November 2011
CHURLISH
churlish \CHUR-lish, adjective:
1. Boorish or rude. 2. Of a churl; peasantlike. 3. Stingy; mean. 4. Difficult to work or deal with, as soil.
And Ethel, though sometimes sharp and malicious and difficult, wasn’t churlish or unpunctual or casual at all. — Ruth Rendell, One Across, Two Down
I call it churlish that you would complain of a little time spent in schooling me when the...
TERRENE
terrene
PRONUNCIATION:
(teh-REEN, TER-een)
MEANING:
adjective: Relating to the earth; earthly; worldly; mundane.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin terra (earth). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ters- (to dry), which is also the source of territory, terrace, turmeric, and toast. Earliest documented use: 1300s.
USAGE:
“It was just a twitch of the earth, a routine shudder, one of many such...
Dear Film Festival Rejection Letters,
I get it. You can stop now.
Sincerely,
FF
P.S.
Please.
“Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself...”
– Buddha (via thealwaysgentleman)
zitieren (v.)
deutschoftheday:
- to quote
Whoever knew the song we quoted yesterday has a good taste in music. - Wer auch immer das Lied, das wir gestern zitierten, kannte, hat einen guten Musikgeschmack.
Regentropfen (n.)
deutschoftheday:
- raindrops
How do you feel when there’s no sun, how do you feel when raindrops come pouring down again, how do you feel when there’s no one? - Wie fühlst du dich, wenn es keine Sonne gibt, wie fühlst du dich, wenn Regentropfen wieder herunter strömen, wie fühlst du dich, wenn es keinen gibt?
REDOLENT
redolent
PRONUNCIATION:
(RED-uhl-uhnt)
MEANING:
adjective: 1. Fragrant; smelling. 2. Suggestive; reminiscent.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Old French redolent (smelling), from Latin redolent, present participle of redolere (to give off a smell), from re- (intensive prefix) + olere (to smell). Earliest documented use: 1439.
USAGE:
“There’s a heavy dose of irony in the title of Wendy...
PANEGYRIZE
panegyrize \PAN-i-juh-rahyz, verb:
1. To eulogize; to deliver or write a panegyric about. 2. To indulge in panegyric; bestow praises.
I allowed then as how I had been moved to panegyrize Lieutenant Locke. — Louis Bayard, The Pale Blue Eye
Judge Story was a profound admirer of Chief Justice Marshall, and could rarely hear his name mentioned without digressing to panegyrize his learning...
EQUABLE
equable
PRONUNCIATION:
(EK-wuh-buhl, EE-kwuh-)
MEANING:
adjective: 1. Not easily upset; tranquil. 2. Uniform; steady. 3. Free from extremes.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin aequus (even, equal). Earliest documented use: before 1676.
USAGE:
“It takes a lot to disturb the equable temperament of Celtic goalkeeper Jonathan Gould.” Ian Paul; Enforced Rest Has Left Gould Seething; The Herald...
SEERY
serry \SER-ee, verb:
To crowd closely together.
Serry means to crowd and is spelled serry. — Mildred Colvin, Missouri Brides
To keep unsettled the questions upon which these united with the Liberation Society, —accustom a powerful contingent to work together with “political Dissenters,”—to serry friends and foes into hostile phalanx, —to accept battle on a week ground where it is only...
“I’m a tree that grows hearts, one for each that you take”
– Björk (via narcosis)
“Unless it’s mad, passionate, extraordinary love, it’s a waste of your time....”
– Dream for an Insomniac (via quote-book)
die Vanillesoße (n.)
deutschoftheday:
- custard
I love fish fingers and custard! - Ich liebe Fischstäbchen und Vanillesoße!
DRAGOMAN
dragoman
PRONUNCIATION:
(DRAG-uh-man)
MEANING:
noun: An interpreter or guide.
ETYMOLOGY:
The word took a scenic route to its present form via French, Italian, Latin/Greek, Arabic, and Aramaic, from Akkadian targumanu (interpreter). Earliest documented use: 1300s. Akkadian is now an extinct Semitic language once spoken in ancient Mesopotamia and written in cuneiform.
USAGE:
“Soon, Art...
APPETENCE
appetence \AP-i-tuhns, noun:
1. Intense desire; strong natural craving; appetite. 2. Instinctive inclination or natural tendency. 3. Material or chemical attraction or affinity.
A sudden step and desire to reach back in time to change the circumstances, to re-write and re-route all those ferocious columns, an appetence to change what had been done and said. — Charles D....
DIPSOMANIA
dipsomania \dip-suh-MEY-nee-uh, noun:
An irresistible, typically periodic craving for alcoholic drink.
During his last years he’d become a regular drinking companion of Roosevelt’s younger brother, Elliot, whose life was also ended by dipsomania some years later. — Caleb Carr, The Alienist
What exactly has Mr. Waugh in mind, one would like to know, in making the perhaps...
“The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off.”
– Gloria Steinem (via bitchville)
die Bucht (n.)
deutschoftheday:
- bay
Weekly day trips to the bay. - Wöchentliche Tagesauflüge zur Bucht.
“By the time you swear you’re his,
Shivering and sighing,
And he vows his...”
– Dorothy Parker (via quote-book)
So true. Thanks Neal.
New E! Online Answer Bitch podcast! →
olympic—noodle:
I haven’t posted one of these in a while. It’s a good one. Find out which celeb had me Google, “Look at my wiener.”
“Never love anyone who treats you like you’re ordinary.”
– Oscar Wilde (via le-coolcooldeath)
spinnen (v.)
deutschoftheday:
- to be bonkers
Ich glaub’, ich spinne! - I think I’m bonkers!
And no the translation is not ‘I think I spider’, even though that’s Zoes blog title.
CREPITATE
crepitate \KREP-i-teyt, verb:
To make a crackling sound; crackle.
The lampwicks crepitate; their flames are about to go out, long mosquitoes flit in rapid circlings about them. — Gustave Flaubert, The Temptation of Saint Anthony
This horrible talk, however, evidently possessed a potent magic for my friend; and his imagination, checked for a while by the influence of his kinsman, began...
PHARAOH
pharaoh
PRONUNCIATION:
(FAR-o)
MEANING:
noun: 1. A title of an ancient Egyptian ruler. 2. A tyrant.
ETYMOLOGY:
Via Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, from Egyptian pr-o, from pr (house) + o (great). The designation was for the palace but later used to refer to the king, just as White House can refer to the US President. Earliest documented use: around 1175. Egyptian is an extinct language of ancient...
der Saft (n.)
deutschoftheday:
- juice
There are many flavors of juice! - Es gibt Saft in viele Geschmacksrichtungen.
“They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream...”
– Edgar Allan Poe, “Eleonora” (via light-essence)
