SITZMARK

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 23 December 2011

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SITZMARK  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a depression left in the snow by a skier who has fallen backward
2. (n.) an act of falling backward on skis

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:
Much of the specialized vocabulary of skiing comes from Europe, where the activity can be traced back to ancient times.  Norwegian gave us the word SKI itself, as well as CHRISTIE or CHRISTY (a skiing turn), KLISTER (a wax for skis), SKIJORING (being drawn over snow by a horse or vehicle), SLALOM (to ski in a zigzag), and TELEMARK (a type of skiing turn). 

Nearby Germany has contributed its share of skiing terminology as well: the amusing SITZMARK derives from German, as do MOGUL (a bump on a ski slope), SCHUSS (to make a fast, straight run in skiing), VORLAGE (a position in skiing), and WEDEL or WEDELN (a skiing technique).


Tilehead will be hibernating next week.  In the meantime, for more wintry words, curl up with last year’s HIBERNAL entry.


Recapping this week’s words: SASTRUGA, YULETIDE, ALGID, and SITZMARK


Seasons greetings to all!

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ALGID

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 22 December 2011

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ALGID  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) cold; chilly

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: algidITY, algidITIES, algidNESS, algidNESSES
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: ALGOR (n.), ALGIDITY (n.), ALGIDNESS (n.)

Epilogue:
The Latin algidus, “cold” (from the verb algere, “to be cold”) gave English words such as ALGID, ALGOR, ALGIDITY, and ALGIDNESS.  They started appearing in English around the 1600s and are still used on occasion, though they are generally out of fashion.

More common words such as COLD and COLDNESS come from the Old English ceald and date from as early as the twelfth century.


This week’s theme: Wintry words

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YULETIDE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 21 December 2011

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YULETIDE  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) the modern season of Yule, extending roughly from Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day
2. (n.) any of a number of winter festivals, traditionally celebrated on the winter solstice or in December or January

Useful information for game players:

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

Epilogue:
The winter solstice marks the official start of winter.  For those in the Northern Hemisphere, it occurs this year at 5:30 a.m. UT (Universal Time, i.e. Greenwich time) on December 22nd.  That means that it will occur at 12:30 a.m. on the 22nd for those in the Eastern time zone, at 11:30 p.m. on the 21st for those in the Central time zone, and so on.

The YULETIDE season is closely associated with the winter solstice.  The word YULE derives from Old English geol and further from Old Norse jol, the name of an ancient pagan festival held near the winter solstice.  Over time Christian authorities altered the meaning of the term to correspond to the 12-day feast of the Nativity and eventually to the holiday now known as Christmas.  The timing of and many customs associated with the Christmas season was also influenced by Saturnalia, an ancient Roman festival held around the time of the winter solstice, and by other ancient pagan rituals.  (Because of the legendary rowdiness of the ancient Roman festival, the noun SATURNALIA, along with the adjective SATURNALIAN and the adverb SATURNALIANLY, can also be used to refer to any "celebration marked by unrestrained revelry.")

The TIDE portion of today’s word, incidentally, comes from the Old English tid, meaning “a portion of time,” a sense still retained in a number of other old-fashioned temporal words: EVENTIDE, HOLYTIDE, NOONTIDE, NIGHTTIDE, SPRINGTIDE, and WINTERTIDE.

This week’s theme: Wintry words

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SASTRUGA

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 19 December 2011

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SASTRUGA  (n. pl. SASTRUGI)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) one of a series of wavelike ridges of hard snow formed by the wind in polar regions or on high mountains, typically aligned parallel to the direction of the prevailing wind; usually used in the plural form: sastrugi

Useful information for game players:

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

Epilogue:
Modern explorer and mountaineer Reinhold Messner described a treacherous journey across SASTRUGI during a trek across the south pole:

For days we were going through fields of sastrugi.... From above, the landscape here would look like a freshly ploughed field. The ground still climbed evenly. We did not pull the sledges, we tugged them across the heavy snow and tore them free when they jammed between sastrugi. Thus we went on day after day across the ice.
~ Reinhold Messner, Antarctica: Both Heaven and Hell (1991)

English borrowed this word from German, where it was taken from the Siberian Russian word zastruga (“groove” or “ridge”).

This week’s theme:
Just in time for the upcoming solstice, this week we’ll hunker down with some wintry words.

