Catching Up on Words

with Anu Garg

Little strokes make a letter and those letters come together to form words. We assign meanings to the words. Often they express simple ideas: a tree, a rock, water, and so on. Sometimes a word describes a more complex idea.

Have you ever found yourself wondering, "Wouldn't it be nice if there were a word for it?" Well, there is a word for almost everything under the sun. This week we have dug up five words you may not have known existed.

acnestis
PRONUNCIATION: (AK-nist-uhs)
MEANING: noun: The part of the body where one cannot reach to scratch

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek aknestis (spine), from Ancient Greek knestis (spine, cheese-grater).

USAGE: "In what has to be the longest post-election season in living memory, the last five months have felt like an acnestis upon our collective soul; like that little patch of skin on our backs that we just can't reach to scratch ourselves. It's irritating. It's annoying. It's left us reaching and spinning around in circles." A Wish List to Soothe Our Collective Itch; New Straits Times (Malaysia); Aug 5, 2008.

daymare
PRONUNCIATION: (DAY-mayr)
MEANING: noun: A terrifying experience, similar to a nightmare, felt while awake

ETYMOLOGY: Coined after nightmare, from a combination of day + mare (an evil spirit believed to produce nightmares). Ultimately from the Indo-European root mer- (to rub away or to harm) that is also the source of mordant, amaranth, morbid, mortal, mortgage, ambrosia, and nightmare.

USAGE: "Reports like these give me a deep and sickening feeling, somewhere between a daymare and deja vu." Margaret McCartney; A Swiss Cheese Method to Eliminate Fatal Errors; Financial Times (London, UK); Feb 18, 2006.

nihilarian
PRONUNCIATION: (nih-i-LAR-ee-uhn)
MEANING: noun: One who does useless work

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin nihil (nothing).

USAGE: "You may find yourself worrying that you're turning into a nihilarian." Sian Prior; Ineffable; The Age (Melbourne, Australia); Dec 16, 2002.

lentiginous
PRONUNCIATION: (len-TIJ-uh-nuhs)
MEANING: adjective: Covered with freckles

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin lentiginosus (freckled), from lentigo (freckle), from lens (lentil).

USAGE: "I realised that my freckly Celtic complexion wasn't a curse I had to endure for life, and my offensively lentiginous skin could be smoothed into picture-perfect ivory." Simon Price; Cover-up, Powder and Eyeliner; The Guardian (London, UK); Dec 14, 2002.

spurtle
PRONUNCIATION: (SPUR-tl)
MEANING: noun: A wooden stick for stirring porridge

ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from Latin spatula, or from sprit (a pole to extend a sail on a ship).

NOTES: There's a word for everything. And there's a contest for everything. There is one for making porridge, grandly named, The Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship, held annually in Scotland.

USAGE: "I know hardly anyone who eats anything much in the morning. ... No one yet has owned up to stirring porridge with a spurtle, pouring milk over blocks of desiccated wheat, or even blasting a banana to a pulp in the blender. Nigel Slater; Oat Cuisine; The Observer (London, UK); May 19, 2002.

It's a sign of our historical dependence on horses that our language is filled with terms, idioms, and other references about them. When the locomotive came out, it was called an iron horse. And when the automobile was invented, it was named a horseless carriage.

Today, we use many horse-related terms metaphorically, from horse-trading (hard bargaining) to horse sense (common sense). A political candidate might turn out to be a dark horse (someone little known who gains unexpected support). One might change horses in midstream (to change opinion in the middle of action) or ride two horses (have two allegiances or follow two courses).

This week we'll look at five terms related to horses.

horse-and-buggy
PRONUNCIATION: (HORS-uhn-BUG-ee)
MEANING: adjective: Old-fashioned; outdated

ETYMOLOGY: Referring to the era before the invention of the automobile, when people often traveled in horse-drawn buggies.

USAGE: "'You can't continue to run a space-age company with horse-and-buggy methods,' said Angelo Rosati." Gina Thackara; Business Lessons Basic to Survival; Scranton Times (Pennsylvania); Oct 2, 1996.

horse latitudes
PRONUNCIATION: (hors LAT-i-toodz, -tyoodz)
MEANING: noun: Either of the two belts around latitudes 30 to 35 degrees N or S, marked by high pressure, and light variable winds

ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin. There's a story, not very convincing, that when stuck in such a region of calm with little wind to get them across, sailors threw their cargo of horses overboard to save on rations and to lighten the load. Another conjecture is that the term is derived from Spanish golfo de las yeguas, literally, mares' sea, alluding to the unpredictable nature of the mares. A related term is doldrums, the calm area in an ocean around the equator.

