On a much lighter note: Words
the worthless word for the day is: chronophagic
[from Gk chronos, time + phagos, devouring]
time-eating
""Time becomes a rare commodity in comparison with
material things" (Dupuy). Its value increases with the
standard of living--which accounts for the search for
ways to take time away from chronophagic.. activities."
- Joël de Rosnay, The Macroscope : Time and
Evolution, translated by Robert Edwards
http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd
The Word of the Day for November 16 is:
quietus \kwy-EE-tus\ noun
1 : final settlement (as of a debt)
2 : removal from activity; especially : death
*3 : something that quiets or represses
Example sentence:
"The constant rain and the cold have combined to put a quietus on outdoor activities." (Glenn
Tucker, quoted in the _Bangor Daily News_ [Maine], Oct. 10, 2005)
Did you know?
In the early 1500s, English speakers adopted the Medieval Latin phrase "quietus est"
(literally "he is quit") as the name for the writ of discharge exempting a baron or knight from payment of
a knight's fee to the king. The expression was later shortened to "quietus" and applied to the
termination of any debt. William Shakespeare was the first to use "quietus" as a metaphor for the
termination of life in his tragedy _Hamlet_: "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, ...
When he himself might his quietus make / With a bare bodkin?" The third meaning, which is more
influenced by "quiet" than "quit," appeared in the 19th century. It often occurs in the phrase "put the
quietus on" (as in our example sentence).
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
[from Gk chronos, time + phagos, devouring]
time-eating
""Time becomes a rare commodity in comparison with
material things" (Dupuy). Its value increases with the
standard of living--which accounts for the search for
ways to take time away from chronophagic.. activities."
- Joël de Rosnay, The Macroscope : Time and
Evolution, translated by Robert Edwards
http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd
The Word of the Day for November 16 is:
quietus \kwy-EE-tus\ noun
1 : final settlement (as of a debt)
2 : removal from activity; especially : death
*3 : something that quiets or represses
Example sentence:
"The constant rain and the cold have combined to put a quietus on outdoor activities." (Glenn
Tucker, quoted in the _Bangor Daily News_ [Maine], Oct. 10, 2005)
Did you know?
In the early 1500s, English speakers adopted the Medieval Latin phrase "quietus est"
(literally "he is quit") as the name for the writ of discharge exempting a baron or knight from payment of
a knight's fee to the king. The expression was later shortened to "quietus" and applied to the
termination of any debt. William Shakespeare was the first to use "quietus" as a metaphor for the
termination of life in his tragedy _Hamlet_: "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, ...
When he himself might his quietus make / With a bare bodkin?" The third meaning, which is more
influenced by "quiet" than "quit," appeared in the 19th century. It often occurs in the phrase "put the
quietus on" (as in our example sentence).
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.