Word of the day

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Richard Frost
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Word of the day

Post by Richard Frost » Wed Jul 22 2020 1:55pm

Word of the Day : July 22, 2020

requisite

adjective

REK-wuh-zutPrevNext

Definition
: needed for a particular purpose : essential, necessary

Did You Know?
Acquiring an understanding of where requisite comes from won't require a formal inquiry. Without question, the quest begins with Latin quaerere, which means "to ask" or "to seek." That word is ancestor to a number of English words, including acquire, require, inquiry, question, quest, and, of course, requisite. From quaerere came requirere, meaning "to ask again." Repeated requests can express a need, and the past participle of Latin requirere, which is requisitus, came to mean "needed" or "necessary." English acquired requisite when it was adopted into Middle English back in the 1400s.

Examples
"Once the application process was formalized, the Institute received nearly two hundred applications from women all across the country; other women interested in applying had been turned away because they didn't have the requisite qualifications." — Maggie Doherty, The Equivalents, 2020

"More chile sauce, if you want a vinegary zing, is on the tables, along with the requisite paper towels. As for that stellar taco, it's made with the same flavorful carnitas with … a drizzle of avocado crema that sets off taste-tingling fireworks." — The Texas Monthly, 26 Feb. 2020
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Re: Word of the day

Post by Richard Frost » Thu Jul 23 2020 9:49am

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020 - https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-day/

clamber

[ klam-ber, klam-er ]
verb (used with or without object)

to climb, using both feet and hands; climb with effort or difficulty.

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF CLAMBER?
Clamber, “to climb using hands and feet, with effort or difficulty,” comes from Middle English clambren (also clameren, clemeren), possibly a frequentative verb from climben (also clemme, climme, klimbe, clomme) “to climb.” Further etymology is unsatisfying: it has been suggested that clamber is a blend of Old English climban “to climb” and clæmman “to press”; clamber is akin to Old Norse klambra “to hook onto,” and Middle High German klamben and German klammern, both meaning “to clamp tightly.” Clamber entered English in the second half of the 14th century.

HOW IS CLAMBER USED?
Outdoor restaurant tables and chairs could be seen bobbing in the waters, and tourists were forced to clamber through the windows of high-end hotels as the water rose to about six feet before 11 p.m. on Tuesday. - ELISABETTA POVOLEDO, "VENICE FLOODING BRINGS CITY TO 'ITS KNEES,'" NEW YORK TIMES, NOVEMBER 13, 2019

He began to clamber as fast as he could out of the enclosed space, his feet scrabbling at the wall and knocking bricks free. - MATTHEW HUGHES, "JEWEL OF THE HEART," FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
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Word of the day

Post by Richard Frost » Fri Jul 24 2020 11:02am

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020 - https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-day/

taciturn

[ tas-i-turn ]
adjective

inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join in conversation.

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF TACITURN?
Taciturn ultimately derives from Latin taciturnus “keeping silent, saying nothing, silent by habit or disposition,” a derivative of tacitus, past participle of tacēre “to say nothing, be silent.” Tacēre and its derivatives come from an uncommon Proto-Indo-European root tak-, takē- “to be silent.” Tak- regularly becomes thah- in Germanic, yielding Gothic thahan “to keep silent, hold one’s peace,” and Old Icelandic thagna “become silent.” Tak- in Celtic yields Welsh tagu and Breton taga “strangling, choking” (one way of obtaining silence). Taciturn entered English in the 18th century.

HOW IS TACITURN USED?
But there at the depot was her husband, the taciturn man who kept his emotions to himself … - ISABEL WILKERSON, THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS, 2010

Ernő Rubik has often been painted as a taciturn loner, a grudging genius who built a beautiful object he hoped would create an introspective space where individuals could consider the elegance of geometry, and who instead became an icon for one of the great marketing crazes of all time. - STEFANY ANNE GOLDBERG, "PUZZLED: THE RUBIK'S CUBE AT 30." THE SMART SET, APRIL 13, 2010

If only Thunderbog would be more taciturn
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Re: Word of the day

Post by macliam » Fri Jul 24 2020 11:53am

That would be a taciturn-up for the books!
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Word of the day

Post by Richard Frost » Sat Jul 25 2020 8:59am

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2020 - https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-day/

coffers

[ kaw-ferz, kof-erz ]
plural noun

funds, especially of a government or corporation.

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF COFFERS?
English coffers, “treasury, funds,” is the plural of coffer, “box, chest (for valuables).” The Middle English cofre (and coffre, coffer) had the same senses in the singular and plural. Middle English cofre comes from Old French cofre, from Latin cophinus “basket, hamper,” from Greek kóphinos “big basket; unit of measure.” Cophinus, going the easy way, yields coffin in English via Old French coffin “basket; coffer; sarcophagus.” (Latin ph from Greek words frequently becomes f in the Romance languages.) Cophinus, going the hard way, becomes cophn(o); the n then dissimilates to r, cofn(o) becoming cofre, just as Latin Londinium “London” becomes Londn(ium), the second n dissimilating to Londr- (Londres in Modern French). Coffers entered English in the 13th century.

HOW IS COFFERS USED?
For decades, American presidential campaigns have churned out enormous quantities of swag—$5 buttons, $15 mugs, $75 guacamole bowls—to promote candidates, fill campaign coffers and gather sophisticated data about supporters. - MIHIR ZAVERI AND ALAN YUHAS, "WHERE DOES ALL THE SWAG GO AFTER CAMPAIGNS FAIL? EVERYWHERE," NEW YORK TIMES, FEBRUARY 25, 2020

[The team] required shareholders to buy six season tickets, hoping to fill the bleachers and the coffers in a single go. - AUSTIN SMITH, "THE LORDS OF LAMBEAU," HARPER'S MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2017

Following COVID19 The UK government coffers at the moment look pretty empty.
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Re: Word of the day

Post by macliam » Sat Jul 25 2020 1:16pm

I find the definition incorrect as it is only a secondary meaning. Coffers is just the plural of Coffer, a chest or strongbox in which funds may be kept ..... and therefore, only refers indirectly, to the funds themselves. However a Coffer can hold more than money and is regularly used to describe any strong box-like structure.... e.g., the area between canal gates that can be pumped out - and by extension the coffer dam which allows a similar process elsewhere.
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Re: Word of the day

Post by Richard Frost » Sat Jul 25 2020 1:39pm

This from Bing.

coffer

[ˈkɒfə]
NOUN

coffers (plural noun)
a strongbox or small chest for holding valuables.
"a battered leather coffer sealed with a waxen crest"

synonyms:
strongbox · money box · cash box · money chest · treasure chest · casket · trunk · box · safe · safety-deposit box · safe-deposit box · repository

(coffers)
the funds or financial reserves of an organization.
"there is not enough money in the coffers to finance the reforms"

synonyms:
fund · funds · reserves · resources · money · finances · wealth · cash

a decorative sunken panel in a ceiling.
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Word of the day

Post by Richard Frost » Sun Jul 26 2020 10:24am

SUNDAY, JULY 26, 2020 - https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-day/

anfractuous

[ an-frak-choo-uhs ]
adjective

characterized by windings and turnings; sinuous; circuitous: an anfractuous path.

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF ANFRACTUOUS?
Anfractuous ultimately comes from the Late Latin adjective ānfrāctuōsus, a term in rhetoric meaning “roundabout, prolix,” and first used by St. Augustine of Hippo in one of his sermons. Ānfrāctuōsus is a derivative of the noun ānfrāctus (also āmfrāctus) “a bend, curve, circular motion, digression, recurrence,” formed by the prefix am-, an-, a rare variant of ambi– “both, around, about,” and a derivative of the verb frangere “to break, shatter, smash.” Anfractuous entered English in the early 15th century.

HOW IS ANFRACTUOUS USED?
Then, as the road resumed its anfractuous course, clinging to the extreme margin of this tumbled and chaotic coast, the fun began. - JONATHAN RABAN, "THE GETAWAY CAR," NEW YORK TIMES, JUNE 10, 2011

Chavis endured a bumpy, anfractuous trip …. He started with a turbulent flight from Syracuse, where the Pawtucket Red Sox were stationed, to Detroit. Then another flight from Detroit to Tampa. - CHRISTOPHER L. GASPER, "'THAT WAS AWESOME, DUDE!' — MICHAEL CHAVIS ENJOYS HIS RED SOX DEBUT," BOSTON GLOBE, APRIL 21, 2019
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Word of the day

Post by Richard Frost » Mon Jul 27 2020 10:29am

MONDAY, JULY 27, 2020 - https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-day/

scattergood

[ skat-er-good ]
noun

a person who spends possessions or money extravagantly or wastefully; spendthrift.

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF SCATTERGOOD?
The rare noun scattergood is a compound of the verb scatter and the noun good in the sense “possessions, personal property” (the plural form goods is the usual, modern form). An early, pungent citation of scattergood appears in the works of a 17th-century Anglican priest, William Brough, “If the first heir be not a Scattergood, the third is commonly a Lose-all” (spelling slightly modernized). Scattergood entered English in the second half of the 16th century.

HOW IS SCATTERGOOD USED?
they are a pleasant couple, but it would be folly to bequeath the whole of my estate to a pair of such scattergoods. - "A STRIKING LEGACY," TRUTH, AUGUST 25, 1881

And now, my lords, there is that young scattergood the Laird of Bucklaw’s fine to be disposed upon. I suppose it goes to my Lord Treasurer? - SIR WALTER SCOTT, THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR, 1819

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Re: Word of the day

Post by macliam » Mon Jul 27 2020 1:34pm

Spendthrift seems a better option - people used to say "gadzooks", but we don't today....
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