Word of the Day Thread

[ITS ME!]

copse \ kops \ , noun;

1.

A thicket of small trees or bushes; a small wood.



Quotes: The sun was setting behind a thick forest, and in the glow of sunset the birch trees, dotted about in the aspen copse , stood out clearly with their hanging twigs, and their buds swollen almost to bursting.
-- Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

Despite the December afternoon sunlight, the interior of the copse looked dark and impenetrable. The fact that none of the trees were covered in snow appeared to him to be improbable but welcome.
-- John Berger, Once in Europa



Origin:
Copse is derived from the Old French word copeiz meaning “a cut-over forest” which originates in the Latin word colpaticum meaning “having been cut.”

[ITS ME!]

bough \ bou \ , noun;
1.
A branch of a tree, especially one of the larger or main branches.



Quotes: In the background, behind the pool and beneath the dramatic sidereal display, there is a little tree with a bird perched in its uppermost bough , exactly as there is on the Star card.
-- Tom Robbins, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

He ran up the creeper as easily as though it had been a ladder, walked upright along the broad bough , and brought the pigeon to the ground. He put it limp and warm in Elizabeth's hand.
-- George Orwell, The Orwell Reader: Fiction, Essays, and Reportage



Origin:
Bough can be traced back to the Sanskrit word bāhu , meaning “shoulder.”

[ITS ME!]

adytum \ ad-i-tuhm \ , noun;
1.
A sacred place that the public is forbidden to enter; an inner shrine.

2.
The most sacred or reserved part of any place of worship.



Quotes: The girls stood in old-fashioned awe of the presence of betrothed lovers, and the schoolroom, by tacit consent, was treated as an adytum into which no third person would venture to penetrate.
-- Bertha Thomas, “Cressida,” London Society , Vol. 33, March 1878

And they, Père Silas and Modeste Maria Beck (that these two wrought in concert I could not doubt) opened up the adytum of his heart...
-- Charlotte Brontë, Villette



Origin:
Adytum is from the Greek roots a- meaning “not” and -dyton meaning “to enter.”

[ITS ME!]

Ã* la mode \ ah luh MOHD \ , adjective;
1.

In or according to the fashion.

2.
Cookery . A.(Of pie or other dessert) Served with a portion of ice cream, often as a topping: apple pie Ã* la mode. B.(Of beef) Larded and braised or stewed with vegetables, herbs, etc., and served with a rich brown gravy.



Quotes: I do not yet know what is the fashion in England, but naturally if you assure me it is not Ã* la mode , I won't have a lover. Can I have a house in town?
-- Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

However that may be, Wilhelm was undeniably Ã* la mode ; the greatest ladies in England would beseech and entreat of him to write but one line in their albums...
-- Hamilton Murray, Falkenburg: A Tale of the Rhine



Origin:
À la mode literally means “of the fashion” in French. (The sense of a scoop of ice cream on top of pie arose in 1903 in America.)

[ITS ME!]

felonious \ fuh-LOH-nee-uhs \ , adjective;
1.
Wicked; base; villainous.

2.
Law. Pertaining to, of the nature of, or involving a felony: as in, felonious homicide; felonious intent.



Quotes: Now, there was much in your manuscript and the accompanying material which was evidence of indiscreet, and possibly criminal, and in some cases undeniably felonious behavior.
-- Richard S. Prather, The Cheim Manuscript

Felonious malfeasance. Jimmy, you never talked like that when you were a cop. The term is—crooked scams.
-- Jeff Sherratt, Six to Five Against



Origin:
Felonious dates back to the the 1500s. The word felon is from the Old French meaning “villan” and the suffix -ous which applies a quality to a general sense, as in nervous or glorious.

[ITS ME!]

cortege \ kawr-TEZH \ , noun;
1.
A procession, especially a ceremonial one.

2.
A line or train of attendants; retinue.



Quotes: From her parlor window, Susan Kidwell saw the white cortege glide past, and watched until it had rounded the corner and the unpaved street's easily airborne dust had landed again.
-- Truman Capote, In Cold Blood

As the cortege neared the downtown section more cars joined it. The hearse was followed by six Packard touring cars with tops back, driven by liveried chauffeurs and filled with flowers.
-- William Faulkner, Sanctuary



Origin:
Cortege is related to the Old French word curt meaning “an enclosed yard.” By the 1600s, it referred to “a train of attendants.”

