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Today's word is gorgonian, after Gorgon, any of the
three monstrous sisters in Greek mythology, who had snakes for hair: Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. Earliest documented use: 1616.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/gorgonian.html
Today's word is sleeveless, from sleeve, from Old English sliefe + less, from Old English laes (less). Earliest documented use: 950. Also see shirtsleeve.
What does a sleeve have to do with profit? In former times, a lady would give her detachable sleeve (also known as a maunch/manche, from French) to a knight as a symbol of love and he would wear it as he went around in his adventures. A knight without a sleeve was, well, sleeveless. The Encyclopedia Britannica (1880) mentions: “Bayard took a lady’s sleeve and proclaimed it, with a valuable ruby, as a prize to be contended for.”
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/sleeveless.html
VIRTLANTIS is a free resource and open community of practice for language learners and teachers in the virtual world of Second Life®. We offer free informal language learning activities for a growing number of languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, etc. All of our activities are offered free of charge by volunteer language teachers and/or native speakers.
Everyone is welcome to offer a language activity at VIRTLANTIS. We provide free resources and ongoing support. We also collaborate with and promote other language communities in Second Life.
In addition to our main island and the various social meeting points at Knowingly, we have additional locations which can be used when needed.
If you are interested in participating in any of our current activities or would like to offer your own language activity, feel free to contact us in-world, on Facebook, on Skype or via e-mail: info@virtlantis.com.
*In order to visit VIRTLANTIS, you will need to join Second Life and install a Second Life viewer.*
Join Second Life here: join.secondlife.com.
Download the default viewer here: secondlife.com/support/downloads.
A list of alternate viewers can be found here: wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Third_Party_Viewer_Directory.
Official VIRTLANTIS Website:
Teleport Link:
slurl.com/secondlife/Knowingly/99/141/21
Free Language Activities Calendar:
www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=virtlantis%40googlemail...
Free Language Learning/Teaching Resources:
www.virtlantis.com/resources.html
Free Event Hosting & Support:
www.virtlantis.com/events.html
Social Meeting Points @ VIRTLANTIS:
www.virtlantis.com/slurls.html
Facebook Community Site:
Contact Info:
Have questions? No problem! Send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world. Please also feel free to contact us via Skype: ID = VIRTLANTIS
NEW!
In addition to providing our main island as a free resource, we now have a second island which can be used for special language or culture related events such as presentations, workshops, seminars, roundtables, conferences, demos, concerts and parties!
Our new "Paradise Island" can be used free of charge by anyone who needs a private or public space for a large event (maximum 20 avatars). We gladly provide additional support and resources on an as needed basis. We can also modify the look and feel of the island to help create the ideal atmosphere for your event.
*To reserve and make use of Paradise Island, simply send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world.*
VIRTLANTIS is a non-profit project of the Oxford School for English, a private language school located in Germany and Austria. It is also a collaborative effort which includes language teachers and learners from all over the world.
Oxford School for English:
www.oxfordschool.de | www.oxfordschool.at
Disclaimer: Second Life® and Linden Lab® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No infringement is intended.
VIRTLANTIS is a free resource and open community of practice for language learners and teachers in the virtual world of Second Life®. We offer free informal language learning activities for a growing number of languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, etc. All of our activities are offered free of charge by volunteer language teachers and/or native speakers.
Everyone is welcome to offer a language activity at VIRTLANTIS. We provide free resources and ongoing support. We also collaborate with and promote other language communities in Second Life.
In addition to our main island and the various social meeting points at Knowingly, we have additional locations which can be used when needed.
If you are interested in participating in any of our current activities or would like to offer your own language activity, feel free to contact us in-world, on Facebook, on Skype or via e-mail: info@virtlantis.com.
*In order to visit VIRTLANTIS, you will need to join Second Life and install a Second Life viewer.*
Join Second Life here: join.secondlife.com.
Download the default viewer here: secondlife.com/support/downloads.
A list of alternate viewers can be found here: wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Third_Party_Viewer_Directory.
Official VIRTLANTIS Website:
Teleport Link:
slurl.com/secondlife/Knowingly/99/141/21
Free Language Activities Calendar:
www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=virtlantis%40googlemail...
