I rather like this XKCD from earlier in the week:
Click the image for a larger view
Something for the Weekend
Click the image for a larger view
Category Archives: words
Click the image for a larger view
Word: Orchidectomy
Orchidectomy
The excision of one or both of the testicles; castration.
This is derived from the Greek ὄρχις (orkhis, a testicle) + ἐκτοµή (ektomi, cutting-out).
According to the OED the first recorded usage was in 1870.
And just to remove any confusion, the group of plants called orchids are so named because of the testicular appearance of the roots of some species.
Words: Absorb and Adsorb
Absorb and Adsorb are two easily confused verbs which scientifically decribe different interactons.
Absorb
1. To swallow up.
2. To engross, or completely engage, the attention or faculties.
3. To suck in, drink in a fluid; to imbibe.
4. To take up by chemical or molecular action.
Absorption is essentially a macroscopic level effect.
Compare this with …
Adsorb
1. To undergo or cause to undergo a process in which a substance (often a gas) accumulates on the surface of a solid forming a thin film, often only one molecule thick. Mostly used in Chemistry and often descriptive of molecular level catalytic processes where a reaction is enhanced with one molecule sticking to the surface of the catalyst.
There is more than a subtle difference here. Note the use of the Latin prefixes ab- off, away, and ad- to, onto, towards.
Think of it this way in everyday terms: A sponge absorbs water, whereas a sticking plaster is adsorbed onto the skin. Alternatively, the man eats the pie (absorption) or the pie sticks to the man’s face (adsorption).
Word: Grizzled
Grizzled
1. Partly grey or streaked with grey.
2. Having fur or hair streaked or tipped with grey.
Usage is now mostly restricted to descriptions of hair, although the name lives on in the names of some species, eg. Grizzled Skipper butterfly.
Surprisingly the first recorded English usage was as early as 1458. The word is possibly derived from the French grisellé, but the OED says this is lacking evidence.
Word: Effluvium
Effluvium (plural, effluvia)
1. A, usually invisible, emanation or exhalation of vapour, gas or small particles.
2. A by-product or residue; waste.
3. The odorous fumes given off by waste or decaying matter.
4. An impalpable emanation; an aura.
From the Latin ex out + fluĕre to flow.
The OED records the first English usage in 1646.
Word: Quinquereme
Quinquereme
An ancient Roman or Carthaginian galley with five banks of oars on each side.
Perhaps the most famous of the Hellenistic-era warships, because of its extensive use by the Carthaginians and Romans, the quinquereme was invented by Dionysius I of Syracuse in 399 BC as part of a major naval armament programme directed against the Carthaginians. During most of the 4th century, the “fives” were the heaviest type of warship, and often used as flagships of fleets.
OK, we know the oarsmen were largely slaves but all those oars! The image is a model of a trireme (three banks of oars); just imagine adding another two banks of oars to that! They must have been a nightmare to power and even more of a nightmare to handle. But if done right they would have been awe-inspiringly impressive.
Words: Xylem and Phloem
At last a pair of botanical words!
Xylem and Phloem are the two types of tissue in plants which transport food and water around the plant.
Xylem [z-eye-lem]
The supporting and water-conducting tissue of vascular plants; woody tissue.
This is the network of tubes through which the plants move water from bottom to top. It also forms a large part of the woody (supportive) structure of the plant. It is concentrated in the centre of the stem.
As might be expected the derivation is from the Greek ξύλον, wood.
Phloem [flo-em]
The food-conducting tissue of vascular plants.
The network which transports food (mostly sugars) from the leaves where they are produced by photosynthesis to the growing tissue.
The phloem is softer tissue that the xylem and occurs mostly in the layer just under the bark where the latest “tree ring” is growing.
Again derived from the Greek: ϕλόος = ϕλοιός, bark + -ηµα (passive suffix).
All (vascular) plants, ie. the vast majority we meet in daily life, conform to this basic model even if they appear to be soft rather than woody. However as you would expect the reality is a lot more complex than the above explanation!
Word: Glabella
Glabella
1. The small smooth area on the human forehead between the eyebrows just above the nose.
Also …
2. The smooth median portion of the cephalic shield of a Trilobite.
Being an anatomical term the word is needless to say derived from the Latin. The OED records the first use in 1598.
Word: Glabrous
Glabrous
Free from hair, down, projections or pubescence; having a smooth skin or surface.
And hence used jocularly for anything smooth.
Now used only as a scientific term.
The origin in the Latin glaber, without hair, smooth, bald.
The OED records the first usage by Wilkins in 1640 who applied it to the orb of the Moon.
Word: Bandersnatch
Bandersnatch
A fleet, furious, fuming, fabulous creature of dangerous propensities, immune to bribery and too fast to flee from. Later used vaguely to suggest any creature with such qualities.
The word was invented by Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson) and it makes its first appearance in Alice Through the Looking Glass (1871). The OED suggests the name is a portmanteau word like its stock epithet frumious.
Needless to say this beast has never been photographed.