Page created 31 Jan 2003 by pedro
URL: http://www.wordorigins.org/
Word origins! Where'd the come from? Got a good one, or a question about them? A good way to look for something is to search Google for "etymology <">phrase" or look around on popular word origins sites. My favorite is probably Dave Wilton's Wordorigins.org (which focuses on a list of strange words), but there are others.
From the WordWizard clubhouse...I still haven't even read it yet...
From MORRIS DICTIONARY OF WORD AND PHRASE ORIGINSKNOCK ON WOOD: There are several theories about the origin of this very common practice. One goes back to the child's game of `tag.' In one version of this game the child who is able to touch a tree, thereby touching wood, is free from capture.
Then there is a Biblical theory that the wood symbolizes the cross on which Christ was crucified. In Galatians (6:14) we find `But God forbid that I should glory, save the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.' The theory here is that if you have made an exaggerated boast you will be forgiven if you turn your thoughts to the Cross.
Still another notion is that `knocking on wood' goes far back into ancient times, when spirits were thought to live in trees. So should danger threaten, simply rap on the trunk of a tree and summon up the aid of the good spirit within.
There is an Irish belief that you `knock on wood' to let the leprechauns know that you are thanking them for a bit of good luck.
A Jewish version says it originated during the Spanish Inquisition under Torquemada during the 1490s. During that time Jews were in flight and since temples and synagogues were built of wood, they evolved a code to use in knocking on doors to gain admission. Since this resulted in lives being saved, it became commonplace to `knock on wood' for good luck.
Take your choice of these five theories - but be sure to `knock on wood' so you will pick the right one.
I love words! These are some good websites:http://www.word-detective.com/
http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/subscribe.html (this sends you a new word every day if you subscribe)
I had no idea about the knock wood thing, I hear it at my work (followed by an actual knocking on wood) as much as I hear "Oy Veh" or "may he/she rest in peace" (usually after someone has been running down a dead acquaintance or relative, which I think is hysterical). I didn't know it was Christian expression.
A few weeks ago I found out that the term "dead ringer" came from putting a bell in someone's coffin so if they accidentally thought someone was dead and buried them, the person could ring the bell and the cemetery watchman would hear and then they could unbury the person. I guess they mistakenly buried a lot of live people hundreds of years ago. Getting buried alive or suffocated in some way is my greatest fear, so this freaked me out.
Thanks Peter! I'll have to send that to Rabbi B so that he can see that it really IS okay for Miriam to knock on wood if she wants to.Word orgins are truly fascinating. I'd love to have my very own copy of the OED, but I have access to it from school so I guess I can't complain too much.
That thing about the leprechauns is news to me (not that I claim exhaustive knowledge on such matters). Also, here we say "touch wood", not "knock on wood".
To say that someone or something is "the apple of one's eye" is to say that he, she or it is the most cherished or valued among many, the favorite, the pet. The metaphor first appeared in English around A.D. 885 and has been in nearly constant use ever since.Although apples have long been used as symbols of health or good fortune, the origin of "apple of one's eye" reflected a remarkable misunderstanding of human anatomy. Before ocular structure was fully understood, the pupil of the eye (the small dark opening at the very center) was thought to be not a hole, but a solid, globular object. As apples were perhaps the most common spherical object in everyday life, this "tiny sphere" became known as "the apple of the eye." And, since vision is generally regarded as our most vital sense, it made sense to use the apparent core of vision, the "apple of the eye," as a metaphor for that which is most precious to us.
(thanks to the word detective)
I wonce got a fortune cookie that said, simply:"You are the apple of my eye."
I liked it a lot, but I gotta say that there was something creepy about that.
apparently, you have a secret Chinese admirer.Fortune cookies are a constant source of joy to me, though I don't eat Chinese as often as I should, being that it's one of my favorite cuisines. They always say weird things, and the language barrier (which I guess would be apropos on an entree like such as "Etymology Goulash") is amusing. My most recent fortune cookie read, "You will soon be the source of high finance." It made me feel like a prostitute.
