CONCLAVE

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Slava
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CONCLAVE

Postby Slava » Tue Mar 05, 2013 3:00 pm

Today's Good Word:

• conclave •

Pronunciation: kahn-klayv • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. A confidential meeting of members of a family or other close-knit organization. 2. The chambers in which cardinals of the Catholic Church meet to elect a new Pope, the cardinals participating in such a meeting, or the meeting itself.

Notes: Today's topical Good Word has a funny adjective, conclavical, that sounds more like a bone than a chamber where a Pope is elected. A participant in a conclave is known as a conclavist.

In Play: The conclave that is in the news in 2013 is the conclave to elect a new Pope to replace Pope Benedict XVI, who recently retired (February 28, 2013). He was the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415. The last Roman Catholic conclave elected Pope Benedict on April 19, 2005. That conclave of Roman Catholic bishops was a far cry from the conclaves of the Mafia families that Mario Puzo describes in his novel, The Godfather, though these two applications of the word amply demonstrate its flexibility and breadth. But today's Good Word is not limited to powerful families: "Mom has to call a family conclave to decide what to have for dinner."

Word History: Today's Good Word, appropriately enough, comes to us from Italy. Italian inherited their word conclave unchanged from Latin conclave "a room, chambers, a suite". This word most probably originated as "a locked room", for it is made up of com- "(together) with" + clavis "a key". Clavis seems related to clavus "nail", perhaps because the original key was a bent nail. Russian klyuch "key", from the same source, shows weak evidence that the meaning of its word for "key" passed through that of "nail": Russian contains a word klin "wedge, wooden peg" that shares the initial consonant cluster with klyuch. (Today we needn't hold a conclave to conclude that Ollie Louia deserves a word of appreciation for suggesting today's very topical Good Word.)

MTC
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Re: CONCLAVE

Postby MTC » Tue Mar 05, 2013 5:50 pm

Papal conclaves were sometimes spartan affairs:

In an attempt to avoid future lengthy elections, Gregory X introduced stringent rules with the promulgation of Ubi periculum. Cardinals were to be secluded in a closed area and not accorded individual rooms. No cardinal was allowed, unless ill, to be attended by more than two servants. Food was supplied through a window to avoid outside contact.[58] After three days of the conclave, the cardinals were to receive only one dish a day; after another five days, they were to receive just bread and water. During the conclave, no cardinal was to receive any ecclesiastical revenue.[12][59]

Why not adapt this procedure to Congress? No more deadlocks!

LukeJavan8
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Re: CONCLAVE

Postby LukeJavan8 » Tue Mar 05, 2013 7:30 pm

And I think there was something to do with the fact
that it had gone years before they elected a pope.
Perhaps it was not the one you mentioned, but the
people of Rome were so sick of the whole affair
that they 'locked' the Cardinals in and would not let
them out until they elected a pope.
Both ideas, from my point of view, should be
done to Congress and President as well.
They are elected to serve the people, not themselves.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

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Slava
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Re: CONCLAVE

Postby Slava » Tue Mar 05, 2013 8:45 pm

I'm a bit abashed that when posting this topic I did not quite twig to the name of the suggester. Worth a mild groan, that one. :)
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

LukeJavan8
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Re: CONCLAVE

Postby LukeJavan8 » Tue Mar 05, 2013 10:31 pm

Yeah that's a groaner.
Usually I say SCROAN, combination of Scream and Groan.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

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Slava
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Re: CONCLAVE

Postby Slava » Tue Mar 05, 2013 11:10 pm

Here's one of my own making:

If there is a conclavist missing from the conclave, does that mean there is a conclavical cavity?
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

Perry Lassiter
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Re: CONCLAVE

Postby Perry Lassiter » Wed Mar 06, 2013 12:32 am

I cave.
pl

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Slava
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Re: CONCLAVE

Postby Slava » Wed Mar 06, 2013 1:24 am

I cave.
And how so? Concave, or convex? :)
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

Perry Lassiter
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Re: CONCLAVE

Postby Perry Lassiter » Wed Mar 06, 2013 12:58 pm

Now you are trying to con me.
pl

LukeJavan8
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Re: CONCLAVE

Postby LukeJavan8 » Wed Mar 06, 2013 1:42 pm

You've got me confused, confound it.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

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Slava
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Re: CONCLAVE

Postby Slava » Wed Mar 06, 2013 10:35 pm

While avoiding any conflagrations, how many more fun phrases can we contrive?
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.


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