Difference between revisions of "Semantics"

Revision as of 17:41, 7 August 2007

"Interesting Words"

absquatulate

verb : To depart a. in a hurry; abscond. b. To die. 2. To argue. [Mock-Latinate formation, purporting to mean "to go off and squat elsewhere"]

Notes: The vibrant energy of American English sometimes appears in the use of Latin affixes to create jocular pseudo-Latin "learned" words. There is a precedent for this in the language of Shakespeare, whose plays contain scores of made-up Latinate words. Midland absquatulate has a prefix ab-, "away from," and a suffix -ate, "to act upon in a specified manner," affixed to a nonexistent base form -squatul-, probably suggested by squat. Hence the whimsical absquatulate, "to squat away from." Another such coinage is Northern busticate, which joins bust with -icate by analogy with verbs like medicate. Southern argufy joins argue to a redundant -fy, "to make; cause to become." These creations are largely confined to regions of the United States where change is slow, and where the 19th-century love for Latinate words and expressions is still manifest. For example, Appalachian speech is characterized by the frequent use of recollect, aggravate, oblige, and other such words.

anachronistic

noun : 1. Representation of someone as existing or something as happening in other than the chronological, proper, or historical order. 2. One that is out of its proper or chronological order: "He is interested in the spirit of the play, and he is not averse to throwing in an anachronism or two if he thinks it will help under-score a point" Skylines [French anachronisme from New Latin anachronismus from Late Greek anakhronismos from anakronizesthai to be an anachronism Greek ana- ana-Greek khronizein to take time( from khronos time)

aphorism

colloquial

adjective : An expression not used in formal speech or writing. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. Colloquialisms may often be regional. Connotative, slang, jargon. Words such as "gonna" or "grouty", phrases such as "ain't nothin'" and "dead as a doornail." A colloquialism is a colloquial expression.

euphemism

noun : The act or an example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive. A more pleasant a metaphor. Euphemisms are used in public relations and politics. Euphemisms may be equated to politeness. Sometimes they are used in humor. Example, "She is just big boned" rather than saying "She is fat."

idiom

noun : 1. A speech form or an expression of a given language that is unique and unusual to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements, as in keep tabs on. 2. The specific grammatical, syntactic, and structural character of a given language. 3. Regional speech or dialect. 4. a. A specialized vocabulary used by a group of people; jargon: legal idiom. b. A style or manner of expression peculiar to a given people: “ Also important is the uneasiness I've always felt at cutting myself off from my idiom, the American habits of speech and jest and reaction, all of them entirely different from the local variety ” S.J. Perelman 5. A style of artistic expression characteristic of a particular individual, school, period, or medium: the idiom of the French impressionists; the punk rock idiom.

linguistics

noun : The study of language. Understanding the nature of human speech.

nomenclature

noun : A naming system, such as what is used in engineering, science, and research.

palindrome

noun : 1. A word, phrase, verse, or sentence that reads the same backward or forward. For example: A man, a plan, a canal, Panama! 2. A segment of double-stranded DNA in which the nucleotide sequence of one strand reads in reverse order to that of the complementary strand. [From Greek palindromos running back again, recurring palin again; See k w el-1 in Indo-European Roots. dromos a running] pal ”in·dro“mic ( -dr½“m¹k, -dr¼m“¹k) adj.

peculiar

adjective: Unusual or eccentric; odd. Distinct from all others.

renege

verb : reneged reneging reneges v. intr. 1. To fail to carry out a promise or commitment: reneged on the contract at the last minute. 2. Games To fail to follow suit in cards when able and required by the rules to do so. v. tr. 1. To renounce; disown. n. 1. The act of reneging. [Medieval Latin renegre to deny; See renegade ] reneg n. ne . Important derivatives are: naught naughty neither never no 1 no 2 none nor 1 not nothing nay annul nefarious neuter nice null nullify annihilate non- neglect negligee negotiate negate deny renegade Not.

whimsical

adjective : impulsive, erratic, unpredictable. Marked by whim or caprice. "a whimsical personality."

witticism

noun : a witty or clever remark, such as a thoughtful joke.