Word of the Day

[Augustine2004]

Bruno


Essay Two famous men named Bruno are in my dictionary. First fella up is Giordano, but only alphabetically, existing about 5 centuries later than the other fella. Giordano was an Italian philosopher notable for cosmology speculation. He was burned at the stake for heresy and impiousity, after teaching an infinite version of the Copernican theory of the solar system. The other fella fared better, living long enough to found the Carthusian order. Bruno of Cologne was a German monk. After exposing an archbishop's malpractice, he was forced to give up his priestly duties. In 1084, he retreated with six other monks to Grande Chartreuse in southern France and founded a monastery.

[Augustine2004]

brut
sec


Essay. Sec, said of wines such as champange, means 'a little sweet' (actually people say 'dry'). Brut means very dry (very little sugar left from the fermentation stage).




'Sec or brut?' The sommelier was brusk as he stood behind the wine cart.

Teabloom shot a lightning glance at Lady Whoozy, trying to discern what she would approve. He couldn't. He would have to guess, after all.

[Augustine2004]

Bryan



Essay. William Jennings Bryan is so well known that ordinarily I would not make his name a WotD. However, there is another William Bryan: William Cullen Bryan, U.S. poet and newspaper editor.

More on:
Jennings
Cullen

[Augustine2004]

Brynhild



Norse Mythology. A Valkyrie in the Volsunga Saga who is revived from enchanted sleep by Sigurd.
[That may be a variant spelling of Brunnhild. I admit I am not an expert on Norse Mythology.]



Teabunny wondered about Bryn Mawr College after Sigurd on the stage awakened Brynhild, played by a bewitchingly lovely woman.

[Augustine2004]

bryo-


Prefix. Indicates moss. Pictures here.



bryology = the study of mosses and liverworts.

bryony = either of two European plants, the black bryony and the white bryony.

broyphyte = any plant of the major botanical division Bryophyta.

bryozoan = any of various small aquatic animals of the phylum Bryozoa that reproduce by budding and form moss-like or branching colonies.

[Augustine2004]

bryophyte, not broyphyte.

[Augustine2004]

bubble



Essay. I looked for the modern usage of bubble as in housing bubble. No such thing. I looked at the copyright date of my dictionary: 1987. I don't know when bubble was first used in the sense of a financial or economic boom that went bust, especially spectacularly, or similar.



Many people say that the boom in the gold and silver markets are bubbles.

[Augustine2004]

A bubble may also be a financial or economic boom that one thinks will end in a bust, especially a spectacular one. I think the gold market is a bubble.

[Augustine2004]

bubo (plural: buboes)


An inflamed swelling of a lymphatic gland, especially in the area of the armpit or groin.


The Bubonic Plague is still called the worst human disaster in Europe's history (Wikipedia); it's also known as the Black Death.

[Augustine2004]

buccal


Of or pertaining to the cheeks or mouth.



The nurse had to take buccal swaps from hundreds of suspects the whole day.

[Augustine2004]

Bucephalus



The war horse of Alexander the Great



Bucephalus derives from a Latin phrase for 'ox-headed' (bous = Greek for ox; cephalous = Latin for 'headed'). Wikipedia said Bucephalus was massive including its head.

[Augustine2004]

Buchan, Sir John, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir


Essay. John Buchan wrote many books, but his most famous one is The Thirty-Nine Steps. Click on the preceding link to see why I chose Buchan as today's WotD.



I have not read John Buchan's book The Thirty-Nine Steps, but I would like to someday.

[Augustine2004]

buckler


a small round shield either carried or worn on the arm.
A means of protection; defense.

Transitive verb: To shield with or as if with a buckler; protect.



Teabuckeroo shouted, 'Aii!' He rushed upon his downed opponent, his buckler at the ready to ward off desperate thrusts.

[Augustine2004]

Buddha



Essay. I didn't know Buddha may mean one who has achieved a state of perfect spiritual enlightenment. Whether this is nirvana or something else, I do not know. I suspect we will eventually find out. I mean I will. Maybe you have attained a superior knowledge of Buddhism.

[Augustine2004]

Buddh Gaya
Bodh Gaya
Bodhgaya



The village traditionally thought to be where Buddha gained enlightenment while sitting under a bo tree. [The map below shows the Indian state of Bihar in which Bodh Gaya is located, in the southernmost pink area. The red dot in the area is Bodh Gaya.]

purloined from Wikipedia

Teabuddy sought the bo tree in Bodh Gaya in vain. Truly he had not yet gained enlightenment.