* From the 1590s, from feck, meaning “effect, value, vigor”

“I always do my best work, so as not to be labeled feckless.”

~brought to you by Dr. Rapoport’s former Reading 110 student, Courtney Pendergrass

]]> http://ccasc.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/word-of-the-day-29-april-2011/feed/ 0 ccasc http://ccasc.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/word-of-the-day-28-april-2011/ http://ccasc.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/word-of-the-day-28-april-2011/#comments Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:04:36 +0000 ccasc http://ccasc.wordpress.com/?p=346 ]]> Acuity
[uh-kyoo-i-tee] (n.) sharpness; acuteness; keenness.

* From Latin acuere, meaning “to sharpen.”

“For a pilot, visual acuity is essential to flying a plane safely.”

]]> http://ccasc.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/word-of-the-day-28-april-2011/feed/ 0 ccasc http://ccasc.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/word-of-the-day-42711/ http://ccasc.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/word-of-the-day-42711/#comments Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:08:48 +0000 ccasc http://ccasc.wordpress.com/?p=344 ]]> Academic Skills Center

 Word of the Day:

Guile
[gahyl] (n.) insidious cunning in attaining a goal; crafty or artful deception; duplicity.

* From the Old Frisian wigila, meaning “sorcery, witchcraft.”
 
“Full of wiles, full of guile, at all times, in all ways, Are the children of Men.”

~Aristophanes

• 1640s, from the late Latin aenigmaticus, from aenigmat-, stem of aenigma

  “The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different.”

-Aldous Huxley

]]> http://ccasc.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/word-of-the-day-26-april-2011/feed/ 0 ccasc http://ccasc.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/word-of-the-day-04252011/ http://ccasc.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/word-of-the-day-04252011/#comments Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:01:00 +0000 ccasc http://ccasc.wordpress.com/?p=339 ]]> Denouement

[dey-noo-mahn] (n.) the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel.

* From the French dénouer, meaning “untie.”
 
“But this invites the occult mind, Cancels our physics with a sneer, And spatters all we knew of denouement, Across the expedient and wicked stones.”

~Karl Shapiro

[gair-ish, gar-] (adj.) crudely or tastelessly colorful, showy, or elaborate.

*perhaps from the Old Norse gaurr, meaning “rough fellow”

“Hide me from day’s garish eye / While the bee with honied thigh / That at her flowery work doth sing.”

~John Milton

*From the Latin discretus, meaning “separated, distinct.”

“Life defies our phrases: it is infinitely continuous and subtle and shaded whilst our verbal terms are discrete, rude, and few.”

~William James

]]> http://ccasc.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/word-of-the-day-4192011/feed/ 0 ccasc http://ccasc.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/word-of-the-day-41811/ http://ccasc.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/word-of-the-day-41811/#comments Sun, 17 Apr 2011 23:25:06 +0000 ccasc http://ccasc.wordpress.com/?p=330 ]]> Academic Skills Center

Word of the Day:

Discrete
[dih-skreet] (adj.) apart or detached form others;
separate; distinct.

*From the Latin discretus, meaning “separated, distinct.”

“Life defies our phrases: it is infinitely continuous and subtle and shaded whilst our verbal terms are discrete, rude, and few.”

~William James

[fa-sti-dee-us] (adj.) difficult to please.

* From the from the Latin, fastidious, from fastidium, meaning “disgust.”
 
“A lot of girls set a list of fastidious goals they wish to have in the guy they want.” 

~brought to you by Dr. Rapoport’s former Reading 110 student, Alexis Lucas

Word of the Day:

Mollify
[mol-uh-fahy]

(v.) to soften in feeling or temper, as a person; pacify; appease.

*From the Latin mollis, meaning “soft” and facere, meaning “to make.”