Roman ways.Wordplay based on Roman Numeral numeral, symbol denoting anumber. The symbol is a member of a family of marks, such as letters, figures, or words, which alone or in a group represent the members of a numeration system. Letters (RNLs) is not new to Word Ways. Here, however, I attempt an overview of the subject, as well as introducing a variety of new RNL RNL Resistance and Liberation (gaming) RNL Rede das Novas Licenciaturas (Portugese) RNL Round Nosed Lead (ammunition) RNL Refit Notification Letter RNL Required New Line wordplay. As a whole, RNL wordplay can be divided conveniently into 2 types: non-numerical and numerical. The RNLs in non-numerical wordplay do not take on their RN values; RNLs in numerical wordplay are given their RN values. CIVIC is an example of the former, a word made of RNLs which is also a palindrome palindrome: see anagram. . ACTIVE can be used as an example of the latter when viewed as containing the RN for 104 (CIV JUS AQUAEDUCTUS, CIV. law. The name of a servitude which Lives to the owner of land the right to bring down water through or from the land of another, either from its source or from any other place. 2. ). The RNLs used here are, in alphabetical order, C, D, I, L, M, V and X. Medieval Roman Numerals Roman numerals System of representing numbers devised by the ancient Romans. The numbers are formed by combinations of the symbols I, V, X, L, C, D, and M, standing, respectively, for 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 in the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. (WW87155 and 95183) are not admitted. A few hyphenated hy·phen·at·ed adj. 1. Having a hyphen: a hyphenated adjective. 2. Often Offensive Of or relating to naturalized citizens or their descendants or culture. designations are offered where no solid words were found; phrases are not admitted. Unreferenced words can be found in the Oxford English Dictionary Oxford English Dictionary (OED) great multi-volume historical dictionary of English. [Br. Hist.: Caught in the Web of Words] See : Lexicography , Second Edition. Locations are taken from the United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is an American federal body whose purpose is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the U.S. government. Overview The Board was created in 1890; its present form derives from a law of 1947. and are populated places unless stated otherwise. Other references appear at the end. NON-NUMERICAL RNL WORDPLAY Non-numerical RNL wordplay can be sub-divided into: A. that in which the RNLs form part of the word B. that in which RNLs account for the entire word. A. RNLS FORM PART OF THE WORD 1 Singularly Imperfect Romans (SIRs) Only a single letter prevents certain words from being full RNL words. Here is a list of SIRs, not necessarily the longest ones. They encompass, in alphabetical order, one each of the 19 non-RNLs: CLIMAX, CLIMB, MIDDLED, FILMIC film·ic adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of movies; cinematic. film  i·cal·ly adv. , VIGIL, CICHLID cichlid (sĭk`lĭd), common name for members of the family Cichlidae, several hundred species of spiny-finned freshwater fishes of moderate or small size, native to Africa, S Asia, Mexico, and Central and South America. , JILDI (quick), CLICK, DICLINIC,
CODICIL A document that is executed by a person who had previously made his or her will, to modify, delete, qualify, or revoke provisions contained in it.A codicil effectuates a change in an existing will without requiring that the will be reexecuted. , LIMPID, IQLID (in Iran), IRIDIC iridic /irid·ic/ (-ik) pertaining to the iris. i·rid·ic adj. Of or relating to the iris. iridic iridial. , SILICIC si·lic·ic adj. Relating to, resembling, containing, or derived from silica or silicon. , ILLICIT, MILIUM milium /mil·i·um/ (mil´e-um) pl. mil´ia [L.] a tiny spheroidal epithelial cyst lying superficially within the skin, usually of the face, containing lamellated keratin and often associated with vellus hair follicles. (millet millet, common name for several species of grasses cultivated mainly for cereals in the Eastern Hemisphere and for forage and hay in North America. The principal varieties are the foxtail, pearl, and barnyard millets and the proso millet, called also broomcorn millet ), WILLI (type of nocturnal spirit), IDYLLIC, IZIM (a 17th century Hebrew word for goats--singular Ez). A satirical columnist for The (London) Times newspaper and author of The Calligrapher cal·lig·ra·phy n. 1. a. The art of fine handwriting. b. Works in fine handwriting considered as a group. 2. Handwriting. , Edward DOCX has a most unusual SIR name. 2 Single Romans By way of contrast, here is a selection of long words which contain only a single RNL. The first five can be found in Stedman's MD or are inferred from words therein. ESOPHAGOGASTROSCOPES (20 letters), PHOTOROENTGENOGRAPHED (21), STEREOROENTGENOGRAPHING (23), TELEOROENTGENOGRAPHY (20), ESOPHAGOJEJUNOGASTROSTOMOSES (28), OVERBOUNTEOUSNESS (17--Web2), EXTRANEOUSNESSES (16-Web2) 3 Roman Strings In Colloquy col·lo·quy n. pl. col·lo·quies 1. A conversation, especially a formal one. 2. A written dialogue. [From Latin colloquium, conversation; see of the May 1999 issue of Word Ways, I offered ARMADILLIDIIDAE (pill bugs), a word with an uninterrupted string of 9 RNLs. 4 Roman Doubles It is not difficult to find words which contain a doubled RNL and no other RNLs: ACCOUNT, ADD, HAWAII, FULL, SUMMER, NAVVY, WAXXEN (wax) On the other hand, words with tripled and quadrupled RNLs and no other RNLs are rare: IIIE IIIE Institute of Islamic Information and Education IIIE International Islamic Institute of Economics (see skillet 1. 1519 citation), WALLLESS (Web2) IIII (sleepless--Tahitian), HMMMM (ats), JXXX and AJJAXXX (WW2001294) The following words have different pairings of adjacent doubled RNLs and no other RNLs. IIDDA (Somalia) QUASIILLNESS (Web2) ANTI-IMMUNE ALLCCANJA (Peru) ROTTBOELLIINAE (gg) Philip Cohen Sir Philip Cohen, FRS, FRSE (born 22 July 1945) is Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Dundee, Scotland. Education: Hendon County Grammar School, University College, London External links
5 Roman Repeats Certain words contain a preponderance of one particular letter. Here, I search for solid words with as many of a particular RNL as possible but which contain no other RNLs. C CHROOCOCCACEAE has 5 Cs D DEUDDYDD (Welsh: 'two days') has 5 Ds I INHIBITIONIST has 5 Is L LLANLLYWEL (in Gwent, Wales) has 5 Ls M MAMMOMONOGAMUS (a nematode worm-nz) has 5 Ms V VERTVOVS (vertuous) has 3 Vs X UXXARBAX (China) has 3 Xs Some locations and tribes boast even more Roman repeats: CHANCACACCACCA (a mountain in Peru) has 7 Cs (and a 10-letter C+A string) WAPISIWISIBIWININIWAK ('Swan creek men', a band of Chippewa--Hod) has 8 Is HULLLOOELLELL (either a Chinookan or a Salishan tribe--Hod) has 7 Ls. NOVOVARVAROVKA (Russia) has 4 Vs. 6 Roman Beginnings and Endings Words which begin and end with the same RNL are easy to find. However, when we require that the word contains no other RNLs it becomes difficult to find long words. Most of the longer words which begin and end with C, for example, end in -IC which disqualifies them. COENOSARC DESEGREGATED INTERPRETARI LAUGHTERFUL MAGNETOGRAM VENOV (venue) XANTHONYX (a crustacean--nz) VOROBJEV is the surname of the joint author of Advanced Coal Mining, 1961. Certain words begin and end with a doubled RNL, either the same or different. Some of these words have extraneous RNLs. Same doubled RNLs: CCAMPATUYOCC (Peru), CCARCCOLLACHAYOCC (a locality in Peru) has 3 x CC, an LL, and 7 Cs in total. DDOFYDD (see 'ovate') IIII (sleepless--Tahitian) LLALL (Welsh: another) MMMM MMMM Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (band) (rt) Different doubled RNLs: LLANFAREDD (Powys, Wales Wales, Welsh Cymru, western peninsula and political division (principality) of Great Britain (1991 pop. 2,798,200), 8,016 sq mi (20,761 sq km), west of England; politically united with England since 1536. The capital is Cardiff. ) VVALL (enter 1590 cit = wall) VVEDENSKII (alternate surname of Wedensky, Nikolai E.--Stedman's MD) 7 Invariant (programming) invariant - A rule, such as the ordering of an ordered list or heap, that applies throughout the life of a data structure or procedure. Each change to the data structure must maintain the correctness of the invariant. Romans The RNLs in these words appear in their correct alphabetical positions within each word. They are invariants. ENCOURAGINGLY, NECESSARIORUM The RNLs in each of these words appear in their correct alphabetical positions in relation to each other only. They are local invariants. ANECDOTARIAN CONGENITAL CRATERIFORM COUNTERROLMENT DAUNTINGLY HYDROPHTHALMY BIPALMATE KALMASHBASHEVO VEX (Russia) The RNLs in these words are reverse local invariants. MARGINATED mar·gin·ate tr.v. mar·gin·at·ed, mar·gin·at·ing, mar·gin·ates 1. To provide with or be a margin to; border. 2. To add margin to (a stock portfolio). adj. , HAMLETISH, PLENIPOTENCE, GLUTINATED, XAVANTE 8 Alphabetically-ordered Romans The 5 different RNLs in each of these words occur in alphabetical order. CARDIOPALMUS, CARDIO-OMENTOPEXY (both St), CHADILEUVU (stream-Argentina) DIPLOMYSTAX (a fish) The 5 different RNLs in each of these words occur in reverse alphabetical order. EXEMPLARIC, OXALIDACEOUS, GOVERNMENTALIZED, MULTIDECK, VENYMLICHE ('venomly) 9 Hidden Romans Rearranged, the letters of these 10-1etter parent words make two 5-letter offspring. One of these is a RNL word, the other contains no RNLs. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In MERISMATIC and NUMISMATIC nu·mis·mat·ic adj. 1. Of or relating to coins or currency. 2. Of or relating to numismatics. [French numismatique, from Late Latin numisma, numismat-, below, the letters of the RNL word MIMIC occur in the correct order in the parent word. In NONMIMETIC the letters of both offspring, MIMIC and the non-RNL NONET no·net n. 1. A combination of nine instruments or voices. 2. A composition written for such a combination. [Italian nonetto, from diminutive of nono, ninth , appear in the correct order in the parent word. Alternatively, using TENON instead of NONET, the letters of MIMIC and TENON can be read forwards and backwards respectively. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In MILLENNIA, MILLI and ANNE can be read forwards and backwards respectively. In ENMILDEN (enmingle) the RNL MILD occurs unbroken inside the tautonymic non-RNL ENEN ENEN European Nuclear Engineering Network (old word for 'can'). in several words, the letters of MILD occur in order but not in one group. In each of MATILDA Matilda, queen of England Matilda or Maud, 1102–67, queen of England, daughter of Henry I of England. Henry arranged a marriage for her with Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, and she was sent to Germany, betrothed, and five years later , MARIGOLDS, MISLEAD and MISELDEN (old word for 'mistletoe'), MILD can be lifted to leave another offspring which does not include any RNLs. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Other RNL offspring can similarly be lifted from DASTALLY, MITRALLY, MISDOING mis·do tr.v. mis·did , mis·done , mis·do·ing, mis·does To do wrongly or awkwardly; botch. mis·do er n. and LIVERIED liv·er·ied adj. Wearing livery: Liveried footmen stood on the palace steps. liveried Adjective wearing livery Adj. 1. . In MIASMIC mi·as·ma n. pl. mi·as·mas or mi·as·ma·ta 1. A noxious atmosphere or influence: "The family affection, the family expectations, seemed to permeate the atmosphere . . . and MIOTHERMIC, MIMIC surrounds the non-RNL words AS and OTHER respectively. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 10 Half Roman The letters in the first half of the word DIVISORS are RNLs, whilst those in its second half are not. Rearranging the letters of each half produces the RNL offspring VIDI VIDI Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Seattle, WA) and the non-RNL offspring ROSS. For more examples, see my Straight Down The Middle (2004125). 11 Roman Records Under the title Roman Numerology numerology Use of numbers to interpret a person's character or divine the future. It is based on the assertion by Pythagoras that all things can be expressed in numerical terms because they are ultimately reducible to numbers. (99059), Dave Morice listed potential records for various classes of word containing RNLs. In response to his EXTRAVEHICULAR (14), as the Longest word with 5 different RNLs used once, I offered EXTRAVENTRICULAR which has 16 letters (99104). Here are more improvements: Longest word with 6 different RNLs used once LEVOCARDIOGRAMM (14) from Stedman's MD--to replace HEXADECIMAL See hex. (mathematics) hexadecimal - (Or "hex") Base 16. A number representation using the digits 0-9, with their usual meaning, plus the letters A-F (or a-f) to represent hexadecimal digits with values of (decimal) 10 to 15. (11) All 7 different RNLs used once In the August 2003 Colloquy, I mentioned CERQUEX-DE-MAULEVRIER, a location in France--to replace Dave's coined OVERCLIMAXED First and last names with greatest ratio of RNLs In WW97055, Jed Martinez tells how he spotted the Roman name VIC VIC Victor VIC Victoria (State of Australia) VIC Victory VIC Victim (police slang) VIC Vicinity VIC Vicar VIC Vicarage VIC Virtual Information Center (APAN) VIDI, a resident of Coral Springs Coral Springs, city (1990 pop. 79,443), Broward co., SE Fla.; inc. 1963. Largely residential, it is a city that has grown rapidly along with the southern Florida and Fort Lauderdale area. The population of Coral Springs nearly doubled between 1980 and 1990. , on the local TV news--to replace IDI IDI ICC (International Cricket Conference) Development International Conference) IDI Israel Democracy Institute IDI I Doubt It IDI Initial Domain Identifier IDI In-Depth Interview AMIN Longest word with RNLs in odd positions only MALACOCYCHLA (a bird 12--nz)--to replace MOLECULE (8) 12 Silent Romans RNLs are sometimes seen but not heard, as in these words: C in MUSCLE, D in HANDSOME I in BUSINESS L in WALK M in MNEMONIC V in FIVEPENCE (pronounced 'f') X in BILLET-DOUX In RIEVAULX (Abbey), the I, L and X are all silent. B. RNLs ACCOUNT FOR THE WHOLE WORD There are only a few well-known words made exclusively of RNLs, especially of more than three letters: CIVIC, CIVIL, DILL, DIVI, LIVID, MIDI, MILD, MILL, MIMI Mimi her love for Rodolfo ended by her early death. [Ital. Opera: Puccini, La Bohème, Westerman, 348–350] See : Love, Tragic , MIMIC, VILLI villi: see digestive system. , VIVID. 1 Long Roman Words For longer examples, it is necessary to turn to lesser-known words: CILDLIC (childly child·ly adj. Childlike. Adj. 1. childly - befitting a young child; "childlike charm" childlike young, immature - (used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth; ), CIMICIC (cimicic acid) and CIMICID (pertaining to insects of the Cimicidae--Dor). DIVIDIVI, with 8 letters, would appear to be the longest RNL word which has appeared in Word Ways. It is the name of a leguminous le·gu·mi·nous adj. 1. Of, belonging to, or characteristic of the family Leguminosae, which includes peas, beans, clover, alfalfa, and other plants. 