Showing posts with label words. Show all posts
Showing posts with label words. Show all posts

Words worth: prehension

Monday, April 20, 2015

prehension \pree-HEN-shun\ noun

*1 : the act of taking hold, seizing, or grasping

2 : mental understanding : comprehension

3 : apprehension by the senses

"Prehension" descends from the Latin verb "prehendere," which means "to seize" or "to grasp." Other descendants of "prehendere" in English include "apprehend," "comprehend" ("to grasp the nature or significance of"), "prehensile" ("adapted for seizing or grasping"), "prison," "reprise," and "reprisal."



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Words worth: litany

Monday, December 15, 2014

litany \LIH-tuh-nee\ noun
1 : a prayer consisting of a series of invocations and supplications by the leader with alternate responses by the congregation
2 a : a resonant or repetitive chant *b : a usually lengthy recitation or enumeration c : a sizable series or set

"Litany" came to English through Anglo-French and Late Latin, and ultimately from the Greek word "litaneia," meaning "entreaty." A "litany" refers literally to a type of prayer in which a series of lines are spoken alternately by a leader and a congregation.

Recent decades have seen the development of three figurative senses. The chant-like quality of a literal litany led to the "repetitive chant" sense. Next, the repetitious nature of the original litany led to the "lengthy recitation" sense. Finally, the "lengthy recitation" sense led to the meaning "a sizable series or set."


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Words worth: repertoire

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

repertoire \REP-er-twar\ noun
1 : a list or supply of dramas, operas, pieces, or parts that a company or person is prepared to perform
*2 : a supply of skills or devices possessed by a person

The Late Latin noun "repertorium," meaning "list," has given us two words that can be used to speak of the broad range of things that someone or something can do. One is "repertory," perhaps most commonly known as a word for a company that presents several different plays, operas, or other works at one theater, or the theater where such works are performed.

"Repertoire," which comes from "repertorium" via French, once meant the same thing as "repertory" but later came to refer to the range of skills that a person has under his or her belt, such as the different pitches a baseball pitcher can throw or the particular dishes that are a chef’s specialty.


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Words worth: petulant

Sunday, November 23, 2014

petulant \PET-chuh-lunt\ adjective
1 : insolent or rude in speech or behavior
*2 : characterized by temporary or capricious ill humor : peevish

"Petulant" is related to the Latin verb "petere," which means "to go to," "to attack," "to seek," or "to request." "Petere" is a relative of the Latin adjective "petulans" ("impudent"), from which "petulant" was derived.

Some other words with connections to "petere" are "compete" and "appetite." "Competere," the Late Latin precursor to "compete," is a combination of the prefix "com-" and the verb "petere."

The joining of "ad-" and "petere" led to "appetere" ("to strive after"), and eventually to Latin "appetitus," the source of our "appetite." Additional descendants of "petere" are "petition," "perpetual," and "impetus." 



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Words worth

Sunday, November 9, 2014

meticulous \muh-TIK-yuh-lus\ adjective

: marked by extreme or excessive care in the consideration or treatment of details

"Meticulous" is derived from the Latin word for "fearful" -- "meticulosus" -- and ultimately comes from the Latin noun "metus," meaning "fear." Although "meticulous" currently has no "fearful" meanings, it was originally used as a synonym of "frightened" and "timid." This sense had fallen into disuse by 1700, and in the 19th century "meticulous" acquired a new sense of "overly and timidly careful" (probably influenced by the French word "méticuleux"). This in turn led to the current meaning of "painstakingly careful," with no connotations of fear at all. The newest use was controversial among some usage commentators at first, but it has since become by far the most common meaning and is no longer considered an error.


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Words worth

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

gauche \GOHSH\ adjective

*1 : lacking social experience or grace; also : not tactful : crude 

2 : crudely made or done

"Gauche" is one of several words that come from old suspicions or negative associations surrounding the left side and use of the left hand. In French, "gauche" literally means "left," and it has the extended meanings "awkward" and "clumsy." "Awkward" itself comes from the Middle English "awke," meaning "turned the wrong way" or "left-handed." On the other hand, "adroit" and "dexterity" have their roots in words meaning "right" or "on the right side." 


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Words worth

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

beholden \bih-HOHL-dun\ adjective

: being under obligation for a favor or gift : indebted

"Beholden" was first recorded in writing in the 14th century, in the poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." "Indebted," which entered English through Anglo-French, is even older, first appearing in the 13th century. English speakers in the 14th century would also have had another synonym of "beholden" to choose from, a now-obsolete sense of "bounden," which today means "made obligatory" or "binding."


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Words Worth

Sunday, September 21, 2014

cabal \kuh-BAHL\ noun

*1 : the artifices and intrigues of a group of persons secretly united in a plot (as to overturn a government); also : a group engaged in such artifices and intrigues

2 : club, group

In _A Child's History of England_, Charles Dickens associates the word "cabal" with a group of five ministers in the government of England's King Charles II. The initial letters of the names or titles of those men (Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale) spelled "cabal," and Dickens dubbed them the "Cabal Ministry." These five men were widely regarded as invidious, secretive plotters and their activities may have encouraged English speakers to associate "cabal" with high-level government intrigue. But their names are not the source of the word "cabal," which was in use decades before Charles II ascended the throne. The term can be traced back through French to "cabbala," the Medieval Latin name for the Kabbalah, a traditional system of esoteric Jewish mysticism. 



