SOLSTICE

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Dr. Goodword
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SOLSTICE

Postby Dr. Goodword » Thu Jan 17, 2008 12:18 am

• solstice •

Pronunciation: sowl-stis • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. The moment when the sun is farthest from the equator. In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs around June 21 and the winter solstice about December 21. In 2007 the winter solstice occurred at December 22. The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year; the winter solstice, the shortest. 2. A culmination, pinnacle, the high point of a development.

Notes: We missed Rodger Collins's suggestion that we do this word back in December but we decided it will be better late than never. The adjective for this word is solstitial, as in solstitial plants and bugs that turn up around the summer solstice. Watch out for the C that changes to a T in the adjective.

In Play: Historically, solstices have been moments for celebration since they represent turning points in the seasons: "Lucretia was known for her summer solstice parties that lasted all day long and well into the night." However, keep in mind that a high point is also a solstice: "The birth of his daughter was the solstice of Harrigan's life; that day, for him, the sun and all it shone upon stood still."

Word History: Today's Good Word was borrowed via Old French from Latin solstitium, comprising two words: sol "sun" + stitium "stoppage" from sistere "come to a halt, stop". The implication of the Latin word is "the time when the sun stands still". The oldest form of sol seems to have been something like sawel-en, for it turns up with the L in Latin, an N in German (Sonne) and English, and both in Russian: soln-ce (the -ce suffix is an affectionate ending). The Latin stem turns up in many English borrowings like parasol (Italian "for the sun"), semantically related to umbrella from Latin umbra "shade". Both were originally for protection from the sun, not rain. (We hope the sun always shines for Rodger Collins, who was kind enough to suggest today's word at the word suggestion shop in the Alpha Agora.)
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sluggo
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Re: SOLSTICE

Postby sluggo » Thu Jan 17, 2008 4:02 am

...(We hope the sun always shines for Rodger Collins, who was kind enough to suggest today's word at the word suggestion shop in the Alpha Agora.)
Thankee kindly Doc, but actually I like what I'm seeing right now even better-- wonderful gorgeous snow, lots of it, each flake replete with the promise of bringing its brethren behind and gently settling with a subtle =pish= on the forest floor. The best part: they say when it's done, there'll be more! :mrgreen:

Uh, gailr... I may need some drawing lessons :?
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gailr
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Postby gailr » Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:59 am

drawing I can help with.

drawling or =pish=ing through the sneigwh in some weird winter solstice ritual, yer on yer own.

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Postby Stargzer » Thu Jan 17, 2008 2:48 pm

Sluggo often sols us up in stices with his humor ...
Regards//Larry

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Postby Perry » Thu Jan 17, 2008 4:19 pm

Sluggo,

I hope the snow around Burnsville is still pristine. In Asheville it has turned to slush (which may become horrible ice if it refreezes tonight).
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
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Postby Bailey » Thu Jan 17, 2008 4:33 pm

Here it is several "feet thick" and it's so cold.... brrrrrrr.

mark prefers-Spring-and-fall Bailey

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Postby Stargzer » Thu Jan 17, 2008 5:11 pm

I'm just about to abandon my post and venture out to the parking lot. I hope I have a scraper in the car. I think I'll take a couple of styrofoam trays out just in case.

I do not have great hopes for the Baltimore Beltway at this time of day. :x :cry:
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

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Postby sluggo » Thu Jan 17, 2008 5:45 pm

Sluggo,

I hope the snow around Burnsville is still pristine. In Asheville it has turned to slush (which may become horrible ice if it refreezes tonight).
In that case let's pack a picnic and hang out on the Big Bridge to watch the show. Oughta be a hoot! Fatter o' mact there really oughta be a webcam I can watch from here :evil:

(For you outlanders, there's a huge bridge over the French Broad River, having more to do with tragic comedy than urban planning, where about 761 roads and routes all coalesce before ramping off to literally every direction; the implications of ice thereupon are staggering)

We sustain a few inches of very wet good snowball materiél but it's been inexplicably melting :cry: through the day. Time for the refill already!
Stop! Murder us not, tonsured rumpots! Knife no one, fink!


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