Heena Rathore’s weekly meme

Word of Week (WOW) – Buffoon

Published on September 7, 2015June 25, 2020 by milliethom36 Comments

Word of the Week (WOW) is a weekly challenge created by Heena Rathore P. It’s a fun way to improve vocabulary by learning new words every week.

To participate, simply do a post with your word and leave the link as a comment on Heena’s WOW post for this week (above link).

I’ve now been through the alphabet once, so I’ve started again, and am now looking at the letter B.

So, here is my WOW for this week:

Word:

Buffoon

Meaning

A person who does silly things, usually to make other people laugh:

Jester-Joker Card001 by GoShaw. Creative Commons

2. A person given to coarse or undignified joking (a boor).

Pronunciation:

buf·foon [buh–foon]

Audio: buffoon. (No discernible difference between UK and US pronunciations for this one.)

Part of Speech:

Noun

Related Forms:

Noun: buffoonery

Adjective: buffoonish

Word Origin:

Mid 16th century: from French bouffon, from Italian buffone, from medieval Latin buffo, meaning ‘clown’. Originally recorded as a rare Scottish word for a kind of pantomime dance, the term later (late 16th century) denoted a professional jester.

“Buffoon Playing a Lute”. Auhtor Frans Hals, 1623. Oil on canvas. Current location: Louvre Museum. Photographer: Web Galley ally of Art. Public Domain

Synonyms:

jester, clown, fool, boor, comic, comedian, wag, joker, dag (New Zealand, informal) harlequin, droll, silly-billy (informal), joculator or (fem) joculatrix, merry-andrew, zany, prankster.

Antonyms:

None

Use in a Sentence:

1. Once she got behind her desk, the generally quiet Teresa seemed to transform into a buffoon, hurling coarse and insulting remarks at her colleagues:

2. I hoped my husband would stop acting like a buffoon before our friends deserted us at the party:

3. In most of their films, Bob Hope played the buffoon of the comedy duo, whilst Bing Crosby was the straight man.

Screen shot of Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour from — Screen shot of Bob Hope (left) Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour from “The Road to Bali”, 1952. Public Domain4. Adjecive use: Six-year-old Jonathan was not impressed by the clown’s buff

4. (Use of related noun) On his first visit to the circus, Jonathan was not impressed by the clown’s constant buffoonery:

If you’d like to view more interesting words, visit Heena’s

Word Treasure

Word of Week (WOW) – Aplomb

Published on August 31, 2015June 25, 2020 by milliethom33 Comments

Word of the Week (WOW) is a weekly challenge created by Heena Rathore P. It’s a fun way to improve vocabulary by learning new words every week.

To participate, simply do a post with your word and leave the link as a comment on Heena’s WOW post for this week (above link).

I’ve now been through the alphabet once, so I’m starting again with the letter A.

So, here is my WOW for this week:

Word:

aplomb

Meaning:

Self-confidence or assurance, especially when in a demanding situation:

2. The perpendicular or vertical position:

404px-Plumb_bob — Plum-bob suspended on a string. Author: Jim Thomas. Commons

Pronunciation:

a·plomb

uh-plom [uh-pluhm]

Audio: aplomb (Quite a difference between the UK aand US pronunciations with this one.)

Part of Speech:

Noun

Related Forms:

None

Word Origin:

1828, from the French aplomb (16th century) literally“perpendicularity”, from the phrase à plomb “poised upright, balanced” – literally “on the plumb-line,” from the Latin plumbum “(the metal) lead” of which the weight at the end of the line was made (as image above).

Synonyms:

equanamity, calmness, collectedness, composedness, composure, cool, coolness, countenance, equilibrium, imperturbability, placidity, repose, sangfroid, self-composedness, serenity, tranquility, tranquilness

Antonyms:

agitation, discomposure, perturbation, confusion, doubt, uncertainty.

Use in a Sentence:

Susan passed her driving test with her usual aplomb:

2. The famous artist showed aplomb when surrounded by so many reporters:

(Artist Florentijn Hofman surrounded by reporters. Shutterstock photo.)

3. The word aplomb comes from the use of a ‘plumb-line’ (with a metal weight, or ‘plumb-bob’, suspended at the end of it) to determine the verticality or depth of a building undergoing construction:

A plum-square from 'Cassell's Carpentry and Joinery'. Public Domain. — A plum-square from ‘Cassell’s Carpentry and Joinery’. Public Domain.

