Dictionary Word of the Day: Kenspeckle

kenspeckle
\ KEN-spek-uhl \  , adjective;
1.
Conspicuous; easily seen or recognized.

Origin:

Kenspeckle  comes from Scottish and Northern English dialects, ultimately relating back to Norwegian.

(I must admit that I could have posted a new "never heard this one before" word for about the last week.  And that's the way it goes with Dictionary Word of the Day.  I can go months without learning anything new and then there will be a spate of strange words.  One would almost think someone at Dictionary Word of the Day is having a go at me!)

Dictionary Word of the Day: Cachinnate

cachinnate
\ KAK-uh-neyt \  , verb;
1.
To laugh loudly or immoderately.

I love loud laughter, don't you?

Dictionary Word of the Day: anacoluthia

anacoluthia

   \ an-uh-kuh-LOO-thee-uh \  , noun;

1.

Lack of grammatical sequence or coherence, esp. in a sentence.

Here's a word that's handy of which I have never heard before or read ever. (How's that for anacoluthia?)

Dictionary Word of the Day: yeuk

yeuk\ YOOK \  , noun;
1.An itching sensation.
verb:
1.To itch.

Here's another one for the 'I've never come across THAT word before' list.  Appropriate for this time of year, though, at least in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago.  The mosquitos are out in droves--aggressive and persistent.  I'm itching from several I received yesterday while talking to Dorothy in her driveway.

This morning I'm going to be working in the yard so I better spray myself or I"ll be yeuking some new bites!

Dictionary Word of the Day: Fulgurate

fulgurate
\ FUHL-gyuh-reyt \  , verb;
1.
To flash or dart like lightning.

A perfect word for today!  I awoke to the sound of thunder several times during the night and it's raining here now.  Looks like it could rain all day--just what we need!

   

Dictionary Word of the Day: acedia

It's been a long time since I've come across a Dictionary Word of the Day that was entirely new to me! (February 1st, to be precise)

acedia \ uh-SEE-dee-uh \  , noun;
1.  Sloth.
2.  Laziness or indifference in religious matters.

Quotes:

His tales give the impression of a man cursed with an incurable disenchantment with life, a malady about midway between acedia  and ennui.

-- James Norman Hall, Under a thatched roof
Five thousand people yawning in their cars, intimidated by the cops and bored to acedia  by the chant of the politicians.

-- Edward Abbey, The monkey wrench gang

Origin:
Acedia  is a simple derivation from the Greek akēdeia , "indifference.

Probably not a word I'll probably ever remember to use.  The thought of laziness or indifference in religious matters, though. . .

I'm glad there is a word that describes the particular indifference of religious matters because that particular indifference has eternal consequences.  That is not a subject about which anyone can afford to be lazy or indifferent and yet our neighborhoods are filled with people who were created in the image of God who go through their days without a thought about God, indifferent to His Word, indifferent to His Son, indifferent to His salvation.

It is not enough for us to avoid acedia in our own lives; we must also avoid acedia when it comes to those who are without Christ.

 Romans 10:14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Let us not become indifferent to religious matters; our own or that of those around us. 

Dictionary Word of the Day: Majuscule

majuscule
\MAJ-uh-skyool\ , adjective;
1.
Of letters written either as capitals or uncials.
noun:
1.
A large letter, either capital or uncial, used in writing or printing.

Inspired by today's Dictionary Word of the Day, this is my first attempt at broad brush calligraphy.  There's a learning curve so I'm not entirely satisfied but I thoroughly enjoyed playing with this new (to me) technique.

Dictionary Word of the Day: Mondegreen

mondegreen
\MON-di-green\ , noun;
1.
A word or phrase resulting from a misinterpretation of a word or phrase that has been heard.

Quotes:

Mondegreens can be found in every area of the spoken word, from the record buyer who asks for a copy of the Queen single "Bohemian Rap City" to the schoolchild who is convinced that the Pledge of Allegiance begins "I led the pigeons to the flag."

-- Gavin Edwards, 'Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy: And Other Misheard Lyrics

There is something consoling about Web pages that collect "mondegreens." Sites featuring these often hilarious examples of misheard song lyrics offer proof, at last, that botching the words to popular songs is a nearly universal human failing.

-- Pamela LiCalzi O'Connell, "Sweet Slips Of the Ear: Mondegreens", New York Times, April 9, 1998

Oh, I love this word!  We've all done it, haven't we?  We're going along, minding our own business, singing at the top of our lungs (Like this classic:)

I see the bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes* and lightnin'(FIGHTING).
I see bad times today.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon (BATHROOM) on the rise(RIGHT).

