more Word's works

exosphere

2012-01-29T08:30:00.001-05:00

The exosphere is the uppermost layer of the atmosphere. In the exosphere, an upward travelling molecule moving fast enough to attain escape velocity can escape to space with a low chance of collisions; if it is moving below escape velocity it will be prevented from escaping from the celestial body by gravity. In either case, such a molecule is unlikely to collide with another molecule due to the exosphere's low density.

The altitude of its lower boundary, known as the thermopause and exobase, ranges from about 250 to 500 kilometres (160 to 310 mi) depending on solar activity

The upper boundary of the exosphere can be defined theoretically by the altitude about 190,000 kilometres (120,000 mi), half the distance to the Moon, at which the influence of solar radiation pressure on atomic hydrogen velocities exceeds that of the Earth’s gravitational pull

Affricates

2012-01-28T08:30:00.000-05:00

Affricates are consonants that begin as stops (most often an alveolar, such as [t] or [d]) but release as a fricative (such as [s] or [z] or occasionally into a fricative trill) rather than directly into the following vowel.

Finno-Ugric

2012-01-27T08:30:00.001-05:00

Finno-Ugric or Fenno-Ugric is a group of languages in the Uralic language family, comprising the Finno-Permic and Ugric language families.

Proto-Finno-Ugric is the reconstructed protolanguage for the Finno-Ugric languages, i.e., the ancestor of all Uralic languages except for the Samoyedic languages. Its reconstructed parent language is Proto-Uralic, which split into Proto-Finno-Ugric and Proto-Samoyedic. This classification is not without problems; Proto-Finno-Ugric may be interpreted as a geographical grouping instead of a genetic grouping because the differences are few. It has been suggested that the area where Proto-Finno-Ugric was spoken reached between the Baltic Sea and the Ural mountains.

Dreimorengesetz

2012-01-26T08:30:00.000-05:00

Dreimorengesetz is a German term which translates to "three-mora rule." This name is given to the rule for placing the accent in a Latin word. With few exceptions, Latin words are stressed on the penult (second-to-last syllable) if it is "heavy" (ending with a long vowel or consonant), and on the antepenult (third-to-last syllable) if the penult is "light" (ending with a short vowel.)

Narratology

2012-01-25T08:30:00.000-05:00

Narratology denotes both the theory and the study of narrative and narrative structure and the ways that these affect our perception. While in principle the word may refer to any systematic study of narrative, in practice its usage is rather more restricted. It is an anglicisation of French narratologie, coined by Tzvetan Todorov (Grammaire du Décaméron, 1969). Narratology is applied retrospectively as well to work predating its coinage. Its theoretical lineage is traceable to Aristotle (Poetics) but modern narratology is agreed to have begun with the Russian Formalists, particularly Vladimir Propp (Morphology of the Folktale, 1928).

epistolary

2012-01-24T08:30:00.000-05:00

An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use. The word epistolary comes from the Latin word epistola, meaning a letter.

The epistolary form can add greater realism to a story, because it mimics the workings of real life. It is thus able to demonstrate differing points of view without recourse to the device of an omniscient narrator.

tritagonist

2012-01-23T08:30:00.000-05:00

In literature, the tritagonist is the third most important character of a narrative, after the protagonist and deuteragonist. In Ancient Greek drama, the tritagonist was the third member of the acting troupe.

As a character, a tritagonist may act as the instigator or cause of the sufferings of the protagonist. Despite being the least sympathetic character of the drama, he occasions the situations by which pity and sympathy for the protagonist are excited.

leitmotif

2012-01-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

A leitmotif, sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term (though occasionally used in theatre or literature), referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe. The term itself comes from the German Leitmotiv, literally meaning "leading motif", or, perhaps more accurately, "guiding motif."

Description

2012-01-20T08:30:00.000-05:00

Description is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as modes of discourse), along with exposition, argumentation, and narration. Each of the rhetorical modes is present in a variety of forms and each has its own purpose and conventions.

Description is also the fiction-writing mode for transmitting a mental image of the particulars of a story.

Parabellum

2012-01-19T08:30:00.000-05:00

The word Parabellum is a noun coined by German arms maker Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken and is derived from the Latin saying si vis pacem, para bellum, meaning If you wish for peace, prepare for war. The term has been used in the naming of a number of cartridges.

9x19mm Parabellum, the pistol cartridge adopted by NATO but the 9 mm NATO has different parameters than commercial makes (dimensions and pressure).

7.65x22mm Parabellum, also called .30 Luger in the USA, from which the 9x19mm cartridge was derived.

The term may be used to refer to one of these cartridges, or to a German, Austrian or Swiss pistol chambered for one of those cartridges. The 9x19mm Parabellum is one of the most widely used pistol cartridges in use. The phrase a Parabellum usually refers to the Luger P08 pistol. The term may also apply to the Parabellum MG14 machine gun.

COR-TEN

2012-01-18T08:30:00.001-05:00

Weathering steel, best-known under the trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as "Corten steel", is a group of steel alloys which were developed to obviate the need for painting, and form a stable rust-like appearance if exposed to the weather for several years.

United States Steel Corporation (USS) holds the registered trademark on the name COR-TEN. Although USS sold its discrete plate business to International Steel Group (now Arcelor-Mittal) in 2003,^[2] it still sells COR-TEN branded material in strip-mill plate and sheet forms.

The original COR-TEN received the standard designation A 242 ("COR-TEN A") from the ASTM International standards group. Newer ASTM grades are A 588 ("COR-TEN B") and A 606 for thin sheet. All alloys are in common production and use.

