Todays Thought

 A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Jokes of the proper kind, properly told, can do more to enlighten questions of politics, philosophy, and literature than any number of dull arguments. -Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (1920-1992)

Todays Thouhgt

 A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

I see too plainly custom forms us all. Our thoughts, our morals, our most fixed belief, are consequences of our place of birth. -Aaron Hill, dramatist and writer (10 Feb 1685-1750)

Todays Thought

 A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

I believe that the first test of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of his own powers. But really great men have a curious feeling that the greatness is not in them, but through them. And they see something divine in every other man and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful. -John Ruskin, author, art critic, and social reformer (8 Feb 1819-1900)

Todays Thought

 A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

All progress has resulted from people who took unpopular positions. -Adlai Stevenson, governor, ambassador (5 Feb 1900-1965)

Todays Thought

 A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Everybody knows if you are too careful you are so occupied in being careful that you are sure to stumble over something. -Gertrude Stein, novelist, poet, and playwright (3 Feb 1874-1946)

Todays Thought + Word

 A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

decollate

PRONUNCIATION:

(for 1: dee-KAH-layt, for 2: DEK-uh-layt) 

MEANING:

1. To behead.
2. To separate sheets of paper, from a multiple-copy printout, for example.

ETYMOLOGY:

For 1: From Latin decollare, from de- (from) + collum (neck). Earliest documented use: 1599.
For 2: From de- (from) + collate (to gather, merge, etc.), from conferre (to bring together). Earliest documented use: 1967.

NOTES:

Sometimes the word decollate is used as an alternate spelling for the decollete (which is a short for decolletage: a low neckline on a woman’s dress). If your name is Chasity and you’re writing a romance novel (The Other Wife), any spelling is fine. But when you need to refer to a low neckline in a formal context -- an office memo, a research paper, a court brief, a patent application, etc. -- it’s best to go with decollete.

USAGE:

“But supple loops of the Grene’s tail whipped around the neck of the silver behemoth as if to decollate.”
R. Dennis Baird; Talon of Light; AuthorHouse; 2004.

“These printouts were then manually decollated, bursted, sorted, folded, and inserted into envelopes.”
Subashini Selvaratnam; Boosting Operational Efficiency; New Straits Times (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); Sep 26, 2005.

“The decollate was quite revealing but not unseemly. I didn’t do it for him. Even telling herself that, it rang false.”
Chasity Bowlin; The Other Wife; Amazon; 2021.

See more usage examples of decollate in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Mistakes are the portals of discovery. -James Joyce, novelist (2 Feb 1882-1941)

Todays Thought

 A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

When you turn the corner / And you run into yourself / Then you know that you have turned / All the corners that are left. -Langston Hughes, poet and novelist (1 Feb 1902-1967)