Megan's Words of the Week

Rapscallion:

The first word that I chose was one I found while reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Rapscallion was used by Twain multiple times throughout the novel, and my English professor even highlighted the word as relating to important themes in the novel. I think this is a really cool word and definitely can be applied not only to Huck Finn, but also to my new 8-week old puppy, who I learned this weekend is definitely a rapscallion.

A rapscallion is defined by OED to be a rascal, a rogue, or a vagabond. Now often used in a humorous manner, its earliest usage in literature dates back to 1648.

The rapscallion contemplating his next shenanigan

Shenanigans:

The second word that I chose is one of my very favorite words: shenanigans. This word can also be, and has been, applied to my new puppy, who has already gotten into all types of shenanigans in one weekend at our house. The OED defines shenanigan as trickery, skullduggery, a prank, an exhibition of high spirits, a carry-on. I really like this definition, especially the “exhibition of high spirits”, as I feel like shenanigans cannot be categorized in a negative way, and can only be said in a manner of teasing or lightheartedness. The origin of the word is categorized as “obscure” by the OED, which I found to be pretty disappointing, so I did some further research. One site suggests that shenanigan may have originated in California about the time of the Gold Rush, though it was first recorded in print only in 1855. It has been spelled in many different ways since then, though most dictionaries have settled on “shenanigans” as the accepted spelling.

Where it comes from is still a matter of considerable disagreement. The word looks Irish, and there was no shortage of Irishmen in the California diggings, so it’s possible that the Irish word sionnachuighm is the source, meaning ‘I play tricks’, which is pronounced roughly as ‘shinnuckeem’. It may also come from an East Anglian dialect word nannicking for “playing the fool” or as a link with the Spanish word chanada for a trick or deceit. It could also come from the German word schinnagel for a nail that holds the rim to the wheel, which produced the German slang terms schinageln, to work, and Schenigelei, a trick.

Flea market:

One of my favorite summer activities is going to flea markets around Wisconsin, and for my third word I decided to choose the idiom flea market to see where this word originated from. Flea market comes from the French phrase marché aux puces, a name originally given to a market in Paris which specialized in shabby second-hand goods of the kind that might contain fleas. The earliest English use that the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary has found dates from 1922. Although you wouldn’t sell much today at a flea market if it was infested in fleas, it is intriguing to me that we still use this idiom commonly to refer to a open-air markets all around the world, when fleas are not something that we would like to bring home with us from any type of market.

Words Associated with Halloween (by Yichen)

1. Halloween:

Etymology: It is shortened from All-Hallow-Even. According to OED, the word Halloween was first used in 1556. And the original form of this word "All-Hallow-Even" was used since early 1300s.

Definition: The eve of All Hallows' or All Saints'; the last night of October.

Why: In the Old Celtic calendar the year began on 1st November, so that the last evening of October was ‘old-year's night’, the night of all the witches, which the Church transformed into the Eve of All Saints. (Source: OED)

2. Jack-O'-Lantern

Etymology: It is originated from the visual phenomenon ignis fatuus also known as a will-o'-the-wisp in English folklore, first indicating something misleading or elusive. Also according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, it is more commonly used in East Anglia and its earliest use dates to 1660s.

ignis fatuus: A phosphorescent light that hovers or flits over swampy ground at night, possibly caused by spontaneous combustion of gases emitted by rotting organic matter.

ignis fatuus

Definition:

1. A man with a lantern; a night watchman.

2. An ignis fatuus or will-o'-the-wisp

3. A lantern made of the rind of a large turnip or a pumpkin, in which holes are cut to represent eyes, nose, and mouth; a turnip- or (in U.S.) pumpkin-lantern. north. Eng., Sc., and U.S. (Source: OED and Online Etymology Dictionary)



3. Poltergeist

Etymology: It comes from the German words poltern ("to make a loud noise or uproar, to rumble, to thud", 15th century) and Geist (ghost).

Definition:  A ghost or other supernatural being supposedly responsible for unexplained physical disturbances such as loud noises and the movement of objects. (Source: OED)

Observation of Poltergeist:

The phenomenon of poltergeists have been found in different cultures, including both eastern and western countries. Most of them are described in a situation that inaminated objects are being thrown away which causes lots of noises such as human voices, coughs, or knocking.

Scientific Explanations:

According to the excerpts of the book: Anomalistic Psychology: A Study of Magical Thinking, written by Leonard Zusne, Many claimed poltergeist events have proved on investigation to be pranks. A study (Lange and Houran, 1998) wrote that poltergeist experiences are delusions "resulting from the affective and cognitive dynamics of percipients' interpretation of ambiguous stimuli". Other investigations find that the poltergeist phenomenon may also associate with factors like underground water, heavy rainfalls, and vibrate geographical locations ( Lambert,1955).

Aila's Amazing Words

Albedo (noun): 

What? The proportion of incident solar light that is diffusely reflected by the surface or surface material of a planet or other celestial object. [Earth's average albedo is roughly 30%].

From where? Found in the Monthly Notices from the Royal Astronomical Society in 1860.

Why? After learning this word from my Environmental Studies class, I was surprised to learn its alternative meaning from Madeleine's blog post below.

Macabre (adj.) [məˈkɑb]:

What? Grim, horrific, repulsive; Characterized by or suggestive of the danse macabre.

From where? Of French origin from 1843.

Why? In high school, a very good friend of mine was sharing a word that he had come across in his reading.  Very proudly, he introduced the word 'macabre'.  Unfortunately, he pronounced it incorrectly and continued to pronounce it incorrectly throughout his presentation even after being correctly.  Perhaps it was a classic "you-had-to-be-there" moment, but I laughed so hard that I cried.

Besmirch (verb):

What? To dim the luster of.

From where? Appeared in Shakespeare's Hamlet in 1604.

Why? I found this word in an article in "Mark Twain: America's Original Superstar" by Roy Blount Jr. and noted its phonetic appeal.

Madeleine's Journal of Words

Albedo-(noun) The white inner-rind of a citrus fruit.
 Entered English in the 1850s, comes from the Latin word for "whiteness"

I frequently ask myself what one would call the white stringy stuff around my orange, lemon, or clementine. And now I finally know! It's called albedo.


Aureole-(noun) A radiance surrounding the head or the whole figure in the representation of a sacred personage.
I like this term so much more than calling it a 'halo'. An aureole sounds mystic and divine.
" …her hair was all creped into a filmy golden aureole round her face."
-- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Pink and White Tyranny: A Society Novel, 1871

Susurrus- (noun) A whistling or rustling sound.
I like this word a lot because if you whisper it, I think it sounds like the sound it is describing. *susurrus* sounds like a rustle. 
"Still, the breeze is soothing, as is the susurrus of the branches."
-- Michael Finkel, "Tree Surfing and Other Lofty Pleasures", The Atlantic, March 1998

Ben's Words of the Week

Word: imprimis /ɪm'pɹaɪmɪs/ 

Imprimis: I am a man who, form his youth upwards, has been filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best. 

Definition: Adverb In the first place; first. Originally used to introduce the first of a number of items, as in an inventory or will; thence in more general use. Now unusual. (OED)

Etymology: From the Latin in primis, literally meaning 'among the first things', 'in the first place'. It assimilated into imprimis

I came across this word for the first time this week while reading Herman Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener". I had never come across this word before, and was curious about its definition, though I could discern its meaning from the context. "Imprimis" was used in the short story to introduce a short description of the narrator before the action of the tale was described, thus its definition could be inferred as "first" or "before the rest". 

Word: knacker /'nækəɹ/

I'm feeling so knackered right now; I just want to take a nap. 

Definition: Verb To kill; to castrate; usually in weakened sense, to exhaust, to wear out. (OED)

Etymology: Conversion from either noun forms of knacker, meaning either 'one who trades in worn out, useless, or diseased horses' or 'the testicles'

I remember this word from taking English 220 with Karen Britland last semester, who would use it, among her many Britishisms, to describe 'being tired' or 'worn out'. The word has a phonetic appeal to me, sounding very descriptive of the state of exhaustion. I've been trying to use it in my speech, but no one seems to understand it or thinks it is overwhelmingly British. 

Word: myriad [Brit.] /mɪɹɪəd/ [U.S.] /mɪɹiəd/ 

The myriad lights of the city glittered before me, drenched in rain and filled with promise. 

Definitions: Noun (OED)

1. a) Ten thousand; a set of ten thousand of anything; especially, a unit of ten thousand soldiers. b) Ten thousand of a particular monetary unit.
2. a) Plural: Countless numbers of people or things; legions, hosts, hordes of persons or things specified. b) Singular: A countless number of specified things.
3. a) Plural: Countless multitudes, hosts (with the objects intended inferred from the context) b) Singular: A countless multitude, a throng. c) by myriads: in uncoutably large numbers. d) in myriads: in countless numbers

Definitions: Adjective (OED)

1. a) Modifying a singular noun, usually one with collective or abstract meaning: having or consisting of countless elements, aspects, phases, etc; innumerable, uncountable. b) Modifying a plural noun: existing in huge numbers; countless, innumerable.

Etymology: From Latin myriades meaning 'multiples of ten thousand' or 'a countless number'. Borrowed into Old English from Latin.

I find myself using this word a lot in papers to describe 'a multitude'. While my use may be an underselling of the 'countlessness' of the adjective form, it nonetheless provides the intended effect of 'many'. 

Liz's Word Journal

Word: epenthesis /ɛˈpɛnθɪsɪs/

Definition: Epenthesis is the interposition of a letter or syllable in the midst of a word (OED)

This word came up in a conversation I was having with the speech pathologist I volunteer for. We were discussing the speech of this 6 year old and how he said fishing - instead of fishing, he would say fikshing. This is the only word he says that has this random insertion of a consonant. Of course it never occurred to me that this was an actual error in speech as I have heard adults/adolescents who inserted random letters in words that didn’t belong there. The appearance of epenthesis in the 6 year old may also be due to some underlying features that he has other speech problems such as “backing” of consonants where the tongue has a tendency to slip backwards in production of more front consonants (/d/ is sometimes pronounced as a /g/ sound). Backing happens to be more rare than fronting.

Word: ephebephobia/ephebiphobia

Definition: irrational fear of adolescents

(This word is spelled ephebephobia in my book but online it is spelled ephebiphobia; neither spelling of these words is found in the OED.)

I came across this word in my textbook about adolescents. I knew there was a fear for just about everything but this was something I wasn’t expecting. I’m sure we can all agree that there is a stigma about adolescents that isn’t all too positive, and we may have felt this stigma at one point in our life. I guess the idea of the word is that adults are afraid of the negativity that adolescents bring around with them and fear that adolescents are out for the worst.

Word: Bridezilla /braɪdˈzɪlə/

Definition: A woman thought to have become intolerably obsessive or overbearing in planning the details of her wedding (OED)

Bridezillas is a TV show that I used to watch whenever I was really bored. This word is supposed to use in a humorous manner, however whenever I think of a ‘bridezilla,’ I don’t find them to be humorous at all. It takes me back to a wedding I went to a long time ago. Never have I seen the bride as “vivacious” as she was while she was planning for her wedding (and moments right up to it). After her wedding, she returned to her happy, normal self, and even expressed remorse for acting in the manner she did. She would have been a great candidate for the TV show.

Jun's Word of the week.

1.      RUFFIAN (N., V., Adj.) The noun ruffian is a word that refers to:

a)      “A brutal or lawless villain; a violent criminal, a thug. Also in weakened sense: any rough or disreputable person.”

b)      “In the 16th and 17th centuries: a swaggering bully or thug characterized by extravagant dress and long hair.”

c)      ” A prostitute's pimp” “A boxer or pugilist who fights to win, without regard to rules or ‘science’”

d)     “A member of a group of dandies of the early 19th cent., noted for their rowdy behaviour and sporting prowess”

          When ruffian is used as an adjective or verb, it seems to be conversed from the noun, as it has the quality of being ruffian in their definitions, according to Oxford English Dictionary. It seems to be a very old word; the oldest date that OED tracks was around 16^th century. However, the word bully replaced ruffian, and the use of ruffian decreased more and more. I came up with this word when I was reading Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights,” which is not my favorite but good novel. I believe this word does fit better than the word bully, because to me, bully sounds more childish while ruffian sounds more dangerous. Ruffian was also the American champion thoroughbred racehorse, which was ranked top of the racehorses in 20^th century (There is also a TV film about that horse: “Ruffian.”). (Sources: Oxford English Dictionary, Wikipedia)

 

2.      BUCKETLIST (N.) The word Bucketlist refers to “a list of things that people hopes to experience or achieve during his or her lifetime,” according to Oxford English Dictionary. It was originally derived from the term “kick the bucket,” which refers a death of a person. However it became popular after the success of the movie “The Bucket List” in 2007, with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. In the movie, two men are about to die from their illness but they cooperate and decide to do what they wanted to do in their lifetime, and the list they make is the “bucketlist.” (it is a good movie, worth watching). (sources: Oxford English Dictionary, Wikipedia)

 

3.      “IT AIN’T OVER UNTIL THE FAT LADY SINGS.” It means that a person should not hastily guess the result when it is still in progress. Wikipedia describes that it is specifically used “when a situation is (or appears to be) nearing its conclusion.” As I was doing a research, I found this phrase very interesting. Such phrase seems to come from the grand opera, where an overweight soprano sings. Wikipedia refers to the image of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen as the starting point of such phrase. In that opera, the “fat lady” refers to Valkyrie Brunhilde, a big woman with helmets and weapons, and her aria in the last part the opera leads directly to the end of opera.

              Another interesting part of this phrase is its history of development as a popular phrase. Such term was first used around 1976, by sportswriter Dan Cook, in his column of San Antonio News-Express. At that time, Washington Bullets were beating San Antonio Spurs for the playoff, and Bullets coach Dick Motta used such term as a warning against overconfidence. Surprisingly, Bullets won the championship; and the phrase became the team’s rallying cry, and it became very popular.

# It was also used in the lyrics of Gym Class Heroes’ song The Fighter: “And I’ll be in your corner like Mick, baby, ‘til the end/ Or when you hear a song from that big lady.” This made me to wonder how it works; because professor said that idiom works only when used in groups of words. So would it still mean the same, even after changing the way of saying it?