Author Topic: Darkstorme's Word of the Day (Read 5269 times)

darkstorme · « **Reply #160 on:** December 18, 2010, 02:56:33 am »

Most things an Aeridinite would do could be described as...

Salutary

Something that is salutary (sal-you-tear-ee) is something that improves (or is intended to improve) something, particularly health or well-being.

Usage:

The salutary effects of jogging are often remarked on by adventurers - particularly those with a small army of bugbears in pursuit.
The tonic that the clerics had recommended was particularly salutary - she was feeling practically well already!

References:

darkstorme · « **Reply #161 on:** December 19, 2010, 02:35:10 am »

Taking a break from gods briefly for a certain appropriate week:

Merriment

Fun and enjoyment, celebration, laughter - that's merriment (mare-rih-ment).

Usage:

During the winter festival, the merriment of the children was infectious.
The Silver Buckle is a grand place to visit - filled with warmth and merriment.

References:

darkstorme · « **Reply #162 on:** December 20, 2010, 01:04:47 am »

Again, in the spirit of the season:

Tidings

Tidings (ty-dings) are information, stories, or news.

Usage:

"Hail!", the halfling cried. "I bear tidings from North Fort!"
"It was good to see you again," the bard said, clasping his hand. "I'll spread the tidings of your survival in my travels!"

References:

darkstorme · « **Reply #163 on:** December 22, 2010, 01:02:27 am »

And coming to you live (in post form) from Vancouver International Airport...

Bough

Druids (and others), take note! A bough (rhymes with "cow") is a branch of a tree, particularly a large or main branch. A bough, laden with snow, is often the subject of bards' songs extolling the virtues of winter.

Usage:

The bough twisted and snapped in the high wind, tumbling down and narrowly missing Ygraine as she walked through the forest.
The ranger quickly assembled a small shelter, with evergreen boughs providing cover from the blowing snow.

Reference:

- * - * - * -

Over the ground lies a carpet of... no,not carpet... ah!

Mantle

The word mantle (man-tull) is employed for a number of specialized meanings, but they all come back to its primary meaning - something that covers, envelops, or hides something.

Most pertinent to adventurers, particularly those inclined to travel in cold or wet climates, is the article of clothing. A mantle is an all-covering cloak worn over outer garments, either to provide additional warmth or protection, or to conceal the clothing underneath.

It can also be the outer covering of a wall (usually decorative and meant to conceal rougher work), or a special facing around a fireplace.

In an oil or gas lamp, the mantle is a durable metal mesh surrounding the flame which augments the light given off by the lamp by glowing brilliantly when heated.

In the animal kingdom, a mantle can be the soft wall lining the shell of molluscs and brachiopods, or the place where the tentacles join on cephalopods. It can also be the feathers that make up a bird's wings and back, if they're differently coloured/patterned from the rest of the bird.

In geology, of course, the mantle is the liquid layer of rock between the crust of a rocky planet and its core.

Usage:

The party brushed snow from the entrance to their tent and gazed out on the clearing before them. A mantle of new-fallen snow lent a certain pure stillness to the scene.
Hearing the wind howling outside, Mirrim draped a woolen mantle over her traveling robes.

Reference:

darkstorme · « **Reply #164 on:** January 06, 2011, 03:05:34 am »

*ahem*

Contrition

Contrition (con-trih-shin or con-trih-shun) is a feeling of (or expression of) severe remorse for one's wrongdoings. It can also be penitence for those wrongdoings.

Someone who is feeling or expressing contrition is said to be contrite.

Usage:

The GM, having surrendered to lassitude while on vacation in Hawaii, was filled with contrition, and vowed to return to his duties with renewed vigour.
The fighter was surprisingly contrite repeatedly assuring the farmer that he hadn't known it was a cow, not a manticore, he hadn't meant to pillage the barn, and he was terribly sorry for befouling the well.

References:

darkstorme · « **Reply #165 on:** January 07, 2011, 03:11:27 am »

We'll be starting Aragen shortly. For now, a word that might have been worth saving for Vorax...

Belligerent

Another word that works hard at being multiple parts of speech, belligerent (bell-ih-jer-ent), serves as both an adjective or a noun.

As an adjective, it describes a person, nation, organization or creature as being aggressive, hostile, inclined to fight, or actually fighting.

As a noun, it is a participant in a fight, or, more rarely, simply someone who can be described as belligerent.

The quality of being belligerent is belligerence.

