Word of the Day Thread

[ITS ME!]

aperçu \ a-per-SY \ , noun;
1.
A hasty glance; a glimpse.

2.
An immediate estimate or judgment; understanding; insight.

3.
An outline or summary.




Quotes:
Dr. Lornier, if you would be kind enough to give us a summary of your accomplishments and an aperçu of your plans for the next two months.
-- Mona Risk, To Love a Hero

He was going to lecture that afternoon on Prosperity and, since I was unable to go to the lecture, he was good enough to give me an aperçu of the situation.
-- Ford Madox Ford, It Was the Nightingale



Origin:
Aperçu literally means "perceived" in French. It entered English in the 1820s.

[ITS ME!]

xenophilia \ zen-uh-FIL-ee-uh \ , noun;

1.
An attraction to foreign peoples, cultures, or customs.



Quotes:
Yet the scenario of openhanded host and guest, of xenophilia , is played out time and time again in Homer's Odyssey . It mattered to those hill-bound and sea-scattered tribes that the wanderer be made welcome…
-- Nicholas Delbanco, The Lost Suitcase

This connectedness — so evident to the drama's spectator, so indiscernible to the dramatized participant — promotes what we might call xenophilia.
-- Susan Gubar, Critical Condition



Origin:
The opposite of xenophobia , xenophilia has the same Greek roots. It literally means "attracted to strangers." It first appeared in English in the 1920s and was used heavily after the Second World War.

[ITS ME!]

reconnoiter \ ree-kuh-NOI-ter \ , verb;

1.
To make an inspection or observation.

2.
To inspect, observe, or survey (the enemy, the enemy's strength or position, a region, etc.) in order to gain information for military purposes.

3.
To examine or survey a region or area for engineering, geological, or other purposes.



Quotes:
It was necessary to reconnoiter the corral, in order to ascertain if it was occupied.
-- Jules Verne, The Mysterious Island

I must ride up on that mountain, and reconnoiter ; otherwise you see they might come down from the mountain.
-- Leo Tolstoy, A Russian Proprietor and Other Stories



Origin:
Reconnoiter comes from the French word reconnoître meaning "to explore."

[ITS ME!]

bona fides \ BOH-nah FEE-des \ , noun;
1.
Good faith; the state of being exactly as claims or appearances indicate.

2.
(Sometimes italics) (used with a plural verb) the official papers, documents, or other items that prove authenticity, legitimacy, etc., as of a person or enterprise; credentials.



Quotes:
He seemed to feel that he had to convince them of his bona fides before they would trust the purity of the fuel that he was selling.
-- Dean R. Koontz, One Door Away from Heaven

The want of sincerity or bona fides , in a large body of men, respected and respectable, is a very tender place, and cannot be touched with too much delicacy.
-- Thomas Reid, The Works of Thomas Reid

We cannot investigate the bona fides of any of these people. We have to rely solely on deduction.
-- Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express



Origin:
Originally bona fide , bona fides was accidentally pluralized by the 1830s and subsequently was used as a synonym for credentials.

[ITS ME!]

agnomen \ ag-NOH-muhn \ , noun;
1.
A nickname.

2.
An additional, fourth name given to a person by the ancient Romans in allusion to some achievement or other circumstance, as “Africanus” in “Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus.”



Quotes:
He was thin in person and low in stature, with light sandy-colored hair, and small pale features, from which he derived his agnomen of Bean or white.
-- Sir Walter Scott, Waverley

Successful Roman generals were frequently given an agnomen celebrating the source of their victories.
-- Waldo E. Sweet, Lectiones Primae



Origin:
Agnomen comes from the Latin tradition of adding a fourth nickname to someone's given name. Ag- is a variation of the prefix ad- meaning "to" or "near." Nomen means "name."

[ITS ME!]

hsien \ shyuhn \ , noun;
1.
One of a group of benevolent spirits promoting good in the world.

2.
In China, a county or district.



Quotes:
Taoists want to live forever, become Hsien .
-- Louis Rogers, Ladder to the Sky

The hsien was willing to depart, most willing if it could fulfill its mission and take her with it. By urging the spirit to depart as quickly as possible, Deng had inadvertently given it new strength.
-- Jane Lindskold, Five Odd Honors



Origin:
Hsien stems from the Chinese word xiān meaning "hermit, wizard." It came into English in the 1960s.

[ITS ME!]

obtuse

\ uhb-TOOS \ , adjective;
1.
Not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect.

2.
Not sharp, acute, or pointed; blunt in form.

3.
(Of a leaf, petal, etc.) rounded at the extremity.

4.
Indistinctly felt or perceived, as pain or sound.



Quotes:
"Excuse me?" Rose says, giving me the look I deserve, given the obtuse nature of my invitation.
-- David Sosnowski, Vamped

That was always your failing. Too obtuse. Never able quite to get to the point. Or to make people realise when you have got there.
-- Paul House, Dust Before the Wind

He tried to collect his newspaper from under her while asking, “Then why did you ask me that obtuse question?”
-- Shelly Hancock, Entertaining Jonathan



Origin:
Obtuse comes from the Latin word tundere which meant "to beat" and the prefix ob- meaning "against" because it referred to the process of beating metal until it was dull.

[ITS ME!]

germinal \ JUR-muh-nl \ , adjective;
1.
Being in the earliest stage of development.

2.
Of or pertaining to a germ or germs.

3.
Of the nature of a germ or germ cell.



Quotes:
The germinal idea can be anything that gets your creative juices flowing. It can be a place, a person, an odd event.
-- James N. Frey, The Key

But there are also young forces which are connected with the germinal qualities the Earth holds within the cosmos.
-- Rudolf Steiner, The Fifth Gospel



Origin:
Germinal is derived from the Latin word germen meaning "sprout, bud."

[ITS ME!]

fard \ fahrd \ , verb;

1.
To apply cosmetics.

noun: 1.
Facial cosmetics.



Quotes:
She's farded inch-thick with affectation. She's perfumed to suffocation with the musk of pretence. The colour on her cheek is part paint, part mock-modesty.
-- Mary Cowden Clarke, The Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines

Holding a candle dramatically high, wrapped in a very shabby old housegown, with some kind of fard on her cheeks and her grey hair screwed up in short plaits above her ears, she had a rather ridiculous air...
-- Phyllis Bentley, Love and Money



Origin:
Fard comes from the Old Low Franconian word farwiđon meaning "to dye or color." In the Old French it became farder meaning "to apply makeup."

[ITS ME!]

barnburner \ BAHRN-bur-ner \ , noun;
1.
Something that is highly exciting or impressive.

2.
Chiefly Pennsylvania. A wooden friction match.

3.
(Initial capital letter) A member of the progressive faction in the Democratic party in New York State 1845–52.



Quotes:
“So, ready for the elder's meeting tonight?” Olan said, pouring himself some coffee. “Should be a barnburner from what I hear.”
-- Jonathan Weyer, The Faithful

"A real barnburner — look, you got me sweating buckets." Jason's sitting on the curb with his teammates.
-- Craig Davidson, Rust and Bone



Origin:
Barnburner is an Americanism that was first observed in the 1830s. It referred to the practice of burning down a barn to get rid of rats.

[ITS ME!]

adenoidal \ ad-n-OID-l \ , adjective;

1.
Being characteristically pinched and nasal in tone quality.

2.
Of or pertaining to the adenoids; adenoid.

3.
Having the adenoids enlarged, especially to a degree that interferes with normal breathing.



Quotes:
"Quite the good, old-fashioned type of servant," as Miss Marple explained afterward, and with the proper, inaudible, respectful voice, so different from the loud but adenoidal accents of Gladys.
-- Agatha Christie, Three Blind Mice

Then just as suddenly the sensation was gone and I heard a shrill, adenoidal voice that swallowed most of its soft consonants…
-- Charles Johnson, Middle Passage



Origin:
Adenoidal only entered English in the 1910s, referring to the glands near the nasal passage.

[ITS ME!]

nosh \ nosh \ , verb;
1.
To snack or eat between meals.

2.
To snack on.

noun: 1.
A snack.



Quotes:
“Here are more munchies for you to nosh on. I know you're probably hungry.” Vincent added a platter of scrumptious fried calamari to the table.
-- Jessica Speart, Black Delta Night

"You got anything to nosh on?" "We're going to a good restaurant; leave your appetite alone."
-- William Goldman, Boys and Girls Together



Origin:
Nosh stems from the Yiddish word nashn from the German word meaning "to nibble." It entered English in the 1950s.

[ITS ME!]

littoral \ LIT-er-uhl \ , adjective;
1.
Pertaining to the shore of a lake, sea, or ocean.

2.
(On ocean shores) of or pertaining to the biogeographic region between the sublittoral zone and the high-water line and sometimes including the supralittoral zone above the high-water line.

