Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Nineteen Notable Newtonians Nominate Nereid


ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. This fabulous meme was created and hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt who hails from Great Britain. Over time, others have joined in to help host this wonderful and informative meme. We are now in our ELEVENTH round with 'Captain Roger' at the helm! Some of the participants have been with this from the very first round; others have joined in along the way. Each week we are taken across the globe to see the varied and exciting contributions people have taken the time to discover and capture. We start with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. This week's letter is, "N".

Napier's Bones

 (image from Jim's Math and Science: Mathematics and Science Projects for High School Students)

A device invented by John Napier, consisting of a set of square rods of bone, ivory, or the like, numbered as pictured here, and used in multiplication and division.

Hmmmm...I still don't think my math would've been any better with these! Have any of you used this device? I haven't even seen one in my entire life, but should I run in to one, at least I'll know what it is called.

Nones






Nones, or the Ninth Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said around 3 p.m. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the ninth hour of the day after dawn (from Wikipedia).

Based on this definition, I would surmise that dawn is at 6 am.


Novena




Novena (again, from Wikipedia):  (from Latin: Novem, meaning Nine) is an institutional act of religious devotion in the Roman Catholic Church, often consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days in belief of obtaining special intercessory graces.


Novenary



Novenary. Of, or pertaining to, the number 9.


Novene


From the Wikionary: Relating to, or dependent on, the number nine; novenary. They got this definition from a 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary.


Novem

(Image from grabcasinobonus site)

An old game of dice in which the principle throws were nine and five.

13 comments:

Leslie: said...

Gee, a lot of stuff I've never heard of today. But fascinating, though! Have a nice day, Paula!

Leslie
abcw team

Meryl said...

Loved the post and I agree, those bones look like more trouble than help...plus as an educator I have realized that there are just things we HAVE to memorize in order to move on. Multiplication is one of those chores...

Great N's ...have a great week.

Sylvia K said...

Fun, different words for the N Day and you do find the great ones, Paula!! I love them! Hope your week is going well!!

photowannabe said...

the math bones look complicated to me. Math isn't my favorite subject so these look like more of a determent than a help.
Love the new words and explanations for words I have heard most of my life.
It's always fascinating visiting your blog.

Roger Owen Green said...

MATH - the bones and the dice - LOVE 'em! Seriously.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Joy said...

No I've never seen Napier's Bones either. They remind me of those slide rules. Hurray for the modern day calculator.

Hildred said...

What interesting choices for N, - all of them very informative, and some that are new to me.

Carver said...

I don't see how you do it. You always have such creative posts and great words for each and every letter. Carver, ABC Wed. Team

Chubskulit Rose said...

Very neat N, the novena reminds me of my childhood because my paternal grandparents used to do that with us.

Nuggets of Wisdom
Rose, ABC Wednesday

J.Rylie.C said...

The Napier's Bones looks very neat!

Groove Kid Nation

Reader Wil said...

Very interesting, Paula! I think the Napier's bones are difficult and something I wouldn't use for my arithmetics.
Thank you for all the new things you showed us today. You always put so much effort in creating your posts! Thank you.
Thanks also for your comment. Yes The Netherlands is a seafaring country. My father was a sailor, a chief engineer on board of a merchant ship. During the war he sailed in convoy with the other allied ships. They were in constant danger of u-boats of either the Germans or the Japanese.
The area where I live is well known for its shipbuilding yards, for our village lies near the river.

carol l mckenna said...

Very informative post ~ lovely photos ~ (A Creative Harbor)

A Cuban In London said...

May I add something else to your beautiful post? Novena in Spanish also refers to Beethoven's 9th symphony, simply called "La Novena". Loved these Wednesday posts. Keep them coming! :-)

Greetings from London.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin