Are you guilty of this? Gail

Word of the Day: Kibitz (verb)

Pronunciation: ['ki-bits]

Definition: To look on without participating; to offer meddlesome advice to others; to talk idly or annoyingly.
Usage: Today's word is not to be confused with a kibbutz (plural "kibbutzim"), with accent on the second syllable, the communal farms in Israel. A kibitzer is someone whose participation does not move beyond words; a back-seat driver is a kibitzer.

Suggested Usage: The first meaning of today's word is someone who looks on without participating, "I have the only wife in the world who kibitzes when we watch television! I never know what the shows are about." But it also means to offer meddlesome advice, "I don't have a lawyer but a legal kibitzer who has never seen the inside of a courtroom."

Etymology: Today's is a Yiddish word from German kiebitzen "to look on at cards" based on kiebitz "lapwing, pewit (bird)" by onomatopoeia (sound imitation). "Kibitz" itself may be imitative of a bird chirping to emphasize the fact that it refers to someone who talks annoyingly.

—Dr. Language, yourDictionary.com

astute • \uh-STOOT\ • adjective

*1 : having or showing shrewdness and perspicacity
2 : crafty, wily

Example Sentence:
The candidate made a number of astute observations about both foreign and domestic policy during the debate.

Did you know?
"Astute" is similar in meaning to "shrewd" and "sagacious," but there are subtle differences in connotation among them. All three suggest sharp thinking and sound judgment, but "shrewd" stresses practical, hardheaded cleverness and judgment ("a shrewd judge of character"), whereas "sagacious" implies wisdom and foresight combined with good judgment ("sagacious investors"). "Astute," which derives from the Latin noun "astus," meaning "craft," suggests cleverness, mental sharpness, and diplomatic skill ("an astute player of party politics").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

-- Merriam-Webster Online

umbra • \UM-bruh\ • noun

1 : a shaded area
*2 a : a conical shadow excluding all light from a given source; specifically : the conical part of the shadow of a celestial body excluding all light from the primary source b : the central dark part of a sunspot

Example Sentence:
*During the lunar eclipse, the moon was in the umbra of the earth's shadow for about 90 minutes.

Did you know?
The Latin word "umbra" ("shade, shadow") has given English a range of words in addition to "umbra" itself. An umbrella can provide us with shade from the sun. So can an umbrageous tree. (In this case, "umbrageous" means "affording shade.") The connection to shade or shadow in other "umbra" words is less obvious. When we say someone takes "umbrage," we mean they take offense, but in times past people used the word as a synonym of "shade" or "shadow." The two senses of "umbrage" influenced "umbrageous," which can mean "inclined to take offense easily" as well as "affording shade."

-- Merriam-Webster Online

Not quite the same as the proverbial slippery slope, but close! Gail

Word of the Day: Declivity (noun)

Pronunciation: [dê-'kli-vê-tee]

Definition: A downward slope.

Usage: Several adjectives are related to today's noun; the two most common are "declivous" [dê-'kLI-vês] and "declivitous" [dê-'kli-vê-tês], currently the more popular of the pair. The antonym is acclivity "upward slope," whose adjective is "acclivitous."

Suggested Usage: Today's word plays a major role in geological descriptions, "Truman lived and died on the Eastern declivity of Mount St. Helens." However, other types of descriptions can often accommodate it, too, "Their relationship has been in a declivitous state since the evening he lifted her cat from the couch by its tail."

Etymology: From Latin declivitas "slope, declivity" from declivis "sloping downhill" comprising de- "(away) from" + clivus "slope." Related to "climate" via Greek klima "surface of the earth, region." The zero grade form of the same root, i.e. *kli-, gave us "lid" from Old English hlid "cover" derived from Germanic *hlid- "that which bends over, cover." Suffixed with -n, the same root became English "lean" from Old English hlinian "to lean" and with -ent, it produced Latin cliens, clientis "dependent, follower," the source of English "client." Finally, another suffixed form evolved into "ladder" from Old English hlædder "ladder," whose trail leads to Germanic *hlaidri-.

