QUIDNUNC

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 31 August 2011

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QUIDNUNC  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) an inquisitive or nosy person; a gossip

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
Deriving from the Latin “what now?”, a QUIDNUNC is a person who is always eager to know the latest news or gossip, someone who is always asking (more or less) “what now?” 

I’ll save you the trouble of asking if the the Latin quid gave English any other words, as I’m happy to report that it is also a part of one of my other favorite Q-words: QUIDDITY, “the true essence, or whatness, of something.”


This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter Q

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QIVIUT

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 30 August 2011

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QIVIUT  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) the wool of a muskox
2. (n.) fiber or fabric made from the wool of a muskox

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
I was fortunate to be able to spend a few days in Alaska recently, where I was delighted to discover that QIVIUT is a relatively common word.  It means “underwool” in Inuit, the language of native peoples of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland.  Speaking of Q-not-followed-by-U words, another Inuit word frequently encountered in Alaska is UMIAQ, a canoe-like boat used by the natives of those arctic regions, also spelled UMIAC, UMIAK, OOMIAC, OOMIAK, UMIACK, and OOMIACK.

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter Q

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QUISLING

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 29 August 2011

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QUISLING  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a traitor, especially one who aids invaders of his country or collaborates with an occupying force

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: -ISM, -ISMS
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
The Norwegian officer Vidkun Quisling aided and collaborated with Nazi German forces in their occupation of Norway during World War II.  Thus, from 1940 on, his name became synonymous with “traitor,” much like the more common term (in American English) “Benedict Arnold.”

Last week we pored over some P’s, and this week we will queue up some Q’s.  You might say we’re “minding our P’s and Q’s” — a common expression for which the origin is unknown — but, then, we mind all the letters!

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter Q

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"may words matter to you and be full of magic"

Quote of the Week:

In a world full of audio visual marvels, may words matter to you and be full of magic.
~ Godfrey Smith, in letter to a new grandchild, Sunday Times, 5 July 1987

PENATES

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 26 August 2011

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PENATES  (pl. n.)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) the Roman gods of the household or the storeroom, often worshiped in close connection with Vesta and with the lares
2. (n.) household possessions

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: NEPETAS
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
In Roman mythology, at least three different types of deities were closely associated with the household: the LARES were the gods of the household, the PENATES were the gods of the storeroom or cupboards, and VESTA was the god of the hearth.  In some houses, shrines were erected and special offerings were made to these various gods.  Over the years, the finer distinctions among these deities has eroded, and today the expression “lares and penates” is often used to refer to “the household belongings regarded as defining or embodying a person’s home; prized possessions” (OED).  Speaking of things you may have in the house, note that the anagram of today’s word is NEPETAS, which is the plural form of NEPETA, the herb more commonly known as CATNIP or CATMINT.

Recapping this week’s words: PALMARY, PUISSANT, PAHOEHOE, PASTICHE, and PENATES

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PASTICHE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 25 August 2011

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PASTICHE  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) an artistic work incorporating different styles or composed of elements from various sources
2. (n.) an artistic work that imitates the style of another artist or style
3. (n.) any hodgepodge; mixture

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: HEPATICS, PISTACHE
• Longer extensions: -UR, -URS
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: PASTICCIO, PASTICCI
• Related Forms: PASTICHEUR (n.)

Epilogue:
A PASTICCIO was an Italian pie consisting of a mixture of meat and pasta (from pasticium, “pie”), with an extended meaning of any “confused affair.”  English language speakers liked the word so much that they borrowed the French form, PASTICHE, too, and that spelling is now the more common one in English.

It is not unusual for words referring to a mixture of foods to gain an extended meaning of “any mixture of things”: GALLIMAUFRY, HODGEPODGE, OLIO, POTPOURRI, SALMAGUNDI, and SMORGASBORD can all refer to a tasty assortment of foods as well as to any assorted mixture of things.

This week’s theme: A pastiche of words starting with the letter P

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PAHOEHOE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 24 August 2011

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PAHOEHOE  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) smooth, solidified lava

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
Two primary types of lava are emitted from Hawaiian volcanoes: the smooth PAHOEHOE variety and the rough, cindery AA variety.  Both words, not surprisingly, come from the native Hawaiian language.  One source aptly described PAHOEHOE as “a taffy-like lava that has hardened into folds and creases that give it a smooth, ropy look, like frosting that has spilled over the top of a cake” (Victoria Islander, 1972).  AA, on the other hand, often consists of “a bristling array of sharp, jagged, angular fragments” (Dutton, 1883).  Both words are still in use in Hawaii, as well as in contemporary VOLCANOLOGY (or VULCANOLOGY), “the study of volcanos, lava, and volcanic phenomena.”

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter P

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PUISSANT

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 23 August 2011

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PUISSANT  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) powerful; having great authority or influence

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: IM-
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: PUISSANCE (n.), IMPUISSANCE (n.)

