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Let's learn a new word every day!
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
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.)
From wikipedia, on Papal nepotism :
Quote:
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
@app_engine - Thanks for the interesting facts! It is good to know the origin and story behind words. It helps to remember the word.
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.
good thread rf... nane start pannalamnu irundhen...
i would suggest u to add pronunciation as well.
Sure, SS!Quote:
Originally Posted by SoftSword
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.
he is an erudite person - ipdi use panna koodadha?
use pannalam'nu nenaikren.Quote:
Originally Posted by SoftSword
Ipdiyum use pannalam : She is so erudite, she can talk knowledgeably about almost everything.
Erudite comes from the latin word 'erudio' meaning 'to train'.
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.
prepossessing - /ˌpriː.pəˈzes.ɪŋ/
adjective
Interesting, noticeable or attractive
Eg: The box didn't look very prepossessing, but the necklace inside was beautiful.
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.
Yes you are right, If we try to learn everday a word then soon we learn more thing.
Gifts to India
garish
adjective
unpleasantly bright or flashy; gaudy
Eg: Her dress was very garish.
reek
verb
to have a strong unpleasant smell
Eg: Her breath reeked of garlic
toothsome - /ˈtuːθ.səm/
adjective
attractive or pleasant (especially of food)
Eg: Rose seemed to care little for those toothsome temptations
bumptious - /ˈbʌmp .ʃəs/
adjective
unpleasantly confident
Eg: He was a bumptious young man