Word Of The Day

[Altobelli]

VENTIFACT noun (ven-tuh-fakt)

noun

1. Geology. a pebble or cobble that has been faceted, grooved, and polished by the erosive action of wind-driven sand.


Quotes

The surface was a fine trash of ventifacts--stones that had been polished into smooth facets by blowing grit ...
--*Sarah Andrews,*In Cold Pursuit, 2007

A little world, and completely filled with small black boulders, like fossil balls from various sports, only all black, and all faceted to one extent or another. They were ventifacts.
--*Kim Stanley Robinson,*Green Mars, 1994



Origin

Ventifact, “stone shaped by the wind or sandstorms,” is a rare word, used in geology and physical geography, and is modeled on the much earlier noun artifact (artefact), which dates from the mid-17th century. Ventifact derives straightforwardly from Latin ventum “wind” (venti- is the Latin combining form) and factum, the past participle, also used as a noun, of the verb facere “to make, do” (with as many senses as the English verbs). Latin ventum is related to English wind, winnow, and weather. Latin facere and the adjective facilis “easy, easy to do” derive from a very common Proto-Indo-European root dhē- “to put, place, set,” from which Germanic (English) derives do and deed, Greek tithénai “to set, put,” and Slavic (Polish) dzieje “history” (i.e., things done, deeds). Ventifact entered English in the early 20th century.

[SERVERNOTRESPONDING]

parsimonious
ˌpɑːsɪˈməʊnɪəs/Submit
adjective
adjective: parsimonious
very unwilling to spend money or use resources.
"even the parsimonious Joe paid for drinks all round"
synonyms: mean, miserly, niggardly, close-fisted, penny-pinching, cheese-paring, ungenerous, penurious, illiberal, close, grasping, Scrooge-like, stinting, sparing, frugal; More
antonyms: generous, extravagant, lavish

[Altobelli]

parsimonious
ˌpɑːsɪˈməʊnɪəs/Submit
adjective
adjective: parsimonious
very unwilling to spend money or use resources.
"even the parsimonious Joe paid for drinks all round"
synonyms: mean, miserly, niggardly, close-fisted, penny-pinching, cheese-paring, ungenerous, penurious, illiberal, close, grasping, Scrooge-like, stinting, sparing, frugal; More
antonyms: generous, extravagant, lavish

That's very apt at the present moment in time Server

[Altobelli]

PALINDROME noun (pal-in-drohm)

noun

1. a word, line, verse, number, sentence, etc., reading the same backward as forward, as Madam, I'm Adam or Poor Dan is in a droop.
2. Biochemistry. a region of DNA in which the sequence of nucleotides is identical with an inverted sequence in the complementary strand: GAATTC is a palindrome of CTTAAG.


Quotes

I like Emma. And Ella. And Hannah. "Does every baby name have to be a palindrome?" Vanessa asks.
--*Jodi Picoult,*Sing You Home, 2011

Within hours, he had written his first palindrome, at a length that most people couldn't achieve in a month, or maybe ever. He called it "The Brag of the Vain Lawyer": Resoled in Saratoga, riveting in a wide wale suit, I use law, Ed. I, wan, ignite virago, tar a snide loser.
--*Katy Steinmetz,*"'Madam, I'm Adam': Meet the Reigning World Palindrome Champion," Time, April 4, 2015



Origin

The earliest known palindrome was found at Herculaneum, which was buried along with neighboring Pompeii in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 a.d. The palindrome was written in Latin and is known as the “Sator Square.” The square is also a word square, that is, when the words are arranged one beneath another in a square, they read the same horizontally and vertically. The square reads "SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS" and is capable of several translations, the most plausible being “The sower Arepo holds the wheels with care.” Its significance and purpose have been vigorously debated since the late 19th century. The word palindrome was coined by the English poet and dramatist Ben Jonson (c1573–1637).

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Good word that. We used to have a quiz game built around it and played it when pie-eyed in the local on a Friday night, hilarious...

