READING UPDATE: The Dictionary- Part 17- Independent – Kibosh

Don’t let the apparent letter progress fool you. My pace has slacked significantly. I only made it about halfway through the letter K by the end of April. That’s not too bad but I hoped for better. April’s pace has been even worse and with the start of the NHL playoffs eminent, I don’t see it getting much better. I’m going to try my darndest to finish L by the end of April.

Interesting words of the month:

INDO-EUROPEAN LANGAUAGES- This has fascinated me for several years. It is also quite the confounding subject. It is astounding to think that half of the world’s population speaks in languages that share a common root. Uncovering that common root is difficult to process and, I believe, requires a few leaps of faith. While reading the dictionary, I have seen MW try to link languages in strange ways. If a word originates from Old English, sometimes MW lists similarities in Old High German and Latin. The trouble is that neither of the supposedly similar words look nothing like each other, seemingly nixing that attempt at tracing them back to the theorized Indo-European language. This is a subject that I can see myself looking deeper into once Project Bookshelf is complete.

IN SITU- This makes my list of interesting words/phrases this month because it is the name of one of our vendors. One of the phrase’s meanings is “in position,” which makes sense because our vendor calibrates equipment to ensure proper readings.

INTERROBANG- This word is the term for a most unusual typographical symbol: ‽ It is the fusion of a question mark and an exclamation point. Created in the 1960s, it was meant to simplify exclamatory questions so writers didn’t have to use two symbols and fret over which one to put first. Like a lot of things from the 60s, the interrobang didn’t have staying power its creator may have hoped for.

IRREGARDLESS- Don’t ever let anyone tell you that this is not a word. It is a word. MW speculates that it is a fusion of ‘irrespective’ and ‘regardless.’ Either way, the word means ‘regardless,’ so you probably still shouldn’t use it.

IS- MW doesn’t even give this word a formal definition. It provides conjugational context as the third-person singular form of ‘be.’ So maybe we should stop picking on Bill Clinton for his “that depends on what your definition of is… is” comment from the Monica Lewinsky trial. Or not. Is is what it is. There are no other definitions, Bubba.

JESUS- I like MW’s definition: “The Jewish religious teacher whose life, death, and resurrection as reported by the Evangelists are the basis of the Christian message of salvation.” There’s something very simple but elegant about that phrasing. It strikes me as completely free of bias.

JEWISH CALENDAR and JULIAN CALENDAR- Calendar systems have been intriguing to me for some time. Though time does exist, man created the way we measure it. It’s also intriguing to me the origins behinds some of the major calendar systems. The Jewish calendar begins with the creation of Adam, not the creation of the universe. The Julian calendar was created to fix the Roman calendar but it was eventually replaced by the Gregorian calendar.

JUNGLE GYM- This term was once trademarked. I never knew that. I remember a multi-level metal jungle gym at a nearby park when I was growing up. That thing was amazing because there were endless routes up and through it. The original jungle gym format is probably banned now because it’s not safe enough.

KARAOKE- My dictionary dates the term to 1982 but MW online goes back to 1979. Still though, I’m surprised at how young the technology is. That just goes to show you how spoiled I was to be a lae-80s/early 90s kid. And yes, I have performed karaoke once. I did well.


Page Count: 678.5/1600 (42.41%)
Countdown to the Letter L: 8 pages

READING UPDATE: The Dictionary- Part 16- Hair Follicle – Independent

To be honest, the letter H was a pretty boring letter. No offense to anyone fond of the eighth letter of the English alphabet, but there weren’t many interesting words to be found. I’m about 35% of the way through the letter I and it is a similar story. It hasn’t been painful to read but it also hasn’t been very intriguing. It just is.

I thought I had a good pace going through February but my required pages-read-per-day count snuck up by a fraction again. I will trudge on, doing my best to average three pages a day. Weekends tend to see four or five pages a day, which will hopefully start making up for the ground I am apparently losing.

March might feel like a successful month for me because I should finish I around mid-month. Both J and K are short sections, so it is entirely possible that I will start April on the letter L or very close to it. I’m trying to keep my goals small for now and my immediate focus is making my way to the 50% mark. That will be exciting for me. Who knows, maybe that will be the key to picking up some momentum.

Now check out my interesting words for H and I:

HALF-BAKED- This word is much older than I ever would have guessed. MW traces it back to 1621. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised because, well, people were baking back then and were probably familiar with food and ideas that don’t live up to expectations.

HASSLE- This word is much younger than I would have guessed. MW traces it back to just 1945. They speculate it to come from a combination of ‘harass’ and ‘hustle.’ Probably not a bad guess but I’d love to know for sure where and how this word came to be.

HEIGH-HO- I never thought about what this term might mean while watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. As it turns out, heigh-ho is an expression of boredom, weariness, sadness, or encouragement. That puts the seven dwarfs in a whole new light. Were they encouraging each other about going home and weary about going to work?

HEPATITIS- I thought it was interesting that my dictionary has entries for hepatitis A and B but not hepatitis C. I checked to see if hepatitis C had been either discovered or became more widely known after my dictionary was published. It was theorized in the 1970s but discovered in 1989. My dictionary was published in 1996, so I’m not sure why it wasn’t included.

HERMETIC- This word comes to us via the name of a deity blending Greek and Egyptian gods and traditions together. His name was Hermes Trismegistus. This deity supposedly invented a magic seal that keep containers airtight. Truth (of word origins) is sometimes stranger than fiction!

HIGHFALUTIN- Now I know how to spell it in case I should ever need to use it. I don’t know that I will but thanks anyway MW!

HIGH FIVE- I was shocked- SHOCKED- I say to learn that this term is only traced back to 1980. That means it has only been around for a few years longer than I’ve been alive. Shocked, stunned, and flabbergasted. When did the act of the high five originate and what did they call it before 1980?

HIPPIE- Bring up the subject of hippies around me and you’ll get an earful. In short, they bear a large proportion of the blame for why America is so screwed up right now. MW traces the term back to 1965. Happy 50th anniversary you dirty, good-for-nothing hippie!

HONCHO- I honestly always kind of assumed this word came from Spanish. To my surprise, it is actually of Japanese origin. In its native tongue, it means squad leader and it entered the English language around 1955, making it 60 years old. My dictionary dated it to 1947 but MW online now puts it at 1955, marking the first time that I have seen MW make a word younger than what my dictionary says.

