Entry: dewimpled (adj.)
In context: "Lyle, a dewimpled Carmelite who works the kitchen day-shift, occasionally Mario Incandenza, and many times Avril herself take up most of the psychic slack, for practical purposes, among E.T.A.s in the know.:
Definition: A neologism. I've previously included wimples, and wimpled (adj.) is: Enveloped in or wearing a wimple; hence, veiled, occas. blindfolded.
So dewimpled must be the removal or absence of a wimple?
Other:
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 437
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Friday, 31 August 2012
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Entry: cyanitic (adj.)
In context: "...drank a big class of Nestlé's Quik laced with the sodium cyanide his Dad kept around for ink for drafting, drinks cyanitic Quik in his family's home's redecorated kitchen..."
Definition: I can't find this inflection anywhere, but presumably from cyanide (n.): A simple compound of cyanogen with a metal or an organic radical, as potassium cyanide (KCy), an extremely poisonous crystalline solid.
Other: I was wondering what cyanide tastes like, since I've heard almonds in the past. I found this interesting story/myth on straightdope:
I heard in school from my teacher that no one knows what hydrogen cyanide tastes like, it's so poisonous. She said one scientist, being already on deathbed, proceeded to taste it, pen and paper in hand. But once he tasted the stuff, he died before he could write more than "S". Sweet? Salty? Sour?
(From user Busy Scissors)
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 436
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "...drank a big class of Nestlé's Quik laced with the sodium cyanide his Dad kept around for ink for drafting, drinks cyanitic Quik in his family's home's redecorated kitchen..."
Definition: I can't find this inflection anywhere, but presumably from cyanide (n.): A simple compound of cyanogen with a metal or an organic radical, as potassium cyanide (KCy), an extremely poisonous crystalline solid.
Other: I was wondering what cyanide tastes like, since I've heard almonds in the past. I found this interesting story/myth on straightdope:
I heard in school from my teacher that no one knows what hydrogen cyanide tastes like, it's so poisonous. She said one scientist, being already on deathbed, proceeded to taste it, pen and paper in hand. But once he tasted the stuff, he died before he could write more than "S". Sweet? Salty? Sour?
(From user Busy Scissors)
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 436
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Entry: votaried (adj.)
In context: "...he's invited to go chill for a bit in the Clipperton Suite, to maybe meditate on some of the other ways to succeed besides votaried self-transcendence and gut-sucking-in and hard daily slogging toward a distant goal you can maybe, if you get there, live with."
Definition: This inflection isn't in the dictionaries I checked, but you can figure it out from votary (n.) and votary (adj.);
(n.): One who is bound by vows to a religious life; a monk or nun.
(adj.): Of persons: Consecrated by a vow; devoted to a religious life.
Of mode of life: Subject to vows.
Other:
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 434
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "...he's invited to go chill for a bit in the Clipperton Suite, to maybe meditate on some of the other ways to succeed besides votaried self-transcendence and gut-sucking-in and hard daily slogging toward a distant goal you can maybe, if you get there, live with."
Definition: This inflection isn't in the dictionaries I checked, but you can figure it out from votary (n.) and votary (adj.);
(n.): One who is bound by vows to a religious life; a monk or nun.
(adj.): Of persons: Consecrated by a vow; devoted to a religious life.
Of mode of life: Subject to vows.
Other:
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 434
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Entry: ectoplasm (n.)
In context: "...Enfield's Finest had come and peered around and drawn a chalk ectoplasm around Clipperton's sprawled form..."
Definition: The OED isn't so helpful here:
1. (See quot.)
1883 J. E. Ady in Knowl. 15 June 355/2 Its [Amœba's] jelly-like body becomes faintly parcelled out into an outer firm (ectoplasm) and an inner soft (endoplasm) layer.
The etymology does help, though:
Etymology: Greek πλάσμα something moulded or formed.
