Acupuncture

Acupuncture: a jab well done; a form of medicine that pricks the skin with needles to alleviate pain.  I find Noah Webster’s old definition interesting.  “Among the Chinese, a surgical operation, performed by pricking the part affected with a needle.” From Latin Latin...

Acuminate

Acuminate: ending in a sharp point. Look for this word in Botany books.  Acuminate leaves are leaves that get to the point.    Acuminate comes from the Latin verb acuminare (to sharpen to a point).  It is related to the Latin word for needle,...

Ablative

Ablative: a certain case of Latin nouns.  The word derives from ablatus, which is from aufero, (to carry away), ultimately from ab (away) and fero (I carry). In it’s original sense, we use the ablative case when describing actions of carrying something away, or taking...

Disabuse

Disabuse: To free from a mistaken belief or error; to undeceive; to disengage from fallacy or deception; to set right. It is our duty to disabuse ourselves of false notions and prejudices. Disabuse comes from the Latin prefix dis- (away) and the verb abusus sum...