tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8507136945842934293.post7885114555323223865..comments2023-09-21T06:15:03.099-07:00Comments on Conjugate Visits: Words I'm Looking Up (One in an occasional series on words I'm looking up)June Casagrandehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00363096837053080969noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8507136945842934293.post-39018210509644183042007-08-03T18:08:00.000-07:002007-08-03T18:08:00.000-07:00Hmmm. Now you've got me curious about the word, Je...Hmmm. Now you've got me curious about the word, Jenny.<BR/><BR/>Just as I was willing to bet it was a relatively recent coinage, I open my 1933 Oxford Universal Dictionary and see, under "Islam": "Islamic," and its synonym, "Islamitic" -- both meaning "Mohammedan, Moslem." Then, next word, "Islamism," defined as "Mohammedanism."<BR/><BR/>Now, "Islamitic" -- there's one I've definitely never heard before. And, lo and behold, I open my newest dictionary, the "American Heritage" fourth edition, and see that, nope, it's not there. My "Webster's New World" doesn't seem to have it either.<BR/><BR/>So: "Islamicism" -- not new. But "Islamitic" -- no longer registering on the dictionaries' radars.June Casagrandehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00363096837053080969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8507136945842934293.post-1216509279239439532007-08-03T17:13:00.000-07:002007-08-03T17:13:00.000-07:00Wow, I didn't even think "Islamism" would be a wor...Wow, I didn't even think "Islamism" would be a word...shows what I know!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8507136945842934293.post-64686247082902916242007-07-18T09:19:00.000-07:002007-07-18T09:19:00.000-07:00I thought it was what all those kids were saying i...I thought it was what all those kids were saying in the grocery store: "IMAAAAHM, I want Cap'n Crunch!"<BR/><BR/>But, according to Webster's, I'm wrong. It's Arabic (I know you knew that) and it's from the word "amma," meaning "to walk before" or "precede." <BR/><BR/>Just like "leader"! Hence Webster's definitions:<BR/><BR/>"1. the leader of prayer in a Muslim mosque<BR/><BR/>"2. [often] any of various Muslim leaders and rulers, often used as a title."<BR/><BR/>Sorry it took so long to Descartes my butt back here to answer your question!June Casagrandehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00363096837053080969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8507136945842934293.post-50725600346897902722007-07-13T20:08:00.000-07:002007-07-13T20:08:00.000-07:00Hey June, And where does the word "Imam" come from...Hey June, <BR/>And where does the word "Imam" come from? A contraction by someone who read Descartes?<BR/>"I think therefore Imam"?<BR/>Just curious, <BR/>BrianBrian Orrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17726471495835502184noreply@blogger.com