preponderant
(prĭ-pŏn′dər-ənt)
adj.
1. Having superior force, importance, or influence: “No big modern war has been won without preponderant sea power” (Samuel Eliot Morison).
2. Having greater weight; heavier.
Category Archives: family matters
Word of the Day – May 18, 2019
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 – May 4, 2019
hypermnesia
(ˌhaɪpəmˈniːzɪə)
n
an unusually good ability to remember.
Word of the Day – April 20, 2019
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 13, 2019
conflate
(kənˈfleɪt)
vb
(tr) to combine or blend (two things, esp two versions of a text) so as to form a whole
[C16: from Latin conflāre to blow together, from flāre to blow]
conˈflation n
Word of the Day – April 6, 2019
moiety
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
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 23, 2019
trepidation
trep·i·da·tion | \ ˌtre-pə-ˈdā-shən \
Definition of trepidation
1 : a nervous or fearful feeling of uncertain agitation : apprehension trepidation about starting a new job
Word of the Day, March 16, 2019
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 – February 16, 2019
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.
Word of the Day, January 26, 2019
flummox
(flŭm′əks)
tr.v. flum·moxed, flum·mox·ing, flum·mox·es Informal
To confuse; perplex.
[Probably of English dialectal origin.]
