Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Monday, February 23, 2009

gharial


The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), sometimes called the Indian gavial or gavial, is one of two surviving members of the family Gavialidae, a long-established group of crocodile-like reptiles with long, narrow jaws. It is a critically endangered species. The gharial is the second-longest of all living crocodilians, after the saltwater crocodile.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Naiad

In Greek mythology, the Naiads or Naiades (Ναϊάδες from the Greek νάειν, "to flow," and νἃμα, "running water") were a type of nymph who presided over fountains, wells, springs, streams, and brooks.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Naid

Naid: Any one of numerous species of small, fresh-water, chætopod annelids of the tribe Naidina

Friday, February 20, 2009

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Marginalia

Marginalia (plurale tantum) is the general term for notes, scribbles, and editorial comments made in the margin of a book. The term is also used to describe drawings and flourishes in medieval illuminated manuscripts. True marginalia is not to be confused with reader's signs, marks (e.g. stars, crosses, fists) or doodles in books. The formal way of adding descriptive notes to a document is called annotation.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

paramilitary

A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force, but which is not regarded as having the same status. The term uses the Greek prefix para- ("beside"), also seen in words such as paramedic.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Demosponge

The Demospongiae are the largest class in the phylum Porifera. Their "skeletons" are made of spicules consisting of fibers of the protein spongin, the mineral silica, or both. They contain 90% of all species of sponges and are predominantly leuconid structural grade.

There are many diverse orders in this class, including all of the large sponges. Most are marine dwellers, but several live in freshwater environments. Some species are brightly colored, and there is great variety in body shape. They reproduce both sexually and asexually.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

santoku

The santoku bōchō (三徳包丁) or bunka bōchō (文化包丁) is a general-purpose kitchen knife originating in Japan. Its unshouldered blade, which is typically between five and eight inches long, has a flat edge and a sheepsfoot blade which curves in an angle approaching 60 degrees at the point. The top of the santoku's handle is in line with the top of the blade, giving the chef's fingers plenty of room underneath. The word santoku loosely translates as 'three good things' or 'three uses', a reference to the knife's three cutting tasks it performs so well: slicing, dicing, and mincing. The santoku's blade and handle are carefully designed to work in harmony by matching the blade's width/weight to the weight of blade tang and handle, and the original Japanese santoku is an especially well-balanced knife.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

santoku

The santoku bōchō (三徳包丁) or bunka bōchō (文化包丁?) is a general-purpose kitchen knife originating in Japan. Its unshouldered blade, which is typically between five and eight inches long, has a flat edge and a sheepsfoot blade which curves in an angle approaching 60 degrees at the point. The top of the santoku's handle is in line with the top of the blade, giving the chef's fingers plenty of room underneath. The word santoku loosely translates as 'three good things' or 'three uses', a reference to the knife's three cutting tasks it performs so well: slicing, dicing, and mincing. The santoku's blade and handle are carefully designed to work in harmony by matching the blade's width/weight to the weight of blade tang and handle, and the original Japanese santoku is an especially well-balanced knife.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Sotrouma

A share taxi is a mode of transport that falls between private transport and conventional bus transport, often with a fixed or semi-fixed route, but with the added convenience of stopping anywhere to pick or drop passengers and not having fixed time schedules. The vehicles used range from standard 4 seater cars up to minibuses. In Mali, these are called Sotrouma.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Solipsism

Solipsism (Latin: solus, alone + ipse, self) is the philosophical idea that "My mind is the only thing that I know exists." Solipsism is an epistemological or ontological position that knowledge of anything outside the mind is unjustified. The external world and other minds cannot be known and might not exist. In the history of philosophy, solipsism has served as a skeptical hypothesis.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Balkanization



Balkanization is a geopolitical term originally used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other.[1][2]

The term has arisen from the conflicts in the 20th century Balkans. While what is now termed Balkanization has occurred throughout history, the term originally describes the creation of smaller, ethnically diverse states following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire before World War I

Monday, February 9, 2009

Manichean

Derived from the name of one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions. Manichaean theology was dualistic. The term is used to mean dualistic.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

accusative

accusative

of, relating to, or being the grammatical case that marks the direct object of a verb or the object of any of several prepositions

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Sleeveface


Sleeveface is an internet phenomenon wherein one or more persons obscure or augment body parts with record sleeve(s), causing an illusion. Sleeveface has become popular on social networking sites.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Markedness

Markedness is a linguistic concept that developed out of the Prague School. A marked form is a non-basic or less natural form. An unmarked form is a basic, default form. For example, lion is the unmarked choice in English — it could refer to a male or female lion. But lioness is marked because it can only refer to females. The unmarked forms serve as general terms: e.g. brotherhood of man has sometimes been used to refer all people, both men and women, while sisterhood refers only to women. The form of a word that is conventionally chosen to be the lemma form is typically the form that is the least marked.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Fugacious

fleeting; transitory: a sensational story with but a fugacious claim on the public's attention.

source

Magnetoencephalography

An imaging technique used to detect electro-magnetic and metabolic shifts occurring in the brain during trauma.

source

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Sunglint


Sunglint is a phenomenon that occurs when the sun reflects off the surface of the ocean at the same angle that a satellite sensor is viewing the surface. In the affected area of the image, smooth ocean water becomes a silvery mirror, while rougher surface waters appear dark. Sometimes the sunglint region of satellite images reveals interesting ocean or atmospheric features that the sensor does not typically record.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Exsanguination

Exsanguination (also known colloquially as bleeding out) is the fatal process of total hypovolemia (blood loss). It is most commonly known as "bleeding to death". The word itself originated from Latin: ex ("out of") and sanguis ("blood").

Sunday, February 1, 2009

hypocoristic

A hypocoristic, hypocorism, or hypochorisma (from Greek ὑποκορίζεσθαι hypokorizesthai, "to use child-talk"[1]) is a lesser form of the given name used in more intimate situations, as a nickname, term of endearment, a pet name.

lordosis

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