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Words Worth

Saturday, September 13, 2014

prehension \pree-HEN-shun\ noun

*1 : the act of taking hold, seizing, or grasping

2 : mental understanding : comprehension

3 : apprehension by the senses

"Prehension" descends from the Latin verb "prehendere," which means "to seize" or "to grasp." Other descendants of "prehendere" in English include "apprehend," "comprehend" ("to grasp the nature or significance of"), "prehensile" ("adapted for seizing or grasping"), "prison," "reprise," and "reprisal."


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Words worth

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

coalesce   \koh-uh-LESS\   verb
    1 : to grow together 
    2 a : to unite into a whole : fuse  *b : to unite for a common end : join forces 
    3 : to arise from the combination of distinct elements

"Coalesce" unites the prefix "co-" ("together") and the Latin verb "alescere," meaning "to grow." (The words "adolescent" and "adult" also grew from "alescere.") "Coalesce," which first appeared in English in the mid-17th century, is one of a number of verbs in English (along with "mix," "commingle," "merge," and "amalgamate") that refer to the act of combining parts into a whole. In particular, "coalesce" usually implies the merging of similar parts to form a cohesive unit. 


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Words worth

Sunday, March 23, 2014


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

shtick or schtick or schtik (shtik) noun

  1. A performer's routine or gimmick.

  2. One's special trait, interest, or talent.

[From Yiddish shtik (pranks, gimmick, routine, literally piece),
from German Stück (piece).] 

  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 


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Words matter

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

raconteur: ra-kahn-TER

 noun

: a person who excels in telling anecdotes

English speakers borrowed the word from French, where it traces back to the Old French verb "raconter," meaning "to tell." "Raconter" in turn was formed from another Old French verb, "aconter"or "acompter,"meaning "to tell" or "to count," which is ultimately from Latin "computare," meaning "to count."  "Raconteur" has been part of the English vocabulary since at least 1828.


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Words matter

Monday, December 30, 2013



Word History: Every western Indo-European language except English derives its verb for "to write" from Latin scrībere: écrire in French, escribir in Spanish, scrivere in Italian, scribaim in Old Irish, ysgrifennu in Welsh, skriva in Breton, skrifa in Old Norse, skrive in Danish and Norwegian, skriva in Swedish, schreiben in German, schrijven in Dutch.

The Old English verb "to write" is wrītan, from a Germanic root *writ- that derives from an Indo-European root *wreid- meaning "to cut, scratch, tear, sketch an outline." German still retains this meaning in its cognate verb reissen, "to tear." Only Old English employed wrītan to refer to writing, that is, scratching on parchment with a pen. English shows a similar contrariness in its verb read, being almost the only western European language not to derive its verb for that concept from Latin legere. 



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Ron Judd: In place names, we tell it like it is

Sunday, July 22, 2012

By Diane Hettrick

Shoreline and Lake Forest Park don't really need to explain their names. "Shore to Shore and (county) Line to (city) Line" - and there's a Lake, there's a Forest (complete with deer), there's a Park. Well, maybe no parks in a city where most lot sizes are bigger than the parks, but not much explanation is required.

The rest of western Washington place names do require explanation, which is provided in this entertaining article by Seattle Times writer Ron Judd. Although he left our my personal favorites - Grayland (it rains all the time) and Washaway Beach (it has mostly washed away, along with the road and the houses) - he included many other places that most of us have visited, with the background on their names.

For example, I thought Deception Pass was named because of its treacherous tidal bore, but it actually has to do with the explorers' misconception about whether it was a passage or a bay.

Here's the article in Pacific NW Magazine: Woe be Washington: In place names we tell it like it is.


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Personal best aptonym

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Aptonym - when a person's surname matches their occupation

Dear Editor:

My lifetime personal best aptonym was the medical director of Seattle Children's Hospital* when I was in pediatric training there. What better aptonym than the late Doctor Jack M. Docter?

(* back in the days when it was still called "Children's Orthopedic Hospital and Medical Center"

Robert C. Hauck, MD, retired pediatrician
Shoreline


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More aptonyms

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

An aptonym is the term for a surname that matches the owner's profession. See our previous article.

Here are a couple more people whose names appear in the SAN:

Jeff LeFlam is the fire marshall for the Northshore Fire District. Not sure what LeFlam really translates to, but it's too close to flame not to use.

Doug Parrott's pictures often appear in Christine Southwick's feature "For the Birds." Doug is, of course, a bird expert.

Anyone else?


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Aptonym: You can't make a window without a Sill

Friday, August 5, 2011

Updated 8-6-2011at 7:22pm
Aptonym is the term for a surname that matches a profession. The favorite Seattle example is the dentist named Dr. Carey (carie is a term for dental decay). A workman named Workman and a banker named Banker would be aptonyms, but a workman named Banker and a banker named Workman would not.

The Everett HeraldNet.com has a story on Kevin Sill of Shoreline, who owns Skyline Windows, Inc. in Shoreline. Skyline Windows is located at 17240 Ronald Place North, Shoreline, WA 98133, on the red brick road that curves behind the Aurora Rents property on its way to Top Foods.

(you did get it, didn't you? window sill? - sorry, just checking)

Here's the HeraldNet story with a photo of Kevin Sill.

"Aptonym: Kevin Sill, window shop owner 
"By Theresa Goffredo, Herald Writer 
"Q: How did your name direct your career path?

"A: It really didn't. It was serendipitous, really. I was out of high school and was a busboy, and I told my girlfriend, who is now my wife, I mentioned I needed to find a better job, and she said one of her high school friends' dad has a window shop and he needs help, and he hired me on the spot. That was in 1976."

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