Word of the day

Tribology (noun)

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

Guillon (noun)

1. The guard of a sword or other bladed weapon designed to protect the hand from harm.
2. Either of the two arms of such a guard.

Pleroma (noun)

1. A plant of the genus Pleroma.
2. Synonym of plerome (“the central portion of the apical meristem in a growing plant root or stem which, according to the histogen theory, gives rise to the endodermis and stele”)
3. A state of perfect completeness.
4. Often preceded by the: the spiritual universe seen as the totality of the essence and powers of God.

Phaeton (noun)

1. A light four-wheeled open carriage drawn by four horses.
2. A large open touring motorcar with a folding top.

Numenism (noun)

1. A Latin term for the power of either a deity or a spirit that is present in places and objects.

Basilicon (noun)

1. Any of various ointments believed to have “sovereign” virtues.

xanthocarpous (adj)

1. Having yellow fruits.

juvenescent (adj)

1. Becoming juvenile or young.

Jacquard (noun)

1. Fabric woven on a Jacquard loom.
2. Fabric resembling a jacquard, but woven by a different process.
3. A Jacquard loom.

qua (preposition)

1. as; in the capacity of; acting as.

qua (verb)

1. To eat.

transgender (adj)

1. Of a person: having a gender (identity) which is different from one's assigned sex; that is, the identity of a trans man, trans woman, or someone non-binary, for example, agender, bigender or third-gender.
2. Of a person: having a gender (identity) which is opposite from the sex one was assigned at birth: being assigned male but having a female gender, or vice versa (that is, not including a non-binary identity).
3. Of a person: transgressing or not identifying with culturally conventional gender roles and categories of male or female.
4. Of or pertaining to transgender people (sense 1), or their experiences or identity.
5. Of a space: intended primarily for transgender people.
6. Of a space: available for use by transgender people, rather than only non-transgender people.
7. Synonym of crossgender.

Anoxia (noun)

1. A condition in which a body tissue or an environment is severely or totally deprived of oxygen; severe hypoxia.

Dyschromatopsia (noun)

1. A form of colorblindness in which only two of the three fundamental colors can be distinguished due to a lack of one of the retinal cone pigments.

Zakuska (noun)

1. An assortment of hors d’oeuvres.
2. Small snacks.

fulciform (adj)

1. Shaped like or resembling a prop.

Introessive (noun)

That which expresses motion ‘into.’
Also known as illative.

Dyspnea (noun)

1. Difficult or labored respiration; shortness of breath.

coeval (adj)

1. Of the same length of time; having the same duration.
2. Of the same age.

Visile (noun)

1. Someone whose mental imagery consists of pictures.

visile (adj)

1. of, like or pertaining to sight; learning easily by sight.

Canton (noun)

1. A division of a political unit.
2. One of the states comprising the Swiss Confederation.
3. A subdivision of an arrondissement of France.
4. A division of Luxembourg, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.
5. A subdivision of a county, of Quebec, Canada; equivalent to a township.
6. A small community or clan.
7. A subdivision of a flag, the rectangular inset on the upper hoist (i.e., flagpole) side (e.g., the stars of the US national flag are in a canton).
8. A division of a shield occupying one third of the chief, usually on the dexter side, formed by a perpendicular line from the top meeting a horizontal line from the side.
9. A song or canto.

canton (verb)

1. To delineate as a separate district.
2. To divide into cantons.
3. To allot quarters to troops.

Promethean (adj)

1. Of or pertaining to Prometheus, a demigod in Greek mythology who created mortals from clay and stole fire from Zeus to give to them, for which Zeus punished him by chaining him to a rock and having an eagle feed on his liver which grew back each night; he was later rescued by Heracles.
2. Boldly creative, inventive, or original; skilful, talented; also, recklessly daring; audacious.
3. Of a Romantic literary hero: defying traditional moral categories; rebelling against a larger order; persecuted but dauntless.
4. Of or pertaining to the promethea silkmoth (Callosamia promethea).

Promethean (noun)

1. One with the qualities of Prometheus, or who acts in a Promethean manner (audaciously, creatively, etc.).
2. A kind of lucifer match consisting of a glass tube containing sulfuric acid coated on the outside with a flammable mixture of potassium chlorate and sugar and wrapped in paper rolls; the match was lit by crushing the tube with pliers, causing the acid to react with and ignite the flammable components. This type of match was superseded by the friction match which was lit by rubbing against a rough surface.

baffle (verb)

1. To confuse or perplex (someone) completely; to bewilder, to confound, to puzzle.
2. To defeat, frustrate, or thwart (someone or their efforts, plans, etc.); to confound, to foil.
3. Of weather or wind: to hinder or prevent (a ship or its crew) from advancing.
4. To dampen, muffle, restrain, or otherwise control (a fluid, or waves traveling through a fluid such as light or sound).
5. To deceive or hoodwink (someone); to gull.
6. Followed by away or out: to deprive of (something) through cheating or manipulation; also (followed by out of), to deprive of something by cheating or manipulating (someone).
7. To expend effort or struggle in vain.
8. To argue or complain in a petty or trivial manner; to quibble.

Steely-eyed Missile Man (noun)
1. An astronaut or engineer who quickly comes up with a solution to a difficult problem while under extreme pressure.

Isochasm (noun)

1. A line connecting places on the Earth's surface that have the same mean frequency of auroras.

tread the boards (verb)

1. To work as an theatre actor.
2. To write plays for the theatre.

Airprox (noun)

1. A near miss between aircraft.