WORD OF THE DAY 4/28/2003

virtu \vuhr-TOO; vir-\, noun:
1. A love of or taste for fine objects of art.
2. Productions of art (especially fine antiques).
3. Artistic quality.

The Italian humanist Giovanni Pontano described these
objects as 'statues, pictures, tapestries, divans, chairs
of ivory, cloth interwoven with gems, many-coloured boxes
and coffers in the Arabian style, crystal vases and other
things of this kind... [whose] sight... is pleasing
and brings prestige to the owner of the house.' They all
spoke to the wealth, taste and virtu of their owner.
--John Brewer, [1]The Pleasures of the Imagination

Divans, Persian rugs, easy chairs, books, statuary,
articles of virtu and bric-a-brac are on every side, and
the whole has the appearance of a place where one could
dream his life away.
--'Mark Twain's Summer Home,' [2]The New York Times,
September 10, 1882
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Virtu comes from Italian virtù 'virtue, excellence,' from
Latin virtus, 'excellence, worth, goodness, virtue.'

outre \oo-TRAY\, adjective:
Unconventional; eccentric; bizarre.

This seven-year-old house of outre culture is the kind of
place you can shop for a sculpture made out of working
flamethrowers, videocassettes of underground movies,
computer-generated art or a cute robot
--David Sturm, 'Berlin's Green Man, Running for Life,'
[1]Washington Post, June 14, 1998

The area is tamer than in its bohemian heyday, but the
outre spirit survives.
--Brian C. Mooney and Rosemary Lappin, 'Galleries of the
Gods,' [2]Boston Globe, August 25, 1996

McCarthy cast herself as the rule breaker, the outre
intellectual woman who emerged from an eccentric and
rebellious past.
--Ann Hulbert, 'Keeping Score,' [3]New York Times, October
26, 1997

Unless you head for Harajuku, the heart of hip, where being
outre is a requirement. Harajuku is home to Raggedy Ann
wannabes, Elvis impersonators and Japanese punks, all
turned out to attract attention.
--Stephanie Strom, 'Tokyo,' [4]New York Times, September
26, 1999
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Outre comes from French, from the past participle of outer,
'to exaggerate, to go beyond,' from Latin ultra, 'beyond.'

Synonyms: bizarre, far-out, outlandish, strange,
unconventional