Word of the Day: Pantheon

Pantheon is pretty much a word used to describe a group or club but now that I know it I shall for ever more use it when referring to my group of friends.  It was H.P. Lovecraft’s use of the word Pantheon when talking about the Great Old Ones that brought it to my full attention.  It is not a word that I would commonly use and so it stood out when reading it.

Pantheon
Noun

ONE
a. All the gods of a people or religion collectively: “Out of all the deities of the Egyptian pantheon Anubis is by far  my favourite”

TWO
a. A small group of people who are the most famous, important, and admired in their particular area of activity: “I am honoured beyond measure to be placed in the pantheon of all-time greatest bloggers”

THREE
a. A building in which the illustrious dead of a nation are buried or honoured: “Westminster Abbey has a long tradition of honouring great individuals of the world with Burials and Memorials”

FOUR
a. The Pantheon  is a building in Rome, Italy, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) and rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian about 126 AD. (Wikipeada)

The actual Pantheon was a temple built by the Romans however the word is used nowadays to mean any group of exalted figures from Gods to Celebrities.  Pantheon has also used to describe a national memorial, monument or any place that exalts the dead of a nation.  It is a fantastic word.  Try using Pantheon in a sentence today!

Word of the Day: Despot

Despot, which means “tyrannical ruler” is going to be used more and more when us guys get together to play games! I came across this word when researching another and found that it fitted better to the term I was looking!

Despot
Noun

ONE
a. A ruler or person who holds absolute power and who typically exercises it in a cruel or oppressive way: “House rules in Munchkin make a despot of all who would host the games night events.”

TWO
a. King, Emperor or an absolute ruler with unlimited powers: “Darth Vader killed his Sith Master ending the despot’s rule of the Empire”

THREE
a. a title meaning “master,” applied to certain classes of rulers, as Byzantine emperors or bishops of the Greek church.

The modern term of Despot implies tyrannical rule, or rule with absolute power, which like I mentioned in the intro will be used more and more when us guys get together to play games.  I will not mention which of us comes to mind most when thinking of the word but if you know our group it’s easy to surmise who I’m referring to.

Word of the Day: Defenestration

Defenestration is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window.  It is quite possibly the best word I have heard all week.  I told my cohort Keith about this works an his response was “Yes, definitely yes! That must be the word of the day” or something to that effect.  Many thanks to Niamh for introducing me to this word.

Defenestration
Noun

ONE
a. The act of throwing someone out of a window: “When working with Gavin at an undisclosed Computing firm Keith was very much inclined to use defenestration as a form of punishment to his colleague.”

 TWO
b. The action of dismissing someone from a position of power or authority: “Victory in the game Risk was a result from Scott’s defenestration from his Argentinian Capital.”

The origin of Defenestration is actually quite funny.  It was a word invented to describe an incident that happened in 1618.  The “Defenestration of Prague” when two Catholic deputies to the Bohemian national assembly and a secretary were tossed out a window from the castle of Hradshin by Protestant radicals.  That entire sentence (paraphrased from Dictonary.com) is in itself quite possibly the greatest sentence of all time.

Word of the Day: Unparagoned

If you are lucky enough to ever witness me lighting a campfire you would stand in awe at my unparagoned skills.  My friends Keith, Gavin, Jonny and Andi have the pleasure of witnessing my talents when we go out to our campsite and burn some logs.

Unparagoned
Adjective

ONE
a. Having no paragon : unequaled, matchless, peerless: “Scott has unparagoned skills in fire lighting”

I could not find any reference to the etymology of the word unparagoned but it is referenced in Webster’s 1828 Dictionary.  Try using shambles in a sentence and drop us a comment.

Word of the Day: Capitulation

One definition is that of an agreement on specified terms; a covenant, a treaty. Another would be to say capitulation is an act or the action of yielding; giving way, giving in. In the run up to the Second World War British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain entered into an agreement with Adolf Hitler. In the agreement Britain would concede parts of Czechoslovakia and look the other way. Turned out Czechoslovakia was only the beginning as nation after nation fell to Nazi rule.

Capitulation
Noun

ONE
a. the act of capitulating “The defenders had to capitulate to the invading enemy forces”.
b. a set of terms or articles constituting an agreement between governments “The General was forced to sign the capitulation of Japan”.

Capitulation between two sides seeking a resolution for the greater good is great. However, conceding to tyranny on a point of principal (e.g. Czechoslovakia) will never end well. Try using shambles in a sentence and drop us a comment.

Word of the Day: Shambles

Anyone who tuned into the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will understand the concept of a ‘shambles‘. It got fairly bad for a while. Then Her Majesty came on, and of course, set the world (or at least The Commonwealth of Nations) right again.

Shambles
Noun

ONE
a. A scene or condition of complete disorder or ruin: “The Commonwealth Games opening ceremony  was a complete shambles“.
b. Great clutter or jumble; a total mess: “My bedroom is a total shambles“.

TWO
a. A place or scene of bloodshed or carnage.
b. A scene or condition of great devastation.

Our current, more generalized meaning, “a scene or condition of disorder,” was first recorded in 1926 however the history of the word once had a different origins which can be found by clicking the Word History link.  Try using shambles in a sentence and drop us a comment.