Cryptesthesia

Word of the Day for Friday 21^st November 2014

Cryptesthesia \krip-tuhs-THEE-zhuh, -zhee-uh, -zee-uh\

Noun 1. Psychology. Allegedly paranormal perception, as clairvoyance or clairaudience.

Quotes

Some experts attribute the jerking of the rod to cryptesthesia, some to divine or devilish inspiration, others to unconscious muscular activity, “sympathy,” they call it, between the diviner and the object. -- Michael Knight, Divining Rod, 2010

Origin

Coined in the 1920's, cryptesthesia is a combination of crypt(o)-, meaning "hidden," and esthesia referring to "capacity for sensation or feeling."

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Oeuvre

Word of the Day for Thursday 20^th November 2014

Oeuvre \œ-vruh\

Noun 1. French. The works of a writer, painter, or the like, taken as a whole. 2. French. Any one of the works of a writer, painter, or the like.

Quotes

I am very fond of our body of work together, our oeuvre, even though logging 24-hour days for years on end for a band is not the easiest way to lead a life that could have been very creative in its own right. -- Ian Faith, interviewed by Chick Hadrian, "Spinal Tap: The Unauthorized Sequel," Spy, July/August, 1992

Origin

Oeuvre comes to English by way of French and can ultimately be traced to the Latin word for "work," opus. It entered English in the late 1800’s. Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Crapehanger

Word of the Day for Wednesday 19^th November 2014

Crapehanger \KREYP-hang-er\

Noun 1. A person who sees the gloomy side of things; pessimist. Also, crepehanger.

Quotes

Ordinarily Encore would have suggested, with amiable malice, that Gottlieb was a "crapehanger" who wasted time destroying the theories of other men instead of making new ones of his own. -- Sinclair Lewis, Arrowsmith, 1925

Origin

Crapehanger is an Americanism with roots in the custom of hanging crepe paper as a sign of mourning. It came into popular usage in the 1920’s. Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Sinistral

Word of the Day for Tuesday 18^th November 2014

Sinistral \SIN-uh-struhl\

Adjective 1. Left-handed. 2. Of, pertaining to, or on the left side; left (opposed to dextral).

Quotes

During our years of separation (quite painless for us both), he had changed from a poor, wiry student with animated, night-dark eyes and a beautiful, strong, sinistral handwriting into a dignified, rather corpulent gentleman… -- Vladimir Nabokov, "Ultima Thule," The New Yorker, April 7, 1973

Origin

Sinistral is related to the word sinister and meant "unlucky" when it entered English in the 1400s. It was extended to mean "on the left side" in the early 1800’s. Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Comeuppance

Word of the Day for Monday 17^th November 2014

Comeuppance \kuhm-UHP-uhns\

Noun 1. Informal. Deserved reward or just deserts, usually unpleasant: He finally got his comeuppance for his misbehaviour.

Quotes

It’s hard to conceive a bigger comeuppance than the one Faustus receives at the end of the play, when the clock ticks down on his two-dozen years. -- John J. Miller, "Sympathy for the Devil," The Wall Street Journal, October 17, 2014

Origin

Comeuppance comes from the verbal phrase come up meaning "present oneself for judgment before a tribunal." It is an Americanism that gained popularity in mid-1800’s. Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Horology

Word of the Day for Friday 14^th November 2014

Horology \haw-ROL-uh-jee, hoh-\

Noun 1. The art or science of making timepieces or of measuring time.

Quotes

From a scientific perspective, the theory and practice of horology touches on all forms of scientific endeavour--it has always been especially important in the histories of astronomy and navigation. -- Jonathan Betts, Time Restored, 2006

Origin

Horology shares roots with the word hour in the Greek term hṓrā, which means "time, season, hour." It entered English in the early 1800’s. Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Kickshaw

Word of the Day for Thursday 13^th November 2014

Kickshaw \KIK-shaw\

Noun 1. A tidbit or delicacy, especially one served as an appetizer or hors d'oeuvre. 2. Something showy but without value; trinket; trifle.

Quotes

When a stale cold fool is well heated, and hashed by a satirical cook, he may be tossed up into a kickshaw not disagreeable. -- Alexander Pope (1688–1744), Letter to Mr. Caryll, The Works of Alexander Pope: Volume VIII, 1824

Origin

Kickshaw comes from an English pronunciation of quelque chose meaning "something" or "a little something." It entered English in the late 1500’s. Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Pusillanimous

Word of the Day for Wednesday 12^th November 2014

Pusillanimous \pyoo-suh-LAN-uh-muhs\

Adjective 1. Lacking courage or resolution; cowardly; faint-hearted; timid. 2. Proceeding from or indicating a cowardly spirit.

