My Science School

Meaning: A noun, abatement suggests reprieve or the act of reducing something, or making something unpleasant less intense. It may be used to refer to a reduction in penalties, a rebate or a respite in war.

Origin: The term comes from Anglo-Norman French, from Old French abatre meaning "fell, put an end to". It entered English in the mid-14th Century.

Usage: The long war shows no sign of abatement.

 With no abatement in the bursting of firecrackers on Diwali night, the poor dogs in the neighbourhood kept howling.

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Meaning: This adjective refers to something very obvious and intentional, when it is a bad thing.

Origin: Coined in 1596 by English poet Edmund Spenser in "The Faerie Queen". In the poem, the blatant beast is a thousand-tongued monster representing slander. Primarily alliterative, it is perhaps by Latin blatire, meaning "to babble". It entered general use by 1650s as "noisy in an offensive and vulgar way", and the sense of "obvious, glaringly conspicuous" is from 1889.

Usage: She turned her back on him in blatant disregard.

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Meaning: The word cornerstone corresponds to an important quality or feature on which a particular thing is based on or depends upon. It also denotes a stone that forms the base of a corner of a building, joining two walls.

 Origin: The word, also used as corner-stone, has been in use from late in the 13th Century. Originally used to refer to the "stone which lies at the corner of two walls and unites them," it acquired the figurative sense of "that on which anything is founded." The word is arrived at by combining the words 'corner and 'stone'.

In U.S. history, American politician Alexander H. Stephen's Cornerstone speech that explains that Confederate constitution was given on March 21, 1861.

Even though the word has been around for centuries, it has risen in popularity again in the last 100 years or so.

Usage: Funds for the primary schooling system were the cornerstone of her budget proposal.

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Meaning: Row as a noun means a noisy quarrel or argument. When the term is used this way, it's pronounced "rauv" which rhymes with "cow".

Origin: Row in the sense of a noisy quarrel has been in use in English since the mid-18th Century. But the origin of this word taking on this meaning is said to be uncertain.

Usage: An ugly row broke out between the two players in front of the spectators.

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Meaning: This noun refers to a joyous song or hymn of praise, tribute, thanksgiving, or triumph.

Origin: This word comes from the Latin word paian which was a hymn of thanksgiving addressed to Apollo. The first known use of paean in the English language can be traced back to 1589.

Usage: His retirement party featured many paeans for his long years of service to the company.

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Meaning: This noun refers to one who prepares and sells compounds for medicinal purposes.

Origin: In use since the mid-14th Century, its origin goes back to the Old French word apotecaire, in turn, from Late Latin apothecarius, meaning "storekeeper". This is from Latin apotheca, meaning "storehouse", from Greek the word apotheke, literally "a place where things are put away".

Usage: They fell ill and sought the assistance of the local apothecary.

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Meaning: A noun, sepulchre refers to a place of burial or tomb

Origin: The use of the word traces back to the beginning of the 13th century. The Anglo-French word was originally spelled sepulcre and has its roots in Latin.

Usage: Among the many discoveries made at the site, the archaeologists also found unique artefacts in the sepulchre of the kings.

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First Impressions

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a story that gives the readers a detailed account of life and liberty in the Regency Era. Published in 1813, it is a social satire that has remained relevant for centuries in its exploration of themes like economic anxiety, class, and the desire to go up the social ladder.

Scholars say that this novel of manners was written as early as 1796-97 and was initially called First Impressions.

The Dead Un-Dead

 Dracula is the most infamous vampire name by far, but did you know that this character was originally going to be called Count Wampyr? That is, until Bram Stoker came across the story of Vlad II of Wallachia and the surname of his descendants, "Dracul", while doing some research. Before he found the name Dracula and assigned it to his character and book, the working title of the 1897 novel was The Dead Un-Dead.

Tomorrow is Another Day

 Gone With the Wind was the only novel author Margaret Mitchell wrote in her lifetime. Published in 1936, this book marks an important moment in American culture when it was on the cusp of the old and the new. The novel focusses on love, civil war, slavery, and immigration among other things through the experiences of an Irish immigrant family that has come to the U.S. and settled in the south where slavery was a thriving institution. This Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War epic continues to be a hit among the masses. But the lesser-known fact about this classic is that it almost went to print under the name Tomorrow is Another Day. However, the author changed it to what it is, drawing inspiration from a poem by 19th-century French poet Ernest Dowson.

The Last Man in Europe

The original title for George Orwell's iconic dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four published in 1949, was The Last Man in Europe. A couple of months before the manuscript was to be published, Orwell wrote to his publisher, Fredric Warburg, stating that he could not decide between "The Last Man in Europe" and "Nineteen Eighty-Four”. Warburg suggested the latter, as he felt it was a more commercial title.

Atticus

American author Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird was a literary sensation when it was first published in 1960. The Chicago Tribune called it "a novel of strong contemporary national significance." The novel's title is taken from a conversation between Scout and Atticus where the latter states that "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" However, this was not the original title of the book. The beloved classic was supposed to be called Atticus until Lee decided that it put too much focus on a single character.

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Meaning: The word meltdown is used to denote a disastrous collapse or breakdown. It is also used to refer to an accident in a nuclear reactor in which the fuel overheats and melts the reactor core or shielding.

Origin: The word meltdown was arrived at by bringing the words "melt" and "down" in the 1630s. The word was used to refer to "an act or the process of melting metal" by 1922. By 1956, it was also used in reference to the accidental melting of the core of a nuclear reactor. The metaphoric extension of the word to imply "breakdown in self-control" is attested since 1979.

Usage: The COVID-19 pandemic led to multiple major meltdowns in the global financial systems.

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Meaning: This adjective means disgusting or distasteful by reason of excess. It also means excessively sweet or sentimental.

Origin: Cloying derives from the verb cloy, which now means “to supply or indulge to excess", but which once meant "to clog", and earlier "to prick a horse with a nail in shoeing". Cloy itself traces via Middle English to Anglo-French encloer (which also meant "to prick a horse with a nail in shoeing") and ultimately to Latin clavus, meaning "nail".

Usage: The sweet was rich and tasty without being cloying.

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Meaning: A noun, spiel is a fast speech. It is most often a speech that has been rehearsed well before and is used to convince someone to buy something or agree with something.

Origin: The word traces its origin to its German root, spielen. It is also used as a verb that means "to play music" which is the word's original meaning if we go by its German root.

Usage: The morning was just breaking and the salesman was already there at our door, ready with his opening spiel.

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Meaning: Usher is used as a verb and a noun. As a verb, it means to show someone where they should go. As a noun, it refers to the person who guides people to their seats in a theatre. It also means to herald something when the term is followed by in.

Origin: The term usher comes from Latin ostiarius meaning doorman or guard posted at the entrance of a building, from ostium meaning 'door’. It is said to have entered late Middle English (denoting a doorkeeper) from Anglo-Norman French usser, which in turn came from medieval Latin ustiarius.

Usage: When we showed our tickets, the usher helped us to find our seats in the dark in the cinema.

Beautiful cherry blossoms usher in spring.

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Meaning: This noun is used to refer to various rhythmic or repeated motions, activities, or patterns of sound. It can also be used to describe a falling inflexion of the voice.

Origin: This word comes from Middle English borrowed from Medieval Latin's own cadentia which means rhythm in verse.

Usage: Stephanie relaxed at the beach, listening to the cadence of the surf.

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Meaning: This noun refers to a government in which power is held by a small group of people.

Origin: In use since the late 15th Century, it has its origin in the Greek work oligarkhia, from oligoi, meaning ‘few’, and arkhein, meaning ‘to rule’.

Usage: Citizens now start to wonder if their country is an oligarchy, after all.

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Meaning: Glutinous, used as an adjective, means sticky, gummy or having the properties of an adhesive.

Origin: The term glutinous comes from Old French glutineux or Latin glutinosus, which in turn derives from gluten meaning ‘glue’. The term has been in use since the late 15th Century

Usage: The report traces the origin of glutinous rice to Southeast Asia. The glutinous bun has a sweet chewy texture.

The sauce was glutinous.

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