I think it's just tryin gto tell you not to loan anyone any money without some kind of contract that you get a cut of whatever they make.
Related to the whole "knock on wood" origin, it's my understanding (though I amy be wrong) that when someone from England uses the word "bloody" as a swear word they are referring to the blood of Christ.
....in theater actually began because the pole that held up the main curtain was called a leg. So "break a leg" actually refers to having so many ovations that the leg braeks on account of the curtain being raised and lowered so much.
etymology of "break a leg" in doubt
Good word. One I'd seen a lot but didn't know what it meant.[flynn(~)] dict peripatetic 4 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Peripatetic \Per`i*pa*tet"ic\, a. [L. peripateticus, Gr. ?, fr. ? to walk about; ? about + ? to walk: cf. F. p['e]ripat['e]tique.] 1. Walking about; itinerant.
2. Of or pertaining to the philosophy taught by Aristotle (who gave his instructions while walking in the Lyceum at Athens), or to his followers. ``The true peripatetic school.'' --Howell.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Peripatetic \Per`i*pa*tet"ic\, n. 1. One who walks about; a pedestrian; an itinerant. --Tatler.
2. A disciple of Aristotle; an Aristotelian.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 [wn]:
peripatetic adj : traveling especially on foot; "peripatetic country preachers"; "a poor wayfaring stranger" [syn: {wayfaring}] n 1: a person who walks from place to place [syn: {itinerant}] 2: a follower of Aristotle or an adherent of Aristotelianism [syn: {Aristotelian}, {Aristotelean}, {Peripatetic}]
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
PERIPATETIC, adj. Walking about. Relating to the philosophy of Aristotle, who, while expounding it, moved from place to place in order to avoid his pupil's objections. A needless precaution -- they knew no more of the matter than he.
Extravagant. A word we all know and hear regularly.Extraordinary. Another word that is commonplace. And it makes sense -- Extra Ordinary -- not that it is exceedingly ordinary, but that it is beyond ordinary into the un-ordinary.
Which got me thinking.
What does "extravagant" mean?
From the OED (which I just learned NPU has an online subscription too... *drool*):
6. `Roving beyond just limits or prescribed methods' (J.); exceeding the bounds of reason or propriety; excessive, irregular, fantastically absurd. Now with stronger sense: Astonishingly or flagrantly excessive or extreme. a. of persons. Now rare exc. with agent-noun or const. in. 1599 B. JONSON Ev. Man out of Hum. Induct., Shall I be so extrauagant to thinke, That [etc.]. 1633 DURIE in Presbyt. Rev. (1887) 305 Those yt were so extrauagant as to maintaine it unlawfull [etc.]. 1662 STILLINGFL. Orig. Sacr. I. iii. §1 For them to have been so extravagant in their accounts of themselves. 1704 HEARNE Duct. Hist. (1714) I. 211 Zedekiah had..no regard..for Virtue; and his companions were altogether as impious and extravagant as himself. 1815 W. H. IRELAND Scribbleomania 73 The extravagant panegyrist of various living characters. 1840 MACAULAY Ranke Ess. 1854 II. 556/1 He [the enthusiast] may be vulgar, ignorant, visionary, extravagant.
Of course I knew what extravagant meant... but if extraordinary was extra ordinary, what is vagant?
The clue is in the first definition of extravagant:
A. adj.
{dag}1. That wanders out of bounds; straying, roaming, vagrant. Obs. exc. after Shakes. 1602 SHAKES. Ham. I. i. 154 At his [the cock's] warning..Th' extrauagant, and erring Spirit hyes to his Confine. 1604 {emem} Oth. I. i. 137 An extrauagant, and wheeling Stranger, Of here, and euerywhere. 1615 G. SANDYS Trav. 93 Now dispersed into ample lakes, and again recollecting his extrauagant waters. 1841-4 EMERSON Ess., Hist. Wks. (Bohn) I. 12 Rare, extravagant spirits come by us at intervals.
...vagrant!
Which led to the inevitable lookup:
vagant, a. (and pres. pple.)
