Florid

January 28, 2011
    I looked up a new one, this time just browsing through my dictionary. Today's word of the day is:

FLORID as an adjective, it has several meanings.
  1. Covered with flowers. An example of this meaning would be expressed as "Parade floats typically have florid decorations."

  2. Having a very flowery style. This meaning could be expressed as "Authors in the nineteenth centuries wrote their speeches in a florid style."

  3. Being elaborately decorated. This could be expressed as "Wealthy people in Californian exurbs decorate the interiors of their homes with a florid touch."

  4. Tinged with red. This example could read "The boy came in from the cold with a florid complexion."

  5. Marked by emotional or sexual fervor. An example of this meaning could be expressed as "Mae West, an actress in the early twentieth century, was known for her florid romantic encounters."

  6. Healthy. An example of this meaning could be expressed "You've been so sickly lately, but you're looking rather florid today."

  7. Fully developed, manifesting a complete and typical clinical syndrome. And lastly, this meaning could be expressed as "After living with her condition slowly developing over time, her condition has now reached full florid level."

Posted by H. Carla Greene.

 

Exurb

January 28, 2011
    Today's word-of-the-day is:

EXURB as a noun, means  a region or settlement that lies outside a city and usually beyond its suburbs and that often is inhabited chiefly by well-to-do families. An example of its usage would be "Someday when I'm rich and famous, I want to live in an exurb."

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Posted by H. Carla Greene.

 

Intransigent

January 26, 2011
    Today's word is:

INTRANSIGENT as an adjective, means 1.) to refuse to compromise or to abandon an extreme position or attitude, 2.) to be characteristic of an intransigent person. An example of usage would be "The opposing political party was intransigent towards the president's ideas."

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Posted by H. Carla Greene.

 

Botany and Ethnobotany

January 24, 2011
    I already knew what Botany was before today, but this next derivative word was a new one for me, so I had to look it up.

BOTANY as a noun, means the scientific study of plants, including their physiology, structure, genetics, ecology, distribution, classification, and economic importance. An example of the proper use of this word would be "I want to study the science of botany because I am interested in the chemistry of plants."

ETHNOBOTANY as a noun, means the scientific study of the tradi...
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Posted by H. Carla Greene.

 

Obsequious

January 23, 2011
    Here's another one I recently heard and just had to look up.

OBSEQUIOUS as an adjective, means to be obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree. An example of its usage would be "In times of economic difficulties, workers often find themselves displaying an obsequious attitude."

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Posted by H. Carla Greene.

 

Phenomenon and Phenomena

January 22, 2011
    Today's word of the day is actually two forms of the same word. Often, they are used interchangeably because people don't know the difference or how to actually use them.

    Today we clear that up.

PHENOMENON as a noun, is a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen. It may be something in the physical world we live in or it may be a matter of perception within the mind. This form of the word is singular. One example of usage would be "The origin of the earth is a unique phenom...
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Posted by H. Carla Greene.

 

Dolorous

January 22, 2011
    Today's word of the day is:

DOLOROUS As an adjective, it means feeling or expressing great sorrow or distress. An example of this word's usage would be "The funeral had a dolorous atmosphere."

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Posted by H. Carla Greene.

 

Obstreperous

January 20, 2011
    Here's another word I had to look up, courtesy of Michelle Belanger.

OBSTREPEROUS As an adjective, it means noisy and difficult to control.

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Posted by H. Carla Greene.

 

Immigrate and Emigrate

January 19, 2011
    I have long been confused on the difference between these two words. I've seen them used interchangeably so often by so many that I thought maybe one was a misspelling of the other. So this morning I looked them up.

    Their meanings are flip sides of the same issue, the same as if you are exiting one room and entering another room by using a connecting door.

IMMIGRATE, as a verb, (spelled with two m's) means to enter a foreign country with the intention of remaining there. Therefore, an I...
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Posted by H. Carla Greene.

 

Polyglot

January 18, 2011
    Today's word comes ala Michelle Belanger, a.k.a. @sethanikeem on Twitter. She used this word on twitter and I just had to look it up.

POLYGLOT - As a noun, a polyglot is a person who understands and effectively uses multiple languages.

POLYGLOT - As an adjective, polyglot means knowing and using several languages. As an example, "The writer of this book is a polyglot author."

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Posted by H. Carla Greene.

 
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