eisegesis – The interpretation of a word or passage by reading into it one’s own ideas. More…
hermeneutic – An adjective meaning “concerned with interpretation,” especially of scripture. More…
case-sensitive – If something is case-sensitive, there is a different meaning or interpretation based on upper- and lower-cased letters. More…
semiotics – The study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. More…
whatnot – A series of open shelves supported by two or four upright posts, for displaying knickknacks. More…
oriel – A large, upper-story bay window, usually supported by brackets or on corbels. More…
portico – Describes a covered walkway with a roof supported by columns and usually attached as a porch to a building. More…
felly, felloe – The felly or felloe is the exterior rim on a wheel or the section of rim supported by a spoke. More…
hurrah, hurray, hooray – Hurrah, hurray, and hooray are alterations of huzza, a sailor’s cheer. More…
jumper – First a loose jacket worn by sailors, from jump, “a short coat.” More…
put through the hoop – An ancient marine phrase for a punishment for sailors involving an iron hoop. More…
smart money – A phrase meaning money bet by those in the know, originating in 1926; earlier than that, it meant “money paid to sailors, soldiers, workers, etc., who have been disabled while on the job.” More…
boulevard – From French, literally “rampart” or a “promenade on the site of a rampart.” More…
bulwark – Comes from German bole, “plank,” and werc, “work,” and originally meant “rampart made out of planks or tree trunks.” More…
rampart – From Latin re-, “again,” and emparer, “fortify,” from the earlier ante-, “before,” and parare, “prepare.” More…
gurney – A stretcher with wheels. More…
axel, axle – Axel is the figure-skating jump; axle is the pin or rod between two wheels. More…
dry steering – The act of turning the wheels of a car that is not moving. More…
three-point landing – An aircraft landing in which the two wheels of the main landing gear and the tail or nose wheel touch the ground simultaneously. More…
jetton – A counter or token used as a gambling chip or to operate slot machines. More…
token – Etymologically, something that “shows” you something, from a base meaning “show, sign.” More…
indicium – An indication, sign, or token—specifically, the stamp on mail indicating paid postage. More…
signal, sign – Signal is from Latin signalis, “of a sign,” from signum, “mark, token”—from which sign is derived. More…
heart – As the seat of feeling and intellect, heart has been used since around 825. More…
intellect, intelligent – Intellect and intelligent come from Latin intelligere, “perceive” or “understand.” More…
intelligible – Means “understandable through the intellect.” More…
inwit – Usually means “an inner sense of right or wrong,” but its more general meaning is “reason, intellect, understanding, or wisdom.” More…
Apgar score – A measure of a baby’s well-being taking into consideration respiratory effort, skin color, heart rate, muscle tone, and sense of smell (named for American anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar). More…
datum line – The horizontal or base line, from which the heights of points are reckoned or measured, as in the plan of a railway, etc. More…
scantling – Means “measured or prescribed size” or a “set of standard dimensions.” More…
military time – Time measured on a 24-hour scale of 0100-2400 hours. More…