Podcasts about middle french

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 23, 2025 is: bastion • BAS-chun • noun A bastion is a place or system in which something (such as an idea) is protected and continues to survive. // The restaurant is a bastion of the region's ancient culinary traditions. See the entry > Examples: “In 2017, Harlem residents took to the streets to protest Keller Williams after the real estate company began marketing the neighborhood's 15-block southern radius (between 110th Street and 125th Street) as ‘SoHa' (South Harlem) without their approval. The biggest worry? That newcomers would attempt to erase Harlem's history as a civil rights nexus and bastion of Black American culture. In response, then-New York Sen. Brian Benjamin introduced legislation that banned unsolicited name changes and fined real estate firms for using names like SoHa.” — Jake Kring-Schreifels, Spokeo, 26 Mar. 2025 Did you know? Bastion today usually refers to a metaphorical fortress, a place where an idea, ethos, philosophy, culture, etc. is in some way protected and able to endure. But its oldest meaning concerned literal fortifications and strongholds. Bastion likely traces back to a verb, bastir, meaning “to build or weave,” from Old Occitan, a Romance language spoken in southern France from about 1100 to 1500. Bastir eventually led to bastia, an Italian word for a small quadrangular fortress, and from there bastione, referring to a part of a fortified structure—such as an outer wall—that juts or projects outward. Bastione became bastion in Middle French before entering English with the same meaning. You may be familiar with another bastir descendent, bastille, which refers generically to a prison or jail, but is best known as the name of the Parisian fortress-turned-prison stormed by an angry mob at the start of the French Revolution; the Bastille's fall is commemorated in France by the national holiday Bastille Day.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 22, 2025 is: liaison • lee-AY-zahn • noun Liaison refers to a person who helps organizations or groups work together and provide information to each other, or to a relationship that allows such interactions. Liaison can also refer to an illicit sexual relationship. // The new position involves acting as a liaison between the police department and city schools. // The committee has maintained close liaison with some of the former board members. See the entry > Examples: “In 2019, [Jefri] Lindo found work at Bestia, the trendy downtown restaurant. ... He flourished there, working his way up to house expeditor, acting as the key liaison between the kitchen and dining room.” — Laura Tejeda, The Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2025 Did you know? If you took French in school, you might remember that liaison is the word for the phenomenon that causes a silent consonant at the end of one word to sound like it begins the next word when that word begins with a vowel, so that a phrase like beaux arts sounds like boh zahr. We can thank French for the origin of the term liaison, as well. It comes from Middle French lier, meaning “to bind or tie.” Other English senses of liaison apply it to all kinds of bonds—from binding and thickening agents used in cooking (as in “a butter and flour liaison”), to people who work to connect different groups, to the kind of secret relationship sometimes entered into by two people who are romantically attracted to one another.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 1, 2025 is: cynosure • SYE-nuh-shur • noun A cynosure is a person or thing that attracts a lot of attention or interest. As a proper noun, Cynosure may refer to the North Star or its constellation Ursa Minor. // He was the cynosure of all eyes as he walked into the room. See the entry > Examples: "Look at any picture of Kashmir and you'll understand why it is called heaven on earth. And Srinagar, framed by the majestic Zabarwan Mountains, is the cynosure of all travel itineraries, offering a mix of breathtaking landscapes, rich culture, and spirituality." — Mallika Bhagat, Times Now (Mumbai, India), 17 Dec. 2024 Did you know? Ancient mariners noted that all the stars in the heavens seemed to revolve around a particular star, and they relied on that star to guide their navigation. The constellation that this bright star appears in is known to English speakers today as Ursa Minor, or the Little Dipper, but the Ancient Greeks called it Kynósoura, a term that comes from a phrase meaning "dog's tail." Kynósoura passed into Latin and Middle French, becoming cynosure. When English speakers adopted the term in the 16th century, they used it as a name for both the constellation and the star (which is also known as the North Star or Polaris) and also to identify a guide of any kind. By the 17th century, cynosure was also being used figuratively for anything or anyone that, like the North Star, is the focus of attention or observation.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 13, 2025 is: gallant • GAL-unt • adjective Someone or something described as gallant is very courageous and brave. Gallant is also sometimes used to mean “large and impressive” (as in “a gallant ship”), or to describe someone who has or shows politeness and respect for women. // Though they failed to reach the summit, the mountaineering team made a gallant attempt. See the entry > Examples: “He turned to go, and was promptly whacked across the backside by Miss Chokfi. ‘Ouch?' he said. ‘What was that for?' She was standing up very straight and gallant, though it still left her a foot and a half shorter than him, with the office stapler ready by her hand. ‘That was for not stopping him,' she said. ‘Was there anything else you need?' ‘Not a thing,' said Barrow, and tipped his hat to her.” — Francis Spufford, Cahokia Jazz: A Novel, 2024 Did you know? If you're familiar with the long-running comic strip “Goofus and Gallant,” created by Garry Cleveland Myers and published in the monthly children's magazine Highlights, you likely have a particularly good sense of the meaning of the adjective gallant. In the comic, the character of Goofus demonstrates to young readers all sorts of bad habits and behaviors, while Gallant provides examples of proper conduct and comportment when in circumstances similar to those of his ill-mannered counterpart. The characters' names were, of course, chosen with purpose. We record several different senses of gallant and all are compliments. Someone described as gallant may be smartly dressed, courteous and chivalrous, or valiant and brave. Goofus, bless his heart, is none of these things (while we do not define the adjective goofus, the Oxford English Dictionary does: “stupid, foolish”). Perhaps ironically, gallant comes from the Middle French verb galer, meaning “to squander in pleasures”; such squandering is something Goofus is likely to do, and Gallant never would.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 29, 2025 is: facetious • fuh-SEE-shuss • adjective Facetious is used to describe something, such as a remark or behavior, that is meant to be humorous or funny but is sometimes instead annoying, silly, or improper. It can also be used to describe someone who is joking, often implying that they are doing so inappropriately. // The emcee delivered several facetious quips throughout the night that the audience found in poor taste. // I was just being facetious—I didn't mean it seriously. See the entry > Examples: "In September, 1818, Byron told Moore of a new undertaking: 'It is called "Don Juan," and is meant to be a little quietly facetious upon every thing. ... I shall try the experiment, anonymously, and if it don't take it will be discontinued.' Safe to say that he continued, taking advantage of that freedom to cram into the poem pretty much anything that came to mind: shipwreck, cannibalism, lobster, cross-dressing, violent slurs upon the Duke of Wellington." — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 Did you know? As many puzzle fans know, facetious is one of a small group of English words that not only use all five vowels once, but use them in alphabetical order. Other members of this exclusive club include abstemious (and abstemiously), and arsenious. (There is also an odd class of words which contain each vowel, used once, in reverse order: Pulmonifera, Muscoidea, and subcontinental.) Facetious comes from the Middle French adjective facetieux, which traces to the Latin word facētia, meaning "cleverness or wit." In English, it is used to describe speech or behavior that is intended to be playfully cheeky.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 30, 2024 is: frugal • FROO-gul • adjective Someone described as frugal is careful about spending money or using things unnecessarily. Frugal can also describe something that is simple and plain in a way that reflects such carefulness with money and resources. // By being frugal and limiting unnecessary purchases, the family is able to stretch its monthly budget. // Sometimes a frugal meal of bread, cheese, and grapes can be just as satisfying as a lavish feast. See the entry > Examples: “‘I would take anything that I had and put it into a pan and just fry it up, and then eat it with a fork out of the pan, because it would also cut down on the minimum amount of dishes for me to have to clean,' he [Kevin Bacon] recalls of some of his early egg-onion-leftover-pasta concoctions. And though his frugal days are behind him, the star still prefers cooking over fancy restaurant meals most of the time.” — Clarissa Cruz, People, 9 Nov. 2023 Did you know? Folks who are frugal tend to frown on the frivolous frittering away of the fruits of their labor, so it may surprise you to learn that frugal comes from the Latin word frūx, which means, among other things, “fruit.” Perhaps because of fruit's financial value, from frūx followed frūgī, an adjective meaning “deserving, sober, or thrifty,” which finagled its way into Late Latin in the form of frūgālis (“not given to excess; temperate, sober, simple”), then Middle French, and finally English, as the familiar frugal. Today, frugal is used to describe things that reflect a fastidious dedication to foregoing the fancy, as in “he insists on a frugal diet of fungi and fava beans.” Frugal can also describe a person, usually with respect to money, but one can be frugal with other things, too, such as words that start with the letter f, though we certainly haven't been in this paragraph.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 15, 2024 is: cachet • ka-SHAY • noun Cachet is used as a synonym of prestige to refer to the respect and admiration someone or something receives for being successful or important. It can also be used to refer to a characteristic feature or quality that confers such prestige. // His research in Antarctica gave him a certain cachet among other scientists. See the entry > Examples: "This 175-year-old real-life castle in Northern Ireland has real historical cachet." — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 24 Sept. 2024 Did you know? If you're looking for a catchy word to add to your vocabulary, why not give your stamp of approval to cachet? After all, this term is borrowed directly from French, a language which has long held a certain cachet in English (formal- and fancy-sounding English words often have a French pedigree—evidence of the prestige bestowed on the language). In French, cachet—which comes from the Middle French verb cacher meaning "to press"—refers to an official seal pressed into soft wax and used on formal and legal documents. The "seal" sense of cachet has been used in English since the 17th century, and in the 19th century the word started acquiring its extended senses, first referring to a feature or quality conferring prestige, and by century's end to prestige itself.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 12, 2024 is: labile • LAY-byle • adjective Someone or something described as labile is readily open to change. Labile can also be used as a synonym of unstable to describe things that are readily or continually undergoing chemical, physical, or biological change or breakdown. // The director was known for being exacting but also labile, open to actors' interpretations of characters. See the entry > Examples: "Amid this high level of acting skill, [musician Kate] Lindsey stood out with her wonderfully convincing gestures and facial expressions, filling out the character of the more labile younger sister with captivating verisimilitude." — Jeremy Yudkin, The Boston Globe, 17 July 2023 Did you know? We are confident that you won't slip up or err in learning today's word, despite its etymology. Labile was borrowed into English from French and can be traced back (by way of Middle French labile, meaning "prone to err") to the Latin verb labi, meaning "to slip or fall." Indeed, the first sense of labile in English was "prone to slip, err, or lapse," but that use is now obsolete. Other labi descendants in English include collapse, elapse, and prolapse, as well as lapse itself.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 1, 2024 is: hatching • HATCH-ing • noun Hatching refers to the drawing or engraving of lines close together as a method of shading, or to a pattern so created. // The artist uses hatching to breathe life into her comics. // The hatching adds depth to the illustration. See the entry > Examples: "During the second half of the 19th century, drawing achieved a higher status. No longer merely a preparatory tool, nor merely just a method for training of the eye, it gained a new autonomy.... Pastel became popular at this time partly because it was easily portable and versatile, capable of supporting lively hatching as well as silky smoothness." — Frances Spalding, Apollo, 12 Feb. 2024 Did you know? Hatching refers to the drawing or engraving of lines close together as a method of shading. The closer the lines, the darker the impression that is created. When the lines are drawn at an angle so as to intersect one another, that is called cross-hatching. One notable artist who drew on this technique is John Tenniel, the illustrator of Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Another is Albrecht Dürer, whose sketches have been celebrated for their adept use of cross-hatching to indicate foreshortening (an appearance of something, such as a subject's nose, as shortened due to its being pointed toward the viewer). The word hatching is a gerund of the verb hatch, which in turn comes from the Middle French hacher, meaning "to chop, slice up, or incise with fine lines." If hatching isn't your preferred style of shading, you might also consider stippling or blending.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 7, 2024 is: lèse-majesté • layz-MAJ-uh-stee • noun Lèse-majesté (less commonly spelled lese majesty) can refer to a true crime or offense, or to something likened to a crime or offense. Most often, it's the latter, with lèse-majesté referring—seriously or playfully—to an act of disrespect that diminishes the dignity or importance of someone or something. In the former use, lèse-majesté refers to a crime (such as treason) that is committed against a sovereign power, or to an offense that violates the dignity of a ruler as the representative of a sovereign power. // Their less-than-formal attire at the wedding was regarded in jest as lèse-majesté. See the entry > Examples: "The graphic novelist Posy Simmonds has won the Grand Prix at France's Angoulême International Comics festival—the first time a British artist and author has been awarded the world's most prestigious prize for lifetime achievement in comics. … "I wanted to take the story of Madame Bovary but update it and it would be my story," she said. "When it was published in French, I was rather frightened. I was worried it would be seen as lèse-majesté that I had appropriated this great French classic. But they really liked the book, which was wonderful." — Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian (London, England), 24 Jan. 2024 Did you know? Lèse-majesté (or lese majesty, as it is also styled in English publications) came into English by way of Middle French, from the Latin laesa majestas, which literally means "injured majesty." The English term can conceivably cover any offense against a sovereign power or its ruler, from treason to a simple breach of etiquette, but lèse-majesté has also acquired a more lighthearted or ironic meaning, referring to something that insults or shows disrespect, especially to a particularly pompous or self-important person or organization. As such, it may be applied to a relatively inoffensive act that has been exaggeratedly treated as if it were a great affront.

Welcome to Revive Ministries Podcast. This month's theme is “One More Day” Tribute to Recovery Month. The word “recover” was first recorded in Middle English between 1300–1350. It comes from the Middle French word recoverer, which comes from the Latin word recuperāre, meaning "to regain". The word “recover” has many meanings, including “to regain something or someone,” or “to obtain something that was previously lost.”   Today, Jeff Patterson will join us to share his insight and discuss recovery and how it may look in our lives. Also, World Suicide Prevention Day is observed on September 10th, 2024. Disclaimer: if you are in crisis, please seek appropriate professional help immediately. The new 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available for those in the States. Some Crisis Hotlines around the world:  United States · Emergency 911 · Suicide Hotline 988 Some other Crisis Lifelines in the World  Argentina · Emergency 911 · Suicide Hotline 135  Armenia · Emergency 911 and 112 · Suicide Hotline (2) 538194  South Korea · Emergency 112 · Suicide Hotline (02) 7158600  United Kingdom · Emergency 999 · Suicide Hotline 0800 689 5652  “I am bent, but not broken. I am scarred, but not disfigured. I am sad, but not hopeless. I am tired, but not powerless. I am angry, but not bitter. I am depressed, but not giving up.” — Anonymous.   more on Jeff Patterson  -----   “When a defining moment comes along, you can do one of two things. Define the moment, or let the moment define you.” —Roy McAvoy  Thanks for watching --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robert-col363n/support

Welcome to Revive Ministries Podcast. This month's theme is “One More Day” Tribute to Recovery Month.The word “recover” was first recorded in Middle English between 1300–1350. It comes from the Middle French word recoverer, which comes from the Latin word recuperāre, meaning "to regain".The word “recover” has many meanings, including “to regain something or someone,” or “to obtain something that was previously lost.” Today, Dr. Reshie Joseph will join us to share their insight and discuss recovery and how it may look in our lives. Also, World Suicide Prevention Day is observed on September 10th,2024. Disclaimer: if you are in crisis, please seek appropriate professional help immediately. The new 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available for those in the States.Some Crisis Hotlines around the world: United States· Emergency 911· Suicide Hotline 988Some other Crisis Lifelines in the World Argentina· Emergency 911· Suicide Hotline 135 Armenia· Emergency 911 and 112· Suicide Hotline (2) 538194 South Korea· Emergency 112· Suicide Hotline (02) 7158600 United Kingdom· Emergency 999· Suicide Hotline 0800 689 5652 “I am bent, but not broken. I am scarred, but not disfigured. I am sad, but not hopeless. I am tired, but not powerless. I am angry, but not bitter. I am depressed, but not giving up.” — Anonymous. more on Reshie ----- “When a defining moment comes along, you can do one of two things. Define the moment, or let the moment define you.” —Roy McAvoy Thanks for Listening --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robert-col363n/support

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 15, 2024 is: encumber • in-KUM-ber • verb Someone or something that is encumbered is burdened or weighed down (as in “tourists encumbered by heavy luggage”) or hindered (as in “negotiations encumbered by a lack of trust”). // The children found it difficult to climb down the river's steep embankment, encumbered as they were by inner tubes and towels. See the entry > Examples: “White House stationery is not encumbered by street data or zip code. It states, wonderfully and airily, the most intimidating return address in the world: The White House.” — David Lipsky, The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial, 2023 Did you know? “I can't help you with your troubles / If you won't help with mine,” the workingman protagonist tells his companion Melinda in “Cumberland Blues” (a song by Grateful Dead), encumbered by indecision over whether or not to keep his dead-end job. Does he stay or does he go? To be encumbered is to be held back, weighed down, overburdened. One can be encumbered physically (as by a heavy load or severe weather) or figuratively (as by, well, the blues). Encumber traces back to the Middle French noun combre, which referred to a dam or weir constructed in the bed of a river to hold back fish or protect the banks. The notion of stoppage or blockage embedded in combre led to the verb encombre (“to obstruct, burden”) and further downstream to not only the English verb encumber, but adjectives cumbersome and cumbrous, both used to describe things that can slow one down. (Note, however, that the place name Cumberland—referring originally to a former county of northwestern England and used in many U.S. and Canadian locales—comes not from combre, but rather the Latin designation Cumbria, in turn was influenced by the Welsh Cymry.)

