A man's worst difficulties begin when he is able to do as he likes.
~Thomas Huxley~
You are rewarding a teacher poorly if you remain always a pupil.
- Friedrich Nietzsche. German classical Scholar, Philosopher and Critic of culture, 1844-1900.
Unfulfilled in realization of one's potential or ambition.
[From French manqué, past participle of manquer (to lack), from Italian mancare, from manco (lacking, defective), from Latin mancus (maimed, having a crippled hand). Ultimately from Indo-European root man- (hand) that's also the source of manage, maintain, maneuver, manufacture, manuscript, and command.]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=manque
"Eddie George, governor of the Bank of England, formally opened the building and said: 'I have always seen myself as a trader manque.'" George Trefgarne; City: Sliding euro is an 'embarrassment'; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Jul 17, 1999.
These adjectives are called postpositive, not because they are positive words. Rather, the designation "positive" alludes to their position -- they are placed (or deposited) after the word they modify, for example, adjective extraordinaire in "teacher extraordinaire". We often find these adjectives in phrases, such as "attorney general" or "court martial". Product names often have adjectives placed postpositively, e.g. Miller Lite or iPod nano.
While in many languages (Spanish, French, etc.) adjectives are placed after the noun as a rule, in English there are certain situations where we use adjectives postpositively. When modifying a pronoun, an adjective is usually postpositive, as in "those responsible" or "all present". Adjectives modifying other superlative adjectives also go after them, as in "the best possible".
This week there will be adjectives aplenty here. Let's look at a number of adjectives that say to the noun: "After you!"
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/manque.html
Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.
- Oscar Wilde. Irish Poet, Novelist, Dramatist and Critic, 1854-1900
Better the cottage where one is merry than the palace where one weeps.
~Proverb, (Chinese)~
Brought back; revisited.
[From Latin re- (again) + dux (leader), from ducere (to lead). Ultimately from Indo-European root deuk- (to lead) that led to other words such as duke, conduct, educate, duct, wanton, and tug.]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=redux
"The nightmare, redux. Once again Eddie Guardado was an out away from a save. Once again, he couldn't get it done." John Hickey; M's Can't Finish Sox; Seattle Post-Intelligencer; May 4, 2006.
This week's theme: adjectives used postpositively.
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/redux.html
There is nothing so agonizing to the fine skin of vanity as the application of a rough truth.
-Edward Bulwer-Lytton, writer (1803-1873)
Revived or reborn.
[From Latin re- (again) + vivus (living).]
"[C.S. Lewis] thought 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' paganism redivivus, which perhaps it was." Roger Lewis Burgess; Yes, I Admit, God is God; New York Times; Nov 2, 1986.
This week's theme: adjectives used postpositively.
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/redivivus.html
Look into any man's heart you please, and you will always find, in every
one, at least one black spot which he has to keep concealed.
-Henrik Ibsen, playwright (1828-1906)
Confidence is contagious; so is lack of confidence
- Vince Lombardi. American Football Coach, national symbol of single-minded determination to win.1913-1970
Revived or reborn.
[From Latin re- (again) + vivus (living).]
"[C.S. Lewis] thought 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' paganism redivivus, which perhaps it was." Roger Lewis Burgess; Yes, I Admit, God is God; New York Times; Nov 2, 1986.
This week's theme: adjectives used postpositively.
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/redivivus.html
Look into any man's heart you please, and you will always find, in every
one, at least one black spot which he has to keep concealed.
-Henrik Ibsen, playwright (1828-1906)
Confidence is contagious; so is lack of confidence
- Vince Lombardi. American Football Coach, national symbol of single-minded determination to win.1913-1970
He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.
- George Orwell. English Novelist and Essayist, 1903-1950
1. Ruling (reigning, as opposed to simply having the title by marriage).2. Predominant; widespread.
[From Latin regnare (to reign). Ultimately from Indo-European reg-(to move in a straight line, to lead or rule) that's also the source of regime, direct, rectangle, erect, rectum, alert, source, and surge.]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=thesaurus
"Aylmer saw a queen regnant as two persons, one private and one public." Julia M Walker; Dissing Elizabeth; Duke University Press; 2004.
This week's theme: adjectives used postpositively.
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/regnant.html
If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.
- Colin Powell. American Military leader and Statesman. Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-93). US Secretary of State (2001-2004).