HUG- MW lists the origins of this word as probably Scandinavian. That is amusingly appropriate since Olaf from Frozen likes warm hugs and he’s a Scandinavian snowman. These are the quirky things that actually make me laugh while reading the dictionary.

HYSTERIA- The root of this word ‘hyst’ means womb. Originally, hysteria was a fit of uncontrollable laughter or emotional excitability. Since the ancient Greeks thought this condition was limited to women, they assumed it had something to do with disturbances of the uterus. Once again, truth is stranger than fiction.

ICE HOCKEY- My dictionary dated this term to 1883, which surprised me because the Stanley Cup was first awarded in 1893. MW online now dates the term back to 1868, which makes much more sense. I mean, hockey is awesome but going from an obscure sport to common usage in English and then have a trophy awarded for it in 10 years’ time seems a bit of a stretch to me.

IDIOT LIGHT- I couldn’t believe that this term is in the dictionary. I love it! I always assumed it was just a joke term that mechanics and car people used. Sure enough, it’s circulated widely enough to warrant a spot in the dictionary. Too cool.

IFF- This word means ‘if and only if.’ It was too odd to be left alone; I had to look this one up. Turns out this word is mostly used as a sort of shorthand in logic, math, and philosophy. That helps it make a little more sense. If I ever see this word used in literature, I may giggle because I don’t think it’s meant to be used outside of the aforementioned areas.

IMBECILE v. IDIOT- I was surprised to learn that these terms formerly held a level of scientific classification for the intellectual capabilities of a mentally handicapped person. They’re obviously not used anymore and are for the most part interchangeable but did you know that an imbecile used to be categorized as smarter than an idiot? An idiot had the mental capacity of a child under the age of three, whereas an imbecile had a mental capacity falling between three and seven years.

IMPASSIONED v. PASSIONATE- Now here was a very interesting usage note! You often here the term passionate bandied about in a good way but know this- it is better to be impassioned than passionate. Impassioned suggests being full of emotion and intensity of feeling. Passionate actually goes overboard and implies the use of violence or a wasteful display of emotion. So a passionate display or a passionate speech is actually something to be avoided. Try to keep that in mind.

INCOMPETENT- This word only means unsuitable for a particular position or purpose, yet it seems to be used these days as a sly way to call someone a moron. I’ve heard it on all the major news networks whether they were describing George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and any number of the members of their respective parties and administrations. Veiled insults are still insults. Use the word properly or don’t use it at all.




Page Count: 628.5/1600 (39.28%)
Countdown to the Letter J: 33.5 pages

READING UPDATE: The Dictionary- Part 15- G – Haired

The new year did not bring as much renewed commitment to reading as I hoped for. I did get through the entire letter G and the first two pages of H during January but I need to step up my game if I want to finish the dictionary this year. At times this month I have caught myself pondering other books that I could be reading. Somehow I will find the determination to get through this and it better be worth it in the long run.

I don’t see how it will take me this long to read any other book in my house. The dictionary is just so different from anything else. Even an encyclopedia would be an easier read because there is flow and purpose to each entry. The dictionary just is. Reference books are not meant to be read this way but I will finish.

Here are the notable words from G and one from H:

GADGET and GALE- Here are two more seemingly common words without a verified origin. I’m beginning to tire with this trend of everyday words that cannot be traced. Either they entered the English language on their own because they were made up or they come from somewhere. If they cannot be traced to another language root, then why can’t Websters just state that the word was made up?

GAMER- My how this definition has changed in the last decade! It used to mean an athlete who relishes in competition but now we know gamers as adolescents and young adults with questionable priorities on how they spend their time. Oh sure, modern gamers enjoy competition, but they certainly aren’t assumed to be anything close to athletic.

GAS MASK- This term is traced back 100 years to 1915. That is when poison gas was used as a weapon in World War I. It’s amazing and sad how many words entered the English language due to their relationship with war.

GAZELLE- Even a year into reading the dictionary, I still enjoy finding a unique word origin. This word comes from Arabic.

GEE- Originally it was a substitute expression for Jesus. It sure seems tame and harmless now but I wonder if all the goodie-goodies of the world realize what this phrase means. It’s enough to make me pause before saying it again.

GEEK- There are two completely opposite definitions for this word. One is the obvious- a super smart person that is subject to ridicule. The other is an ultra-meathead carnival performer who does wild things like biting the heads off small creatures. I’m pretty sure all my peers in middle and high school meant the first definition when they tormented me. I certainly never bit off anything’s head.

GENEVA CONVENTION- I like history but even I was ignorant to how far back this term goes. Most know about the Geneva Convention held after World War 2. Until now, I did not know that there had been three previous Geneva Conventions, the first of which occurred before the American Civil War. They all relate to humanitarian treatment in war and each successive convention updated and built off of the previous one.

GERMAN WORDS- Not a term itself, but I was surprised on a stretch of pages just how many German words had entered the English language directly without being translated. Words like gemeinschaft, gemütlich, gestalt, and gesundheit all entered English because they are used as concepts or principles.

GERRYMANDER- Did you know this term for manipulation the boundaries of electoral districts for political gain is named for a man who was not only a member of the House of Representative, but also the governor of Massachusetts and served as Vice President of the United States? Elbridge Gerry is the man to thank for this term every time new electoral districts are disliked by one political party or another. While he was from Massachusetts, I could not determine whether Gerry can be classified as liberal or conservative. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican party, which were generally opposed to federalism (big government) but would probably have sounded more like the Libertarian Party now than the Democrats or Republicans.

GEYSER- This is the first word I can remember seeing of Icelandic origin. It is also an actual place! It was the first natural hot springs phenomenon of its kind to be described in print, so the general term for the phenomenon was named for it.

GIGAWATT- The first documented usage of this word dates back to 1962. That’s seven years after Doc Brown has a cow about the 1.21 gigawatts needed to travel through time. I’m willing to Back to the Future some slack. As a man of science, Doc Brown would have known what a gigawatt was even if the term wasn’t commonplace yet in scientific circles.

GILL- The word meaning the slits through which fish breathe is from Scandinavian origin. Yeah, it’s still not old to find origins beyond Greek and Latin.

