Word Of The Day

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AESOPIAN adjective (ee-soh-pee-uh n)

adjective

1. conveying meaning by hint, euphemism, innuendo, or the like: In the candidate's Aesopian language, “soft on Communism” was to be interpreted as “Communist sympathizer.”

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of Aesop or his fables: a story that points an Aesopian moral.


Quotes

Gauss taught that past political thinkers wrote in a kind of code--an Aesopian language of double or multiple meanings--in order to avoid persecution in their own day and to communicate with contemporaries and successors who knew how to read between the lines, as it were.
--*Terence Ball,*Rousseau's Ghost, 1998


By then, some Soviet writers had learned to use the Aesopian language, with its hints and euphemisms, to get their books into print.
--*Elena Gorokhova,*"Beyond Banned: Books That Survived the Censors," NPR, March 30, 2011



Origin

The English adjective Aesopian has multiple origins. The Latin adjective has the forms Aesōpīus and Aesōpēus, from Greek Aisṓpeios, derivative adjective of the proper name AÃ*sōpos (Aesop). Aesop was a Greek slave who supposedly lived c620 b.c.–c560b.c. on the island of Samos and told animal fables that teach a lesson, e.g., “The Tortoise and the Hare.” Aesopian entered English in the late 17th century.

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SHIP verb (ship)

verb

1. to take an interest in or hope for a romantic relationship between (fictional characters or famous people), whether or not the romance actually exists: I’m shipping for those guys—they would make a great couple!

noun
1. Slang. a romantic relationship between fictional characters or famous people, especially one that people discuss, write about, or take an interest in, whether or not the romance actually exists: popular ships in fan fiction.


Quotes

The characters are ‘shipped by enough people that the duo has a name: Reylo.
--*Alexis Rhiannon,*"Kylo Ren & Rey's 'Last Jedi' Relationship Is Tearing The Fandom Apart & Here's Why," Bustle, December 2017


It’s a popular misunderstanding that one can only ship two characters who are not already romantically involved on a show. In fact, it’s perfectly appropriate to ship, for example, Jim and Pam from “The Office.”
--*Jonah Engel Bromwich,*"Who Do You Ship? What Tumblr Tells Us About Fan Culture," New York Times, December 4, 2017



Origin

The verb ship, originally meaning “to discuss or portray a romantic couple in fiction, especially in a serial” is a shortening of (relation)ship and dates only from 1996.

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SOS noun (es-oh-es)

noun

1. any call for help: We sent out an SOS for more typists.
2. the letters represented by the radio telegraphic signal (· · · – – – · · &middot used, especially by ships in distress, as an internationally recognized call for help.

verb
1. to send an SOS.


Quotes


When an SOS is heard, there is an immediate response by almost anyone who is in a position to be of assistance and a prayerful response by those are unable to assist.
--*Gilbert P. Pond,*"SOS ... SAS," The Rotarian, July 1955


SOS is not only a signal of despair, it is a larger symbol of hope.
--*"SOS," New York Times, December 24, 1956



Origin

SOS comes from the Morse code alphabet, in which three dots (or short clicks) represents the letter S and three dashes (or long clicks) represents the letter O.

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MESSAN noun (mes-uh n)

noun

1. Scot. a lap dog; small pet dog.


Quotes

They are good enough lads, Sholto and Laurence both, but they will be for ever gnarring and grappling at each other like messan dogs round a kirk door.
--*S. R. Crockett,*The Black Douglas, 1899


Here, sisters, here is my trusty and well-beloved Dame de Ste. Petronelle, who takes such care of me that she dogs my footsteps like a messan.
--*Charlotte Mary Yonge,*Two Penniless Princesses, 1890



Origin

The English noun messan “small dog, lap dog” comes from Scots Gaelic measan “small dog,” cognate with Irish Gaelic measán, both of which are diminutives of Gaelic mess “favored (one).” Messan entered English in the late 15th century.

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OBJURGATE verb (ob-jer-geyt)

verb

1. to reproach or denounce vehemently; upbraid harshly; berate sharply.


Quotes

Let his fellows grumble and objurgate, said he; they would cringe to him when he became a dragoman, with his pockets stuffed with piastres.
--*Sabine Baring-Gould,*The Book of Ghosts, 1904


It would be my advice to persons situated in this way, to not roll or thrash around, because this excites the interest of all the different sorts of animals and makes every last one of them want to turn out and see what is going on, and this makes things worse than they were before, and of course makes you objurgate harder, too, if you can.
--*Mark Twain,*A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, 1889



Origin

The English verb objurgate comes from Latin objūrgāt-, the past participle stem of the verb objūrgāre “to reprimand, rebuke.” The Latin verb is composed of the prefix ob- “against,” and the verb jūrgāre or jūrigāre “to rebuke.” Jūrigāre, in turn, is composed of the noun stem jūr- (from jūs “right, law, justice”) and the verb suffix -igāre, from -ig-, a noun derivative of agere “to drive, do,” as in fumigate, litigate, and navigate. Objurgate entered English in the early 17th century.

