Several Words of interest for Today
@pgiblett (6524)
Canada
January 12, 2016 9:08am CST
Having opened the page this morning I didn't find one single word to sink my teeth into, instead there were a variety of different ones, so I thought I would share:
St Bernard - A breed of very large dog originally used by monks at the hospice in the Great St Bernard pass to rescue travellers who got into trouble.
St Elmo's Fire - A luminous discharge that appears on a ship or aircraft during a storm.
Saracen - 1. An Arab or Muslim soldier at the time of the crusades. 2) A nomad of the Syrian desert at the time of the Romans.
Sarsen - A sandstone boulder of the type used at Stonehenge
Sarsenet = A fine silk fabric. The origin is old French perhaps from sarzin or Saracen cloth.
Source today is from the Oxford Compact English Dictionary one of the five dictionaries I have close at hand.
26 people like this
22 responses
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
13 Jan 16
Sarcen and Sarcanet are the only new words to me here but dictionaries and definitions are always fascinating
3 people like this
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
14 Jan 16
@pgiblett I do similar from my study of idioms though not posted one for a while now - I'll make amends to that soon
1 person likes this
@pgiblett (6524)
• Canada
13 Jan 16
A long time ago I developed the habit of spending 10 minutes a day opening the dictionary at random and seeking to improve my understanding of words, either enhancing my knowledge of known words or adding to my vocabulary. That is one reason for sharing.
3 people like this
@pgiblett (6524)
• Canada
14 Jan 16
@arthurchappell That sounds good - I would certainly be interested in reading some.
P.S. what someone said on another post saying you should shut up and run your karaoke I thought was a bit out of order.
1 person likes this
@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
12 Jan 16
Dictionaries are always a great way to learn new things Peter. I am partial to the Oxford.
Thanks for sharing these facts with us.
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@pgiblett (6524)
• Canada
12 Jan 16
@TiarasOceanView I shall be adding some every few days.
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@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
12 Jan 16
@pgiblett It really does Peter, there is so much information to be gleaned from a good dictionary. You picked good ones here. I did not know all of them.
3 people like this
@bookbar (1609)
• Sudbury, England
13 Jan 16
Your 'wordy' posts, reminded me that as a child, from a fairly poor family with no spare cash to buy books, my dad was given a set of encyclopedias, which became my reading matter in between the odd Enid Blyton gift...though I could never have admitted it to friends, with little interest in reading more than a comic... a memory jogger!
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@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
13 Jan 16
I think we had the only mean St Bernard in the world in our neighborhood when I was growing up.
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@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
12 Jan 16
I don't think, no I know, I don't own one dictionary.
2 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
12 Jan 16
@pgiblett Well, I have access to all the dictionaries I want online.
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@Freelanzer (10743)
• Canada
13 Jan 16
So that is what St Elmo's fire is all about. Hmm!
3 people like this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
12 Jan 16
The dog is the only one I knew. The st Elmo's fire I thought was a movie. The others I never heard of so thanks for making me learn today...
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@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
17 Jan 16
When we were younger we read the dictionary for fun.
1 person likes this
@pgiblett (6524)
• Canada
18 Jan 16
I still read it for fun - there are so many small stories in it.
@Marilynda1225 (82519)
• United States
14 Jan 16
I knew about St. Bernards and St. Elmos fire was a movie (but wasn't sure about the actual definition) and the others I never heard of. Dont' know if I should be embarrassed to even admit it
1 person likes this
@missjessicadawn (3286)
• United States
14 Jan 16
St. Bernards are so cute. I love the big, fluffy dogs. :-)
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