Archive for the 'Words' Category

I have had this problem for a while with the use of the word practice. I was raised in South Australia where they are - or at least were once - quite particular in teaching the “Queen’s English” the correct way. I remember in school being taught that practice was a noun and the verb [...]

And now for something a bit lighter …
A colleague tried to use the word furphy in an email today - but complained that he wasn’t sure how it was spelt (furfy, furfee ?), and couldn’t find any references in the dictionary or thesauruses.
I knew what he was trying to say - a furphy is something [...]

dictionary.com/solmisation (also solmization)
The act or a system of using syllables, especially sol-fa syllables, to represent the tones of the scale.
The song “Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound of Music is an example of solmisation !

I’d thought I’d get back to some word definitions (refer to my earlier post [url=http://www.hampel.net.au/blog/archives/2003/07/01/a-thousand-words/]A Thousand Words[/url]
Today’s word is [url=http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=assonance]assonance[/url]
Dictionary.com/assonance
- Resemblance of sound, especially of the vowel sounds in words, as in: “that dolphin-torn, that gong-tormented sea” (William Butler Yeats)
- The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, especially in stressed syllables, with changes in [...]

[b]Dictionary.com: [url=http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=salient]salient[/url][/b]
[quote]- Projecting or jutting beyond a line or surface; protruding.
- Strikingly conspicuous; prominent.
- Springing; jumping: salient tree toads.[/quote]

According to Take Our Word For It, the origins of the word disgruntled are as follows:
Usually, the prefix dis- implies a loss of something, as in disease, disgust and disgrace. Very occasionally, as here, it means “entirely” or “very”. So disgruntled means something like “extremely gruntled “. So, what does gruntle mean? It is a [...]

Dictionary.com/vitriolic
Bitterly scathing; caustic: vitriolic criticism.

Dictionary.com/Neologism
-A new word, expression, or usage.
-The creation or use of new words or senses.

Also - Neologist; one who creates new words or senses
Thanks to Jamie for the answer to that one !

Dictionary.com/actually
- In fact; in reality
- Used to express wonder, surprise, or incredulity
I counted the word “actually” seven times in what I wrote for my last blog enty on Hong Kong. I actually think I might have to think a bit more carefully about my choice of words when writing.

Dictionary.com/extraneous
- Not constituting a vital element or part.
- Inessential or unrelated to the topic or matter at hand; irrelevant