Words of the Day, Fall 2017

Week 1

These words were those "thingamajig" and "whatchamacallit" kinds of words.

ferrule:  the cap at the end of the staff of an umbrella

pintle:  the verticl pin inserted in a hinge

aglet:  the plastic end of a shoe lace

opisthenar:  the back of the hand

Week 2

RSVP – French, "Répondez s'il vous plaît" -- Please respond; a request for a response to an invitation

déjà vu – French, "already seen" -- the feeling that a situation has already occurred

du jour – French, "of the day" -- used to describe something that is being served on the day or of a current interest

faux pas – French, "false step" -- a slip or slight blunder

bon voyage – French, "good travels" -- an expression used to express good wishes on a journey

Week 3

alma mater -- Latin, "nourishing mother" -- refers to the high school or college from which you graduated

cum laude -- Latin, "with praise" -- a distinction when graduating that refers to a certain grade point average.  Similarly, magna cum laude means "with great praise" and summa cum laude means "with highest praise."

femme fatale -- French, "a dangerous woman" -- a stock character in film noir, in modern film or novels, this is an attractive woman who leads others into dangerous situations

esprit de corps -- French, "the spirit of the body" -- a feeling of pride or fellowship with a certain group of people.

Week 4

verbatim – fr. Latin, verbum, "word" -- to repeat something word for word

E pluribus unum -- Latin, "out of many, one" -- the motto for the US, recognizing the melting pot and diversity that constitutes our country

prima donna -- Latin/Italian, "first lady" -- traditionally the leading female singer in an opera, but also a temperamental and demanding celebrity

avant-garde -- French, "advance guard" -- art, architecture, music, fashion that is cutting edge, experimental, or innovative

Week 5

status quo – Latin, "the state in which" -- refers to the existing state of affairs or condition

joie de vivre – French, "joy of life" -- an exuberant joyfulness in living

carte blanche – French, "blank check" -- complete freedom to act as one wishes, unrestrained power

caveat emptor – Latin, "Let the buyer beware" -- refers to the buyer's responsibility to check the quality of the goods before purchasing

Week 6

Below are the Words of the Day, taken from my foreign words and phrases book:

cappuccino -- fr. Italian, Capuchin, an order of monks who wore light brown habits -- a coffee drink made from espresso, steamed milk, and foam

carabiner -- fr. German, Karabinerhaken, carbine hook -- a metal ring with a spring catch used by mountain climbers

carafe -- fr. Arabic, gharrafah, a drinking vessel -- a wide-mouthed glass or metal bottle for serving beverages

carousel -- fr. French, carrousel, a knight's tournament -- a rotating platform carnival ride with horses as seats.

    Note:  Some may be interested in this bit of trivia  -- a carousel can only have horses, while a merry-go-round can use other animals for the seats of the ride.

Week 7

c'est la vie – French, "that is life" -- an expression that refers to the fact that all kinds of stuff happens in life.  Some students once suggested that "Whatever" might be a comparable English expression

bona fide – Latin, "in good faith" -- refers to something that is true or verifiable

savior faire – French, "know how to do" -- a quality of accomplishment, polish, tact, or sophistication

enfant terrible – French, "a terrible child" -- can refer to a misbehaving child or to a person who intentionally tries to shock others

je ne sais quoi – French, "I do not know what" -- a quality that can not be easily described, something inexpressible

Week 8

Our Words of the Day came from my book of foreign words and phrases:

chapeau -- fr. French, chapeau, "hat" -- fr. Latin cappellum, "cap" -- a hat or cap

charade -- fr. French, charra, "chatter" -- an absurd pretense intended to create a pleasant or respectable appearance.

charisma -- fr. Greek, kharis, gift, favor, grace

Week 9

idee fixe -- fr. French, "fixed idea" -- an obsession or set ideas

id est -- fr. Latin, “that is” – the abbreviation, i.e., means that a further explanation is following.

icon -- fr. Greek, eikon, "likeness" -- a pictorial representation of a religious image; a painting or statue evoking reverence

exemplar gratia – fr. Latin, “for the sake of example” – the abbreviation, e.g., means that an example to illustrate a point is following.

Week 10

Our Words of the Day were ghost words.  In 1886, a lexicographer named Walter Skeat first used the phrase "ghost words" to describe words that he said had "no real existence."  Ghost words are words that weren't real to begin with -- they came about because of an error or misunderstanding -- but they made it into the dictionary anyway.

gravy – fr. the French, "graine" -- became a word when a 14th century misread a French cookbook and substituted a "v" for an "n"

tweed – fr. the Scottish word "tweel," which is a type of wool and from which we got the word "twill."  Some think the word was misheard as the Tweed River.

Dord -- the original dictionary was supposed to be "D or d" (capital "d" or lowercase "d") as an abbreviation for density in physics or chemistry.  Whoever worked for the dictionary misread it as a word spelled d-o-r-d.  It entered the dictionary in 1934 and was taken out in 1947.

esquivalience -- This is not a real word at all but was invented by an editor at the New Oxford American Dictionary and was included in the 2001 edition to help the company track copyright violators who were lifting entries from the dictionary.

Week 11

enchilada -- fr. Spanish, enchilado, "seasoned with chili" -- a tortilla rolled and filled with a seasoned mixture and covered with a sauce flavored with chili. 

encore -- fr. French, encore, "once again" -- a repeat or extra performance in response to the demands of an audience

en garde -- fr. French, en garde, "watch out, beware" -- an interjection used by fencers at the beginning of a match

enigma -- fr Greek, ainigma, riddles or fable -- a puzzle or mystery

ennui -- French, enui, -- "annoyance, disturbance" -- a feeling of utter weariness, boredom, or tedium

Week 12

chaconne -- fr. French,  a dance -- a musical piece characterized by a continuous variation, a triple (waltz) meter, and a strong repeating bass line

blep -- origin unknown -- the act of a cat sticking its tongue out slightly without realizing it (not in any recognized dictionaries, but in Urban Dictionary)

poobah -- fr. Poo-Bah, a comic character in The Mikado -- a pompous, self-important person

lollygag – mid-19th century, unknown origin -- to dawdle or dilly dally

Student  contributions:

petrichor -- a pleasant smell after it rains

klazomaniac -- a person who can only speak by shouting

zounderkite -- a Victorian word meaning "idiot"

scobblelotcher -- someone who avoids work

Week 13

elan -- fr. French elan -- enthusiasm, zest, spirit

lumpenproletariat --fr, German, "rags," fr. French "working class" -- a term adopted by Karl Marx, this refers to the poor, working class.

vindaloo -- Indo-Portuguese, vinha d'alho "wine of garlic" -- a spicy, Indian curry