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 24, 2024 is: clandestine • klan-DESS-tun • adjective Clandestine describes something done secretly, or in a private place or way. // The wedding was a clandestine affair in Las Vegas. See the entry > Examples: "On the surface, it uses the traditional tropes of the spy movie—a secret intelligence network, cryptic codenames, clandestine meetings in public places—but Ghost Trail isn't exactly thrilling, certainly not in the manner of a John le Carré novel." — Damon Wise, Deadline, 15 May 2024 Did you know? Psst!—if your first instinct, upon being asked what you've been up to, is to clam up, your querier may suspect you've been involved in some clandestine activities. Clandestine often substitutes for secret and covert, and it is commonly applied to actions that involve secrecy maintained for an evil, illicit, or unauthorized purpose, as in "clandestine activities pursued under cover of night." It comes to English by way of Middle French, from the Latin word clandestinus, which is itself from the Latin adverb clam, meaning "secretly." Note that this clam is not the ancestor of the English word clam, despite how tightly sealed and thus secretive the bivalves may seem.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 14, 2024 is: rebuff • rih-BUFF • verb To rebuff something, such as an offer or suggestion, is to reject or criticize it sharply. One can also rebuff a person by rudely rejecting or refusing them. // When their request was immediately rebuffed by upper management, the staff was left frustrated yet also more determined. See the entry > Examples: “The state rebuffed the lawyers' efforts to use the fees as seed money for a new technology system.” — Robert T. Garrett, The Dallas (Texas) Morning News, 15 Feb. 2023 Did you know? Many English verbs begin with the prefix re-, meaning “again” or “backward,” so we wouldn't criticize you for drawing a connection between rebuff and buff, a verb meaning “to polish or shine.” But rebuff would beg to differ: this word comes to us from the Middle French verb rebuffer, which traces back to the Old Italian ribuffare, meaning “to reprimand.” (Buff, in contrast, comes from the Middle French noun buffle, meaning “wild ox”). A similar word, rebuke, shares the “criticize” sense of rebuff, but not the “reject” sense; one can rebuke another's actions or policies, but one does not rebuke the advances of another, for example. Like rebuke, rebuff can also be used as a noun, as in “The proposal was met with a stern rebuff from the Board of Trustees.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 12, 2024 is: efficacious • ef-uh-KAY-shus • adjective Efficacious is a formal word used to describe something—often a treatment, medicine, or remedy—that has the power to produce a desired result or effect. // Companies like to tout the number of efficacious natural ingredients in their beauty products. See the entry > Examples: “Baking soda is commonly used alongside detergent to fix stinky loads ... but washing soda is the typical go-to for most tough laundry jobs. Baking soda is gentler than washing soda, so it won't be as efficacious.” — Leslie Corona, Real Simple Magazine, 29 Dec. 2023 Did you know? If you guesstimate that efficacious is the effect of combining effective with the suffix -ious, you're on the right track. Efficacious came to English from the Middle French word efficace (or that word's Latin source, efficāc- or efficāx), meaning “effective.” (These words ultimately trace back to the Latin verb efficere, “to make, bring about, produce, carry out.”) English speakers added -ious to effectively create the word we know today. Efficacious is one of many, er, eff words that mean “producing or capable of producing a result.” Among its synonyms are the familiar adjectives effective and efficient. Efficacious is more formal than either of these; it's often encountered in medical writing where it describes treatments, therapies, and drugs that produce their desired and intended effects in patients.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 21, 2024 is: scurrilous • SKUR-uh-lus • adjective Scurrilous is a formal adjective that most often describes language that contains obscenities, abuse, or, especially, slander—that is, a false statement that damages a person's reputation. Scurrilous can also describe someone who uses or tends to use scurrilous language, or it can describe a person or thing as evil or vulgar. // The press secretary made a point at the briefing not to address the scurrilous rumors surrounding the senator. See the entry > Examples: “There are many interesting and surprising details about ‘Jingle Bells' known to few of the millions of people who happily sing the beloved song every December. For one, its author—a somewhat scurrilous fellow named James Lord Pierpont—was the uncle of the legendary Gilded Age banker J.P. Morgan (the P. is for Pierpont), who reportedly thought little of his songwriting relative, once calling him ‘Good for nothing.'” — David Templeton, The Argus-Courier (Petaluma, California), 18 Dec. 2023 Did you know? Scurrilous (and its much rarer relation scurrile, which has the same meaning) comes from the Middle French word scurrile, which comes ultimately from the Latin noun scurra, meaning “buffoon” or “jester.” Fittingly, 18th-century lexicographer Samuel Johnson defined scurrilous as “using such language as only the licence of a buffoon could warrant.” Qualities traditionally associated with buffoonery—vulgarity, irreverence, and indecorousness—are qualities often invoked by the word scurrilous. Unlike the words of a jester, however, “scurrilous” language of the present day more often intends to seriously harm or slander someone than to produce a few laughs.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 2, 2024 is: proximity • prahk-SIM-uh-tee • noun Proximity is the quality or state of being near or proximate. The word proximity is synonymous with closeness. // The apartment's proximity to hiking trails is a definite plus. See the entry > Examples: "... research on employee proximity conducted at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that sitting near senior colleagues led junior engineers to learn more and to be less likely to leave their jobs, an effect that was particularly pronounced for women and younger employees." — Amy Edmondson, WIRED, 8 Jan. 2024 Did you know? The fact that the star closest in proximity to our sun (approximately 4.2 light-years distant) is named Proxima Centauri is no coincidence. The history of proximity hinges on the idea of closeness, both physical and metaphorical. English speakers borrowed the word from Middle French, which in turn acquired it from forms of the Latin adjective proximus, meaning "nearest" or "next." Close relatives of proximity in English include proximal, proximate, and the somewhat more rare approximal (meaning "contiguous"). A number of other languages, including Catalan, Portuguese, and Italian, have similar words that come from the Latin proximus.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 22, 2024 is: haggard • HAG-urd • adjective Someone described as haggard appears tired or thin especially as if because of hunger, worry, or pain. Haggard can also describe someone who looks wild or otherwise disheveled. // After a disastrous rafting trip, Robin emerged from the woods looking haggard but otherwise unscathed. See the entry > Examples: “All three leads are excellent, but it's especially worth noting the complexity of what DiCaprio pulls off. Initially, Ernest seems a fairly standard character type, the cocky, dim-bulb guy of disposable moral fiber, easily influenced by someone much smarter. But he becomes more interesting as the anguish caused by his love for Mollie eats away at him, with the actor looking discernibly more haggard as Hale's plot advances and he's unable to extricate himself from it.” — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 May 2023 Did you know? Haggard has its origins in falconry, the ancient sport of hunting with a trained bird of prey. The birds used in falconry were not bred in captivity until very recently; traditionally, falconers trained wild birds that were either taken from the nest when quite young or trapped as adults. A bird trapped as an adult is termed a haggard, from the synonymous Middle French word hagard. Such a bird being notoriously wild and difficult to train, haggard was easily extended to apply to a “wild” and intractable person. Eventually, the word came to express the way the human face looks when a person is exhausted, anxious, or terrified. Today, the most common meaning of haggard is “gaunt” or “worn.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 13, 2024 is: maladroit • mal-uh-DROYT • adjective Maladroit is an adjective that means "incompetent" or "very awkward." It is usually used in formal speech and writing, and often describes people who lack skill in handling situations. // The governor has been criticized for his maladroit handling of the budget crisis. See the entry > Examples: "Barry Allen, a.k.a. the Flash, is the dweebiest Justice League superhero. He's also the most endearing. Barry's got a bit of Peter Parker's boyishness. He's maladroit in a way that's equally maddening and winning." — Mark Feeney, The Boston Globe, 16 June 2023 Did you know? Maladroit is perhaps an awkward fit for casual speech—outside of the occasional Weezer album title, one most often encounters it in formal writing—but you can remember its meaning by breaking it down into its French building blocks. The first is the word mal, meaning "badly," which may be familiar from English words including malaise ("a vague sense of mental or moral ill-being") and malodorous ("having a bad odor"). The second is adroit, meaning "having or showing skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness in handling situations." Middle French speakers put those pieces together as maladroit to describe the clumsy and incompetent among them, and English speakers borrowed the word intact. We'd adopted adroit from them a short time before.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 29, 2024 is: emote • ih-MOHT • verb To emote is to express emotion in a very dramatic or obvious way. // He stood on the stage, emoting and gesturing wildly. See the entry > Examples: "An entity that feigns human emotions is arguably a worse object of affection than a cold, computational device that doesn't emote at all." — Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 26 Sept. 2023 Did you know? Emote is an example of what linguists call a back-formation—that is, a word formed by trimming down an existing word. In this case, the parent word is emotion, which came to English by way of Middle French from the Latin verb emovēre, meaning "to remove or displace" (making the "removal" of the suffix -ion to form emote quite fitting). As is sometimes the case with back-formations, emote has since its coinage in the early 20th century tended toward use that is less than entirely serious. It frequently appears in humorous or deprecating descriptions of the work of actors, and is similarly used to describe theatrical behavior by nonactors.

Our relationship with our parents and, more widely, with our ancestors' stories are some of the most formative & influential connections in many people's lives, both for good and bad. The impact of this relationship can be felt in so many different ways, not least of which in artistic expression.  With me today is Violaine Huisman, a French author based in New York who recently became the Director of Cultural Affairs at the Alliance Française. She's the author of a trilogy of novels about her and her family. The first is called The Book of Mother published in 2018 and translated into English last year, the second is called Rose désert (translated maybe as “Desert Pink”) published in 2019 but not yet translated, and the third is Les monuments de Paris (“The Monuments of Paris”) which will be published this year.  In this episode, Violaine and I cover a wide array of topics – the structure and linearity of her novels, the existential question of ‘Frenchness' and being a ‘French author in New York', and of course we speak of Marcel Proust, as well as some of the other major influences in her writing. It was a real pleasure to speak with Violaine about this powerful, family-driven trilogy which I absolutely recommend. In today's interview, we discussed Les Essais, by Michel de Montaigne (1580), a wide-ranging collection of essays, originally written in ‘Middle French', Saxifrage, by Catherine Cremnitz (1993) – Violaine's mother's own autobiography, and 10:04, by Ben Lerner (2014), a modern book of auto-fiction about a Manhattan-based author recently diagnosed with a life-threatening heart-condition. The best book Violaine has read in the last 12 months was Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo (1862), which tells the story of Jean Valjean and the other ‘miserable' characters of the early 1800s Paris underworld. The book she would take to a desert island was the Bible. Finally, a book that changed her mind was In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust (first published in 1913), about its narrator's life and childhood, and his reflections on the persistence of memory. Lit with Charles loves reviews. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd be so grateful if you could leave a review of your own, and follow me on Instagram at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@litwithcharles⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Let's get more people listening – and reading!

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 19, 2024 is: harangue • huh-RANG • noun A harangue is a forceful or angry speech or piece of writing. // After watching the popular documentary, he delivered a long harangue about the dangers of social media. See the entry > Examples: '"HBO's 'The Young Pope” … is a visually sublime but textually ridiculous horror tale in which the monster is the pontiff himself. …[H]is first public address is not the warm greeting the crowd in St. Peter's Square hopes for, but a terrifying harangue. 'You have forgotten God!' he raves, declaring that his papacy will abandon the feel-good rhetoric of reaching out to one's fellow man." — James Poniewozik, The New York Times, 12 Jan. 2017 Did you know? In Old Italian, the verb aringare meant "to speak in public," the noun aringo referred to a public assembly, and the noun aringa referred to a public speech. Aringa was borrowed into Middle French as arenge, and it is from this form that we get our noun harangue, which made its first appearance in English in the 16th century with that same "public speech" meaning. Perhaps due to the bombastic or exasperated nature of some public speeches, the term quickly developed an added sense referring to a forceful or angry speech or piece of writing, making it a synonym of rant. By the mid-17th century, the verb harangue made it possible to harangue others with such speech or writing.

In this Adventure in Etymology we're looking into the origins of the word procrastination, unless I start procrastinating, as often happens. Procrastination [pɹəʊˌkɹæs.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən] is: The act of postponing, delaying or putting off, especially habitually or intentionally. It comes from Middle French procrastination, from Latin prōcrāstinātiō (procrastination), from prōcrāstinō (to procrastinate), from prō (for, before) and […]

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 5, 2024 is: accolade • AK-uh-layd • noun Accolade refers to an award or expression of praise. It is often used in the plural form. // The movie's special effects have drawn accolades from both fans and critics. See the entry > Examples: "'It is a tremendous honor to be mentioned on the extended World's 50 Best List,' says Executive Chef Lee, who later tells us that it wasn't necessarily one of their immediate goals, making the tremendous accolade quite the surprise. 'I am extremely grateful that we are getting attention on the world stage and I am so happy that the team here at Saison gets the recognition for their hard work.'" — Chelsea Davis, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023 Did you know? Give credit where credit is due: it's time to celebrate accolade for its centuries of laudatory service. Accolade joined English in the 16th century from the Middle French noun acolade, which in turn comes from the verb accoler, meaning "to embrace." When it was first borrowed from French, accolade referred to a ceremonial embrace that formally conferred knighthood. The term was later extended to other ceremonial acts conferring knighthood (such as the familiar touching of the shoulders with the flat part of a sword's blade), and then to other ceremonies marking the recognition of a special merit, distinction, or achievement. Today it refers more broadly to an award or expression of praise.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 3, 2023 is: dexterous • DEK-strus • adjective Dexterous is a formal adjective used to describe someone or something that has or shows great skill or cleverness. // She was praised for her dexterous handling of the crisis. // The movie is a dexterous retelling of a classic love story. // As a shortstop, Alex is a dexterous fielder who is adept at catching any ground ball or line drive hit at him. See the entry > Examples: "There can now be no doubt of Phillis Wheatley's importance not only to African America but also to the country and culture as a whole. She was a learned, dexterous wielder of the written word in a taut political and racial moment." — Tiya Miles, The Atlantic, 22 Apr. 2023 Did you know? If you believe dexterous to be on the right side of etymological history, well, right on. Dexterous comes from the Latin word dexter, meaning "on the right side." Since most people are right-handed, and therefore do things more easily with their right hand, dexter developed the additional sense of "skillful." English speakers crafted dexterous from dexter and have been using the resulting adjective for anyone who is skillful—in either a physical or mental capacity—since at least the early 1600s. (The noun dexterity arrived a bit earlier, influenced both by Latin and the Middle French word dexterité). The adjective ambidextrous, which combines dexter with the Latin prefix ambi-, meaning "both," describes one who is able to use both hands in an equally skillful way. With so many handy words at its disposal, the English language itself is pretty dexterous, amirite?