And a more common usage of the term, I think, is:
2. A viscous substance which is supposed to emanate from the body of a spiritualistic medium, and to develop into a human form or face.
Other:
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 433
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "...Enfield's Finest had come and peered around and drawn a chalk ectoplasm around Clipperton's sprawled form..."
Definition: The OED isn't so helpful here:
1. (See quot.)
1883 J. E. Ady in Knowl. 15 June 355/2 Its [Amœba's] jelly-like body becomes faintly parcelled out into an outer firm (ectoplasm) and an inner soft (endoplasm) layer.
The etymology does help, though:
Etymology: Greek πλάσμα something moulded or formed.
And a more common usage of the term, I think, is:
2. A viscous substance which is supposed to emanate from the body of a spiritualistic medium, and to develop into a human form or face.
Other:
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 433
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Monday, 27 August 2012
Entry: delotusing (n.)
In context: "...Lateral Alice Moore was beeped and asked to with due speed to get Lyle up from the weight room/sauna and over to East House ASAP, and that at some point while Lyle was delotusing from the dispenser and making his way..."
Definition: Neologism.
From the lotus position: a cross-legged sitting posture originating in meditative practices of ancient India, in which the feet are placed on the opposing thighs.
Other:
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 432
Source: Wikipedia
In context: "...Lateral Alice Moore was beeped and asked to with due speed to get Lyle up from the weight room/sauna and over to East House ASAP, and that at some point while Lyle was delotusing from the dispenser and making his way..."
Definition: Neologism.
From the lotus position: a cross-legged sitting posture originating in meditative practices of ancient India, in which the feet are placed on the opposing thighs.
Other:
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 432
Source: Wikipedia
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Entry: codicil (n.)
In context: "...Mario Incandenza sways down the steep path to the portcullis in the warm rain and interfaces with Clipperton through the bars and has the attendant hold the intercom-button down for him and personally requests that Clipperton be admitted under a special nonplay codicil to the regulations..."
Definition: Law. A supplement to a will, added by the testator for the purpose of explanation, alteration, or revocation of the original contents.
And more generally:
Supplement, appendix.
Other:
SNOOT score: 2
Page: 432
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "...Mario Incandenza sways down the steep path to the portcullis in the warm rain and interfaces with Clipperton through the bars and has the attendant hold the intercom-button down for him and personally requests that Clipperton be admitted under a special nonplay codicil to the regulations..."
Definition: Law. A supplement to a will, added by the testator for the purpose of explanation, alteration, or revocation of the original contents.
And more generally:
Supplement, appendix.
Other:
SNOOT score: 2
Page: 432
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Entry: vig (n.)
In context: "...little Michael Pemulis of Allston takes his PowerBook and odds-software and makes a killing on vig in the frenzy of locker-room wagering..."
Definition: Slang for vigorish (n.):
The percentage deducted by the organizers of a game from the winnings of a gambler. Also, the rate of interest upon a usurious loan.
Other: I was wondering where the term came from. Here it is:
Etymology: Probably < Yiddish, < Russian vȳigrȳsh gain, winnings.
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 431
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "...little Michael Pemulis of Allston takes his PowerBook and odds-software and makes a killing on vig in the frenzy of locker-room wagering..."
Definition: Slang for vigorish (n.):
The percentage deducted by the organizers of a game from the winnings of a gambler. Also, the rate of interest upon a usurious loan.
Other: I was wondering where the term came from. Here it is:
Etymology: Probably < Yiddish, < Russian vȳigrȳsh gain, winnings.
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 431
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Friday, 24 August 2012
Entry: cuirass (n.)
In context: "...some of them wonder whether maybe now Eric Clipperton will put down his psychic cuirass and take his unarmed competitive chances with the rest of them..."
Definition: A piece of armour for the body (originally of leather); spec. a piece reaching down to the waist, and consisting of a breast-plate and a back-plate, buckled or otherwise fastened together; still worn by some European regiments of cavalry.
Other: Here's a picture. There are several images on the Wikipedia page.
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 431
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "...some of them wonder whether maybe now Eric Clipperton will put down his psychic cuirass and take his unarmed competitive chances with the rest of them..."
Definition: A piece of armour for the body (originally of leather); spec. a piece reaching down to the waist, and consisting of a breast-plate and a back-plate, buckled or otherwise fastened together; still worn by some European regiments of cavalry.
Other: Here's a picture. There are several images on the Wikipedia page.
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 431
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Thursday, 23 August 2012
Entry: gendarmes (n.)
In context: "'You believe we are underestimating to see all you as selfish, decadent. But the question has been raised: are we cells of Canada alone in this view? Aren't you afraid, you of your government and gendarmes?'"
Definition: A policeman. slang.
(Chiefly pl.) In the older French army, a horseman in full armour, having several others under his command; in later times, a mounted trooper, esp. of the royal companies. Obs. exc. Hist.
Other: If you have basic French this is an easy one:
Etymology: < French gendarme, a singular formed from the plural gens d'armes men of arms; hence a fresh plural gendarmes. Some confusion between these forms is evident in English writers; in modern French the spelling gens d'armes is restricted to the historic sense
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 430
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "'You believe we are underestimating to see all you as selfish, decadent. But the question has been raised: are we cells of Canada alone in this view? Aren't you afraid, you of your government and gendarmes?'"
Definition: A policeman. slang.
(Chiefly pl.) In the older French army, a horseman in full armour, having several others under his command; in later times, a mounted trooper, esp. of the royal companies. Obs. exc. Hist.
Other: If you have basic French this is an easy one:
Etymology: < French gendarme, a singular formed from the plural gens d'armes men of arms; hence a fresh plural gendarmes. Some confusion between these forms is evident in English writers; in modern French the spelling gens d'armes is restricted to the historic sense
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 430
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Entry: numinous (adj.)
In context: "'...the game's finest players frequently close their eyes entirely as they wait, trusting the railroad ties' vibrations and the whistle's pitch, as well as intuition, and fate, and whatever numinous influences lie beyond fate.'"
Definition: Of or relating to a numen; revealing or indicating the presence of a divinity; divine, spiritual.
In extended use: giving rise to a sense of the spiritually transcendent; (esp. of things in art or the natural world) evoking a heightened sense of the mystical or sublime; awe-inspiring.
Other:
SNOOT score: 2
Page: 1060
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "'...the game's finest players frequently close their eyes entirely as they wait, trusting the railroad ties' vibrations and the whistle's pitch, as well as intuition, and fate, and whatever numinous influences lie beyond fate.'"
Definition: Of or relating to a numen; revealing or indicating the presence of a divinity; divine, spiritual.
In extended use: giving rise to a sense of the spiritually transcendent; (esp. of things in art or the natural world) evoking a heightened sense of the mystical or sublime; awe-inspiring.
Other:
SNOOT score: 2
Page: 1060
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Entry: athwart (adj.)
In context: "'...the player may hurl himself athwart the expanse of track...'"
Definition: Across from side to side, transversely; usually, but not necessarily, in an oblique direction.
Also, in nautical terms: From side to side of a ship.
Other: I've been wondering at the names for different parts of a canoe.
SNOOT score: 2
Page: 1059
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, Paddling.net
In context: "'...the player may hurl himself athwart the expanse of track...'"
Definition: Across from side to side, transversely; usually, but not necessarily, in an oblique direction.
Also, in nautical terms: From side to side of a ship.
Other: I've been wondering at the names for different parts of a canoe.
SNOOT score: 2
Page: 1059
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, Paddling.net
Monday, 20 August 2012
Entry: episcopate (n.)
In context: "The night's heavily travelled crossing's schedule of trains is known to Le Jeu du Prochain Train's episcopate of les directeurs de jeu..."
Definition: The office or dignity of a bishop.
Also: The bishops regarded as a collective body.
Other:
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1059
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "The night's heavily travelled crossing's schedule of trains is known to Le Jeu du Prochain Train's episcopate of les directeurs de jeu..."
Definition: The office or dignity of a bishop.
Also: The bishops regarded as a collective body.
Other:
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1059
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Sunday, 19 August 2012
Entry: stelliformism (n.)
In context: "This scholarly essays concurs in many essential respects with the thesis that Canadian and other non American Root Cults, in contrast to all but what Phelps and Phelps argue are isolated packets of antihistorical American stelliformism, persist so queerly in directing their reverent fealty toward principles..."
Definition: A Wallace neologism. From stelliform (adj.): Shaped like a star; existing in the form of star-shaped crystals.
Other:
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1058
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "This scholarly essays concurs in many essential respects with the thesis that Canadian and other non American Root Cults, in contrast to all but what Phelps and Phelps argue are isolated packets of antihistorical American stelliformism, persist so queerly in directing their reverent fealty toward principles..."
Definition: A Wallace neologism. From stelliform (adj.): Shaped like a star; existing in the form of star-shaped crystals.
Other:
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1058
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Saturday, 18 August 2012
Entry: dasein (n.)
In context: "'Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollents of Quebec are essentially cultists, locating both there political raison d'etre and their philosophical dasein within the North American sociohistorical interval of intensive special interest diffraction that preceded - nay, one might daresay stood in integral causal relation with respect to - the nearly simultaneous inaugurations of O.N.A.N.ite governance, continental Interdependence, and the commercial subsidization of a lunar O.N.A.N. calendar.
Definition: I've been looking forward to this one.
In Hegelian philosophy: existence, determinate being.
Other: I've only read a few of Hegel and Heidegger's work, so I'm not going to be able to do this anything like justice. If you're interested in the area and would like to contribute, I'd be happy to add your thoughts.
Here, though, are a few interesting things:
From the etymology: German, < da there + sein being, a favourite word of Goethe's.
Here is something from Wikipedia: a German word which literally means being there (German: da - there; sein - being) often translated in English with the word existence. It is a fundamental concept in the existential philosophy of Martin Heidegger particularly in his magnum opus Being and Time. Heidegger uses the expression dasein to refer to the experience of being that is peculiar to human beings. Thus it is a form of being that is aware of and must confront such issues as personhood, mortality and the dilemma or paradox of living in relationship with other humans while being ultimately alone with oneself.
SNOOT score: 4
Page: 1057
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, Wikipedia
In context: "'Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollents of Quebec are essentially cultists, locating both there political raison d'etre and their philosophical dasein within the North American sociohistorical interval of intensive special interest diffraction that preceded - nay, one might daresay stood in integral causal relation with respect to - the nearly simultaneous inaugurations of O.N.A.N.ite governance, continental Interdependence, and the commercial subsidization of a lunar O.N.A.N. calendar.
Definition: I've been looking forward to this one.
In Hegelian philosophy: existence, determinate being.
Other: I've only read a few of Hegel and Heidegger's work, so I'm not going to be able to do this anything like justice. If you're interested in the area and would like to contribute, I'd be happy to add your thoughts.
Here, though, are a few interesting things:
From the etymology: German, < da there + sein being, a favourite word of Goethe's.
Here is something from Wikipedia: a German word which literally means being there (German: da - there; sein - being) often translated in English with the word existence. It is a fundamental concept in the existential philosophy of Martin Heidegger particularly in his magnum opus Being and Time. Heidegger uses the expression dasein to refer to the experience of being that is peculiar to human beings. Thus it is a form of being that is aware of and must confront such issues as personhood, mortality and the dilemma or paradox of living in relationship with other humans while being ultimately alone with oneself.
SNOOT score: 4
Page: 1057
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, Wikipedia
Friday, 17 August 2012
Entry: vishnu (n.)
In context: "...the ultra right anti-Reconfigurative vishnu of the Bloc Quebecois..."
Definition: One of the principal Hindu deities, holding the second place in the great triad, but by his worshippers identified with the supreme deity and regarded as the preserver of the world.
Other: There is a lot of great stuff in Wikipedia entry.
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1057
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, Wikipedia
In context: "...the ultra right anti-Reconfigurative vishnu of the Bloc Quebecois..."
Definition: One of the principal Hindu deities, holding the second place in the great triad, but by his worshippers identified with the supreme deity and regarded as the preserver of the world.
Other: There is a lot of great stuff in Wikipedia entry.
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1057
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, Wikipedia
Thursday, 16 August 2012
Entry: escutcheon (n.)
In context: "...a double sinuous S shaped line across the tradition fleur-de-lis motif of Quebecois Separatism is the A.F.R. cell's standard, its escutcheon or "symbole" if you will..."
Definition: Well, guess you don't really need me here.
The shield or shield-shaped surface on which a coat of arms is depicted; also in wider sense, the shield with the armorial bearings; a sculptured or painted representation of this.
Other:
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1056
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "...a double sinuous S shaped line across the tradition fleur-de-lis motif of Quebecois Separatism is the A.F.R. cell's standard, its escutcheon or "symbole" if you will..."
Definition: Well, guess you don't really need me here.
The shield or shield-shaped surface on which a coat of arms is depicted; also in wider sense, the shield with the armorial bearings; a sculptured or painted representation of this.
Other:
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1056
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Entry: aegis (n.)
In context: "...-aegis in the newly subsidized Year of the Whopper-..."
Definition: Originally: a protection or impregnable defence. Subsequently: the backing or support of a person or thing
and
Classical Mythol. A shield, piece of defensive armour, or garment carried or worn by Zeus (Jupiter) or Athene (Minerva); (also) a carved or painted representation of this.
Other: Not the most useful in context above, apologies, but the full sentence this comes from is...intimidating.
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1056
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "...-aegis in the newly subsidized Year of the Whopper-..."
Definition: Originally: a protection or impregnable defence. Subsequently: the backing or support of a person or thing
and
Classical Mythol. A shield, piece of defensive armour, or garment carried or worn by Zeus (Jupiter) or Athene (Minerva); (also) a carved or painted representation of this.
Other: Not the most useful in context above, apologies, but the full sentence this comes from is...intimidating.
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1056
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Entry: fetishy (adj.)
In context: "...Poutrincourt has a fetishy thing about transitions."
Definition: A neologism, but I included it because I was curious about the word fetish (n.). Here are a few interesting excerpts from the OED:
(Note how you can see an interesting line of development here)
Originally: any of the objects used by the indigenous peoples of the Guinea coast and the neighbouring regions as amulets or means of enchantment, or regarded by them with superstitious dread.
By writers on anthropology (following C. de Brosses, Le Culte des Dieux Fétiches, 1760) used in wider sense: an inanimate object worshipped by preliterate peoples on account of its supposed inherent magical powers, or as being animated by a spirit.
Something irrationally reverenced.
An object, a non-sexual part of the body, or a particular action which abnormally serves as the stimulus to, or the end in itself of, sexual desire.
Other: An etymology worth reading as well:
Etymology: < French fétiche, < Portuguese feitiço n. charm, sorcery (from which the earliest English forms are directly adopted) = Spanish hechizo in same sense; a subst. use of feitiço adj. ‘made by art, artificial, skilfully contrived’ = Spanish hechizo , Italian fattizio , Old French faitis (see featous adj.) < Latin factīcius factitious adj
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1056
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "...Poutrincourt has a fetishy thing about transitions."
Definition: A neologism, but I included it because I was curious about the word fetish (n.). Here are a few interesting excerpts from the OED:
(Note how you can see an interesting line of development here)
Originally: any of the objects used by the indigenous peoples of the Guinea coast and the neighbouring regions as amulets or means of enchantment, or regarded by them with superstitious dread.
By writers on anthropology (following C. de Brosses, Le Culte des Dieux Fétiches, 1760) used in wider sense: an inanimate object worshipped by preliterate peoples on account of its supposed inherent magical powers, or as being animated by a spirit.
Something irrationally reverenced.
An object, a non-sexual part of the body, or a particular action which abnormally serves as the stimulus to, or the end in itself of, sexual desire.
Other: An etymology worth reading as well:
Etymology: < French fétiche, < Portuguese feitiço n. charm, sorcery (from which the earliest English forms are directly adopted) = Spanish hechizo in same sense; a subst. use of feitiço adj. ‘made by art, artificial, skilfully contrived’ = Spanish hechizo , Italian fattizio , Old French faitis (see featous adj.) < Latin factīcius factitious adj
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1056
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Monday, 13 August 2012
Entry: prenominate (adj.)
In context: "'...that the prenominate oversized infants reputedly do exist, are anomalous, and huge, grow but do not develop, feed on the abundance of annularly available edibles the overgrowth periods in the region represent, do deposit titanically outsized scat, and presumably do crawl thunderously about..."
Definition: Aforementioned.
Other: DFW gets a mention in the usages:
1994 D. F. Wallace Getting Away in Supposedly Fun Thing (1997) 109 Except of course one problem with the prenominate theory is that there's more than one US, hence more than one State Fair.
SNOOT score: 2
Page: 1056
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "'...that the prenominate oversized infants reputedly do exist, are anomalous, and huge, grow but do not develop, feed on the abundance of annularly available edibles the overgrowth periods in the region represent, do deposit titanically outsized scat, and presumably do crawl thunderously about..."
Definition: Aforementioned.
Other: DFW gets a mention in the usages:
1994 D. F. Wallace Getting Away in Supposedly Fun Thing (1997) 109 Except of course one problem with the prenominate theory is that there's more than one US, hence more than one State Fair.
SNOOT score: 2
Page: 1056
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Sunday, 12 August 2012
Entry: woebegone (adj.)
In context: "...a woebegone little marginal archaic desktop-pub.-looking thing..."
Definition: ‘Beset with woe’; oppressed with misfortune, distress, sorrow, or grief. Obs. or arch.
Other:
Etymology: The construction out of which this word arose is illustrated by the quots. immediately following, in which an objective pronoun is governed by a complex verb phrase containing bego v. (q.v. sense 8) with woe n. as subject (me is wo bigon = woe has beset me) <
c1330 Amis & Amil. 2150 Me nas neuer so woe bigon, Yif thou it wost vnderstond! For..almost ichaue him slon.
c1405 (1395) Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 608 Noght wolde I telle yow how me is wo bigon But certes outher moste I dye or pleyne.
Subsequently a change of construction took place, parallel to the passing of me is woe into I am woe (see woe adj.), woe and begone becoming consequently so indivisibly associated as to form a compound.
In the following quot. there seems to be a blend of the old and new constructions:
1593 T. Watson Tears of Fancie xxxviii, My hart doth whisper I am woe begone me.
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1055
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "...a woebegone little marginal archaic desktop-pub.-looking thing..."
Definition: ‘Beset with woe’; oppressed with misfortune, distress, sorrow, or grief. Obs. or arch.
Other:
Etymology: The construction out of which this word arose is illustrated by the quots. immediately following, in which an objective pronoun is governed by a complex verb phrase containing bego v. (q.v. sense 8) with woe n. as subject (me is wo bigon = woe has beset me) <
c1330 Amis & Amil. 2150 Me nas neuer so woe bigon, Yif thou it wost vnderstond! For..almost ichaue him slon.
c1405 (1395) Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 608 Noght wolde I telle yow how me is wo bigon But certes outher moste I dye or pleyne.
Subsequently a change of construction took place, parallel to the passing of me is woe into I am woe (see woe adj.), woe and begone becoming consequently so indivisibly associated as to form a compound.
In the following quot. there seems to be a blend of the old and new constructions:
1593 T. Watson Tears of Fancie xxxviii, My hart doth whisper I am woe begone me.
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 1055
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Saturday, 11 August 2012
Entry: winelight (adj.)
In context: "He was missing this time in U.S.A. Boston MA of refilling the pond for the ducks' return, the willows greening, the winelight of a northern sunset curving gently in to land without explosion."
Definition: A neologism, similar in direction to onionlight. Light suggesting the colour of wine, or perhaps the colour of light filtered through wine. Even without reading the above context, winelight suggests red/dark far more than white/pale.
Other:
SNOOT score: 4 (I'm hesitant to score neologisms higher than a 1, but I really love this one.)
Page: 427
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "He was missing this time in U.S.A. Boston MA of refilling the pond for the ducks' return, the willows greening, the winelight of a northern sunset curving gently in to land without explosion."
Definition: A neologism, similar in direction to onionlight. Light suggesting the colour of wine, or perhaps the colour of light filtered through wine. Even without reading the above context, winelight suggests red/dark far more than white/pale.
Other:
SNOOT score: 4 (I'm hesitant to score neologisms higher than a 1, but I really love this one.)
Page: 427
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Friday, 10 August 2012
Entry: sacrosanct (adj.)
In context: "The United States: a community of sacred individuals which revers the sacredness of the individual choice. The individual's right to pursue his own vision of the best ratio of pleasure to pain: utterly sacrosanct. Defended with teeth and bared claws all through our history."
Definition: Of persons and things, esp. obligations, laws, etc.: Secured by a religious sanction from violation, infringement, or encroachment; inviolable, sacred.
Other: Not so uncommon, but a great word. Wonderful etymology too:
Latin sacrōsanctus, properly two words, sacrō ablative of sacrum sacred rite (neuter of sacer sacred) and sanctus past participle of sancīre to render holy or inviolable. Compare French sacrosaint, earlier -sainct (whence some 17th cent. English forms), Spanish sacrosanto, Portuguese sacrossanto, Italian sacro-, sagrosanto.
I also like, for whatever reason(s), the following usage:
1880 World 16 June, When the persons of hares and rabbits have ceased to be sacrosanct, what guarantee of inviolability is there for the grouse?
SNOOT score: 3
Page: 424
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "The United States: a community of sacred individuals which revers the sacredness of the individual choice. The individual's right to pursue his own vision of the best ratio of pleasure to pain: utterly sacrosanct. Defended with teeth and bared claws all through our history."
Definition: Of persons and things, esp. obligations, laws, etc.: Secured by a religious sanction from violation, infringement, or encroachment; inviolable, sacred.
Other: Not so uncommon, but a great word. Wonderful etymology too:
Latin sacrōsanctus, properly two words, sacrō ablative of sacrum sacred rite (neuter of sacer sacred) and sanctus past participle of sancīre to render holy or inviolable. Compare French sacrosaint, earlier -sainct (whence some 17th cent. English forms), Spanish sacrosanto, Portuguese sacrossanto, Italian sacro-, sagrosanto.
I also like, for whatever reason(s), the following usage:
1880 World 16 June, When the persons of hares and rabbits have ceased to be sacrosanct, what guarantee of inviolability is there for the grouse?
SNOOT score: 3
Page: 424
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Thursday, 9 August 2012
Entry: rôle (n.)
In context: "...Steeply welcomed the subsumption of his dignity and self in the very rôle that offended his dignity of self..."
Definition: I'm going to leave this as role (n.) until someone suggests something better: A person's allotted share, part, or duty in life and society; the character, place, or status assigned to or assumed by a person. Also in figurative contexts, with allusion to sense
Other: From what I read, rôle is just an alternate spelling to role, but I can't help but feel that it has different connotations. Feel free to help out!
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 420
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "...Steeply welcomed the subsumption of his dignity and self in the very rôle that offended his dignity of self..."
Definition: I'm going to leave this as role (n.) until someone suggests something better: A person's allotted share, part, or duty in life and society; the character, place, or status assigned to or assumed by a person. Also in figurative contexts, with allusion to sense
Other: From what I read, rôle is just an alternate spelling to role, but I can't help but feel that it has different connotations. Feel free to help out!
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 420
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
Entry: tentacularly (adj.)
In context: "...tentacularly controlled by an InterLace that had patented the digital-transmission process for moving images..."
Definition: Neologism, but from tentacle (n.)/ tentacular (adj.):
Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of a tentacle or tentacles.
Other: The lion's mane jellyfish has some of the longest tentacles in the world today, with a record 120ft!
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 417
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, Wikipedia
In context: "...tentacularly controlled by an InterLace that had patented the digital-transmission process for moving images..."
Definition: Neologism, but from tentacle (n.)/ tentacular (adj.):
Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of a tentacle or tentacles.
Other: The lion's mane jellyfish has some of the longest tentacles in the world today, with a record 120ft!
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 417
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, Wikipedia
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Entry: mogulette (n.)
In context: "Because enter one Noreen Lace-Forché, the USC-educated video-rental mogulette who in the B.S. '90s had taken Phoenix's Intermission Video chain from the middle of the Sun Belt pack to a national distribution second only to Blockbuster Entertainment in gross receipts."
Definition: From mogul (n.):
An important, influential, or dominant person; an autocrat. Now chiefly (usu. with distinguishing word): a business or (esp. in recent use) media magnate.
Other: But earlier from:
Each of the successive heads of the Muslim dynasty founded by Zahīr-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Bābur (1483–1530), which ruled an empire covering a large part of South Asia from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Frequently styled the Great (also Grand) Mogul . Now hist
though:
The form Mughal is now often preferred in this sense.
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 415
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "Because enter one Noreen Lace-Forché, the USC-educated video-rental mogulette who in the B.S. '90s had taken Phoenix's Intermission Video chain from the middle of the Sun Belt pack to a national distribution second only to Blockbuster Entertainment in gross receipts."
Definition: From mogul (n.):
An important, influential, or dominant person; an autocrat. Now chiefly (usu. with distinguishing word): a business or (esp. in recent use) media magnate.
Other: But earlier from:
Each of the successive heads of the Muslim dynasty founded by Zahīr-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Bābur (1483–1530), which ruled an empire covering a large part of South Asia from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Frequently styled the Great (also Grand) Mogul . Now hist
though:
The form Mughal is now often preferred in this sense.
SNOOT score: 1
Page: 415
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Monday, 6 August 2012
Entry: avuncular (adj.)
In context: "...the otherwise handsome pedestrian who accepts a gorgeous meter maid's coquettish invitation to have a bit of a lick of the ice cream cone she's just bought from an avuncular sidewalk vendor."
Definition: a. Of, belonging to, or resembling, an uncle.
but also
b. (humorously) Of a pawnbroker: see uncle n. Also absol.
Other: I'll admit I didn't have an exact handle on this one until I looked it up.
Sometimes Latin seems so useful: Etymology: < Latin avuncul-us maternal uncle, diminutive of avus grandfather + -ar suffix.
SNOOT score: 2
Page: 414
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
In context: "...the otherwise handsome pedestrian who accepts a gorgeous meter maid's coquettish invitation to have a bit of a lick of the ice cream cone she's just bought from an avuncular sidewalk vendor."
Definition: a. Of, belonging to, or resembling, an uncle.
but also
b. (humorously) Of a pawnbroker: see uncle n. Also absol.
Other: I'll admit I didn't have an exact handle on this one until I looked it up.
Sometimes Latin seems so useful: Etymology: < Latin avuncul-us maternal uncle, diminutive of avus grandfather + -ar suffix.
SNOOT score: 2
Page: 414
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
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