TileHead Takes a Break

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted much lately, and now I must confirm what you may have guessed: TileHead is going on an extended hiatus, and I don’t know how long it will last.  While I may post something from time to time, I certainly won’t be doing frequent word-of-the-day entries, weekly quotations, or any of the other heretofore regular features.  Instead, I will be devoting more time and energy to committee work, to my own word game study and play, and to my personal and professional life.

Thank you to all my readers who have been on this lexical odyssey with me, the silent majority as well as the few who frequently passed along corrections, side notes, encouragement, or questions.  Over the past two years, we’ve explored hundreds of words: words with unusual meanings, words with curious histories, words with surprising connections.  I learned a lot — much more than I could share in these pages — and I hope you did, too.

I expect to return someday to posting regular entries here on the TileHead blog.  Until then, I hope you will take some of your own alphabetic journeys through the dictionary, and may you always delight in the power and magic of words, wonderful words.

Nationals 2012

The 2012 National Scrabble Championship will take place August 11-15, at the Royal Pacific Resort in Orlando, FL.  More than 300 tile heads will compete over 5 days and 31 games.  Players are separated into four divisions by rating.  Yours truly will be competing in Division 2.

Here are some handy links to follow the action:

• Live coverage website
• Standings by division

Good luck to all of the participants!

"Flow with whatever may happen..."

Quote of the Week:

Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free.
~ Zhuangzi (c. 369-286 BC)

TEGULAR

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 8 August 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

TEGULAR  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) of, relating to, or resembling a tile

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: tegularLY
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: TEGULARLY (adv.)

Current theme:

No theme this week — just a few selections from the good wordbook

Epilogue:

This word is used primarily in the roofing and paving industries, and indeed it comes from the Latin tegula, meaning “tile,” ultimately from the verb tegere, meaning “to roof, to cover.”  Several other words from the same roots usually refer to the outer skin, membrane, or husk of an organism, such as TEGMEN, TEGUMEN, TEGUMENT, INTEGUMENT, STEGODON, and STEGOSAURUS.  One such word, TEGULATED, is sometimes used to refer to a kind of ancient armor composed of overlapping plates.

Could it be applied to Scrabble tiles as well?  Certainly — though it rarely has been, it would seem.  Please join me in widening the figurative use of this word among the Scrabble community!  One could refer to a tournament as a “tegular competition,” or to the luck of the draw as “tegular fate,” or to top competitors as “tegular titans.” 

Speaking of tegular titans, I look forward to seeing many of you at the upcoming National Scrabble Championship!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

ATARAXIA

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 6 August 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

ATARAXIA  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) peace of mind; calmness of mind; emotional tranquility; stoical indifference

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: ATARAXY
• Related Forms: ATARAXIC (adj. & n.), ATARACTIC (adj. & n.)

Current theme:

No theme this week — just a few selections from the good wordbook

Epilogue:

The Stoics and the Epicureans of ancient Greece both sought ATARAXIA (or ATARAXY), a state of tranquility and calmness, though they differed on the best means of achieving it.  Deriving from the Greek for “lack of disturbance” or “impassiveness,” ATARAXIA remains for many today as desirable — and, often, elusive — as it was for those ancient philosophers.  The English language has many terms for this and related concepts, with small shades of difference in meaning.  Some near-synonyms that I find particularly interesting are APLOMB, EQUANIMITY, PLACIDITY, SANGFROID, SERENITY, and TRANQUILITY.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

"All rising to a great place..."

Quote of the Week:

All rising to a great place is by a winding stair.
~ Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

"Light the match"

Quote of the Week:

I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.
~ Mia Hamm (1972- ), American Olympic athlete

DRESSAGE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 24 July 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

DRESSAGE  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) the art or method of training a horse in obedience and in precision of movement
2. (n.) a competitive sport involving the guiding of a horse through complex maneuvers by slight movements of the rider’s hands, legs, and weight
3. (n.) the maneuvers performed by a horse trained in this method

Useful info for word game players:

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

Epilogue:

There are three main categories of EQUESTRIAN events at the Summer Olympics: jumping, DRESSAGE, and “eventing,” the last being a sort of equestrian triathlon involving jumping, cross country, and dressage events.  The word DRESSAGE comes from the French dresser, “to train” or “to drill.”  The event involves leading a horse through complex maneuvers such as PASSAGE (a slow trot with highly elevated feet) and PIAFFE (a movement that resembles a slow trot in place), ideally in such a manner that the rider appears relaxed and the horse responds smoothly and accurately.

With that, we will ride into the sunset, anticipating the official start of the Summer Olympics later this week.  Enjoy the Games!

Word to the wise: TileHead’s word of the day feature will be a little few and far between over the next several weeks.  Please enjoy the posts when they do appear, and please be patient when they do not.  Withdrawal symptoms may be lessened by flipping through your favorite dictionary and marveling at the wondrous beauty and inexhaustibility of the English language.

Recapping the past week’s words:
FALLAWAY, APPEL, PELOTON, JUDOKA, and DRESSAGE

Also mentioned in passing:
EPEE, EQUESTRIAN, FENCING, FOIL, JUDO, JUDOIST, JUJITSU, OCTAVE, OLYMPIAD, PASSADO, PASSAGE, PIAFFE, PLASTRON, PLATOON, PRIME, PUNTO, QUARTE, QUINTE, RIPOSTE, SABER, SECONDE, SEPTIME, SIXTE, TAEKWONDO, TIERCE, TOUCHE, and VOLTE

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

JUDOKA

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 23 July 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

JUDOKA  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) one who practices judo; a judoist

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Summer Olympics

Epilogue:

Many use the terms JUDO and JUJITSU (also spelled JUJUTSU, JIUJITSU, and JIUJUTSU) interchangeably, but they are technically different.  Jujitsu derives from ju (“soft” or “gentle”) and jutsu (“art” or “skill”) and is a martial art with ancient roots involving holds, throws, and paralyzing blows.  Today there are many different varieties of jujitsu, with varying emphases and teachings.  The most well known and popular variety, judo, derives from ju and do (“way”) and is a modern martial art developed by Japanese master Jigoro Kano (1860-1938) involving holds, throws, and quick movements.  A practitioner of judo may be called a JUDOKA (ju + do + ka “person”) or a JUDOIST.

Judo has been a regular Summer Olympic event since 1964 (with the exception of 1968).  Another popular martial art, TAEKWONDO, was added to the Games in 2000.  Taekwondo is derived from Korean tae (“kick”), plus kwon (“fist”), plus do (“way”), or, more poetically, “the way of kicking and punching.”

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

"Competing at the highest level..."

Quote of the Week:

Competing at the highest level is the greatest test of one's character.
~ Russell Mark (1964- ), Australian Olympic athlete

PELOTON

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 19 July 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

PELOTON  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) the main body or field of riders in a bicycle race
2. (n.) a small body of soldiers; a platoon (rare)
3. (n.) a type of colorful, ornamental Bohemian glassware; also called peloton glass (rare)

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Summer Olympics

Epilogue:

PELOTONS, or tightly-packed groups of riders, figure prominently in most longer bicycle races.  Many riders will “bunch” together, saving energy by “drafting” behind one another, and one or more riders will eventually aim for a “break” or “breakaway.”  The word is from French and literally means “little ball” or “pellet.”  The word PLATOON is from the same source, and, indeed, the word PELOTON was once used as a synonym for a small body of soldiers.

Cycling is another sport — along with fencing, some swimming events, and some track & field events — that has been included in every modern Summer Olympic Games, from 1896 to the present.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

APPEL

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 18 July 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

APPEL  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) in fencing, a stamp of the foot, used as a feint or as a warning of attack
2. (n.) in fencing, a sharp blow made to produce an opening

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: R-
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: APPLE, PEPLA
• Longer extensions: appelLEE/S, appelLOR/S, appelLANT/S, appelLATE, appelLATION/S, appelLATIVE/S, appelLATIVELY
• Wraparounds: RappelS, RappelED, RappelLED, RappelING, RappelLING, CappelLETTI
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Current theme:

Summer Olympics

Epilogue:

The sport of FENCING is rife with obscure words.  Most specialized English language fencing terms are derived from French, owing to the strong influence of French fencing masters in the 16th through the 19th centuries.  APPEL, for example, comes from the French appeler, “to call” or (in this sense) “to challenge.”  Fencing is one of the few sports that has been an official event at the games of every modern Summer Olympics, which began in 1896.

Some other unusual fencing words include:

• EPEE: a fencing blade with a bowl-shaped guard and a long, narrow blade with a blunt point; the other primary fencing swords are the FOIL and the SABER 
• PASSADO: a thrust in fencing with one foot advanced 
• PLASTRON: a pad worn by a fencer to protect the chest 
• PUNTO: a point or hit in fencing 
• RIPOSTE: a fencer’s quick return thrust following a parry 
• TOUCHE: used to acknowledge a hit in fencing 
• VOLTE: a sudden movement or leap to avoid a thrust 
• And all of the eight basic fencing positions: PRIME, SECONDE, TIERCE, QUARTE, QUINTE, SIXTE, SEPTIME, and OCTAVE

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

FALLAWAY

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 17 July 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

FALLAWAY  (n. pl. -S)  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a shot in basketball made while moving away from the basket
2. (adj.) pertaining to a shot or movement made while moving away from the basket

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Summer Olympics

Epilogue:

The FALLAWAY jump shot is a staple of modern basketball, allowing a player to take a shot with less chance of it being blocked by the opposition.  Michael Jordan was famous for hitting last-second fallaway jumpers.  He and his star teammates on the United States men’s basketball team, dubbed the “Dream Team,” ran away with the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics.  Overall, the U.S. men’s basketball team has dominated the sport since it became an Olympic event in 1936, capturing 13 gold medals, 1 silver, and 2 bronzes in its 16 appearances.

The world is about to get a serious case of Olympic fever, with the opening ceremony of the London Summer Olympics taking place on July 27th.  To get you into the mood, over the next several days we will host a small OLYMPIAD of words related to some of the sports of the Summer games.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

"Languages do not improve or deteriorate..."

Quote of the Week: 

Languages do not improve or deteriorate. They just change, like the tides. Yesterday's tide is no better or worse than today's or tomorrow's.... Words come and go. Grammar fluctuates. Pronunciations alter. Spelling preferences vary. None of it adds up to a doomsday scenario, notwithstanding the best efforts of media pundits to say that it does.
~ David Crystal, Words Words Words (2006)

ULLAGE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 13 July 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

ULLAGE  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) the amount by which the contents fall short of filling a container
2. (n.) the quantity of liquid lost from a container due to leakage or evaporation

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: S-
• Back hooks: -D, -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: SullageS
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: ULLAGED (adj.)

Current theme:

No theme this week — just a few random selections from the good wordbook

Epilogue:

That extra space at the top of bottles of wine, known as ULLAGE or HEADSPACE, often serves a purpose, allowing for expansion of contents or gases.  A similar concept applies to soda bottles, jet fuel tanks, and other containers of liquid.  Ullage seems to be on the rise in dry food packaging as well — notice the amount of air in your potato chip, cracker, or breakfast cereal packages — though more for reasons of marketing and chicanery than for any valid purpose.

The word derives ultimately from the Latin oculus (“eye”).  Medieval winemakers tried to fill casks up to the “eye” (the bunghole or stopper) to prevent the introduction of unwanted bacteria or other foreign substances.  Thus the French ouillage morphed into Anglo-French ulliage, the ancestor of our modern word.

If you are more concerned about what is inside the container, then INNAGE is the word for you.  INNAGE refers to the amount of liquid or product in a container, often measured in height from the bottom of the container.  It can also refer to the amount of liquid or product remaining in a container after shipment, such as the amount of fuel remaining in a jet tank after a flight.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

BUSHIDO

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 11 July 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

BUSHIDO  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) the code of conduct of the Japanese samurai warrior

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

No theme this week — just a few random selections from the good wordbook

Epilogue:

The Japanese bu-shi-do literally means “military-knight-ways,” often translated more poetically as the "way of the warrior."  Bushido is a relatively new word in English, having been popularized by Nitobe Inazo's 1899 book Bushido: The Soul of Japan, but it encompasses a complex moral code of conduct with roots in ancient Japanese culture and warfare.  Among the virtues emphasized were courage, discipline, duty, honor, honesty, loyalty, respect, and sacrifice.

Ancient SAMURAI (“servant”) warriors were so duty-bound that they would occasionally commit SEPPUKU ("stomach-cutting"), a ritualistic form of suicide with a short sword, in order to avoid being captured by an enemy or to avoid shame for misdeeds.  This gruesome ritual is no longer practiced, of course, but Japanese culture still places a high value on duty and honor.  For example, top Japanese executives will sometimes resign in the wake of a scandal or problem that brings shame to the company.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

KLUDGE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 9 July 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

KLUDGE  (v. KLUDGED, KLUDGING, KLUDGES)  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (v.) to put together from ill-fitting components
2. (n.) a system, especially a computer system, composed of poorly matched elements or components
3. (n.) a clumsy or inelegant solution to a problem; a messy or poorly constructed, but valid, solution to a problem or task

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -D, -S, -Y
• Anagrams: KLUGED
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: KLUGE
• Related Forms: KLUDGY, KLUDGEY, KLUDGIER, KLUDGIEST

Current theme:

No theme this week — just a few random selections from the good wordbook

Epilogue:

Just about any computer geek will know this curious word, but it may be less familiar to those who do not deal so frequently with 0’s and 1’s.  As a noun, a KLUDGE (or KLUGE) is a fix or solution involving poorly matched or inelegant components.  To do such a fix is to KLUDGE or KLUGE (verb).  Something so put together might be described as KLUDGEY or KLUDGY (adj.).  Many computer techs enjoy creating a good kludge, which is sometimes a very effective solution to a problem.  As one technical book put it: “Any respectable in-house IT department will have a few kludges in its bag of tricks to keep the network running, and they ought to be proud of that fact” (Peter Rybaczyk, Cisco Network Design Solutions for Small-Medium Businesses).

The history of this word is, appropriately, a bit of a messy mystery.  Among the sources that have been proposed are the German kluge (“clever or smart”), the Polish or Russian klucz (“key or main point”), the Scottish kludgie (“common toilet”), and the name of an otherwise forgotten computer programmer.  In any case, the word is a perfect fit for a common modern phenomenon.  It started to be used regularly in the mid-twentieth century, and it remains popular among programmers and computer wonks today.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

"I was missing English one day..."

Quote of the Week:

I was missing English one day, American, really,
     with its pill-popping Hungarian goulash of everything
from Anglo-Saxon to Zulu, because British English
    is not the same, if the paperback dictionary
I bought at Brentano's on the Avenue de l'Opera
    is any indication, too cultured by half.
~ Barbara Hamby (1952- ), "Ode to American English"

LAMSTER

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 6 July 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

LAMSTER  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a fugitive from the law; an escapee; one who is trying to avoid being caught

Useful info for word game players:

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

Epilogue:

It will probably come as no surprise that criminal argot and slang have enriched American English, too.  Late 19th century and early 20th century gangster culture, for example, popularized terms such as “bum rap” (a false accusation or undeserved blame), to CON (to deceive, short for “confidence”), and RACKET (a dishonest scheme). 

Similarly, LAM gained the meaning of “in flight”, as in the expression “on the lam,” as well as a verb sense meaning “to escape, to flee.”  One who went on the lam was called a LAMSTER or a LAMISTER.  LAM had previously been a Middle English word meaning “to beat soundly,” and it is not clear how or why it developed a new meaning in the backstreets of America, where a special lingo and manner of speaking developed.  But what’s with all the questions, see?  Maybe you should just mind your potatoes, see?  Yeah, clam up and scram!

Recapping this week’s words:
POTLATCH, OUTLIVER, BUCKRA, and LAMSTER

Also mentioned in passing:
BANJO, BLUFF, CATFISH, CHEECHAKO, CHINOOK, CON, CORN, FRONTIER, GOOBER, GROUNDHOG, GUMBO, LAM, MAIZE, MUCKAMUCK, POTLUCK, QUAHOG, RACKET, RATTLESNAKE, SALTCHUCK, SKOOKUM, TYEE, and YAM

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

BUCKRA

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 5 July 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

BUCKRA  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a white man or boss (often used disparagingly)

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -M, -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: buckraMS, buckraMED, buckraMING
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Current theme:

Words born in America

Epilogue:

Slaves brought to America from Africa and the Caribbean influenced American language and culture, sometimes in surprising ways.  As Walter C. Rucker writes in the Encyclopedia of African American History, “used as an expression of derision, ‘buckra’ appears to be the only anti-white epithet created originally by enslaved Africans. Others, specifically ‘cracker’ and ‘redneck,’ were created by the white elite to deride and ridicule poor whites.”  The term first began to be used widely in South Carolina and Georgia, and it is still used primarily in the southern United States.  The word is generally considered offensive or disparaging.

In any case, the word BUCKRA is probably from mbakara (“master”), from the Efik language spoken by the Ibibio people of Nigeria.  Other words from African languages that were probably introduced to American English through black slaves include BANJO, GOOBER (“peanut”), GUMBO, and YAM.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

OUTLIVER

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 3 July 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

OUTLIVER  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) one who outlives another; a survivor

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Words born in America

Epilogue:

The only current definition for OUTLIVER is the straightforward and expected one: one who survives or lives longer than another.  However, the word also has a particular connection to early United States history.  In seventeenth and eighteenth century colonial America, an “outliver” was one who moved to the frontier, far from a town center; that is, one who lived out away from others.  Sometimes outlivers ended up forming new towns; other times they simply sought adventure, freedom from city life, or independence and solitude. 

The word OUTLIVER is also an example of an early American propensity to adapt familiar words to new uses or to combine old words to form new concepts.  CORN, for example, was a very old English word with a variety of meanings that Americans adopted to refer specifically to MAIZE, or “Indian corn.”  The term FRONTIER, a word originally referring to the front side of something, became an Americanism for the vast lands at or beyond the border of a region.  The sense of BLUFF meaning “a steep headland or riverbank” was originally an Americanism, while compounds such as CATFISH, GROUNDHOG, and RATTLESNAKE combined familiar old words in new ways.  Such words, along with a gallimaufry of words borrowed from native and European languages, gradually gave American English a distinct flavor that helped set it apart from English spoken in Britian or other parts of the world.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

POTLATCH

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 2 July 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

POTLATCH  (n. pl. -ES)  (v. -ED, -ING, -ES)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a ceremonial feast marked by gift giving and sometimes the destruction of property as a show of wealth and status, especially as practiced by Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest and the northwest coast of Canada
2. (n.) any party, feast, or celebration
3. (v.) to hold a potlatch feast or celebration

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: potlatchED, potlatchES, potlatchING
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Current theme:

Words born in America

Epilogue:

Native American languages have contributed many words to the English language, mostly owing to the close contact between cultures in the early periods of European settlement in the Americas.  Last year, we looked at QUAHOG and other words from the Atlantic coast of America, mostly borrowed in colonial times.  Much later, in the nineteenth century, along the Pacific Northwest of the United States and up the northwest coast of Canada to Alaska, an unusual pidgin language known as Chinook Jargon developed to facilitate trade among the various peoples of those lands.  As writer Douglas Harper describes it, Chinook Jargon was “a mish-mash of native, French, and English words once used as a lingua franca in the Pacific Northwest.”

The word POTLATCH was borrowed during this period, deriving from the Wakashan patshatl, meaning “"giving, or gift.”  It is still used chiefly in the Northwestern United States and Canada.  The word is not etymologically related to POTLUCK — which is an English word, dating from the sixteenth century and derived from a straightforward combination of POT and LUCK, i.e. “to take one’s chances on what may be in the pot” — but the similarity in sound and rough meaning has led to the two words sometimes being used interchangeably or imprecisely.

Other words most likely from Chinook or Chinook Jargon include CHEECHAKO (a newcomer), MUCKAMUCK (an important person), SALTCHUCK (a body of salt water), SKOOKUM (excellent or large), and TYEE (a chief or boss, or a type of salmon).  Finally, the word CHINOOK itself, obviously derived from the name of the Indian tribe, refers to “a warm dry wind of the Pacific Northwest or the slopes of the Rocky Mountains.”

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

"The difference between the right word..."

Quote of the Week:

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.
~ Attributed to Mark Twain (1835-1910)

DUENDE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 29 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

DUENDE  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) the power to attract through personal magnetism and charm; charisma
2. (n.) inspiration or passion
3. (n.) a ghost or spirit

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: DENUDE, DUDEEN, and ENDUED
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Current theme:

No theme this week — just a few random selections from the good wordbook

Epilogue:

This word is sometimes considered untranslatable — words such as “magnetism,” “charm,” or “passion” only approximate the sense, some argue, since DUENDE is more of a mysterious feeling or force.  A dancer, artist, or writer may be said to have duende, an inexplicable power or quality that draws the observer or reader in.  One Spanish dictionary reportedly defined it as “mysterious and ineffable charm.”  The Spanish poet García Lorca said that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe unintentionally defined it best when he described a musician as “a mysterious force that everyone feels and no philosopher has explained.”

Fittingly, the word has a mysterious and debated history.  It probably started out as Old Spanish duen de casa, “owner or lord of a house,” and in modern Spanish it came to mean “ghost or fairy,” of the sort that inhabits houses or causes minor mischief.  From this, somehow, emerged the Spanish dialect meaning of “charm.”  Nowadays, one with duende possesses a mysterious and powerful charm or passion, as if animated by an inner spirit. 

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

TEENFUL

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 27 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

TEENFUL  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) filled with grief; grievous
2. (adj.) sorrowful; afflicted

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

No theme this week — just a few random selections from the good wordbook

Epilogue:

The word TEEN was used throughout Middle English and Early Modern English to mean “grief, sorrow, or trouble,” or sometimes more strongly “ill fortune or harm.”  The word derives from Old English teona “injury, wrong,” and is related to Old Norse and Old Frisian forms of the same.  It was employed to good effect by some of the most famous of English writers:

Almighty and al merciable quene,
To whom that al this world fleeth for socour,
To have relees of sinne, sorwe and tene,
Glorious virgine, of alle floures flour,
To thee I flee, confounded in errour!
~ Geoffrey Chaucer, “An A.B.C.” (c. 1375)

I to grave, where peace and rest lye with mee,
Eightie odde yeeres of sorrow I have seen,
And each howres joy wrackt with a weeke of teene.
~ William Shakespeare, Richard III (c. 1597)

The vagaries of language are such that this sense of the word is not employed much anymore, and the derivative TEENFUL (“full of sorrow”) is also fading into desuetude.

Though you may know some teenful teens, the old “sorrowful” sense of the word is not related to the combining form -teen found in numbers such as THIRTEEN, FOURTEEN, etc.  That -teen was simply an inflected form of the number TEN in Old and Middle English, so that fiftene or FIFTEEN was simply a short way of saying “five and ten.”  TEEN, in the sense of a person with an age in the years ending in -teen, first appears in English in the 17th century.  Words such as TEENAGE, TEENAGER, TEENYBOP, and TEENYBOPPER are even more recent creations, all first appearing or gaining popularity in the twentieth century.

 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

"If you know a thing only..."

Quote of the Week: 

If you know a thing only qualitatively, you know it no more than vaguely.  If you know it quantitatively — grasping some numerical measure that distinguishes it from an infinite number of other possibilities — you are beginning to know it deeply.
~ Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

LUSTRUM

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 22 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

LUSTRUM  (n. pl. LUSTRUMS or LUSTRA)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a period of five years
2. (n.) a ceremonial purification of the ancient Roman population after the census every five years

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: LUSTRAL (adj.), LUSTRATE (v.), LUSTRATION (n.)

Epilogue:

The ancient Romans held a census every few years, the primary purpose of which was to identify men capable of bearing arms.  After the census, a purification ceremony known as a LUSTRUM or LUSTRATION was performed.  The ceremony included the sacrificing of a boar (sus), sheep (ovis), and bull (taurus), a ritual known as the suovetaurilia.  Because the census was normally conducted every five years, the word LUSTRUM came to refer to any five-year period, as it usually does today.

