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Word of the Day: Roister

October 10, 2016

Word of the Day: Roister

Roister (verb) ROY-ster

Definition

: to engage in noisy revelry : carouse

Examples

Hugh didn’t get much sleep last night because his neighbors were roistering until the wee hours of the morning.

“North Highlands, apparently, is also what they call a part of Scotland where the prince’s grandmum (the Queen Mother) kept a wee castle where the little royals used to roister.” — Carlos Alcala, The Sacramento (California) Bee, 27 Oct. 2005

Did You Know?

As British writer Hugo Williams asserted in The Times Literary Supplement (November 15, 1991), roistering tends to be “funnier, sillier and less harmful than standard hooliganism, being based on nonsense rather than violence.” Boisterous roisterers might be chagrined to learn that the word roister derives from a Middle French word that means “lout” or “boor,”rustre. Ultimately, however, it is from the fairly neutral Latin word rusticus, meaning “rural.” In the 16th century, the original English verb was simply roist, and one who roisted was aroister. Later, we changed the verb to roister and the corresponding noun to roisterer.

My Take

I remember the days when I would go out in the evening, perhaps after work or just because, and carouse or engage in noisy revelry. Ah, those were the days. Too bad, I didn’t know this word for it. Roister.

Do I miss those days? No, not really. As best as I can remember, I would go out because I needed to blow off steam, to get my rocks off, to find a girl to spend the evening with, and do it all over again. Of course, I didn’t have a lot of mad money in those days, so it wasn’t a nightly thing. What might have happened if I did, I shudder to think about it. I was lucky. Incredibly lucky. I didn’t fall into the wrong crowd, get a girl pregnant, nor get hooked on drugs, etc.

Today, I have a special person in my life. Stresses of the day are quickly relieved just by being with her, helping her and allowing her to help me. I have a small but solid circle of friends. We hang out and enjoy good times.

Do I miss those days of carousing, revelry, and roistering. No. What’s more, I am happy.

Please share with me your comments. I enjoy reading them.

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Word of the Day: Odious

October 9, 2016

Word of the Day: Odious

Odious (adjective) OH-dee-us

Definition

: arousing or deserving hatred or repugnance : hateful

Examples

Volunteers gathered on Saturday morning to scrub away the odious graffiti spray-painted on the school.

“I can’t help being reminded of the progress we’ve made as a nation, as well as the odious past of slavery, the many men and women who have lost their lives in wars….” — Candi Castleberry Singleton, quoted in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 5 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

Odious has been with us since the days of Middle English. We borrowed it from Anglo-French, which in turn had taken it from Latin odiosus. The Latin adjective came from the noun odium, meaning “hatred.” Odium is also an ancestor of the English verb annoy (another word that came to Middle English via Anglo-French). And, at the beginning of the 17th century, odium entered English in its unaltered form, giving us a noun meaning “hatred” or “disgrace” (as in “ideas that have incurred much odium”).

My Take

Odious is not an unknown word for me, yet it is one that does not enter very much in my vocabulary. As I sit here, thinking about the term, I wonder why. I suppose it has a lot to do with my parents, my upbringing, and my philosophy on life. I don’t hate nor do I find most things repugnant. I wrote about my parents and how they raised me many months ago. In short, I wonder if, like myself, they were radicals. They raised me to be compassionate and considerate of everyone. They never instilled in me the nationalistic, sexist, or racist attitudes that I see around me. As a result, I feel fortunate.

Getting back to the word odious, I will strive to remember it. In researching the term, I discovered other uses for the word. The image I found for this post reflects upon another usage. In thinking about it further, I suddenly realize that there is a growing offensive attitude growing in my Mona Bendarova books. I briefly introduced it in book 2, and in book 3, the views of the community reflect a growing level of repugnancy among the population. Book 4 will expand upon the schism, almost like the today’s political environment.

What do you think? Share if like. I look forward to reading your comments.

