animus

animus - noun - Basic attitude or animating spirit; disposition; intention; a feeling of ill will; animosity; in Jungian psychology, the inner masculine part of the female personality

malevolent

malevolent - adj. - having, showing, or arising from intense often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred; productive of harm or evil

Muuuuaaaaaaaaaahhhahahahaaaa!

fray

fray - n - A suffle; a brawl.

Speaking of frays, here's a piece of Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene I. Romeo's friend Mercutio has been mortally wounded by Juliet's brother Tybalt. Romeo had been trying to prevent the swordplay.

MERCUTIO
I am hurt.A plague o' both your houses! I am sped. Is he gone, and hath nothing?

BENVOLIO
What, art thou hurt?

MERCUTIO
Ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch; marry, 'tis enough.Where is my page? Go, villain, fetch a surgeon.

Exit Page

ROMEO
Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much.

MERCUTIO
No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door; but 'tis enough,'twill serve: ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I am peppered, I warrant, for this world. A plague o'both your houses! 'Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to death! a braggart, a rogue, a villain, that fights by the book of arithmetic! Why the devil came you between us? Iwas hurt under your arm.

ROMEO
I thought all for the best.

MERCUTIO
Help me into some house, Benvolio,Or I shall faint. A plague o' both your houses!They have made worms' meat of me: I have it,And soundly too: your houses!

redoubtable

redoubtable - adj - Arousing fear or awe; formidable; worthy of respect or honor.


Like this character here. Vlad Tepes (Tee-pish, 1431-1476), also known as Vlad the Impaler (don't ask), was Bram Stoker's inspiration for the character Dracula.

acrid

acrid - adj - unpleasantly sharp, pungent or bitter to the taste or smell; caustic in language or tone

dogged

dogged - adj. - marked by stubborn determination; obstinate

I realize that this doesn't have a whole lot to do with my word, but when I opened my backdoor to go outside last night...I found a cute little dog on my back porch! It was so exciting! I returned her to our new neighbors soon after finding her but it was fun to play with her for a little bit.

transducer

transducer - noun - a substance or device, such as a piezoelectric crystal, microphone or photoelectric cell that converts input energy of one form into output energy of another.

abate

abate - v. - to put an end to, nullify; to reduce in degree or intensity, moderate; to reduce in value or amount; omit; deprive

ostracon

ostracon - noun - An inscribed potsherd.

The greeks used this tool to get rid of politicians. It was actually quite a painful process. The assembly (read: the citizens) would enscribe the name of the politician they wanted out of office on a piece of pottery and drop it in a bowl in the senate. When the shards of pottery were counted, if the appropriate number was met, the politician was banished from Athens for 10 years.

-- source: History channel, wikipedia

redolent

redolent - adj. - exuding fragrance, aromatic; full of a specified fragrance, scented

Happy 2 year Anniversary to Word of the Day!

pantheon

pantheon - noun - a circular temple in Rome, completed in 27 B.C. and dedicated to all the gods; a group of persons most highly regarded for contributions to a field or endeavor.

forlorn

forlorn - adj. - bereft, forsaken; being in poor condition, miserable, wretched; nearly hopeless

"...the horn sounds so forlorn..." Isn't that some sort of Christmas song? I've never heard it except for on You've Got Mail.

blintz

blintz - n - A thin pancake folded around a filling and fried or baked.

This is a very New Yorkish word. The fillings I mostly saw advertised were cheese, potato, and blueberry.

repetition - n - the act or process or an instance of repeating or being repeated...

repitition - noun - the act or process or an instance of repeating or being repeated; a recitation or recital, especially of prepared or memorized material

repitition - noun - the act or process or an instance of repeating or being repeated; a recitation or recital, especially of prepared or memorized material

repitition - noun - the act or process or an instance of repeating or being repeated; a recitation or recital, especially of prepared or memorized material

repitition - noun - the act or process or an instance of repeating or being repeated; a recitation or recital, especially of prepared or memorized material

repitition - noun - the act or process or an instance of repeating or being repeated; a recitation or recital, especially of prepared or memorized material

commensurate

commensurate - adj - Of the same size, extent, or duration as another; Corresponding in size or degree; proportionate; Measurable by a common standard.

I'm surprised this one hasn't been used already. I believe we could keep WoD going for two centuries if need be.

mouse-potato

mouse-potato - n. - someone who spends an inordinate amount of time using a computer

This is great...absolutely great! How come I can't ever come up with these things? It's going to be a while before another word can top this one (in my opinion, anyway).

tutelary

tutelary - adj - having the guardianship or charge of protecting a person or thing; guardian; protecting

I always thought it would be cool to be in the SecretService and protect the President or other foreign dignitaries. I just never had that particular opportunity arise. However, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, I did serve on a protective service detail for the admiral in charge of the port the rest of my unit was protecting. It was, from my perspective, quite an enjoyable experience.

comity

comity - n - An atmosphere of social harmony.

I'm a man of few words today.

doleful

doleful - adj. - causing grief or affliction; full of grief, cheerless; expressing grief, sad

arcane

arcane - adj - understood or known by only a few

I was sure this word had already been used. However, since it's not, I'll use it.