{"id":6672,"date":"2024-04-02T02:54:08","date_gmt":"2024-04-02T02:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/?p=6672"},"modified":"2024-04-02T02:58:42","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T02:58:42","slug":"word-of-the-day-tenuous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/2024\/04\/02\/word-of-the-day-tenuous\/","title":{"rendered":"Word of the Day: Tenuous"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today\u2019s word of the day, thanks to the New York Times, is tenuous. Tenuous is an adjective that means \u201clacking substance or significance,\u201d \u201caffording no ease or reassurance,\u201d \u201cvery thin in gauge or diameter,\u201d or \u201chaving thin consistency\u201d (https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/01\/learning\/word-of-the-day-tenuous.html<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It first appears in English in the \u201c1590s, \u2018thin, unsubstantial,\u2019 irregularly formed with -ous<\/strong><\/a> + from Latin tenuis<\/em> \u2018slender, thin, fine; drawn out, meager, slim,\u2019 figuratively \u2018trifling, insignificant, poor, low in rank\u2019 (according to Watkins from PIE root *ten-<\/strong><\/a> \u2018to stretch\u2019)\u201d (https:\/\/www.etymonline.com\/search?q=tenuous<\/a>). Then the website adds something related to the \u201cirregularly formed\u201d part of the description: \u201cThe correct form with respect to the Latin is tenuious<\/strong><\/a>.\u201d And then it adds an entry for tenuious<\/em>: “\u2019tenuous<\/em>, attenuated, thin,\u2019 late 15c., from Latin tenuis<\/em> \u2018<\/em>thin\u2019\u201d (ibid.). But if you look up tenuious<\/em> in a dictionary, you will not find it, so we should consider this word archaic or obsolete. It may that people stopped using this form of the word because it is just harder to say. One of the principles of language change is after all, the principle of least effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this date in 1947, Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) published what is considered the first manga in the tank\u014dbon format, entitled Shin Takarajima<\/em> (\u201cNew Treasure Island\u201d) (https:\/\/www.onthisday.com\/events\/april\/1<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tezuka was the scion of a relatively wealthy and well-educated family. He was the descendant of doctors, lawyers, and businessmen. He gave credit to his mother for telling him stories and taking him to the theater (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Osamu_Tezuka<\/a>). His father introduced him to the films of Walt Disney, and he would watch them over and over. His interest in Disney inspired him to start drawing cartoon figures when he was in elementary school. \u201cTezuka was also inspired by the works by Suih\u014d Tagawa and Unno Juza.[9] Later in life, he would state that the most important influence on his desire to be an animator was not Disney but the experience of watching the Chinese animation Princess Iron Fan<\/em> as a child\u201d (ibid.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While still in high school Tezuka went to work in a factory, in order to support the war effort, but he continued drawing. At 17, right after the war ended, he published \u201cDiary of Ma-chan<\/a><\/em>, which was serialized in the elementary school children’s newspaper Shokokumin Shinbun<\/em> in early 1946\u201d (ibid.). Then Shichima Sakai<\/a> sold Tezuka on the idea of doing a manga on an adaptation of Treasure Island<\/em>, the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. The adaptation was fairly loose, but Tezuka finished the project, and the manga was published in 1947. It was an overnight success and brought in what is called the Golden Age of Manga in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1951, Tezuka published Ambassador Atom<\/em>, a very popular science fiction manga that turned into a series. Later, the series was translated into English, and the hero\u2019s name was changed to Astro Boy. Tezuka then moved into the area of animation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wiki links to Tezuka\u2019s website, where a complete listing of the 700 or so works can be found, but it lists these as some of Tezuka\u2019s most famous works:<\/p>\n\n\n\n