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 11, 2023 is: valorous • VAL-uh-russ • adjective Someone or something described as valorous is marked by courage or heroism. // For carrying three wounded members of his squadron out of harm's way, the lieutenant was presented with an award that recognized his valorous actions in the heat of battle. See the entry > Examples: "Cryptozoology is not a quest for animals but for monsters. It represents a valorous last stand to preserve awe and mystery in an over-charted, over-exploited world." — Rajat Ghai, Down to Earth (India), 26 Aug. 2023 Did you know? The English language has no shortage of synonyms for brave. In fact, it even has two different such words from the same Latin verb, valēre ("to have strength"): valiant and valorous. Valiant is the older of the pair, borrowed from the Anglo-French adjective vaillant ("worthy, strong, courageous") in the 1300s. Valorous followed in the 1400s, a combination of valor ("strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness")—another valēre descendent—and the adjective suffix -ous. (The form was inspired either by the Middle French word valeureux or the Medieval Latin word valōrōsus.) While the words can be used synonymously, valorous sometimes has an archaic or romantic ring, describing stout-hearted warriors of yore, while the more common word valiant describes soldiers as well as general kinds of bravery or effort.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 11, 2023 is: valorous • VAL-uh-russ • adjective Someone or something described as valorous is marked by courage or heroism. // For carrying three wounded members of his squadron out of harm's way, the lieutenant was presented with an award that recognized his valorous actions in the heat of battle. See the entry > Examples: "Cryptozoology is not a quest for animals but for monsters. It represents a valorous last stand to preserve awe and mystery in an over-charted, over-exploited world." — Rajat Ghai, Down to Earth (India), 26 Aug. 2023 Did you know? The English language has no shortage of synonyms for brave. In fact, it even has two different such words from the same Latin verb, valēre ("to have strength"): valiant and valorous. Valiant is the older of the pair, borrowed from the Anglo-French adjective vaillant ("worthy, strong courageous") in the 1300s. Valorous followed in the 1400s, a combination of valor ("strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness")—another valēre descendent—and the adjective suffix -ous. (The form was inspired either by the Middle French word valeureux or the Medieval Latin word valōrōsus.) While the words can be used synonymously, valorous sometimes has an archaic or romantic ring, describing stout-hearted warriors of yore, while the more common word valiant describes soldiers as well as general kinds of bravery or effort.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 24, 2023 is: regale • rih-GAIL • verb Regale is a somewhat formal word that means “to entertain or amuse by telling stories, describing experiences, etc.” It is often followed by with. // He regaled his party guests with stories of his adventures abroad. See the entry > Examples: “She'll [Shanti Pierce] bring loads of bamboo pieces and parts for people to create take-home art. Nudge her only slightly and she will regale you with stories of bamboo art contests, the health and medicinal benefits of bamboo and even the documented sensory benefits of youngsters working with bamboo.” — Brian Blair, The Republic (Columbus, Indiana), 17 Aug. 2023 Did you know? Regale has been an English verb since the early half of the 1600s, having been adapted from the French word régaler. That word traces back to the Middle French verb galer, which means “to have a good time.” (Gala, meaning “a festive celebration,” is from the same source.) Today, regale still applies when someone is entertaining or amusing another, especially by sharing stories. Regale also sometimes functions as a noun meaning “a sumptuous feast.” An early use of the noun appears in the preface to a 1732 dramatic poem by George Granville: “An English stomach … will rise hungry from a regale of nothing but sweet-meats.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 14, 2023 is: foliage • FOH-lee-ij • noun Foliage refers to the leaves of a plant or of many plants. // The winding river cut its course beneath the thick green foliage of the jungle canopy. See the entry > Examples: "Summer hiking is undeniably breathtaking, but there's something about the foliage of the fall that secures its spot as the best time of year to get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature." — Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 25 Aug. 2023 Did you know? Whether you're a casual leaf peeper or a card-carrying botanist, a staunch New Englander or Caribbean beach bum, there's plenty to love about foliage—though the pronunciation of foliage has long been a point of contention among English speakers. Most commonly accepted is the trisyllabic FOH-lee-ij. However, there's no denying that the pronunciations FOH-lij and even FOY-lij have also staked their claim. The first of these disputed pronunciations is consistent with the pronunciation of the -iage ending in marriage and carriage. The second is often more fiercely denounced, in part because of its association with the nonstandard spelling foilage. But there's redemption for this estranged pronunciation: foliage traces back to Middle French foille ("leaf"), which is also the source of the English word foil (as in "aluminum foil"). When adopted by Middle English speakers, foil originally meant "leaf." Love it or leaf it, there's just no taking the "foil" out of foliage.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 11, 2023 is: voracity • vuh-RASS-uh-tee • noun Voracity refers to an immoderate eagerness or enthusiasm for something, or to an intense desire to eat or consume something. // Elena reads books with a voracity that requires multiple weekly visits to the library. // After ten straight hours of driving, Marv ate his late dinner with a voracity that would impress a wolverine. See the entry > Examples: “Wildfires also emerged at tough-to-control voracity and speed, ravaging hundreds of thousands of acres across southern Europe and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.” — Forbes, 27 Sept. 2021 Did you know? The insatiable word nerds among us will appreciate voracity, a word used to refer to both literal and figurative appetites that simply cannot be quelled. Voracity comes to us (via Middle French) from the Latin word voracitas, which itself comes from the combining of vorax, meaning “voracious,” with -itas, the Latin equivalent of the English noun suffix -ity. Voracity is one of two English words that mean “the quality or state of being voracious.” The other is voraciousness, which was once considered archaic but has made a comeback. Because voracity developed from non-English forerunners, rather than being created in English from voracious (as was voraciousness), the word may strike some English speakers as an unusual formation. It's not surprising, therefore, that the more familiar-looking voraciousness has reappeared—most likely through a process of reinvention by people unfamiliar with voracity.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 18, 2023 is: zenith • ZEE-nith • noun Zenith refers to the strongest or most successful period of time for a person or thing. // At the zenith of her music career in the early 2000s, she released her best-selling album to date. See the entry > Examples: "Once deemed ‘one of the most underrated musicians in rock history' by David Bowie, John Cale is best known as the viola-scraping Velvet Underground co-founder who grounded the group in the avant-garde. But those years hardly marked a creative zenith for Cale. Since leaving the band in 1968, he has released more than a dozen solo albums, ranging in style from orchestral pop to new wave and punk; collaborated with luminaries like Patti Smith and Brian Eno; and scored numerous films." — Olivia Horn, The New York Times, 18 Aug. 2023 Did you know? When you reach the zenith, you're at the top, the pinnacle, the summit, the peak. Zenith developed from an Arabic phrase meaning "the way over one's head," and then traveled through Old Spanish, Medieval Latin, and Middle French before arriving in English. As long ago as the 1300s, English speakers used zenith to name the highest point in the celestial heavens, directly overhead. By the 1600s, zenith was being used for other high points as well. The celestial term is often contrasted with nadir, which refers to the point that is vertically downward from the observer (imagine a line going through the Earth from the observer's feet and out the other side into the sky). Figuratively, nadir simply means "the lowest point."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 4, 2023 is: gauntlet • GAWNT-lut • noun Gauntlet was first used in English to refer to the reinforced glove worn with a suit of armor in the Middle Ages. Gauntlet later came to refer to any long, heavy glove worn to protect the hand, as well as to an open challenge to an argument, fight, competition, etc., usually in the common phrase “throw down the gauntlet.” // In marketing the product this way, the company has thrown down the gauntlet to its top two competitors. See the entry > Examples: “WGA [Writers Guild of America] and SAG [Screen Actors Guild] sought a residual formula that would give standardization and certainty to creators and performers. The talent, a spokesman for the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said in 1960, is ‘entitled to get a portion of all this money that is floating around. It is as simple as that. Where would everybody be without talent?' The WGA threw down the gauntlet first. On Jan. 16, 1960, citing ‘a consistently uncompromising attitude on the part of producers,' WGA president Curtis Kenyon, a former screenwriter now toiling in television, called a ‘two-pronged' strike against both film and television production.” — Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 July 2023 Did you know? There's no reason to treat the word gauntlet with kid gloves, so let's go straight to the punch: gauntlet (which comes from the Middle French word gantelet, the diminutive of gant, meaning “glove”) first referred to the reinforced glove of a suit of armor, but today it's mostly encountered in figurative phrases, such as “throw down the gauntlet” and “pick up the gauntlet,” that arose from the conventions of medieval combat. To challenge someone to combat, a knight would throw his glove at another knight's feet. The second knight would pick the glove up if he intended to accept the challenge, in which case a jousting match might ensue. Accordingly, to throw down the gauntlet is to issue an open challenge, while to pick up the gauntlet is to accept one. (The gauntlet that means “severe trial,” or “ordeal,” often used in the phrase “run the gauntlet,” is an alteration of gantelope, a word that originates from Swedish gata, meaning “lane” or “way.”)

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 28, 2023 is: assay • a-SAY • verb Assay is a technical word meaning "to test something (such as a metal or drug) to find out what it contains or to assess its value." // Experts will assay the gold to determine its purity. See the entry > Examples: "An obscure testing lab was hired to assay the metal because using the leading firm in the field would supposedly alert the Canadian nickel cartel." — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 24 Mar. 2022 Did you know? Usage experts warn against confusing the verbs assay and essay. Some confusion shouldn't be surprising; not only do the two somewhat uncommon words look and sound alike, they also come from the same root, the Middle French word essai, meaning "test" or "effort." (Essai, in turn, comes from the Late Latin word exagium, meaning "act of weighing.") At one time, the two terms were synonyms, sharing the meaning "try" or "attempt," but they are now typically differentiated, with essay meaning "to try or attempt" (as in "a comedic actor essaying her first dramatic role") and assay meaning "to test or evaluate" (as in "blood assayed to detect the presence of the antibody"). Of course, essay is more common as a noun referring to a short analytic or personal literary composition, but that's another essay.

The French president has landed in Beijing for his first post-Covid visit. Emmanuel Macron is accompanied by the European Commission president, who last week went on the offensive over unfair trade practices and Chinese backing of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Will Ursula von der Leyen speak for other recent EU visitors?

 My special guest is paranormal investigator Daena Smoller who's here to discuss her experiences working alongside one of the most revered investigators in New Orleans.      Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature.[1] The term is derived from Medieval Latin supernaturalis, from Latin super- (above, beyond, or outside of) + natura (nature)[1] Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings since the ancient world, the term "supernatural" emerged in the Middle Ages[2] and did not exist in the ancient world.[3]  The supernatural is featured in folklore and religious contexts,[4] but can also feature as an explanation in more secular contexts, as in the cases of superstitions or belief in the paranormal.[5] The term is attributed to non-physical entities, such as angels, demons, gods, and spirits. It also includes claimed abilities embodied in or provided by such beings, including magic, telekinesis, levitation, precognition, and extrasensory perception.  The philosophy of naturalism contends that nothing exists beyond the natural world, and as such approaches supernatural claims with skepticism.[6]     Etymology and history of the concept[edit]  Occurring as both an adjective and a noun, descendants of the modern English compound supernatural enter the language from two sources: via Middle French (supernaturel) and directly from the Middle French's term's ancestor, post-Classical Latin (supernaturalis). Post-classical Latin supernaturalis first occurs in the 6th century, composed of the Latin prefix super- and nātūrālis (see nature). The earliest known appearance of the word in the English language occurs in a Middle English translation of Catherine of Siena's Dialogue (orcherd of Syon, around 1425; Þei haue not þanne þe supernaturel lyȝt ne þe liȝt of kunnynge, bycause þei vndirstoden it not).[7]  The semantic value of the term has shifted over the history of its use. Originally the term referred exclusively to Christian understandings of the world. For example, as an adjective, the term can mean "belonging to a realm or system that transcends nature, as that of divine, magical, or ghostly beings; attributed to or thought to reveal some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature; occult, paranormal" or "more than what is natural or ordinary; unnaturally or extraordinarily great; abnormal, extraordinary". Obsolete uses include "of, relating to, or dealing with metaphysics". As a noun, the term can mean "a supernatural being", with a particularly strong history of employment in relation to entities from the  mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.[7]  History of the concept[edit]  The ancient world had no word that resembled "supernatural".[3] Dialogues from Neoplatonic philosophy in the third century AD contributed to the development of the concept the supernatural via Christian theology in later centuries.[8]   It's super easy to access our archives!   Here's how:   iPhone Users: Access Mysterious Radio from Apple Podcasts and become a subscriber there or if you want access to even more exclusive content join us on Patreon.   Android Users: Enjoy over 800 exclusive member-only posts to include ad-free episodes, case files and more when you join us on Patreon.    Copy and Paste our link in a text message to all your family members and friends! We'll love you forever! (Check out Mysterious Radio!)  

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 21, 2023 is: onerous • AH-nuh-rus • adjective Onerous means "involving, imposing, or constituting a burden." It typically describes something that is difficult and unpleasant to do or deal with. // They were assigned the onerous task of post-show cleanup. // The government imposed onerous taxes on imports. See the entry > Examples: "Before the recent removal of quarantine measures, many workers had expressed frustration over the city's onerous travel restrictions, which at one point required up to 21 days of hotel quarantine." — Michelle Toh, CNN, 19 Oct. 2022 Did you know? Not to go too heavy on the etymology, but the story behind onerous is at once straightforward and, dare we say, poetic. But perhaps that's putting the cart before the horse. Onerous rolled into the English language during the 14th century, via Middle French, from the Latin adjective onerosus, "burdensome." That word, in turn, was hitched to the noun onus, meaning "burden" (source too of our word onus, which usually refers to a burden or responsibility). Onus shares an ancient root with the Sanskrit word anas, meaning "cart." So although onerous stresses a sense of laboriousness and often figurative heaviness (especially because something is distasteful, e.g. "the onerous task of cleaning up the mess"), it has a deep connection with a literal weight borne by a person, horse, or other beast of burden.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 31, 2023 is: savant • sa-VAHNT • noun Savant is a formal word that refers to a learned person, especially someone with detailed knowledge about a particular subject. The word is also used to refer to a person affected with a developmental disorder who exhibits exceptional skill or brilliance in a particular subject or field. // His sister is a computer savant, so he knows he can call her whenever he has technical issues. See the entry > Examples: “Ever since he was a child growing up in Melbourne, Florida, [Rivian Automotive CEO, Robert Joseph] Scaringe wanted to start his own car company. He had developed a reputation as an automotive savant and tinkered on cars in his spare time, even keeping parts in his bedroom.” — Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN Business, 22 Nov. 2022 Did you know? Word-loving Homo sapiens will appreciate how much there is to know about savant. For one, savant comes ultimately from the Latin word sapere (“to be wise”) by way of Middle French, where savant is the present participle of savoir, meaning “to know.” Second, savant shares roots with the English words sapient (“possessing great wisdom”) and sage (“very wise”) (as well as Homo sapiens). Finally, the term is sometimes used to refer to a person who demonstrates extraordinary knowledge in a particular subject or has an extraordinary ability to perform a particular task (such as complex mathematics) but has more limited capacities in other areas.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 30, 2023 is: adapt • uh-DAPT • verb To adapt is to make or become fit (as for a new use) often by modification. // When people move to a new country, it can take them a while to adapt. // The teachers adapted the curriculum so that students of all abilities will benefit from it. See the entry > Examples: "Isaac Asimov's [Foundation] novels are collections of short stories and novellas spanning thousands of years, which makes them hard to adapt as a continuous story." — Belen Edwards, Mashable.com, 22 Dec. 2021 Did you know? "Nothing in this world is as reliable as change" is a common aphorism and one we can certainly attest to as lexicographers. English speakers adapted adapt, for example, in the 15th century from the Middle French adapter, which was itself an adaptation of Latin adaptāre. That source traces back to Latin aptus, meaning "fit" or "apt." Other adaptations of aptus in English include aptitude, inept, and of course apt itself, as well as unapt and inapt.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 4, 2022 is: celerity • suh-LAIR-uh-tee • noun Celerity is a formal word that means “swiftness of motion or action.” // When the developers' intentions became clear, the community came together with celerity to preserve the town's beloved wetlands for future generations. See the entry > Examples: “[Researchers] employed ultrafast laser pulses, hitting the electrons with light for as little as a trillionth of a second. Electrons in solids tend to bump into atoms instead of moving uninterrupted, so being able to control them with such celerity was crucial for the team ...” — Karmela Padavic-Callaghan, Scientific American, 8 Dec. 2021 Did you know? Celerity hasn't acted with much expressive celerity since its entry into English in the 1400s: it refers now as it did centuries ago to swiftness of motion or action. Its source (by way of Middle French) is the Latin adjective celer (“swift” or “speedy”), a word from which we also get accelerate, and there is some evidence of a trace of equine celerity in its deeper history: celer may go back to an Indo-European word that is the ultimate source of a Greek word meaning “swift horse” or “charger.” We know what you're thinking: whoa.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 19, 2022 is: pell-mell • pel-MEL • adverb Pell-mell means “in a confused and hurried way” or “in mingled confusion or disorder.” // On Black Friday, some shoppers rush pell-mell into stores to find their favorite items at a discounted price. See the entry> Examples: “But, before we head pell-mell down this road to ‘greening' the nation's transportation fleet, we have to ask the question, ‘What about car and truck safety?' Isn't this push toward electric vehicles also an opportunity to make our roads safer as well?” — The Journal Times (Racine, Wisconsin), 11 Sept. 2022 Did you know? The word pell-mell was probably formed through a process called reduplication. This process—which involves the repetition of a word or part of a word, with often a slight change in its form—also generated the terms flip-flop, chitchat, and shilly-shally, the last of which comes from a single-word compression of the question “Shall I?” For pell-mell, the process is believed to have occurred long ago: our word traces to a Middle French word of the same meaning, pelemele, which comes from the Old French word pesle mesle, likely a product of reduplication from the Old French word mesle, a form of mesler, meaning “to mix” or “to mingle.”

