Bough

Word of the Day for Friday, December 9, 2011

bough \bou\, noun:

A branch of a tree, especially one of the larger or main branches.

In the background, behind the pool and beneath the dramatic sidereal display, there is a little tree with a bird perched in its uppermost bough, exactly as there is on the Star card.
-- Tom Robbins, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

He ran up the creeper as easily as though it had been a ladder, walked upright along the broad bough, and brought the pigeon to the ground. He put it limp and warm in Elizabeth's hand.
-- George Orwell, The Orwell Reader: Fiction, Essays, and Reportage

Bough can be traced back to the Sanskrit word bāhu, meaning “shoulder.”

Thanks to: http://www.dictionary.com/

Copse

Word of the Day for Thursday, December 8, 2011

copse \kops\, noun:

A thicket of small trees or bushes; a small wood.

The sun was setting behind a thick forest, and in the glow of sunset the birch trees, dotted about in the aspen copse, stood out clearly with their hanging twigs, and their buds swollen almost to bursting.
-- Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

Despite the December afternoon sunlight, the interior of the copse looked dark and impenetrable. The fact that none of the trees were covered in snow appeared to him to be improbable but welcome.
-- John Berger, Once in Europa

Copse is derived from the Old French word copeiz meaning “a cut-over forest” which originates in the Latin word colpaticum meaning “having been cut.”

With thanks to: http://www.dictionary.com/

Weald

Word of the Day for Tuesday, December 6, 2011

weald \weeld\, noun:

1. Wooded or uncultivated country.
2. A region in SE England, in Kent, Surrey, and Essex counties: once a forest area; now an agricultural region.

I am tempted to give one other case, the well-known one of the denudation of the Weald.
-- Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species

And your advertisements must refer to the other, which is Great Willingden or Willingden Abbots, and lies seven miles on the other side of Battle. Quite down in the weald.
-- Jane Austen, Sanditon

Related to the word wild, weald comes from the Old English word weald meaning “forest.”

Thanks go to: http://www.dictionary.com/

Frondescence

Word of the Day for Monday, December 5, 2011

frondescence \fron-DES-uhns\, noun:

1. Leafage; foliage.
2. The process or period of putting forth leaves, as a tree, plant, or the like.

What we found were three hundred pristine, mostly level acres with a forty-five-acre pond, completely undeveloped, covered with exquisite wildflowers and frondescence.
-- Paul Newman, In Pursuit of the Common Good

I now become aware of the sound of rumbling water, emanating from somewhere inside the rain forest next to my tropical rest stop. I approach the wet and abundant frondescence of the forest.
-- Richard Wyatt, Fathers of Myth

Frondescence is from the Latin root frondēre meaning “to have leaves.” It is clearly related to frond meaning “leaves.”

With thanks to: http://www.dictionary.com/

Collop

Word of the Day for Sunday, December 4, 2011

collop \KOL-uhp\, noun:

1. A small slice of meat.
2. A small slice, portion, or piece of anything.
3. A fold or roll of flesh on the body.

He took up a knife and fork, and collop after collop disappeared.
-- Allan Cunningham, Gowden Gibbie

There was cheesecake and spicecake, along with a most extraordinary dish, exactly like collops of bacon only sweet to the taste...
-- Maria McCann, As Meat Loves Salt

Collop is derived from the Middle English word colhoppe meaning “a dish of stewed meat.”

Thanks to: http://www.dictionary.com/

Bobbery

Word of the Day for Friday, December 2, 2011

bobbery \BOB-uh-ree\, noun:

A disturbance or a brawl.

“Allow me, Mr. Ivolgin,” Ippolit suddenly interrupted, irritably, “what's all this bobbery for, if I may ask...”
-- Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot

Kicked up the most delightful bobbery that had ever been witnessed!
-- Anthony Trollope, Is He Popenjoy? A Novel

Bobbery, unexpectedly, is from the Hindu phrase bap re meaning “O father!” It was first recorded in print in 1816 in The Grand Master.

Thanks to: http://www.dictionary.com/

Altruistic

Word of the Day for Thursday, December 1, 2011

altruistic \al-troo-IS-tik\, adjective:

1. Unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others.
2. Animal Behaviour. Of or pertaining to behaviour by an animal that may be to its disadvantage but that benefits others of its kind, often its close relatives.

I thought you were an altruistic banker, nothing more, nothing less. A civic-minded altruistic banker.
-- Inman Majors, The Millionaires: A Novel

An altruistic act is an act performed for the welfare of others. It is unselfish, as opposed to an act performed for self, which is selfish.
-- Jack London, The Sea-Wolf

Altruistic was coined in 1830 by philosopher Auguste Comte. It originates in the French word altrui meaning “of or to others” from the Latin word alteri meaning “other.” 

With thanks to: http://www.dictionary.com/