I hear hurricanes are blowing.
I know the end is coming soon.
I fear rivers over flowing.
I hear the voice of rage and ruin(THAT RAISED THE ROOF).

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon (BATHROOM) on the rise(RIGHT).
All right!

Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we're in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye.(ONE GUY IS DRINKING ALL THE RYE)

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon (BATHROOM) on the rise(RIGHT).

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

Bad Moon on the Rise Credence Clearwater Revival

That's honestly how I sang it was for years.  I didn't know the line about earthquakes until I googled the lyrics this morning.  That's just the first mondegreen off the top of my head (John Fogarty is the muse of all mondegreen singers, after all)

Tom interpreted a David Bowie lyric 'sidewalk and trees' as 'cyborgs and cheese.'  We've never let him live that one down. 

I'll share one more and then I'll ask you to share one of your own mondegreens.

When Jake was just a little squirt he was memorizing his first Bible verse:  John 14:2

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare (REPAIR) a place for you.

Dictionary Word of the Day: Panjandrum

Today's Dictionary Word of the Day comes with a story:

panjandrum

pan-JAN-druhm\ , noun;

1.An important personage or pretentious official.

Origin:

Panjandrum was coined by Samuel Foote (1720-1777) in a piece of nonsense writing:

So she went into the garden to cut a cabbage-leaf to make an apple-pie; and at the same time a great she-bear, coming up the street, pops its head into the shop. "What! No soap?" So he died, and she very imprudently married the barber: and there were present the Picninnies, and the Joblillies, and the Garyulies, and the grand Panjandrum himself, with the little round button at top, and they all fell to playing the game of catch-as-catch-can till the gunpowder ran out at the heels of their boots.

It was composed on the spot to challenge actor Charles Macklin's claim that he could memorize anything. Macklin is said to have refused to repeat a word of it.

Dictionary Word of the Day:

Brobdingnagian
\brob-ding-NAG-ee-uhn\ , adjective;
1.
Of extraordinary size; gigantic; enormous.

Origin:

Brobdingnagian is from Brobdingnag, a country of giants in Swift's Gulliver's Travels.

Seems like a good word to describe our national debt, don't you think?

A split second snippet in time.  Check out the link.  It'll shock you.

Giving Thanks in November/Dictionary Word of the Day

exegesis
\ek-suh-JEE-sis\ , noun;

1.Exposition; explanation; especially, a critical explanation of a text.

I need only read my daily Dictionary Word of the Day to find something for which to be thankful this morning.

As many of you know, I am in the third year of leading a Bible Study in the book of Hebrews.  Three years and still not finished?? you may be thinking.  Yes, that's a long time but it's a complex book and its subject matter illumines both the Old and the New Testaments and develops a detailed picture of the Person and the Work of Christ--in other words, there's a lot there!!

This is not the first time I've studied Hebrews by any means.  I had a very good working understanding of the content and the author's purpose before we began this study, but the difference this time is the addition of the use of commentaries and the benefit we have all gained by the exegetical skills of some remarkable men of God.

Each week, I begin my preparation with my own inductive study of the text, using a Bible study method that I've cobbled together from many different sources and techniques over the years.  (Someday I'll sit down and write a post about how I go about it.)  Then I go to the commentaries--Calvin, Aquinas, Owen, Richard Phillips, Matthew Henry and sometimes Gill, and Stedman.  THAT's where the 'real' exegesis comes in!  No matter how carefully and diligently I have done my own study, I am always amazed at how much more there is to learn from the text!  Each one of those men bring their God-given gifts and their education and knowledge to their work and I, a middle aged woman in Chicagoland living today in America, receive the benefit of all that!

When my friends Carol and Dorothy and I get together to discuss what we've learned in our week's study, we all benefit from each other's preparation.  Dorothy reads John Brown and Carol reads Matthew Poole and another 'dead theologian' whose name I can never remember (Geoffrey Something. . .)

Pooling it all together makes for a lively discussion.  Our commentators don't always agree, so that makes it interesting and even when they do, they often come to the same conclusion through different means.

Exegesis.  It's a good thing.

Pop on over to Rebecca Writes and see what other bloggers are thankful for!

Pop over to Rebecca Writes and see what other bloggers are thankful for

Dictionary Word of the Day: Pukka

pukka
\PUHK-uh\ , adjective:
1.
Authentic; genuine.
2.
Superior; first-class.

Origin:
Pukka comes from Hindi pakka, "cooked, ripe," from Sanskrit pakva-, from pacati, "he cooks."

This one is new to me.  I doubt I'll ever remember this word, let alone use it. To me, it just doesn't seem to match with its meaning.

"Although the definition of this word is doubtlessly pukka, I sincerely doubt its usefulness in day to day conversation."

Dictionary Word of the Day: Cavort

cavort
\kuh-VORT\ , intransitive verb:
1.
To bound or prance about.
2.
To have lively or boisterous fun; to behave in a high-spirited, festive manner.

No dog I've ever known cavorts better than Ivy. . .

Dictionary Word of the Day: eldritch

eldritch
\EL-drich\ , adjective:
1.
Strange; unearthly; weird; eerie.

This word is totally new to me.  Never seen it.  Never read it. Never heard it.  Have you?

Dictionary Word of the Day: tchotchke

tchotchke
\CHOCH-kuh\ , noun:

1.A trinket; a knickknack.

I've known (and used!) this word for years but I never had a clue how to spell it and apparently I didn't know how to pronounce it, either.  I always thought it was CHOCH-key.

Dictionary Word of the Day: Efficacious

efficacious
\ef-ih-KAY-shuhs\ , adjective:
1.
Capable of having the desired result or effect; effective as a means, measure, remedy, etc.

This is one of my favorite theological terms.  It immediately brought to mind the chapter on the efficacy of Christ's atonement in Pink's The Satisfaction of Christ:  Studies in the Atonement.

No lengthy argument is needed to establish the fact that the glory of God requires the mediatorial work of Christ should be completely efficacious, i.e., that it should infallibly accomplish all it was designed to effect. If there were any failure in the fruits or results of the Atonement, then the purpose of God would be foiled, His covenant broken, His veracity forfeited, His power defeated, His justice sullied, and His glory dishonored. Few seem to realize the fearful implications which necessarily follow the principles they hold and advocate. To predicate an Atonement which fails to atone, a Redemption which does not redeem, a Sacrifice which secures not the actual remission of sins, is a horrible reflection upon all the attributes of God. To make the efficacy or success of the greatest of all God’s works dependent upon the choice of fallen and depraved creatures, is to magnify man at the cost of dethroning his Maker.

The manifestative glory of God is bound up in the person and work of Christ. Our Lord Jesus revealed this plainly when, facing the crucial hour, He cried, "Father glorify thy name" (John 12:28). Again He declared, "Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him" (John 13:31). Compare also John 14:13. If Christ be dishonored, God is dishonored. But if Christ be glorified by the Father’s acceptance of His work and by the Spirit’s infallible application thereof, so that every effect is produced which it was intended to bring forth, then is God supremely glorified. Therefore we boldly declare that, before there can be the slightest failure in the Divine design of the Atonement, God must cease to have any respect for His own honor. But that can never be.   A. W. Pink

Dictionary Word of the Day: Lucubration

lucubration \loo-kyoo-BRAY-shun; loo-kuh-\ , noun:
1.The act of studying by candlelight; nocturnal study; meditation.

2.That which is composed by night; that which is produced by meditation in retirement; hence (loosely) any literary composition.

Proverbs 63:6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.  8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Dictionary Word of the Day: Bowlderize

bowdlerize

\BODE-luh-rise; BOWD-\ , transitive verb: 1. To remove or modify the parts (of a book, for example) considered offensive. 2. To modify, as by shortening, simplifying, or distorting in style or content.

Having read the definition, the first thing that came into my mind was the movie, Dark Knight.  Sam and Tom watched that movie last night.  I thought it would never end.  I drifted in and out of the living room while it was on and got the distinct impression that if I ever had the chance to edit that movie there wouldn't be much left!  I know a lot of people have seen it and based on the fact that it scored 8.9 out of 10 stars on Internet Movie Database, I'll bet most people would not appreciate my 'bowdlerizing!'

Dictionary Word of the Day: Sough

sough \SAU; SUHF\ , intransitive verb:
1. To make a soft, low sighing or rustling sound, as the wind.

noun:
1. A soft, low rustling or sighing sound.

Heehee.  I read this and listened for a soughing sound.  Sure enough, I could hear Eve snoring and whistling in her sleep.

Dictionary Word of the Day: Oneiric

oneiric \oh-NY-rik\ 

Of, pertaining to, or suggestive of dreams; dreamy.

A new word to me and one that is very suggestive in light of Sam's graduation today.  Hopes and dreams past merging with hopes and dreams future.