Obs.
[Spellings] [Etymology] [Quotations] [Date chart]
1. Wandering, roaming, roving; travelling or moving from place to place; having no settled home or abiding-place. Cf. VAGRANT a. 3. 1382 WYCLIF Gen. iv. 12 Vagaunt and fer fugitif thow shalt be vpon the erthe alle the daies of thi lijf. 1432-50 tr. Higden (Rolls) II. 135 In the tyme of Hinguar and Hubba, Ardulphus the bischop was vagante longe with {th}e body of Seynte Cuthberte. 1480 CAXTON Ovid's Met. XIV. x, For al we haue be disparblid & longe haue be vagant on the see. 1483 {emem} Gold. Leg. 407b/1 Thus Josaphat was two yere vagaunte & erryd in deserte. 1517 WATSON Shyppe of Fooles Aij, I am the fyrste in the shyppe vagaunte with the other fooles. 1578 Sc. Poems 16th C. (1801) II. 170 Thocht vagant freirs faine wald lie, The trueth will furth.
2. Devious, erratic. rare. 1382 WYCLIF Prov. v. 6 Bi the path of lif thei gon not; vagaunt ben the goingus of hir, and vnserchable. 1708 Brit. Apollo No. 50. 1/1 By so Vagant a Proceedure, it is a Chance but he must hear some points of Duty..repeated.
3. Of thoughts: Wandering. c1450 Myrr. our Ladye 42 Yt can not sturre vp yt selfe from wandryng and vagant thoughtes that yt is accustomyd in. Ibid. 165 Also the harte oughte fulle besyly to be kepte from all vagaunte thoughtes.
Looks like I found a new Scrabble word!
the extra- prefix generally means something more like "beyond", rather than "exceedingly". so extraordinary, rathan than meaning really, really ordinary, to the point of being exceptional, breaks down into something like "beyond ordinary".see also: extra terrestrial.
oh, you said that, but i read too fast.
Puke used to be a kind of cloth, then a color, and then vomit.1. A superior kind of woollen cloth, of which gowns were made. Also attrib. 1466 Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 354 He axsethe for makenge of a longe gowne of pewke, ij.s. 1480 Wardr. Acc. Edw. IV (1830) 120, vj pair of hosen of puke. 1545 Lanc. Wills (Chetham Soc.) II. 63 A new gowne of ffrenche puke lyned withe saten. 1555 Richmond Wills (Surtees) 86 Item vj yards of black puck, xviijs. 1562 Ibid. 166 One gowne of fyne puke garded with veluett and furred with budge, xxvjs. viijd. 1566 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees) I. 257 In the Shopp. A sadd coller brod clothe iiij yerds xijs...a pooke viij yerds xliiijs. 1596 SHAKES. 1 Hen. IV, II. iv. 78 Wilt thou rob this Leatherne Ierkin, Christall button..Puke stocking, Caddice garter? 1612 SHELTON Quix. I. i. (1620) 2 The rest and remnant thereof was spent on a Ierkin of fine Puke [orig. sayo de velarte].
2. A colour formerly used for woollen goods: as it was produced by galls and copperas, it must have been a bluish black or inky colour, but it is variously described: see quots. Also attrib. Prob. originally the usual colour of the cloth (sense 1). 1530 PALSGR. 253/2 Pewke, a colour, pers. 1538 ELYOT, Pullus,..russette, sometyme blacke, but rather puke color, betwene russet & black. c1550 Disc. Common Weal Eng. (1893) 82 Sume strange coullor or die as french puke. 1577 HARRISON England II. vii. (1877) I. 172 His coat, gowne, and cloake of browne, blue, or puke. 1598 FLORIO, Pauonaccio cupo, a deepe darke purple or puke colour. 1607 TOPSELL Four-f. Beasts 92 The colour of this Camell is for the most part browne or puke. 1615 MARKHAM Eng. Housew. II. v. (1660) 124 To dye wool of a puke colour, take Galls..and boyle your wool or your Cloth therein..halfe an hour: then take them up, and put in your Coperas into the same Liquor, then put in your wool again. 1725 Bradley's Fam. Dict. s.v. Mixing colour, If..you would needs have your Cloth of three Colours, as of two dark and one light, or contrary; supposing Crimson, Yellow or Puke.
1. a. An act of vomiting, a vomit. 1737 BRACKEN Farriery Impr. (1756) I. 80 This [Pill] generally begins its Operation with a Puke of yellow slimy Matter. 1748 RICHARDSON Clarissa (1811) VII. lxi. 242 It gave him first a puke, then a fever. 1808 Med. Jrnl. XIX. 26 She..had two pukes, which might have been occasioned by increasing the squills to four grains.
b. Matter thrown up from the stomach; vomit. coarse. 1961 in WEBSTER. 1972 D. LEES Zodiac 109, I..choked back the puke that had rushed to my throat. 1975 New Society 4 Dec. 526/2 At the Black Raven, by Liverpool Street station,..there is a slight odour of puke and disinfectant.
...and a few surprises:
3. U.S. a. slang. A disgusting person. b. vulgar. A nickname for a native of Missouri. 1835 A. A. PARKER Trip to West & Texas 87 The inhabitants..of Michigan are called wolverines,..of Missouri, pukes. 1838 HALIBURTON Clockmaker Ser. II. xix. 289 The suckers of Illinoy, the pukes of Missuri..and the corncrackers of Virginia. 1843 `R. CARLTON' New Purchase II. 47 This Protestant assembly was a gathering of delegates principally from the land of Hoosiers..[with] a small chance of Pukes from beyond the father of floods. 1847 ROBB Squatter Life 152 Captain and all hands are a set of cowardly pukes. 1847 T. FORD Hist. Illinois (1854) ii. 68 The Illinoians..called the Missourians `Pukes'... The lower lead mines in Missouri had sent up to the Galena country whole hoards of uncouth ruffians, from which it was inferred that Missouri had taken a `Puke'. 1908 L. HOUCK Hist. Missouri III. xxiv. 36 `Hidalgos' the first residents of upper Louisiana and Missouri were called, until in the mouths of the vulgar the name of `Pukes' was made current. 1944 [see MISSOURIAN n. and a.].
from now on every Cardinals fan I meet is getting called a Puke lover!
So basically, at some point in the 1700s, amalgam and amalgamation became used to mean a mixture of anythings, where the true meaning of it remains an alloy of some metal (usually gold or silver) with mercury.1. orig. A soft mass formed by chemical manipulation, esp. a soft or plastic condition of gold, silver, etc. produced by combination with mercury; hence, now, any mixture of a metal with mercury, a mercurial alloy, as gold amalgam, copper amalgam, etc. 1471 RIPLEY Comp. Alch. in Ashm. Theat. Chem. Brit. 1652 IX. 174 When the Medcyn as wax doth flowe, Than uppon Malgams loke thou hyt throw. Ibid. 191 Many Amalgame dyd I make. 1599 A. M. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physic 380/1 Beete a Ducket verye thinne..put therof j dr. to j oz. of Quicksiluer..The Amalgama must you wash with Saulte and Vineger. 1664 Phil. Trans. I. 23 An Amalgama of Gold and Virgin-Mercury. 1757 LEWIS ibid. L. 156 An amalgam of one part of platina and two of gold with a suitable quantity of mercury. 1782 KIRWAN ibid. LXXII. 217 An amalgama of lead and mercury decrepitates when heated. 1869 ROSCOE Elem. Chem. 214 An amalgam of ammonium can easily be prepared.
native amalgam, an amalgam of mercury with silver or gold, found crystalline, massive, or semi-fluid in various countries. 1875 URE Dict. Arts I. 133 A native amalgam of mercury and silver occurs in fine crystals in the mines of Moschellandsberg, in the Palatinate..A gold amalgam is obtained from the platinum region of Columbia.