GOUDA- This cheese is named after a city in the Netherlands. So, gouda cheese can say “I’m Dutch! Isn’t that weird?”

GRANNY SMITH- This now omnipresent apple is named after its creator- Maria Ann Smith. She created the species of apple in Australia. I never knew any of that but I assumed it was named for someone.

GREASER- Coming across this word reminded me of The Outsiders. I read that back in high school and loved it.

GREAT VOWEL SHIFT- I had never heard of this before and I had to look it up to fully understand it. There is no agreed upon cause for the normalizing of certain vowel sounds over the 350 years this phenomenon occurred but we’re stuck with it now. This also explains why there are some strange and varied pronunciations for vowels and vowel groupings that are spelled the same way. Look it up for yourself, it’s a real trip.

GREAT YEAR- I looked up a detailed explanation of what this is and I’m still confused.

GRIFT- This word celebrates its centennial this year. I recall both a book and movie called The Grifters, which is to my knowledge the only reason I now the term, but I have not read nor seen either.

GRINCH- This word is in the dictionary and the English language because of Dr. Seuss. It didn’t exist before his book, evidently. As a fan of the classic animated short film, I think this is awesome.

GROUNDOUT- As old as baseball is, I was shocked to learn that this common term is only 50 years old.

GUILLOTINE- This symbol of the French Revolution (also a part of one of my favorite books of all time- A Tale of Two Cities) is named for a French physician who advocated for a quicker, efficient, and painless way to perform executions. He did not, however, invent the device. Antoine Louis, a French surgeon, and Tobias Schmidt, a German engineer, designed the first prototype.

GUNK- This word used to be trademarked for a cleaning solvent. I’m not sure if it is still a trademark because the word has become such a common term.

GYMNASIUM- The Greek origins of this word mean ‘to exercise naked.’ Bet you’ll never think of gym class the same way again!

HACK- I cannot stand the modern usage of this word. People are writing internet posts offering ‘life hacks’ or ‘cooking hacks’ and so on. These things are not hacks. They are tips and shortcuts to bypass an otherwise lengthy or routine process. Calling these things hacks is just a stupid way to try and sound hip. These people don’t even realize that the word ‘hack’ also means to do something in a crude and unskillful way. I consider anyone who writes these ‘hack’ articles to be hack writers.


Page Count: 560/1600 (35.00%)
Countdown to the Letter I: 50 pages

READING UPDATE: The Dictionary- Part 14- Essoin – Fylfot

November did not turn into the reading bonanza I hoped for and December was even worse. It did not take long to finish off the letter E but progress on the letter F was hampered by the Christmas shopping season. The letter F was largely a neutral affair. There were no sections that ran on forever but there also weren’t that many exciting words to be founds, despite what you’ll read below. Most of my notables are simply quirky for one reason or another.

I did not accomplish my goal of finishing G by the end of 2014. In fact, I didn’t even finish F until January 1. In order to finish the dictionary this year, I now have to read three pages a day. This means I will have to read more than three pages a day at times to make up for reading drop-offs around holidays and other events that occupy my attention.

Here are the words I found interesting this month:

ESTIVATE- It’s the opposite of hibernate. I never knew there was such a thing. Did you?

ETHNIC- The original definition means ‘heathen.’ That is certainly not the meaning of it now. Still, it is still used as a means of distinguishing a difference between things. I wouldn’t recommend trying to bring back the original definition though. You just might find Al Sharpton knocking on your door.

EUPHUISM- Look at that word again. It is not ‘euphemism.’ This word comes from the writings of a man named John Lyly from the 16th Century. Originally it was a literary style focusing on a balance of several elements. Apparently it heavily favored pumping lots of similes, metaphors, and mythological references into a written work. It’s similar to what we call ‘purple prose’ today- overly fancy writing that serves the writer’s ego more than it enhances the composition itself. It may sound impressive to read but it’s also easy to spot because it also sounds very artificial and elitist. I’ve encountered a number of people who write well but don’t realize they fall victim to euphuism. At the time, I just thought they were trying to make themselves sound smart for knowing big words and mimicking the style of a gifted writer. Now I know the precise name for their egotistical behavior.

EX- WORDS- One thing I found interesting about words beginning with ex- is that many of them are not pronounced like the letter X as we might expect. Many ex- words should be pronounced ‘igs’ or ‘iks’ instead of ‘eks.’ It makes you wonder why the words start with an E instead of an I.

EXPRESSO- According to my almost 20-year-old dictionary, this is a legitimate spelling and pronunciation. Sorry Weird Al, you’re “Word Crimes” song is wrong.

EXTRASENSORY PERCEPTION- Since I read it in 2014, I’m still going to note that it is 80 (though now 81) years old in terms of popular usage.

FABULOUS- This word has its origins in the word ‘fable.’ I never considered that that could be the origin but it actually makes sense it doesn’t just mean something great. It also means something so outlandish that it ought to be questioned.

FACSIMILE- It comes literally verbatim from Latin. Fac simile is the Latin phrase and it means to make similar. Pretty cut and dry right there.

FAHRENHEIT- The system for measuring temperature is named for Gabriel D. Fahrenheit. While Celsius is more widely used around the world, the Fahrenheit scale is older.

FAJITA- This word only hit the big time in 1971. That baffles me to no end. Those poor souls living before its advent never knew what they were missing.

FALASHA- This is the name of several communities of Ethiopian Judaism. I think I have heard of them before but I cannot be sure. As someone who is interested in religion and the movement of peoples across the globe, I will be sure to look them up for more details.

FALLOPIAN TUBE- Sorry ladies, these passageways that form a vital part of procreation are named after a man. Gabriel Fallopius was an Italian anatomist. These tubes were not named after him until almost 150 years after his death. So women can at least take heart in knowing that he didn’t get to ride any glory for naming part of their bodies after himself.

FASCISM- When I was in college I recall hearing a number of liberal students spouting their mouths off about how fascism was actually a right-wing philosophy, so if Democrats promote socialism and communism, then Republicans promote fascism. While I can see how fascism arises out of hyper-nationalism, which certainly tends to be a right-of-center ideology, fascism is completely incompatible with the American right wing because of fascism’s de-emphasis of the individual. While I am not a political scientist, nor have I studied fascism at length, I see fascism as largely a left-wing ideology. Sure, its basis is in love of country but fascism employs all the statist and authoritarian BS of the far left. There is a big difference between nationalism (saying my country is great) and fascism (saying my country is so great that I will lay down my rights and liberties for it because the ruling elites no better than I do).