2. Resembling a legume. tree, and also the name of its pods, used in tanning and dyeing. I can now add eight more 8-letter RNL words, all locations. Five of these are tautonyms The following is a list of tautonyms: taxonomic names in which the genus and species names are the same. These are allowed in zoology, but not in botany, where the genus and species names must differ (though differences as small as one letter are permitted, as in the Jujube : DILIDILI (locality in Somalia), LIVILIVI (Bolivia), MIDI-MIDI (DR Congo), MILIMILI (Uganda), and VILIVILI (stream--Kenya); the remaining three are MILICICI (Bosnia-Herzegovina), and CIMCIMLI and XILMILLl (both in Azerbaijan). XILMILLI is also a Century word (assigning a=1, b=2 etc., its letter total = 100). However, there exist two 10-letter RNL tautonymic locations: LLIVILLIVI (a mountain in Chile) and XIMIM-XIMIM (Igarape Ximim-Ximim is a stream in Brazil). 2 Roman Transposals Perhaps the most familiar of these is MID--DIM, which is also a reversal. Longer examples are found mostly amongst locations. 5 letters These groups of 5-letter transposals each consist of three or more words. CILMI (Somalia)--CIMIL (locality in Somalia)--MILIC (Bosnia-Herzegovina) DIVIL--DIVLI (Afghanistan)--LIVID DIVCI (Yugoslavia)--DIVIC (ridge in Yugoslavia)--VIDIC (Croatia) LIVIL (Ginny Livil is a resident of California)--LIVLI (stream--Peru)--VILIL (Guatemala)--VILLI (part of the small intestine small intestine Long, narrow, convoluted tube in which most digestion takes place. It extends 22–25 ft (6.7–7.6 m), from the stomach to the large intestine. ; Villi Villi is a mountain in Bolivia) DIDIM (stream--Cameroon)--IDMID (mt.--Lebanon)--IMDID (Timmay al Imdid--Egypt)--MIDDI CIVIL--CIVLI (Turkey)--VICLI (Vietnam)--VILCI (Vilci Izvor--Bulgaria)--VILIC (Vilic Selo--Croatia) DILDI (Ethiopia)--DILID--IDDIL (Nigeria)--IDLID (Admin. district--Syria)--LIDDI (stream--Cameroon) ILLIM (hill in Kenya)--IMLIL (Morocco)--LILIM (island in Papua NG)--LIMLI (Turkey)--LLIMI (Llimi Kwan--wadi in Egypt)--MILLI DILIM (Kirk Dilim Liman--bay in Turkey)--DILMI (Sidi Dilmi--shrine in Algeria)--DIMIL (stream--Papua NG)--DLIMI (El Bachir Dlimi--Morocco)--IDLIM (pond--Sudan)--LIMDI (India)--MIDIL--MILDI (Cameroon) 6 letters Here are some pairs of 6-letter transposals. CILCIM (Turkey)--MILCIC (Croatia) CILICI (Bosnia-Herzegovina)--ILICIC DIMICI (Yugoslavia)--IMIDIC DIMILI (Turkey)--MILIDI (wadi--Algeria) DIVICI--VIDICI (both Bosnia-Herzegovina) ILLILI (Guinea)--LILLII (rasp) VILCII (wadi--Egypt)--VILICI VILIVI (stream--Mozambique)--VIVILI (Yugoslavia) (Fiji) The palindromic pal·in·dro·mic adj. Relapsing; recurring. DIVVID (edd) transposes to the tautonymic VIDVID (Ukraine) This group of 3 transposals consists of two tautonyms and a palindrome. LIMLIM (wadi--Egypt)--MILMIL (stream--Ecuador)--MILLIM (F&W) 7 letters DILIMLI (Turkey)--MIDILLI (island--Greece) 8 letters LIVILIVI (Bolivia)--VILIVILI (stream--Kenya) 3 Roman Palindromes 6 letters DIVVID (edd), ILIILI (a settlement in Samoa), IVIIVI ('small hills'--Mangareva), MILLIM (F&W), MIMMIM (a firm in Toronto) 7 letters CILDLIC (childly); ILLILLI ('disease'--Choctaw), IMILIMI (a school in Kenya) 4 Roman Tautonyms 6 letters DILDIL (Eritrea), LICLIC (spur--Peru), MVIMVI (stream--Gabon), LIMLIM (wadi--Egypt), MILMIL (stream--Ecuador) and VIDVID (Ukraine) 8 letters DIVIDIVI, DILIDILI, LIVILIVI, MIDI-MIDI, MILIMILI, and VILIVILI. For these and the 10-letter LLIVILLIVI and XIMIM-XIMIM see 'Long Roman Words' (1. above). 5 Roman Reversals These RNL words make a different RNL word when read backwards. The sources of the asterisked* words can be found in the list of Miami words (6. below).
DILDI*--IDLID* IDDIL (Nigeria)--LIDDI
(stream--Cameroon) ILLIL*--LILLI*
LIVID--DIVIL MILLI--ILLIM (hill--Kenya)
LIMLIM (wadi--Egypt)--MILMIL (stream--Ecuador)
6 Roman Miami Words A Miami word is one with the pattern 12?12, where ? can be any letter of the alphabet (see Miami Words 2000014). CICCI Bosnia-Herzegovina CIVCI Bosnia-Herzegovina DIDDI river--Nigeria DILDI Ethiopia IDLID Admin. Dist.--Syria IDMID mountain-Lebanon ILLIL cove--Palau LICLI likely LIMLI Turkey LLILL old Welsh word for a goat LILLI a girl's name LIVLI stream--Peru MIMMI stream-- New Zealand IMVI farm--Zimbabwe 7 Roman Triangle Words The letters of the RNL words DIDDIM and ILICIC occur in the ratio 3:2:1. When arranged with like letters on the same row they make triangles. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 8 Roman Word Squares The words of both the LIXI and MILLI squares below can be read in row order, from L to R, to produce a palindromic sequence a palindrome is a word that is the same forward as it is backward such as the word racecar, the name Otto, or the saying attributed to Napoleon "Able was I ere I saw Elba". of letters: LIXI XILI ILIX IXIL and MILLI ILLIL LLILL LILLI ILLIM respectively. Having an odd number of rows, the MILLI square also produces a palindromic letter sequence when rows 2 and 4 are read from R to L: MILLI LILLI LLILL ILLIL ILLIM. The VIDI square is not palindromic but it incorporates all the RNLs except C. Returning to the LIXI square, each word is composed of the letters I, I, L and X. Assigning a=1, b=2 etc., the letter total of each word divided by the number of letters 54/4 = 13.5. Constructed of 4 balanced words, this a balanced square as well as a palindromic one.
L I X I (China) M I L L I V I D I
X I L I (Cape in Greece) I L L I L I X I L
I L I X (llex-oak) L L I L L D I V I
I X I L L I L L I I L I M (Nigeria)
