"heptathlon" - Word of the Day from the OED

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heptathlon, n.

ADDITIONS SERIES 1993

(hptæln)  [f. HEPT- + Gr. contest, after PENTATHLON n., etc.] 

    An athletic contest, usu. for women, consisting of seven different events.

1977 Washington Post 28 July (Virginia Weekly section) 1/6 The favorite all day long was the Heptathlon competition composed of seven athletic events from the old country. 1980 T. MCNAB Compl. Bk. Athletics xx. 178/1 In 1976, the IAAF Congress Women's Committee proposed that from 1981 a heptathlon be introduced. 1985 H. PAYNE Athletes in Action 179 He has coached his national team in all jumping events and in the heptathlon. 1989 Times 5 Apr. 48/4 The only American women to win individual athletics gold medals in Seoul were..Jackie Joyner-Kersee, in the heptathlon and the long jump.

    Hence heptathlete n., a competitor in such an event.

1983 Runner's World Jan. 54/1 Jodi Anderson, our heptathlete, could easily pole vault 13, 14, probably 15 feet. 1990 Times 4 Apr. 44/4 Kim Hagger, the heptathlete, joined the world mile record holder, Cram.., for the launch in London.

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Bodily Fluid:
the liquid parts of the body

"Kalamata" - Word of the Day from the OED

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Kalamata, n.

DRAFT ENTRY June 2006

Brit. /kalmt/, U.S. /kælmd/  Forms: 18- Calamata, 19- Kalamata.Also with lower-case initial.  [< Kalamáta, the name of a Greek city on the southern coast of the Peloponnese, in the department of Messinia. Cf. modern Greek elia Kalamatas Kalamata olive.] 

    1. A type of currant from southern Greece. rare.

1871 Times 16 Oct. 7/2 For the moment there does not exist the very low description of provincial fruit which was then on the marketsuch, for instance, as low Calamata... Good dry Pyrgos..is now as cheap as any sort of currant. 1917 F. CRISSEY Story of Foods 354 This is the ‘dried currant’ of Greece of which the shade-dried Vostizza is the finest type, with the Patras ranking second. Next..come the Provincials from the west coast and the Calamatas from the southern tip of the country.

    2. In full Kalamata olive. The fruit of an olive cultivar traditionally grown around the Greek city of Kalamata, having a large size and elongated shape, a purplish-black colour when cured, smooth skin, and a sharp, fruity taste; (also) the tree bearing this fruit.

1932 Washington Post 26 Nov. 9/4 The best of ripe olives, the salty Calamata olives at only 30 cents a pound. 1955 Times 26 Mar. 1/5 (advt.) Do you like Kalamata olives? 1978 N.Y. Times 19 May C23 Mr. Kassos..cures his own olives (the brown Kalamatas and small, fresh, green Agrinions being my favorites). 1996 Courier Mail (Queensland) (Nexis) 11 Sept. 48 Their company is.expanding their plantings of kalamatas. 2003 J. MURRAY Jazz etc. xii. 238 Plump exquisite Kalamata olives shall we say?

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[Increase My Vocabulary]

Red Cabbage:
compact head of purplish-red leaves

Today's Word: condescension

Your daily dose of

	This week's theme is: How not to make new friends.

condescension

	Your current subscription status is: MyWordaDay Only. > Did you know Vocab Vitamins Complete is just $16.50/year? Open Spigot: The Vocab Vitamins Blog 6/27 Vocab Vitamins is opening up Vocab Vitamins - The Book. Your vitamins -- now wrapped in paper with original illustrations. > Subscribe > Account Settings To UNSUBSCRIBE, click here and follow the instructions on our simple form. Fire Escape Partners 3465 25th Street, Suite 17 San Francisco, CA 94110	(noun) [kon'-di-SEN-shahn] 1. the act or instance of patronizing or condescending 2. an attitude or behavior that implies the courteous lowering of oneself to the level of people of lesser importance or intelligence: "Her lyrics are polite and positive, but they gloss over and simplify life's complexities to the point of condescension." Origin: Approximately 1642; possibly borrowed from Middle French, 'condescension,' or from Late Latin, 'condescensionem' (nominative 'condescensio'), from 'condescendere': to condescend. In action: "There are days when the great are near us, when there is no frown on their brow, no condescension even; when they take us by the hand, and we share their thought." Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803�1882), U.S. essayist, poet, philosopher. �Works and Days,� Society and Solitude (1870). "It's not easy being Europe in the 21st century. Just ask anyone: The United States is leaving the Old Continent behind again - this time to wallow in technological anachronism. In their disarmingly frank style, many Americans look across the Atlantic and mutter, 'What a bunch of losers.' Europe, they say, appears bent on confounding individual endeavor at every opportunity. The familiar list of complaints goes on: excessive state interference in all walks of life; punitive tax regimes; a pervasive envy of the rich and famous; and that oh-so-infuriating condescension." Misha Glenny. "How Europe Can Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Future," Wired.com (Feb 2001). "'No Exit' manages to be vintage Blondie without sounding the least bit dated. Unlike so many other reunions of aging, slightly pathetic bands that inspire only condescension, Blondie interlaces reggae, ska, rap (with rapper Coolio guesting on the title track), juicy pop, updated disco and plain punk into an inventive, experimental album the likes of which endeared Blondie to audiences two decades ago." Donna Freydkin. "Reunited Blondie rapturous again," CNN.com (March 02, 1999). "I have always thought that the surest proof of talent is its condescension to genius." Vincent Sheean. [On George Jean Nathan�s tolerance of Sinclair Lewis] Dorothy and Red (1963).
	VocabVitamins.com	Have a very friendly weekend!

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A.Word.A.Day--samizdat

Wordsmith.org

The Magic of Words

Oct 1, 2010

This week's theme
Words related to censorship

This week's words
fatwa
custos morum
excommunicate
euphemism
samizdat

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

samizdat

PRONUNCIATION:

(SAH-miz-daht)

MEANING:

noun: An underground publishing system used to print and circulate banned literature clandestinely. Also, such literature.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Russian samizdat, from samo- (self) + izdatelstvo (publishing house), from izdat (to publish). Coined facetiously on the model of Gosizdat (State Publishing House).

USAGE:

"This remarkable little book (People Power Uli!) includes jokes, text messages, cartoons, and poems of the revolt. It is both funny and a valuable record of samizdat literature and Philippine popular culture."
Alastair Dingwall; Estrada's Fall From Grace; Far Eastern Economic Review (Hong Kong); Jan 17, 2002.

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A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Thank everyone who calls out your faults, your anger, your impatience, your egotism; do this consciously, voluntarily. -Jean Toomer, poet and novelist (1894-1967)

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"yips" - Word of the Day from the OED

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yips, n. pl.

SECOND EDITION 1989

colloq.

(jps)  [Origin obscure.] 

    In Golf, a state of nervousness which causes a player to miss an easy putt in a competition. Usu. with the def. article.

1963 Times 10 June 4/2 His left-below-right putting stroke designed to prevent the ‘yips’, is most effective once it begins to flow. 1972 Tel. (Brisbane) 1 Jan. 5/7 Nevertheless, Jones got a dose of what golfers call ‘the yips’. 1984 Times 21 Sept. 9/4 Golfers suffer from the ‘yips’, which means that their muscles seize up and freeze when they are faced with a short putt and they cannot play the stroke.

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[Increase My Vocabulary]

Calf's Brain:
the brain of a calf eaten as meat