Word of the Week: Vernal

What an appropriate Word of the Week since yesterday was the first day of Spring! Did you know the first day of spring is not always the same day?

Spring (vernal equinox) is defined by when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator. Although the word equinox is sometimes understood as "equal day and night" that is not always true. In most parts of the world, there are only 2 days out of the year when the day and night times are actually equal.

Don't you just love sping? Spring brings the sense of renewal, fresh starts, and happy times. I think of spring cleaning, getting in shape for summer, and spending time outside with my little guy.

Back to the Word of the Week:

vernal \ VUR-nl \ , adjective;

1. Appearing or occurring in spring.

2. Of or pertaining to spring.

3. Appropriate to or suggesting spring; springlike.

4. Belonging to or characteristic of youth

What do you like or dislike about spring?

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Word of the Week: Remit

Here is another helpful word that we can all use in everyday conversation!

remit  \ ri-MIT \

1. To slacken or relax.

2. To transmit money, a check, etc., as in payment.

3. To abate for a time or at intervals, as a fever.

4. To refrain from exacting, as a payment or service.

5. To pardon or forgive a sin, offense, etc.

Quotes:

It matters not that we remit our attention, at times, to the pain or the pleasure; these are always in the background; and the strength of the appetite is their strength.

-- Alexander Bain, Practical Essays

If I were satisfied that you were not intending to make an exhibition of yourself I might be prepared to remit the fines.

-- Henry Cecil, Independent Witness

Origin:

Remit is derived from the Latin roots re- meaning "back" and mit meaning "send," so it literally meant "to send back."
 
There is your useful information for the week! Well, from this blog anyways!
 
-Kaci

Word of the Week: Appertain

Oooh! I like this one. This is a Word of the Week that I can actually use in casual conversation and it make me sound really smart! Remember, illusion is everything! Haha!

appertain \ ap-er-TEYN \ , verb;

1. To belong as a part, right, possession or attribute

Quotes:


Natural rights are those which appertain to man in right of his existence. Of this kind are all the intellectual rights, or rights of the mind, and also all those rights of acting as an individual for his own comfort and happiness…

-- Thomas Paine, Common Sense and Other Writings

In all matters of discovery and invention, even of those that appertain to the imagination, we are continually reminded of the story of Columbus and his egg.

-- Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

…and since Phillotson's success in obtaining at least her promise had become known to Jude, he had frankly recognized that he did not wish to see or hear of his senior any more, learn anything of his pursuits, or even imagine again what excellencies might appertain to his character.

-- Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure

Origin:

Appertain stems from the Old French word apertenir which meant "to belong." The prefix ap- is a variation of the prefix ad- which means "toward."
 
Thank you Word of the Day for expanding our brains for Word of the Week!!!
 

Word of the Week: Pettifog

I just love this Word of the Week! I makes me giggle. I WILL be using this is a sentence as soon as I get the chance.

pettifog /PET-ee-fog/ , verb;

1. To bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters

2. To carry on a petty, shifty or unethical law business

3. To practice chicanery of any sort

There are other several words in this definition that might show up on the next Word of the Week!

-Kaci

Word of the Week Wednesday: Screed

If this is your one chance to learn something new today, I hope you didn't already know what this word meant because I sure as heck didn't. Here's a good one to help you along on your "Words With Friends" game.

screed\ skreed \ , noun, verb;



1. A long discourse or essay, especially a diatribe.

2. An informal letter, account, or other piece of writing.

3. Building Trades. A. A strip of plaster or wood applied to a surface to be plastered to serve as a guide for making a true surface. B. A wooden strip serving as a guide for making a true level surface on a concrete pavement or the like. C. A board or metal strip dragged across a freshly poured concrete slab to give it its proper level.

4. British Dialect. A fragment or shred, as of cloth.

5. Scot. A. A tear or rip, especially in cloth. B. A drinking bout. verb:


1. Scot. To tear, rip, or shred, as cloth.
 
Quotes:



By the time this screed gets to you the drafts may have come, but as I've heard nothing yet and been writing for two months now, you'd better have a look anyway. Will you please?


-- Ernest Hemingway, Selected Letters


I bet I could turn out a rattling good screed. Why, last year I almost got the prize. I sent in fearfully hot stuff.


-- P. G. Wodehouse, The Prefect's Uncle


Origin:


Screed is related to the Old English word for shred. Its alternate sense of a long speech was first recorded in 1789 and may be related to the sense of the word meaning a long lists of names.

Did you enjoy expanding your vocabulary today, kids? I did!

-Kaci

Word of The Week Wednesday: "Lackadaisical"

In the series of books that I have been reading going on for about 5 years now, The Sookie Stackhouse novels, Sookie always references her "Word of the Day" calendar that sits by her phone in her kitchen. She tries to use it in the narrartive of her life. It is sometimes comical of the word that is on the calendar because it seems to parallel with the adventurous activities going on in her life at the moment.

To break it on down, Sookie is a telepath. She has heard everyone's thoughts like a radio unable to find a station in her head all her life. She lives in a small town in Louisiana. Vampires have declared themselves as true beings and are attempting to contribute to society. She cannot "hear" the vampires thoughts which is unbelievably soothing to her. Sookie is in love with a vampire. She is a friend of the local werewolf pack in Shreveport. She is part fairy but she doesn't find this out until she starts hob nobbing with the vampires after they "come out of the coffin". She is a strong girl and her strength is constantly tested by her aquaintances with the supernatural world. She is learning to use her "disability" as something positive.

I absolutely love this series. For me to follow a series and read each book as it comes out religiouslly is saying something for my ADD brain. If this sounds a little familiar to you, they have made this into a HBO series called "True Blood". Personally, the t.v. show is good but the books blow it out of the water.

So in honor of Sookie, I am going to start having a "Word of the Week" post to enhance our vocabulary and stretch our brains a tad. This is possible because of my friends at allwords.com . I probably shouldn't use the words "my friends" because they have no idea who me or my blog is or that we even exist, but we are all friends here right?

This week's word is:

Lackadaisical
Definition--Lackadaisical- adj. lacking energy; listless; lazy.

 Discussion-- Lackadaisical is one of my favorite words of all time. It has an interesting origin, stemming from the English interjection alas! or alack! It is an alteration of the phrase alack-the-day. It perhaps developed its current meaning through the influence of the word lax, meaning loose.


It not necessarily a bad thing to be lackadaisical, provided that you are doing so at appropriate times. For instance, perhaps it is a Sunday afternoon and all you want to do is sit around and watch golf on television. That's perfectly acceptable. However, there are certain places that you must not become lackadaisical, such as when you are at work. I have not met a boss yet that appreciated listless employees!


Etymology--Lackadaisical- See above for connection to lax, which means loose or slack. Here you can see the connection between the word lackadaisical and the popular slang term "slacker."

As I type all of this, I am wondering if someone is trying to tell me something here? Is this in any way paralleling with MY life?... Nah!

Enjoy your Word of the Week my little bloggies!

Love,
Kaci