Make Your Point > Archived Issues > NOMADIC

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connect this word to others: When I think about the word nomadic, it reminds me of Alice Merton's song "No Roots."    "I build a home and wait for someone to tear it down    Then pack it up in boxes, head for the next town running    'Cause I've got memories and travel like gypsies in the night    And a thousand times I've seen this road, a thousand times    I've got no roots, but my home was never on the ground..." If you're nomadic by choice, it might be because you have a powerful desire to travel, a desire known as w___er___t-- a bubbly word that reminds me of The B-52's bubbly song "Roam."    "Roam if you want to    Roam around the world    Roam if you want to    Without wings, without wheels..." (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "NOMADIC" We can trace this word back to the Greek nomas, meaning "roving" or "wandering." A nomad is a person with no permanent home who lives by roaming from place to place. So, nomadic people live by roaming from place to place rather than living in one spot. (And nomadic things are those that involve roaming from place to place.) Figuratively, nomadic people and things seem to roam from place to place. Pronunciation: no MAD ick Part of speech: Adjective: "their nomadic lifestyle," "their habits are nomadic." Other common forms: nomad(s) How to use it:  Even when you use it generally or figuratively, this word tends to have a tone that's dry, scholarly, and historical. That's probably because we most often use it in dry, scholarly, historical texts: "nomadic clans," "nomadic tribes," "nomadic herders," "the nomatic baboons." But to get more general and figurative, we can talk about nomadic people and families, nomadic lives and lifestyles, nomadic habits and tendencies, nomadic journeys and explorations, etc. examples: Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Stuart Emmrich described the five months he spent hopping from one AirBnB to another on a "nomadic journey" to find the right neighborhood to live in. "The American is nomadic in religion, in ideas, in morals, and leaves his faith and opinions with as much indifference as the house in which he was born."    — James Russell Lowell, Fireside Travels, 1864 has this page helped you understand "nomadic"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "nomadic" without saying "migratory" or "drifting around." try it out: Josée Parsons and her husband are long-term adventure travelers. She told BBC News: "A minimalist nomadic lifestyle filled with adventures is a lot cheaper than a conventional life in the US or Canada." Talk about why her nomadic lifestyle does or doesn't appeal to you. If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first. This month, we're playing Name Those Synonyms! We're enjoying the gracefully written, ultra-authoritative explanations in Funk & Wagnalls Standard Handbook of Synonyms, Antonyms, and Prepositions. In each issue, check out the passage from the book, and see if you can figure out which synonyms are being distinguished. From the previous issue: What two synonyms (<1> and <2>) does the Handbook distinguish below? (They are distinguished first from each other, then distinguished from the words "amusements," "pastimes," and "diversions.") "<1> and <2> imply thought and mental occupation, though in an agreeable, refreshing way; they are therefore words of a high order. <1>, apart from its special senses of a public performance or a social party, and predominantly even there, is used of somewhat mirthful mental delight; <2> may, and usually does, combine the mental with the physical. Amusement and pastime are nearly equivalent, the latter probably the lighter word; many diversions may be pastimes which we should hardly dignify by the name of amusements." Answers: <1> is "entertainment." <2> is "recreation." Try this today: What two synonyms (<1> and <2>) does the Handbook distinguish below?  "<1> is 'off-ward,' turned the wrong way; it was anciently used of a back-handed or left-handed blow in battle, of squinting eyes, etc. <2>, on the other hand, signifies benumbed, stiffened with cold; this is the original meaning of <2> fingers, <2> limbs. Thus, <1> primarily refers to action, <2> to condition. A tool, a vehicle, or the human frame may be <2> in shape or build, <1> in motion. The <2> man is almost of necessity <1>, but the <1> man may not be naturally <2>. The finest untrained colt is <1> in harness; a horse that is <2> in build can never be trained out of <1>ness. A/an <1> statement has an uncomfortable, and perhaps recoiling, force; a statement that contains ill-assorted and incongruous material in ill-chosen language is <2>. We speak of a/an <1> predicament, a/an <1> scrape. A/an <1> excuse commonly reflects on the one who offers it. We say the admitted facts have a/an <1> appearance. In none of these cases could <2> be used. <2> is, however, applied to movements that seem as unsuitable as those of benumbed and stiffened limbs. A dancing bear is both <2> and <1>." Bonus challenge: Recall the fine differences between "celebrate" and "commemorate." You can view the answer in this issue. review this word: 1. The opposite of NOMADIC is A. SETTLED. B. DISPUTED. C. RELEGATED. 2. According to its website, Nomadic Coffee was founded by Thomas Landry, who _____. (Unrelatedly, each bag of coffee includes a poem.) A. communicates with coffee plants through interpretive dance B. hitchhiked from Massachusetts to a coffee farm in Nicaragua C. aims to be the world's fastest unicyclist, with help from all that caffeine 1. A 2. B a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.