These adjectives are called postpositive, not because they are positive words. Rather, the designation "positive" alludes to their position -- they are placed (or deposited) after the word they modify, for example, adjective extraordinaire in "teacher extraordinaire". We often find these adjectives... Sign in to see full entry.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Word of the Day....
This week's theme: adjectives used postpositively. redux (ri-DUKS) adjective Brought back; revisited. [From Latin re- (again) + dux (leader), from ducere (to lead). Ultimately from Indo-European root deuk- (to lead) that led to other words such as duke, conduct, educate, duct, wanton, and tug.]... Sign in to see full entry.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Word of the Day............................................................
This week's theme: short words. ret (ret) verb tr. To soak or expose to moisture (flax, hemp, etc.) to remove fiber from softened wood. [From Middle English reten, perhaps from Middle Dutch.] Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=ret -Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org) "Deep... Sign in to see full entry.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Word of the Day............................................................
This week's theme: short words. tor (tor) noun 1. A rocky heap on the top of a hill. 2. A peak of a bared hill. [From Middle English, from Old English torr. Of uncertain origin: probably from Celtic.] Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=tor -Anu Garg... Sign in to see full entry.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Word of the Day............................................................
This week's theme: short words. lee (lee) noun 1. Shelter. 2. The side (of a ship, for example) that's sheltered or away from the direction from which the wind blows. adjective Of or pertaining to the side that's away from the wind. [From Middle English, from Old English hleo (shelter).] Today's... Sign in to see full entry.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Word of the Day.........................
This week's theme: unusual words. succedaneum (suk-si-DAY-nee-uhm) noun A substitute. [From Latin succedere (to succeed), from suc- (a variant of sub-, used before c) and cedere (to go). Ultimately from Indo-European root ked- (to go or yield) that's also the ancestor of exceed, secede, proceed,... Sign in to see full entry.
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Word of the day.....................
This week's theme: unusual words. margaritaceous (mar-guhr-i-TAY-shuhs) adjective Pearly. [From Latin margarita, from Greek margarites (pearl).] Margarita, the tequila cocktail, is named after Margarita, the Spanish form of the name Margaret, meaning pearl. Who this woman was isn't certain. Perhaps... Sign in to see full entry.
Tuesday, June 6, 2006
Word of the Day......................................................
Has a short quotation you read somewhere ever made you think more than you would have thought after spending several weeks with a heavy tome? Perhaps that's what Friedrich Nietzsche had in mind when he said, "It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book." In this spirit,... Sign in to see full entry.
Monday, June 5, 2006
Word of the Day............................................................
terpsichorean (turp-si-kuh-REE-uhn, turp-si-KOR-ee-uhn, -KORE-) adjective Of or relating to dancing. noun A dancer. [From Terpsichore, the Muse of dancing and choral song in Greek mythology. The word Terpsichore is the feminine form of terpsichoros (delighting in the dance), a combination of Greek... Sign in to see full entry.
Saturday, June 3, 2006
Word of the Day............................................................
pulchritude (PUL-kri-tood, -tyood) noun Beauty. [From Latin pulchritudo, from pulcher (beautiful).] Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=pulchritude -Anu Garg (gargATwordsmith.org) "[Catherine Deneuve's] pulchritude is as legendary and inspiring as her body of work."... Sign in to see full entry.