Some consider (however ironically) french fries to be the apotheosis [əˌpɑθiˈoʊsəs] of U.S. cuisine.apotheosis
noun [əˌpɑθiˈoʊsəs]
What It Means
Apotheosis means "the perfect form or example of something" or "the highest or best part of something." It can also mean "elevation to divine status; deification."
Among the ancient Greeks, it was sometimes thought fitting to grant someone "god" status. Hence the word apothéōsis, from the verb apotheóō or apotheoûn, meaning "to deify." (All are rooted in Greek theós, meaning "god,") English Mar 13, 2023, 7:48 AM cowpoke
The language of the play moves between the vernacular and the elevated, informed by the repartee [ˌɹɛpɚˈti] of TV sitcoms as well as by the poetry of William Blake.repartee
noun [ˌɹɛpɚˈti]
Repartee can refer to either “a conversation in which clever statements and replies are made quickly” or a single “quick and witty reply.” It can also refer to one’s cleverness and wit in conversation, as in “an aunt widely known for her repartee at family gatherings.”
Comes from the French repartie, of the same meaning. Repartie itself is formed from the French verb repartir, meaning “to retort.” English Mar 5, 2023, 9:09 AM cowpoke
A perfect symbiosis [ˌsɪmbiˈoʊsəs] was at work between the café’s co-owners, with Stephanie managing the day-to-day operations and Maria handling the finances.symbiosis
noun [ˌsɪmbiˈoʊsəs]
In the field of biology, symbiosis refers to the relationship between two different kinds of living things that live together and depend on each other. In broader, non-scientific contexts, symbiosis means “a cooperative relationship,” such as between two persons or groups.
Symbiosis was adopted by the scientific community in the late 1800s, coming ultimately (via German) from the Greek symbíōsis, meaning “living together, companionship.” English Mar 23, 2023, 8:50 AM cowpoke
She will be playing against her old nemesis [ˈnɛməsəs] for the championship.nemesis
noun [ˈnɛməsəs]
A nemesis is a formidable foe—an opponent or enemy who is very difficult to defeat. As a proper noun, Nemesis refers to the Greek goddess of vengeance.
Nemesis was the Greek goddess of vengeance, a deity who doled out rewards for noble acts and punishment for evil ones.
In English, nemesis originally referred to someone who brought a just retribution, but nowadays people are more likely to see simple animosity. English May 30, 2023, 9:47 AM cowpoke
The court's profile has only increased as a new majority has moved rapidly on a range of polarizing issues. That has also increased scrutiny on the justices, the activities of their spouses, and when the court's members should recuse [ɹɪˈkjuz] themselves from cases.recuse
verb [ɹɪˈkjuz]
Recuse means “to disqualify (oneself) as judge in a particular case.” More broadly, it can also mean “to remove (oneself) from participation to avoid a conflict of interest.”
Accuse and recuse not only share space in the vocabulary of the courtroom, they both ultimately trace back to the Latin word causa, meaning “legal case,” “reason,” or “cause.” English Mar 31, 2023, 9:32 AM cowpoke
The high school gymnast had quite the auspicious [ɔˈspɪʃəs] year, taking gold or silver in nearly every competition.auspicious
adj [ɔˈspɪʃəs]
Something described as auspicious is full of promise, showing or suggesting that future success or good results are likely. Auspicious can also mean “attended by good fortune.”
auspicious comes from Latin auspex, which literally means “bird seer” (from the words avis, meaning “bird,” and specere, meaning “to look at”). In ancient Rome, these “bird seers” were priests or augurs who studied the flight and feeding patterns of birds, then delivered prophecies English Apr 9, 2023, 8:19 AM cowpoke
Under normal circumstances, most of us can’t drop what we’re doing with zero notice, buy a last-minute airplane ticket, and just show up to gallivant [ˈɡæləˌvænt] across the country with someone we’re attracted to, without telling anyone where we are.gallivant
verb [ˈɡæləˌvænt]
Gallivant means “to go or travel to many different places for pleasure.”
borrowed from the French word galant, to verb gallant to describe the process a suitor used to win a lady’s heart, and “gallanting” became synonymous with “courting.” It’s this verb gallant that is the likely source of gallivant, which originally meant “to act as a gallant”. Today, however, gallivant is more likely to describe pleasurable wandering than romancing. English Mar 14, 2023, 7:44 AM cowpoke
The only way to rectify [ˈɹɛktəˌfaɪ] severe thermal or chemical damage is to frequently trim off dead ends and allow for healthier hair to grow down without being affected by lingering damage,’ says [trichologist, Shab] Caspara.rectify
verb [ˈɹɛktəˌfaɪ]
Rectify means “to correct something that is wrong.”
When you rectify something, you correct an error or make things right, which is fitting because rectify and correct both ultimately trace back to the Latin word regere, which can mean “to lead straight,” “to direct,” or “to rule.” English Feb 22, 2023, 9:48 AM cowpoke
She was thrilled to discover that the next book on the syllabus was a bildungsroman [ˈbɪldʊŋsɹoˌmɑn] by her favorite author.bildungsroman
noun [ˈbɪldʊŋsɹoˌmɑn]
A bildungsroman is a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character.
Bildungsroman is the combination of two German nouns: Bildung, meaning "education," and Roman, meaning "novel." (Nouns in German are always capitalized.) English Mar 28, 2023, 7:55 AM cowpoke
Even a minor scandal has the power to tarnish an otherwise immaculate [ɪˈmækjələt] reputation.immaculate
adj [ɪˈmækjələt]
Immaculate means "spotlessly clean" or "without flaw or error." In botany and zoology, the word describes beings that have no colored spots or marks.
