Word of the Day for Monday, August 5, 2013
hyperhidrosis \hahy-per-hi-DROH-sis\, noun:
abnormally excessive sweating.
“I have hyperhidrosis,” Tinkle said. “What's hyperhidrosis?” I asked. “I sweat too much.” “Were you actually diagnosed by a doctor?” “Yes.” “How do you get hyperhidrosis?” “Genetics. And stress. Stress sets up the genetics.”
-- Jonathan Ames, Wake Up, Sir!, 2004
Outside the Riviera, where the air is hot enough to give me hyperhidrosis, everyone gives the driver a two or three dollar tip.
-- William T. Vollmann, Thirteen Stories and Thirteen Epitaphs, 1991
Hyperhidrosis comes directly from the Greek meaning "excessive sweating." It entered English in the late 1800s.
Word of the Day for Tuesday, August 6, 2013
eyetooth \AHY-tooth\, noun:
1. Dentistry. a canine tooth of the upper jaw: so named from its position under the eye.
idiom:
1. cut one's eyeteeth, a. to gain sophistication or experience; become worldly-wise. b. Also, cut one's eyeteeth on. to be initiated or gain one's first experience in (a career, hobby, skill, etc.).
2. give one's eyeteeth, to give something one considers very precious, usually in exchange for an object or situation one desires: She would give her eyeteeth for that job.
1. cut one's eyeteeth, a. to gain sophistication or experience; become worldly-wise. b. Also, cut one's eyeteeth on. to be initiated or gain one's first experience in (a career, hobby, skill, etc.).
2. give one's eyeteeth, to give something one considers very precious, usually in exchange for an object or situation one desires: She would give her eyeteeth for that job.
Arn Debs wears a bridge from eyetooth to eyetooth.
-- Martin Amis, Night Train, 2011
It is true that a handful of writers have cut their eyeteeth on newspapers and then gone on to larger business, but they are exceptions to an inflexible rule.
-- Ring Lardner, Introduction by Jonathan Yardley, "Introduction," Selected Stories, 1997
Eyetooth came to English in the late 1500s as a blend of eye and tooth. This tooth received its name because of its position beneath or next to the eye.
Word of the Day for Wednesday, August 7, 2013
holograph \HOL-uh-graf, -grahf, HOH-luh-\, adjective:
1. wholly written by the person in whose name it appears: a holograph letter.
noun:
1. a holograph writing, as a deed, will, or letter.
1. a holograph writing, as a deed, will, or letter.
The will was holograph, for Mr. Utterson, though he took charge of it now that it was made, had refused to lend the least assistance in the making of it...
-- Robert Louis Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 1886
“An unexpectedly thoughtful young man," said Chase, straightening the frame of (Queen Victoria's holograph letter. Originally, he had planned to put the Emerson autograph between those of Longfellow and Tennyson but then he had had second thoughts about keeping a valuable letter addressed not so much to him as the Secretary of the Treasury and so, with a sad heart, he handed it over to the Treasure archives...
-- Gore Vidal, Lincoln: A Novel, 1984
Holograph entered English in the 18th century from the Greek holos + graph, meaning "whole written."
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