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Re: Word of the Day Thread
Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 6:32 am
by hotheat
Oblation
Pronunciation: /əʊˈbleɪʃən/, /ɒˈbleɪʃən/ , /oʊˈbleɪʃən/, /ɑːˈbleɪʃən/
Function: Noun
1. The offering of worship, thanks etc. to a deity.
2. A deed or gift offered charitably.
Etymology: From Old French oblacion < Latin oblātiō (“offering”), from offerō (“I offer, present”).
Re: Word of the Day Thread
Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 5:26 am
by hotheat
Susurrus
Pronunciation: /ˈsuː.sə.ɹəs/ , /ˈsu.sə.ɹəs/, /səˈsəɹ.əs/
Function: Noun
1. (literary) A whispering or rustling sound; a murmur
Etymology: Onomatopoeic; from Latin susurrus (“a humming, whispering”); likely from an older echoic word.
Re: Word of the Day Thread
Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 8:46 am
by hotheat
Flaneur
Function: Noun
1. One who wanders aimlessly, who roams, who travels at a lounging pace.
Etymology: From French flâneur.
Re: Word of the Day Thread
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2010 1:46 pm
by hotheat
Cacuminous
Pronunciation: kəkyo͞oʹmĭnəs, /kəˈkjuːmɪnəs/, /k@"kju:mIn@s/
Function: Adjective
1. (rare) Having a pyramidal top.
Etymology: cacūmin- (the stem of the Latin cacūmen: “tree-top”) + -ous
Re: Word of the Day Thread
Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 11:21 pm
by hotheat
Annosity
Pronunciation: ənōʹsĭtĭ, /əˈnəʊsɪtɪ/,/@"n@UsItI/
Function: Noun
1. (rare) Fullness of years; great length of life; agedness; lengthiness of life span.
Etymology: From the Latin annōsitās (“fullness of years”).
7 July 2011
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 3:09 pm
by AYHJA
Futilitarian
Pronunciation: \fyoo-til-i-TAIR-ee-uhn\
Function: Adjective
1. Believing that human hopes are vain and unjustified.
Etymology: Futilitarian is a satirical coinage from the 1820s combining "futility" and "utilitarian."
Re: Vertical Vocabulary Thread
Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 5:08 pm
by AYHJA
Chrestomathy
Pronunciation: /kres-tom-uh-thee/
Function: noun, plural chres·tom·a·thies.
1. A collection of selected literary passages, often by one author and especially from a foreign language.
2. A selection of passages used to help learn a language
3. A volume of selected passages or stories of an author
Etymology: New Latin chrestomathia, from Greek chrēstomatheia, from chrēstos useful + manthanein to learn
13 July 2012
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 9:31 pm
by AYHJA
Tawpie
Pronunciation: \TAW-pee\
Function: noun
1. A foolish or thoughtless young person.
Etymology: Tawpie comes from the Swedish word tåbe meaning "a simpleton."
22 October 2012
Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 1:41 pm
by AYHJA
Acephalous
Pronunciation: \ey-SEF-uh-luhs\
Function: Adjective
1. Without a leader or ruler.
2. Also, acephalic Zoology. headless; lacking a distinct head.
Etymology: Acephalous stems from the Greek combining form -cephalous meaning "having a head or heads" and the prefix a- meaning "not, without."
Re: Vertical Vocabulary Thread
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 8:25 am
by hotheat
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
Pronunciation: /ˌhɪ.pə.pɒ.təˈmɒn.strəˌsɛ.skwɪ.pɪˈdeɪ.lɪəˌfoʊ.bɪə/
Function: Noun
1. The fear of long words
Etymology: From hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian, an extension of sesquipedalian with monstrum (“monster”) and a truncated, misspelled form of hippopotamus, intended to exaggerate the length of the word itself and the idea of the size of the words being feared; combined with phobia.