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Word & Quote of the Day (Mar 22, 2008)

(2008-02-23 06:05:52) 下一個

***** Mar 22, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

vestige

Definition:(noun) A visible trace, evidence, or sign of something that once existed but exists or appears no more.
Synonyms:tincture, trace, shadow
Usage:He was so deadly pale?which had not been the case when they went in together?that no vestige of colour was to be seen in his face.


Quote of the Day
Talent isn't genius, and no amount of energy can make it so. I want to be great, or nothing. I won't be a commonplace dauber, so I don't intend to try any more.
Louisa May Alcott
(1832-1888)



***** Mar 21, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

arduous

Definition:(adjective) Demanding great effort or labor; difficult.
Synonyms:backbreaking, grueling, laborious, toilsome, punishing, hard, heavy
Usage:The roofer's work was so arduous that he was forced to take numerous medications to relieve the pain in his back.


Quote of the Day
The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions.
Virginia Woolf
(1882-1941)



***** Mar 20, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

maverick

Definition:(adjective) Being independent in thought and action or exhibiting such independence.
Synonyms:unorthodox, irregular
Usage:He was a maverick politician and refused to align himself with any of the established parties.


Quote of the Day
Good actions ennoble us, and we are the sons of our own deeds.
Miguel de Cervantes
(1547-1616)



***** Mar 19, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

bonhomie

Definition:(noun) A pleasant and affable disposition.
Synonyms:affability, affableness, amiableness, geniality, amiability
Usage:The good humor and bonhomie called up by this last evening amongst his old friends had disappeared.


Quote of the Day
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.
Gilbert Chesterton
(1874-1936)



***** Mar 18, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

formicary

Definition:(noun) A nest of ants.
Synonyms:anthill
Usage:Hours after accidentally stepping on a formicary, she was still picking stray ants off of her jeans.


Quote of the Day
O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.
Sun Tzu
(544 BC-496 BC)



***** Mar 17, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

escritoire

Definition:(noun) A writing table; a desk.
Synonyms:secretaire, writing table, secretary
Usage:In the large shining mahogany escritoire Mr. Osborne had a drawer especially devoted to his son's affairs and papers.
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary


Quote of the Day
Methinks the human method of expression by sound of tongue is very elementary, and ought to be substituted for some ingenious invention which should be able to give vent to at least six coherent sentences at once.
Virginia Woolf
(1882-1941)





***** Mar 16, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

hibernal

Definition:(adjective) Of or relating to winter.
Synonyms:brumal, hiemal
Usage:Our teacher described the first activities of bears as they emerge from hibernal sleep.
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary


Quote of the Day
Despair has its own calms.
Bram Stoker
(1847-1912)



***** Mar 15, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

plexor

Definition:(noun) A small hammer with a rubber head used in percussive examinations of the chest and in testing reflexes.
Synonyms:percussor, plessor
Usage:When the doctor tapped my knee with the plexor, my reflex was so strong that I almost kicked him in the head!


Quote of the Day
There are mysteries which men can only guess at, which age by age they may solve only in part.
Bram Stoker
(1847-1912)





***** Mar 14, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

athirst

Definition:(adjective) Extremely desirous.
Synonyms:hungry, thirsty
Usage:The young, enthusiastic student was athirst for knowledge.


Quote of the Day
Change begets change. Nothing propagates so fast.
Charles Dickens
(1812-1870)



***** Mar 13, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

quagmire

Definition:(noun) Land with a soft muddy surface.
Synonyms:mire, morass, quag, slack
Usage:We had some difficulty in reaching the point, owing to the intolerably bad paths; for everywhere in the shade the ground soon becomes a perfect quagmire.


Quote of the Day
Life is made of ever so many partings welded together.
Charles Dickens
(1812-1870)




***** Mar 12, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

pasquinade

Definition:(noun) A satire or lampoon, especially one that ridicules a specific person, traditionally written and posted in a public place.
Synonyms:parody, put-on, sendup, spoof, charade, lampoon, mockery, burlesque, travesty, takeoff
Usage:The corrupt politician was a popular target of the pasquinades that were posted all over the city.


Quote of the Day
One man scorned and covered with scars still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars; and the world was better for this.
Miguel de Cervantes
(1547-1616)




***** Mar 11, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

pincer

Definition:(noun) A grasping structure on the limb of a crustacean or other arthropods.
Synonyms:chela, nipper, claw
Usage:The front pair of legs terminate in very strong and heavy pincers.


Quote of the Day
No man knows he is young while he is young.
Gilbert Chesterton
(1874-1936)



***** Mar 10, 2008 *****
 

Word of the Day

scissure

Definition:(noun) A split or opening in an organ or part.
Synonyms:crack, crevice, fissure, cleft
Usage:The surgeon explained that the stitches he had used to sew the scissure shut would dissolve in a few weeks.


Quote of the Day
Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart; and his friends can only read the title.
Virginia Woolf
(1882-1941)




***** Mar 09, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

surreptitious

Definition:(adjective) Marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed.
Synonyms:furtive, stealthy, sneaky
Usage:She stole a surreptitious glance at him, but he, too, seemed to have been caught up by Rose's gay, good humor.


Quote of the Day
Do not free the camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel.
Gilbert Chesterton
(1874-1936)





***** Mar 08, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

ferrule

Definition:(noun) A metal ring or cap placed around a pole or shaft for reinforcement or to prevent splitting.
Synonyms:collet
Usage:The walking stick was quite old, and the large brass ferrule at its tip was worn down and dented.