I L L I M
9 Roman Pyramid This RNL pyramid is constructed wholly from the names of locations.
M M stream and M lagoon in Australia
M I stream in Central African Republic
L I M stream in Bosnia-Herzegovina
I M L I railroad station in India
M I L I C mountain in Hungary
C I L C I M Turkey
M I L C I C I Croatia
C I M C I M L I Azerbaijan
10 Roman Word Ladder This ladder of 6-1etter locations has side branches (shown to the left of the main ladder):
MILIMI blowhole in Chad
MILIDI wadi in Algeria
Yugoslavia MICICI MILICI Italy
CILICI Bosnia-Herzegovina
CIMICI Bosnia-Herzegovina
CICICI Croatia
VICICI Croatia
VIDICI locality in Yugoslavia
stream in Mozambique VILIVI VILICI Bosnia-Herzegovina
creek in Papua NG LILILI LILICI Bosnia-Herzegovina
Brazil XILILI DILICI Bosnia-Herzegovina
DIVICI Romania
stream in Malawi DIDIDI DIDICI Yugoslavia
DIMICI Bosnia-Herzegovina
DIMILI Turkey
11 Roman Shifts By shifting the letters of certain words a given number of steps along the alphabet (wrapping round from Z to A), it is possible to convert words made with RNLs into shift words which contain no RNLs. The RNLs are given their alphabetical values (C = 3, D = 4 etc.). DID + 12 = PUP MID + 12 = YUP ILL + 19 = BEE VIM (Vendor Independent Messaging Interface) A programming interface developed by Lotus, Novell, IBM and others. In order to enable an application to send and receive mail over a VIM-compliant messaging system such as cc:Mail, programmers write to the VIM interface. +18 = NAE nae adv. Scots 1. No. 2. Not. (north 'no') VIV VIV Vortex Induced Vibration VIV Variable Inlet Vane VIV Verbal Information Verification + 6 = BOB/VIV + 12 = HUH/VIV + 18 = NAN IXIL + 7 = PEPS In WW99290, Dave Morice pointed out that "... the letters in THREE shift four steps along the alphabet to XLVII, the Roman numeral for 47. It's the only number that does this kind of shift ..." (a number to number shift). This prompted me to try shifting groups of RNLs which are bona fide [Latin, In good faith.] Honest; genuine; actual; authentic; acting without the intention of defrauding. A bona fide purchaser is one who purchases property for a valuable consideration that is inducement for entering into a contract and without suspicion of being RNs rather than RNL words. The RNLs are given their alphabetical values. MDV +1 =NEW DCL + 2 = FEN MXV + 3 = PAY MVI + 5 = RAN LIV + 6 = ROB CXXI + 7 = JEEP LXXVI + 9 = UGGER CDLI + 11 = NOWT DCCV+ 12 = POOH MCL + 15 = BRA CDI + 16 = STY CXX+ 17 = TOO XCV + 18 = PUN DLII + 19 = WEBB CIX + 22 = YET MDCC + 23 = JAZZ DCCV + 24 = BAAT The same length shift can be applied to different RNs to produce different words. For example, DCC (1) (Direct Cable Connection) A Windows 95/98 feature that allows PCs to be cabled together for data transfer. DCC actually sets up a network connection between the two machines. + 24 = BAA, DCI (Display Control Interface) An Intel/Microsoft programming interface for full-motion video and games in Windows. It allowed applications to take advantage of video accelerator features built into the display adapter. + 24 = BAG whilst DCV DCV Demand Controlled Ventilation (HVAC) DCV Directional Control Valve DCV Direct Current Volts DCV Defense Combat Value DCV Dress Code Violation DCV Document Control Voucher (banking & finance) + 24 = BAT. In this context, a shift length of 22 seems to be particularly productive. Below, 3 letters are added, one at a time, and then 3 letters subtracted, again one at a time,
L I + 22 = HE
X L I + 22 = THE
X L I I + 22 = THEE
X L V I I + 22 = THREE
X V I I + 22 = TREE
X I I + 22 = TEE
X I + 22 = TE
The letters of some RNL words can be shifted along the alphabet and the resulting letters rearranged to form shiftgrams which contain no RNLs. MIX + 7 (TPE TPE Thermoplastic Elastomer TPE Terminal de Paiement Electronique (French) TPE Total Power Exchange TPE Twisted Pair Ethernet TPE Tampines Expressway (Singapore) TPE Therapeutic Plasma Exchange ) = PET/MIX + 18 (EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) A protocol that acts as a framework and transport for other authentication protocols. EAP uses its own start and end messages, but then carries any number of third-party messages between the client (supplicant) and access control ) = PEA DIMID + 23 (AFJFA) = JAFFA VIVID + 22 (REREZ) = REZER CIVIL + 22 (YEREH) = HEYER (author Georgette Heyer Georgette Heyer (pronounced "hair") (16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974) was an English Historical romance and detective fiction novelist. Her first novel, The Black Moth ) NUMERICAL RNL WORDPLAY The RNLs which appear below are given their RN values, either as single-letter RNs (I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, C = 100, D = 500, M = 1000) or as multi-letter RNs (IV = 4, CLX (library, graphics) CLX - The Common Lisp library providing a low-level interface to the X Window System, equivalent to Xlib. Graphics toolkits can be built on top of CLX, e.g. McCLIM, Garnet, CLUE and CLIO. = 660 