31 August 2012

Zeitgeist

[tsahyt-gahyst] [zit-gist]

noun (German)

– the spirit of the time; general trend of thought or feeling characteristic of a particular period of time.

30 August 2012

yex

noun, intrasitive verb

1. to hiccup or belch.

‘He yexeth and he speaketh through the nose‘ – Chaucer.

Examples:

‘As the pre-dawn light softly illuminated the house, John’s deep sleep was shattered by an involuntary, yet deafening yex, unleashed from the deepest fathoms of his slumbering wife’s famished stomach’.

29 August 2012

ignotum per ignotius 

ignotum per ignotius

[ɪɡˈnəʊtʊm pər ɪɡˈnəʊtɪʊs]

— noun (latin)

1. An attempt to explain something obscure in terms of something else which is even more obscure.

2. (logic) A type of fallacious argument in which one attempts to prove something unknown by relying upon an assumption that is also unknown.

[literally: the unknown by means of the more unknown]

For example (from Wikipedia):

“The oven felt hot because of Fourier’s Law.” It is unlikely that a person unfamiliar with the hotness of ovens would be illuminated by a reference to the fundamental laws of physics. Of course, such a person might exist in theory, so ignotum per ignotius is not strictly a logical fallacy; it is just a criticism of an argument on rhetorical grounds, stating that such an argument is not useful in a particular context.

[guhmp-shuhn]
noun (informal)
1. initiative; aggressiveness; resourcefulness. For example: ‘With his gumption he’ll make a success of himself’.
2. courage; spunk; guts. For example: ‘It takes gumption to quit a high-paying job’.
3. common sense; shrewdness.

Limerence

– being overwhelming in love with someone and strongly desiring they return that love.

(definition from Wikipedia):

A term coined c. 1977 by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov to describe an involuntary state of mind which seems to result from a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one’s feelings reciprocated. The concept grew out of Tennov’s mid-1960s work, when she interviewed over 500 people on the topic of love, and was first published in her 1979 book Love and Limerence: The Experience of Being in Love.

26 August 2012

empyrean

[em-puh-ree-uhn, -pahy-, em-pir-ee-uhn, -pahy-ree-]

— n
1. archaic the highest part of the (supposedly spherical) heavens, thought in ancient times to contain the pure element of fire and by early Christians to be the abode of God and the angels
2. poetic the heavens or sky

— adj
3. of or relating to the sky, the heavens, or the empyrean
4. heavenly or sublime
5. archaic composed of fire

[from Medieval Latin empyreus, from Greek empuros fiery, from pur fire]

Example Sentences
The professional bailiwick we’ve staked out is the empyrean of pure thought.
From the ninth sphere to the empyrean, which is mere light.

25 August 2012

contiguous

[kuhn-tig-yoo-uhs]

adjective

1. touching along the side or boundary; in contact
2. physically adjacent; neighbouring
3. preceding or following in time.

For example:

a. Most units have private outdoor space either contiguous to the apartment or on the roof.

b. The museum makes a good starting point for a walk along one of the longest contiguous sections of this ancient structure.

c. The district is billed as the nation’s largest contiguous urban arts district, and that’s not its only distinction.

24 August 2012 

Nihilarian

(ˈnaɪhɪl, ˈniːhɪl) – arian.

noun

– one who does useless work.

For example:

“As his soul was slowly destroyed by the mind-numbing repetition of his daily duties, he realised that the job description should have read ‘nihilarian’ “

23 August 2012

Inaniloquent

In-ani-lo-que-ent

Adjective – an alternative spelling for ‘Inaniloquous’

– Tending to speak profusely; loquacious; garrulous

For example:

‘My friend can be very inaniloquent‘.

adverb:

inaniloquently

22 August 2012

skew-whiff

adjective
1. turned or twisted toward one side; “a…youth with a gorgeous red necktie all awry”- G.K.Chesterton; “his wig was, as the British say, skew-whiff” [syn: askew]

adverb
1. turned or twisted to one side; “rugs lying askew”; “with his necktie twisted awry” [syn: askew]

21 August 2012

perfidy 

[pur-fi-dee]

noun, plural perfidies.

1. deliberate breach of faith or trust; faithlessness; treachery: perfidy that goes unpunished.
2. an act or instance of faithlessness or treachery.

Example Sentences:

– These independent artists rue the perfidy of apostate millionaires, and moan about pop stars who abandoned the true faith.
– Donating the proceeds of his first novel, which exploited his perfidy for profit, would be a start.
– And the figures hint at why journalists are more fascinated by perfidy among our own than civilians are.

20 August 2012

curmudgeon

[ker-muhj-uhn]

19 August 2012

rubric

[roo-brik]

noun

1. a title, heading, direction, or the like, in a manuscript, book, statute, etc., written or printed in red or otherwise distinguished from the rest of the text.
2. a direction for the conduct of divine service or the administration of the sacraments, inserted in liturgical books.
3. any established mode of conduct or procedure; protocol.
4. an explanatory comment; gloss.
5. a class or category

18 August 2012

apropos
[ap-ruh-poh]
adverb
1. fitting; at the right time; to the purpose; opportunely.
2. Obsolete . by the way.

adjective
3. opportune; pertinent: apropos remarks.

17 August 2012

personas mediocribus

noun (latin)

– non-citizen, like a nobody …

Ancient Roman society was very status-conscious, so those who were of low status or who associated with those of low status were considered to be ‘personas mediocribus’. It was later associated with humility and servitude, becoming an honoured trait.

strine

noun

– Australian english, particularly in relation to slang or pronunciation.

For a list of strine refer to the following page: http://shaneduran.com/blog/strine-words/

Some examples of strine:

Straya – official Australian pronunciation of ‘Australia’

av-a-go-ya-mug – meaning that you should try harder or put some effort in.

dinki-di – meaning true blue … er … meaning the real thing.

dja-av-a-gooweegen? – meaning ‘did you have a good weekend?’

dunny – meaning toilet

fair dinkum – meaning genuine

ol’ mate – usually in reference to some complete stranger whose name you don’t know … or a good friend whose name you do know …. or a good friend whose name you know but you’ve forgotten because you’re plastered.

ridgie-didge – meaning genuine.

15 August 2012

1. sic

[sik]
adverb

1. latin for ‘thus’; so. Used to indicate that a quoted passage, especially one containing an error or unconventional spelling, has been retained in its original form or written intentionally.

2. sic

[sik]
transitive verb.

sicced also sicked, sic·cing also sick·ing, sics also sicks

1. To set upon; attack.
2. To urge or incite to hostile action; set: sicced the dogs on the intruders.

[sik-uh-fuhnt, -fant, sahy-kuh-]
noun

a person who uses flattery to win favour from individuals wielding influence; toady

sycophancy
noun
1. self-seeking or servile flattery.
2. the character or conduct of a sycophant.

11 August 2012

erinaceous
[er-uh-ney-shuhs]
adjective (Zoology)
– of the hedgehog kind or family.
– like a hedgehog