—Dr. Language, yourDictionary.com

Here is a handy word- Gail

Word of the Day: Cacoepy (noun)

Pronunciation: [kæk-'o-ê-pee or 'kæk-o-e-pee]
Definition: Incorrect pronunciation.

Usage: Occasionally, we need words we have long since abandoned or that have abandoned us. We may be facing a period in our history now when we need to retrieve "cacoepy" from our lexical attic. "Cacoepy" is not to be confused with cacology "bad choice of words." The antonym of "cacoepy" is orthoepy "the correct pronunciation of words." "Cacoepistic" is the adjective form of today's word and a person who often mispronounces words is a "cacoepist.

Suggested Usage: We think that such a ten-dollar word (the legendary "fifty-cent word" adjusted for inflation) as today's ought to be reserved for those who consistently get it wrong. "The Cacoepist-In-Chief mispronounced word after word, even making up a few, leading one newspaper to ask 'Hain't English his Native Lingo?'"

Etymology: The first part of today's word comes from the Greek kakos "bad." The PIE root is kakka- "to defecate." Words like "poppycock" and "cacophony" have their origins in the same root. The second half, -epy, is from Greek: epos "song, word." Its PIE root is wekw-, which also turns up in "vocal," "voice," "invoke" and "vote."

—Dr. Language, yourDictionary.com

Word of the Day: Quiddity (noun)


Pronunciation: ['kwi-dê-ti]

Definition: (1) The essential nature of a thing, its character; (2) a trivial issue, a quibble.

Usage: "Quiddity" is a little oddity proving the fluidity of the English idiom. It is odd because, like "sanction" and "cleave," its two meanings seem to be antonyms, referring to the most important and the least important aspects of a thing. It comes with an odd little verb, too, "quiddle," which means only to chatter over trifles. Are you ever a quiddler? The plural is as to be expected, "quiddities." (For the relation to "quibble," see the Etymology below.)

Suggested Usage: Today's word is what Richard Lederer (Crazy English 1989) calls a contranym, a word with two contradictory meanings. On the one hand, it refers to the essential thing, "The quiddity of his intentions became evident when he asked if she would mind paying for the engagement ring." On the other hand, it refers to a triviality: "Irving is quite a quiddling quitter." This makes multiple uses in the same phrase possible, if not advisable: "Can we get past the quiddities and down to the quiddities of the issue?" That should send them off to their dictionaries (or you off to a mental institution).

Etymology: Today's word comes from Medieval Latin "quidditas" based on quid "what," as in quid pro quo "something for something" and a recent word in our series, "quidnunc." We have mentioned before that the interrogative pronouns of all Indo-European languages come from the same root, *kwo-, which loses its [k] sound in some languages and its [w] sound in others. The sound [k] became [h] in English, so "what," "where," and "who" all come from this source is Russian chto "what," kto "who," and kuda "where to." Latin maintained both initial sounds, spelling them [qu]: qui [kwi] "who, what." The dative-ablative plural of this pronoun is quibus "to/from what," which we find in "quibble."

–Dr. Language, YourDictionary.com

I currently have one of these at my house- Gail

Word of the Day: Hoghenhine (noun)


Pronunciation: ['hah-gên-hIn]

Definition: (English Medieval Law) A legal member of one's own family; a visitor who remains past the third night or the third night of a visit itself in someone else's home.

Usage: According to "The Country Justice" by Michael Dalton (1655): "…a stranger, or he which cometh guest-wise to an house, and there lieth the third night, is called an Hoghenhine (or Agenhine) and after the third night he is accounted one of his family in whose house he so lyeth: and if he offend the Kings peace, his [H]Oast must be answerable for him." It was the custom for travelers to spend the night in strangers' homes along their journey. However, under medieval English law, if someone stayed three nights, he was presumed not to be a stranger and hence a legal member of the family, a hoghenhine. This meant that the host was liable for his misbehavior as he was for members of his own family.

Suggested Usage: Here is another recondite but intriguing piece of English linguistic history probably better left undisturbed. However, if you find its attraction simply irresistible, you might try something like this: "No hoghenhine of mine would ever do such a thing!" Keep in mind, however, it refers to your immediate family plus any guest staying with you three days or more. "All our hoghenhine are in bed by 11 P.M."

