Murmuration

Murmuration (pronounced mur-muh-rey-shuhn)

(1) An act or instance of murmuring.

(2) In ornithological use, the correct collective name for a flock of starlings although sometimes (controversially according to the ornithologists) extended to bees.

(3) In sociology and zoology, an emergent order in a multi-agent social system.

1350–1400: A Middle English borrowing from the Old French murmure (which endures in modern French) from the Medieval Latin murmurātiōn (stem of murmurātiō), derived from the Latin murmur (humming, muttering, roaring, growling, rushing etc).  The wealth of words related to murmur includes rumble, buzz, hum, whisper, muttering, purr, undertone, babble, grumble, mutter, susurration, drone, whispering, humming, mumble, rumor, buzzing and susurrus.

Murmuration of starlings above the Negev desert, near Rahat, Israel, February 2018.

The adoption of murmuration as the collective noun for starlings is thought derived from the sound of the very large groups that starlings form at dusk.  The ornithologists did not approve of the apiarists borrowing the word to describe bees, maintaining bees exist in a swarm, drift, erst or grist.  There are however no rules for this and an alternative collective noun for starlings is a chattering and this is applied also to chicks, choughs and goldfinches.

Bailiwick

Bailiwick (pronounced bey-luh-wik)

(1) In law, the district or area within which a bailie or bailiff has jurisdiction.

(2) A person's area of skill, knowledge, authority, or work.

1425–75: From the late Middle English, the construct being baili- (or bailie) + wick (district of a bailiff, jurisdiction of a royal officer or under-sheriff), a mid-fifteenth century contraction of baillifwik, from bailiff + the Middle English wik, from the Old English wic (village).  The figurative sense of "one's natural or proper sphere" was a creation of American English first recorded in 1843.

From the Ancien Régime

Bailiwick’s origin was in pre-revolutionary France.  Under the Ancien Régime, the bailli (bailiff in the Old French) was the king's representative in a bailliage, in charge of the application of justice and the machinery of local administration.  For historic reasons, in the southern provinces, the more frequently used term was sénéchal and they discharged duties similar to a bailli in a sénéchaussée.  The network of baillages, structurally the most enduring creation of early-Modern France, was created during the thirteenth century, using mostly the geographical boundaries of the earlier medieval fiscal and tax divisions (the baillie) which had been the systems of the various dukedoms and principalities.  In English, the French bailie was combined with the Anglo-Saxon suffix “-wic” (village), the compound meaning literally “bailiff's village”, and defining the geographic scope of each bailiwick.  In the nineteenth century, it was absorbed into American English as a metaphor for a sphere of knowledge or activity.  The term survives in administrative usage in the British Crown dependencies of the Channel Islands which are grouped into two bailiwicks (1), Jersey (Jersey, and the uninhabited islets (Minquiers & Écréhous et al) and (2), Guernsey (Guernsey, Sark, Alderney, Brecqhou, Herm, Jethou & Lihou).  A Bailiff is the head of each Channel Island bailiwick.

Discreet & Discrete

Discreet (pronounced dih-skreet)

(1) Judicious in conduct or speech, especially with regard to respecting privacy or maintaining silence about delicate matters; prudent; circumspect.

(2) Showing prudence and circumspection; decorous:

(3) Modestly unobtrusive; unostentatious:

1325–1375: From the Middle English discret from the Anglo-French & Old French discret (prudent, discerning) from the Medieval Latin discrētus (separated), past participle of discernere (to discern), the construct being dis- + crē- (separate, distinguish (variant stem of cernere)) + -tus, the Latin past participle suffix.  Related forms are the noun discreetly and the adverb discreetness.

Discrete (pronounced dih-skreet)

(1) Apart or detached from others; separate; distinct; that which can be perceived individually and not as connected to, or part of something else.

(2) Consisting of or characterized by distinct or individual parts; discontinuous.

(3) In mathematics, of a topology or topological space, having the property that every subset is an open set; defined only for an isolated set of points; using only arithmetic and algebra; not involving calculus.

(4) In statistics (of a variable), having consecutive values not so infinitesimally close, so that its analysis requires summation rather than integration.

(5) In electrical engineering, having separate electronic components (diodes, transistors, resisters etc) as opposed to integrated circuitry.

(6) In audio engineering, separate and independent channels of audio, as opposed to multiplexed stereo or quadraphonic, or other multi-channel sound.(7) In linguistics, disjunctive, containing a disjunctive or discretive clause.

(8) In angelology, the technical description of the hierarchies and orders of angels

1350–1400: Middle English from the Latin discrētus (separated; set apart) past participle of discernō (divide), the construct being dis- + cernō (sift); a doublet of discreet.  The Middle English adoption came via the Old French discret.  Related forms are the noun discretely and the adverb discreteness.

Strange words

An etymological tangle, it was the influence of the Middle French discret (prudent, discerning) which saw discreet evolve to mean “wise person” in Angle-French.  The Latin source was discrētus (past participle of the verb discernere (to discern; to separate, distinguish, mark off, show differences between)) and in post-Classical Latin discrētus also acquired the sense “prudent, wise,” possibly arising from association with the noun discrētiō, which shows a similar semantic development: physical separation, to discernment, to capacity to discern.

Discrete (apart or detached from others; separate; distinct) was originally a spelling doublet of discreet, sharing meanings, both deriving from the same Latin source.  The spelling discrete is closer in form to the Latin discrētus and is probably an attempt to differentiate discreet from discrete and one has always been more prolific than the other, dictionaries for centuries tending to offer five time the citations for “prudent, circumspect” compared with the sense “separate, distinct” although the history of the latter is long in statistics, angelology, astronomy, and mathematics.  It wasn’t until the late sixteenth century that discrete became restricted to its present meanings, leaving the spelling discreet to predominate in its own use.

In a way not uncommon in English, pre-modern spellings proliferated: discreyt, discrite, discreit, discreete and others existed but, by the late sixteenth century, the standard meanings became discrete in the sense of “individual” and discreet in the sense of “tactful”.  Technically, it should have been the other way around because the Latin ending –etus usually becomes –ete in English.

The Assumption of the Virgin (1475-1476), by Francesco Botticini (1446–1498), tempera on wood panel, National Gallery London.  Commissioned as the altarpiece for a Florentine church, it portrays Mary's assumption and shows the discrete three hierarchies and nine orders of angels.

Waft

Waft (pronounced wahft)

(1) To carry lightly and smoothly through the air or over water.

(2) To send or convey lightly, as if in flight.

(3) To signal to, summon, or direct by waving (obsolete).

(4) A sound, odor etc, faintly perceived.

(5) A light current or gust of air; a brief, gentle breeze.

(6) In admiralty jargon, a signal flag hoisted or furled to signify various messages depending on where it was flown (archaic).

(7) To convey by ship (obsolete).

1535–1545:  In the obsolete sense of conveying by ship, a back formation from the late Middle English waughter (armed escort vessel) from the Dutch and Low German wachter guard (a watchman or convoy vessel) which in some historic documents is confused with waff.  The familiar modern meaning “gently to pass through air or space, to float" appears first in 1704, thought likely related to the northern dialect word waff (cause to move to and fro) which dates from 1510 as a variant of wave.

How to Waft

Waft, in the practical laboratory work of chemistry and other sciences, is a term used in safety manuals when describing the recommended way to sniff stuff.  To waft, one uses an open hand with the palm facing the body, moving the hand in a gentle circular motion over or about the substance or gas of interest so as to lift vapours towards the nose.  This permits a lower concentration to be inhaled, especially important with anything dangerous like ammonia, hydrochloric acid et al.

Right: Student in lab.

Wrong: George W Bush (b 1946; US President 2001-2009) in lab.

Atrophy & Hypertrophy

Atrophy (pronounced a-truh-fee)

(1) In pathology, a wasting away of the body or of an organ or part, or a failure to grow to normal size as the result of disease, defective nutrition, nerve damage or hormonal changes.

(2) Degeneration, decline, or decrease, as from disuse.

1590–1600: From the earlier Middle French atrophie and Late Latin atrophia from the Ancient Greek ἀτροφία (atrophía) (a wasting away), (derived from trephein (to feed)) from ἄτροφος (átrophos) (ill-fed, un-nourished), the construct being ἀ- (a-) (not) + τροφή (trophḗ) (nourishment) from τρέφω (tréphō) (I fatten).  Atrophic is the most familiar adjectival form.  The a- prefix, a proclitic form of preposition, is from the Ancient Greek ἀ- (not, without) and is used to form taxonomic names indicating a lack of some feature that might be expected.  In Middle English a- (up, out, away) was from the Old English ā- (originally ar- & or-) from the Proto-Germanic uz- (out-), from the primitive Indo-European uds- (up, out); it was cognate with the Old Saxon ā- and the German er-.  The suffix –ia is from Classical Latin from the Ancient Greek -ία (-ía) & -εια (-eia) and was used to form abstract nouns of feminine gender.  It creates names of countries, diseases, flowers, and (rarely) collections of things such as militaria & deletia).

Hypertrophy (pronounced hahy-pur-truh-fee)

(1) In physiology, the abnormal (but usually non-tumorous) enlargement of an organ or a tissue as a result of an increase in the size rather than the number of constituent cells.

(2) By analogy, excessive growth or accumulation of any kind.

1825–1835: A compound word hyper- + -trophy.  Hyper is from the French hypertrophie, from the Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér) (over, excessive), from the primitive Indo-European upér (over, above) (from which English gained over), from upo (under, below) (source of the English up). It was cognate with the Latin super- and is a common prefix appearing in loanwords from Greek, where it meant “over,” usually implying excess or exaggeration (eg hyperbole); on this model used, especially as opposed to hypo-, in the formation of compound words.

Hypertrophied catfish now found in the cooling ponds of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor which in 1986 suffered a meltdown and subsequent explosion.  Their huge size is not a radiation-induced mutation but a result of the absence of a predator since humans were removed from their environment.

Peccant

Peccant (pronounced pek-uhnt)

(1) Sinning; corrupt; guilty of a moral offense.

(2) Violating a rule, principle, or established practice; faulty; wrong.

(3) Producing disease; morbid (archaic).

1595–1605: From the Latin peccantis & peccant- (stem of peccāns), present participle of peccāre (to sin, to err, offend).  The Latin peccāns was the present participle of peccō, from the primitive Indo-European verbal root ped- (to walk, fall, stumble) and related to pṓds, the same source as the Hittite pata, the Latin pēs & pedis, the Tocharian A pe, the Tocharian B paiyye, the Lithuanian pāda (sole (foot)), the Russian под (pod) (ground), the Ancient Greek πούς & ποδός (poús & podós), the Albanian shputë (palm, foot sole), the Old Armenian ոտն (otn) and the Sanskrit पद् (pád)).  Derived forms include the nouns peccancy & peccantness and the adverb peccantly.  Also related in English is the familiar impeccable and the almost unknown peccable.

Peccant: SARS-CoV-2 which causes the disease COVID-19, is thought to have jumped from bats to humans via an as yet unknown species.  The transmissibility, morbidity and mortality rate in humans is a product of the interaction of the SARS-CoV-2 virus with the three species.  Despite the popular association, there was never any proof of casual connection between eating bat soup and contracting COVID-19.

Redact

Redact (pronounced ri-dakt)

(1) In publishing, to put into suitable literary form; revise; edit (professional technical use only).

(2) To draw up or frame a statement, proclamation etc (rare, mostly in historic references).

(3) To hide or remove (confidential parts of a text) before publication or distribution, or to examine (a text) for this purpose.

(4) To bring together in one unit; to combine or bring together into one; to bring an area of study within the comprehension capacity of a person; To reduce to a particular condition or state, especially one that is undesirable; to reduce something physical to a certain form, especially by destruction (all of which became obsolete between the sixteenth & eighteenth centuries).

