Green Monk's Friends

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.26.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 26, 2009 is:

two-bit • \TOO-BIT\ • adjective
1 : of the value of two bits *2 : cheap or trivial of its kind : petty, small-time

Example sentence:
Eliana had only a two-bit role in the musical, but her enchanting voice and beauty magnified her presence on stage.

Did you know?
The first definition of "two-bit" makes its etymology obvious: it is derived from the noun "two bits." However, "two bits" is an interesting phrase because it actually means "the value of a quarter of a dollar." There is no such thing as a single bit, at least not anymore. The now obsolete Spanish dollar was composed of eight reals, or eight bits, so a quarter of the dollar equaled two bits. The phrase "two bits" carried over into U.S. usage, though there's no bit coin in U.S. currency. "Two bits" first appeared in print in English in 1730 (and later developed the figurative sense of "something of small worth or importance"), followed in 1802 by its adjectival relative. These days, the adjective has far surpassed the noun in popularity.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

wassail

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.25.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 25, 2009 is:

wassail • \WAH-sul\ • verb
1 : to indulge in riotous drinking 2 dialect England : to sing carols from house to house at Christmas *3 : to drink to the health or thriving of

Example sentence:
The farmer and his revelers wassailed the apple orchard, hoping for another fruitful season, and then merrily poured cider around the trees.

Did you know?
The salutation "wassail," from the Old Norse toast "ves heill" ("be well"), has accompanied English toast-making since the 12th century. By the 13th century, "wassail" was being used for the drink itself, and it eventually came to be used especially of a hot drink (of wine, beer, or cider with spices, sugar, and usually baked apples) drunk around Christmastime. This beverage warmed the stomachs and hearts of many Christmas revelers and was often shared with Christmas carolers. The verb "wassail" was first used in the 14th century to describe the carousing associated with indulgence in the drink; later, it was used of other activities associated with wassail and the holiday season, like caroling. Seventeenth-century farmers added cattle and trees to the wassail tradition by drinking to their health or vitality during wintertime festivities.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

malleable

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.24.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 24, 2009 is:

malleable • \MAL-ee-uh-bul\ • adjective
*1 : capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer or by the pressure of rollers 2 a : capable of being altered or controlled by outside forces or influences b : having a capacity for adaptive change

Example sentence:
Grandma took the cookie dough out of the refrigerator and allowed it to soften to a consistency that was firm yet malleable.

Did you know?
There is a hint about the origins of "malleable" in its first definition. The earliest uses of the word, which first appeared in English in the 14th century, referred primarily to metals that could be reshaped by beating with a hammer. The Middle English word "malliable" comes to us from Medieval Latin "malleabilis," which in turn derives from the Latin verb "malleare," meaning "to hammer." "Malleare" itself was created from the Latin word for "hammer": "malleus." If you have guessed that "maul" and "mallet," other English words for specific types of hammers, can also be traced back to "malleus," you have hit the nail on the head.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

baptism of fire

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.23.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 23, 2009 is:

baptism of fire • \BAP-tiz-um-uv-FYRE\ • noun
*1 : an introductory or initial experience that is a severe ordeal; especially : a soldier's first exposure to enemy fire 2 : a spiritual baptism by a gift of the Holy Spirit

Example sentence:
Sandra got her baptism of fire as a babysitter when she spent the weekend taking care of her sister’s three rambunctious children.

Did you know?
In the 1981 volume Airmobility in Vietnam, Lt. General John Tolson used the military sense of "baptism of fire," writing, "Major George D. Hardesty, Jr. of the 8th Transportation Company and Major Robert J. Dillard of the 57th could report that their units performed outstandingly under their first baptism of fire." Tolson and other users of the phrase allude (knowingly or unknowingly) to a Biblical passage: "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me . . . will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Matthew 3:11, RSV). Since at least 1857, "baptism of fire" has been used metaphorically in English for any initiation, especially a difficult one.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

veracity

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.22.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 22, 2009 is:

veracity • \vuh-RASS-uh-tee\ • noun
1 : devotion to the truth : truthfulness *2 : conformity with truth or fact : accuracy 3 : something true

Example sentence:
English poet Thomas Gray wrote, "Any fool may write a most valuable book by chance, if he will only tell us what he heard and saw with veracity."

