~ Word of the Day: Feedback & Comments! ~

[Flower]

This one confused me a little so...

Did You Know?

Taciturn shows up in English in the first half of the 18th century. James Miller, a British clergyman educated at Oxford, gives an early example of its use in his 1734 satiric drama, wherein a character describes a nephew with the following: "When he was little, he never was what they call Roguish or Waggish, but was always close, quiet, and taciturn." It seems we waited unduly long to adopt this useful descendent of the Latin verb tacēre, meaning "to be silent"; we were quicker to adopt other words from the tacēre family. We've been using tacit, an adjective meaning "expressed without words" or "implied," since at least the mid-17th century. And we've had the noun taciturnity, meaning "habitual silence," since at least the mid-15th century.

[Nico]

I love those little snippets of information! :-)

[Hob]

I love those little snippets of information! :-)

Same! I’m tempted to put them up every time I post!

Speaking of which, I’ll have today’s up when I get home from work in a few hours. Had to run out of the house in a dash this morning, and it’s hard for me to post it on my little tiny phone screen.

[Hob]

Did You Know?

Buttonhole is easy to pin down as a noun referring to the slit or loop through which a button is passed to fasten something, but its shift to a verb meaning "to detain in conversation" requires some explanation. Buttonhole is an alteration of another verb now long out of use: buttonhold, which literally meant to hold on to the buttons or lapels of someone's coat when speaking to him or her. In the mid-19th century, English speakers altered the verb to buttonhole, perhaps as a result of hearing buttonhold as buttonholed. The overlap is apparent in an early instance of this spelling in an 1862 London publication called All Year Round: "The man who is button-holed, or held … and must listen to half an hour's harangue about nothing interesting."

[The Green One]

My dyslexia and dirty mind didn't let me read that word correctly several times...

[Sain]

What a cute little piece Flower ;D!

[Flower]

Haha, it's the best I can do. xD

[Flower]

Lilias, you've been on a roll! :)

[Flower]

CONGRATULATIONS NICO!
You've made it into E's WotD Hall of Fame!

[Nico]

CONGRATULATIONS NICO!
You've made it into E's WotD Hall of Fame!

Oh! Yay!

~dances around~

[Lilias]

Lilias, you've been on a roll! :)

An easy way to keep the daily streak going without worrying too much about continuity and the bigger picture *shiftyeyes*

[Zaval]

For someone studying to take the GRE, this is a really fun and HELPFUL way to keep my brain learning new words. I just appreciate that this is a thing here.

:-)

[RampantDesires]

It is awesome to see you participating Zaval :-)  Glad you're enjoying it!

[Flower]

+1

I enjoyed your contribution for brevity. It made me chuckle. ^_^

[The Green One]

Zaval! Loved your word of the day!

[Zaval]

Thanks!!! :) I'll take any excuse to write about the DCU.

[The Green One]

As a Riddler lover, I encourage your words :P

[Flower]

Did You Know?

What's the difference between a chiliad and a millennium? Not much: both are a period of 1000 years. While millennium is more widely used, chiliad is actually older. Chiliad first appeared in the late 1500s and was originally used to mean "a group of 1000," as in "a chiliad of arrows"; millennium didn't make its way into written English until some decades later, in the early 1600s. Not surprisingly, both words trace back to roots that mean "thousand." Millennium comes from Latin mille, and chiliad is a descendant of Greek chilioi.

[Flower]

Yay to new faces in WoTD! We are super glad you're joining us. Also, huzzah to our regulars as well. <3

[The Green One]

Well played, Sir!

Thank you!

[Flower]

Here's an information tidbit for you word lovers.

Did You Know?

The Latin roots of orotund are related to two more common English words—oral and rotund. Latin or- means "mouth," and rotundus means "round" or "circular." The Roman poet Horace joined forms of those Latin terms to create the phrase ore rotundo, literally meaning "with round mouth," and figuratively meaning "with well-turned speech." Ore rotundo was modified to orotund and adopted into English in the late 18th century. It can indicate either strength of delivery or inflated wording.

[persephone325]

Flower dropping that sweet knowledge! ;)

<3

[Flower]

-giggles-

Just doing my small part. Merriam does most of the work. xD

[persephone325]

-giggles-

Just doing my small part. Merriam does most of the work. xD

Well, you're awesome. Keep up the great work. <3

[Loiosh]

Well, you're awesome. Keep up the great work. <3

Ditto!  As somebody who loves clicking the random link on Wikipedia when I'm bored the random knowledge droppings are super fun. :)