Words.
Or as Hamlet once said, “Words words words”.
It’s pages of lists of words. I’ll wait until later in the day to start work on them. I was up at 6, intending to swim at 7:30, but I got caught in another small (?) box of cards and notes. Two hours later I made coffee. Here I am, still not dressed. I will get some exercise putting things into files and books and places where they belong, but by far the most work and time will be spent on answering letters and cards that have been stashed for over a year. I used to pride myself on answering mail right away. Another blot on my escutcheon.
ESCUTCHEON
“Escutcheon comes from the Old French escusson, which was both a "half-crown coin" and also a "coat of arms," from a Latin root meaning "shield." An escutcheon can be an actual shield, held as defense from an opponent's sword, or the shape of a shield, especially when it's part of a coat of arms. A more modern meaning of this word is "flat metal around a keyhole," a piece of hardware with a vaguely shield-like shape.” (Dictionary)
Not my understanding or use of it, thoujgh related. To me it is symbolic. My coat of arms is my reputation, my standard of behaviour. So a blot on it is a failure to live up to my standard.
Learn something every day.
I’ll be back.
….Much much later. Here we go:
gallimaufry. noun, plural gal·li·mau·fries.Chiefly Literary: a hodgepodge; confused medley; jumble, a ragout or hash.
farrago, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, medley, mélange, mishmash, mixture, tangle, welter; mess, muddle; goulash, grab bag, mixed bag, miscellany, omnium-gatherum.
[I’ve looked this word up before but have never used it. Perhaps I will now, as I look at my files.]
catenary, noun (plural catenaries) a curve formed by a wire, rope, or chain hanging freely from two points and forming a U shape: [as modifier] : a catenary wire. • a wire, rope, or chain forming a catenary: a catenary from the electrical grid. ORIGIN mid 18th century: from Latin catenarius ‘relating to a chain’, from catena ‘chain’.
Pelagian, adjective, relating to or characteristic of the theological doctrine of Pelagius, especially in denying the doctrines of original sin and predestination, and defending innate human goodness and free will: the Pelagian definition of sin and holiness | such theology is not only subjective but thoroughly Pelagian.
noun , a person who believes in the theological doctrine of Pelagius, especially its denial of the doctrines of original sin and predestination, and defense of innate human goodness and free will: this can be affirmed by none but a Pelagian.
[My memory of this one was wrong.]
frangipani, noun, (plural same or frangipanis) a tropical American tree or shrub with clusters of fragrant white, pink, or yellow flowers. Genus Plumeria, family Apocynaceae: several species, in particular P. rubra.• perfume obtained from the frangipani plant. ORIGIN mid 19th century: named after the Marquis Muzio Frangipani, a 16th-century Italian nobleman who invented a perfume for scenting gloves.
[i’ve looked this up before, too, but never used it—no experience.}
crinoid, Zoology, noun, an echinoderm of the class Crinoidea, which comprises the sea lilies and feather stars. adjective relating to or denoting crinoids. DERIVATIVES crinoidal, adjective
??
arrogate / abrogate
arrogate, verb [with object] take or claim (something) without justification: they arrogate to themselves the ability to divine the nation's true interests. DERIVATIVES arrogation, noun, ORIGIN mid 16th century: from Latin arrogat- ‘claimed for oneself’, from the verb arrogare, from ad- ‘to’ + rogare ‘ask’.
abrogate, verb [with object] formal 1 repeal or do away with (a law, right, or formal agreement): a proposal to abrogate temporarily the right to strike. 2 evade (a responsibility or duty): we believe the board is abrogating its responsibilities to its shareholders. ORIGIN early 16th century: from Latin abrogat- ‘repealed’, from the verb abrogare, from ab- ‘away, from’ + rogare ‘propose a law’
NOTE: The verbs abrogate and arrogate are quite different in meaning. While abrogate means ‘repeal (a law),’ arrogate means ‘take or claim (something) for oneself without justification,’ often in the structure arrogate something to oneself, as in the emergency committee arrogated to itself whatever powers it chose.
[That’s nice to know.]
trope, noun, a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression: he used the two-Americas trope to explain how a nation free and democratic at home could act wantonly abroad. • a significant or recurrent theme; a motif: she uses the Eucharist as a pictorial trope. verb [no object] create a trope. ORIGIN mid 16th century: via Latin from Greek tropos ‘turn, way, trope’, from trepein ‘to turn’.
[You see tihis word quite often now. I wanted to be sure they know what they’re saying. Do they?]
phatic, adjective, denoting or relating to language used for general purposes of social interaction, rather than to convey information or ask questions. Utterances such as hello, how are you? and nice morning, isn't it? are phatic. ORIGIN 1920s: from Greek phatos ‘spoken’ or phatikos ‘affirming’.
[This is nice to know.]
imbricate, adjective | ˈēmbrəkət | (of scales, sepals, plates, etc.) having adjacent edges overlapping. Compare with valvate, verb, overlap or cause to overlap: [no object] : a distinguishing feature of the echinoids is that the ossicles imbricate | [with object] : the leaflets lie neatly imbricated one over the other | figurative : the book portrays Cavendish as imbricated in her social and intellectual circle. DERIVATIVES. imbrication, noun ORIGIN early 17th century (in the sense ‘shaped like a pantile’): from Latin imbricat-, ‘covered with roof tiles’, from the verb imbricare, from imbrex, imbric- ‘roof tile’ (from imber ‘shower of rain’).
. You may have it.
This has gone on long enough. There’s lots more.