USAGE: "Newspapers are emerging from the doldrums of July and August and gathering wind in their sails again as they sweep southwards through the horse latitudes of autumn, their masts (and metaphors -Editor) creaking from the renewed strain of events." Frank McNally; An Irishman's Diary; The Irish Times (Dublin); Sep 18, 2009.

stalking horse
PRONUNCIATION: (STAH-king HORS)
MEANING: noun:
1. Something used to mask the true purpose
2. A candidate put forward in an election to draw votes from another or to conceal another's potential candidacy

ETYMOLOGY: After the former practice of bird hunters of hiding behind a horse (or a decoy) until he had reached within close range of prey.

USAGE: "The escalation of war in Afghanistan may be only a stalking horse for an even larger war in Pakistan as the United States seeks to secure the nukes there."

hobbyhorse
PRONUNCIATION: (HOB-ee-hors)
MEANING: noun: A favorite pastime, a pet project or topic; an obsession

ETYMOLOGY: The everyday word hobby is a shortening of the term hobbyhorse. A hobbyhorse is a child's riding toy, consisting of a stick with the shape of a horse's head on the front. It was called hobbyhorse, probably from the name Robin or Hobin usually given to a small horse. The word is often used in a metaphorical sense as "to ride one's hobby-horse" meaning to pursue a pet topic.

Also see cheval de bataille.

USAGE: "Charleston was my father's ministry, his hobbyhorse, his quiet obsession, and the great love of his life." Pat Conroy; South of Broad; Nan A. Talese Books; 2009.

Trojan horse
PRONUNCIATION: (TRO-juhn hors)
MEANING: noun: Something or someone placed in order to subvert from within

ETYMOLOGY: In the legendary Trojan War, the Greeks left a large hollow wooden horse at the gates of the city of Troy. The Trojans took it inside. Greek soldiers hidden in the horse came out at night and opened the gates of the city, allowing the Greek army to enter and conquer the Trojans. In computing, a Trojan horse is a program that, while seemingly useful, steals passwords or does other damage to computers.

USAGE: "Ministers appear determined to use the Coroners and Justice Bill as a Trojan horse with which to smuggle authoritarian measures on to the statute book."

Verbs are special words. They describe action. Nothing would ever get done if it were not for the verbs. Look at a sentence on your screen or on paper -- it just lies there listless, a mere collection of random words until a verb comes to infuse life into it. This week we'll feature five unusual verbs - words for a few things you most likely don't do every day.

homologate
PRONUNCIATION: (huh-MOL-uh-gayt, ho-)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To approve officially
2. To register a specific model of a motor vehicle to make it eligible to take part in a racing competition

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin homologare (to agree), from Greek homologein (to agree or allow).

NOTES: Some auto racing competitions require participating vehicles to be available for sale to the general public, and not be custom made for racing. The process of homologation verifies this. The initials GTO listed after some auto names (Ferrari, Pontiac, etc.) mean "Gran Turismo Omologato", Italian for "Grand Touring, Homologated".

USAGE: "Mr Jimmy Gray said: 'We've major issues which appear to be discussed in the press. Decisions are made and then we're asked to homologate these decisions." Labour Group Leader Hits Out; Aberdeen Press & Journal (UK); Jul 9, 2007.

"What was needed was a more streamlined street car to homologate for racing." Malcolm Gunn; Parked on the Showroom Floor; Chicago Daily Herald; Oct 18, 2009.

convoke
PRONUNCIATION: (kuhn-VOHK)
MEANING: verb tr.: To call together for a meeting

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin convocare (call together), from con- (together) + vocare (to call), from vox (voice).

USAGE: "They insist that Mr Zelaya violated the constitution by trying to convoke a constituent assembly which they fear might have prolonged his term." Post-coup Honduras; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 9 2009.

expiate
PRONUNCIATION: (EK-spee-ayt)
MEANING: verb tr.: To atone, to make amends for

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin expiare (to atone for), from ex- (thoroughly) + piare (to atone), from pius (dutiful).

USAGE: "Is she expiating her guilt for being a neglectful daughter?" Mark Schilling; Tossing Cash Round Like Confetti; Japan Times (Tokyo); Oct 30, 2009.

subserve
PRONUNCIATION: (suhb-SURV)
MEANING: verb tr.: To help to further something

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin subservire (to serve under), from sub- (under) + servire (to serve), from servus (slave).

USAGE: "The decisions were ad hoc in nature and were taken to subserve political expediency." H.N. Das; Ethnic Aspirations; The Assam Tribune (India); Apr 19, 2009.

nettle
PRONUNCIATION: (NET-l)
MEANING: verb tr.:
1. To irritate
2. To sting

ETYMOLOGY: The verb senses of the word are derived from the name of the plant, any of the various plants of the genus Urtica whose leaves are covered with stinging hairs. The word is ultimately from the Indo-European root ned- (to bind) that is also the source of node, noose, annex, and connect. There's a British and Australian idiom, grasp the nettle, meaning to tackle an unpleasant or difficult task.

USAGE: "My questions about the wisdom or otherwise of disbanding the Iraqi army visibly nettled him [General David McKiernan]." Mark Urban; When Generals Become Unstuck; BBC News; May 12, 2009.