Word of the Day
integument
noun
a natural covering, as a skin, shell, or rind.
More about integument
Integument, “covering, coating,” comes straight from Latin integumentum “covering, shield, guard, wrapping,” a derivative of the verb integere “to cover, overlay,” itself a compound of the preposition and prefix in, in– “in, on, upon” and the simple verb tegere “to cover, close, bury.” Tegere comes from the Proto-Indo-European root (s)teg-, (s)tog– “to cover.” The variant teg– forms Latin tēgula “a roof tile” (source of English tile). The variant tog– yields Latin toga “toga” (the loose outer garment worn by Roman male citizens in public). The variant (s)teg– yields stégē “covering” and stégos “roof” in Greek, which in turn forms the first element of English stegosaurus, literally “roofed or covered lizard” (from the row of bony plates along its back). Integument entered English in the first half of the 17th century.
how is integument used?
This is a time of year that makes me wish I could slough my skin entire, like a snake, just walk away from that old integument and step out new into the air.
They [tanks] are not steely monsters; they are painted with drab and unassuming colours that are fashionable in modern warfare, so that the armour seems rather like the integument of a rhinoceros.
totemic
adjective
of, being, or relating to anything regarded as a distinctive or venerated emblem by a group or individual.
More about totemic
The adjective totemic, “relating to something, such as a natural object or an animate being, venerated as an emblem by a group or individual,” comes from Ojibwa (also spelled Ojibway and Chippewa), an Algonquian language now spoken mostly in the Great Lakes region. (The Algonquian language family extends from Labrador westward to the Rocky Mountains, west-southwestward through Michigan and Illinois, and southwestward along the Atlantic coast to Cape Hatteras.) In Ojibwa ninto·te·m means “my totem,” oto·te·man “his totem” (probably originally “my/his clan-village-mate,” a derivative of the verb stem o·te·- “dwell in a village”). Totemic was first used in English in the first half of the 19th century.
how is totemic used?
I agree with those who feel that New York would gain by restoring the totemic image of the twin towers to the skyline, if not in their original form.
The sphinx crouches in a position that’s regal and yet totemic of subjugation—she is “beat down” but standing. That’s part of her history, too.
tocsin
noun
a signal, especially of alarm, sounded on a bell or bells.
More about tocsin
Tocsin, “a signal, especially an alarm sounded on a bell,” comes via Old French toquesin, touquesaint, tocsaint from Provençal tocasenh. Tocasenh is a compound made up of the verb tocar “to strike” (French toucher, English touch), from Vulgar Latin toccāre “to touch” and senh “a bell, note of a bell,” from Medieval Latin signum “a bell,” from Latin signum “a mark or sign; a signal.” Tocsin entered English in the second half of the 16th century.
how is tocsin used?
Labor Day instead of sounding the knell of vacations, has become the tocsin for more holidays–Fall holidays. Increasingly of late years has this season been growing in favor among those who wish to avoid the crowds of early August, or plan a special sort of trip.
Paris is in the streets;—rushing, foaming like some Venice wine-glass into which you had dropped poison. The tocsin, by order, is pealing madly from all steeples.