3.
Of or pertaining to the region of freshwater lake beds from the sublittoral zone up to and including damp areas on shore.

noun: 1.
A littoral region.



Quotes:
The extensive artificialization of lake shorelines reduces the native littoral vegetation in quantity and quality.
-- Alex Córdoba-Aguilar, Dragonflies and Damselflies

There was an exuberant fierceness in the littoral here, a vital competition for existence.
-- John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath



Origin:
Littoral stems from the Latin word lītus which meant "shore." It was replaced by the Old English word shore but is still used by scientists.

[ITS ME!]

ensconce \ en-SKONS \ , verb;



1.To settle securely or snugly.



2.To cover or shelter; hide securely.





Quotes:Here, Ryan would ensconce himself in a hammock.
-- Zadie Smith, White Teeth

This did not trouble him, and he was quite content to ensconce himself in a cosy corner...
-- Georgette Heyer, Regency Buck

They ensconce themselves in their child, in adding and replacing furniture, in discussing insurance and finally buying some.
-- Norman Mailer, The Naked and the Dead



Origin:
Ensconce is related to the word for a type of fort that defended a bridge or pass. It came to mean "to settle securely" in the late 1500s.

[ITS ME!]

aphotic \ ey-FOH-tik \ , adjective;
1.
Lightless; dark.



Quotes:
I sat curled up on the sofa, trapped in the dream from which I had begun to awaken, but still lost in the reminiscence of our aphotic rendezvous.
-- Žakalin Nežić, Goodbye Serbia

The stars and moon outside the windows on the twenty- first floor of Fordum Towers shined in the distance, the sky otherwise ebony and aphotic.
-- Steven Gillis, Water Falls



Origin:
Coined in the early 1900s, aphotic comes from the Greek word photic meaning "light," as in the word photo , and the prefix a- meaning "not."

[ITS ME!]

ort \ awrt \ , noun;
1.
A scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.



Quotes:
She continued and enjoyed every tender morsel. There wasn't even an ort left on the plate.
-- Jack Collins, The Polyandrist Murders: Book 1 Of 2

They fed her on the orts and ends, a little better than the dog, and a little worse than the cat.
-- Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

“Charles's programs didn't turn up anything?” “Not an ort .” “ Wow. You think they might be dead?
-- Walter Mosley, All I Did Was Shoot My Man



Origin:
Ort is related to the Old English word eten meaning "to eat."

[tp2503]

A good word for Scrabble, lol.

[ITS ME!]

kowtow \ KOU-TOU \ , verb;
1.
To act in an obsequious manner; show servile deference.

2.
To touch the forehead to the ground while kneeling, as an act of worship, reverence, apology, etc., especially in former Chinese custom.

noun: 1.
The act of kowtowing.



Quotes:
Mei-hua was sitting nearby, and though she could not understand the English words she understood what was happening. She murmured that her daughter should kowtow.
-- Beverly Swerling, City of God

It's a new one for Morrison to meet a girl who doesn't kowtow. He's a very great personage in his line, and he can't help knowing it.
-- Dorothy Canfield, The Bent Twig



Origin:
Kowtow comes from the Chinese practice of touching the ground with your forehead to show respect, called k'o t'ou. It literally means "to knock the head."

[ITS ME!]

numen \ NOO-min \ , noun;
1.
Divine power, especially one who inhabits a particular object.



Quotes:
This “liquid” flowing up his arm and out of the other was numen , the divine substance, the sacred spirit that lives in a certain place in the body and sustains us all.
-- Jonathan Carroll, White Apples

He was now fairly confident that a shrine, unlike a temple, would contain no resident numen .
-- Dave Duncan, Present Tense (Round Two of the Great Game)



Origin:
Numen is derived from the Latin word nūmen meaning "a nod, command, or divine will or power."

[ITS ME!]

fulcrum \ FOOL-kruhm \ , noun;

1.
The support, or point of rest, on which a lever turns.

2.
Any prop or support.

3.
Zoology. Any of various structures in an animal serving as a hinge or support.

verb: 1.
To fit with a fulcrum; put a fulcrum on.



Quotes:
An equal partnership is like a see-saw that sits on a fulcrum. There is a balance of power when one partner gives in and then the other does likewise.
-- Shirley Gunstream Poland, Hearing the Silent Cries

A storm of plans, each one trying to make me into a fulcrum.
-- Steven Erikson, Memories of Ice



Origin:
Fulcrum originally referred to a bed post from the Latin word fulcire meaning "to prop up."