All good things come in threes. Or more. Add a Chief Sustainability Officer, a body positive Barbie doll,  a purple inclusive M&M and an actual expert in applied ethics and you get a lively discussion on true colours, washings and genuine CSR efforts in the first episode of our new mini-series (it comes in threes) on corporate social responsibility. Have a listen and find out more, including how energy companies account for their profits and your bills via legitimisation strategies.   More information about the podcast and  a full transcript can be found on wordsandactions.blog. In this episode early in the introduction, Erika cites two definitions. She first cites the definition of sustainability in a 1987 report by the World Commission on Environment and Development (a sub-organisation of the United Nations) called “Our Common Future”. It can be found here. The second definition is on corporate social responsibility and taken from the website Investopedia.  The examples we give of CSR in action, including attempts that backfired, are body-positive Barbie dolls, the “inclusive” and desexualised M&M candy figures and a now (in)famous Benetton advert. The latter is  reproduced in Erika's and Veronika's textbook Language in Business, Language at Work (Macmillan Higher Education, 2018; the second edition will have Bernard as the third author. Still in the introduction, we also mention this article on the social responsibility of business, the reference to which can be found on our website.  Every summer, the Pride season in Western countries now comes with many examples of “pinkwashing”, where companies claim to be queer-friendly, but either don't have relevant policies or even have practices that go against LGBT equality. Some examples from 2022 can be found here.  Towards the end of the introduction, Veronika talks about legitimation as a discourse strategy, based on these works by van Leeuwen and Reyes. We then proceed to the interview with Garrath Williams. On the links between ‘responsible' and ‘response', the Oxford English Dictionary has the following to say (shortened – the OED has lots of detail): Etymology: < Anglo-Norman responssable, ressponsable, Anglo-Norman and Middle French responsable answerable, entitled to an answer …, answerable, required to answer …, that responds, that constitutes a reply (15th cent.), apparently < classical Latin respōns- , past participial stem of respondēre respond v. … probably < classical Latin respōnsāre to reply  While we mention but do not elaborate on the Drink Responsibly campaign in the UK, someone else has, in a 2014 report on alcohol and the night-time economy.  During our analysis of the ExxonMobil press release, we wonder if the company has a Chief Sustainability Officer. The answer is no but it has had an external sustainability advisory panel since 2009.    In episode 26, we'll talk about language and the environment – see you then!

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 4, 2022 is: catercorner • KAT-ee-kor-ner • adverb or adjective Catercorner is used as both an adverb and adjective to describe things that are situated in a diagonal or oblique position. The word is a less common variant of kitty-corner. // The elaborate water fountain is catercorner to the building's entrance, so it's the first thing you see when you enter the foyer. See the entry > Examples: “Let history record that it rained on the chilly-by-Southern-standards night the World Series came to Cobb County. Let it also reflect that nobody much cared. The Fall Classic graced Atlanta—and two different ballparks—with its presence five times in the '90s. For the suburban stadium that sits catercorner from Cumberland Mall, this was all new.” — Mark Bradley, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 30 Oct. 2021 Did you know? Catercorner gets its first element from the Middle French noun quatre, meaning “four,” which English speakers modified to cater and applied to the four-dotted side of a die—a side important in several winning combinations in dice games. Perhaps because the four spots on a die can suggest an X, cater eventually came to be used dialectically with the meaning of “diagonal” or “diagonally”; cater was then combined with corner to form catercorner. Eventually the variants kitty-corner and catty-corner, which are now the more common forms, developed. Despite all appearances, these terms bear no etymological relation to our feline friends.

#174. An eccentric YouTuber found some fame but didn't dress for the occasion, and therein lies a piece of the charm. Dillon and Kory saw Mark Rebillet in concert and found things “Wonderfully Weird” as Dillon put it. Kory had just found his hotel room in England before recording, so we got to interact his jet-lag as he shared his strategy to combat the disorder. Perhaps a pleasant surprise from a nearby McDonalds boosted his adrenaline, because, guys; McDonalds in England is STILL DOING MONOPOLY! What's going on with contract negations in the states? We need to fix this. We spend the back half playing a new game. Into It or Over It is a game where Kendall presents the guys with what he perceives as declining trends to ask if we are ready to see them go, if we're still holding on, or if Kendall's wrong and the trend is still going strong. Examples from this week's round include Wordle, LEGO Masters, sign art, and the bacon craze. Suggestions are always welcome! Leave your thoughts and questions via any of the avenues found in the LinkTree below. Until next time, be kind to each other.Main Landing Page - https://linktr.ee/fromthemidpod​​​​​​VOICE MAIL! Comment, ask a question, suggest topics - (614) 383-8412Artius Man - https://artiusman.com​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ use discount code "themiddle"

Today we are burrowing into the origins of the word rabbit. A rabbit [ˈɹæbɪt] is: a mammal of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail. It comes from the Middle English rabet(te) (young rabbit), from the Middle French *robotte/rabotte or the Anglo-Latin rabettus, from the Old French rabotte, […]

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 31, 2022 is: menagerie • muh-NAJ-uh-ree • noun Menagerie is used to refer to a collection of animals kept especially to be shown to the public, as well as a place where such animals are kept. It can also refer more broadly to any varied mixture. // The aviary featured a menagerie of exotic birds. // The living room is eclectically furnished with a menagerie of garage sale finds. See the entry > Examples: "Beatrix Potter created a delightful Peter Rabbit in her 1902 book publication, then went on to write about and draw a whole menagerie of related animal friends." — Brenda Yenke, cleveland.com, 10 Mar. 2022 Did you know? Back in the days of Middle French, ménagerie meant "the management of a household or farm" or "a place where animals are tended." When English speakers adopted menagerie in the 1600s, they applied it specifically to places where wild and often also foreign animals were kept and trained for exhibition, as well as to the animals so kept. This second meaning was eventually generalized to refer to any varied mixture, especially one that includes things that are strange or foreign to one's experience.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 16, 2022 is: nuance • NOO-ahnss • noun A nuance is a subtle distinction, variation, or quality in something, such as tone, color, meaning, etc. // Her highly trained palate is able to detect nuances in fine wine that even most oenophiles cannot. Read the entry > Examples: “Chiwetel Ejiofor gets to go all kinds of over-the-top as an alien who has come to Earth to save both our planet and his own, but [Naomie] Harris has the difficult job of countering that with believable reactions. She's our eyes into this sometimes inspired show, and Harris gives the character nuance that so many other actresses would have missed.” — Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 22 June 2022 Did you know? The history of nuance starts in Latin with the noun nūbēs, meaning "cloud." Nūbēs floated into Middle French as nue, also meaning “cloud,” and nue gave rise to nuer, meaning “to make shades of color.” Nuer in turn produced nuance, which in Middle French meant “shade of color.” English borrowed nuance from French, with the meaning “a subtle distinction or variation,” in the late 18th century. That use persists today. Additionally, nuance is sometimes used in a specific musical sense, designating a subtle, expressive variation in a musical performance (such as in tempo, dynamic intensity, or timbre) that is not indicated in the score.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 17, 2022 is: nonpareil • nahn-puh-REL • adjective Nonpareil means "having no equal." // The singer's stunning performance was nonpareil. See the entry > Examples: "A multitasker nonpareil, he is a musician, actor, director, author, artist, poet, playwright and composer, not to mention a self-styled pierogi-making king…." — Bill Brownstein, The Gazette (Montreal, Canada), 5 Apr. 2022 Did you know? Trace nonpareil back to its Middle French origins and you'll find that it comes from a term meaning "not equal." Pareil itself comes from a Latin par, which means "equal," and non- is a common prefix meaning "not." In addition to its adjectival use, nonpareil also functions as a noun describing an individual of unequaled excellence ("the nonpareil of cellists"), and as the name of a chocolate candy disk covered with small sugar pellets. A full exploration of the word's history, and its current functions in French, can be found here.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 26, 2022 is: minion • MIN-yun • noun A minion is someone who is not powerful or important and who obeys the orders of a powerful leader or boss. // The kingpin has a group of minions to run errands. See the entry > Examples: "Witchy Witch, the Wicked Witch of Westchester …, along with her minion, Goble Ghoul …, is intent on taking over the world and destroying Halloween forever." — Stefani Dias, The Bakersfield Californian, 15 Sept. 2021 Did you know? Minion comes from Middle French and is related to filet mignon. The two terms are connected by mignon, meaning "darling." The earliest uses of minion refer to someone who is a particular favorite of a sovereign or other important personage. Over time, however, the word developed a more derogatory sense referring to a person who is servile and unimportant.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 10, 2022 is: liaison • lee-AY-zahn • noun A liaison can mean "a person who helps organizations or groups to work together and provide information to each other" or "a close bond or connection." // She acts as a liaison between the mayor's office and city schools. // The Human Resources Department has a close liaison with employees. Examples: "It expects to have one staffer stationed in Duluth to begin with, who'll lead the preservation work here and also serve as a liaison to city councils and others." — editorial, The Duluth (Minnestoa) News-Tribune, 22 Feb. 2022 Did you know? If you took French in school, you might remember that liaison is the word for the phenomenon that causes a silent consonant at the end of one word to sound like it begins the next word when that word begins with a vowel, so that a phrase like beaux arts sounds like boh zahr. We can thank French for the origin of the term, as well. Liaison comes from Middle French lier, meaning "to bind or tie." Other English senses of liaison apply it to all kinds of bonds—from people who work to connect different groups to the kind of relationship sometimes entered into by two people who are attracted to one another.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 10, 2022 is: liaison • lee-AY-zahn • noun A liaison can mean "a person who helps organizations or groups to work together and provide information to each other" or "a close bond or connection." // She acts as a liaison between the police department and city schools. // The Human Resources Department has a close liaison with employees. See the entry > Examples: "It expects to have one staffer stationed in Duluth to begin with, who'll lead the preservation work here and also serve as a liaison to city councils and others." — editorial, The Duluth (Minnestoa) News-Tribune, 22 Feb. 2022 Did you know? If you took French in school, you might remember that liaison is the word for the phenomenon that causes a silent consonant at the end of one word to sound like it begins the next word when that word begins with a vowel, so that a phrase like beaux arts sounds like boh zahr. We can thank French for the origin of the term, as well. Liaison comes from Middle French lier, meaning "to bind or tie." Other English senses of liaison apply it to all kinds of bonds—from people who work to connect different groups to the kind of relationship sometimes entered into by two people who are attracted to one another.

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 401, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: Time For A "Pi" 1: This animal's name comes from the Middle French for "thorny pig". porcupine. 2: We love this winged, unclothed infant archer of mythology, the son of Venus. Cupid. 3: Uh oh! This outer nonvascular layer of your skin is showing. epidermis. 4: Wealth, or a city that the official seat of government in a state. capital. 5: A plant belonging to the genus Angallis, especially having scarlet flowers. pimpernel. Round 2. Category: The Beat Of The Tom 1: In the 1957 group known as Tom and Jerry, Tom was Art Garfunkel and he was Jerry. Paul Simon. 2: Throw your panties at me if you know the name of this Welsh singer born Thomas Woodward. Tom Jones. 3: In 1993 he sang about "Mary Jane's Last Dance". Tom Petty. 4: "I Love" this country star who had the hit "I Like Beer"; it fits him to a "T.". Tom T. Hall. 5: This singer-actor had 2 songs on the "Dead Man Walking" soundtrack CD. Tom Waits. Round 3. Category: Firsts 1: Dr. West's Miracle Tuft toothbrush of 1938 was the 1st to have bristles made of this. Nylon/Plastic. 2: Observance at which English colonists 1st ate popcorn. Thanksgiving. 3: They were the U.S. presidents when the 1st man went into space and the 1st man walked on the moon. Kennedy and Nixon. 4: The 8 contestants in the 1st Miss America pageant in 1921 represented these. Cities. 5: In 1981 Western Bancorporation was renamed this when it became the 1st bank to franchise its services. First Interstate Bank. Round 4. Category: Symbolic Rodents 1: In December 1958 these speedy singers had the No. 1 single in the U.S.. The Chipmunks ("The Chipmunk Song" ("Christmas Don't Be Late")). 2: It's a domesticated cavy, or any person or thing used as the subject of an experiment. Guinea pig. 3: An informer. Rat. 4: (Hi, I'm NBA All-Star Gary Payton.) As a college student at Oregon State, I was one of these tree-cutting rodents. Beavers. 5: It "Roared" and "Saved The West" in novels about a tiny duchy called Grand Fenwick. Mouse. Round 5. Category: Alliteratives 1: Feathered denizen of Sesame Street. Big Bird. 2: NBC tape editor Robert Rizzo uses this "Midnight Cowboy" nickname on "NBC News at Sunrise" credits. Ratso Rizzo. 3: 2 1/8" by 3 3/8" wafer of plastic that improperly used, can get you in debt beyond your wildest dreams. credit card. 4: Broadway's "one and only" 6' 6" dancer-choreographer-director. Tommy Tune. 5: The student short that gave him his start was called "Amblin'". Steven Spielberg. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia!

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 29, 2022 is: career • kuh-REER • verb The verb career means "to go at top speed in a headlong manner." // The tourists gripped their seats and exchanged anxious looks as the bus careered along  the narrow roads. See the entry > Examples: "The planets coalesced out of the disk of gas and dust leftover from the formation of the Sun, and all the extra bits of debris continued careering around, smashing into the planets and moons." — Lauren Fuge, The Cosmos Magazine, 26 Nov. 2021 Did you know? In medieval tournaments, jousting required knights to ride at full speed in short bursts, and the noun career (coming from Middle French carriere) was used to refer to such gallops as well as to the courses that knights rode. The related verb came to mean "to go at top speed." The familiar career, referring to one's job, originated from these uses.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 22, 2022 is: opine • oh-PYNE • verb Opine means "to express an opinion." // The writer opines that the town library should be open for longer hours during the summer months.  See the entry > Examples: "Apple's purpose has always been to empower the users of its wares. 'People are inherently creative. They will use tools in ways the toolmakers never thought possible,' once opined Steve Jobs, the computer maker's late co-founder." — The Economist, 27 Nov. 2021 Did you know? Opine is not a back-formation of opinion. Both words come from Middle French opiner, meaning "to express one's opinion," and Latin opīnārī, "to have in mind" or "to think." And they were thought up as words for the English language independently at different times.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 18, 2021 is: vignette • vin-YET • noun A vignette is a short written description or a brief scene in a movie or play. // The play's program features a brief vignette about each member of the cast. // The documentary is a series of vignettes showing the lives of three families under quarantine during the pandemic. See the entry > Examples: "Additional pregame and in-game presentations will feature tributes and vignettes honoring [Phil] Niekro as one of baseball's greatest knuckleball pitchers." — The Albany (Georgia) Herald, 9 Aug. 2021 Did you know? Vignette comes from the Middle French noun vigne, meaning "vine." In English, the word was first used in the early 17th century for a design or illustration that ran along the blank border of a page, or one that marked the beginning or end of a chapter. Such designs got their name because they often looked like little vines. It wasn't until the late 19th century that vignette began being used for a brief literary sketch or narrative.

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 166, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: "O" Yes! 1: A synonym for scent, this noun is from the Latin for "smell". odor. 2: Impenetrable to light, like some glass. opaque. 3: It's a single performance by a band in a single locale, or the title of a Wesley Snipes film. One Night Stand. 4: A temporary suspension of operation; of electrical power, for example. outage. 5: From the Old Norse for "manager", it's a non-governmental investigator who resolves complaints. ombudsman. Round 2. Category: Snickers 1: Film in which Paul Newman tells Tom Cruise, "You couldn't find big time if you had a road map". The Color of Money. 2: Film in which an exasperated Sally Kellerman yells, "This isn't a hospital, it's an insane asylum". M*A*S*H. 3: 1974 film with the exchange:Inga: Werewolf!Freddy: Werewolf?Igor: There!Freddy: What?Igor: There wolf.. Young Frankenstein. 4: In "Take the Money and Run", asked, "Do you think sex is dirty?", Woody said, "It is if you do it" this way. right. 5: 1950 film in which Judy Holliday tells Broderick Crawford, "You're just not couth!". Born Yesterday. Round 3. Category: Postal Matters 1: In a short-lived in Belgium in 1879, these house pets were used to carry bundles of mail. cats. 2: One of the first non-heads of state to appear on a stamp was this American on the U.S. 5-cent stamp in 1847. Benjamin Franklin. 3: The first known air mail service took place in Paris in 1870 by this conveyance. hot-air balloon. 4: Postal markings dating back to this civilization in 3000 B.C. translate as, "In the name of the living king, speed!". Egyptians (Egypt). 5: This country doesn't have its name on its stamps; usually it has the king or queen's head. the United Kingdom. Round 4. Category: Time For A "Pi" 1: This animal's name comes from the Middle French for "thorny pig". porcupine. 2: We love this winged, unclothed infant archer of mythology, the son of Venus. Cupid. 3: Uh oh! This outer nonvascular layer of your skin is showing. epidermis. 4: Wealth, or a city that the official seat of government in a state. capital. 5: A plant belonging to the genus Angallis, especially having scarlet flowers. pimpernel. Round 5. Category: "Fort"S 1: This N.C. fort has reason to boast since airborne U.S. Army combat units are stationed there. Fort Bragg. 2: On May 10, 1775 Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured this fort on Lake Champlain from the British. Fort Ticonderoga. 3: This celebrated Maryland fort overlooking the Patapsco River is named for a signer of the Constitution. Fort McHanry. 4: Troops are processes for overseas duty at this New Jersey army base. Fort Dix. 5: This Kentucky army post is known as the "Home of Armor". Fort Knox. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia!

Today we are looking at the word mask [mɑːsk/mæsk]. Definition: a covering for all or part of the face that protects, hides, or decorates the person wearing it appearance or behaviour that hides the truth [source] It comes from the Middle French word masque (a covering to hide or protect the face), from the Italian […]

Today we are looking at the word exclamation [ˌɛk skləˈmeɪ ʃən], a interjectory word that cries out and calls loudly, that expresses outcry or emphasis. It comes from the Middle French word exclamation (exclamation), from the Latin exclāmātiō (exclamation), from ex- (out) and clāmāre, from clāmō (I cry out, clamor, shout, yell, exclaim), from the […]

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 18, 2021 is: calumny • KAL-um-nee • noun 1 : a misrepresentation intended to harm another's reputation 2 : the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to harm another's reputation Examples: "[Heinrich von Kleist] sets his novella in the 14th century, when duelling was seen as a trial by battle in which the 'Judgment of God' would prevail. A murder, a wronged noblewoman, shame, calumny, castles, a melodramatic ending, Kleist's story pulls together all the key elements of the genre." — Dan Glaister, The Guardian (London), 12 May 2021 "Almost without exception I find the exchanges on this page to be polite and well-reasoned. However, recently there was a series of letters that made my blood boil. How could so many seemingly reasonable people be so wrongheaded? I am speaking, of course, of the exchange of views on Brussels sprouts. I'm sure many of you were equally taken aback. How could such a wonderful food be the object of such vile calumnies?" — Russ Parsons, The Irish Times, 6 Feb.2021 Did you know? Calumny made an appearance in these famous words from William Shakespeare's Hamlet: "If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go." The word had been in the English language for a while, though, before Hamlet uttered it. It first entered English in the 15th century and comes from the Middle French word calomnie of the same meaning. Calomnie, in turn, derives from the Latin word calumnia, (meaning "false accusation," "false claim," or "trickery"), which itself traces to the Latin verb calvi, meaning "to deceive."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 8, 2021 is: frugal • FROO-gul • adjective : characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources Examples: "Frugal diners might prefer hitting Ulrich's on Monday nights, when all burgers are $3 off. It's one of the best deals Downtown, or anywhere in town." — Nick Vlahos, The Peoria (Illinois) Journal Star, 1 Mar. 2021 "But a frugal lifestyle doesn't have to mean a deprived lifestyle. In fact, I've managed to whittle down my spending and boost my savings by making a few simple but meaningful choices." — Maurie Backman, The Motley Fool, 19 Jan. 2021 Did you know? Those who are frugal are unwilling to (lavishly) enjoy the fruits of their labors, so it may surprise you to learn that frugal ultimately derives from the Latin frux, meaning "fruit" or "value," and is even a distant cousin of the Latin word for "enjoy" (frui). The connection between fruit or value and restraint was first made in Latin; the Middle French word that English speakers eventually adopted as frugal came from the Latin adjective frugalis, a frux descendant meaning "virtuous" or "frugal." Although English speakers adopted frugal by the 16th century, they were already lavishly supplied with earlier coinages to denote the idea, including sparing and thrifty.

What is disappointment? As an emotion, researchers describe disappointment as a form of sadness—a feeling of loss, an uncomfortable space (or a painful gap) between our expectations and reality. When we believe that there's something we must have to be happy and fulfilled, we can set ourselves up for disappointment. The noun disappointment comes from the Middle French word disappointer, meaning “undo the appointment,” or “remove from office.” It is true that a friend canceling your plans or losing your job is a disappointment, but today disappointment can describe anything that crushes your hopes, ruins your day, or otherwise lets you down. 7 strategies for getting over disappointment: 1. Give yourself a limited time to feel bad.  Acknowledge the letdown but don't get mired in it. If you didn’t win the lottery, give yourself an hour to feel bad. If you didn’t get a promotion or if your bonus was less than you hoped for, give yourself a day—but then move on. 2. Don’t ruminate about what might have been.  The more you dwell on the disappointment, the more it will hurt and disrupt your ability to focus, concentrate, problem-solve, or be creative. So be careful not to feed the disappointment and deepen your emotional hurt. 3. Avoid self-pity. Self-pity comes with a price—it takes away feelings of empowerment and agency and makes us feel as though we don’t have control over our lives. So indulge it at your peril; it can foster a bad mood and even depression if you get stuck for too long. 4. Use self-compassion. Be sympathetic toward yourself and compassionate about the fact that you hurt. Don’t beat yourself up or become self-critical; doing so will only hurt your confidence, damage your self esteem, and make you feel worse. 5. Put it in perspective. We often feel disappointed about things we are unlikely to remember in a month’s time. How many of us will think back from five years in the future to that day in 2016 when we didn’t win the lottery? Very few. If the disappointment you experienced was significant, try to focus on the larger picture of your life and remind yourself of all the things that are going well and for which you can be grateful. 6. Identify the next opportunity. This is easier to do with lottery tickets, of course, than with more significant events in your life that cause disappointment, but as they say in baseball: There’s always next season. Regardless of what disappointed you, spend a few moments figuring out when and how you can try again. 7. Remember: Success does not equal happiness. Research on lottery winners has found that their level of happiness rises dramatically after they win, but then reverts to the same level of happiness they felt before they won—usually within a year. This week's podcast promo: The Con Guys

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 25, 2021 is: clandestine • klan-DESS-tun • adjective : marked by, held in, or conducted with secrecy : surreptitious Examples: "Salons have been shut down under stay-at-home orders to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In Los Angeles, the result has been a robust clandestine haircut scene." — Emily Guerin, NPR, 23 May 2020 "In 1993, [Tom Stoppard] met his aunt's granddaughter, Sarka, with whom his mother had embarked on a semi-clandestine correspondence (after keeping her past quiet for more than half a century)." — Gaby Wood, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2021 Did you know? In 1658, the English poet John Milton wrote of "clandestine Hostility cover'd over with the name of Peace." Today, clandestine is used in much the same way. The word often substitutes for secret and covert, and it is commonly applied to actions that involve secrecy maintained for an evil, illicit, or unauthorized purpose. It comes to English by way of Middle French, from Latin clandestinus, which is itself from Latin clam, meaning "secretly."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 12, 2021 is: gallant • GAL-unt • adjective 1 : showy in dress or bearing : smart 2 a : splendid, stately b : spirited, brave c : nobly chivalrous and often self-sacrificing 3 : courteously and elaborately attentive Examples: "But travel-stained though he was, he was well and even richly attired, and without being overdressed looked a gallant gentleman." — Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge, 1841 "A gallant collection of four seniors, one junior and one freshman combined to score 268 of the Bruins' 278.5 points in their surge to second place in the team standings." — Mike Tupa, The Bartlesville (Oklahoma) Examiner-Enterprise, 27 Feb. 2021 Did you know? Gallant exists in modern English primarily as an adjective, but it entered the language first as a noun. In the 14th century, when tales of Camelot populated the mythology of English speakers, a gallant was a young man of fashion—imagine perhaps a young and smartly dressed Arthur or Lancelot. The word had been borrowed in the forms galaunt and gallaunt from Middle French, the ultimate source being Middle French galer, a verb meaning "to squander in pleasures, have a good time, enjoy oneself." Galer also bestowed upon English the adjective gallant, which joined the language in the 15th century. A verb gallant meaning "to pay court to a lady" entered the language in the late 17th century as a derivative of the English adjective, but it is rarely encountered today.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 1, 2021 is: wigged-out • WIGD-OUT • adjective : mentally or emotionally discomposed : upset, crazy Examples: "The idea that you might take a television drama very seriously is accepted now.… The difference with Buffy was that the delivery mechanism was teenage-girl-focused horror, just as David Lynch's Twin Peaks was supposedly just a wigged-out soap and Hill Street Blues was technically a police procedural." — Patrick Freyne, The Irish Times, 5 Jan. 2021 "Pete Davidson's slow, stoned persona, mixing confessional revelation and wigged-out understatement, is one of the most original and charming in current comedy." — Noah Berlatsky, NBCNews.com, 12 June 2020 Did you know? The wig in wigged-out is the one you don to change or enhance your appearance. Wig has been in use since the late 17th century, when it was adopted as a clipped form of periwig, itself denoting a manufactured covering of natural or synthetic hair for the head. The source of periwig is Middle French perruque (source also of the synonym peruque). In the American slang of the mid-20th century, the word wig was moving into new territory: wig became a word for the mind, and to "wig out" was to lose one's composure or reason. The idiom "flip one's wig" also came into use (sharing the "to become crazy or very angry" meaning of the very similar "flip one's lid"), and the adjective wigged-out found a home in the language too, describing anyone who was mentally or emotionally discomposed.

A profit (short for profit-à-prendre in Middle French for "right of taking"), in the law of real property, is a nonpossessory interest in land similar to the better-known easement, which gives the holder the right to take natural resources such as petroleum, minerals, timber, and wild game from the land of another. Indeed, because of the necessity of allowing access to the land so that resources may be gathered, every profit contains an implied easement for the owner of the profit to enter the other party's land for the purpose of collecting the resources permitted by the profit. Usufruct is a limited real right (or in rem right) found in civil-law and mixed jurisdictions that unites the two property interests of usus and fructus: Usus (use) is the right to use or enjoy a thing possessed, directly and without altering it. Fructus (fruit, in a figurative sense) is the right to derive profit from a thing possessed: for instance, by selling crops, leasing immovables or annexed movables, taxing for entry, and so on. A usufruct is either granted in severalty or held in common ownership, as long as the property is not damaged or destroyed. The third civilian property interest is abusus (literally abuse), the right to alienate the thing possessed, either by consuming or destroying it (for example, for profit), or by transferring it to someone else (for example, sale, exchange, gift). Someone enjoying all three rights has full ownership. An equitable servitude is a term used in the law of real property to describe a nonpossessory interest in land that operates much like a covenant running with the land. In England and Wales the term is defunct and in Scotland it has very long been a sub-type of the Scottish legal version of servitudes, which are what English law calls easements. However, covenants and equitable servitudes in most of the jurisdictions across North America, are slightly different. The usual distinction is based on the remedy plaintiff seeks and precedent will allow for the scenario in question. Where the terms are unmerged, holders of a covenant seek money damages; holders of equitable servitudes seek injunctions. The term used to exist in England widely before Tulk v Moxhay and as byproduct of the Judicature Acts became one of the fullest mergers of equity and common law in England and Wales so as to agree initially on the term "equitable covenant", then coming to be united in the term covenant save that "equitable" bears a particular meaning in English property rights since at least 1925: it means not fully compliant with registration/written formalities. If it lacks legally routine formalities it is not a full legal covenant and therefore more tenuous, often only enforceable personally and against the original covenantor (in personam). Equitable servitude remains conceptually unaltered from its original core meaning however in many derived jurisdictions today. It describes wherever a party is in a non-criminal way forbidden from certain use (of land) in such a way as for breach to justify prohibitory or mandatory action to be ordered by the court. The term usually applies only to permanent restrictions, others may more commonly branded rules, terms of use, private byelaws, or restrictions. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/law-school/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/law-school/support

Boutade is a noun that refers to a sudden outburst. Our word of the day comes from a Middle French word that means ‘to thrust.’ When a person has a boutade, they often thrust a tirade on others. For example: The boutade Elaine delivered at the meeting hurt many people’s feelings. But in the end we all came to understand that these kinds of outbursts were common for her.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 19, 2021 is: conjecture • kun-JEK-cher • verb 1 : to arrive at or deduce by surmise or guesswork : guess 2 : to form a supposition or inference Examples: Some scientists have conjectured that Jupiter's moon Europa could sustain life. "He conjectured that the quick-sprouting barley would hold the sands through the winter and spring. This would give time for the lupine to establish itself, further stabilizing the dunes through the summer and following winter." — Gary Kamiya, The San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Sept. 2020 Did you know? When the noun conjecture entered English in the 14th century, it referred to the act of interpreting signs or omens especially to make prognostications. That sense is now obsolete, but by the 16th century both the noun and verb conjecture had acquired the meanings of speculation and inference that we use today. Conjecture derives via Middle English and Middle French from the Latin verb conicere ("to throw together"), a combination of com- ("together") and jacere ("to throw").