Foundation Stone

2012-01-17T08:30:00.000-05:00

The Foundation Stone (Hebrew: אבן השתייה, translit. Even haShetiya) or Rock (Arabic: translit. Sakhrah, Hebrew: translit.: Sela) is the name of the rock at the heart of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. It is also known as the Pierced Stone because it has a small hole on the southeastern corner that enters a cavern beneath the rock, known as the Well of Souls. It is believed by some to have been the location of the Holy of Holies in the Temple, and is the holiest site in Judaism.(Midrash Tanhuma chapter 10) Jewish tradition views it as the spiritual junction of heaven and Earth. Jews traditionally face it while praying.

straddle

2012-01-16T08:30:00.000-05:00

In finance, a straddle is an investment strategy involving the purchase or sale of particular option derivatives that allows the holder to profit based on how much the price of the underlying security moves, regardless of the direction of price movement. The purchase of particular option derivatives is known as a long straddle, while the sale of the option derivatives is known as a short straddle.

unselfconsciousness

2012-01-15T08:30:00.000-05:00

unselfconsciousness - the quality of being not self-conscious

Apoplexy

2012-01-14T08:30:00.001-05:00

Apoplexy is a medical term, which can be used to describe 'bleeding' in a cerebrovascular accident. However, without further specification it is rather outdated, and is today rather used for specific conditions, such as pituitary apoplexy and ovarian apoplexy. It can be used non-medically to mean a state of extreme rage or excitement. The word derives from the Greek word apoplēxia (ἀποπληξία).

Hagiography

2012-01-13T08:30:00.000-05:00

Hagiography (pronounced /ˌhæɡiˈɒɡrəfi/) is the study of saints. A hagiography, from the Greek (h)ağios (ἅγιος, "holy" or "saint") and graphē (γραφή, "writing"), refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of ecclesiastical and secular leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common. (This, in fact, follows original Greek practice, where ἁγιογραφία refers to visual images of the saints, while their written lives (βίοι or vitæ) or the study thereof are known as ἁγιολογία.)

Christian hagiographies focus on the lives, and notably the miracles of men and women canonized by the Roman Catholic church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church . Other religions such as Buddhism and Islam also create and maintain hagiographical texts concerning saints and other individuals believed to be imbued with the sacred.

The term "hagiographic" has also been used as a pejorative reference to the works of biographers and historians perceived to be uncritical or "reverential" to their subject.

Hoon

2012-01-12T08:30:00.001-05:00

Hoon is a derogatory term used in Australia and New Zealand, to refer to a young person who engages in loutish, anti-social behaviour. In particular, it is used to refer to one who drives a car in a manner which is anti-social by the standards of contemporary society, that is, fast, noisily and/or dangerously. In New Zealand, the term "boy racer" is also widely used. Another slang term, revhead — derived from "rev", an alternate term for RPM — is sometimes used in place of hoon. However, "revhead" can refer to any car enthusiast, while hoon is always pejorative. "Anti-hoon laws", while they generally concern road vehicles, sometimes also target anti-social behaviour in motor boats.

Hoon activities can include speeding, burnouts, doughnuts or screeching tires. Those commonly identified as being involved in "hooning" or street racing are young, predominantly male although increasingly female drivers in the age range of 17 and 35 years.

femtosecond

2012-01-11T08:30:00.000-05:00

A femtosecond is the SI unit of time equal to 10^-15 of a second. That is one quadrillionth, or one millionth of one billionth of a second. For context, a femtosecond is to a second, what a second is to about 31.7 million years.

Ceres

2012-01-10T08:30:00.002-05:00

Ceres, formally designated 1 Ceres, is the smallest identified dwarf planet in the Solar System and the only one in the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 1 January 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi, and for half a century it was classified as the eighth planet. It is named after Ceres, the Roman goddess of growing plants, the harvest, and motherly love.

With a diameter of about 950 km (590 mi), Ceres is by far the largest and most massive body in the asteroid belt, and contains almost a third (32%) of the belt's total mass. Observations have revealed that it is spherical, unlike the irregular shapes of smaller bodies with lower gravity. The Cererian surface is probably a mixture of water ice and various hydrated minerals such as carbonates and clays. Ceres appears to be differentiated into a rocky core and ice mantle, and may harbour an ocean of liquid water underneath its surface.

From the Earth, Ceres' apparent magnitude ranges from 6.7 to 9.3, and hence at its brightest it is still too dim to be seen with the naked eye. On 27 September 2007, NASA launched the Dawn space probe to explore Vesta (2011–2012) and Ceres (2015).

sporocarp

2012-01-09T08:30:00.000-05:00

In fungi, the sporocarp (also known as fruiting body or fruit body) is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruiting body is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cycle, with the rest of the life cycle being characterized by vegetative mycelial growth and asexual spore production.

The sporocarp of a basidiomycete is known as a basidiocarp, while the fruiting body of an ascomycete is known as an ascocarp. A significant range of different shapes and morphologies is found in both basidiocarps and ascocarps; these features play an important role in the identification and taxonomy of fungi.

genet

2012-01-08T08:30:00.000-05:00

A clonal colony or genet is a group of genetically identical individuals (e. g., plants, fungi, or bacteria) that have grown in a given location, all originating vegetatively (not sexually) from a single ancestor. In plants, an individual in such a population is referred to as a ramet. In fungi, "individuals" typically refers to the visible fruiting bodies or mushrooms that develop from a common mycelium which, although spread over a large area, is otherwise hidden in the soil. Clonal colonies are common in many plant species. Although many plants reproduce sexually through the production of seed, some plants reproduce by underground stolons or rhizomes. Above ground these plants appear to be distinct individuals, but underground they remain interconnected and are all clones of the same plant. However, it is not always easy to recognize a clonal colony especially if it spreads underground and is also sexually reproducing.