etc.) 1 Orderly RNs Each RNL in these words is treated as a single-letter RN, even when two or more occur adjacently. Each RN is greater in value than the RN which precedes it in the word: LACKEYDOM, IVANXOUYLENG (mountain in Laos), XABAALCAD (wadi in Somalia), and EVREUX-LE-COUDRAY (France) which has 5 of the 7 single-letter RNs. By way of contrast, the value of each RN in these words is less than that of the RN which precedes it. Each word has 5 of the 7 single-letter RNs: MEGADACTYLIA (St), MACKELVIE, DECALVATION 2 Roman Numeral Transformations This is the title of a Kickshaws Kick´shaws` n. 1. Something fantastical; any trifling, trumpery thing; a toy. Art thou good at these kickshawses! - Shak. 2. A fancy dish; a tidbit; a delicacy. Some pigeons, . . . item by Dave Morice which appeared in the August 1990 issue of Word Ways. In his words "Pick a Roman Numeral, any Roman Numeral, and replace the 'letters' by their positional values in the English alphabet The modern English alphabet consists of the 26 letters[1] of the Latin alphabet: Majuscule Forms (also called uppercase or capital letters) A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Minuscule Forms (also called . Add those values, and put the sum back into Roman Numeral form (e.g. VI = 22+9 = 31 = XXXI). Repeat the process until a previous sum appears". Beginning with a number between 1 and 100, Dave found that the longest sequence began with the number 77 and used sixteen different numbers in total before hitting on 30 for the second time: 77/LXXVII=100/C=3/111=27/XXVII=88/LXXXVIII=133/CXXXIII=102/CII=21/XXI= 57/LVII=52/LII=30*/XXX=72/LXXII=78/LXXVIII=109/CIX=36/XXXVI=103/CIII (=30* for the second time). For more of Dave's item, see 90178. 3 Palindromic Roman Sandwiches Replacing in the same way as above can be used to achieve a different end. Start off with the numerical palindrome 11. Convert it into a RN--XI. Now add the alphabetical values of X and I (24+9) and, bingo, another numerical palindrome (33) is the result! Here are more: 22 = XXII = 66 33 = XXXIII = 99 939 = CMXXXIX = 121 1001 = MI = 22 2002 = MMII = 44 2882 = MMDCCCLXXXII = 141 3003 = MMMIII = 66 4554 = MMMMDLIV = 99 5225 = MMMMMCCXXV = 141 Replacing RNs with non-RNLs A single-letter, or multi-letter, RN in a word is replaced by one or more non-RNLs having a total alphabetical value (a=1, b=2 etc.) equal to value of the RN (I = 1, V = 5 etc.). The numbers show the values of the RNs. Single-letter RN replaced by a single non-RNL Only words which involve I (1 = A), V (5 = E) or X (10 = J) are eligible, because the RN values of L (50), C (100), D (500) and M (1000) each exceed 26. 1 IRE=ARE 5 VAT=EAT; SVEN=SEEN 10 SAX=SAJ (the Indian laurel) Single-letter RN replaced by more than one non-RNL This is not possible with the RN I (1) because it is represented only by the single letter A. 5 RE V=REBAB For Afghan Rubab, see . The rebab , Arabic الرباب or رباب (also rebap, rabab, rebeb, rababah, al-rababa (a plucked or bowed stringed instrument stringed instrument, any musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibrating strings. Those whose strings are plucked with the finger or a plectrum include the balalaika, banjo, guitar, harp, lute, mandolin, zither, the sitar of India and Pakistan, the koto of of Arabian origin) 10 RAX RAX Random Access XML (Tarari) RAX Remote Agent Experiment RAX Rural Automatic Exchange (racks)=RABH (f. rabbi) 50 LONER loner Psychiatry A single young man estranged from society and family, who suffers from psychogenic pain, and tends to live 'on the edge', vacillating between aggression and depression; loners often have unrealistic goals, but are unable to work towards those goals =SPOONER 100 COR=STRESSOR Multi-letter RN replaced by a single non-RNL Not possible with RNs III, IV or IX because they would have to be replaced by the other RNs C, D and I respectively (see 5. 'Replacing RNs with a single RNL') 2 HAWAII = HAWAB (mt. in Yemen) 6 VIEW = FEW 7 SHARVII (Bulgaria) = SHARG (Azerbaijan) 11 WAXIER = WAKER 14 BUXIVARA (India) = BUNARA (spring--Boznia-Herzegovina) 15 BOX-VAN = BOOAN 16 BOXVIKE Vette (hill--Sweden) = BOPKE (hill--Zimbabwe) 19 AXIXA (Brazil) = ASA (King of Judah-Bible) 20 EXXON = ETON 21 OXXIN (Scots. 'oxxen') = OUUN (own) Multi-letter RN replaced by more than one non-RNL
2 BII (buy) = BAA 3 WAI'II (Papua NG)=WABA
(Burma)
4 WAIVER = WABBER (Web2) 6 VIGER (vigour) = EAGER
7 SHARVII = SHAREB Mah (Iran) 9 SIX = SHA (a goat-deer)
11 XISTER (for scraping bones) = FESTER 12 XIIS (Somalia) = BEES
14 TXIVA (Angola) =TAGFA (Morocco) 15 BOX-VAN = BOHEBAN
(stream--Ivory Coast)
16 SEXVIR (f. sexvirate, a body of six colleagues) = SEKER (sicker)
19 AXIXA (Brazil) = ABOBA (Cameroon) 20 EXXON = EASON (a surname)
21 OXXIN (Scots. 'oxxen') = OTAN (see Orang Otang 1802 cit.)
40 AXLE = ABRASE
41 AXLIR (a hill in Iceland) = AUGHER (collop 1641 cir.--Siege of
Augher)
51 SLIT = SOUGHT 54 LIVER = POWER
56 PELVIS = PEANUTS 59 FELIX = FEASTS (Felix
feasts!)
