***** Feb 22, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
foundling | |
| Definition: | (noun) A deserted or abandoned child of unknown parentage. |
| Synonyms: | abandoned infant |
| Usage: | No one knew why an envelope containing images of a mountainous landscape had been tucked in the folds of the foundling's blanket. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 We forge the chains we wear in life. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 21, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
prejudicious | |
| Definition: | (adjective) Causing harm or injury. |
| Synonyms: | damaging, detrimental, prejudicial |
| Usage: | The reporter's coverage resulted in prejudicious publicity for the defendant. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| The aphorism "Whatever is, is right," would be as final as it is lazy, did it not include the troublesome consequence that nothing that ever was, was wrong. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 19, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
ninepin | |
| Definition: | (noun) A wooden pin used in the game of ninepins. |
| Synonyms: | skittle, skittle pin |
| Usage: | He threw the ball so hard that it knocked the ninepin into the neighbor's yard. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humor. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 15, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
portent | |
| Definition: | (noun) An indication of something important or calamitous about to occur. |
| Synonyms: | omen, prognostic, prognostication, presage, prodigy |
| Usage: | The soldier looked to the sky for a portent and was gripped with fear when he read his future in the clouds. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 The true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground. Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) |
Word of the Day
trawler | |
| Definition: | (noun) A fishing boat that uses a trawl net or dragnet to catch fish. |
| Synonyms: | dragger |
| Usage: | The fisherman boarded the trawler at four in the morning. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 Nothing has really happened until it has been recorded. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 13, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
panpipe | |
| Definition: | (noun) A primitive wind instrument consisting of several parallel pipes bound together. |
| Synonyms: | syrinx, pandean pipe |
| Usage: | When his parents refused to buy him an expensive instrument, the industrious ten-year-old crafted a panpipe out of string and some pieces of old pipe. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Every baby born into the world is a finer one than the last. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 12, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
surfactant | |
| Definition: | (noun) A chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved. |
| Synonyms: | wetting agent, surface-active agent, wetter |
| Usage: | She ordered a new pair of glasses and had the lenses coated with a surfactant film that would act as an anti-fogging agent. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| In the little world in which children have their existence, whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt as injustice. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 11, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
platitude | |
| Definition: | (noun) A trite or banal remark or statement, especially one expressed as if it were original or significant. |
| Synonyms: | banality, cliche, commonplace, bromide |
| Usage: | A trite platitude about his not caring to lose her was on his lips, but he refrained from uttering it. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Only man can be absurd: for only man can be dignified. Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 10, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
incantation | |
| Definition: | (noun) A ritual recitation of words or sounds believed to have a magical effect. |
| Synonyms: | conjuration |
| Usage: | Hagar, the witch, chanted an awful incantation over her kettleful of simmering toads, with weird effect. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Democracy means government by the uneducated, while aristocracy means government by the badly educated. Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 09, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
patella | |
| Definition: | (noun) A flat triangular bone located at the front of the knee joint. |
| Synonyms: | kneecap, kneepan |
| Usage: | Having learned his lesson, the rollerblader wore kneepads to protect his patellae from further injury. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 08, 2008 *****
Quote of the Day
| Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 08, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
campanile | |
| Definition: | (noun) A bell tower, especially one near but not attached to a church or other public building. |
| Synonyms: | belfry |
| Usage: | The architect intended the Tower of Pisa to stand straight and tall, but the marble campanile's foundation was poorly laid, and it soon began to lean. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 The greatest minds are capable of the greatest vices as well as of the greatest virtues. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 07, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
conflux | |
| Definition: | (noun) A flowing together. |
| Synonyms: | merging, confluence |
| Usage: | There was a conflux of emotions and thoughts in him. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another. Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 06, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
preclude | |
| Definition: | (verb) Keep from happening or arising; make impossible. |
| Synonyms: | foreclose, forestall, prevent, forbid |
| Usage: | Modesty precludes me from accepting the honor. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 Happiness is the perpetual possession of being well deceived. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 05, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
quaggy | |
| Definition: | (adjective) Resembling a marsh; soggy. |
| Synonyms: | boggy, marshy, miry, mucky, muddy, sloughy, swampy |
| Usage: | The ground near the lake was wet and quaggy underfoot. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear. Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 04, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
musette | |
| Definition: | (noun) A small French bagpipe operated with a bellows and having a soft sound. |
| Synonyms: | shepherd's pipe |
| Usage: | The young man was adept at the musette and would play it during celebrations. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it. Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 03, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
worriment | |
| Definition: | (noun) A difficulty that causes anxiety. |
| Synonyms: | troublesomeness, inconvenience |
| Usage: | To him, everything was a worriment, and his anxiety increased every day. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 02, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
prosody | |
| Definition: | (noun) The study of the metrical structure of verse. |
| Synonyms: | metrics |
| Usage: | He was a master of meter, and contributed certain modifications to the laws of Chinese prosody which exist to the present day. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 I do not say a proverb is amiss when aptly and reasonably applied, but to be forever discharging them, right or wrong, hit or miss, renders conversation insipid and vulgar. Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Feb 01, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
sporty | |
| Definition: | (adjective) Marked by conspicuous display. |
| Synonyms: | flashy, gaudy, jazzy, showy |
| Usage: | The Thompsons thought it inappropriate that their newly widowed neighbor wore such a sporty outfit to her husband's funeral. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| I ransack public libraries, and find them full of sunk treasure. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Jan 31, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
wraith | |
| Definition: | (noun) Something shadowy and insubstantial. |
| Synonyms: | ghost, specter, spook, shade |
| Usage: | He refused to venture near cemeteries, fearing he'd encounter wraiths, ghosts, and apparitions of all kinds. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Whenever anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach it. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Jan 30, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
brachypterous | |
| Definition: | (adjective) Having very short or rudimentary wings, as certain insects. |
| Synonyms: | short-winged |
| Usage: | Some brachypterous insects evade predators by jumping short distances. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| Sleep is the best cure for waking troubles. Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Jan 29, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
sepulcher | |
| Definition: | (noun) A chamber that is used as a grave. |
| Synonyms: | burial chamber, sepulture |
| Usage: | The archaeologists opened the sepulcher expecting to find ancient artifacts, but the burial chamber turned out to be completely empty. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
| If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) |
Quote of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
***** Jan 28, 2008 *****
Word of the Day
rampart | |
| Definition: | (noun) A fortification consisting of an embankment, often with a parapet built on top. |
| Synonyms: | bulwark, wall |
| Usage: | They stormed the ramparts of the city with ladders and catapults. |
Word of the Day provided by The Free Dictionary
Quote of the Day
 Rome took all the vanity out of me; for after seeing the wonders there, I felt too insignificant to live, and gave up all my foolish hopes in despair. Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) |
