David Zapatka Last month we discussed the word “chicane” used in describing an obstacle on the Tour de France racecourse. Our word this month is “domestique,” used to describe a rider in the Tour de France. Domestique noun do·mes·tique dō′mĕs-tēk′ (Cycle Racing) (in competitive road cycling) a cyclist whose job is to support the higher-ranking members of…
Tag: Word of the Month
Features, January 2022
Word of the Month: Quincunx
David Zapatka While reading The Labours of Hercules, by Alice A. Bailey, in my book-reading group, I ran across the familiar word “quincunx” and had to reach back in my memory to recall where I had been exposed to this word before. Quincunx noun quin·cunx | ˈkwin-ˌkəŋ(k)s 1. an arrangement of five objects with four at…
Features, November 2021
Word of the Month: Contronym
David Zapatka Reader and dear friend Ellen Engel suggested I look at Mental Floss’ article on contronyms. I subscribed to Mental Floss for years and enjoyed the magazine. Today, you can only read it online, as its print version has been discontinued. Contronym noun con·tro·nym | ˈkän-trə-ˌnim variant – contranym: a word having two meanings that contradict one…
Features, October 2021
Word of the Month: Whelm
David Zapatka While at a conference in Houston, Texas, last month, I heard keynote speaker Frank Abagnale, the author of the book Catch Me If You Can and main character of the movie by the same name, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The book and movie depict Mr. Abagnale’s life as a check forger and scam artist. He…
Clubs & Classes, September 2021
Word of the Month: Percipient
David Zapatka Friend, fellow bridge enthusiast and reader, Maria Davis, wrote, “I enjoyed your article on thraldom. It’s easier to spot the etymology when the alternative spelling thralldom is used. I have seen thrall and enthralled but thral(l)dom is a word that I had not encountered previously. I came across an interesting word today—percipient. It…
Features, August 2021
Word of the Month: Thraldom
David Zapatka While reading page 52 of The Labours of Hercules by Alice A. Bailey in my book-reading group, I ran across this sentence. “Let the soul be single in its purpose and freed from the thraldom of matter, and then right action and a right point of view will inevitably be the characteristics of the physical…
Features, July 2021
Word of the Month: Orbisculate
David Zapatka We’re doing something different this month. We’re going to explore getting a new word into dictionaries. Reader Debbie M. writes, “Hello, I enjoy your column and want to offer a suggestion. ‘Orbisculate’ is a word not yet in the dictionary. I think we should help the young people who are trying to get…
Features, June 2021
Word of the Month: Enough
David Zapatka Have you had enough? How much is enough? Enough of what? Enough stuff? Enough politics? Enough religion? Enough of some person? Enough of some activity? What does enough really mean? Reader and sister, Judy Haberstroh, says, “I came across this excerpt and thought the word ‘enough’ may be a good one for…
Features, May 2021
Word of the Month: Ontology
David Zapatka Last month’s column on “negentropy” elicited this response from a reader, “My thermodynamics class was at 8 a.m., and I slept through that particular law. Thanks for the review, albeit a little late to do anything with it.” There’s an art to scheduling university classes, and avoiding 8 a.m. classes was one of…
Features, April 2021
Word of the Month: Negentropy
David Zapatka While reading Starseed Transmissions by Ken Carey, I ran across the word negentropy. I’ve always been fascinated by the word “entropy” and its meaning, so I was immediately intrigued by this related word, driving me to research it for this month’s issue. Entropy – noun /ˈentrəpē/ 1. thermodynamics: a measure of the unavailable energy in…