Word of the Day. Post it Here

Discussion in 'Linguistics' started by Captain Kremmen, Aug 16, 2007.

  1. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Snickersnee - a long dangerous knife

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  3. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    It comes from Dutch steken, meaning "to stick" and snijden, "to cut." Steken is obviously our word "stick" with some phonetic changes. We don't have any word related to snijden, but if you've studied German you know the verb schneiden, meaning "to cut." A Schneider is a tailor, a person who cuts fabric. In the medieval era, it was quite common for people in Europe to adopt surnames that advertised their profession.
     
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  5. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    callipygian - having well shaped buttocks

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  7. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

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    Whose and what would be the name of a collector?

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  8. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Dr Proctor?


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    Last edited: Jul 12, 2017
  9. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

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    I'll go with that

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  10. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    ^^^
    You remember him?

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  11. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

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    Mr Scope Proctor?

    Sure

    Very skinny with a bright head

    Always looking into dark places where others wouldn't go

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  12. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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  13. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    osculator - one who kisses

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  14. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    logorrhea - tendency to extreme loquacity
     
  15. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    soteriology - study of religious doctrines of salvation

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  16. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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  17. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    During the rush to America's frontier in the late 1800s and early 1900s, a lot of people found themselves living in places where their vocabularies didn't provide enough words to describe and discuss the new, unfamiliar things which became everyday experiences.

    They had several ways to create new words. One was by borrowing from Spanish, a language that became quite common in the frontier region, as Mexicans joined the movement to the frontier. Probably the most well-known frontier word that is still in use (if only in TV and movies) is "buckaroo." This is a twisting of Spanish vaquero, which means, literally "cowboy," from vaca, "cow."

    "Absquatulate," on the other hand, is a completely made-up word. From its root, "squat," it carries the meaning of squatting down so as not to be seen, and then carefully sneaking away under cover of the rocks and trees. "I got down off my horse to look at a saddlebag that apparently fell off of some other cowboy's horse, and while I wasn't looking, my horse absquatulated and sneaked away. I had to walk five miles before somebody gave me a ride in their wagon. (Yes, instead of "sneaked," they would surely have said "snuck," a slang word that is not accepted as proper, but is nonetheless quite popular even today.)
     
  18. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    ^^^
    All words are made up.

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  19. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    loquacity - quality of talking a great deal; talkativeness

    (Hours ago I had a word I wanted to post but now I forgot it. When I was thinking of saying that, I wanted to see if I could find a synonym for absent minded or forgetfulness. I found a site which listed over 100 for each but they were not synonyms at all. Someone has a much too broad definition of synonym.)

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    Last edited: Jul 21, 2017
  20. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Etrog (plural: etrogim, Hebrew: אֶתְרוֹג‎) is the yellow citron or Citrus medica used by Jewish people during the week-long holiday of Sukkot, as one of the four species. Together with a lulav, hadass and aravah, the etrog is to be taken in each Jewish hand.

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  21. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    Huh??? That was probably true many thousands of years ago when humans first began to use their vocal organs to communicate. But it certainly isn't true today, and hasn't been for a very long time.

    Yes, people do make up words, but not most people (especially not adults), and not very often.

    If you look at the list of new words that are added to any major dictionary-of-reference at the end of a year, you'll see that, while they are indeed new, they're hardly "made up." They're typically bits and pieces of existing words, combined in new ways--and in many case borrowed (partially or completely) from some other language. You may have to sit there staring at that dictionary for a very long time before you finally encounter a word that is completely fabricated out of nowhere.

    --Fraggle Rocker. They still haven't got me hooked up properly so I'm stuck using my real name for now.
     
  22. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    ^^^
    HUH!???!
    You say they are not made up then you explain the process by which they are made up.

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  23. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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