The word LUSTRUM and its variations derive from the Latin lustrare (“to brighten, or to purify”), which is also source of words such as LUSTER and ILLUSTRATION.  Turning to other Latin roots, an even fancier word for a five-year period is QUINQUENNIUM, a combination of quinque (“five”) and annus (“year”).

Recounting this week’s featured words:
CHILIAD, LAKH, ALGORISM, and LUSTRUM

Also mentioned:
ALGEBRA, ALGORITHM, CHILIASM, CHILIARCH, CRORE, ILLUSTRATION, KILO (and KILO- words), LUSTER, LUSTRATION, MILLION, QUINQUENNIUM, and RUPEE

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

ALGORISM

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 21 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

ALGORISM  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) the Arabic or decimal system of counting
2. (n.) calculating by means of the Arabic figures 1 through 9, plus zero: arithmetic
3. (n.) calculating with any form of notation
4. (n.) the rule for solving a specific kind of arithmetic problem: algorithm

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Numbers

Epilogue:

The ninth century Persian mathematician Muhammed ibn Mūsa al-Khwārizmi (c. 780-c. 850) had an enormous influence on mathematics, as well as a surprisingly deep influence on the English language.  He wrote the book on algebra — literally — and is directly linked to several mathematical terms.

Al-Khwārizmi’s book Al-Kitāb al-mukhtasar fī hisāb al-jabr wa'l-muqābala (“The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing”) (c. 830) was an influential work that laid out the basic rules of algebra.  Although al-Khwārizmi was not the discoverer of algebraic mathematics (ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, and Greeks worked out the basics first), his work was so influential that the word al-jabr (“completion”) in the title of his book eventually became the word ALGEBRA in English. 

Al-Khwārizmi also wrote several other important texts relating to mathematics, astronomy, and geography.  His stature as a mathematician was so great that his name eventually became synonymous with the Arabic numbering system (0-9) itself: the medieval Latin form of al-Khwārizmi eventually morphed into the English ALGORISM.  In turn ALGORISM, still used today to refer to the decimal system of counting or to computation using it, also influenced the development of the word ALGORITHM (a step-by-step procedure for solving a mathematical problem).  In this case, al-Khwārizmi’s name probably became conflated with the Greek arithmos (“number”), leading to the form ALGORITHM.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

LAKH

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 20 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

LAKH  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) one hundred thousand (100000)
2. (n.) a great number

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: HAlakhA/S, HAlakhIC, HAlakhAH/S, HAlakhOT/H, HAlakhIST/S
• Other Spellings: LAC
• Related Forms: (none)

Current theme:

Numbers

Epilogue:

Indian English has some distinctive words for large numbers, and their notation system reflects these terms.  A LAKH (or rarely, LAC) is one hundred thousand, usually written there as 1,00,000.  The different placement of the comma makes sense in this system, because they see it as one lakh, not one hundred thousand.  Similarly, ten lakh (written as 10,00,000) is what we in the United States would call one million.  One hundred lakhs, or what we would call ten million, is called a CRORE and is written as 1,00,00,000.  Both LAKH and CRORE derive from Hindi versions of Sanskrit words for the same concepts.

Idiosyncratic notation aside, LAKH and CRORE are handy little words to have around, much shorter and simpler than the alternatives “one hundred thousand” and “ten million.”  Perhaps someday they will be adopted and used more widely in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries.

Now that you know about LAKH and CRORE and that the word MILLION is rarely used in India, you can impress your friends with this fun fact: when the movie Slumdog Millionaire was released in India, it was titled Slumdog Crorepati. A crorepati is one with a crore (ten million) or more RUPEES — roughly the equivalent of a millionaire in terms of status and purchasing power.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

CHILIAD

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 18 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day: 

CHILIAD  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a group of one thousand
2. (n.) a millennium: a period of one thousand years

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: chiliadAL, chiliadIC
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: CHILIADAL (adj.), CHILIADIC (adj.)

Current theme:

Numbers

Epilogue:

The ancient Greek word for “one thousand” can be transliterated as either chilioi or khilioi.  The CH- form gave English words such as CHILIAD, CHILIASM (belief in the millennium of Christian prophecy), and CHILIARCH (a commander of one thousand troops in ancient Greece). 

You are probably more familiar with words with spellings based on the K- form, such as KILO, KILOBYTE, KILOGRAM, KILOWATT, KILOMETER/KILOMETRE, and KILOCALORIE, since the kilo- prefix was adopted for use in the metric system, first devised in France in the late 18th century and now widespread throughout the industrialized world — with the notable exception of the United States.  A few lesser-known words with the kilo- prefix, all pertaining to units of measure, include KILOBAR, KILORAD, KILOTON, KILOBAUD, KILOMOLE, KILOVOLT, KILOCURIE, KILOCYCLE, KILOGAUSS, KILOJOULE, KILOPARSEC, and KILOPASCAL.

This week we will play the numbers game, by accounting for unusual words related to numbers. 

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

"Knowledge is power"

Quote of the Week:

As your body grows bigger
Your mind must flower
It's great to learn
'Cause knowledge is power!
~ "Schoolhouse Rock" theme song

LAMBENT

 TileHead’s Word of the Day for 15 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

LAMBENT  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) flickering lightly over a surface
2. (adj.) softly bright or radiant; luminous
3. (adj.) marked by lightness or brilliance

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: lambentLY
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: LAMBENCY (n.), LAMBENTLY (adv.)

Epilogue:

This word calls to mind images of flames licking at the edges of a fire — appropriately so, since it derives from the Latin lambere, meaning “to lick.”  It is often used in relation to fire or light:

Behind on the little hill the darkling woods lie calm, the edges of the fir-trees cut sharp against the sky, which is clear with a crescent moon and the lambent lights of the starry hosts of heaven.
~ William Makepeace Thackeray, The Newcomes (1854)

Out of airless space, a lambent column of blue-white light shot down into the two-story Victorian farmhouse, instantly vaporizing a core two meters in diameter. The rest of the structure exploded. Flames filled the night.
~ Dean Koontz, Dark Rivers of the Heart (2007)

Though it can also be used figuratively to refer to mental wit or brilliance:

He had a quick and lambent mind which could shear its way through a mass of detail and seize upon those aspects of a problem which are fundamental and decisive.
~ Graya magazine (1946)

Speaking of brilliance, our week of fun with adjectives has come to an end, but tune in next week for more shining examples of lambent wordsmithery!

Recapping this week’s featured words:
ADUMBRAL, IRENIC, MEPHITIC, and LAMBENT

Also mentioned:
ADUMBRATE, IRENICS, MEPHITIS, PACIFIC, PEACEFUL, PENUMBRA, UMBRA, and UMBRAGE

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

MEPHITIC

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 13 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

MEPHITIC  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) having a foul odor; poisonous or noxious

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Unpack Your Adjectives

Epilogue:

Mephitis (or Mefitis) must have gotten picked last when Roman deities were being assigned spheres of influence.  While the other gods and goddesses got to personify cool things such as the moon (Luna), the sea (Neptune), love (Venus), and wine (Bacchus), Mephitis was stuck tending to poisonous gases and noxious vapors, such as those emanating from swamps and volcanoes!  Her name is preserved in the scientific names of types of skunks (Mephitis mephitis and Mephitis macroura), as well as in the English noun MEPHITIS (a foul odor or vapor) and in the adjective MEPHITIC.  The latter is a particularly descriptive word that English writers have employed since at least the seventeenth century.  Thomas Blount defined it in his 1656 Glossographia as “stinking, dampish, as the stink or ill savour of the earth,” and the meaning remains similar today:

All through the Dark Valley I was tormented, and pestered, and dolefully bewildered with the same kind of waking dreams. The mephitic gases of that region intoxicate the brain.
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Celestial Railroad” (1843)

As a medical man, I tell you she cannot long survive in that damp, mephitic, lightless cupboard. She too must have air.
~ Patrick O’Brian, Desolation Island (2011)

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

IRENIC

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 12 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day: 

IRENIC  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) promoting peace; peaceful or conciliatory in purpose

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: E-
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: irenicAL, irenicALLY
• Wraparounds: EirenicAL
• Other Spellings: EIRENIC
• Related Forms: IRENICS, E/IRENICAL, IRENICALLY

Current theme:

