Word of the Day
bombogenesis
noun
the process in which the air pressure in the center of a cyclone rapidly drops, potentially producing hurricane-force winds with very heavy rain or snow.
Why the Museum of Science chose bombogenesis
To find out, watch this video about bombogenesis from award-winning science communicator Maynard Okereke, better known as the Hip Hop M.D.
Learn more fun facts at the Museum of Science.
More about bombogenesis
Bombogenesis, “the 24-hour process in which a cyclone develops hurricane-force winds,” is formed from bomb, in the sense of bomb cyclone or weather bomb, and genesis. Bomb ultimately comes from Ancient Greek bómbos, “a booming sound.” Though bómbos and English boom aren’t related, they are formed in the same way: by verbally mimicking a loud noise. Bombogenesis was first recorded in English in the early 2000s.
EXAMPLE OF BOMBOGENESIS USED IN A SENTENCE
The skiers hunkered down when they learned that the onset of the bombogenesis was still to come.
schmatte
noun
an old ragged garment; tattered article of clothing.
More about schmatte
Schmatte, “an old ragged garment,” is an Americanism adapted from Yiddish shmate, “rag,” from Polish szmata, of the same meaning. Though much of Yiddish vocabulary comes from German, it uses the Hebrew writing system as an alphabet and treats silent Hebrew consonants as vowels. This is how the letters aleph and ayin, which are silent in most varieties of modern Hebrew, make the “ah” and “eh” sounds in Yiddish shmate. Schmatte may also appear as shmatte in English; both spellings are equally valid, with the sch- closer to German spelling standards despite its Polish origin. Schmatte was first recorded in English in the late 1960s.
EXAMPLE OF SCHMATTE USED IN A SENTENCE
“Take that schmatte off,” the grandmother scolded, “and put on a proper coat, or you’ll catch a cold!”
snye
noun
a side-channel, especially one that later rejoins the main stream.
More about snye
Snye, “a side-channel,” is probably adapted from Canadian French chenail, a variant of standard French chenal. Chenal comes from Latin canālis, “waterpipe, conduit,” which may derive from canna, “reed, pipe.” Canna, in turn, is a borrowing (via Ancient Greek kánna) of a word of Semitic origin such as Akkadian qanū, “reed”; related words in modern Semitic languages include Arabic qanāh, “canal, channel,” and Hebrew qāneh “cane, reed, stem.” In this way, the Semitic source of Latin canna is also the source of English canal, cane, canister, cannoli, cannon, canon, canyon, channel, and—for fashion mavens—the surname Chanel. Snye was first recorded in English in the 1810s.
EXAMPLE OF SNYE USED IN A SENTENCE
The snye joined the main waterway right in front of their cabin, which made for a perfect fishing spot.