Definition of the day.

Talliesin

2003-05-09
Sinople
n. 1. Ferruginous quartz, a red mineral. 2, The tincture vert; green. 3, red.

Talliesin

2003-05-10
Mumpsimus
1. One who adheres to an old habit in spite of clear evidence that it is wrong. 2. An old custom obstinately kept although it is known to be in error.

Talliesin

2003-05-11
Widdershins
1. Counter-clockwise. 2. In the opposite direction to the apparant motion of the sun, moon and stars. 3. In reverse order or direction than would be normal.

(Note that definitions 1 and 2 are identical in the northern hemisphere, but opposite in the southern).

Praetorian

I’ll confer with Amz about this becoming a sticky.

Amz

Thread has been stickified.

We'll try and keep this updated daily

Talliesin

Originally posted by Amz
We'll try and keep this updated daily

If I know I won't be at a machine I'll do some in advance, like I did for this weekend.

In the tradition of Word of the day people can make suggestions which I will then most likely ignore

To have a chance of being used words and phrases have to be either relatively obscure, or have something strange about their definitions (such as the way one definition of sinople is red and another is green).

Foreign phrases used in English are also allowed if the direct translation doesn't reveal the definition, like todays...

Talliesin

2003-05-12
L'esprit d'escalier
A witty remark or riposte thought of only when it is too late to use it.

ecksor

If I know I won't be at a machine I'll do some in advance, like I did for this weekend.

If I'm not going to be at a machine I usually automate a posting. I suppose I could set up a queue for these cheap imitations.

In the tradition of Word of the day people can make suggestions which I will then most likely ignore

I ignore the following:
1. Misspellings with no explanation of what word you meant or what it's about.
2. "You want a word of the day???? Here's fifty!!!!"
3. This word is cool because it's really really really long and/or it was used at length in a movie about a woman who had a flying umbrella and a magic bag, or is in the guinness book of records for something to do with how many consonants are in it.

Mind you, if it was in the guinness book of records for the amount of different meanings it has then that would be a different story. The example I'm thinking of is 'set', which is a great word.

Perhaps I'm off-topic here.

Talliesin

Originally posted by ecksor
The example I'm thinking of is 'set', which is a great word.

Yes, what makes for an interesting word is different to what makes an interesting definition, though there's obviously overlap. That set can be used to mean sharpening a blade very well is an interesting definition in itself, but its the multitude of more well-known definitions that make it an interesting word.

Sinople is a candidate for both, because the conflict in the definitions make for the interest in the word itself.

The record-breaking words are more interesting here than just as words, because only by having the the definitions do you have the context to make it a word, not just a bunch of letters. I doubt you'll find a word with more Z's than tomorrow's.

Praetorian

Could it be RAZZMATAZZ

1- A flashy action or display intended to bewilder, confuse, or deceive.

2- Ambiguous or evasive language; double talk.

3- Ebullient energy; vim

or

Could it be ZENZIZENZIZENZIC

Definition here http://www.quinion.com/words/weirdwords/ww-zen1.htm

Talliesin

2003-05-13
Zenzizenzizenzic
The 8th power of a number; 256 is the zenzizenzizenzic of 2.

Talliesin

2003-05-14
Izzard
The letter Z.

Talliesin

2003-05-15
Heterological
1. (Biology) not corresponding in structure or evolutionary origin. 2. Not self-descriptive; long is heterological because it isn't long, monosyllabic is heterological because it isn't monosyllabic.

Okay, not the coolest definition but consider Grelling's paradox:
Is heterological(2) heterological? If it is, then it isn't. If it isn't, then it is.

Talliesin

2003-05-16
Parthenogenesis
1. Virgin-birth, or any birth where the conception is not by normal sexual means, in mythology or religion. 2. Asexual reproduction in organisms that can also reproduce sexually.

Talliesin

2003-05-17
Urtication
1. an itchy skin eruption with pale interiors and well-defined red margins, usually the result of an allergic reaction to insect bites, food or drugs. 2. the act of deliberately stinging someone with nettles, used as a punishment or to bring sensation to paralysed limbs.

