A.W.A.D. - Words of Diplomacy

If you've ever wondered whether a diplomat had anything to do with a diploma, the answer is yes. The word diplomacy comes from diploma (from Greek diplo- double), which is, literally speaking, a document folded in double, those documents being the letters of international relations. And that's how a diplomat is related to diplodocus, the dinosaur. The name of those herbivorous giants of the Jurassic era literally means two beams: a long neck and a long tail (Greek dokos: beam).

That's the joy of words. Begin with an ordinary word and you don't know where it might lead you to and what connections it might show. This week we feature words related to diplomacy. Enhance your savoir-fairein any diplomatic circle with these words from the world of international relations, treaties, and agreements.

detente
(day-TANT) noun
An easing of tension between rivals.

[From French détente (loosening, relaxation). Ultimately from theIndo-European root ten- (to stretch) that's also the source of tense, tendon, tenor, pretend, extend, tenure, tetanus, and hypotenuse.]

plenipotentiary
(plen-uh-puh-TEN-shee-er-ee, -shuh-ree) noun
A person, such as a diplomatic agent, fully authorized to represent a government.

adjective
Invested with full power.

[From Latin plenipotentiarius, from plenum (full) + potent (powerful).]

extraterritoriality
(ek-struh-ter-i-tor-ee-AL-i-tee) noun
Exemption from the jurisdiction of local law, granted to foreign diplomats.

[From Latin extra- (outside) + territorium (land around a town), from terra (land).]

demarche
(day-MARSH) noun
A course of action, especially a diplomatic petition or protest.

[From French démarche (gait). Ultimately from the Indo-European root merg-(border) that's also the source of marquee, margin, march, mark, and remark.]

identic
(eye-DEN-tik) adjective
1. Relating to a diplomatic action in which two or more governments agree to follow the same course in relations with another government.
2. Identical.

[From Latin identicus (identical).]

Covers 9 - 13 July 2007

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interesting Aftermath a From Season Five of "MasterChef"

Image
Do I agree with this? You will have to read it first and decide for yourself. I had long since made up my mind before finding this article. MasterChef Season 5 Fixed: Courtney Lapresi Won Finale After Getting Preferential Treatment – Former Stripper Favoritism BY  STORMY ELIZABETH  ON SEPTEMBER 23, 2014 "They say if you can’t take the heat, you should get out of the kitchen, but what if you like it hot? If you’ve been watching  MasterChef this season 5 , you may have noticed that one contestant in particular seems to  be “winning” challenges  when her dishes don’t seem to be quite up to it.  Courtney Lapresi  has been billed as an “aerial dancer” on the show. So what exactly is that, you ask? It’s a fancy word for stripper. You may term what she does as burlesque, but nekked is nekked and she takes off her  clothes  when she dances, so you have to call them as you see them. Plus is it really fair that she’s up for a MasterChef win aft
Read more

A.W.A.D. - 14-Letter Words, 14-Letter Definitions

Back in 1994, when I founded Wordsmith.org on a Pi Day (March 14), I had no idea that one day we'd be celebrating its quadridecennial. Here's what the last 14 years look in numbers: So far we have sent out 3,782 unique words and 297 AWADmail compilations to 640,000 present subscribers in 200 countries, that is more than 1.6 billion pieces of email. Well, this week we're seeing all things 14. We'll feature words that are 14 letters long, and define each of them in 14 letters. acritochromacy (uh-KRIT-o-kro-muh-see) noun Color blindness. [From Greek akritos (undistinguishing) + chroma (color).] tintinnabulate (tin-ti-NAB-yuh-layt) verb intr. To ring; to tinkle. [From Latin tintinnabulum (bell), from tintinnare (to jingle).] tinctumutation (tinkt-myoo-TAY-shuhn) noun Change of colour. [From Latin tinctus (a dyeing) + mutation (changing).] Brobdingnagian (brob-ding-NAG-ee-uhn) adjective Of gigantic size. [After Brobdingnag, the fictional region where everything was enormous
Read more

The Longairc-Green Family

This is a family that was on Nanny 911 , the precursor to Supernanny , which airs on Wednesday nights. While Supernanny is a better production and leaves out some of the dopey American-isms of stupidity (such as the opening scene with a much older nanny head whose television showing the family and their issues turns around into a painting on the wall), this show has its value. These families are clueless or don't bother to try and definitely need help. This family is an exception in that the mother couldn't care less what the monsters do and will do anything to mollify them. The father is more consistent and definitely takes a much more disciplinary stance, but the mother undermines it at every step of the way. The two boys are so unbelievably rude, I'd've killed them where they stood. The little girl only wanted a moment of attention and was not doing anything negative, and the mother was awful to her. The nanny, Nanny Stella, spent the first day observing. When she s
Read more