The Daily Aglet

Under-used and obscure words to expand your vocabulary.

[thedailyaglet]

Imbroglio

im·bro·glio [im-brohl-yoh]

noun

1. A misunderstanding, disagreement, etc. of a complicated or bitter nature, as between persons or nations.

2. An intricate and perplexing state of affairs.

3. A confused heap.

Origin: 1740–50;  < Italian,  derivative of imbrogliare  to embroil

Sentence: The attempt at diplomacy quickly became an imbroglio of epic proportions.

Note: May also be spelled embroglio.

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Inveigle

in·vei·gle [in-vey-guhl]

verb (transitive)

1. To entice, lure, or snare by flattery or artful talk or inducements (usually followed by "into")

2. To acquire, win, or obtain by beguiling talk or methods.

Origin: 1485–95;  variant of envegle  < Anglo-French enveogler,  equivalent to en- en-1  + Old French  ( a ) vogler  toblind, derivative of avogle  blind < Vulgar Latin *aboculus  eyeless, adj. derivative of phrase *ab oculīs  withouteyes. See ab-, ocular

Sentence: 

1. Professor Hill inveigled the town into buying band instruments.

2. She plans to inveigle the keys from her jailor.

[thedailyaglet]

Queue Troubles

Apparently the queue has not been posting. I apologize. A word for today will be posted shortly.

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Legerdemain

leg·er·de·main [lej-er-duh-meyn]

noun

1. sleight of hand

2. trickery; deception

3. any artful trick

Origin: 1400–50; late Middle English legerdemeyn, lygarde de mayne  < Middle French:  literally, light of hand

Sentence: We watched the magician perform remarkable feats of legerdemain.

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Funambulist

fu·nam·bu·list [fyoo-nam-byuh-list]

noun

A tightrope walker.

Origin: 1785–95;  < Latin fūnambul ( us ) ropedancer + -ist

Sentence: Our favorite part of the circus was the funambulist.

[thedailyaglet]

Bruit

bruit [broot]

verb (transitive)

To voice abroad, to rumor (usually used in the passive voice and followed by "about").

Origin: 1400–50; late Middle English  (noun) < Anglo-French, Old French,  noun use of past participle of bruire  toroar < Vulgar Latin *brūgere,  a conflation of Latin rūgīre  to bellow and Vulgar Latin *bragere;  see bray1

Sentence: In no time at all, the tale was bruited about the town. 

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Terpsichorean

terp·si·cho·re·an [turp-si-kuh-ree-uhn]

adjective

Pertaining to dancing.

noun

A dancer.

Origin: Terpsichore + -an

Sentence: She was a runner and amateur terpsichorean.

[thedailyaglet]

Alimentary

al·i·men·ta·ry [al-uh-men-tuh-ree]

adjective

1. Concerned with the function of nutrition.

2. Pertaining to food.

3. Providing sustenance or maintenance. 

Origin: 1605–15;  < Latin alimentārius.  See aliment, -ary

Sentence: "What was the cause of death, Holmes? Respiratory failure?"

"Alimentary, my dear Watson."

[thedailyaglet]

Stop! Grammar Time I: History, Cases, and Word Order

This is the first installment of our weekly Wednesday grammar discussion. I'll be using this segment to go over grammar points that many people seem confused on or that I think are not taught very clearly (or at all) in school. This week, we'll be talking about why the English language is such a bastard and taking some grammatical constructs usually applied to other languages to better make sense of English. 

I wasn't just being colorful up there; the English language is in fact more or less the bastard child of a number of different languages. 

What scholars call Old English was a Germanic language that needs heavy translation before a modern English speaker can understand it. The original text of Beowulf is a prime example:

Hwæt! We Gardena         in geardagum,  þeodcyninga,         þrym gefrunon,  hu ða æþelingas         ellen fremedon. 

 Although Britain was invaded by the Roman Empire, it never adopted Latin as a language, and the Germanic Saxon language was what was used for centuries.

In 1066 BCE, the Normans, invaders from France, won the Battle of Hastings and gained control over England. This is where the real transformation of the English language began. Norman French and Saxon English intertwined and gave birth to Middle English. By the end of the 1300s, you have Chaucer's Canterbury Tales:

 Whan that aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of march hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour Of which vertu engendred is the flour;

I'm guessing you can make out a lot more of that than you can of Beowulf! English continued this tradition of absorbing other languages over the centuries, one major example being the huge absorption of Greek and Latin vocabulary (and some Latin grammar) when Renaissance scholars became huge fanboys of the Classical literature rediscovered when Spain drove out the Muslims that has protected those precious works through Europe's lack of focus on the arts. Colonization also played a large role, as did immigration for American English in particular. 

The reason English is so confusing even to native speakers is that it is a combination of vocabulary and grammar from many different sources. That is why spelling rules and phonetics are all over the place, why we often have several words for the same thing, and why some of our grammar rules don't make much sense.