Etymology: Old English aghen "own" + hine "servant, boy." No one has really cared enough to explore this word any further than this. However, we can point to "aghen" as a link between the English derivative, "own," and German eigen 'own," which retains the [g]. Both are related to Gothic aigin "property," i.e. what one owns.

—Dr. Language, yourDictionary.com

Word of the Day: Gallivant (verb)

Pronunciation: ['gæl-ê-vænt]
Definition: (Colloquial) To gad about in a showy fashion; to travel more to be seen than for the given purpose of the travel. To travel about looking for fun and pleasure.

Usage: The word is colloquial and most often used humorously. It is particularly popular in the southern U.S. but is used widely elsewhere, as the Oxford English Dictionary attests. The noun is "gallivanting" but few other derivatives of this verb are used.

Suggested Usage: This good-natured critique of a show-off is useful at work and play: "Pearl has been gallivanting all over town in her new silk dress. You would think she paid $1,000 for it." We all know guys this verb works with, too, "His favorite pastime is gallivanting; he thinks he is the last ray of sunlight on earth."

Etymology: This word's origins are as mysterious as Dr. Language's. It is probably a humorous extension of "gallant" since it rather reflects the behavior of gallants. If so, it goes back to Old French galant, the present participle of galer "to rejoice." This word is ultimately of Germanic origin, based on the ancient root *wel- that we find in "well" and "wealth" today. The same root went directly into Latin as the adverb volup "pleasing" and voluptas "pleasure."

—Dr. Language, yourDictionary.com

nonchalant • \nahn-shuh-LAHNT\ • adjective

: having an air of easy unconcern or indifference

Example Sentence:
Colette was amazed that Ryan could remain so nonchalant after being informed that he had won the scholarship.

Did you know?
Since "nonchalant" comes ultimately from Latin words meaning "not" and "be warm," it's no surprise that the word is all about keeping one's cool. The French word "nonchalant," which we borrowed around 1734, has essentially the same meaning as our English word and was derived in Old French from a verb, "nonchaloir," which meant "to disregard." "Nonchaloir" in turn combines the negative "non-" with "chaloir," which means "to concern" and comes from the Latin "calēre" ("to be warm"). "Unconcerned" is one synonym of "nonchalant," along with "casual," "complacent," and "insouciant."

Merriam-Webster Online

Word of the Day: Panglossian (adjective)

Pronunciation: [pæn-'glah-si-ên]

Definition: Blindly and naively optimistic.

Usage: Today's word provides a way to shorten conversations by condensing "overly-optimistic and naïve" into a single word. The adjective may be also used freely as a noun, "Nothing distresses Rita; she is an eternal panglossian." It has a non-identical twin, "panglossic," which offers the advantage of an adverb, "panglossically." The noun is "panglossism," taken directly from "Pangloss" (see Etymology).

Suggested Usage: Panglossians are generally pleasant company, since they are deaf to bad news. However, the attitude does not fit all circumstances: "Trey Sample is so panglossian as to think that the major impact of the Inquisition was to improve the living standards of rack and gallows makers." Since youth is highly susceptible to the attitude, household uses for today's word abound, "I hope you are not so panglossian as to think that your devastation of my petunias with the lawn-mower this afternoon will pass unnoticed."

Etymology: Today's word is based on the name of Pangloss, the tutor in Voltaire's 'Candide' (1759) who believes, in Candide's words, "that all is right when all goes wrong." Voltaire created the name from Greek pan "all, whole" + glossa "language, tongue." The adverb "pan" also appears in English panoply (from Greek pan + opla "all arms"), panorama (from Greek pan + orama "whole view") and panther (may be from Greek pan + ther "all animal"). The stem in "glossa" is also found in English "gloss" and "glossary," and a variant occurs in glottis "vocal cords" and polyglot, which refers to a speaker of several languages—not to be confused with a linguist, someone who studies language scientifically.



—Dr. Language, yourDictionary.com