PRONUNCIATION: (ELF-lok)
MEANING:noun: A tangled lock of hair.
miscible \MISS-uh-bul\
Capable of being
mixed; specifically : capable of mixing in any ratio without separation of two
phases
"Miscible"
isn't simply a lesser-known synonym of "mixable"—it's also a cousin.
It comes to us from the Medieval Latin adjective "miscibilis," which
has the same meaning as "miscible" and which derives in turn from
Latin "miscēre," meaning "to mix." "Miscēre" is
also the ultimate source of our "mix"; its past participle
"mixtus" (meaning "mixed") spawned "mixte" in
Anglo-French and Middle English, and "mix" came about as a
back-formation of "mixte." The suffix "-able" gives us
"mixable," thereby completing its link to "miscible."
"Miscible" turns up most frequently in scientific discussions where
it is used especially to describe fluids that don't separate when they are
combined.
Quaternary
PRONUNCIATION: (KWOT-uhr-ner-ee, kwuh-TUHR-nuh-ree)
MEANING: 1. Of the fourth order.2. Consisting of or arranged
in fours.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin quattuor (four). Earliest documented
use: 1450.
USAGE: "The patient referral system started at the
primary, to secondary, to tertiary, and finally to the quaternary level of
health care." Jane Kanchense; Zimbabwe's Child Brides; Trafford; 2011.
Depone
\dih-POHN\to assert under oath: testify
"I, Maureen
Watt, depone aat I wull be leal and bear ae full alleadgance tae Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth," swore the newly-elected Member of the Scottish
Parliament in the dialect of the North-East of Scotland. (Translation: "I
swear that I will be loyal and bear full allegiance to Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth.")
"Depone," a word used in Scots law for
"testify" since the 15th century, is perfectly at home in the oath.
The word originated from Latin "deponere," meaning "to put
down."
The related English verb "depose," referring to
testimony, entered the language through the same root the following century.
Though used less frequently in American English than "depose,"
"depone" is no stranger to the American court system.
Anatopism
PRONUNCIATION:(uh-NAT-uh-piz-ehm)
MEANING:The error of placing something out of its proper
place; also something placed erroneously.
ETYMOLOGY:From Greek ana- (against) + topos (place).
Anatopism is to place what anachronism is to time. Earliest documented use:
1812.
Snowbroth
PRONUNCIATION: (SNO-broth)
MEANING: Melted snow.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English snaw (snow) + broth (broth).
Earliest documented use: 1600.
Tourbillion
Tourbillion \toor-BIL-yun\Meaning a whirlwind, a vortex especially of a whirlwind or
whirlpool
"Tourbillion" (which can also be spelled
"tourbillon" and pronounced "toor-bee-YAWNG") comes from
the same root as "turbine"—namely, the Latin word "turbo,"
meaning "top" (as in a spinning object) or "whirlwind."
"Tourbillion" has been used over time to refer to other spinning
objects besides an actual whirlwind. Among watchmaking enthusiasts,
"tourbillion" is the name of a kind of watch with a mechanism
designed to compensate for the effects of gravity on its movement. Among
pyrotechnics fans, a tourbillion is a kind of firework having a spiral flight.
Orgulous
Orgulous \OR-gyuh-lus\Meaning proud, haughty
"In
Troy, there lies the scene. From Isles of Greece
The princes orgulous, their high blood chaf'd,
Have
to the port of Athens sent their ships."
Thus Shakespeare
began the Trojan War tale Troilus and Cressida, employing "orgulous,"
a colorful word first adopted in the 13th century from Anglo-French
"orguillus." After the Bard's day, "orgulous" dropped from
sight for 200 years; there is no record of its use until it was rejuvenated by
the pens of Robert Southey and Sir Walter Scott in the early 1800s.
Twentieth-century authors (including James Joyce and W.H. Auden) continued its
renaissance, and it remains an elegant (if infrequent) choice for today's writers.
Potemkin Village
MEANING: An
impressive showy facade designed to mask undesirable facts.
ETYMOLOGY: After Prince Grigory Potemkin, who erected
cardboard villages to fool Empress Catherine II during her visit to Ukraine and
Crimea in 1787. Earliest documented use: 1904.
