After a disastrous rafting trip, Robin emerged from the woods looking haggard [ˈhæɡərd] but otherwise unscathed.haggard [ˈhæɡərd]
adj
Someone described as haggard appears tired or thin especially as if because of hunger, worry, or pain. Haggard can also describe someone who looks wild or otherwise disheveled.
traditionally, falconers trained wild birds that were either taken from the nest when quite young or trapped as adults. A bird trapped as an adult is termed a haggard, from the synonymous Middle French word hagard. English Feb 22, 2024, 9:18 AM cowpoke
The exhibit chronicles the long history of lampooning [læmˈpun] public figures in cartoons.lampoon [læmˈpun]
verb
To lampoon someone or something is to ridicule that person or thing, especially through the use of harsh satire.
from the French word lampon, which likely originated from lampons, a form of the verb lamper, meaning "to drink to the bottom." English Feb 21, 2024, 8:34 AM cowpoke
"Oppenheimer provides an opportunity to revisit this charismatic, contradictory man and reconsider how previous attempts to tell his story have succeeded—and failed—at fathoming [ˈfæðəm] one of the 20th century’s most fascinating public figures." — Andy Kifer, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 July 2023fathom [ˈfæðəm]
verb
To fathom something is to understand the reason for its existence or occurrence.
Fathom comes from the Old English word fæthm, meaning "outstretched arms." English Feb 18, 2024, 9:24 AM cowpoke
The group decided to forgo stopping at the swimming hole on their hike because of its turbid [ˈtɜr.bɪd] waters.turbid [ˈtɜr.bɪd]
adj
Turbid is a formal word that has several meanings having to do with literal or figurative muddiness or cloudiness.
It's most often used literally to describe water that is thick or opaque with stirred-up sediment, as in "the river's turbid waters"; similarly, turbid air is smoky or misty.
In figurative use, turbid describes things that lack clarity, as in "efforts to clear my turbid mind."
Turbid, from the Latin noun turba, meani... English Feb 16, 2024, 9:26 AM cowpoke
The person giving the lengthy toast seemed to be completely unaware of the degree to which he was enervating [ˈɛnərˌveɪt] his audience.enervate [ˈɛnərˌveɪt]
Enervate is a formal word used for situations in which someone or something is being sapped of physical or mental vigor, vitality, or strength.
The verb is most common in the participial forms enervated and enervating, as in "children enervated by the summer afternoon heat" and "a tedious discussion we found completely enervating."
Enervate comes from a form of the Latin verb enervare, which literally means "to remove the sinews of," English Feb 15, 2024, 9:48 AM cowpoke
For an icebreaker, we were each asked to share a noteworthy quirk [kwɜrk] about ourselves. Mine was that I have to make sure every square of my waffles is buttered evenly before I eat them.quirk [kwɜrk]
noun
Quirk refers to an unusual habit or way of behaving. It can also refer to something strange that happens by chance, as in “a quirk of fate.”
no one knows whence quirk came—but the twists and turns of its meanings across the centuries. The oldest known use of quirk dates to the mid-1500s English Feb 11, 2024, 9:11 AM cowpoke
"The tragedy of AI is not that it stands to replace good journalists but that it takes every gross, callous [ˈkæləs] move made by management to degrade the production of content—and promises to accelerate it." — Brian Merchant, The Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2023callous [ˈkæləs]
adj
Someone or something described as callous does not feel or show any concern about the problems or suffering of other people.
A callus is a hard, thickened area of skin that develops usually from friction or irritation over time. Such a hardened area often leaves one less sensitive to the touch... English Feb 10, 2024, 9:53 AM cowpoke
The missing document is the MacGuffin [məˈɡʌfɪn] that brings the two main characters together, but the real story centers on their tumultuous relationship.MacGuffin [məˈɡʌfɪn]
noun
A MacGuffin is an object, event, or character in a film or story that serves to set and keep the plot in motion despite usually lacking intrinsic importance.
The first person to use MacGuffin as a word for a plot device was Alfred Hitchcock. English Feb 9, 2024, 8:32 AM cowpoke
The wood of most conifer species is fissile [ˈfɪsaɪl], making it much easier to cut than that of sycamore and hornbeam.fissile [ˈfɪsaɪl]
adj
1) describes materials that are capable of undergoing fission—that is, the process in which the nucleus of a heavy atom is split apart, releasing a large amount of energy.
2) also describe something, such as wood or crystals, capable of or prone to being split or divided in the direction of the grain along natural planes. English Feb 8, 2024, 7:35 AM cowpoke
"The bottle is crowned with the letter K like a signet [ˈsɪɡnɪt] representing the majesty of the wearer." — MuseArabia.net, 20 Aug. 2023signet [ˈsɪɡnɪt]
noun
Signet refers to a seal used officially to give personal authority to a document in lieu of (in place of) a signature, or to the impression made by or as if by such a seal.
Signets have been used for thousands of years. The design of a signet is personalized for its owner, and no two are alike. The ancients used signets to mark their possessions and to sign contracts.
In later years signets were used to stamp a blob of hot wax sealing a folded secret document English Feb 6, 2024, 7:32 AM cowpoke
As 1) The film was criticized for its gratuitous [ɡrəˈtuɪ.təs] violence.