Epilogue:
It is helpful to know this word if you read classic works of literature, as it has been used over the years by luminaries such as Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, Swift, Melville, Longfellow, Rushdie, and Mencken.  It and related forms derive from an Old French word meaning “to be able.”  The noun is PUISSANCE, meaning “power or might.”  Additionally, a PUISSANCE course is a competitive event testing a horse's ability to jump over large obstacles (sometimes seven feet tall or higher) — probably so called because it takes a strong and courageous horse to excel in such an event.

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter P

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PALMARY

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 22 August 2011

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PALMARY  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) excellent; holding the first or highest place; worthy of praise

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: PALMYRA
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
The ancient Greeks and Romans often presented a branch of the palm tree to victorious gladiators or athletes.  Thus, “to bear the palm” means to be the best, and almost all medals of the modern Olympic games have included an image of Nike (the Greek goddess of victory) bearing a palm.  The palm as a symbol of victory also lives on in today’s word PALMARY and in the related PALMY (“flourishing, successful, prosperous”), as when Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet of “the most high and palmy state of Rome.”

This week’s theme: palmary words starting with the letter P

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"drenched in words"

Quote of the Week: 

One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper patterns at the right moment.
~ Hart Crane (1899-1932)

OSCITANT

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 19 August 2011

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OSCITANT  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) yawning; sleepy
2. (adj.) lazy or dull

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: TACTIONS
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: OSCITANCE (n.), OSCITANCY (n.)

Epilogue:
Today’s word and the noun forms OSCITANCE and OSCITANCY have been used in English to describe yawning or drowsiness since the seventeenth century.  They derive from the Latin oscitare, “to yawn,” which is further from os (“mouth”).  We’ll kiss this week of words goodbye by noting that another word from a similar source is OSCULATE (literally, “little mouth”), meaning “to kiss; to touch or come into close contact.”

Recapping this week’s words: ONEIRIC, OBELUS, OROLOGY, OCULUS, and OSCITANT

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OCULUS

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 18 August 2011

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OCULUS  (n. pl. OCULI)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) an architectural feature resembling or suggesting an eye, such as a circular window or a circular dome opening
2. (n.) an eye
3. (n.) an image of a human eye placed on the bow or other part of a boat (as in ancient Egypt)

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: L-
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
OCULUS is a neat name for an oval window, unless you prefer oeil-de-boeuf, a French term literarly meaning “eye of an ox.”  The French oeil, the English EYE, and most English words inculding -ocul- derive from the Latin oculus, “eye.”  It can be spotted in dozens of words, including OCULAR, OCULIST, BINOCULAR(S), MONOCULAR(S), TRINOCULAR, OCULOMOTOR, and many others.  And your oculist is no doubt familiar with the abbreviations o.d. and o.s., for oculus dexter and oculus sinister, that is: your right and left eyes, respectively.

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter O

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OROLOGY

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 17 August 2011

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OROLOGY  (n. pl. OROLOGIES)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) the study of mountains; the branch of physical geography that deals with mountains and mountain systems

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: H-
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: METE-, BIOMETE-
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: OROLOGIST (n.)

Epilogue:
The Greek oros (“mountain”) has given English a pile of words.  OROLOGY or OROGRAPHY is the scientific study of mountains, which no doubt includes interest in OROGENY or OROGENESIS, the formation of mountains.  The oro- combining form is also occasionally used to mean “elevation,” as in OROMETER, a type of barometer that also measures elevation above sea level.  Since mountain formation occurs over thousands of years, it is fitting that the addition of one letter yields a new word, HOROLOGY, meaning “the science of measuring or studying time.”

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter O

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OBELUS

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 16 August 2011

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OBELUS  (n. pl. OBELI)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a symbol (– or ÷) used in ancient passages to indicate a questionable or superfluous passage
2. (n.) the division symbol (÷)
3. (n.) another name for the dagger symbol (†)

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: BLOUSE, BOULES
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: OBELISE (v.), OBELISM (v.), OBELIZE (v.)

Epilogue:
It’s probably best to clarify what you mean if you refer to an OBELUS (or, improbably, to multiple OBELI).  While the word nearly always refers to the division sign (÷) now, in the past it was sometimes used to refer to symbols such as the en dash (–) or the dagger (†).  All of these different symbols were sometimes used by ancient writers to mark doubtful or spurious passages, such as in comparing different versions or translations of a text.  The OBELUS (in the ÷ form) was adopted as a division symbol in the mid-seventeenth century.  The word derives from the Greek obelos (“pointed stick or pointed pillar”), the same root behind the word OBELISK (“a four-sided shaft of stone with a pyramidal top”).

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter O

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ONEIRIC

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 15 August 2011

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ONEIRIC  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) pertaining to dreams or dreaming; dreamlike

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: -ALLY
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: ONEIRICALLY (adv.), ONEIROMANCY (n.)

Epilogue:
Hope you’re rested up and ready for a new week of words!  The Greek oneiros (“dream”) is behind this word, as well as the related ONEIROMANCY, “prediction of the future by the interpretation of dreams; divination by dreams.”

I predict that the rest of this week’s words will begin with the letter O, too....