Hello my little lambs, and thanks for being with me once again! Today I ask you to dig out your valuables, take down those old paintings, and find that weird tchotchke Nanna gave you for your sixteenth birthday, because who knows? It might be worth something. We may just find out as we explore today’s word: impignorate.Impignorate is a word meaning ‘to pawn or mortgage something’ and comes from the Latin ‘pignoration’, which is from ‘pignoratio’ from ‘pignerate’ meaning ‘to pledge’. For example, you might say, ‘I wish to impignorate this weird tchotchke from my Nanna, as I cannot tell whether it is a naked lady or a melted Empire State Building, and I would prefer the money in any case.’ Next time, perhaps think to clarify with your Nanna when she gives it to you.Robert Louis Stevenson, uses the word in what might be called a fair better example, used here in a letter to a friend from Honolulu in 1889: ‘I have got the yacht paid off in triumph, I think; and though we stay here impignorate, it should not be for long, even if you bring us no extra help from home.’A similar word, ‘pawn’ means ‘to pledge, stake or wager’ comes from Middle French ‘pan’ meaning ‘pledge or security’ and is comparable to Middle Dutch ‘pant’, and Old High German ‘pfant’. Similarly, there is ‘hock’ meaning ‘to leave with a pawnbroker as security for a loan’, which comes from the Dutch word ‘hok’ meaning ‘hutch, hovel, jail, pen, or doghouse’. It’s also comparable to the Middle English ‘hukken’ meaning ‘to sell; peddle; sell at auction’. Anyone else ready for an episode of ‘Pawn Stars’, the reality TV series from 2009 that ran for a whole seventeen seasons? Yep, me too. Isn’t language wonderful?Written by Taylor Davidson, Read by Zane C WeberSubscribe to us on ITUNES, STITCHER, SPOTIFY, or your podcatcher of choice.Find us on FACEBOOK or TWITTERBecome a Patron of That’s Not Canon Productions at Patreon!Email us at Grandiloquentspodcast@gmail.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 3, 2021 is: apologia • ap-uh-LOH-jee-uh • noun : a defense especially of one's opinions, position, or actions Examples: "Susan Sontag, probably the most influential writer on the intersection of violence and photography, didn't buy this argument. With forensic prose, she cut through complacent apologias for war photography and set photojournalistic images of violence squarely in the context of viewers' voyeurism." — Teju Cole, The New York Times Magazine, 24 May 2018 "And then there are the countless physicists and biologists who, throughout the 20th century, contributed expertise to building and improving weapons of mass destruction. Perhaps this explains why [Neil deGrasse] Tyson eventually co-wrote a book called Accessory to War, the subtitle of which—'The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military'—surely stands as an apologia for his previous blunder." — W. Patrick McCray, The Los Angeles Review of Books, 9 Nov. 2020 Did you know? As you might expect, apologia is a close relative of apology. Both words derive from Late Latin; apologia came to English as a direct borrowing while apology traveled through Middle French. The Latin apologia derives from a combination of the Greek prefix apo-, meaning "away from," and the word logia, from Greek lógos, meaning "speech." In their earliest English uses, apologia and apology meant basically the same thing: a formal defense or justification of one's actions or opinions. Nowadays, however, the two are distinct. The modern apology generally involves an admission of wrongdoing and an expression of regret for past actions, while an apologia typically focuses on explaining, justifying, or making clear the grounds for some course of action, belief, or position.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 28, 2020 is: suffrage • SUF-rij • noun 1 : a short intercessory prayer usually in a series 2 : a vote given in deciding a controverted question or electing a person for an office or trust 3 : the right of voting : franchise; also : the exercise of such right Examples: "The assembled citizens who spoke out against slavery and demanded universal suffrage have contemporary counterparts demanding racial justice today." — Ken Paulson, The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee), 13 Dec. 2020 "The struggle for women's suffrage began well before 1920 and more freedom for women has extended beyond the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920…." — The Hickory (North Carolina) Daily Record, 10 Dec. 2020 Did you know? Why would a 17th-century writer warn people that a chapel was only for "private or secret suffrages"? Because suffrage has been used since the 14th century to mean "prayer" (especially a prayer requesting divine help or intercession). So how did suffrage come to mean "a vote" or "the right to vote"? To answer that, we must look to the word's Medieval Latin ancestor, suffrāgium, which can be translated as meaning "vote," "support," or "prayer." That term produced descendants in a number of languages, and English picked up its senses of suffrage from two different places. We took the "prayer" sense from a Middle French suffrāgium offspring that emphasized the word's spiritual aspects, and we elected to adopt the "voting" senses directly from the original Latin.

#Tenacity noun, the quality of being tenacious, or of holding fast; persistence: the amazing tenacity of rumors.the quality of retaining something:the tenacity of memory.the quality or property of holding together firmly:testing the tenacity of the old book's binding.tenacity (n.)early 15c., from Middle French ténacité (14c.) and directly from Latin tenacitas "an act of holding fast," from tenax (genitive tenacis) "holding fast, gripping, clingy; firm, steadfast," from tenere "to hold," from PIE root *ten- "to stretch."#amazonselling #amazonseller #amazonfba#EntrepneuerInspiration✅Get 50% off First Month with Helium 10 https://crushtrk.com/?a=427&c=188&p=r&s1=Or Promo Code MyAmazonGuy50✅Get Amazon Consulting at https://myamazonguy.com/Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/myamazonguy)

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 21, 2020 is: grandiloquence • gran-DIH-luh-kwunss • noun : a lofty, extravagantly colorful, pompous, or bombastic style, manner, or quality especially in language Examples: "The film finds its grounding in the closing scene when it strips away its grandiloquence and Beyoncé sings an a cappella version of 'Spirit' backed by a gospel choir…." — Aidin Vaziri, The San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Aug. 2020 "There will be plenty more rhetoric, pomposity and grandiloquence in the next few weeks as negotiations between the union and MLB get hot and heavy." — Bob Nightengale, USA Today, 13 May 2020 Did you know? Grandiloquence, which debuted in English in the 16th century, is one of several English words pertaining to speech that derive from the Latin loqui, meaning "to speak." Other offspring of loqui include eloquent ("marked by fluent expression"), loquacious ("full of excessive talk"), and soliloquy ("a long, dramatic monologue"). Grandiloquence comes (probably via Middle French) from the Latin adjective grandiloquus, which combines loqui and the adjective grandis ("grand or great"). A word that is very similar in meaning to grandiloquence is magniloquence—and the similarity is not surprising. Magniloquence combines loqui with magnus, another Latin word meaning "great."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 16, 2020 is: futile • FYOO-tul • adjective 1 : serving no useful purpose : completely ineffective 2 : occupied with trifles : frivolous Examples: "Austin Rivers … played a role in the fourth-quarter comeback attempt that proved futile." — Reuters, 11 Sept. 2020 "… anyone who's ever traded in the familiar role of wedding guest for the alien role of wedding focal point will know how futile an effort it is to remember events clearly. At this point, the night lives on for me through the colors in my brain and the considerably more reliable memories in the photographs." — Daniel Riley, GQ, 22 July 2020 Did you know? Futile broke into 16th-century English as a Latinate borrowing from Middle French. The Latin derivative, fūtilis, was used to describe things that are brittle or fragile and, by extension, things serving no purpose or being pointless. These meanings survive in the English futile, which denotes ineffectiveness or frivolousness. In 1827, English author Robert Southey found use for the word by blending it into utilitarian to form futilitarian, a word that is used for anyone who believes that human striving is futile—that is, ineffective and/or frivolous.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 29, 2020 is: gauntlet • GAWNT-lut • noun 1 : a glove worn with medieval armor to protect the hand 2 : any of various protective gloves used especially in industry 3 : an open challenge (as to combat) — used in phrases like throw down the gauntlet 4 : a dress glove extending above the wrist Examples: "No, Jack answered. He stared up at the advancing knight, and his hand wrapped itself tightly around the guitar-pick in his pocket. The spike-studded gauntlets came up toward the visor of its bird-helmet. They raised it." — Stephen King and Peter Straub, The Talisman, 1984 "Last week, the California Teachers Association threw down the gauntlet and told Newsom and legislators that schools aren't ready to reopen, citing the short time frame and the recent surge of infections." — Dan Walters, The Orange County (California) Register, 13 July 2020 Did you know? Gauntlet comes from Middle French gantelet, the diminutive of gant, meaning "glove." (The gauntlet that means "severe trial," "ordeal," or "double file of armed men" is a different word that originates from Swedish gata, meaning "lane" or "way.") To throw down the gauntlet is to issue an open challenge, while to pick up the gauntlet is to accept an open challenge. These figurative phrases come from the conventions of medieval combat. The gauntlet was the glove of a suit of armor. To challenge someone to combat, a knight would throw his glove at another knight's feet. The second knight would take it up if he intended to accept the challenge, in which case a jousting match might ensue.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 10, 2020 is: encumber • in-KUM-ber • verb 1 : weigh down, burden 2 : to impede or hamper the function or activity of : hinder 3 : to burden with a legal claim (such as a mortgage) Examples: "Those who do handle radioactive material must first don protective suits that are inherently cumbersome and are further encumbered by the air hoses needed to allow the wearer to breathe." — The Economist, 20 June 2019 "'The water reservoir is absolutely needed in Vernon Hills,' said David Brown, Vernon Hills' public works director/village engineer. While supportive, the village thinks there are 'some other viable locations in town,' he added. So does the park district, which owns the land but is encumbered by an easement…." — Mick Zawislak, The Chicago Daily Herald, 1 Aug. 2020 Did you know? In Old French, the noun combre meant a defensive obstacle formed by felled trees with sharpened branches facing the enemy. Later, in Middle French, combre referred to a barrier, similar to a dam or weir, constructed in the bed of a river to hold back fish or protect the banks. That notion of holding back is what informs our verb encumber. One can be physically encumbered (as by a heavy load or severe weather) or figuratively (as by bureaucratic restrictions). Combre also gives us the adjectives cumbersome and cumbrous, both meaning "awkward or difficult to handle."

Impregnable is an adjective that means incapable of being taken or conquered. Coming from a Middle French word that means ‘to take or capture,’ our word of the day took life by adding the prefix I-M, meaning ‘not’ and forming impregnable to mean ‘something that can not be taken.’ Since moving into the mansion, Connie has devised an impregnable burglar alarm system to make sure that no one can possibly take over her palatial estate.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 8, 2020 is: impregnable • im-PREG-nuh-bul • adjective 1 : incapable of being taken by assault : unconquerable 2 : unassailable; also : impenetrable Examples: "The castle was built on the corner of a great rock, so that on three sides it was quite impregnable…." — Bram Stoker, Dracula, 1897 "In his first months at Kryptos Logic, Hutchins got inside one massive botnet after another…. Even when his new colleagues at Kryptos believed that a botnet was impregnable, Hutchins would surprise them by coming up with a fresh sample of the bot's code…." — Andrew Greenberg, Wired, 12 May 2020 Did you know? Impregnable is one of the many English words that bear a French ancestry, thanks to the Norman conquest of England in 1066. It derives from the Middle French verb prendre, which means "to take or capture." Combining prendre with various prefixes has given our language many other words, too, including surprise, reprise, and enterprise. Remarkably, impregnable has a different origin from the similar-looking word pregnant; that word comes from a different Latin word, praegnas, meaning "carrying a fetus."

Howdy hi hello to you, my heroic heartbreakers! Thank you for joining me for another installment of An Assemblage of Grandiose and Bombastic Grandilouquents! If you have a particularly witty friend, a habit of watching comedy specials, or you really enjoy this podcast, today’s word might serve as useful to you, for today’s word is: sottisier.Sottisier is ‘a collection of jokes or stupid comments’. You might say, for example, ‘Enough with that sottisier, Timothy, you must go upstairs and finish your homework!’ It comes from the French word ‘sottise’ meaning ‘stupidity or foolishness’, which in turn comes from the Middle French ‘sot’ meaning ‘imbecile or fool’. If we progress back even further, ‘sot’ comes from the Old French ‘soz’, from Medieval Latin ‘sottus’ meaning ‘foolish’, which is of uncertain origin possibly a Semitic borrowing from Aramaic or Hebrew words meaning trangresor, rebel or drunkard. You can see where this is going.Some other wonderful French phrases include ‘Ah, la veche!’ meaning ‘oh, my cow!’ which, as an expression of surprise or excitement would be equivalent to ‘oh my God!’, ‘devenir chêvre’ literally meaning ‘to become a goat’, or in other words, ‘to be driven mad’, and ‘tombre dans les pommes’ which literally means ‘to fall in the apples’, or to fall asleep straight away. A personal favourite of mine is ‘Être sur son 31’ which means ‘to be on their 31’ - an expression meaning to put on beautiful or elegant clothes. Movie stars attending the Cannes Film Festival are often said to be ‘on their 31’. You might equate it to one being ‘dressed to the nines’.Isn’t language wonderful?Written by Taylor Davidson, Read by Zane C WeberSubscribe to us on ITUNES, STITCHER, SPOTIFY, or your podcatcher of choice.Find us on FACEBOOK or TWITTERBecome a Patron of That’s Not Canon Productions at Patreon!Email us at Grandiloquentspodcast@gmail.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 7, 2020 is: sound • SOWND • adjective 1 a : free from injury or disease b : free from flaw, defect, or decay 2 a : solid, firm b : stable; also : secure, reliable 3 : free from error, fallacy, or misapprehension 4 a : thorough b : deep and undisturbed c : hard, severe 5 : showing good judgment or sense Examples: The doctor's statement affirmed that the wealthy man was of sound mind when he decided to bequeath all of his money to the charitable foundation. "Social distancing, where people are advised to stay at least 6 feet apart, was sound advice when the idea was put forth during the pandemic's early days. It remains sound advice now, and will continue to be sound advice in the days ahead." — The Times, 7 May 2020 Did you know? English contains several sound homographs, all with distinct histories. For example, the sound that means "something heard" descends from Latin sonus ("sound"), whereas the sound that means "to measure the depth of water" traces to Middle French sonde ("sounding line"). Another sound, as in "of sound mind and body," is the contemporary form of Old English's gesund. Gesund is related to several words in other languages, such as Old Saxon gisund ("sound"), Old Frisian sund ("fresh, unharmed, healthy"), and Gothic swinths ("sound" or "healthy"). Another relative is Old High German's gisunt ("healthy"), which led to modern German's gesund, the root of gesundheit.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 5, 2020 is: deracinate • dee-RASS-uh-nayt • verb 1 : uproot 2 : to remove or separate from a native environment or culture; especially : to remove the racial or ethnic characteristics or influences from Examples: The old-fashioned gardening book recommended deracinating every other plant in the row to allow the survivors room to grow. "In many ways, the couple's self-removal befits the deracinated monarchy. Once upon a time, English monarchs were sovereign, supreme. The occasion of democratizing reforms such as the Magna Carta beginning in the late Middle Ages brought the English monarchy down, down, like glistering Phaethon, into 'the base court.'" — Grant Addison, The Examiner (Washington, DC), 9 Jan. 2020 Did you know? There is a hint about the roots of deracinate in its first definition. Deracinate was borrowed into English in the late 16th century from Middle French and can be traced back to the Latin word radix, meaning "root." Although deracinate began life referring to literal plant roots, it quickly took on a second, metaphorical, meaning suggesting removal of anyone or anything from native roots or culture. Other offspring of radix include eradicate ("to pull up by the roots" or "to do away with as completely as if by pulling up by the roots") and radish (the name for a crisp, edible root). Though the second sense of deracinate mentions racial characteristics and influence, the words racial and race derive from razza, an Italian word of uncertain origin.

