Learning Words While Reading
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You might want to check out Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary. I have the electronic version installed on my computer. Here are the definitions given for "make love":
1 : WOO, COURT
2 a : NECK, PET b : to engage in sexual intercourseWhen words change their definition, it labels the old definition as "deprecated" (or something along those lines). It's really quite nice. I just wish I had access to the dictionary data so I could make my own search bar in the Windows XP taskbar.
Joe Woodbury wrote:
"Bemused" did this to me.
Do you mean to say that you misunderstood the meaning of "bemused" or that authors you've read did? Or that you/an author used "bemused" in place of another word (e.g., "amused"). Anyway, while I'm at it, here is what my dictionary says about "bemuse":
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Main Entry:be£muse Pronunciation:bi-*my*z, b*- Function:transitive verb Date:1735 1 : to make confused : PUZZLE, BEWILDER 2 : to occupy the attention of : DISTRACT, ABSORB 3 : to cause to have feelings of wry or tolerant amusement <seems truly bemuseed that people beyond his circle in Seattle would be interested in his ruminations — Ruth B. Smith> –be£mus£ed£ly \-*my*-z*d-l*\ adverb –be£muse£ment \-*my*z-m*nt\ noun
Note that some of the characters show up strangely (i.e., not how they are displayed in the dictionary software).
re: "Make Love" I disagree that Woo, Court is #1 in today's usage; the order seems to be more the order in how the definition has changed since the 1940s. I haven't heard or seen it used in the context of woo/court in my own life time (thought that was the exclusive meaning not long before I was born.)
aspdotnetdev wrote:
Do you mean to say that you misunderstood the meaning of "bemused"...
Yes. I thought it meant amused (as its primary meaning) for a very long time. When I was a little kid, probably eight, I thought rape meant simply attack and said something that very much embarrassed my mother.
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re: "Make Love" I disagree that Woo, Court is #1 in today's usage; the order seems to be more the order in how the definition has changed since the 1940s. I haven't heard or seen it used in the context of woo/court in my own life time (thought that was the exclusive meaning not long before I was born.)
aspdotnetdev wrote:
Do you mean to say that you misunderstood the meaning of "bemused"...
Yes. I thought it meant amused (as its primary meaning) for a very long time. When I was a little kid, probably eight, I thought rape meant simply attack and said something that very much embarrassed my mother.
I'm not sure if they are ordered for any relative significance (such as which is most common). More likely, they are numbered because other entries in the dictionary will refer to different terms and their number (such as when indicating a synonym). But I happened to figure out that it uses "archaic" not "deprecated" to indicate a definition has fallen out of common usage, such as with "dragon":
Dictionary:
1 archaic : a huge serpent 2 : a mythical animal usually represented as a monstrous winged and scaly serpent or saurian with a crested head and enormous claws 3 : a violent, combative, or very strict person 4 capitalized : DRACO 5 : something or someone formidable or baneful
Joe Woodbury wrote:
When I was a little kid, probably eight, I thought rape meant simply attack and said something that very much embarrassed my mother.
Nice. I used to think "muff" meant "butt". I came up with the term "muffication" to mean "become asphyxiated, such as by a pillow or J-Lo's muff". Hilarity ensued.
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And I am a crap typist by the way! But I read a lot. About 2 books a week if I can. I alays have, my dads the same and my sister too. I gues its in the genes. I shouldnt criticise really, some of those words arent very common and perhaps very much more used in England like chuffed for example. Havr to say though isnt Lady Chatterlies Lover a little old and particular? I like historical novels currently, used ot be into scifi alot.
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
Chuff is a very interesting word - it is an old English dialect word for the "ladyparts" - it can be used as a noun e.g. he is as tight as a gnat's chuff (he is very mean)
==================================== Transvestites - Roberts in Disguise! ====================================
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Well done! :) My velveteen palfrey was chuffed to abey me at the coliery denuding the hazel inequitably startled by a squib in the braken. Ah, and all that in les words!
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
I tend to keep reading and hope for the best. With books like 'A clockwork orange' or 'Feersum Endjinn' that's about all you can do because the words don't actually exist outside of the book. Besides, I have no real desire to learn archaic English. That said, I am reading my first ever Wodehouse! Which is pretty odd, because I've read everything by Tom Sharpe and Pratchett. He's a bit like Shakespeare, you're kinda assumed to have read his stuff, it's like the foundation upon which the language is built.
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And I am a crap typist by the way! But I read a lot. About 2 books a week if I can. I alays have, my dads the same and my sister too. I gues its in the genes. I shouldnt criticise really, some of those words arent very common and perhaps very much more used in England like chuffed for example. Havr to say though isnt Lady Chatterlies Lover a little old and particular? I like historical novels currently, used ot be into scifi alot.
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
Damn! I don't know if I am stupid, or your fingers are. A thread about words, claiming you can't type, and you can't even proof-read what you write.
fat_boy wrote:
i.e., alays gues shouldnt criticise arent Havr isnt Chatterlies ot
Makes one discount everything you are writing (i.e., 1 votes, I guess). :mad: Turn on your damn spell-check, at least. Your writing reads like you're about 10 years old.
Gary
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I've been reading Lady Chatterley's Lover recently, usually in bed as I fall to sleep for the night. As an experiment, I decided to bring a notepad with me to write down words I didn't know as I read. After reading about 5-10 pages, there were about 30-40 words I don't know or was not sure of the precise meaning. Some of those words included:
- Hazel (not the color)
- Chuffed
- Bracken
- Denuded
- Colliery
- Palfreys
- Velveteens
- Equanimity
- Abeyance
- Coquetry
- Squibs
Before I start reading it again, I am going through each word and looking up the definition (I have some dictionary software installed on my computer). Though I do find this somewhat cumbersome, I don't find it nearly as cumbersome as looking up each word as I read it (would distract my train of thought). I also find having to write down each word distracting. What strategies do you all have for learning new words in the material you are reading?
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.... um..... I was tired? :-\
I'd blame it on the Brain farts.. But lets be honest, it really is more like a Methane factory between my ears some days then it is anything else...
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I've been reading Lady Chatterley's Lover recently, usually in bed as I fall to sleep for the night. As an experiment, I decided to bring a notepad with me to write down words I didn't know as I read. After reading about 5-10 pages, there were about 30-40 words I don't know or was not sure of the precise meaning. Some of those words included:
- Hazel (not the color)
- Chuffed
- Bracken
- Denuded
- Colliery
- Palfreys
- Velveteens
- Equanimity
- Abeyance
- Coquetry
- Squibs
Before I start reading it again, I am going through each word and looking up the definition (I have some dictionary software installed on my computer). Though I do find this somewhat cumbersome, I don't find it nearly as cumbersome as looking up each word as I read it (would distract my train of thought). I also find having to write down each word distracting. What strategies do you all have for learning new words in the material you are reading?
That's one thing I really like about the Kindle, it has a built in dictionary, and you can click on a line and it will give you the definition of all the words on that line. Really helpful. Of course, it does break the flow of reading, as it takes a couple seconds to popup and you have to run through a couple clicks and then click back to get to the reading. Still, not much more distracting then stopping to write the word down.
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I've been reading Lady Chatterley's Lover recently, usually in bed as I fall to sleep for the night. As an experiment, I decided to bring a notepad with me to write down words I didn't know as I read. After reading about 5-10 pages, there were about 30-40 words I don't know or was not sure of the precise meaning. Some of those words included:
- Hazel (not the color)
- Chuffed
- Bracken
- Denuded
- Colliery
- Palfreys
- Velveteens
- Equanimity
- Abeyance
- Coquetry
- Squibs
Before I start reading it again, I am going through each word and looking up the definition (I have some dictionary software installed on my computer). Though I do find this somewhat cumbersome, I don't find it nearly as cumbersome as looking up each word as I read it (would distract my train of thought). I also find having to write down each word distracting. What strategies do you all have for learning new words in the material you are reading?
I Read on a Kindle. The dictionary is just a button away. I find I lookup words I thought I knew because it's so easy.
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And I am a crap typist by the way! But I read a lot. About 2 books a week if I can. I alays have, my dads the same and my sister too. I gues its in the genes. I shouldnt criticise really, some of those words arent very common and perhaps very much more used in England like chuffed for example. Havr to say though isnt Lady Chatterlies Lover a little old and particular? I like historical novels currently, used ot be into scifi alot.
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
Even typing without a word processor with spelling and grammar checker is still much easier. Imagine how frustrated you would be if you had to hack it out on a typewriter. Back in my college days, I was a crap typist and written assignments were extremely frustrating. But, with more practice (and a lot of white out) [no, I am not blonde for those of you who are thinking of those blonde jokes], I got better. When I started as a freshman, it would take a half a day to get out a 2 page paper, double spaced. By the time I was in my last semester (4 years later), I could get out a 5 page paper in about an hour. With a word processor, I can pass 20 pages in less than an hour. Keep working on it.
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Damn! I don't know if I am stupid, or your fingers are. A thread about words, claiming you can't type, and you can't even proof-read what you write.
fat_boy wrote:
i.e., alays gues shouldnt criticise arent Havr isnt Chatterlies ot
Makes one discount everything you are writing (i.e., 1 votes, I guess). :mad: Turn on your damn spell-check, at least. Your writing reads like you're about 10 years old.
