Word
of the Day for Friday 31st October 2014
|
Friday, 31 October 2014
Cline
Thursday, 30 October 2014
Realpolitik
Word
of the Day for Thursday 30th October 2014
Realpolitik \rey-AHL-poh-li-teek, ree-\
|
Noun
1. Political realism or practical politics, especially policy based on power rather than on ideals. |
Quotes
|
Alas, when one advances blindly across the boggy ground of realpolitik,
when pragmatism takes up the baton and conducts the orchestra, ignoring what
is written in the score, you can be pretty sure that, as the imperative logic
of dishonour will show, there are still, after all, a few more steps to
descend.
-- José Saramago, Death with Interruptions, 2005 |
Origin
|
Realpolitik comes directly from the German word of the
same spelling which means "politics of realism." It emerged in
English in the 1910’s.
Thanks to: www.dictionary.com
|
Wednesday, 29 October 2014
Pavonine
Word
of the Day for Wednesday 29th October 2014
Pavonine \PAV-uh-nahyn, -nin\
|
Adjective
1. Of or like a peacock. 2. Resembling the feathers of a peacock, as in colouring. |
Quotes
|
In her hands the curtains rustle; she hangs silks purchased this
morning on Princess Road, colour stirring pavonine in the
lamplight of her bedroom.
-- Kate Moses, Wintering: A Novel of Sylvia Plath, 2003 |
Origin
|
Pavonine is derived from the Latin word for peacock, pāvō,
with the suffix -ine, a suffix of adjectives of Greek or Latin
origin, meaning “of or pertaining to,” as in marine.
Thanks to: www.dictionary.com
|
Tuesday, 28 October 2014
Exiguous
Word
of the Day for Tuesday 28th October 2014
Exiguous \ig-ZIG-yoo-uhs, ik-SIG-\
|
Adjective
1. Scanty; meagre; small; slender: exiguous income. |
Quotes
|
His exiguous nautical pension is hardly enough to pay
for the one cockroach infested room which he inhabits in the slum area behind
Tatwig Street...
-- Lawrence Durrell, Justine, 1957 |
Origin
|
Exiguous is related to the term exigent and
comes from the Latin word exiguus meaning "scanty in
measure or number."
Thanks to: www.dictionary.com
|
Cloister
Word
of the Day for Monday 27th October 2014
Cloister \KLOI-ster\
|
Verb
1. To confine in retirement; seclude. 2. To confine in a monastery or convent. |
Quotes
|
That's when I began to cloister myself, when I saw
her strength, her determination to pull me out of my brooding.
-- Manil Suri, The City of Devi, 2013 |
Origin
|
Cloister comes from an Anglo-French blend of cloison,
meaning "partition," and clostre, from the Late Latin
word meaning "enclosed place."
Thanks to: www.dictionary.com
|
Friday, 24 October 2014
Boobook
Word of the Day for Friday 24th
October 2014
Boobook \BOO-book, -book\
|
Noun
1. A small, reddish-brown spotted owl, Ninox boobook, native to Australia and New Zealand. |
Quotes
|
It has large, staring eyes that are brilliant yellow, not
greenish-toned as in Southern Boobook, which usually displays obvious
dark markings (rather like black-eye bruises) around the eyes that are absent
in the larger Barking Owl.
-- Iain Campbell, Sam Woods, Nick Leseberg, Birds of Australia, 2014 |
Origin
|
Boobook comes from Dharuk, a now-extinct Australian aboriginal language.
The word is said to be imitative of the sound the bird makes.
Thanks to: www.dictionary.com
|
Thursday, 23 October 2014
Tutoyer
Word of the Day for Thursday 23rd
October 2014
Tutoyer \too-twah-YEY; Fr. ty-twa-YEY\
|
Verb
1. To address (someone), especially in French, using the familiar forms of the pronoun “you” rather than the more formal forms; address familiarly. |
Quotes
|
An officer doesn't tutoyer a subordinate, unless they
work closely in the same unit.
-- Kevin G. Karpiak, edited by William Garriott, "La Police," Policing and Contemporary Governance, 2013 |
Origin
|
Tutoyer entered English in the late 1600s from the French word of the
same spelling. In French tu is the informal form of address,
and so to use it with someone is to display familiarity rather than
deference.
Thanks to: www.dictionary.com
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)