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2011 Nationals links

The 2011 National Scrabble Championship will take place August 6-10 in Dallas, TX.  More than 300 players will engage in 31 rounds of spirited LOGOMACHY.  Participants are separated into four divisions by rating.  First prize in Division 1 is $10,000 and eternal Scrabble glory.

Here are some handy general links to follow the action:

• Live coverage homepage 
• Standings by division

And, for my convenience when I'm on the go, here are some links to individual players that I'd like to keep an eye on:

• Steve Anstandig 
• Bob Blyler
• Roy Dixon  
• Stefan Fatsis  
• Robert Felman 
• Brian Galebach  
• Steve Glass  
• JC Green  
• Cheryl Melvin 
• Brian Miller 
• Jim Pate 
• Ian Weinstein
• Winter

   (If there are other players you'd like to follow, let me know and I'll try to add the links.)

Good luck to all of the participants!

On HIATUS Aug. 8-12

TileHead will be on HIATUS next week, August 8th-12th.  It's a good time to  review past words or to explore some of the links in the sidebar!

The Word of the Day will return August 15th.

"finding something else on the way"

Quote of the Week:

I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way.
~ Franklin Pierce Adams (1881-1960)

NOSEGAY

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 5 August 2011

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NOSEGAY  (n. pl. - S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a small bouquet of flowers; a posy
2. (n.) something likened to a bouquet of flowers, such as an expression of praise or a collection of lovely things

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
Although a bunch of flowers might make the nose happy, the “gay” in this word probably refers to an obsolete sense of the word meaning “a bright or showy ornament.”  In other words, a NOSEGAY is an ornament that appeals to the nose.  It is a word of strictly English origin, first appearing in print in the early 1500s.

Please note that TileHead will be on HIATUS next week.  Good luck to everyone competing at Nationals in Dallas!

Recapping this week’s words: NEOTERIC, NUNATAK, NATANT, NUDNIK, and NOSEGAY

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NUDNIK

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 4 August 2011

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NUDNIK  (n. pl. - S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) an annoying person; a nuisance or pest

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: UNKIND
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: NUDNICK
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
English adopted this mildly UNKIND word from Yiddish, which took it from the Russian nudnyi (“tiresome, boring”) and the suffix -nik (“a person connected with something”).  Among the other -nik words are BEATNIK, NEATNIK, SPUTNIK, PEACENIK, REFUSNIK (“a Soviet citizen who is refused permission to emigrate”), and the humorous COMPUTERNIK (“a computer enthusiast or expert”).

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter N

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NATANT

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 3 August 2011

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NATANT  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) swimming or floating in water

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: SUPER-, -LY
• Wraparounds: SUPERnatantS
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: NATANTLY (adv.), SUPERNATANT (n.)

Epilogue:
This word derives from the Latin natare, “to swim or float,” the same root behind words such as NATATION (“the act of swimming”), NATATORY or NATATORIAL (“pertaining to swimming”), and NATATORIUM (“an indoor swimming pool”).  These are all super words, but the scientific term SUPERNATANT refers to a liquid that forms above a solid sediment or a settled precipitate (such as after a mixture has been centrifuged) or to anything that floats on the surface of a liquid.

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter N

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NUNATAK

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 2 August 2011

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NUNATAK  (n. pl. - S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a hill or mountain peak projecting through the surface of surrounding glacial ice

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
Greenland doesn’t come up very often in discussions of language, but when it does, as you might expect, it involves words related to the cold, ice, and rugged landscapes that characterize it.  The Inuit and Eskimo-Aleut languages, the tongues of the native peoples of the Arctic regions, have contributed quite a few unusual words to English — more of which will be profiled in future Word of the Day installments — but only a couple can be clearly traced to vast, icy Greenland.  In addition to today’s word, Greenlandic Inuit is believed to be the source for PINGO (“a dome-shaped mound consisting of a layer of soil covering a core of ice”) and ANORAK (“a heavy, fur-lined jacket with a hood”).  ANORAK is also British slang for “a dull person, or a person obsessively interested in a niche topic.”  I wouldn’t know anything about that....

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter N

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NEOTERIC

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 1 August 2011

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NEOTERIC  (n. pl. - S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a person having a modern outlook; one accepting new ideas and practices
2. (n.) a modern author or thinker
3. (adj.) of recent origin; modern

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: ERECTION
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
We’ll begin this new week, and new month, of words with a focus on the combining form neo- — from the Greek neos, “new, young” — which is a part of NEOTERIC and many other English words.  A NEOPHYTE wearing NEOPRENE could be a NEOCON or a NEOLIBERAL, as well as a NEOREALIST, NEOCLASSICIST, NEOPLASTICIST, or NEOCOLONIALIST.  Biology has given us NEONATE, NEOTENY, NEOTYPE, NEOMORPH, NEOCORTEX, and many others.  And when scientists discover a new substance, they get to NEOLOGIZE (“to coin new words“); the discovers of NEON went for a little word that simply means “new.”  If you enjoyed all of this, you may have NEOPHILIA (“a love of novelty or newness”).

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter N

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