In grammar, a diminutive is a word having a special affix which conveys the idea of littleness, and all other ideas connected with this, as tenderness, affection, contempt, etc. The opposite of diminutive is augmentative. In Latin, diminutives almost always ended in lus, la, or lum; as Tulliola, meum corculum, little Tullia, my dear or little heart; homunculus, a manikin. The Italian is particularly rich in diminutives and augmentatives, such compound diminutives as fratellinucciettinetto (a diminutive of frate, brother) being sometimes employed. Among English diminutive affixes are kin, as in manikin, a little man: pipkin, a little pipe: ling, as in gosling, a little goose; darling, that is, dearling, or little dear; and et, as in pocket, from poke, a bag or pouch; tablet, a little table. Diminutives are also formed, in colloquial and familiar language, by adding y or ie to the names, as Charley, Mousie, etc. Research Diminutive
The term sacred describes something or someone considered especially dear to a deity, or which is dedicated to a religious purpose and as a result deserving veneration or respect. Research Sacred
Teleology is the explanation by reference to ends, purposes, or function, as in, 'Why do you have such big teeth, Grandmama?' - 'All the better to eat you with, my dear!' Aristotle considered teleological explanations to be a particularly illuminating kind of causal explanation, and contrasted them with explanations citing efficient causes, the prior state of affairs that brings something about. In Aristotle the value of teleological explanations rests on his metaphysical doctrine of forms, the fundamental kinds into which all things fall, and which define their proper ends. Without some such metaphysical underpinning, the use of such explanations is hard to justify; in particular, the mechanistic world-view characteristic of much of modern science emphasises efficient causation and seems to leave little room for purposefulness. The great achievement of Darwin's theory of evolution was to show how some teleological explanations in biology could be rested on a mechanistic foundation. How far this kind of reconciliation is possible is a live issue in the philosophy of science. Perhaps the most famous teleological argument is that for the existence of God, which takes our observations of the regularity and coherence of the world around us and our experience of the conjunction of regularity and design, to conclude that there must be a designer. Research Teleology
Rhoda Broughton was an English novelist. She was born in 1840 and died after 1905. The daughter of a clergyman, she was much less prolific than some English lady novelists, and her early works attracted much more attention than her later. Among the chief are Cometh up as a Flower (1867); Not Wisely but too Well (1869); Red as a Rose is She (1870); Good-bye, Sweetheart, Good-bye (1872); Nancy (1873); Joan (1876); Belinda (1883); Scylla or Charybdis (1895) ; Dear Faustina (1897); Lavinia (1902). Her earlier novels show a cleverness, vigour, and originality of plot and characterization hardly maintained in her later ones. Research Rhoda Broughton
Madge Bellamy (real name Margaret Derden Philpott) was an American actress. She was born in 1899 at Hillsboro, Texas and died in 1990 of heart failure. She got her start in theater working with a stock company in Denver. Put under a personal contract by a Broadway producer, she got her big break when she replaced Helen Hayes in the Broadway play 'DearBrutus'. Her success as a stage actress led to her being signed by Fox Pictures. After appearing in a number of movies in the early 1920's, she is best remembered for her performances in the 1922 ' Lorna Doone' and the 1924 'The Iron Horse'. A strong will contrasted the screen image of innocence and led to disagreements over roles by the late 1920's. She had been cast in a number of movies each year and was in Fox's first dialogue feature, the 1928 'Mother Knows Best'. But her refusal to work in the film 'The Trial of Mary Dugan', which was bought expressly for her, led to her contract with Fox being terminated. It would be another three years until she returned to the
screen in the 1932 cult favorite 'White Zombie' with Bela Lugosi, but her career was not going anywhere as Madge was just one of those old silent stars. For the next few years, she appeared in a small number of low budget films and by 1936 her film career was over. In 1943, she would again appear in the headlines when she shot her lover, millionaire A Stanford Murphy after he jilted her to marry another woman. Research Madge Bellamy
Amymone was a daughter of Danaus. She and her sisters were sent to search for water when Poseidon caused a drought in the district of Argos. Whilst searching she threw a spear at a dear, missed it and hit a satyr which pursued her. She called to Poseidon for help. He came, drove off the satyr and produced a perennial spring for her at Lerna, where he met her. Research Amymone
Father Dear Father is a comedy starring Patrick Cargill, Natasha Pyne, Ann Holoway, Noel Dryson and Beryl Reid in a story about a thriller writer whose two teenage daughters cause him so much trouble that he decides to re-marry. Father Dear Father was directed by William G Stewart in 1972. Research Father Dear Father
Santa Who? Is a comedy starring Leslie Nielsen, Steven Eckholdt, Robyn Lively, Max Morrow and Tommy Davidson in a story about Father Christmas crash landing his sleigh on the car of a sceptical television reporter, and losing his memory in the process. Santa Who? Was directed by William Dear in 2000. Research Santa Who?
Teen Agent is a spy comedy starring Richard Grieco, Linda Hunt, Roger Rees and Robin Bartlett in a story about a student who is mistaken for a CIA agent and subsequently find himself on a mission to guard a European politician. Teen Agent was directed by William Dear in 1991. Research Teen Agent
Abbreviations
Research Diminutive
