APPELLATION

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Dr. Goodword
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APPELLATION

Postby Dr. Goodword » Fri Mar 31, 2006 11:37 pm

• Appellation •

Pronunciation: æp-pê-ley-shên • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun, proper

Meaning: The name of a mountain chain in the Eastern United States; however, for more information, be sure to read today's Good Word to the end.

Notes: The Appellation Mountain chain runs from Maine to Georgia. It comprises a series of ranges, including the Green Mountains of Quebec and Vermont, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Maine, the Adirondacks and Catskills of New York, the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania, the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, and the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and Georgia.

In Play: The Appellation Mountains are known for their beautiful hiking trails: "Marvin is proud of the fact that he hiked the entire Appellation Trail last summer." Otherwise, they just sit there: "The Appellation Mountains were of little help in the Civil War since they run in the wrong direction: from north to south rather than east to west."

Word History: Although a lot of apples grow in the Appellation Mountains, today's Good Word is not based on this noun. Rather, it comes from French appellation, the descendant of Latin appellatio(n), the noun from the verb appellare "to call, to entreat." When geographers were naming mountains in the US, they couldn't think of a name for the Appellations, so they just called them the names, using a French word for names to fool everybody. (Today we thank Dr. April Phule, Professor of English at Didwefuhl U., for submitting this Good Word for this April Fool's Day, the day of practical jokes in the US. By the way, this error actually occurs in essays written by US college students, which is one of the reasons why we send out our Good Words.)
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Postby Perry » Sat Apr 01, 2006 3:15 pm

One of the mountains in the appellations is Mt. Pisgah. I always crack up over the name. In Hebrew Pisgah is summit or mountain top. Hence for me Mt. Pisgah is Mountaintop Mountain.

BTW one of the earliest uses of the term whatsit is in the Old Testament. The manna eatien by the Israelites as they soujourned in the desert is called man in Hebrew, which is an old form of what. The manna is refered to as man hoo; what is it, or whatsit for short.

I have found many instances of wonderful humor and word play in the Hebrew original of the Old Testament; this being one (i.e. this posting is not an April Fools Day sendup).
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Postby scw1217 » Sat Apr 01, 2006 7:26 pm

I read that whole thing thinking, "What's the matter with them? That's not how you spell it!" LOL. You got me!

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APPELLATION

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat Apr 01, 2006 8:36 pm

We caught a lot of folks. Mail has been overwhelming. I hope those of you unaware of April Fool's Day in the US caught on to the joke.

We will have the appropriate entry for "appellation" in the archive shortly.
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