Monday-ish word: hopniss

Nov. 28th, 2017 11:08 pm
[identity profile] ersatz-read.livejournal.com
hopniss (hop' nis), noun

A common name for Apios americana, a perennial vine with edible tubers (and edible flowers).

Etymology:  loanword from Unami.

Also called "groundnut", but that name gets used for various plants so it can get confusing.
Here's an article about foraging and eating hopniss.  This one includes recipes.
Always cook hopniss before eating it.

The plant has a long history as food, but is still rarely cultivated.

For Hunger Games fans, 'katniss' is also a Native American loanword that refers to an edible plant (Sagittaria sagittifolia).

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Sunday Word: Quonset + Poll

Dec. 21st, 2014 08:53 am
[identity profile] theidolhands.livejournal.com
quon·set [kwon-sit]:
origin: [1942] Quonset Point Naval Air Station, RI; possibly Algonquian= "small, long place"

noun
Take a cylinder, cut it in half, and imagine it the size of a building made of corrugated steel; that's essentially a quonset. Originally created as a quick & affordable way to create workspaces & storage for the United States military, this design for a building is now used in farming and even explored as an affordable living space.

The key to the design is the Roman Arch, which makes the building not only simple to build, but sturdy -- a key component to withstand rough weather.

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not-Monday-anymore word:  mugwump
Oct. 1st, 2013 09:13 pm











[identity profile] ersatz-read.livejournal.com
mugwump (mgwmp), noun.
1.  United States Republican party members who left the party to support Democratic presidential candidate Grover Cleveland in the 1884 presidential election.
2.  A person who acts independently or remains neutral, especially in politics.

In the world of Harry Potter, The Supreme Mugwump is the head of the International Confederation of Wizards.

"Mugwump Specific" was a patent medicine for veneral disease in the late 19th century.

"Mugwump" is also a fictional creature in William S. Burrough's novel "Naked Lunch".

Etymology:  From the Algonquin word mugquomp, kingpin or important person.  Charles Anderson Dana, editor of the New York Sun, may have been the first to refer to the party members as 'mugwumps'.










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