con.fab.u.late, (kuhn-fab-yuh-leyt), intransitive verb (used without an object)

[> Latin confabulari, confabulat- : com + fabulari, to talk; fabula, conversation]]

1. To talk informally, casually; to chat.
2. To unconsciously fill gaps in one’s memory with fantasy believing it to be factual.

confabulation, noun
confabulator, noun
confabulatory, adj.

“Fable” also derives from the same Latin root, fabula. To confabulate can be to just swap stories or fables with your friends or to just “shoot the breeze.” Happy Confabulations today on C/A!

“ I shall not ask Jean Jacques Rousseau
If birds confabulate or no.
- William Cowper (1731–1800)


Twittering Machine, Paul Klee (1879 - 1940)

Foggy-Paris, 1934 by Brassai

nu.bi.lous (noo-buh-luhs, nyoo-), adj.

1. Cloudy or foggy.
2. Obsucre or vague; indefinite.
- Random House Unabridged

[> Latin nubilus, cloud + ilus, adjectival suffix; not to be confused with nubile, adj., of a
female of marriageable age or development which derives from Latin nubilis, to wed.]

Related forms or words:
nubilose, adj.
nubiferous, adj. bringing or producing clouds
nubigenous, adj. born of or produced from clouds
nubilate v. t., to cloud
- Webster Dictionary, 1913 at U. of Chicago’s ARTFL project
nubia (noo-bee-uh), noun [from L. nubes, a cloud], a woman's light, fleecy wrap, worn over the
head and shoulders. - Webster's New World


“How far the disparting and convolving luminous nebulae may go to solve this nubilous question,
I leave to scientific and philosophic minds to decide.”
-Creation, a sacred poem by Oxoniensis pseudo, pub. 1852

con.volve (kuhn-volv),

a verb used with or without an object, convolved, convolving,

[From Latin con , with + volvere , to roll, turn or twist]

To roll or wind together; to coil or twist.

A good example is a rope, for not only can you coil it up for storage but the rope itself
is composed of twisted strands of material; the strands are convolved together.
Convolving a rope is also coiling it into a convolution. Other examples are convolved threads
or rods of steel which we call “springs;” and convolved strands of dough which we call “pretzels.”

There are so many words which are descendants of the Latin volvere convolving in my mind just now that I hardly know how to escape from their serpentine coils. There are at least these: convolve, involve, revolve, volute, involute, voluted, volution, volvulus and todays selection:

de.volve (di - volv), verb, [c.1420, from L. devolvere "to roll down," from de- + volvere "to roll" - online etymology dictionary].

verb with an object:
1. to pass on a duty or responsibility to, or shift upon another person.
2. (obsolete) to cause to roll downward.

verb without an object:
1. To be passed on from one to another.
2. (archaic.) To roll or flow downward.
-based on Random House Unabridged Dictionary.

“All higher motives, ideals, conceptions, sentiments in a man are of no account if they do not come forward to strengthen him for the better discharge of the duties which devolve upon him in the ordinary affairs of life.” - Henry Ward Beecher

Salvador Dali, Christ of St. John of the Cross, 1951.



nu.mi.nous (noo-min-us; nyoo-), adjective.

[ 1640 < Latin numinis, < nuere, to nod; numen a nod of assent or command (as from the divine).]

1. of or like a numen; supernatural.
2. beyond understanding; mysterious; filled with a sense of a supernatural presence.
3. spiritually elevated; sublime.


Related words:
numen, “presence”; a presiding divinity or spirit of a place.
numena, plural of numen.


“In that work [The Idea of the Holy], however, Otto was conscious of moving beyond his previous efforts, exploring more specifically the nonrational aspect of the religious dimension, for which he coined the term numinous, from the Latin numen (“god,” “spirit,” or “divine”), on the analogy of “ominous” from “omen.” -from an article on Rudolf Otto at Britannica Online.

“Our culture is not much concerned with the numinous, but in language we preserve many of the marks of a culture that is.” - Richard Mitchell, Less Than Words Can Say

Last week's word's and fragmentary definitions. For completeness and for the pronuciations please scroll upwards.

