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Writing means different things to me. I'm a storyteller, a book editor, and a songwriter. For me, it's like breathing.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Weird Word Wednesday

eisegesis
noun  eis·ege·sis \ˌī-sə-ˈjē-səs, ˈī-sə-ˌjē-\
Popularity: Bottom 40% of words


Definition of eisegesis
plural eisegesesplay \ˌī-sə-ˈjē-ˌsēz, ˈī-sə-ˌjē-\
:  the interpretation of a text (as of the Bible) by reading into it one's own ideas — compare

Origin and Etymology of eisegesis
Greek eis into (akin to Greek en in) + English exegesis — more at in


First Known Use: 1892

Kelley Heckart
Otherworldly tales steeped in myth, magic & romance.

Wednesday, July 05, 2017

Weird Word Wednesday

eigenmode
noun  ei·gen·mode \ˈī-gən-ˌmōd\
Popularity: Bottom 20% of words


Definition of eigenmode
:  a normal mode of vibration of an oscillating system
Origin and Etymology of eigenmode
eigen- (as in eigenvector) + 1mode

First Known Use: 1972


Kelley Heckart
Otherworldly tales steeped in myth, magic & romance.

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Weird Word Wednesday

eider
noun  ei·der \ˈī-dər\
Popularity: Bottom 30% of words
Editor's Note: Did You Know?


Definition of eider
1
:  any of several large northern sea ducks (genera Somateria and Polystica) having fine soft down that is used by the female for lining the nest —called also eider duck

Origin and Etymology of eider
Dutch, German, or Swedish, from Icelandic æthur, from Old Norse æthr


First Known Use: 1743

Kelley Heckart
Otherworldly tales steeped in myth, magic & romance.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Weird Word Wednesday

eicosanoid
noun  ei·cos·a·noid \ī-ˈkō-sə-ˌnȯid\
Popularity: Bottom 40% of words


Definition of eicosanoid
:  any of a class of compounds (such as the prostaglandins) derived from polyunsaturated fatty acids (such as arachidonic acid) and involved in cellular activity

Origin and Etymology of eicosanoid
eicosa- containing 20 atoms (from Greek eikosa- twenty, from eikosi) + -noic, suffix used in names of fatty acids (from -ane + -oic) + 1-oid — more at vigesimal

First Known Use: 1980

Kelley Heckart
Otherworldly tales steeped in myth, magic & romance.


Wednesday, June 07, 2017

Weird Word Wednesday

egregious
adjective  egre·gious \i-ˈgrē-jəs\


Definition of egregious
1
archaic :  distinguished
2
:  conspicuous; especially :  conspicuously bad :  flagrant egregious errors
egregious padding of the evidence — Christopher Hitchens
egregiously adverb
egregiousness noun

Origin and Etymology of egregious
Latin egregius, from e- + greg-, grex herd — more at gregarious


First Known Use: circa 1534


Kelley Heckart
Otherworldly tales steeped in myth, magic & romance.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Weird Word Wednesday

eglantine
noun  eg·lan·tine \ˈe-glən-ˌtīn, -ˌtēn\
Definition of eglantine
:  sweetbriar

Origin and Etymology of eglantine
Middle English eglentyn, from Anglo-French eglent, from Vulgar Latin *aculentum, from Latin acus needle; akin to Latin acer sharp — more at edge


First Known Use: 14th century


Kelley Heckart
Otherworldly tales steeped in myth, magic & romance.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Weird Word Wednesday

egad
interjection \i-ˈgad\
variants: or egadsplay  \i-ˈgadz\

Definition of egad
—used as a mild oath

Origin and Etymology of egad
probably euphemism for oh God


First Known Use: 1673


Kelley Heckart
Otherworldly tales steeped in myth, magic & romance.

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Weird Word Wednesday

edacious
adjective  eda·cious \i-ˈdā-shəs\
Popularity: Bottom 30% of words

Definition of edacious
1
archaic :  of or relating to eating
2
:  voracious
edacity \i-ˈda-sə-tē\ noun

Examples of edacious in a sentence
my edacious dining companion could always be counted on to order the largest—and often most expensive—item on the menu

Did You Know?
Tempus edax rerum. That wise Latin line by the Roman poet Ovid translates as "Time, the devourer of all things." In its earliest known English uses, edacious meant "of or relating to eating." It later came to be used generally as a synonym of "voracious," and it has often been used specifically in contexts referring to time. That's how Scottish essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle used it when he referred to events "swallowed in the depths of edacious Time."

Origin and Etymology of edacious
Latin edac-, edax, from edere to eat — more at eat

First Known Use: circa 1798


Kelley Heckart
Otherworldly tales steeped in myth, magic & romance.



Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Weird Word Wednesday

ecphrasis
noun  ec·phra·sis
Popularity: Bottom 10% of words

Less common spelling of ekphrasis

:  a literary description of or commentary on a visual work of art


Kelley Heckart
Otherworldly tales steeped in myth, magic & romance.