Viand \VAHY-uhnd\ , noun;
1. An article of food, now usually of a choice or delicate kind
Booo-ring, viand is obviously connected to French viande, which means "meat." We Americans tend to think that French things are fancy, and 'meat' is a pretty general word in the world of food, so French meat = fancy food.
According to Etymonline.com:
The word dates from the 14th century and comes from an Anglo-French word viaunde, which derives from the Old French world viande, meaning "food". Viande dissimilated from 'vulgar Latin' vivanda, which comes from vivenda, meaning "things for living" in Late Latin and "be live" in classical Latin.
*Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Tuesday, October 19
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Laconic
Laconic \luh-KON-ik\ , adjective;
1. Using or marked by the use of a minimum of words; brief and pithy; brusque
According to Etymonline.com:
The word dates back to the 1580's and meant "concise, abrupt". It derives from the Greek Lakonikos, meaning "person from Lakonia," which is the district around Sparta in southern Greece in ancient times. People from Lakonia were supposedly proud of their brevity. As an example, when Philip of Macedon threatened them with, "If I enter Laconia, I will raze Sparta to the ground." To which a Spartan replied, "If."
The Oxford English Dictionary reflects the same sentiments, so I'm going to be laconic and leave it at that.
*Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Monday, October 18
1. Using or marked by the use of a minimum of words; brief and pithy; brusque
According to Etymonline.com:
The word dates back to the 1580's and meant "concise, abrupt". It derives from the Greek Lakonikos, meaning "person from Lakonia," which is the district around Sparta in southern Greece in ancient times. People from Lakonia were supposedly proud of their brevity. As an example, when Philip of Macedon threatened them with, "If I enter Laconia, I will raze Sparta to the ground." To which a Spartan replied, "If."
The Oxford English Dictionary reflects the same sentiments, so I'm going to be laconic and leave it at that.
*Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Monday, October 18
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Fulsome
Fulsome \FUL-sum\ , adjective;
1. Offensive to the taste of sensibilities
2. Insincere or excessively lavish; especially, offensive from excess of praise
This one got me thinking of the Man in Black, Johnny Cash. Folsom Prison Blues was one of his signature songs and was often the first one he would play after his standard introduction, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." Fulsome is a word that no one would use to describe Cash or his music, but the slight phonetic similarity and negative connotation is at least enough to warrant a google search. Folsom State Prison is named for Folsom, a suburb of Sacramento in California. Unsurprisingly, the town is named after some rich guy.
According to Etymonline.com:
Fulsome is a middle English compound: ful + sum ("full" + "some") and originally conveyed a sense of "abundant" and "full" in the mid-13th century. A century later is meant "plump, well-fed" and by the 1640's it had become "overgrown, overfed." 20 years later it was being used to describe things that were "offensive to taste or good manners" and that definition still holds today. In the last 50 years, however, the word can also be used favorably, but that definition is usually reserved for fulsome praise.
The Oxford English Dictionary lists 7 different definitions, some including multiple sub-definitions and most of them convey a sense of gluttony or over-indulgence of some form and are obsolete.
*Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Sunday, October 17
1. Offensive to the taste of sensibilities
2. Insincere or excessively lavish; especially, offensive from excess of praise
This one got me thinking of the Man in Black, Johnny Cash. Folsom Prison Blues was one of his signature songs and was often the first one he would play after his standard introduction, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." Fulsome is a word that no one would use to describe Cash or his music, but the slight phonetic similarity and negative connotation is at least enough to warrant a google search. Folsom State Prison is named for Folsom, a suburb of Sacramento in California. Unsurprisingly, the town is named after some rich guy.
According to Etymonline.com:
Fulsome is a middle English compound: ful + sum ("full" + "some") and originally conveyed a sense of "abundant" and "full" in the mid-13th century. A century later is meant "plump, well-fed" and by the 1640's it had become "overgrown, overfed." 20 years later it was being used to describe things that were "offensive to taste or good manners" and that definition still holds today. In the last 50 years, however, the word can also be used favorably, but that definition is usually reserved for fulsome praise.
The Oxford English Dictionary lists 7 different definitions, some including multiple sub-definitions and most of them convey a sense of gluttony or over-indulgence of some form and are obsolete.
*Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Sunday, October 17
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Hair of the Dog
Hair of the Dog (that bit you): an alcoholic drink that is supposed to cure a hangover
Happy Saturday! Hopefully you didn't need any 'hair of the dog' this morning...
This phrase was originally in reference to the treatment of a rabid dog bite. You were supposed to put the dog's hair on your wound and you would be cured. I'm not sure how effective that treatment could possibly be though, since there is currently no known cure for rabies. The only way modern medicine can treat the disease is to administer a vaccine within two days of being bitten. Untreated, the disease can lead to coma and death.
The modern use of 'hair of the dog' dates back to Shakespeare himself who used the phrase in Twelfth Night. There is some evidence that this is an effective treatment because low doses of ethanol can alleviate the first stages of alcohol withdrawal. However, a hangover is not exactly the same as withdrawal and introducing more alcohol into your system is a questionable move when you are dehydrated and feeling like sh*t anyway.
I'll stick to ibuprofen and large quantities of water...and breakfast from Micky-D's
Happy Saturday! Hopefully you didn't need any 'hair of the dog' this morning...
