In which Desultor revisits his roots
I was excited today by “prodrome“, which is sexy and fancy and new to me. This breaks down to “pro” – ahead – and “drome”, which contains a notion of running or a race. So we could call a prodrome a “forerunner” if we were feeling Englishy.
We see drome in “hippodrome” – a racecourse for horses – and in “syndrome” – a running-together. So we could say that the defining feature of a syndrome is symptoms running together – or “concurrency” if we were feeling Latinate.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:44 pm
In nursing it often gets used as an adjective: “Oh, he’s feeling a little prodromal today…” I never actually broke it down language-wise but I’m glad you did!
April 25th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
dromedary ???????
April 25th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Indeed! A dromedary is, as per OED, “a light and fleet breed of the camel, specially reared and trained for riding”. The dromed is the Greek speediness, the ary is Latin for being engaged in something.
I have also learned that my childhood distinction between dromedaries (one hump) and camels (two humps) was imprecise. OED clears it up: “[Dromedaries are] usually of the Arabian or one-humped camel, but the Bactrian camel may also be improved into a Dromedary.”
October 8th, 2010 at 10:23 am
Handy post. I have added it without a doubt.
December 1st, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Informative post, bookmarked your site in interest to see more information!
December 23rd, 2010 at 9:42 am
I was looking for new information and came to your blog by using yahoo. You continue being a new source of motivation.
January 20th, 2011 at 3:41 pm
Bravo.. Just another suggestion you shouldget a Translator Application for your Global Audience .
January 22nd, 2011 at 10:53 am
Hi! Just wanted to say great website. Continue with the great work you’re doing!
January 23rd, 2011 at 5:02 am
I’ve to confess that i generally get bored learning the entire thing however i believe you can add some value. Bravo !
February 9th, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and appreciate studying far more on this topic. If possible, as you acquire knowledge, would you mind updating your blog with a lot more information and facts? It’s extremely helpful for me.
February 10th, 2011 at 12:54 am
I’d like to thank you for the efforts you’ve produced in writing this post. I’m hoping the same greatest do the job from you within the future too. In fact your creative writing abilities has inspired me to start my personal BlogEngine blog now.
February 10th, 2011 at 2:02 am
Ive been meaning to read this and just never obtained a chance. Its an issue that Im incredibly interested in, I just started reading and Im glad I did. Youre a wonderful blogger, one of the finest that Ive seen. This weblog surely has some facts on subject that I just wasnt aware of. Thanks for bringing this stuff to light.