Fatuous

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Dr. Goodword
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Fatuous

Postby Dr. Goodword » Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:59 pm

• fatuous •

Pronunciation: fæ-chu-wês • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: No, you don't get fatuous by overeating or stuffing yourself with carbs. This word means "smugly or unconsciously foolish, silly, stupid" (the way we feel when we overeat or stuff ourselves with carbs).

Notes: The original pronunciation of this word was [-tyu-wuhs], but the pronunciation combination [ty] slips to [ch] in unaccented English syllables; picture and lecture are pronounced similarly. The adverb is fatuously and the noun, fatuity, pronounced [fuh-tyu-uh-ti]. In this word [ty] does not become [ch] because it is in an accented syllable. (OK, if you want to keep the [ch], just use fatuousness.)

In Play: Fatuous refers to a kind of stupidity that is unaware of itself: "Art Major's fatuous comment that 'The Thinker' was Michelangelo's best sculpture was bad enough, but he had to continue on about what a wonderful Greek sculptor Michelangelo was!" All hopes of Art learning to keep his sculptors and sculptures straight may be a fatuous dream, too. Fatuity has become commonplace in the US House of Representatives.

Word History: This word is Latin fatuus "foolish, silly" in scant disguise. The Latin root fat- derives from the Proto-Indo-European root bhaut- "to beat", the source of Latin battuere "to beat" and English beat and bat. If this interpretation is correct, the original meaning of fatuus might have been something like "struck in the head". The sound [bh] at the beginning of the word regularly became [f] in Greek and Latin before certain vowels. The root of refutare "to beat back, repress", whence English refute, is another word that comes from bhaut-. We are sure that fade is a descendant of a late variant of fatuus via Old French fader; that is something which happens when we are battered about the head.
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stantigen
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Re: Fatuous

Postby stantigen » Sat Nov 15, 2014 3:58 am

"No, you don't get fatuous by overeating or stuffing yourself with carbs"

Carbs ARE NOT fats!!! Carbohydrates and fatty acids, two different classes of chemicals...

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bailey66
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Re: Fatuous

Postby bailey66 » Sat Nov 15, 2014 12:56 pm

"No, you don't get fatuous by overeating or stuffing yourself with carbs"

Carbs ARE NOT fats!!! Carbohydrates and fatty acids, two different classes of chemicals...
I think more about the actual fats--- so no unctuous!

Mark oily Bailey
(I found out that eating foods high in complex carbs are best for me, losing lotsa weight, saturated fats are good too in moderation, but not the oil, at least no cooking in veggie oilss)
In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, Isa30:15

Perry Lassiter
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Re: Fatuous

Postby Perry Lassiter » Sat Nov 15, 2014 5:22 pm

Welcome stantigen! You and Philip Hudson should get along. You sounc alike.

Bailey, how do you fry fish?

On PIE bhaut - I don't get the bh. If PIE is an ancient language, non-existant now, but derived, what does the bh signify? Is it a sound like B in Spanish that becomes a V sound in some dialects? Is it analagous to the kh, q, k, ch transcriptions ij Semitic languages?
pl

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Re: Fatuous

Postby Philip Hudson » Sat Nov 15, 2014 8:30 pm

Welcome stantigen! Pay no attention to Perry. you can't possibly be as much a curmudgeon as I am. I majored in curmudgeonry and took an MS with honors in it. :)
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.

Perry Lassiter
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Re: Fatuous

Postby Perry Lassiter » Sun Nov 16, 2014 5:14 pm

I was referring to yr tendency to go all scientific on us.
pl

Philip Hudson
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Re: Fatuous

Postby Philip Hudson » Sun Nov 16, 2014 11:51 pm

I am guilty of that also.
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.


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