This entry contains “bad” language, which may not be suitable for all readers. If you are uncomfortable with swearing, please skip this entry.
This entry contains “bad” language, which may not be suitable for all readers. If you are uncomfortable with swearing, please skip this entry.
amenable
adj. willing to respond to persuasion or suggestions
amiable
adj. friendly; kind; sweet; gracious; as, an amiable temper or mood; amiable ideas
amenity
n. thing or circumstance that is welcome and makes life a little easier or more pleasant
n. pleasantness
amen
adv. at the end of prayers: so be it
adv. at the end of a creed or in Biblical translations: [...]
nightmare
n. A very bad or scary dream
The definition of “nightmare” needs no further explanation, as it’s a phenomenon I think most of us are familiar with. The inspiration for this particular Wednesday’s Word came from a rather odd source. I happened to read an article about Teri Garr and into my head popped [...]
cornucopia
n. a goat’s horn endlessly overflowing with fruit, flowers and grain; or full of whatever its owner wanted
n.. a hollow horn- or cone-shaped object, filled with edible or useful things
Cornucopia comes from the Latin cornu, and it the direct etymological ancestor of the modern English “horn.” It’s one of many “c-” words in Latin [...]
apocryphal
adj. of doubtful authenticity.
Apocryphal the adjective is derived from the word Greek apokrypha (ἀπόκρυφα), meaning “that which is hidden”—or, alternatively, through Latin apocryphus. It originally simply indicated writings (usually of a religious or religio-historical nature) which were not part of a canon. This could have been anything: alternative gospels, for instance, or [...]
cacophony
n. a mix of discordant sounds; dissonance.
There’s nothing inherently new or exciting in the word cacophonous; in fact, many of you have probably heard it before. It has a flair of the exotic, but it’s showed up often enough in the mainstream to be fairly well known.
The reason I chose it was because [...]
borborygmus
n. A rumbling sound made by the movement of gas in the intestines heard from a distance.
If you ever wanted a more intelligent way to say that your stomach is growling, here it is. From the Greek βορβορυγμος, our English equivalent is a pretty straightforward transliteration. The muscles of the gastrointestinal tract work [...]
basilisk
n. a mythical snake-like creature reputed to be so venomous its gaze was deadly
n. a type of lizard (genus Basiliscus)
“Ben,” I hear you saying. “Tell me you’re not doing an entry about a basilisk because you read about it in Harry Potter.”
Fear not, dear reader(s)! As it turns out, today’s entry was inspired [...]
a priori
adj. known ahead of time
adj. based on hypothesis rather than experiment
a posteriori
adj. involving deduction of theories from facts.
Appropriated directly from Latin in the early 18th century, these epistemological phrases have become favorites of mine, to the point that my neologistic streak kicks in and I start using them as nouns because they flow so [...]
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