We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles, rather than by the quality of our service relationship to humanity.
~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.~
I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.
- Maya Angelou. American Poet, b.1928
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
~George~
Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.
- Dr. Seuss. American Writer and Cartoonist best known for his collection of children's books. 1904-1991
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
~Mark Twain~
1. The act or process of making something international or placing it under international control.2. Making a product or process suitable for use around the globe.
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=internationalization
This 20-letter word is often abbreviated as i18n when used by software engineers. Making a program useful in another country requires more than just replacing error messages from a new language. In software development, internationalization means designing a program so that it can be easily customized for various languages, scripts, units, currencies, and date/time formats. The counterpart of i18n is localization (l10n) which is adapting a program for use in a particular locale. In other words, internationalization makes a piece of software easy to localize.
"Japan is no exception in seeing a rise in nationalism in reaction to growing pressures from internationalization." Yoshibumi Wakamiya; Seeking New Strategies; The Asahi Shimbun (Tokyo, Japan); Apr 27, 2006.
A question I often hear (or read) is: "What is the longest word in the English Language?" My answer: "Depends."
No, "depends" isn't the longest word in the English language. Rather, the answer depends on a lot of things. First, what's a word? For example, do names of chemicals -- thousands of letters long -- count?
A better question might be: "What's the longest word in any English language dictionary?" We'll see the answer to that at the end of this week. Meanwhile, here are a few other shorter words, relatively speaking.
Even though most of the time the only purpose they serve is to be cited as examples of long words, they have genuine usage. For example, today's word is widely used in software and business.
Most of the longest words in English are names of chemical compounds, names of diseases or technical words, and not very interesting to remember or talk about. This week, we'll feature five long words that are fun to write and recite.
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/internationalization.html
On June 5, 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was shot and mortally wounded just after claiming victory in California's Democratic presidential primary. Gunman Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was immediately arrested.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20060605.html
We shall succeed only so far as we continue that most distasteful of all activity, the intolerable labor of thought.
-Learned Hand, jurist (1872-1961)
You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.
- Paul Sweeney.
Honorableness.
[From Medieval Latin honorificabilitudinitas, from Latin honor.]
Another form of this, honorificabilitudinitatibus (27 letters), is the longest word Shakespeare ever used. It comes out of the mouth of Costard, the clown, in Love's Labour's Lost:
"I marvel thy master hath not eaten thee for a word; for thou art not so long by the head as honorificabilitudinitatibus: thou art easier swallowed than a flap-dragon."
Note that its spelling alternates consonants and vowels. Some have used an anagram of this word to claim that Francis Bacon was the author of the works attributed to the Bard. Honorificabilitudinitatibus anagrams to the Latin "Hi ludi F. Baconis nati tuiti orbi." which means "These plays, F. Bacon's offspring, are preserved for the world." Of course, that doesn't prove anything -- the word had been used by other writers earlier. And if you torture words enough, they confess to anything. Have fun with anagrams at http://wordsmith.org/anagram
"Honorificabilitudinity and the requirements of Scrabble fans dictated that the New Shorter [Oxford English Dictionary]'s makers be open-minded enough to include dweeb (a boringly conventional person), droob (an unprepossessing or contemptible person, esp. a man) and droog (a member of a gang: a young ruffian)." Jennifer Fisher; Droobs and Dweebs; U.S. News & World Report (Washington, DC); Oct 11, 1993.
This week's theme: long words.
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/honorificabilitudinity.html
The trouble with this country is that there are too many politicians who believe, with a conviction based on experience, that you can fool all of the people all of the time.
-Franklin P. Adams, columnist (1881-1960)
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.
- Thomas Merton. American and Trappist Monk t Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey in Trappist, Kentucky, 1915-1968
Opposition to separation of the church and state.
[From Latin anti- (against) + dis- (apart, away) + English establish, from Latin stabilire, from stare (to stand) + -arian (one who supports) + Greek-ism (practice or state).]
At 28 letters, it's the best-known example of a long word. Here's how you can parse the word: one of the meanings of the word establishment is making a church an institution of the state. In the late 19th century England, there was a movement for the separation of the church and state: disestablishment. Those opposed to the idea of separation were antidisestablishmentarians. You can see where it's going. Why not a contraantidisestablishmentarianism?