Free Language Learning/Teaching Resources:
www.virtlantis.com/resources.html
Free Event Hosting & Support:
www.virtlantis.com/events.html
Social Meeting Points @ VIRTLANTIS:
www.virtlantis.com/slurls.html
Facebook Community Site:
Contact Info:
Have questions? No problem! Send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world. Please also feel free to contact us via Skype: ID = VIRTLANTIS
NEW!
In addition to providing our main island as a free resource, we now have a second island which can be used for special language or culture related events such as presentations, workshops, seminars, roundtables, conferences, demos, concerts and parties!
Our new "Paradise Island" can be used free of charge by anyone who needs a private or public space for a large event (maximum 20 avatars). We gladly provide additional support and resources on an as needed basis. We can also modify the look and feel of the island to help create the ideal atmosphere for your event.
*To reserve and make use of Paradise Island, simply send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world.*
VIRTLANTIS is a non-profit project of the Oxford School for English, a private language school located in Germany and Austria. It is also a collaborative effort which includes language teachers and learners from all over the world.
Oxford School for English:
www.oxfordschool.de | www.oxfordschool.at
Disclaimer: Second Life® and Linden Lab® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No infringement is intended.
VIRTLANTIS is a free resource and open community of practice for language learners and teachers in the virtual world of Second Life®. We offer free informal language learning activities for a growing number of languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, etc. All of our activities are offered free of charge by volunteer language teachers and/or native speakers.
Everyone is welcome to offer a language activity at VIRTLANTIS. We provide free resources and ongoing support. We also collaborate with and promote other language communities in Second Life.
In addition to our main island and the various social meeting points at Knowingly, we have additional locations which can be used when needed.
If you are interested in participating in any of our current activities or would like to offer your own language activity, feel free to contact us in-world, on Facebook, on Skype or via e-mail: info@virtlantis.com.
*In order to visit VIRTLANTIS, you will need to join Second Life and install a Second Life viewer.*
Join Second Life here: join.secondlife.com.
Download the default viewer here: secondlife.com/support/downloads.
A list of alternate viewers can be found here: wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Third_Party_Viewer_Directory.
Official VIRTLANTIS Website:
Teleport Link:
slurl.com/secondlife/Knowingly/99/141/21
Free Language Activities Calendar:
www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=virtlantis%40googlemail...
Free Language Learning/Teaching Resources:
www.virtlantis.com/resources.html
Free Event Hosting & Support:
www.virtlantis.com/events.html
Social Meeting Points @ VIRTLANTIS:
www.virtlantis.com/slurls.html
Facebook Community Site:
Contact Info:
Have questions? No problem! Send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world. Please also feel free to contact us via Skype: ID = VIRTLANTIS
NEW!
In addition to providing our main island as a free resource, we now have a second island which can be used for special language or culture related events such as presentations, workshops, seminars, roundtables, conferences, demos, concerts and parties!
Our new "Paradise Island" can be used free of charge by anyone who needs a private or public space for a large event (maximum 20 avatars). We gladly provide additional support and resources on an as needed basis. We can also modify the look and feel of the island to help create the ideal atmosphere for your event.
*To reserve and make use of Paradise Island, simply send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world.*
VIRTLANTIS is a non-profit project of the Oxford School for English, a private language school located in Germany and Austria. It is also a collaborative effort which includes language teachers and learners from all over the world.
Oxford School for English:
www.oxfordschool.de | www.oxfordschool.at
Disclaimer: Second Life® and Linden Lab® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No infringement is intended.
Today's word is carapace, from French carapace (shell), from Spanish carapacho (shell). Earliest documented use: 1835.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/carapace.html
Today's word is refoulement. Originally the term refoulement referred to the overflowing of a river or of the water being dammed back due to the accumulation of ice. Today, non-refoulement is a principle of international law prohibiting turning away refugees and asylum seekers to a place they
are fleeing from.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/refoulement.html
VIRTLANTIS is a free resource and open community of practice for language learners and teachers in the virtual world of Second Life®. We offer free informal language learning activities for a growing number of languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, etc. All of our activities are offered free of charge by volunteer language teachers and/or native speakers.
Everyone is welcome to offer a language activity at VIRTLANTIS. We provide free resources and ongoing support. We also collaborate with and promote other language communities in Second Life.
In addition to our main island and the various social meeting points at Knowingly, we have additional locations which can be used when needed.
If you are interested in participating in any of our current activities or would like to offer your own language activity, feel free to contact us in-world, on Facebook, on Skype or via e-mail: info@virtlantis.com.
*In order to visit VIRTLANTIS, you will need to join Second Life and install a Second Life viewer.*
Join Second Life here: join.secondlife.com.
Download the default viewer here: secondlife.com/support/downloads.
A list of alternate viewers can be found here: wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Third_Party_Viewer_Directory.
Official VIRTLANTIS Website:
Teleport Link:
slurl.com/secondlife/Knowingly/99/141/21
Free Language Activities Calendar:
www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=virtlantis%40googlemail...
Free Language Learning/Teaching Resources:
www.virtlantis.com/resources.html
Free Event Hosting & Support:
www.virtlantis.com/events.html
Social Meeting Points @ VIRTLANTIS:
www.virtlantis.com/slurls.html
Facebook Community Site:
Contact Info:
Have questions? No problem! Send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world. Please also feel free to contact us via Skype: ID = VIRTLANTIS
NEW!
In addition to providing our main island as a free resource, we now have a second island which can be used for special language or culture related events such as presentations, workshops, seminars, roundtables, conferences, demos, concerts and parties!
Our new "Paradise Island" can be used free of charge by anyone who needs a private or public space for a large event (maximum 20 avatars). We gladly provide additional support and resources on an as needed basis. We can also modify the look and feel of the island to help create the ideal atmosphere for your event.
*To reserve and make use of Paradise Island, simply send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world.*
VIRTLANTIS is a non-profit project of the Oxford School for English, a private language school located in Germany and Austria. It is also a collaborative effort which includes language teachers and learners from all over the world.
Oxford School for English:
www.oxfordschool.de | www.oxfordschool.at
Disclaimer: Second Life® and Linden Lab® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No infringement is intended.
The KSL has acquired new microform reading and printing equipment as part of the Freedman Center. Staff are trained in its use as Carmen Rodgriguez makes some last-minute adjustments.
The final word in this week's theme "Words from nursery rhymes" is Simple Simon, after Simple Simon, a foolish boy in a nursery rhyme. Earliest documented use: 1673.
The first stanza of the nursery rhyme goes:
Simple Simon met a pieman
Going to the fair;
Said Simple Simon to the pieman,
“Let me taste your ware.”
In the rest of the poem, he fishes for a whale in a bucket, tries to roast a snowball, looks for plums on a thistle plant, and has other adventures.
Learn more, and see the rest of this week's words, at: wordsmith.org/words/simple_simon.html
VIRTLANTIS is a free resource and open community of practice for language learners and teachers in the virtual world of Second Life®. We offer free informal language learning activities for a growing number of languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, etc. All of our activities are offered free of charge by volunteer language teachers and/or native speakers.
Everyone is welcome to offer a language activity at VIRTLANTIS. We provide free resources and ongoing support. We also collaborate with and promote other language communities in Second Life.
In addition to our main island and the various social meeting points at Knowingly, we have additional locations which can be used when needed.
If you are interested in participating in any of our current activities or would like to offer your own language activity, feel free to contact us in-world, on Facebook, on Skype or via e-mail: info@virtlantis.com.
*In order to visit VIRTLANTIS, you will need to join Second Life and install a Second Life viewer.*
Join Second Life here: join.secondlife.com.
Download the default viewer here: secondlife.com/support/downloads.
A list of alternate viewers can be found here: wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Third_Party_Viewer_Directory.
Official VIRTLANTIS Website:
Teleport Link:
slurl.com/secondlife/Knowingly/99/141/21
Free Language Activities Calendar:
www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=virtlantis%40googlemail...
