Word of the day

Richard Ruck · Post by **Richard Ruck** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 9:46 am

eta

â€¢ noun the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet (Η, η), transliterated as â€˜Eâ€™ or â€˜eâ€™.
â€¢ (Eta) [followed by Latin genitive] Astronomy the seventh star in a constellation: Eta Carinae.
â€” origin from Greek eta.

I hope these get a bit more interesting again. More words like 'pelorus' please, O.U.P.

Mrs C. · Post by **Mrs C.** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 9:54 am

Just to add to this informative thread, another word of the day from a different site!
chockablock

(adjective) [CHOKÂ·ahÂ·blok']
1. jammed; squeezed: "The cheering fans were chock-a-block in the stadium."

2. packed full to capacity; 'chowder chockablock with pieces of fish'

3. (nautical) when the lower block of a tackle is pulled as close as possible to the upper one so it can be drawn no higher

also: chock-a-block

Question - why do so many words seem to come from the nautical world??

Richard Ruck · Post by **Richard Ruck** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 10:00 am

Mrs C. wrote:Question - why do so many words seem to come from the nautical world??

A question for the men of the West - where are they when you need them?

Mrs C. · Post by **Mrs C.** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 10:01 am

Exactly what I was thinking Richard!!

AKAP · Post by **AKAP** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 10:06 am

Richard Ruck wrote:
Mrs C. wrote:Question - why do so many words seem to come from the nautical world??
A question for the men of the West - where are they when you need them?

All at sea, maybe.

englishangel · Post by **englishangel** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 10:17 am

DaveBTS is online, but clearly not here....yet.

englishangel · Post by **englishangel** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 10:22 am

englishangel wrote:DaveBTS is online, but clearly not here....yet.

He is in the bath!!!

DavebytheSea · Post by **DavebytheSea** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 10:26 am

only just awake - about to submerge, but on surfacing will push the brain-boat out

Richard Ruck · Post by **Richard Ruck** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 10:47 am

englishangel wrote:
englishangel wrote:DaveBTS is online, but clearly not here....yet.
He is in the bath!!!

Up periscope!

DavebytheSea · Post by **DavebytheSea** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 11:14 am

Ok - after my "plunge" (for an alternative housey related meaning of the term, see elsewhere on the forum) I am now ready to give a considered answer. Here it is ......................

Richard Ruck · Post by **Richard Ruck** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 11:25 am

DavebytheSea wrote:Ok - after my "plunge" (for an alternative housey related meaning of the term, see elsewhere on the forum) I am now ready to give a considered answer. Here it is ......................

tenterhook

â€¢ noun (in phrase on tenterhooks) in a state of agitated suspense.

â€” ORIGIN originally denoting a hook used to fasten cloth on a tenter (from Latin tendere â€˜to stretchâ€™), a framework on which fabric was held taut during manufacture.

Mrs C. · Post by **Mrs C.** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 11:27 am

[quote="Richard Rucktenterhook

â€¢ noun (in phrase on tenterhooks) in a state of agitated suspense.

â€” ORIGIN originally denoting a hook used to fasten cloth on a tenter (from Latin tendere â€˜to stretchâ€™), a framework on which fabric was held taut during manufacture.[/quote]

Nothing to do with fishing then?

Oh dear...here we go again.....!

DavebytheSea · Post by **DavebytheSea** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 11:27 am

Mrs C. wrote:

Question - why do so many words seem to come from the nautical world??

Shipboard life is the distillation of all human experience.

All the joys, the sorrows, the work, the play, the love, the lust, the hate, the fears, learning, entertainment, health, sickess, structure and uncertainty of human life are condensed with a few cubic metres. Alone on the sea, far from civilisation and with no outside help, the master mariner and his crew are a whole world in microcosm.

In a world where the seaman is plumber, cook, engineer, midwife, sailmaker, clothier, navigator instructor and peacemaker, every action he performs is mirrored in the world at large which readily adopts his terminology. Why? Because ashore we can afford to have specialists who like to cloak their art in in a language designed to be incomprehensible to the rest of us. At sea, where we each depend on the multiple skills of our fellow travellers, we have no such luxury and must invent a language that has an immediacy and directness understood by all.

And if you don't believe me, take up my offer and travel west to sail with me across the wild western ocean.

Mrs C. · Post by **Mrs C.** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 11:31 am

DavebytheSea wrote: And if you don't believe me, take up my offer and travel west to sail with me across the wild western ocean.

If you`d said MILD western ocean, I might be tempted!!!

Richard Ruck · Post by **Richard Ruck** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 11:36 am

Well, shiver me timbers!

Thanks, Dave.

My late father-in-law was a master mariner. During his career he had to perform a multitude of tasks, ranging from diplomacy to the removal of an appendix (to to mention the usual navigation / cargo / crew stuff).

Not quite 'The Good Ship Venus', but a microcosm of human existence nonetheless.