If you’d like to view more interesting wods, visit Heena’s

Word Treasure

Word of Week (WOW) – Zoomorphic

Published on August 17, 2015June 25, 2020 by milliethom22 Comments

Word of the Week (WOW) is a weekly challenge created by Heena Rathore P. It’s a fun way to improve vocabulary by learning new words every week.

To participate, simply do a post with your word and leave the link as a comment on Heena’s WOW post for this week (above link).

I’m up to the letter Z this week another letter with limited choice, so I’ll be happy to get back to starting the alphabet again.

So, here is my WOW for this week:

Word:

Zoomorphic

Pronunciation:

zoo-morphic (UK)

zo-o-mor-phic [zoh-uh–mawr-fik] (U.S)

Part of Speech:

Adjective

Related Forms:

Noun: zoomorph; zoomorphism

Meaning:

of or relating to a deity or other being conceived of as having the form of an animal:

633px-mosaic_pan_genazzano_massimo 3 — Pavement mosaic with the head of Pan. Roman artwork, Antonine period (138-192 CE). Public Domain

Pavement mosaic with the head of Pan. Roman artwork, Antonine period (138-192 CE). Public Domain

2. characterised by a highly stylised or conventionalised representation of animal forms:

kellsdecoratedinitial1 6 — Zoomorphic decoration from the Book of Kells. Uploaded by Soerfin. Public Domain

3. representing, or using, animal forms:

cowha 2 — In Hinduism, the cow is the symbol of wealth, strength, abundance, selfless giving and a full Earthly life. Attribution: copyrighted to Himalayan Academy Publications, Kapaa Kauai, Hawaii. Commons

Synonyms:

None

Word Origin:

Late 19th century: from zoo ‘of animals’ + Greek morphē ‘form’ + -ic

Use in a Sentence:

1. The Egyptian gods were often depicted as zoomorphic.

2. It was a very warm day when we visited the street fair, and one young man had taken off his shirt, revealing a zoomorphic tattoo on his left shoulder:

gallo_17876406125 5 — Vincent Gallo tattoo at the Urban Bear strees Fair. Author: istolethetv. Commons

3. The White Horse at Uffington is thought to be a zoomorphic representation of some symbol or belief of a tribe of Ancient Britons, possibly the Artrebates:

uffington-white-horse-sat 4 — The White Horse at Uffington, Oxfordshire, UK. Author: USGS. Public Domain

The White Horse at Uffington, Oxfordshire, UK. Author: USGS. Public Domain

If you’d like to see more interesting words visit Heena’s page:

Word Treasure

Word of Week (WOW) – Yammer

Published on July 27, 2015June 25, 2020 by milliethom21 Comments

Word of the Week (WOW) is a weekly challenge created by Heena Rathore P. It’s a fun way to improve vocabulary by learning new words every week.

To participate, simply do a post with your word and leave the link as a comment on Heena’s WOW post for this week (above link).

I’m up to the letter Y this week and, as with X, I’ve had limited choice for this week’s word – and I imagine Z will be just as bad. I can’t wait to get back to starting the alphabet again.

So, here is my WOW for this week:

Word:

yammer

Pronunciation:

yam•mer (ˈyæm ər)

Audio link:

yammer

Part of Speech:

verb

Related Forms:

noun: yammer; yam·mer·er

adverb: yammeringly

Meaning:

As a verb:

1. to utter or whine in a complaining or peevish manner

2. to make a complaint, loudly or persistently:

3. (intransitive) esp of an animal, to howl or wail plaintively or distressingly; yelp or yowl.

As a noun:

yammer e.g. The yammer of animated conversation emanated from the boardroom:

exchange-of-ideas-222788_640 — Image courtesy of Pixabay

2. a yammering sound, wail, or utterance

3. nonsense; jabber

Synonyms:

beef, bellyache, bitch, bleat, carp, caterwaul, croak, fuss, gripe, grizzle, grouch, grouse, growl, grumble, grump, holler, keen, moan, murmur, mutter, nag, repine, scream, squawk, squeal, wail, whimper, whinge, whine, complain, yawp/yaup, yowl.