Free Language Learning/Teaching Resources:
www.virtlantis.com/resources.html
Free Event Hosting & Support:
www.virtlantis.com/events.html
Social Meeting Points @ VIRTLANTIS:
www.virtlantis.com/slurls.html
Facebook Community Site:
Contact Info:
Have questions? No problem! Send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world. Please also feel free to contact us via Skype: ID = VIRTLANTIS
NEW!
In addition to providing our main island as a free resource, we now have a second island which can be used for special language or culture related events such as presentations, workshops, seminars, roundtables, conferences, demos, concerts and parties!
Our new "Paradise Island" can be used free of charge by anyone who needs a private or public space for a large event (maximum 20 avatars). We gladly provide additional support and resources on an as needed basis. We can also modify the look and feel of the island to help create the ideal atmosphere for your event.
*To reserve and make use of Paradise Island, simply send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world.*
VIRTLANTIS is a non-profit project of the Oxford School for English, a private language school located in Germany and Austria. It is also a collaborative effort which includes language teachers and learners from all over the world.
Oxford School for English:
www.oxfordschool.de | www.oxfordschool.at
Disclaimer: Second Life® and Linden Lab® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No infringement is intended.
VIRTLANTIS is a free resource and open community of practice for language learners and teachers in the virtual world of Second Life®. We offer free informal language learning activities for a growing number of languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, etc. All of our activities are offered free of charge by volunteer language teachers and/or native speakers.
Everyone is welcome to offer a language activity at VIRTLANTIS. We provide free resources and ongoing support. We also collaborate with and promote other language communities in Second Life.
In addition to our main island and the various social meeting points at Knowingly, we have additional locations which can be used when needed.
If you are interested in participating in any of our current activities or would like to offer your own language activity, feel free to contact us in-world, on Facebook, on Skype or via e-mail: info@virtlantis.com.
*In order to visit VIRTLANTIS, you will need to join Second Life and install a Second Life viewer.*
Join Second Life here: join.secondlife.com.
Download the default viewer here: secondlife.com/support/downloads.
A list of alternate viewers can be found here: wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Third_Party_Viewer_Directory.
Official VIRTLANTIS Website:
Teleport Link:
slurl.com/secondlife/Knowingly/99/141/21
Free Language Activities Calendar:
www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=virtlantis%40googlemail...
Free Language Learning/Teaching Resources:
www.virtlantis.com/resources.html
Free Event Hosting & Support:
www.virtlantis.com/events.html
Social Meeting Points @ VIRTLANTIS:
www.virtlantis.com/slurls.html
Facebook Community Site:
Contact Info:
Have questions? No problem! Send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world. Please also feel free to contact us via Skype: ID = VIRTLANTIS
NEW!
In addition to providing our main island as a free resource, we now have a second island which can be used for special language or culture related events such as presentations, workshops, seminars, roundtables, conferences, demos, concerts and parties!
Our new "Paradise Island" can be used free of charge by anyone who needs a private or public space for a large event (maximum 20 avatars). We gladly provide additional support and resources on an as needed basis. We can also modify the look and feel of the island to help create the ideal atmosphere for your event.
*To reserve and make use of Paradise Island, simply send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world.*
VIRTLANTIS is a non-profit project of the Oxford School for English, a private language school located in Germany and Austria. It is also a collaborative effort which includes language teachers and learners from all over the world.
Oxford School for English:
www.oxfordschool.de | www.oxfordschool.at
Disclaimer: Second Life® and Linden Lab® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No infringement is intended.
VIRTLANTIS is a free resource and open community of practice for language learners and teachers in the virtual world of Second Life®. We offer free informal language learning activities for a growing number of languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, etc. All of our activities are offered free of charge by volunteer language teachers and/or native speakers.
Everyone is welcome to offer a language activity at VIRTLANTIS. We provide free resources and ongoing support. We also collaborate with and promote other language communities in Second Life.
In addition to our main island and the various social meeting points at Knowingly, we have additional locations which can be used when needed.
If you are interested in participating in any of our current activities or would like to offer your own language activity, feel free to contact us in-world, on Facebook, on Skype or via e-mail: info@virtlantis.com.
