GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Post by **Darb** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 11:10 am

That's the spirit !

felonius · Post by **felonius** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 11:39 am

Wow!

Post by **wolfspirit** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 11:53 am

Kvetch

Amazing!

Post by **Ghost** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 8:28 am

Word of the Day for Wednesday September 21, 2005

capitulate \kuh-PICH-uh-layt\, intransitive verb: To surrender under agreed conditions

Just before peace talks on Kosovo are due to resume, the United States and its allies are sending contradictory signals to Belgrade, making it less likely that President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia will capitulate on American terms.
--Steven Erlanger, "West's Bosnia Move May Hurt Kosovo Bid," New York Times, March 7, 1999

I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names.
----Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance"

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Capitulate comes from Medieval Latin capitulare, "to draw up in chapters, hence to arrange conditions," from Latin capitula, "chapters." Chapter itself is related.

spiphany · Post by **spiphany** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 9:15 am

Word of the Day for Wednesday September 21, 2005

capitulate \kuh-PICH-uh-layt\, intransitive verb: To surrender under agreed conditions

Aren't you a bit late? clong just did that. (Synchronicity, I tell you. Are you sure you didn't have anything to do with the selection of today's word?)

Word of the Day for Wednesday September 14, 2005

afflatus \uh-FLAY-tuhs\, noun: A divine imparting of knowledge; inspiration.

Lovely word, but I was expecting a few really bad puns with this one. The whole 'wind' association thing...C'mon, you guys, you're slipping here.

Post by **Darb** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 9:30 am

Ah, but Clong didn't actually capitulate ... rather, he capitoelated. People keep forgetting about his altoer ego.

Post by **Ghost** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 8:54 am

Word of the Day for Thursday September 22, 2005

adventitious \ad-ven-TISH-uhs\, adjective: 1. Added extrinsically; not essentially inherent. 2. (Biology) Out of the proper or usual place; as, "adventitious buds or roots."

The snag is that the play's inflamed and adventitious topicality may distract people from the timelessness of its deepest concerns.
--Paul Taylor, "Afghanistan mon amour," Independent, December 15, 2001

I want first to argue that Nietzsche's contempt for democracy was an adventitious extra, inessential to his overall philosophical outlook.
--Richard Rorty, "Pragmatism as Romantic Polytheism"

But his posing was mostly harmless,--as superficial as the swagger and millinery of the soldier--merely adventitious to the genuine strength and gallantry underneath.
--J. F. A. Pyre, "Byron in Our Day," The Atlantic, April 1907

The trunk spores are actually adventitious roots that have erupted from the trunk in response to some stress or injury to the inner bark and are probably no reason for concern.
--Scott Aker, "Expect More Dogwood Blossoms Next Year," Washington Post, August 24, 2000

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Adventitious comes from Latin adventicius, "coming from without, from outside sources," from the past participle of advenire, "to come towards or to; (of events) to happen," from ad- "to" + venire, "to come."

Post by **Darb** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 2:54 pm

{enter, stage left}

To WOTD, or not to WOTD,
... that is the question.

Whether tis adventitious to the perspicacity of the forum to play, or tis merely idle fodder best locked and forgotten ...

Post by **Ghost** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:26 am

Word of the Day for Wednesday September 28, 2005

adamant \AD-uh-muhnt\, adjective: Not capable of being swayed by pleas, appeals, or reason; not susceptible to persuasion; unyielding.

In the cabin, the skipper and Truong Hong were arguing furiously, one convinced the boat had run aground, the other adamant that it was snared in nets.
--Tran Vu, The Dragon Hunt

I pretended that nothing had happened, so adamant in my denial that my memory gradually underwent a revision.
--Chu T'ien-wen, Notes of a Desolate Man

It's amazing the ignorance--and the adamant ignorance--of so many people, people one would think might at least admit to simply not having knowledge of something.
--Ira Berkow, To the Hoop: The Seasons of a Basketball Life

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Adamant derives from Greek adamas, adamant-, "unconquerable; the hardest metal; diamond."

Post by **Kvetch** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:29 am

I wonder how long I can keep this up:

Ostentatiously, Dr Drachmapetros quaffed his drink, a farrago of deliquescing body parts, evanescent embalming fluid and unctous green-bubbling-ooze(TM), in an attempt to crack the hauteur of the officious demagogue who was threatening to trammel his afflatus and immure his greatest creation based on a mere cavil about the venial damage done by his creation's capacious footprints and the weakest of claims that his mob constituted a legal quorum.
"I am adamant that will not capitulate to your adventitious demands" he blustered.

Post by **wolfspirit** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:07 pm

Kvetch is god of WOTD.