Talliesin

2003-05-18
Tautonym
A taxonomic binomial ("scientific name") in which both the genus and species names are the same, e.g. troglodytes troglodytes (the Wren). Tautonyms are common in zoology, but their use in botany has been discontinued.

Talliesin

2003-05-19
Memento Mori
A object, generally a human skull, kept as a reminder of one's mortality, and by extension of the human tendency to failure and error. It was once usual for writers to keep memento mori on their desks.

Thanx 4 The Fish

Does this suit then ???

clerihew (KLER-uh-hyoo) noun

A humorous, pseudo-biographical verse of four lines of uneven length, with the rhyming scheme AABB, and the first line containing the name of the subject.

[After writer Edmund Clerihew Bentley (1875-1956), who originated it.]

Here is one of the first clerihews he wrote (apparently while feeling bored in a science class):
Sir Humphrey Davy
Abominated gravy.
He lived in the odium
Of having discovered sodium.

Thanx 4 The Fish

Or maybe this one...

potemkin village (po-TEM-kin VIL-ij) noun

An impressive showy facade designed to mask undesirable facts.

[After Prince Potemkin, who erected cardboard villages for Catherine II's visit to the Ukraine and the Crimea in 1787.]

Talliesin

2003-05-20
Obolus
An ancient greek coin, also a unit of weight, equal to sixth of a Drachma (making it around 2 or 3 cents as currency, and around 10 grams as weight). Charon would charge 1 Obolus for the ferry across the Acheron into Hades, hence bodies were burried with an Obolus in the mouth.

Talliesin

2003-05-21
Cartulary
1. A register of titles, deed and charters to all the property of an estate, especially a monastery or church. 2. An ecclesiastical officer in such of such records.

Talliesin

2003-05-22
Phylactery
1. one of two small leather boxes worn strapped on the left arm and forehead by religious Jewish men during regular morning worship, that contain pieces of parchment bearing passages from Scripture (also called "Tefillin"). 2. An amulet. 3. Anything that acts as a constant reminder to something.

Talliesin

2003-05-23
Clerihew
A humorous, pseudo-biographical verse of four lines of uneven length, with the rhyming scheme AABB, and the first line containing the name of the subject.

Talliesin

2003-05-24
Salubrious
1. Favourable to health of both body and mind. 2. Promoting health.

Talliesin

2003-05-25
Bolus
1. A small round soft mass (typically of chewed food). 2. A large medical pill, especially in veterinary medicine.

Talliesin

2003-05-26
Quaquaversal
Going, facing or dipping in all directions. In particular of lava going down in all directions from a crater.

Talliesin

2003-05-27
Entryism
The activity of joining a political party with the secret intention of changing its politics, typically towards policies that would be considered less moderate.

Thanx 4 The Fish

silver bullet (SIL-vuhr BOOL-it) noun

A quick solution to a thorny problem.

[From the belief that werewolves could be killed when shot with silver
bullets.]

"Writing code, he (Stuart Feldman) explains, is like writing poetry: every
word, each placement counts. Except that software is harder, because
digital poems can have millions of lines which are all somehow
interconnected. Try fixing programming errors, known as bugs, and you
often introduce new ones. So far, he laments, nobody has found a silver
bullet to kill the beast of complexity."
Survey: The Beast of Complexity; The Economist (London, UK); Apr 14, 2001.

Talliesin

2003-05-28
Maslach
An excitant containing opium, used in Turkey.

You know, most of the dictionary definitions say "much used by Turks". How much? Is there a serious maslach-dependency problem in Turkey that doesn't get much press outside of that region?

Talliesin

2003-05-29
Tmesis
1. Insertion of one or more words into a compound word (e.g. "what place soever"). 2. Insertion of one or more words into any polysyllabic word (e.g. "fan-bloody-tastic", "a whole nother").

The validity of the second definition is disputed, with some arguing that it should be considered an infix, but not a tmesis.

Talliesin

2003-05-30
Mithridatism
Immunity or resistance to poison acquired by taking small doses of it and gradually increasing the dose.