August 2, 2009, 10:17 am
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me:
The Word of the Day for August 02, 2009 is:
levigate • \LEV-uh-gayt\ • verb
1 : polish, smooth
2 *a : to grind to a fine smooth powder while in moist condition
b : to separate (fine powder) from coarser material by suspending in a liquid
Felix’s Example Sentence:
Sharpening a knife blade may involve applying water or oil to a whetstone, grinding the blade by levigating metal particles into a paste, fining down the edge.
Did you know?
“Levigate” comes from Latin “levigatus,” the past participle of the verb “levigare” (”to make smooth”). “Levigare” is derived in part from “levis,” the Latin word for “smooth.” “Alleviate” and “levity” can also be traced back to a Latin “levis,” and the “levi-” root in both words might suggest a close relationship with “levigate.” This is not the case, however. The Latin “levis” that gives us “alleviate” and “levity” does not mean “smooth,” but “light” (in the sense of having little weight). One possible relative of “levigate” in English is “oblivion,” which comes from the Latin “oblivisci” (”to forget”), a word which may be a combination of “ob-” (”in the way”) and the “levis” that means “smooth.”
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
August 1, 2009, 9:52 am
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me:
The Word of the Day for August 01, 2009 is:
gallimaufry • \gal-uh-MAW-free\ • noun
: hodgepodge
Felix’s Example Sentence:
The floors of our grandchildren’s rooms are perpetually covered with a gallimaufry of clothing, toys, books and fragments of partially-eaten snacks.
Did you know?
If the word “gallimaufry” doesn’t make your mouth water, it may be because you don’t know its history. In the 16th century, Middle-French speaking cooks made a meat stew called “galimafree.” It must have been a varied dish, because English speakers chose its name for any mix or jumble of things. If “gallimaufry” isn’t to your taste, season your speech with one of its synonyms: “hash” (which can be a muddle or chopped meat and potatoes), “hotchpotch” (a stew or a hodgepodge), or “potpourri” (another stew turned medley).
July 31, 2009, 10:12 pm
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me
The Word of the Day for July 31, 2009 is:
tribulation • \trib-yuh-LAY-shun\ 
• noun
- : distress or suffering resulting from oppression or persecution; also : a trying experience
Felix’s Example Sentence:
A tremendous diversity of interpretations of biblical mentions of tribulations either having afflicted Christians, or not having occurred yet, have arisen since the books of the Bible were codified in the first few centuries after the fall of Jerusalem.
Did you know?
The writer and Christian scholar Thomas More, in his 1534 work “A dialoge of comforte against tribulation,” defined the title word as “euery such thing as troubleth and greueth [grieveth] a man either in bodye or mynde.” These days, however, the word “tribulation” is typically used as a plural count noun, paired with its alliterative partner “trial,” and relates less to oppression and more to any kind of uphill struggle. “Tribulation” derives via Middle English and Old French from the Latin verb “tribulare” (to oppress or afflict), related to “tribulum,” a noun meaning “threshing board.”
July 30, 2009, 11:55 am
… courtesy of Merriam Webster, with slight modifications by me
The Word of the Day for July 30, 2009 is:
jackleg • \JACK-leg\ • adjective
1 a : characterized by unscrupulousness, dishonesty, or lack of professional standards
* b : lacking skill or training : amateur
2 : designed as a temporary expedient : makeshift
Felix’s Example Sentence:
The jackleg “deck carpenter” built a ramp to nowhere off the deck he was working on for my wife, then disappeared after she refused to pay him yet more money.
Did you know?
Don’t call someone “jackleg” unless you’re prepared for that person to get angry with you. Throughout its more than 150-year-old history in English, “jackleg” has most often been used as a term of contempt and deprecation, particularly in reference to lawyers and preachers. Its form echoes that of the similar “blackleg,” an older term for a cheating gambler or a worker opposed to union policies. Etymologists know that “blackleg” appeared over a hundred years before “jackleg,” but they don’t have any verifiable theories about the origin of either term.
July 29, 2009, 10:27 am
…courtesy of Merriam-Webster, with minor modifications by me:
The Word of the Day for July 29, 2009 is:
con amore • \kahn-uh-MOR-ee\ • adverb
*1 : with love, devotion, or zest
2 : in a tender manner — used as a direction in music
Felix’s Example Sentence:
Pedro gazed con amore on his wife Carmelita, as she served up a delicious serving of chili con carne.
Did you know?
“No matter what the object is, whether business, pleasures, or the fine arts; whoever pursues them to any purpose must do so con amore.” Wise words — and the 18th-century Englishman who wrote them under the pseudonym Sir Thomas Fitzosborne may have been drawing on his own experience. At the time those words were written (around 1740), the author, whose real name was William Melmoth, had recently abandoned the practice of law to pursue his interest in writing and classical scholarship, which were apparently his true loves. In any case, by making use of “con amore,” a term borrowed from Italian, Melmoth gave us the first known use of the word in English prose.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
