Another word a day part 1 pps

Also by Anu GargA Word A Day: A Romp through Some of the Most Unusual and Intriguing Words in English ffirs.qxd 7/21/05 12:07 PM Page ii... Another Word A Day An All-New Romp through Som

Another Word A Day

Also by Anu Garg

A Word A Day: A Romp through Some of the Most Unusual and Intriguing Words in English

ffirs.qxd 7/21/05 12:07 PM Page ii

Another Word A Day

An All-New Romp through Some of the Most Unusual and Intriguing Words in English

Anu Garg

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Copyright © 2005 by Anu Garg All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

Composition by Navta Associates, Inc

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA

01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online

at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty:While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied war-ranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation.You should consult with a professional where appro-priate Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other com-mercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages

For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Garg, Anu

Another word a day : an all-new romp through some of the most unusual and intriguing words in English / Anu Garg

p cm

Includes bibliographical references and index

ISBN 13 978-0-471-71845-1 (pbk.)

ISBN 10 0-471-71845-9 (pbk.)

ISBN 13 978-0-471-77878-3 (cloth)

ISBN 10 0-471-77878-8 (cloth)

1 Vocabulary 2 English language—Glossaries, vocabularies, etc I Title

PE1449.G3345 2006

428.1—dc22 2005004284

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ffirs.qxd 7/21/05 12:07 PM Page iv

All words are pegs to hang ideas on.

— HE N RYWA R D BE E C H E R

ffirs.qxd 7/21/05 12:07 PM Page vi

Acknowledgments xiii

1 Words to Describe People I 5

opsimath● agelast● losel● nebbish ● cruciverbalist

2 Earls Who Became Words

(or Places That Became Words) 9

orrery ● cadogan● Oxfordian ● derby ●Yarborough

3 Words Having Origins in Chess 14

zugzwang● checkmate ● gambit ● stalemate● endgame

4 Words That Appear to Be Misspellings of

Everyday Words I 18

passible● monestrous● cloture ● nutriment ● assoil

5 Archaic Words 21

clepe ● sennight ● anon ● gainsay ● hearken

Chautauqua ● Pax Romana ● Gibraltar ● seltzer ●

Kilkenny cats

vii

Contents

7 Words about Books and Writing 28

roman à clef● orihon● amphigory ● conspectus ● magnum opus

8 Words Borrowed from Yiddish 31

chutzpah● mensch ● zaftig● kvetch● schlep

9 Terms from the World of Law 36

estoppel ● laches ● solatium ● sui juris ● mittimus

10 Words That Appear to Be Misspellings of Everyday

eagre ● imprest● endue ● biennial ● quacksalver

11 Words Borrowed from Arabic 44

alembic ● nadir ● jihad● houri ● talisman

12 Words Formed Erroneously 48

niddering● obsidian● helpmeet ● zenith● derring-do

13 What’s in a Name? 52

randy ● tony● ted ● bobby ● brad

14 Words from Poetry 56

cataract● dreary● nosegay● collyrium ● tarry

15 Fishy Words 61

minnow ● gudgeon ● remora ● inconnu● tope

16 Discover the Theme I 66

ubiety ● irade ● ambit ● estival ● lanate

17 Terms Employing Various Nationalities 71

French leave● Chinese wall● Roman holiday ● Irish bull ●

Dutch auction

18 Words with Double Connections 75

diplopia● double entendre ● ambsace ● satchel ● doppelgänger

viii C O N T E N T S

ftoc.qxd 7/21/05 12:03 PM Page viii

19 Words Related to the Calendar 79

ides● bissextile ● Greek calends ● menology ● fin de siècle

20 False Friends 83

sacrilegious● scission ● oust● impregnable ● mellifluous

21 Red-Herring Words 87

undulate ● fartlek ● conversant● assize ● valorize

22 Words Related to the Human Body 90

nares ● oxter● pollex● nevus ● glossal

23 Words Related to Buying and Selling 93

emptor ● nummary ● duopoly ● monopsony ● chandler

24 Miscellaneous Words 98

astrobleme ● pudency ● aporia● remontant ● loricate

25 Words That Have Changed Meaning with Time 101

demagogue ● decimate ● feisty ● egregious ● officious

26 Words about Words 107

hapax legomenon ● metaphor ● vulgat ● hyperbole ●

metaplasm

27 Anglo-Saxon Words 111

meed ● fen ● lief● fain● wight

28 Words Borrowed from Other Languages 115

cumshaw ● smorgasbord● baksheesh ● taboo ● honcho

29 Words from Medicine 118

sequela ● nosology ● idiopathy ● placebo ● nyctalopia

30 Numeric Terms 123

sixty-four-dollar question● eighty-six ● twenty-twenty ●

deep-six● catch-22