Category: Word of the Day

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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 – 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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Word of the Day – Pedagogy

Pedagogy

  • Noun:
    1. the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept.
    2. the function or work of a teacher; teaching.
  • Synonyms:
    1. coaching
    2. erudition
    3. tutelage
  • Usage:
    1. The trailer suggests that Whiplash is a film about an abusive teacher, who terrorizes students into stretching for their talent, always wondering if the pedagogy is worth the trauma..
  • Encountered:
    1. Listening to a movie review for Whiplash on KDHX

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Word of the Day – Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia

  • Noun:
    1. the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (as buzz, hiss)
    2. the use of words whose sound suggests the sense
  • Adjective:
    1. Onomatopoeic
  • Adverb:
    1. Onomatopoeically
  • Synonyms:
    1. imitate
    2. echo
    3. parrot
  • Usage:
    1. The Bells is a heavily onomatopoeic poem by Edgar Allan Poe which was not published until after his death in 1849.

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Word of the Day – Acrostic

  • Noun: Acrostic
    1. a poem, word puzzle, or other composition in which certain letters in each line form a word or words.acrostic-illustration
  •  Synonyms:
    1. acronym
    2. cipher
    3. wordplay
  • Usage:
    1. Well, today, the Frederick News-Post responded, in an acrostic editorial originally scheduled to be published next Sunday.
  • Encountered:
    1. In a news story about an overly sensitive city councilman

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Word for the Day – Lugubrious

Lugubrious

  • adjective
    1. mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner
    2. looking or sounding sad and dismal.
  • synonyms:
    1. mournful, gloomy, sad, unhappy, doleful, glum, melancholy, woeful, miserable, woebegone, forlorn, somber, solemn, serious, sorrowful, morose, dour, cheerless, joyless, dismal;
      funereal, sepulchral;
  • After his wife left him, he walked around in a lugubrious condition for months.

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