is the meaning of "vanguard," the Word of the Day from October 29? The answer is ... http://bit.ly/9aHcfF

Share this Word of the Day:
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Thursday, June 16, 2011

Efficacious

efficaciousAudio Pronunciation\ef-uh-KAY-shus\
 
DEFINITION 
 
adjective
 
:
having the power to produce a desired effect
 
EXAMPLES 
 
 
Pam knew that the most efficacious remedy for her cold would be a steaming bowl of her grandmother's famous chicken soup.
 
"The following plan is efficacious in ridding fields not only of crows but of smaller birds and even domestic fowl: Make an imitation hawk, using a large potato and long turkey feathers…. Suspend it from a tall, bent pole. The wind will lend it realism by agitating it." — From Jerry Mack Johnson's 2011 book Old-Time Wisdom and Country Lore: 1000s of Skills for Simple Living
 
DID YOU KNOW? 
 
 
"Effective," "efficient," and "effectual" are synonyms of "efficacious," but each of these words has a slightly different connotation. "Efficacious" suggests possession of a special quality or virtue that makes it possible to achieve a result ("a detergent that is efficacious in removing grease"). "Effective" stresses the power to produce or the actual production of a particular effect ("an effective rebuttal"), while "effectual" suggests the accomplishment of a desired result, especially as viewed after the fact ("measures taken to reduce underage drinking have proved effectual"). "Efficient" implies an acting or potential for acting that avoids loss or waste of energy ("an efficient small car").
 
Test Your Memory: What recent Word of the Day begins with "p" and means "of or relating to apples"? The answer is …
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Sunday, June 12, 2011

confiscable: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

Word of the Day for Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Today's word was submitted by Kayland H. Submit yours by going Back to School with Dictionary.com!

confiscable \kuhn-FIS-kuh-buhl\, adjective:

Liable to be taken by an authorized party.

He knew of about a thousand bales of cotton, some of it private property, some of it confiscable, stored at various points on the banks of the Alabama.
-- Ambrose Bierce, For the Ahkoond
Only the treaties of England, in 1661, with Sweden, and in 1670 with Denmark, are founded on the ancient rule which regarded merely the ownership of the cargo, which declare the goods of a neutral merchant free in an enemy's vessel, and those of an enemy confiscable in a neutral bottom.
-- John Elihu Hall, editor, The American law journal, Volume 6

Confiscable is a legal term whose source is the Latin confiscare, from com- "together" and fiscus, "public treasury," literally "money basket."

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 ››

The TV show "Glee" is sassy, but what does the word "glee" have to do with squinting and schadenfreude?

Cute teenagers, song and dance routines, even Britney Spears - this is "Glee's" moment in the sun. We want to take this same moment to illuminate some of the unusual senses of "glee" (like what it has to do with schadenfreude.) Let's begin with "Glee Club." These infamously chipper singing groups are called "glee" because the...

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admonition: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

Method Proven To Stop Panic, Anxiety, Phobias Without Drugs
I am a nurse and thought about what would I do for my patients;
research the problem and get information...
"I was doing a relaxation technique one day and my 9 yr-old daughter said,
'Mom, you don't need to do that anymore, you don't have anxiety anymore.'
I feel this program saved my life." - Shari
Learn more

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Word of the Day for Monday, September 1, 2008

admonition \ad-muh-NISH-uhn\, noun:

1. Gentle or friendly reproof.
2. Counseling against a fault or oversight; friendly caution or warning.

After debating whether Keayne should be excommunicated, the congregation concluded that an admonition would suffice.
-- Patricia O'Toole, Money & Morals in America
And in religious families, the biblical admonition, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," is part of living-room and kitchen table conversations.
-- Ann O'Hanlon, "Strange lessons for inquiring children", Irish Times, September 14, 1998
Or there is this simple admonition: "Be careful, God is watching."
-- Roger Cohen, "A Land Where God Is Working Overtime", New York Times, August 23, 1998

Admonition derives from Latin admonitio, admonition-, from admonitus, past participle of admonere, to remind, or warn, strongly, from ad- (here used intensively) + monere, to remind, to warn.

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for admonition

Method Proven To Stop Panic, Anxiety, Phobias Without Drugs
I am a nurse and thought about what would I do for my patients;
research the problem and get information...
"I was doing a relaxation technique one day and my 9 yr-old daughter said,
'Mom, you don't need to do that anymore, you don't have anxiety anymore.'
I feel this program saved my life." - Shari
Learn more

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