Lexophilia is the love of words. The term, a neologism and unofficial word of the English language, derives from two Greek words – lexis, a derivative of the Greek logos meaning "word," and philia, meaning "friendship" or "fondness."
Lexophiles, lovers of words, derive pleasure from amassing a complex, variegated, and broad vocabulary. Although not all lexophiles use their vocabulary in everyday speech, most lexophiles pride themselves in their knowledge of synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and homonyms. Lexophiles generally appreciate the nuances surrounding different words, and they normally strive to select the best word for a given circumstance.
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Welcome dear lexophiles!
As I am sure you have read the introduction to this blog, by now you know the meaning of "lexophile" and I hope you will be "over the moon" to be one of us!
The initial idea behind the creation of this "lexophiles" blog is to get everyone to write a word- or a phrase- that they like, dislike, are attracted to or simply like the look or the sound of. And next to it,there should be the meaning and / or definition of the given word or phrase,and, if possible, its etymology or origin.
Please do not refrain from writing a particular word or phrase just because you think other people might already know it. You will probably be wrong in thinking that other people know more than you! We all know something but there is a lot of things we do not know!
Thus we will all learn from one another and will make learning a shared, enjoyable and life-long process!
A big hug to all lexophiles!
Hilda
Hello classmates!
First of all, I wish you a Happy Christmas and Happy New Year, too.
Secondly, I don't know if this is the correct place where we have to write "our words or expressions", but I will try.
My contributions will be the following ones:
- On the bounce: one after the other, without anything else coming between ("We've won six matches on the bounce").
- Eye candy: a person or thing that is attractive but not intelligent or useful.
- Make over: the process of improving the appearance of a person or a place, or of changing the impression that something gives.
- Techie: a person who is expert in or enthusiastic about technology, especially computers.
Pili Molina
Hello!
First, Merry Christmas to everybody!!
Next, my words. Here we go:
-Handicap
Definition:
Noun 1. A permanent physical or mental condition that makes it difficult or impossible to use a particular part of your body or mind.
2. Something that makes it difficult for somebody to do something.
3. (Sport) a race or competition in which the most skilful must run further, carry extra weight, etc. in order to give all those taking part an equal chance of winning; the disadvantage that is given to somebody you are competing against in such a race or competition.
Verb 1. To make something more difficult for somebody to do.
Etymology:
This term refers to the advantage given by the most qualified players to others that are inferior in order to balance competition. It derives from the English expression "hand in cap" and it's related to a common game in the XVII century in which a cap or hat was used to hold the money for bets.
-Shark
Definition:
1. A large sea fish with very sharp teeth and a pointed fin on its back. There are several types of shark, some of which can attack people swimming.
2.(Informal, disapproving) a person who is dishonest in business, especially somebody who gives bad advice and gets people to pay too much for something.
Etymology: This word was coined by sailors on John Hawkins's expedition to the Caribbean in 1568. On this trip, they caught this kind of fish and took it to London. It is believed that the word derives from the Mayan word "xoc", pronounced showk, which means fish. The sailors adopted the local Indian word to name the fish they had found.
Hi everybody!
Here is my word: Handkerchief
I chose that word because it surprised me the very first time I listened to it.
- Definition: A handkerchief (also called handkercher or hanky) is a form of a kerchief, typically a square of fabric that can be carried in the pocket, for personal hygiene purposes such as wiping one's hands or blowing one's nose, but also used as a decorative accessory in a suit pocket.
-Etymology: 1530, from hand + kerchief "cloth for covering the head". Thus it is a one-word contradiction in terms. Richard II of England is said to have invented the handkerchief, as "little pieces [of cloth] for the lord King to wipe and clean his nose," appear in his Household Rolls or accounts, which is the first documented use of them.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Xavier Torres
Hello, dear students!
I can see you are very good at managing your time, namely you have time to enjoy your holidays but also to contribute a word to our blog. Well, thanks to all!
Myself I am learning a lot from you! And since we are having rather "cold" holidays, I've chosen a word you know but also a
relatively new expression with this word which might prove controversial in our class. In other words, I hope this new expression may give way to some discussion - or argument?- in class.
The word is INFLUENZA: commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease of birds and mammals caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae (the influenza viruses). The name influenza comes from the Italian: influenza, meaning "influence", (Latin: influentia).
The new expression is MAN FLU:The expression man flu, also sometimes referred to as a man cold, has pejorative overtones, suggesting that the ‘sufferer’ has an irritating tendency to exaggerate his condition. The expression derives from the premise that there is a clear gender divide when it comes to coping with everyday illnesses like common colds: women knuckle down and soldier on regardless, looking after children, preparing meals, going to work, whilst men take to their beds and proclaim incapacity for several days.
Needless to say, the expression WOMAN FLU is also used. Can anybody write its meaning, please?
Thanks and keep on having lexo-fun!
Hilda
Hi classmates,
Many words I have listened this hollydays some of them are these:
-Fashion:"shape, maner, mode" it comes from O.French "façon" a kind of dress from 1529,from latin "factionem" that means "group of people acting together".This term is frequetnly used in a positive sense:for glamour,beauty and style,butthe term is also used in negative sense as a synonym for fads or materialism.
-Stub: An article too short to provide more than rudimentary information about a subject should be marked as a stub.
Great your idea,Hilda!
See you soon.
Paqui
Hello Everybody..!
Here is my contribution:
My first word is: "Golf"
Game in which you use long sticks called clubs to hit a small, hard ball into holes that are spread out over a large area of grassy land.
Etymology: Scottish "gouf", usually taken as an alteration of Middle Dutch "colf", "colve" meaning: stick, club, bat. The game is originally from 14th century. The word is first mentioned (along with fut-bol) in a 1457 Scottish statute of forbidden games.
Another version of the etymology, probably coming from an urban legend, states that the word originated as the abreviation of "Gentelmen Only Ladies Forbidden" as it is said that such advise was displayed at the entrance of the early game fields in Scotland.
My second word is: "Net"
A kind of cloth made of very fine threads woven together so that there are small equal spaces between them and you can see through the cloth.
Etymology: The word comes from Proto Indo-European "ned" meaning: to twist, knot. Originally something knotted.
I have yet another word for you guys. It is "Measles".
An infectiuos illness that gives you red spots on your skin.
Etymology: Originated c.1325, plural of Middle English (the English language as written and spoken c.1100-c.1500) "masel", probably from Middle Dutch "masel" meaning: blemish. from Proto-Germanic "*mas" meaning: spot, blemish. Compare with Old High German "masla", meaning: blood-blister. first recorded 1864 as a British slang.
Hello everybody!!
The first word I have chosen is WHARF. I found it while reading a book during this holidays and I had to look for it in the dictionary as I didn't remember its meaning:
WHARF:
Definition: A wharf is a landing place or pier where ships may tie up and load or unload.
Tie up: to secure, to fix "tie up the boat"
Etymology: The word comes from the Old English hwearf, meaning "bank" or "shore", and its plural is either wharfs, or, especially in American English, wharves; collectively a group of these is referred to as a wharfing or wharfage (a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats).
The second one is DWARF. There is not a particular reason for choosing it, only curiosity:
DWARF:
Definition: a legendary creature resembling a tiny old man; lives in the depths of the earth and guards buried treasure.
Etymology: A dwarf is a creature from Germanic mythologies, fairy tales, fantasy fiction, and role-playing games. It usually has magical talents, often involving metallurgy. The plural form dwarfs has been traced to the 17th century. The alternative plural dwarves has been recorded in the early 18th century, but was not generally accepted until used by philologist J. R. R. Tolkien in his fantasy novel The Hobbit. Neither spelling represents the regular phonetic development of the Old English plural dweorgas, namely dwarrows; rather, they descend from a new plural formed in Middle English from the singular stem. Similarly, the old inherited plural dwarrows acquired a singular dwarrow. Although dwarrow has passed from the language, both dwarfs and dwarves are in current use. Many grammarians prefer dwarfs; many fantasists prefer dwarves. The form dwarfs is generally used for real people affected by dwarfism; the form dwarves is used for the mythical people described by Tolkien and others.
See you tomorrow!!
Rosa Orihuela
Hello everybody!
My word is addict. It's definition is:
1.A person who is unable to stop taking harmful drugs.
2.A person who is very interested in sth and spends a lot of their free time on it.
Etymology:
Slaves given to Roman soldiers to reward them for performance in battle were known as addicts. Eventually, a person who was a slave of anything became known as an addict.
I also have the expression "to break the ice".
Definition:
1. To relax a tense or formal atmosphere or social situation.
2. To make a start on some endeavor.
Etymology:
This came into general use, in sense (1), in English through Lord Byron's "Don Juan" (1823) in the lines:
And your cold people (the British) are beyond all price, when once you've broken their confounded ice.
The ice in question is metaphorically that on a river or lake in early spring. To break the ice would be to allow boats to pass, marking the beginning of the season's activity after the winter freeze. In this way, this expression has been connected to the start of enterprise for abour 400 years.
See you tomorrow!
Here is my word: strawberry
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English strēawberige, from strēaw straw + berige berry; perhaps from the appearance of the achenes on the surface
Date: before 12th century
1: the juicy edible usually red fruit of any of several low-growing temperate herbs (genus Fragaria) of the rose family that is technically an enlarged pulpy receptacle bearing numerous achenes on its surface
2: a plant whose fruits are strawberries ; especially : a hybrid (Fragaria ananassa) that is the source of most cultivated
And another one:
Main Entry: 1chap·er·one
Variant(s): or chap·er·on \ˈsha-pə-ˌrōn\
Function: noun
Etymology: French chaperon, literally, hood, from Middle French, head covering, from chape
Date: 1720
1: a person (as a matron) who for propriety accompanies one or more young unmarried women in public or in mixed company
2: an older person who accompanies young people at a social gathering to ensure proper behavior ; broadly : one delegated to ensure proper behavior
3: any of a class of proteins that facilitate the proper folding of proteins by binding to and stabilizing unfolded or partially folded proteins —called also molecular chaperone
Flora Buxó
I'm not RAMON, I'm Flora! ;)
Hello, here am I!!
My word is, unfortunately, so much used in current days: Slaughter
Definition:
1.-The killing of many people cruelly and unfairly, especially in a war
2.-The killing of animals for meat
3.-When one team is very easily defeated by the other.
Etymology:
From O.N. *slahtr, akin to slatr "a butchering, butcher meat," slatra "to slaughter," and slattr "a mowing;" related to sla "to strike" (see slay), from P.Gmc. *slukhtis. Meaning "killing of a large number of persons in battle" is attested from 1338. The verb is from 1535. Slaughter-house is from c.1374.
Sorry for the delay!
See you
Aurora
Hi, everybody!
Here are my contributions:
Shrapnel (do you remember our Educating Rita?).
- Definition: Fragments from an exploded artillery shell, mine, or bomb.
- Etymology: The term was coined in 1806, after Henry Shrapnel (1761-1842). He was a British army officer and he invented a type of exploding and fragmenting shell when he was a lieutenant in the Royal Artillery during a war. The invention consisted of a hollow cannon ball, filled with shot, which burst in mid-air. His name for it was spherical case ammunition. With this sense of “shell fragments”, shrapnel is first recorded in 1940.
Artichoke
- Definitions:
a. A Mediterranean thistlelike plant in the composite family, having pinnately divided leaves and large discoid heads of bluish flowers.
b. The edible, immature flower head of this plant. Also called globe artichoke.
- Etymology: The etymological origin of this word has been widely discussed. According to the most recent studies, the word goes back to an Arabic word for the same plant, al-xurshūf. Along with many other Arabic words, it passed into Spanish during the Middle Ages. The Old Spanish word, alcarchofa, passed through Italian; the source of the English word, articiocco, comes from a northern Italian dialect. It was further modified in English, where a variety of spellings and explanations are found since its appearance early in the 16th century. The plant was introduced in England in the reign of Henry VIII (King of England from 1509 to 1547).
My contribution is the word "Joey," that in Canadian English means Canada's greatest gelded Thoroughbred racehorse by being the best pound-for-pound runner, with the biggest Heart/Weight ratio of any other runner and the horse that won more races and Canadian purse monies from 1930 to 1940 (Includes the Great Depression). Joey also contributed more Canadian monies ($58,500) to Canada's Victory Savings Bonds, than any other horse or animal to fund the Canadians World War Two war efforts.
"Joey was no fly-by-night ace/ Neither flashy nor showy/ Just honest, consistent/ And tireless was Joey.
Joey was to Canada what the great Australian gelding, Phar Lap was to Australia. In Australia, a Joey is a kangaroo, but not in Canada. Phar Lap in Canada means sitting the longest way from your sweetheart's knee. Oops, we call that far lap. Onward my friends and read our book, with 62 pictures, "JOEY, Calgary's Horse and Racins Hall of Famers," by Leo Louis Jacques and Sue Morton. 338 Pages.
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