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The Truncate Cropped Sweater in Fiery Red

Word of the Day: Truncate

October 8, 2016

Word of the Day: Truncate

Truncate (verb) TRUNG-kayt

Definition

: to shorten by or as if by cutting off

Examples

“Apparently, a federal law … requires printed credit card receipts truncate not only the credit card number, but also the expiration date.” — Jack Greiner, The Cincinnati Enquirer, 28 Aug. 2016

“Google’s own URL shortener service … instantly truncates the URL you’re visiting and copies the new address to the clipboard for use anywhere.” — Eric Griffith, PCMag.com, 23 Aug. 2016

Did You Know?

Truncate descends from the Latin verb truncare, meaning “to shorten,” which in turn can be traced back to the Latin word for the trunk of a tree, which is truncus. Incidentally, if you’ve guessed that truncus is also the ancestor of the English word trunk, you are correct. Truncusalso gave us truncheon, which is the name for a police officer’s billy club, and the obscure word obtruncate, meaning “to cut the head or top from.”

My Take

Truncate is another word that is part of my everyday vocabulary. It joined my vocabulary decades ago when I became a software engineer. Truncating strings (letters or words, such as a last name, an error message, or other similar communications). I’ve also used it to truncate trailing spaces in a string, to minimize storage necessities or make a message easier to understand.

In everyday life, agencies and companies routinely truncate, or prune, portions of a string to protect the privacy of the end user. Displaying the last four digits of a social security number or a credit card number protects the identity of the owner of that number. I could come up with example after example, but I believe you get the idea. So, the next time you see a truncated string, just remember that it’s there to help protect your privacy or understand the message.

Other things that can be truncated include cropped shirts, cropped shorts, and cropped hair cuts. Cropped is another word for truncate. Look around and see what other examples you can find in everyday life. Share them by commenting below. In the meantime, have a great day.

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Word of the Day: Macadam

October 7, 2016

Word of the Day: Macadam

Macadam
noun — muh-KAD-um

Definition

: a roadway or pavement of small closely packed broken stone

Examples

The sloping, curved street saw light traffic and had a smooth macadam surface that made it popular with skateboarders.

“Littered on the beach are nearly a dozen big slabs of macadam and even larger chunks of concrete that have slid down the cliff.” — Chris Burrell, The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Massachusetts), 20 Aug. 2016

Did You Know?

In 1783, inventor John Loudon McAdam returned to his native Scotland after amassing a fortune in New York City. He became the road trustee for his district and quickly set his inventiveness to remedying the terrible condition of local roads. After numerous experiments, he created a new road surfacing material made of bits of stone that became compressed into a solid mass as traffic passed over them. His invention revolutionized road construction and transportation, and engineers and the public alike honored him by using his name (re-spelled macadam) as a generic term for the material or pavement made from it. He is further immortalized in the verb macadamize, which names the process of installing macadam on a road.

My Take

Macadam, hey, a word I not only know, but I know well. In fact, I use it everyday life. Just two months ago, I had my driveway serviced with a top coat of macadam. It looks great, and it will sustain my home for decades to come. Some people call it asphalt paving, but that is not entirely accurate.

Since macadam is only 5 to 10% bitumen, macadam is a more accurate name for the substance.

What I don’t care for are the potholes that frequently occur during the freezing / warming seasons. If macadam has even the smallest void, water can seep into the macadam. During freezing cycles, the water expands and forces the aggregate to disengage from the roadway, allowing more water to flow into the void. As the ice melts, the disengaged aggregate washes away. The result is a hole that grows into what we call potholes. Potholes are the bane of our cars, from minor tire damage to broken axles. Something that I am sure every driver knows. I’m not saying anything you don’t already know. Of that, I am certain.