1350–1400: Middle English from the Old French redacter from the Latin redāctus (past participle of redigere (to lead back)), the construct being red- (from metanalysis of re- in verbs) + āctus (past participle of agere (to lead; to drive)) and perfect passive participle of redigō (drive, lead, collect, reduce), that construct being re- (back) + agō (put in motion, drive).  Derived forms are the nouns redaction & redactor and the adjectives redactional & unredacted.

An example of a redacted document with the "plain black block" method using the redaction tool in Adobe Acrobat DC.

Lindsay Lohan's conquest list, 2013.

Traditional forms of redaction were as simple as crossing-out with a black pen or smudging entries to the point of illegibility and these methods can be emulated by the software tools but software houses caution that if undertaken in the simpler image editors, it is sometimes possible to reverse engineer the process of "smudging" or "swirling", making things appear in their original form.  In 2014, In Touch magazine published a partially redacted list of three-dozen names compiled by Lindsay Lohan.  Written in a Beverley Hills hotel room in 2013, the 36 names were those said to be Ms Lohan's "conquests" although it wasn't clear if the list was selective or exhaustive and it produced reactions among those mentioned ranging from "no comment" to a Clintonesque "I did not have sex with that woman".  Points of interest included Ms Lohan's apparently intact short & long-term memory and her commendably neat handwriting.  She seems to favor the "first letter bigger" style in which the style is "all capitals" but the first letter (in each word in the case of proper nouns such as names) is larger.  In typography, the idea is derived from the "drop cap", a centuries-old tradition in publishing where the opening letter of a sentence is many times the size of the rest, the text wrapping around the big letter.  In many cases, a drop cap was an elaborate or stylized version of the letter.   

Tit

Tit (pronounced tit)

(1) Any of numerous small active old world songbirds of the family Paridae, especially those of the former genus Parus.

(2) Medieval slang for a girl or young woman thought something of a minx.

(3) A small, worthless or worn-out poor horse; a nag (archaic).

(4) Slang for a despicable or unpleasant person (archaic).

(5) Slang for a teat (used in agricultural and other circles).

(6) As tit-bit, a small morsel of food.

(7) An imperfect echoic used in the phrase “tit for tat” (thought derived from the medieval phrase “this for that”).

(8) One of the many vulgar slang terms for the female breast (although in certain contexts applied also to men and used in the phrase "taking the bull by the tits" to suggest someone is doing something wrong or misunderstands things).    

Pre 1100: Entered Middle English circa 1550 as titte, drawn from Old English titt; cognate with Middle Low German & Middle Dutch titte and existed in German as zitze, Icelandic as tittr and Norwegian as titta.  The Scandinavian forms applied to small birds and the Old English titt was a variant of teat.  The modern slang variation, attested from 1928, seems to be a recent reinvention from teat, used apparently without awareness it’s a throwback to the original form although the form is on record from 1746 as an English and Irish nursery diminutive of teat.

Tits constitute the Paridae, a large family of small birds, most of which were formerly classified in the genus Parus.  Typically known as tits in the most of English-speaking world, these birds are also called either chickadees or titmice in North America. The creatures are mainly small, stocky, woodland species with short, stout bills, some with crests.  Ranging in length between four and nine inches (100 to 220 mm), they have a mixed diet including seeds and insects and appear to have adapted well to co-habitation with humans in urban environments.

Small tits (Cyanistes teneriffae)

Great tits (Parus major)

