Word of the day: Festschrift

The word of the day is Festschrift:

a volume of articles, essays, etc., contributed by many authors in honor of a colleague, usually published on the occasion of retirement, an important anniversary, or the like.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/festschrift)

"Nearly twenty years ago, while still a graduate student in English at the University of Chicago, I was invited to contribute to a Festschrift for my father. The looming occasion was his 40th year as an English professor at Amherst College."

 - Will Pritchard, "A tender coincidence", Winter 2016 The University of Chicago Magazine

Word of the day: soteriology

The word of the day is soteriology:

1. the doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/soteriology)

"There are institutional forces today that promote the growth of human population...  Among these are various faiths, churches, and denominations whose soteriologies demand numerous children of faithful parents."

 - William W. Quinn, "Last words on population", Winter 2016 The University of Chicago Magazine (http://mag.uchicago.edu/university-news/readers-sound-25)

Word of the day: fossorial

The word of the day is fossorial:

1. digging or burrowing.
2. adapted for digging, as the hands, feet, and bone structure of moles, armadillos, and aardvarks.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fossorial)

"A new kind of tadpole belonging to the Indian dancing frog family has surprised researchers because it burrows through and swallows sand, according to findings published in PLOS ONE.  'These tadpoles probably remained unnoticed all these years because of their fossorial nature, which in itself is a rare occurrence in the amphibian world,' said SD Biju, a study author."

 - 31 March 2016 Sigma Xi SmartBrief

Word of the day: colza

The word of the day is colza:

1. a plant, Brassica napus, of the mustard family, whose leaves are used for food for hogs, sheep, etc., and whose seeds yield rape oil.

"There is the information overload. One is occasionally reminded of the Yonville agricultural fair in 'Madame Bovary,' as detailed by M. Lieuvain, from the prefecture: 'Here it is the vine, elsewhere the apple tree for cider, there colza, farther on cheeses and flax.'" 

 - Lauren Collins, "Come to the fair: the food-and-booze fest that is France's national agricultural exhibition", 4 April 2016 The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/04/04/inside-the-salon-international-de-lagriculture)

Word of the day: ikat

The word of the day is ikat:

1. a method of printing woven fabric by tie-dyeing the warp yarns (warp ikat)the weft yarns (weft ikat) or both(double ikat) before weaving.
2. a fabric made by this method.

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ikat)

"'Hearing the aspirants to the Presidential nomination who traversed the corridors of the exposition halls in Paris yesterday, one could sometimes find oneself in doubt that it was indeed the Salon de l’Agriculture 2016 that they were visiting, and not the 2017 edition,' Le Figaro asserted. The politicians knew that things would be tense. It was interesting to imagine them waking up at dawn on the mornings of their Salon visits, steeling themselves to walk the gantlet of éleveurs—of eye-patched Abondances and woolly Salers; of Basque pigs with their ikat hides—certain that they were in for abuse, the only question being how much, and whether they could withstand it."

 - Lauren Collins, "Come to the fair: the food-and-booze fest that is France's national agricultural exhibition", 4 April 2016 The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/04/04/inside-the-salon-international-de-lagriculture)

Word of the day: demonym

The word of the day is demonym:

the name used for the people who live in a particular country, state, or other locality

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/demonym)

"One Sunday morning, my husband and I caught the seven-forty-two train to Paris. By eleven-thirty (from Switzerland, it was maybe a mesotour), we were sampling what would become my favorite delicacy in all the land, the tourteau fromagé of Poitou-Charentes. (Giving Mancunians and Arkansawyers a run for their money in the demonym stakes, the area’s residents are known as the Picto-Charentais.)"

 - Lauren Collins, "Come to the fair: the food-and-booze fest that is France's national agricultural exhibition", 4 April 2016 The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/04/04/inside-the-salon-international-de-lagriculture)