Word of the day

Tribology (noun)

1. (physics, engineering) The science and technology of friction, lubrication, and wear.

transitive (adj)

1. Making a transit or passage
2. Affected by transference of signification.
3. (grammar, of a verb) Taking a direct object or objects.
4. (set theory, of a relation on a set) Having the property that if an element a is related to b and b is related to c, then a is necessarily related to c.
5. (algebra, of a group action) Such that, for any two elements of the acted-upon set, some group element maps the first to the second.
6. (graph theory, of a graph) Such that, for any two vertices there exists an automorphism which maps one to the other.

Transitive (noun)

1. (grammar) A transitive verb.

Eon (noun)

1. A long time, a period of 1,000,000,000 years.

Goat (noun)

1. A mammal, Capra aegagrus hircus, and similar species of the genus Capra.
2. The eighth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.
3. (slang) A lecherous man.
4. (informal) A scapegoat.
5. (slang) A Pontiac GTO car.
6. (speech recognition) A person who is not easily understood by a speech recognition system; contrasted with sheep.
7. A fool, loser, or object of ridicule.
8. (roller derby) A blocker who is isolated behind the opposing team's blockers, so as to slow down the pack.
9. (UK, politics, informal) A member of the "government of all the talents" proposed by British prime minister Gordon Brown.
10. (acronym) Alternative letter-case form of G.O.A.T. (“Greatest of All Time”)

Broadcaster (noun}

I. (agriculture)

1. A machine used to broadcast or spread seeds, fertilizer, etc.
2. (obsolete) A person who sows seeds by scattering; also, one who promotes sowing seeds in this manner instead of by drilling (“making holes in the soil and placing seeds in them”).

II. (broadcasting)

1. A piece of equipment used to transmit audio and/or video content, or messages, to be received by radios or televisions, over the internet, etc.
2. An organization or station that engages in the activity of such broadcasting.
3. A person whose job it is to effect such broadcasts; specifically, one who presents radio or television programs (especially documentaries or news programs); a presenter.

III. (computing)

1. A piece of equipment used to transmit data over a computer network.

Blaster (noun)

1. Anything that, or anyone who blasts.
2. A device to detonate an explosive, often consisting of a box with a handle to be pressed down.
3. (science fiction) An unspecified powerful hand weapon, usually one that fires an energy pulse or beam.
4. (golf, slang) A sand wedge.
5. (Transformer)
   a. Autobot from Generation 1. Sometimes he is known as "Broadblast" or rebuilt into "Twincast", sometimes Twincast is a separate dude.
  b. Blaster, the evil Autobot from Shattered Glass.
  c. Blaster, the Autobot from Transformers Animated.
  d. Blaster, the Autobot from the Fall of Cybertron portion of the Aligned continuity family.
  e. Optimus Prime Blaster, the oddly-named Arms Micron from Prime.
  f.  Blaster, the Autobot from Cloud.
  g. Blaster, the Guardian from GoBots.
  h. Blaster, the unreleased Autobot from Dark of the Moon.
  i.  Blaster, the Autobird from Angry Birds Transformers.

Winter Solstice (noun)

1. (astronomy) The moment when the Earth is in that point of its orbit where the northern or southern hemisphere is most inclined away from the sun.

Tower of Silence (noun)

1. (Zoroastrianism) A low, cylindrical, open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate from exposure and consumption by carrion birds such as vultures, the remaining bones being kept in an ossuary; a dakhma.

Jingle bell (noun)

1. A small, hollow, spherical metal bell with a narrow slit opening or small holes, containing a loose ball or rod as a clapper, which is attached to a horse's harness as a signal, or (music) used as a musical instrument.

Paradox (noun)

1. An apparently self-contradictory statement, which can only be true if it is false, and vice versa.
2. A counterintuitive conclusion or outcome.
3. A claim that two apparently contradictory ideas are true.
4. A thing involving contradictory yet interrelated elements that exist simultaneously and persist over time.
5. A person or thing having contradictory properties.
6. An unanswerable question or difficult puzzle, particularly one which leads to a deeper truth.
7. (obsolete) A statement which is difficult to believe, or which goes against general belief.
8. (uncountable) The use of counterintuitive or contradictory statements (paradoxes) in speech or writing.
9. (uncountable, philosophy) A state in which one is logically compelled to contradict oneself.
10. (uncountable, psychotherapy) The practice of giving instructions that are opposed to the therapist's actual intent, with the intention that the client will disobey or be unable to obey.

whilom (adv)

1. (archaic except literary) At some time in the past; formerly, once upon a time.
2. (obsolete) At times, on occasion, sometimes.

whilom (adj)

1. (archaic except literary) At some time in the past; former, sometime.
2. (obsolete) Of a person: deceased, late.

whilom (conj)

1. During the same time that; while.
2. Up to the time that; till, until.

whilom (prep)

1. (obsolete, rare) Preceded by of or this: for some time that has passed.

Perihelion (noun)

1. (astronomy) The point in the elliptical orbit of a comet, planet, etc., where it is nearest to the Sun.
2. (figuratively) The highest point or state; the peak, zenith.

Psychopomp (noun)

1. (mythology) A spirit, deity, person, etc., who guides the souls of the dead to the afterlife.
2. (spiritual) The spiritual guide of a living person's soul through the various transitions of life.

Kabuki (noun)

1. (From Japanese 歌舞伎): A form of Japanese theatre in which elaborately costumed male performers use stylized movements, dances, and songs to enact tragedies and comedies
2. Comic books series by David Mack that takes place in an alternate-reality Japan, the masked female assassin known as Kabuki goes after a media mogul with connections to a Yakuza leader.

Juggernaut (noun)

1. (From Hindustani जगन्नाथ): A literal or metaphorical force regarded as unstoppable.
2. A fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #12 as an adversary of the eponymous superhero team; step-brother to Charles Xavier.

Public domain (noun)

I. (also attributively) Often preceded by in the.

1. The state of not being owned by anyone, and thus freely usable by everyone.
2. (specifically, law) The realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents, and thus over which no person can establish a proprietary interest.
3. The state of not or no longer being confidential or secret.
4. (especially US) Land regarded as owned by the public, and not subject to a land patent or other forms of private ownership (for example, unowned prairie in the southwestern and western United States).

passim (adv)

1. Throughout or frequently; used to indicate that a particular word or idea appears many times within a book or article.

Swage (noun)

1. A tool, used by blacksmiths and other metalworkers, for cold shaping of a metal item.

factitious (adj)

1. Created by humans; artificial.
2. Counterfeit, fabricated.

Zeptomole (noun)

1. (chemistry, physics) A small amount of a substance, especially a countable number of atoms or molecules.

Alicorn (noun)

1. (now historical) The horn of a unicorn considered as a medical or pharmacological ingredient.

banausic (adj)

1. (formal) Of or pertaining to technical matters; mechanical.
2. (formal) Uncultured, unrefined, utilitarian.

Bedlam (noun)

1. Bedlam is a scene of madness, chaos or great confusion. If you allow football fans onto the field after the big game, it will be pure bedlam.
2. A fictional character appearing in American comic books published by CHAOS [Dynamite] Comics. A Native American whose face was burnt off. He saved the world from ancient evils using powers of the Chaos realms. First appearance, Chaos Quarterly #1
3. A fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A mutant with the ability to generate a bio-electric field for a variety of effects, is a former member of X-Force and skilled in covert ops. First appearance, Factor X #1
4. A fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A future iteration of the codex of Eddie Brock, who was unmoored in the Timestream by the death of his physical body and ended up stranded at the Garden of Time in the distant future, incarnating by piloting one of the dormant symbiotes comprising it. First appearance, Venom (Vol. 5) #1.

Kakistocracy (noun)

1. Government under the control of a nation's worst or least-qualified citizens.

Syzygy (noun)

1. An alignment of three celestial bodies (for example, the Sun, Earth, and Moon) such that one body is directly between the other two, such as an eclipse.

Dot Matrix (noun)

1. (computing) A two-dimensional array or pattern of dots used (for example, by a display device or a printer) to represent alphanumeric characters and pictures.