24 October 2014

abecedarian

[ey-bee-see-dair-ee-uh n]

noun
1. a person who is learning the letters of the alphabet.
2. a beginner in any field of learning.
adjective
3. of or pertaining to the alphabet.
4. arranged in alphabetical order.
5. rudimentary; elementary; primary.

Also, abecedary.

Origin

Medieval Latin
1595-1605; < Medieval Latin abecedāriānus. See abecedary, -an

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for abecedarian
– abecedarian, for instance, cut in half the likelihood of participants receiving special education.

Anagram
abide arcane
band ice area

Today’s aphorism

When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.

– Sun Tzu

On this day

24 October 1648 – signing of the Treaty of Munster, between the Holy Roman Emperor, France and their respective allies. This treaty was the second in a series of peace treaties known as the Peace of Westphalia which paved the way for the modern sovereign state. The first was the Peace of Munster, signed on 30 January 1648, the third being the Treaty of Osnabruck, signed on 24 October 1648.

24 October 1648 – signing of the Treaty of Osnabruck, between the Holy Roman Emperor, the empire, Sweden and their respective allies. This treaty was the third in a series of peace treaties known as the Peace of Westphalia which paved the way for the modern sovereign state. The first was the Peace of Munster, signed on 30 January 1648, the second being the Treaty of Munster signed on 24 October 1648.

24 October 1929 – Black Thursday, one week before Wall Street’s infamous Black Tuesday and in a harbinger of the impending crash, investors dumped 13 million shares and the market lost 11% in value.

24 October 1930 – birth of Jiles Perry ‘J.P.’ Richardson Jr, otherwise known as the Big Bopper. 1950s rock and roll star, famous for songs such as ‘Chantilly Lace’ and ‘Running Bear’. Died in a plane crash on 3 February 1959 with other musicians, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the pilot, Roger Peterson. Their deaths were immortalised in the Don McLean song, ‘American Pie’, when he sang about the day the music died.

24 October 1945 – UN Day. The Charter of the United Nations took effect and the United Nations General Assembly declared that it ‘shall be devoted to making known to the peoples of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gaining their support for its work’.