Karaoke

2012-01-07T08:30:00.000-05:00

Karaoke (カラオケ^?, a portmanteau of Japanese kara 空 "empty," and ōkesutora オーケストラ "orchestra") is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music (and/or a music video) using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol or changing color and/or music video images, to guide the singer. In some countries, a karaoke box is called a KTV. Due to its English pronunciation, it is sometimes incorrectly spelled "kareoke". It is also a term used by recording engineers translated as "empty track" meaning there is no vocal track.

Adagio

2012-01-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

Adagio, a tempo marking indicating that the music is to be played slowly.

codebase

2012-01-05T08:30:00.000-05:00

The term codebase, or code base, is used in software development to mean the whole collection of source code used to build a particular application or component. Typically, the codebase includes only human-written source code files, and not, e.g., source code files generated by other tools or binary library files. However, it generally does include configuration and property files.

The codebase for a project is typically stored in a source control repository. A source code repository is a place where large amounts of source code are kept, either publicly or privately. They are often used by multi-developer projects to handle various versions and developers submitting various patches of code in an organized fashion. Subversion is a popular tool used to handle this workflow, and is common in open source projects.

Referring to multiple codebases as "distinct" declares that there are independent implementations without shared source code and that historically these implementations did not evolve from a common codebase. In the case of standards this may be a way of demonstrating interoperability by showing two independent pieces of software that implement a given standard.

Mu-metal

2012-01-04T08:30:00.000-05:00

Mu-metal is a nickel-iron alloy (approximately 75% nickel, 15% iron, plus copper and molybdenum) that has very high magnetic permeability. The high permeability makes mu-metal very effective at screening static or low-frequency magnetic fields, which cannot be attenuated by other methods. The name came from the Greek letter mu (μ) which represents permeability. A number of different proprietary formulations of the alloy are sold under trade names such as Mumetal, MuMetal, and MuShield; this article will cover their common features.

validity

2012-01-03T08:30:00.000-05:00

The term validity in logic (also logical validity) is largely synonymous with logical truth. However, the term is used in different contexts. Validity is a property of formulae, statements and arguments. A logically valid argument is one where the conclusion follows from the premises. An invalid argument is where the conclusion does not follow from the premises. A deductive argument may be valid but not sound. In other words, validity is a necessary condition for truth of a deductive syllogism but is not a sufficient condition.

jerib

2012-01-02T08:30:00.000-05:00

The jerib or djerib is a traditional unit of land measurement in the Middle East and southwestern Asia. It is a unit of area used to measure land holdings (real property) in much the way that an acre or hectare are. Like most traditional units of measure, the jerib originally varied substantially from one location to another. However, in the Twentieth Century, the jerib has been regionally, if not uniformly defined. In many countries where it was traditionally used, it is equated with the hectare, for example in Turkey and Iran. In Afghanistan, however, it is standardized at 1/5 hectare (2000 square meters or 0.494 acre).

Asteroseismology

2012-01-01T08:30:00.000-05:00

Asteroseismology (from Greek ἀστήρ, astēr, "star"; σεισμός, seismos, "earthquake"; and -λογία, -logia) also known as stellar seismology is the science that studies the internal structure of pulsating stars by the interpretation of their frequency spectra. Different oscillation modes penetrate to different depths inside the star. These oscillations provide information about the otherwise unobservable interiors of stars in a manner similar to how seismologists study the interior of Earth and other solid planets through the use of earthquake oscillations.

anemometer

2011-12-31T08:30:00.002-05:00

An anemometer is a device for measuring wind speed, and is a common weather station instrument. The term is derived from the Greek word anemos, meaning wind. The first known description of an anemometer was given by Leon Battista Alberti around 1450.

Anemometers can be divided into two classes: those that measure the wind's speed, and those that measure the wind's pressure; but as there is a close connection between the pressure and the speed, an anemometer designed for one will give information about both.

machan

2011-12-30T08:30:00.000-05:00

A bird hide (or hide) is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides were once built chiefly as a hunting aids, they are now commonly found in parks and wetlands for the use of bird watchers, ornithologists and other observers who do not want to disturb wildlife as it is being observed.

A typical bird hide resembles a garden shed, with small openings, shutters, or windows built into at least one side to enable observation.

Variant types of bird hide include:

the tower hide, which has multiple storeys and allows observations over large areas
the bird blind, which is a screen similar to one wall of a typical hide, with or without a roof for shelter
the machan, a covered platform erected to observe birds and wildlife in high trees or on cliffs, particularly in India where it was originally used by tiger-hunters.

balaclava

2011-12-29T08:30:00.002-05:00

A balaclava, also known as a balaclava helmet or ski mask, is a form of headgear that covers the whole head, exposing only part of the face. Often only the eyes or eyes and mouth are left exposed. The name "balaclava" comes from the town of Balaklava, near Sevastopol in Crimea, Ukraine. During the Crimean War, knitted balaclavas were sent over to the British troops to help protect them from the bitter cold weather. However, according to Richard Rutt, the name 'balaclava helmet' did not first appear in print during the Crimean War, but only much later, in 1881. This type of headgear was also known in the 19th century as an Uhlan cap or a Templar cap. In modern American English,when made for those serving in the armed forces, they are usually known as 'helmet liners'. They are traditionally knitted from wool, and can be rolled up into a hat to cover just the crown of the head.

lintel

2011-12-28T08:30:00.000-05:00

Post and lintel (or Post and beam) is a simple architrave where a horizontal member (the lintel—or header) is supported by two vertical posts at either end. This form is commonly used to support the weight of the structure located above the openings in a bearing wall created by windows and doors.

