Word Of The Day

The Word of the Day for February 25 is:

scintilla • \sin-TILL-uh\ • noun • Latin

• A minute amount; an iota or trace.
• A spark; a flash.

Example sentence:
After the witness's frank and bruising testimony, neither my brother nor I was left with a scintilla of doubt that the defendant was guilty.

Did you know?
"Scintilla" comes directly from Latin, where it carries the meaning of "spark" — that is, a bright flash such as you might see from a burning ember. In English, however, our use of "scintilla" is restricted to the figurative sense of "spark" — a hint or trace of something that barely suggests its presence. The Latin "scintilla" is related to the verb "scintillare," which means "to sparkle" and is responsible for our verb "scintillate" ("to sparkle or gleam," literally or figuratively). In an odd twist, "scintilla" underwent a transposition of the "c" and the "t" (a linguistic phenomenon known as metathesis) to create the Vulgar Latin form "stincilla," which is believed to be an ancestor of our word "stencil."

Word Of The Day

The Word of the Day for February 07 is:

parsimonious \par-suh-MOH-nee-us\ adjective

1 : frugal to the point of stinginess
: sparing, restrained
: Ungenerously or pettily reluctant to spend money

Example sentence:
My parsimonious brother refuses to buy the candy his daughter sells as a school fund raiser because he thinks it is overpriced.

Did you know?
English isn't stingy when it comes to synonyms of "parsimonious." "Stingy," "close," "penurious," and "miserly" are a few terms that, like "parsimonious," suggest an unwillingness to share with others. "Stingy" implies a marked lack of generosity, whereas "close" suggests keeping a tight grip on one's money and possessions. "Penurious" implies frugality that gives an appearance of actual poverty, and "miserly" suggests avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding. "Parsimonious" usually suggests an extreme frugality that borders on stinginess.

Word Of The Day

The Word of the Day for February 05 is:

concinnity \kun-SIH-nuh-tee\ noun

1. Harmony in the arrangement or inter arrangement of     parts with respect to a whole.
2. Studied elegance and facility in style of expression:
“He has what one character calls ‘the gifts of concinnity and concision,’ that deft swipe with a phrase that can be so devastating in children” (Elizabeth Ward).
3. An instance of harmonious arrangement or studied elegance and facility.

Example sentence:
Julia maintains that no modern play can rival the concinnity of the classical Greek tragedies.

Did you know?
The Romans apparently found perfect harmony in a well-mixed drink. The cocktail in question was a beverage they called "cinnus," and so agreeably concordant did they find it that its name apparently inspired the formation of "concinnare," a verb meaning "to place fitly together." "Concinnare" gave rise to "concinnus," meaning "skillfully put together," which in turn fermented into "concinnitas." English speakers added the word to our mix in the 1500s as "concinnity."

Word Of The Day

The Word of the Day for January 16, 2007 is:

perceptible • \per-SEP-tuh-bul\ • adjective • french

: capable of being perceived especially by the senses

Example Sentence:
The smell of onions in the kitchen was barely perceptible to me, but Laura found it overwhelmingly pungent.

Did you know?
If something is "perceptible," you can "capture" it with your senses. "Perceptible" traces back to the Latin word "capere," which means "to take," combined with the prefix "per-," which means "thoroughly." It shares the "capere" part of its ancestry with a number of other English words related to seizing or being seized, including "capture," "captor," "captivate," and even "catch."

Smulch's Note: The above is according to Merriam-Webster, My research dug up the following; Late Latin translation of perceptible is perceptibilis or to perceive. Modern translation of perceptible is percipere or to break it down like they did, the "per" prefix, which in modern Latin means throughout or thoroughly, and the base word of "cipere" is to receive, welcome, or take in.
The Modern definition of percipere is; To lay hold of, seize, to collect, gather, harvest, gain, with the senses, to feel mentally, to learn, grasp, understand.

The only place I can link perceptible to percapere is Merriam-Webster.

Word Of The Day

The Word of the Day for January 15, 2007 is:

amuse-bouche • \AH-mooz-BOOSH\ • noun • French
: a small complimentary appetizer offered at some restaurants

Example Sentence:
"Meals start with a complimentary amuse-bouche and basket of bread with a ramekin of herb butter." (Linda Bladholm, The Miami Herald, November 30, 2006)

Did you know?
In French, "amuse bouche" means literally "it amuses the mouth." The French were using "amuse-bouche" as a word for appetizers when English speakers embraced the culinary term almost a quarter of a century ago. The French are more likely to use their term "amuse-geule" for those tasty tidbits, however; and in English "amuse-bouche" has a special meaning. It's not just any appetizer! Typically, it's a tiny complimentary one that seems to have taxed the creative powers of the chef to the utmost for the amusement of the diners (e.g., a tiny beet-puree-filled taco; a tiny square of halibut-and-salmon cake; fig molasses on a tiny cube of goat cheese).