[ITS ME!]

cleave \ kleev \ , verb;
1.
To adhere closely; stick; cling.

2.
To remain faithful.

3.
To split or divide by or as if by a cutting blow, especially along a natural line of division, as the grain of wood.

4.
To make by or as if by cutting.

5.
To penetrate or pass through (air, water, etc.).

6.
To cut off; sever.

7.
To part or split, especially along a natural line of division.

8.
To penetrate or advance by or as if by cutting.



Quotes: It bothers him as much as it bothers you, but he is a man of faith and the Bible says that a man should leave his mother and father and cleave unto his wife.
-- H.O. Fischer, For This Land

I will confide in thee. But if you betray my confidence, a father's curse shall cleave to you.
-- Sir Walter Scott, Peveril of the Peak



Origin:
Cleave is actually related to two separate but similar Old English words. Cleofan meant “to split,” while clifian meant “to adhere.” Today the same word carries both meanings.

[tp2503]

I like when women show a little cleave, lol.

[Hippy]

I like when women show a little cleave, lol.

who don't :)

[ITS ME!]

veriest \ VER-ee-ist \ , adjective;
1.
Utmost; most complete.

2.
Superlative of very.



Quotes: Abagail had held her tongue when Molly said that—Molly and Jim and the others were young and didn't understand anything but the veriest good and the veriest bad.
-- Stephen King, The Stand

Though in the course of his continual voyagings Ahab must often before have noticed a similar sight, yet, to any monomaniac man, the veriest trifles capriciously carry meanings.
-- Herman Melville, Moby-Dick: Or the Whale



Origin:
Veriest is obviously related to the word very , which derives from the Old French word verai meaning “true, real or genuine.” The suffix -est makes a word a superlative, like fastest.

[ITS ME!]

abrade \ uh-BREYD \ , verb;
1.
To scrape off.

2.
To wear off or down by scraping or rubbing.



Quotes: The cuff digs into Landsman's wrist, sharp enough to abrade the flesh.
-- Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policemen's Union

He was shorter than Lloyd but heavier in the chest, a wiry-limbed man with bristling dark hair and a quick harsh laugh and a way of crinkling his face so you knew he would say something to abrade your skin like sandpaper.
-- Joyce Carol Oates, High Lonesome



Origin:
Related to abrasion , abrade is from the Latin roots ab meaning “away from” and rādere meaning “to scrape.”

[ITS ME!]

procellous \ proh-SEL-uhs \ , adjective;
1.
Stormy, as the sea.



Quotes: Amongst other effects he had a surpassing notion for the storm. Kean has seen a mechanical exhibition in Spring Gardens (the remains of Loutherburg's “Eidophusicon”) in which very striking procellous effects has been produced, and which he fancied very available to his purpose.
-- George Raymond, Memoirs of Robert William Elliston: Comedian

The plan traced on our chart will lead us through oceans procellous and perilous straits, amid regions where the atmosphere is cheerless and the sun's rays are pale, and the spring blossoms no sooner unfold their petals than they droop and languish.
-- C.C.C.P. Silva, M.D., The Western Medical Reporter, Vol. 10



Origin:
Procellous is derived from the Latin word procella meaning “storm” and the suffix -ous which implies a general sense, like in the word operose .

[ITS ME!]

gangrel \ GANG-gruhl \ , noun;
1.
A lanky, loose-jointed person.

2.
A wandering beggar; vagabond; vagrant.



Quotes: Patrick had a likeness to his father, but was still just a gangrel of a boy with long arms and a slouching posture.
-- David Farland, Worlds of the Golden Queen

I longed to tell you so when you threw me over at the meeting for that pretentious pedant, that long-backed Leslie, whom I remember as a gangrel gawky with his sleeves half-way up his arms.
-- Elizabeth Lynn Linton, The Rebel of the Family



Origin:
Gangrel dates back to Middle English and is related to the word gangling . The suffix -rel has a very precise use: to denote nouns that are seen as trivial or worthless, as in mongrel or wastrel.

[ITS ME!]

ectype \ EK-tahyp \ , noun;
1.
A reproduction; copy.



Quotes: Were it not for the existence of the prototype, the ectype would not exist. And the characters of the ectype are determined entirely by those of the prototype, being again simply their reflections.
-- Robert W. Jenson, The Knowledge of Things Hoped For

The development of ectype from prototype occurs as a concatenation, so that each dimension arises out of the previous one without wholly seperating itself.
-- Martin Wallen, City of Health, Fields of Disease



Origin:
As opposed to prototype, ectype originally meant “wrought in relief” in Greek. Its roots are ec , a variant of “ex,” and týpos , a “figure on a wall.”

