Word Of The Day

[Altobelli]

DIACRITIC noun (dahy-uh-krit-ik)

noun
1. a mark, point, or sign added or attached to a letter or character to distinguish it from another of similar form, to give it a particular phonetic value, to indicate stress, etc., as a cedilla, tilde, circumflex, or macron. Also called diacritical mark.
adjective
1. diacritical.
2. diagnostic.

Quotes
Like a lovely little sunhat. It's [the circumflex] a diacritic that sits on top of letters in many modern languages, although most famously in French.
--*"How the circumflex became France's bête noire," The Guardian, February 5, 2016

The diacritics on the words, the distinguishing features between similar spellings, had been manually added over the page, making it hard to read, especially for Berith, whose grasp of Viet was still poor.
--*Aliette de Bodard,*The House of Binding Thorns, 2017


Origin

The most familiar meaning of diacritic in current usage is a mark that modifies a letter of the alphabet, e.g., the acute or grave accents in French, the tilde in Spanish and Portuguese, or the umlauted vowels in German. Diacritic still has its original Greek meaning “distinguishing, distinctive,” as in the diagnosis of a disease. The second element (-critic) comes from the Greek verb krínein “to judge, separate, discriminate,” also the source of “crisis, critic,” and “hypocrisy.” The Greek verb is akin to Latin cernere, which has the same meanings as the Greek verb but also keeps its original sense “to sift,” inherited from Proto-Indo-European. Diacritic entered English in the 17th century.

[Altobelli]

FLORIFEROUS adjective (flaw-rif-er-uh s)

adjective
1. producing blossoms; flower-bearing.

Quotes
... [Profusion zinnias] are so floriferous, the plants are covered with blooms, in fact, smothered might be a better word.
--*Joan Lee Faust,*"Zinnias Galore: Green Thumb Not Needed," New York Times, July 30, 2000

They were ushered through a hall that resembled most of the halls in the world ... into a large apartment looking through four French windows upon a verandah and a large floriferous garden.
--*H. G. Wells,*The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman, 1914


Origin

The Latin adjective florifer “flower bearing” comes from two very common Proto-Indo-European roots, bher- “to carry, bear (in English)” and bhel- “to thrive, bloom (in English).” In English there was no clear distinction between flower and flour until the 18th century. Samuel Johnson (1709-84) in his Dictionary of the English Language (1755) used only the spelling flower and combined both senses into one entry. The Middle English meaning of flour comes from the metaphorical use of flower in the sense “the finest of its kind” (as in the flower of chivalry, or French fleur de farine “the flower of wheat”). Floriferous entered English in the 17th century.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

I will be really bloody floriferous come Saturday teatime if we beat West Brom!

[Altobelli]

I will be really bloody floriferous come Saturday teatime if we beat West Brom!

Hopefully its not back to type and we do them some damage BT.

[Altobelli]

DOX verb (doks)

verb

1. Slang. to publish the private personal information of (another person) or reveal the identity of (an online poster) without the consent of that individual: The professor was doxed by a bitter student who failed her class. Several players doxed the programmer because the final version of the game disappointed them.

Quotes

Hackers and online vigilantes routinely "dox" both public and private figures who provoke their ire, by publishing social security numbers, home addresses, and credit card numbers.
--*Sam Gustin,*"The Internet Doesn't Hurt People--People Do: 'The New Digital Age,'" Time, April 26, 2013

Apparently, one of his online enemies had doxed him.
--*Jason Fagone,*"The Serial Swatter," New York Times, November 24, 2015


Origin

Dox is an alteration of docs, which is short for documents. It’s been used since around 2000.

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MINATORY adjective (min-uh-tawr-ee)

adjective

1. menacing; threatening.

Quotes

His features had lost their delicately benevolent aspect; his words were minatory.
--*E. Phillips Oppenheim,*The Vanished Messenger, 1914

The latest of the desperate devices of Mr. Oxnard is now bearing its fruit in the minatory letters that are coming to members of Congress who have beet-raisers among their constituents, warning them that they will fail of re-election if they prefer the behests of public duty to those of Oxnard.
--*James Kaplan,*"Mr. Oxnard's Clients," New York Times, January 18, 1902


Origin

The English adjective minatory has always stuck pretty closely to its Latin source, minārī “to threaten,” a derivative of the noun minae “threats, menaces.” Another derivative in Latin is the Late Latin noun minātor, “one who drives cattle with threats, drover.” This “country” usage persisted in French, in which the verb mener, a direct descendant of Latin minārī, means “to lead.” Minatory entered English in the 16th century.

[Altobelli]

CORUSCANT adjective (kuh-ruhs-kuh nt)

adjective

1. sparkling or gleaming; scintillating; coruscating.

Quotes

Halley's comet was visible here early to-day in the southeastern horizon. Its light was brilliant and coruscant.
--*"Comet Is Getting Near," New York Times, April 20, 1910

Meanwhile, social media is a bon mot factory where you go to flaunt your coruscant wit, impeccable taste, and airbrushed confidence ...
--*Katy Waldman,*"Please, Like My Shame," Slate, June 29, 2016


Origin

The Latin adjective coruscus “flashing, gleaming” and its derivative coruscāre, come from the same Proto-Indo-European root (s)ker-, (s)krē- (with other variants) “to jump around, leap.” In Langobardic (the Germanic language of the Lombards) skerzan “to leap with pleasure” (in Middle High German scherzen “to jump for joy,” modern German scherzen "to joke, jest") was adopted into Italian as the verb scherzare “to joke, jest” and the noun scherzo. Coruscant entered English in the 15th century.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Sounds a lot like old TEC to me! Proper coruscating is that old chap!

[Altobelli]

ABRAZO noun (ah-brah-thaw,-saw)

noun
1. Spanish. an embrace, used in greeting someone.

Quotes

Sonny had seen her embrace Rita, as a greeting or in parting; the abrazo was part of the warmth of friendship.
--*Rudolfo Anaya,*Rio Grande Fall, 1996

He and Charlie clutch in an abrazo and say it's good to see each other.
--*James Carlos Blake,*The House of Wolfe, 2015


Origin

Spanish abrazo and Italian abbraccio, both meaning “a hug, an embrace” come from the Latin prefix (and preposition) ad- “to, at, near” and Spanish brazo and Italian braccio “arm” both come from Latin brachium. Abrazo entered English in the 17th century.

[Altobelli]

MILLINER noun (mill-uh-ner)

noun
1. a person who designs, makes, or sells hats for women.

Quotes

Mrs. Gruby, our best milliner, does not believe in slavishly following Paris fashions; she originates her own styles.
--*Jean Webster,*"Dear Enemy, Part II " The Century, May 1915

There is an exquisite thoroughness in the way a milliner's or a dressmaker's work is done,--a work such as clumsy man cannot rival, and can hardly estimate.
--*Thomas Wentworth Higginson,*"Thorough," Women and the Alphabet, 1881


Origin

Milan, the name of the chief city of Lombardy, was formerly accented on the first syllable and the second syllable was unstressed. This accounts for the pronunciation of milliner, which meant originally, in the 15th century, “an inhabitant of Milan” and, a century later, “a designer, maker, and merchant of fine garments and accessories for ladies, especially of ladies’ hats.”