Today's 'word of the day' from dictionary.com is perspicacity:
perspicacity \pur-spuh-KAS-uh-tee\, noun:Clearness of understanding or insight; penetration, discernment.
His predictions over the years have mixed unusual aristocratic insight with devastating perspicacity.
--"Why fine titles make exceedingly fine writers," Independent, November 3, 1996
Doubtless these thumbnail sketches, like everything else Stendhal wrote, were intended ultimately to relate to his own notion of himself as a creature of invincible perspicacity and sophistication. --Jonathan Keates, Stendhal
Okay, so perspicacity might not be such a good example to kick off with, but I thought it might be nice if people should stumble over a great/unusual/interesting/little-used word in the course of their day, they might care to post it here for the general vocab enrichment of us all.
Whatcha got for me today, then?
― C J (C J), Friday, 18 February 2005 10:47 (twenty years ago)
\plen-uh-puh-TEN-shee-air-ee; -shuh-ree\,
adjective:Containing or conferring full power; invested with full power; as, plenipotentiary license; plenipotentiary ministers.
noun:A person invested with full power to transact any business; especially, an ambassador or diplomatic agent with full power to negotiate a treaty or to transact other business.
There were two accounts, one in a news article, the second in the editorial section, telling the minihistory of Pol Pot, sometime plenipotentiary ruler of Cambodia. --William F. Buckley Jr., The Redhunter
At that time, Egypt was our protectorate, which meant the High Commissioner was the plenipotentiary of George V and carried independent authority. --David Freeman, One of Us
― hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 18 February 2005 11:19 (twenty years ago)
faineant \fay-nay-AWN\, adjective:Doing nothing or given to doing nothing; idle; lazy.
noun: A do-nothing; an idle fellow; a sluggard.
Yet if nonhunters ever knew how many properly dressed, entirely palatable big-game carcasses wind up in dumpsters because someone was simply too faineant to butcher and cook and eat an animal he could find the time and energy to shoot and kill, hunting would be in even greater jeopardy than it is today. --Thomas McIntyre, "The meaning of meat," Sports Afield, August 1, 1997
According to Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Charles II was no faineant half-wit but a conscientious and reflective king. --David Gilmour, "The falsity of 'true Spain,'" The Spectator, July 22, 2000
A faineant government is not the worst government that England can have. It has been the great fault of our politicians that they have all wanted to do something. --Anthony Trollope, Phineas Finn
― C J (C J), Monday, 21 February 2005 14:51 (twenty years ago)
― Archel (Archel), Monday, 21 February 2005 16:53 (twenty years ago)
― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 21 February 2005 16:56 (twenty years ago)
― caitlin (caitlin), Monday, 21 February 2005 17:27 (twenty years ago)
http://slate.com/id/2211169/
― and what, Wednesday, 18 February 2009 14:45 (sixteen years ago)
secateurs- shears
given the context in which it was used and some background in latin, i figured the meaning. ive never heard this word before though.
― honesty is not ordinary to the height of the bunny hop (Hunt3r), Monday, 12 October 2009 19:09 (sixteen years ago)
lol my mum and dad both use that term for their garden pruning shears. 'hand me the secateurs'.
― VegemiteGrrrl, Monday, 12 October 2009 19:18 (sixteen years ago)