FATHOM- What a potentially inaccurate measurement! Coming from the Old English term for outstretched arms, thankfully a fathom later became standardized at six feet. Given how much the length of outstretched arms vary from person to person, it’s a wonder this unit of measure ever lasted.

FEDORA- The name of this popular hat comes from the title of a play from the late 1800s. The titular character wore a hat styled like the fedora hat we know now and it became a fashion sensation.

FETTUCCINE ALFREDO- While the first part of this term comes from the type of noodle, the last part comes from the name of the restaurant in Rome that created the popular dish. I wonder if the restaurant Alfredo all’ Augusteo still exists. Any world travelers out there know?

FEZ- This amusingly small hat is named after a city in Morocco. Fez, or Fes, is the third largest city in Morocco. Big city, tiny hat.

FIGHTING WORD- How many Westerns have featured a character saying “them thar’s fighting words” to another person? Yeah, well those Westerns are all dead wrong. MW traces this term only as far back as 1917. The West wasn’t quite as wild then.

FIREWALL- My 1996 dictionary does not have a computer-related definition for this word yet. I’m sure the 11th edition included such a definition. This is probably one of the few instances I’ve come across so far of a word have a new meaning or usage since this dictionary was published.

FLABBY- Here also is a word with another meaning nowadays. Instead of just ‘soft’ as my dictionary suggests, I believe the term now also carries a connotation of pudgy or overweight. Or maybe I’m just wrong. At this point I think either option is equally probable.

FLAME- I find it interesting that as early as 1996, this word was used as a verb meaning sending or posting hostile message board posts. The internet was still pretty young in terms of commercial use still, so the age of this definition surprises me.

FLASH IN THE PAN- I never thought about the meaning of this term but it makes perfect sense when put in context. It refers to attempting to fire a flintlock firearm but only the external pan powder ignites, rather than the ignition entering the chamber and firing the weapon. I wonder if many anti-gun people know the meaning of this term. Would their use of it be a slight hypocrisy?

FLEA MARKET- This word comes to us from an actual market in Paris. It entered the popular lexicon in 1922. Such swap meet activity existed long before, but MW credits the French market for the origin of the term.

FLESH WOUND- I got a good laugh out of seeing this term in the dictionary. If you don’t know why, then you are missing out.

FL- WORDS- I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of fl- words having Scandinavian origin. It’s still refreshing, even now to see words that don’t simply come from Latin or Greek.

FLOWMETER- This is a device that is used and referenced constantly by the technicians where I work. Alas, as the accounting department, I never make field trips to see them in action. Now I know that it is spelled as one word and not two. Nitpicky but useful.

FORTÉ-In my dictionary there is an amusing usage note regarding the acceptance of this word when used to mean someone’s specialty or strong point. Basically they say the use of the word in that way has always been questionable and you should use it at your own risk because somebody somewhere will think you’re a moron for using it as such.

4-H- The group’s goal is to improve the head, heart, hands, and health of each member. Did you know what each of the four H’s were before you just read that?

FOURTH WORLD- I didn’t even realize this category existed to describe the economic well-being of a nation. To my knowledge, this term isn’t used anymore. Any sociology, history, or political science buffs know for sure?

FRASER FIR- I included Douglas fir so I felt it only right to include this one as well. Once again, it an American tree named for someone who is not an American.

FRUMPY- For some reason I always thought this word meant homely and chubby. According to MW, I’m right on the former but I don’t know how I came to hold the notion of the latter. Maybe that aspect of frumpy developed since my dictionary was published.

FUNCTIONALISM- Again, I read this word last year, so happy belated centennial to an interesting sounding philosophy.

FUTILITARIAN- This philosophy just sounds silly. If you think that all human endeavors are in vain, then why bother living? I’ll have to look into this one to see if it is more along the lines of human society trying to move forward or if all individual effort is pointless. It’s a very atheistic and anarchistic sounding theory. I mean, if all human action is pointless, isn’t trying to convince people of this concept doubly so? Methinks this either has a sarcastic humorist origin or somebody didn’t think it through all the way.

Page Count: 512.5/1600 (32.03%)
Countdown to the Letter G: 0 pages

READING UPDATE: The Dictionary- Part 13- Dry Suit – Essential Oil

Some homeowners association issues kept me on the busy side in the past month, so I really fell off pace with my reading. To further compound the problem, the letter E turned out to be much like the letters A and C. There are a plethora of scientific words that are not interesting and not nearly enough cool words to make up for that fact. Maybe the dictionary will have an every-other trend in enjoyability like the old Start Trek movies.

Go figure that the last five letters of D would have eight interesting words. Then the 70% of the letter E that I’ve read so far only produced another eight interesting words. That’s where I am at right now. It’s a little disappointing but the end is in sight for E. Hopefully this means that F will be another fun letter to wander through. I’m hoping G breaks the trend and is a good one too because my name starts with G and it’s a pretty short section of the dictionary.

Noteworthy words:

DUCKS AND DRAKES- I’m clueless as to how the act of skipping stones on a body of water got to be called this term. Is that how people used to try to kill ducks? Is it because it maybe sort of almost looks like a duck splashing the water as it takes off in flight? I just don’t know.

DUCK SOUP- Again with a duck phrase that makes no sense. How is does duck soup become a catch-all phrase for something that is easy? A piece of cake doesn’t make much more sense if you think about it but at least it sounds more palatable.

DUDE- This common multi-purpose word is another one of those confounding terms of unknown origin. Maybe English-speaking people just started getting tired of the same old boring words rooted in Latin and Greek. That’s my new working theory.

DUMPSTER- It used to be a trademarked term (owned by Dempster Brothers, Inc.). I was unable to find out when the trademark was lost, however.

DUNCE- So a guy named John Duns Scotus was an influential philosopher and theologian. His writings had a profound impact on a lot of theological issues in the 14th and 15th centuries. Then his adherents didn’t go along with the English Reformation and the pro-monarchy interpretation that became the King James Bible, so the word Duns became a slur against anyone unwilling to learn new things. Duns turns into dunce and there you have it. A smart guy’s name came to be associated with idiocy. Ouch.

DUNK- Not only is this term only 95 years old, but it’s also Pennsylvania German in origin. Nice little plug for the home region!

DUTCH- A date where each party pays their own way has been going by this term for 100 years. Why it started getting called that is anyone’s guess.

DWEEB- My dictionary dated this term to 1983, which I thought was too recent. As it turns out, MW online can now trace it back to 1964. Happy golden anniversary you dweeb!

EBOLA- The virus that has been all over the news for months now was named after a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It comes from the French and Belgian butchering of the local tribes’ name for it- the Legbala.

ECCENTRIC- I’ve been mispronouncing it wrong for quite some time. I always thought that it could be pronounced ik-centric or ee-centric, with me preferring the latter. As it turns out, the only pronunciation listed by MW is ik-centric.

ELBOW GREASE- This term for hard work is much older than I thought. MW traces is all the way back to 1672. You know, back when all they had was elbow grease.

EMERGENCY ROOM- Now for a term that is much younger than I thought. MW only pegs it as 50 years old this year. I wonder which hospital used the term first.

EMMY- The name of the famous American television award itself actually has meaning (unlike Oscar for the movies). It’s an alteration of the word ‘immy’ which was the craft nickname for an image orthicon, which was a camera tube used is television. Given all the silly awards shows and award names out there, it’s nice to know that at least one of them has meaning.

EQUESTRIAN- I’ve known since my advanced biology class in high school that equus means ‘horse’ but I never put two and two together. I always thought it was a weird name for an Olympic sport but it actually makes sense. Then again, Latin is a largely dead language, so who can blame you for not figuring that one out?

EQUIVOCAL / EQUIVOCATE- I definitely thought this term was similar to ‘equivalent’ until now. They actually have very negative connotations. It means making a comparison that is unfounded but designed to confuse an unsuspecting person. It can also mean to deceive or uncertain. This is one I will definitely keep an eye out for in the future because it wouldn’t surprise me if some authors out there use it incorrectly.

ERUCT- It sounds like ‘erupt,’ which makes it all the more amusing. It’s a fancy way of saying belch or burp.

Page Count: 434/1600 (27.13%)
Countdown to the Letter F: 18 pages

READING UPDATE: The Dictionary- Part 12- Diatribe – Drystone

I’m glad I did not set a firm goal of finishing the letter D by the end of September but boy did I come close anyway! The letter D was very kind to me for whatever reason. Maybe breaking down the dictionary into monthly goals had an impact. I still think that there were just more interesting words beginning with the letter D.

Once I hit words beginning 'down-' and 'dr-' though, I started to struggle. Hopefully the last few pages of D kick it back up a notch. Next up is the letter E, which is actually shorter than I expected it to be. E is the most commonly used letter in the English language but it appears that it is not a terribly popular letter to start a word with. I am hopeful that E will be as interesting as D but maybe I’m destined to find that only every other letter is neat.

Noteworthy words:

DIESEL- It only makes sense that the name of a kind of fuel is named after a person. Except that Rudolf Diesel didn’t invent what we call diesel fuel. Rather, he invented the diesel engine. Diesel fuel is just any kind of fuel used in a diesel engine. While Diesel’s creation is widely used now in a number of ways, he committed suicide over his personal finances in 1913. If only he could have known.

DIMPLE- The Old High German word this term traces its roots too means ‘whirlpool.’ How would you like it if someone said you have really cute whirlpools on your face? Maybe to Dark Age Germanic folk, that’s just what they kind of looked like.

DISCO- While I do admit to enjoying the genre of music, the oldest form of this word is merely a shortening of the French word ‘discotheque,’ a nightclub with music and dancing. This abbreviation is now 50 years old, with the full word celebrating 60 years of popular use. Maybe disco hasn’t died after all!

DISCRIMINATE- This is one of only a few words that I have come across that have contradictory definitions. We use the term mostly now in a very negative sense- to treat something or someone different based on a superficial trait. It also has a positive and neutral definition. It can also mean to use good judgment or to simply observe a unique or identifying trait.

DISMAL- This word comes from the Latin phrase ‘dies mali,’ which means ‘evil days.’ If we’re to use words in proper context, I don’t know that there are too many times when this word is actually appropriate.

DISTELFINK- It’s the word for the hex signs used in Pennsylvania Dutch folk art that feature birds. They are styled after a goldfinch (the literal translation is ‘thistle finch’). Being from Central Pennsylvania, I happen to think words referring to the local stuff are pretty neat.

DOILY- We all know what these dainty things look like. What is interesting is that they get their name from an 18th century draper in London. I haven’t been able to find out if the owner’s name was doily or if that was just the name of the business.

DOMINO EFFECT/THEORY- I am surprised that this term only dates back to the mid-1960s. I mean, we really only came up with this term when the spread of communism had everybody on high alert? Maybe some foreign policy weenie was watching his kid play with dominos and came up with the term. I just can’t believe the term doesn’t go back as far as people have been knocking dominos over.

DONKEY- It never fails! It seems like between each of my posts I find a common word with no known origin. Is English just that weird a language or are these MW folks really trying their hardest to trace certain words?

DOUGLAS FIR- And now I know who this tree was named after. Good for David Douglas, a Scottish botanist, but isn’t it a little odd to name a tree originally found only in the western part of North America after a Scotsman? Just saying.

DOW-JONES AVERAGE- And now I know who this was named after as well. Charles H. Dow and Edward D. Jones were financial statisticians. I bet they were real babe magnets back in the late 1800s, though I am kind of impressed that such a thing as a financial statistician existed back then. Double geek bonus- Charles H. Dow also co-founded The Wall Street Journal.

DRAIZE TEST- I’m pretty far from an animal rights wacko, but something about this test seems cruel to me. Maybe it’s because I had a pet rabbit once. Pouring a test substance on the eye of a bunny to see if it produces any negative side effects sounds like an antiquated product testing procedure but apparently the FDA says there is still no suitable alternative to replacing the Draize test.

DROIT DU SEIGNEUR- Medieval Europe was a pretty screwed up place for this term to even have been thought up. It’s the right of a nobleman to take the virginity of his serf’s daughters on their wedding night. Apparently it appears more in the literary world than it may have actually occurred in reality. But still- ick!

Page Count: 394/1600 (24.63%)
Countdown to the Letter E: 5 pages

READING UPDATE: The Dictionary, Part 11: Crudités – Diatonic

What a turnaround! Just like what happened with the letter B, the letter D has been a completely different reading experience. I have a few theories about why:

First, it’s a much shorter section, so visually it looks as if my pace has increased. Second, my pace has actually increased- for some reason D-words just flow quicker. Third, there are more interesting words. De-words were interesting because of the negating prefix. Let’s just say those kinds of words have a way of commanding one’s attention.

Given that the next few letters are all under 75 pages, I am counting on making some serious progress. I’ve been averaging at least two pages a day. I don’t know if I can expect to finish D by the end of September but it should definitely be done by early October. My long range goal for the end of 2014 is to finish the letter G. I think that is a very attainable goal and will put me into the middle third of the dictionary. That still leaves an awful lot if I am to finish this darn book by the end of 2015 but I haven’t officially set that goal for myself yet.

Interesting words:

CRWTH- Leave it to the Welsh to come up with words that use no vowels whatsoever. I am totally filing this one away for later use in Scrabble. It may only be worth 13 points on its own, but boy could this one come in handy!

CUDDLE- Origin unknown. How does this keep happening? If it were weird words that nobody uses I could understand but these common words with no known origin are starting to irritate me. Maybe English is 10% made up.

CULTURE/CULTURED- Words like this are so relative. Just because you know or appreciate something doesn’t make you any better than anyone else. I enjoy intellectual pursuits but I also understand that being a brainiac only gets you so far if you lack any practical skills. Elitists and snobs like words like this to put other hardworking people down. There are uneducated people and there are willfully ignorant people. Let’s stop assuming they are one and the same.

CURBSTONE- “Not having the benefit of training or experience.” That’s the definition and it fits me so well in regards to my movie review and book review pages. The cynic in me wants to go all Dead Poets Society and ask why someone who self-teaches through their own independent research shouldn’t be taken as seriously as some ivory tower snob from the movie or book critics institution. But let’s be honest, I know a lot about movies but I’m just doing this for fun.

CURMUDGEON- Another word of unknown origin. This one surprised me. I would have though it comes from some kind Old English, Germanic, or Scandinavian word. But no, it just showed up one day. Go figure.

CUSHY- As in “I’ve got a cushy job.” The word has its roots in a Hindi term. That’s pretty fantastic to me. Words from Latin, Greek, and Germanic origins are to be expected, so I am always happy to see the occasional word that comes from so distant origin point.

CUT-AND-PASTE- We use this term almost exclusively in terms of computers now but it goes all the way back to 1953. You know, when they actually had to cut and paste things. Teenagers probably cannot comprehend this concept.

CUTE- I never knew that it was short for ‘acute.’ The definitions only barely connect anymore but I can see where it branched off. Somebody probably just felt like saving a syllable and it took off.

DAIQUIRI- The name for this tasty beverage comes from a beach in Cuba.

DARWINISM- This term is celebrating 150 years in popular use this year. Human beings have been working against it ever since. You’ll have to ask me why.

D DAY- While we use this term to refer to the storming of Normandy in World War II, the term was used by the military for any day on which a military operation would occur.

DEADLINE- The original definition for this word is fascinating. It was a line drawn around the perimeter of a prison and you got shot if you crossed it. Wow.

DEBT- The first definition is one word- sin. You can make the argument that this definition or debt is metaphorical in that Jesus paid our debt of sin. Or you can take it a step further with the understanding that the Bible also says that being in debt makes you a slave, so debt itself is sinful. Both ways of looking at it are powerful.

DECIMATE- We know this to mean an instance of mass destruction but its original definition was the indiscriminate killing of every tenth person. That’s pretty chilling. I wonder which conquering nation(s) used that tactic.

DELVE- Now that I know what it truly means, I think that a number of people misuse this word. If you are giving something thorough care and research, you are indeed delving. Anything less than that is basically just dabbling in your subject matter of choice.

DENIM- This common fabric’s name is actually the Anglicized abbreviation of serge de Nîmes, or fabric of Nîmes. This city in France was known for its textile industry and created the fabric we now take for granted.

DERVISH- As in a whirling dervish. That term probably isn’t politically correct anymore because a dervish is a member or a Muslim religious sect that has devotional exercises, whereby they seem to flail themselves into a trance. I’m sure the PC police will catch up with this one in time.

DESEGREGATE- This word is now 70 years old per MW’s researchers.

DESKTOP PUBLISHING- This word is actually older than I thought it was. In fact, it is as old as I am- 30.

DEUTERANOPIA- It’s the technical term for red-green color blindness. I’ve known a couple of people who have this condition but I only now know the official medical terminology for it.

DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE- I find it hard to believe that this delicious dessert is only just over 100 years old. MW tracks the term back to 1905. Perhaps the food item itself is older and simply went by a different name before that.

DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION- I am curious how many libraries still use this to sort their books. I know that my college library did not but my county library system of choice seems to still use it. Either way, the term is now 90 years old.

DEW POINT- For so many years I never understood the nightly news meteorologist’s awkward explanations of what a dew point is. Now I get it. It’s just the temperature at which the humidity in the air condenses on the grass under the given atmospheric pressure conditions. It’s confusing because it fluctuates so often but now I understand that it operates as a function of temperature and pressure just like snow.

DIABETES- This word always makes me think of those Wilford Brimley commercials for Liberty Medical in which he seems to have no control over the volume of his voice. Interestingly though, the term’s Greek roots speak to the position of the legs while walking. There are two types of diabetes. Look them up to find out the differences between them.

Page Count: 358/1600 (22.38%)
Countdown to the Letter E: 41 pages

READING UPDATE: The Dictionary, Part 10: Consecration – Crude

The bad news: I’m still on the letter C. The good news: I’m almost done! Since my last post I set a goal to finish the letter C by the end of August. Achieving that goal looks very possible now, which gives me a lot of hope. I was ridiculously overconfident at the start of this journey and the letter C has more than punished me for that.

After a frustrating stretch of reading two weeks ago, I decided to go through the dictionary and see how long each letter section is. As it turns out, the letter C is the second longest letter section in my MW dictionary. As I expected, S is the longest but I was surprised to find out that P is the third longest letter section. Fortunately for me, the next several letters are somewhat brief.

The letter D and the letter M are 70+ pages but everything in between are all under 65 pages. That means I will get through letter sections faster regardless of my reading pace. It will still take me forever to finish the dictionary but seeing new letters will give me that mental boost I’ve been looking for.

Interesting words:

CONSTRUCTION PAPER- MW traces the word back to 1924, making it 90 years old. I’m not sure if I should think that makes it older or younger than expected. That stuff was such a childhood staple!

CONSUME/CONSUMPTION- The first definition for both words involves destruction. Consume is doing away with something and consumption is a wasting away of the body. Anymore, we would think of either as using something. Technically, using up materials is the same thing as destroying them I suppose. It’s just a darker way of looking at it.

CONTE- I love this word and hope to keep it as part of my personal lexicon. It comes from French and means a short tale of adventure. It’s probably not specific enough to be used as a particular genre of writing. We have short stories and novellas, which probably cover most of what a conte is. Still, I like the term and will keep it in use.

CONTINUING EDUCATION- I worked for the office of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education in college. I could tell you some interesting stories but the real reason I highlight this word is that it’s only been documented for 60 years. Yes, 1954 is the furthest back this term can be tracked to. Maybe it had something to do with the GI Bill after World War II and the Korean War?

CONTRADICTIOUS- It means the same thing as its fellow adjective ‘contradictory.’ My guess is that someone couldn’t find the right word and just made one up. Perhaps enough people used it that it found its way on paper before people realized it was a goof? Still, at 410 years old and no usage notes cautioning against it, maybe it’s still fair game.

CONTRAIL- File this one under the ‘duh, I probably should have guessed that’ category of words. It’s a kind of compound word, combining the term condensation trail. I never thought about or really wondered why they were called contrails but now I know the glaringly obvious answer.

CONTRASTY- It’s a photography term that means a lot of contrast between highlights and shadows. It sounds like the kind of current made-up term people sometimes use when they don’t know the technical term but this word goes back to 1891.

CONUNDRUM- The nerd in me is amused by the fact that this word has an unknown origin. This word lives up to its name, as its origins are a conundrum in their own right! It’s also a very, very old word- MW traces it to 1645.

COOTIE- Ick. This puts a different play on the way kids tease each other with cooties. Body lice anyone? No wonder nobody wants them.

COPACETIC- Anybody remember the band Local H? They’re still around but back in the 90s they had a song called “Bound for the Floor” that a lot of people remember as the ‘copacetic song’ because of the chorus, which said “you just don’t get it, keep it copacetic.” As an added bonus, this word is 95 years old.

COT- Here’s another common word with an interesting origin. The word comes from a Hindi word, which has its own origin from Sanskrit. That’s a long and interesting journey for something as simple as a foldable and usually uncomfortable bed!

COUNTERCOUNTERMEASURE- I understand what this word means but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. There were a lot of words that were simply listed but not defined that begin with ‘counter-‘ but this is one that MW actually gave a definition to? Seeing as they define ‘countermeasure,’ I think we could have figured this one out on our own. Just saying.

COUPLE- If any of you have one of those annoying friends who insist on correcting your use of this word when referring to more than two of anything, I have good news. You can tell that obnoxious nitpicker to stuff it because MW provides the following definition (albeit the fourth entry for the noun usage): an indefinite small number. So there! You’re not wrong.

COWER- It comes from Scandinavian origin. I didn’t see that one coming.

COYOTE- The first pronunciation of this word given by MW, which indicates the most prominent pronunciation, does not include the hard E sound on the end. I have always heard the word pronounced with the E sound at the end, with the silent E being considered an informal or even slang way to refer to the animal. Consider my world turned upside-down! I am now officially torn on how to pronounce this word going forward.

CO- WORDS IN GENERAL- There are 50 pages of words beginning with ‘co-’ in my dictionary. Needless to say, getting through those words alone felt like an accomplishment.

CREDIT CARD- I’m not sure what form a credit card took in 1888, but that’s how far back MW can trace the usage of the word. The credit explosion occurred sometime after World War II when consumer credit expanded t all sorts of people. I wonder what criteria need to be met to score a 19th century credit card.

CREMAINS- I get it. It’s the remains of a cremated person. Doesn’t this word just sound tacky though? Maybe someone in 1947 thought it was clever but it just sounds like a lame phrase.

CRETIN/CRETINISM- The insult form of this word is, frankly, in bad taste now that I know the original definition. It’s a double-whammy of physical and mental abnormalities. To take this debilitating condition and twist into a common insult is just uncalled for. Thankfully, it’s not widely used anymore. One could argue that it should be right up there with the r-word.

CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY- It goes back to 1945, according to MW. I think it’s obvious what led to the coining of this term. It fits for sure but I guess I thought it might have been older.

CRITICAL MASS- Ninety-five years later, has this term hit its name sake?

CRO-MAGNON- I remember learning about Cro-Magnon man in 7th grade history class with Mr. Opilo. I don’t remember learning that they were named after a cave in France. At least the French are good for something, right?

CROP DUSTER- Airplanes have only been around for a little over 100 years now, so it shouldn’t take anyone by surprise that the use of an airplane as a crop duster came somewhat later on. Interestingly enough, the word is 75 years old, making it the same age as some Hollywood classics like The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind.

CROSSWORD- I used to love these puzzles when I was a kid and I could probably get back into them depending on the subject matter of the puzzle. I always preferred the general kind of pop culture puzzles that hit all kinds of subjects. That way you could learn a little once you piece together the hard ones that you couldn’t quite figure out from the clues alone. Anyway, MW traces this word back to 1914. This kind of puzzle maybe older than that but, hey, happy centennial to the word!


Page Count: 316.5/1600 (19.78%)
Countdown to the Letter D: 11.5 pages

READING UPDATE: The Dictionary, Part 9: Closeout – Consecrate

With both hockey and the World Cup are over, a new distraction has taken hold and hampered my reading: watching season 2 of 24 on DVD. Despite this, I knocked out a number of pages and came across a number of interesting words in the last few weeks.