Bow down and worship him....

wolfspirit

Post by **laurie** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:07 pm

Forget about Uni, Kvetch - get thee to a publishing house!

felonius · Post by **felonius** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 8:09 am

I concur!

All in just a couple of sentences too...

Post by **Ghost** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 8:10 am

Word of the Day for Thursday September 29, 2005

jocund \JOCK-uhnd; JOH-kuhnd\, adjective: Full of or expressing high-spirited merriment; light-hearted; mirthful.

His careless manners and jocund repartees might well seem incompatible with anything serious.
--William Prescott, History of the Conquest of Mexico

There was once a widow, fair, young, free, rich, and withal very pleasant and jocund, that fell in love with a certain round and well-set servant of a college.
--Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote (translated by Thomas Shelton)

Many a glad good morrow and jocund laugh from the young folk
Made the bright air brighter.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Evangeline"

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Jocund is from Old French jocond, from Latin jucundus, "pleasant, agreeable, delightful," from juvare, "to please, to delight."

Post by **laurie** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 10:34 pm

Ghost wrote:Word of the Day for Thursday September 29, 2005

jocund \JOCK-uhnd; JOH-kuhnd\, adjective: Full of or expressing high-spirited merriment; light-hearted; mirthful.

2. Descriptive for the IBDoF Peanut Gallery, especially in relation to WOTD and Pirates.

Post by **Ghost** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:14 am

Word of the Day for Friday September 30, 2005

segue \SEG-way; SAYG-way\, intransitive verb: To proceed without interruption; to make a smooth transition.

noun: An instance or act of segueing; a smooth transition.

The gratifying thing about McCourt is that he can drop his professional character act and segue into a smart, emotionally direct conversation faster than you can say "Top o' the morning."
--"Malachy Mccourt: How a Rogue Becomes a Saint," New York Times, July 29, 1998

A melody will start innocuously enough, then segue into the inevitable buildup, with swelling strings and bursting brass.
--"Woe to Shows That Put On Operatic Airs," New York Times, July 20, 1997

Addie later recalled her host's charming segue to topics more pleasant.
--Gary Kinder, Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea

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Segue is from the Italian, meaning "there follows," from seguire, "to follow," from Latin sequi.

Post by **Kvetch** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:23 am

Ostentatiously, Dr Drachmapetros quaffed his drink, a farrago of deliquescing body parts, evanescent embalming fluid and unctous green-bubbling-ooze(TM), in an attempt to crack the hauteur of the officious demagogue who was threatening to trammel his afflatus and immure his greatest creation based on a mere cavil about the venial damage done by his creation's capacious footprints and the jocund claim that his mob constituted a legal quorum.
"I am adamant that will not capitulate to your adventitious demands" he blustered, as day segued into night.

I'm not sure about jocund there - what do you think?.

felonius · Post by **felonius** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:30 am

"How about it, then?" Nigel demanded. "Did you enjoy it? Was he better than me?"

"Jeff, how's your book coming along?" Leila asked smoothly.

"Nice segue," Jeff replied. "Quite well, actually. And how is work for you these days?"

Post by **Ghost** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 8:46 am

Word of the Day for Monday October 3, 2005

effulgence \i-FUL-juhn(t)s\, noun: The state of being bright and radiant; splendor; brilliance.

The purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues.
--Congressman Henry Lee's Eulogy for George Washington, 1799

The setting sun as usual shed a melancholy effulgence on the ruddy towers of the Alhambra.
--Washington Irving, The Alhambra

Nice gave him a different light from Paris -- a high, constant effulgence with little gray in it, flooding broadly across sea, city and hills, producing luminous shadows and clear tonal structures.
--Robert Hughes, "Inventing A Sensory Utopia," Time, November 17, 1986

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From Latin ex- "out of, from" + fulgere, "to shine." The adjective form of the word is effulgent.

Post by **Darb** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 12:59 pm

Dr. Drachmapetros reclined languidly atop the culvert, staring rapturously at the iridescent effulgence of the gently drifting and fluorescent effluvium shimmering in the highly polluted lake in the setting sun. The view made for a nice visual and mental segue, after a long day locked in his office, feigning jocularity while fielding calls from irate shareholders and their ever-present threats of death and/or legal action.

Nearby, a small pickerel drifted, belly-up, in the hot sun ... a serendipitous prophetic metaphor for the health/value of the hedge fund he was administering. Dr. Drachmapetros checked his watch, and noted smugly that his flight to Switzerland left in less than 4 hours.

Post by **Darb** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:02 am

Gee, I guess the efflugence of my perspicacity has left everyone utterly fundownbed.

