Daily Wordlist 16-Nov-09

	16-Nov-09 Daily Wordlist leonine [ LEE-uh'-nahyn ]   [ adjective ]   MEANING :   1. (adj.) like a lion 2. (adj.) pertaining to or suggestive of a lion   USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :   Their team won the trophy because of the leonine nature of their captain.   USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :   No less leonine now, he is convinced he will one day deliver his country from the stranglehold of a decadent ruling elite. The Telegraph, Imran Khan: Playing for the biggest stakes of his life, Elizabeth Grice, 8 December 2008.   pretext [ PREE-tekst ]   [ noun ]   MEANING :   1. (n.) an excuse 2. (n.) a reason put forward that obscures the true purpose 3. (n.) pretence   USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :   Under the pretext of searching the premises for concealed drugs, the police caused considerable damage to his property.   USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :   The charges against these imprisoned Baha'is are baseless and a pretext for the persecution and harassment of a disfavored religious minority, Leo said. CNN, U.S. panel demands release of Baha'is facing trial in Iran, 10 July 2009.   abode [ uh-BOHD ]   [ noun ]   MEANING :   1. (n.) home 2. (n.) the place where one lives 3. (v.) past tense and past participle of abide   USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :   The stately mansion in the heart of the town was her abode.   USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :   The three-star abode was passable, though the room's TV carried not one single English channel. CNN, Part 1: Hong Kong to Pingyao, David Challenger, 7 march 2008.   paleontology [ pal-ee-uh'n-TOL-uh'-jee ]   [ noun ]   MEANING :   1. (n.) the science of life forms existing in previous geologic periods, as represented by their fossils   USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :   The college closed down the palaeontology department as not a single student had opted for this subject.   USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :   Fossilized brains are unusual, and this is by far the oldest known example, said John Maisey, curator in the division of paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The Telegraph, Oldest fossilised fish brain discovered, 3 March 2009.   mediocre [ mee-dee-OH-ker ]   [ adjective ]   MEANING :   1. (adj.) of moderate quality 2. (adj.) neither good nor bad 3. (adj.) barely adequate   USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :   Although he fared well in the test, the company rejected his application because he had mediocre communication skills.   USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :   Despite the strongest Booker Prize shortlist in years, Michael Prodger has learned from his time on the judging panel that there is nothing more dispiriting than a mediocre literary novel The Telegraph, Confessions of Booker Prize judge Michael Prodger, Michael Prodger, 4 October 2009.   Spelled Pronunciation Key Stress marks: [ CAPS ] indicates the primary stressed syllable, as in newspaper [NOOZ-pey-per ] and information [ in-fer-MEY-shuh' n ] CONSONANTS [b] boy, baby, rob [d] do, ladder, bed [f] food, offer, safe [g] get, bigger, dog [h] happy, ahead [j] jump, budget, age [k] can, speaker, stick [l] let, follow, still [m] make, summer, time [n] no, dinner, thin [ng] singer, think, long [p] put, apple, cup [r] run, marry, far, store [s] sit, city, passing, face [sh] she, station, push [t] top, better, cat [ch] church, watching, nature, witch [th] thirsty, nothing, math [th'] this, mother, breathe [v] very, seven, love [w] wear, away [hw] where, somewhat [y] yes, onion [z] zoo, easy, buzz [zh] measure, television, beige   VOWELS [a] apple, can, hat [ey] aid, hate, day [ah] arm, father, aha [air] air, careful, wear [aw] all, or, talk, lost, saw [e] ever, head, get [ee] eat, see, need [eer] ear, hero, beer [er] teacher, afterward, murderer [i] it, big, finishes [ahy] I, ice, hide, deny [o] odd, hot, woffle [oh] owe, road, below [oo] ooze, food, soup, sue [oo'] good, book, put [oi] oil, choice, toy [ou] out, loud, how [uh] up, mother, mud [uh'] about, animal, problem, circus [ur] early, bird, stirring   FOREIGN SOUNDS [a*] Fr. ami [kh*] Scot. loch, Ger. ach or ich [œ] Fr. feu, Ger. schön [r*] Fr. au revoir, Yiddish rebbe [uh*] Fr. oeuvre [y*] Fr. tu, Ger. über   SAMPLE NASALIZED VOWELS [an*] Fr. bien [ahn*] Fr. croissant [awn*] Fr. bon [œn*] Fr. parfum [in*] Port. Principe