Words, words, words

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:30 pm

rested gal wrote:LOL, Linda, I think you came off better as a "quick trier" than I did as a "rude saggy" person!

I'm still a little confused by "erudite." I never really understood the word, but I never thought it meant rude. But the other word for you, I liked that better, synonomous with "shrewd."

Linda

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:36 pm

More on the term from dictionary.com:

er·u·dite ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ry-dt, r-)
adj.
Characterized by erudition; learned. See Synonyms at learned.

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[Middle English erudit, from Latin rudtus, past participle of rudre, to instruct : -, ex-, ex- + rudis, rough, untaught; see rude.]
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eru·ditely adv.
eru·diteness n.
Word History: One might like to be erudite but hesitate to be rude. This preference is supported by the etymological relationship between erudite and rude. Erudite comes from the Latin adjective rudtus, “well-instructed, learned,” from the past participle of the verb rudre, “to educate, train.” The verb is in turn formed from the prefix ex-, “out, out of,” and the adjective rudis, “untaught, untrained,” the source of our word rude. The English word erudite is first recorded in a work possibly written before 1425 with the senses “instructed, learned.” Erudite meaning “learned” is supposed to have become rare except in sarcastic use during the latter part of the 19th century, but the word now seems to have been restored to favor.

Liam1965 · Post by **Liam1965** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:36 pm

LDuyer wrote:\I'm still a little confused by "erudite." I never really understood the word, but I never thought it meant rude. But the other word for you, I liked that better, synonomous with "shrewd."

Erudite means "Learned". In other words, she knows a lot.

(Meaning also, I think she knows enough to realize that just because "erudite" looks like it contains "rude" and "sagacious" contains "sag" doesn't really mean she's saggy and rude.)

Liam, saggy and rude.

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:40 pm

More on the word:

A.Word.A.Day--erudite

erudite (ER-yoo-dyt) adjective

Learned.

[From Middle English erudit, from Latin eruditus, from erudire (to instruct), from e- (ex-) + rudis (rude, untrained).]

A branch laden with fruit is closer to earth than one without. The same is true for people: the more the learning, the more humble one usually is. And it shows in the etymology of today's word. If you're erudite, literally, you've had rudeness taken out of you. Other words that share the same Latin root are rude and rudiment. -Anu

"Over the decades he (Roy Porter) spent at the Wellcome Institute, part of University College, London, he became legendary for his industriousness and for the generous, erudite and inspiring leadership that he provided to students, postdoctoral fellows and visiting scholars. Chandak Sengoopta; Books: A Stitch in Time; Independent (London), Dec 7, 2002.

"Ironically, the best way of preserving the forbidding flavor in Chinese might be to leave many words in English, since liberally sprinkling one's text with English is considered erudite in Chinese (it is a kind of Chinese counterpart to the way in which Art-Language borrows foreign terms like Gedankenexperiment and prima facie)." Douglas R. Hofstadter; Le Ton Beau De Marot: In Praise of the Music of Language, Basic Books, 1997. Full-text on Questia at http://www.questia.com/CM.qst?D=wotderudite

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:49 pm

Ever heard of this term? How would YOU use it in a sentence?

dragon's teeth (DRAG-uhns teeth) noun

Seeds of discord. Usually used in the form "to sow dragon's teeth":
to take an action that leads to future conflict.

[In Greek mythology, the Phoenician prince Cadmus killed a dragon and
sowed its teeth. From those teeth sprang an army of men who fought each
other until only five were left.]

"As some would tell it, the Court of Appeals sowed dragon's teeth five
years ago in its landmark holding that a cable television provider's
late fees were too high."
Peter Geier; Despite Negative Image, Class-Action Lawyers Perform
Important Job For Clients; The Daily Record (Baltimore, Maryland);
Dec 10, 2004.

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:53 pm

Here's another I've never seen before. Try using THIS one in a sentence!

catholicity (kath-uh-LIS-i-tee) noun

1. Wide-ranging; universality.

2. Broad-mindedness; inclusiveness.

[From Latin catholicus, from Greek katholikos (general),
from kata (according to, by) + holou (whole). Ultimately
from Indo-European root sol- (whole) that brought us
words such as solid, salute, save, salvo, and soldier.]

"[Broadcaster John Ebdon] notched up more than 1,000 broadcasts
on topics that reflected the catholicity of his interests --
they included astronomy, religion and poetry."
Obituaries: John Ebdon; The Times (London, UK); Mar 24, 2005.

Hmm. Couldn't this be used to describe our SWS?

How about, "The eclectic range of topics which interest SWS reflect the catholocity of his interests -- ........"

Linda

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 11:09 pm

Interesting site (source of the above two words):
(appears to be a fee-oriented subscriber site, but you can access some of it, like they're word of the day. I think the fee is to have the word of the day emailed to you, not sure)

http://www.wordsmith.org/words/today.html

tomjax · Post by **tomjax** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 9:50 am

Actually, I did not notice the typo either and did not use spell check.
Hence the snafu(go look that one up).

It's probably just my lysdexia acting up again.

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 11:10 am

tomjax wrote:Actually, I did not notice the typo either and did not use spell check. Hence the snafu(go look that one up).

I already knew what snafu meant, but for fun I looked it up anyway. The American Heritage Dictionary gave the usual definition. But I was a LITTLE surprised by part of the definition provided by Merriam-Webster. Please be advised, BLAME MERRIAM-WEBSTER ONLINE DICTIONARY, not me. I don't use those words! (but I couldn't resist copying this because I was a bit surprised)

snafu. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
...Slang A chaotic or confused situation. In a state of confusion or chaos. Inflected forms: sna·fued, sna·fu·ing, sna·fus To make confused or chaotic. s(ituation) n(ormal)...

sna·fu [Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary]
Pronunciation: sna-'fü, 'sna-"fü
Function: noun
Etymology: situation normal all fucked up (fouled up)
: CONFUSION, MUDDLE

Mikesus · Post by **Mikesus** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 2:05 pm

Didn't think the powers that be would allow those kind of words here...

Mike who never was a sailor...

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 3:05 pm

Mikesus wrote:

Didn't think the powers that be would allow those kind of words here...

Mike who never was a sailor...

We'll just tell them it was a typo.

BuffaloAl · Post by **BuffaloAl** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 3:07 pm

Linda,

You are neither a tyro nor quixotic. Meister is merely being sesquipedalian.

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 3:13 pm

BuffaloAl wrote:Linda,

You are neither a tyro nor quixotic. Meister is merely being sesquipedalian.

Oh dear...... here I go again!!

sesquipedalian

SYLLABICATION: ses·qui·pe·da·lian
PRONUNCIATION: sskw-p-dlyn
NOUN: A long word.
ADJECTIVE: 1. Given to the use of long words. 2. Long and ponderous; polysyllabic.

Haha! What a perfect match of word and definition!

(and a hard one to say!)

Linda

BuffaloAl · Post by **BuffaloAl** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 3:17 pm

He met with a girl quite loquacious
He knew that she was sagacious
She wanted a ring
to tie up the fling
But he was merely salacious

LDuyer · Post by **LDuyer** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 3:22 pm

BuffaloAl wrote:He met with a girl quite loquacious
He knew that she was sagacious
She wanted a ring
to tie up the fling
But he was merely salacious

loquacious
SYLLABICATION: lo·qua·cious
PRONUNCIATION: l-kwshs
ADJECTIVE: Very talkative; garrulous.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin loqux, loquc-, from loqu, to speak.

salacious
SYLLABICATION: sa·la·cious
PRONUNCIATION: s-lshs
ADJECTIVE: 1. Appealing to or stimulating sexual desire; lascivious. 2. Lustful; bawdy.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin salx, salc-, fond of leaping, lustful, from salre, to leap.

I've always heard the word salacious, but never used it. Shame, because I love that racy definition!! Definitely a good word for meister!

Linda,
who feels she's in the middle of a weekend English class

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Words, words, words

typo

Re: typo