Sunday, March 8, 2009

AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com

barracks
plural noun [often treated as sing.] a large building or group of buildings used to house soldiers: the troops were ordered back to barracks.
origin late 17th cent.: barrack from French baraque, from Italian baracca or Spanish barraca ‘soldier's tent’, of unknown origin.

Source: Oxford Dictionary of English
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Saturday, March 7, 2009

AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com

smriti
noun (pl. smritis) a Hindu religious text containing traditional teachings on religion, such as the Mahabharata.
origin from Sanskrit smrti ‘remembrance’.

Pronunciation available online: www.askoxford.com

Source: Oxford Dictionary of English
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Friday, March 6, 2009

AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com

simcha
noun a Jewish private party or celebration.
origin from Hebrew simhah ‘rejoicing’.

Pronunciation available online: www.askoxford.com

Source: Oxford Dictionary of English
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Thursday, March 5, 2009

AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com

pernambuco
noun [mass noun] the hard reddish timber of a Brazilian tree, used for making violin bows and as a source of red dye.
The tree is Caesalpinia echinata, family Leguminosae.
origin late 16th cent.: from the name of the Brazilian state Pernambuco.

Source: Oxford Dictionary of English
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Wednesday, March 4, 2009

AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com

talaria
plural noun (in Roman mythology) winged sandals as worn by certain gods and goddesses, especially Mercury.
origin Latin, neuter plural of talaris, from talus ‘ankle’.

Pronunciation available online: www.askoxford.com

Source: Oxford Dictionary of English
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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com

Blakey
noun (pl. Blakeys) Brit. a protective metal plate fitted to the sole of a shoe or boot.
origin late 19th cent.: named after the manufacturers, E. Blakey and Sons, of Leeds.

Source: Oxford Dictionary of English
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Monday, March 2, 2009

AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com

thecodont
noun a fossil quadrupedal or partly bipedal reptile of the Triassic period, having teeth fixed in sockets in the jaw. Thecodonts are ancestral to the dinosaurs and other archosaurs.
Order Thecodontia, subdivision Archosauria.
origin mid 19th cent.: from modern Latin Thecodontia, from Greek theke ‘case’ + odous, odont- ‘tooth’.

Pronunciation available online: www.askoxford.com

Source: Oxford Dictionary of English
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