"As we said yesterday, the case for antidisestablishmentarianism has never been more threadbare. And if the case for the sovereign as head of a meaningful faith has gone, then the case for the sovereign has changed too." Royal Wedding: Crowning Nonsense; The Guardian (London, UK); Apr 9, 2005.
This week's theme: loong words.
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/antidisestablishmentarianism.html
If my decomposing carcass helps nourish the roots of a juniper tree or the wings of a vulture - that is immortality enough for me.
-Edward Abbey, naturalist and author (1927-1989)
The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love
- William Wordsworth. Major English Romantic Poet. 1770-1850
Vulgarity is the garlic in the salad of taste.
~Cyril Connolly~
Estimating something as worthless.
[From Latin flocci, from floccus (tuft of wool) + nauci, from naucum (a trifling thing) + nihili, from Latin nihil (nothing) + pili, from pilus (a hair, trifle) + -fication (making).]
This word was coined by combining four Latin terms flocci, nauci, nihili, pili, all meaning something of little or no value, which were listed in the well-known "Eton Latin Grammar" of Eton College in the UK.
The Oxford English Dictionary shows the first use of the word by William Shetstone in 1777: "I loved him for nothing so much as his flocci-nauci-nihili-pili-fication of money."
The word seems to be popular in the US government. It has been heard from the mouths of White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry, Senator Robert Byrd, and Senator Jesse Helms among others. Maybe that tells us something about the US Congress's interest in the floccinaucinihilipilification of taxpayers' money.
"A number of you have phoned me saying that the BBC has plumbed the depths of nationalist floccinaucinihilipilification by simply making up the daftest imaginable Scottish name for the chairman of the Gigha community land steering commission - they haven't. I've checked. He really is called Willie MacSporran." Giles Coren; Willie MacSporran; The Times (London, UK); Oct 31, 2001.
This week's theme: looong words.
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/floccinaucinihilipilification.html
Civilizations in decline are consistently characterised by a tendency towards standardization and uniformity.
-Arnold Toynbee, historian (1889-1975)
Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.
- Sarah Caldwell.
For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the universe.
~Larry Eisenberg~
A lung disease caused by inhaling fine particles of silica.
[From New Latin, from Greek pneumono- (lung) + Latin ultra- (beyond, extremely) + Greek micro- (small) + -scopic (looking) + Latin silico (like sand) + volcano + Greek konis (dust) + -osis (condition).]
Even though we have included the pronunciation of this word, we advise caution lest you may have to avail the services of an otorhinolaryngologist (a throat, nose, and ear specialist).
At 45 letters, it's the longest word in any English language dictionary. It's a trophy word -- its only job is to serve as the longest word. In day-to-day use, its nine-letter synonyms "silicosis" or "black lung" work just as well, and the latter is more descriptive. Whatever you call it, it is deadly. Here's the story of an incident: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawk's_Nest_incident
And what's the shortest word in the English language? There are a number of them: A, I, O, but we'll have to give it to I which is the skinniest as well.
"This time the messages were longer and nastier. 'What on earth is the matter with you? Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis?'" Marion Thomas; Mystery Writer; Curriculum Corporation; 1998.
This week's theme: loooong words.
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.html
You will find relief from vain fancies if you do every act in life as though it were your last.
-Marcus Aurelius, philosopher and writer (121-180)
An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets the more interested he is in her.
- Agatha Christie. English Detective, Novelist and Playwright, 1890-1976
It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it.
~Gilbert K. Chesterton~
Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.
- Confucius. China's most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, 551-479 BC
And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
~Bible, Psalms (ch. LV, v. 6)~
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.
- Maria Robinson.
...getting ready for a long vacation trip and really don't have the time to do this every day... but then, you never know ;->
1. Hypersensitivity to the color red.2. An extreme fear of blushing.
[From Greek erythros (red) + phobia (fear).]
Red screams danger or at the very least inconvenience and annoyance. It's no wonder we do our best to avoid it. Red ink is a sign of trouble in business. Red light stops us in our tracks. Who wants to be caught red-handed?
"Some people blush 20 to 30 times a day. Some blush just thinking about blushing. Some experience such a rush of blood to the face their eyes get bloodshot. ... People with erythrophobia can blush just getting a haircut." Sharon Kirkey; Canadians head to U.S. for Treatment to Reduce Blushing: Vancouver Sun (Canada); Aug 21, 2004.