Unpack Your Adjectives

Epilogue:

This adjective, similar in meaning to PEACEFUL or PACIFIC, is chiefly used in theological writing:

Erasmus is noteworthy in his persistent effort to take the high road by promoting modest, tolerant, and irenic discourse.
~ Terence J. Martin, Living Words: Studies in Dialogues about Religion (1998)

 Though it has also been used in literary and other secular contexts:

If anybody was jealous, if any of the usual bourgeois hangups festered beneath the surface of the long irenic dream that was Drop City, Marco never saw it.
~ T.C. Boyle, Drop City (2004)

Words such as IRENIC and IRENICAL derive from Eirene, the ancient Greek goddess of peace and one of the Horae, or the goddesses of the seasons and rightful order.  Her name means “peace” and is often rendered as Irene today, though the old Greek form did lead to alternate spellings with the E- in front, such as EIRENIC and EIRENICAL.  On the other end of the word, although IRENIC is an adjective, the form IRENICS is a plural noun referring to a branch of theology dealing with Christian unity.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

ADUMBRAL

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 11 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day: 

ADUMBRAL  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) shadowy; shady; dark

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Unpack Your Adjectives

Epilogue:

The word ADUMBRAL is usually employed in literary or poetic writing, where it suggests a dark, shadowy feeling:

Gloom settled on him as he trudged along. It was a gloom, too, adumbral in its depth, its density.
~ Maximilian Foster, Shoestrings (1917)

The dark shape of the Tor rose behind him, a brooding presence commanding all his attention and then drawing his eyes upward toward the vast adumbral sky, far and far above the wind-rustled boughs of the mysterious oak grove at the mountain’s base.
~ Donna Fletcher Crow, Glastonbury: The Novel of Christian England (1992)

The Latin umbra, meaning “shadow,” is the source of ADUMBRAL, as well as a number of other shadowy words, such as UMBRA (a dark area), UMBRAGE (a feeling of resentment), PENUMBRA (a partial shadow), and ADUMBRATE (to foreshadow, to suggest).

In recent weeks we’ve focused a lot on unusual things and concepts — such as symbols, dances, language, and foods — all interesting, but almost all nouns.  Now, in the memorable words of Schoolhouse Rock, it is time to “unpack our adjectives,” those handy words that help us describe, modify, or quantify nouns.  This week we will focus on some intriguing adjectives, along with examples of how they have been put to good use by writers — for adjectives are best appreciated and understood in context.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Scrabble Pangrams

Last week I asked for readers to send in their best Scrabble-themed pangrams (sentences using all 26 letters of the alphabet).  Evidently there are not many pangram enthusiasts among this crowd, because I did not receive many entries.  That said, what follows still represents the best (and possibly only) collection of Scrabble-themed pangrams you will find!

Audrey Tumbarello wins the prize for composing the shortest one, though some might find it a bit contrived:

Vext? Play: qursh, zonk, cwm, jib, fudge.  (28 letters)

Jeff Kastner sent two short ones, a variation on the same theme:

Vext jock bumping flashy word quiz.  (29)
Jock vext by dumping flash word quiz.  (30)

I prefer the second one, which wins the prize for a very short (30 or fewer letters) pangram that reads (more-or-less) like a natural sentence.  Jeff also sent in a longer, contrived example, explaining “it's a shortcut, true... but at least these actually were bingos I've played before”:

My bingos: AQUAVIT, FOXHOLE, MUZJIKS, and SCREWUP.  (39)

My own compositions, which I first unveiled in the original PANGRAM entry, were the only ones that aimed for slightly longer but more conversational pangrams:

Joyful word maven picks tough quiz box.  (32)
Joky wiz vanquished expert scrabble game foe.  (38)

I prefer the second one and hope that it may inspire others to take up the whimsical art of the Scrabble pangram.  If you should be moved to compose some now, or if you discover others, please pass them on to me.  Or, in pangram form:

Jovial hack besought zany mix of word quips.  (36)

"You cram these words into mine ears..."

Quote of the Week:

You cram these words into mine ears against
The stomach of my sense.
~ William Shakespeare (c. 1564-1616), The Tempest

ACKEE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 8 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

ACKEE  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a tropical tree, native to West Africa but also grown in the Caribbean, Florida, and Hawaii
2. (n.) the reddish, pear-shaped fruit of the ackee tree, the flesh of which is edible when ripe but poisonous when immature or overripe

Useful info for word game players:

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

Epilogue:

The ACKEE (or AKEE) tree was introduced to the Caribbean via slave ships from west Africa in the late 18th century.  A few years later, Captain William Bligh (of Mutiny on the Bounty fame) transported samples to London, leading to the scientific name Blighia sapida.  The word is of African etymology, probably from either Kru (spoken in Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia) or Akan (spoken in Ghana). 

The ackee is now considered the national fruit of Jamaica and figures prominently in its cuisine and culture.  The fruit is allegedly tasty and harmless when ripe, but immature or overripe flesh contains harmful toxins that can induce a violent condition known as “Jamaican vomiting sickness,” symptoms of which include vomiting, convulsions, coma, and, often, death.  As Jamaicans know, the fruit is ripe when the reddish pod opens to reveal the seeds and flesh inside, a fact that is the inspiration for a Jamaican riddle recorded by Martha Warren Beckwith in Black Roadways: A Study of Jamaican Folk Life (1929): “Me fader send me to pick out a wife; tell me to tek only those that smile, fe those that do not smile wi' kill me.”

Recapping this week’s featured words:
   DURIAN, TREHALA, ORTOLAN, and ACKEE

Also mentioned:
   BUNTING, FUGU, HAGGIS, MANNA, TREHALOSE, and WEEVIL

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

ORTOLAN

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 7 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

ORTOLAN  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a small, greenish brown European songbird
2. (n.) any of various small songbirds formerly eaten as a delicacy

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Weird Foods

Epilogue:

If you tend to be squeamish, particularly about the use of animals for food, you may wish to know only that ORTOLAN is a cute little songbird, also known as a BUNTING, and that the word comes from French and Italian forms of the Latin hortulanus (“of the garden”), apparently because the bird often nests in garden hedges.

So far, so good.  The culinary history and lore surrounding this little creature, however, is anything but cute — for the ortolan as food is the height of culinary ecstasy to some, mere culinary barbarism to others.

The latest edition of the Larousse Gastronomique takes pains to point out that the ortolan has been “considered since early times to be the finest and most delicate of birds to eat.”  And, indeed, several ancient Roman accounts refer to the consumption of ortolans, larks, and other small songbirds.  In more modern times, the ortolan, in particular, has come to be regarded by some foodies as a forbidden and almost preternaturally flavorful culinary delicacy.  Former French President Francois Mitterand, for example, was famously said to have consumed ortolan as the pièce de résistance in a lavish “last meal” in 1995, just a few days before dying of cancer.

In They Eat That? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Weird and Exotic Food from around the World, Thomas Crowley explains one traditional method for preparing, cooking, and consuming the bird:

“After netting one of the buntings (or several), the gourmand-now-turned-poacher places the bird in a darkened or artificially lit room; alternatively, he will gouge its eyes out — both are strategies for disrupting its feeding schedule.  Then, for a month, the ortolan is fed figs, millets, and oats in order to fatten it up quite severely.  Once it has grown to four times its normal size, the bird is drowned in brandy — ideally, Armagnac — before it is plucked clean, seasoned with salt and black pepper, and... baked in the high heat of an oven for six to eight minutes... The diner places the whole ortolan in his mouth, tail first, so that the bird’s head protrudes from his mouth.  He then bites in, perhaps discarding the head, or at least the beak.  The ortolan rests on his tongue to cool for a moment, while the fat runs from it.  He savors this still-sizzling-hot fat, and then begins to crunch away on the sea salty bones.  As he continues to chew, he tastes the bitterness of the internal organs rupturing, followed by the sweetness of the Armagnac that has asphyxiated it.”

It is now illegal to hunt or pay for ortolans in France, Crowley explains, more due to scarcity than morality, but certain chefs are still known to prepare them “discreetly” for “friends or high bidders.”

