Saturday Word: Numismatics

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

nu·mis·mat·ics [ˈbɛlˌwɛðə]:
origin: [1700s] French; numismatiques from the Greek; νόμισμα= nomisma= "coin"

noun
Because there is a lack of occupations that are tongue-twisters, I present you with one that means the study of currency in all forms: coins, paper, credit, gems, metals, seashells, etc -- new and old alike.

Coin collectors often use this term to describe themselves, so an item may have a "numismatic value" that correlates to its worth as part of a collection, though not necessarily its literal worth as a form of payment.


Read more about a 6.07 lb gold nugget found in San Francisco, examined by a numismatist.


Are you a numismatist; possess any rare or qualifying items?

Monday word: operose

[ersatz-read.livejournal.com]

operose (ŏp′ə-rōs′), adj.
1.  Industrious, busy
2.  done with much labor; tedious; wearisome

Etymology:  1600s, from Latin operosus, "laborious, industrius", from opus, "work"

As I trolled Google Books in search of an example of the word, I ran across a reference to an operose agriculture, one where all the tilling was done on foot.  This reminded me of a running joke a friend and I have regarding "grinding toil" - I think the phrase joined our vocabulary by way of a book explaining the joy of planting one's front yard to grain, then harvesting, milling, and baking the grain to make a loaf of bread.  This is an operose method of feeding oneself, which would certainly give one a greater appreciation of the labor involved in generating such a basic item (while also avoiding ergot poisoning), and an understanding of why industrialization became so popular.