[ITS ME!]

lucent \ LOO-suhnt \ , adjective;
1.
Shining.

2.
Translucent; clear.




Quotes: The film of evening light made the red earth lucent , so that its dimensions were deepened, so that a stone, a post, a building had greater depth and more solidity than in the daytime light...
-- John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

His lucent top-hat, his dark frock-coat, indeed, every detail, from the pearl pin in the black satin cravat to the lavender spats over the varnished shoes, spoke of the meticulous care in dress for which he was famous.
-- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 1



Origin:
Lucent comes from the Latin word lucentum meaning “to shine.”

[ITS ME!]

brogue \ brohg \ , noun;
1.
Any strong regional accent.

2.
An Irish accent in the pronunciation of English.

3.
A durable, comfortable, low-heeled shoe, often having decorative perforations and a wing tip.

4.
A coarse, usually untanned leather shoe once worn in Ireland and Scotland.

5.
Brogan.

6.
A fraud; trick; prank.



Quotes: “Nothing like hair of the dog that bit ya, as long as it's green hair,” he said in that brogue that was getting old.
-- Michael Connelly, The Lincoln Lawyer

His brogue grew less heavy, his speech more formal, tailoring it to his audience.
-- James Rollins, The Doomsday Key



Origin:
Brogue originally referred to a type of shoe worn by rural Irish and Scottish highlanders. The word came to be associated with the accent of these people by the early 1700s.

[ITS ME!]

calvous \ KAL-vuhs \ , adjective;

1.
Lacking all or most of the hair on the head; bald.



Quotes: The wit's voluminous neckerchief unraveled and slipped to the mold, and the spangled silver wig fell from the telltale calvous head.
-- D. M. Cornish, Lamplighter

Admittedly most old, bloated, calvous Germans could double for me, and even if he hadn't been doppelganger material, with the beard I had started growing and the two black eyes, you'd need x-rays to spot the difference.
-- Tibor Fischer, The Thought Gang



Origin:
Calvous is derived from the Latin word calvus which meant simply “bald.”

[ITS ME!]

swaddle \ SWOD-l \ , verb;

1.
To bind an infant with long, narrow strips of cloth to prevent free movement.

2.
To wrap (anything) round with bandages.

noun: 1.
A long, narrow strip of cloth used for swaddling or bandaging.



Quotes: A child is our natural company; it is a delight to us to make a fright of it, to fondle it, to swaddle it, to dress and undress it, to cuddle it, to sing it lullabies, to cradle it, to get it up, to put it to bed, and to nourish it...
-- Honoré de Balzac, Droll Stories

But that was a little later—just now Narlikar and Bose were tending to Ahmed Sinai's toe; midwives had been instructed to wash and swaddle the newborn pair; and now Miss Mary Pereira made her contribution.
-- Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children



Origin:
Swaddle is related to the Old English word swath meaning “a bandage or wrap.”

[ITS ME!]

canticle \ KAN-ti-kuhl \ , noun;
1.
A song, poem, or hymn especially of praise.

2.
One of the nonmetrical hymns or chants, chiefly from the Bible, used in church services.



Quotes: And, yes, finally, I understood the love in this canticle not just as love between man and woman as they unite, but between the Creator and His people, our Israel.
-- Donna Jo Napoli, Song of the Magdalene

Of course, anyone who writes canticles must know the life of the saint to perfection, to the least trivial detail.
-- Anton Chekhov, The Bishop and Other Stories



Origin:
Canticle comes from the Latin word canticum meaning “song.” (That is also the root of “canto.”) The suffix -ule implies a diminutive version, like the word capsule.

[ITS ME!]

hiemal \ HAHY-uh-muhl \ , adjective;

1.
Of or pertaining to winter; wintry.



Quotes: Since snow and frost lasted from October well into April, no wonder the mean of my school memories is definitely hiemal.
-- Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory

We took hours to make camp and hours to break camp, and in between tottered like children across the immensity of that bleak and hiemal playground.
-- Beryl Bainbridge, The Birthday Boys



Origin:
Hiemal is derived from the Sanskrit word hima meaning “cold, frost, snow.”