Words
Bourgeoisie
The prototype bourgeois: Monsieur Jourdain, the protagonist of the play Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (1670), by Molière , is the best would-be nobleman that money can buy. Bourgeoisie (Eng.: / b ʊər ʒ w ɑː ˈ z iː / ; French pronunciation: [buʁʒwazi] ) is a word from the French language, used in the fields of political economy , political philosophy , sociology , and history , which originally denoted the wealthy stratum of the middle class that originated during the latter part of the Middle Ages (AD 500–1500). [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The utilisation and specific application of the word is from the realm of the social sciences . In sociology and in political science, the noun bourgeoisie and the adjective bourgeois are terms that describe a historical range of socio-economic classes .bourgeois
Adj. When pronounced "BOO-zhee" (soft-j sound like in French) refers to a quality of (sometimes mildly) snobby-without-realizing-it, upper-middle-class sensibilities. Usually associated with upper-middle-income white people, but not necessarily. Can involve driving the right car, getting the right (healthy or gourmet) foods, having a professional/white-collar job, always having "nice" things, $4 lattes at Starbucks or elsewhere because you think you're above Starbucks, having a well-diversified stock portfolio and other retirement savings, having a special set of dishes and everything else just for Christmas, status-symbol kids or pets, carbon offsets, thinking $15 wine is cheap, listening to NPR, and gentrifying neighborhoods. Even though not all of these things may be bad and some of them could be done by anybody (like healthy food or looking down on Starbucks), it's a certain combination and a certain attitude that goes along with it that you know when you see.
Sine qua non
Sine qua non ( / ˌ s aɪ n ɨ k w eɪ ˈ n ɒ n / ; Latin: [ˈsine kwaː ˈnoːn] ) [ 1 ] or condicio sine qua non (plural: condiciones sine quibus non ) refers to an indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient. It was originally a Latin legal term for "[a condition] without which it could not be," or "but for..." or "without which [there is] nothing". [ edit ] Usage in literature As a Latin term, it occurs in the work of Boethius , and originated in Aristotelian expressions. [ 1 ] In recent times, it has passed from a merely legal usage to a more general usage in many languages, including English , German , French , Italian , Spanish , etc.
Program vs. Programme
by Ali Hale One of our readers wrote to ask if we could clarify the difference between program and programme . The Noun: Program or Programme? The basic difference is between different languages: American English always uses program British English uses programme unless referring to computers Australian English recommends program for official usage, but programme is still in common use. The word “program” was predominant in the UK until the 19th century, when the spelling “programme” became more common — largely as a result of influence from French, which has the same word “programme”.
arterial - definition of arterial by the Free Online Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company . All rights reserved. arterial [ɑːˈtɪərɪəl]
Snake oil
Clark Stanley's Snake Oil Snake oil is an expression that originally referred to fraudulent health products or unproven medicine but has come to refer to any product with questionable or unverifiable quality or benefit. By extension, a snake oil salesman is someone who knowingly sells fraudulent goods or who is himself or herself a fraud, quack , charlatan, and the like. Two main hypotheses for the origin of the term is as follows: The more common theory is that the name originated in the Western regions of the United States and is derived from a topical preparation made from the Chinese Water Snake ( Enhydris chinensis ) used by Chinese laborers to treat joint pain . The preparation was promoted in North America by travelling salesmen who often used accomplices in the audience to proclaim the benefits of the preparation. [ citation needed ] One source, Dr.Triage
Typical triage tag, with 'tear-off' sections for decontamination and patient tracking. Only immediate life-saving treatment takes priority over triage. Triage ( pron.: / ˈ t r iː ɑː ʒ / (UK English) or / triːˈɑːʒ / (US English)) is the process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their condition. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately. The term comes from the French verb trier , meaning to separate, sift or select. [ 1 ] Two types of triage exist: simple and advanced. [ 2 ] Triage may result in determining the order and priority of emergency treatment, the order and priority of emergency transport, or the transport destination for the patient.
An idiom ( Latin : idioma , "special property", f. Greek : ἰδίωμα – idiōma , "special feature, special phrasing", f. Greek : ἴδιος – idios , "one’s own") is a rendition of a combination of words that have a figurative meaning .
Idiom
Mutatis mutandis
Mutatis mutandis is a Latin phrase meaning "changing [only] those things which need to be changed" or more simply "[only] the necessary changes having been made". The phrase carries the connotation that the reader should pay attention to differences between the current statement and a previous one, although they are analogous . [ clarification needed ] It can be understood as meaning "acknowledging the difference between the two" or (more succinctly) as "acknowledging differences." This term is used frequently in economics , philosophy , logic , and law , to parameterize a statement with a new term, or note the application of an implied, mutually understood set of changes.
100 Exquisite Adjectives
by Mark Nichol Adjectives — descriptive words that modify nouns — often come under fire for their cluttering quality, but often it’s quality, not quantity, that is the issue. Plenty of tired adjectives are available to spoil a good sentence, but when you find just the right word for the job, enrichment ensues. Practice precision when you select words. Here’s a list of adjectives:
Diagram showing the relationship between the zenith , the nadir, and different types of horizon . The nadir is opposite the zenith. The nadir (from Arabic : نظير / ALA-LC : naẓīr ; meaning "opposite") is the direction pointing directly below a particular location; that is, it is one of two vertical directions at a specified location, orthogonal to a horizontal flat surface there. Since the concept of being below is itself somewhat vague, scientists define the nadir in more rigorous terms. Specifically, in astronomy , geophysics and related sciences (e.g., meteorology ), the nadir at a given point is the local vertical direction pointing in the direction of the force of gravity at that location. The direction opposite of the nadir is the zenith.