Spelling/Vocabulary List #4

Akimbo  adverb
with hands on the hips and elbows turned outward;
(of other limbs) flung out wildly or haphazardly

Champertous  adjective
(being of) an illegal agreement in which a person with no previous interest in a lawsuit finances it with a view to sharing the disputed property if the suit succeeds

Countenance noun
a person's face or facial expression; support

verb [trans.]
admit as acceptable or possible

Dispel verb [trans.]
make (a doubt, feeling or belief) disappear; drive something away; scatter

Eccentricity noun
the quality of being eccentric
● (usu. eccentricities) an eccentric act, habit, or thing

Elucidate verb [trans.]
make something clear; explain

Frank adjective
open, honest and direct in speech or writing, esp. when dealing with unpalatable matters
open, sincere, or undisguised in appearance or manner

Fey adjective
giving an impression of vague worldiness
● having supernatural powers of clairvoyance
● (chiefly Scottish) fated to die or at the point of death

Probate noun
the official proving of a will
● a verified copy of a will with a certificate as handed to the executors

verb [trans.]
establish the validity of  (a will)

Profane adjective
1 relating or devoted to that which is not sacred or biblical; secular rather than religious
2 (of a person or their behavior) not respectful of orthodox religious practice; irreverent
● (of language) blasphemous or obscene

verb [trans.]
treat (something sacred) with irreverence or disrepect

Prominent adjective
1 important; famous
2 projecting from something; protuberant
● situated so as to catch the attention; noticeable

Shrill adjective
(of a voice or sound) high pitched and piercing
● derogatory (esp. of a complaint or demand) loud and forceful

verb
make a shrill noise
● speak or cry with a shrill voice

noun
a shrill sound or cry

Solicitor noun
1 a person who tries to obtain business orders, advertising, etc. as a canvasser.
2 the chief law officer of a city, town, or government department.

Unobtrusive adjective
not conspicuous or attracting attention

Discover Spanish, Lesson 6

Adiós - Goodbye

Hasta mañana - See you tomorrow

Hasta pronto - See you soon

Hasta la vista - See you later

Hasta luego - See you later

(Note:  hasta means until)

Nos vemos - We'll see each other

Chao! - Bye!

Buen viaje - Have a good trip

Que te diviertas - Have fun

Mi corazón - My heart

Mi amor - My love

Mi vida - My life

We learned about cognates this week, which are words in Spanish that are spelled almost identically as the same word in English, such as television, and dentista (dentist), educación (education), oportunidad (opportunity), farmacia (pharmacy), hotel, hospital, restaurante (restaurant), carro (car).

Embarazada is an example of a false cognate, or a word that sounds like a word in English, but doesn't correspond to the English word's meaning - you would think embarazada means embarassed, right?  It actually means pregnant!  

Discover Spanish, Lesson 5

¿En que trabajas? - What do you do?

¿En que trabaja usted? - What do you do? (formal)

¿Cual es tu ocupación?  - What is your occupation?

Soy doctor/doctora. - I am a doctor (male/female).

Otros ocupaciónes:

El profesor/la profesora - the teacher (male/female)

El actor/La actriz - the actor/actress

El abogado/La abogada - the lawyer

El injeniero/La injeniera - the engineer (male/female)

El artista/La artista - the artist (male/female)

El estudiante/La estudiante - the student (male/female)

El camarero/La camarera - the waiter/waitress (male/female)

El policia/La mujer policia - the policeman/policewoman 

Spelling/Vocabulary List #3

Aphrodisiac - noun
a food, drink, or drug that stimulates sexual desire; a thing that causes excitement

Bannock - noun
a round, flat loaf, typically unleavened, associated with Scotland and Northern England

Bode - verb (transitive)
be an omen of a particular outcome

Creak - verb (intransitive)
(of an object, especially a wooden one) make a harsh, high-pitched sound when being moved or when pressure or weight is applied

Cynical - adjective

1. believing that people are motivated by self-interest; distrustful of human sincerity or integrity; doubtful as to whether something will happen or whether it is worthwhile; contemptuous, mocking
2. concerned only with one's interests and typically disregarding accepted or appropriate standards in order to achieve them

Denunciation - noun
public condemnation of something or someone

Flimsy - adjective
comparatively light and unsubstantial; easily damaged
(of clothing) light and thin
(of a pretext or account) weak and unconvincing

Frivolous - adjective
not having any serious purpose or value
(of a person) carefree and not serious

Impose - verb
[trans] force (something unwelcome or unfamiliar) to be accepted or put in place
forcibly put (a restriction) in place
require (a duty, charge or penalty) to be undertaken or paid
(impose oneself) exert firm control over something

[intrans] take advantage of someone by demanding their attention or commitment

Pemmican - noun
a paste of dried and pounded meat mixed with fat and other ingredients, originally made by North American Indians, and later adapted by Arctic explorers

Pessimistic - adjective
pertaining to or characterized by pessimism; gloomy

Refraction - noun PHYSICS
the fact or phenomenon of light, radio waves, etc. being deflected in passing obliquely through the interface between one medium and another, or through a medium of varying density

change in direction of propagation of any wave as a result of its traveling at different speeds at different points along the wave front

measurement of the focusing charateristics of an eye or eyes.

Squall - noun
a sudden violent gust of wind or a localized storm, esp. one bringing rain, snow, or sleet; a loud cry
(of a baby or child) to cry noisily and continuously

Treacherous - adjective
guilty of, or involving betrayal and deception
(of ground, water, conditions, etc.) hazardous because of presenting hidden or unpredictable dangers

Veer - 
verb (intrans.)
change direction suddenly
figurative - suddenly change opinion, subject, type of behavior, etc.
(of the wind) change direction clockwise around the points of a compass

noun
a sudden change of direction

Conjugating "Hablar"

The word 'hablar', to speak, conjugated in the present tense:

Hablo - I speak
Hablas - You speak
Habla - You (formal), he/she speak(s)
Hablamos - We speak
Hablais - You (plural) speak
Hablan - You (formal, plural), they speak

Discover Spanish, Lesson 4

Hablo español - I speak Spanish

No hablo español - I do not speak Spanish

Lo siento - I'm sorry

No entiendo - I don't understand

Inglés - English

Francés - French

Alemán - German

Ruso - Russian

Chino - Chinese

¿Hablas español? - Do you speak Spanish?

¿Habla usted español?  Do you (formal) speak Spanish?

¿Que idiomas hablas?  What languages do you speak?

¿Que idiomas habla usted?  What languages do you (formal) speak?

Rewriting Paragraph for Adults with no Background Info

While manually duplicating spindles (a turned piece of wood used as a banister or chair leg) on my lathe( machine for shaping wood, metal, or other material by means of a rotating drive that turns the piece being worked on against changeable cutting tools) I grew tired of constantly setting and resetting my caliper(an instrument for measuring external or internal dimensions, having two hinged legs resembling a pair of compasses and in-turned or out-turned points) to check various diameters along the workpiece. So I made this simple wood story board to speed up the proses.