Quotes

…in the intervals of their debauches of brutality they are oily and ingratiating, make favourites, offer pusillanimous apologies, protest humane intentions, and allege absurd excuses for past outages. -- Julian Hawthorne, The Subterranean Brotherhood, 1914

Origin

Pusillanimous is derived from the Latin words pusillis meaning "small" and animus meaning "spirit." It entered English in the late 1500’s. Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Anatine

Word of the Day for Tuesday 11^th November 2014

Anatine \AN-uh-tahyn, -tin\

Adjective 1. Resembling a duck. 2. Of or pertaining to the family Anatidae, comprising the swans, geese, and ducks.

Quotes

I took refuge in wild theorizing,--if Angels be the next higher being from Man, perhaps the Duck had 'morphos'd into some Anatine Equivalent, acting as my guardian… -- Thomas Pynchon, Mason & Dixon: A Novel, 1997

Origin

Anatine comes from the Latin word for "duck," anas. It entered English in the mid-1800’s. Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Gapeseed

Word of the Day for Monday 10^th November 2014

Gapeseed \GEYP-seed, GAP-\

Noun 1. British Dialect. A person who gapes or stares in wonder, especially a rustic or unworldly person who is easily awed. 2. British Dialect. A daydream or reverie.

Quotes

I'm retired: sort of a gapeseed, a daydreamer, you know. -- D. Keith Mano, Take Five, 1982

Origin

Gapeseed is formed from the verb gape meaning "to open the mouth wide." It entered English in the late 1500’s. Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Mythomane

Word of the Day for Friday 7^th November 2014

Mythomane \MITH-uh-meyn\

Noun 1. A person with a strong or irresistible propensity for fantasizing, lying, or exaggerating.

Quotes

"Having lived with a mythomane," she wrote, "I know they believe everything they say; they are not conscious liars, they invent to increase everything about themselves and their lives and believe it." -- Nicholas Shakespeare, “A Life Less Ordinary,” Granta, 1998,

Origin

Mythomane emerged in the 1950’s and may be a back formation of mythomania meaning "lying to an abnormal degree." Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Conk

Word of the Day for Thursday 6^th November 2014

Conk \kongk, kawngk\

Verb 1. To go to sleep (usually followed by off or out). 2. To break or fail, as a machine or engine (often followed by out): The engine conked out halfway there.

Quotes

The poor thing was so exhausted she probably conked out the minute she hit the bed. -- Bonnie K. Winn, Family Found, 2014

Origin

Conk is of unknown origin, but it may be imitative. Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Duple

Word of the Day for Wednesday 5^th November 2014

Duple \DOO-puhl, DYOO-\

Adjective 1. Having two parts; double; twofold. 2. Music. Having two or sometimes a multiple of two beats in a measure: duple meter.

Quotes

About the same number of poems set to duple or mixed meter tunes have the most characteristic poetic meter of six-syllable lines. -- Timothy J. Cooley, Making Music in the Polish Tatras, 2005

Origin

Duple entered English in the mid-1500’s. It comes from the Latin word duplus which meant "double." Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Deiform

Word of the Day for Tuesday 4^th November 2014

Deiform \DEE-uh-fawrm\

Adjective 1. Godlike or divine in form or nature.

Quotes

Here chiefly, in the aggrandizement of a huge and fearsome animal to deiform proportions, does Melville surpass all other poets of his century in the rejuvenation of myth. -- Newton Arvin, Herman Melville, 1950

Origin

Deiform comes from the Medieval Latin word deiformis, a combination of dei- (meaning "god") and -formis (meaning "having the form of"). Thanks to: www.dictionary.com

Hallux

Word of the Day for Monday 3^rd November 2014

Hallux \HAL-uhks\

Noun 1. The first or innermost digit of the foot of humans and other primates or of the hind foot of other mammals; great toe; big toe. 2. The comparable, usually backward-directed digit in birds.

Quotes

All fingers and toes, except the hallux, have claws. The hallux has a flat nail which is opposable to the others. -- Eman P. Fridman and Ronald D. Nadler, Medical Primatology: History, Biological Foundations and Applications, 2002

Origin

Hallux entered English in the 1820’s. It is a corruption of the Latin word allex meaning "great toe." Thanks to: www.dictioary.com