A.W.A.D. - Verbs
with Anu Garg
How many of this week's five verbs can you manage?
dissimulate
PRONUNCIATION: (di-SIM-yuh-layt)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To disguise one's intentions, thoughts, motives, etc. by pretense
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin dis- (apart, away) + simulare (to simulate), from similis (like). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sem- (one) that is also the source of simultaneous, assemble, simple, Sanskrit sandhi (union), Russian samovar (a metal urn), and Greek hamadryad (a wood nymph).
USAGE: "Charles Clarke added: 'We need to talk straight to people, engaging the concerns and questions that they have, rather than appearing to evade and dissimulate.'"Andrew Grice; Clarke: Brown Succession Is Not A Done Deal; The Independent (London, UK); Mar 29, 2007.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin
USAGE: "Sak Nana makes money the old-fashioned way. He earns it. ... He said, 'I wanted to stand on my own feet! People used to assume, incorrectly, that I could always cadge money from my parents.'"Alfred Tha Hla; Riches to Rags to Revs; Bangkok Post (Thailand); Apr 24, 2009.
pretermit
PRONUNCIATION:(pree-tuhr-MIT)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To let pass without mention
2. To suspend or to leave undone
USAGE: "In fact, the old lady declined altogether to hear his [Rawdon Crawley's] hour's lecture of an evening; and when she came to Queen's Crawley alone, he was obliged to pretermit his usual devotional exercises."William Makepeace Thackeray; Vanity Fair; 1847.
wend
PRONUNCIATION: (wend)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To travel along a route
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English wendan
NOTES: If you've ever wondered why we have the peculiar form "went" as the past tense of the word go (go, went, gone), today's word is the culprit. "Went" is the archaic past form of "wend". In current usage, the past form of wend is wended. The word is typically used in the phrase "to wend one's way".
USAGE:"Federal stimulus dollars are starting to wend their way from Washington to Watertown and other communities nationwide."Erin Ailworth; A Slice of the Stimulus; The Boston Globe; Apr 29, 2009.
brachiate
PRONUNCIATION: (verb: BRAY-kee-ayt, BRAK-ee-ayt, adjective: BRAY-kee-it, BRAK-ee-it)
MEANING:
verb intr.: To move by swinging from one hold to another by using arms
adjective: Having arms
USAGE: "Thick-furred, with a red face, the monkey moves by sprawling out and brachiating from branch to branch through the high forest canopy."Roger Rosenblatt; Earth's Green Gown; Time (New York); Jun 17, 2004.
"They've a temper, some of them -- particularly verbs, they're the proudest -- adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs -- however, I can manage the whole lot of them!" boasts Humpty-Dumpty in Lewis Carroll's 1872 classic, "Through the Looking Glass".
If verbs are in fact as conceited as Humpty-Dumpty claims them to be, perhaps they can be forgiven for their hoity-toity ways -- after all, they are the ones that bring a sentence to life.
How many of this week's five verbs can you manage?
dissimulate
PRONUNCIATION: (di-SIM-yuh-layt)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To disguise one's intentions, thoughts, motives, etc. by pretense
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin dis- (apart, away) + simulare (to simulate), from similis (like). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sem- (one) that is also the source of simultaneous, assemble, simple, Sanskrit sandhi (union), Russian samovar (a metal urn), and Greek hamadryad (a wood nymph).
USAGE: "Charles Clarke added: 'We need to talk straight to people, engaging the concerns and questions that they have, rather than appearing to evade and dissimulate.'"Andrew Grice; Clarke: Brown Succession Is Not A Done Deal; The Independent (London, UK); Mar 29, 2007.
cadge
PRONUNCIATION: (kaj)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To beg; to obtain by imposing on someone's generosity
PRONUNCIATION: (kaj)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To beg; to obtain by imposing on someone's generosity
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin
USAGE: "Sak Nana makes money the old-fashioned way. He earns it. ... He said, 'I wanted to stand on my own feet! People used to assume, incorrectly, that I could always cadge money from my parents.'"Alfred Tha Hla; Riches to Rags to Revs; Bangkok Post (Thailand); Apr 24, 2009.
pretermit
PRONUNCIATION:(pree-tuhr-MIT)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To let pass without mention
2. To suspend or to leave undone
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin praetermittere (to let pass), from praeter (beyond, past) + mittere (to let go, send)
USAGE: "In fact, the old lady declined altogether to hear his [Rawdon Crawley's] hour's lecture of an evening; and when she came to Queen's Crawley alone, he was obliged to pretermit his usual devotional exercises."William Makepeace Thackeray; Vanity Fair; 1847.
wend
PRONUNCIATION: (wend)
MEANING: verb tr., intr.: To travel along a route
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English wendan
NOTES: If you've ever wondered why we have the peculiar form "went" as the past tense of the word go (go, went, gone), today's word is the culprit. "Went" is the archaic past form of "wend". In current usage, the past form of wend is wended. The word is typically used in the phrase "to wend one's way".
USAGE:"Federal stimulus dollars are starting to wend their way from Washington to Watertown and other communities nationwide."Erin Ailworth; A Slice of the Stimulus; The Boston Globe; Apr 29, 2009.
brachiate
PRONUNCIATION: (verb: BRAY-kee-ayt, BRAK-ee-ayt, adjective: BRAY-kee-it, BRAK-ee-it)
MEANING:
verb intr.: To move by swinging from one hold to another by using arms
adjective: Having arms
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin brachiatus (having arms), from brachium (arm), from Greek brakhion (upper arm). Ultimately from the Indo-European root mregh-u- (short) that is also the source of brief, abbreviate, abridge, brassiere, and brumal.
USAGE: "Thick-furred, with a red face, the monkey moves by sprawling out and brachiating from branch to branch through the high forest canopy."Roger Rosenblatt; Earth's Green Gown; Time (New York); Jun 17, 2004.
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