INAUGURATION

[Dr. Goodword]

• inauguration •

Pronunciation: i-naw-gyê-ray-shên • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. The process of, or formal ceremony installing a high-ranking official in office. 2. An event that marks the beginning or introduction of something new.

Notes: Today's Good Word is the process noun for the verb inaugurate; the agent noun is inaugurator. The most common adjective is inaugural, as the inaugural address of President Obama, which the entire world looks forward to today.

In Play: Today the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, takes place in Washington. It is a memorable moment for the entire world, of which all of us in the US are justifiably proud. Everyone at Lexiteria and alphaDictionary hopes that today's inauguration augurs well for President Obama, his family, and his administration.

Word History: This Good Word is part of the English language's French collection. French inherited the word from Latin inauguratio(n) "consecration under good omens," from inaugurare "consecrate under good omens". The Latin verb comprises in "in, on" + augurare "to augur, to predict, foretell from flocks of birds." Augur seems to have come from an earlier compound consisting of av- "bird" (as in aviary and aviation) + gar-, the root of garrire "to talk, speak". We find gar- in Latin garrulus "talkative", which English sneaked and tweaked to garrulous. The Sanskrit word from the same root, gar-, meant "to shout, call". May the birds bode well for President Obama.

[Perry]

The birds may be in short supply, judging by the weather forecasts. I hope that the presidential and vice-presidential parties wear warm topcoats. I read the other day about presidents and relatives who died of pneumonia after attending innaugurations, wearing only their suits.

Real men dress for the weather.

[skinem]

Yup, the shortest presidential term in office was held by William Henry Harrison.
Strangely enough, he also had the longest inaugural address to date. In freezing, wet weather. History have always tied the two together.

[Stargzer]

A more modern interpretation is that he simply died from complications of the common cold, the treatments by his physicians, and the lack of antibiotics.

Death

On March 26, Harrison became ill with a cold. The presumptive story, which has become common knowledge despite some doubts about its veracity, is that the inauguration day exposure was the cause of his illness. However, it was more than three weeks after the inauguration before Harrison showed the first signs of ill health and modern studies have shown that exposure to adverse weather conditions does not cause respiratory illnesses. The cold worsened, rapidly turning to pneumonia and pleurisy.[49] According to the prevailing medical misconception of that time, microorganisms being then unknown, it was believed that his illness was directly caused by the bad weather, when, in fact, he was likely a victim of the common cold virus, exacerbated by the drastic pressures of his changed circumstances. He sought to rest in the White House, but could not find a quiet room because of the steady crowd of office seekers; in addition, his extremely busy social schedule made any rest time scarce.[46]

Harrison's doctors tried cures, applying opium, castor oil, Virginia snakeweed, and even actual snakes. But the treatments only made Harrison worse, and he became delirious. He died nine days after becoming ill,[50] at 12:30 a.m., on April 4, 1841, of right lower lobe pneumonia, jaundice, and overwhelming septicemia, becoming the first American president to die in office. His last words were to his doctor, but assumed to be to John Tyler, "Sir, I wish you to understand the true principles of the government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more." Harrison served the shortest term of any American president: only 30 days, 12 hours and 32 minutes.[46]

Harrison's funeral took place in the Wesley Chapel in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1841. He was a founding member of Christ Church, Cincinnati. He was buried in North Bend, Ohio, at what is now the William Henry Harrison Tomb State Memorial.[51]

[sluggo]

... modern studies have shown that exposure to adverse weather conditions does not cause respiratory illnesses.

I've always heard that what happens is the body is forced to put its resources into maintaining its temperature at the expense of its other defenses and thus natural resistance lowers. Something along those lines.