The Internet Book Database of Fiction

Algot Runeman wrote:chasse

I do know about "Un chasseur sachant chasser sans son chien de chasse ... etc", but I've never heard chasse used for a digestif.
I've always said pousse-café.

Though I have heard of "a beer chaser" ...

Now, E.P.S., are you going to not only insist on a new word each day AND expect it to be both current and in common use?!

foraminifer

/ˌfɒrəˈmɪnɪfə/
noun
Zoology
A single-celled planktonic animal with a perforated chalky shell through which slender protrusions of protoplasm extend. Most kinds are marine, and when they die thick ocean-floor sediments are formed from their shells.

Order Foraminiferida, phylum Rhizopoda, kingdom Protista
See also globigerina

Origin
Mid 19th century: from Latin foramen, foramin- (see foramen) + -fer ‘bearing’ (from ferre ‘to bear’).

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Fred had the option to study any kind of microscopic marine life. He chose the forams, AKA foraminifera. He really liked diatoms better, but too many other post-grads were already doing them. He'd spend his summers aboard the research ship!

zakuska

(also zakouska)

/zaˈkuːska/
noun
A substantial Russian hors d'oeuvre item such as caviar sandwiches or vegetables with sour cream dip, all served with vodka.

Origin
Russian.

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If you omit the caviar and the vodka, zakuska sounds very much like the snacks we have while watching football on Sunday afternoon.

simulacrum

/ˌsɪmjʊˈleɪkrəm/
noun
1 An image or representation of someone or something.
1.1 An unsatisfactory imitation or substitute.

Origin
Late 16th century: from Latin, from simulare (see simulate).

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The illustrations which accompany the WotD are mere simulacra of life. Some of us like it that way.

refuge

/ˈrɛfjuːdʒ/
noun
mass noun
1 The state of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or difficulty.
1.1 (count noun) A place or situation providing safety or shelter.
1.2 (count noun) An institution providing safe accommodation for women who have suffered violence from a spouse or partner.
1.3 (British count noun) A traffic island.

Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin refugium, from Latin re- ‘back’ + fugere ‘flee’.

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All but the least sane warriors of the golf course seek refuge from the lightning.

tendu

/tɒ̃ˈd(j)uː/
adjective
Ballet
postpositive (of a position) stretched out or held tautly.

Origin
French.

Sarah succeeded in stretching into battement tendu, her right toe never leaving the floor. After six months in ballet, she still struggled with her left. She strived to plie-se her teacher.

exuberant

/ɛɡˈz(j)uːb(ə)r(ə)nt//ɪɡˈz(j)uːb(ə)r(ə)nt/
adjective
1 Full of energy, excitement, and cheerfulness.
1.1 Characterized by a vigorously imaginative artistic style.
1.2 literary Growing luxuriantly or profusely.

Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense ‘overflowing, abounding’): from French exubérant, from Latin exuberant- ‘being abundantly fruitful’, from the verb exuberare (based on uber ‘fertile’).

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Erik was exuberant, ecstatic and an ectomorph ecologist. He passionately pursued his population studies, frequently forgetting to feed his fragile form in the field.

moulin

/ˈmuːlɪn/
noun
A vertical or nearly vertical shaft in a glacier, formed by surface water percolating through a crack in the ice.

Origin
Mid 19th century: French, literally ‘mill’.

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Marco maneuvered carefully along the glistening surface of the moulin, looking for evidence of current algae or even ancient frozen life within the glacier. It was February, a much safer time to be exploring in the ice than in summer.

paralipomena
(also paraleipomena)

/ˌparəlɪˈpɒmɪnə/
plural noun
formal
1 Things omitted from a work and added as a supplement.
1.1 usually Paralipomenonarchaic (in the Vulgate Bible and some other versions) the name of the books of Chronicles, regarded as supplementary to the books of Kings.

Origin
Late Middle English: via ecclesiastical Latin from Greek paraleipomena, from paraleipein ‘omit’, from para- ‘to one side’ + leipein ‘to leave’.

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Charlie decided the publisher had misunderstood his idea. His new book had a foreword and an appendix labelled Paralipomena. The main text simply said, "To be continued..."

Algot Runeman wrote:paralipomena

I might consider paralipomena if it promises better results than ortholiposuction.

plotz

/plɒts/
verb
[no object]North American
informal
Collapse or be beside oneself with frustration, annoyance, or other strong emotion.

Origin
1960s: from Yiddish platsen, literally ‘to burst’, from Middle High German platzen.

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Peter plotzed onto the sofa. He'd been jumping up and down to encourage his team to win in the game's final seconds. They had not. They had missed the playoffs...again.

octothorp
(also octothorpe)

/ˈɒktə(ʊ)θɔːp/
noun
Another term for the symbol # (the hash sign or pound sign).

Origin
1970s: of uncertain origin; probably from octo- (referring to the eight points on the symbol) + the surname Thorpe.

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Otto is master of the hashtag. It's no wonder. On social media, nobody can tell if you are a human, an artificial intelligence or an octopus! Otto will answer all questions about the "number symbol", the "pound symbol" or the "octothorp". His famous tag line is All you gotta do is ask!

I am definitely calling it an octothorp from now on...

Octothorp "smart." (#smart)

Kahrey,

I admit to having much difficulty with hashtags. I seem to forget to use them far more often than I remember.

If I had to call them octothorps instead, I'm not sure what would happen.

rebab

/rɪˈbab/
noun
A bowed or plucked stringed instrument of Arab origin, used especially in North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.

Origin
Mid 18th century: from Arabic rabāb.

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Dan Rahmad determined that the rebab would be his instrument, though he wasn't often called to play with the local symphony too often.

McTwist

/məkˈtwɪst/
noun
(in skateboarding and snowboarding) an aerial manoeuvre in which the boarder spins one and a half times while holding the edge of the board with one hand.

Origin
1980s: from the name of the US skateboarder Mike McGill, who invented the manoeuvre, and twist.

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Mort Manworthy executed a perfect McTwist during his competition, advancing to the junior nationals.

Algot Runeman wrote:Kahrey,

I admit to having much difficulty with hashtags. I seem to forget to use them far more often than I remember.

If I had to call them octothorps instead, I'm not sure what would happen.

I still read them as pound or number... I have never gotten used to "hashtag."

Kahrey,

Of course the octothorp alone is not the same as a hashtag.
The hash symbol is a UK reference, mostly, I believe. It has also been significant in UNIX language use.

Combined with a significant word, the hash symbol becomes a hash-tag, tagging the word in social media making it possible to do searches on the "topic" linked by the tag.

In our modern computer moderated communications, things move much faster around the globe than they once did. Instead of having a tradition in one place which gradually spreads to become significant, word history almost pops into being all at once these days.

Good luck assimilating, or should I say "hashing it out"?

A recommended hash/octothorpe link https://www.newstatesman.com/sci-tech/2014/06/history-journey-and-many-faces-hash-symbol

cumulus

/ˈkjuːmjʊləs/
noun
mass noun Meteorology
Cloud forming rounded masses heaped on each other above a flat base at fairly low altitude.

Origin
Mid 17th century (denoting a heap or an accumulation): from Latin, ‘heap’.

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Mark marvelled that nobody was out looking up to enjoy the cluster of cumulus clouds passing overhead.

zetetic

/zɪˈtɛtɪk/
adjective
rare
Proceeding by inquiry.

Origin
Mid 17th century: from Greek zētētikos, from zētein ‘seek’.

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"Let me start with a question," said the professor. She was a zetetic educator, rare in modern university lecture halls. All her seminars were consistently overbooked. Socrates would be proud.

meltemi
(also meltemi wind)

/mɛlˈtɛmi/
noun
A dry north-westerly wind which blows during the summer in the eastern Mediterranean.

Origin
From modern Greek meltémi, Turkish meltem.

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Bob dreamed of enjoying a meltemi wind, though all he got was the constant flow off the Pacific. He lives in southern California. Too bad.

suncatcher


noun
a decorative piece of glass, mineral, or other see-through material that is hung in a window to bring in and disperse the sun's rays on the walls of a room

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Buying suncatchers at the harvest fair is an annual family tradition. After many years, we have several on each window.

malaphor

noun
An inapropriately mixed metaphor which somehow seems to get the point across anyway.

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"It isn't rocket surgery, you know!" said Bob. He was totally unaware that his mixed up metaphor was also a malapropism, a malaphor.



[The Oxford Dictionaries Online blog describes this word while the ODO dictionary itself fails to contain a definition. Oddity upon oddity.]