DarkRavie Posted March 25 Author Report Share Posted March 25 What's the Word: APOLLONIAN pronunciation: [ap-ə-LOH-nee-ən] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Greek, 17th century Meaning: 1. Relating to the rational, ordered, and self-disciplined aspects of human nature. Examples: "Adam considered himself to have Apollonian traits." "His combination of excellent grades and participation in several sports gave him an Apollonian reputation." About Apollonian This word hails directly from the Greek god Apollo. The Greek adjective was “Apollonios.” Did you Know? The ancient Greeks put the god Apollo on a pedestal because he was the god of poetry, music, healing, and more. Twentieth-century German philosophers juxtaposed the sons of Zeus — Apollo (archetype of rationality and calmness) and Dionysus (archetype of passion, emotions, and instinct) — in a long-lasting duality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRavie Posted March 25 Author Report Share Posted March 25 (edited) This is today's What's the Word: DICTUM pronunciation: [DIK-təm] Part of speech: noun Origin: Latin, late 16th century Meaning: 1. A short statement that expresses a general truth or principle. 2. A formal pronouncement from an authoritative source. Examples: "The famous medical dictum says, ‘First, do no harm.’" "Stanley wanted to include a popular spiritual dictum in the introduction to his novel." About Dictum This is borrowed from the Latin “dictum,” literally meaning “something said.” Did you Know? Not all dictums are necessarily rooted in truth; sometimes they’re just catchphrases that have been said with enough authority over time to gain popularity. For instance, “you are what you eat” is not a literal truth. Edited March 26 by DarkRavie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRavie Posted March 27 Author Report Share Posted March 27 What's the Word: AVATAR pronunciation: [AV-ə-tahr] Part of speech: noun Origin: Sanskrit, late 18th century Meaning: 1. An icon or figure representing a particular person in video games, internet forums, etc. 2. A manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; an incarnate divine teacher (mainly in Hinduism). Examples: "Derek’s avatar on the text thread is a cartoon." "Meghan chose the fox as her avatar in the video game." About Avatar This word originates from the Sanskrit “avantarana,” meaning “descent of a deity to the earth in incarnate form.” Did you Know? The rise of technology seems to coincide with a rise in popularity of the word “avatar.” In computer terminology, usage of the word seems to trace back to the 1992 sci-fi novel “Snowcrash” by Neal Stephenson, which features an alternate universe populated by avatars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRavie Posted March 28 Author Report Share Posted March 28 What's the Word: MEZZANINE pronunciation: [MEH-zə-neen] Part of speech: noun Origin: French, early 18th century Meaning: 1. A low story between two others in a building, typically between the ground and first floors. 2. The lowest balcony of a theater, stadium, etc., or the front rows of the balcony. Examples: "The hotel’s mezzanine floor had a lot of ornate woodwork." "The office mezzanine incorporated glass and steel into its design." About Mezzanine This word came from France by way of the Italian “mezzanino,” stemming from “mezzano,” meaning “middle.” It originated from the Latin “medianus,” meaning “median.” Did you Know? While “mezzanine” is primarily used to describe architecture, “mezzanine financing,” in the financial realm, is capital that has both debt and equity features. Just like a mezzanine floor sits between the ground and first floors, this type of lending falls between more traditional types of financing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRavie Posted March 29 Author Report Share Posted March 29 What's the Word: CODA pronunciation: [KOH-də] Part of speech: noun Origin: Italian, mid-18th century Meaning: 1. A concluding event, remark, or section. 2. The concluding passage of a piece or movement (music), typically forming an addition to the basic structure. Examples: "Tim composed an elegant concerto with a haunting coda." "The graduation ceremony was a touching coda to her high school memories." About Coda This word comes from the Italian “cauda,” meaning “tail.” Did you Know? The acronym “CODA” stands for “child of deaf adult.” The acronym has gained widespread use in recent years, especially after the 2021 Oscar-winning movie of the same name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRavie Posted March 30 Author Report Share Posted March 30 What's the Word: FACTOID pronunciation: [FAK-toid] Part of speech: noun Origin: American English, 1970s Meaning: 1. A brief or trivial item of news or information. 2. An assumption or speculation that is reported and repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact. Examples: "Mary loved collecting drinks with factoids under the bottle cap." "Despite the popular factoid, it is not dangerous to drink soda and eat Pop Rocks." About Factoid This word originated as a combination of the word “fact” (“a thing known or proven to be true”) and the suffix “-oid” (“resembling or like”), creating the definition of “something that resembles a fact.” It has gathered additional meanings over time. Did you Know? “Factoid” was first coined by American writer Norman Mailer in his 1973 biography of pop culture icon Marilyn Monroe. In what is thought to be the first usage of the term, Mailer described factoids as facts that didn’t exist before being reported in newspapers or magazines — in other words, they were made up. Over time, however, “factoid” has taken on a different meaning of “a small tidbit of news or information.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRavie Posted March 31 Author Report Share Posted March 31 What's the Word: CITADEL pronunciation: [SID-ə-del] Part of speech: noun Origin: French, mid-16th century Meaning: 1. A fortress, typically on high ground, protecting or dominating a city. Examples: "The soldiers prepared to fall back to the citadel before dark." "The king ordered the construction of a moat to further secure the citadel." About Citadel Citadel, the French word "citadelle," and the Italian word "cittadella" are all derived from the Latin word "civitas" ("city"). Did you Know? The Acropolis of Athens (Greece), the Rock of Gibraltar (in/near Spain), and Dover Castle (England) are citadels, fortresses built in strategic defensive locations to protect a city. The citadels were used by different cultures, depending on who was in power. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRavie Posted April 1 Author Report Share Posted April 1 What's the Word: APOLOGUE pronunciation: [AHP-pə-log] Part of speech: noun Origin: French, mid-16th century Meaning: 1. A moral fable, especially one with animals as characters. Examples: "Jessica wrote an apologue that made it easy for her students to absorb the lesson’s morals." "‘The Tortoise and the Hare’ is a famous apologue." About Apologue This word stems from French, via the Greek “apologos,” meaning “story.” Did you Know? “Aesop’s Fables,” perhaps the most well-known collection of apologues, has been educating children for generations with morality tales delivered through talking animals. Stories such as “The Owl and the Grasshopper,” “The Bell and the Cat,” and “The Two Crabs” are short enough to keep a child’s attention and obvious enough to make their ultimate messages clear. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRavie Posted Thursday at 12:21 PM Author Report Share Posted Thursday at 12:21 PM What's the Word: CULTIVAR pronunciation: [KUHL-tə-var] Part of speech: noun Origin: American English, 1920s Meaning: 1. A plant variety that has been produced in cultivation by selective breeding. Cultivars are usually designated in the style Taxus baccata “Variegata.” Examples: "The rose garden was organized by sections of different cultivars." "Most houseplants are cultivars of hardier, outdoor species." About Cultivar “Cultivar” originated from a 1920s combination of the existing words “cultivate” (“preparation for crops”) and “variety” (“the state of being different or diverse”). Did you Know? The word “cultivar” was coined by horticulturalist Liberty Hyde Bailey in 1923. Bailey wanted an abbreviation for the term “cultivated variety” — specific designations of plants that retain similar characteristics even after reproduction. Besides serving as the chair of Cornell University’s Horticulture and Landscape Gardening Department (the first of its kind in the country), Bailey was instrumental in creating the 4-H organization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRavie Posted Friday at 04:07 PM Author Report Share Posted Friday at 04:07 PM What's the Word: EXTANT pronunciation: [EK-stənt] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, mid-16th century Meaning: 1. (Especially of a document) Still in existence; surviving. Examples: "Since the original document was no longer extant, the team settled for secondary sources." "Unfortunately, there was a very small amount of extant work in Jessica’s chosen field." About Extant “Extant” developed from the Latin word “exstant” (“being visible or prominent, existing”), from the verb “exstare” — a combination of “ex” (“out”) and “stare” (“to stand”). Did you Know? The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., is said to be the largest library in the world, with more than 170 million items, including a large collection of extant materials, such as original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and the U.S. Constitution. The LOC displays these documents out of storage only for very short periods at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRavie Posted Saturday at 08:28 PM Author Report Share Posted Saturday at 08:28 PM What's the Word: CLOVEN pronunciation: [KLOH-vən] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Old English, 13th century Meaning: 1. Split or divided in two. Examples: "Do you remember the story of Moses when he made the Red Sea cloven?" "By the time the storm subsided, the sailboat was nearly cloven." About Cloven This word comes from the Old English “clēofan,” a past participle adjective of “cleave,” meaning “to split, part, or divide by force.” It is related to the Dutch “klieven” and German “klieben.” Did you Know? There are many animals with cloven hooves, including deer, pigs, cattle, antelopes, goats, and sheep. The hooves on horses, zebras, and donkeys, meanwhile, are solid and single-toed, while rhinoceroses have three toes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRavie Posted Sunday at 03:31 PM Author Report Share Posted Sunday at 03:31 PM What's the Word: CONATION pronunciation: [koh-NAY-SHən] Part of speech: noun Origin: Latin, early 17th century Meaning: 1. The mental faculty of purpose, desire, or will to perform an action; volition. Examples: "Monica had the conation to complete the Boston Marathon." "Henry was frustrated that he still had the conation to complete his big plans, but the foul weather was stopping him." About Conation This word comes from the Latin “conatio(n-),” originally from “conari,” meaning “to try.” Did you Know? According to the American Psychological Association, conation is one of three traditionally identified components of the human mind. The other two are cognition and affect. Conation in this sense is “the proactive (as opposed to habitual) part of motivation that connects knowledge, affect, drives, desires, and instincts to behavior.” Sometimes the behavioral basis of attitudes is called the “conative component.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRavie Posted Monday at 03:33 PM Author Report Share Posted Monday at 03:33 PM What's the Word: EXIGUOUS pronunciation: [ek-SIG-yoo-əs] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, mid-17th century Meaning: 1. Very small in size or amount. Examples: "The teacher is applying for a grant to supplement the exiguous resources." "The recipe called for an exiguous amount of baking soda." About Exiguous This word stems from the Latin “exiguus,” meaning “scanty.” “Exiguus” came from “exigere,” meaning “weigh exactly.” Did you Know? At first glance, “exiguous” might appear like a word that means “expansive,” “extensive,” or “excess” — essentially, “more.” But the “ex-” prefix in this context means “completely,” and the word’s root verb, “exigere,” means “to weigh or measure.” This idea of measuring precisely gave “exiguous” its current sense of scantness or stinginess. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRavie Posted 10 hours ago Author Report Share Posted 10 hours ago What's the Word: SENSATE pronunciation: [SEN-seyt] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, 15th century Meaning: 1. Perceiving or perceived by the senses. Examples: "The meditation teacher encouraged tapping into the sensate realm." "Many animals have sharper sensate abilities than humans." About Sensate This word stems from the Late Latin “sensatus,” meaning “gifted with sense,” which itself originates from “sensus,” meaning “perception, feeling, undertaking, meaning.” Did you Know? “Sensate” is an adjective that can be used to describe anything that can be perceived by the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. You might be able to see someone's tears or hear their crying, for example; those are sensate indicators that they are sad. However, you also have emotional intelligence and may pick up on other signals outside of your sensate abilities to get a better understanding of the person’s emotions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now