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Word of the Day: Vulnerary

October 7, 2016

Word of the Day: Vulnerary

Vulnerary
adjective VUL-nuh-rair-ee

Definition

: used for or useful in healing wounds

Examples

“Rebecca examined the wound, and having applied to it such vulneraryremedies as her art prescribed, informed her father that if fever could be averted … there was nothing to fear for his guest’s life, and that he might with safety travel to York with them on the ensuing day.” — Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe, 1820

“St. John’s wort can also help those with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) due to lower sunlight exposure in the winter months. Its anti-inflammatory, vulnerary, astringent, and antimicrobial actions make it a powerful healer for wounds, bruises, burns, sprains, and muscle pain.” — Jane Metzger, Mother Earth News, 13 July 2015

My Take

Ah, a new word for me, and one that I can use in my Mona Bendarova books. In these books, there is a medical doctor who is researching the male child high mortality rate and other issues.

However, he is also the primary care physician for hundreds of thousands of patients. In a world where sickness has been eliminated, the greatest need for his services is trauma care. Trauma injury occurs frequently. Treatment is performed using natural and manufactured medicines.

Vulnerary is a word that I can apply to his treatments. Wounds, bruises, burns, sprains, and muscle strain is common and need for the Doctor’s services is frequent. I look forward to the opportunity to use the word.

If you are interested in further information on the science of vulnerary, check out this blog site The Top 10 Best Blogs on Vulnerary.

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Word of the Day: Invective

October 5, 2016

Word of the Day: Invective

Invenctive

noun | in-VEK-tiv

Definition

1 : an abusive expression or speech
2 : insulting or abusive language : vituperation

Examples

“The ongoing collapse of responsible broadcast and cable journalism and the explosive role that social media has assumed in this campaign have made for a nasty brew of invective, slurs and accusations….” — Susan J. Douglas, In These Times, July 2016

“At a moment when American political discourse has descended to almost unimaginable levels of … invective, we need our teachers to model a better way to discuss our differences.” — Jonathan Zimmerman, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 14 Aug. 2016

Did You Know?

Invective originated in the 15th century as an adjective meaning “of, relating to, or characterized by insult or abuse.” In the early 16th century, it appeared in print as a noun meaning “an example of abusive speech.” Eventually, the noun developed a second sense applying to abusive language as a whole. Invective comes to us from the Middle French wordinvectif, which in turn derives from Latin invectivus, meaning “reproachful, abusive.” (Invectivus comes from Latin invectus, past participle of the verb invehere, one form of which means “to assail with words.”) Invective is similar to abuse, but it tends to suggest not only anger and vehemence but verbal and rhetorical skill. It sometimes implies public denunciation, as in “blistering political invective.”

My Take

It’s a shame really. I think everyone, at one time or another, have been either the victim or abuser of invective language. I don’t care to use it, and I can’t recall a particular instance over the last several years where I have used it. However, I do know that I have, as the feelings I sustained at the time, remain with me to this day. Push comes to shove; I will fall prey to using it. I have also been the victim of such language. For me, it can be degrading, demoralizing, and an outright assault upon my psyche.

That said, it’s a word that I intend to strive to remember and avoid practicing. Searching for an appropriate image found numerous examples, most of which are products such as guns, which I will not promote. Finding a generic one was harder. Persistence prevails so that I may bring one to you.

In my writings, you will find little invective speech, especially in the Mona Bendarova Adventures. Sure, there is coarse language, flavorful language, descriptive, and erotic language, but little in the way of abusive language. Oh, sure, a couple of my characters may utter short abusive outbursts, but they usually don’t last more than a sentence or two. Perhaps I should incorporate more of invective language in my stories.

What do you think? I would love to know. Feel free to share your comments with me.

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Word of the Day: Banausic

October 4, 2016

Word of the Day: Banausic

Banausic | adjective | buh-NAW-sik

Definition

: relating to or concerned with earning a living — used pejoratively; also : utilitarian,practical

Examples

“At the far end was a wooden board on which were hung saws, chisels, knives and other banausic instruments of the trade.” — Sebastian Faulk, Human Traces, 2005

“That story is followed by a brilliant allegory of reality TV and the cult of personality, Rumours About Me, in which a simple company man sees his banausic daily life … broadcast by the media until he is transformed into ‘a nobody who was known by everybody.'” — Christine Thomas, The Miami Herald, 2 Nov. 2008

Did You Know?