This phrase was originally in reference to the treatment of a rabid dog bite. You were supposed to put the dog's hair on your wound and you would be cured. I'm not sure how effective that treatment could possibly be though, since there is currently no known cure for rabies. The only way modern medicine can treat the disease is to administer a vaccine within two days of being bitten. Untreated, the disease can lead to coma and death.
The modern use of 'hair of the dog' dates back to Shakespeare himself who used the phrase in Twelfth Night. There is some evidence that this is an effective treatment because low doses of ethanol can alleviate the first stages of alcohol withdrawal. However, a hangover is not exactly the same as withdrawal and introducing more alcohol into your system is a questionable move when you are dehydrated and feeling like sh*t anyway.
I'll stick to ibuprofen and large quantities of water...and breakfast from Micky-D's
Friday, October 15, 2010
Smithereens
Smithereens \smith-uh-REENZ\ , noun;
1. Small pieces; bits
Yes! I loooove this word. I feel it's especially appropriate because I just listened to a podcast about Roald Dahl and this word seems very Dahl-esque.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary this word is very Irish, it is either adopted from or the source of the modern Irish word smidirín and was used by James Joyce in Ulysses (very Irish indeed).
Go smash something to smithereens today!!!!!
*Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Friday, October 15
1. Small pieces; bits
Yes! I loooove this word. I feel it's especially appropriate because I just listened to a podcast about Roald Dahl and this word seems very Dahl-esque.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary this word is very Irish, it is either adopted from or the source of the modern Irish word smidirín and was used by James Joyce in Ulysses (very Irish indeed).
Go smash something to smithereens today!!!!!
*Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Friday, October 15
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Hopscotch
Hopscotch \HOP-skoch\
verb;
1. To journey quickly and directly from one usually far place to another
2. To move or pass through something, as a geographical area or a field of endeavor, making many brief stops
noun;
1. A children's game in which a player tosses or kicks an object into one of several numbered sections of a diagram marked on the ground.
Hopscotch is a game that always confused me as a kid. On tv it's usually in those scenes of idyllic childhood flashbacks, conveying the idea that it's the ultimate childhood game (for girls anyway). Watching this always made me feel like I should play it too because apparently everyone has fond memories of the game. However, I always found it to incredibly boring. I'd rather dig in the dirt! Writing this I thought maybe I didn't know the right rules, but I just looked it up and I knew exactly how to play...it's really just not that fun.
The Oxford English Dictionary does not include any definition of hopscotch other than the children's game, so I'm not sure about those verb definitions. The word seems to have originated in the late 1700's and it's etymology is very simple: in the game you hop over a scotch (an incised line or scratch), thus hopscotch. Other variations are hop-score, hop-scot, and scotch-hoppers.
*Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Thursday, October 14
verb;
1. To journey quickly and directly from one usually far place to another
2. To move or pass through something, as a geographical area or a field of endeavor, making many brief stops
noun;
1. A children's game in which a player tosses or kicks an object into one of several numbered sections of a diagram marked on the ground.
Hopscotch is a game that always confused me as a kid. On tv it's usually in those scenes of idyllic childhood flashbacks, conveying the idea that it's the ultimate childhood game (for girls anyway). Watching this always made me feel like I should play it too because apparently everyone has fond memories of the game. However, I always found it to incredibly boring. I'd rather dig in the dirt! Writing this I thought maybe I didn't know the right rules, but I just looked it up and I knew exactly how to play...it's really just not that fun.
The Oxford English Dictionary does not include any definition of hopscotch other than the children's game, so I'm not sure about those verb definitions. The word seems to have originated in the late 1700's and it's etymology is very simple: in the game you hop over a scotch (an incised line or scratch), thus hopscotch. Other variations are hop-score, hop-scot, and scotch-hoppers.
*Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Thursday, October 14
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Apocopate
Apocopate \uh-POK-uh-peyt\ , verb;
1. To omit the final sound or sounds of (a word).
Hmm, this word is suspiciously linguistic-sounding. I'm assuming this means saying things like 'tellin' without pronouncing the full \ŋ\ (which is -ng, for those unfamiliar with the phonetic alphabet). 'Gonna' is similar because 'going' loses the full \ɪŋ\ (-ing) sound, but since it's elided with 'to' it's not simply apocopated.
This word does not exits in Etymonline.com, and the Oxford English dictionary doesn't have much on the verb apocopate. The participle adjective entry refers to apocope, which means "The cutting off or omission of the last letter or syllable of a word," so this is obviously from where today's word is derived. Apocope comes from Greek words meaning "a cutting off" or "to cut off".
*Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Wednesday, October 13
1. To omit the final sound or sounds of (a word).
Hmm, this word is suspiciously linguistic-sounding. I'm assuming this means saying things like 'tellin' without pronouncing the full \ŋ\ (which is -ng, for those unfamiliar with the phonetic alphabet). 'Gonna' is similar because 'going' loses the full \ɪŋ\ (-ing) sound, but since it's elided with 'to' it's not simply apocopated.
This word does not exits in Etymonline.com, and the Oxford English dictionary doesn't have much on the verb apocopate. The participle adjective entry refers to apocope, which means "The cutting off or omission of the last letter or syllable of a word," so this is obviously from where today's word is derived. Apocope comes from Greek words meaning "a cutting off" or "to cut off".
*Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Wednesday, October 13
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