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"Words... enter our souls and mix with the juices of the mind"

Quote of the Week:

I believe that words can help us move or keep us paralyzed, and that our choices of language and verbal tone have something — a great deal — to do with how we live our lives and whom we end up speaking with and hearing; and that we can deflect words, by trivialization, of course, but also by ritualized respect, or we can let them enter our souls and mix with the juices of the mind.
~ Adrienne Rich (1929- )

ZYMURGY

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 16 December 2011

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ZYMURGY  (n. pl. ZYMURGIES)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a branch of applied chemistry dealing with fermentation, as in beer brewing or wine making

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: ZYMOSIS, ZYMOTIC, ZYMOLOGY, and several other ZYMO- words

Epilogue:
This word is the last main entry in some dictionaries — though not in our Scrabble word list, of course, where both ZYZZYVA and ZZZ come after it.  The Greek zyme (“leaven”) is a part of many words relating to fermentation or the brewing process, such as ZYMOSIS (“a form of fermentation”), ZYMOLOGY (“the study of fermentation”), and ZYMOMETER (“an instrument for measuring the degree of fermentation”).  The word ZYMURGY is used widely among beer enthusiasts, especially those who craft their own HOMEBREW (“an alcoholic beverage made at home”).

Happy Friday, and cheers!

Recapping this week’s words: ZELKOVA, ZOONOSIS, ZAFTIG, and ZYMURGY

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ZAFTIG

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 14 December 2011

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ZAFTIG  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) having a full, shapely figure; curvaceous
2. (adj.) full-bosomed

Useful information for game players:

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

Epilogue:
This is another useful word from the colorful and evocative Yiddish language.  It derives from the Yiddish zaftik (“juicy”) and probably ultimately from the Middle High German saft (“juice”).  Depending on your point of view, you might prefer near-synonyms such as BUXOM, CURVACEOUS, or VOLUPTUOUS.

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

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ZOONOSIS

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 13 December 2011

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ZOONOSIS  (n. pl. ZOONOSES)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a disease that can be transmitted from animals to human beings

Useful information for game players:

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

Epilogue:
There are many ZOONOTIC diseases, and among the best-known are malaria, rabies, and Lyme disease.  Diseases such as AIDS and influenza may have originated as ZOONOSES, though they are now typically spread from human-to-human.  The word derives from straightforward Greek elements: zoion (“animal”) and nosos (“disease”).

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

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ZELKOVA

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 12 December 2011

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ZELKOVA  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) an Asian tree of the elm family, various species of which are used as a shade tree, for timber, or for a bonsai tree

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:
One species of this tree is native to parts of Japan, China, and the Caucasus — this last place being an ethnically diverse region where Iran, Russia, and Turkey come together.  Probably because of the Caucasus connection, the English word for this tree family comes from the Russian zel’kova and ultimately from the Georgian dzelkva, roughly meaning “hard rock” (because it was often used in making durable construction materials).  Among the very few other English words deriving from Georgian are LARI and TETRI, both forms of Georgian currency.

Theme:
A zany collection of words starting with the letter Z

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"When I use a word..."

Quote of the Week:

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”
~ Lewis Caroll (1832-1898), Through the Looking-Glass

YOGINI

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 9 December 2011

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YOGINI  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a female practitioner of yoga (a Hindu philosophy involving physical and mental disciplines, or a system of exercises for attaining bodily or mental control and well-being)

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: YOGA, YOGI, YOGEE, YOGIC, YOGIN

Epilogue:
Originally applied to a type of female demon or to a female practitioner of a form of tantric Buddhism, a YOGINI nowadays may be a spiritual teacher or merely a devotee of modern yoga exercises.  The masculine forms are YOGI, YOGEE, or YOGIN, though each of these is sometimes considered gender-neutral.

English adopted the YOGA / YOGI family of words from Hindi forms of a Sanskrit word that meant “to yoke, join, or harness” — with the connotation of joining the physical self with the transcendent.


Recapping this week’s words: YCLEPED, YEGG, YESTREEN, and YOGINI

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YESTREEN

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 7 December 2011

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YESTREEN  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) yesterday evening; the night before

Useful information for game players:

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

Epilogue:
It is easy to see how the Middle English yisterday even (“yesterday evening”) morphed into yistreven and eventually the modern YESTREEN or YESTEREVE.  A similar alteration happened with Halloween, which started out as All-Hallow-Even. 

YESTREEN is a good old word for a common concept, having been in the language for over 600 years, and it still sees occasional use.  The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for the fascinating old word yesterfang, “that which was taken or caught on the previous day or former occasion” — as in a yesterfang of fish.   

