ˈbəʊɡəs bogus (noun): a press for producing counterfeit coins; a counterfeit coin bogus (adjective): not real, counterfeit, existing in order to deceive bogus (adjective, 21st Century): bad, wrong, inappropriate Bogus is a potentially expensive word. Back in 2008, the science writer Simon Singh wrote an opinion piece for The Guardian newspaper, entitled “Beware The Spinal … Continue reading Bogus
Tag Archives: Etymology
Septentrionate
sɛpˈtɛntrɪənˌeɪt septentrionate: to tend, or point, to the north This word septentrion and its derivatives are hardly anglicized; they are harsh, unnecessary and little used, and may well be suffered to pass into disuse. Noah Webster, American Dictionary Of The English Language (1828) The Septentrion is pictured above—the seven stars that make up the asterism … Continue reading Septentrionate
Wassail
ˈwɒs(ə)l / ˈwæs(ə)l / ˈwɒseɪl / ˈwæseɪl wassail: a salutation spoken when presenting a cup of wine or drinking to another’s health; the wine drunk on such an occasion; the custom of drinking wine in this way on special occasions; a carousal or celebration; a song sung during such a carousal or celebration; to celebrate … Continue reading Wassail
Perihelion: Part 3
At last, the final instalment of my series of posts about words relating to perihelion. In my first post on the subject, I discussed the various technical terms in astronomical use (and some that have simply been invented by Wikipedians). In my second post, I discussed words formed from the prefix peri-, and its opposite, … Continue reading Perihelion: Part 3
Nosthedony
nɒstˈhiːdəneɪ nosthedony: The pleasure to be gained from examining old objects Many of the [museum’s] objects touched me with nosthedony—the pleasure of returning to the past. For in many of the items I saw reflected a time when human life was different, perhaps less secure, certainly less austere. Brian Aldiss “Appearance of Life” (1976) Like … Continue reading Nosthedony
Muriel Gray: The First Fifty
Right, this is a little odd. I’m not actually going to review this one. It comes up purely in the context of something I found on my hard drive that I’d completely forgotten about. First, a bit of background. Muriel Gray had been around as a TV presenter and columnist for quite a while when … Continue reading Muriel Gray: The First Fifty
Anti-agathic
ˌæntɪəˈɡæθɪk anti-agathic: serving to prevent death; a drug that has this function This is a science fiction word. It was coined during the 1950s by James Blish as a key concept for his Cities in Flight series of novels, to designate the drugs that his characters took to give them potential immortality, allowing them to … Continue reading Anti-agathic
Perihelion: Part 2
pɛrɪˈhiːlɪən perihelion: that point in the orbit of a planet, comet or other body at which it is closest to the sun Well, time flies. Back on January 4, when the Earth was at its closest to the sun, I started off to write about words relating to perihelion, and got side-tracked into writing about … Continue reading Perihelion: Part 2
Sidlaws: Dunsinane to King’s Seat
Dunsinane Hill (NO 214316, 310m) Black Hill (NO 219319, 360m) Little Dunsinane (NO 224325, 295m) King’s Seat (NO 230330, 377m) 8.5 kilometres 360 metres of ascent Do you think I may be becoming obsessed with King’s Seat? I think it’s possible. But I wanted to get some photos on this part of the ridge for … Continue reading Sidlaws: Dunsinane to King’s Seat
Magpies & Grasshoppers
I was trying to explain the content of this blog to someone the other day, and I said that it combined two states of mind, the magpie and the grasshopper—the magpie’s hoarding of appealing objects, the grasshopper’s leaping from place to place And that, in a self-referential kind of way, got me thinking about the … Continue reading Magpies & Grasshoppers