91 EXCITE = EROSTRATE (Botanical: not having a beak)
110 WACXS (wax) = WATERWORKS 150 CLAN = UNPYTHAGOREAN
151 CLINE = THROUGH-STONE (a horizontal grave-stone over a tomb)
Two replacements in the same word 1 + 5 KIRVE (to undercut a seam in coal-mining) = KAREE (a S. African tree) 6 + 50 VIAL = FAZES 10 + 50 AXEL = AJERUK (Uganda) 5 Replacing RNs with a single RNL 3 WAI'II (Papua NG) = WAC WAC (Women's Army Corps), U.S. army organization created (1942) during World War II to enlist women as auxiliaries for noncombatant duty in the U.S. army. Before 1943 it was known as the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC). Its first director was Oveta Culp Hobby. (woke) 4 WAIVE = WADE 9 TWIXT twixt also 'twixt prep. Betwixt. = TWIT 6 Roman Magic In WW92051, Lee Sallows Sallows is a fell in the English Lake District, rising between the valleys of Kentmere and Troutbeck. It is the highest point in the upland area to the south of Garburn Pass, variously termed Kentmere Park and Applethwaite Common on Ordnance Survey maps. offered the following magic square made from number words. The sums of the numbers are the same (216) for each row, each column and the two diagonals. The sums of the RNs within the words are also the same 05) for each row, column and diagonal. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Again in 92051, Dave Morice pointed out that, not only do the consecutive numbers FIVE, SIX and SEVEN add to 18, but the RNs contained within them also add to 18 (IV + IX + V). No other sequence of consecutive numbers does this but Dave found a non-consecutive example: ELEVEN + SEVENTEEN + THIRTY-THREE = 61 both ways (LV + V + 1). I found TWELVE + SEVENTEEN + THIRTY-TWO which also = 61 both ways, and four examples which use the minus sign, each = 8 both ways. SIXTEEN--EIGHT SIXTY--FIFTY-TWO SIXTY-ONE--FIFTY-THREE SIXTY-TWO--FIFTY-FOUR These two examples, which also use the minus sign, each = 3 both ways. EIGHTY-SEVEN--EIGHTY-FOUR NINETY-SEVEN--NINETY-FOUR 7 Roman Millennium In The Roman Centurion (91182), Dave Morice mined Webster's Second Edition to find words which embody the one hundred Roman Numerals from 1 (I) to 100 (C). The fifty words he offered do not contain any extraneous RNLs. For reference, here is Dave's list:
1 IT 2 IBIS 3 INHIBIT 4 GIVE 5 EVE
6 VINE 7 VITRIFY 8 VITIATION 9 NIX 10 OX
11 EXIT 12 EXIGUITY 13 EXHI- 14 EXPENSIVE 15 EXTRO-
BITION VERT
16 EXUVIATE 17 EXU- 19 EXTISPEX 20 EXO- 21 EXO-
VIATION NARTHEX TOXIN
40 AXLE 41 EXPLOSION 42 EXPLOI-
TATION 44 EXPLETIVE 45 EXOLVE
46 EXOLVING 49 SILK* 50 LAB 51 LIP 52 LIAISON
53 LITIGATION 54 LIVE 55 LOVE 56 LEVITY 57 LEVINING
58 LOVE-
INSPIRING 59 HELIX 60 LOX 61 LUXATION 62 LUXURIA-
TION
64 LUXIVE 90 EXCEPT 91 EXCITE 92 EXCIPIENT 94 EXCE-
SSIVE
95 EXCURVATE 96 EXCA- 97 EXCAVA-
VATION TIONIST 99 HICK* 100 CAB
The words SILK and HICK (above*) use IL for 49 and IC for 99 whereas these values should be represented by XLIX and XCIX (see below). By exploring beyond Webster's Second, I managed to fill 12 of the 50+2 gaps:
22 XUXIAOWEI (China) 27 XAXAVITI (mt.-S.Africa) 30 XAAXKAX (Mexico)
43 TEXTLINGUISTIK 49 EXPLETRLX 63 LGAXETGITINAI
(Hod)
65 LEXVA (Hod) 66 LAXVIKEN (Sweden) 69 LUXURIEUX
70 LEXXUNA 93 EXCURSIONIZING 99 EXECUTRIX
(Ta' Lexxuna--a locality in Malta)
Extending this exercise, I searched for words embodying the RN values 101 (CI) to 1000 (M).
101 CHIP 102 PACIFIST 103 ACQUISITION
104 CARNIVORE 105 SCURVY 106 CAVITY
107 CHAUVINIST 108 CONVERSATIONIZING 109 CONFIX
110 COX 111 COAXING 112 COEXISTING
114 CONNEXIVE 115 CUXHAVEN 116 CESNY-AUX-VIGNES
(France)
119 CAXANIX (Hod) 120 CCOXXS 121 CAXUXI (Mexico)
140 CAXALA (Angola) 141 TCEXULIN (Hod) 145 CHAUX-LEZ-PASSAVANT
(France)
150 CALF 151 NUCLEI 152 CLIPPING
153 COALITIONING 154 CULTIVATE 155 ENCLAVE
156 CLEAVING 157 CALVINIST 158 CALVINIZING
159 SPECULATRIX 160 SCOLEX 161 CATALEXIS
190 CO-EXECUTOR 191 COXSACKIE 196 RESCUE-EXCAVATIONS
199 CO-EXECUTRIX 200 CUCKOO
201 ACACIA 202 ZUCCHINI 203 CONSCRIPTIONIST
204 CONCEIVE 205 CONCAVE 206 CONCAVITY
207 CONCAVITIES 209 CORRECTRIX 210 CACHEXY
211 CACOXENITE 212 SACROCOXITIS
(Dor) 240 COCARBOXYLASE
241 SACROCOXALGIA (Dor) 250 ACCELERATE 251 OCCLUSION
252 CYCLIZINE 254 OCCLUSIVE 255 CONCLAVE
256 CONCLAVIST 257 CRYPTOCALVINIST 259 BUCCALATRIX
260 CYCLOHEXANE 261 CYCLOHEXATRIENES 290 COCOAXCO (Mexico)
300 COCKROACH
301 COCCI 302 COCCININ 303 COCTOPRECIPITIN
(Web2)
304 CONCOCTIVE 305 CRECY-COUVE
(France) 306 CACCAJAV'RI
(lake-Norway)
309 COCCIX 310 COCCYX 340 CHACHACUAXTLE
(Mexico)
350 COCCAL 351 COCCOLITE 352 COCA-COLONIZATION
400 CAD
401 CREDIT 402 CONDITION 403 CONDITIONING
404 SCREWDRIVER 405 CADAVER 406 CADAVERIZE
407 CADAVERIZING 409 COADJUTRLX 410 CARDEX
411 ARCHRODEXTRIN 420 CADOXTON-JUXTA-NEATH (a Welsh village)
450 CREDULOUS 451 CHANDELIER 452 SCANDALISING
454 COD-LIVER 455 ZRCADLOVA (Zrcadlova Hut'--Czechoslovakia)
456 CHUYDELEYEVSKIY (Russia) 459 CHADALEIX (France)
460 CANDLEWAX 461 CANDLEWAXING 500 WORD