*In order to visit VIRTLANTIS, you will need to join Second Life and install a Second Life viewer.*
Join Second Life here: join.secondlife.com.
Download the default viewer here: secondlife.com/support/downloads.
A list of alternate viewers can be found here: wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Third_Party_Viewer_Directory.
Official VIRTLANTIS Website:
Teleport Link:
slurl.com/secondlife/Knowingly/99/141/21
Free Language Activities Calendar:
www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=virtlantis%40googlemail...
Free Language Learning/Teaching Resources:
www.virtlantis.com/resources.html
Free Event Hosting & Support:
www.virtlantis.com/events.html
Social Meeting Points @ VIRTLANTIS:
www.virtlantis.com/slurls.html
Facebook Community Site:
Contact Info:
Have questions? No problem! Send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world. Please also feel free to contact us via Skype: ID = VIRTLANTIS
NEW!
In addition to providing our main island as a free resource, we now have a second island which can be used for special language or culture related events such as presentations, workshops, seminars, roundtables, conferences, demos, concerts and parties!
Our new "Paradise Island" can be used free of charge by anyone who needs a private or public space for a large event (maximum 20 avatars). We gladly provide additional support and resources on an as needed basis. We can also modify the look and feel of the island to help create the ideal atmosphere for your event.
*To reserve and make use of Paradise Island, simply send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world.*
VIRTLANTIS is a non-profit project of the Oxford School for English, a private language school located in Germany and Austria. It is also a collaborative effort which includes language teachers and learners from all over the world.
Oxford School for English:
www.oxfordschool.de | www.oxfordschool.at
Disclaimer: Second Life® and Linden Lab® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No infringement is intended.
The final word in this week's theme "Words to describe people" is faitour, from Latin factor (maker, doer, perpetrator), from facere (to make or to do). Earliest documented use: 1340.
Learn more, and see the rest of this week's words at: wordsmith.org/words/faitour.html
VIRTLANTIS is a free language learning resource and community of practice in the virtual worlds of Second Life® and Avination®. We have been offering and facilitating free language learning activities since 2006.
What do we do at VIRTLANTIS?
We offer free informal learning activities for a growing number of languages: English, French, German, Spanish and more! Simply check out our activity calendar for additional information about our activities and how to participate.
Teleport Link (SLurl): maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VIRTLANTIS%20Community/178...
MORE INFO:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VIRTLANTIS Community/173/158/39
Today's word is eidolon, from Greek eidos (form, idea), ultimately from the Indo-European root weid- (to see), which also gave us wise, view, supervise, wit, eidos, and eidetic. Earliest recorded use: 1828.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/eidolon.html
Today's word is sukey, after Suki, a girl in the nursery rhyme “Polly Put the Kettle On”. Earliest documented use: 1803.
In the nursery rhyme “Polly Put the Kettle On”, a tea party is going on:
Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
We’ll all have tea.
Suki take it off again,
Suki take it off again,
Suki take it off again,
They’ve all gone away.
The two characters are girls and/or dolls named Polly (a pet form of the name Mary) and Suki (pet form of the names Susan/Susanna). Over time the the name Suki became an eponym for a tea-kettle.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/sukey.html
VIRTLANTIS is a free resource and open community of practice for language learners and teachers in the virtual world of Second Life®. We offer free informal language learning activities for a growing number of languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, etc. All of our activities are offered free of charge by volunteer language teachers and/or native speakers.
Everyone is welcome to offer a language activity at VIRTLANTIS. We provide free resources and ongoing support. We also collaborate with and promote other language communities in Second Life.
In addition to our main island and the various social meeting points at Knowingly, we have additional locations which can be used when needed.
If you are interested in participating in any of our current activities or would like to offer your own language activity, feel free to contact us in-world, on Facebook, on Skype or via e-mail: info@virtlantis.com.
*In order to visit VIRTLANTIS, you will need to join Second Life and install a Second Life viewer.*
Join Second Life here: join.secondlife.com.
Download the default viewer here: secondlife.com/support/downloads.
A list of alternate viewers can be found here: wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Third_Party_Viewer_Directory.
Official VIRTLANTIS Website:
Teleport Link:
slurl.com/secondlife/Knowingly/99/141/21
Free Language Activities Calendar:
www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=virtlantis%40googlemail...
Free Language Learning/Teaching Resources:
www.virtlantis.com/resources.html
Free Event Hosting & Support:
www.virtlantis.com/events.html
Social Meeting Points @ VIRTLANTIS:
www.virtlantis.com/slurls.html
Facebook Community Site:
Contact Info:
Have questions? No problem! Send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world. Please also feel free to contact us via Skype: ID = VIRTLANTIS
NEW!
In addition to providing our main island as a free resource, we now have a second island which can be used for special language or culture related events such as presentations, workshops, seminars, roundtables, conferences, demos, concerts and parties!
Our new "Paradise Island" can be used free of charge by anyone who needs a private or public space for a large event (maximum 20 avatars). We gladly provide additional support and resources on an as needed basis. We can also modify the look and feel of the island to help create the ideal atmosphere for your event.
*To reserve and make use of Paradise Island, simply send an e-mail to info@virtlantis.com or contact Kip Yellowjacket or Abraxas McAndrews in-world.*
VIRTLANTIS is a non-profit project of the Oxford School for English, a private language school located in Germany and Austria. It is also a collaborative effort which includes language teachers and learners from all over the world.
Oxford School for English:
www.oxfordschool.de | www.oxfordschool.at
Disclaimer: Second Life® and Linden Lab® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No infringement is intended.
The word "pentasyllabic" actually has five syllables. The term "seventeen-lettered" actually has 17 letters. TLA (Three-Letter Abbreviation) has three letters.
These are autological words -- words that exhibit the property they describe. The word "short" is short. The word "noun" is a noun. This week we'll feature five autological words.
What autological words can you think of? Share on our website wordsmith.org/words/verbify.html or email us at words@wordsmith.org. As always, include your location (city, state).
PS: The opposite of autological is heterological, words that don't apply to themselves. Example: the word "long" is not long. Most words fit this category so it's not very interesting. But is "heterological" heterological?
Today's word is verbify.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/verbify.html
Did you hear about the new competitor to the gas station chain Arco? They are calling it Pizzicato.*
This joke came to my mind the other day while I was filling my Prius. Next to the pump was a convenience store named ampm. I started thinking about other examples of counterparts of words: am/pm, AC/DC, treble/bass, aa/pahoehoe, and so on.
Those you knew. For this week’s A.Word.A.Day I have picked counterparts of words that are not as common.
What word is missing a counterpart? What would you like its counterpart to be? Share below or email us at words@wordsmith.org. As always, include your location (city, state).
*What the pluck does that mean?! If you find yourself scratching your head, consult your nearest violinist.
Arco: Playing a violin or another string instrument with a bow (from Italian arco: bow)
Pizzicato: Playing by plucking the strings instead (from Italian pizzicare: to pluck)
The gas store name Arco is an initialism for Atlantic Richfield Company. There’s no music in oil.
Not even rock music, even though petroleum is, literally, rock oil.
Today's word is materteral, from Latin matertera (maternal aunt), from mater- (mother). Ultimately from the Indo-European root mater (mother), which also gave us mother, material, matter, matrix, and matrimony. Earliest documented use: 1823.
NOTES:
This word is the feminine counterpart of the word avuncular (like an uncle). Materteral has its origin in the maternal aunt, but now it’s applied to aunts on both sides, just as the word aunt originally meant paternal aunt, from Latin amita (father’s sister), from amare (to love), but now applies to aunts of all kinds (including an ant’s aunt).
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/materteral.html
The final word in this week's theme "words with many meanings" is plight.
ETYMOLOGY:
For noun/verb 1, 2: From Old English pliht (danger).
For noun/verb 3: From Anglo-Norman plit (fold, wrinkle, condition), from Latin plicare (to fold).
Earliest documented use: 450.
Learn more about today's word, and see the rest from this week's theme, at: wordsmith.org/words/plight.html
This week we’ve picked five homonyms to share with you. May be more precise to say five pairs (or triads) of homonyms.
Homophone: Same pronunciation, different spelling (aisle, isle, I’ll)
Homograph: Same spelling, different pronunciation (polish, Polish)
Homonym: Same pronunciation and spelling, different meaning
Today's word is waffle.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/waffle.html
🎉 Vielen Dank an alle, die am vergangenen Freitag mit uns auf der Grillparty gefeiert haben! Wir hatten eine tolle Zeit und freuen uns auf einen weiteren besonderen Abend mit euch allen! 🍻⚽ ️
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🎉 Many thanks to those who joined us at our Grillparty last Friday! We had a great time with all of you and hope to see you again at our next event! 🍻⚽ ️
#Grillparty #BBQ #Sprachenatelier #Sommer #Sommerprogramm #SprachenatelierBerlin #summercourses #summer #sommerkurse #German #languageschool #Sprachschule #Berlin #독일어어학원 #Курсы #немецкого #partyBerlin #bbqBerlin #Berlinstagram #learninggerman #languagelearning #Deutschkurse #Sprachkurse #Sprachenlernen #德语 #internationalstudents #learngerman
Today's word is Arrow-collar, after the detachable Arrow Collars sold by Cluett, Peabody & Co. in the early 1900s. The collars were shown on a supposedly idealized man, known as the Arrow Collar Man, in ads drawn by the illustrator J.C. Leyendecker. Earliest documented use: 1915.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/arrow-collar.html
These games can be used to teach kids any langauge, as there is no script on the cards. We can talk to them, they will instinctively put together the puzzles, and over time, learn the numbers and the equations. :) Kids are smart! I use such games in tutoring English to small kids.
Contact me, I am a native English speaker in Kochi teaching Spoken and American Accent. Jennifer Kumar, authenticjourneys@gmail.com
See and buy on Flipkart- tinyurl.com/cvfr3kn
Today's word is rat race, from rat, from Old English raet (rat) + race, from Old Norse ras (race). Earliest documented use: 1937.
The term started out as a literal racing of rats (earliest use 1783). Then it was used as military slang (1931) to refer to planes or ships chasing each other or racing. Eventually the term evolved into its current sense. Imagine a rat running through a laboratory maze to find another piece of cheese or an employee hoping to climb the next rung of the corporate ladder while sacrificing personal health and peace and you’d have a good idea of the term rat race. In French, a popular expression métro, boulot, dodo (commute, work, sleep) refers to the daily grind. Also see, sisyphean.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/rat_race.html
I’m a minimalist, but I do make certain exceptions.
One can never have too much chocolate in their pantry, too big a battery in their cellphone, or too many words on their wordshelves.
Words don’t take much room. They don’t need feeding, vacuuming, washing, or tuning. No need to buy insurance or locks.
How many words does one really need in life? The more the merrier. You don’t have to use them all at the same time, but you never know which word might come handy when.
Here are five I have picked this week. Dusted them off (metaphorically speaking), as they have been unused for a while. Take a look. Do with them what you will. And add them to your own wordshelves.
These are words that might make you say: I didn’t know there was a word for it!
Today's word is cacoethes. The Roman satirist Juvenal once wrote about insanabile scribendi cacoethes (incurable passion for writing), which inspired the sense of the word today.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/cacoethes.html
The final word in this week's theme "Shirts" is shirttail, from shirt, from Old English scyrte (shirt) + tail, from Old English toegl (tail). Earliest documented use: 1659. Also see coattail.
Learn more, and see the rest of this week's words, at: wordsmith.org/words/shirttail.html
Today's word is pinnacle, from Old French, from Latin pinnaculum, diminutive of pinna (wing, feather). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pet- (to rush or fly), which also gave us feather, petition, compete, perpetual, pterodactyl, helicopter, appetence, asymptomatic, auricle, empennage, impetuous, pencel, peripeteia, petulant, propitious, pinnate, and lepidopterology (study of butterflies and moths). Earliest documented use: 1330.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/pinnacle.html
11 October 2019.
English: South
Irish: Taobh theas Welsh: Deau
Finnish: Etelä Estonian: Lõuna
day 11.
rapidograph/adobe illustrator cs6.
3 inch square.
🌞Our Summer Courses have finally begun! We kicked it off last Monday with a 'Welcome Breakfast' at our local coffee shop, where we enjoyed delicious pastries, coffee, fruits, juices and each other's company. It was great to meet our new students and to get to know our old ones better!
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🌞Unsere Sommerkurse haben endlich begonnen! Wir haben am Montag mit einem "Willkommensfrühstück" im Café nebenan angefangen, wo wir leckeres Gebäck, Kaffee, Obst, Säfte und die Gesellschaft der Anderen genossen haben. Es war großartig, unsere neuen Studenten zu treffen!
© Amanda Martín-Dombrowski
#Willkommen #Frühstück #summercourses #Sprachenatelierberlin #summer #sommerkurse #german #languageschool #sprachschule #Berlin #독일어어학원 #Курсы #немецкого #Берлине #Изучение #sprachenatelier #learninggerman #languagelearning #Deutschkurse #kunstundkultur #Sprachkurse #Languagecourses #Sprachenlernen #德语 #internationalstudents #learngerman
Today's word is gunwale, from gun + wale (a plank along the side of a ship), from its use as a support for guns in earlier times. Earliest documented use: 1466.
NOTES: The word is often used in the idiom "to the gunwales" meaning to be full, almost overflowing.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/gunwale.html
Today's word is canary, from French canari (canary), from Spanish canario (canary; of the Canary Islands), from Latin canis (dog). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwon- (dog), which also gave us canine, chenille (from French chenille: caterpillar, literally, little dog), kennel, canary, hound, dachshund, corgi, cynic, cynosure, canaille, canicular, and cynophobia. Earliest documented use: 1568.
The Canary Islands, a group of islands off the coast of Africa, are named after an animal, but it’s not canaries. It’s dogs. The island’s name is, literally, the Island of the Dogs, from Latin Canariae Insulae, supposedly named after large dogs found there. The canary birds are native to the area and are named after the islands. The yellow sense is after the birds, the singer sense is named after their singing, and finally, the informer sense developed because an informer sings or squeals.
The canary has also given us the idiom “canary in the coal mine” to refer to something that gives an early warning of a danger or failure. Due to their small size, canaries are more susceptible to carbon monoxide and other dangerous gases and were carried by coal miners in the mine shafts.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/canary.html
The first floor of the Kelvin Smith Library is set up for the ribbon cutting ceremony of the Freedman Center
🌞Our Summer Courses have finally begun! We kicked it off last Monday with a 'Welcome Breakfast' at our local coffee shop, where we enjoyed delicious pastries, coffee, fruits, juices and each other's company. It was great to meet our new students and to get to know our old ones better!
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🌞Unsere Sommerkurse haben endlich begonnen! Wir haben am Montag mit einem "Willkommensfrühstück" im Café nebenan angefangen, wo wir leckeres Gebäck, Kaffee, Obst, Säfte und die Gesellschaft der Anderen genossen haben. Es war großartig, unsere neuen Studenten zu treffen!
© Amanda Martín-Dombrowski
#Willkommen #Frühstück #summercourses #Sprachenatelierberlin #summer #sommerkurse #german #languageschool #sprachschule #Berlin #독일어어학원 #Курсы #немецкого #Берлине #Изучение #sprachenatelier #learninggerman #languagelearning #Deutschkurse #kunstundkultur #Sprachkurse #Languagecourses #Sprachenlernen #德语 #internationalstudents #learngerman
Fairy tales and folktales, we grew up listening to them. They were mere amusements, or not. Latest research has quantified the benefits of listening to stories.
Stories we grow up hearing take root in our collective consciousness. Many of the characters, places, concepts, and utterances have become part of the language. This week we’ll look at five of them.
Today's word is breadcrumb, from bread, from Old English bread + crumb, from Old English cruma. Earliest documented use: 1519.
NOTES:
In the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, their parents drop the two siblings off in the forest because they are not able to feed them (if only there was a strong social safety net). The smart kids drop breadcrumbs along the way so they can trace their steps back and find their way home.
In computing, website design, etc., breadcrumbs help users as a navigation aid and tell them where they are in a program, website, etc.