Word of the day
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Word of the day
Knowing that many of you use this forum for its, ahem, 'educational' value I thought I might share the word of the day from the Oxford Dictionary of English, which is circulated by the O.U.P.
This one's from yesterday (our nautical friends in the West might already know it, though):
pelorus
• noun (pl. peloruses) a sighting device on a ship for taking the relative bearings of a distant object.
— origin mid 19th cent.: perhaps from Pelorus, said to be the name of Hannibal's pilot.
This one's from yesterday (our nautical friends in the West might already know it, though):
pelorus
• noun (pl. peloruses) a sighting device on a ship for taking the relative bearings of a distant object.
— origin mid 19th cent.: perhaps from Pelorus, said to be the name of Hannibal's pilot.
Ba.A / Mid. B 1972 - 1978
Thee's got'n where thee cassn't back'n, hassn't?
Thee's got'n where thee cassn't back'n, hassn't?
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Here's today's new word :
malversation
• noun [mass noun] formal corrupt behaviour in a position of trust, especially in public office: a charge of malversation.
— origin mid 16th cent.: from French, from malverser, from Latin male ‘badly’ + versari ‘behave’.
malversation
• noun [mass noun] formal corrupt behaviour in a position of trust, especially in public office: a charge of malversation.
— origin mid 16th cent.: from French, from malverser, from Latin male ‘badly’ + versari ‘behave’.
Ba.A / Mid. B 1972 - 1978
Thee's got'n where thee cassn't back'n, hassn't?
Thee's got'n where thee cassn't back'n, hassn't?
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Well, if you can manage it...Great Plum wrote:Fantastic, must we use these in everyday conversation today?
Malversation would be easily dropped into a discussion about politics.
I suppose pelorus could be used metaphorically, though, as in 'the school cat has its pelorus set on the mouse which lives in the bird sanctuary........'
Ba.A / Mid. B 1972 - 1978
Thee's got'n where thee cassn't back'n, hassn't?
Thee's got'n where thee cassn't back'n, hassn't?
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Re: Word of the day
Just out of interest I have sitting in front of me a "baculus" or "arbalista" dated 1707.Richard Ruck wrote: (our nautical friends in the West might already know it, though):
pelorus
• noun (pl. peloruses) a sighting device on a ship for taking the relative bearings of a distant object.
— origin mid 19th cent.: perhaps from Pelorus, said to be the name of Hannibal's pilot.
A nautical instrument for measuring distances between two stars or the angular elevation of a star or the sun above the horizon (known as shooting the sun due to the instument's similarity to a crossbow.)
I wonder from the description of a peloruse if they are a similar instrument.
[This should keep the salty dogs from the west country going for a while.]
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Re: Word of the day
Absolutely correct Richard. I believe he was a personal friend of Pontius - His aircraft having an exterior toilet !Richard Ruck wrote:Knowing that many of you use this forum for its, ahem, 'educational' value I thought I might share the word of the day from the Oxford Dictionary of English, which is circulated by the O.U.P.
This one's from yesterday (our nautical friends in the West might already know it, though):
pelorus
• noun (pl. peloruses) a sighting device on a ship for taking the relative bearings of a distant object.
— origin mid 19th cent.: perhaps from Pelorus, said to be the name of Hannibal's pilot.
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
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Here's today's :
intendment
• noun [mass noun] Law the sense in which the law understands or interprets something, such as the true intention of an Act.
— origin late Middle English (denoting an intended meaning): from Old French entendement, from entendre ‘intend’.
intendment
• noun [mass noun] Law the sense in which the law understands or interprets something, such as the true intention of an Act.
— origin late Middle English (denoting an intended meaning): from Old French entendement, from entendre ‘intend’.
Ba.A / Mid. B 1972 - 1978
Thee's got'n where thee cassn't back'n, hassn't?
Thee's got'n where thee cassn't back'n, hassn't?
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souble tablets, Mary ?englishangel wrote:A word for tomorrow.
Effervesce.
Give off bubbles of gas and make a very loud noise made by souble tablets in a glass of water when you have a hangover.
See also
whisper
Looks like you'll be sampling them yourself today !
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
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Today's word :
Tupamaro
• noun (pl. Tupamaros) a member of a Marxist urban guerrilla organization in Uruguay that was active mainly in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
— origin 1960s: from Tupac Amarú, the name of an 18th-cent. Inca leader.
Tupamaro
• noun (pl. Tupamaros) a member of a Marxist urban guerrilla organization in Uruguay that was active mainly in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
— origin 1960s: from Tupac Amarú, the name of an 18th-cent. Inca leader.
Ba.A / Mid. B 1972 - 1978
Thee's got'n where thee cassn't back'n, hassn't?
Thee's got'n where thee cassn't back'n, hassn't?
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Hope you had a good one!englishangel wrote:A word for tomorrow.
Effervesce.
Give off bubbles of gas and make a very loud noise made by souble tablets in a glass of water when you have a hangover.
See also
whisper
I finally crawled into bed at 05.30. A few restorative lunchtime pints helped to ensure that the festivities continued yesterday.....
Ba.A / Mid. B 1972 - 1978
Thee's got'n where thee cassn't back'n, hassn't?
Thee's got'n where thee cassn't back'n, hassn't?
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Showing my age, I remember this one.Richard Ruck wrote:Today's word :
Tupamaro
• noun (pl. Tupamaros) a member of a Marxist urban guerrilla organization in Uruguay that was active mainly in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
— origin 1960s: from Tupac Amarú, the name of an 18th-cent. Inca leader.
Yes, thank you I had a good one, not too much booze, no hangover.
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