Items filtered by date: July 2009

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 17th was trichologist.

a person who specializes in hair and scalp care; broadly : a person whose occupation is the dressing or cutting of hair

In the "Did you know?" section they provided this:

The Merriam-Webster word of the day for August 13th was ingratiate.

to gain favor or favorable acceptance for by deliberate effort — usually used with "with"

The Merriam-Webster Word of the Day for August 6th was demean.

Meaning : to conduct or behave (oneself) usually in a proper manner

Example Sentence Sylvia was proud of the polite way her young children demeaned themselves in front of the dinner guests.

The Merriam-Webster Word of the Day for August 25th was empyreal (em-pye-REE-ul).

1 : of or relating to the firmament : celestial 2 : sublime

The Merriam-Webster Word of the Day for August 4th was tantivity.  Their definition:

in a headlong dash : at a gallop

On August 3rd the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day was levigate.  They provided this definition:

1 : polish, smooth 2 a : to grind to a fine smooth powder while in moist condition  b : to separate (fine powder) from coarser material by suspending in a liquid

They also provided this background information on the word:

On August 20th, the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day was contemn.

to view or treat with contempt : scorn

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 16th was abstemious.

marked by restraint especially in the consumption of food or alcohol; also : reflecting such restraint

M-W provided the following additional information about the word:

"Abstemious" and "abstain" look alike, and both have meanings involving self-restraint or self-denial. So they must both come from the same root, right? Yes and no. Both get their start from the Latin prefix "abs-," meaning "from" or "away," but "abstain" traces to "abs-" plus the Latin verb "ten?re" (meaning "to hold"), while "abstemious" gets its "-temious" from a suffix akin to the Latin noun "temetum," meaning "intoxicating drink."

In regards to abstaining from food a few passages come to mind.

I have posted a number of articles under the category of "Words for Thought". Part of the purpose in writing those articles is to share interesting insights into words that are often unusual. Today I would like to focus on words from a different perspective: words that are common in our society but that we often use without fully considering the meaning of what we are saying.  The first article of this type was posted last August.  I guess it's time for an update.  Next up: gangsta...

Gangsta/Gangster

I recently heard one of my professional colleagues describe herself (in a facetious manner) as "gangsta".  The quote: "I am so gangsta!"

I had not heard that expression so I looked it up and came across this description of "gangsta rap":

The Psalm 119:18.org team was recently asked about Colossians 2:16-17 after the following comment was shared with one of the authors:

Regarding Col 2:16, some hold that Paul was merely teaching that believers have a choice as to which day of the week they observe the Sabbath, while others believe Paul meant that our liberty extends to the choice of whether to observe a Sabbath at all.  Under either interpretation, however, the Christian is not be bound to a Saturday observance.

Here is our response: