AULD

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Dr. Goodword
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AULD

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sun Dec 31, 2006 12:30 am

• auld •

Pronunciation: ôld or awld • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: (Scots English) Old.

Notes: In most English-speaking regions midnight of January 1 is celebrated as New Year's Eve. The celebration was previously known as Old Year's Night, which continues in English-speaking Guyana and some other areas of the Caribbean.

In Play: Many English speakers around the world sing the very popular Scottish song, Auld lang sine "Old long since" at midnight tonight, including those living in Auld Reekie "Old Smoky", a sobriquet of Edinburgh, Scotland, and elsewhere in the auld warld. No doubt we will be hearing it around the New World, as well in the wee hours tonight.

Word History: Today's Good Word was eald in Old English, a word which developed into Modern English old and Scots English auld. The original Proto-Indo-European root, *al- meant "grow, nourish", and with the suffix -to (*al-to meant "grown"). With the suffix -m, it turned up in Latin almus "nourishing", the feminine of which is the alma in alma mater "the nourishing mother" = a school from which you graduate. Alumnus and alumna are based on the same root; they mean "student, pupil" in Latin, from alere "to nourish". (Did you read about alphaDictionary's Top 10 Words of 2006 yet?)
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Stargzer
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Postby Stargzer » Sun Dec 31, 2006 7:50 pm

Not to go off on a tangent, but do any of you mathmeticians out there have the lyrics to Auld Lang Cosine?
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

Stargzer
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Location: Crownsville, MD

Postby Stargzer » Sun Dec 31, 2006 9:06 pm

OK, I guess not. I'll have to work on my own.
Should auld mathematics be forgot
And never brought to mind,
A happy life I'll live should I
Ne'er solve Auld Lang Cosine!

Nor solve an arccosine, my dear,
Nor e'en a haversine!
Nor use a table to inter-
Po-o-late Auld Lang Cosine
More to come after I crack open that 750 ml bottle of V-Twelve Belgian-style ale (12% ABV :shock: ) :wink:
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

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gailr
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Postby gailr » Mon Jan 01, 2007 7:58 pm

Maybe I'm being obtuse, but I think we need the chords to properly appreciate your efforts, gzer.
-gailr


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