Saturday Word (belated): Quorum

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

quo·rum [ˈkwȯr-əm]:
origin: (1455) "quorum of the Shire" or the justices collectively; Latin qui= "who" or Latin quōrum= whom.

noun
I attended a government meeting over the weekend, and due to delays in traffic caused by an important baseball game, the head of the meeting explained, "We do not currently have enough people for a quorum, so this currently is a town hall gathering" = an informal event. When two latecomers arrived and took their place on stage, the meeting was upgraded back to "quorum".

Naturally I thought, "This would make a good word for 1word1day!"

There is no set number for any group meeting of officials to constitute a quorum, it is set by the members of the body -- without that chosen number of representatives, specific motions, business, and/or decisions cannot be made or considered legally binding. In both houses of Congress, a quorum simply means a majority of members need to be present (though not specifically designated individuals).

In the Mormon faith, a quorum is also considered the class at which priests reside; in example, the early followers of Jesus are referred to as the "Quorum of the Twelve Apostles".

Sunday Word (belated): Contingent

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

con·tin·gent [kən'tɪn.dʒənt]:
origin: (1400s) Middle French; com-= together + tangere= to touch

noun
A parade I was at had to use the word "contingent" so often, that once again I began to wonder, "Could I use this at 1word1day?" That's right, I've got vocabulary on the brain!

And that's because it means a group of people who may be joined together, in this case marching, toward a similar goal; a group of people representing a common cause. Can be used in military circumstances as well as civilian. It's a word you may know better as an adjective, but can also be used as a noun!

adjective
Happening by chance or unforeseen circumstances; an action reliant on something else that may or may not occur; likely to happen, but not guaranteed.


Construction of the George Lucas Star Wars museum was contingent upon a quorum of San Francisco landowners and regulators agreeing to permit the structure, ergo it will now be located in Chicago instead.

Tuesday Word: anacreontic

[ellesieg.livejournal.com]

Anacreon was a Greek poet whose most popular and enduring works dealt with the topics of love, lust, etc. and getting wasted, man. Legend has it that he choked to death on a grape seed, an all too appropriate death, although really, the guy would have probably washed it down with wine the second it caught in his throat, whether intentionally or coincidentally, and grape seeds are super tiny, right? I know you can drown in like an inch of water and die from a single well-placed blow, but come on.

Well, anyway, he gave us the word "anacreontic." It originally applied to verse written in the meter he used in his poems, but eventually expanded to include all poems or songs that deal with Anacreon's favorite topics.

Patriotic Fun Fact for the United States' upcoming Fourth of July festivities: Ralph Tomlinson, a member and one-time president of the Anacreontic Society, a group of amateur musicians founded in London in the mid-1700s, penned "To Anacreon in Heaven," and one John Staford Smith composed the tune. It became the Society's official song, and then AMERICA'S official song -- sort of -- as the text of Francis Scott Key's "Defence of Fort M'Henry" and the melody of "To Anacreon in Heaven" were combined to create what we now know as "The Star-Spangled Banner."

God help us if we ever decide the national anthem needs an update, although it is a bit droning and somber, huh? Maybe it's about time someone mashed together some patriotic poem and the music from Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping" or DJ Snake and Lil Jon's "Turn Down for What." It'd certainly keep people on their feet!