In computer programming, a quine is a metaprogram that outputs its entire source code. Wikipedia gives several examples of this, including the following JavaScript example:
function a() {
alert (a + "\na();");
}
a();
Quine is also occasionally used to mean "to deny resolutely the existence or importance of something real or significant".
technorati tags:words, vocabulary, quine, programming, metaprogramming
After having my self-righteousness self-deflated again, I need to throw out a Latin phrase to recoup:
"Momento mori" is a cheery Latin phrase that means "remember that you are mortal" or "remember you will die". Mentos, on the other hand, are fresh and full of life.
technorati tags:words, vocabulary, momento mori, Latin, blatant product placement
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If someone has "axed" you, then they have struck you with a bladed tool, or perhaps terminated your job. However, as with my previous rant on the word flustrated, I am surprised to find that another meaning has some legitimacy.
Yes, The Free Dictionary lists one meaning of "ax" as "variant of ask". Read on:
ax has become stigmatized as substandard—a fate that has befallen other words, like ain't, that were once perfectly acceptable in literate circles.
Not convinced?
This should not be surprising since ax is a very old word in English, having been used in England for over 1,000 years. In Old English we find both
scian and
Still doesn't do it for you?
Chaucer used asken and axen interchangeably, as in the lines "I wol aske, if it hir will be/To be my wyf" and "Men axed hym, what sholde bifalle," both from The Canterbury Tales.
Unless you're from Iowa, I think you'd be hard-pressed to argue with Chaucer.
Besides, in a thousand years we'll all be saying it that way, so I guess we might as well get used to it again.
technorati tags:words, vocabulary, axed, ask, axen, slang
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technorati tags:vocabulary, pirates, prospector, swearing
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Believe it or not, it's been seventy-five words and phrases covered and still going strong (and Foster's didn't even count), with no sign of running out anytime soon. Here's out story so far. As usual, some of the more distinctively non-English words have notes as to the language they are from and used in, and words written in non-Latin character sets are alphabetized by approximate English spellings.
abugida
achtung (German)
ἀγάπη (agape) (Koine Greek)
amiga (Spanish)
apothecary
apotheosis
avast
baleen
bodhisattva
brae (Scottish)
bwana (Swahili)
beaucoup
caduceus
certitude
chào (Vietnamese)
chiropodist
churlish
colporteur
contemn
decimation
devolve
dobar dan (добар дан) (Serbo-Croatian)
懂嗎 (懂吗/dong ma) (Mandarin Chinese)
draconian
ebay (Pig Latin)
embarazada (Spanish)
estuary
flustrated
fulsome
גנבֿ (ganef) (Yiddish)
hakuna matata (Swahili)
harangue
icthys
impeachment
impress
inter arma enim silent leges (Latin)
jejune
jiffy
ជំរាបសួរ (joom reeup sooa) (Cambodian/Khmer)
junk
khara (Sanskrit)
klaatu barada nikto (fictional language)
languorous
louche
maximal
miter
n'est-ce pas (French)
noblesse oblige (French)
nuqneH (Klingon)
panacea
pangram
perestroika
phantasmagoria
philology
picayune
postlude
quail
qu'est-ce que c'est? (French)
Rashomon effect
schadenfreude
screed
סלה (selah) (Hebrew)
somnambulist
sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble (French)
souma yergon (Wolof [?])
spick and span
sushi
tchotchke (Yiddish)
teratonym (not a real word)
uff da (Norwegian)
uhuru (Swahili)
verisimilitude
virtu
whom
zimbra (not a real word)
technorati tags:words, vocabulary, Words to Your Mother, index
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"Dobar dan" (pronounced "dough-bar Dan") is a greeting in Serbo-Croatian. Well... Actually let's get back to "dobar dan" in a minute.
Serbo-Croatian is not technically a language. It is rather a family of languages that includes Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbian. These languages are considered to be ausbauspraches, which in practice means that they are basically different dialects of the same language. While there is some measure of debate on this, those who have lived in the area tell me that the main difference between the two titular languages—Serbian and Croatian—is that Serbian uses the Cyrillic alphabet (AKA the Russian alphabet), whereas Croatian uses the Latin alphabet (AKA the Roman or English alphabet, although it has been slightly expanded for Croatian). However, it is also said that Serbian uses both alphabets, so I suppose this is not a hard-and-fast rule.
"Dobar dan"—meaning "good day"—is the same in Serbian and Croatian (and presumably Montenegrin). One source lists "zdravo" as the equivalent greeting in Bosnian, but other sources say that "zdravo" is the Serbian word for "hello" (as opposed to "good day"), so I. My guess is that the Serbian Cyrillic version of the word would be "добар дан". This seems to be confirmed by the previously cited reference.
technorati tags:words, vocabulary, dobar dan, добар дан, Serbo-Croatian, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Montenegrin, Cyrillic alphabet
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Technical problems delayed my posting last night, so I'll shoot for a double-whammy tonight.
A bodhisattva is defined by The Free Dictionary as "an enlightened being who, out of compassion, forgoes nirvana in order to save others". The concept of the bodhisattva comes from the Buddhist religion. In fact, Siddhārtha Gautama himself was considered a bodhisattva before he became a buddha (or Buddha, as the case may be). Essentially, the bodhisattva delays his own enlightenment for the benefit of others, practicing self-sacrifice by training others.
technorati tags:words, vocabulary, bodhisattva, Buddhism, Buddha
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