/me gently pokes the thread with a pointed stick, looking for signs of life.

Post by **Ghost** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:45 am

Word of the Day for Wednesday October 5, 2005

beneficence \buh-NEFF-i-suhns\, noun: 1. The practice of doing good; active goodness, kindness, or charity. 2. A charitable gift or act.

Lord Jeffrey told Dickens that it [A Christmas Carol] had "prompted more positive acts of beneficence than can be traced to all the pulpits and confessionals in Christendom since Christmas 1842."
--Roger Highfield, The Physics of Christmas

From my grandfather Verus I learned good morals and the government of my temper. From the reputation and remembrance of my father, modesty and a manly character. From my mother, piety and beneficence and abstinence.
--Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

She had disseminated around her what seemed an involuntary aura of beneficence and goodwill.
--John Bayley, Elegy for Iris

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Beneficence is from Latin beneficentia, from beneficus, "kind, generous, obliging," from bene, "well" (from bonus, "good") + facere, "to do." The adjective form is beneficent.

Post by **Ghost** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 8:07 am

Word of the Day for Thursday October 6, 2005

sempiternal \sem-pih-TUR-nuhl\, adjective: Of never ending duration; having beginning but no end; everlasting; endless.

In all the works on view, Mariani conjures a sempiternal realm that exists parallel to mundane reality and which is accessible through art, reverie and the imagination.
--Gerard Mccarthy, "Carlo Maria Mariani at Hackett-Freedman," Art in America, September 1999

This is a sempiternal truth for institutions of high prestige. Someone will pay (almost) anything for Ivy-ish credentials.
--Dennis O'Brien, "A 'Necessary' of Modern Life?" Commonweal, March 28, 1997

Finally, Syon's orchards are the world as our imagination would like it to be -- not wilderness, since orchards are after all planted and cultivated by farmers, but a sempiternal and ideal region of the mind.
--Thomas L. Jeffers, "That which sustains us," Commentary, June 2002

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Sempiternal comes from Medieval Latin sempiternalis, from Latin sempiternus, a contraction of semperaeternus, from semper, "always" + aeternus, "eternal."

Post by **Ghost** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 8:24 am

Word of the Day for Friday October 7, 2005

onus \OH-nuhs\, noun: 1. A burden; an obligation; a disagreeable necessity. 2. a: A stigma. b: Blame. 3. The burden of proof.

And who knew what financial pressures he was under or how desperate was his need to shed the onus of his past?
--Richard Lingeman, "The Last Party," New York Times, April 27, 1997

The onus of leadership fell on him.
--Scott Ritter, Endgame

The critical point, however, was that the Times story freed other publications from the onus of being the first to print the gossip, and everyone felt freer to leap in.
--Gail Collins, Scorpion Tongues

Nor has the onus of official displeasure fallen heavily enough upon the offenders.
--Edmund Candler, "Mahatma Ghandi," The Atlantic, July 1922

Mr. King is one of those writers who tries to fend off the onus of a cliche by admitting or underlining it.
--Richard R. Lingeman, "Something Nasty in the Tub," New York Times, March 1, 1977

Where a claimant contracted asbestosis having been exposed to asbestos dust over a period of years, approximately half of which he had spent working for the defendants, and half of which he had spent working for other employers, the onus was upon him to prove causation.
--"Claimant to prove contribution to his disability," Times (London), April 12, 2000

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Onus is adopted from Latin onus, "load, burden." The derivative Latin adjective onerosus yields English onerous, "burdensome, oppressive." The related Latin verb onerare has the compound form exonerare, "to free from (ex-) an onus or burden," which yields English exonerate, "to relieve, in a moral sense, as of a charge, obligation, or blame."

Post by **Ghost** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 8:36 am

Word of the Day for Monday October 10, 2005

laconic \luh-KON-ik\, adjective: Using or marked by the use of a minimum of words; brief and pithy; brusque.

Readers' reports range from the laconic to the verbose.
--Bernard Stamler, "A Brooklyncentric View of Life," New York Times, February 28, 1999

In the laconic language of the sheriff department's report, there was "no visible sign of life."
--David Wise, Cassidy's Run

There was one tiny photograph of him at a YMCA camp plus a few laconic and uninformative entries in a soldier's log from the war year, 1917-18.
--Edward W. Said, Out of Place: A Memoir

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Laconic comes, via Latin, from Greek Lakonikos, "of or relating to a Laconian or Spartan," hence "terse," in the manner of the Laconians.

Trivia: Laconia was an ancient region of southern Greece in the southeastern Peloponnesus; Sparta was the capital. Its people were noted for being warlike and disciplined, and also for the brevity of their speech.

/me thinks me say enough