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Showing posts from July, 2019

tajine: Word of the day for July 30, 2019

tajine , n : (cooking) An earthenware cooking pot of North African origin, consisting of a shallow, round dish without handles and a tall, conical or dome-shaped lid. (by extension) A stew, originally from Morocco, the ingredients of which are traditionally cooked slowly in such a pot; the dish is normally served with couscous. Today is Eid Al-Ârch or the Festival of the Throne in Morocco, which commemorates the enthronement of King Mohammed VI on this day 20 years ago in 1999.

brawl: Word of the day for July 28, 2019

brawl , v : (intransitive) To engage in a brawl; to fight or quarrel. (intransitive) To create a disturbance; to complain loudly. (intransitive) Especially of a rapid stream running over stones: to make a loud, confused noise. (transitive) To pour abuse on; to scold. [...] (intransitive, obsolete) To move to and fro, to quiver, to shake.

carrier wave: Word of the day for July 27, 2019

carrier wave , n : (physics) A wave that can be modulated, either in amplitude, frequency, or phase, to carry or transmit images, music, speech, or other signals. Italian electrical engineer and inventor Guglielmo Marconi, who is credited with inventing the radio, made the first public transmission of wireless signals on this day in 1896, from a site in London, UK, now occupied by the BT Centre.

aspheterism: Word of the day for July 25, 2019

aspheterism , n : (dated, rare) The view that all property should be in common ownership and that no individual should benefit from private possession. The English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who coined the word in a 1794 letter to fellow poet Robert Southey, died on this day 185 years ago in 1834.

churchical: Word of the day for July 23, 2019

churchical , adj : (Christianity, informal) Pertaining to or characteristic of church; ecclesiastical. (chiefly Jamaica, music) Belonging to a style of Reggae music that reflects a spiritual sensibility. (chiefly Jamaica, Rastafari) Pertaining to the strain of Rastafarian culture that emphasizes a traditional theocracy. Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, was born on this day in 1892. He is worshipped as a deity and messiah by Rastafarians.

lunar: Word of the day for July 20, 2019

lunar , adj : Of, pertaining to, or resembling the Moon (that is, Luna, the Earth's moon); Lunar. Shaped like a crescent moon; lunate. (chiefly historical) (Believed to be) influenced by the Moon or the moon of another planet, as in character, growth, or properties. (alchemy, chemistry, historical) Of or pertaining to silver (which was symbolically associated with the Moon by alchemists). (astronomy) Of or pertaining to travel through space between the Earth and the Moon, or exploration and scientific investigation of the Moon. On this day 50 years ago in 1969, Apollo 11 became the first space mission that landed human beings on the Moon.

chancellor: Word of the day for July 17, 2019

chancellor , n : A senior secretary or official with administrative or legal duties, sometimes in charge of some area of government such as finance or justice. The head of the government in some German-speaking countries. (Christianity) A senior record keeper of a cathedral; a senior legal officer for a bishop or diocese in charge of hearing cases involving ecclesiastical law. (education) The head of a university, sometimes purely ceremonial. (Britain) Short for Chancellor of the Exchequer. (Scotland) The foreman of a jury. (US, law) The chief judge of a court of chancery (that is, one exercising equity jurisdiction). Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, was born on this day 65 years ago in 1954.

wristlet: Word of the day for July 16, 2019

wristlet , n : An elastic band worn to keep a glove from slipping off the wrist. A decorative band or bracelet that encircles the wearer's wrist; especially, a closely knitted one to keep it warm; a muffetee. A small handbag with a short strap for attaching it to the wearer's wrist. A handcuff.

kombu: Word of the day for July 15, 2019

kombu , n : Edible kelp (“a type of brown seaweed”) (from the class Phaeophyceae) used in East Asian cuisine. Today, the third Monday in July in 2019, is 海の日 (Umi no Hi) or Marine Day in Japan, a public holiday for giving thanks for the ocean’s bounty and for recognizing its importance to Japan as an island nation.

gorge: Word of the day for July 10, 2019

gorge , v : (intransitive, reflexive) Often followed by on: To stuff the gorge or gullet with food; to eat greedily and in large quantities. (transitive) To swallow, especially with greediness, or in large mouthfuls or quantities. (transitive) To fill up to the throat; to glut, to satiate. (transitive) To fill up (an organ, a vein, etc.); to block up or obstruct; (US, specifically) of ice: to choke or fill a channel or passage, causing an obstruction.

pessimize: Word of the day for July 8, 2019

pessimize , v : (transitive) To take a pessimistic view of; to speak of in a negative or pessimistic way. (transitive) To make (something) pessimal or the worst; (in a weaker sense) to make (something, such as a computer program) less efficient. (intransitive) To think like a pessimist; to believe the worst. (intransitive) To become pessimal or the worst.

all-American: Word of the day for July 4, 2019

all-American , adj : Comprising things that are wholly from the United States of America; completely made in the United States. Regarded as embodying the ideal qualities of the United States; (specifically) of a person: courageous, heroic; honest, wholesome, etc. (US, chiefly sports) Of a person or a team, or some other thing: regarded as the best in the United States. Today is celebrated as Independence Day in the United States.