Antonyms:

crow, delight, rejoice

Word Origin:

Middle English yameren, alteration of yomeren -to murmur, be sad – from Old English gēomrian -akin to Old High German jāmaron, to be sad. First known use: 15th century

Use in a Sentence:

1. After the earthquake, the seismographs yammered for days:

2. Maria escorted the old lady back to her house, smiling patiently as she yammered on about the old days:

3. Chris yawned, willing the teacher to stop yammering about boring algebraic equations:

4. Left alone in the isolated cottage, Judith found the constant yammer of the guard dog quite unnerving:

dog-29392_640 — Image courtesy of Pixabay

If you’d like to see more interesting words visit Heena’s page:

Word Treasure

Word of Week (WOW) – Xenolith

Published on July 20, 2015June 25, 2020 by milliethom17 Comments

Word of the Week (WOW) is a weekly challenge created by Heena Rathore P. It’s a fun way to improve vocabulary by learning new words every week.

To participate, simply do a post with your word and leave the link as a comment on Heena’s WOW post for this week (above link).

I’m up to the letter X this week and this one was a bit of a challenge. There are relatively few words beginning with X, and many of the words that do either refer to something biological, botanical, or chemical, or are names of people or places. I ended up picking a noun that is familiar to me, and I want to attempt a couple of sentences using it in a metaphorical way, or perhaps in a simile.

So, here is my WOW for this week:

Word:

xenolith

Part of Speech:

noun

Related Forms:

xenolithic: adjective

Pronunciation

xen·o·lith (zěn’ə-lĭth’, zē’nə-)

Audio link:

xenolinth

Meaning:

(Geological Sceience) a fragment of rock differing in origin, composition, structure, etc, from the igneous rock enclosing it.

Included fragment of granite within basalt. Near Georgeville, Nova Scotia. Rygel M.C. Commons

Synonyms:

inclusion

Antonyms:

None

Word Origin:

1894 – 1905; xeno (foreign, strange) + lith (stone)

Use in a Sentence:

1. (Adjective use) The xenolithic nature of the rock gave it an exotic appeal:

Garnet_lherzolite_-_xenolith_from_a_kimberlite_pipe,_Kimberley_SA — Garnet Iherzolite xenolith from Kimberley, South Africa. (Garnet – purplish-red, olivine – dark green, chromian dioxide pyroxene – bright green). Author: James St, John, uploaded by Tillman. Commons.

2. Against the dull grey of the lava flow, the xenolith of yellow peridotite stood out like the moon in the darkening night sky:

1024px-Nephelinit — ‘Nephelinit’ by Benutzer Derhammer. Rounded, yellow, weathered peridotite xenolith in nephelinite lava flow. Kaiserstuhl, SW Germany. Commons

3. The moon was a xenolith in the indigo sky of night:

4. The small girl in the purple dress was like a xenolith in the vast green meadow:

Last two images courtesy of Pixabay.

If you’d like to see more interesting words visit Heena’s page:

Word Treasure

Word of the Week (WOW) – Whirligig

Published on July 11, 2015June 25, 2020 by milliethom14 Comments

Word of the Week (WOW) is a weekly challenge created by Heena Rathore P. It’s a fun way to improve vocabulary by learning new words every week.

To participate, simply do a post with your word and leave the link as a comment on Heena’s WOW post for this week (above link).

I’m up to the letter W this week so I’ll be looking for a good word beginning with X

So, here is my WOW for this week:

Word:

Whirligig

Pronunciation

whirl·i·gig

[hwur-li-gig]

Audio Link:

Whirligig

Part of Speech:

Noun

Related Forms:

Verb: whirligig

Meaning:

1. Any spinning toy, such as a top

400px-Spinning_top_-_prague — Spinning top bought in Prague by Philippe Teuen from Belgium. Commons

2. A carousel; a merry-go-round

Carousel on London's Southy Bank during a summer festival. Photo: Andrew Dunn. Commons — Carousel on London’s Southy Bank during a summer festival. Photo: Andrew Dunn. Commons

3. Something that continuously whirls, spins or moves in a circular or giddy way (e.g. the whirligig of social life or a windmill)

Windmill at Marsh Hill, Thornton, Lancs. Author Roger W. Haworth, uploaded by Hohum. Commons

4. A whirligig beetle (a small, black, predatory beetle which swims rapidly in circles on the surface of still or slow-moving water and dives when alarmed).

Whirligig beetle, Gyrinus natador. Author Edmund Reitter 91845-19209 — Whirligig beetle, Gyrinus natador. Author Edmund Reitter 1845-1920.

