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 Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 12:21 pm
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coalesce
koh-uh-LES , verb;
1. to blend or come together: Their ideas coalesced into one theory.
2. to grow together or into one body: The two lakes coalesced into one.
3. to unite so as to form one mass, community, etc.: The various groups coalesced into a crowd.
4. to cause to unite in one body or mass.
Quotes:
All the small discoveries might soon coalesce into a major breakthrough—even a revolutionary one—but perhaps not in her lifetime, and certainly not bearing her name.
-- Deanna Fei, A Thread of Sky, 2010
He is like a child learning what is too hot to touch, and he hopes all this experience will coalesce into a philosophy of life, or at least a philosophy of relationships, that will transform itself into instinct.
-- Steve Martin, Shopgirl, 2000
Origin:
Coalesce comes from the Latin roots co- meaning "with" and al- which is the stem of alere meaning "to nourish, make grow."
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Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 12:23 pm
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 4:32 am
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pasquinade
pas-kwuh-NEYD , noun;
1. a satire or lampoon, especially one posted in a public place.
verb:
1. to assail in a pasquinade or pasquinades.
Quotes:
On the outer wall of the building, there was a vicious pasquinade of the deposed despot.
-- D.V. Bernard, Intimate Relations with Strangers, 2007
In the course of his career, Dosoo had written fourteen books that included political commentaries on India, a slight obloquy on New York, an autobiography, and a pasquinade of Bombay society.
-- Leila Hadley, Give Me the World, 2003
Origin:
In Rome in 1501 a sculpture was disinterred and placed in Palazzo Orsini. The sculpture was nicknamed Pasquino, and once a year Romans posted humorous verses to the sculpture. Over time these satirical poems became named pasquinades because of the name of the statue. The statue is still in Rome with pasquinades on its base.
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 4:33 am
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Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 1:55 pm
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Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 1:56 pm
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Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 2:00 pm
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Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 9:29 pm
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genethliac
juh-NETH-lee-ak , adjective;
1. of or pertaining to birthdays or to the position of the stars at one's birth.
Quotes:
Really it must be admitted that only in England and America is there anybody who knows how to establish the genethliac theme and construct a horoscope.
-- J. K. Huysmans, translated by Keene Wallace, Down There, 1891
It must be said, however, that the Arabs went much beyond the classical doctrines of Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos and added to genethliac astrology, which was concerned with the conjunction of heavenly bodies at the moment of birth, a more popular science of interrogations and elections for every occasion in life.
-- Charles Homer Haskins, The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century, 1955
Origin:
Genethalic derives from the Greek root genéthli meaning "pertaining to one's birth." It is unrelated to the word gene.
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Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 9:31 pm
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Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 8:53 pm
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Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 9:09 pm
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skeuomorph
SKYOO-uh-mawrf , noun;
1. an ornament or design on an object copied from a form of the object when made from another material or by other techniques, as an imitation metal rivet mark found on handles of prehistoric pottery.
Quotes:
Skeuomorphs exist to make the population feel comfortable and assured of some cultural continuity — in architecture, a typical skeuomorph is a pseudo “Tudor” styled house in a suburban development.
-- Bruce Sterling, "Web Semantics," Wired, February 10, 2011
Such an object, in archaeological parlance, is a skeuomorph, a classic manifestation of technology as it leaves behind the realm of natural things.
-- Timothy Taylor, The Artificial Ape, 2010
Origin:
Skeuomorph is a neologism that was invented in the late 1800s from the Greek roots skeû meaning "vessel, implement" and morph meaning "of the kind specified by the initial element."
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Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 9:11 pm
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Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 6:18 pm
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blather
BLATH-er , verb;
1. to talk or utter foolishly; blither; babble: The poor thing blathered for hours about the intricacies of his psyche.
noun:
1. foolish, voluble talk: His speech was full of the most amazing blather.
Quotes:
She was quiet, and he started to think it had been a mistake to blather out his thoughts.
-- Erin McCarthy, Heiress for Hire, 2006
Every ship is a romantic object," Tom would blather, "except we all sail in."
-- Joshua Ferris, Then We Came to the End, 2007
Origin:
Blather comes from the Old Norse word blathra meaning "to chatter, blabber" or "nonsense."
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Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 6:19 pm
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Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 8:06 pm
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Reply
