Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Dross

Dross is a mass of solid impurities floating on a molten metal bath. Dross (slang) has been used to describe persons of contemptible status. For example 'Human dross' is synonymous with 'Human scum'.

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Nihilartikel

A fraudulent entry in a reference work used to catch copyright infringers.

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Sinology

Sinology is the study of China and things related to China, by non-Chinese or Chinese living outside China. Sino- is derived from Latin Sinae ("the Chinese"), the origin of which is debatable. In the context of area studies, sinology is usually known as Chinese Studies.

Sinology on Wikipedia

Sinology

Sinology is the study of China and things related to China, by non-Chinese or Chinese living outside China. Sino- is derived from Latin Sinae ("the Chinese"), the origin of which is debatable. In the context of area studies, sinology is usually known as Chinese Studies.

Sinology on Wikipedia

Friday, January 25, 2008

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Temerity

unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger or opposition : rashness recklessness

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Quixotic

1.(sometimes initial capital letter) resembling or befitting Don Quixote.
2.extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable.
3.impulsive and often rashly unpredictable.

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Thursday, January 17, 2008

Disemvowelling

In the fields of Internet discussion and forum moderation, disemvoweling, (also spelled disemvowelling) which appears to model the word disemboweling, is the removal of vowels from text either as a method of self-censorship (for example, either "G*d" or "G-d" for those whose religious beliefs preclude writing God in full), or as a technique by forum moderators to censor Internet trolling and other unwanted posting.[1] When used by a forum moderator, the net effect of disemvowelling text is to render it illegible or legible only through significant cognitive effort.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Endomorph

An endomorph is one of the three somatotypes, or animal body-types, that contains high body fat, and that gains weight easily.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Semiosis

Semiosis is any form of activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, including the production of meaning. The term was introduced by Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914) to describe a process that interprets signs as referring to their objects, as described in his theory of sign relations, or semiotics.

Post-Structuralism

Post-structuralism encompasses the intellectual developments of continental philosophers and critical theorists that wrote with tendencies of twentieth-century French philosophy. The prefix "post" refers to the fact that many contributors such as Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, and Julia Kristeva rejected structuralism and became quite critical of it. In direct contrast to structuralism's claims of an independent signifier, superior to the signified, post-structuralism views the signifier and signified as inseparable but not united.

While post-structuralism is difficult to define or summarize, it can be broadly understood as a body of distinct reactions to structuralism. There are two main reasons for this difficulty. First, it rejects definitions that claim to have discovered absolute 'truths' or facts about the world.[1] Second, very few people have willingly accepted the label 'post-structuralist'; rather, they have been labeled as such by others. Therefore, no one has felt compelled to construct a 'manifesto' of post-structuralism.

Structuralism

An approach in academic disciplines in general that explores the relationships between fundamental principal elements in language, literature, and other fields upon which some higher mental, linguistic, social, or cultural "structures" and "structural networks" are built. Through these networks meaning is produced within a particular person, system, or culture. This meaning then frames and motivates the actions of individuals and groups. In its most recent manifestation, structuralism as a field of academic interest began around 1958 and peaked in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Wikipedia on Structuralism

Stately

1. Dignified and impressive, as in size or proportions. See Synonyms at grand.
2. Majestic; lofty.

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Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Bevy

1.a group of birds, as larks or quail, or animals, as roebuck, in close association.
2.a large group or collection
bevy

Evitable

capable of being avoided or warded off

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Sunday, January 6, 2008

Pathocracy

A totalitarian form of government in which absolute political power is held by a psychopathic elite, and their effect on the people is such that the entire society is ruled and motivated by purely pathological values.

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Friday, January 4, 2008

Meconium

Meconium (warning: gross picture) is the earliest stools of an infant. Unlike later feces, meconium is composed of materials ingested during the time the infant spends in the uterus: intestinal epithelial cells, lanugo, mucus, amniotic fluid, bile, and water. Meconium is sterile, unlike later feces, is viscous and sticky like tar, and has no odor.

Bumptious

Bumptious: obtrusively pushy; self-assertive to a pretentious extreme

lordosis

  Lordosis is historically defined as an abnormal inward curvature of the lumbar spine.