Word of the Day for Monday, July 1, 2013
muster \MUHS-ter\, verb:
1. to gather, summon, rouse (often followed by up): He mustered all his courage.
2. to assemble (troops, a ship's crew, etc.), as for battle, display, inspection, orders, or discharge.
3. to assemble for inspection, service, etc., as troops or forces.
4. to come together; collect; assemble; gather.
2. to assemble (troops, a ship's crew, etc.), as for battle, display, inspection, orders, or discharge.
3. to assemble for inspection, service, etc., as troops or forces.
4. to come together; collect; assemble; gather.
noun:
1. an assembling of troops or persons for formal inspection or other purposes.
2. an assemblage or collection.
3. the act of mustering.
4. Also called muster roll. (formerly) a list of the persons enrolled in a military or naval unit.
1. an assembling of troops or persons for formal inspection or other purposes.
2. an assemblage or collection.
3. the act of mustering.
4. Also called muster roll. (formerly) a list of the persons enrolled in a military or naval unit.
She stopped at one point and shut her eyes, trying to muster her strength.
-- Terry Brooks, High Druid of Shannara, 2005
Teresa had not been aware of this, and Bruce, though dimly aware, hadn't been able to muster up enough energy to be concerned.
-- Cheryl Strayed, Torch, 2007
Muster originally came from the Latin word mōnstrāre meaning "to show." It is also related to the more common English wordmonster.
Word of the Day for Tuesday, July 2, 2013
sprechgesang \SHPREKH-guh-zahng\, noun:
a vocal style intermediate between speech and singing but without exact pitch intonation.
Despite the sometimes sarcastic and sometimes tempestuous hostility of audiences clearly unfamiliar with the technique of Sprechgesang, and supported only by a small band of aficionados, she managed to insert into her programmes, mostly composed of operatic arias, lieder by Schumann and Hugo Wolf, and songs by Mussorgsky, some of the vocal pieces of the Vienna School, which she thus introduced to Parisians.
-- Georges Perec, translated from the French by David Bellos, Life: A User's Manual, 2009
I would never get to know the full truth, but I do know that when she leans into that microphone for her whisperedSprechgesang rendition of Porter's “I've Got You Under My Skin,” the hair on the back of my neck stands right up...
-- Paul Verhaeghen, Omega Minor, 2007
Sprechgesang stems directly from the German word of the same spelling. Sprech means "to speak" and Gesang means "song."
Word of the Day for Wednesday, July 3, 2013
lyceum \lahy-SEE-uhm\, noun:
1. an institution for popular education providing discussions, lectures, concerts, etc.
2. a building for such activities.
3. (initial capital letter) the gymnasium where Aristotle taught, in ancient Athens.
4. a lycée.
2. a building for such activities.
3. (initial capital letter) the gymnasium where Aristotle taught, in ancient Athens.
4. a lycée.
No wonder I was desirous of knowing, long before the opportunity was afforded me, how far these valuable purposes were accomplished by the frequenters of Mrs. Carter's lyceum.
-- Charles Brockden Brown, Alcuin, 1798
I don't recall the surname. We'd just been to the Lyceum to see Sarah Bernhardt onstage.
-- Johanna Moran, The Wives of Henry Oades, 2010
Originally the Lyceum was a place in Athens named for the neighboring temple of Apollo, the god of music and poetry. The wordlýkeios was used as an epithet of Apollo, and the name became associated with the place. Over time the name was extended to educational venues of any sort.
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