30 August 2018

salve(1)

[sav, sahv]

noun

1. a medicinal ointment for healing or relieving wounds and sores.
2. anything that soothes, mollifies, or relieves.
verb (used with object), salved, salving.
3. to soothe with or as if with salve; assuage:
to salve one’s conscience.

Origin of salve(1)

Middle English, Old English
900 before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English sealf; cognate with German Salbe salve, Sanskrit sarpis melted butter; (v.) Middle English salven, Old English sealfian

Synonyms

3. ease, alleviate, mollify.

salve(2)

[salv]

verb (used with or without object), salved, salving.

1. to save from loss or destruction; to salvage.

Origin

First recorded in 1700-10; back formation from salvage

salve(3)

[sal-vee; Latin sahl-wey]

interjection

1. hail!

Origin

1400-50; late Middle English < Latin salvē! literally, be in good health!; cf. salute

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for salve

Contemporary Examples

Its readership expands in times when more of us need its particular brand of salve.
What the Forward Prize Doesn’t Recognize About Poets
Mandy Kahn
July 13, 2014

His only salve has been counting down the days until graduation.
Mormon U. Forces Gays to Be Celibate
Emily Shire
May 13, 2014

Then came remedies: the powder, the salve, the wondrous elixir.
New Study Says Doctors Can’t “Just Say No” to Their Patients
Kent Sepkowitz
March 31, 2014

“Anything that tries to solve an issue in Northern Ireland, to put a salve on it, tends to enflame the situation,” he said.
Belfast in Chaos After Days of Protestant Rioting, Police Injuries
Nico Hines
July 16, 2013

In France, we are supposed to salve our consciences with the knowledge that draft horses are raised to be eaten.
My Horsemeat Lunch
Christopher Dickey
February 27, 2013

Historical Examples

He spoke with the sureness of a man of wealth, confident that money will salve any wound.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana

And this time the thing he wanted was to get the dervish to rub some of the salve on his other eye.
Tom Sawyer Abroad
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

And he hollered the first thing that “he wanted some of Hall’s salve.”
Samantha Among the Brethren, Part 2.
Josiah Allen’s Wife (Marietta Holley)

His wounded pride demanded a salve to be procured at any cost.
The Snare
Rafael Sabatini

But Gage was endeavoring to salve his smart and conceal his own shame.
The Siege of Boston
Allen French

Today’s quote

Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save. They just stand there shining.

– Anne Lamott

On this day

30 August 580 – birth of Muhammad, prophet and founder of Islam.

30 August 1146 – European leaders optimistically outlaw the cross-bow with the belief that it will end war for evermore. The ban was flouted and cross-bows continued to be used until they were replaced by fire-arms in the 16th century.

30 August 2003 – Death of Charles Bronson, American actor. Born 3 November 1921 as Charles Dennis Buchinsky.

29 August 2018

beano

[bee-noh]

noun

noun (pl) beanos
1. (Brit, slang) a celebration, party, or other enjoyable time
Collins English Dictionary

Word Origin and History for beano Expand
n. 1888, colloquial shortening of beanfest “annual dinner given by employers for their workers” (1805); they had a reputation for rowdiness. From bean (n.) + fest (n.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Examples

The chairman said that he remembered the last beano very well.
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
Robert Tressell

The intelligent foreigner may take it that beano simply means the worship of Bacchus.
Cakes & Ale

Today’s quote

One of the best ways to recharge is by simply being in the presence of art. No thoughts, no critiques. Just full-on absorption mode.

― Dean Francis Alfar

On this day

29 August 29AD – John the Baptist beheaded.

29 August 1991 – the Supreme Soviet of the USSR suspends the Communist Party. The Soviet Union was formally dissolved on 26 December 1991.

29 August 2001 – death of Graeme ‘Shirley’ Strachan, in a helicopter crash near Maroochydore, Queensland. Lead singer of Australian band, Skyhooks. Born 2 January 1952.

29 August 2005 – Hurricane Katrina strikes southeastern United States with wind speeds reaching 280km/h. New Orleans is one of the worst hit areas. At least 1,836 people died in the storm and subsequent flooding.

29 August 2012 – Hurricane Isaac strikes southeastern United States with wind speeds reaching 130km/h, making landfall in Louisiana, leaving at least 400,000 houses in New Orleans without power.

27 August 2018

Harpy

[hahr-pee]

noun, plural Harpies.

1. Classical Mythology. a ravenous, filthy monster having a woman’s head and a bird’s body.
2. (lowercase) a scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman; shrew.
3. (lowercase) a greedy, predatory person.

Origin of Harpy

Latin, Greek< Latin Harpȳia, singular of Harpȳiae < Greek Hárpȳiai (plural), literally, snatchers, akin to harpázein to snatch away

Related forms

harpylike, adjective
Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for Harpy

Historical Examples

Madame Beattie was a familiar name to them, but they had never heard she was a Harpy.
The Prisoner
Alice Brown

It was also the day of the man behind the bar, of the gambler, of the Harpy.
The Trail of ’98
Robert W. Service

“Harpy it might have been, but happy it was not,” he answered with a groan.
The Three Commanders
W.H.G. Kingston

Today’s quote

The greatest remedy for anger is delay.

– Lucius Annaeus Seneca

On this day

27 August 1883 – the world’s biggest recorded explosion occurs on Krakatoa, an Indonesian island as a volcano erupts, killing between 36,000 and 120,000 people. The noise is heard in Perth, Western Australia, 3,500km away and Mauritius, 4,800km away where it was thought to be cannon fire. Tsunamis up to 30m high were recorded. It generated a cloud of ash 27km high. In the 12 months after the explosion, global temperatures fell by 1.2oC. The explosion darkened the sky for years afterward.

27 August 1908 – birth of Sir Donald Bradman (The Don), Australia’s (and arguably, the world’s) greatest cricketer. In his last Test, Bradman’s batting average was 101.39 runs per innings, but on the second ball he faced, he was bowled for a duck (zero), reducing his batting average to 99.94. It is the highest batting average in test cricket. Died 25 February 2001.

27 August 1975 – death of Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia. Although Selassie was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, Rastafarians believe that he is the Messiah returned. Born 23 July 1892.

25 August 2018

artful

[ahrt-fuh l]

adjective

1. slyly crafty or cunning; deceitful; tricky:
artful schemes.
2. skillful or clever in adapting means to ends; ingenious:
an artful choice of metaphors and similes.
3. done with or characterized by art or skill:
artful acting; artful repairs.
4. Archaic. artificial.

Origin of artful

1605-1615 First recorded in 1605-15; art1+ -ful

Related forms

artfully, adverb
artfulness, noun
unartful, adjective
unartfully, adverb
unartfulness, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for artful

Contemporary Examples
Free from strict rules, Japanese distillers are making innovative, artful concoctions.
Watch Out, Scotland! Japanese Whisky Is on the Rise
Kayleigh Kulp
November 16, 2014

He was as striking in person as he is on screen—thin, white v-neck t-shirt, two-day scruff, artful bedhead.
Robert Pattinson’s Life After ‘Twilight’
Andrew Romano
June 13, 2014

All this artful excess seems intended to disorient and disinhibit guests descending from the busy theater district above.
Interactive Play ‘Queen of the Night’ Opens at Restored Diamond Horseshoe Club
Brian Spitulnik
December 31, 2013

With her artful fusion of fact and fiction, Phillips pulls off a rare sense of lightness and grace at the end of the novel.
Murder, She Wrote: Jayne Anne Phillips on Her New Novel
Jane Ciabattari
October 21, 2013

For this ensemble, Britney matched silky black pants with an artful, geometric corset.
Britney Spears’s 10 Looks in “Work Bitch”
Amy Zimmerman
October 2, 2013

Historical Examples

To be “infirm of purpose” is to be at the mercy of the artful or at the disposal of accident.
Tales And Novels, Volume 5 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth

If she fell, should he not save his friend from being the dupe of an artful intriguante?
Calderon The Courtier
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Is incensed against him for his artful dealings with her, and for his selfish love.
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson

She raves at him for the artful manner in which he urges Clarissa to marry him.
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson

A preconcerted, forward, and artful flight, it must undoubtedly appear to them.
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson

Today’s quote

Loyalty to the Nation all the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it.

– Mark Twain

On this day

25 August 325 – conclusion of the First Council of Nicea, a cabal of 1800 bishops convened by Roman Emperor Constantine I (Constantine the Great) to gain consensus within the church for various doctrinal issues, such as the divinity of Christ, the Holy Trinity and the date for Easter which were articulated in the ‘Creed of Nicea’. The Council was officially opened on 20 May 325.

25 August 1227 – death of Genghis Khan, founder and emperor of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest, contiguous empire in history. At its peak, it covered stretched from Eastern Europe to the Sea of Japan, and included Southeast Asia, the Indian sub-continent, the Iranian Plateau and the Middle East. It covered 24 million km2 (16% of the Earth’s total land area) and had a population of over 100 million. Born circa 1162.

25 August 1330 – Antipope Nicolaas V overthrows himself by presenting a confession of sins to Pope John XXII, who absolved him. Nicolaas V had previously been excommunicated by Pope John XXII. After his absolution, Nicolaas V was held in ‘honourable imprisonment’ in the papal palace at Avignon until his death in 1333.

25 August 1949 – birth of Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz) in Haifa, Israel. American rock guitarist and song-writer. Co-founder of Kiss.

25 August 1991 – founding of computer operating system, Linux, by Linus Torvalds.

25 August 2012 – death of Neil Armstrong. First man to walk on the moon. Born 5 August 1930.

24 August 2018

auto-da-fé

[aw-toh-duh-fey]

noun, plural autos-da-fé.

1. the public declaration of the judgment passed on persons tried in the courts of the the Spanish Inquisition, followed by the execution by the civil authorities of the sentences imposed, especially the burning of condemned heretics at the stake.

Origin of auto-da-fé

1715-1725 Portuguese: act of the faith

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for auto-da-fé

Historical Examples

He had been unable to attend the auto-da-fe at which the heretics were committed to the flames.
Barbara Blomberg, Complete
Georg Ebers

Princes of the Church and magistrates were present at these auto-da-fe.
History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century, Vol 2
J. H. Merle D’Aubign

He must have seen the horizon of the future red with the flames of the auto-da-fe.
The Christian Religion
Robert G. Ingersoll

Today’s quote

Everything – including love, hate, and suffering – needs food to continue. If suffering continues, it’s because we keep feeding our suffering.

– Thich Nhat Hanh

On this day

24 August 79AD – eruption of Mt Vesuvius, Italy, completely destroying the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae. The cities were buried under approximately 75m of tephra. The initial eruption produced a cloud of ash and pumice ranging from 15km to 30km high. It is estimated that 16,000 people perished.

24 August 479 – Fall of the Roman Empire as Visigoths conquer Rome.

24 August 1759 – birth of William Wilberforce. English politician, philanthropist and leader of the slave trade abolition movement. In 1785 he became an evangelical Christian, which transformed his life to focus on philanthropy and human rights. For 20 years he pursued the abolition of slavery, eventually culminating in the passage of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act 1807. Died 29 July 1833.

24 August 1936 – establishment of the Australian Antarctic Territory.

24 August 1954 – Communist Party outlawed in the United States with the passing of the Communist Control Act.

24 August 1995 – Microsoft launches Windows 95. Bill Gates is embarrassed during a demonstration of the product, when his audience experiences the infamous ‘blue screen of death’.

23 August 2018

pagan

[pey-guh n]

noun

1. (no longer in technical use) one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks.
2. a member of a religious, spiritual, or cultural community based on the worship of nature or the earth; a neopagan.
3. Disparaging and Offensive.
(in historical contexts) a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim; a heathen.
an irreligious or hedonistic person.
an uncivilized or unenlightened person.
adjective
4. of, relating to, or characteristic of pagans.
5. Disparaging and Offensive.
relating to the worship or worshipers of any religion that is neither Christian, Jewish, nor Muslim.
irreligious or hedonistic.
(of a person) uncivilized or unenlightened.

Origin of pagan

Middle English, Late Latin

1325-1375 Middle English < Medieval Latin, Late Latin pāgānus ‘worshiper of false gods’, orig. ‘civilian’ (i.e., not a soldier of Christ), Latin: ‘peasant’, noun use of pāgānus ‘rural, civilian’, derivative of pāgus ‘village, rural district’ (akin to pangere ‘to fix, make fast’); see -an

Related forms

paganish, adjective
paganishly, adverb
nonpagan, noun, adjective
nonpaganish, adjective
pseudopagan, adjective

Synonym Study

Heathen and pagan are primarily historical terms that were applied pejoratively, especially by people who were Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, to peoples who were not members of one of those three monotheistic religious groups. Heathen referred especially to the peoples and cultures of primitive or ancient tribes thought to harbor unenlightened, barbaric idol worshipers: heathen rites; heathen idols.

Pagan, although sometimes applied similarly to those tribes, was more often used to refer specifically to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who worshiped the multiple gods and goddesses said to dwell on Mount Olympus, such as Zeus and Athena (called Jupiter and Minerva by the Romans). The term was applied to their beliefs and culture as well: a pagan ritual; a pagan civilization.
Contemporary paganism, having evolved and expanded in Europe and North America since the 20th century, includes adherents of diverse groups that hold various beliefs, which may focus, for example, on the divinity of nature or of the planet Earth or which may be pantheistic or polytheistic. In modern English, heathen remains an offensive term, used to accuse someone of being unenlightened or irreligious; pagan, however, is increasingly a neutral description of certain existing and emerging religious movements.

Dictionary.com

Today’s quote

No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.

― Nathaniel Hawthorne

On this day

23 August 1305 – Sir William Wallace, leader of Scottish rebellion, executed for high treason in England.

23-24 August 1572 – St Bartholomew’s Day massacre. Part of the French Wars of Religion, the massacre was a undertaken against Huguenot Protestants by Catholics following the assassination of Admiral de Coligny by the Guises (Cardinal of Lorraine and his nephews). Two leading Huguenot princes, Henry of Navarre and his cousin, the Prince of Conde) were spared their lives by converting to Catholicism. French Catholic peasants attacked Protestants during August to October. The exact death toll is unknown and depends on who reports it. Catholics claim it was 2,000. Protestants claim it was 70,000.

23 August 1791 – St Domingue Slave Revolt – commencing 21 August, the slaves of St Domingue (now known as Haiti) revolted against the French colonial government, plunging the country into civil war. This revolt was the catalyst for the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
23 August 1948 – death of José Paronella. He was born on 26 February 1887 in Catalonia, northern Spain. In 1913, Paronella travelled to Innisfail, Queensland, to establish himself before bringing his fiance, Matilda, over to join him. Eleven years later he returned for her, only to find that she’d married someone else. José was determined to return to Australia with a wife, so proposed to Matilda’s younger sister, Margarita, and the couple travelled to Australia 12 months later. José purchased 5 hectares (13 acres) of land at Mena Creek where the couple commenced building their dream home, which ended up being a regal Catalan-style castle. They planted more than 7,000 trees around the property and in 1933, built North Queensland’s first hydro-electric plant to power the property. They built a 47 step stair case, tennis courts, a pavilion with turret-topped balconies, a movie theatre which they transformed into a ball-room with live bands that people from surrounding areas could enjoy for dances, a museum that housed collections of coins, pistols, dolls, timbers and keepsakes. He also excavated a tunnel through a small hill on the property. It was never completed, but he had intended on it becoming a ‘tunnel of love’. He and Margarita had two children. Margarita died in 1967. In 1979 the castle was ravaged by fire, leaving on the walls and turrets standing. In 1986, the park was further damaged from Cyclone Winifred. In 1993, the park was partially restored. The park again suffered damage in 2006 when Cyclone Larry struck. In 2009, the hydro-electric plant was rebuilt. Today, visitors can tour the grounds and walk through what would have been the ‘tunnel of love’, which is now inhabited by ghost bats. The property is heritage-listed and a fascinating and spectacular part of North Queensland’s history.

23 August 1946 – birth of Keith Moon, British musician, drummer for ‘The Who’. Died 7 September 1978.

23 August – International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. The United Nations chose this date as it is the anniversary of the St Domingue Slave Revolt.

20 August 2018

cachexia

[kuh-kek-see-uh]

noun, Pathology.

1. general ill health with emaciation, usually occurring in association with cancer or a chronic infectious disease.

Also, cachexy [kuh-kek-see]

Origin of cachexia

Late Latin

1535-1545; < Late Latin < Greek, equivalent to kak(ós) bad + héx(is) condition ( hek-, variant stem of échein to have + -sis -sis ) + -ia -ia

Related forms

cachectic [kuh-kek-tik], cachectical, cachexic, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for cachexia

Historical Examples

There exists in some individuals a predisposition to “catching cold,” independent of any cachexia.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II
Various

In the cachexia from tumours an increase of the eosinophil cells has been observed by various authors.
Histology of the Blood
Paul Ehrlich

The cachexia and rapid decline are not seen in catarrhal ulceration.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II
Various

It produces anæmia and cachexia in animals when given in small repeated doses.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection
Alexander Wynter Blyth

The symptoms which induce women to seek medical aid are haemorrhage, foetid discharge, and later pain and cachexia.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 7
Various

The cachexia Africana, like other spanœmic states of the system, may run into Phthisis, or become complicated with it.
Cotton is King and The Pro-Slavery Arguments
Various

Malaria, if severe, may interrupt gestation through fever or cachexia.
The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation
Austin O’Malley

Today’s quote

I keep thinking about a tale my nurse used to read to me about a bird whose wings are pinned to the ground. In the end, when he finally frees himself, he flies so high he becomes a star. My nurse said the story was about how we all have something that keeps us down.

– Shannon Hale

On this day

20 August 1866 – American Civil War formally ends.

20 August 1940 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, states ‘never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few‘, in relation to the Royal Air Force who was repelling German attacks on the United Kingdom in the Battle of Britain.

20 August 1948 – birth of Robert Plant, British rock singer, musician and songwriter. During the 1960’s, Plant sang with a number of bands, including The Crawling King Snakes, Listen, Band of Joy and Hobbstweedle. In 1968, Jimmy Page of successful blues band, The Yardbirds (which had previously featured Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck), convinced Plant to front his new band, The New Yardbirds. Page and Plant began writing songs for the new band, as well as playing some of the Yardbirds classics, such as Dazed and Confused, and For Your Love. Towards the end of 1968, the band was renamed Led Zeppelin. Musicologist Robert Walser stated, ‘Led Zeppelin’s sound was marked by speed and power, unusual rhythmic patterns, contrasting terraced dynamics, singer Robert Plant’s wailing vocals, and guitarist Jimmy Page’s heavily distorted crunch‘. Led Zeppelin has been widely regarded as the forerunner of Heavy Metal.

20 August 1966 – birth of Dimebag Darrell, (born Darrell Lance Abbott), American musician, founding member of Pantera. Dimebag was shot dead on stage on 8 December 2004 while playing for Damageplan.

20 August 1968 – the USSR and a number of other Warsaw Pact nations, invade Czechoslovakia to halt the ‘Prague Spring’ liberalisation reforms being implemented by the Czech leader, Alexander Dubček. This invasion caused a significant rift in support by Communists across the globe and condemnation by many non-Communist nations, leading to a weakening of communism in general and the Soviet Union in particular.