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

TREHALA

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 6 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

TREHALA  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a sweet, edible substance obtained from the pupal case of certain Asiatic weevils

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Weird Foods

Epilogue:

You may know MANNA from biblical stories, specifically as a type of food supposedly supplied miraculously to the Israelites in the wilderness during their flight from Egypt.  Today manna is the term for sweet substances obtained from tree or plant sap, or from the excretions of certain insects.  They are manna in that they appear to be produced out of nothing, as if by divine providence. 

TREHALA, for example, is a brittle, sweet “nest sugar” obtained from the pupal case of certain “snout beetles,” or WEEVILS, of Turkey and neighboring countries.  The term comes from Turkish and Persian forms of the word for the same substance.  It has been used as a food and as an ingredient in various drugs.  The sugary case — which includes a sugar known as TREHALOSE — does not appear out of nowhere, of course, as it is actually formed by abdominal excretions of the weevil in its larval stage.  In truth, you are unlikely to encounter trehala on your plate anytime soon, but a 2010 New York Times article did mention a few high-end restaurants that utilize plant-based forms of manna as ingredients in various foods and drinks.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

DURIAN

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 4 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

DURIAN  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a large greenish-brown oval fruit with a prickly rind and soft pale pulp with a strong odor
2. (n.) an East Indian tree of the silk-cotton family that bears durian fruit

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Weird Foods

Epilogue:

The DURIAN is a large fruit about the size of a pineapple, with a prickly rind, which is grown in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and other countries in southeast Asia.  The fruit is edible and allegedly quite tasty, but it has a powerful odor that most find to be offensive.  The term comes from a word meaning “thorn” in the Malay language.

Weird foods are fashionable these days, thanks to books and television programs on the subject, as well as the proliferation of stores and restaurants with international or specialty offerings.  Perhaps you’ve heard of FUGU, the Japanese puffer fish that can be poisonous if not cut properly.  Or HAGGIS, the traditional Scottish dish consisting of minced heart, liver, and lungs of a sheep or calf, mixed with suet, onions, oatmeal, and other seasonings, traditionally simmered in the stomach of the animal.  Whether all this makes you say “mm!” or “hm?”, this week we will serve up a few more culinary oddities.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

"Spelling counts..."

Quote of the Week:

Spelling counts. Spelling is not merely a tedious exercise in a fourth-grade classroom. Spelling is one of the outward and visible marks of a disciplined mind.
~ James J. Kilpatrick (1920-2010)

2012 National Bee: Scrabble Words and a Local Connection

Congratulations to fourteen-year-old Snigdha Nandipati, of San Diego, who won the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee.  Her winning word was GUETAPENS*, a word meaning "an ambush or trap."  Do not fall into the trap of trying to play it in Scrabble, since it is not a part of the TWL word list.  However, Snigdha did spell several Scrabble-acceptable words along the way, including RINGENT, LAHAR, STOCHASTICALLY, COMPAS, RHONCHUS, PSAMMON, and ARRONDISSEMENT. 

Truth be told, for me, the more exciting story is who finished second: fourteen-year-old Stuti Mishra, of West Melbourne, who was the central Florida representative, sponsored by the local Orlando Sentinel newspaper.  I was one of the word judges who watched her win the local bee earlier this year.  She won that contest in a marathon spell-off with another tough competitor, and I knew then that she could be a serious contender in the National Bee.  And, indeed, she was.  She did extremely well, finishing in second place (out of 278 competitors) after missing SCHWARMEREI, a Scrabble-acceptable word meaning "extravagant or excessive enthusiasm." Other Scrabble-acceptable words she conquered included ECHT, ENDERGONIC, FJELD, CHATOYANT, and PROLEGOMENON.  All in all, she finished higher than any other central Florida representative ever has, and she's an incredibly nice, polite, and sweet kid, too.  Congrats, Stuti! 

For more Bee coverage, see the official website: http://www.spellingbee.com/

MALAPROP

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 1 June 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

  MALAPROP  (n. pl. -S)


Definition(s):

1. (n.) a humorous, and usually unintentional, distortion or misuse of a word

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: malapropOS, malapropIAN, malapropISM/S, malapropIST/S
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: MALAPROPIAN (adj.), MALAPROPISM (n.), MALAPROPIST (n.)

Epilogue:

Often we focus on using words correctly, with clarity and precision.  Once in while, however, it is enjoyable to look at the humorous side of language (ab)use.  Today’s word takes us down the path of amusing linguistic gaffes.

A character named Mrs. Malaprop, in Richard Sheridan’s comedy The Rivals (1775), often misspoke in a certain humorous fashion: she tried to sprinkle her speech with learned words, but she frequently misused them in ludicrous ways.  She said things such as “he is the very pineapple of politeness” (she means “pinnacle of politeness”) or “she’s as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile” (for “alligator on the”).  This is the word you need when someone speaks of “the forty-eight contagious states of the U.S.” or “a vast suppository of information.”  The name of Sheridan’s memorable character was clearly formed on the pattern of the French phrase mal a propos, meaning “inappropriately.”  The English word MALAPROPOS, which means pertaining to something inappropriate, is from the same source.

Another type of humorous misspeaking is the SPOONERISM, which is the transposition, usually unintentional, of initial sounds in two or more words, such as “wottle of bater” (for “bottle of water”).  This word is named after a Reverend Dr. Spooner (1844-1930), who is alleged to have said things such as “you have hissed all my mystery lectures” (for “you have missed all my history lectures”) or “may I sew you to another sheet?” (for “may I show you to another seat?”).  A broader and more technical name for transposing letters or sounds in words is METATHESIS, from the Greek metatithenai, “to place differently.”  Metathesis includes spoonerisms, as well as common pronunciation mixups such as “flutterby,” “psaghetti,” and “nucular.”

Recapping this week’s featured words:
ZEUGMA, PANGRAM, ORTHOEPY, and MALAPROP

Also mentioned:
ANAGRAM, CACOGRAPHY, MALAPROPOS, METATHESIS, MONOGRAM, ORTHOGRAPHY, and SYLLEPSIS

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

ORTHOEPY

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 31 May 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

  ORTHOEPY  (n. pl. ORTHOEPIES)


Definition(s):

1. (n.) the correct or accepted pronunciation of words
2. (n.) the study of correct pronunciation
3. (n.) the study of the relationship between the pronunciation of words and their spelling

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: ORTHOEPIC (adj.), ORTHOEPIST (n.), ORTHOEPICALLY (adv.)

Current theme:

Language & Words

Epilogue:

When the contestants take the stage tonight in the finals of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee, they will be listening carefully to the ORTHOEPIC utterances of the pronouncer, Dr. Jacques Bailly.  While pronunciation is not always a good indication of how to spell a word in English, it is nonetheless one of the key pieces of information that good spellers use to hone in on a word, along with etymology and meaning.

The word ORTHOEPY comes from Greek roots, a combination of orthos (“right, proper”) and epos (“word, speech”).  The orthos root is also part of a word that truly describes the speller’s bailiwick: ORTHOGRAPHY, which is the art or study of correct spelling.  The opposite is CACOGRAPHY, which is incorrect spelling, though you will not see much of that at the National Bee!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

PANGRAM

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 30 May 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

  PANGRAM  (n. pl. -S)


Definition(s):

1. (n.) a sentence or phrase that includes all the letters of the alphabet

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Language & Words

Epilogue:

Writers have always played with words, and PANGRAMS have been concocted in many different languages, from ancient times to the present, as have other word games such as anagrams and palindromes.  PANGRAM, if you were just quizzically debating the exact origin, is derived from Greek roots.  It is a combination of pan (“all”) and gramma (“letter”).  The latter root is also a part of a few other words pertaining to letters, such as ANAGRAM and MONOGRAM.

Crafting pangrams can be challenging and addicting.  True purists will seek to create a meaningful pangram with exactly the same number of letters as the alphabet, but this is exceedingly difficult to do in English, with perhaps the best example being:

• Cwm fjord bank glyphs vext quiz.

Those are all legitimate English words (and all acceptable in Scrabble), but the meaning is, admittedly, obscure.  If abbreviations, proper nouns, or creative punctuation is allowed, other fine 26-letter examples include:

• Mr. Jock, TV quiz Ph.D., bags few lynx. 
• Quartz glyph job vex'd cwm finks.

