Word of the Moment: Yerk

Yerk - verb - To throw or thrust with a sudden, smart movement; to kick or strike suddenly; to jerk.

noun - A sudden or quick thrust or motion; a jerk.

When the doctor hit Jimmy's knee with the hammer, Jimmy's leg yerked in reaction.

9/11 Vocabulary

     It has been twelve years since the 9/11 attacks on the US, and I will never forget what that was like.  I was extremely fortunate to not know anyone who was directly effected by the attack.  Unfortunately, all Americans were impacted by the events that happened on September 11, 2001.

     I was young at the time, so did not fully understand what was unfolding on that day.  I now understand a great deal more of what happened, but I still do not understand why.

     I do remember that there were a few words I had not necessarily heard a great deal prior to that day, but seemed to become all I heard for the next six months or so.

• Terror - the emotion experienced in the presence of danger
• Terrorize - to strike with fear
• Terrorism - refers to the use of violence for the purpose of achieving a political, religious, or ideological goal
• Terrorist - one who engages in the acts of terrorism
• Hijack - to stop and cease control of a vehicle while in motion, especially in order to reach an alternate destination

     These are words I never needed to see in action in order to understand.  But now I will never forget them.

Words of the Moment – Christmas Carol Edition

Around this time of year, we have been inundated with Christmas songs in stores, on the radio, and at parties.  Even if you do not celebrate Christmas, the songs are difficult to evade. 

This year I have been realizing how extensive the vocabulary in the songs actually is.  Aside from the ever-present words such as “merry,” “bells,” “snow,” “Christmas,” “tree,” etc, there are some interesting gems.  These are only a few I heard the last time I had the radio on.  There are plenty more good ones out there.  I hope you will listen to these carols a bit differently after thinking about a few of the words:

Cloven – adjective – split; divided

“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”

“Still through the cloven skies they come.  With peaceful wings unfurl, and still.”

Laud – noun – a song or hymn of praise

“What Child is This?”

“Whom shepherds guard and angels sing. Haste, haste to bring him laud.”

Lowing – noun – the calling sound made by bovine animals, such as cows

“Away in a Manger”

“The cattle are lowing, the poor Baby wakes.”

Noel – noun – is an alternate word for “Christmas”

“The First Noel”

“The First Noel, the Angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay.”

Wassailing – verb – engaging in the act of drinking; toasting

“Here We Come A-Wassailing”

“Here we come a-wassailing among the leaves so green.  Here we come a-wand'ring so fair to be seen.”

Yore – noun – time long past

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

“Here we are as in olden days.  Happy golden days of yore.”

Yuletide – noun – a religious festival that has been absorbed into and equated with the celebration of Christmas

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

“Have yourself a merry little Christmas.  Make the Yuletide gay.”

Happy Mole Day!

     Chances are, you had no idea today was such an auspicious occasion as Mole Day!  The rest of you are probably thinking, what the heck is Mole Day, and why is there a holiday in honor of a fuzzy rat?

     A mole can be many things.  It can be: 1) an unwanted growth on your body.  2) a spy who gets into the ranks of the government as a double agent. 3) a small mammal with velvety fur that lives mainly underground. 4) a large and powerful machine used to bore through rock to forge tunnels. Or 5) Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 10²³) [used in Chemistry]

     Mole Day is based on definition number 5.  A mole in grams of a particular element, is equal to the atomic mass of the molecule.  For example, oxygen’s atomic mass is 32, so one mole of oxygen gas weighs 32 grams.  This relationship was discovered by Amadeo Avogadro, who the number is named after.  In general, a mole of any substance (even cheeseburgers), contains 6.02 x 10²³ items.  Fun Fact: One mole of blood cells would be more than all of the blood of all of the humans on Earth.

     In honor of the number, the day is celebrated from 6:02 am, to 6:02 pm on October 23^rd (6:02, 10/23).  Not much unlike Pi Day, which is held every March (on 3/14).

     If you are not into chemistry, you will most likely never think about this number again.  However, it is quite important in the field of science, so this day was established to foster interest in chemistry around the world mainly through activities done inside of the classroom. 

     And the sky is the limit with how you can get creative with this day.  Some classes have mole-themed parties, play mole games (like Mole-opoly), or make mole day posters.  Each year the National Mole Day Foundation (US) releases a theme for that particular holiday.  The theme for 2012 is “Molar Eclipse.”  Past themes include “Moles of the Caribbean,” “Double Mole Seven,” and “Remember the Alamole.”  Check out http://moleday.org/ for more information on the holiday and project ideas.