501 ADHESION 502 DEFINITE 503 DIGITIZE
504 ADDOPTLVE 505 ADVENT 506 ADVISE
507 ADVISING 508 DEVIATIONIST 509 ADJUTRLX
510 DESEX 511 DEOXYGENATION 512 DEOXYGENISING
513 DEXTROPOSITIONING 515 HYDROXYNERVONE
(St) 516 DEOXYVIRUS (St)
519 DEXTROSTIX 520 ADNEXOPEXY 521 DEXTROTHYROXINE
540 DEXTRAL 541 DEXTRALISE 542 DESEXUALISATION
545 HYDROXYPHENYLPYRUVATE (Dor) 550 YODEL
551 ADRENALIN 552 BOWDLERIZING 553 DELATINIZATION
554 DELIVER 555 DELVE 556 DELUVIAN
557 DELVINAKION 559 SPONDULIX 560 QUADRUPLEX
561 DEFLEXION 562 DEFLEXIONIZE 563 DEFLEXIONIZATION
564 DEFLUXIVE 590 DEOXYCORTONE 591 DE-EXCITE
592 DE-EXCITATION 595 DEEP-EXTRA-COVER 600 DUCT
601 ABDUCTION 602 DECISION 603 DESCRIPTIONIST
604 ADJECTIVE 605 UNDERCOVER 606 DECURVATION
607 ZEDA-CHKVISHI (Georgia) 609 DOCTRIX
610 ENDOCORTEX 611 HARDECOURT-AUX-BOIS (France)
640 DECARBOXYLASE 641 DECONTEXTUALISE 642 DECARBOXYLIZATION
650 DACTYL 651 DECENTRALISE 652 DECLASSIFIES
653 DECENTRALISATIONIST 654 DECLARATIVE 655 DECALVANT
656 DECALVATION 657 DECALVINIZE 658 DECALVINIZATION
659 DECLINAX 660 HYDROCALYX 662 DUCLOUXII (a plant
variety)
700 DECOCT
701 DECOCTION 702 DECAPACITATION 703 DACRYOSCINTI-
GRAPHING(St)
704 DECONSTRUCTIVE 705 DUCHCOV (Czechosl.)707 DECCAVISION
709 ARRENTES-DE-CORCIEUX (France) 711 HYDROCACHEXIA
750 DRACUNCULAR 751 HYDROCYCLIST 752 DRACUNCULIASIS
800 DECRESCENCE
801 DYSCRECCION 850 DECACYCLE 900 SCAMP
901 COMBINE 902 CHAMPIONSHIP 903 COMPANIONIZING
904 COMBATIVE 905 COUNTERMOVE 906 CENTUMVIRATE
907 CENTUMVIRI 909 CHAMOIX 910 CHEMOTAXES
911 CHEMOTAXIS 920 CAMAXAXE 940 CHROMOXYLOGRAPH
941 CHEMEXFOLIATE 942 CHEMEXFOLIATION 950 CAMEL
951 CARAMELISE 952 CARAMELISING 953 COSMOPOLANIZATION
954 COMPULSIVE 955 CHAMPLEVE 956 CYTOMEGALOVIRUS
(St)
957 CYTOMEGALOVIURIA (Dor) 959 CONTEMPLATRLX
960 COMPLEX 961 COMPLEXITY 962 COMPLEXIFIES
964 COMPLEXIVE 1000 ME
ROMAN REMAINS It only remains for me to remind readers that 666, the Number of the Beast is represented by six of the seven different RNs in descending order of their RN values--DCLXVI. The year 1666, on the other hand, uses all seven RNs, once, again in descending value order--MDCLXVI. Finally, the initial RN in the word CENTURY describes the whole word, making the rest of the word redundant; and 1 have it on good authority that the plant DILL has been seen growing over here in the nooks and crannies Noun 1. nooks and crannies - something remote; "he explored every nook and cranny of science" nook and cranny detail, item, point - an isolated fact that is considered separately from the whole; "several of the details are similar"; "a point of information" of HADRIANS WALL. FURTHER READING Topics which I have not covered not covered Health care adjective Referring to a procedure, test or other health service to which a policy holder or insurance beneficiary is not entitled under the terms of the policy or payment system–eg, Medicare. Cf Covered. include Chronograms (77214, 82143 and a variety of non-WW sources), Presidential Roman Numerals (2003141), Roman Windows (2003141, 2003221), 9-11 in Roman Numerals (2003138), Roman Numeral Cars (2000163), Romantic Squares (2003297). NON-OED REFERENCES ats = American Thesaurus of Slang by Berry and van den Bark, 1953 dfpf = A Dictionary of the Flowering Plants plants which have stamens and pistils, and produce true seeds; phenogamous plants; - distinguished from See also: Flowering and Ferns by J.C Willis, CUP 1966 Dor = Dorland's Medical Dictionary Dorland's is the brand name of several different medical dictionaries and ancillary products, chiefly Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary (currently in its 31st edition) and Dorland's Pocket Medical Dictionary (currently in its 27th edition). edd = English Dialect Dictionary English Dialect Dictionary (EDD) is a dictionary of English language dialects, compiled by Joseph Wright. The English dialect dictionary, being the complete vocabulary of all dialect words still in use, or known to have been in use during the last F&W = Funk & Wagnall gg = Genera Graminum (Grasses of the World) by W.D. Clayton & S.A. Penvoize Hod = Handbook of American Indians American Indians: see Americas, antiquity and prehistory of the; Natives, Middle American; Natives, North American; Natives, South American. , edited by F.W. Hodge, 1907 msp = A World List of Mammalian Species by G.B. Corbet & J.E. Hill, 1991 nz = Nomenclator no·men·cla·tor n. One who assigns names, as in scientific classification. [Latin n  mencl Zoologicus
rt = Roget's Thesaurus Roget's Thesaurus is a widely-used English thesaurus, created by Dr. Peter Mark Roget (1779–1869) in 1805 and was released to the public on 29 April, 1852. The original edition had 15,000 words, and each new edition has been larger. St = Stedman's Medical Dictionary Web2 = Webster's Second Edition SUSAN THORPE Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, England thorpeds@hotmail.com |
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