Synonyms:

1. spinning top, humming top, whipping top, peg top,teetotum, plaything

2. merry-go-round, roundabout, fairground ride

3. (As a verb): spin, spin around, gyrate, reel, whirl, pirouette, spiral, rotate, roll, circle

4. beetle, water beetle, insect, bug

Antonyms:

None

Word Origin:

Mid-15c: a child’s toy, from whirl (v) + gig (n). Meaning (‘anything in constant motion’ from the 1580s; ‘fickle flighty person’ is from 1600; a type of water beetle from 1713.

Use in a Sentence:

1. ‘Look at that whirligig up there in the sky!’ Susan said to her six year old son.

800px-Search_Rescue_Florida — Search and rescue helicopter in Florida. Uploaded by Versageek. Commons

2. Doing the firm’s financial accounts left Marcia’s mind a complete whirligig.

3. It has often been said that Time is a whirligig and that all things come round again at some point, including fashions.

Wooden hourglass. Author: User: S. Sepp. Commons

If you’d like to see more interesting words visit Heena’s page:

Word Treasure

Word of the Week (WOW) – Vacuous

Published on July 5, 2015June 25, 2020 by milliethom9 Comments

Word of the Week (WOW) is a weekly challenge created by Heena Rathore P. It’s a fun way to improve vocabulary by learning new words every week.

To participate, simply do a post with your word and leave the link as a comment on Heena’s WOW post for this week (above link).

I’m up to the letter V this week so I’ll be looking for a good word beginning with W

So, here is my WOW for this week:

Word:

Vacuous

Pronunciation

vac·u·ous (vak-yoo-uh s)

Audio Link:

Vacuous

Part of Speech:

Adjective

Related Forms:

Adverb: vacuously

Noun: vacuousness

Meaning:

1. Lacking intelligence; stupid or empty-headed.

2. Devoid of expression; vacant: a vacuous stare.

3. Lacking substance or meaning; vapid or inane e.g. a vacuous comment.

4. Lacking serious purpose or occupation; idle: e.g. After a night almost devoid of sleep, John had a vacuous day at the office:

5. Devoid of matter; empty: e.g. a vacuous space.

Empty room in Group Omicrone. Author DK dence. Commons

Synonyms:

Vapid, stupid, inane, asinine, blank, mindless, meaningless, fatuous, vacant, empty, unintelligent, incommunicative, uncommunicative.

Antonym:

Full

Word Origin:

1640s: empty, from Latin vacuus – empty, void, free (as in vacuum). The figurative sense of ‘empty of ideas’ is from 1848.

Use in a Sentence:

1. John worried that after a few too many cocktails, Erica’s mind would become vacuous:

2. The demonstrators were chanting particularly vacuous slogans:

3. (Adverb use). At weekends, Kathy gossiped vacuously for hours with her friends:

If you’d like to see more interesting words visit Heena’s page:

Word Treasure

Word of the Week (WOW) – Ubiquitous

Published on June 22, 2015June 25, 2020 by milliethom18 Comments

Word of the Week (WOW) is a weekly challenge created by Heena Rathore P. It’s a fun way to improve vocabulary by learning new words every week.

To participate, simply do a post with your word and leave the link as a comment on Heena’s WOW post for this week (above link). It’s a nice post to do and will give you some practise with a dictionary, of which there are several online. Illustrations are up to you.

I’m up to the letter U this week so I’ll be looking for a good word beginning with V

So, here is my WOW for this week:

Word:

Ubiquitous

Pronunciation

u·biq·ui·tous [juːˈbɪkwɪtəs]

Audio Link:

Ubiquitous

Part of Speech:

Adjective

Related Forms:

Adverb: ubiquitously

Noun: ubiquitousness; ubiquity

Meaning:

Existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresent: ubiquitous fog

A foggy day in San Francisco. Author Daniel Ramirez, Honolulu, USA

Synonyms:

omnipresent, ever present, pervasive, all-over, everywhere, universal, common or garden (chiefly British) commonplace, everyday, familiar, frequent, ordinary, quotidian, routine, usual , widespread, generalised, scattered

Antonyms:

extraordinary, infrequent, rare, seldom, uncommon, unfamiliar, unusual

Word Origin:

“Turning up everywhere,” 1837, from ubiquity + ous. The earlier word was ubiquitary (1580s), from Modern Latin uubiquitarious from ubique

Use in a Sentence:

1. The police presence was ubiquitous in Edinburgh during the protests at the start of the G8 summit.

800px-EdinburghProtests3 — Edinburgh protests at the start of the G8 summit. Author: Sam Fentress. Commons

2. (Adverb use) Denim is used ubiquitously in the clothes industry:

Hand Sanding. Author: Fahed Faisal. Commons

3. McDonald’s has a ubiquitous presence in the world.

800px-Mcd-times_square — McDonalds in Times Square. Uploaded by Hecki2. Public Domain

If you’d like to see more interesting words visit Heena’s page:

Word Treasure

Word of the Week (WOW) – Tenacious

Published on June 15, 2015June 25, 2020 by milliethom5 Comments

Word of the Week (WOW) is a weekly challenge created by Heena Rathore P. It’s a fun way to improve vocabulary by learning new words every week.

I’m up to the letter T this week so I’ll be looking for a good word beginning with U

So, here is my WOW for this week:

Word:

Tenacious

Pronunciation

te•na•cious [tuh–ney-shuh s]

Audio Link: tenacious (Not much difference between the UK and US pronunciation with this word)

Part of Speech:

Adjective

Related Forms:

Adverb: te·na·cious·ly

Noun: te·na·cious·ness

Noun: tenacity

Noun: tenacity: the quality of being tenacious

Meaning:

1. Holding fast, or keeping a firm hold, often followed by of, e.g. a tenacious grip on my arm

2. Highly retentive, e.g. a tenacious memory.

3. Persistent, stubborn, or obstinate.

4. Adhesive or sticky; viscous or glutinous.

5. Holding together; cohesive; not easily pulled apart; tough.

Synonyms:

1. Stubborn, dogged, determined, persistent, sure, firm, adamant, staunch, resolute, inflexible, strong-willed, steadfast, unyielding, obstinate, intransigent, immovable, unswerving, obdurate, stiff-necked, pertinacious, tight, forceful, unshakable

2. Synonyms for adhesive meaning (4): clinging, sticky, glutinous, gluey, mucilaginous (e.g. tenacious catarrh in the nasal passage and lungs).

Antonyms:

Wavering, changeable, vacillating, yielding, flexible, irresolute

Word Origin

Early 17th century: from Latin tenax, tenac- (from tenere ‘to hold’) + ious

Use in a Sentence:

1. It was sad that a man with such a tenacious memory as Albert should succumb to acute dementia so early in life:

A man diagnosed as suffering fromacute dimentia. Credit: Welcome Trust. Creative Commons — A man diagnosed as suffering from acute dementia. Credit: Welcome Trust. Creative Commons

2. (Adverb use) King Alfred’s men fought tenaciously against the Danes to save their kingdom:

3. (Noun use) David Beckham’s tenaciousness and commitment to soccer makes him one of the truly great players:

1999_FA_Cup_Final_Beckham_corner — 1999 FA Cup Final Bechham corner. Author: Michael Cairns. Creative Commons

4. A ladybird goes after its garden prey in a tenacious manner:

If you’d like to see more interesting words, visit Heena’s page:

Word Treasure

Word of the Week (WOW) – Somnolent

Published on June 7, 2015June 25, 2020 by milliethom17 Comments

Word of the Week (WOW) is a weekly challenge created by Heena Rathore P. It’s a fun way to improve vocabulary by learning new words every week.

I’m up to the letter S this week, so I’ll be looking for a word beginning with T next week.

So, here is my WOW for this week:

Word:

Somnolent

Pronunciation:

som·no·lent [som-nuh-luh nt]

Audio: HERE

Part of Speech:

Adjective

Noun: somnolence; somnolency

Adverb: somnolently

Meaning:

1. Drowsy; sleepy (e.g a somnolent river, or a somnolent person)

2. Inducing or tending to induce sleep or sedation; soporific (e.g. a somnolent lesson)

Synonyms:

sleepy, drowsy, tired, languid, languorous, heavy-eyed, dozy, noddding, half-asleep, asleep on one’s feet, yawning, lethargic, sluggish, inactive, enervated, torpid, comatose, slumberous (or slumbrous) soporific. Informal: snoozy, dopey, yawny

Antonyms:

alert, awake,conscious, wakeful, wide-eyed

Word Origin:

1425-75; late Middle English sompnolent < Old French < Latin somnolentus, derivative of somnus (sleep).

Use in a Sentence:

1. After feeding him, Katherine laid her somnolent baby in his cradle: