words

Adumbrate

Hannah McCall 2 Comments

Adumbrate is a formal word for giving a general idea or description of something without any details.

ShadowIt has the following meanings:

  • to outline
  • to give a faint indication
  • to foreshadow
  • to overshadow or obscure

Adumbrate is a verb but there are other forms available to you: the noun is adumbration, the adjective is adumbrative and the adverb is adumbratively.

The OED lists the first recorded usage of adumbrate as occurring in 1537:

“You as fore runners, dydde adumbrate Christis passion.” Erasmus’ Comparation Vyrgin & Martyr, Thomas Paynell (translator).

I picked it as this week’s interesting word primarily because of its Latin origins. The Latin adumbrat- means ‘shaded’, and is from the verb adumbrare. Ad- means ‘to’ and umbrare means ‘cast a shadow’.

‘Faint’ and ‘feint’

Hannah McCall 2 Comments

They may be pronounced the same way, but faint and feint have very different meanings. Perhaps the most confusing usage is that of feint as a word for lined paper – the lines may be faint but the type of paper is feint (or feint-ruled).

Faint

  • barely perceptible; lacking clarity, brightness or volume
  • possible but unlikely
  • lacking conviction, force or enthusiasm
  • feeling weak and/or dizzy
  • a sudden loss of consciousness
  • to lose consciousness for a short time
  • to grow weak or feeble

FeintFeint

  • a deceptive or pretend movement designed to distract
  • to make a deceptive or distracting movement
  • paper printed with faint or pale lines across it

Luculent

Hannah McCall 7 Comments

LightbeamLuculent is rarely used, but I think it deserves to be revived. It would be a lovely way to describe someone’s writing, if you were so inclined.

Luculent means ‘clear in expression’ or ‘brightly shining’.

Its origin is thought to be 15th century; in Middle English it meant ‘shiny’. The word stems from the Latin word luculentus meaning ‘full of light’.

Sources:

‘Aisle’ and ‘isle’

Hannah McCall 5 Comments

It is fairly common to see isle used where aisle would be appropriate, but the different meanings are straightforward to grasp.

Aisle:

  • a passage between rows of seats or seating areas
  • a passage between rows of cabinets and shelves (containing goods)
  • a lower part in a church parallel to but divided from (by pillars) the nave or chancelIsland

Isle:

  • an island

The similarity between isle and island is a useful indicator of which word to use. If the thing you are writing about is not an island, you know that you need to use aisle.

Taradiddle

Hannah McCall 15 Comments

A taradiddle is a petty lie or fib. It can also mean ‘pretentious nonsense’.

The first recorded use is thought to be late 18th century. The origin of the word appears to be unknown, but it could be related to diddle meaning ‘to cheat or falsify’.

BookMThere is an apparent myth that taradiddle came into usage because of the town of Taradiddle in Ireland. There is no such place, and the myth is therefore a taradiddle itself. I believe there is a Taradiddle Lane in Cornwall, Connecticut, but it’s a bit hard to see on Google Maps.

Potterheads might recognise a variation of the word. Cornelius Fudge says it when he dismisses Harry’s story of a Dementor attack:

“We haven’t got time to listen to more tarradiddles, I’m afraid, Dumbledore.” Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J. K. Rowling.

Sources:

  • Oxford English Dictionary Online
  • Oxford Dictionaries Online

‘Coo’ and ‘coup’

Hannah McCall 4 Comments

Coo and coup couldn’t really be more different in meaning. The sentences produced when they are used mistakenly can be distracting if you enjoy the surreal.

PigeonCoo

  • the soft throaty sound made by birds such as doves and pigeons
  • to speak in a soft, gentle way; a loving murmur
  • (old-fashioned British slang) an exclamation of surprise or amazement

Coup

  • (coup d’état) a sudden, violent and illegal overthrow of a government
  • a difficult or brilliant action successfully achieved

I am tickled by the idea of pigeons leading a violent regime change or armies taking part in a gentle murmur. But you probably don’t want that in your dissertation or novel. Unless you do …

Floccinaucinihilipilification

Hannah McCall 6 Comments

Floccinaucinihilipilification is rarely used. I don’t think I need to explain why.

It means ‘the action or habit of believing something to have no value’.

parliamentIts origin is thought to be mid 18th century, and stems from the Latin words flocci, nauci, nihili, pili (all of their meanings have the sense of little value) with the suffix –fication.

The use of floccinaucinihilipilification is so unusual that it made the news in 2012 when a British MP spoke the word in the House of Commons. It became the longest word in Hansard (the official report of proceedings).

You can listen to the British English pronunciation here if you fancy trying it out yourself.

‘Plain’ and ‘plane’

Hannah McCall Leave a comment

This is fairly basic but it is easy to type or write the wrong word when you are in a hurry. I tend to find that plane is used in place of plain. I haven’t yet seen an aircraft referred to as a ‘plain’.

Plain

  • without decoration or adornment
  • without pattern or with one colour or with simple weave (when a fabric)
  • having no particular beauty
  • flat or smooth
  • easily understood; clear or simple; unequivocal
  • a lowly person or lowly people (usually in social rank or education)
  • a simple stitch in knitting
  • to mourn, lament or complain

Plane

  • Planean aeroplane
  • to glide, skim or soar without moving wings
  • a level surface; level or flat
  • a flat surface on which a straight line joining any two points on it lies entirely on that surface
  • a level of existence, thought or attainment
  • a tool with a block and projecting steel blade for smoothing timber or wooden surfaces; to smooth timber or remove material using a plane
  • a type of tall spreading tree

Polysemous

Hannah McCall 5 Comments

Words2Polysemous is a term for words that have more than one meaning. Most words in general use are polysemous.

The word is thought to be early 20th century in origin. It comes from the prefix poly-, meaning ‘many’, and the Greek word sēma, meaning ‘sign’.

Words with a single meaning are monosemous.

‘Mold’ and ‘mould’

Hannah McCall 2 Comments

The difference between mold and mould is the u. The meanings are the same. If you use American English, the spelling is mold. If you use British English, the spelling is mould.

Mold/mould:

  • a shaped hollow container into which liquid is poured so it sets in a particular shape
  • Cheesea shape, form, nature, character or type
  • a framework around which something is constructed or shaped
  • something made using a mould (usually a foodstuff)
  • to make something in a mould
  • to shape, form, influence, change or direct
  • a growth of fungi or bacteria that typically develops in a warm, damp atmosphere
  • soft loose soil (often rich in organic matter)