I, an octogenarian and avid reader, often I see a word or phrase in print that is new to me. Not talking about professional or scientific jargon, or, God forbid, words not fit for the printed page — but English words which fill the bill for specific comprehension.
1: SUPERNATURAL, MYSTERIOUS2: filled with a sense of the presence of divinity : HOLY3: appealing to the higher emotions or to the aesthetic sense : SPIRITUAL
The Oxford dictionary caused a big stir by recently including some Nigerian English. I personally l love ‘tomorrow tomorrow’, the day after tomorrow.
OK, so I’ll meet you at the cafe for lunch tomorrow tomorrow - you bring the crossword this time.
I like it. There is a German word for the day after tomorrow, which is ubermorgen. There are a few online groups which have translated this to Overmorrow and are trying to normalize its usage.
Such as: "I'm busy tomorrow. Catch you overmorrow?"
I'm addicted to a British game show called "8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown" where comedians who would normally be on the meaningless panel show 8 Out Of 10 Cats play the actual game show Countdown (AKA Letters & Numbers). It's hilarious and incredibly rude and I love it. Point being, it features lexicographer and etymologist Susie Dent, who is brilliantly dry and absolutely loves words and their origins.
Relevant for current events such as preparing for coronavirus: "Hamsterkäufe"
There is, of course, a German word for the drive to soothe uncertainty by buying and buying: Hamsterkäufe, meaning to shop like a nervous, bulging-cheeked hamster. https://t.co/69pIzqNZd2
Yes! It’s a real word! The Oxford has accepted since the ‘70s - unidea’ed: having no ideas. Please note, this word still requires its apostrophe.
Unidea’ed. One might wonder if recent rapid changes in politics, business/economics and health news have left world leaders unidea’ed for the short term.
Just read today there is a a new language museum called Planet Word opening May 31 in downtown D.C. It is the world's first voice-activated museum. Sounds like fun.
the German word Backpfeifengesicht has no equivalent word in English. Roughly translated it means "face that should be slapped" or "face that should be punched." A good example of a person with a Backpfeifengesicht would be Ted Cruz. And there is science that explains the feeling:
I like it. There is a German word for the day after tomorrow, which is ubermorgen. There are a few online groups which have translated this to Overmorrow and are trying to normalize its usage.
Such as: "I'm busy tomorrow. Catch you overmorrow?"
Same in Danish:
I morgen (tomorrow) and overmorgen (day after tomorrow).
The same principle applies to i gaar (yesterday) and i forgaars (day before yesterday)
This is a polite way to address blue-collar workers, such as taxi drivers, mechanics, repairmen, barbers, carpenters and more. It’s a term of respect for someone who is a master of their craft. Note that shī fu (師父), which means something like ‘master,’ is pronounced the same way but written differently. The second term is used for martial arts instructors, as well as spiritual figures such as monks or nuns.
A tiny drift here but I discovered yesterday that the word "exceed" has no antonym. You have to use at least a two word phrase like "less than." Can we make one up? "Underceed" "Misceed" "Endoceed"?
A tiny drift here but I discovered yesterday that the word "exceed" has no antonym. You have to use at least a two word phrase like "less than." Can we make one up? "Underceed" "Misceed" "Endoceed"?
Shrink, or diminish??
I’ll check my editing resources.
ETA: decrement. Contract (as in, the verb for making smaller). Whittle. Restrain. Minify. Deflate. Devalue, degrade. Depreciate. Expurgate. Subceed.
There’s a lot more but not quite with the passion and context you’re after.
The word PRONE (and Proning) has arisen with an unusual meaning during the Covid-19 pandemic. It refers to lying face down as better for the lungs in patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease and on ventilators.
"Proning" refers to the process, usually undertaken by a group of health care workers, of turning a patient over to "prone" position.
A tiny drift here but I discovered yesterday that the word "exceed" has no antonym. You have to use at least a two word phrase like "less than." Can we make one up? "Underceed" "Misceed" "Endoceed"?
Shrink, or diminish??
I’ll check my editing resources.
ETA: decrement. Contract (as in, the verb for making smaller). Whittle. Restrain. Minify. Deflate. Devalue, degrade. Depreciate. Expurgate. Subceed.
There’s a lot more but not quite with the passion and context you’re after.
Oh, how I would love to use that one day. "Sir, despite knowing that you are little better than a mutt, you have continued to decrement my expectations."
I couldn’t find it in my Shorter Oxford Dictionary (just a quick glance). I’d suggest looking at the full Oxford, the 26-volume version. Because the Oxford is done on historical principles, it has to give examples (they’re usually of first recorded use)
ETA: I also checked against EXCEED, just in case. That records both Shakespearean usage (mid1500s) and 1490s, maybe a little earlier. It’s a earlier, it’s a bit hard for me to read just now the fine print even with a magnifying glass. So there’s an argument for subceed going back that far. In the mid to late 1800s sub- was used in legal and financial/business matters (as were a lot of Latin terms) to sound impressively learned and weighty. This was especially important for loans, wages, land sales etc. where interest could mount up and earnings drop. I think now we use other terms more often since fewer people understand Latin.
Aha! Now mainly used in maths & science or economics! Thank you, google scholar! (It still doesn’t like the spelling) example:
… 1.2) Philosophical explication: extraction of more consistent and precise meaning or meanings …In Good (1968), I defined the complexity of a proposition H as —log P(H), but I retracted … The dynamic explicativity ^(E iH ) can exceed, equal, or 'subceed' ?/0(E:E). When y = | we have …
(after breakfast)
THE MEANING OF WORDS
I, an octogenarian and avid reader, often I see a word or phrase in print that is new to me. Not talking about professional or scientific jargon, or, God forbid, words not fit for the printed page — but English words which fill the bill for specific comprehension.
From today’s NYT OpEd page....
numinous
adjective
nu·mi·nous | \ ˈnü-mə-nəs , ˈnyü- \
Definition of numinous
1: SUPERNATURAL, MYSTERIOUS2: filled with a sense of the presence of divinity : HOLY3: appealing to the higher emotions or to the aesthetic sense : SPIRITUAL