W o W - Week of Words - March 2009

The “W o W” word - Environment Global Warming (Noun): An increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect. A warmer Earth may lead to changes in rainfall patterns, a rise in sea level, and a wide range of impacts on plants, wildlife, and humans. When scientists talk about the issue of climate change, their concern is about global warming caused by human activities. The effects are coming closer to an ice age. We have to stop all this pollution so that all the ice doesn’t melt and polar bears and Arctic animals like the polar bears don’t die. Precautions to slow down global warming: Replacing an incandescent lamp with energy-saving bulbs prevents 75 kilograms (kg) of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere annually. Driving cars less will save 0.75 kg carbon dioxide for every 2 kilometers. Using hot water less will prevent energy consumption, and washing clothes with cold or warm water will save 250 kg of carbon dioxide annually. Electronic devices should be turned off totally; those such as televisions and DVD players are releasing 450 kg of carbon dioxide annually when kept at stand-by eight hours on a daily average.
The “W o W” word Closed loop waste management (noun): The Closed-loop Waste Management System is a process designed to address every aspect of the waste stream. Odors are controlled. All manure or food waste solids are processed to be extent-pathogen-free and to kill weed seeds while retaining the beneficial nutrients. The result is a stable composted material that can be handled, stored or moved as soil, no longer a toxic material that needs special handling. All liquid is processed for methane generation, filtered and clarified for reuse. It also includes recycling waste newspaper to make paper-board or other types of paper.
The “W o W” word Smog (smawg) noun: smoke or other atmospheric pollutants combined with fog in an unhealthy or irritating mixture. Smog is a kind of air pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area caused by a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide. Modern smog does not usually come from coal but from vehicular and industrial emissions that are acted on in the atmosphere by sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog. Smog is a problem in a number of cities and continues to harm human health. Ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide are especially harmful for senior citizens, children, and people with heart and lung conditions such as emphysema, bronchitis, and asthma. It can inflame breathing passages, decreasing the lungs' working capacity, and causing shortness of breath, pain when inhaling deeply, wheezing, and coughing. It can also cause eye and nose irritation.
The “W o W” word Ozone Depletion (Noun): Ozone depletion is the destruction of ozone in the stratosphere, where it shields the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Ozone depletion describes two distinct, but related observations: a slow, steady decline of about 4 percent per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere (ozone layer) since the late 1970s, and a much larger, but seasonal, decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions during the same period. The latter phenomenon is commonly referred to as the ozone hole. It is suspected that a variety of biological consequences such as increases in skin cancer, damage to plants, and reduction of plankton populations in the ocean's photic zone may result from the increased UV exposure due to ozone depletion.

[Word Powers] Friday Fiesta - March 2009

This section covers the origin of certain words.

“Sword of Damocles”

Meaning:

An ever-present threat; an impending disaster

Coined after Damocles of Greek legend. Damocles was a courtier who flattered the ruler Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, to excess. The fulsome praise so annoyed the king that he decided to teach him a lesson. He held a banquet in honor of Damocles but when Damocles saw the sword hanging by a single horse-hair over his head, he lost all taste for the lavish feast. He realized that even those who appear to enjoy great fortune face fears and worries. The expression literally means hanging over.

Usage:

“Roth said, 'The threat of an audit ... looms like the sword of Damocles over the heads of taxpayers.’”

Coeval (ko-EE-vuhl)

Meaning:

adjective: Having the same age or duration.
noun: A contemporary.

From Latin coaevus, from co- (in common) + aevum (age), from Greek aion (age). Ultimately from the Indo-European root aiw-/ayu- (vital force, life, eternity) that is also the source of ever, never, aye, nay, eon, eternal, medieval, primeval, utopia, Sanskrit Ayurveda.

Usage:

"Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born in the same year, on the same day: Feb 12, 1809. ... Instinctively, we want to say that they belong together. It's not just because they were both great men, and not because they happen to be exact coevals. Rather, it's because the scientist and the politician each touched off a revolution that changed the world."
Malcolm Jones; Who Was More Important: Lincoln or Darwin?; Newsweek (New York); Jul 7, 2008.

[Word Powers] Thursday Trivia - March 2009

This section covers few Indian colloquial words which made it into the English Dictionary.

Corundum (Co*run”dum): From the Tamil word kurantham, means “ruby”; Very hard mineral used as an abrasive.