Quote of the Day
History shows that the human mind, fed by constant accessions of knowledge, periodically grows too large for its theoretical coverings, and bursts them asunder to appear in new habiliments, as the feeding and growing grub, at intervals, casts its too narrow skin and assumes another.
Charles Darwin
(1809-1882)



***** Mar 07, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

kinescope

Definition:(noun) A cathode-ray tube in a television receiver.
Synonyms:picture tube, television tube
Usage:When the kinescope failed, we decided to spring for a brand-new television.


Quote of the Day
She missed him the days when some pretext served to take him away from her, just as one misses the sun on a cloudy day without having thought much about the sun when it was shining.
Kate Chopin
(1851-1904)




***** Mar 06, 2008 ****

Word of the Day

plexus

Definition:(noun) A structure in the form of a network, especially of nerves, blood vessels, or lymphatics.
Synonyms:rete
Usage:The bullet missed his cardiac plexus by an inch, leaving all the nerves intact.


Quote of the Day
Instead of dirt and poison, we have rather chosen to fill our hives with honey and wax; thus furnishing mankind with the two noblest of things, which are sweetness and light.
Jonathan Swift
(1667-1745)




***** Mar 05, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

listless

Definition:(adjective) Marked by low spirits; showing no enthusiasm.
Synonyms:dispirited
Usage:A subtle change had transformed her from the listless woman he had known into a being who, for the moment, seemed palpitant with the forces of life.


Quote of the Day
I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.
Gilbert Chesterton
(1874-1936)




***** Mar 04, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

lycanthrope

Definition:(noun) A monster able to change appearance from human to wolf.
Synonyms:werewolf, wolfman, loup-garou
Usage:She thought the novel about the lycanthrope would be silly, but the sad tale about the werewolf's struggles to regain control of his life moved her to tears.


Quote of the Day
The fatal metaphor of progress, which means leaving things behind us, has utterly obscured the real idea of growth, which means leaving things inside us.
Gilbert Chesterton
(1874-1936)



***** Mar 3, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

phellem

Definition:(noun) Outer tissue of bark; a protective layer of dead cells.
Synonyms:cork
Usage:Joe carefully harvested the phellem from the tree, excited at the prospect of using the buoyant material to make his very own toy boat.


Quote of the Day
Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.
Gilbert Chesterton
(1874-1936)




***** March 2, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

sternutation

Definition:(noun) A symptom consisting of the involuntary expulsion of air from the nose.
Synonyms:sneeze, sneezing
Usage:John complained that every time he came to visit, my dusty carpet would send him into fits of sternutation.


Quote of the Day
'Tis no sin to cheat the devil.
Daniel Defoe
(1660-1731)



***** Mar 1, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

appurtenance

Definition:(noun) Equipment, such as clothing, tools, or instruments, used for a specific purpose or task.
Synonyms:paraphernalia, gear
Usage:He had half expected that she would drive up to the side door in a hansom, would wear a thick veil, and adopt the other appurtenances of a clandestine meeting.


Quote of the Day
Every traveler has a home of his own, and he learns to appreciate it the more from his wandering.
Charles Dickens
(1812-1870)




***** Feb 29, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

jurisprudence

Definition:(noun) The philosophy or science of law.
Synonyms:legal philosophy, law
Usage:Because he hoped to one day run for office, he decided to delve into the study of jurisprudence.


Quote of the Day
Credit is a system whereby a person who can't pay gets another person who can't pay to guarantee that he can pay.
Charles Dickens
(1812-1870)




***** Feb 28, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

invective

Definition:(noun) Denunciatory or abusive language.
Synonyms:vituperation, vitriol
Usage:Bartle had become so excited and angry in the course of his invective that he had forgotten his supper.


Quote of the Day
I must complain the cards are ill-shuffled till I have a good hand.
Jonathan Swift
(1667-1745)



***** Feb 27, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

baccarat

Definition:(noun) A card game in which the winner is the player who holds two or three cards totaling closest to nine.
Synonyms:chemin de fer
Usage:Because baccarat attracts wealthy players who place enormous bets, a casino can win or lose millions of dollars a night on the game.


Quote of the Day
No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.
Charles Dickens
(1812-1870)



***** Feb 26, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

annunciation

Definition:(noun) A formal public statement.
Synonyms:proclamation, declaration, announcement
Usage:A long and dramatic drum-roll signaled that a royal annunciation was about to be delivered.


Quote of the Day
A good essay must have this permanent quality about it; it must draw its curtain round us, but it must be a curtain that shuts us in not out.
Virginia Woolf
(1882-1941)



***** Feb 25, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

arbor

Definition:(noun) A shady resting place in a garden or park, often made of rustic work or latticework on which plants, such as climbing shrubs or vines, are grown.
Synonyms:bower, pergola
Usage:I never saw such a garden?large and shady, full of box-bordered paths, and lined with long grape-covered arbors with seats under them.


Quote of the Day
For in reason, all government without the consent of the governed is the very definition of slavery.
Jonathan Swift
(1667-1745)



***** Feb 24, 2008 *****


Word of the Day

amulet

Definition:(noun) An object worn, especially around the neck, as a charm against evil or injury.
Synonyms:talisman
Usage:It was sorcery, magic of the worst kind, thought Buldeo, and he wondered whether the amulet round his neck would protect him.


Quote of the Day
Our greatest foes, and whom we must chiefly combat, are within.
Miguel de Cervantes
(1547-1616)




***** Feb 23, 2008 *****

Word of the Day

connoisseur

Definition:(noun) A person with expert knowledge or training, especially in the fine arts.
Synonyms:cognoscente
Usage:I brought the painting to the world's best art connoisseurs, and they all agreed that it was an authentic Picasso and would fetch millions at auction.
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary


Quote of the Day
When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.
Sun Tzu
(544 BC-496 BC)
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