GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

ternary

/ˈtəːnəri/
adjective
1 Composed of three parts.
1.1 Mathematics Using three as a base.

Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin ternarius, from terni ‘three at once’.

Though terns do not gather in large groups it would not be odd to see a ternary collection. [Unabashed Pun]

[voralfred]

carlin
(also carling)

/ˈkɑːlɪn/
noun
Scottish
1 A witch.
1.1 An unpleasant or disliked old woman.

Origin
Middle English: from Old Norse kerling ‘old woman, woman’.

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Grace belied her name, consistently being a grumpy carlin. The big mole on her nose didn't help attract others, of course.

In french carlin is a breed of dog, specifically a pug.

And indeed, the resemblance between Grace and a pug is striking !

And here you can even see a ternary set of pugs, or rather, a ternary pack of them to use the correct term of venery.

[Algot Runeman]

Holocene

/ˈhɒləsiːn/
adjective
Geology
1 Relating to or denoting the present epoch, which is the second epoch in the Quaternary period and followed the Pleistocene.
Also called "Recent"
1.1 as noun - the Holocene The Holocene epoch or the system of deposits laid down during this time.
The Holocene epoch has lasted from about 10,000 years ago to the present day. It covers the period since the ice retreated after the last glaciation and it is sometimes regarded as just another interglacial period

Origin
Late 19th century: coined in French from holo- ‘whole’ + Greek kainos ‘new’.

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The most recent one percent of the Holocene epoch is being harshly marked by the species Homo sapiens.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Holocene

Many Star Trek episodes feature various holoscenes.

The holodeck virtually transports you to any epoch you fancy, with creatures like troglodytes, dinosaurs, australopithecines, sabre-toothed cats, mammoths, musketeers, Marlowesque Private Eyes, whatever.

[Algot Runeman]

potiche

/pəˈtiːʃ//pɒˈtiːʃ/
noun
A large porcelain vase, typically rounded in shape with bulging shoulders and a wide mouth, and frequently having a lid, originally produced in China during the Ming dynasty.

Origin
Early 19th century; earliest use found in The Times. Apparently from French potiche from pot + -iche, probably a variant of -isse from classical Latin -itia.

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Though it wasn't Chinese, just a local knock off, the potiche made a perfect place for John to keep his stash of pot (now legal in his state).

[Algot Runeman]

timocracy

/tɪˈmɒkrəsi/
noun
Philosophy
1 A form of government in which possession of property is required in order to hold office.
2 A form of government in which rulers are motivated by ambition or love of honour.

Origin
Late 15th century: from Old French timocracie, via medieval Latin from Greek timokratia, from timē ‘honour, worth’ + -kratia ‘power’. timocracy (sense 1) reflects Aristotle's usage, timocracy (sense 2) Plato's.

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Whether or not your local government is a timocracy, the chances of a homeless person being elected mayor are probably slim.

[voralfred]

In french, the saying "The early bird catches the worm" is usually expressed as "Le monde appartient à ceux qui se lèvent tôt", word-for-word "The world belongs to those who get up early"
I always thought this was a kind of time-ocracy.

[Algot Runeman]

pavid

/ˈpavɪd/
adjective
literary
Fearful, timid.

Origin
Mid 17th century; earliest use found in Thomas Blount (1618–1679), antiquary and lexicographer. From classical Latin pavidus frightened, fearful from pavēre to be frightened + -idus.

David was said to be timid.
It often made his wife livid.
He didn't stand up to a bully
With ham fists and beard wooly.
No sports in his regular schedule
Just stamps lined up with a red rule.
About philately he was avid.
For all the rest, only pavid.

[Algot Runeman]

In french, the saying "The early bird catches the worm" is usually expressed as "Le monde appartient à ceux qui se lèvent tôt", word-for-word "The world belongs to those who get up early"
I always thought this was a kind of time-ocracy.

I suppose that logic leads us to believing that a person scared of clocks would be time-orous.

[Algot Runeman]

devoir

/dəˈvwɑː/
noun
archaic
A person's duty.
archaic Pay one's respects formally.

Origin
Middle English: from Old French deveir, from Latin debere ‘owe’. The spelling, and subsequently the pronunciation, was changed under the influence of modern French devoir.

==========

Humankind has a habit of devouring everything in its path instead of paying its devoirs to the sustaining Earth.

[Algot Runeman]

gobar

/ˈɡɒbə/
noun
mass noun
Indian
Cattle dung.

Origin
Hindi.

A gobar fire has the whiff of affiliation with a dumpster fire, if you ask me.
Then again you didn't. I'm a bit of a goober, though, more familiar with the term "cow pie".

[Algot Runeman]

eschatological

/ˌɛskətəˈlɒdʒɪk(ə)l//ɛskatəˈlɒdʒɪk(ə)l/
adjective
Theology
Relating to death, judgement, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.

==========

Will the 2100s be the eschatological century?
Do prophesies say we are overdue?
Is it going to rain today?
Tough questions, all hard to answer.

