Digerati was formed by analogy with literati, "persons knowledgeable about literature."
Roddie
Where the 'di' would stand for?...
(Is this a high register for the word 'geek' or is there a subtlety I am missing?)
Thanks for sharing this, Roddie!
Au
Perorate comes from Latin perorare "to speak at length or to the end," from per-, "through, throughout," + orare, "to speak."
Would you agree that our Spanish 'perorata' (no verb in Spanish, as far as I know) is a 'funny' word? I had never thought of its non-funny-at-all etymology. Thanks for these pearls, Roddie!
Au
Most language authorities condemn "orientate" as a needless variant of "orient," and they have a point. Why insert an extra syllable?
Roddie
This is also very common in Spanish these days. I will post an interesting article on these variants as soon as I find it (which are also 'condemned' by most linguists.)
Au
"Faineant"
faineant \fay-nay-AWN\ (adjective) - 1 : Doing nothing or given to doing nothing; idle; lazy.
[...]
Faineant is from French, from Middle French fait, "does" + neant, "nothing."
Roddie,
This word you brought today immediately reminded these French words: laissez faire lesse passe...
Puzzled Au
An obstacle-free market society? Well, well, well, Au! There's a capitalist in you after all! Repeat after me: Laissez faire, laissez passer, Vote Pro, Vote Pro...
In my case, it reminded me of that corn pie that they sometimes serve here in Buenos Aires with pizza.
Roddie
And there is a French (Basque, though) in my blood after all! I mentally read it with an /e/ sound (not /ai/ like in the corn pie you mention).
Au
Is your puppy a tinkler? If he is, you are probably wondering if he will ever grow out of it. Well, the answer is yes and no. Yes he will get over it if you deal with the problem correctly, and no if you don't. For young puppies tinkling isn't a conscious behavior. Puppies will tinkle when they are scared, over-excited or anxious. Whenever you catch your puppy tinkling you should avoid disciplining him. Discipline will only make the problem worse...
Roddie
Roddie, what is the translation o 'tinkler' here?
A by the way on the -er suffix
The English language has this lovely suffix -er which is so useful (this I remember everytime I have to translate words like: 'caller', why don't we have a 'llamador' in Spanish?!)
Au
Hi!
Actually, there is a "llamador" in Spanish, but for "doorbell", right?
Yes. The 'llamador' I would love to have is for the telecommunication industry where we have to resort to a relative clause.
My German Shepherd would sometimes squirt a few drops upon my return home after many hours. Rather than annoying me, this display would touch my heart.
When I return home, Fausto just calls my name: Au, au, au... (smart puppy!)
"Stanch"
stanch \STONCH; STANCH\ (transitive verb) - To stop the flowing of; to check in its course; also, to stop the flowing of blood from; as, "to stanch a wound."
"The gun with which Jake had been shot was of such a high caliber, and had hit him in such a critical area, that the blood flowed from him rapidly with no evident way for it to be staunched."
Stanch is from Old French estancher, "to stop a liquid from flowing."
Roddie
...from Old French and probably from Latin, which gave Spanish 'estancar(se)', usually found as reflexive verb and more common as past participle: aguas estancadas. I have never heard it (in Spanish) acting as transitive verb.
Thanks, Roddie!
Au
"Sadly, we will have to wait for the contractual nondisclosure agreements of disenchanted employees to expire before we can get firsthand accounts of what it is like to work for the world's most reclusive software mogul."
Roddie
What about its register, Roddie?
Au
PS: I've just remembered Rupert Murdoch, who has always been known as a media mogul or media tycoon.
Thanks! Tycoon sounds familiar to me, but mogul sounds totally strange with this meaning. I does ring a bell but connected with McDonalds or icecreams. (?) Was 'mogul' a type of combo?
Au