Word of the Day

[D. Allan]

This word goes along with yesterday's.

im·bibe verb, -bibed, -bib·ing.

–verb (used with object)

1. to consume (liquids) by drinking; drink: He imbibed great quantities of iced tea.

2. to absorb or soak up, as water, light, or heat: Plants imbibe moisture from the soil.

3. to take or receive into the mind, as knowledge, ideas, or the like: to imbibe a sermon; to imbibe beautiful scenery.

–verb (used without object)

4. to drink, esp. alcoholic beverages: Just a soft drink for me—I don't imbibe.

5. to absorb liquid or moisture.

6. Archaic. to soak or saturate; imbue.

[Origin: 1350–1400; < L imbibere to drink in, equiv. to im- im-1 + bibere to drink; r. ME enbiben < MF embiber < L, as above]

—Related forms

im·bib·er, noun

—Synonyms 1. swallow. See drink.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary

imbibe

c.1386, from O.Fr. embiber "to soak into," from L. imbibere "absorb, drink in, inhale," from in- "in" + bibere "to drink," related to potare "to drink," from PIE *pi-/*po(i)- "to drink (cf. Skt. pati "drinks," panam "beverage;" Gk. pinein "to drink," potos "a drinking;" O.C.S. piti "to drink"). Figurative sense of "mentally drink in" (knowledge, ideas, etc.) was the main one in classical L., first attested in Eng. 1555.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

[D. Allan]

bib·ber [bIB-er] –noun

a steady drinker; tippler (usually used in combination): winebibber.

[Origin: 1530–40; bib + -er1]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary

[D. Allan]

Bibacious \Bi*ba"cious\, adjective

Addicted to drinking.

[L. bibax, bibacis, fr. bibere. See Bib.]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

[D. Allan]

bib

1580, from v. bibben "to drink" (c.1380), from L. bibere (see imbibe), but impossible to say whether this is because it was worn while drinking or because it "soaked up" spills.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

[D. Allan]

Bibacity \Bi*bac"i*ty\, n.

The practice or habit of drinking too much; tippling. --Blount.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc

[D. Allan]

Zeitgeist \TSYT-guyst; ZYT-guyst\, noun: [Often capitalized]

The spirit of the time; the general intellectual and moral state or temper characteristic of any period of time.

The best writers of that predawn era were originals who had the zeitgeist by the tail.

-- Gary Giddins, Visions of Jazz: The First Century

As most critics and all professors of cultural theory note, Madonna is nothing if not a skilled reader of the zeitgeist.

-- "Techno 'rave' just the same old Madonna", Chicago Sun-Times, March 3, 1998

Besides, the zeitgeist seems to be working against any hope of Hormel officials to limit...the usage of [the word] 'spam' on the Web.

-- Gracious Concession on Internet 'Spam', New York Times, August 17, 1998

Like other figures who seem, in retrospect, to have been precociously representative of their times, Kerouac was not simply responding to the Zeitgeist, but to the peculiarly twisted facts of his own upbringing.

-- Jack Kerouac: The Beat Goes On, New York Times, December 30, 1979

Zeitgeist is from the German: Zeit, "time" + Geist, "spirit."

Dictionary.com Entry

[D. Allan]

faineant \fay-nay-AWN\,

adjective:

1. Doing nothing or given to doing nothing; idle; lazy.

noun:

1. A do-nothing; an idle fellow; a sluggard.

Yet if nonhunters ever knew how many properly dressed, entirely palatable big-game carcasses wind up in dumpsters because someone was simply too faineant to butcher and cook and eat an animal he could find the time and energy to shoot and kill, hunting would be in even greater jeopardy than it is today.

-- Thomas McIntyre, "The meaning of meat", Sports Afield, August 1, 1997

According to Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Charles II was no faineant half-wit but a conscientious and reflective king.

-- David Gilmour, "The falsity of 'true Spain'", The Spectator, July 22, 2000

A faineant government is not the worst government that England can have. It has been the great fault of our politicians that they have all wanted to do something.

-- Anthony Trollope, Phineas Finn

Faineant is from French, from Middle French fait, "does" + néant, "nothing."

Dictionary.com

[D. Allan]

arcanum \ar-KAY-nuhm\, noun;

plural arcana \-nuh\:

1. A secret; a mystery.

2. Specialized or mysterious knowledge, language, or information that is not accessible to the average person (generally used in the plural).