2. Extended to, An intimate (plastic) mixture or compound of any two or more substances. 1626 BACON Sylva §99 The Body of the Wood will be turned into a kind of Amalagma. 1650 ASHMOLE Arcanum (ed. 3) 252 Let three weights of Red Earth..Water and Aire, well beaten, be mixt together: let an Amalgama be made like Butter, or Metalline Paste. 1828 KIRBY & SPENCE Entomol. I. xv. 497 The bees sometimes mix wax and propolis and make an amalgam.
3. fig. A complete combination of various elements. Also attrib. 1790 BURKE Fr. Rev. 274 They have attempted to confound all sorts of citizens into one homogeneous mass; and then they divided this their amalgama into..republics. 1823 HONE Anc. Myst. 187 Custom is an amalgam of sense and folly. 1841 CATLIN N. Amer. Ind. II. lvi. 210 [They] go by the familiar appellation of the amalgam name of `Sacs and Foxes.' 1863 MRS. C. CLARKE Shaksp. Char. ii. 60 Touchstone's philosophy,{em}a choice and rich amalgam of sweet temper and untiring humour.
And amalgamation...
1. a. The softening of metals, etc. by union with mercury; the action or process of combining with mercury; and by extension, the intimate combination of two metals into an alloy. Often attrib. 1612 WOODALL Surg. Mate Wks. 1653, 268 Amalgamation is the putting together, solution, or calcination of familiar metals, by Argentum vivum, etc. 1794 SULLIVAN View Nat. I. 474 Metals by amalgamation shall be confounded and entirely concealed within each other. 1869 ROSCOE Elem. Chem. 271 For the extraction of silver from the other ores, a process termed amalgamation is employed, in which mercury is used to dissolve the metallic silver. 1875 URE Dict. Arts III. 808 Details of the Amalgamation Process.
b. (See quot.) 1753 CHAMBERS Cycl. Supp., Amalgamation is also applied, in a less proper sense, to a solution of sulphur with mercury. In this sense amalgamation amounts to the same as mollification or softening; in which sense the word is used by some ancient chemists.
2. fig. The action of combining distinct elements, races, associations, into one uniform whole. 1775 DE LOLME Constit. Eng. I. ii. (1784) 24 The amalgamation of the Saxons and Normans. 1824 COLERIDGE Aids to Refl. 226 The forced amalgamation of the Patriarchal tradition with the incongruous scheme of Pantheism. 1837 Baltimore Com. Transcript 8 June 2/1 (Th. Suppl.), Amalgamation. A black man and a white woman were lately brought before the Police Court in Boston charged with unlawfully marrying. 1868 M. PATTISON Academ. Organ. §2. 45 The amalgamation of County, City, and University police into one Corps. 1905 N.Y. Even. Post 11 Oct. 4 If the white race are permeated with race consciousness, there is no danger of amalgamation.
i just read up and saw the bit about a subscription to the OED. That rocks!
especially since the paper copy is like 30 volumes long, which is how long the last Harry Potter book will be at the rate J. K. Rowling is going. Thanks for looking up amalgam for me Pete.
how i met my wife
thanks for that link pedro. i enjoyed it a great deal.
[flynn(~)] dict chary1 definition found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Chary \Char"y\ (ch[^a]r"[y^] or ch[=a]"r[y^]; 277), a. [AS. cearig careful, fr. cearu care. See {Care}.]
1. Careful; wary; cautious; not rash, or reckless; as, the latest internet IPO's were shunned by investors made chary by the poor performance of the first wave of companies that went public.
[1913 Webster +PJC]His rising reputation made him more chary of his fame. --Jeffrey.
[1913 Webster]2. Saving; frugal; sparing; not spendthrift; -- often used with of; as, chary of his praise.
[1913 Webster +PJC]3. Fastidious; picky; choosy.
[PJC]
You read LeonardR's and Sumana's diary as well...
That comment had also made me grab my dictionary. Before I did so I realised that if I had seen the word in writing I would have thought that the person had simply mis-spelled "wary".All praise to blogs for expanding our horizons!
I don't have anything to say; I just like punning on 'blog'.
diablog
hereand it uses the word "blogroll", which is very amusing to my inner, developmentally-challenged child.
<sneakums> Dumont: bloggage?
<Dumont> The reason for the bloggage was that someone used too much blogroll.
... of the slang term 'booger.' It's slang, and you'd think it would be a colloquialism - but it seems pretty darn universal. So how did it come about? (Note: the only way to get miss Anna to let me blow or nosesucker her nose is to tell her we're going on a booger hunt.)
...does not appear in the OED.
It appears that the etymology is unknown. However, one can speculate from the etymology of the "booger man" a.k.a. "boogey man" (sometimes "bogey man") that it may actually refer to "buggery" -- and it's a corruption.see: here and you may disagree with what this guy says.
Still, the bugger --> booger connection seems plausible to me.
Eminent \Em"i*nent\, a. [L. eminens, -entis, p. pr. of eminere to stand out, be prominent; e out + minere (in comp.) to project; of uncertain origin: cf. F. ['e]minent. Cf. {Menace}.]1. High; lofty; towering; prominent. "A very eminent promontory." --Evelyn [1913 Webster]2. Being, metaphorically, above others, whether by birth, high station, merit, or virtue; high in public estimation; distinguished; conspicuous; as, an eminent station; an eminent historian, statements, statesman, or saint. [1913 Webster]{Right of eminent domain}. (Law) See under {Domain}.Syn: Lofty; elevated; exalted; conspicuous; prominent; remarkable; distinguished; illustrious; famous; celebrated; renowned; well-known. See {Distinguished}. [1913 Webster]
Imminent \Im"mi*nent\, a. [L. imminens, p. pr. of imminere to project; pref. im- in + minere (in comp.) to jut, project. See {Eminent}.]1. Threatening to occur immediately; near at hand; impending; -- said especially of misfortune or peril. "In danger imminent." --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
is another transatlantic difference. Booger is definitely not "universal" (except in the sense that the World Series involves the whole world).
come on Nutella, Canada is involved too :)I was always bothered by people crowned World Champion though, when it is just a US league.
When nobody played baseball anywhere else!
the World Series of Poker is open to all contestants willing to fly to Vegas and front the Entry Fees. it has also been won by people from Spain and the UK, as well as Vietnamese immigrants, and absolute morons.
Pedro's comment on the word embarrass got me interested, so with my trusy subscription to the OED I went hunting, and here's what I found:We use a relatively new definition of the word 'embarrass'. Specifically, we use the fourth version listed in Webster's 1828 dictionary. Webster defined 'embarrass' thus:
The older English forms mean "to block or obstruct" and date to the late 17th century.
- To perplex; to render intricate; to entangle. We say, public affairs are embarrassed; the state of our accounts is embarrassed; want of order tends to embarrass business.
- To perplex, as the mind or intellectual faculties; to confuse. Our ideas are sometimes embarrassed.
- To perplex, as with debts, or demands, beyond the means of payment; applied to a person or his affairs. In mercantile language, a man or his business is embarrassed,when he cannot meet his pecuniary engagements.
- To perplex; to confuse; to disconcert; to abash. An abrupt address may embarrass a young lady. A young man may be too much embarrassed to utter a word.
'Barrass' is an obscure form of 'barrace', which dates from the late 14th century and has a few meanings, but they are all generally along the same lines as the oldest meaning which is "a barrier or outwork in front of a fortress" or "a hindrance, obstruction, delay".
The root 'bar' has a veritable plethora of meanings, but its use as a legal term "as the place at which all the business of the court was transacted" came into use around the same time as 'barrace' in the late 14th century. Later, in the mid-16th century it started to be used as describing lawyers, as in "the whole body of barristers" or "the counsel retained in a particular case." That's not particularily interesting in and of itself, but when combined with the prefix 'em-', which also dates from the 16th century and means `to put (something) into or upon what is denoted by the n.' we get 'embar', which means "to enclose within bars; to enclose, imprison." No doubt this spawned many jokes at the time about the embarring of barristers.
