This Week's Theme: Death & Taxes

Monday, 10 April 2006

Ben Franklin once said, "In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." And the same goes for this week's words: nothing is certain but death and taxes, or at least a discussion of them. Don't worry, nobody dies and no one has to pay a tax to learn these words. Each of the words this week has something to do with either death or taxes.

Over the ages, the world's rulers have imposed all imaginable kinds of taxes on the populace. Taxes were once based on the number of hearths in a house (fumage), and there have been taxes to pay off raiding Danes (Danegeld). In late seventeenth century, William III of UK imposed a window tax, levied on each window in a house. Three hundred years later, William III of US imposed a Windows tax, levied on each personal computer manufactured, whether it had Windows or not, but I digress.

Death too comes in unexpected places. When we buy a house and sign a mortgage, let's keep in mind that the word derives from Old French mort (death) + gage (pledge). In the US, April 15 is the deadline for filing tax returns for the previous year. At one time the consequences of failure to pay taxes were severe but thankfully, today, the "dead"line is only metaphorical.

This week in AWAD we'll look at more words related to those two things few of us want to encounter.

publican
(PUB-li-kuhn)

noun
1. A tax collector.
2. An owner or manager of a pub or hotel.

[From Latin publicanus, from publicum (public revenue), from publicus (public), from populus (people).] In ancient Rome, the state farmed out the collection of taxes. The right to collect tax was auctioned off to the highest bidder. Tax collection agents, known as publicans, employed lower-level collectors who made best use of their license. For their severe extraction of taxes, publicans were widely despised. Now, if a publican is a tax collector, what is a republican?

Tuesday, 11 April 2006

thanatopsis

(than-uh-TOP-sis)

noun

A reflection upon death.

[From Greek thanatos (death) + -opsis (appearance, view).] Thanatos is the Greek personification of death; thanatophobia is an abnormal fear of death. Thanatopsis is the title of an acclaimed poem by poet and journalist William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878): http://bartleby.com/102/16.html

Wednesday, 12 April 2006

impost

(IM-post)

noun

1. A tax or a similar mandatory payment.

2. The weight a horse must carry in a handicap race.

3. The top part of a pillar of a wall, usually projecting in the form of an ornamental molding, on which an arch rests.

[From Latin imponere (to impose), from ponere (to place).]

Thursday, 13 April 2006

anabiosis

(an-uh-bi-O-sis)

noun

A return to life after death or apparent death.

[From Greek anabiosis (coming back to life), from anabioun (to return to life), from ana- (back) + bio- (life).]

Many animals and plants can survive periods of extreme drought or cold. They reach a state of suspended animation and can come back to life even after being dormant for years. One such plant is the Rose of Jericho, also known as Anastatica or Resurrection plant. In dry conditions, its stems curl into a ball. When blown by the wind, it spreads its seeds along the way. When moistened, it turns into a green plant again, even after years of dryness. The curled ball is sold as a curiosity item. Cryonics is the process of deep-freezing a body for preservation in the hope that it might be possible to revive it in future. An organization named Alcor carries out the preservation of whole bodies or just heads for humans and their pet animals. -Anu Garg

Friday, 14 April 2006

capitation

(kap-i-TAY-shuhn)

noun

1. A counting of heads.

2. A uniform tax assessed by the head; a poll tax.

3. A fee extracted from each student.

[From Late Latin capitation- (poll tax), from caput (head). Ultimately from Indo-European root kaput- (head), also the origin of head, captain, chef, chapter, cadet, cattle, chattel, achieve, biceps, and mischief (but not of kaput).]