Presque-isle

2011-12-27T08:30:00.001-05:00

Presque-isle (from the French presqu'île, meaning almost an island) is a geographical term denoting a piece of land which is closer to being an island than most peninsulas because of its being joined to the mainland by an extremely narrow neck of land.

wing box

2011-12-26T08:30:00.000-05:00

The wing box of an airplane is the structural component from which the wings extend. The section of the fuselage between the wing roots. This is the strongest structural area of the aircraft, and suffers the most frequent shear stresses. Modern (post 1955) aircraft often locate the main landing gear near the wing roots to take advantage of the structural strength they afford.

Yuletide

2011-12-25T08:30:00.000-05:00

Yule or Yuletide ("Yule-time") is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic people as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January on a date determined by the lunar Germanic calendar. The festival was placed on December 25 when the Christian calendar (Julian calendar) was adopted. Scholars have connected the celebration to the Wild Hunt.

canard

2011-12-24T08:30:00.001-05:00

In aeronautics, canard (French for duck) is an airframe configuration of fixed-wing aircraft in which the forward surface is smaller than the rearward, the former being known as the "canard", while the latter is the main wing. In contrast a conventional aircraft has a small horizontal stabilizer behind the main wing.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Some early fixed-wing aircraft such as the Brazilian Santos-Dumont 14-bis and French Canard Voisin had tail-first configuration which were seen by observers to resemble a flying duck — hence the name.

amphibrach

2011-12-23T08:30:00.002-05:00

An amphibrach is a metrical foot used in Latin and Greek prosody. It consists of a long syllable between two short syllables. The word comes from the Greek αμφίβραχυς, amphíbrakhys, "short on both sides".

In English accentual-syllabic poetry, an amphibrach is a stressed syllable surrounded by two unstressed syllables. It is the main foot used in the construction of the limerick, as in "There once was / a girl from / Nantucket." It was also used by the Victorians for narrative poetry, e.g. Samuel Woodworth's "The Old Oaken Bucket" beginning "How dear to / my heart are / the scenes of / my childhood." W.H. Auden's "Oh Where Are You Going" is a more recent and slightly less metrically-regular example. The amphibrach is also often used in ballads and light verse, such as the hypermetrical lines of Sir John Betjeman's "Meditation on the A30."

Amphibrachs are a staple meter of Russian poetry. A common variation in an amphibrachic line, in both Russian and English, is to end the line with an iamb, as Thomas Hardy does in "The Ruined Maid": "Oh did n't / you know I'd / been ru in'd / said she".

Some books by Dr. Seuss contain many lines written in amphibrachs, such as these from If I Ran the Circus:

All ready / to put up / the tents for / my circus.

I think I / will call it / the Circus / McGurkus.

And NOW comes / an act of / Enormous / Enormance!

No former / performer's / performed this / performance!

trochee

2011-12-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

A trochee or choree, choreus, is a metrical foot used in formal poetry consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one. Trochee comes from the Greek τροχός, trokhós, wheel, and choree from χορός, khorós, dance; both convey the "rolling" rhythm of this metrical foot.

Anal

2011-12-21T08:30:00.000-05:00

Anal is a Kuki-Chin-Naga language of India and Myanmar, part of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It has 13,853 speakers in India (2001 census). Its dialects are Laizo and Malshom.

Tarsorrhaphy

2011-12-20T08:30:00.000-05:00

Tarsorrhaphy is a surgical procedure in which the eyelids are partially sewn together to narrow the opening (i.e. palpebral fissure).

Haleakalā

2011-12-19T08:30:00.000-05:00

Haleakalā, or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui.

Early Hawaiians applied the name Haleakalā ("house of the sun") to the general mountain. Haleakalā is also the name of a peak on the south western edge of Kaupō Gap. In Hawaiian folklore, the depression at the summit of Haleakalā was home to the grandmother of the demigod Māui. According to the legend, Māui's grandmother helped him capture the sun and force it to slow its journey across the sky in order to lengthen the day.

décret

2011-12-18T08:30:00.000-05:00

décret m.

decree

Sawzall

2011-12-17T08:30:00.001-05:00

A reciprocating saw is a type of saw in which the cutting action is achieved through a push and pull reciprocating motion of the blade.

The term reciprocating saw is commonly assigned to a type of saw used in construction and demolition work. This type of saw, also known as a recipro saw, Sabre Saw, or Sawzall (a trademark of the Milwaukee Electric Tool Company) has a large blade resembling that of a Jigsaw and a handle oriented to allow the saw to be used comfortably on vertical surfaces. The typical style of this saw has a foot at the base of the blade, also similar to a jigsaw. The user rests this foot against the surface being cut so that the tendency of the blade to push away from or pull towards the cut as the blade travels through its cycle can be countered.

superincumbent

2011-12-16T08:30:00.000-05:00

superincumbent

Lying or resting on something else.

corbel

2011-12-15T08:30:00.001-05:00

In architecture a corbel (or console) is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or parapet, has been used since Neolithic times. It is common in Medieval architecture and in the Scottish baronial style as well as in the Classical architectural vocabulary, such as the modillions of a Corinthian cornice and in ancient Chinese architecture.

The word "corbel" comes from Old French and derives from the Latin corbellus, a diminutive of corvus (a raven) which refers to the beak-like appearance.^[1] Similarly, the French refer to a bracket-corbel, usually a load-bearing internal feature, as corbeau (a crow). A cul-de-lampe is a kind of bracket-corbel supporting a vault; the term is also used for a corbel with a tapering base. Italians use mensola, the Germans, Kragstein.^[1] The usual word in modern French for a corbel in the context of Classical architecture is modillon.

