Author Archives: gegebearbear

Word of the Day, June 8, 2019

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cavil

(kăv′əl)

v. cav·iled, cav·il·ing, cav·ils also cav·illed or cav·il·ling
v.intr.

To argue or find fault over trivial matters; raise petty objections. See Synonyms at quibble.
v.tr.

To quibble about; point out petty flaws in.
n.

A carping or trivial objection.
[French caviller, from Old French, from Latin cavillārī, to jeer, from cavilla, a jeering.]
Cite: freedictionary.com

Word of the Day – May 18, 2019

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palimpsest

(păl′ĭmp-sĕst′)

n.

1. A manuscript, typically of papyrus or parchment, that has been written on more than once, with the earlier writing incompletely scraped off or erased and often legible.
2. An object or area that has extensive evidence of or layers showing activity or use: “My skin had become a palimpsest of fleeting sensations, and each layer bore the imprint of who I was” (Paul Auster).
[Latin palimpsēstum, from Greek palimpsēston, neuter of palimpsēstos, scraped again : palin, again; see kwel- in Indo-European roots + psēn, to scrape.]

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