Posted on 02/02/2007 6:21:08 AM PST by VRWCmember
In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".
glasnost • \GLAHZ-nohst\ • noun
a Soviet policy permitting open discussion of political and social issues and freer dissemination of news and information
Example sentence:
Yuri welcomed glasnost because he could finally publish the article he had written about poverty in Moscow.
Did you know?
"Glasnost'" wasn't coined by former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, but he was responsible for catapulting the word into the international media and the English vocabulary. The term derives from the Russian adjective "glasnyi," which means "public" and which itself traces to "glas," a root meaning "voice." In Russian, "glasnost" was originally used (as long ago as the 18th century) in the general sense of "publicity," and the Oxford English Dictionary reports that V.I. Lenin used it in the context of freedom of information in the Soviet state. However, it wasn't until Gorbachev declared it a public policy in the mid-1980s that "glasnost" became widely known and used in English.
Bonus Friday Words:
lothario \loh-THAIR-ee-oh\ noun
a man whose chief interest is seducing women
The Story Behind the Word
"Lothario" comes from The Fair Penitent (1703), a tragedy by Nicholas Rowe (1674-1718). In the play, Lothario is a notorious seducer, extremely attractive but beneath his charming exterior a haughty and unfeeling scoundrel. He seduces Calista, an unfaithful wife and later the fair penitent of the title. After the play was published, the character of Lothario became a stock figure in English literature. For example, Samuel Richardson (1689-1761) specifically modeled the character of Lovelace on Lothario in his 1748 novel Clarissa. As the character became well-known, his name became progressively more generic, and since the 18th century the word "lothario" has been used for a foppish, unscrupulous rake.
osculate \AHSS-kyuh-layt\ verb
kiss
The Story Behind the Word
"Osculate" comes from the Latin noun "osculum," meaning "kiss" or "little mouth." It was included in a dictionary of "hard" words in 1656, but we have no evidence that anyone actually used it until the 19th century (except for scientists who used it differently as a word for "contact"). Would any modern writer use "osculate"? Ben Macintyre did. In a May 2003 (London) Times piece entitled "Yes, It's True, I Kissed the Prime Minister's Wife," Macintyre wrote, "Assuming this must be someone I knew really quite well, I screeched 'How are you,' . . . and leant forward preparatory to giving her a chummy double-smacker . . . Perhaps being osculated by lunatics you have never seen before is one of the trials of being a Prime Minister's wife. She took it very well."
roué \roo-AY\ noun
a man devoted to a life of sensual pleasure; RAKE
The Story Behind the Word
The word roué can be traced back to the Latin noun rota, meaning 'wheel.' From the noun the verb rotare, 'to rotate,' was derived, which in Medieval Latin took on the sense 'to break on the wheel.' The wheel in question was the instrument of torture designed to extract a confession of guilt by stretching, disjointing, or otherwise mutilating the victim. Rotare became rouer in French, and roué is the past participle of that verb, meaning 'broken on the wheel.' About the year 1720 Philippe II, the Duke of Orleans and Regent of France, who was himself a profligate, called his wantonly licentious companions "roués," by which he meant that they deserved to be broken on the wheel. It has also been suggested that the duke may have called his friends roués because their debauches so exhausted them that they felt as though they had been broken on the wheel. In any case, roué then came to be applied to other such rakes and profligates, and its first appearance in English was around the year 1800.
Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the Word for the Day in a sentence.
The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day.
The Review threads are linked for your edification. ;-)
Practice makes perfect.....post on....
Review Threads:
Review Thread One: Word For The Day, Thursday 11/14/02: Raffish (Be SURE to check out posts #92 and #111 on this thread!)
Review Thread Two: Word For The Day, Tuesday 1/14/03: Roister
Review Thread Three: Word For The Day, Tuesday 1/28/03: Obdurate
Review Thread Four: Word For the Day, Friday 7/25/03: Potation
Review Thread Five: Word For the Day, Monday 8/19/03: Stolid
Review Thread Six: Word for the Day, Tuesday 11/09/2004: Peripatetic (Post #125 may be my best anagram post ever)
Here is my example with WFTD.
It would be nice if the lamestream media would adopt a policy of glasnost rather than simply being a propaganda arm of the democrat party.
It Couldn't Be Due to the Fact That She's Opinionated
No pushing at the door please!
Happy Groundhog Day Everybody!
Get to class, you slackers! I've opened a new classroom, but Miss Rika has the gradebook. So if you're looking for a grade you'll have to ping her. Miss Slippy is pretty generous with the plusses if you compliment her shapely legs, so you might try submitting your homework to her instead. My secret for getting extra plusses on my A+ from xs will remain a secret between me and her, so you're on your own if you want her to review your work.
Get to class, you slackers! I've opened a new classroom, but Miss Rika has the gradebook. So if you're looking for a grade you'll have to ping her. Miss Slippy is pretty generous with the plusses if you compliment her shapely legs, so you might try submitting your homework to her instead. My secret for getting extra plusses on my A+ from xs will remain a secret between me and her, so you're on your own if you want her to review your work.
Get to class, you slackers! I've opened a new classroom, but Miss Rika has the gradebook. So if you're looking for a grade you'll have to ping her. Miss Slippy is pretty generous with the plusses if you compliment her shapely legs, so you might try submitting your homework to her instead. My secret for getting extra plusses on my A+ from xs will remain a secret between me and her, so you're on your own if you want her to review your work.
finaLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Get to class, you slackers! I've opened a new classroom, but Miss Rika has the gradebook. So if you're looking for a grade you'll have to ping her. Miss Slippy is pretty generous with the plusses if you compliment her shapely legs, so you might try submitting your homework to her instead. My secret for getting extra plusses on my A+ from xs will remain a secret between me and her, so you're on your own if you want her to review your work.
hello
you got snow and we got squat, that is so strange.
Those who live under socialism houses, glassnot throw stones at capialism's success.
WHyisa sent xsteen a wonderful WELCOME TO TEXAS box of goodies that arrived yesterday, which was exceptionally nice of whyisa to do. it was full of cool texas stuff and xsteen was just thrilled. she is looking forward to going Texan next fall : )
Morning Neo. Have you checked out http://geico.com ? It's supposedly so easy to save money on car insurance that even a caveman could do it.
Where's she going?
That is so cool. She is so thoughtful. I wish I had thought of doing something like that.
Today's Friday..................
There got the right thread this time.
Hey, no posting of inferior groundhogs!
And don't tell me to kiss off. ;-)
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.