I am definitely getting tired of the letter C. Fortunately, I am not far from reaching a new letter, and I am getting close to hitting the 300-page mark. It may not seem like much but I keep telling myself that the last 200 pages of the dictionary are supplemental material and not definitions, which means I should be able to make up some lost time there. But I have 1,100 pages before I can get to that, so…

Interesting words worth noting:

CLOTHES- If you know anyone who ever corrected you for not pronouncing the ‘th’ in this word, you can tell them to back off. The primary pronunciation of ‘clothes’ is identical to ‘close.’ Pronouncing the ‘th’ is still a correct way to say it but it is a secondary pronunciation.

CLOUD- The folks at MW speculate that the Old English word that ‘cloud’ derives from may have come from the Greek word gloutos, which means buttocks. Not sure why those Anglo-Saxons thought those fluffy white things in the sky looked like butts but it stuck!

CLYDESDALE- I didn’t know that the horses were named after a region in Scotland where they were originated. These sorts of things make sense when you hear them but they still take you by surprise.

COACH- Here is another item named after a location. This used to refer to a specific kind of carriage that originated in Kocs, Hungary. Perhaps you knew about Clydesdale but did you know about coach?

COBALT- Oh, those Germans! The silvery-white element that can be found streaking through iron and nickel deposits were thought to be put there by goblins. The Middle High German word for goblin was ‘kobold,’ which became ‘kobalt’ in later German, and finally ‘cobalt.’

COLLIER- The definition means a coal miner, which isn’t all that interesting. What makes this word interesting is that a graduated from high school with someone whose last name was Collier.

COLUMN- I was fascinated to discover that the writing usage of the word (as in a column of text) is older than the architectural usage of the word.

COMPLEMENT vs. COMPLIMENT- Somewhere deep inside I’m pretty sure that my dual-status as a math nerd and a writing nerd knew that there were two different spellings. I must confess that I did a double take when I got to ‘complement’ because my brain wanted to auto-correct it to have an ‘I.’

COMPLICACY- It means the quality or state of being complicated. This word is going into my bag of tricks for later use because it is simple yet unique. Finding the right time to do so may be a complicacy.

COMPOUND- MW’s fourth entry for this word is the one that means a walled-in group of buildings or village. The other three forms of ‘compound’ come from Middle English. This one comes from a Malaysian word.

CONCENTRATION CAMP- This word is most commonly associated with the prison facilities constructed by the Nazis during World War II. MW traces the usage of the word back to 1901. I wonder which war or conflict was the one that saw this term rise to prominence. A cursory search provided me with no insight.

CONDOM- The word is older than I thought, going back to 1706. Amusingly, its origin is also completely unknown. Like many common words of unknown origin, I am baffled as to how these words come out of nowhere.

CONESTOGA WAGON- This particular type of covered wagon gets its name from Conestoga, Pennsylvania. As a native of Central Pennsylvania, I think it’s cool that this common term comes from my home region. The town I grew up in, Mechanicsburg, got its name because the town was one of the last stopping points for westward travelers. A large number of mechanics settled there to provide repair services to wagons heading out into the frontier.

CONFLICTED- This term is much younger than I expected. My dictionary can only trace its getting tossed around back to 1967. MW online, however can date it back to 1914, making it 100. Just another instance of why dictionaries lose their value over time. Mine is only 18 years old, but my what those MW folk can learn in two decades!

CONNIPTION- It may not be as commonly used by the general population but I like to toss this one around every so often. As normal as it is for me, it’s yet another word with an unknown origin. MW can trace a year but why don’t they just list its origin as the country or language that the earliest-found appearance comes from? So what if it doesn’t have traceable root words. That doesn’t mean you can’t pin it to a place or language.

Page Count: 283/1600 (16.79%)
Countdown to the Letter D: 45 pages

READING UPDATE: The Dictionary, Part 8: Chelicera – Close Order

I can only blame hockey (and now the World Cup) so much for my lack of progress since last post. This has to be the slowest stretch yet. I am disappointed but I soldier on when I find the time and will. At this point, I need to be firm with myself set some firm goals or the first book on my quest may drag out said quest forever. It’s already been half a year and I am far behind where I thought I could be.

The letter B was great. There were a plethora of interesting words and I felt like I was getting somewhere. The letter C is similar to the letter A. Not as many interesting words and it is a very long section, so I’ve grown tired of seeing C-words. I should have some time for large blocks of uninterrupted reading soon, so we’ll see where that takes me.

Interesting words worth noting:

CHESTNUT- The definition refers to a blight that eliminated most of a certain species of chestnut trees in America. Considering I grew up down the road from a large chestnut tree, I had no idea that the native American species was so rare. Maybe all the chestnut trees I see are descendants of foreign seeds.

CHILL OUT- My dictionary dates this phrase to 1983. MW online now dates it to 1980, but I had no idea this common phrase was so young!

CHRISTMAS CARD- Now for the opposite of the last word- MW dates this term to 1883! Hard to believe people have been sending each other pretty pieces of soon-to-be trash since Rutherford B. Hayes was president! Yowzer.

CHRONOLOGICAL- Happy quadricentennial chronological! This word goes back almost to when Columbus ‘discovered’ the New World. Maybe they just never bothered to arrange things by date before then?

CIAO- I laughed good and hard at this one. Before hipsters were called hipsters there were wannabe hip types who would use this term (knew a few peers and professors in college who used it). Bet they don’t know that it originates as a way of declaring that you are someone’s slave. And it only dates back to 1929. Hmm, what were those Italians up to?

CINEMA- Its original definition as a motion picture goes back 105 years. It makes sense if you figure that motion pictures are a 20th Century product. Still, it feels both old and not old enough for some reason.

CIRCUMLOCUTION- It’s a big word that means you use too many words when describing or explaining something. So, you can use it to show off, as long as you don’t become a victim off. Oh how ironic that would be. If Congress tried to pass a bill banning this wordiness, would they be able to keep the bill brief? I doubt it.

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE- Here is another surprisingly old word. MW dates it back to 1866. Considering Gandhi and MLK are most famous for practicing it, I wouldn’t have pegged it for being so old.

CLAY PIGEON- I grew up shooting them and setting traps that throw them for people to shoot at. Very surprised to see how old it is. I wonder how their construction and formation has changed over the years.

CLINK- This slang term for jail is actually named after a real jail! Anglophiles may scoff at the majority of the world who never knew this before but fortunately Anglophiles don’t really count for much because of their anglophilia. It was a real jail for centuries in London.

Page Count: 254/1600 (15.88%)
Countdown to the Letter D: 74 pages