Unfortunately, despite pedro's well-reasoned logic, being embarrassed has little to do with being bare-assed (sorry to dissapoint). If it's any consolation though, we do embar the unembarrased who go bare-assed in public.
Do you think that "affectatious" is a word?As in, "John is so affectatious it makes me sick."
One can also use the word "affected" in the same place --
"John is so affected it makes me sick."
-- but my question to you is: is "affectatious" a word? Have you heard it or used it before?
Don't consult your dictionaries please.
what meaning are you after with 'affectatious'? If it's what I'm thinking, then affectionate is the proper term. i can see it in one psychological disposition "John is so affectatious is makes me sick." - as in John's socio/psychological demeanor is so affected and artificial it makes me sick. other than that, I don't think 'affectatious' is a word. but it could be in that connotation.
Affected -- not affectionate -- is a more similar term. In the sense of one who is displaying "affects". The difference in my mind is that using the word "affected" makes it sound to me that it is a done deal -- the person has been "affected" and so acts in an "affected" manner. Wheras someone who is "affectatious" is acting in a manner of "affect". You might say, "he is acting affectedly" rather than "he is affected." I think that's the difference in my mind.
Amy's official definition:
Affectatious adj. Showing affectation: acting affectedly; over-reacting to events & their effects; being an annoying phoney.
That's tough, because I have heard "affectation" as a noun, and "affected" as an adjective, mostly in Victorian novels and the like, but never "affectatious." Such as, "Elizabeth is so full of affectation after that summer she spent in Paris," or, "Elizabeth is so silly and affected; I can hardly stand to be around her." I would think, if affectatious were a word, it would be a quality someone/thing would possess, as in "A summer in Paris can be quite affectatious if spent in the wrong way," i.e., something which would cause one to become affected. Now that I've posted this, am I allowed to go look it up? Just for the record, my vote is that I don't think it's a real word.
i believe you are mistaking 'effect' with 'affect'. affect is primarily used in terms of psychological demeanor and behavior. effect is used anywhere else. people are not affected. people are effected. a character may be affected by a person, but i cannot affect you or anyone else. at least not in the general meaning of 'affect'.
I think Pedro means in terms of "affectation," which is what Amy's definition, well, defines. It's one of those words that has two distinct meanings (although they are somewhat related--someone who acts with "affectation" or is "affected" is so because of the result of being "affected" by something which caused that affectation...does this make ANY sense whatsoever?
Reread what Cinn and blvd wrote -- "affected" is a real word with a very specific particular definition in this context. Affectatious is, as it turns out, a very old word which is not used anymore. But I heard it somewhere and picked it up and use it. alh and I argued about whether it was a real word or not last night, and that's how all this got started.
ok. i am with you on 'affectatious'. but the words affected, effected, affect, effect - those have quite specific meanings. sometimes their usage is dictated by which part of speech they are being used as.tricky.
but it's ok to consult your dictionaries. this is, i think, one of the most confusing, and possibly the most confused word in the english language for users to use properly. i don't always use the proper word, and i've researched it. i still don't quite get all the rules regarding the 2.
worst cliches
In case there was any doubt.
cwm: A steep walled basin in a mountain. Also a cirque.
Welsh creeping into modern English...
pyx: The box, case, vase, or tabernacle, in which the host is reserved.
Sometimes you remind me of Jonathan Lipnicki's character in Jerry Maguire...
junta: a political or governmental counciljunto: see junta!
So, if you think you can spell junta, but you have an o instead of an a, you're in the clear!
swotd!
hysteria: you all know what it means -- but did you know that it's called that because it was believed that hysteria was a feminine disease? Perhaps one who suffers from hysteria should have a hysterectomy! Of course, nowadays, with the media and the internet, we're all getting a Historectomy. But that's a different post.
Some of us are getting an emergency sisterectomy.
William Safire on "izzle"
one of the best lists I've seen
Poway eighth-grader wins National Spelling BeeThe local kid did good.