One might also wish that the word nudiustertian, which means “on or pertaining to the day before yesterday” (from Latin nudiustertianus, “today the third day”) had not become obsolete, but it is, admittedly, a mouthful and a bit contrived.  However, I would like to call for a full revival of overmorrow, a useful and straightforward word meaning “the day after tomorrow.”  It was employed in the Coverdale Bible translation of 1535 (“Up Sara, let us make oure prayer unto God to daye, tomorrow, and overmorrow,” Tobit 8:4), and it has cognates in other languages (German ubermorgen, etc.), but it never caught on widely.

Regardless, we will conclude our examination of words starting with the letter Y overmorrow.

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YEGG

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 6 December 2011

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YEGG  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a burglar or safecracker
2. (n.) a dangerous criminal of any kind

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: EGGY
• Longer extensions: yeggMAN, yeggMEN
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: YEGGMAN, YEGGMEN

Epilogue:
The colorful word YEGG, and the synonymous YEGGMAN, were often used in newspaper stories in the early to mid-twentieth century:

Six yeggmen, masked with handkerchiefs, blew open the safe in the Suffield Savings Bank early this morning.
~ NY Tribune, 18 Dec. 1906

A gang of more than a dozen yeggs yesterday blew the doors of five safes of the Kellogg Switchboard & Supply Co. and escaped with loot estimated at $33,000.
~ Miami News, 18 October 1926

There have been several theories about the origins of the term, but none have proved conclusive.  It may have been inspired by John Yegg or John Yeager, notorious SAFECRACKERS (or CRACKSMEN) of the early 1900s.  Or it may derive from San Francisco Chinatown slang (yekk, meaning “beggar”) or from Scottish dialect words (yark or yek, meaning “to break”).  Even the German jager (“huntsman”) has been suggested as a possible source.  Like the individual the word describes, this word’s history is likely to remain slightly elusive and mysterious.


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

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YCLEPED

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 5 December 2011

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YCLEPED  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) called; named
2. (v.) a past tense form of the verb clepe (to call by name)

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: YCLEPT
• Related Forms: CLEPE (v. CLEPED or CLEPT or YCLEPT or YCLEPED, CLEPING, CLEPES)

Epilogue:
In Old English, verbs were sometimes prefixed with ge-, a form that became altered to i- or more commonly y- in Middle English.  The prefix seems to have had the effect of intensifying the meaning, especially in past participles, similar to the way the a- prefix operates in modern dialectal expressions such as “I ain’t a-tired.”  Thus, you can find many examples of words such as yblent, ybound, yclad, ydight, ypent, and ywrought in the writings of authors such as Chaucer, Lydgate, and Spenser.  These forms were already on the verge of obsolescence by the time of Shakespeare, though he did use both YCLAD (“clad; clothed”) and YCLEPT / YCLEPED in his works — the only two such y- prefix archaisms that still survive in most modern dictionaries, often with a usage note such as “obsolete except in archaic or humorous writings.”   

Her sight did ravish, but her grace in speech,
Her words yclad with wisdom’s majesty,
Makes me from wond’ring fall to weeping joys,
Such is the fullness of my heart’s content.
~ Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2

Shakespeare also used oddities such as yravished and yslaked, but these forms are completely ygoe (“gone”) from our modern language.


Theme:
This week we’ll satisfy your yearning for words starting with the letter Y

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"I've learned to relax and be confident..."

Quote of the Week:

The big thing is that I've learned to relax and be confident. Anyone performs better when he's relaxed. If you're relaxed, you're more patient, more selective. It's all in the head.
~ Dave Kingman (1948- ), former Major League Baseball player

XEBEC

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 2 December 2011

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XEBEC  (n. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a two- or three-masted Mediterranean ship with a long overhanging bow and stern, used formerly as a ship of war and more recently as a merchant ship

Useful information for game players:

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

Epilogue:
Most English words beginning with X derive from the Greek language, as we have seen with other words profiled this week, but there are a few exceptions — with English, there’s almost always a few exceptions!  For example, XU (a former monetary unit of Vietnam) is Vietnamese and was influenced by the French form sou. 

The word XEBEC is another exception to the rule.  It derives from the Arabic shabbak (“a small warship”), but on its way to English it passed through French (chebec) and Italian (sciabecco), and the English spelling may have been further influenced by obsolete Spanish (xabeque) or Catalan (xabec) forms.  The alternate spellings ZEBEC and ZEBECK were obviously influenced by the word’s English pronunciation.

Recapping this week’s words: XENIAL, XYLOID, XEROSIS, and XEBEC

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