Summary: With a nod to the newly-engaged Prince William of the U.K., we look at some really royal-sounding words ... with surprisingly pedestrian meanings.
Thanksgiving may be over in 2010, but that doesn't mean we can just stop being thankful. I'm personally grateful to my friends at Merriam-Webster.com, who continue to give me so many wonderful words—including two this week to share with you. These come from Volume 2 of their "Words For Things You Didn't Know Have Names" list. (Remember philtrum from Volume 1?)
The first of this week's WOW words is crown. Sounds regal, doesn't it? But according to the list, it has a meaning you probably couldn't guess ... unless you work for the Department of Transportation:
Crown (KROWN) - The highest point in a road.
Come again? Excuse me? You mean to say roads aren't flat? That's right. Roads are built to slope at the shoulder, so that rain water and other spillage runs off, and so that cars can hug the road on curves at turns. On a two-lane road, with slopes on either side, there is a peak in the middle where the lanes meet. This is the crown, or the high point. Taken from the Latin word corona (which was originally a curved wreath or garland), crown moved on to mean anything curved—like the Greek laurels worn in decorative honor by scholars and athletic champions. And from there, it eventually defined the headpieces of royalty. (M-W.com can also tell you in more detail about crown's verb forms.) It's from this concept—think "crowning glory"—that the highest point in the road is called a crown.
Now I know you're wondering, "Do the slopes in the road have names?" But of course!
Camber (KAM - ber) - The curving slope of a road's surface that allows water to drain off. From the French word cambre, meaning curved, camber can also be used as a verb, as in "to arch slightly or curve upward in the middle."
And by the way, if you want another bonus word, try looking up pedestrian. It matches this week's WOW theme.
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010
Showing posts with label philtrum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philtrum. Show all posts
Nov 29, 2010
Aug 4, 2010
Submit Your WOW Words Today!
What words do you read, but don't understand? Every Monday, I blog about a new vocabulary word--I call it my Word of the Week post, or WOW for short. Since I have my pick of any word in the English language (and beyond), I have a lot of fun writing these posts each week. My favorite part is that I can select words I'm unfamiliar with, myself. ... Sometimes, I even pick words that are brand new to me, and I get the opportunity to expound my vocabulary (which I love!).
This week, you and I learned together about the word philtrum. Thanks to Merriam-Webster's top ten list series, there are all sorts of categorized words that we can continue to learn together.
But I'm most interested in learning what YOU want to know. So, what words do you sometimes see in print, but struggle to pronounce? Do you guess at their meaning in context only to doubt if you're getting it right? Submit the words you want to know today! And you could be reading about them--and understanding them in full--on a Monday soon to come.
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010
This week, you and I learned together about the word philtrum. Thanks to Merriam-Webster's top ten list series, there are all sorts of categorized words that we can continue to learn together.
But I'm most interested in learning what YOU want to know. So, what words do you sometimes see in print, but struggle to pronounce? Do you guess at their meaning in context only to doubt if you're getting it right? Submit the words you want to know today! And you could be reading about them--and understanding them in full--on a Monday soon to come.
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010
Aug 2, 2010
WORD OF THE WEEK: Philtrum
Summary: WOW! It's time for our regular Monday "Word of the Week." The point of these posts is to introduce you to words you may not know--at least not in full. Today's word is spot-on, as it comes from a list of words few people are familiar with. Read on!
Merriam-Webster.com has a fun series of Top Ten Lists--words that frequently stump you, come from Biblical or Shakespearian roots or have multiple meanings, for example. Their newest list contains ten words, in their words, "for things you didn't know had names." Number one is philtrum.
The whole list is interesting, but I can see why this one was given top billing: It certainly caught my attention! Philtrum is a Latin word derived from the Greek phileo for fondness, especially in the form of a kiss as a mark of tenderness. It's technically a medical term today, used to describe the little divot above the upper lip, or the indentation that starts at the top of the "heart" in a heart-shaped mouth (see accompanying photo).
Greeks also used the word philtrum to mean love potion. As Merriam-Webster shares online, this suggests that "seductive powers were attributed to this facial feature."
The pronunciation for this word is FIL-truhm.
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010
Merriam-Webster.com has a fun series of Top Ten Lists--words that frequently stump you, come from Biblical or Shakespearian roots or have multiple meanings, for example. Their newest list contains ten words, in their words, "for things you didn't know had names." Number one is philtrum.
The whole list is interesting, but I can see why this one was given top billing: It certainly caught my attention! Philtrum is a Latin word derived from the Greek phileo for fondness, especially in the form of a kiss as a mark of tenderness. It's technically a medical term today, used to describe the little divot above the upper lip, or the indentation that starts at the top of the "heart" in a heart-shaped mouth (see accompanying photo).
Greeks also used the word philtrum to mean love potion. As Merriam-Webster shares online, this suggests that "seductive powers were attributed to this facial feature."The pronunciation for this word is FIL-truhm.
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010
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