As 2) A local veterinary technician provides gratuitous [ɡrəˈtuɪ.təs] services to the animal shelter twice a month.gratuitous [ɡrəˈtuɪ.təs]
adj
1) describes things that are not necessary, appropriate, or justified, as in "a gratuitous insult" or "a gratuitous assumption."
2) can also mean "free."
a descendant of the Latin word gratus, which means "pleasing" or "grateful." When gratuitous was first used in the 17th century, it meant "free" or "given without return benefit or compensation." The extended meaning "done without g... English Feb 5, 2024, 7:49 AM cowpoke
The ratio of daylight to darkness in the spring is an important zeitgeber [ˈzaɪtˌɡeɪbər] that affects the activity of some migrating birds.zeitgeber [ˈzaɪtˌɡeɪbər]
noun
Zeitgeber refers to an environmental agent or event (such as the occurrence of light or dark) that provides the stimulus which sets or resets an organism’s biological clock.
Zeitgebers are alarm clocks—both biologically and etymologically. The word zeitgeber comes from a combination of two German terms: Zeit, meaning “time,” and Geber, which means “giver.” English Feb 4, 2024, 8:50 AM cowpoke
"The film casts a cynical side-eye at the acquisitive [əˈkwɪz.ɪ.tɪv] ethos of the Reagan '80s, told with a hypnotic sense of style." — Mark Olsen, The Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2023acquisitive [əˈkwɪz.ɪ.tɪv]
adj
Someone or something described as acquisitive is characterized by a strong desire to own or acquire more things.
ultimate source the Latin word acquīrere, meaning "to acquire." While acquire and acquisition have both been in use since the 15th century, acquisitive is a bit younger. English Feb 3, 2024, 8:31 AM cowpoke
“What-ifs are almost always registered as negative. We prognosticate [prɑˈɡnɑstɪˌkeɪt] the worst-case scenarios probably as a means to be prepared for the worst. ‘Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst’ is a well-known adage [ˈædɪdʒ] that programs negative thinking.” — Bruce Wilson, Psychology Today, 7 May 2023prognosticate [prɑˈɡnɑstɪˌkeɪt]
verb
To prognosticate is to predict or foreshadow something.
ultimately traces back to the Greek word prognōstikos (“knowing beforehand, prescient”), first appears in English during the 15th century.
adage [ˈædɪdʒ]
noun
a proverb or short statement expressing a general truth English Feb 2, 2024, 9:59 AM cowpoke
The old chair was upholstered in a blue silk damask [ˈdæm.əsk] which was now faded and threadbare.damask [ˈdæm.əsk]
noun
Refers to a usually shiny, thick fabric made with patterns. Also can be used as a synonym of Damascus steel, or for a grayish red color.
the city of Damascus - the city’s Arabic name comes from Dimašqa, a word so ancient that it suggests the origins of the city predate recorded history. The Medieval Latin name for the fabric famously associated with the “pearl of the East,” damascus, first entered Middle English as damaske in the 1300s and was later shortened English Feb 1, 2024, 8:02 AM cowpoke
The article offers suggestions on how to gamify quotidian [kwoʊˈtɪd.i.ən] tasks.quotidian [kwoʊˈtɪd.i.ən]
adj
Something described as quotidian occurs every day or occurs routinely or typically. More broadly, quotidian is used as a synonym of commonplace and ordinary.
from a Latin word, quotidie, which means "every day." English Jan 31, 2024, 8:47 AM cowpoke
Fundraising events are his bailiwick [ˈbeɪlɪwɪk].bailiwick [ˈbeɪlɪwɪk]
noun
Bailiwick refers to the domain or sphere in which someone has superior knowledge or authority.
The first half of the word bailiwick, baili... utimately from the Medieval Latin verb bajulare, meaning "to care for" or "to support."
The second half of bailiwick comes from wik, a Middle English word for "dwelling place" or "village," which ultimately hails from the Latin word vicus, meaning "village." English Jan 30, 2024, 7:43 AM cowpoke
"An entity that feigns human emotions is arguably a worse object of affection than a cold, computational device that doesn't emote [ɪˈmoʊt] at all." — Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 26 Sept. 2023emote [ɪˈmoʊt]
verb
To emote is to express emotion in a very dramatic or obvious way.
Emote is an example of what linguists call a back-formation—that is, a word formed by trimming down an existing word. In this case, the parent word is emotion, which came to English by way of Middle French from the Latin verb emovēre, meaning "to remove or displace" (making the "removal" of the suffix -ion to form emote quite fitting). English Jan 29, 2024, 8:04 AM cowpoke
"Vanilla is earthy. It’s ethereal. It’s exotic. It’s indispensable in some recipes and, when added to others on a whim, seems essential. … The ne plus ultra [ˌneɪ ˌplʌs ˈʌltrə] of flavoring." — Dorie Greenspan, Food52.com, 25 Feb. 2022ne plus ultra [ˌneɪ ˌplʌs ˈʌltrə]
noun
Ne plus ultra refers to the highest point of development or success that something may achieve; it is a synonym of acme.
It is the height, the zenith, the ultimate, the crown, the pinnacle. It is the peak, the summit, the crest, the high-water mark. All these expressions, of course, mean "the highest point attainable."
The New Latin version ne plus ultra, meaning "(go) no more beyond," found its way into English in the early 16... English Jan 28, 2024, 9:49 AM cowpoke
