"Organic"
1 Of or having to do with an organ
2 Inherent, inborn, constitutional
3 organized; systematically arranged
4 designating chemical compounds as containing carbon
5 having the characteristics of, or derived from, living organisms
6 In law, fundamental
7 In medicine, producing or involving alteration in the structure of an organ
8 in philosophy, having a complex necessary interrelationship of parts
Notice that, nowhere in all of this is the definition "Natural, without pesticides." So from where did "organic" originate as a description for "natural" food?
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"Adulterate"
Is the root here "Adult"? When a child grows up and matures, has he been "adulterated"?
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"Ruthless"
To be without "Ruth." The word is Hebrew in origin and refers to a woman who has been held up for centuries as a shining example of womanhood. So, to be 'ruthless' is to be without the characteristics of Ruth.
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"Discourage"
The root traces back to the Latin Cor for Heart. So, to discourage is to remove the heart.
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"Selfless"
Wait a minute. Isn't the root here "Self"? Is this a self-defeating word?
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"Sarcasm"
Latin sarcasmos; Greek sarkasmos, a bitter laugh, from sarkazein, to tear flesh like dogs, to speak bitterly, from sarx, sarcos, flesh
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"Retired"
Does this mean, in order to "retire," i had to be "tired" to begin with?
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"Pagliacci" - An opera about a clown. A man who is a clown learns that his wife, the love of his life, has been unfaithful to him. This crushes his spirit to the depths of despair. In his aria "Vesti la giubba" he cries out in anguish; how is it possible to make people laugh when his own heart is breaking?
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"Peculiar" - (Latin. Peculium, one's own property, from pecus, cattle)
exclusive; belonging to one person, nation, system, &tc., and to no others.
In other words, if something is described as "Peculiar," it must be "Peculiar" to something else. For example; if a particular bumper is only used on a particular car, that bumper is "Peculiar" to that car. An object cannot be described as simply "Peculiar." It must be "Peculiar" to something else.
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"Fantastic" - Produced or existing only in imagination; imaginary; not real.
Fantastic can also be spelled as phantastic, which has the same root as Phantasm. Something that only exists in the mind.
So... When a company has "fantastic" results, it could be that those results exist only in someone's mind and have no basis in reality. Nothing in the real world can legitimately be described as "fantastic."
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"Disillusion" - To free from that which deludes or is illusory; to disenchant.
From "Dis-" - (Latin) a prefix denoting, in general, separation, negation, or reversal, used to form verbs.
and "illusion" - (Latin. illusio, a mocking, jeering, to play with) a false idea or conception; a belief or opinion not in accord with the facts.
So... to be "disillusioned" is to have one's illusion taken away. If a wife is disillusioned with her husband, does this mean that her illusion of him has been taken away? If we use "sad" as a synonym for "disillusioned," does this mean that happy people walk around with illusions?
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"Incredible" - Not to be credited; something that cannot be believed. Too extraordinary and improbable to admit or believe.
So, when someone is described as "incredible," isn't this the same as saying that he or she has no credibility?
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"Noon" - Originally, about 3 p.m.. From the Latin Nona, for the ninth hour. The ninth hour of the day was reckoned from sunrise, approximately 6 a.m., making noon around 3. The service that was held at this hour was called nones, thus the time became referred to as noon. This was also associated with a meal taken at that time. When the meal time shifted to mid-day, so did the description Noon. After this, Noon meant the time when the sun is highest in the sky. In Houston, in the summer (daylight time), Noon occurs sometime between 1 and 1:30 p.m. So, we've gone from 3 p.m. to mid-day, to whenever the sun is highest in the sky. Does anyone really know what time it is?
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"Radical" - Having to do with the roots. Notice, that in the square 'root' of 2, the 2 is under the 'radical.' A radical mastectomy is a mastectomy that goes all the way to the roots. A 'Radical Christian' is one who has found and is discovering his or her roots.
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"Impunity" - No fear of Reprisal
Eric Stromberg