Subject: perspicacious - msg#00014

Previous Message by Date: click to view message preview

flummox

***************************************************************** Finding your life to be indescribable? Get help with Merriam-Websters Dictionary of Synonyms! http://www.merriam-webster.com/book/thesaur/synonym.htm ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for November 14 is: flummox \FLUH-muks\ verb : confuse Example sentence: Peter was flummoxed by the directions given to him by the gas station attendant, as they called for him to turn the wrong way onto a one-way street. Did you know? No one is completely sure where the word "flummox" comes from, but we do know that its first known use in English is found in Charles Dickens' 1837 novel _The Pickwick Papers_. One theory expressed by some etymologists is that it was influenced by "flummock," a word of English dialectical origin used to refer to a clumsy person (and perhaps this word is the source of "lummox" as well). By no means is "flummox" just a relic of the Victorian era -- by the end of the 19th century the word had become quite common in both British and American English.

Next Message by Date: click to view message preview

conciliate

***************************************************************** Finding your life to be indescribable? Get help with Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms! http://www.merriam-webster.com/book/thesaur/synonym.htm ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for November 16 is: conciliate \kun-SIH-lee-ayt\ verb 1 : to gain (as goodwill) by pleasing acts *2 : to make compatible : reconcile 3 : appease 4 : to become friendly or agreeable Example sentence: The negotiating team was faced with the difficult task of conciliating the views of two nations whose leaders disagreed on nearly every foreign policy topic. Did you know? A council is "an assembly or meeting for consultation, advice, or discussion," and it is often the task of a council to conciliate opposing views. It is perhaps fitting, therefore, that the words "council" and "conciliate" both derive from the Latin word "concilium," which means "assembly, council." "Conciliate" comes to us from the Latin "conciliatus," the past participle of the verb "conciliare" (meaning "to assemble, unite, win over"), which in turn is from "concilium." ("Council," on the other hand, derives from the Anglo- French "cunseil" or "cuncile," from "concilium.") Other "concilium" descendants in English include "conciliar" ("of, relating to, or issued by a council") and the rare "conciliabule" ("a clandestine meeting especially of conspirators or rebels"). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Previous Message by Thread: click to view message preview

flummox

***************************************************************** Finding your life to be indescribable? Get help with Merriam-Websters Dictionary of Synonyms! http://www.merriam-webster.com/book/thesaur/synonym.htm ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for November 14 is: flummox \FLUH-muks\ verb : confuse Example sentence: Peter was flummoxed by the directions given to him by the gas station attendant, as they called for him to turn the wrong way onto a one-way street. Did you know? No one is completely sure where the word "flummox" comes from, but we do know that its first known use in English is found in Charles Dickens' 1837 novel _The Pickwick Papers_. One theory expressed by some etymologists is that it was influenced by "flummock," a word of English dialectical origin used to refer to a clumsy person (and perhaps this word is the source of "lummox" as well). By no means is "flummox" just a relic of the Victorian era -- by the end of the 19th century the word had become quite common in both British and American English.

Next Message by Thread: click to view message preview

conciliate

***************************************************************** Finding your life to be indescribable? Get help with Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms! http://www.merriam-webster.com/book/thesaur/synonym.htm ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for November 16 is: conciliate \kun-SIH-lee-ayt\ verb 1 : to gain (as goodwill) by pleasing acts *2 : to make compatible : reconcile 3 : appease 4 : to become friendly or agreeable Example sentence: The negotiating team was faced with the difficult task of conciliating the views of two nations whose leaders disagreed on nearly every foreign policy topic. Did you know? A council is "an assembly or meeting for consultation, advice, or discussion," and it is often the task of a council to conciliate opposing views. It is perhaps fitting, therefore, that the words "council" and "conciliate" both derive from the Latin word "concilium," which means "assembly, council." "Conciliate" comes to us from the Latin "conciliatus," the past participle of the verb "conciliare" (meaning "to assemble, unite, win over"), which in turn is from "concilium." ("Council," on the other hand, derives from the Anglo- French "cunseil" or "cuncile," from "concilium.") Other "concilium" descendants in English include "conciliar" ("of, relating to, or issued by a council") and the rare "conciliabule" ("a clandestine meeting especially of conspirators or rebels"). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.