Wiktionary:Word of the day/Archive/2017/October

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songcraft n

(music) The practice or skill of crafting or composing songs. Today is designated International Music Day by the International Music Council to promote musical art among all sections of society, among other things. It was established in 1975 by violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin, who was President of the Council at the time.

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2

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drawing board n

A plane surface or table to which paper can be fastened for drawing purposes. (figuratively) The planning stage of a project. Today, the first Monday of October in 2017, is designated as World Architecture Day by the International Union of Architects.

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3

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Männlein n

A little man; a dwarf, a mannikin. Today is Tag der Deutschen Einheit (German Unity Day), which commemorates the anniversary of German Reunification in 1990.

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4

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pabulum n

Food or fodder, particularly that taken in by plants or animals. Material that feeds a fire. (figuratively) Food for thought. (figuratively) Bland intellectual fare; an undemanding diet of words.

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subspecies n

(taxonomy) A rank in the classification of organisms, below species. (taxonomy) A taxon at that rank, often indicated with trinomial nomenclature (such as Felis silvestris silvestris in zoology and Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii in botany). A subdivision of a species in other scientific disciplines.

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7

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squeeze box n

(caving) A box with an adjustable opening used by cavers to practise crawling through tight spaces. (veterinary medicine) A container that fits tightly around an animal to immobilize it for medical treatment, transportation, etc. […]

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8

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extremity n

The most extreme or furthest point of something. An extreme measure. A hand or foot. A limb (“major appendage of a human or animal such as an arm, leg, or wing”).

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surrey n

(historical) A light horse-drawn carriage with forward-facing seats accommodating two or four people, popular in the United States; a motorized carriage of similar design. The musical film Oklahoma! featuring songs by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, including “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top”, premiered on this day in 1955.

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12

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ratiocination n

Reasoning, conscious deliberate inference; the activity or process of reasoning. Thought or reasoning that is exact, valid and rational. A proposition arrived at by such thought.

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14

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scruple n

(obsolete) A weight of twenty grains or one third of a dram, in England about 1.3 grams (symbol: ℈). (obsolete) Hence, a very small quantity; a particle. (obsolete) A doubt or uncertainty concerning a matter of fact; intellectual perplexity. Hesitation to act from the difficulty of determining what is right or expedient; doubt, hesitation or unwillingness due to motives of conscience. A Hebrew unit of time equal to 1⁄1080 hour.

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15

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chasma n

(astronomy, geology) A long, narrow, steep-sided depression on a planet (often other than Earth), a moon, or another body in the Solar System. (astronomy, obsolete, rare) An aurora. Obsolete form of chasm. The Cassini–Huygens space probe was launched on this day 20 years ago in 1997 to study the planet Saturn. During its closest approach to the moon Tethys on 24 September 2005, it photographed the Ithaca Chasma, one of the longer valleys in the Solar System. The mission was brought to an end on 15 September 2017 by having the probe make a controlled descent into Saturn’s atmosphere.

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broadcast v

(transitive) To transmit a message or signal through radio waves or electronic means. (transitive) To transmit a message over a wide area; specifically, to send an email in a single transmission to a (typically large) number of people. (intransitive) To appear as a performer, presenter, or speaker in a broadcast programme. (transitive, agriculture, horticulture, archaic) To sow seeds over a wide area.

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backstretch n

(athletics, horse racing) Synonym of back straight (“straight part of a racetrack, running track, etc., opposite the finishing line”). (horse racing) An area next to a racetrack used to stable the racehorses and house employees. (figuratively) The middle part of an event. Today is British Champions Day in 2017. Held at the Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, Berkshire, it is the richest thoroughbred horse race meeting in the United Kingdom.

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22

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rhubarb n

Any plant of the genus Rheum, especially Rheum rharbarbarum, having large leaves and long green or reddish acidic leafstalks that are edible, in particular when cooked (although the leaves are mildly poisonous). (often attributive) The leafstalks of common rhubarb or garden rhubarb (usually known as Rheum × hybridum), which are long, fleshy, often pale red, and with a tart taste, used as a food ingredient; they are frequently stewed with sugar and made into jam or used in crumbles, pies, etc. […] (British, military, historical) A Royal Air Force World War II code name for operations by aircraft (fighters and fighter-bombers) involving low-level flight to seek opportunistic targets. […] (originally theater, uncountable) General background noise caused by several simultaneous indecipherable conversations, which is created in films, stage plays, etc., by actors repeating the word rhubarb; hence, such noise in other settings; rhubarb rhubarb, rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb. (US, originally baseball, countable) An excited, angry exchange of words, especially at a sporting event. (US, originally baseball, by extension, countable) A brawl. American sports commentator Red Barber, who popularized the baseball senses of the word, died on this day 25 years ago in 1992.

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23

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nocebo n

(pharmacology, also attributive) A substance which a patient experiences as harmful due to a previous negative perception, but which is in fact pharmacologically (medicinally) inactive.

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genizah n

(Jewish law) A depository where sacred Hebrew books or other sacred items that by Jewish law cannot be disposed of are kept before they can be properly buried in a cemetery.

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26

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glossology n

The science of language; linguistics. (botany) The naming of parts of plants. (chiefly lexicography) The definition and explanation of terms in constructing a glossary. (medicine) The diagnosis of disease by examination of the tongue.

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27

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hummel n

(Northern England, Scotland, also attributive) A stag that has failed to grow antlers; a cow that has not developed horns. (also attributive) Especially in hummel corn: grain that lacks awns (beards or bristles), or has had its awns removed (barley, oats, etc.).

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28

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Attic salt n

(idiomatic) Pointed and delicate wit. Today is Ohi Day (Anniversary of the “No”) in Greece, which marks the rejection by Ioannis Metaxas of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s ultimatum in 1940 during World War II to allow Axis forces to enter Greek territory.

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horripilate v

(transitive, intransitive) To bristle in fear or horror; to have goose bumps or goose pimples. Boo! Today is the eve of Halloween!

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31

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Lutheran adj

(Christianity) Of or pertaining to the theology of Martin Luther (1483–1546) or his followers, or the Lutheran church. On this day 500 years ago, in 1517, German friar and theologian Martin Luther sparked off the Reformation by writing to Albert, the Archbishop of Mainz, to protest the sale of indulgences, attaching his Ninety-five Theses. According to Philip Melanchthon, on the same day Luther also nailed the Theses to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg. However, modern scholars argue that there is little foundation for the story.

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