Category: Word of the Day

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Word of the Day – Sophism

  • Noun:  Sophism
    1. an argument apparently correct in form but actually invalid; especially :  such an argument used to deceive
  •  Synonyms:
    1. Absurdity
    2. Deception
    3. Misconception
    4. fallacious argument
  • Usage:
    1. “Conscience is the chaos of chimeras, of lusts, and of temptations; the furnace of dreams; the lair of ideas of which we are ashamed; it is the pandemonium of sophisms; it is the battlefield of the passions. .”
  • Encountered:
    1. While reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

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Word of the Day – Gamin

  • Noun:  Gamin
    1. a neglected boy left to run about the streets
    2. a street urchin
  •  Synonyms:
    1. Urchin
    2. Ragamuffin
    3. Waif
    4. Stray
    5. (derogatory) guttersnipe
  • Usage:
    1. “That is the pure-bred gamin. There are a great many varieties of the gamin species. The notary’s gamin is called Skip-the-Gutter, the cook’s gamin is called a scullion, the baker’s gamin is called a mitron, the lackey’s gamin is called a groom, the marine gamin is called the cabin-boy, the soldier’s gamin is called the drummer-boy, the painter’s gamin is called paint-grinder, the tradesman’s gamin is called an errand-boy, the courtesan gamin is called the minion, the kingly gamin is called the dauphin, the god gamin is called the bambino.”
  • Encountered:
    1. While reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

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Word of the Day – Redoubt

  • Noun:  Redoubt
    1. a temporary or supplementary fortification, typically square or polygonal and without flanking defenses.
    2. a defended position :  protective barrier
    3. a secure retreat
  •  Synonyms:
    1. bastion
    2. barrier
    3. defense
    4. stronghold
  • Usage:
    1. “The battery, which, if completed, would have been almost a redoubt, was ranged behind a very low garden wall, backed up with a coating of bags of sand and a large slope of earth. This work was not finished; there had been no time to make a palisade for it. “
  • Encountered:
    1.  While reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

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Word of the Day – Chimera

  • Noun:  Chimera
    1. (in Greek mythology) a fire-breathing female monster with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail.
    2. any mythical animal with parts taken from various animals.
    3. an individual, organ, or part consisting of tissues of diverse genetic constitution
    4. a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve.
  •  Synonyms:
    1. illusion
    2. fantasy
    3. delusion
    4. dream
    5. daydream
    6. pipe dream
    7. figment of the/one’s imagination
    8. castle in the air
    9. mirage
  • Usage:
    1. “Conscience is the chaos of chimeras, of lusts, and of temptations; the furnace of dreams; the lair of ideas of which we are ashamed; it is the pandemonium of sophisms; it is the battlefield of the passions. .”
  • Encountered:
    1.  While reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

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Word of the Day – Puerile

  • Adjective: Puerile
  • Adverb: Puerilely
  • Noun: Puerility
    1. silly or childish especially in a way that shows a lack of seriousness or good judgment
    2. childishly silly and trivial
  •  Synonyms:
    1. childish
    2. immature
    3. infantile
    4. juvenile
    5. babyish
  • Usage:
    1. “It is thus that, athwart the cloud which formed about him, when all his hopes were extinguished one after the other, M. Mabeuf remained rather puerilely, but profoundly serene.”
  • Encountered:
    1.  While reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

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Word of the Day – Pavane

  • Noun:
    1. a stately court dance by couples that was introduced from southern Europe into England in the 16th century
    2. music for the pavane; also :  music having the slow duple rhythm of a pavane
  •  Usage:
    1. “From the wings I heard and watched the pavane of tragedy move steadily towards its climax.”
  • Encountered:
    1.  In Maya Angelou’s autobiography I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings.

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Word of the Day – Ad hominem

  • Adverb &  Adjective:
    1. (of an argument or reaction) directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining.
    2. relating to or associated with a particular person; attacking an opponent’s character rather than answering his argument.
    3. appealing to one’s prejudices, emotions, or special interests rather than to one’s intellect or reason.
  •  Synonyms:
    1. mudslinging
    2. personal attack
    3. smear
  • Usage:
    1. The CPA’s client rose an ad hominem argument over the bill’s amount.
  • Encountered:
    1.  Watching a video on the Internet wherein a police chief accused the media of ad hominem personal attacks. Somewhat redundant, I do believe.

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Word of the Day – Philatelist

  • Noun:
    1. a person who studies or collects postage stamps
  •  Synonyms:
    1. stamp collector
    2. aggregator
    3. philatelic
  • Usage:
    1. I asked my co-worker with the pictures of stamps on his wall if he was a philatelist.
  • Encountered:
    1.  A long time ago… I just love the sound and pomposity of the word. Oenophile does the same thing for me.  “Geek”, you say?  “Yes”,  I reply.

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Word of the Day – Provenance

Provenance

  • Noun:
    1. the place of origin or earliest known history of something.
    2. a record of ownership of a work of art or an antique, used as a guide to authenticity or quality.
  • Synonyms:
    1. origin
    2. source
    3. derivation
  • Usage:
    1.  He wondered about the provenance of the tomahawk embedded in the skull he had just excavated.

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Word of the Day – Pedantic

Pedantic

  • Adjective
    1. of, relating to, or being a pedant (one who is unimaginative or who unduly emphasizes minutiae in the presentation or use of knowledge)
    2. narrowly, stodgily, and often ostentatiously learned
    3.  unimaginative, dull
  • Synonyms:
    1. overscrupulous
    2. scrupulous
    3. precise
    4. exact
    5. perfectionist
    6. punctilious
    7. meticulous
    8. fussy
    9. fastidious
    10. finicky
  • Usage:
    1. The CPAs explanation of the tax ruling was more than a little pedantic.
  • Encountered:
    1. In the definition of pedoagogy

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