Interpose is a verb that means to ‘put something between.’ Our word of the day has its origin in the Middle French words for ‘between’ and ‘place.’ It is possible to interpose an abject or oneself, for example: I was afraid all that heated conversation between Chad and Phil would turn into a fist fight, so I had no choice but to interpose myself between them.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 17, 2020 is: harangue • huh-RANG • noun 1 : a speech addressed to a public assembly 2 : a ranting speech or writing 3 : lecture Examples: The comedian's stand-up act included some delightfully incisive harangues against celebrity culture. "The loquacious 49ers' cornerback always has a thought, opinion, retort, reply, instinct or handy harangue regarding just about anything. That's why the cameras and notebooks are usually in heavy supply for Sherman, whose skill as a crafty defender is accentuated by his proficiency as one of the NFL's deepest thinkers." — Jarrett Bell, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2020 Did you know? In Old Italian, the noun aringo referred to a public assembly, the verb aringare meant "to speak in public," and the noun aringa referred to a public speech. Aringa was borrowed into Middle French as arenge, and it is from this form that we get our noun harangue, which made its first appearance in English in the 16th century. Perhaps due to the bombastic or exasperated nature of some public speeches, the term quickly developed an added sense referring to a speech or writing in the style of a rant (though the word rant is not etymologically related). There is also a verb harangue, which refers to the act of making such a speech.

Bonjour, mes amis, and bienvenue to today’s ‘versement’ of An Assemblage of Grandiose and Bombastic Grandiloquents. I can assure you that today’s word is something I am familiar with, and that you may be familiar with too, for today’s word is: chantepleurer.Chantepleurer is a French word meaning ‘singing and crying at the same time’. Aha! I suspected you might be familiar with this scenario, earnest listener, for I always knew you were a tender soul. It is also referred to as ‘alternate singing and weeping’ or ‘the alternation of joy and grief’. In architecture, chantepleurer is a narrow vertical hole or slit in a wall, to let the overflow of a stream or any other water that may collect pass through. Interesting, but let us stick with the first definition, for now.Simply stated, ‘chante’ means ‘sung’ and ‘pleurer’ means ‘cry’, and so you have ‘sung-cry’. ‘Chante’ comes from the Middle French ‘chanter’, from the Latin ‘cantāre’, which means ‘to sing’. ‘Pleurer’ comes from the Old French ‘plorer’, from the Latin ‘plōrāre’, meaning ‘I cry out’. It’s quite poetic, really.The French word ‘chantre’ as a noun, has several different meanings. The archaic meaning is a singer or a songster, whilst the religious meaning is ‘cantor’. There is also a literary meaning: ‘bard or minstrel’ and a figurative meaning: ‘figurehead, champion or advocate’.The French word ‘pluerer’ can also mean ‘to mourn’, and is from the Latin ‘plōrō’ meaning ‘to cry out’ or ‘lament or complain’. Fascinatingly, the similar French word ‘pluie’ means rain, and comes from the Latin word ‘pluvia’ also meaning ‘rain’ or ‘a shower of something’. Could it be tears, dear listener, that are showering down amongst your resonant notes? Is that you chantepluerering in the shower? It thought as much.Isn’t language wonderful?Written by Taylor Davidson, Read by Zane C WeberSubscribe to us on ITUNES, STITCHER, SPOTIFY, or your podcatcher of choice.Find us on FACEBOOK or TWITTERBecome a Patron of That’s Not Canon Productions at Patreon!Email us at Grandiloquentspodcast@gmail.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 5, 2020 is: rendition • ren-DISH-un • noun : the act or result of rendering something: such as a : a performance or interpretation of something b : depiction c : translation d : surrender; specifically, US law : the surrender by a state of a fugitive to another state charging the fugitive with a crime : interstate extradition Examples: "Still, Cosme is bound to offer the 'hood plenty of surprises, including a mescal-spiked, cactus-studded rendition of Manhattan clam chowder." — Jeff Gordinier, The New York Times, 2 Sept. 2014 "The best part is the vast majority of adults will love [Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse]. Most know who Spider-Man is. We've seen many different renditions of this superhero." — Andrew McManus, The Portsmouth (Ohio) Daily Times, 27 Apr. 2020 Did you know? Rendition entered English in the early 17th century and can be traced to the Middle French word reddition and ultimately to the Latin verb reddere, meaning "to return." The English verb render is another descendant of reddere, so perhaps it is no surprise that rendition fundamentally means "the act or result of rendering." English speakers also once adopted reddition itself (meaning either "restitution, surrender" or "elucidation"), but that word has mostly dropped out of use. Incidentally, if you've guessed that surrender is also from the same word family, you may be right; surrender derives in part from the Anglo-French rendre, which likely influenced the alteration of reddition to rendition.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 4, 2020 is: posture • PAHSS-cher • verb 1 : to cause to assume a given posture : pose 2 : to assume a posture; especially : to strike a pose for effect 3 : to assume an artificial or pretended attitude : attitudinize Examples: "During the rut, grabbing a bite to eat was an afterthought for bucks, but right now and in the weeks to come, choosing a prime food source is key to their survival. Sure … bucks are still banging antlers and posturing to prove who's boss. But this is all happening at, or around, the best food sources in the area." — Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 6 Jan. 2020 "It's also been assumed that a rift exists between Elway and Harris, but according to the player, that couldn't be further from the truth, despite the two being postured as adversaries over contracts and money." — Chad Jensen, Sports Illustrated, 11 Jan. 2020 Did you know? The Latin verb ponere, meaning "to put" or "to place," had a role in putting quite a few English terms into place, including component, dispose, expose, impose, oppose, posit, position, positive, postpone, and, yes, posture. The past participle of ponere—positus—gave Latin the noun positura, which has the same meaning as the English noun posture. Positura passed through Italian and Middle French and was finally adopted by English speakers as posture in the late 16th century. The verb posture later developed from the noun, finding its place in English at around the midpoint of the 17th century.

Mien is a noun that means a person's appearance or manner. Mien originated in Middle French, where it meant “appearance” or “facial expression.” As the word shifted to modern English, its spelling changed a little, but its definition is roughly the same. A person’s mien is basically a reference to their manner — physically and otherwise. I could somehow tell that Andrew wasn’t guilty of the crimes he was accused of. There was something in his mien that suggested a man to innocent to have committed fraud.

Sometimes things don't go according to plan. How do we keep moving forward when directions feel arbitrary? NOTES: procrastination (n.) "a putting off to a future time; dilatoriness," 1540s, from Middle French procrastination and directly from Latin procrastinationem (nominative procrastinatio) "a putting off from day to day," noun of action from past-participle stem of procrastinare "put off till tomorrow, defer, delay," from pro"forward" (see pro-) + crastinus "belonging to tomorrow," from cras "tomorrow," a word of unknown origin. Dark Night of the Soul --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/manual/message

RR173 Word of the Week: Notoriety vs. Publicity I went over this word back in 2017 before the show was broken down into three segments. I want to go over it again only because I have heard folks using it again presumably thinking it is the same as publicity. Notoriety Cambridge: the state of being famous for doing something, esp. something immoral or bad (Also infamy) Oxford English: The state of being famous or well known for some bad quality or deed. Publicity Cambridge: the activity of making certain that someone or something attracts a lot of interest or attention from many people, or the attention received as a result of this activity Oxford English: Notice or attention given to someone or something by the media. (first definition) Notorious Etymology: 1590s, from Middle French notoriété or directly from Medieval Latin notorietatem (nominative notorietas), from notorius "well-known" (see notorious). Notorious 1540s, "publicly known," from Medieval Latin notorius "well-known, commonly known," from Latin notus "known," past participle of noscere "come to know," from PIE root *gno- "to know." Negative connotation arose 17c. from frequent association with derogatory nouns. Related: Notoriously. Publicity Etymology: 1791, "condition of being public," from French publicité (1690s), from Medieval Latin publicitatem (nominative publicitas), from Latin publicus (see public (adj.)). Sense of "a making (something) known, an exposure to the public" is from 1826, shading by c. 1900 into "advertising, business of promotion." Publicity stunt first recorded 1908. It seems that another creator has the same disconnect that I have with the present day use of this word. This writer covers more of the origins and usage than I do here. My hope is to spread the word that notoriety is not a word that is interchangeable with publicity. Synonyms: celebrity, fame, flak, infamy, opprobrium, renown, spotlight, ballyhoo (extravagant publicity), dishonor, disrepute Research and Links https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/notoriety https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/publicity https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/notoriety https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/publicity https://www.etymonline.com/word/notoriety https://www.etymonline.com/word/notorious?ref=etymonline_crossreference https://www.etymonline.com/word/publicity https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2011/10/notoriety.html Like, share, comment, subscribe: Home on the web https://riedrants.com/ @RiedRants on Instagram and Twitter Donate at https://www.patreon.com/RiedRants Comment at https://www.facebook.com/RiedRants/ Download at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/riedrants/id1234080385?mt=2 Or https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ried-rants?refid=stpr Or even https://soundcloud.com/riedrants https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz07tkeud_bSx-1dWQC7Urw?view Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

“Where are you, best of the salt sea?” – Middle French poem, 14th century Hello everyone! Welcome back to The Land of Desire. Thanks for your patience while I spent some quality time with family at Thanksgiving and celebrating my birthday in NYC. This week we’ll continue our miniseries: “A Tour de France”: What kind The post 38. A Tour de France – Brittany appeared first on The Land of Desire.

Etymology From Anglo-Norman cotidian, cotidien, Middle French cotidian, cotidien, and their source, Latin cottīdiānus, quōtīdiānus (“happening every day”), from adverb cottīdiē, quōtīdiē (“every day, daily”), from an unattested adjective derived from quot (“how many”) + locative form of diēs (“day”). Pronunciation[edit] (UK) IPA(key): /kwəˈtɪdɪən/ (US) IPA(key): /kwɵˈtɪdɪən/

This episode was decided by listeners who responded to a poll I put up last week on Twitter asking if I should do a regular show for Episode 30 or if I should do a special episode with 30 random facts. If you're not already, follow @storybehindpod on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram so you can contribute to the show. What you decided was episode 30 should be 30 random facts, so without further ado, here we go! I'm your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind 30 Random Things. Many things we eat and drink contain grass. Not the kinds that necessarily grow in our yards, but varieties like wheat grass and barley grass are found in beer, whiskey and bread. A way to distinguish a monkey from an ape is their tails. Apes don't have tails, but monkeys do. Yams commonly found in your grocery store are probably sweet potatoes. True yams grow in Africa and Asia and are relatively tough to find. They are related to the lily family, while sweet potatoes are related to the morning glory family. But grocery stores distinguish sweet potatoes as being a firm sweet potato with a light flesh and a yam as being a soft sweet potato with a more orange or copper color. The moons and natural satellites of Uranis were named for characters in works by William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope, like Ophelia, Juliet, Belinda and Umbriel. The tradition was started by astronomer William Lassell, who discovered the first two in 1851. Cordelia from King Lear Ophelia from Hamlet Bianca from Taming of the Shrew Cressida from Troilus and Cressida Desdemona from Othello Juliet from Romeo and Juliet Portia from Merchant of Venice Rosalind from As You Like It Belinda, Umbriel  from Rape of Lock Puck, Titania and Oberon from A Midsummer Night's Dream Miranda, Ariel, Caliban, Sycorax, Prospero, Setebos, Stephano and Trinculo from The Tempest Hades, from Greek mythology, is not the basis for Satan in Christianity. Hades isn't necessarily a bad guy -- his job is simply to guard the Underworld, which is where all souls were believed to have gone when they died. There are parts of the Underworld where evil souls are tortured, much like Christianity's description of Hell, but souls considered good are rewarded in the Underworld. Erasers work by attracting the graphite from pencils off the paper and onto the rubber. Before our modern-day erasers, people would often use balled up bread to fix their mistakes on paper. Raisins were discovered accidentally when a San Fransisco grocer began selling grapes that had been dried out due to the heat wave 1873. He called them a “Peruvian Delicacy.” Eclair is the French word for Lightning. It's unclear why the cream-filled pastry is named that. One theory is that the name refers to the flaky outside and creamy inside being “light,” and a second theory is that it's eaten in a flash. Shirley Temple has fought soda companies twice for trying to market the ginger ale and grenadine drink named in her honor. Both times, she won. In 1988 when a California company tried to market Shirley T. Sparkling Soda, she was quoted by the New York Times as saying, “I will fight it like a tigress. All a celebrity has is their name.” If you've ever wondered where the phrase “Steal one's thunder” comes from, it's from John Dennis, an English dramatist from the 1700s, who invented a device for one of his plays that made a thunder sound. When his play flopped, the theater used the device for another play, causing Dennis to say, “That is my thunder, by God; the villains will play my thunder, but not my play.” “Steal my Sunshine,” the poppy ‘90s favorite by the brother-sister band Len isn't actually as positive as the title implies. It's been said the lyrics either refer to drugs or depression and how someone can make you feel worse by stealing your sunshine. The word “sychophant,” which basically means a self-serving suck up, has two possible origins. Both are pretty great. The first is that it comes from the Greek words “suko,” which means Fig, and “phantes,” which means people who reveal something. Back then, those who exported figs were doing so illegally, and anyone who told on them to authorities was called a Fig Revealer, or Suko-Phant. But the Oxford English Dictionary acknowledges this origin story to be unsubstantiated. The second origin comes from the Greek “sykophantes”, the Latin “sycophanta” and the Middle French version, “sycophante” in the 1530s, which also has to do with figs. In ancient Greece, it was a vulgar gesture to stick ones thumb between two fingers, which was thought to resemble a fig. It doesn't sound too bad until you find out that a fig was symbolic of a certain lady part. This gesture was commonly used as a taunt in Greek sporting events. Antarctica is the world's largest desert. Hard to believe, right? But a desert is actually defined not by sand or heat, but by the amount of precipitation it receives, and Antarctica only gets an average of 2 inches of snow per year. New words are added to English language at a rate of one new word every two hours. Coca-Cola bottles were designed when the company sponsored a competition to design distinctive bottles. At the time, all beverages were put in similar bottles, making it difficult to making it difficult to distinguish one drink from the other when kept cool in a bucket of ice water. The designer of the bottles originally wanted to draw inspiration from the coca leaf or kola nut, but the local library didn't have pictures of either. But he came up with the now iconic design of the Coca-Cola bottle after finding a picture of a cacao pod. “Enormity” is often thought to mean enormous, but it actually means extreme evil. It can be used, however, to mean a gigantic amount of evil. Remember the movie in which Sinbad played a genie called “Shazam?” Or reading the childhood books, “The Berenstein Bears” or even Curious George's tail? Yeah … those actually never happened. At least, according to what people are calling The Mandela Effect, a phenomenon where many swear they remember something one way, but it's actually different. By the way, there's no record of the movie Shazam, the books we read as kids were actually the BerenstAin Bears, and Curious George does not have a tail, which suggests he's an ape rather than a “little monkey,” as he's called in books. Eyes that are two different colors on a person is called Heterochromia. Some people mistakenly think David Bowie had this, but one of his pupils was permanently dilated his friend's fingernail sliced his eye when they got into a fight as teenagers. Mozart was so good at playing music at a young age, when he performed in London, people suspected him of being a drawf posing as a 9-year-old child. Austrian actress Hedy Lamarr wanted to help the war effort during World War II and, with the help of composer George Antheil, developed wireless communications technology we still use today in everyday objects such as cell phones. In “The Big Lebowski,” the word Dude is used 161 times and “man” is used 147. No one really knows why sometimes we get the sensation of falling when we're about to fall asleep. It's called a hypnic jerk and one theory is it's a leftover response from when humans used to sleep on branches in trees. V for Victory was popularized by Winston Churchill during World War II. But it was first proposed as a symbol for resistance to tyranny by Victor de Laveleye who was exiled to England after the Nazi invasion of Belgium in 1940. In case you ever wanted to kiss a baby iguana on the mouth, you might want to be aware that they often eat the poop of adult iguanas to get bacteria necessary for digesting their food. George Orwell's “1984,” written in 1949, shot to the top of Amazon Best-Sellers last week, which for those of you listening in the future was the second to last week of January 2017 following a number of references to the book on Twitter after Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway's statement that White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer used "alternative facts" when describing Inauguration Day. If you see a representation of a pirate wearing an eye patch, it's most likely not because he lost his eye -- a theory, which was deemed Plausible by “Mythbusters,” is that wearing an eye patch kept that eye's pupil dilated so seeing in the dark was easier when the patch was removed. Having this skill was handy when pirates had to go below deck quickly. Lincoln's famous beard was grown because 11-year-old Grace Bedell of Westfield, New York, wrote him a letter suggesting growing a beard to hide his gaunt face before the upcoming presidential election. On the way to his inauguration, he made a special stop in Westfield to meet Bedell and, shaking her hand, said,“You see? I let these whiskers grow for you.” As much as fans love him, Darth Vader only appears on screen for a total of 12 minutes in the original Star Wars. Not that I recommend you try it, but Romans used to effectively whiten their teeth with urine. There are two theories most probable about the origin of pink lemonade. Neither of them involve adding strawberry or raspberry to the mixture, as is common today and both involve the circus. One is that red cinnamon candies were accidentally dropped in a vat of lemonade in 1912 and, because there wasn't enough time to make a new batch, the lemonade was sold and became a hit. The second is that a lemonade salesman at the circus in 1857 ran out of water to make lemonade and grabbed a tub of water that was previously used to wash a performer's pink tights. The role of Shirley Temple was played by Laura McClellan from The Productive Woman podcast, John Dennis was played by Danny Savage from the podcast Idiom Savant, and Stargate Pioneer from Better Podcasting played Abraham Lincoln. Starting Thursday, The Story Behind will be doing more consecutive theme episodes starting with Forrest Gump February. Each episode will be the story behind a different pop culture or historical reference from the Tom Hanks movie. Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss an episode. Follow The Story Behind: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website Check out #PodernFamily on Twitter to find other great indie podcasts like this one. If you enjoy podcasts about history, literature, archeology, and the arts, check out the hashtag #HumanitiesPodcasts on Twitter to find more podcasts like this one. Click here to support this podcast on Patreon. Media: Music for Makers Sources: https://www.taskeasy.com/blog/2015/08/10/10-interesting-facts-about-grass/ http://facts.randomhistory.com/2008/12/15_monkeys.html http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-yams-and-sweet-potatoes-word-of-mouth-211176 http://www.livescience.com/38592-biggest-deserts.html http://myths.e2bn.org/mythsandlegends/userstory20411-hades-vs-satan.html http://mobile-cuisine.com/did-you-know/raisin-fun-facts/ http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?eclair http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-does-an-eraser-work http://www.women-inventors.com/Hedy-Lammar.asp http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sycophant http://www.rd.com/funny-stuff/funny-origins-behind-idioms-you-use-all-the-time/ https://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/truly-surprising-word-origins?utm_term=.tu12gj6Me#.cjLVG2ax1 http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/01/25/orwells-1984-leaps-top-amazon-bestseller-list/97031344/ http://mentalfloss.com/article/24479/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-shirley-temple http://mashable.com/2014/01/25/dark-90s-songs/#1dNPs1ejkPqH http://ohfact.com/interesting-facts-about-iguana/ https://www.bloomsbury-international.com/blog/2014/07/11/15-interesting-facts-about-the-english-language/ http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_519_30-mind-blowing-true-facts-about-famous-movie-scenes/ http://listverse.com/2014/06/30/10-easy-questions-we-still-dont-know-the-answer-to/ http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/bottle.asp http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-58-most-commonly-misused-words-and-phrases-a6754551.html https://www.buzzfeed.com/christopherhudspeth/crazy-examples-of-the-mandela-effect-that-will-make-you-ques?utm_term=.uqV0816Lg#.lln3R9qYK http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2014/05/19/is-curious-george-an-ape-or-a-monkey/ http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/heterochromia.htm http://mentalfloss.com/article/27273/nine-people-heterochromia-and-one-without http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/top10facts/638180/Top-10-facts-Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart http://www.thisdayinquotes.com/2011/01/origin-of-v-for-victory.html http://mentalfloss.com/article/52493/why-did-pirates-wear-eye-patches http://time.com/3462545/abraham-lincoln-beard/ http://io9.gizmodo.com/some-people-use-urine-and-chemistry-to-whiten-their-t-1662270403 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unusual-origins-pink-lemonade-180960145/  

Great story, 'The Shee', and more music from our Friends! We celebrate the Holidays with a party attended by some of our amazing friends. All of the music for the show has been provided by folks on the Friends of the Show page. You'll hear seven great pieces of music, a short poem by our resident bard, Chris Joliffe and a wonderful section from the novel, The Shee, by Dennis Sweet. More resources over at our main Website at http://celticmythpodshow.com Running Order: Intro 0:41 Winter Solstice by Phil Thornton 1:46 Winter's Common Ground by Jenna Greene 9:16 Solstice Night by Celia 14:25 Annwvn by Chris Joliffe 18:04 Ie Voz Prioz by Caera & Môr Gwyddelig 20:50 Snowfall by Celtic Twist 25:20 The Shee by Dennis Sweet 29:38 Lullaby by Portcullis 53:40 Listener Feedback 49:52 Antlered Crown & Standing Stone by Damh the Bard 59:30 Outtakes 1:05:14 We hope you enjoy it! Gary & Ruthie x x x It's always great to hear from you! Email garyandruth@celticmythpodshow.com, or call us using Speakpipe Winter Solstice by Phil Thornton A keen sorcerer of sonic visions, Phil Thornton has written and produced over 30 solo albums - with world wide sales of over 2 million - since beginning his musical odyssey in the early '80s with the group 'Expandis' (a unique artists collective best known for their innovative use of electronic sound). Phil's first two ambient albums 'Cloud Sculpting' and 'Edge Of Dreams' both topped the 'New Musical Express' New Age chart and are now widely acclaimed as classics of their genre. You can find Phil's music on iTunes, or from his website. You can find out more details about Phil and Expandis on his Contributor Page on our website.   Winter's Common Ground by Jenna Greene Jenna Greene is a Celtic Pagan singer-songwriter and harpist. Her songs are inspired by hope and healing, following bliss, nature mythology, the law of attraction and the little miracles in everyday life. She believes that music, nature and ritual are an empowering combination. Deeply influenced by the works of Joseph Campbell, she has studied world mythology and weaves these universal themes into her music.  She believes that music, nature and ritual are an empowering combination. Deeply influenced by the works of Joseph Campbell, she has studied world mythology and weaves these universal themes into her music. You can find Jenna performing at Celtic, Cultural, Faerie, Goddess, Renaissance, Natural Living and Holistic Healing festivals. Winter's Common Ground: "This is a home-made recording of a new song. In the spirit of the season, this is my holiday gift to my loyal and loving fans. I hope you enjoy it! I've studied many different spiritual traditions over the years. The more I learn, the more I realize how much they have in common. I think the lack of peace in the world comes from an "us and them" mentality. We are all seeking the same wisdom from the same loving Source. As we find the common ground that connects us all, we create a world of peace." Jenna can be found on Myspace, but her own website provides lots of useful information. You can find out more details about Jenna on her Contributor Page on our website.   Solstice Night by Celia Celia is a singer, songwriter, actress, and storyteller who dishes up the most delicious concoction of the silly and the sacred. She is an amazing multi-faceted artist. From powerful, heart-felt vocals to wacky comedic improvisations, you honestly never know what will happen with Celia on stage. Think Enya meets Tori Amos meets Gilda Radner. Solstice 2012, Solstice Night from the album Celia Sampler 2: A time to let go of the past and bring a new dream alive. This song was performed Live with Looping Technology. You can find her music on iTunes, Bandcamp, ReverbNation or CD Baby or from her website, Celia Online. You can find out more details about Celia on her Contributor Page on our website.   Annwvn by Chris Joliffe Astoundingly, Chris is an undiscovered talent - that is, until now! This amazing bard has given us permission to use some of his amazing stories and poems in the show and we're sure that you'll love them just as much as we do. In this show, you can hears his short poem Annwvn about the deeply mysterious Celtic Otherworld that we are currently meeting in the Welsh stories (CMP 30 onwards). We hope to bring you much more of Chris in the future and in the meantime check out his Contributor Page to find out a little more about him.   Ie Voz Prioz by Caera & Môr Gwyddelig The band Môr Gwyddelig consists of two members: Myra Hope Bobbitt, a Welsh-American who writes in English and Welsh and plays a nylon-strung Celtic folk harp; and Caera Aislingeach, a Scottish- and Irish-American who sings in all three Gaelic languages (Irish, Scottish, and Manx), and plays a clairseach, a brass-strung medieval-style Gaelic harp. Together they have recorded and played medieval European music, traditional Celtic music from almost all of the Celtic nations, and original music they have both written, in Welsh and Irish as well as in English. In July 2004, Môr Gwyddelig released their long-awaited album, Wake the Dragon. This album contains historical, traditional, and original music, in Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Middle French (circa 1556), as well as English. Original songs are in Welsh and English. You can find her music on iTunes, CD Baby or from her website. You can find out more details about Caera on her Contributor Page on our website.   Snowfall by Celtic Twist Celtic Twist are Phil Holland and Dave Palmley. Phil, a Celtic harpist/singer/songwriter, is of Irish and Scottish origin, rooted and educated in Celtic music and western classical music. Dave is a prolific and eclectic British singer/songwriter/guitarist. His music, is principally rooted in pop/folk/rock, but draws also from many other influences, all of which can be heard in his song writing and instrumental compositions. Together they make up Celtic Twist and bring a unique, evolving and thoroughly addictive Twist to the Celtic music genre. Each song is evocative of ages past, with harp, fiddle and guitar mongst many other instruments moving us to realms of magical vision. You can find their music on iTunes, CD Baby, or from their website, Celtic Twist. You can find out more details about Phil and Dave on their Contributor Page on our website.    The Shee by Dennis Sweet Dr. Dennis Sweet has been a student of Celtic mythology and Irish literature all his adult life, and has lectured on these subjects at Hendrix College, Bowdoin College, and Fordham University. In addition to various professional publications, he has two other books to his credit. In The Shee, a sídh ('shee'), or "fairy mound," has been discovered in western Ireland: the oldest artificial structure in the world. When opened, a rash of bizarre and inexplicable events occur throughout the region. A young American anthropologist and his friends try to understand the significance of these events in light of what was found in the shee...and what escaped from it. The section we bring you in this Party show tells of the encounter between Cultural Anthrolpologist Paul from Kansas (pardon his lack of a Kansas accent!) and a very mysterious character! You can find out more details about Dennis on his Contributor Page on our website.    Lullaby by Portcullis We first performed at Herstmonceux medieval Festival UK in 2001 with some other local musicians. We met lots of interesting people, and quickly developed a passion for re-enacting as Medieval Minstrels/Troubadours. In 2003 we formed Portcullis, and Jason began to put our CD together, which was released in 2004. You can find out more about Portcullis on their Myspace page or on their Contributor Page.   Listener Feedback by a 'Celt in America' & Witchy Godmother. We bring you some wonderful voice listener feedback, wishing Alicia, the Witchy Godmother good luck with her new show and a Happy Solstice to 'A Celt in America'!   Antlered Crown & Standing Stone by Damh the Bard Damh's new album is a superb compilation of spiritually uplifting songs about the Celtic Gods. This song, Antlered Crown & Standing Stone, is a wonderfully unique and powerful song of worship to the ancient Horned God of the Celts. As usual, Damh has brought us a completely new channel to the ancient and magical powers that dwell within our Ancient and Sacred Lands. You can get hold of Antlered Crown & Standing Stone from iTunes, CD Baby or his website at Pagan Music. He is also the voice behind Druidcast, the official podcast of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD, for short) - modern day Druids. You can find Druidcast here and find out more about OBOD here. You can find out more details about Damh on his Contributor Page on our website.   Get EXTRA content in the Celtic Myth Podshow App for iOS, Android & Windows Contact Us: You can leave us a message by using the Speakpipe Email us at: garyandruth@celticmythpodshow.com. Facebook fan-page http://www.facebook.com/CelticMythPodshow, Twitter (@CelticMythShow) or Snapchat (@garyandruth), Pinterest (celticmythshow) or Instagram (celticmythshow)   Help Spread the Word: Please also consider leaving us a rating, a review and subscribing in iTunes or 'Liking' our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/CelticMythPodshow as it helps let people discover our show - thank you :) If you've enjoyed the show, would you mind sharing it on Twitter please? Click here to post a tweet! Ways to subscribe to the Celtic Myth Podshow: Click here to subscribe via iTunes Click here to subscribe via RSS Click here to subscribe via Stitcher   Special Thanks Anne Roos, for King of the Fairies from her album A Light in the Forest. See her website for further details or check outher Contributor Page. Tomasc Kucza, for Dreams in Stasis Chamber from his album Planetology. See his website or our Contributor Page for more details. Sara Ayers, for Winter and the Sound of Nothing from her album, Sylvatica and Lily Solo Voice COda. See her website or our Contributor Page for more details. Roger Subirana, for his track Ynnar retidem from the album L'indret prohibit (2002). See his website or our Contributor Page for more details. Victor Stellar, for Glacial Epoch from his 2008 Singles. See his website or our Contributor Page for more details. Phil Thorton, for Inside from his album Edge of Dreams. See his website or our Contributor Page for more details.   For incidental music: Diane Arkenstone The Secret Garden. See the Contributor page for details. For our Theme Music: The Skylark and Haghole, the brilliant Culann's Hounds. See their Contributor page for details.   Additional Sources OBOD And, of course, the Awen - inspiration and imagination!   Extra Special Thanks for Unrestricted Access to Wonderful Music (in Alphabetic order) Anne Roos Extra Special thanks go for permission to use any of her masterful music to Anne Roos. You can find out more about Anne on her website or on her Contributor page. Caera Extra Special thanks go for permission to any of her evocative harping and Gaelic singing to Caera. You can find out more about Caera on her website or on her Contributor Page. Celia Extra Special Thanks go for permission to use any of her wonderful music to Celia Farran. You can find out more about Celia on her website or on her Contributor Page. Damh the Bard Extra Special thanks go to Damh the Bard for his permission to use any of his music on the Show. You can find out more about Damh (Dave) on his website or on his Contributor page. The Dolmen Extra Special thanks also go to The Dolmen, for their permission to use any of their fantastic Celtic Folk/Rock music on the Show. You can find out more about The Dolmen on their website or on our Contributor page. Keltoria Extra Special thanks go for permission to use any of their inspired music to Keltoria. You can find out more about Keltoria on their website or on their Contributor page. Kevin Skinner Extra Special thanks go for permission to use any of his superb music to Kevin Skinner. You can find out more about Kevin on his website or on his Contributor page. Phil Thornton Extra Special Thanks go for permisssion to use any of his astounding ambient music to the Sonic Sorcerer himself, Phil Thornton. You can find out more about Phil on his website or on his Contributor Page. S.J. Tucker Extra Special thanks go to Sooj for her permission to use any of her superb music. You can find out more about Sooj on her website or on her Contributor page. Spiral Dance Extra Special thanks go for permission to use Adrienne and the band to use any of their music in the show. You can find out more about Spiral Dance on their website or on their Contributor page. You'll also hear us wish you Nadolig Llawen a blwyddyn newydd dda at the end of the show - this is Welsh for Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :)   Save Save