Saturday, March 31, 2012
Urbanization
Friday, March 30, 2012
poop deck
In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the aft (rear) part of the superstructure of a ship.
The name originates from the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis. Thus the poop deck is technically called a stern deck, which in sailing ships was usually elevated as the roof of the stern or "after" cabin, also known as the "poop cabin". In sailing ships, with the helmsman at the stern, an elevated position was ideal for both navigation and observation of the crew and sails.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
quadrature
Mathematicians of Ancient Greece, according to the Pythagorean doctrine, understood calculation of area as the process of constructing geometrically a square having the same area (squaring). That is why the process was named quadrature. For example, a Quadrature of the circle, Lune of Hippocrates, The Quadrature of the Parabola. This construction must be performed only by means of compass and straightedge.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
prow
The prow is the forward most part of a ship's bow that cuts through the water. The prow is the part of the bow above the waterline. The terms prow and bow are often used interchangeably to describe the most forward part of a ship and its surrounding parts. In old naval parlance, the prow applied to the battery of guns placed in the fore gun-deck.
"Prow" may also refer to a pointed, projecting front part of other travelling objects, such as a racing skates, airplanes, or chariots.
"Prow" is also a climbing term that refers to an overhanging arete shaped like the front of a boat.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Subsistence
Monday, March 26, 2012
skeg
Sunday, March 25, 2012
habitability
Saturday, March 24, 2012
tiller
A tiller or till is a lever attached to a rudder post (American terminology) or rudder stock (English terminology) of a boat that provides leverage for the helmsman to turn the rudder. The tiller is normally used by the helmsman directly pulling or pushing it, but it may also be moved remotely using tiller lines.
Friday, March 23, 2012
pilcrow
The pilcrow, also called the paragraph mark, paragraph sign, paraph, alinea (Latin: a linea, "off the line"), or blind P, is a typographical character commonly used to denote individual paragraphs.
The pilcrow can be used as an indent for separate paragraphs or to designate a new paragraph in one long piece of copy, as Eric Gill did in his 1930s book, An Essay on Typography. The pilcrow was used in the Middle Ages to mark a new train of thought, before the convention of physically discrete paragraphs was commonplace.
The pilcrow is usually drawn similar to a lowercase q reaching from descender to ascender height; the loop can be filled or unfilled. It may also be drawn with the bowl stretching further downwards, resembling a backwards D; this is more often seen in older printing.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Prolix
- Tediously lengthy.
- 1843, "Bossi—Necrologia G. C. Leonardo Sismondi.", vol. LXXII, issue CXLIV, p. 333,
- People who have blamed [Jean Charles Léonard de] Sismondi as unnecessarily prolix cannot have considered the crowd of details presented by the history of Italy.
- 1843, "Bossi—Necrologia G. C. Leonardo Sismondi.", vol. LXXII, issue CXLIV, p. 333,
- Tending to use large or obscure words, which few understand.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Herpetology
Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and gymnophionae) and reptiles (including snakes, lizards, amphisbaenids, turtles, terrapins, tortoises, crocodilians, and the tuataras). Batrachology is a further subdiscipline of herpetology concerned with the study of amphibians alone.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
bolide
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Synapsids
Synapsids ('fused arch') are a group of animals that includes mammals and everything more closely related to mammals than to other living amniotes. They are easily separated from other amniotes by having an opening low in the skull roof behind each eye, leaving a bony arch beneath each, accounting for their name. Primitive synapsids are usually called pelycosaurs; more advanced mammal-like ones, therapsids. The non-mammalian members are described as mammal-like reptiles in classical systematics, but are referred to as "stem-mammals" or "proto-mammals" under cladistic terminology. Synapsids evolved from basal amniotes and are one of the two major groups of the later amniotes, the other major group being the sauropsids (reptiles and birds). They are distinguished from other amniotes by having a single opening (temporal fenestra) in their skull behind each eye, which developed in the ancestral synapsid about 324 million years ago (mya) during the late Carboniferous Period.
Synapsids were the dominant terrestrial animals in the middle to late Permian period. As with almost all groups then extant, their numbers and variety were severely reduced by the Permian extinction. Some species survived into the Triassic period, but archosaurs quickly became the dominant animals and few of the non-mammalian synapsids outlasted the Triassic, although survivors persisted into the Cretaceous. However, as a phylogenetic unit they included the mammal descendants, and in this sense synapsids are still very much a living group of vertebrates. In the form of mammals, Synapsids (most recently and notably humans) again became the dominant land animals after they outcompeted birds following the K-T extinction event.
Friday, March 16, 2012
numnah
Thursday, March 15, 2012
homily
Contemporary clergy often use the term 'homily' to describe a short sermon, such as one created for a wedding or funeral. In colloquial usage, homily often means a sermon concerning a practical matter, a moralizing lecture or admonition, or an inspirational saying or platitude.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Kowtow
Kowtow is the act of deep respect shown by kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. An alternative Chinese term is ketou however, the meaning is somewhat altered: kòu originally meant "knock with reverence", whereas kē has the general meaning of "touch upon (a surface)".
In Han Chinese culture, the kowtow is the highest sign of reverence. It was widely used to show reverence for one's elders, superiors, and especially the Emperor, as well as for religious and cultural objects of worship. In modern times, usage of the kowtow has become much reduced.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Jackanapes
1450, from “Jack of Naples”, with “of Naples” rendered “a Napes” in vernacular. Originally rendered as Jac Napes, Jac Nape, and Jack Napis in 1450s. Presumably from *Jak a Napes, and original *Jak of Naples, presumably circa 1400. Monkeys were one of many exotic goods from Naples exhibited in Britain, hence acquired the nickname Jack a Napes.
In sense “upstart person”, applied to 15th century William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, one of first nouveau riche nobles (risen from merchant class). The family used a collar and chain on their coat of arms, which was an unfortunate choice, as this was more associated with monkey leashes, leading to the derisive nickname Jack Napis for de la Pole, yielding the insult.
Later mis-analyzed as Jack-an-apes (16th and 17th century), leading to folk etymology (taking “ape” from “monkey”). The same process and mis-analysis occurred for fustian of Naples, which became fustian a napes, fustian anapes, etc.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Apodization
Friday, March 9, 2012
APODYOPSIS
APODYOPSIS | |
the practice of envisioning a person in the buff, or naked. I just couldn't help indulging in a little apodyopsis after meeting the new office secretary; she had more curves than a warped two-by-four. |
Thursday, March 8, 2012
infix
An infix is an affix inserted inside a stem (an existing word). It contrasts with adfix, a rare term for an affix attached to the end of a stem, such as a prefix or suffix.
- The infix ‹iz› or ‹izn› is characteristic of hip-hop slang, for example hizouse for house and shiznit for shit. Infixes also occur in some language games.
- "Fucking" is sometimes used as an expletive infix, as in "un-fucking-believable". This can also be considered an instance of tmesis rather than an infix.
- The ‹ma› infix, whose location in the word is described in Yu (2004), gives a word an ironic pseudo-sophistication, as in sophistimacated, saxomaphone, and edumacation. This exists as a slang phenomenon popularised by Homer Simpson's use.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Waveform
Waveform means the shape and form of a signal such as a wave moving in a physical medium or an abstract representation.
In many cases the medium in which the wave is being propagated does not permit a direct visual image of the form. In these cases, the term 'waveform' refers to the shape of a graph of the varying quantity against time or distance. An instrument called an oscilloscope can be used to pictorially represent a wave as a repeating image on a screen. By extension, the term 'waveform' also describes the shape of the graph of any varying quantity against time.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Reductionism
Monday, March 5, 2012
Utilitarianism
Sunday, March 4, 2012
detritus
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Helheim
In Norse mythology, Helheim, the location, means "house of Hel." It was the abode of Hel, a female figure who ruled the Underworld in Norse Mythology. In late Icelandic sources, varying descriptions of Hel are given and various figures are described as being buried with items that will facilitate their journey to Hel after their death. In the Poetic Edda, Brynhildr's trip to Hel after her death is described and Odin, while alive, also visits Hel upon his horse Sleipnir. In the Prose Edda, Baldr goes to Hel upon death and subsequently Hermóðr uses Sleipnir to attempt to retrieve him. "Hel-shoes" are described in Gísla saga.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Rigdonite
Thursday, March 1, 2012
talk nineteen to the dozen
to speak rapidly and without stopping
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Nureongi (누렁이) and Hwangu (황구; 黃狗) are Korean terms meaning "Yellow Dog" used to refer to tannish mongrel or landrace of dog in...
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Engrams are a hypothetical means by which memory traces are stored as biophysical or biochemical changes in the brain (and other neural...