Session 29

1. Martinet

A rigid military disciplinarian.
One who demands absolute adherence to forms and rules.

Jean Martinet (d. 1672) was a French lieutenant-colonel and Inspector General, and one of the first great drill masters of modern times. Martinet served during the reign of Louis XIV and made way to French conquest in the Holy Roman Empire. He was a severe drillmaster, which made him unpopular among his troops. Martinet revolutionized the early modern army by instituting a standardized system capable of turning raw recruits into a disciplined fighting force, thereby eliminating the mercenaries and soldiers-of-fortune who had been the mainstays of earlier armies. He also introduced the bayonet into the French army and the depot system, which put a stop to the army feeding off the enemy land, making war more humane. The English word martinet derives from the general's last name. History records that Martinet was eventually killed by friendly fire while leading an infantry assault at the siege of Duisberg. Whether or not this was entirely accidental is, of course, a matter of conjecture.

Btw, A bayonet (from French "baïonnette") is a knife or dagger-shaped weapon designed to fit on or over the muzzle of a rifle or similar weapon. It is a close combat or last-resort weapon.

2. Sycophant, in ancient Greece was the counterpart of the Roman delator, a public informer.
According to ancient authorities, the word (derived by them from suko, "fig", and fanēs, "to show") meant one who informed against another for exporting figs (which was forbidden by law) or for stealing the fruit of the sacred fig-trees, whether in time of famine or on any other occasion. The Oxford English Dictionary, however, states that this explanation, though common, "cannot be substantiated", and suggests that it may refer instead to the insulting gesture of "making a fig" or to an obscene alternate meaning for "fig".

Another old explanation was that fines and taxes were at one time paid in figs, wine and oil, and those who collected such payments in kind were called sycophants because they publicly handed them in.

Thus the term has come to mean one who seeks to please people in positions of authority or influence in order to gain power themselves, usually at the cost of pride, principles, and peer respect.
A popular synonym for the term is "toady" or "toadying", derived from the term "toad eater".

Etymology – sykon(fig) + phanein(to show)

Diaphanous – dia(through) + phanein – I think its used for translucent stuff. Something which you can see through, but shouldn’t see through, I am not the perfect person to ask for the examples, I’m sure the rest of you can do better.


3. Dillitante, is someone who does certain task just for amusement. It NOT that he is very passionate about painting/music/writing or any such thing, he just does it sometimes, maybe just a timepass. He might make money from it if he wants to, might do very well if he takes it seriously, but who wants to? It is just that he feels delightful doing it sometimes, not all the times. Dilettante comes from the present participle of Italian delittare, "to delight," from Latin delectare, "to delight," frequentative of delicere, "to allure," from de- + lacere, "to entice."

NL contrasts it to Tyro, which we know is a beginner, who wants to do a lot, is passionate about doing it, but is only beginning to learn how to do it.

i is common in musical circles as suffix
Virtuoso, plural-virtuosos, tashni form – virtuosi
Dilittante, plural-dilittantes, tashni form – dillitanti
Librettoo, plural-libretti/librettos
Concerto, plural- concerti/concertos
tashni form is sophisticated form, bas impression maarne ke liye, now this is my word, not NL’s


4. Virago

A virago was a strong, brave, or warlike woman (from Latin "vir", "a man" – nothing to do with punjabi vir ji, but if you want you can remember the root by associating it as such); the term was later used to mean a loud, violent, or ill-tempered woman. The two meanings have led to the word's use as names for:

Virago Press, a British press publishing women's literature.
Yamaha Virago is a series of motorcyles.
"Virago" is also the name of a spaceship in the Star Wars series of films.

Synonyms – Termagant, harridan


5. Heard of MCP’s?

Here’s another word that derives from the name of a man - Nicolas Chauvin. But while there are no words derived from Martinet, ie no adjectives etc, there are other forms of Chauvinism.

Nicolas Chauvin was a semi-mythical soldier and patriot who served in the First Army of the French Republic and subsequently in La Grande Armee of Napoleon Bonaparte. His name is the origin of the term chauvinism.

Chauvin enlisted at age 18, and served honorably and well. He is known to have been wounded 17 times in his nation's service, resulting in his severe disfigurement and maiming. For his loyalty and dedication, Napoleon himself presented the soldier with the Saber of Honor and a pension of 200 francs.
Chauvin's distinguished record of service and his love and devotion for Napoleon, which endured despite the price he willingly paid for them, earned him only ridicule and derision in post-Napoleonic France. The nation had lost its earlier idealism, and passionate nationalism was less in vogue. He was made a mockery of in several plays which were produced for the original Vaudeville, including La Cocarde Tricolore (1831).

Through the plays in which Chauvin was made a character, the term "chauvinism" was coined as a term for excessive nationalistic fervor. Today it is used for obnoxiously patriotic people, holds a negative connotation. Jabardasti aur fizool ka deshprem.

Now, what I am wondering about is, how did the term MCP, ie, Male Chauvinist Pig(noone’s coming here to hit me!! I dint coin it) come to mean egoist men who are gender biased, rigid in values, imposing etc.

Now, as if all this wasn’t enough, NL picks up another root here and starts describing words derived from it.

Pater/Patris means father and following words are derived from it :
Patriotic - Love for father land
Patrimony (pater+money) - Inheritance from one’s father.
Patronymic(pater+onyma(name)) – A name formed on the father’s name. Example: Birju ke bete Sarju aur Garju. This ain’t funny, this is Patronymic.

Ab inhein ek aur root mil gayi beechmein, to uski bhi aisi ki taisi hogi, aur meri neend ki bhi – Onyma, ie name

+anti(against) -> Antonym
+homos(same) -> Homonym

Back to Pater
Paternity – fatherhood Paternalism, paternalistic
Patriarch (pater + archein(to rule)) – Old man in a ruling, father like position
Patricide(pater + cide(killing)) – Killing one’s father –adj. patricida


6. Maa – Mater, matris – mother

Matriarch – mother ruler. Adj. matriarchy. Ex. England under the reign od Queen Victoria
Matron – an older woman, yes, we have mostly heard as a caretaker of patients in hospitals. Remember Lalita Pawar in Aanand?
Alma mater is formed from soul mother, one’s intellectual mother, educational institution.
Matrimony – Somehow it is not inheritance from one’s mother, but pertains to marriage. The mony here indicates state(as in sanctimony, parsimony), so this implies the nature of marriages, which ultimately lead to the state of being a mother. Basically, getting down to basics.
Matricide – Killing of one’s mother


7. Khatam kar diya

Ab jaate jaate ye kisi ko nahi bakshenge… words to describe the act of killing :

Oneself – suicide
Brother – fratricide
Sister – sorrorocide
A human being – Homicide (intentional killing, planned). For unintentional, accidental killing, manslaughter is the word.
A king – Regicide *** Remember what happened with the Nepalese king and family?
One’s wife – Uxoricide *** Remember Naina Sahni?
One’s husband – Mariticide
A newborn child – Infanticide *** Most shameful, yet very widely prevalent practice in our country, contributing to a highly skewed sex ratio. I think killing an unborn baby is called foeticide.
A whole race or nation – Genocide *** What better example than Holocaust? In fact, it is the place for which it was coined by a UN official in 1944.
Either or both parents - Parricide