Today’s 5 words/short phrases:

  • Etiology
  • Etymology
  • Beacon Level Error
  • Like The McLaughlin Group (variations on this simile)
  • Biting the Wax Tadpole

As most of you know, I love words, nuanced meanings of things, and Latin. As 2008 continues to unfold (Day 5, feeling on top of things *does a few Rocky punches in the air*), I would like to make this a special feature of my blog in an effort to edify, codify, learn and share. Additionally, Jesse’s parents gifted me a wonderful book on words/language for Christmas, which is also fueling this effort… the book is called Biting the Wax Tadpole* … there is a title explanation below.

The words/short phrases will come from anything and everything: articles I read, all-time favorites, result of random clicking through Wikipedia, m-w.com, BTWT book, tips from my readers/friends, etc. And, when/wherever possible, I will provide the etiology and etymology of the word(s) I share. For example:

ETIOLOGY (mostly from Merriam Webster’s, with a little Leslie flave at the end…)

Etymology (an actual category on m-w.com):LESLIE LIKES THIS STUFF: Medieval Latin aetiologia statement of causes, from Greek aitiologia, from aitia cause

1: cause origin; specifically : the cause of a disease or abnormal condition

2: a branch of knowledge concerned with causes; specifically : a branch of medical science concerned with the causes and origins of diseases

3: (LESLIE FLAVE) “The root, the meaning, the origin, the beginning. Why something is the way it is.”

ETYMOLOGY (an even better fit for the “study of words”)

1 : the history of a linguistic form (as a word) shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by tracing its transmission from one language to another, by analyzing it into its component parts, by identifying its cognates in other languages, or by tracing it and its cognates to a common ancestral form in an ancestral language

2 : a branch of linguistics concerned with etymologies

I will also add in little grammar tid-bits whenever I can (as they relate to words/short phrases) — not that I am anything close to perfect in this category, but there are a few common mistakes and tips that I would love to share with my readers.

The next two words come from/are inspired by a great post over at Alaskan Librarian via what appears to be inspiration from Uncontrolled Vocabulary (two of the many sites that I hope to check back in on/learn from as this process evolves)

BEACON LEVEL ERROR:

  1. A situation where an organization does something extremely naive without foreseeing the logical consequences (h/t Alaskan Librarian)
  2. To radically upset the web-world (e.g., Facebook Feed in Sept 2006, Flickr ID/Yahoo ID hullabaloo just about a year ago, Oh-Nine, Ef-Nine code-cracking drama web-wide, culminating on Digg in April 2007, and so on)

“LIKE THE MCLAUGHLIN GROUP*”

  1. To assemble a panel of experts with varied viewpoints
  2. To shout excitedly and often over one another
  3. To present obscure, under-reported topics in an interesting and enlightening way

*I have seen this simile used time and time again… and as someone who used to work on the show, I think it is spot-on. It is a great show and I am glad that people reference it, one way or another.

BITE THE WAX TADPOLE

  1. Legend has it, this is a translation/cultural barrier issue that occurred back in 1928 when Coca Cola was launching its product in China. Apparently, the translation of the “right-sounding” ko-ka-ko-la actually came out meaning nonsensical things like “females horse fastened with wax” or “wax-flattened mare” or “bite the wax tadpole.” More at urban legend site snopes.com here.
  2. Title of a book I am reading that deals with plenty of translation/cultural barrier issues. How fitting. How witty. Love it even more.

What are your favorite words? Hit me with them here: leslieann44 [at] gmail [dot] com