Monthly Archives: December 2008

PRONUNCIATION: (AD-uhr) http://wordsmith.org/words/adder.mp3 MEANING: (noun) 1. One that adds, especially a computational device that performs arithmetic. 2. Any of several venomous Old World snakes of the family Viperidae, having a single pair of long, hollow fangs and a thick, heavy … Continue reading →

PRONUNCIATION: (moot) http://wordsmith.org/words/moot.mp3 MEANING: (adjective), Open to question, debatable, subjected to discussion, disputable; deprived of practical significance; made abstract or purely academic. ETYMOLOGY: “Moot” derives from “gemot,” an Old English name for a judicial court. Originally, “moot” named either the … Continue reading →

PRONUNCIATION: (NIK-naym) http://wordsmith.org/words/nickname.mp3 MEANING: (noun) 1. A descriptive name added to or replacing the actual name of a person, place, or thing. 2. A familiar or shortened form of a proper name. (verb tr.) 1. To give a nickname to. … Continue reading →

PRONUNCIATION: (guh-LUMF) http://wordsmith.org/words/galumph.mp3 MEANING: (verb), To move with a clumsy heavy tread. ETYMOLOGY: First used by Lewis Carroll in 1872 to describe the actions of the vanquisher of the Jabberwock in _Through the Looking Glass_: “He left it dead, and … Continue reading →

PRONUNCIATION: (tee-TOT-l) http://wordsmith.org/words/teetotal.mp3 MEANING: (adjective) 1. Of, relating to, or practicing complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages. 2. Total; absolute. ETYMOLOGY: Probably partly tee (pronunciation of the first letter in total) + total (abstinence), and partly reduplication of total, coined by … Continue reading →