Usage:

The goblin danced back, blood welling from the rapier-cut, but the belligerence in its eyes undimmed.
The battlerager was cantankerous, loud, and belligerent, insulting the parentage and hygiene of everyone in the bar, in the hopes of starting a fight.

Reference:

darkstorme · « **Reply #166 on:** January 08, 2011, 03:14:08 am »

Sanguine

This is an interesting word. One of its meanings derives from the point in human medical history where proto-physicians believed that the body's temperament was controlled by the four humours. (Blood, black bile, yellow bile, and pus. Aren't you glad you asked?) I'm not sure what state-of-the-craft Aeridinite healers know in our world, however, so its applicability is questionable.

That said, sanguine (sang-gwine or sang-gwinn), as an adjective, can mean several things. It can mean the colour of arterial blood. It can describe a ruddy or reddened complexion. It can also mean that something is related to or pertaining to blood, and therein lies the origin of the fourth definition of the word.

The fourth definition of the adjective sanguine describes a person's manner, and means cheerful, confident, and/or optimistic. This, again, derives from the idea that people whose makeup (in terms of the four humours) was dominated by blood would display these characteristics.

As a noun, sanguine simply means the colour blood red.

Usage:

For someone almost certainly facing the hangman's noose, the man seemed remarkably sanguine.
"I'm quite sanguine about our chances here," he commented cheerfully as the quivering kobolds dropped their weapons and fled.

References:

Gulnyr · « **Reply #167 on:** January 08, 2011, 01:33:40 pm »

Quote from: darkstorme

In geology, of course, the mantle is the liquid layer of rock between the crust of a rocky planet and its core.

The mantle is actually solid, mostly, though in a pliable state. The outer mantle has spots where melting occurs (aka magma forms) that give the impression it's all molten rock down there. Going deeper, the temperature rises but so does the pressure, so the inner mantle is actually more rigid than the outer mantle, though still pliable enough to convect. Slowly.

The outer core is liquid, and its dynamo action generates our magnetic field. The outer core is liquid despite the pressure because the iron and nickel have much lower melting points than the compounds that comprise the mantle. The inner core is solid despite the tremendous heat because of the tremendous pressure.

Science lesson over. Sorry for the delay. Carry on.

darkstorme · « **Reply #168 on:** January 09, 2011, 01:55:21 am »

A thank-you to Gulnyr, aside from the one I gave with the little button!

Bemused

To be bemused (be-mewsed) is to be preoccupied or lost in thought, often engendered by something or someone.

It's also the past tense of the verb bemuse, which is to cause someone to be confused, bewildered, or preoccupied in thought.

To do something while bemused is to do it bemusedly.

Usage:

Bemusedly, the mage gestured at the giants and columns of flame roared down, incinerating them all. He turned to the gaping fighter. "Sorry, what were you saying?"
The halfling stopped, bemused by the activity in the bustling square.

Reference:

darkstorme · « **Reply #169 on:** January 10, 2011, 02:54:09 am »

Aragen starts tomorrow!

Desultory

Something that is desultory (dess-sull-tore-ee or dess-sull-ter-ee) is haphazard, random, occurring without any sort of plan. It can also mean that it jumps from one thing to another, in a disconnected fashion.

Usage:

The halfling's speech was desultory, ranging from the state of Hempstead's economy to the recent prevalence of ball-playing in the streets.
Hearing Alatriel's cries, Aerimor gave the room no more than a desultory glance as he charged through it.

Reference:

darkstorme · « **Reply #170 on:** January 11, 2011, 03:07:43 am »

Starting out with something dear to Aragen's heart...

Repository

A repository (ree-paws-ih-tore-ee) is somewhere things are kept safe - a museum, a warehouse, a library. Aragen's temples ARE repositories - of knowledge, speaking generally, but of artworks, diagrams, scrolls, and tomes in particular.

But it gets better, because a repository can also be an individual entrusted with secrets or confidential information. So His clerics are also repositories.

Usage:

"And this," she said, sliding open the heavy door, "Is the repository for all the particularly... active items that adventurers bring to the temple."
It was rumoured that the crossbow bolt that nearly hit Lord Rael on his tour of the city was fired from the Prantz Scroll Repository.

Reference:

darkstorme · « **Reply #171 on:** January 12, 2011, 03:10:16 am »

Fitting, given that He has quite a few in His temples...

Savant

A savant (sah-vahnt) is a learned individual, a specialist in a particular field of knowledge.

It can also be a short term for an idiot savant - these are individuals who suffer from a mental disability but show brilliance in one, highly specialized field. (Commonly, these would be things like math or music.)