Clearly, though, the meanings still tend to be fanciful or nonsensical.  If a few letters are repeated, short English pangrams start to resemble natural language, and many people find these to be more fun and interesting.  You may have seen “the quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog,” since it is often used as filler text in documents.  A few other excellent short pangrams include:

• How quickly daft jumping zebras vex. (30 letters) 
• Two driven jocks help fax my big quiz. (30) 
• The five boxing wizards jump quickly. (31) 
• Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. (32) 
• Fake bugs put in wax jonquils drive him crazy. (37)
• Amazingly few discotheques provide jukeboxes. (40)

For even more of a challenge, you can try to compose pangrams with a theme, such as, say, Scrabble.  After a lot of thinking and scribbling, here are my best original contributions to the genre so far:

• Joyful word maven picks tough quiz box. (32) 
• Joky wiz vanquished expert scrabble game foe. (38)

Can you do better?  Let’s have a pangram contest!  If you would like to play along, please send your best scrabble-themed pangram compositions to me, and I will compile and publish them.  The contest rules are as follows:

• Please submit no more than three entries per person 
• Each entry must be a sentence or phrase that uses all 26 letters of the alphabet at least once; letters may be repeated as needed, but aim for entries that are fewer than 50 letters in length (ideally, fewer than 40 letters) 
• Each entry must have a meaning loosely related to our favorite word game or to the activities surrounding it (words, word study, tournaments, etc.) 
• Each entry should, ideally, utilize only words acceptable in the North American word list, that is the Official Tournament and Club Word List (TWL) (for home players, the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th edition, may be used as a guide, since it is nearly identical to the TWL list)
• I will publish your name along with your entry, unless you advise me that you wish to remain anonymous 
• Send entries directly to me at tilehead@gmail.com by Wednesday June 6th

Entries will be judged on originality, meaning, and brevity.  No real prize is being offered — other than the joy of composition and, of course, eternal scrabble pangram glory.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

ZEUGMA

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 29 May 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

  ZEUGMA  (n. pl. -S)


Definition(s):

1. (n.) the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words, usually in such a manner that it applies to only one of them or to each in a different sense

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Language & Words

Epilogue:

The term ZEUGMA is often used to describe situations where a word modifies two or more other words, usually applying concretely to one and abstractly to the other, and often for humorous or emphatic effect, as in:

• She caught a taxi and a husband 
• He lost the match and his mind 

The word also has several technical meanings in linguistics, all applying to the way in which words are joined together — fittingly, since it comes from the Greek zeugnynai, meaning “to yoke or to join.”  In case one name for this concept is not enough, the word SYLLEPSIS, from the Greek syllambanein (“a taking together”), has an almost identical meaning.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee, the latter rounds of which will be broadcast on May 31, is a contest where unusual words and verbal legerdemain take center stage, a veritable linguistic feast for logophiles.  In honor of the nation’s most high profile competition involving words, meanings, and etymology, this week we will explore some unusual terms pertaining to language and words.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

"Why I used a particular word..."

Quote of the Week:

I am not... in a position to say why I used a particular word, any more than many musicians are able to say why they use a particular chord.
~ William F. Buckley, Jr. (1925-2008)

LEGONG

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 25 May 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

  LEGONG  (n. pl. -S)


Definition(s):

1. (n.) an intricate Balinese dance performed by young girls

Useful info for word game players:

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

Epilogue:

The LEGONG dance is usually performed by two young girls in elaborate costumes and is characterized by graceful hand movements, footwork, and facial expressions.  The word entered English directly from Balinese, a language spoken in Bali and several other Indonesian islands.

We could spend many moons exploring words for types of dances, as there are so many of them and they open such windows into the language and traditions of other cultures — as with the CZARDAS of Hungary and LEGONG of Bali and many others — but, alas, our terpsichorean tour through the world of dance has arrived at its finale.

Recapping this week’s featured words:
CORYPHEE, FOUETTE, CHASSE, CZARDAS, and LEGONG

Also mentioned:
ARABESK, ARABESQUE, BALLERINA, BALLETOMANE, BALLETOMANIA, BALLONNE, BATTERIE, BATTEMENT, BATTU, CHAINE, CORYPHAEUS, DANSEUR, DANSEUSE, DEVELOPPE, ENTRECHAT, ETOILE, FIGURANT, GLISSADE, JETE, PAS, PIROUETTE, PLIE, POINTE, RELEVE, SASHAY, and TERPSICHOREAN

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

CZARDAS

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 24 May 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

  CZARDAS  (n. pl. -ES)


Definition(s):

1. (n.) an intricate Hungarian folk dance characterized by variations in tempo
2. (n.) music for such a dance

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Dance

Epilogue:

The CZARDAS is a traditional Hungarian folk dance that starts out “with a slow, pathetic introduction called lassu” and finishes with a flurry “in a rapid and wild dance called friss or friska” (Harvard Dictionary of Music, 1944).  It is usually performed in traditional dress, including large hoop skirts for women.  The name derives from the Hungarian csárda, the word for a pub, tavern, or village inn — where the dance probably originated as both entertainment and courting ritual.

Other interesting words from Hungarian include:

•  Culinary terms such as GOULASH and PAPRIKA
• Currency from Hungary such as FORINT and PENGO
• Dog names such as KOMONDOR, KUVASZ, PULI, and VIZSLA
• HUSSAR (a cavalry soldier)
• SOUTACHE (an ornamental braid or pattern usually sewn upon fabric)
• TZIGANE (a gypsy)

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

CHASSE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 23 May 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

  CHASSE  (v. CHASSED, CHASSEING, CHASSES)


Definition(s):

1. (v.) to step with one foot to the side, followed closely by the other foot, such as in ballet, dance, or figure skating
2. (n.) a quick movement with one foot to the side, followed closely by the other foot

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -D, -S
• Anagrams: CASHES, CHASES
• Longer extensions: chasseUR, chasseING, chassePOT, chasseURS, chassePOTS
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: SASHAY

Current theme:

Dance

Epilogue:

There are many words to describe different types of PAS (“a dance step or a combination of steps”).  CHASSE comes from the French chasser, meaning “to chase,” since in this movement one foot “chases” after the other.  The word SASHAY derives from the same source and can be used synonymously, although it also has other senses such as “to walk or glide casually” or “to strut or flounce in a showy manner.”  The term GLISSADE (from a French word meaning to “slide”) also describes a similar gliding movement in dance or ballet.

Most dance and ballet terms entered English through the French language.  The influence traces partly to Louis XIV’s strong interest in dance and especially his establishment of the Académie Royale de Dance (Royal Academy of Dance) in the seventeenth century, now known as the famous Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris (Paris Opera Ballet).

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

FOUETTE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 22 May 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

  FOUETTE  (n. pl. -S)


Definition(s):

1. (n.) a quick whipping movement of the raised leg in ballet, often accompanying a pirouette or other movement

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Dance

Epilogue:

FOUETTE is just one of a bewildering array of terms relating to specific ballet movements, jumps, and positions.  It comes from a French verb, fouetter, meaning “to whip.”  Other interesting words for ballet movements include:

• ARABESK or ARABESQUE: (n.) a pose in which the dancer stands on one foot with one arm in front and the other arm and leg behind
• BALLONNE: (n.) a wide, circular ballet jump
• BATTERIE: (n.) a ballet movement consisting of a leap involving the beating together of the feet or legs
• BATTEMENT: (n.) a ballet movement in which one leg is extended and retracted, often repeatedly
• BATTU: (adj.) pertaining to a ballet movement performed with a striking together of the legs
• CHAINE: (n.) a series of short and usually fast ballet turns
• DEVELOPPE: (n.) a ballet movement in which one leg is raised and then fully extended  
• ENTRECHAT: (n.) a ballet leap in which the dancer repeatedly crosses or beats together the legs
• JETE: (n.) a ballet leap in which one leg is extended forward and the other backward
• PIROUETTE: (n.) a spinning about on one foot or on the points of the toes; a rapid whirl of the body
• PLIE: (n.) a ballet movement in which the knees are bent while the back is held straight
• POINTE: (n.) a ballet position in which the dancer is balanced on the tips of the toes
• RELEVE: (n.) a ballet movement consisting of a rise to the toes from a flat foot

By the way, if all of this ballet terminology has you jumping for joy, then you may be a BALLETOMANE — that is, one afflicted with BALLETOMANIA, “an extraordinary enthusiasm for ballet.”


= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

CORYPHEE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 21 May 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

  CORYPHEE  (n. pl. -S)


Definition(s):

1. (n.) a ballet dancer, especially one who performs in small ensembles and who ranks above a member of the corps de ballet and below a soloist

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Dance

Epilogue:

The leader of an ancient Greek chorus was called a koryphaios, from a word meaning “head” or “summit.”  The Latin version CORYPHAEUS is still used in English to refer to the leader of a chorus or, more generally, to a leader of a group, party, or school of thought.  By further extension, the French form CORYPHEE came to denote one of the leaders of a ballet troupe. 

Ballet has a rich hierarchy and vocabulary, much of which came into English by way of French in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.  Traditionally, the coryphees rank below the soloists, but above members of the “corps de ballet” or general company of dancers.  A soloist was sometimes called a DANSEUR or DANSEUSE, prima BALLERINA, or ETOILE.  A member of the corps de ballet was sometimes called a FIGURANT.  In most modern American companies, there is now a simpler hierarchy of principals, soloists, and members of the corps de ballet.

This week we will glide and slide through some TERPSICHOREAN terminology.  Terpsichore, the ancient Greek muse of song and dance, lent her name to that long but useful adjective meaning “pertaining to dance.”

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

"Words are timeless..."

Quote of the Week:

Words are timeless. You should utter them or write them with a knowledge of their timelessness.
~ Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)

SISTRUM

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 18 May 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

  SISTRUM  (n. pl. SISTRUMS or SISTRA)


Definition(s):

1. (n.) an ancient percussion instrument of Egypt, Sumeria, and Rome, consisting of a thin metal frame with numerous metal rods or loops that jingle when shaken
2. (n.) any of various musical instruments played like a rattle

Useful info for word game players:

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

Epilogue:

Of the vocabulary of ancient Egypt that survives to the modern day, most of it applies to the elaborate religious and funerary practices of that civilization.  However, the ancient Egyptians also made important mathematical and scientific discoveries, and they produced rich forms of literature, art, and music.  In the latter category, one unique instrument that has survived is the SISTRUM, a rattle-like device probably used for religious ceremonies, dances, and other occasions.  The word came into English from a Latin form of the Greek seistron, akin to the verb seiein “to shake.”  Many earthquake words beginning with seism- (SEISMIC, SEISMAL, SEISMOLOGY, etc.) derive from the same shaky source.

Recapping this week’s featured words:
PSCHENT, SERDAB, URAEUS, and SISTRUM

Also mentioned:
ANKH, BA, DEMOTIC, HIEROGLYPHICS, KA, MASTABA, PHARAOH, PYRAMID, and SEISMIC

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

URAEUS

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 16 May 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

  URAEUS  (n. pl. URAEI or URAEUSES)


Definition(s):

1. (n.) the figure of the sacred serpent (a cobra in an upright position), often depicted on the headdress of ancient Egyptian rulers and deities

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Ancient Egypt

Epilogue:

The upright cobra symbol was identified with Wadjit, the patron goddess of Lower Egypt.  A falcon symbol was similarly identified with Nekhbet, the patron goddess of Upper Egypt.  Each became symbols of sovereignty for the kings of those lands, and upon the unification of Egypt (c. 3000 B.C)  they were frequently joined together as a symbol of unity, such as in the PSCHENT headdress worn by most later pharaohs. 

The modern word for this cobra symbol bears little resemblance to the ancient demotic Egyptian form y’rt, characteristically written without vowels.  The reason is that the word URAEUS is a Latin form of a Greek word (ouraios, “pertaining to the tail”) for the symbol.  The symbol is also called the “sacred serpent” or “sacred asp.”

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

SERDAB

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 15 May 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

  SERDAB  (n. pl. -S)


Definition(s):

1. (n.) a small chamber of an ancient Egyptian tomb containing a statue of the deceased, typically either concealed or accessible only by a narrow passage
2. (n.) a living room in the basement of a Middle Eastern or East Mediterranean house that provides coolness during the summer months

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: ARDEBS, BARDES, BEARDS, BREADS, DEBARS, and SABRED
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Current theme:

Ancient Egypt

Epilogue:

The ancient Egyptians famously constructed elaborate PYRAMIDS to house the dead and their treasures.  Less well known is the precursor called a MASTABA (or MASTABAH), a square or rectangular flat-topped tomb with sides sloping outward to the base.  The word MASTABA, in fact, comes from Arabic for “bench of stone or mud.”  Many mastabas can be found in the same areas as the pyramids, and the pyramidal design may, in fact, have originated from the idea of stacking multiple mastabas on top of each other.

Inside most mastabas is a SERDAB, a small chamber containing a statue of the deceased.  The word is from Arabic and Persian, meaning “cellar” or “ice-house.”  The statue in the serdab was usually situated so that it could “see,” through a squint hole, into a ceremonial room where various rites could be performed and incense could be burned.  The sounds and smells of the rites could waft through the squint to the statue, which was designed to represent the KA (the spiritual self) of the deceased.  If the body and statue were well preserved, the ancient Egyptians believed, then the person’s BA (eternal soul) might someday return and revivify the body. 

The actual burial chamber in a mastaba was usually located in a separate, hidden part of the tomb.  The intricate layout may have been designed to protect the statue, the material possessions, and the actual body from grave robbers.  Unfortunately, though, most were looted over time, along with most of the rest of the ancient Egyptian tombs, however ingeniously designed.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

PSCHENT

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 14 May 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

  PSCHENT  (n. pl. -S)


Definition(s):

1. (n.) a double crown worn by later Egyptian pharaohs, symbolic of dominion over both Upper and Lower Egypt

Useful info for word game players:

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

Current theme:

Ancient Egypt

Epilogue:

The PSCHENT headdress was meant to symbolize the unification of the lands of ancient Egypt (c. 3000 B.C.), and accordingly it combined the White Crown of Upper Egypt with the Red Crown of Lower Egypt.  Most of the well known achievements of ancient Egypt, such as the construction of the Great Pyramids, occurred after the period of unification.

This strange-looking word is perhaps the best surviving example in modern English of the ancient Egyptian language.  Ancient Egyptian writing did not usually incorporate vowels, thus this word was taken into English as PSCHENT in the 1800s from a Greek transliteration of the Egyptian demotic p-skhnt (“the” + “double crown”).  The word appears on the historically important Rosetta Stone, rediscovered in 1799.  Since the Rosetta Stone contained the same text written in HIEROGLYPHICS (a pictorial writing system), in DEMOTIC script (a simplified form of ancient Egyptian), and in ancient Greek, it was the key that allowed scholars to begin deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The word ANKH (an ancient Egyptian symbol of everlasting life) was featured in last week’s theme on symbols, and my investigation of that word inspired me to unearth a lot more words related to the land of the pharaohs, pyramids, and hieroglyphics.  I invite you to join me this week on a brief lexical excavation of more words related to ancient Egypt.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

"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 Carroll (1832-1898), Through the Looking-Glass

TRISKELE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 11 May 2012

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Word of the Day:

TRISKELE  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a symbolic figure consisting of three curved or bent lines, branches, or legs radiating from a common center

Useful info for word game players:

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

Epilogue:

As with many of the symbols we have examined this week, the TRISKELE (or TRISCELE or TRISKELION) has ancient roots and has appeared in many times and places throughout history.  Among its uses has been as a symbol of Sicily, as a symbol of the sun, and as a figure on coins, pottery, and other artwork.

The word derives from the Greek triskeles (“three-legged”), from skelos, meaning “leg.”  The same root is a part of the word ISOSCELES, which, as you may remember from math class, means “having two sides of equal length,” as in an “isosceles triangle” or “isosceles trapezoid.”

Recapping this week’s featured words:
FYLFOT, MANDALA, ANKH, and TRISKELE

Also mentioned:
GAMMADION, ISOSCELES, MANDALIC, SWASTICA, SWASTIKA, TRISCELE, and TRISKELION

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =