dessert

The last course of a meal, from French desservir, to 'dis-serve', i.e. to clear away (the previous course(s)).

stationery

Articles (books and paper) sold by a stationer, i.e. one who sells from a fixed location rather than an itinerant peddler.

The word is thus related to stationary.

adequate

From Latin adaequare, to equalize, from aequus, equal.

Used in the sense of 'equal to what is needed'.

The name of this famous work by Mozart is usually rendered in English as "A Little Night Music" (the name of a well-known musical by Stephen Sondheim). But it should really be translated as "A Little Serenade". Nachtmusik is a countable noun in German, and kleine means 'little' as in 'small', not 'l...

anacoluthon A discontinuity in the sense or grammatical structure of a sentence. It may involve a simple switching from one thought to another, or it may be the result of faulty syntax. Examples: If it rains – but I don't think it will. When winter comes, and it grows cold, and the nights are long,...

tkowal wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:22 am

The first root appears also in sarcophagus!

Also sarcasm – figuratively 'tearing/stripping the flesh' (with a 'cutting' remark).

As a dabbler in verse, these words with no rhyming partners are very frustrating. Or have I missed some? Integer I suppose, works but is certainly nothing to do with sour. And spinnaker is a near miss but good enough for a limerick. I cannot think of a proper English rhyme for vinegar , but there i...

I suppose Last Name just wants to ensure that you get his gender right when communicating with a third party. Perhaps he doesn't like being called 'Mr'.

Or is Last Name a woman who likes to be referred to by masculine pronouns? (Unlikely!)

corny

(1) Trite, banal, hackneyed, feeble.
(2) Mawkish, sentimental.

Often refers to jokes.
Related noun: corn.

I've not seen (or maybe noticed) this with a single n spelling before - it's normally innoculate in the UK at least. Unless I'm going mad, quite possible. You may be thinking of innocuous . However, I found this mention of innoculate , relating specifically to computing: https://encyclopedia2.thefr...

blizzard

A storm of strong wind and snow.

This word seems to have originated in the US in the 19th century, but its etymology is obscure.

Word History: This is obviously a French word, one borrowed from Italian bagatella , diminutive of dialectal bagata "little property". Whence bagata , no one knows. It has been posited by some that it comes from Latin baca "berry". This is a highly unlikely source, since it leaves open the question...

Below are some alternative spellings. For each pair, which one do you prefer? In some cases, the older spelling (given first) has largely been replaced by the newer one; in other cases, the two forms co-exist. There may be differences between British and American usage. barbecue / barbeque doughnut ...

We normally refer to mountains as "Mount ___" or a foreign equivalent (e.g. "Mont Blanc"), or by their name alone (e.g. "Everest"). However, we refer to mountains in German-speaking countries as "the ___" (e.g. the Matterhorn, the Eiger, the Jungfrau, the Grossglockner). Then there is the strange ca...

dean

A senior official of some kind in a university, college, cathedral, church etc.

From Latin decanus, a person in charge of ten people. (Surprisingly, the English word deacon does not come from this root.)