Peter May mercatornet.com Peter May is a retired family doctor in the UK. A new book by Lesley-Ann Jonesasks, “Who was the love of Freddie Mercury’s life?” Thirty years after his death, this question has increasing relevance. Sexuality has become a cultural nightmare and the life of the
The word for today is… fief (noun) – 1 : a feudal estate 2 : something over which one has rights or exercises control Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Never accuse The BFD Word of the Day of being incomplete. Today’s word is a follow up to yesterday’s – just to dot the
vassal (noun) – 1 : a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he has vowed homage and fealty : a feudal tenant 2 : one in a subservient or subordinate position Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin vassallus “serf of the manor house,
The word for today is… arrive (verb) – 1a : to reach a destination b : to make an appearance : to come upon the scene 2 : to be near in time : 3 informal : to achieve success 4 archaic : happen Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Middle English ariven, arriven “to reach the end of a
The word for today is… compel (verb) – 1 : to drive or urge forcefully or irresistibly 2 : to cause to do or occur by overwhelming pressure 3 archaic : to drive together Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The prefix com- acts as a strengthener in this word; thus, to compel is to drive
The word for today is… moot (adjective, verb, noun) – adjective 1a : open to question b : subjected to discussion 2 : deprived of practical significance : made abstract or purely academic verb 1a : to bring up for discussion b : debate 2 archaic : to discuss from a legal standpoint noun 1 : a deliberative assembly
Angus Aardvark Computer modelling is very useful: I developed models and used them for many years of commercial prediction work. They are a really powerful tool. But ONLY if you have plenty of feedback and constantly update the model so it can tweak itself to match the real world. Essentially
The word for today is… infix (noun) – a derivational or inflectional affix appearing in the body of a word Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : A word for the etymology purists today. Like prefixes and suffixes, infixes are part of the general class of affixes (“sounds or letters attached to or inserted
Paul Steinbrueck ourchurch.com The debate over online church has been going on for years now. In fact, I first blogged about it more than 3 years ago. But as more and more churches launch Internet campuses, the debate continues to grow. A few days ago John Piper shared his
righttolife.org.uk A Special Rapporteur for the United Nation’s Human Rights Council has described abortion as “a radical act of self-love”. Last year, the Special Rapporteur, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng from South Africa, released a statement in relation to President Trump’s ‘gag rule’ that prevented American taxpayers’ money
The word for today is… genuflect (verb) – 1a : to bend the knee b : to touch the knee to the floor or ground especially in worship 2 : to be humbly obedient or respectful Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Genuflect is derived from Late Latin genuflectere, formed from the noun “genu” (“knee”) and
The word for today is… berate (verb) – to scold or condemn vehemently and at length Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Berate and rate can both mean “to scold angrily or violently.” This sense of rate was first recorded in the 14th century, roughly two centuries before the now more familiar (and
hospital (noun) – 1 : a charitable institution for the needy, aged, infirm, or young 2 : an institution where the sick or injured are given medical or surgical care 3 : a repair shop for specified small objects Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Middle English hospital, ospitale “residence for pilgrims and travelers, charitable institution
The word for today is… nadir (noun) – 1 : the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the zenith and vertically downward from the observer 2 : the lowest point Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Nadir is part of the galaxy of scientific words that have come to us from Arabic,
The word for today is… dally (verb) – 1a : to act playfully b : to deal lightly : toy 2a : to waste time b : linger, dawdle Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : English speakers have been playing with different uses of dally since the 14th century. They first started using the word with the meaning
Kathryn Graddy Brandeis University Kathryn Graddy specializes in the economics of art and culture. Her recent work has been in the areas of creativity of artists, auction guarantees, the behavioral economics of art auction prices, and investment returns to violins. In the fall of 2018, a Banksy work, “Love is
