Word of the Day

[Augustine2004]

capsule (verb)


Essay: Maybe I'm crazy to bother so much with such minor inefficiency: My dictionary lists both capsulate and capsulize. All three verbs mean the same thing, to enclose in a capsule (which could be a very brief summary). If you wish to avoid upsetting me, please use capsule (verb) in preference to those clumsy and verbose words.



Teabose capsuled Hamlet for Lady Juliet, but he had the impression afterwards that she had yet to get his point.

[Augustine2004]

captured rotation


Essay: Many satellites show the same hemisphere to their primary, as in the case of the Moon and the Earth. The phenomenon is also called "synchronized rotation." The Earth may eventually (millions of years in the future) also show the same hemisphere to the Moon. More here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit_o...Moon#Libration and here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit_o...idal_evolution

Captured rotation is the result of an astronomical body losing rotational energy because of tidal effects (gravity that vary from space-point to space-point with respect to a primary body).

[Augustine2004]

caracole


a half turn to either side executed by a horse in dressage.
To do such a turn or a series of such turn.



Lady Marchbold and her horse Teabony expertly caracoled for several seconds, after which the onlookers erupted in frenzied applause.

[Augustine2004]

Caravaggio


born Michangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Lombardy) c. 1565??[note below]. He rebelled against the guidelines of the Roman Catholic Church, which wanted religious art to help the Counter Reformation. My dictionary said, "Refusing to conform to the tradition of earlier European art with its idealized religious figures, he chose instead to use peasants and street people as the models for many of his sacred subjects. Examples of his work: http://www.ask.com/pictures?qsrc=167...2&geo=US&ver=5

Note the mastery of light and darkness (Wikipedia says "Tenebrism"). "Formative influence on the Baroque school of painting."



Such a wild guy was Caravaggio that the Pope issued a death warrant for him. Unfortunately, on his way to Rome to receive a pardon, Caravaggio died of a fever 18 July 1610.

Note: Wikipedia says 29 September 1571.

[Augustine2004]

caravel
caravelle
carvel


a small light sailing ship of the kind used by the Spanish and Portuguese in the 15th and 16th centuries --------purloined from Wikipedia



In the Age of Exploration Spanish and Portuguese ships were often (usually?) caravels.

[Augustine2004]

carbine


Essay:Some of you may have jumped to this thought: "Aha! At long last a definitive definition of carbine! Whee!

Alas, no. It's just a rifle that is short and light, such as what horse cavalry people might carry.

Sorry if you're disappointed.

Oh, yeah, Wikipedia . . . to the rescue? Heh. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbine

[Augustine2004]

carboy


a large glass or plastic bottle, often encased in a protective basket or crate and often used to hold corrosive liquids.



In brewing, carboys are often also called demijohns.

[Augustine2004]

carbuncle



Essay: When I first saw the Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," I was confused. The word carbuncle has a pathology meaning: it is a skin disease like a boil but may have more than one opening. I kept expecting the detective and his sidekick to have to contend with what is a contagious disease. You can imagine my surprise when I found out the blue carbuncle was really a precious stone. Like I am nattering about the "Pink Pimple," worth a zillion.

[Augustine2004]

bromide
bromine



Essay: First, let me apologize for the brain whiplash induced by wrenching this thread out of alphabetical order. I do have a reason. Last time, I commented how different the two meanings of carbuncle were, one for a contagious disease and the other for a precious gem. Today I chanced upon bromide. Now, bromine--note the -ine ending--is an element, like hydrogen, oxygen, or carbon. Bromide may denote a chemical compound of bromine with some other element or even a molecule, or it may denote a platitude or a commonplace remark or notion.



Teabroomine spent hours scaling the mountain and searching for the guru on the peak. Finally, as the sun was sinking in the west, Teabroomine saw a figure in saffron robes maintaining a yoga lotus position. After some preliminary palaver, Teabroomine launched several questions. Soon he became dismayed. The guru's replies consisted mainly of bromides.

[Augustine2004]

carburet
carburetor



Essay: Have you ever wondered if carburetor means a device or someone who carburets? If so, go to the head of the class. To carburet is to mix (something such as oxygen gas) with carbon or hydrocarbons.

[Augustine2004]

card


a wire-toothed brush used to disentangle fibers, as wool, prior to spinning (could be a machine instead).
A similar device used to raise the nap on a fabric.
(transitive verb) to comb out or brush with a card.


Jenny had to stop spinning, her card was so full of wool tangles.

[Augustine2004]

cardia


Essay: A word for those of you who love to be confused. One would think cardia has to do with the heart. Indeed, it comes from New Latin, from Greek for heart (kardia). Actually, it is the junction of the esophagus with the stomach. One trap for the careless reader is the adjective cardiac. That word may indeed mean, of or pertaining to the cardia, but it can also mean, of, near or pertaining to the heart. We do have an out in that "cardiac" may mean "near the heart." Sure enough, a glance at some anatomy pictures show how neighborly the cardia and the heart are.

But there's heartburn.

[Augustine2004]

carmine


a deep vivid red color with a purplish tinge. Click here and search for "carmine."



Some food items are colored carmine because of ground up remains of red bugs of a certain species. Don't freak out. It's high in protein. Good for you.

[Augustine2004]

casement


a window frame hinged on a side so that it can open out or in; a window with such frames.



Romero leaped to the casement, but before he could open it, heavily armed and armored soldiers boiled into Juliet's bedroom.

[Augustine2004]

Casement, Roger David


Essay: While a British consul, campaigned against abuses of people in Peru and the Congo. Made a knight (Sir Casement) in 1911. Later attempt to enlist German aid for Ireland independence when World War I broke out. Caught returning to Ireland in a German submarine. Executed by the British for treason 1916.