Posted on 11/26/2002 7:03:27 AM PST by Bella_Bru
In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of “word for the day”. Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the “word of the day”; in a sentence. The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day. The Review threads are linked for your edification. ;-) Practice makes perfect.....post on....
minatory, minatorial \MIN-uh-tor-ee\, adjective:
minatorily, adverb
Also:
minacious, adjective
minaciousness or minacity, noun
minaciously, adverb
1. Of a menacing or threatening nature
Etymology: Minatory derives from Latin minatorius, from minari, "to threaten." It is related to menace.
Good Morning Class. Welcome to School!
But I digress.
Hey, give the Arab world credit: However minatory they may seem to the Western world at times, at least those guys know a hot-looking camel when they see one.
Dear Straight Dope:
Is antidisestablishmentarianism really a word? If it is, what does it mean and is it the longest word? Just asking. --Otis
SDSTAFF Dogster and SDSTAFF Ian reply:
Otis, you caught us on a good day when we'm not going to chide you for not looking the dang word up yourself in that magical tome known as a dictionary. Instead, we’ll get out our truss and pick up the Oxford English Dictionary. Turning to page 59, we find that antidisestablishmentarianism is indeed a word. The definition is as follows: “Properly, opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England, but popularly cited as an example of a long word.” Catching the irony here?
As for the second half of your question, the longest word in the first OED was 29-letter floccinaucinihilipilification (the categorizing of something as worthless or trivial). The longest in the OED2, usually cited as the longest word in any English dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (a miners' lung disease caused by inhaling silica), 45 letters. Some scholars, however, deride this word as "made up," and declare '"floccinau...'" to be the champ. And, of course, there are some hippopotomonstrosesquipidelian (30 letters, means "long") words in specialized fields, especially chemistry, where they apparently just tack on another few letters every time they rewrite the textbooks. The full name of the tryptophan synthetase A protein, an enzyme with 267 amino acids, extends to 1,913 letters:
methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanyla lanylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalany lphenylalanylvalylprolylphenylalanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspa rtylprolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylserylleucyllysylisoleu cylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanylglycylalanylaspar tylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenylalanylser ylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonyliso leucylglutaminylaspfraginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylpheny lalanylalanylalanylglycylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminylcyste inylphenylalanylglutamylmethionylleucylalanylleucylisoleucylargin ylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreonylisoleucylprolylisoleucylgl ycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylvalylpheny lalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalany ltyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylva lylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalylglu taminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphenylalanylarginylglutaminylalan ylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylalanylprolylisoleucy lphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylaspartyl aspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylseryl tyrosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylseryl arginylalanylglycylvalylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparag inylarginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidylleucy lvalylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparaginylalanylalany lprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylser ylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylas partylalanylglycylalanylalanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylser ylalanylisoleucylvalyllysylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhi stidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamylprolylglutamyllysylmethio nylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenylalanylvalylglutaminylp rolylmethion yllysylalanylalanylthreonylarginylserine.
There's one you probably won't see on Wheel of Fortune.
SDSTAFF Dogster and SDSTAFF Ian Straight Dope Science Advisory Board
If I had a sense of humour, I'd tell Miss Cote I was presently composing a poem just for her using that monstrosity.
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AIR POWER
AV-8B Harrier
This has nothing to do with your topic, howerver it's just to good to keep to myself!!
WOW Johnnny these are some pictures!
Thanks !
I think a plane should be named after me!
How about Feather Light, and Fast!
Construction specifics to follow!
LOL
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