A.Word.A.Day

[RehmanFan]

Let's learn a new word every day!

[RehmanFan]

Nepotism

using your power or influence to get good jobs or unfair advantages for members of your own family

He was guilty of nepotism and corruption

Ref:Cambridge Online Dictionary

[app_engine]

Nepotism comes from the latin word for 'nephew' :lol: (That was because the catholic priests / pope / cardinals / etc practice(d) celibacy and didn't have their own children. Hence could only show favouritism to nephews)

It would be interesting to add some ejjAmples too (Rahul, Kanimozhi, Azhagiri, Sudhakaran the vaLarppu makan - not exactly nephews but beneficieries of nepotism.)

[app_engine]

From wikipedia, on Papal nepotism :



Nepotism gained its name after the church practice in the Middle Ages, when some Catholic popes and bishops, who had taken vows of chastity, and therefore usually had no children of their own, gave their nephews such positions of preference as were often accorded by fathers to son.
Several popes elevated nephews and other relatives to the cardinalate. Often, such appointments were a means of continuing a papal "dynasty."

For instance, Pope Callixtus III, head of the Borgia family, made two of his nephews cardinals; one of them, Rodrigo, later used his position as a cardinal as a stepping stone to the papacy, becoming Pope Alexander VI... Alexander then elevated Alessandro Farnese, his mistress's brother, to cardinal; Farnese would later go on to become Pope Paul III Paul also engaged in nepotism, appointing, for instance, two nephews, aged 14 and 16, as cardinals. The practice was finally ended when Pope Innocent XII issued the bull Romanum decet Pontificem, in 1692. The papal bull prohibited popes in all times from bestowing estates, offices, or revenues on any relative, with the exception that one qualified relative (at most) could be made a cardinal.

Coincidentally, the Church of the East from the 16th to the 19th centuries made the Patriarch a hereditary title, being passed down from Patriarch-uncle to nephew; however, this move was initiated in the face of Timur's destruction of Nestorian Monasteries throughout Asia (monks being the key source of priests and patriarchs for the Church), in an attempt to guarantee the existence of a patriarch. This proved to be a catalyst for the schism that exists today between Chaldean Catholics and Assyrian "Nestorians

[RehmanFan]

@app_engine - Thanks for the interesting facts! It is good to know the origin and story behind words. It helps to remember the word.

[RehmanFan]

gauche
adjective

Meaning: awkward and uncomfortable with other people, especially because of lack of experience, lacking ease of manner

Example: She had grown from a gauche teenager to a self-assured young woman.

[SoftSword]

good thread rf... nane start pannalamnu irundhen...

i would suggest u to add pronunciation as well.

[RehmanFan]

good thread rf... nane start pannalamnu irundhen...

i would suggest u to add pronunciation as well.

Sure, SS!

[RehmanFan]

erudite - /ˈer.ʊ.daɪt/
adjective

having or showing a lot of specialist knowledge; having or showing extensive scholarship gained by learning

Eg: He's the author of an erudite book on Scottish history.

[SoftSword]

he is an erudite person - ipdi use panna koodadha?

[RehmanFan]

he is an erudite person - ipdi use panna koodadha?

use pannalam'nu nenaikren.

Ipdiyum use pannalam : She is so erudite, she can talk knowledgeably about almost everything.



Erudite comes from the latin word 'erudio' meaning 'to train'.

[RehmanFan]

drudge - /drʌdʒ/
noun

A person who does dull, irksome and fatiguing work

Eg: I feel like a real drudge - I have done nothing but clean all the day.

[RehmanFan]

prepossessing - /ˌpriː.pəˈzes.ɪŋ/
adjective

Interesting, noticeable or attractive

Eg: The box didn't look very prepossessing, but the necklace inside was beautiful.

[RehmanFan]

the gloaming - /ðəˈgləʊ.mɪŋ/
noun

the part of the day after the sun has gone down and before the sky is completely dark; twilight

Eg: They sat on a hillside in the gloaming, watching the lights come on in the houses below.

[roosevelt92]

Yes you are right, If we try to learn everday a word then soon we learn more thing.

Gifts to India (http://www.vouchersmate.com)

[RehmanFan]

garish
adjective

unpleasantly bright or flashy; gaudy

Eg: Her dress was very garish.

[RehmanFan]

reek
verb

to have a strong unpleasant smell

Eg: Her breath reeked of garlic

[RehmanFan]

toothsome - /ˈtuːθ.səm/
adjective

attractive or pleasant (especially of food)

Eg: Rose seemed to care little for those toothsome temptations

[RehmanFan]

bumptious - /ˈbʌmp .ʃəs/
adjective

unpleasantly confident

Eg: He was a bumptious young man