Bandana (Ban-dan-uh): From the Hindi word bandhan, is a type of large, usually colorful, kerchief, worn on the head.

Cash (kash): From Portuguese caixa, From Tamil kAcu, which is from Sanskrit karsha, a weight of gold or silver.

[Word Powers] Daily Words - March 2009

Natation (ney-tey-shuhn) (Noun): Swimming The Red cross emphasizes the need for courses in natation.

Natty (nat-ee) (Adjective): Neatly or smartly dressed Priding himself on being a natty dresser, the gangster Bugsy siegel collected a wardrobe of imported suits and ties.

Perpetual (per-pech-oo-uhl) (adjective): 1. Lasting an indefinitely long time: perpetual snow. 2. Continuing or continued without intermission or interruption; ceaseless: a perpetual stream of visitors all day. Night and day we live with the perpetual noise of the city.

Perpetrate (pur-pi-treyt) (verb): To commit: to perpetrate a crime. To present, execute, or do in a poor or tasteless manner: Who perpetrated this so-called comedy? He vowed revenge for the crime perpetrated on his family.

	Peruse (p-rz) (noun): To read or examine, typically with great care The librarians checked to see which titles had been perused in the last month and which been left untouched.
	Perforate (pûrf-rt) (verb): To pierce, punch, or bore a hole or holes in; penetrate Shaped charges are used to perforate a well by blowing holes in the casing or liner, cement and producing zone.
	Spoonerisms (spoon·er·ism) (Noun): Spoonerisms are words or phrases in which letters or syllables get swapped. This often happens accidentally in slips of the tongue. Tease my ears (Ease my tears) A lack of pies (A pack of lies) It's roaring with pain (It's pouring with rain) Wave the sails (Save the whales) Check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Archibald_Spooner
	Oxymorons (ox·y·mo·ron) (Noun): A rhetorical figure in which contradictory terms are combined, as in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist Ever noticed that it's simply impossible to find seriously funny oxymorons online? The only choice is to ask one of those paid volunteers at the library – the ones in the long-sleeved T-shirts – for an original copy of some obviously obscure documents that were found missing amongst some paperwork almost exactly one hundred years ago.
	Precipitance (pri-sip-i-tuhn-see) (noun): 1. Hasty or rash acts. 2. Action or thought marked by impulsiveness or rash haste. The old wholly trust gradual progression but the youth expects to force his way by genius, vigor and precipitance.
	Precipitin (pri-sip-i-tin) (noun): An antibody that reacts with its specific antigen to form an insoluble precipitate. The precipitin test takes advantage of specific binding of the antigens for the purpose of forensic testing.
	Conflagration (kon-fluh-GREY-shuhn) (noun): 1 A large destructive fire In the conflagration that followed the 1906 earthquake, much of San Francisco was destroyed. 2 A large and violent event, such as a war, involving a lot of people They may succeed in turning a little local difficulty into a full-blown regional conflagration
	Retinue (RET-n-oo, -yoo) (noun): A group of helpers and followers who travel with an important person. The President travels with a large retinue of aides and bodyguards.
	Apparition (ap-uh-rish-uhn) (noun): A ghostly appearing figure. Floating down the stairway was the apparition of an old woman wearing a pale blue dress and what appeared to be a head veil.
	Apportion (uh-pohr-shuhn) (verb): To give out as one's portion or share The broadcasting council has powers in regulating programming on radio and television, allocating broadcasting frequencies, and apportioning subscription revenues to public media.
	Thespian (thes-pee-uhn) (Adj): Pertaining to tragedy or to the dramatic art in general. Tamil actor Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan is a legend in the Indian film fraternity, hailed for his thespian talents.
	Tribulation (trib-yuh-ley-shuhn) (Noun): Grievous trouble; severe trial or suffering. In life, people come across many trials and tribulations in the pursuit of happiness.
	Cruciverbalist (kroo-suh-vur-buh-list) (noun): 1. Lover of crossword puzzles. 2. A constructor of crosswords. 3. An enthusiast of word games, especially of crosswords. Cruciverbalist is a word constructed from two Latin words, crucis (cross) and verbum (word). In case that wasn’t a big enough clue, it refers to one who compiles or likes to solve crosswords.
	Nictitate (nik-ti-teyt) (verb): to wink Leena couldn’t tell if Manish was nictitating because he was flirting with her or because he had something in his eye.
	Abet (uh-bet) (verb): To encourage, support, or countenance by aid or approval, usually in wrongdoing: to abet a swindler; to abet a crime The spy succeeded only because he had a friend on the inside to abet him.
