There are just 5 seconds left on the illuminated scoreboard clock, with the remaining posted numerals denoting a tie game.  

As the final action plays out on the shiny wooden court, from the athlete’s posture as he drives through the lane, it’s clear there is a singular goal.  The brutal violence of the slam, a muscular right arm swinging in a wide arc through numerous trivial incumbrances, fingers, air, and net, is reminiscent of going postal, granted with much less long-term physical damage.  

The shock of the dunk rattles down through the steel rim, glass backboard, and deep into the roots of the aluminum post itself.  Considering the flash of professional photographers’ cameras courtside, combined with the multitude of cellphones in fan’s hands throughout the arena, during this culminating play, the recent activity is bound to be captured in internet posterity.  Which is fortunate, since this posterizing dunk which has decided the playoff series-ending game will live in league infamy.  

In hindsight, the home team would have been better off postponing this matchup, as their star center, a formidable presence in the lane, was unavailable due to illness.

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Format =Word:

Part of Speech – # of Letters – Language of Origin [Date of Usage]

Definition

Deconstruction

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Post:

Noun – 4 – Latin “postis” = doorpost [End of 1st Millennium A.D.]

A strong piece of timber, metal, or the like, set upright as a support, a point of attachment, a place for displaying notices, etc.

A deceptively simple noun, with a straight piece of wood lodged in the earth slowly transitioning to human form, first for sentries at castles, then more broadly to any military role, with the term now having fully evolved to daily jobs in general.  [REF]

Posts:

Verb – 5 – Middle French “poste” = courier [1640s]

To submit an online note to a message board or electronic mailing list.

What started with affixing paper signage, including wanted notices, to the aforementioned vertical logs in the town square, has now transitioned to the virtual realm, where the goal of transmitting information is the same, but the accessible audience decidedly larger.  [REF]

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Postal:

Verb – 6 – American jargon “postal” = regarding the United States Postal Service [1993]

When proceeded by “going”, a slang phrase referring to becoming extremely and uncontrollably angry.

This unfortunate term took an important, albeit insolvent, U.S. government entity, and turned it into a cult action, originating from a series of fatal shooting incidents in the 1980’s and 1990’s by aggrieved USPS workers.  [REF]

Posture:

Noun – 7 – Italian “positura” = position [Late 16th Century]

The position or bearing of the body, whether characteristic or assumed, for a special purpose.

This term, which often comes up at work or school these days as a result of slouching in desk chairs, has been around much longer than the modern era of ergonomics, with military regulations providing the initial motivation for defined static body position, and newfound yoga poses testing the limits of human dexterity.  [REF]  

Postpone:

Verb – 8 – Latin “postponere” = to place after [15th Century]

To delay an event, or arrange for it to take place at a later time.

We’ve all experienced events which were delayed, some by choice, some by weather, some by extraneous circumstances, especially in recent times; regardless of the cause, such cancellations have apparently been plaguing human planning since the advent of time monitoring.  [REF]

Posterity:

Noun – 9 – Latin “posterus” = following [14th Century]

The offspring of one progenitor to the furthest generation.

A rarely used term with incredibly powerful meaning, this single word essentially encompasses the entire genealogy from a single mating pair, be it human or other, infinitely far off into the future, often with an increasingly diverse set of traits, due to evolutionary diversification.  [REF]

Posterized:

Verb – 10 – American slang “poster” = document a play in basketball commentary [1991]

To make a memorable and visually striking play against an opponent.

A great example of turning a physical item into an action, this term was way ahead of it’s time; born in the era of late-night sports TV highlights, this embarrassing action is even more relevant in today’s landscape of prolific social media banter.  [REF] 

It’s amazing how many different terms can originate from a single, simple word.  While this exploration stops at 10 letters, there are many compound words and contrived derivations which go well beyond this length.  But that’s a topic for another post.  [REF]