Vocabulary Lesson: "Lambent"

I got this in my email and thought it was prett interesting. Notice the source of the example sentence. Coincidence... or not?!

Your daily vocabulary lesson:
lambent * \LAM-bunt\ * (adjective)
1 : playing lightly on or over a surface : flickering
*2 : softly bright or radiant
3 : marked by lightness or brilliance especially of expression
Example sentence:
"The lanes nearby are lined with lovingly wrought ironwork gates and
lambent purple flowers." (Ed Vulliamy, The New Republic, August 16,
1999)
Did you know?
Fire is frequently associated with lapping or licking imagery: flames
are often described as "tongues" that "lick." "Lambent" is a part of
this tradition, coming from "lambens," the present participle of the
Latin verb "lambere," meaning "to lick." In its earliest uses,
"lambent" meant "playing lightly over a surface," "gliding over," or
"flickering." These uses were usually applied to flames or light, and
eventually the term came to mean "radiant" or "light and brilliant."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

 

Ummm...*doesn't know what to make of that...not at all*

 

I knew this already, but heh maybe someone will be surprised.

 

Knew what, exactly? The definition of "lambent"?
I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be realizing here. Maybe it's because I'm tired or something...
I see the reference to "New Republic", what am I supposed to make of it? What does it mean?
That Star Wars is being referred to in dictionaries? Or...?

 

Well, webster only defines it as such:

Main Entry: lam·bent
Pronunciation: 'lam-b&nt
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin lambent-, lambens, present participle of lambere to lick -- more at LAP
Date: 1647
1 : playing lightly on or over a surface : FLICKERING
2 : softly bright or radiant
3 : marked by lightness or brilliance especially of expression
- lam·bent·ly adverb

Which is the definition I know about lambent being.

 

Fine: what is a snark? (yes, it's spelled correctly!)

 

Ooh I think I know that one.

Snark comes from one of lewis caroll's poems called hunting of the snark. While I have never read the poem, in American Mcgee's alice, a snark was a flesh eating fish with legs, like little annoying paranhas.

 

Snark was the name of the US cruise missile program in the late 40s after they 'borrowed' German technology and scientists. The program was a failure, so much so that the area around Cape Canavral was known as 'Snark infested waters'.

 

?, , LOL.


Though it's true, Hunting of the snark: Agony in eight fits was a real poem, written by lewis carrol in 1876.

 

Next up, what is a Valiento?

No cheating!

 

I believe a Valiento is a walking,talking dictionary of Star Wars knowledge.

Especially anything to do with a character by the name of Kyle Katarn.

 

I can answer the Valiento question. It's a play on the name Prince Valient. At least that's what he says.

 

Yes a play on the name prince valiant(changed the a to e since it flowed better with the o at the end) with spaniard twist(based on that guy in princess bride), I had tried to combine both heroes into ones uber-hero for a name to be used "Quest for Glory" series, so long ago. Then I just sort of used it for everything since.

 

supercalifragilisticexpealladoschuss (sp?)
etymology:

super (soo'per) n.[cooloq]a product of superior grade, extra large size, etc: a trade term

Cali (ka'lee) City in SW Colombia

fragil(e) (fraj'el) adj. easily broken, damaged or destroyed

istic (is'tik) suffix forming adjectives of or relating to an action, practice, doctrine, quality, etc

exp 1.expenses 2.experience 3.experiment 4.expiration 5.expires 6.export 7.express

al/la (a'la) It, according to

do (doo) slang. hair do

schuss (shoos) ski straight down a slope at full speed

Significance
A code meaning: According to the speed skier with the crazy hair, high grade smack smuggled from Colombia in fragile containers is really expensive.