The ancient Greeks held intellectual pursuits in the highest esteem, and they considered ideal a leisurely life of contemplation. A large population of slaves enabled many Greek citizens to adopt that preferred lifestyle. Those who had others to do the heavy lifting for them tended to regard professional labor with contempt. Their prejudice against the need to toil to earn a living is reflected in the Greek adjective banausikos (the root of banausic), which not only means “of an artisan” (from the word for “artisan,” banausos) but “nonintellectual” as well.

My Take

Hey, here is a word I know I have never used or known. What I like about it, is it the perfect word to describe what I am trying to do with my writings. I strive to earn a living from my stories, written down, and shared with you.

Hundreds of stories stream through my head daily, some adaptations of previous streams but most are raw, new and different. Hmm, my streams are quiet right now, due to my injury several months back. I am hopeful they will return soon. At least that is what Doc tells me, despite my reservations. How do you think I came up with ‘The Taste of Honey’? It was one of those streams that kept repeating itself over the years.

Hopefully, my stories will be the banausic means to independent living. (Did I use it right? If not, please let me know.) Now, the challenge is to remember this word and use it. With my short-term memory issues, that will be a challenge. Thankfully, I have this post to refer to again and again.

This is Richard Verry, sharing with you just another insight into my world.

‘Word of the Day’ is brought to you by Merriam-Webster.

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Word of the Day: Guerdon

October 3, 2016

Word of the Day: Guerdon

Guerdon

noun : GUR-dun

Definition

: reward, recompense

Examples

“The big hurdle … was early promotion to captain. … This early promotion, this small dry irrevocable statistic in the record, was his guerdon for a quarter of a century of getting things done.” — Herman Wouk, The Winds of War, 1971

“The guerdon in attending a repertory company’s concert is being able to savor the variety of work on display.” — Juan Michael Porter II, Broadway World, 7 June 2016

Did you Know?

Guerdon dates back to the 14th century, when Geoffrey Chaucer used it in The Romaunt of the Rose (ca. 1366): “He quitte him wel his guerdon there.” It derives from Anglo-French and is thought to be related to the Old High German widarlōn, meaning “reward.” Shakespeare used guerdon a couple of times in his plays. In Love’s Labour’s Lost, for example, Berowne, attendant to King Ferdinand, sends the clown Costard to deliver a letter to Rosaline, attendant to the princess of France, handing him a shilling with the line, “There’s thy guerdon; go.” Guerdon is a rare word today, but contemporary writers do use it on occasion for poetic effect.

My Take

Ok, I admit, this is a tough one. I have never heard the word before, or I had, I promptly forgot about it. It’s not a common term, and one that I doubt will make it to my vocabulary.

To gain insight into the word, I Googled it. Good ol’ Google. Don’t you love it? Sorry, I digress. When I went looking for images related to the word, I thought that I wouldn’t find much. Surprise! Wrong again. It seems that many companies use the word in their businesses and products. Now that I understand the meaning of the word, it makes sense to me.

Who knew? Guerdon.

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Word of the Day: Deliquesce

October 2, 2016

Word of the Day: Deliquesce

Definition

Deliquesce

1 : to dissolve or melt away

2 : to become soft or liquid with age or maturity—used of some fungal structures (as the gills of a mushroom); to become liquid by absorbing moisture from the air

Examples

“‘Number Nine,’ a 16-minute bonbon of a ballet …, keeps its yellow-clad ensemble and four principal couples wheeling through kaleidoscopic patterns that surprise as they smoothly crystallize and deliquesce, sometimes matching the musical rhythms, sometimes working against them.” — Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times, 26 Sept. 2012

“But wait. If you have the brisket, will there be room for the beef rib? There’d better be, because it is a triumph. The salt-and-pepper-coated smoked meat and fat deliquesce into a sort of beef confit.” — Mark Vamos, The Dallas Morning News, 25 Dec. 2015

Did You Know?