	Abate (uh-beyt) (verb): To reduce in amount, degree, intensity, etc.; lessen; diminish: to abate a tax; to abate one's enthusiasm. To deduct or subtract: to abate part of the cost. The rain poured down for a while, then abated.
	Ombudsman (OM-buhdz-muhn) (noun): Someone who works for a government or large organization and deals with the complaints made against it. The Government of India has designated several ombudsmen sometimes called Chief Vigilance Officer or CVO. In India, Ombudsman is called as Lokpal or Lokayukta. Lokpal at the Centre and one Lokayukta each at the State level for redressal of people's grievances.
	Chutzpah (KHOOT-spuh, HOOT-spuh) (noun): 1. Courage bordering on arrogance. Utter nerve or audacity 2. Imaginative and shocking behaviour, involving taking risks but not feeling guilt. It took a lot of chutzpah to make such a controversial statement.
	Deplete (di'pleet) (verb): Use up (resources or materials); Consume “The problem of groundwater depletion in India is worsened because Indian farmers’ electricity bills are either free or heavily subsidized. As a result, many run their pumps with abandon, further depleting water tables” – Indian Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
	Deplorable (di'plorubul) (Adj): Of very poor quality or condition; Bad; Unfortunate “The Kind of statement Varun Gandhi has come out with is highly deplorable and deserves proper action” – Congress leader on BJP candidate Varun Gandhi’s recent controversial statement (still a question) against the minorities during a election campaign.
	Acid rain (Noun): Rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic. It has harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. The principal cause of acid rain is sulfur and nitrogen compounds from human sources, such as electricity generation, factories, and motor vehicles.
	Biosphere (bahy-uh-sfeer) (Noun): The part of the earth's crust, waters, and atmosphere that supports life. The ecosystem comprising the entire earth and the living organisms that inhabit it. The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems
	Aquifer (ak-wuh-fer) (noun): Underground bed or layer yielding ground water for wells and springs etc. An underground layer of permeable rock, sediment (usually sand or gravel), or soil that yields water. Sandstones, unconsolidated gravels, and porous limestone make the best aquifers and can range from a few square kilometers to thousands of square kilometers in size.
	Carbon Footprint (kahr-buhn foot-print) (noun): The total set of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event or product. Once the size of carbon footprint is known, strategies such as carbon offsets can be devised to reduce it.
	Desertification (di-zur-tuh-fi-KAY-shuhn) (noun): Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. Currently over 250 million people experience the direct consequences of desertification. Many of them are the world’s most destitute and vulnerable citizens.
	Eutrophication (yoo-troh-fi-KAY-shuhn) (noun): Over-enrichment of a water body with nutrients, resulting in excessive growth of organisms ,especially algae, and depletion of oxygen concentration. Eutrophication plagues more than half the lakes in Europe and Asia, 41 percent of those in South America, and 28 percent in North America.
Bioremediation (beye-oh-ri-mee-dee-ay-shuhn) (Noun): The use of biological agents, such as bacteria or plants, to remove or neutralize contaminants, as in polluted soil or water. Mycoremediation is a form of bioremediation, the process of using mushrooms to return an environment (usually soil) contaminated by pollutants to a less contaminated state.
Hypoxia (hahy-pok-see-mee-uh) (Noun): is a phenomenon that occurs in aquatic environments as dissolved oxygen becomes reduced in concentration to a point detrimental to aquatic organisms living in the system Hypoxia occurs when water flowing from a river into the sea does not mix with the underlying saline water, thereby reducing the oxygen concentration in the bottom layer.
Ordinance (awr-dn-uhns) (noun): An authoritative rule or law; a decree or command A public injunction or regulation: a city ordinance against excessive horn blowing. When both Houses of Parliament are not in session, and the circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action, The President of India may promulgate ordinances applicable for a limited period and having the same force and effect as an act of parliament.
Ordnance (awrd-nuhns) (noun): 1) Cannon or artillery. 2) The branch of an army that procures, stores, and issues, weapons, munitions, and combat vehicles and maintains arsenals for their development and testing. Army’s supply chain of ordnance stores comprises a multi tiered distribution system in which “mother depots” are connected to troops deployed throughout the country through a network of regional and field depots besides other store holding units.