I encountered the word "busking" earlier this week. It's when you're a street performer with (classically) an upturned hat or opened guitar case for donations.
Roaching. Used in reference to cutting off a horse' mane. I've worked with horses for eight years, and this was a new one for me.
So, there's this book on minerals and gemstones, and there's lots of cool words in it. Acicular -- needle-shaped Botryoidal -- shaped like a cluster of grapes Dendritic -- branching like a tree Lamellar -- formed like flat sheets Mammilated -- "round, mutually interfering masses" Massive -- "crystalline aggregates with no distinct form" Reniform -- kidney shaped.
So, there's this book on minerals and gemstones, and there's lots of cool words in it. My husband calls himself a recovering geologist (just trying to get through one day at a time without consulting a map). Despite recovery, he uses words like this all the dang time.
Pomander noun a ball or perforated container of sweet-smelling substances such as herbs and spices, placed in a closet, drawer, or room to perfume the air or (formerly) carried as a supposed protection against infection.
There's another, but closely related meaning when Esoteric (internal or interior, as in the inner world or inner reality) is used as the opposite of Exoteric (external—the outer world, the physical world). This is usually in reference to spirituality or religion. "In the same way as the term "esoteric" is often associated with esoteric spirituality, the term "exoteric" is mostly used in discussions of religion and spirituality, as when the teachings shift the believer's focus away from an exploration of the inner self and towards an adherence to rules, laws, and an individual God. The term "exoteric" may also reflect the notion of a divine identity that is outside of, and different from, human identity, whereas the esoteric notion claims that the divine is to be discovered within the human identity." "The Ismaili interpretation of Shia Islam operates in the framework of a co-existence between the exoteric (zahir) form and the esoteric (batin) essence. Without the esoteric, the exoteric is like a mirage or illusion with no place in reality." Source So in this sense it's very similar to the dichotomy of the objective outer world and the subjective inner one. In fact the use of Esoteric as "understandable only by an enlightened inner circle" refers to those initiated into the esoteric form of a religion. Apparently each major religion can be understood in an exoteric way, which is how the standard worshipers understand it and how it's preached in public, and in an esoteric way. Those initiated into the esoteric meanings of parables etc. interpret heaven and hell as being internal states ("The kingdom of heaven is within you") and the major gods and religious beings as inner figures. This looks to be a decent introduction: Esoteric Christianity @ Wikipedia A few interesting passages from The Esoteric Character of the Gospels: "Tyson wrote that "sanctification," in Blavatsky's opinion, "was ever the synonym (for) the 'Mahatmic-condition,' i.e., the union of the man with the divine principle (Augoeides) in him."[18] In this connection, he has said that Neoplatonic friars "practiced fasting, celibacy, contemplative prayer, and charity in order to," as Blavatsky writes, "kill one's personality and its passions, to blot out... separateness from one's 'Father,' the Divine Spirit in man." To "kill one's personality" in this sense is what's referred to by the symbol of the Crucifixion—the death of the human (the worldly part, the sinful part) so that the divine part, the Christos (the Living Christ) may live within. "A religious studies scholar Alvin Kuhn stated that the "Gospels" in ancient times were not "the biographies of one, or of any, living earthly person, but were held as the literary forms of a universal dramatical representation of the experience of our divine souls in the mortal body here on earth."
I still have no idea what prose is. Ordinary speech? Talking tediously? So why do people compliment peoples' prose? Why do people practice prose? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is this just a pretentious way of saying "way of speaking?"
Prose just means writing that isn't poetry. The word Prosaic is a derivative of it, and means something that doesn't have poetry (often visually) and is more functional or utilitarian. But of course prose can be beautiful even though it isn't poetry. One of the main uses of poetry in the beginning was so legends and myths could be remembered through generations, since there was no written language. All the poetic devices like rhythm, rhyme, meter, etc were to make it easier to memorize the stories, which were often histories, lists of family names, and important statements about the beliefs of the society that held it together.
Some lesser known definitions of some very common words that I'd like to commit to memory. Cheek noun impertinent talk or behavior. "he had the cheek to complain" Husband verb use (resources) economically; conserve. "the need to husband his remaining strength" Swarm verb to climb with the hands and feet. "swarm up a pole"
When I was young I encountered the term "animal husbandry" as something taught at a local college. I was terrified
There's also the sense of animal husbandry, referring to the care and maintenance of animals. And the related way we use it today, which really means to take on the care and maintenance of a wife and/or a family. (@Iain Aschendale I didn't see your response.) I had another strange thought about words the other day that I want to look into. The similarity between girder and girdle (and 'to gird', as in "Gird your loins", which I believe means to wrap, as with a loin cloth). It makes me wonder if a girder is a beam used to wrap around a skyscraper, to create a sort of belt to prevent the pressure from making the walls buckle outward. Or does it just mean the same thing as an I beam or an H beam? I like to think my way through these ideas before checking, it leads to some interesting thoughts. I'll get back after looking into it.
Here we go: A girder, not unlike a girdle, is a reinforcing agent; girdles are more uncomfortable, but I digress. The root of both, however, is gird. Merriam-Webster defines gird as: (transitive verb) 1a : to encircle or bind with a flexible band (as a belt) Source Oh yeah, I love it when these things pan out! Makes me feel all smart an' stuff (until the next time I try to think something through and muddle it all up )
Yep, I'm familiar with that term. I believe I was first introduced to animal husbandry via a roleplaying game (D&D?). Truthfully, I've picked up a slew of words from pen and paper RPGs: dexterity, charisma, constitution, halberd, cleric, rogue, melee, etcetera.
I became interested in the origins of the words wife and bride. Looks like this is a deep rabbit hole with little known but some very interesting conjecture. But it looks like my conjecture of a connection between bride, bridal, and bridle is a no-go (thankfully!) It's important to remember that in the early days of humanity marriage had nothing to do with romantic love, it was about creating a household and spawning a generation (generations) of offspring in order to increase the tribe or the village, whatever the case may be. It was more of an obligation to the tribe.
