Word Of The Week -- manumission
Definition: man·u·mis·sion (mān'y&-mĭsh'&n)
n.The formal act of liberating a slave from bondage.
Etymology: [Middle English: manumitten, from Old French manumitter, from Latin manūmittere: manū, ablative of manus, hand; see man-2 in Indo-European roots + mittere, to send from.]

Obscurity: 80% (May have seen this ( Read more... )

Word Of The Week -- tribune
Definition: trib·une (trĭb'yōōn', trĭ-byōōn')
n.

1. A person who upholds or defends the rights of the people.
2. An officer of ancient Rome elected by the plebeians to protect their rights from arbitrary acts of the patrician magistrates.
3. A raised platform or dais from which a speaker addresses an assembly.
4. The usually domed or ( Read more... )

I knew that looked familiar...


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Word Of The Week -- irenic
Definition: i·ren·ic (ī-rěn'ĭk, ī-rē'nĭk)
adj.Tending to promote peace or reconciliation; peaceful or conciliatory.
Etymology: [Greek: eirēnikos, from eirēnē, peace.]

Obscurity: 95% (Come again?)

Usefulness: 5% (Anyone using this word is trying to confuse you, impress you, or both.)

Examples:(def. 1) "Although she ( Read more... )

(x-posted to neph_politics)

Fun little piece about the Keyes-Obama debate -- yes, they went ahead and had one after all -- in The New Republic today. And wonder of wonders, it's not subscriber-only:In the Illinois Senate race, Barack Obama leads Alan Keyes by a margin so wide (over 50 points, according to one poll) that a debate between the candidates must-- ( Read more... )