Species in taxonomic order

Genus Cephalopyrus

Fire-capped tit Cephalopyrus flammiceps

Genus Sylviparus

Yellow-browed tit, Sylviparus modestus

Genus Melanochlora

Sultan tit, Melanochlora sultanea

Genus Periparus

Black-breasted tit or rufous-naped tit, Periparus rufonuchalis

Rufous-vented tit, Periparus rubidiventris

Coal tit, Periparus ater

Genus Pardaliparus

Yellow-bellied tit, Pardaliparus venustulus

Elegant tit, Pardaliparus elegans

Palawan tit, Pardaliparus amabilis

Genus Lophophanes

European crested tit, Lophophanes cristatus

Grey crested tit, Lophophanes dichrous

Genus Baeolophus

Bridled titmouse, Baeolophus wollweberi

Oak titmouse, Baeolophus inornatus

Juniper titmouse, Baeolophus ridgwayi

Tufted titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor

Black-crested titmouse, Baeolophus atricristatus

Genus Sittiparus

Varied tit, Sittiparus varia

Owston's tit, Sittiparus owstoni

Iriomote tit, Sittiparus olivaceus

Chestnut-bellied tit, Sittiparus castaneoventris

White-fronted tit, Sittiparus semilarvatus

Genus Poecile

White-browed tit, Poecile superciliosus

Sombre tit, Poecile lugubris

Père David's tit, Poecile davidi

Marsh tit, Poecile palustris

Caspian tit, Poecile hyrcanus

Black-bibbed tit, Poecile hypermelaenus

Willow tit, Poecile montanus

Sichuan tit Poecile weigoldicus

Carolina chickadee, Poecile carolinensis

Black-capped chickadee, Poecile atricapillus

Mountain chickadee, Poecile gambeli

Mexican chickadee, Poecile sclateri

Grey-headed chickadee, Poecile cinctus

Boreal chickadee, Poecile hudsonicus

Chestnut-backed chickadee, Poecile rufescens

Genus Cyanistes

Small tit, Cyanistes teneriffae

Eurasian blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus

Azure tit, Cyanistes cyanus

Genus Pseudopodoces

Ground tit, Pseudopodoces humilis (previously "Hume's ground jay" in crow family Corvidae)

Genus Parus

Great tit, Parus major

Japanese tit, Parus minor (often included in Parus major)

Cinereous tit, Parus cinereus (split from Parus major)

Green-backed tit, Parus monticolus

Genus Machlolophus

White-naped tit, Machlolophus nuchalis

Yellow tit, Machlolophus holsti

Himalayan black-lored tit, Machlolophus xanthogenys

Indian black-lored tit, Machlolophus aplonotus

Yellow-cheeked tit, Machlolophus spilonotus

Genus Melaniparus

White-shouldered black tit, Melaniparus guineensis

White-winged black tit, Melaniparus leucomelas

Southern black tit, Melaniparus niger

Carp's tit, Melaniparus carpi

White-bellied tit, Melaniparus albiventris

White-backed black tit, Melaniparus leuconotus

Dusky tit, Melaniparus funereus

Rufous-bellied tit, Melaniparus rufiventris

Cinnamon-breasted tit, Melaniparus pallidiventris

Red-throated tit, Melaniparus fringillinus

Stripe-breasted tit, Melaniparus fasciiventer

Acacia tit or Somali Tit, Melaniparus thruppi

Miombo tit, Melaniparus griseiventris

Ashy tit, Melaniparus cinerascens

Grey tit, Melaniparus afer

Athenaeum

Athenaeum (pronounced ath-uh-nee-uhm or ath-uh-ney-uhn)

(1) An institution for the promotion of literary or scientific learning.

(2) A library or reading room.

(3) A sanctuary of Athena at Athens, built by the Roman emperor Hadrian, and frequented by poets and scholars (always with initial capital letter).

1727:  Adopted in English from the Latinized form of Greek Athḗnaion (the temple of Athene) in ancient Athens, in which professors taught and actors or poets rehearsed. The meaning "literary club-room or reading room" is from 1799 and "literary or scientific club" is from 1864.  The academy of learning in Rome was established near the Forum in circa 135 AD by the Emperor Hadrian.  The alternative (mostly US) spelling is athenaeum.

The Emperor Hadrian built the Athenaeum as a place for the promotion of literary and scientific studies (ingenuarum artium), the name borrowed from the Hellenic original in acknowledgement of the still admired intellectual traditions of classical Athens.  The Athenaeum was situated near the Capitoline Hill and the ruins were discovered in 2009 during excavations for the construction of a underground rail line, in the middle of what is now Piazza Venezia.

Ruins of the Athenaeum, Rome.