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If you plan to move to Sweden, or even visit, Fikadags, or just Fika, is one of the more important words to know. This is the new veranda at my favorite cafe.
“Working” has a different meaning for writers. If you are a writer, writing doesn’t necessarily mean typing away on a keyboard or scribbling on a piece of paper. Writing happens when you are walking or taking a shower or pulling weeds in the backyard. Simply staring out a window also works. Once your writing is done, you just need to dump it on a sheet of paper or into a computer.
This week we’ll see a few words related to writing. How would you describe what you do in a way that clears misconceptions or puts it in a different light? Email us at words@wordsmith.org.
Today's word is chosisme, from French, from chose (thing), from Latin causa (case, thing). The idea is associated with the writer and filmmaker Alain Robbe-Grillet. Earliest documented use: 1960s.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/chosisme.html
If there's ever an accident along the railroads in Sweden keep a look out for this sign. It tells us that this is an emergency evacuation place. Spotted this sign near Krigslida.
Today's word is sanguinary, from Latin sanguis (blood). Earliest documented use: 1540.
Not enough to scratch your linguistics itch? Learn more about today's word and find out how to subscribe to our free A Word A Day email at: wordsmith.org/words/sanguinary.html
Today's word is panache, from French panache, from Italian pennacchio, from Latin pinnaculum (small wing), 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, and helicopter. Earliest documented use: 1584.
The word was popularized in English from the success of Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac. Cyrano proclaims:
“I’m going to take the simplest approach to life of all ... I’ve decided to excel in everything.”
He, of course, wears a panache, and it is literally his last word:
“Yet there is something still that will always be mine, and when today I go into God’s presence, there I will doff it and sweep the heavenly pavement with a gesture: something I’ll take unstained out of this world ... my panache.”
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/panache.html
Swedish word of the day. Sommarmoln. Summer clouds. Midsummer is here. Sweden is out of the Euro tournament. Can someone please hand me something to drink? Preferably with a lot of alcohol in it.
This little figurine appeared in a park in Handen a couple of weeks ago. It has moved around a bit since then and it will most likely be gone soon, so I figured it would be best to take a photo of it. And while I did just that this afternoon a woman showed up claiming that it was her figurine and that she just got bored with it. It looked like she thought that I wanted it but I was happy with just shooting it. So Swedish word of the day. Gipsfigur. Gypsum Figurine.
This week's final word is vaccinate, which comes from Latin vacca (cow), because in the beginning the cowpox virus was used against smallpox. Earliest documented use: 1803.
Don’t vacillate when it’s time to vaccinate. But until a COVID-19 vaccine appears, the next best thing is to wear a mask. Some are resistant to the idea, so we see billboards with encouraging messages: “Real Heros Wear Masks”
No, wearing a mask does not make you a hero. Neither is having to wear a mask some sort of tyranny any more than having to wear a seat belt is. But if you need a medal, we can nominate you for a Presidential Medal of Freedom. They are going cheap these days.*
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/vaccinate.html
* www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-giving-rush-limbaugh-...
Today's word is yichus, from Yiddish yichus/yikhus (pedigree), from Hebrew yihus (pedigree). Earliest documented use: 1890.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/yichus.html
Swedish word of the day. Cykelväder. Bicycle weather. Freezing so it was a bit icy out on the roads. Parked my bike near the old tree and went for a shortish Winter promenade.
thanks to this shot of em's, i can't get this word out of my head.
so now, everyone gets to suffer. ;-)
Swedish word of the day. Pappersmuggar. Someone enjoyed coffee or tea at the lake but forgot the paper mugs.
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
9 October 2019.
English: Storm
Irish: Stoirm Welsh: Tymestl
Finnish: Myrsky Estonian: Torm
day 9.
rapidograph/adobe illustrator cs6.
3 inch square.
Today's word is stridor, which comes from Latin stridere (to make a harsh sound). Earliest documented use: 1632.
NOTES: The word is often used for the harsh vibrating sound produced when breathing with an airway obstruction.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/stridor.html
Byggdialog. That is the name of the builder. And that word works well here at Vitsåvägen in Fors, Västerhaninge, as there has been a long and heated dialogue between the unhappy neighbors and the Haninge municipality about this project. Fuchs Lubricants (previously Statoil owned), with 70 employees decided to close their, (unmodern), factory in Nynäshamn and build a new one here at Fors. The workers, (and politicians), in Nynäshamn were of course very unhappy to see the company go. And the neighbors in Västerhaninge were equally unhappy to see a factory being built so close to their homes. They claimed that the traffic to and from the plant would ruin their lives, more or less. But the County Board soon approved the plans and as you can see the new plant is now under construction. The factory will produce at most 100,000 cubic meter lubricant oil per year. Friction-free, who knows.
What did he brew now? Another week of words! The English language has borrowed words from French, German, Persian, Sanskrit, and others. All of these, including English, are languages in the Indo-European family, one that includes about half the languages spoken today.
But English has borrowed words from everywhere, including the Semitic family of languages. This family includes Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew, among others.
This week we’ll focus on words borrowed from Hebrew.
Today's word is mitzvah, from Hebrew mitzvah (commandment), from tziwwah (to command). Earliest documented use: 1723. Plural: mitzvahs or mitzvoth.
NOTES:
The most familiar usage of the word may be in the terms bar mitzvah (literally, son commandment) and bat mitzvah (girl commandment). Jewish children are considered adults at the age of 13 (in some versions of Judaism, the age for girls is 12). This comes with rights and responsibilities. The bar and bat mitzvahs are observed with rituals, ceremonies, and celebrations.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/mitzvah.html
Swedish word of the day. Mosaik. Mosaic. Famous artwork made by Monica Larsson and Backa Karin Ivarsdotter back in 2006. All in all, it is 510 square meters big. Created from 50 000 hand-cut pieces of mirror glass and ceramic tiles.
voice
la voz
tumblr.vocabninja.com/post/96171966128/voice-la-voz
Imagine your «boss» shouting with a loud voice, or having lost his/her voice and having to whisper everybody in their ear.
“The singer has a beautiful voice.”
“La cantante tiene una voz hermosa.”
nail
la uña
tumblr.vocabninja.com/post/97220686919/nail-la-una
Imagine «Uma» Thurman fighting one of her Deadly Viper Assassination Squad colleagues with her fingernails.
“Stop biting your nails.”
“Deja de comerte las uñas.”
Original picture by Lelê Breveglieri
The final word this week is cock-horse, which comes from cock (rooster) + horse, perhaps from the strutting of a rooster. Earliest documented use: 1566.
The best-known use of the term is in this nursery rhyme:
Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross,
To see a fine lady upon a white horse;
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
And she shall have music wherever she goes.
As in this nursery rhyme, the term is often used in contexts where a child is riding a hobby horse. The use of the term in today’s usage example though is not as innocent as it sounds. We’ll leave it at that.
Learn more, and see the rest of this week's words at: wordsmith.org/words/cock-horse.html
The musician Leo Kottke once said, “The Germans have done for the consonants what the Hawaiians have done for the vowels.”
What does that mean?
You may have seen German words such as krummholz or kitsch. Then there’s Hawaiian with words such aa and, well, just look at the spelling of the word Hawaii.
The Hawaiian language has five vowels in an alphabet of 13 letters. German? The same as English (more or less).
We could feature a whole week of words borrowed from German, we could feature a week of words borrowed from Hawaiian, but we don’t want to do anything imprudent. Better to keep the world’s consonant/vowel store in balance, so instead this week we’ll alternate German words with Hawaiian.
Today's word is Sehnsucht, from German Sehnsucht (longing or yearning), from sehnen (to long or yearn) + Sucht (craving or addiction). Earliest documented use: 1847.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/sehnsucht.html
Today's word is capacious, from Latin capax, from capere (to take). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kap- (to grasp), which also gave us captive, capsule, capable, capture, cable, chassis, occupy, and deceive. Earliest documented use: 1614.
Learn more at: wordsmith.org/words/capacious.html
Today's word is Canterbury tale, after After The Canterbury Tales c. 1400 by Geoffrey Chaucer. It’s a collection of 24 stories told in verse by a group of pilgrims as they travel from London to Canterbury. Earliest documented use: 1575.
Learn more about today's word at: wordsmith.org/words/canterbury_tale.html