Word Facts for May 7-13, 2011
Word origin for the weekend of May 7-8, 2011: almacantar - The rare word "almacantar" describes a circle of altitude over Earth that is parallel to the horizon. An astronomical term, it is used to describe imaginary lines in the sky by which an astronomer calculates the height of a star in the sky relative to the horizon. Like many astronomical words, it comes from the Arabic, in this case from the word meaning "the sundial."
Word origin for May 9, 2011: amphigory - An "amphigory" is a poem that appears to be normal, but has no real meaning on closer inspection. An example is Lewis Carroll's beloved poem Jabberwocky, full of made-up words. "Amphigory," too, is a made-up word that comes to English by way of French.
Word origin for May 10, 2011: margarine - In 1869, a French nutritional chemist named Hippolyte Mège-Mouriés concocted a fatty-acid butter substitute that he called margaric acid, after the Greek word for "pearl," margarites. Originally, "margarine" - the name under which it came to be marketed - had a shiny, oily, grayish-white color, but manufacturers added yellow coloring to make the foodstuff look more palatable.
Word origin for May 11, 2011: farrago - A "farrago" describes an ill-sorted group of objects (as might be found in a junk drawer), or of people (as might be found in a mob). The word comes from the Latin word meaning "mixed fodder," a jumble of any old swept-up grain used to feed livestock.
Word origin for May 12, 2011: carfax - A "carfax" is a place where four roads meet, from the Latin quadrifurcus, "four-faced." The word is rare outside Britain, it not having been exported to American English, even though there are plenty of places in America where four roads meet. The vehicle-history company Carfax takes its name not from this, but from the pronunciation of "car facts."
Word origin for May 13, 2011: omphaloskepsis - "Omphaloskepsis" is a fine Greek word that directly translates to "navel gazing," skepsis being a kind of close examination that gives us the word "skeptic." This form of meditation is not entirely common, but the term "navel gazing" is, usually in a derogatory sense. The Greek original does not carry the skepticism of the English term.
Word origin for May 9, 2011: amphigory - An "amphigory" is a poem that appears to be normal, but has no real meaning on closer inspection. An example is Lewis Carroll's beloved poem Jabberwocky, full of made-up words. "Amphigory," too, is a made-up word that comes to English by way of French.
Word origin for May 10, 2011: margarine - In 1869, a French nutritional chemist named Hippolyte Mège-Mouriés concocted a fatty-acid butter substitute that he called margaric acid, after the Greek word for "pearl," margarites. Originally, "margarine" - the name under which it came to be marketed - had a shiny, oily, grayish-white color, but manufacturers added yellow coloring to make the foodstuff look more palatable.
Word origin for May 11, 2011: farrago - A "farrago" describes an ill-sorted group of objects (as might be found in a junk drawer), or of people (as might be found in a mob). The word comes from the Latin word meaning "mixed fodder," a jumble of any old swept-up grain used to feed livestock.
Word origin for May 12, 2011: carfax - A "carfax" is a place where four roads meet, from the Latin quadrifurcus, "four-faced." The word is rare outside Britain, it not having been exported to American English, even though there are plenty of places in America where four roads meet. The vehicle-history company Carfax takes its name not from this, but from the pronunciation of "car facts."
Word origin for May 13, 2011: omphaloskepsis - "Omphaloskepsis" is a fine Greek word that directly translates to "navel gazing," skepsis being a kind of close examination that gives us the word "skeptic." This form of meditation is not entirely common, but the term "navel gazing" is, usually in a derogatory sense. The Greek original does not carry the skepticism of the English term.
Labels: 2011, colors, greg, history, languages, names, page-a-day, poems, shiny, teunis, visitors, words
posted by Flami at 6:51:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home