Note: This update covers the pages I read between July 1 and September 30, 2017.The third quarter of 2017 was a very productive one when it came to reading. My fourth quarter progress has been all but nonexistent, so I guess that balances out. I ended September close to the mid-point of the letter T. If I can avoid too many more distractions (which is nigh impossible between birthdays and holidays at the end of the year), I may be in the homestretch come 2018. I’m going to temper my expectations but we’ll see what happens.
As you'll see, I've added a new countdown to the end of my posts. The last 200 pages or so of my dictionary are supplemental material. I suspect these sections will be easier to read through than the definitions section. As I am excited to grow close to those sections, I added a page countdown to them.
Now then...
STEATOPYGIA- If you have ever seen someone with almost shelf-like buttocks, this is the technical term for it. It’s a genetic trait that comes originally from certain ethnic groups in sub-Saharan Africa.
STELLA- This term amused me because I have seen A Streetcar Named Desire and I enjoy Stella Artois. This was the name given to a prototype universal currency developed in the United States. It did not catch on and several of the coins wound up being incorporated into jewelry worn by Washington D.C. brothel madams.
SUNBOW- Technically, this is what you’re seeing when you see a rainbow-like prismatic effect when there is mist of vapor in the air but it has not rained. It seems to me like there would be more science weenies advocating the usage of this term for accuracy’s sake.
SUNROOF- My dictionary and MW online date this term all the way back to 1952. The age of this term for an automobile feature surprised me. Then again, I’m not much of a car guy.
SURD- We’re all familiar with the word absurd but this root word is not the opposite of that. Surd means irrational or lacking sense. Absurd just takes it to a higher degree of irrationality. I think I may add this word to my personal lexicon for situations or statements that are just irrational and instead of wildly so.
SYRUP- Did you know this word is of Arabic origin? I didn’t either until I got to page 1,235.
TABLOID- This word was originally a trademarked name for a condensed pill created by a London pharmaceutical company. The term became widely used to describe other condensed goods for sale, including short, sensational publications.
TAXIDERMY- This word dates back to 1820, not long after it became popular for hunters to take their trophy skins to upholsterers instead of tanners to have their kills stuffed for a more life-like look rather than tanning the skins for clothing and decorative pelts or rugs. I have an uncle who is a taxidermist, so this word would have interested me anyway. Researching the history of the trade was fascinating because early mounts had to have looked crude and taxidermists used to use very toxic chemicals in treating their work.
TEEN- The second definition for this word is the term for a young person, which predates the word teenager by over 100 years. The first and oldest definition for this word is now archaic, unused, and means misery and affliction. One could argue that this coincidence is fitting.
THINGNESS- This word from 1896 blew me away with its weirdness. It means the quality or state of objective existence or reality. If existence and reality are subjective, then does anything possess thingness? Does the word thingness itself possess thingness? Does your head hurt yet?
THONG- Even my 1996 dictionary doesn’t list the barely-there form of underwear among its definitions. Nowadays, that’s the first thing one thinks of when they hear the word.
Page Count: 1271/1600 (79.44%)
Countdown to the Letter U: 47 pages
Countdown to the Supplementary Material: 145 pages
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