New words 25 June 2012
June 25, 2012biophony noun the combined sounds of the biological world – animals, birds, and insects
Each voice in the animal orchestra can be heard. I call that a biophany, it’s the heart of the soundscape that comes from [...] an organic natural world.
[WNYC: Soundcheck (music) 12 March 2012]
brosiery noun pantyhose for men
Franceso Cavallini [...] told Women’s Wear Daily last week that there is ‘a cult following for mantyhose,’ also called ‘brosiery’ and guylons.’
[New York Times (US broadsheet) 11 March 2012]
calm tech noun computer programs that are designed to filter out stress-inducing electronic distractions
But the best calm tech, Moraveji argues, will work less like Valium and more like mindfulness meditation, strengthening our self-awareness [...]
[The Guardian (UK broadsheet) 7 Jan 2012]
frictionless sharing noun a form of automatic information sharing on social media sites whereby a user’s activities – for instance listening to music – are automatically shared on their page
In a way, frictionless sharing works like a lazy ‘Like’ button. But, as everyone knows, just because you read something doesn’t mean you endorse it.
[www.montrealgazette.com 20 Jan 2012]
‘Frictionless sharing takes things further still, letting friends on Facebook see everything you’re reading on newspaper websites for example,’ says Newman.
[www.bbc.co.uk 30 Jan 2012]
Ron Carter
Cambridge Words
Dom Glennon
hughrawson
katewoodford
Liz Walter
Paul Heacock
racheledf
Trevor Bryden
As an English teacher-to-be, I absolutely love this blog, however, the layout is not readable at all. Would you mind considering the change of colors, so that the text would be easier to read?
Hi Emilia,
Thanks for the comment – the layout is much the same as we use for dictionary entries on the dictionary site, so it’s a concern if you find it hard to read. We are currently reviewing the site design, is it the pink definitions that you find particularly problematic?
I absolutely love “biophany.” We’ve all head the soundtrack of a jungle documentary and now there’s a word for it! I also like a related term, “geophany,” which refers to natural sounds not created by living creatures — the wind, the waves, the roar of geysers, etc.
To give credit where it’s due, the coiner is Bernie Kraus, a musician and naturalist whose book, THE GREAT ANIMAL ORCHESTRA, tracks the influence of natural sounds on man-made music.
Anybody tell me , please, How can you paraphrase ” Cloud based factory”
Hi Anahit, ‘cloud-based’ generally refers to services offered over the Internet. However, a factory is somewhere physical items are made, which cannot be cloud-based! So I think in this phrase the word ‘factory’ is being used figuratively, as a factory for services rather than for manufacturing. Like in this example: http://translationcloud.net/
I find the blog very interesting and useful .However ,could you please provide the pronunciation of new words for us .Thank you a lot
Hi, we’re glad you’re enjoying the blog. It’s our policy not to provide the pronunciation of new words as they are sometimes so new, we’re not necessarily sure of the pronuncation ourselves! For more information, see http://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/about-new-words/
Thanks alot, as English learners we are grateful. Keep it up!