tour de force
triumph
in grace thrusting
so to feel the sun’s kisses
the sprout bursts through concrete
éclat
~kat
A Cinquain for Colleen Chesebro’s Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge, using synonyms only of the words, Dignity – grace and Success – triumph, tour de force, éclat.
Today’s word of the day at dictionary.com is cordillera; a chain of mountains, usually the
principal mountain system or mountain axis of a large landmass; a series of parallel ranges of mountains. The word originated around 1704, from the Spanish word for “mountain chain,” from cordilla, in Old Spanish, “string, rope,” diminutive of cuerda,from Latin chorda “cord, rope” (seecord).
When I researched cordilleras, I discovered a new information source, Quora. Here is a nice summary that explains what a cordillera is and perhaps what it is not.
1. Cordillera includes a general highland formed in different periods and by different processes, for example, the cordillera of the western United States and British Columbia.
2. Mountain system refers to mountains formed in a single period and includes many mountain ranges and groups of single mountains, for example, Appalachian.
3. Mountain range refers to mountains formed in the same age and with the same process arranged in narrow and long belt, for example, Himalayan mountain range.
4. Mountain groups are highlands composed of different mountains but with a proper arrangement, for example, Juan mountain group.
5. Mountain ridges are mountains formed due to local folding and faulting and rise abruptly from the adjoining region, for example, Blue Ridge Mountains, USA.
I live in the shadow of what is defined as a “mountain ridge”. The Blue Ridge Mountains, and specifically the Roanoke Valley is part of the Appalachian “mountain system” that extends from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in Canada to Central Alabama, which also includes the Catskills in New York, the Allegheny Highlands in Pennsylvania and The Great Smoky Mountains in Eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. Basically it spans the Eastern portion of North America.
To find a true cordillera in North America you need to trek west to the Pacific coast to the west of The Great Basin. The Pacific Cordillera, also called Western Cordillera, the Western Cordillera of North America extends from Alaska to Central Mexico and includes three main belts: the Pacific Coast Ranges in the west, the Nevadan belt in the middle (including the Sierra Nevada), and the Laramide belt in the east (including the Rocky Mountains) extending to heights of over 20,000 feet at its highest point. This is quite a contrast to the 6,682 ft height of Mount Marshall in North Carolina in the Appalachian Mountain system.
Of course there is much more to know about Cordillera in other parts of the world, including the Andes Mountains, also known as the Cordillera de los Andes that extends over a distance of some 5,500 miles (8,900 kilometres) from the southern tip of South America to the continent’s northernmost coast on the Caribbean. They separate a narrow western coastal area from the rest of the continent and contain the highest peaks in the Western Hemisphere. The highest of them is Mount Aconcagua (22,831 feet). Other notable cordillera include: Alborz Cordillera, Northwest-Northeast Iran (also written as Elburz); Annamese Cordillera (Annamite Range), Laos and eastern Vietnam; Baetic Cordillera, Spain; East Australian Cordillera, more commonly known as the Great Dividing Range; and Zagros Cordillera, Middle East, Southeast of Turkey, Northeast of Iraq, and Northwest to Southeast Iran. From Wikipedia.
All this talk about mountains and cordillera, is making my heart race and my knees weak given my aversion to heights. But I do love the view, my feet safely planted in the valley I call home.
So, There you have it, a high level view that barely skims the apex, giving you a ‘peek’ at all things cordillera.
Here’s a Haiku to wrap this up.
cordillera cusp
grazing heaven’s canopy
air thin, vista sweet
~kat
May the Fourth be with You! Friday’s Word of the Day at Dictionary.com is sith, and if you’re a nerd it means something entirely different to you that its archaic (dictionary’s word, not mine) definition. It’s an adverb that means “since”. Dictionary says sith (obsolete), originated before 950; Middle English; Old English siththa, dialectal variant of siththan, orig., sīth thām after that, subsequently to that, equivalent to sīth subsequently (akin to Gothic seithus, Old Norse sīth- late, German seit since) + thām, dative of demonstrative pronoun, i.e., “to that”; compare Old Norse sīthan sith.
But the word in today’s vocabulary has gained popularity as a reference to dark forces from the Star Wars sagas. Wikipedia gives a good background for the modern word sith, implying that the word originated in 1976, which lends additional credence to the “obsolete” nature of the original word that is said to have fallen from usage in the 16th Century.
For those of you who are not Star Wars enthusiasts, here is a snippet from Wikipedia: The Sith originated in a species of Force-sensitive warriors who discovered the efficacy of passion as a tool to draw on the Force approximately 6,000 years prior to the events of the first Star Wars film. Fully embracing this approach, they became defined and corrupted by it.
The Sith are major antagonists in the space opera franchise Star Wars. They are depicted as an ancient monastic and kraterocratic organization of supernaturally gifted warriors driven by an agenda of galactic domination and revenge against their predecessors, the Jedi.
Darth Sidious
There are several theories regarding how George Lucas came to call this evil side of the force, the Sith. Some believe it is a combination of names Darth and Sidious, for the Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious. Scheming, powerful, and evil to the core, Darth Sidious restored the Sith and destroyed the Jedi Order. Others believe it was chosen for its snakelike sound, Siithththth. But it is clear that no reference was ever made to the original word sith.
On that note, back to our word of the day and its former use. Here are a few examples:
They said it was a great matter, sith I had risked mine own life.” Emily Sarah Holt, Clare Avery
“Sith Alwyn vails of himself, it is thine, by might and by right.” Edward Bulwer-Lytton, The Last Of The Barons, Complete
“Why, I reckon it cannot be over nine days sith thine were writ.” Emily Sarah Holt, Joyce Morrell’s Harvest
“Here’s twentye groates of white moneye, Sith thou will have it of mee.” Various Authors, A Book of Ballads, Volume 3
So there you have it. Sith, an obsolete, resurrected word that is now the stuff of legends. “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” A sith once meant since, and is now the name for dark forces that resulted from a passion for power run amuck!
I’m afraid today’s Haiku is a jumble. But here it is!
sith it is the fourth
a day we honor the force
not for Sith…Jedi
~kat
The Lowly Cur
a barbarous fête
chirping, featherless nestlings,
beaks agape, bobbing,
poor worm dangling, sacrificed
to sate the ravenous brood
~kat
A Tanka for Colleen Chesebro’s Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge using synonyms of the words: sing: chirp & celebrate: fête. The dark side of Spring. I love baby birds, but today, I’m remembering the worm. 😉
they cannot be moved
those touched by passion’s resolve
when life is at stake
~kat
For Haiku Horizons, Prompt Word: Move.