Of course, sometimes grammar doesn't make sense to us just because we haven't learned the reasons behind it. In the second part of this already long installment (future ones will be shorter, I think), we're going to discuss cases.

A noun's case describes the function it fulfills in a sentence. You probably already know that an English sentence only requires a noun and a verb, and that it is made up of a subject and what we call a predicate, which is generally rest of the sentence. But what makes up a predicate?

In simple sentences, the predicate is often a verb and an object - the noun that the subject is performing the verb on. For example:

Subject  Verb  Object

The dog licks the boy.

The dog is the subject and is therefore in the subjective case; the boy is similarly in the objective case.

This distinction is often not taught in English because it is less important in English than in other languages. English, for the most part, uses word order to denote which noun is the subject and which is the object; "The dog licks the boy" is a different sentence from "The boy licks the dog." Cases are more important in languages like Latin, where the words themselves change to reflect case:

puella agricolam necat - The girl kills the farmer.

puellam agricola necat - The farmer kills the girl.

However, since our language is such a mishmash, there are at least two instances where knowing about cases comes in very handy, and we will be exploring these circumstances in the next two weeks. For now, be thankful that English only has two to worry about (Latin had five), and remember that you're only being factual when you call the English language a bastard.

Notes:

Beowulf text and translation

Canterbury Tales text and translation

Necat (he/she/it kills) was the only Latin verb I could remember. In my defense, we learned something like five words for kill. 

Shakespeare is considered Early Modern English!

[thedailyaglet]

Embonpoint

em·bon·point [ahn-bawn-pwan]

noun

excessive plumpness or stoutness

Origin: 1655–65;  < French,  literally, in good condition

Sentence: The new mayor is possessed of a certain embonpoint.

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Pule

pule [pyool]

verb (intransitive)

To cry in a thin voice; whine; whimper.

Origin: 1525–35;  perhaps imitative

Sentence: The noise agitated the baby, who began to pule and fuss.

[thedailyaglet]

Pabulum

pab·u·lum [pab-yuh-luhm]

noun

1. Food; nutriment, especially as in a nutrient solution.

2. Material for intellectual nourishment; food for thought, especially when bland or insipid.

Origin: 1670–80;  < Latin pābulum  food, nourishment, equivalent to pā ( scere ) to feed (akin to food) + -bulum noun suffix of instrument

Sentence: Television can be thoughtful, but is often just a pabulum.

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Estivate

es·ti·vate [es-tuh-veyt]

verb (intransitive)

1. To spend the summer, as as at a certain place or activity

2. To spend the summer in a dormant state (as opposed to 'hibernate' being specifically in the winter).

Origin: 1620–30;  < Latin aestīvātus,  past participle of aestīvāre  to reside during the summer (akin to aestīvus  of orrelating to summer); see -ate1

Sentence: Some frogs estivate rather than hibernate, since they live in areas where the dry heat is more damaging to them than the cold. 

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Oneiromancy

o·nei·ro·man·cy [oh-nahy-ruh-man-see]

noun

Divination via the interpretation of dreams.

Origin: 1645–55;  < Greek óneiro ( s ) dream + -mancy

Sentence: I've been having the weirdest dreams lately, and I want to know what they mean; do you know anyone who practices oneiromancy?

[thedailyaglet]

Embosk

em·bosk [em-bosk]

verb (transitive)

To hide or conceal (something, oneself, etc.) esp. with plants or greenery. 

Origin: em-1  + bosk

Sentence: He embosked himself within the bushes under the balcony.

NB: We'll be covering transitive verbs in one of the grammar posts, but for now, note that it must be 'he embosked himself' rather than simply 'he embosked'.

[thedailyaglet]

Recrudescence

re·cru·des·cence [ree-kroo-des-uhns]

noun

breaking out afresh or into renewed activity; revival or reappearance in active existence.

Which is to say, this blog is about to become active again!

I've been considering how best to do this for a while, and I think I've come up with something. I'd like to run this not only as a vocabulary blog but also as a blog that discusses roots, explains grammar points, and maybe gives tips on writing papers. 

My question to those of you who are still following, even if it's just because you didn't bother to delete this unforgivably inactive blog from your follow list, is this:

 Should these other features be in place of words (for example, on Wednesdays I would make a grammar post instead of a word post) or in addition to them (on Wednesdays I would make a grammar post and a word post; on other days just a word post)?

[thedailyaglet]

cacophony

ca·coph·o·ny [kuh-kof-uh-nee]

noun

Harsh discordance of sound; dissonance.

Sentence:  The collision of the two marching bands produced the worst cacophony I've ever heard.

Origin: 1650–60; < Neo-Latin cacophonia < Greek kakophōnía. See caco-, -phony