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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day
puissant
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:15:01 -0500
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 07, 2008 is: puissant • \PWISS-unt\ • adj : of great force or vigor : strong, powerful Example sentence: Laurie was aware of the restaurant critic's puissant influence in the industry, so she became quite nervous when she spotted him sitting at a table in her café. Did you know? "Puissant" has some powerful ties to some more commonplace English words. Although "puissant" has a considerably fancier feel than "power" and "potent," all three words share the same Latin ancestor: "posse," a verb meaning "to be able." "Power" came to us by way of Anglo-French "poer," which is itself thought to have come from "potēre," a Vulgar Latin alteration of "posse." "Potent" came from "potent-, potens," a present participle of "posse." From "poer" came the adjective "pussant," meaning "able" or "powerful" in Anglo-French, and English speakers borrowed that to form "puissant" in the 15th century.
agrarian
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:15:01 -0500
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 06, 2008 is: agrarian • \uh-GRAIR-ee-un\ • adjective 1 : of or relating to fields or lands or their tenure 2 *a : of, relating to, or characteristic of farmers or their way of lifeb : organized or designed to promote agricultural interests Example sentence: Since buying their organic farm three years ago, Ken and Sheila have been gradually adjusting to an agrarian lifestyle. Did you know? Today, an acre is generally considered to be a unit of land measuring 43,560 square feet (4,047 square meters). Before that standard was set, it's believed that an acre represented a rougher measurement -- the amount of land that could be plowed in one day with a yoke of oxen. Both "acre" and today's word, "agrarian," derive from the Latin noun "ager" and the Greek noun "agros," meaning "field." (You can probably guess that "agriculture" is another descendant.) "Agrarian," first used in English in the 17th century, describes things pertaining to the cultivation of fields, as well as the farmers who cultivate them. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
cumshaw
Sun, 05 Oct 2008 01:15:01 -0500
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 05, 2008 is: cumshaw • \KUM-shaw\ • noun : present, gratuity; also : bribe, payoff Example sentence: "I never heard her ask for any cumshaw that weighed less than a ton and which required fewer than a dozen enlisted men and two trucks to move." (James A. Michener, Los Angeles Times, October 19, 1986) Did you know? It was probably British Navy personnel who first picked up "cumshaw" in Chinese ports, during the First Opium War of 1839–42. "Cumshaw" is from a word that means "grateful thanks" in the dialect of Xiamen, a port in southeast China. Apparently, sailors heard it from the beggars who hung around the ports, and mistook it as the word for a handout. Since then, U.S. sailors have given "cumshaw" its own unique application, for something obtained through unofficial means (whether deviously or simply ingeniously). Outside of naval circles, meanings of "cumshaw" range from a harmless gratuity or gift to bending the rules a little to outright bribery.
kundalini
Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:15:01 -0500
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 04, 2008 is: kundalini • \koon-duh-LEE-nee (the "oo" is as in "book")\ • noun, often capitalized : the yogic life force that is held to lie coiled at the base of the spine until it is aroused and sent to the head to trigger enlightenment Example sentence: In her yoga class, Susan is learning the breaths for awakening kundalini. Did you know? "Kundalinī" is the feminine form of the Sanskrit adjective meaning "circular" or "coiled." In yoga, the word applies to the life force that lies like a coiled serpent at the base of the spine and that can be sent along the spine to the head through prescribed postures and exercises. On the way, the kundalini passes through six chakras, or points of physical or spiritual energy in the human body. At the seventh chakra, the yogi is said to experience enlightenment.
red herring
Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:15:01 -0500
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 03, 2008 is: red herring • \RED-HERR-ing\ • noun 1 : a herring cured by salting and slow smoking to a dark brown color *2 : something that distracts attention from the real issue Example sentence: The editorial asserts that the hoopla over the proposed new convention center is a red herring, deflecting attention from the mayor's failure to resolve the budgetary crisis. Did you know? Believe it or not, "red herring" has as much to do with hunting dogs as with brightly colored fish. Here's how: A herring is a soft-finned bony fish. People who like to eat herring have long preserved them by salting and slowly smoking them. That process makes a herring turn red or dark brown -- and gives them a very strong smell. Dogs love to sniff such smelly treats, a fact that makes the fish a perfect diversion for anyone trying to distract hunting dogs from the trail of their quarry. The practice of using preserved fish to confuse hunting dogs led to the use of the term "red herring" for anything that diverts attention from the issue at hand. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
quondam
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:15:01 -0500
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 02, 2008 is: quondam • \KWAHN-dum\ • adj : former, sometime Example sentence: A quondam rodeo champ, circuit preacher, and peanut farmer, Baxter has settled into his new life as a stand-up comedian. Did you know? Looking for an unusual and creative way to say "former"? "Quondam" (which came to English in the 16th century from Latin quondam, meaning "at one time" or "formerly") certainly fits the bill. Or maybe you'd prefer one of its synonyms: "whilom," "ci-devant" or "preterit." Or you could really go crazy with "umquhile," a word that is extremely rare even in its more natural Scots English setting. "Quondam" itself isn't exactly ubiquitous, but it's used more than any of the other words above. If you're looking for something a bit more pedestrian, you might try yet another synonym: "erstwhile." Despite its wonderfully archaic flavor, "erstwhile" is a highly favored alternative.
MedTerms Word of the Day
CADASIL
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
CADASIL: Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy. An inherited form of vascular dementia that strikes relatively young adults of both sexes and is characterized by multiple strokes, dementia, migraine-like headaches, and psychiatric disturbances. CADASIL is due to mutation of a gene called NOTCH3 located on chromosome 19. Also called hereditary multi-infarct dementia. MedTerms (TM) is the Medical Dictionary of MedicineNet.com.We Bring Doctors' Knowledge To You
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