Three letter ones are the best!

Faf, dad, did, etc. etc.

[Altobelli]

NIMBUS noun (nim-buh s)

noun

1.a cloud, aura, atmosphere, etc., surrounding a person or thing: The candidate was encompassed with a nimbus of fame.
2. Classical Mythology. a shining cloud sometimes surrounding a deity when on earth.
3. halo.
4. the type of dense clouds or cloud mass with ragged edges, that yields rain or snow; a rain cloud.
5. (initial capital letter) U.S. Aerospace. one of a series of polar-orbiting meteorological and environmental research satellites, the last of which Nimbus 7, launched 1978, was the first satellite designed to monitor atmospheric pollutants.


Quotes

... it was a lost town and yet it was haloed with the invincible nimbus of mystery ...
--*Roberto Bolaño,*Woes of the True Policeman, translated by Natasha Wimmer, 2012

But the night I met him in John O'Brien's Dawson saloon, his head was wreathed in a nimbus of fifty-cent cigar smoke ...
--*Jack London,*"A Hyperborean Brew," The Faith of Men and Other Stories, 1904



Origin

Latin nimbus and nebula (“cloud, mist”) both derive from a complicated Proto-Indo-European root enebh- or nebh- (with many variations, e.g., nembh-) “cloud, fog, mist.” A simple variant of this root, nebh-, is the source of Greek néphos “cloud,” Slavic (Polish) niebo “sky, heaven,” and Hittite nebis “sky, heaven.” The variant nembh- is the source of Latin nimbus “violent rainstorm, thundercloud,” but also “cloud (in general)” and finally “bright cloud that envelops a deity appearing to mortals,” which in Christian usage comes to mean “saint’s halo or aureole.” Nimbus entered English in the early 17th century.

[Altobelli]

SAPIO***UAL noun (sey-pee-oh-sek-shoo-uh l)


noun
1. a person who finds intelligence to be a ***ually attractive quality in others.
adjective
1. noting or relating to such a person.


Quotes

Of course, many people seek an intellectual connection with their partners. But people who identify as sapio***ual often say intellect is the first or most important factor that draws them to another person ...
--*Anna North,*"The Hottest Body Part? For a Sapio***ual, It's the Brain," New York Times, June 2, 2017

I'm a sapio***ual and love the Big Bang way he talks nerdy to me.
--*Eric Jerome Dickey,*The Blackbirds, 2016



Origin

Sapio***ual is modeled on words like homo***ual and metro***ual, i.e., it has a short first element that ends in “o” (two syllables for homo***ual and metro***ual, three for sapio***ual). The trouble is that for some intelligent people, sapio***ual is an “incorrect” formation: the word “should be” sapienti***ual or at least sapiento***ual, which are correct but pedantic and unlikely to win many dates for oneself. Some people in the 19th century objected to the new-fangled word scientist because it had a Latin root (scient-) and a Greek suffix (-ist), an objection no longer made. Sapio***ual entered English in 2015.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Never liked clever birds Alto, they tend to throw me off my game!

[Altobelli]

Never liked clever birds Alto, they tend to throw me off my game!

They always seem to know when I've washed and waxed my car and where it is.

[Altobelli]

ARVO noun (ahr-voh)

noun
1. Australian Slang. afternoon.


Quotes

A quick feed stop and we should be there by the arvo.
--*Tara June Winch,*Swallow the Air, 2006

When we ask directions to the servo, set meetings in the arvo, order a sanga, require the services of a sparkie and talk about the war on bikies ... we're not being cute. We're simply not a nation of long syllabled-words.
--*Bronwen Clune,*"What Brits should know about Australian tourists," The Guardian, January 7, 2014



Origin

Arvo is an Australian shortening of afternoon. Because of the Australian accent, the -f- in afternoon sounds like more like a v, which is how this term gets its spelling. It entered English in the 1930s.