[voralfred]

By a strange coincidence, today's WOTD, namely eschatological followed immediately yesterday's WOTD, which was, in some sense, a rather scatological one.

Curiously, in french, the adjective escatologique, with the initial e but without the h does also exist.

I leave it to your wisdom to guess its meaning ! (a hint: it is not a third meaning, but indeed one among the two meanings above).

Should I give a to whom answers right ? I guess not, it is too easy to find on the web.

[Algot Runeman]

forsooth

/fəˈsuːθ/
adverb
humorous, archaic
sentence adverb Indeed (often used ironically)

Origin
Old English forsōth (see for, sooth).

Here's the simple truth.
I am not a sleuth.
Not even in my youth.
Forsooth!

While we share a brew
I'll tell you more that's true.
It's really nothing new.
I'm also not a gumshoe.

Still I may observe
Though it takes a lot of nerve
As homeward bound we swerve.
Crooks get what they deserve.

It may be retribution,
Or merely restitution,
Wealth redistribution,
A satisfying solution.

[With a nod to voralfred and their mention of the Sherlock topic.]

[Algot Runeman]

astute

/əˈstjuːt/
adjective
Having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one's advantage.

Origin
Early 17th century: from obsolete French astut or Latin astutus, from astus ‘craft’.

==========

Alvin was astute enough to have doubts about advertising claims.

[Algot Runeman]

afforce


verb
[with object]
rare
Reinforce (a body of people) with new members.

Origin
Middle English (in the sense ‘to force’): from Old French aforcier, from a- (from Latin ad ‘to, at’) + force (from Latin fortis ‘strong’).

==========

We can always hope that our brilliant written repartee will attract new people and afforce our WotD participation.



[It appears that afforce is so rare as to have no pronunciation in ODO. Merriam Webster says \ a-ˈfȯrs, ə-\]

[Algot Runeman]

Afforce was new to me, not surprising, as the dictionary says it is rarely used.

It made me wonder if there was an antonym. It turns out that *attrit* is a verb which describes reducing membership of a group.

That is probably more familiar as the noun *attrition*.

One interesting word often leads to another. Links in language are common, but it is wonderful to keep finding new ones in my 70s. When I was younger, I expected to regularly find new words. Getting the chance to work with words daily through WotD is a pleasure. Thanks to all who are maintaining this forum for this opportunity.

[voralfred]

It would indded be great to afforce the group of participants to the WOTD. I knew the noun attrition, but I never imagined the verb attrit existed. Apparently the noun corresponding to afforce is neither afforcion nor affortion but afforcement.

[Algot Runeman]

mycotoxin

/ˌmʌɪkə(ʊ)ˈtɒksɪn/
noun
Any toxic substance produced by a fungus.

==========

I was very relieved to find that our forum is safe from microtoxins.

[voralfred]

mycotoxin

/ˌmʌɪkə(ʊ)ˈtɒksɪn/
noun
Any toxic substance produced by a fungus.

==========

I was very relieved to find that our forum is safe from microtoxins.

Not anymore !

Search found 1 match: mycotoxin

Edit :
And last time I checked, the number of posts had gone up to two !


Toxic fungi are proliferating in the forum, and threaten to poison all of us !!
Help !!!!!!!

[Algot Runeman]

Creeping mycellia meander at will from one source of nourishment to another.

Dead words are the preference. Rare or archaic are tolerated. Newly minted terms are avoided until they mature a bit.

Mycotoxins are produced in direct proportion to the bitter, angry use of words in the forum.

As a result, there will be little to concern denizens of this forum. Long participation by this writer has encountered supportive, friendly, encouraging and helpful word usage again and again. Therefore, going forward, the worst participants will encounter is the beneficial impact of the fungal mycellia, breaking down the barriers between us, providing nutritive value for continued enjoyment and personal growth.

[Algot Runeman]

callipygian
(also callipygean)

/ˌkalɪˈpɪdʒɪən/
adjective
rare
Having well-shaped buttocks.

Origin
Late 18th century: from Greek kallipūgos (used to describe a famous statue of Venus), from kallos ‘beauty’ + pūgē ‘buttocks’, + -ian.

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To loosely apply a common aphorism: "[That which is] callipygian is in the eye of the beholder."

Spoiler: show

[voralfred]

I fully agree.
What was apparently considered as callipygian in neolithic times does not exactly correspond to our present canons of beauty !

[Algot Runeman]

arabica

/əˈrabɪkə/
noun
1 mass noun Coffee or coffee beans from the most widely grown coffee plant.
2 The bush that produces arabica coffee beans, native to the Old World tropics.
Coffea arabica, family Rubiaceae. See also robusta

Origin
1920s: from Latin, feminine of arabicus (see Arabic).

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Carol craves her morning coffee. When she can, she brews her own blend of 85% smooth arabica beans with fifteen percent robusta beans to give a stronger caffeine kick.

[voralfred]

They say robusta not only adds to the coffeine kick, but is needed (about 15%, indeed) in expresso, to give a nice-looking foam head.
However, I brew my coffee through a filter, and since I don't get foam anyway, I personally perfer 100% arabica.