Search found 7443 matches
- Sat Mar 09, 2024 2:48 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Luftmensch
- Replies: 4
- Views: 788
Re: Luftmensch
Monika Freund sent this comment about luftmensch : In German there is a similar expression: Luftnummer . It means, if someone promises something that, upon closer inspection, turns out to be impossible, that is also a „Luftnummer“. “Das ist eine Luftnummer,” is what people say, for example, when som...
- Fri Mar 08, 2024 7:58 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Meritocracy
- Replies: 2
- Views: 260
Meritocracy
• meritocracy • Pronunciation: mer-ri- tah -krê-si • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: Governance by people chosen on the basis of merit, for their competence rather than birth, wealth or other criteria. Notes: This word, parallel to democracy , comes with the same full panoply of derivational...
- Thu Mar 07, 2024 11:28 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Lambaste
- Replies: 2
- Views: 288
Lambaste
• lambaste • Pronunciation: læm- bayst • Hear it! Part of Speech: Verb, transitive Meaning: No, today's word has nothing to do with basting lamb, not even if you are on the lam: it means 1. to beat or thrash thoroughly or 2. to scold or chastise furiously. Notes: Today's Good Word is a lexical orph...
- Wed Mar 06, 2024 10:34 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Steeplejack
- Replies: 0
- Views: 222
Steeplejack
• steeplejack • Pronunciation: stee -pêl-jæk • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: Someone who works on spires, steeples, smokestacks, and other tall structures. Notes: Today we have a word that reached the height of its popularity in 1940 according to Google Books Ngrams. It is a lovely lexical...
- Mon Mar 04, 2024 6:12 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Fruition
- Replies: 0
- Views: 218
Fruition
• fruition • Pronunciation: fru- i -shên • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun, mass Meaning: 1. Successful completion, fulfillment, materialization, intended results. 2. Enjoyment of something possessed. 3. The action of bearing fruit. Notes: Today's word and fruit are other examples of the English habi...
- Sun Mar 03, 2024 11:24 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Gargantuan
- Replies: 3
- Views: 253
Gargantuan
• gargantuan • Pronunciation: gahr- gæn -chu-ên • Hear it! Part of Speech: Adjective Meaning: Huge, colossal, gigantic. Notes: Today we have a large word referring to extra large objects. It is the adjective made from an archaic word, Gargantua "a giant". A gargantuist at one time referre...
- Sat Mar 02, 2024 11:32 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Hyperbole
- Replies: 1
- Views: 129
Hyperbole
• hyperbole • Pronunciation: hai- pêr -bê-lee • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: A figure of speech that exaggerates for emphasis, metaphoric overstatement. Notes: Today's Good Word belongs to a large and widespread family. The use of hyperboles is hyperbolism, which you get when you hyperbol...
- Fri Mar 01, 2024 11:17 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Geek
- Replies: 1
- Views: 135
Geek
• geek • Pronunciation: geek • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. (US Slang) A socially awkward person who devotes all his or her time to some scientific pursuit, usually involving computers. 2. (US Slang) A serious intellectual better adapted to thinking than mingling with his or her peers....
- Thu Feb 29, 2024 8:23 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Farce
- Replies: 0
- Views: 716
Farce
• farce • Pronunciation: fahrs • Hear it! Part of Speech: fahrs Meaning: 1. Stuffing, filling, force-meat. 2. An exaggerated parody of base humor, an artistic work with no redeeming social value that usually resorts to slapstick humor. Notes: Today's noun may be used as a verb in its first sense, a...
- Wed Feb 28, 2024 11:27 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Courtesan
- Replies: 7
- Views: 1835
Re: Courtesan
My answer had been "a high priced courtesan". Brilliant reply and reasoning. So how did we get to the verb “to court,” Again, the legitimate behavior in regal courts. The legal court got its name from the time when royal justice was measured out in regal courts. When the word of a king wa...
- Wed Feb 28, 2024 6:06 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Courtesan
- Replies: 7
- Views: 1835
Courtesan
• courtesan • Pronunciation: kor -tê-zên • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. A mistress supported by a member of the nobility. 2. A sophisticated prostitute with an elite, if not courtly clientele. Notes: Today's word refers to a highly successful entrepreneuse in the world's oldest profess...
- Tue Feb 27, 2024 6:45 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Luftmensch
- Replies: 4
- Views: 788
Luftmensch
• luftmensch • Pronunciation: luft -mench • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. An airhead, a contemplative person whose head is in the clouds and has little if any idea of practical matters, like earning a living. 2. A petty tradesman, peddler, unsuccessful businessperson. Notes: Today's wor...
- Mon Feb 26, 2024 7:07 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Prestige
- Replies: 3
- Views: 304
Prestige
• prestige • Pronunciation: pres- teezh • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun, mass (no plural) Meaning: High level of respect, importance, great influence, high standing in the eyes of others, commanding position. Notes: Here is a French word copied by English so recently (early 19th century) that the F...
- Sun Feb 25, 2024 8:15 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Contrary
- Replies: 1
- Views: 138
Contrary
• contrary • Pronunciation: kahn -trer-ri • Hear it! Part of Speech: Adjective Meaning: 1. Opposed, counter, extremely divergent. 2. Willful, perverse, tending to be far away from general behavior. Notes: This word is often confused with opposite. Opposite refers to things that are altogether diffe...
- Sun Feb 25, 2024 7:49 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Egoist
- Replies: 2
- Views: 214
Egoist
• egoist • Pronunciation: ee -go-ist • Hear it! Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. Someone who is conceited, self-centered, wrapped up in him- or herself; a person with an inflated ego. 2. A person who subscribes to the theory of egoism, the philosophy that self-interest is the basis of all morality....