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GLISSADE noun (gli-sahd)

noun

1. a skillful glide over snow or ice in descending a mountain, as on skis or a toboggan.
2. Dance. a sliding or gliding step.

verb

1. to perform a glissade.


Quotes

A rapid scramble down the shattered ridge to the col, and a careful kicking of steps along the first two or three hundred feet of the glacier which led northwards to our picnic place, then a glissade ... gradually easing off into a run down.
--*T. Howard Somervell,*After Everest: The Experiences of a Mountaineer and Medical Missionary, 1950


&ldquoon’t worry,” she cheerily assured us over her shoulder. “In some places glissade is just about the only thing you can do. Plus, it’s fun.”
--*Paul Schneider,*"On Snowshoes in New Hampshire, Shuffling Off to Lonesome Lake," New York Times, March 5, 2009



Origin

The English noun glissade shows its obviously French origin. The French noun means “glide, slide, slip, faux pas” and derives from the verb glisser ”to slip, slide.” The French verb comes from Old French glicier, an alteration of glier “to glide,” a verb of Germanic (Frankish) origin, related to Old English glīdan and Old High German glītan “to glide.” Glissade entered English in the 19th century.

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BOSSDOM noun (baws-duh m)

noun

1. the status, influence, or power of a boss, especially a political boss.
2. bossism.


Quotes

Señor So-and-so is the most powerful boss in the province of Tarragona, and even at that there are those who dispute his bossdom.
--*PÃ*o Baroja,*Caesar or Nothing, translated by Louis How, 1919


This was Lepke's first bid for bossdom. He was ready to try his theories.
--*Meyer Berger,*"Lepke," Life, February 28, 1944



Origin

Bossdom has a crude, graceless sound. It is originally an Americanism referring to the bosses of political machines at the municipal and state level. Bossdom first entered English in the late 19th century.

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THEWLESS adjective (thyoo-lis)

adjective

1. lacking in mental or moral vigor; weak, spiritless, or timid.


Quotes

For indeed they were but thewless creatures, pallid with the damp caves of the moors, and so starved that they seemed to have eaten grass like Nebuchadnezzar.
--*S. R. Crockett,*The Cherry Ribband, 1905


Here I stand amid my clan / Spoiled of my fame a thewless man.
--*J. Stuart Blackie,*"Is the Gaelic Ossian a Translation from the English?" The Celtic Magazine, July 1876



Origin

First recorded in 1300-50, thewless is from the Middle English word theweles.

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EPIGRAMMATIC adjective (ep-i-gruh-mat-ik)

adjective

1. terse and ingenious in expression; of or like an epigram.
2. containing or favoring the use of epigrams.


Quotes

... the dialogue is sanded and sharpened to an epigrammatic elegance ...
--*Richard Brody,*"'Phantom Thread': Paul Thomas Anderson's Furious Fusion of Art and Love," The New Yorker, December 27, 2017


His is the sort of epigrammatic utterance to which there can be no rejoinder, the clean hit and quick-killing witticism: once over lightly and leave.
--*Nicholas Delbanco,*The Lost Suitcase, 2000



Origin

In Greek epÃ*gramma means “inscription, commemorative or memorial inscription, short poem, written estimate of or demand for damages.” Probably the most famous epigram is that attributed to Simonides of Ceos (c566 b.c.–c468 b.c.) for the Spartans who fell at Thermoplylae (480 b.c.): “Stranger, report to the Spartans that we lie here in obedience to their orders,” which is spartan in its terseness. Epigrammatic entered English in the early 18th century.

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FANTASTICATE verb (fan-tas-ti-keyt)

verb

1. to make or render fantastic.


Quotes

Parallel universes are another trope borrowed from the repertory of science fiction. They are a marvelous convenience for authors who want to fantasticate at a high rpm without having to offer a rational explanation for the wonders they evoke.
--*Thomas M. Disch,*The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of, 1998


She also fantasticates about food, and her Catholicism surfaces in her lingering on the cannibalism at the heart of the eucharist.
--*Marina Warner,*"From high society to surrealism: in praise of Leonora Carrington -- 100 years on," The Guardian, April 6, 2017



Origin

Fantasticate was first recorded in 1590-1600.