GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

[Algot Runeman]

dander meaning 1

/ˈdandə/
noun
informal in phrase get/have one's dander up
Lose one's temper.

Origin
Mid 19th century (originally US): of unknown origin.

==========

Jeanne's demeanor had never been keener until Lou cut her off on the highway. That got her dander up and she fumed the rest of the way home.

[voralfred]

creed

/kriːd/
noun
1 A system of religious belief; a faith.
1.1 often "the Creed" - A formal statement of Christian beliefs, especially the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed.
1.2 A set of beliefs or aims which guide someone's actions.

Origin
Old English, from Latin credo.

==========

He thought she was pretty.
She thought he was witty.
But families with no shared creed.
An edict: "No marriage" was decreed.

Such an edict probably got his and her danders up !

Unless she and he decided to abrogate this edict (as far as they were concerned)....

[Algot Runeman]

encumber

/ɪnˈkʌmbə/ /ɛnˈkʌmbə/
verb
[with object]
Restrict or impede (someone or something) in such a way that free action or movement is difficult.

Origin
Middle English (in the sense ‘cause trouble to, entangle’; formerly also as incumber): from Old French encombrer ‘block up’, from en- ‘in’ + combre ‘river barrage’.

==========

Do not let these daily dalliances deter or encumber you from today's appropriate actions.



[Go even further and enjoy our daily dilly-dally with cumber.]

1 dated Hamper or hinder.
‘they were cumbered with greatcoats and swords’
1.1 Obstruct (a path or space)
Origin
Middle English (in the sense ‘overthrow, destroy’): probably from encumber.

The two origin descriptions seem to suggest "cumber" might have been a contracted version at some point, but one which didn't catch on. Who wants to do deep, cumbersome background research, anybody?

[voralfred]

creed

/kriːd/
noun
1 A system of religious belief; a faith.
1.1 often "the Creed" - A formal statement of Christian beliefs, especially the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed.
1.2 A set of beliefs or aims which guide someone's actions.

Origin
Old English, from Latin credo.

==========

He thought she was pretty.
She thought he was witty.
But families with no shared creed.
An edict: "No marriage" was decreed.

Such an edict probably got his and her danders up !

Unless she and he decided to abrogate this edict (as far as they were concerned)....

She and he need not let themselves be cumbered by their encumbersome relatives, do they ?

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

...
She and he need not let themselves be cumbered by their encumbersome relatives, do they ?

So they still eat yummy cucumbers anyway, don't they?

[Algot Runeman]

launch definition 1

/lɔːn(t)ʃ/
verb
[with object]
1 Set (a boat) in motion by pushing it or allowing it to roll into the water.
1.1 Set (a newly built ship or boat) afloat for the first time with an official ceremony.
1.2 Send (a missile, satellite, or spacecraft) on its course.

Origin
Middle English (in the sense ‘hurl a missile, discharge with force’): from Anglo-Norman French launcher, variant of Old French lancier (see lance).

==========

NASA launched a "test article" this morning. It rose magestically into the morning sky carrying an Orion command module mockup aloft to test the flight abort systems. The test was a success which anyone with a speedy web connection could watch live on NASA TV.

[Algot Runeman]

benignity

/bɪˈnɪɡnɪti/
noun
benignities
mass noun
1 Kindness or tolerance toward others.
1.1 archaic count noun An act of kindness.

Origin
Late Middle English from Old French benignite or Latin benignitas, from benignus (see benign).

==========

Ben displayed benignity by supporting the busker's dignity. He left a generous "tip" after standing to listen through three songs. He hoped to marginally make up for the many who simply walked by.

[Algot Runeman]

inhomogeneous

/ˌɪnhɒmə(ʊ)ˈdʒiːnɪəs/ /ˌɪnhɒmə(ʊ)ˈdʒɛnɪəs/ /ˌɪnhəʊmə(ʊ)ˈdʒiːnɪəs/
adjective
1 Not uniform in character or content; diverse.
1.1 Mathematics Consisting of terms that are not all of the same degree or dimensions.

==========

I prefer soup with character. That means it needs a mix of lumpy bits, preferably of many sorts. My soups should be inhomogeneous.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

inhomogeneous

Do you require your soup to be inhomogeneous to the point where it contains the soup characters to spell your name?

Do you also hunt for those characters in each spoonful?

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

astrolabe

/ˈastrəleɪb/
noun
historical
An instrument used to make astronomical measurements, typically of the altitudes of celestial bodies, and in navigation for calculating latitude, before the development of the sextant.

Origin
Late Middle English from Old French astrelabe, from medieval Latin astrolabium, from Greek astrolabon, neuter of astrolabos ‘star-taking’.

==========

Today, I will not go out of sight of land aboard my canoe. I have neither sextant nor astrolabe and am entirely without the skill to use either.

