Word of the Day
almsgiving
noun
the act of donating money, food, or other items to poor or needy people, especially as a spiritual practice.
More about almsgiving
Almsgiving “the act of donating to needy people” is a compound of alms “donations to needy people” and giving. The seemingly simple word alms has a complicated history; it is a contraction of Old English ælmesse, which was borrowed from Late Latin eleēmosyna, source of Word of the Day eleemosynary. While most words of Latin origin passed into Middle English by way of Old French, a minority of terms were borrowed into Old English directly from later versions of the Latin language. Other examples of early borrowings include chalk, cheese, cook, street, wall, and wine. Turning back to Late Latin, eleēmosyna derives from Ancient Greek eleēmosýnē “compassion,” from éleos “pity.” Almsgiving was first recorded in English long before the year 1000 AD.
how is almsgiving used?
Panhandling is a basic form of charitable solicitation with a long history. Almsgiving dates back to the days of ancient Greece and the Bible. Instead of asking for help on behalf of an animal shelter, food pantry or any other kind of nonprofit, the panhandlers ask for help satisfying their own personal need. In case after case, the courts have clearly ruled that the Constitution safeguards the right to make personal pitches the same way that it protects the ability of organizations to make their own asks.
The pandemic has given a boost to philanthropy in Latin America, but it is also a threat. Donors have less money to give or are shifting it to public health from other good causes …. The Latin American countries with the largest philanthropic sectors are Mexico and Colombia, according to a study published in 2018. Their foundations’ assets are worth 1% of annual gdp, compared with 4.8% in the United States. Ordinary folk seem less altruistic than in other regions, though the tradition of almsgiving through the church remains strong.
haček
noun
a diacritic (ˇ) placed over a letter in some languages, as Czech and Lithuanian, and in some systems of phonetic transcription, especially to indicate that a sound is palatalized.
More about haček
Haček “a diacritic (ˇ) placed over a letter to indicate that a sound is palatalized” is a borrowing from Czech háček “small hook,” a diminutive of hák “hook.” The resemblance between hák and English hook is not a coincidence; hák is adapted from Middle High German hāken (compare modern German Haken) and is cognate to English hook and heckle, Dutch haak “hook” and hoek “corner,” and Icelandic haki “pick” and hækja “crutch.” An alternative name for the haček is caron, which is of unknown origin, though one hypothesis—based purely on spelling similarity, so take it with a grain of salt—is that caron is based on caret (^) and/or macron (¯). Haček was first recorded in English in the early 1950s.
how is haček used?
There’s another way to type accents on the Mac and some people find it much easier. Simply press and hold the letter you want to accent and a pop-over menu will appear showing the options. So, e yields seven options and a has eight alternative versions … This means more accents can be accommodated. The inverted circumflex or caron or haček … does not have a keyboard shortcut. Instead, you need to follow the long-press technique on the letter c and it’ll appear as the third option. Again, without letting go of the c, tap the 3 key and you’re golden.
Four … consonants [in the Czech language] are created by adding a haček, literally a “little hook,” above the letters c, r, s, and z. As a result, č is equivalent to “ch” in “cheese,” š to “sh,” and ž to “zh” as in “leisure.” The sound ř, distinctive of the Czech language, is considered virtually unpronounceable by foreigners. Something like a combination r plus ž, it occurs, to give a famous and familiar example, in the name of the composer Antonín Dvořák (usually, “Dvor-zhak”).
sennachie
noun
a professional storyteller of family genealogy, history, and legend.
More about sennachie
Sennachie “a professional storyteller of family history” is borrowed from Scottish Gaelic seanachaidh, which comes from Old Irish senchae or senchaid “historian.” The sen- element in these Old Irish terms means “old, ancient” and is cognate with Latin senex “old; an elder.” From senex (stem sen-), English inherits senate, senescent, and senile, all of which pertain to elders, either in age or in society. The comparative form of senex is senior “older,” which is the source of senior, sir, and surly as well as French seigneur, Italian signore, and Spanish señor. Sennachie was first recorded in English in the 1530s.
how is sennachie used?
Although the Irish folk-tales are largely the same as other folk-tales throughout the world, the method of narrating them in Ireland became very elaborate over time …. The skill involved was recognized beyond the Gaeltacht, such that the Irish word for a professional storyteller—senchai, or its Scottish Gaelic cognate seanchaidh—was borrowed into English as shannaghes (plural) as early as 1534; it is now usually spelled seannachie or sennachie.
It was the sennachie who first told me I was special. He had come to teach my eldest brother, David. The sennachie is the holder of the family story, the keeper of the genealogy, the remembrancer of all that makes a clan or a family…