Sunday, February 24, 2013

word of the day: fascia

The word of the day is fascia:

Etymology:  < Latin fascia in senses 1, 2
1. in Latin sense: A band, fillet. Obs. 
2. Archit.a. Any long flat surface of wood, stone or marble, esp. in the Doric order, the band which divides the architrave, and in the Ionic and Corinthian orders, each of the three surfaces into which the architrave is divided. 
b. A ceiling coved on two opposite sides only. 
c. Chiefly in form facia. The tablet or plate over a shop front on which is written the name and often also the trade of the occupier. Also attrib. in facia writer, sign and facia writer.
d. Chiefly in form facia. The instrument panel or dashboard of a motor vehicle. See also Compounds. 
3. Anat.a. A thin sheath of fibrous tissue investing a muscle or some special tissue or organ; an aponeurosis. 
b. The substance of which this is composed. 
4. Any object, or collection of objects, that gives the appearance of a band or stripe. 
a. Astron. The belt of a planet. 
b. Conchol. A row of perforations. 
c. Bot., Zool., and Ornithol. A band of colour. 
d. Heraldry. = fesse n.  (OED)


"Sundering
the heads and feet neatly at the joints, a poor
man's riches for golden stock.  Slitting a fissure
reaching into the chamber,
freeing the organs, the spill of intestines, blue-tinged gizzard,
the small purses of lung, the royal hearts,
easing the floppy liver, carefully, from the green gall bladder,
its bitter bile.  And the fascia unfurling
like a transparent fan."

 - Ellen Bass, "What did I love", 4 February 2013 The New Yorker

No comments: