postulate, petrichor, expostulate, round up, dissuade, postulator

Cardinal Angelo Amato, head of the Vatican's department that assesses prospective saints, recently announced that a "reference price list" for the various services involved in preparing a canonisation had been introduced. In particular, there would now be a guide price for the services of a "postulator", a person who prepares a detailed biography of the proposed saint http://econ.st/1fLgpmx

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"You do this because you like it, you think what you're making is beautiful. And if you think it's beautiful, maybe they think it's beautiful."

LOU REED, the influential rock musician who died on Sunday, in a review exploring an artist's motives.

Health Site's Woes Could Dissuade Vital Enrollee: the Young and Healthy

By ANNIE LOWREY

Officials worry that insurance risk pools could become too risky if not enough younger people sign up for coverage, causing premiums to escalate.

Round Up the Usual Scapegoats

By FRANK BRUNI

Jews, gays and others are worrying about Hungary's tilt.

 round-up
n.
1. The act of collecting or gathering together scattered cattle by riding around them and driving them in. [Western U.S.]
2. A rounding up, or upward curvature or convexity, as in the deck of a vessel.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
2. A gathering in of scattered persons or things; as, a round-up of criminals. [Colloq., U. S.]
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]



petrichor (PET-ri-kuhr)

noun
The pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell.

Etymology
From petro- (rock), from Greek petros (stone) + ichor (the fluid that is supposed to flow in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology). Coined by researchers I.J. Bear and R.G. Thomas.

Usage
"Petrichor, the name for the smell of rain on dry ground, is from oils given off by vegetation, absorbed onto neighboring surfaces, and released into the air after a first rain." — Matthew Bettelheim; Nature's Laboratory; Shasta Parent (Mt Shasta, California); Jan 2002.

"But, even in the other pieces, her prose breaks into passages of lyrical beauty that come as a sorely needed revivifying petrichor amid the pitiless glare of callousness and cruelty." — Pradip Bhattacharya; Forest Interludes; Indianest.com; Jul 29, 2001. 

Petrichor | Writings in the Sand
2011年1月4日 ... Petrichor一詞相當少見，是由希臘文petros（石頭）和ichor（希臘神話中眾神的血液）組成，指雨水落在乾燥泥土上所產生的幽香。 ...



expostulate (ik-SPOS-chuh-layt)

verb intr.: To reason earnestly with someone in order to dissuade.

Etymology
From Latin expostulare (to require), from ex- (intensive prefix) + postulare (to demand). Ultimately from the Indo-European root prek- (to ask), which is also the source of words such as pray, precarious, deprecate, postulate, and precatory. Earliest documented use: 1548.

Usage
"'Oh come on,' I expostulated, a shade too loudly. 'That's not fair.'" — Sarabjit Jagirdar; Amar's Little Secret; Hindustan Times (New Delhi, India); Feb 7, 2010.


expostulate
(ĭk-spŏs'chə-lāt')
intr.v., -lat·ed, -lat·ing, -lates.
To reason earnestly with someone in an effort to dissuade or correct; remonstrate. See synonyms at object.

[Latin expostulāre, expostulāt- : ex-, intensive pref.; see ex- + postulāre, to demand.]

expostulation ex·pos'tu·la'tion n.
expostulator ex·pos'tu·la'tor n.
expostulatory ex·pos'tu·la·to'ry (-lə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē) or ex·pos'tu·la'tive adj.

postulate

Line breaks: pos¦tu|late

verb

Pronunciation: /ˈpɒstjʊleɪt

 

/

[with object]

• 1suggest or assume the existence, fact, or truth of (something) as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief: his theory postulated a rotatory movement for hurricanes [with clause]: she postulated that the environmentalists might have a case

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• 2(in ecclesiastical law) nominate or elect (someone) to an ecclesiastical office subject to the sanction of a higher authority: the chapter was then allowed to postulate the bishop of Bath

noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpɒstjʊlət

 

/

• formal Back to top  

• 1a thing suggested or assumed as true as the basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief: perhaps the postulate of Babylonian influence on Greek astronomy is incorrect

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• 1.1 Mathematics an assumption used as a basis for mathematical reasoning.

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Derivatives

postulation

Pronunciation: /pɒstjʊˈleɪʃ(ə)n/

noun

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postulational

adjective

Origin

late Middle English (in sense 2 of the verb): from Latin postulat- 'asked', from the verb postulare.