Reticent

Reticent - adj - reserved; not inclined to speak freely; restrained

The reticent worker did not say anything when his coworker took the credit for his production plan.

Jubilee

The Word of the Moment is:

Jubilee - noun - a specially celebrated anniversary, especially the 50th; an occasion of rejoicing

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee was a momentous occasion the whole nation celebrated.

Magnanimity

Magnanimity - noun - a noble generosity; the virtue of being great in heart and mind

Donating your pay check to save the bees was a selfless thing to do; your magnanimity is humbling.

Jejune - Word of the Moment

Jejune - adj.
     Lacking significance; immature

The next jejune book we read in school was "The Scarlet Letter."

Cynosure

Cynosure - noun - an object that is the focal point of attention; something that guides by centering attention

The North Star was the lost traveler's cynosure in the sky that led him home.

WOW: Synergism

Synergism – noun

-The interaction of elements that when combined, produce a net effect greater than the sum of the individual elements, contributions, factors, etc.

The director and actor had beautiful synergism; all of their collaborations were remarkable.

WOW: Irrevocable

Irrevocable - adjective

Not able to be revoked, changed, or undone; unalterable

“That was an irrevocable turn of events.”

Word of the Moment

Ad infinitum - adverb: to infinity, endlessly, without end.

I will love you ad infintum.

Accolade

Accolade: noun

1) any award, honor, or congratulatory notice

2) a light touch on the shoulder with the flat side of a sword, done in the ceremony of acknowledging knighthood

3) the ceremony itself

     Also has a musical and architectural definition.  The full definition can be found in any dictionary, particularly dictionary.reference.com.

Although Johnny Depp’s acting has been met with numerous accolades, he has yet to win an Oscar.

Bailiwick

Bailiwick - noun

     A person's area of work, skill, knowledge, or authority.


The journalist limited their opinions within their bailiwick to prevent uneducated advice.

Tetradrachm

     So I am doing a project on a silver tetradrachm of Alexander the Great.  I thought a good place to start was learning what the heck a tetradrachm was, and thought I would share this (probably useless - but that is the point) piece of knowledge.

A drachm (also called a dram) was the primary unit of currency in Greece before the adoption of the euro.  It is a Greek unit of weight equal to six obols, an eighth of an ounce (fluid or solid), or 60 grains. 

Tetra means four.

Tetradrachm therefore means four drachms, or drams.  This would be equivalent to ½ ounce (4 X 1/8 oz. = ½ oz.)  It is an ancient Greek coin equivalent to four drachms, or ½ oz.

So now you know!  Here is a picture of the silver tetradrachm I am doing my project on, currently located at the British Museum in London.  (This is from their website.  I'll share my own photo when I go and see it for myself!)

WOM

floccinaucinihilipilification:


     The act or habit of describing or regarding something as worthless or trivial.




Quoted in William Shenstone's Letters in 1741: 


"I loved him for nothing so much as his flocci-nauci-nihili-pili-fication of money."




Note:
Often cited as the longest non-technical word in the English language.

WOM

     Today’s WOM is:

     Smorgasbord-noun-1) A buffet featuring various dishes, such as hors d'oeuvres, salads, etc.
2) A medley or assortment.
     There was a smorgasbord of pastry at the continental breakfast this morning.     What have YOU learned today?

WOM

Today’s WOM is:

     Etymology-noun-1) The origin and historical development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its ancestral form where possible.  2) The branch of linguistics that studies the origin and history of words.

     The word “pizza” has an interesting etymology.

     What have you learned today?

WOM

Today’s WOM is:

     Confabulate-verb-1) To talk casually; to chat.  2) Psychology. To fill in gaps in one's memory with fabrications that one believes to be facts.

     Do you often confabulate while talking?

     What have you learned today?

Word of the Moment (WOM)

     I believe that you are never too old to learn, and that you learn something new every day.  One of the most common things we are learning is vocabulary.  That knowledge is infinitely expanding.

     When I stumble upon an interesting word, or one with an unusual definition that I had not known, I like to pass it on.  Today’s WOM (Word of the Moment) is:

     Raffish-1) Cheaply or showily vulgar in appearance or nature; tawdry. 2) Charachterized by a carefree or fun-loving unconventionality; rakish.

     The costumes at the fashion show were a rather raffish display of the designer’s collection.

     What have YOU learned today?