You may already use the word immaculate flawlessly, but most of us have a spottier history with its antonymous counterpart, maculate, which means "marked with spots" or "impure." Both words can be traced back to macula, a Latin noun (plural maculae or maculas) English Mar 29, 2023, 8:27 AM cowpoke
With a tunnel of light haloing her from the outside, Brittney Parks is dressed like a ‘90s vixen in baggy jeans and an understated crop top, hair down past her waist, with perfect accessories that accentuate [ækˈsɛntʃəˌweɪt] her shine.accentuate
verb [ækˈsɛntʃəˌweɪt]
Accentuate means “to make something more noticeable.”
When you accentuate something you put an “accent,” or emphasis, on it.
from Latin accentus, meaning “accent” (which itself comes in part from cantus, meaning “song”), and since the early 18th century English Mar 3, 2023, 8:56 AM cowpoke
My brother's friends are an unpredictable bunch of zanies [ˈzeɪni].zany
noun [ˈzeɪni]
A zany is a person who acts like a buffoon to amuse others, or one who is generally foolish or eccentric. Zany also has a more specific sense that refers to a type of clown or acrobat in old comedies.
The oddballs among us are likely familiar with zany as an adjective, meaning "eccentric." But did you know the word originated as a noun—one that has withstood the test of time? Zanies have been theatrical buffoons since the heyday of the Italian commedia dell’a... English Mar 24, 2023, 8:54 AM cowpoke
Most household garbage bags are concatenated [kɑnˈkætənət] on rolls and connected at their perforated edges for easy tearing.concatenate
verb [kɑnˈkætənət]
Concatenate is a formal word that means “to link together in a series or chain.”
Concatenate is a fancy word for a simple thing: it means “to link together in a series or chain.” It’s Latin in origin, formed from a word combining con-, meaning “with” or “together,” and catena, meaning “chain. ” (The word chain is also linked directly to catena.) English Jun 4, 2023, 10:15 AM cowpoke
I'd only been gone five minutes but the puppy fawned [ˈfɔn] on me like I'd been away for hours.fawn
verb [ˈfɔn]
To fawn over someone is to court their favor by groveling [匍匐前进; 卑躬屈膝] or by flattering the person. Fawn is also sometimes used of dogs to mean “to show affection.”
ultimately from the Old English adjective _fægen_ or _fagan_, meaning “glad,” by way of Old English _fagnian_, meaning “to rejoice.” Note that this _fawn_ is not, despite appearances, related to the noun _fawn_ that refers to a young deer. For that we can thank the Latin noun _fetus_, meaning “offspring.” English Mar 21, 2023, 8:01 AM cowpoke
The lime's flavedo [fluh-VEE-doh] is full of essential oils that add a distinctive, earthy tang to desserts, drinks, and plenty of savory dishes, too.flavedo
noun [fluh-VEE-doh]
Flavedo refers to the colored outer layer of the rind of a citrus fruit.
from the New Latin word flāvēdō, meaning “yellow color,” the word’s etymology pointing to the shiny yellow rinds of the lemons you see in the grocery store. English May 28, 2023, 9:38 AM cowpoke
Afflicted with a sudden case of the yips [ˈjɪps], Doug tensed up and pulled his putt too far to the left.yips
noun [ˈjɪps]
Yips is a plural noun that refers to a state of nervousness that affects an athlete (such as a golfer) when they're about to make an important move or play. It is almost always used in the phrase "the yips."
We’re not sure who coined yips; What we do know is that the yips have sported their name since at least the 1930s, and that the term first appeared in golf-related contexts. English Jun 5, 2023, 8:41 AM cowpoke
Olivia called her friend on his birthday to let him know that a belated [bɪˈleɪtəd] gift from her was on its way.belated
adj [bɪˈleɪtəd]
Belated means "happening or coming very late or too late."
Long ago, there was a verb belate, which meant "to make late." From the beginning, belate tended to mostly turn up in the form of its past participle, belated. When used as an adjective, belated originally meant "overtaken by night," as in "belated travelers seeking lodging for the night." eventually overtaken by the "delayed" meaning we know today. English Apr 4, 2023, 7:58 AM cowpoke
Francesca, one of her former students, works tirelessly as Lydia’s factotum [fækˈtoʊtəm], amanuensis, and personal assistant, in the expectation of becoming her assistant conductor in Berlin.factotum
noun [fækˈtoʊtəm]
A factotum is a person who has many diverse activities or responsibilities, and especially one whose work involves a wide variety of tasks.
"Do everything!" That's a tall order, but it is exactly what a factotum is expected to do. It's also a literal translation of the Latin phrase fac tōtum: the phrase is usually glossed as "do all!" with the punctuation expressing the force behind the command. English Mar 10, 2023, 8:52 AM cowpoke
She came to regard her punctilious supervisor as a golem [ˈɡoʊləm] who never had an unprogrammed thought in his life.golem
noun [ˈɡoʊləm]
Golem refers in Jewish folklore to an artificial humanoid being endowed with life. It can also refer to someone or something (such as a robot) resembling such a being.
These days, the word golem is frequently used in the gaming world for a variety of foes and beasties made of materials ranging from ice to iron to even, in one game, candy. English Mar 30, 2023, 7:32 AM cowpoke
The so-called “Curse of the Bambino” was a favorite hobbyhorse [ˈhɑbiˌhɔrs] of my Red Sox-loving grandfather until the team finally won the World Series in 2004.hobbyhorse
noun [ˈhɑbiˌhɔrs]
Hobbyhorse usually refers to a topic that someone dwells on, returning to again and again, especially in conversation.
the meaning of hobbyhorse was extended to “a subject that someone returns to repeatedly, especially in conversation.” This sense is typically encountered in such phrases as “get on one’s hobbyhorse” or “ride one’s hobbyhorse.” English May 25, 2023, 8:19 AM cowpoke
