New words 25 June 2012

biophony 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]

About new words

8 thoughts on “New words 25 June 2012

  1. Emilia

    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? 🙂

    1. 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?

  2. Harry

    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.

    1. 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/

  3. englishlearner

    I find the blog very interesting and useful .However ,could you please provide the pronunciation of new words for us .Thank you a lot

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