A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg TOPONYMS,
words derived from places
sybaritic (sib-uh-RIT-ik) adjective
Devoted to or relating to luxury and pleasure. After Sybaris, an ancient Greek city in
southern Italy noted for its wealth, and whose residents were notorious for
their love of luxury. Earliest
documented use: 1619.
dalmatic (dal-MAT-ik)
noun A loose, wide-sleeved outer
garment worn by some monarchs at their coronations and by deacons, bishops,
etc. in some churches. From Old French
dalmatique, from Latin dalmatica vestis (Dalmatian garment) since these
garments were originally made of Dalmatian wool. Dalmatia is a region along the Adriatic coast
of Croatia. That’s also where Dalmatian
dogs got their name from. Earliest
documented use: 1425.
sardine (sahr-DEEN)
verb tr. To pack tightly. The verb form developed from the tight
packing of the sardine in cans. From
French sardine, from Latin sardina, from Greek Sardo (Sardinia). Earliest documented use: 1895.
frieze (freez)
noun 1. A decorative horizontal band, as on a
building. 2. A coarse woolen fabric. For 1:
After Phrygia, an ancient country in Asia Minor, noted for
embroidery. Earliest documented
use: 1563. For 2:
From French frise, perhaps from Latin frisia (Frisian wool). Earliest documented use: 1418.
pierian (py-EER-ee-uhn) adjective
Relating to learning or poetry.
After Pieria, a region in Greece.
In Greek mythology, Pieria was home to a spring that was sacred to the
Muses and inspired anyone who drank from it.
Earliest documented use: 1591.
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From: Andrew
Pressburger Subject:
Sybaritic The first time I encountered this word was in
my high school days in my native Hungary, studying a poem “To the Hungarians”
by Daniel Berzsenyi (1776-1836), a poet of the Hungarian Enlightenment. He was the first to successfully introduce
classical metres and themes in Hungarian poetry. His
activity as a poet was discovered by chance, and he became known through the
efforts of Ferenc Kazinczy, a leading advocate of Hungarian enlightenment that
eventually culminated in the Revolution of 1848 and the resulting War of
Independence.
From: Alexander
Nix
Subject: sybaritic "History is all explained by
geography." - Robert Penn Warren, novelist and poet (24 Apr 1905-1989) Your thought for the day is excellently and
humourously illustrated by Tim Marshall in his book Prisoners of Geography: Ten
Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics.
From: Alex McCrae Subject:
frieze To this very day a major
issue of contention in the world of classical antiquities rightful ownership
remains the British government’s purchase and subsequent removal of what are
familiarly known as “The Elgin Marbles” many decades ago, long prominently
displayed at The British Museum in London.
The “Marbles” in question represented a huge trove of Golden Age of
Athens (circa 450 BCE) exquisitely carved marble figurative sculptures, many
removed from the Parthenon (Temple of Athena) atop the Acropolis, including
scores of free-standing sculptural works, plus a 92-panel high-relief white
marble horizontal frieze depicting legendary battles between the Lapiths and
the Centaurs.
From: Stefan
Bucek Subject:
Frieze The iconic arches that lined the roof of the
old Yankee Stadium were known as the frieze.
When the stadium was renovated in the 70s, the frieze was reproduced
only on the outfield wall, but when the new stadium was built across the street
just before 2010, the frieze was restored to its rightful place on the roof that
surrounds the field. I had a
conversation a few years back with a sportswriter here in California, and when
I used the word “frieze” in respect to Yankee Stadium, it was a sign to him
that I was a genuine Yankees fan!
Eight new pieces have been installed at The University of Toledo's 12th annual Outdoor
Sculpture Exhibition. See pictures
at
http://www.msisculpture.com/12aUofT.htm Artists receive stipends for the sculptures
which be on display for the next year.
Nearly 120 sculptures have rotated since the exhibit began, and 11 have
become part of UT's art collection.
Toledo Blade May 18, 2017
An artwork
by Jean-Michel Basquiat has
sold for a record $110.5m at auction in New York. Sotheby’s said the sale of Untitled on May 18,
2017 in Manhattan was an auction record for the artist. It also set a record price for an American
artist at auction. The 1982 painting
depicts a face in the shape of a skull. The
piece was purchased by noted Japanese collector and entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa
after a 10-minute bidding war. He said
he plans to display the painting in his museum in Chiba, Japan, after loaning
it to institutions and exhibitions around the world. See picture at https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/may/19/jean-michel-basquiat-skull-painting-record-1105m-at-auction
What do a teleprompter, thermos, hoover, aspirin, and
videotape have in common? They were once trademarked but lost their
legally protected status because their names became too generic. Google won't be joining that list any
time soon. Google defeated a
"genericide" lawsuit May 16, 2017 that claimed Google should no
longer be trademarked because the word "google" is
synonymous to the public with the term "search the Internet." A US federal appeals court sided with Google
in a case brought by a man who bought 763 domains with the term
"google" in them. The court ruled that
Google still retains its trademark even if the term "google" has
become known for searching the Internet. One reason is because Google is a search engine
and a whole lot more. "Even if we
assume that the public uses the verb 'google' in a generic and indiscriminate
sense, this tells us nothing about how the public primarily understands the
word itself, irrespective of its grammatical function, with regard to Internet
search engines," the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled. The court noted that trademark
loss to genericide occurs when the name has become an "exclusive
descriptor" that makes it difficult for competitors to compete unless they
use that name. The Google trademark
dispute dates to 2012 when a man named Chris Gillespie registered 763 domain
names that combined "google" with other words and phrases, including
googledonaldtrump.com. Google filed a cybersquatting complaint under the
Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and claimed trademark
infringement. Google prevailed, and
an arbitration panel ordered the forfeiture of the domains. Gillespie then sued in a
bid to invalidate the trademark. David
Kravets https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/05/genericide-assault-to-nullify-the-google-trademark-fails/ See 23-page opinion DAVID ELLIOTT, an
Individual; CHRIS GILLESPIE, an Individual, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. GOOGLE,
INC., a Delaware corporation, Defendant-Appellee, No. 15-15809 D.C. No.
2:12-cv-01072- SMM at http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/05/16/15-15809.pdf
Not content with patenting the marvellous invention of
a paper bag, Apple decided that
ordinary pizza boxes simply weren’t up to the job in its white and shiny world.
Behold the circular, Apple-approved
pizza box to end all pizza boxes. Published in 2012--with
one box apparently signed as a mark
of respect on the death of
the Apple founder, Steve Jobs--the patent says that the new and improved
circular pizza receptacle’s invention is credited to Apple’s head of food
services, Francesco Longoni. It was
intended for use in the company’s Caffè Macs and the new Apple
Park cafe. The patent describes a “container that is
structurally stable enough for containing an item in a variety of applications
and is also environmentally friendly”. It
has holes in the top to allow moisture to escape, apparently to
keep pizzas from getting soggy so
workers could take them back to their pods.
The concentric rings, the patent says, support the base of the pizza
while providing an air gap between it and the base of the box. The lid clips into the bottom, and the side
wall integrity keeps the whole thing from getting crushed under the weight of
hungry eyes as you trundle back to your desk.
Cloud Computing,
who was unraced as a 2-year old and was making just his fourth career start,
overtook Classic Empire with a strong closing kick to win the 142nd Preakness Stakes by a head on May 20, 2017 at
Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. Classic
Empire placed second and Senior Investment finished 4 3/4-lengths back in
third. Cloud Computing, who was held out
of the Kentucky Derby, covered the 1 3/16 mile distance in 1:55.98. Keith Sargeant http://www.nj.com/horse-racing/index.ssf/2017/05/who_won_preakness_stakes_what_did_win_place_show_bets_pay_other_payoffs.html
http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com Issue 1712
May 22, 2017 On this date in 1570,
the first atlas, Theatrum Orbis
Terrarum, was published with 70 maps. On this date in 1804, the Lewis and Clark
Expedition officially
began as the Corps of Discovery departed
from St. Charles, Missouri. On this date
in 1819, the SS Savannah left
port at Savannah, Georgia on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. On this date in 1826, HMS Beagle departed
on its first voyage.
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