Did you know?
"Veracity" has been a part of English since at least 1623, and we can honestly tell you that it derives from the Latin adjective "verax" ("true" or "truthful"), which in turn comes from the earlier adjective "verus" ("true"). "Verus" also gives us "verity" ("the quality of being true"), "verify" ("to establish the truth of"), and "verisimilitude" ("the appearance of truth"), among other words. In addition, "verax" is the root of the word "veraciousness," a somewhat rarer synonym and cousin of "veracity."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

arbitrary

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.21.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 21, 2009 is:

arbitrary • \AHR-buh-trair-ee\ • adjective
1 : autocratic, despotic *2 : determined by whim or caprice : existing or coming about seemingly at random or by chance

Example sentence:
The 10 p.m. deadline is arbitrary -- we could have easily selected another time for the contest to end -- but we had to pick a cutoff, and now it is set.

Did you know?
"Arbitrary" is derived from the same source as "arbiter." The Latin word "arbiter" means "judge," and English adopted it, via Anglo-French, with the meaning "one who judges a dispute"; it can now also be used for anyone whose judgment is respected. "Arbitrary" traces back to the Latin adjective "arbitrarius" ("done by way of legal arbitration"), which itself comes from "arbiter." In English "arbitrary" first meant "depending upon choice or discretion" and was specifically used to indicate the sort of decision (as for punishment) left up to the expert determination of a judge rather than defined by law. Today, it can also be used for anything determined by or as if by a personal choice or whim.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

groundling

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.20.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 20, 2009 is:

groundling • \GROUND-ling\ • noun
1 a : a spectator who stood in the pit of an Elizabethan theater* b : a person of unsophisticated taste 2 : one that lives or works on or near the ground

Example sentence:
The movie was panned as mindless fodder for the groundlings.

Did you know?
In Elizabethan times, play-going audiences were a diverse bunch. In the upper gallery, the wealthier patrons fanned themselves and looked with disdain at those who could only afford the penny admission to the pit below. Pit spectators had to sit or stand in close proximity on the bare floor, exposed to the sweltering sun or the dampening rain. At times, they behaved less than decorously, and they reportedly emitted a less than pleasant odor. The pit was also called the "ground"; those in it were "groundlings." Today, we use "groundlings" to refer not only to the less than couth among us, but also (often with some facetiousness) to ordinary Janes or Joes.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

quadrennial

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.19.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 19, 2009 is:

quadrennial • \kwah-DREN-ee-ul\ • adjective
1 : consisting of or lasting for four years *2 : occurring or being done every four years

Example sentence:
The 1990 U.S. soccer team was the first U.S team in 40 years to qualify for the championship tournament in the quadrennial World Cup.

Did you know?
Most things "quadrennial" occur every four years (that's the more common use). We can say, for example, that the U.S. presidential election is a quadrennial event. But we can also say that president's term in office is quadrennial, making good use of the "lasting four years" sense. The Latin combining form "quadri-" adds a factor of four to many English words: "quadriceps" (the thigh muscle, which has four parts), "quadrilateral" (a four-sided polygon), "quadragenarian" (a person in his or her 40s), and "quadricentennial" (a 400th anniversary), to name a few. The "-ennial" part of "quadrennial" has the same root as in "biennial" and "centennial"; all trace back to "annus," the Latin word for "year."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

finesse

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.18.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 18, 2009 is:

finesse • \fuh-NESS\ • verb
1 : to make a finesse in playing cards : to play (a card) in a finesse 2 *a : to bring about, direct, or manage by adroit maneuvering b : evade, skirt

Example sentence:
"A surer hand behind the camera might've finessed the jokes more effectively, or established a consistent and satisfying tone." (Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, November 6, 2009)

Did you know?
"Finesse" was a noun for more than 200 years before it became a verb. In the early 16th century the noun "finesse" was used to refer to refinement or delicacy of workmanship, structure, or texture. Soon thereafter it developed the "skillful handling of a situation" meaning most common today. The first use of the verb "finesse," however, was not as a corollary of one of these meanings. Instead, its meaning had to do with cards: if you finesse in a game like bridge or whist, you withhold your highest card or trump in the hope that a lower card will take the trick because the only opposing higher card is in the hand of an opponent who has already played. The other verb meanings of "finesse" developed within a few decades of this one.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

intransigent

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.17.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 17, 2009 is:

intransigent • \in-TRAN-suh-junt\ • adjective
: characterized by refusal to compromise or to abandon an extreme position or attitude : uncompromising

Example sentence:
Ms. Baxter was intransigent about her most famous rule: no gum or candy in her classroom unless you’d brought enough to share with everybody.