Through the years, Usenet evolved into an international forum on thousands of topics, called Usenet news groups, from the arcana of programming languages to European travel tips.

-- Katie Hafner, "James T. Ellis, 45, a Developer of Internet Discussion Network, Is Dead", New York Times, July 1, 2001

Here we must enter briefly into the technical arcana of employment law.

-- Paul F. Campos, JurismaniaThe Madness of American Law

Arcanum is from the Latin, from arcanus "closed, secret," from arca, "chest, box," from arcere, "to shut in."

Dictionary.com

[D. Allan]

chav (chav) noun

A youth whose behavior is marked by ignorance, aggression, and a fondness for jewelry and clothing.

[Of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Romany chav (child) or from shortening of Chatham, the name of a town in Kent, UK. The first print citation of the term in the OED is from a 2002 article in The Observer (London).]

"Colleagues who have nothing to do with their lives and visited Paceville this week could not notice any marked demographic drop in the number of yobs and chavs that visit Paceville." Saviour Balzan; Katyusha Politics and the Great Stampede; Malta Today; Dec 9, 2007.

X-Bonus

I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. -Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate (1879-1955)

-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)

[D. Allan]

yob (yŏ n. Chiefly British Slang

A rowdy, aggressive, or violent young man.

[Alteration of boy (spelled backward).]

- The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

[D. Allan]

Have you seen any examples of this type of English lately?

Doublespeak

- from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

Doublespeak is language deliberately constructed to disguise or distort its actual meaning, often resulting in a communication bypass. Such language is often associated with governmental, military, religious, and corporate institutions and its deliberate use by these is what distinguishes it from other euphemisms. Doublespeak may be in the form of bald euphemisms ("downsizing" for "firing of many employees", "enhanced interrogation techniques" for torture) or deliberately ambiguous phrases ("wet work" for "assassination", "take out" for "destroy").

History

The word doublespeak was coined in the early 1950s. It is often incorrectly attributed to George Orwell and his 1948 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The word actually never appears in that novel; Orwell did, however, coin newspeak, oldspeak, and doublethink, and his novel made fashionable composite nouns with speak as the second element, which were previously unknown in English. Doublespeak may be considered, in Orwell's lexicography, as the B vocabulary of Newspeak, words "deliberately constructed for political purposes: words, that is to say, which not only had in every case a political implication, but were intended to impose a desirable mental attitude upon the person using them." (See Sapir–Whorf hypothesis.)

Examples of doublespeak in current usage

Doublespeak is most reminiscent of Orwell's "newspeak" when it is used by a government agency to cover up something unpleasant. The government may find the need to talk about something that has negative connotations to large portions of the public, and avoids backlash by replacing the term with a new one that most people will not recognize as the same thing. Thus "area denial munitions" means "landmines", "physical persuasion" and "tough questioning" mean "torture", and "operational exhaustion" means "shell shock". Others include the changing of the UK War Office to the Ministry of Defence and of the United States Department of War to the Department of Defense.

Doublespeak was very common in the Third Reich. Goebbels' Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda (Ministry of the Reich for Public Education and Propaganda) coined thousands of new German words. Other examples include "concentration camp" (labor/death camp, or "joycamp" in Newspeak), "protective custody" (imprisonment without due process of law), "Heim ins Reich" (occupation of Austria), particular new meanings for "Volk" (people) and "Rasse" (race), and verschärfte vernehmung which referred to interrogation techniques others described as torture.

A prominent example of doublespeak in the corporate world is the number of different phrases that all describe massive employment termination such as "right-sizing." Corporate doublespeak can also involve downplaying problems, such as calling a fix for a software bug a "reliability enhancement."

Police and court officers use jargon and terms of art that can be seen as doublespeak when they are used to cover up brutality or corruption. "Fines on the spot," for example, are bribes taken during traffic stops (though the Blair administration of the British government used the same term genuinely to describe fines for anti-social behaviour). What police call "aggressive enforcement" may be called "racial profiling" by others. To "pacify" someone, euphemistically, is to subdue him by force.

When illegal activity is routine, it often acquires its own specific jargon. For example, the term "black-bag operations" was used by the FBI to describe illegal break-ins in the 1970s. Mostly, such terms are an informal code, similar to thieves' cant, intended to be used and understood only by fellow-conspirators.