[Algot Runeman]

xenogeneic

/ˌzɛnə(ʊ)dʒɪˈniːɪk/ /ˌzɛnə(ʊ)dʒɪˈneɪɪk/
adjective
Medicine
Relating to or involving tissues or cells belonging to individuals of different species.

==========

Early attempts to perform reconstructive skin grafts were met with the same ferocious, xenogeneic immune response as the body would launch against a simple wound infection.

[Algot Runeman]

croft

/krɒft/
noun
1 A small rented farm, especially one in Scotland, comprising a plot of arable land attached to a house and with a right of pasturage held in common with other such farms.
1.1 An enclosed field used for tillage or pasture, typically attached to a house and worked by the occupier.
verb
[with object]
Farm (land) as a croft or crofts.

Origin
Old English of unknown origin.

==========

Chris harvested vegetables from his croft. Some he sold, but most went to feed his family.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

croft

Oh my!

I've been a fan of Tomb Raider since the very first game in 1996.

But now it's nice to hear that Lara Croft's name is actually not so aristocratic, but very down to earth.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

EPS,

Did you wander from your croft or your artists loft to watch any of the Tour de France yesterday or today, as it visited your corner of Europe? Congratulations to the local guy, Mike Teunissen, for wearing the yellow jersey two days in a row.

[Algot Runeman]

religiose

/rɪˈlɪdʒɪəʊs/
adjective
Excessively religious.

Origin
Mid 19th century from Latin religiosus, from religio ‘reverence, obligation’.

==========

Ralph resisted being religiose by avoiding all contact with ministers, priests, rabbis, shamans, monks and mullahs.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

religiose

It appears there's no single religiosely correct order to the proverb.

Spoiler: show

[Algot Runeman]

It appears there's no single religiosely correct order to the proverb.

Mumble, mutter and hum?

[Algot Runeman]

bankable

/ˈbaŋkəb(ə)l/
adjective
1 (especially in the entertainment industry) certain to bring profit and success.
1.1 Reliable.

==========

It is the hope of all venture capitalists that they will find a bankable concept to support before anyone else has thought of it.

[voralfred]

bankable

/ˈbaŋkəb(ə)l/
adjective
1 (especially in the entertainment industry) certain to bring profit and success.
1.1 Reliable.

==========

It is the hope of all venture capitalists that they will find a bankable concept to support before anyone else has thought of it.

(...)

I don't think that religiosely maintaining this thread is a bankable concept, as far as profit is concerned. But it certainly brings success in getting our (at least EPS's and mine) friendship and respect !

[Algot Runeman]

orogeny

/ɒˈrɒdʒəni/
noun
mass noun - Geology
A process in which a section of the earth's crust is folded and deformed by lateral compression to form a mountain range.
count noun ‘the Hercynian and Alpine orogenies’

==========

Let me just slip this one in sideways. Mountaineers mount their magnificent mounds thanks to our planet's orogeny. (They have heaps of fun in the process.)

[Algot Runeman]

detract

/dɪˈtrakt/
verb
1 detract from - no object - Diminish the worth or value of (a quality or achievement)
1.1 with object Take away (a specified amount) from the worth or value of a quality or achievement.
2 detract someone/something from - with object - Cause someone or something to be distracted or diverted from.

Origin
Late Middle English from Latin detract- ‘drawn away’, from the verb detrahere, from de- ‘away from’ + trahere ‘draw’.

==========

After your attention I attract,
I must state a simple fact.
No one can detract
From the skills which I've long lacked.

[Algot Runeman]

affricate

/ˈafrɪkət/
noun
Phonetics
A phoneme which combines a plosive with an immediately following fricative or spirant sharing the same place of articulation, e.g. ch as in chair and j as in jar.

Origin
Late 19th century from Latin affricatus, past participle of affricare, from ad- ‘to’ + fricare ‘to rub’.

==========

I don't want to rub you the wrong way.
It is just that I really like wordplay
I will verb a noun and choose to say.
Just go affricate yourself today.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

detract
...

Why did detract (erase) part of the second syllable, i. e. "et", first?

[Algot Runeman]

homesick

/ˈhəʊmsɪk/
adjective
Experiencing a longing for one's home during a period of absence from it.

==========

When life has you reeling
Beyond normal limit
Homesick's the feeling
You get, you fool dimwit.

You think going back
Would be your best plan
But to grow up, Jack,
Carry on, be a man!

Face up to the moment.
Don't let it stop you.
Your effort's not all spent.
You've begun; follow through.

[Algot Runeman]

madrigal

/ˈmadrɪɡ(ə)l/
noun
A part-song for several voices, especially one of the Renaissance period, typically unaccompanied and arranged in elaborate counterpoint.

Origin
From Italian madrigale (from medieval Latin carmen matricale ‘simple song’), from matricalis ‘maternal or primitive’, from matrix ‘womb’.

==========

Mark, Milt, Marvin and Mary maneuvered through the madrigal magnificently.