Did you know?
English speakers borrowed "intransigent" in the 19th century from Spanish "intransigente" ("uncompromising"), itself a combination of the familiar prefix "in-" ("not") and "transigente" ("willing to compromise"). "Transigente" comes from the Spanish verb "transigir" ("to compromise"), which in turn comes from Latin "transigere" ("to come to an agreement"). The French have a similar verb, "transiger," which also means "to compromise." You may wonder if the word "transigent" exists in English, and the answer is "not really." It has seen occasional use, but it is not well established. There is, however, one other common English word that traces from Latin "transigere": "transact," meaning "to conduct (business)."

sastruga

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.16.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 16, 2009 is:

sastruga • \SAS-truh-guh\ • noun
: a wavelike ridge of hard snow formed by the wind -- usually used in plural

Example sentence:
"Over the sastrugi it is all up and down hill, and the covering of ice crystals prevents the sledge from gliding even on the down-grade." (Robert Falcon Scott, Journals: Captain Scott’s Last Expedition)

Did you know?
If "sastruga" and its plural "sastrugi" seem like unusual English words, that may be because in some ways they are. Many of the words we use in English can be traced to one of two sources: about one-quarter of our vocabulary can be traced back to English's Germanic origins, and another two-thirds comes from Latinate sources (most such words come by way of French or from Latin directly, but Spanish and Italian have made their contributions as well). "Sastruga" was borrowed from German, but is not Germanic in origin. It’s originally from "zastruga," a word that comes from a dialect of Russian and means "groove," "small ridge," or "furrow." "Sastruga" is not widely used in English, and when it is used, it often takes the plural form, as in our example sentence.

whimsical

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.15.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 15, 2009 is:

whimsical • \WIM-zih-kul\ • adjective
1 : full of, actuated by, or exhibiting whims 2 *a : resulting from or characterized by whim or caprice; especially : lightly fanciful b : subject to erratic behavior or unpredictable change

Example sentence:
The whimsical decor of Mary’s home reflects her playful personality.

Did you know?
As you may have guessed, the words "whimsical," "whim," and "whimsy" are related. All three ultimately derive from the word "whim-wham" ("a whimsical object" or "a whim"), which is of unknown origin and dates to at least 1500. "Whimsy" was the first of the three to spin off from "whim-wham," debuting in print in 1605. English speakers then added the adjective suffix "-ical" to "whimsy" to create "whimsical," dating from 1653. "Whim," which came about as a shortened version of "whim-wham," appeared as early as 1641 in a sense that is now obsolete, but its current sense of "a sudden wish, desire, or change of mind" didn't appear in print until 1686.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

depredate

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.14.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 14, 2009 is:

depredate • \DEP-ruh-dayt\ • verb
*1 : to lay waste : plunder, ravage 2 : to engage in plunder

Example sentence:
“[O]ne of our party, after being asked by the owner to help depredate a few of the green, squawky birds at a feedlot, took 4 shots and killed over one hundred.” (The Bakersfield Californian, August 16, 2008)

Did you know?
"Depredate" derives primarily from the Latin verb "praedari," meaning "to plunder," an ancestor to our words "predator" and "prey." First appearing in English in the 17th century, the word most commonly appears in contexts relating to nature and ecology, where it is often used to describe the methodical, almost automatic destruction of life. That’s how the film critic Stanley Kauffman, for example, summarized the plot of the famous horror movie Jaws (1975): “A killer shark depredates the beach of an island summer resort. Several people are killed. Finally, the shark is killed. That's the story.”

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

indefeasible

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Dec.13.2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 13, 2009 is:

indefeasible • \in-dih-FEE-zuh-bul\ • adjective
: not capable of being annulled or voided or undone

Example sentence:
After his father's untimely demise, which reeked of foul play, Prince Nikolai took to the throne as was his indefeasible right as the king's eldest son.

Did you know?
We acquired "indefeasible" in the mid-16th century by combining the English prefix "in-" ("not") with "defeasible," a word borrowed a century earlier from Anglo-French. "Defeasible" itself can be traced to an Old French verb meaning "to undo" or "to destroy." It's no surprise, then, that something indefeasible is essentially "un-undoable" or "indestructible." Another member of this family of words is "feasible," meaning "capable of being done or carried out." Ultimately, all three -- "indefeasible," "defeasible," and "feasible" -- can be traced back to the Latin verb "facere," meaning "to do."

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