Recently Rutgers University English professor William Lutz has written extensively on the subject. There is also a short (approx 26 min.) video from FFH (Films for the Humanities and Sciences, INC) which features professor Lutz and extensively details some examples of doublespeak.

The National Council of Teachers of English bestows an annual "award" for outstanding instances of doublespeak. According to their website, the "NCTE Doublespeak Award, established in 1974 and given by the NCTE Committee on Public Doublespeak, is an ironic tribute to public speakers who have perpetuated language that is grossly deceptive, evasive, euphemistic, confusing, or self-centered."

See also

code word (figure of speech)

euphemism

euphemism treadmill

forked tongue

Janus head

neologism

Newspeak

obfuscation

political correctness

propaganda

Straight and Crooked Thinking (book)

References

Lutz, William. (1987). Doublespeak: From "Revenue Enhancement" to "Terminal Living": How Government, Business, Advertisers, and Others Use Language to Deceive You. New York: Harper & Row.

[D. Allan]

For compelling testimony such as this, the Public Language Award Committee is honored to present the 2007 Doublespeak Award to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

"In response to questioning by Senator Edward Kennedy, Mr. Gonzales said, “Senator, I have in my mind a recollection as to knowing as to some of these United States attorneys. There are two that I do not recall knowing in my mind what I understood to be the reasons for the removal.”

[D. Allan]

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source -

whine

O.E. hwinan "to whiz or whistle through the air" (only of arrows[!!!]), also hwinsian "to whine" (of dogs), ultimately of imitative origin (cf. O.N. hvina "to whiz," Ger. wiehern "to neigh"). Meaning "to complain in a feeble way" is first recorded 1530. The noun is from 1633. The northern form of O.E. hwinsian survives in dial. whinge "to complain peevishly."

whine [hwahyn, wahyn] verb, whined, whin·ing, noun

–verb (used without object)

1. to utter a low, usually nasal, complaining cry or sound, as from uneasiness, discontent, peevishness, etc.: The puppies were whining from hunger.

2. to snivel or complain in a peevish, self-pitying way: He is always whining about his problems.

–verb (used with object)

3. to utter with or as if with a whine: I whined my litany of complaints.

–noun

4. a whining utterance, sound, or tone.

5. a feeble, peevish complaint.

[Origin: bef. 1150; ME whinen (v.), OE hwīnan to whiz; c. ON hvīna]

—Related forms

whiner, noun

whin·ing·ly, adverb

—Synonyms 1. moan, whimper. 2. See complain.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

[D. Allan]

Now, a word especially for our Clio:

cliometrics • \klye-uh-MET-riks\ • noun plural but singular in construction

: the application of methods developed in other fields (as economics, statistics, and data processing) to the study of history

Example Sentence:

For his doctoral thesis, Quentin used cliometrics to examine the impact of universal suffrage on economic development.

Did you know?

"Cliometrics" comes from a combination of "Clio," the name of the Greek Muse of history, and "-metrics," as in "econometrics" ("the application of statistical methods to the study of economic data and problems") or "biometrics" ("the statistical analysis of biological observations and phenomena"). American economists Douglass North and Robert Fogel developed cliometrics, a highly quantitative means for studying the past. In 1993, North and Fogel won the Nobel Prize in Economics for their pioneering work.

- Merriam-Webster.com

[D. Allan]

psycopathy (psi-KOP-athy) noun

First described systematically by Medical College of Georgia psychiatrist Hervey M. Cleckley in 1941, psychopathy consists of a specific set of personality traits and behaviors. Superficially charming, psychopaths tend to make a good first impression on others and often strike observers as remarkably normal. Yet they are self-centered, dishonest and undependable, and at times they engage in irresponsible behavior for no apparent reason other than the sheer fun of it. Largely devoid of guilt, empathy and love, they have casual and callous interpersonal and romantic relationships. Psychopaths routinely offer excuses for their reckless and often outrageous actions, placing blame on others instead. They rarely learn from their mistakes or benefit from negative feedback, and they have difficulty inhibiting their impulses.

- http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=what-psychopath-means

I may have run into a few of these types here on the forum!!

psy·chop·a·thy –noun, plural &#8209;thies. Psychiatry.

1. a mental disorder in which an individual manifests amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, failure to learn from experience, etc.

2. any mental disease.

[Origin: 1840–50; psycho- + -pathy]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

[D. Allan]

al·ka·hest (AL'kə-hěst) n.

The hypothetical universal solvent once sought by alchemists.

al'ka·hes'tic, al'ka·hes'ti·cal adj.

