Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Wednesday : Words of the Week

Real words, not sniglets. Rather than feature one a day, let's try a weekly set, with some common feature. This week's theme -- interesting repeaters.

ha-ha (noun):

A walled ditch or sunken obstacle, such as a hedge, serving especially as a barrier to livestock without impairing the view or scenic appeal. ~1760

beriberi (noun):

a disease of the peripheral nerves caused by a deficiency of vitamin B1, characterized by pain in and paralysis of the extremities, and severe emaciation or swelling of the body. [Origin: reduplication of the Sinhalese word beri, meaning weak,
~ 1700.]

dumdum (noun):

a hollow-nosed or soft-nosed bullet that expands on impact, inflicting a severe wound. Also called dumdum bullet.
[Origin: 1895–1900; named after Dum-Dum, town in India where the bullets were made]




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