1. ma.ieu.tic, adj...........of the Socratic teaching method
2. con.fab.u.late, v.i.,.....to chat; (twitter?) ;)
3. nu.bi.lous, adj...........cloudy, foggy
4. con.volve, v.,..............to roll together, twist, turn, coil.
5. de.volve, v.i.,v.t.,.......to pass onto another; to roll down
6. nu.min.ous, adj..........of or like a numen; mysterious, awesome, sublime.

They are all useful words, and it is difficult for me to choose a favorite between, nubilous, convolve and numinous; but I am quite wrapped up with convolve. Convolve and its cousins are revolving in my grey matter, so that I am reminded of another word that just may have the same grandfather: evolve. (Just a minute while I consult a dictionary.) .................. Just as I thought! Convolve is L. com, together + volvere, to turn, roll; whereas, evolve is formed of L. e, out + volvere, to roll.

Now that this family of words has devolved into your awareness, do not let these words dissolve into the nubilous regions where strenuous maieutic efforts are needed to bring them forth into your numinous convolving confabulations. (Please twitter quietly... :)

di.aph.a.nous (dahy-af-uh-nuh s) adj.

[1614, from Medieval Latin diaphanus, < Greek diaphanes, < dia- (prep.), through, between, across, by, of, + -phane shine or appear.]

1. sheer and light; very transparent or translucent.
2. of a delicate form, airy.
3. vague, insubstantial.

Related words:
di.aph.a.nous.ly, adverb
di.aph.a.nous.ness, noun
di.aph.a.ne.i.ty, noun (dahy-af-uh-nie-uh-tee)
di.aph.a.nom.e.ter (dahy-af-uh-nom-uh-ter), noun, an instrument for measuring transparency.

"Resembling bright bubbles, these diaphanous expanses of gas and dust belong to the category of astronomical phenomena known as nebulas." -Ron Cowen, Science News Online, May 24, 2003



Nebula located in the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20030524/a3589_2501.jpg

the word nebulous I know, and sometimes use, along with ephemeral, transitory. I never heard of nubilous, unless you're talking about a young woman who has marriagable charecteristics.

DB

It is a nice word. I never heard of it either! (until some sixty plus years after being baptized into the English language, I saw it in my dictionary.) In the Latin roots there is just one letter difference between speaking of clouds or of weddings! :)

Nubilous and nebulous are almost the same when used to speak of the foggy, misty, vague and indefinate. The word 'nebulous' does have connections with astronomy in English, the first definiton in my Webster's New World is "of or like a nebula." Looking at 'nebula,' it says, "1. any of several light, misty, cloudlike patches seen in the night sky, consisting of groups of stars too far away to be seen singly, or of masses of gaseous matter."



The Latin root for nubilous is nubilus, cloud, and for nebulous, nebulosus full of mist, foggy; and for nubile & the adj. nubility, the root is nubilis < nubere, to veil oneself(thus the bride obscures as with a white mist her full glory). It's amazing! Thanks for bringing it up, D. Bishop. Now it is evident how these three adjectives are related: nubilous, nebulous, and nubility (the state of being nubile.)

And the recent WOD diaphanous(a veil is diaphanous) just above with a photo of galactic clouds!!!

That word ephemeral.... excuse me.... I must hie me aback 't me dictionary.....

Fan-Tailed Cuckoo
of eastern Australia

photo: K. Vang and W. Dabraka


cu.cu.li.form (kyoo-kyoo-leh-form), adjective [< Latin cucul cuckoo + I + FORM]

- Pertaining to or resembling the order of cuculiformes which includes the family of cuckoos and roadrunners.

Cuckoos have slender bodies, long tails, strong legs and love to eat hairy caterpillars that other birds dislike. Many lay their eggs in the nests of other birds thus devolving their parental responsibilities on to their neighbors.
- http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Cuckoo

Roadrunners, about 22 inches long, are clumsy, weak fliers, so prefer to run. Using their stout bill, they pound insects, lizards, and snakes to death, then swallow the victim head first. - http://p2.www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9376990

Roadrunner, Southwestern U.S.A.