This word was quite new to me, but I wonder if the "shed" could refer not to shade but to the idea of "parting" or separating. In Scotland the hair parting is still sometimes called a shed, with the verb "to shed". The same idea is in "watershed". So an airshe...

I know the figurative sense of this from the German Windei. One explanation I have heard is that the "Wind" refers to the Holy Spirit, i.e. fertilised by the breath of God. What do you think?
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windei

Today I read a version of witness as "with-ness": no doubt etymologically incorrect but to me an evocative slant on the meaning.

Surprised at how many different meanings "crook" now has, I thought it time to suggest it, by hook or by crook.
Eileen

The etymology points to a "small sharp or pointed stone". What a pertinent symbol for the religious scruples that dog some unfortunate people!
Best wishes,
Eileen (in Scotland)

Rising early this morning, I remembered the rhyme
"He that would thrive must rise at five.
He that hath thriven may lie till seven."

Best wishes,
Eileen

I came across the word "brim" today and would like to attach a scanned copy of a paragraph from a book, but neither pdf nor docx are accepted.
Is there any way I can send it?
Eileen

Apparently the Hebrew word for "good" in the Genesis story of creation is "tov". Dutch has "tof" for "good" . I wonder if this is linked to the English "toff"? And staying with religion, I have read that "pants" comes from "pantalone&q...

Squally showers are often forecast for our area in Scotland - BBC weather forecasters here don't seem to know or need any synonyms.

The etymology reminded me of the Scottish word "thrawn", which the OED defines as follows: thrawn /0θrɔ:n/ adjective. Orig. & chiefly Scot. LME. [ORIGIN from thread noun.] 1 Perverse, contrary; cross-grained, bad-tempered. LME. Listener They're a thrawn, bruised lot, these Le Carré her...

A word we seldom here these days, but it rolls off the tongue nicely.

Of course! Many thanks. A double typo or a senior moment.
Eileen

This morning a tiny green caterpillar emerged from a rose hip on my desk. It is now esconced in our compost bin. Happily, I hope.
Best wishes,
Eileen

It means more than simply the negative of "due" and it has appeared in definitions before, but not as a word in its own right. Undue neglect?

Best wishes,
Eileen

Greetings and thank you for all the fascinating words that have been coming recently.
Today's is a past participle, recherché, but Recherche in Proust's title is a noun, with no accent.
Eileen