Sometimes, words are just so damned pleasing...

[kitchen_kink]

This word, for some reason, is filling me with goofy wonder today - especially the second definition:

gnomon (NO-mon) noun

1. The raised arm of a sundial that indicates the time of day by its
shadow.

2. The remaining part of a parallelogram after a similar smaller
parallelogram has been taken away from one of the corners.


The word is ultimately from the root meaning "to know," which makes sense for the first definition. But the second?

All I can think of is a lonely parallelogram crying out after its fleeing part, "Come baaaaack!"

Comments

[unknownrockstar.livejournal.com]

"Come baaaaack mon!" in a Jamaican accent. :p

Gnomic utterance

[thoroughbass.livejournal.com]

"Gnomon" in Greek is also a carpenter's square, which the sad parallelogram cockeyedly resembles.

[entrope.livejournal.com]

My question is this: how does this all fit in with Gnomon Copy?

[coraline]

that was my first thought...

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

Me too, admittedly!

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

I /think/ they used to use a sundial as a logo.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure a sundial arm (def 1) is usually made as by definition 2... the ascii art won't work, but let's try it...

    _____    ____    _
   /    /   /   /   //
  /    /   /   /   // 
 /    /  -/   /  =//
/    /    ----   //____
-----           /_____/

Nope... it doesn't, but if you put this in a monospace font, it should be enlightening. :)

[cycon.livejournal.com]

All I can think of is a lonely parallelogram crying out after its fleeing part, "Come baaaaack!"

Kinda sounds like a Shel Silverstein story...

Alternatively, you could look at it from a sci-fi persctive: the gnommon remains in orbit while the little parallelogram shuttles down to the surface.

OT

[queenofhalves]

a couple of recent conversations made me think you might find this interesting/useful: http://meta.ath0.com/2002/10/05/socialist-libertarians/