A.Word.A.Day--besaiel

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Oct 1, 2019
This week’s theme
There’s a word for it

This week’s words
thinko
besaiel

besaiel
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besaiel

PRONUNCIATION:
(bi-SAY-uhl)

MEANING:
noun: A grandfather’s father: great-grandfather.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Old French besayel/besaiol, from Latin bis (twice) + avolus, diminutive of avus (grandfather). Earliest documented use: 1480.

NOTES:
A grandfather is an aiel, a great-grandfather a besaiel, a great-great-grandfather a tresaiel. Now that you know the pattern, feel free to coin words beyond your grandfather’s grandfather. Also, now that you know what to call them, who’s your besaiel?

USAGE:
“She is met by Rickhill for the defendant alleging an older fine made in the thirteenth year of Edward II, great-grandfather (besaiel) of King Richard now reigning.”
Michigan Law Review; University of Michigan (Ann Arbor); 1915.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
For there is no friend like a sister / In calm or stormy weather; / To cheer one on the tedious way, / To fetch one if one goes astray, / To lift one if one totters down, / To strengthen whilst one stands. -Christina Rossetti, poet (1830-1894)

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A.Word.A.Day--thinko

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Sep 30, 2019
This week’s theme
There’s a word for it

This week’s words
thinko

chair socks
Previous week’s theme
Random words
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Here in Seattle, in a Japanese store called Daiso, I came across chair socks.* That’s when I realized how neglectful I had been of the furniture that serves me so faithfully year after year. A chair sock is one of those things that you don’t know you need until you see it. And then you think: Why not? Winter is coming (at least in the northern hemisphere), so keep your chairs’ feet warm and your conscience clear.

In this week’s A.Word.A.Day we’ll feature words that you don’t realize you need until you see them. These are words that might make you say: I didn’t know there was a word for it.

*Apparently Amazon has them too.

thinko

PRONUNCIATION:
(THING-koh)

MEANING:
noun: A careless error in thinking.

ETYMOLOGY:
From think, formed on the pattern of typo (typographical error). Earliest documented use: 1990s.

NOTES:
When someone makes a typo and spells “teh” instead of “the”, it’s not that they don’t know the spelling of the word “the”. A thinko works the same way: it’s a glitch in one’s thinking, perhaps due to a distraction, tiredness, etc.

USAGE:
“Jordan Edwards, a black 15-year-old, was in the passenger seat of a car at a house party in Balch Springs, near Dallas, when he was shot and killed by a policeman with a rifle. The policeman’s boss later told reporters that the car had been driving ‘aggressively’ backwards towards the officer. But after reviewing body-camera footage, it came to light that the car had been heading away from, not towards the officer. The police chief’s retraction? ‘I misspoke.’ ... But the Balch Springs police chief ... went beyond thinkos.”
Hit and Misspeak; The Economist (London, UK); May 13, 2017.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. -Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (30 Sep 1928-2016)

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A.Word.A.Day--contumacy

 Wordsmith.orgThe magic of words 


Sep 27, 2019
This week’s theme
Random words

This week’s words
hebetic
eventide
cacophony
indefeasible
contumacy

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contumacy

PRONUNCIATION:
(KON-too/tyoo-muh-see)

MEANING:
noun: Stubborn rebelliousness or insubordination.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin contumacia, from contumax (insolent). Earliest documented use: 1386.

USAGE:
“But knowing that a failure to comply might very well be regarded as contumacy, I reluctantly surrendered the names.”
Catherine Jinks; The Inquisitor; St. Martin’s Minotaur; 2002.

See more usage examples of contumacy in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin. -Samuel Adams, revolutionary (27 Sep 1722-1803)

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A.Word.A.Day--indefeasible

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Sep 26, 2019
This week’s theme
Random words

This week’s words
hebetic
eventide
cacophony
indefeasible

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indefeasible

PRONUNCIATION:
(in-di-FEE-zuh-buhl)

MEANING:
adjective: Not subject to being revised, defeated, or annulled.

ETYMOLOGY:
From in- (not) + defeasible, from Old French desfaire (to undo or destroy), from Latin dis- (apart, away) + facere (to do). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dhe- (to set or put), which is also the source of do, deed, factory, fashion, face, rectify, defeat, sacrifice, satisfy, Sanskrit sandhi (joining), Urdu purdah (veil or curtain), and Russian duma (council). Earliest documented use: 1548.

USAGE:
“The document states, ‘The Hellenic Republic considers itself to be a proud and indefeasible member of the European Union and an irrevocable member of the euro zone.’”
Greece Submits Fresh List of Reforms; Irish Times (Dublin); Apr 2, 2015.

See more usage examples of indefeasible in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
In a world of fugitives, the person taking the opposite direction will appear to run away. -T.S. Eliot, poet (26 Sep 1888-1965)

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A.Word.A.Day--cacophony

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Sep 25, 2019
This week’s theme
Random words

This week’s words
hebetic
eventide
cacophony

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cacophony

PRONUNCIATION:
(kuh-KOF-uh-nee)

MEANING:
noun: A harsh mixture of sounds.

ETYMOLOGY:
From French cacophonie, from Greek kakophonia (harsh sounding), from kakos (bad) + phone (sound). Kakos is ultimately from the Indo-European root kakka-/kaka- (to defecate), which also gave us poppycock, cucking stool, cacology, and cacography. Earliest documented use: 1656.

USAGE:
“The goat’s noisy discontent joined in the cacophony of human and animal sounds.”
Rebecca Kertz; A Secret Amish Love; Mills & Boon Love Inspired; 2017.

See more usage examples of cacophony in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
If we listen, the air is heavy with poems, ripe for plucking. -Yahia Lababidi, aphorist (b. 25 Sep 1973)

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