[Medieval Latin alchahest, first used by Paracelsus (1493-1541), and said to have been coined by him in imitation of Arabic words.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

Alkahest

Alkahest (or alcahest) is a hypothetical universal solvent, having the power to dissolve every other substance, including gold. It was much sought after by alchemists for what they thought would be its invaluable medicinal qualities. The name is believed to have been invented by Paracelsus (1493–1541) from Switzerland, who modelled it on similar words taken from Arabic, such as ‘alkali’. Paracelsus' own recipe was based on caustic lime, alcohol, and carbonate of potash. He believed that this element alkahest was, in fact, the philosopher's stone. A paradox involving alkahest is that, if it dissolves everything, then it cannot be placed into a container, because it would dissolve the container. However, philosopher Philalethe specifies that Alkahest (that he also calls "double mercury" sometime) dissolves only composed material.

In modern times, water is sometimes called the universal solvent as well, because it can dissolve more substances than any other known solvent, due to its chemical polarity.

- from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[D. Allan]

raillery \RAY-luh-ree\, noun:

1. Good-humored banter or teasing.

2. An instance of good-humored teasing; a jest.

I moved from one knot of people to another, surrounded by a kind of envious respect because of Sophie's interest in me, although subjected to a certain mordant raillery from some of this witty company.

-- Peter Brooks, World Elsewhere

Her raillery and mockery are fun -- but ultimately rather tiring, and tiresome.

-- Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, "Eastward Ho!" review of Shards of Memory, by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, New York Times, September 17, 1995

Raillery is from French raillerie, from Old French railler, "to tease, to mock."

Dictionary.com

[D. Allan]

nap·py1 [nap-ee] –noun Chiefly Scot.

liquor, esp. ale.

[Origin: 1425–75; late ME noppi. See nap2, -y1]

nap·py2 [nap-ee] –noun, plural -pies.

a small shallow dish, usually round and often of glass, with a flat bottom and sloping sides, for serving food.

Also, nappie.

[Origin: 1870–75, Americanism; nap (ME; OE hnæp bowl) + -y2]

nap·py3 [nap-ee] –adjective, -pi·er, -pi·est.

1. covered with nap; downy.

2. (of hair) kinky.

[Origin: 1490–1500; nap2 + -y1]

—Related forms

nap·pi·ness, noun

nap·py4 [nap-ee] –noun, plural -pies.

Chiefly British. a diaper.

[Origin: 1925–30; nap(kin) + -y2]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

[D. Allan]

push present n.

An expensive gift given to a woman by her husband in appreciation for having recently given birth.

Example Citations:

At a recent moms' group brunch, the baby talk took a conspiratorial turn. The topic: Who was expecting a "push present?" ...

Always a piece of serious jewellery, frequently diamonds — stud earrings, a jewel-encircled tennis bracelet or a solitaire pendant — push presents have become the posh way for new dads to compensate their partners for the agonies of childbirth.

—Andrea Zoe Aster, "Push, push (and I'll buy you a pendant)," The Globe and Mail, December 11, 2007

In a more innocent age, new mothers generally considered their babies to be the greatest gift imaginable. Today, they are likely to want some sort of tangible bonus as well.

This bonus goes by various names. Some call it the 'baby mama gift.' Others refer to it as the 'baby bauble.' But it's most popularly known as the 'push present.'

That's 'push' as in, 'I the mother, having been through the wringer and pushed out this blessed event, hereby claim my reward.' Or 'push' as in, 'I've delivered something special and now I'm pushing you, my husband/boyfriend, to follow suit.'

—Thomas Vinciguerra, "A Bundle of Joy Isn't Enough?," The New York Times, December 6, 2007

Earliest Citation:

Let us say that Annette Bening has lost all that baby weight — Warren must have given her a ThighMaster as a push present — and looked ravishing in a stream-lined Calvin Klein.

—Karen Heller, "Tacky fun is what Oscar fashion is all about ," Austin American-Statesman, March 31, 1992

- from WordSpy.com

[D. Allan]

supererogatory (soo-puhr-uh-ROG-uh-tor-ee) adjective

1. Going beyond the call of duty.

2. Superfluous.

[From Latin supererogare (to pay over and above), from super- (above) + erogare (to spend), from rogare (to ask). Ultimately from the Indo-European reg- (to move in a straight line, to lead or rule) that is also the source of regime, direct, rectangle, erect, rectum, alert, source, and surge.]

