Friday, October 16, 2009

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grotesque |grōˈtesk|adjectivecomically or repulsively ugly or distorted : grotesque facial distortions.incongruous or inappropriate to a shocking degree: a lifestyle of grotesque luxury.noun1 a very ugly or comically distorted figure, creature, or image : the rods are carved in the form of a series of gargoyle faces and grotesques.( the grotesque) that which is grotesque : images of the macabre and the grotesque.a style of decorative painting or sculpture consisting of the interweaving of human and animal forms with flowers and foliage.2 Printing a family of 19th-century sans serif typefaces.DERIVATIVESgrotesquely |groʊˈtɛskli| |grəˈtɛskli| adverbgrotesqueness |groʊˈtɛsknəs| |grəˈtɛsknəs|nounORIGIN mid 16th cent. (as noun): from Frenchcrotesque (the earliest form in English), from Italiangrottesca, from opera or pittura grottesca ‘work or painting resembling that found in a grotto’ ; “grotto” here probably denoted the rooms of ancient buildings in Rome that had been revealed by excavations and contained murals in the grotesque style.
humor |ˈ(h)yoōmər| ( Brit. humour)noun1 the quality of being amusing or comic, esp. as expressed in literature or speech : his tales are full ofhumor. See note at wit .the ability to perceive or express humor or toappreciate a joke : their inimitable brand of humor | shehas a great sense of humor.2 a mood or state of mind : her good humor vanished |the clash hadn't improved his humor.archaic an inclination or whim.3 (also cardinal humor) historical each of the four chief fluids of the body (blood, phlegm, yellow bile [choler], and black bile [melancholy]) that were thought to determine a person's physical and mental qualities by the relative proportions in which they were present.verb [ trans. ]comply with the wishes of (someone) in order to keep them content, however unreasonable such wishes might be : she was always humoring him to prevent trouble.archaic adapt or accommodate oneself to (something).PHRASESout of humor in a bad mood.DERIVATIVEShumorless |ˈ(h)jumərləs| adjectivehumorlessly |ˈ(h)jumərləsli| adverbhumorlessness |ˈ(h)jumərləsnəs| nounORIGIN Middle English (as humour): via Old Frenchfrom Latin humor ‘moisture,’ from humere (seehumid ). The original sense was [bodily fluid] (surviving in aqueous humor and vitreous humor, fluids in the eyeball); it was used specifically for any of the cardinal humors(sense 3) , whence [mental disposition] (thought to be caused by the relative proportions of the humors). This led, in the 16th cent., to the senses [state of mind, mood] ( sense 2) and [whim, fancy,] hence to humor someone [to indulge a person's whim.] Sense 1 dates from the late 16th cent.

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