Usage:

"I'll take you to our savant," the priest said. "He knows all there is to know about that mountain range."
After the accident, the wizard started showing a savant-like brilliance with his spellcasting, but had withdrawn and become taciturn.

Reference:

darkstorme · « **Reply #172 on:** January 13, 2011, 02:36:44 am »

Yet another word suitable to describe Aragen's favourite places:

Archive

A location (or repository) containing records, documents, or other items of historical interest. It can also be used in the plural - archives.

An archive (arr-kive) can also simply mean a place to store information (which means that it can be intangible, or, in the case of computer science, a file).

As a verb, to archive is to store something in an archive.

Usage:

The town archives held the tax records for centuries of townspeople - well, except for the ones the rat man of the sewers had stolen.
Any time a new scroll was brought before the high priest, it was archived for posterity.

Reference:

darkstorme · « **Reply #173 on:** January 14, 2011, 02:58:59 am »

I've mentioned this word before, but I've seen some confusion over it, and so:

Tome

Now, first and foremost, it's tome, not "tomb". A tome is a book (like the Wizards' Tomes of Teleportation). A "tomb" is a place where skeletons hang out until some adventurer comes along to stop them from hanging out.

As indicated above, a tome is a book - usually a heavy, expensive, scholarly one. It can also be one of a series of volumes that make up a larger work.

Usage:

Carefully, the wizard leafed through the heavy tome, turning pages brittle with age.
The walls were covered with bookshelves, each groaning with tomes of collected knowledge.

References:

darkstorme · « **Reply #174 on:** January 15, 2011, 03:06:25 am »

Again, fitting the category...

Learned

Now, learned can be the past tense of the verb "to learn", but in this case, I'm referring to the adjectival form.

As an adjective, learned is pronounced "learn-ed" (two syllables), rather than "learn'd" - unless referring to something that was acquired through learning - eg. "A learned response", in which case the latter pronunciation is used.

A learned individual is one who possesses (and displays) profound knowledge, either on a particular subject or in general. The word can also describe something geared towards individuals of this sort - a learned facility, for instance.

Usage:

The learned priest was considered the authority on Pit creatures.
Reus' tome, On Law, is considered a learned publication.

References:

Frances · « **Reply #175 on:** January 15, 2011, 11:20:38 am »

During a desultory look through the archives of this thread, I noticed a curtailment of the usage of actual character names in the usage sentences, something I relished. I don't wish to quibble, or even really elicit a response, but it's something that's gnawed at me...

darkstorme · « **Reply #176 on:** January 17, 2011, 02:52:08 am »

And two for one!

Sagacious

Someone who is sagacious (seh-gay-shus) is wise, keen of mind, or possessed of particularly sound judgment.

Someone who is particularly sagacious is possessed of sagacity.

Usage:

Despite not being terribly scholarly, people have remarked on Pallena's sagacity.
It's practically a given that Aragenites require that their devout followers to be sagacious.

Reference:

***

Erudite

An erudite (air-rew-dyte) individual is one who speaks with the precision and expertise born of learning.

Someone who is erudite is said to be possessed of erudition. So, for example, if someone were to start employing all of Darkstorme's Words of the Day, they would speak with greater erudition.

Usage:

There are many terms one could use to describe Emwonk, but erudite isn't among them.
Half-giants aren't exactly known for their erudition.

Reference:

darkstorme · « **Reply #177 on:** January 18, 2011, 03:15:50 am »

And today, Az'atta!

Atonement

Atonement is amends, or reparations made for an injury or wrong done to another individual, organization, or idea.

To atone is to make atonement.

It's also a spell in D&D.

Usage:

After the "Pie Incident", the children were forced to clean the temple in Castle Mask for three weeks as atonement.
"I seek to atone," Lance told the priest. "But why?" "I broke bread with a Lucindite!"

Reference:

darkstorme · « **Reply #178 on:** January 19, 2011, 03:14:38 am »

For those who enter Az'atta's service later in life...

Penitent

A penitent (penn-ih-tent) individual feels and expresses remorse or regret for previous misdeeds. They are often willing to atone.

As a noun, a penitent can refer to a penitent individual.

A person who is penitent is possessed of penitence.

Usage:

The Fighter/Rogue consulted his father's notebook as he walked down the hall. "Only the penitent man will pass..."
After Khuren's stint in prison, it was anyone's guess whether the Druid was truly penitent.

Reference:

Aerimor · « **Reply #179 on:** January 19, 2011, 05:59:03 am »

Nice reference. I did like that fighter/rogue and his father.