Whatzat mean? Word origins.

[homoe]

gander


To look or glance at something. A male goose.



Probably derivative of gander, from the goose-like appearance of a person stretching to look at something or somebody.

[homoe]

besmirch


Damage the reputation of someone or something in the opinion of others.

Since the prefix be- in besmirch means "to make or cause to be," when you besmirch something, you cause it to have a smirch. What's a smirch? A smirch is a stain, and "to smirch" is to stain or make dirty. By extension, "to smirch" came to mean "to bring discredit or disgrace on." "Smirch" and "besmirch," then, mean essentially the same thing. We have William Shakespeare to thank for the variation in form. Shakespeare's 1599 use of the term in Henry V is the first known appearance of "besmirch" in English.

[homoe]

aberrant

Departing from an accepted standard. Diverging from the normal type. Also a
role-playing game created by White Wolf Game Studio in 1999.


Something aberrant has wandered away from the usual path or form. The word is generally used in a negative way; aberrant behavior, for example, may be a symptom of other problems. But the discovery of an aberrant variety of a species can be exciting news to a biologist, and identifying an aberrant gene has led the way to new treatments for diseases.

[homoe]

pragmatist



A person who is guided more by practical considerations than by ideals. An advocate of the approach that evaluates theories or beliefs in terms of the success of their practical application.

[homoe]

commingle


To blend thoroughly into a harmonious whole This can be anything from cash, assets, household good, to personal effects! Often times when two people move in together, possessions are commingled!

If you've ever seen the scene in When Harry Met Sally, about the ugly wheel coffee table, it's perhaps best NOT to commingle items.

[cathexis]

Ether

1. A C-O-C chemical compound used as a solvent in chemistry that
has a penchant for becoming unstable and having increased
flammability especially after it's expiration date.

2. An anesthesia agent used frequently through the 1960s in the US.
Ether's use in Surgery was discontinued as a result of it's acute
flammability. Other, non-flammable, agents were developed. The
drape erected in the OR between the anesthesiologist and the surgeon
was originally used to prevent a spark caused by surgical equipment
from coming in contact with the flammable anesthetic. The original
name for the drape was the "ether curtain."

3. Ether(s) archaic definition was a term used pertaining to the upper
atmosphere or something traveling through the air, e.g. a scent or
spirit being or traveling through the ethers. A mystical version of
floating through the air.
i

[homoe]

pedant........


A person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning. A person who adheres rigidly to book knowledge without regard to common sense.


Old French from Italian pedante teacher; perhaps related to Latin paedagōgus pedagogue.