In the 19th Round of the National Spelling Bee, Anurag Kashyap of Poway spelled the word "appoggiatura" - a type of musical note - to become the top speller in the country.
After asking for its definition and language of origin, Anurag quickly came up with the 12 letters in the word, even rushing at the end.
He covered his face with his number placard as he realized he had won the competition in Washington, D.C. Anurag then hoisted the trophy above his head and beamed.
Asked what he was feeling about his win in a televised interview a few moments later, 13-year-old Anurag was temporarily at a loss for words. "Just pure happiness," he finally said. "It is just amazing."
He bested 272 other spellers to win in the 78th annual competition.
Starting with Round 12, there were four finalists competing. The final two were knocked out in Round 18, leaving Anurag to spell the final word to win.
From today's U-T
Poway speller among final 51 at national bee --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round-by-round results
The tension briefly broke during Round 17, when the letter S fell off the word "Scripps" posted on the wall behind the competitors. E.W. Scripps Co. is the main sponsor of the annual event.
The words Anurag had to spell correctly to advance through the last rounds were:
"Hodiernal," belonging to the present day, in Round 18;
"Exsiccosis," the insufficient intake of fluids, in Round 17;
"Ceraunograph," an instrument for recording thunder and lightning in Round 16;
"Peccavi," a confession of sin, in Round 15;
"Agnolotti," a Piemontese stuffed pasta, in Round 14;
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"Agio," the premium on a better sort of money when it is given in exchange for an inferior sort, in Round 13;
"Ornithorhynchous," having a bird-like nose, in Round 12;
"Schefflera," a tropical-looking plant, in Round 11;
"Tristachyous," three-spiked, in Round 10;
"Terete," approximately cylindrical, in Round 9.
Anurag advanced through earlier rounds on Thursday after correctly spelling "rideau" (a small pile or mound of earth), "pompier" (insipidly academic), "sphygmomanometer," (the gauge and rubber cuff used to measure blood pressure) and "prosciutto" (an Italian sandwich meat).
The eighth-grader from Meadowbrook Middle School has been competing in spelling bees since the fourth grade and is representing the San Diego region for the second consecutive year. Last year, he tied for 47th place in the national finals.
Scripps Howard News Service Anurag Kashyap, 13, of Poway, reacts while correctly spelling "sphygmomanometer." Anurag's basic routine was the one he used with "pompier": After asking for the word's language of origin and alternate pronunciations and alternate definitions, Anurag wrote out the word with his finger on the back of the number placard hanging around his neck to try to visualize the word before he spelled it out loud.
Among the words that knocked out competitors from the spelling bee "tropholytic," "drepaniform" and "dengue."
The first round was a written test, and the subsequent rounds were oral. The championship rounds were broadcast live on ESPN.
As the winner, Anurag will receive more than $28,000 in cash and prizes.
Anurag's father, Chandra Roy, and mother, Archana Kashyap, accompanied him to Washington. His English teacher and coach, Jim Dyer, also is there. The San Diego Union-Tribune is sponsoring the trip.
As a winner, he can no longer compete in the bee. Asked what's next, he said "Next is just to do well in school, get into a good college and get a good job that makes me happy."
what is the alphabet if ordered by english usage?
You rock just for having thought that up, and then writing a quick program to figure it out when one hadn't been done! Here's the question for you, what came first the chicken or the egg?I do have the answer to that regardless of your faith based beliefs if anyone is interested. But will post it in an entree more suitable later.
maybe I should have thought about not posting a name like that in a reply title
Pedro, that just scored you mad nerd cred.http://www.foolswisdom.com/users/sbett/alfa-earliest-order.html
http://www.percepp.demon.co.uk/alphabet.htm
Maybe the tower of babel had wallpaper with letters on it?
that is mad awesome. one of the many reasons you rock harder than almost anyone i know.
Hree's smoehtnig iternsenitg,The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rsceearh sutdy at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef,but the wrod as a wlohe.
Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
your word of the day.
most of us could stand to read this list
instead of squall line.they forgot one.