Gary
OK, its a Belgium laptop witha UK keyboard map, and I was typing in the dark. I also have quite big fingers. Actualy I am generally quite big! I find almost all keyboards impossible for me to use accurately. And how do you turn on spell checking for a web page?
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
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American kids these days (i.e., me) don't read for the most part. Well, I do, but mostly only technical books.
aspdotnetdev wrote:
American kids these days (i.e., me) don't read for the most part
Yep, i suppose that is the reason. I have always read voraciously (another word for you to look up :) ). It improves your spelling too. Well, untill you learn a foreign language like French, whereupon you English spelling starts to go out the window!
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
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aspdotnetdev wrote:
American kids these days (i.e., me) don't read for the most part
Yep, i suppose that is the reason. I have always read voraciously (another word for you to look up :) ). It improves your spelling too. Well, untill you learn a foreign language like French, whereupon you English spelling starts to go out the window!
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
fat_boy wrote:
another word for you to look up
I knew that word already, thank you very much! Naaay! Dus i git a gowld stare now? :rolleyes:
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.... um..... I was tired? :-\
I'd blame it on the Brain farts.. But lets be honest, it really is more like a Methane factory between my ears some days then it is anything else...
No, you use IE - Firefox always corrects me
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OK, its a Belgium laptop witha UK keyboard map, and I was typing in the dark. I also have quite big fingers. Actualy I am generally quite big! I find almost all keyboards impossible for me to use accurately. And how do you turn on spell checking for a web page?
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
fat_boy wrote:
And how do you turn on spell checking for a web page?
Open the page in Firefox. It has a built-in spell-checker for whatever language is there.
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I got to admit I agree with you, I am astounded someone with English as their milk language does not know the meaning of these words. Mind you I'm into my 50s and enjoy reading but if my son did not know these words I would be astonished!
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
English language has too many words, for someone to express such a surprise. According to http://www.languagemonitor.com/[^] "English passed the 1,000,000 threshold on June 10, 2009 at 10:22 am GMT" The other side of the coin is that relative proportion of "active" vocabulary for English-speaking people is lower. (Actually, in absolute terms too, compared say to Russian). So "not to know a meaning of a word" should come as no surprise to anyone
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English language has too many words, for someone to express such a surprise. According to http://www.languagemonitor.com/[^] "English passed the 1,000,000 threshold on June 10, 2009 at 10:22 am GMT" The other side of the coin is that relative proportion of "active" vocabulary for English-speaking people is lower. (Actually, in absolute terms too, compared say to Russian). So "not to know a meaning of a word" should come as no surprise to anyone
It was the quality of words that the OP had not run across that I found astonishing, there are plenty of words I have no idea what they are, some of the more erudite here love to trot them out but the OP was talking about words that are not particularly obscure.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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OK, its a Belgium laptop witha UK keyboard map, and I was typing in the dark. I also have quite big fingers. Actualy I am generally quite big! I find almost all keyboards impossible for me to use accurately. And how do you turn on spell checking for a web page?
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
fat_boy wrote:
OK, its a Belgium laptop witha UK keyboard map, and I was typing in the dark. I also have quite big fingers. Actualy I am generally quite big! I find almost all keyboards impossible for me to use accurately.
Dang, you're handicapped to start with. Just so you don't read the books in the dark, you'll be okay. Have you considered one of those 1-handed keyboards? A little pricey but it might work great for you. It is quite slick.
fat_boy wrote:
Actualy I am generally quite big!
OK. I guess it is fat_boy and not phat_boy. :-O
fat_boy wrote:
And how do you turn on spell checking for a web page?
Use FireFox. It underlines every questionable word and offers suggesstions for corrections. Maybe in the dark you'll select the wrong word, but at least it will be spelled correctly. ;P
Gary
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I've been reading Lady Chatterley's Lover recently, usually in bed as I fall to sleep for the night. As an experiment, I decided to bring a notepad with me to write down words I didn't know as I read. After reading about 5-10 pages, there were about 30-40 words I don't know or was not sure of the precise meaning. Some of those words included:
- Hazel (not the color)
- Chuffed
- Bracken
- Denuded
- Colliery
- Palfreys
- Velveteens
- Equanimity
- Abeyance
- Coquetry
- Squibs
Before I start reading it again, I am going through each word and looking up the definition (I have some dictionary software installed on my computer). Though I do find this somewhat cumbersome, I don't find it nearly as cumbersome as looking up each word as I read it (would distract my train of thought). I also find having to write down each word distracting. What strategies do you all have for learning new words in the material you are reading?