Fear and Desire. That sounds like the name of some nineteenth-century novel. Instead, it's the theme for this week's words in A.Word.A.Day.
Pick up just about anything under the sun and, if you look long enough, you'll find someone who dreads it. On the other hand, there's also bound to be a person who's crazy about it. No wonder in English there's a word for almost every imaginable phobia and mania. There is one phobia, however, that doesn't apply to the linguaphiles here ... logophobia (fear of words).
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/erythrophobia.html
People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Swiss-American psychiatrist and author
An overwhelming desire to return home or to go back to familiar places.
[From Greek nostos (a return home) + -mania (excessive enthusiasm or madness).]
You can consider nostomania to be an extreme form of nostalgia (literally, pain for home). For school kids, receiving a bad report card might induce nostophobia. A synonym for geriatrics is nostology.
"Out of ignorance or out of nostomania for a Norman Rockwell vision of the American family, the public sector has retreated from day care." Andrew Ward; Child-care Centers Can Fulfill Mission; The New York Times; Jul 13, 1986.
This week's theme: fear and desire.
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/nostomania.html
A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.
- John Maxwell. American Author and motivational speaker
No one was ever great without some portion of divine inspiration.
~Marcus Tullius Cicero~
The fear of women.
[From Greek gyne (female, woman) + -phobia (fear).]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=gynophobia
"Precluding women from such positions of leadership is not theologically substantiated, but a clear manifestation of misogyny and gynophobia." Kudakwashe Chirambwi; Church Should Welcome Women Into Leadership; The Herald (Harare, Zimbabwe); Nov 5, 2004.
This week's theme: fear and desire.
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/gynophobia.html
The belief that one is God or specially chosen by God on a mission.
[From Greek theos (god) + -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze).]
This mania often strikes rulers of nations and is highly recommended when planning to attack other nations. It soothes conscience, clears the path, and removes all doubts. After all, if one is channeling God, why worry about rules and conventions of mere humans?
"[Chaitanya] was totally given to theomania, which caused Him to chant and dance in ecstasy." Steven J. Rosen; The Hidden Glory of India; Bhaktivedanta Book Trust; 2002.
This week's theme: fear and desire.
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/theomania.html
Not ignorance, but ignorance of ignorance, is the death of knowledge.
-Alfred North Whitehead, mathematician and philosopher (1861-1947)
Only if we can restrain ourselves is good conversation possible. Good talk rises upon much discipline.
~John Erskine~
Magnetism is one of the Six Fundamental Forces of the Universe, with the other five being Gravity, Duct Tape, Whining, Remote Control, and The Force That Pulls Dogs Toward The Groins Of Strangers.
- Dave Barry. American Writer and Humorist best known for his weekly newspaper column. b.1947
An irrational fear of contracting diseases.
[From Greek nosos (disease) + -phobia (fear).]
A few related words are nosology (the branch of medical science dealing with classification of diseases) and nosocomial (hospital-acquired, as an infection). The word nostrum is unrelated -- it comes from Latin nostrum (ours), from the practice of peddlers calling the drug "our" drug.
"By mid-March, one could almost palpate the national nosophobia, perhaps best illustrated by the wire service report of a New York mother who, hearing on the news one morning last week that apples cause cancer, called the state police to intercept her child's school bus to remove the allegedly offensive fruit from the lunch box." Elizabeth M. Whelan; A Morbid Fear of Illness Makes America Trash Good Food and Common Sense; The Los Angeles Times; Mar 20, 1989.
This week's theme: fear and desire.
Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/nosophobia.html
One of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the great struggle for independence.
-Charles A. Beard, historian (1874-1948)
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In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts bring sad thoughts to the mind.
~William Wordsworth~
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What is uttered from the heart alone, Will win the hearts of others to your own.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. German Playwright, Poet, Novelist and Dramatist. 1749-1832
from The Lathe of Heaven Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.
~Ursula K. Leguin~
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One measure of friendship consists not in the number of things friends can discuss, but in the number of things they need no longer mention.
- Clifton Fadiman. American radio Host, Author and Editor hosted radio show "Information Please" (1938-1948), wrote Party of One (1955) , 1904-1999
Keep not ill men company, lest you increase the number.
~George Herbert, Jacula Prudentum~
Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.
- Shel Silverstein. American poet, cartoonist and composer best known in children's literature for his poetry, 1930-1999