-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)

"Houses signal they are participating with a jack-o-lantern on the porch or in the window, rendering police signs supererogatory." Sarah Churchwell; It's a Treat, Not a Trick; The Guardian (London, UK); Oct 29, 2007.

[D. Allan]

eu·phu·ism [YOO-fyoo-iz-uhm] -noun

1. an affected style in imitation of that of Lyly, fashionable in England about the end of the 16th century, characterized chiefly by long series of antitheses and frequent similes relating to mythological natural history, and alliteration. Compare Euphues.

2. any similar ornate style of writing or speaking; high-flown, periphrastic language.

[Origin: 1590–1600; Euphu(es) + -ism]

—Related forms

eu·phu·ist, noun

eu·phu·is·tic, eu·phu·is·ti·cal, adjective

eu·phu·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary

eu·phu·ism (yōō'fyōō-ĭz'əm) n.

An affectedly elegant literary style of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, characterized by elaborate alliteration, antitheses, and similes.

Affected elegance of language.

[After Euphues, a character in Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and his England by John Lyly, from Greek euphuēs, shapely : eu-, eu- + phuein, to grow, bring forth; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots.]

eu'phu·ist n.

eu'phu·is'tic, eu'phu·is'ti·cal adj.

eu'phu·is'ti·cal·ly adv.

(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

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

Eu·phu·es [YOO-fyoo-eez] –noun

the main character in John Lyly's works Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit (1579), and Euphues and His England (1580).

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006

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Euphuism[

-From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Euphuism is a mannered style of English prose, taking its name from works by John Lyly. It was a preciously ornate and sophisticated prose style that was fashionable in the 1580s, but never subsequently. The term was not invented by Lyly. Euphuism is a style that focuses on a wide range of literary devices such as antitheses, alliterations, repetitions, rhetorical questions and others. Classical learning and remote knowledge of all kinds is displayed.

Euphues

(1580)

"Euphues" is Greek and means "graceful, witty". John Lyly published the works Euphues: The Anatomy of Wyt (1578) and Euphues and his England (1580). Both works illustrated the intellectual fashions and favourite themes of Renaissance society — in a highly artificial and mannered style. Its essential features had already appeared in such works as George Pettie's "A Petite Pallace of Pettie his pleasure" (1576), in sermon literature, and Latin tracts. It was Lyly who perfected the distinctive rhetorical devices on which the style was based.

The euphuistic sentence followed principles of balance and antithesis. John Lyly set up three basic structural principles:

phrases of equal length that appear in succession;

the balance of key verbal elements in successive sentences;

the correspondence of sounds and syllables, especially between words that are already balanced against each other.

Lyly's style influenced Shakespeare (Polonius in Hamlet; Moth in Love's Labour's Lost; Beatrice and Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing). Many critics thought that Lyly overused comparisons as well as alliterations; Philip Sidney and Gabriel Harvey castigated his style. Euphuism was, however, taken up by the Elizabethan writers Robert Greene, Thomas Lodge and Barnabe Rich.

Contemporary equivalents in other languages

Euphuism was not particular to Britain, a manifestation of some social structure and artistic opportunity unique to that country. There were equivalents in other major European languages, each of which was called by a different name: Culteranismo in Spain, Marinismo in Italy, and Préciosité in France, for example.

Quotation

"It is virtue, yea virtue, gentlemen, that maketh gentlemen; that maketh the poor rich, the base-born noble, the subject a sovereign, the deformed beautiful, the sick whole, the weak strong, the most miserable most happy. There are two principal and peculiar gifts in the nature of man, knowledge and reason; the one commandeth, and the other obeyeth: these things neither the whirling wheel of fortune can change, neither the deceitful cavillings of worldlings separate, neither sickness abate, neither age abolish."

--- Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit

[Guest charis]

Quote:

eu·phu·ism (y&#333;&#333;'fy&#333;&#333;-&#301;z'&#601;m) n.

An affectedly elegant literary style of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, characterized by elaborate alliteration, antitheses, and similes.

Affected elegance of language.

HEY!!! We have some time travellers on the forum..

[D. Allan]

Fill me in, Charis, I don't get it. Maybe I left my wyts in the 16th century.

[Guest charis]

sorry....it's just my capricious sense of humor kicking in

[D. Allan]

don't be sorry....i like 'capricious'ness.