Irie

2011-12-14T08:30:00.001-05:00

Irie, in Rastafarian vocabulary, refers to positive emotions or feelings, or anything that is good. Specifically it refers to high emotions and peaceful vibrations. This is a phonetical representation of "all right".

Berberine

2011-12-13T08:30:00.000-05:00

Berberine is a quaternary ammonium salt from the protoberberine group of isoquinoline alkaloids. It is found in such plants as Oregon grape, Barberry, Tree Turmeric.

Berberine is strongly yellow colored, which is why in earlier times Berberis species were used to dye wool, leather and wood. Wool is still today dyed with berberine in northern India. Under ultraviolet light, berberine shows a strong yellow fluorescence.

millennium

2011-12-12T08:30:00.000-05:00

A millennium (plural millenniums or millennia) is a period of time equal to one thousand years (1,000) (from the Latin phrase mille, thousand, and annus, year), often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system.

For example, a millennium could start at the beginning of the year 289 and finish at the beginning of the year 1289.

Christian side hug

2011-12-11T08:30:00.000-05:00

The Christian side hug is a satirical term for a display of affection in which a person hugs another by putting one arm around their shoulders, rather than both arms around them, thus minimizing the chance of inadvertent sexual contact.

Gob

2011-12-10T08:30:00.000-05:00

Gob may refer to:

Gob, a British slang term meaning "Mouth" derived from the Irish word of the same meaning.

entropy

2011-12-09T08:30:00.000-05:00

In information theory, entropy is a measure of the uncertainty associated with a random variable. In this context, the term usually refers to the Shannon entropy, which quantifies the expected value of the information contained in a message, usually in units such as bits. Equivalently, the Shannon entropy is a measure of the average information content one is missing when one does not know the value of the random variable. The concept was introduced by Claude E. Shannon in his 1948 paper "A Mathematical Theory of Communication".

Shannon's entropy represents an absolute limit on the best possible lossless compression of any communication, under certain constraints: treating messages to be encoded as a sequence of independent and identically-distributed random variables, Shannon's source coding theorem shows that, in the limit, the average length of the shortest possible representation to encode the messages in a given alphabet is their entropy divided by the logarithm of the number of symbols in the target alphabet.

A fair coin has an entropy of one bit. However, if the coin is not fair, then the uncertainty is lower (if asked to bet on the next outcome, we would bet preferentially on the most frequent result), and thus the Shannon entropy is lower. Mathematically, a coin flip is an example of a Bernoulli trial, and its entropy is given by the binary entropy function. A long string of repeating characters has an entropy rate of 0, since every character is predictable. The entropy rate of English text is between 1.0 and 1.5 bits per letter, or as low as 0.6 to 1.3 bits per letter, according to estimates by Shannon based on human experiments.

Hoi polloi

2011-12-08T08:30:00.000-05:00

Hoi polloi (Ancient Greek: οἱ πολλοί), an expression meaning "the many", or in the strictest sense, "the majority" in Greek, is used in English to denote "the masses" or "the people", usually in a derogatory sense. Synonyms for "hoi polloi" include "... commoners, great unwashed, minions, multitude, plebeians, proletariat, rank and file, Riff Raff, the common people, the herd, the many, the plebs, the proles, the peons, the working class".

Historicity

2011-12-07T08:30:00.000-05:00

Historicity may mean:

the quality of being part of recorded history, as opposed to prehistory
the quality of being part of history as opposed to being an historical myth or legend,

rhombicosidodecahedron

2011-12-06T08:30:00.001-05:00

In geometry, the rhombicosidodecahedron, or small rhombicosidodecahedron, is an Archimedean solid, one of thirteen convex isogonal nonprismatic solids constructed of two or more types of regular polygon faces.

It has 20 regular triangular faces, 30 square faces, 12 regular pentagonal faces, 60 vertices and 120 edges.

The name rhombicosidodecahedron refers to the fact that the 30 square faces lie in the same planes as the 30 faces of the rhombic triacontahedron which is dual to the icosidodecahedron.

It can also be called an expanded or cantellated dodecahedron or icosahedron, from truncation operations on either uniform polyhedron.

Barsoom

2011-12-05T08:30:00.002-05:00

Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote close to 100 swashbuckling action adventure stories in various genres in the first half of the 20th century, and is now best known as the creator of the character Tarzan. The first Barsoom tale was serialized as Under the Moons of Mars in 1912, and published as a novel as A Princess of Mars in 1917. Ten sequels followed over the next three decades, further extending his vision of Barsoom and adding other characters.

The world of Barsoom is a romantic vision of a dying Mars, based on now outdated scientific ideas made popular by Astronomer Percival Lowell in the early 20th century. While depicting many outlandish inventions, and advanced technology, it is a savage, 'frontier' world, of honor, noble sacrifice and constant struggle, where martial prowess is paramount, and where many races fight over dwindling resources. It is filled with lost cities, heroic adventures and undiscovered ancient secrets.

Anaglyph

2011-12-04T08:30:00.002-05:00

Anaglyph images are used to provide a stereoscopic 3D effect, when viewed with glasses where the two lenses are different (usually chromatically opposite) colors, such as red and cyan. Images are made up of two color layers, superimposed, but offset with respect to each other to produce a depth effect. Usually the main subject is in the center, while the foreground and background are shifted laterally in opposite directions. The picture contains two differently filtered colored images, one for each eye. When viewed through the "color coded" "anaglyph glasses", they reveal an integrated stereoscopic image. The visual cortex of the brain fuses this into perception of a three dimensional scene or composition.

Indulgent

2011-12-03T08:30:00.000-05:00

Indulgent
Disposed or prone to indulge, humor, gratify, or give way to one's own or another's desires, etc., or to be compliant, lenient, or forbearing; showing or ready to show favor; favorable; indisposed to be severe or harsh, or to exercise necessary restraint: as, an indulgent parent; to be indulgent to servants.

Jatropha

2011-12-02T08:30:00.000-05:00

Jatropha is a genus of approximately 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees (some are deciduous, like Jatropha curcas), from the family Euphorbiaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words ἰατρός (iatros), meaning "physician," and τροφή (trophe), meaning "nutrition," hence the common name physic nut. Mature plants produce separate male and female flowers. As with many members of the family Euphorbiaceae, Jatropha contains compounds that are highly toxic.

fount

2011-12-01T08:30:00.000-05:00

fount:

something from which water flows
a device from which poultry may drink
(figuratively) that from which something flows or proceeds
He is a real fount of knowledge!

Pentalobe

2011-11-30T08:30:00.002-05:00

Pentalobe:

A fastener interface with five rounded lobes.

Epistemology

2011-11-29T08:30:00.000-05:00

Epistemology or theory of knowledge is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope (limitations) of knowledge. It addresses the questions:

What is knowledge?
How is knowledge acquired?
How do we know what we know?

Propædia

2011-11-28T08:30:00.000-05:00

The one-volume Propædia is the first of three parts of the 15th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, the other two being the 12-volume Micropædia and the 17-volume Macropædia. The Propædia is intended as a topical organization of the Britannica's contents, complementary to the alphabetical organization of the other two parts. Introduced in 1974 with the 15th edition, the Propædia and Micropædia were intended to replace the Index of the 14th edition; however, after widespread criticism, the Britannica restored the Index as a two-volume set in 1985. The core of the Propædia is its Outline of Knowledge, which seeks to provide a logical framework for all human knowledge; however, the Propædia also has several appendices listing the staff members, advisors and contributors to all three parts of the Britannica.

Coverb

2011-11-27T23:10:00.002-05:00

Coverb is a term in theoretical linguistics most often applied in languages with serial verb construction, but also for complex predicates consisting of two verbs with one of them being an auxiliary verb contributing different kinds of information like modality, direction or aktionsart. It fulfills a similar function as adpositions would in many Indo-European languages like Dutch or Russian. Coverbs exist in a number of east and south-east Asian languages (e.g. Chinese), as well as west African languages (e.g. Yoruba).

Coverbs are differentiated from converbs, which are non-finite verb forms used to express subordination.

*Editor's note: I have no idea what any of this means.

Womyn

2011-11-26T08:30:00.002-05:00

Womyn is one of a number of alternative spellings of the word "women" used by some feminist writers. There are many alternative spellings, including "wimmin", "womban" and "wom!n". Writers who use the alternative spellings see them as an expression of female independence and a repudiation of traditions that define females by reference to a male norm.

Precarity

2011-11-25T08:30:00.000-05:00

Precarity is a condition of existence without predictability or security, affecting material or psychological welfare. The term has been specifically applied to either intermittent work or, more generally, a confluence of intermittent work and precarious existence.

Britpop

2011-11-24T08:30:00.002-05:00

Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s. The movement developed as a reaction against various musical and cultural trends in the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly the grunge phenomenon from the United States. In the wake of the musical invasion into the United Kingdom of American grunge bands, new British groups such as Suede and Blur launched the movement by positioning themselves as opposing musical forces, referencing British guitar music of the past and writing about uniquely British topics and concerns. These bands were soon joined by others including Oasis, Pulp, Supergrass, Sleeper and Elastica.

Adhocracy

2011-11-23T08:30:00.000-05:00

Adhocracy is a type of organization that operates in opposite fashion to a bureaucracy. The term was first popularized in 1970 by Alvin Toffler, and has since become often used in the theory of management of organizations (particularly online organizations), further developed by academics such as Henry Mintzberg.

palimpsest

2011-11-22T08:30:00.001-05:00

palimpsest (plural palimpsests)

A manuscript or document that has been erased or scraped clean, for reuse of the paper, parchment, vellum, or other medium on which it was written. Many historical texts have been recovered using ultraviolet light and other technologies to read the erased writing.

Praxis

2011-11-21T08:30:00.001-05:00

Praxis is the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted or practiced, embodied and/or realized. "Praxis" may also refer to the act of engaging, applying, exercising, realizing, or practicing ideas. This has been a popular topic in the field of philosophy, as Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Immanuel Kant, Karl Marx, Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, and many others, have written about this topic. It has meaning in political, educational, and spiritual realms.

Counoise

2011-11-20T08:30:00.001-05:00

Counoise is a dark-skinned wine grape grown primarily in the Rhône valley region of France. Counoise adds a peppery note and good acidity to a blended red wine, but does not have much depth of colour or tannin. There were 638 hectares (1,580 acres) of Counoise in France in 2000.

Counoise is one of the grapes allowed into the blend of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine. In 2004 only 0.5% of the appellation's surface was planted with Counoise. Some producer which favour the variety use about 5% of it in their blends, and account for most of the plantations. One such producer is Château de Beaucastel, which is noted for using all the 13 allowed varieties.

Loc. cit.

2011-11-19T08:30:00.000-05:00

Loc. cit. (Latin, short for loco citato, meaning "in the place cited") is a footnote or endnote term used to repeat the title and page number for a given author. Loc. cit. is used in place of ibid. when the reference is not only to the work immediately preceding, but also refers to the same page. Loc. cit. is also used instead of op. cit. when reference is made to a work previously cited and to the same page in that work. As such, loc. cit. is never followed by volume or page numbers.

Jejemon

2011-11-18T08:30:00.002-05:00

Jejemon (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈdʒɛdʒɛmon]) is a pop culture phenomenon in the Philippines. According to the Urban Dictionary a Jejemon is a person "who has managed to subvert the English language to the point of incomprehensibility." The Philippine Daily Inquirer describes Jejemons as a "new breed of hipster who have developed not only their own language and written text but also their own sub-culture and fashion."

Raggare

2011-11-17T08:30:00.002-05:00

Raggare (a Swedish word roughly corresponding to the English term "pick-up artist", i.e., a person seeking sexual contact with someone) is a subculture found mostly in Sweden and parts of Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany and Austria. Raggare are closely related to the greaser subculture and are known for their love of hot rod cars and 1950s American pop culture.

Aflockalypse

2011-11-16T08:30:00.001-05:00

Aflockalypse: A term coined to denote mass die-offs of birds in late 2010.

vomitorium

2011-11-15T08:30:00.001-05:00

A vomitorium (plural: vomitoria, slang: vom) is a passage situated below or behind a tier of seats in an amphitheatre, through which crowds can exit at the end of a performance

lithopedion

2011-11-14T08:30:00.002-05:00

A lithopedion or stone baby, is a rare phenomenon which occurs most commonly when a fetus dies during an abdominal pregnancy, is too large to be reabsorbed by the body, and calcifies on the outside, shielding the mother's body from the dead tissue of the baby and preventing infection. Lithopedia may occur from 14 weeks gestation to full term. It is not unusual for a stone baby to remain undiagnosed for decades, and it is often not until a patient is examined for other conditions or a proper examination is conducted that includes an X-ray, that a stone baby is found. The oldest reported case is that of a 94 year old woman, whose lithopedion has been present for upwards of 60 years.

Bitumen

2011-11-13T08:30:00.000-05:00

Bitumen is a mixture of organic liquids that are highly viscous, black, sticky, entirely soluble in carbon disulfide, and composed primarily of highly condensed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Naturally occurring or crude bitumen is a sticky, tar-like form of petroleum that is so thick and heavy that it must be heated or diluted before it will flow. At room temperature, it has a consistency much like cold molasses.^[1] Refined bitumen is the residual (bottom) fraction obtained by fractional distillation of crude oil. It is the heaviest fraction and the one with the highest boiling point, boiling at 525 °C (977 °F).

compiler

2011-11-12T08:30:00.000-05:00

A compiler is a computer program (or set of programs) that transforms source code written in a programming language (the source language) into another computer language (the target language, often having a binary form known as object code). The most common reason for wanting to transform source code is to create an executable program.

Stuckism

2011-11-11T08:30:00.001-05:00

Stuckism is an international art movement that was founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting in opposition to conceptual art. The first group of thirteen British artists has since expanded, as of September 2010, to 209 groups in 48 countries.

The Stuckists have staged shows and gained media attention for outspoken comments and demonstrations, particularly outside Tate Britain against the Turner Prize, sometimes dressed in clown costumes. They have also stated their opposition to the Charles Saatchi-patronised Young British Artists. After exhibiting mainly in small galleries in Shoreditch, London, they were given their first show in a major public museum in 2004, the Walker Art Gallery, as part of the Liverpool Biennial.

Neko

2011-11-10T08:30:00.002-05:00

A catgirl is a female with cat ears, a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. Catgirls may be found in Japanese anime and manga where they are more commonly referred to as Neko (猫, literally cat) or Nekomimi (猫耳, literally cat ear(s)), in cosplay activities both in Japan and around the world, in video games, and in online virtual world communities such as the Nekos of Second Life

Sabrage

2011-11-09T08:30:00.002-05:00

Sabrage is a technique for opening a champagne bottle with a sabre, used for ceremonial occasions. The saber is slid along the body of the bottle toward the neck. The force of the blade hitting the lip breaks the glass to separate the collar from the neck of the bottle. The cork and collar remain together after separating from the neck.

This technique became popular in France when the army of Napoleon visited many of the aristocratic domains. It was just after the French Revolution and the saber was the weapon of choice of Napoleon's fearsome cavalry (the Hussars). Napoleon's spectacular victories across all Europe gave them plenty of reason to celebrate. During these parties the cavalry would open the Champagne with their sabers. Napoleon probably encouraged this and is known to have said: "Champagne! In victory one deserves it; in defeat one needs it."

Transureteroureterostomy

2011-11-08T08:30:00.000-05:00

Transureteroureterostomy (TUU) is a urinary reconstruction technique that is used to join one ureter to the other across the midline

ISOFIX

2011-11-07T08:30:00.001-05:00

ISOFIX is the international standard for attachment points for child safety seats in passenger cars. A similar system is also known as LATCH ("Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children") in the United States and LUAS ("Lower Universal Anchorage System") or Canfix in Canada

Devanagari

2011-11-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

Devanagari, also called Nagari (Nāgarī, the name of its parent writing system), is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal. It is written from left to right, does not have distinct letter cases, and is recognizable (along with closely related scripts like that of Bengali) by a distinctive horizontal line running along the tops of the letters that links them together.

Romusha

2011-11-05T08:30:00.000-04:00

Romusha (労務者 Rōmusha^?, "laborer") were forced laborers during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in World War II. The U.S. Library of Congress estimates that in Java, between four and 10 million romusha were forced to work by the Japanese military. About 270,000 of these Javanese laborers were sent to other Japanese-held areas in South East Asia. Only 52,000 were repatriated to Java, meaning that there was a death rate of 80%.

