Tag Archives: dictionary.com

February 2, 2018

Oblivescence – Friday’s Word of the Day

By Kat Myrman

Today’s word of the day at dictionary.com is oblivescence which means: forgetting; state of being forgotten; the condition or fact of failing to remember or having failed to remember or of being absent-minded.

According to dictionary.com,
Oblivescence dates from the late 19th century and is a later spelling of obliviscence, which dates from the late 18th century. The spelling oblivescence arose by influence of the far more common suffix -escence. The English noun is a derivative of the Latin verb oblīviscī “to forget,” literally “to wipe away, smooth over.” The Latin verb is composed of the prefix ob- “away, against” and the same root as the adjective lēvis “smooth.”

There are a number of references to this word in psychology that deal with memory. Oblivescence is a theory described as a means of self-preservation in our propensity to forget the disagreeable things we have experienced while preserving the pleasurable aspects of the same event.

Until I learned this word I never thought much about it, but how true it is. Upon meeting their newborn baby, many mothers completely forget the pain of labor. Holidays and family gatherings in the past are remembered only as happy occasions and completely forgotten are family tensions and arguments that may have erupted at the very same event. Memories of a loved one, now passed away become more and more positive as the years go by and we slowly forget the things about them that drove us batty. Interestingly, this phenomenon seems to happen unconsciously. It is not the same thing as having selective memories of a person, place or thing.

As I often do, I found a fun reference to this word in modern times. There is a spell or charm in the Harry Potter series as explained in this reference index excerpt:

oblivescence

The process of forgetting.

obliviate

A memory charm or spell in the Harry Potter books that makes someone forget.

obliviator

The act of memory modification which can be used by any wizard, by using the spell, “Obliviate” as described in the fictional universe of the Harry Potter series as written by J.K. Rowling.

An Obliviator is the designation for a Ministry of Magic employee who has the task of modifying the memory of a Muggle after witnessing incidents belonging to the magic world.

A Muggle is a term, sometimes used in a pejorative manner, from the fictional Harry Potter series of books that refers to a human who is a member of the non-magical community.

Here’s a wiki-link for the various occasions when this spell was used.

I often wonder why I remember some things and not others (which I am only reminded of through the recollections of others). Now I have a word for it. It’s as if random years of my life have been erased like they never happened. I suppose that is why the memories I have retained are so precious.

barely a feeling
fading to oblivescence
days of loving you

~kat

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Essays, Haiku, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Word of the Day Haiku

January 26, 2018

Sisyphean – Friday’s Word of the Day

By Kat Myrman

sisyphean

Today’s word of the day on Dictionary.com is Sisyphean. It means, endless and unavailing, as labor or tasks; of or relating to Sisyphus. It  Entered the English language in the 17th Century.

So who was this Sisyphus fellow that the word is referring to?

Well, according to Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the founder and King of Ephyra (known today as Corinth). He was a vile, dishonest ruler with a very high opinion of himself. He took pleasure in killing travelers and guests to his kingdom as a way of exerting and maintaining his authority. This however, was a violation of xenia (“guest-friendship”) the ancient Greek concept of hospitality; the generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home and/or associates of the person bestowing guest-friendship.). Sisyphus was not concerned with the rule of law and even considered himself much more clever than Zeus. For his hubris, Zeus punished King Sisyphus by forcing him to roll a huge boulder up a steep hill, only to have it fall back down the hill. He was condemned to repeat this futile exercise for eternity. And this is where we get our word of the day. Things that are never-ending yet pointless are said to be Sisyphean.

Wikipedia also offered a few other scholarly references to things Sisyphean. ‘According to the solar theory, King Sisyphus is the disk of the sun that rises every day in the east and then sinks into the west. Other scholars regard him as a personification of waves rising and falling, or of the treacherous sea. The 1st-century BC Epicurean philosopher Lucretius interprets the myth of Sisyphus as personifying politicians aspiring for political office who are constantly defeated, with the quest for power, in itself and “empty thing” being likened to rolling the boulder up the hill.

In Plato‘s Apology, Socrates looks forward to the after-life where he can meet figures such as Sisyphus, who think themselves wise, so that he can question them and find who is wise and who “thinks he is when he is not”.’

More recently, J. Nigro Sansonese, building on the work of Georges Dumézil, speculates that the origin of the name “Sisyphos” is onomatopoetic of the continual back-and-forth, susurrant sound (“siss phuss”) made by the breath in the nasal passages, situating the mythology of Sisyphus in a far larger context of archaic (see Proto-Indo-European religion) trance-inducing techniques related to breath control. The repetitive inhalation–exhalation cycle is described esoterically in the myth as an up–down motion of Sisyphus and his boulder on a hill.

In experiments that test how workers respond when the meaning of their task is diminished, the test condition is referred to as the Sisyphusian condition. The two main conclusions of the experiment are that people work harder when their work seems more meaningful, and that people underestimate the relationship between meaning and motivation.

Once again, Dictionary.com is having a bit of fun with us. There are certain leaders, who shall remain nameless, who seem to embody Sisyphus in our times. I’m not going there today. I can think of another application for this word, given that I am on lunch break from my 9-5 droning means of survival. But it is Friday. The weekend offers a bit of relief from the rat race. Have a good one.

slogging for success
is a Sisyphean rut
who you know matters

~kat

10 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Essays, Haiku, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Word of the Day Haiku

January 20, 2018

Enfant Terrible – Friday’s Word of the Day

By Kat Myrman

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Friday’s Word of the Day ay dictionary.com is enfant terrible. (Think French accent when you say it…”ahn-fahn te-ree-bluh”). It is defined as an outrageously outspoken or bold person who says and does indiscreet or irresponsible things; an incorrigible child, as one whose behavior is embarrassing.

As for the origin of this word, In  French enfant terrible means “terrible child,” one whose language and behavior are embarrassing to adults. From the beginning of the appearance of enfant terrible in English in the mid-19th century, the phrase has also referred to adults who embarrass or compromise their party or faction by outrageous speech or behavior, especially artists or other creative people notorious for their unconventional lifestyle.

As its definition states, enfant terrible is a French word that literally, translated means ‘terrible child’. While it may have originally been used to describe actual incorrigible children, it is more often used these days to describe unconventional adults, particularly artists and designers in the fashion industry whose eccentric lifestyles and actions are forgiven for the fact that there is an undercurrent of genius displayed in their creations. And then, there are politicians…

I know what you’re thinking. You are probably surprised that I did not immediately apply this word to our current E.T. in Chief. It is tempting and all too easy. I did try to avoid the obvious in order to explore the nuances of this interesting, albeit timely word. But since my enfant terrible brain keeps bringing it up, I’m not completely sure that genius is a part of the makeup of political enfant terribles. It is quite possible there are other factors in play such as greed, lust for power, privilege, narcissism that drive their enfant terrible behavior…less forgivable for the resulting chaos they create…but I digress. And I’m a day late. Admittedly, I was rapt in the yesterday’s news of a roomful of enfant terribles who voted to shut the government down. A fitting one-year anniversary gift for our E.T. in Chief.

At any rate here are three Haiku to make up for my naughtiness.

enfant terribles
need an audience to shock
captive to torture

tell it like it is…
find an enfant terrible
if you want the truth

big baby
enfant terrible
narcissist

kat

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Essays, Haiku, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Word of the Day Haiku

January 12, 2018

Silver-Tongued – Friday’s Word of the Day

By Kat Myrman

Today’s Word of the Day is silver-tongued. Oh dictionary.com you make this too easy! To be silver-tongued means to speak persuasively; eloquently: a silver-tongued orator.

It’s origin according to dictionary.com:

Silver-tongued may be named for the pleasing resonance of a silver bell. Even more pleasing and eloquent, therefore, would be chrysostom or chrysostomos “golden-mouthed,” from Greek chrysόstomos, from chrysόs “gold” and stόma “mouth.” As an epithet, chrysostom is reserved for the ancient Greek philosopher and historian Dio (or Dion) Chrysostom (c40–c115 a.d.), but in particular for the Greek patriarch and Church Father John Chrysostom (c347–407). On the first page of Ulysses, the unreliable, malevolent narrator refers to Buck Mulligan, who has gold fillings in his teeth and a very bawdy wit, as chrysostomos. Silver-tongued entered English in the late 16th century.

The art of eloquent speech is in short supply these days. We communicate in so many ways that are anything but silver-tongued. We have short attention spans that beg to be titillated by tweets, 60 second sound bites, text speak, ads that must grab our attention in the first three seconds, slang and abbreviated grunts!

But thankfully, beautiful words are not completely gone. In fact, when we hear a silver-tongued speech we rush to listen, inspired. ‘President Oprah’ had a very nice ring to it this week, even if only for a few days.

