The Words of the Week - Apr. 12

‘Totality’

Totality had a very busy week, and an increased number of lookups reflecting that, after it was used in innumerable articles about the eclipse.

Those squarely along the center line of the path of totality saw an eclipse that lasted between 3 ½ and 4 minutes, according to NASA.
— CNN, 8 Apr. 2024

While totality has a number of general uses (such as “an aggregate amount” and “the quality or state of being total”) the one being used most often recently is a distinctly astronomical one: “the phase of an eclipse during which it is total; state of total eclipse.” The word was frequently paired with path; “path of totality” refers to the section of Earth along which the moon’s eclipse of the sun is, for a brief period of time, complete. We’ve been pairing totality with path, or belt, since the middle of the 19th century.

Wherefore, the diameter of the belt of totality in the direction of the meridian of Mosul is scarcely exceeded 30 miles, and its northern boundary would pass 260 miles south of the assumed position of Larissa.
— The Athenæum (London), 14 Feb. 1857

It is proposed, about the time of the eclipse, to transport the instrument to Spain (across which country the path of totality passes in a diagonal direction), in order to register the phenomenon in its various phases.
— The British Journal of Photography (London), 16 Apr. 1860

‘Ramadan’

Ramadan came to an end last week, and its entry received more traffic than is usual as a result.

Eid al-Fitr: millions of Muslims around the world celebrate end of Ramadan
— (headline) The Guardian (London), 10 Apr. 2024

Ramadan refers to “the ninth month of the Islamic year observed as sacred with fasting practiced daily from dawn to sunset.” The Islamic calendar is shorter than the Gregorian calendar widely used in the U.S. and much of the world, and so Ramadan occurs 10–12 days earlier each year, over the course of a 33-year cycle. It ends with the festival Eid-al-Fitr, which this year was on April 10th.

‘Pièce de résistance’

Pièce de résistance spiked in lookups as well, apparently after it was used by musician John Legend in an interview with People magazine.

Just a year later the 12-time Grammy winner made history again, adding three more letters to the designation—held by only 18 others—when he was crowned PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive. “The pièce de résistance! I still can’t believe it,” says Legend, 45, the very first EGOTSMA.
— Melody Chiu, People, 10 Apr. 2024

Pièce de résistance comes directly from the French, in which it means “piece of resistance.” The term came into English use at the end of the 18th century, and initially referred to the chief dish of a meal, a meaning it also had in French. After some use it then took on an extended meaning, one that is more commonly encountered today, which is “an outstanding item or event.”

Words Worth Knowing: ‘Patrizate’

Our word worth knowing this week is patrizate, defined as “to imitate one's father or forebears.” This word has not been in common use since the 17th century, but there is always a chance that you know someone who imitates their forebears. When it was in use patrizate was used to describe people who imitated their predecessors in both good and bad fashions.

In testimony of his true affection to the dead Father in his living Son, this Gentleman is thought to have penned that most judicious and elegant Epistle and presented it to the young Earl, conjuring him by the cogent arguments of example and rule, to patrizate.
— Thomas Fuller, The History of the Worthies of England, 1662