Bundestag

2011-11-04T08:30:00.002-04:00

The Bundestag (Federal Diet) is the lower unicameral house of the parliament of Germany, established by the German Grundgesetz of 1949 as the successor to the earlier Reichstag. Norbert Lammert is the current President of the Bundestag.

fibroblast

2011-11-04T08:30:00.000-04:00

A fibroblast is a type of cell that synthesizes the extracellular matrix and collagen, the structural framework (stroma) for animal tissues, and plays a critical role in wound healing. Fibroblasts are the most common cells of connective tissue in animals.

Lutein

2011-11-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

Lutein (pronounced /ˈluːti.ɨn/ or /ˈluːtiːn/, from Latin luteus meaning "yellow") is a xanthophyll and one of 600 known naturally-occurring carotenoids. Found in green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale, lutein is employed by organisms as an antioxidant and for blue light absorption. Lutein is also found in egg yolks, animal fats, and the retina (zeaxanthin predominates at the macula lutea while lutein predominates elsewhere in the retina).

Swaging

2011-11-02T08:30:00.000-04:00

Swaging (pronunciation note below) is a forging process in which the dimensions of an item are altered using a die or dies, into which the item is forced. Swaging is usually a cold working process; however, it is sometimes done as a hot working process.

The term swage can apply to the process of swaging (verb), or to a die or tool used for swaging (noun).

mandrel

2011-11-01T08:30:00.000-04:00

A mandrel is a steel rod or linked ball inserted into the tube while it is being bent to give the tube extra support to reduce wrinkling and breaking the tube during this process.

Platonism

2011-10-31T08:30:00.000-04:00

Platonism is the philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it. In a narrower sense the term might indicate the doctrine of Platonic realism.

The central concept of Platonism is the Theory of Forms: the transcendent, perfect archetypes, of which objects in the everyday world are imperfect copies. The highest form is the Form of the Good, the source of all other forms, which could be known by reason. In the 3rd century BC, Arcesilaus adopted skepticism, which became a central tenet of the school until 90 BC when Antiochus added Stoic elements, rejected skepticism, and began a period known as Middle Platonism. In the 3rd century AD, Plotinus added mystical elements, establishing Neoplatonism, in which the summit of existence was the One or the Good, the source of all things; in virtue and meditation the soul had the power to elevate itself to attain union with the One. Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought, and many Platonic notions were adopted by the Christian church which understood Platonic forms as God's thoughts, whilst Neoplatonism became a major influence on Christian mysticism.

Lawa

2011-10-30T08:30:00.000-04:00

Lawa (Lao: ລະວ້າ, Thai: ลั๊วะ or ละว้า) are an ethnic group in Laos (where they are considered among the Lao Theung) and northern Thailand. They lived there before Thai people arrived. Today they live often in their traditional way of life, often professing animism.

Chip Butty

2011-10-29T08:30:00.001-04:00

A chip sandwich, chip barm, chip cob, chip butty, chip muffin (in British English), piece-n-chips (in Scottish English), hot chip sandwich (in Australian English), or french fry sandwich (in North American English) is a sandwich made with bread or bread roll (usually white and buttered) and chips, often with some sort of sauce such as tomato sauce (i.e. ketchup) or brown sauce.^[1] It was originally considered a working-class meal, served in pubs. The chip butty is a vegetarian-friendly dish (except when the chips are, as was traditional in a British chip shop, fried in lard or dripping).

hypohemia

2011-10-28T08:30:00.002-04:00

hypohemia is a fictional condition afflicting Mr. Burns on The Simpsons, in which the body naturally runs out of blood. It is akin to a real condition called hypovolemia.

Burakumin

2011-10-27T08:30:00.001-04:00

Burakumin (部落民 Literal translation: "small settlement people") are a Japanese social minority group. The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaidō, the Ryukyuans of Okinawa and Japanese residents of Korean and Chinese descent.

The burakumin are descendants of outcast communities of the feudal era, which mainly comprised those with occupations considered "tainted" with death or ritual impurity (such as executioners, undertakers, workers in slaughterhouses, butchers or tanners), and traditionally lived in their own secluded hamlets and ghettos.

Hyperion

2011-10-26T08:30:00.002-04:00

Hyperion (Greek Ὑπερίων, "The High-One") was one of the twelve Titan gods of Ancient Greece, which were later supplanted by the Olympians. He was the brother of Cronus. He was also the lord of light, and the titan of the east. He was the son of Gaia (the physical incarnation of Earth) and Uranus (literally meaning 'the Sky'), and was referred to in early mythological writings as Helios Hyperion (Ἥλιος Υπερίων), 'Sun High-one'.

Stahlhelm

2011-10-25T08:30:00.001-04:00

Stahlhelm (plural, Stahlhelme) is German for "steel helmet". The Imperial German Army began to replace the traditional boiled-leather Pickelhaube (spiked combat helmet) with the Stahlhelm during World War I in 1916. The term Stahlhelm refers both to a generic steel helmet, and more specifically to the distinctive (and symbolic) German design.

perseääliö

2011-10-24T08:30:00.001-04:00

perseääliö

Finnish: From 'perse', ass, and 'ääliö', moron. A person whose idiotic behaviour surpasses that of normal morons.

Puppetoon

2011-10-23T08:30:00.000-04:00

Puppetoon animation is a type of replacement animation, which is itself a type of stop-motion animation. In traditional stop-motion, the puppets are made with movable parts which are repositioned between frames to create the illusion of motion when the frames are played in rapid sequence. In puppetoon animation the puppets are rigid and static pieces; each is typically used in a single frame and then switched with a separate, near-duplicate puppet for the next frame.

moiety

2011-10-22T08:30:00.000-04:00

If a society is divided into exactly two descent groups, each is called a moiety.