DOUG'S WORD OF THE WEEK

homologate / huh-MOL-uh-gayt / verb tr : 1. To approve officially. 2. To register a specific model of a motor vehicle to make it eligible to take part in a racing competition.

Notes & Etymology: From the Latin homologare (to agree), from Greek homologein (to agree or allow).

Usage: “Mr. Jimmy Gray said: 'We've major issues which appear to be discussed in the press. Decisions are made and then we're asked to homologate these decisions. "
Labour Group Leader Hits Out; Aberdeen Press & Journal (UK); Jul 9, 2007.

DOUG'S WORD OF THE WEEK

refulgent / rih-FUL-juhnt / adjective: 1. shining brightly; radiant; gleaming

Notes & Etymology: From the Latin refulgere, present participle of refulgeō meaning "to flash back, to shine brightly," from re-, "back" + fulgere, "to shine."

Usage: “As soon as people realize in what ways using a wave could render even the most obscure project crystal-clear, Google Wave is the refulgent victor. Does Email need saving, though?"
Max Majewski; Surfing the Google Wave; Neowin.net ; Nov. 9, 2009.

DOUG'S WORD OF THE WEEK

chortle / chawr-tl / verb: 1. (used without object) to chuckle gleefully. 2. (used with object) to express with a gleeful chuckle: to chortle one's joy. noun: 3. a gleeful chuckle.

Notes & Etymology: 'O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy." Perhaps Lewis Carroll would chortle a bit himself to find that people are still using the word chortle, which he coined in Through the Looking-Glass, published in 1872. In any case, Carroll had constructed his word well, combining the words chuckle and snort. This type of word is called a blend or a portmanteau word. In Through the Looking-Glass Humpty Dumpty uses portmanteau to describe the word slithy, saying, "It's like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word" (the meanings being "lithe" and "slimy").
-"chortle." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. -

Usage: “They socialize, eat, argue, sing and dance, chortle at the risqué gags of cabaret entertainers, try their best to maintain the colony’s aging physical plant, care for ailing spouses and — like most people in their ’80s and ’90s — look death in the face on a daily basis. "
In the Catskills, Holocaust Survivors Forge a Bond; The New York Times; Nov. 11, 2009.

DOUG'S WORD OF THE WEEK

acnestis / AK-nist-uhs / noun: 1. The part of the body where one cannot reach to scratch.

Notes & Etymology: From the Greek aknestis (spine), from Ancient Greek knestis (spine, cheese-grater).

Usage: “In what has to be the longest post-election season in living memory, the last five months have felt like an acnestis upon our collective soul..."
A Wish List to Soothe Our Collective Itch; New Straits Times (Malaysia); Aug 5, 2008.