Word of the Day
TIL a new word: quintessence
quintessence
noun: the fifth and highest element in ancient and medieval philosophy that permeates all nature and is the substance composing the celestial bodies
: the essence of a thing in its purest and most concentrated form
: the most typical example or representative
the quintessence of calm
TIL a new word: octothorpe
octothorpe
noun: the symbol #
I've always known # as the hashtag or the pound sign — had no idea it had a whole other name. Kind of love that.
TIL a new word: sanguine
sanguine
adjective: marked by eager hopefulness : confidently optimistic
a sanguine view/outlook
: bloodred
… the radiant heat from the cedar logs, whose sanguine colour made the silvered locks of his hair into a fantastic wreath of flames.
: consisting of or relating to blood
… some sanguine vessels are obstructed, and distended …
TIL a new word: clepe
clepe
verb: name, call
Sentence: “You might clepe your friend a rascal yet mean it affectionately.”
TIL a new word: agathokakological
agathokakological
adjective: composed of both good and evil
From Greek agath- (good) + kako- (bad) + -logical. Coined by poet Robert Southey, 1834.
"For indeed upon the agathokakological globe there are opposite qualities always to be found." — Robert Southey, The Doctor, 1834
TIL a new word: waft
waft
verb: to move or go lightly on or as if on a buoyant medium
heavenly aromas wafted from the kitchen
TIL a new word: spreadeagle
spreadeagle
verb: to execute a move (as in skiing) in which the arms and legs are stretched out
: to execute a move (as in skating) in which the heels are facing each other in a straight line
: to stand or move with arms and legs stretched out : sprawl
TIL a new word: eldritch That is the description of the Widow's Bay.
eldritch
adjective: strange or unnatural especially in a way that inspires fear : weird, eerie
And the woman, whose voice had risen to a kind of eldritch singsong, turned with a skip, and was gone.
There's a Japanese word for what I do: tsundoku.
I have over 50 books sitting here waiting for me — and most of them are fiction. Worlds I fully intend to disappear into. Eventually.
Every unread book felt urgent when I bought it. Like if I didn’t grab it right then, I’d never want it again. Tsundoku has a name for that too: ichigo ie. One encounter, one chance.
Guilty. But the pile stays.
TIL a new word.
decoraphobia (n.) — the irrational anxiety of committing to a home decor decision; fear that whatever you choose will look wrong, date badly, or just never feel quite right. Often strikes hardest in the paint chip aisle.
via Jane Pauley Explains Her Self-Diagnosed Decoraphobia and Why She Can’t Move a Candlestick at Home