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cogitabund , adj : (archaic, literary) Deep in thought; meditative, thoughtful. The French sculptor Auguste Rodin, who created the sculpture known as The Thinker, was born 180 years ago on 12 November 1840.

fantasia , n : (music, also figurative) A form of instrumental composition with a free structure and improvisational characteristics; specifically, one combining a number of well-known musical pieces. (chiefly art, by extension) Any work which is unstructured or comprises other works of different genres or styles. A traditional festival of the Berbers of the Maghreb (in northwest Africa) featuring exhibitions of horsemanship. The Walt Disney animated film Fantasia premiered on this day 80 years ago in 1940.

World Wide Web , proper n : (Internet) Usually preceded by the: collectively, all of the hypertext documents (web pages) on the Internet stored in different computers around the world that hyperlink to each other and to other kinds of media, and are typically retrieved by the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). Today is the 30th anniversary of the day in 1990 when Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau coined the term in a formal proposal to build a “web” of “hypertext documents” to be viewed by “browsers” using a client–server architecture.

poppy , n : Any plant of the genus Papaver or the family Papaveraceae, with crumpled, often red, petals and a milky juice having narcotic properties; especially the common poppy or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) which has orange-red flowers; the flower of such a plant. A bright red colour tinted with orange, like that of the common poppy flower. poppy:   (chiefly Australia, Britain, Canada) A simple artificial poppy flower worn in a buttonhole or displayed in other contexts to remember those who died in the two World Wars and other armed conflicts, especially around Remembrance Sunday. [...] Today, the date in 1918 when hostilities in World War I ceased, is observed as Remembrance Day in many countries to remember armed forces members who have died in the line of duty.

rake , n : (agriculture, horticulture) A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn by a horse or a tractor. (by extension) A similarly shaped tool used for other purposes. (gambling) A tool with a straight edge at the end used by a croupier to move chips or money across a gaming table. [...] (Northern England and climbing, also figurative) A course, a path, especially a narrow and steep path or route up a hillside. (mining) A fissure or mineral vein of ore traversing the strata vertically, or nearly so. (Britain, originally Northern England, Scotland) A series, a succession; specifically (rail transport) a set of coupled rail vehicles, normally coaches or wagons. (systems theory) In cellular automata: a puffer that emits a stream of spaceships rather than a trail of debris. (Midlands, Northern England) Alternative spelling of raik

endorheic , adj : (hydrology) Of a basin or lake: having no outflow to an external body of water such as a river or ocean, and only losing water through evaporation or seepage into the ground.

fly in the ointment , n : (idiomatic) Something (especially a minor thing) which ruins or spoils everything else, or makes it less pleasant; a nuisance or problem; a disagreeable or unpleasant detail.

nitty-gritty , n : (originally US, colloquial, also attributively) The core or essence of something; the details.

sprightly , adj : Animated, gay, or vivacious; lively, spirited. Of a person: full of life and vigour, especially with a light and springy step. Especially of an older person: energetic and in good health; spry. (obsolete, rare) Of or relating to a sprite; ghostly, spectral. sprightly adv In a lively and vigorous way; sprightlily.

obelus , n : (historical) A symbol resembling a horizontal line (–), sometimes together with one or two dots (for example, ⨪ or ÷), which was used in ancient manuscripts and texts to mark a word or passage as doubtful or spurious, or redundant; an obelisk. A dagger symbol (†), which is used in printed matter as a reference mark to refer the reader to a footnote, marginal note, etc.; beside a person's name to indicate that the person is deceased; or beside a date to indicate that it is a person's death date; an obelisk.

no one , pron : Used in contrast to either someone or everyone: not one person; nobody. The song “Ain’t Nobody” by funk band Rufus and singer Chaka Khan was released on this day in 1983 in their album Stompin’ at the Savoy – Live.

cloth-eared , adj : Not hearing clearly. Failing to pay attention.

canonize , v : (chiefly Roman Catholicism) To declare (a deceased person) as a saint, and enter them into the canon of saints. (figurative) To regard as a saint; to glorify, to exalt to the highest honour. (Christianity) To formally declare (a piece of religious writing) to be part of the biblical canon. (by extension) To regard (an artistic or written work) as one of a group of works representative of a particular field. (chiefly Christianity) Especially of a church: to give official approval to; to authorize, to sanction. Today is All Saints’ Day in Western Christianity.

pumpking , n : (programming, slang) A Perl user working on shared source code who has been temporarily designated as the only person who is allowed to make changes. Boo! Happy Halloween!

thesis , n : Senses relating to logic, rhetoric, etc. (rhetoric) A proposition or statement supported by arguments. (by extension) A lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis (sense 1.1), especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree; a dissertation. (logic) An affirmation, or distinction from a supposition or hypothesis. (philosophy) In the dialectical method of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: the initial stage of reasoning where a formal statement of a point is developed; this is followed by antithesis and synthesis. Senses relating to music and prosody. (music, prosody, originally) The action of lowering the hand or bringing down the foot when indicating a rhythm; hence, an accented part of a measure of music or verse indicated by this action; an ictus, a stress. (music, prosody, with a reversal of meaning) A depression of the voice when pronouncing a syllables of a word; hence, the unstressed part of the metrical foot of a verse upon which su

stratospheric , adj : (meteorology) Of, relating to, or occurring the stratosphere (“the region of the uppermost atmosphere”). (figurative, colloquial) Unusually or unreasonably high; astronomical.

Xanthippe , n : (literary, derogatory) An ill-tempered woman. Today is Ohi Day (Anniversary of the “No”) in Greece, which marks the rejection by Ioannis Metaxas of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s ultimatum in 1940 during World War II to allow Axis forces to enter Greek territory.

compellation , n : (archaic, rare) An act of addressing a person by a certain name or title. (archaic, rare) A name or title by which someone is addressed or identified; an appellation, a designation. (obsolete) An act of addressing or speaking to someone; also, the address or speech so made. The song “I Call Your Name”, by the Norwegian band a-ha, was released on this day 30 years ago in 1990 in their album East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

listenership , n : (Internet, radio) The audience that listens to a certain form or genre of audio material (specifically, an audio broadcast such as a radio program or a podcast). (linguistics) The act of paying attention to a conversation or speech; listening. Today is the eve of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, which was established by UNESCO 15 years ago in 2005 to raise awareness about the significance and preservation risks of recorded audio and audiovisual materials.

purpureal , adj : (literary, poetic) Of a purple colour.