Words for the Day; please share

by compound complex 182 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  compound complex

  Greetings, word lovers:

  In my job, I work with words and wrangle them into shape, well, in a manner of speaking. One word might be mistaken for another, a word with either a similar or identical sound. Additionally, some words are spelled the same but have different meanings and pronunciations.

  I came across immanent yesterday and checked to see why the author had "misspelled" imminent. He had not. I should have seen, from the context, that he was describing the inherent quality of a matter, not its impending nearness.

  eminent: famous

  imminent: about to happen

  immanent: inherent

  PLEASE ADD YOUR WORD(S).

  THANKS!
• 

  stillin

  So, you're a homophobe hunter?
• 

  compound complex

  Good morning, stillin:

  It's more like homophones, -nyms, and -graphs!

  But yes, I am a hunter, relentless in my pursuit. Sometimes, I wish I could turn off my brain and just read a book without a pencil and a Webster's in hand.

  THANKS!
  
• 

  TerryWalstrom

  Thank you!
  
  The other day, I came across this on a Blog. I was gobsmacked!
  ____________

  Grammar is “racist,” according to the professional staff, tutors, and the Director of the writing center at the University of Washington at Tacoma.

  To combat this perceived racism they promise to “emphasize the importance of rhetorical situations over grammatical ‘correctness.’”

  Forget learning how to write correctly, now a “big part” of the work of writing consultants “is to help students become more critical of these unjust language structures as they affect students’ writing and the judgment of that writing.” Instead of teaching students to write well, consultants will “discuss racism and social justice issues openly in productive ways.”
  
  (http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/can-grammar-be-racist-university-washington-thinks-so)
• 

  compound complex

  You're welcome, Terry, and thank you for your post.

  Through the work of editing a courtroom thriller, my client gave me THE BEDFORD BIBLIOGRAPHY for TEACHERS OF WRITING, Fourth Edition, by Patricia Bizzell and Bruce Herzberg.

  Likewise, I was gobsmacked that there is so much more underlying the theory and practice of writing. Similar to your entries, there is concern not to hurt the feelings of "basic writers," et al.

  My already overloaded brain is in overwhelm mode . . .
• 

  Xanthippe

  mellifluous

  mɛˈlɪflʊəs/

  adjective

  1. (of a sound) pleasingly smooth and musical to hear.

     "her low mellifluous voice"

     synonyms:

     sweet-sounding, sweet-toned, dulcet, honeyed, mellow, soft, liquid, soothing, rich, smooth, euphonious, lyric, harmonious, tuneful, musical; raremellifluent "his low, mellifluous voice was instantly recognizable"

  
  

  
  I'm listening to wonderful Classic fm, so this is my word this evening.
• 

  Spoletta

  Unpresidented

  Verb

  1. What happens to bad Presidents.
• 

  LoveUniHateExams

  I have no real ability in creative writing - none whatsoever.

  But I have an amateur's interest in languages - my interest being the Germanic languages in general and Old and Middle English in particular.

  I recently came across a movement that wants to recover the Englishness of English by coining new words from Anglo-Saxon roots. These would then be used to replace words derived from French and Latin - e.g. 'resurrection' (from Latin) would be replaced with 'gainrising'.

  I guess the people behind the movement believe that borrowings from Latin, French and other languages have 'spoilt' the English language. They say that 'foreign' words should be replaced by existing Anglo-Saxon (A-S) ones or coined from A-S roots, or from Germanic roots in general, if there are no Anglo-Saxon words.

  Don't they realise that some common English words are actually from other Germanic languages (mostly Old Norse), and thus should be considered 'foreign', and therefore undesirable. Aren't they aware that egg, they, sky, bairn, knife, like, law, skill, take, window and many more are from Old Norse?

  It's totally bonkers and will never take off but as someone with an interest in languages, I find it absolutely fascinating.

  Anyway, my word for the day is oversetting, which has been coined to mean 'translation'.

  It's actually very similar to the word for 'translation' in some other Germanic languages:

  Uebersetzung (German)

  oversettelse (Norwegian).
• 

  stillin

  Obviously I need not to trust my spellchecker and do some of my own! Yes, homoPHONES!

  ;)
• 

  compound complex

  Thank you, fellow word identifiers, for your entries! I'm enjoying them.

  Happy lexicographic trails!