Word of the Day – April 20, 2019

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surreptitious

(ˌsʌrəpˈtɪʃəs)

adj

1. done, acquired, etc, in secret or by improper means
2. operating by stealth
3. characterized by fraud or misrepresentation of the truth
[C15: from Latin surreptīcius furtive, from surripere to steal, from sub- secretly + rapere to snatch]
ˌsurrepˈtitiously adv
ˌsurrepˈtitiousness n

Word of the Day – April 6, 2019

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moiety

noun

moi·​e·​ty | \ ˈmȯi-ə-tē \
plural moieties

Definition of moiety

1a : one of two equal parts : half
b : one of two approximately equal parts … war, pestilence, and famine had consumed … the moiety of the human species.— Edward Gibbon
2 : one of the portions into which something is divided : component, part an ether molecule with a benzene moiety
3 : one of two basic complementary tribal subdivisions the pueblo’s population is divided into two halves or moieties; the Squash, or Winter People, and the Turquoise, or Summer People  CITE: http://www.freedictionary.com

Word of the Day, March 30, 2019

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roundabout

(round′ə-bout′)

adj.

1. Indirect; circuitous: took a roundabout route because the bridge was closed.
2. Characterized by indirectness, evasiveness, or vagueness: a roundabout claim that avoided the issues being discussed.
n.

1. A short, close-fitting jacket.
2. Chiefly British

a. A merry-go-round.
b. A traffic circle.

Word of the Day, March 16, 2019

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dep·re·cate

(dĕp′rĭ-kāt′)

tr.v. de·pre·cat·ed, de·pre·cat·ing, de·pre·cates

1. To express disapproval of; deplore.
2. To belittle; depreciate.
3. Computers To mark (a component of a software standard) as obsolete to warn against its use in the future so that it may be phased out.
Cite: freedictionary.com

Word of the Day- March 9, 2019

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penumbra

(pĭ-nŭm′brə)

n. pl. pe·num·bras or pe·num·brae (-brē)

1. A partial shadow, as in an eclipse, between regions of complete shadow and complete illumination.
2. The diffuse outer part of a sunspot.
3. An area in which something exists to a lesser or uncertain degree: “The First Amendment has a penumbra where privacy is protected from governmental intrusion” (Joseph A. Califano, Jr.).
4. An outlying surrounding region; a periphery: “Downtown Chicago and its penumbra also stand rejuvenated”

Word of the Day, March 2, 2019

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belay

(bĭ-lā′)

v. be·layed, be·lay·ing, be·lays
v.tr.

1. Nautical To secure or make fast (a rope, for example) by winding on a cleat or pin.
2. To provide security to (a climber) by paying out or drawing in rope, often through a braking device, in readiness to break a potential fall.
3. To cause to stop.
v.intr.

1. To be made secure.
2. Used in the imperative as an order to stop: Belay there!
n.

1. The act of belaying a climber.
2. A system of ropes and anchors by which a climber is belayed.

Word of the Day – February 16, 2019

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occultation

(ŏk′ŭl-tā′shən)

n.

1. The act of occulting or the state of being occulted.
2. Astronomy

a. The passage of a celestial object across the line of sight between an observer and another celestial object, as when the moon moves between Earth and the sun in a solar eclipse.
b. The progressive blocking and unblocking of light or other electromagnetic radiation from a celestial source during such a passage: a lunar occultation of a quasar; a planetary occultation of a star.
c. An observational technique for determining the position or radiant structure of a celestial source undergoing such occultation or of the object causing the occultation.