Deliquesce derives from the prefix de- (“from, down, away”) and a form of the Latin verbliquēre, meaning “to be fluid.” Things that deliquesce, it could be said, turn to mush in more ways than one. In scientific contexts, a substance that deliquesces absorbs moisture from the atmosphere until it dissolves in the absorbed water and forms a solution. When plants and fungi deliquesce, they lose rigidity as they age. When deliquesce is used in non-scientific contexts, it is often in a figurative or humorous way to suggest the act of “melting away” under exhaustion, heat, or idleness, as in “teenagers deliquescing in 90-degree temperatures.”

My Take

An engaging word, and I like it. I also found one other definition of the word, which, I added to this post. In searching for related images, I found several, which surprised me. Of course, the one I wanted to use, I could not. It included naked tits which FB frowns on, despite the fact that it was a work of art rather than a photograph. Alternatively, I included one that is sure to depict the meaning of the word.

The trouble is, I don’t know how I would use it in everyday life or my writings. As I write this post, I have figured out some possible uses. I’ll work on it. How would you use it? Perhaps you can give me some ideas.

p.s. To see the photo I wanted to use, share this page using the Twitter icons on this page. Ain’t life great?

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Word of the Day: Empyreal

October 1, 2016

Word of the Day: Empyreal

Definition

Empyreal

1: of or relating to the heavens or firmament : celestial
2: sublime

Examples

Night after night, the comet shone brightly against the empyreal tapestry of the sky.
“A jar made in Iraq, Syria or Iran, its shape is nothing special, but its color—an empyreal sapphire blue, a version of which will later adorn the domes of Safavid mosques—is out of this world.” — Holland Cotter, The New York Times, 24 Dec. 2004

Did You Know?

Empyreal can be traced back to the Greek word for “fiery,” empyros, which was formed from the prefix em– (“in,” “within,” or “inside”) and –pyros, from pyr, the Greek word for “fire.” When empyreal entered the English language—via the Late Latin empyreus or empyrius—in the 15th century, it specifically referred to things related to the empyrean, the highest heaven or outermost heavenly sphere of ancient and medieval cosmology, which was often thought to contain or be composed of the element of fire. In the works of Christian writers—such as Dante’s Divine Comedy and John Milton’s Paradise Lost—this outermost heavenly sphere was associated with the Christian paradise. Empyreal is now also used more broadly in the senses of “celestial” and “sublime.”

My Take

Noticing that Merriam Webster’s Word of the Day was Empyreal, impressed my soul. It’s a great word, one that I haven’t used in a very long time. I should. To me, it is an elegant word, conveying a kind of sexiness in its meaning.

I have got to figure out a way to incorporate it into one of my stories. Perhaps have Mona gaze at the night sky and appreciate its celestial beauty. Since I am a person, who relishes the star-filled the sky, imagining traveling up there, between stars, meeting new civilizations, and just appreciating what the heavens offer, as far back as I can remember, I travel the stars in awe of their beauty and danger.

Of course, when I did a Google image lookup, I wasn’t surprised on how many images it returned related to the word. Cool, eh?

Conclusion

What do you think about the word? What does it mean to you?

I may just look up the M-W word of the day on a regular basis and share it with you. Until next time, this is Richard Verry, bringing you the latest.

Opening the mind to what is possible.

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Word of the Day: Roister

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Word of the Day: Odious

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Word of the Day: Truncate

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Word of the Day: Macadam

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Word of the Day: Vulnerary

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Word of the Day: Invective

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Word of the Day: Banausic

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Word of the Day: Guerdon

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Word of the Day: Deliquesce

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Word of the Day: Empyreal

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