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// Many Americans are the progeny [ˈprɒdʒ.ə.ni] of immigrants.
// The champion thoroughbred passed on his speed, endurance, and calm temperament to his progeny [ˈprɒdʒ.ə.ni], many of whom became successful racehorses themselves.
// This landmark study is the progeny [ˈprɒdʒ.ə.ni] of many earlier efforts to explore the phenomenon.
progeny [ˈprɒdʒ.ə.ni].
noun
Progeny refers to the child or descendant of a particular parent or family. Progeny can also refer to the offspring of an animal or plant, or broadly to something that is the product of something else. The plural of progeny is progeny.
Progeny is the progeny of the Latin verb prōgignere, meaning “to beget.” That Latin word is itself an offspring of the prefix prō-, meaning “forth,” and gignere, which can mean “to beget” or “to bring forth.”
English
Jun 15, 2025, 6:31 AM
cowpoke
"... flags should have simple elements, a limited number of colors, and no words. One of the tenets of vexillology [ˌvɛk.sɪˈlɒl.ə.dʒi] is that the elements of the flag should be simple enough to be easily drawn by a child." — The Toledo (Ohio) Blade, 9 Jan. 2025
vexillology [ˌvɛk.sɪˈlɒl.ə.dʒi]
noun
The study of flags.
Vexillologists undertake scholarly investigations of flags, producing papers like "A Review of the Changing Proportions of Rectangular Flags since Medieval Times, and Some Suggestions for the Future."
In the late 1950s, they coined vexillology as a name for their field of research, basing it on vexillum, Latin for a square flag or banner of the ancient Roman cavalry.
adj: vexillologic; vexillological. noun: vexillol...
English
Jun 14, 2025, 8:29 AM
cowpoke
It is shocking that they would impute [ɪmˈpjuːt] such awful motives to me.
impute [ɪmˈpjuːt]
verb
To impute something, such as a motive, act, or emotion, to a person or thing is to assert that the person or thing is guilty of that motive, act, emotion, etc.
Impute is a formal word typically used in contexts in which a motive, act, or emotion is credited or ascribed to someone, especially falsely or unfairly. - Latin ancestor: putare means “to consider.”
English
Jun 12, 2025, 2:52 AM
cowpoke
“The novel is an intricate thatch of corkscrew twists, vivid characters, dead-on colloquial dialogue, and lawyerly minutiae [mɪˈnuː.ʃiː.iː] that culminates in a courtroom showdown worthy of Dominick Dunne.” — David Friend, Vanity Fair, 1 Apr. 2025
minutia
noun [mɪˈnuː.ʃə]
Minutia refers to a small or minor detail. It is usually used in its plural form minutiae [mɪˈnuː.ʃiː.iː].
Minutia was borrowed into English in the 18th century from the Latin plural noun minutiae, meaning “trifles” or “details,” which comes from the singular noun minutia, meaning “smallness.” In English, minutia is most often used in the plural as either minutiae (pronounced \muh-NOO-shee-ee\) or, on occasion, as simply minutia.
English
Jun 10, 2025, 4:22 AM
cowpoke
// Cataracts [ˈkæt.ə.rækt] are common but can be corrected with surgery.
// The roaring cataract [ˈkæt.ə.rækt] is one of the park’s most majestic sights.
cataract
noun
Cataract refers to a clouding of the lens of the eye, or of its surrounding transparent membrane, that obstructs the passage of light. Cataract is also used, often in literature, to refer to a waterfall, steep rapids in a river, or to a downpour or flood.
1st meaning from the Latin word cataracta
2nd meaning from katarassein, the Greek source of cataracta. It means “to dash down,” describing the action of both the slamming portcullis and the cascading waterfall.
English
Jun 8, 2025, 6:45 AM
cowpoke
“The EP’s lyrics are suitably abstruse [æbˈstruːs]. The title ‘Marry Me Maia’ sounds forthright in its intentions, but the song instead offers cryptic references and obfuscation. The result is like peeping in on a private conversation: fascinating and impassioned but fundamentally obscure.” — Ben Cardew, Pitchfork, 31 Mar. 2025
abstruse
adj [æbˈstruːs]
Abstruse is a formal word used to describe something that is hard to understand.
Look closely at the following Latin verbs, all of which come from the verb trūdere (“to push, thrust”): Another trūdere offspring, abstrūdere, meaning “to conceal,” gave English abstrude, meaning “to thrust away,” but that 17th-century borrowing has fallen out of use. An abstrūdere descendant that has survived is abstruse.
English
Jun 7, 2025, 6:36 PM
cowpoke
"The road was lined with ancient trees festooned [fɛsˈtun] with Spanish moss." — Tayari Jones, Travel + Leisure, 14 Apr. 2025
festoon
verb [fɛsˈtun]
Festoon usually means "to cover or decorate (something) with many small objects, pieces of paper, etc.," or "to appear here and there on the surface of." It can also mean "to hang decorative chains or strips on."
The noun festoon first appeared in the 1600s when it was used, as it still is today, to refer to decorative chains or strips hung between two points.
English
Jun 6, 2025, 6:54 AM
cowpoke
The early 2000s witnessed a [sea change] in public opinion about smoking in public places.
sea change
noun
Sea change refers to a big and sudden change or transformation.
Today the term is used for a distinctive change or transformation. Long after sea change gained this figurative meaning, however, writers continued to allude to Shakespeare’s literal one; Charles Dickens, Henry David Thoreau, and P.G. Wodehouse all used the term as an object of the verb suffer, but now a sea change is just as likely to be undergone or experienced.
Jun 5, 2025, 6:57 AM
cowpoke
“A former West Covina resident admitted to selling at least $250,000 in bogus [ˈboʊ.ɡəs] sports and entertainment memorabilia, including forged photos and signatures of the ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ stars.” — Noah Goldberg, The Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2025
bogus
adj [ˈboʊ.ɡəs]
Bogus is an informal word used to describe something that is not real or genuine, making it a synonym of such words as fake, false, and counterfeit.
Bogus (an apparent U.S. coinage) was first used in the argot of wildcat banks (like the one in Tinkerville) as a noun referring to counterfeit money. It later branched out into adjective use meaning “counterfeit or forged.” Although the noun is now obsolete, the adjective is still used today
English
Jun 4, 2025, 7:02 AM
cowpoke
Although starting a garden sounded fun in theory, the constant weeding and pest control turned it into a herculean [ˌhɜr.kjʊˈliː.ən] task.
Herculean
adj [ˌhɜr.kjʊˈliː.ən]
Something described as Herculean (often uncapitalized as herculean) is characterized by extraordinary power, extent, intensity, or difficulty.
The hero Hercules, son of the god Zeus by a human mother, was famous for his superhuman strength. To pacify the wrath of the god Apollo, he was forced to perform twelve enormously difficult tasks, or “labors.”
English
Jun 2, 2025, 7:50 AM
cowpoke
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