Notice, I did not refer to our current prez. He is what might be described as a silver-tongued devil (someone who, through flattery and slick speech, seeks to deceive others for their own gain.) Thanks to “45” we had a sad reality check this week. He reminded us why a majority of us didn’t vote for him, while reinforcing for the umpteenth time that he really is a racist, misogynistic, nationalist who is in the White House for his own self-aggrandizement. And all this while dragging us through the cesspool of his depraved mind adding another nasty word to our list of ‘not presidential’ diatribes, derogatory remarks and name-calling! Ugh! We are so fucked. (I considered toning that last word down but I am afraid another nicer word just won’t cut it…nope, fucked is the only way to say it…😳) Did I mention I didn’t vote for this guy? I didn’t vote for this guy.

But I digress, and I am sorry for that. Digressing is the last thing any of us should be doing. We need to hold fast to our love of beautiful words. We need to think them and write them and speak them. We need to speak to each other, face to face with the kindness and dignity due every human being.

I believe in the power of words. I believe in their beautiful ability to transform, uplift and affirm. And I’m rooting for the silver-tongued angels among us to win this war of words.

So I’ll close with a Lune, which is a short Haiku with the form 5/3/5. Sometimes brevity is the way to go!

let us strive to be
silver-tongued
angels not devils

~kat

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Essays, Haiku, Lune, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Word of the Day Haiku

January 5, 2018

Turncoat – Friday’s Word of the Day

By Kat Myrman

turncoat

Today’s timely word of the day from Dictionary.com is Turncoat. A turncoat is “a person who changes to the opposite party or faction, reverses principles, etc.; renegade.” I do believe we have witnessed a recent surge of turncoats. It’s been entertaining to say the least.

According to Dictionary.com: There are several possibilities for the origin of turncoat. One is that two English barons in
the early 13th century changed fealty to King John (c1167-1216), literally changing their coats of arms from one lord to another. Another is that during the siege of Corfe Castle (1645) during the English Civil Wars (1642-51), Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers turned their coats inside out to match the colors of the Royalist army. A similar expression “to wear the King’s coat”, dating from the mid-19th century, means “serve in the King’s army”. The now obsolete idiom “to be in someone else’s coat” dating from the mid-16th century, meant the modern “to be in someone else’s shoes”. Turncoat entered English in the 16th century. 

Wikipedia provided a nice list of turncoat events. It is interesting to note that being a turncoat is not necessarily seen as a bad thing, which distinguishes a turncoat from being a traitor. The following lists a few circumstances that would be considered the actions of a “turncoat”:

  • In groups, often driven by one or more leaders, such as a mass shift by a population taking place during a military occupation, revolution, social upheaval, etc .
  • When the goal that formerly motivated and benefited the person becomes (or is perceived as having become) either no longer feasible or too costly even if success is achieved.

And as mentioned, here are a few notable events that fit that description:

  • The English Civil War during the 17th century. The siege of Corfe Castle was won by Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers when they turned their coats inside out to match the colours of the Royal army.
  • During the revolution of the British American colonies when U.S. Continental Army Major General Benedict Arnold defected to the side of the British in May 1779.
  • Canada during the War of 1812. Some Canadians felt republican democracy was a better system of government than the British Monarchy and fought on the side of the invading Americans. Conversely the United Empire Loyalists left what was to be the United States and moved North to remain under British rule.
  • Germany and Austria after World War II when many former enthusiastic members of the Nazi Party embraced the newly created nations of West Germany or East Germany and sought to erase or at least minimize their former role as Nazis. During the decades that followed many former Nazis regained prestige and held high posts in the new republics. Kurt Waldheim, an Austrian Nazi, even held the highest post at the UN for a while.
  • France after the downfall of the Vichy Regime, when many collaborationists, whether home-grown fascists or Nazi sympathizers, played down their role in the former government and its institutions.
  • Iran after the overthrow of the last Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi’s regime. At that time many persons who had formerly led a life based on secular and liberal values and who had fervently supported the Iranian monarchy suddenly embraced the stern religious values imposed by Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime with unbridled fervor.
  • Russia and the former Communist Eastern European countries after the fall of the USSR, where many former communists suddenly became fervent supporters of capitalism. As a result, many former apparatchiks abandoned the Communist Party in favor of positions in the new government structures.
  • In Spain after the Spanish Civil War(1936–1939), and again during the Spanish transition to democracy (1975 onwards).

It is also interesting to note that in the aftermath of the actions of a turncoat, there may be an attempt to rewrite history, burying the past by concealing evidence, or by whitewashing the deeds of the renegade’s activity.  Alternative facts, fake news, deep/dark states, loyalty pledges, gas lighting? My oh my, but this is a timely little word!  I chose to write an “Alphabet Haiku” for you. (Meaning each word starts with the same letter). Have a great weekend!

tick tock turncoats talk
trumping terrible tweets through
titillating truths

~kat

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Essays, Haiku, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Word of the Day Haiku