idoneous \ahy-DOH-nee-uhs\, adjective:
Appropriate; fit; suitable; apt.
As far as benefices are concerned no one could be more idoneous, fitting or suitable than Martin, since he is an Anglican clergyman.
-- Patrick O'Brian, The Truelove
It would hardly be possible to apply less idoneous adjectives to it than Watson's reiterated "wailing" and "haunting."
-- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
Idoneous is derived from the Latin word idōneus which meant "suitable."
2012年1月31日 星期二
2012年1月30日 星期一
2012_01_29 neoterism \nee-OT-uh-riz-uhm\, noun: An innovation in language
neoterism \nee-OT-uh-riz-uhm\, noun:
1. An innovation in language, as a new word, term, or expression.
2. The use of new words, terms, or expressions.
These impressions were not merely of things physical—the contrast, for instance, between the overwhelming antiquity of the western deserts and the neoterism of humanity; or the fabulous nature of the Grand Canyon.
-- Ford Madox Ford, The Good Soldier
In his gesture of breaking with the canon of great national literature, Catullus had opened the way to the ambition of future poets to provide Rome with a new canon of works, which would combine the new requirements of neoterism on the levels of research into subjectivity, and stylistic elegance, with the breadth and the depth of a literature intended to represent the cultural patrimony of a nation.
-- Peter E. Knox, A Companion to Ovid
Though it did not come into English usage until the late 1800s, neoterism originally comes from the Greek word neōterismós which meant "an attempt to change."
1. An innovation in language, as a new word, term, or expression.
2. The use of new words, terms, or expressions.
These impressions were not merely of things physical—the contrast, for instance, between the overwhelming antiquity of the western deserts and the neoterism of humanity; or the fabulous nature of the Grand Canyon.
-- Ford Madox Ford, The Good Soldier
In his gesture of breaking with the canon of great national literature, Catullus had opened the way to the ambition of future poets to provide Rome with a new canon of works, which would combine the new requirements of neoterism on the levels of research into subjectivity, and stylistic elegance, with the breadth and the depth of a literature intended to represent the cultural patrimony of a nation.
-- Peter E. Knox, A Companion to Ovid
Though it did not come into English usage until the late 1800s, neoterism originally comes from the Greek word neōterismós which meant "an attempt to change."
2012年1月29日 星期日
2012_01_29 hotchpot \HOCH-pot\, noun: shares or properties in order to divide them equally.
hotchpot \HOCH-pot\, noun:
the bringing together of shares or properties in order to divide them equally.
She continued, "This is what I can give into the hotchpot." I could not but note the quaint legal phrase which she used in such a place, and with all seriousness? "What will each of you give?..."
-- Bram Stoker, Dracula
These amounts are to be deducted from my boys only in the event that their shares may be large enough to permit and are not to be brought into hotchpot, and shall be paid to my two daughters Elizabeth and Katharine in equal shares.
-- Wallace Stevens, The Letters of Wallace Stevens
Dating back to the early 1200s, hotchpot literally meant "shake-pot" in Anglo-French. It is related to the word hodgepodge.
the bringing together of shares or properties in order to divide them equally.
She continued, "This is what I can give into the hotchpot." I could not but note the quaint legal phrase which she used in such a place, and with all seriousness? "What will each of you give?..."
-- Bram Stoker, Dracula
These amounts are to be deducted from my boys only in the event that their shares may be large enough to permit and are not to be brought into hotchpot, and shall be paid to my two daughters Elizabeth and Katharine in equal shares.
-- Wallace Stevens, The Letters of Wallace Stevens
Dating back to the early 1200s, hotchpot literally meant "shake-pot" in Anglo-French. It is related to the word hodgepodge.
2012年1月28日 星期六
2012_01_28 birr \bur\, noun: A whirring sound.
birr \bur\, noun:
1. A whirring sound.
2. Emphasis in statement, speech, etc.
3. A whirring sound.
verb:
1. To move with or make a whirring sound.
She pursed her lips and, expertly, imitated the red-winged blackbird's call: not the liquid piping of the wood thrush, which dipped down into the dry tcch tchh tchh of the cricket's birr and up again in delirious, sobbing trills…
-- Donna Tartt, The Little Friend: A Novel
I turn to the woman. There's a wheezing birr coming from her own bleached-out face.
-- Irvine Welsh, Filth
Birr is derived from the Icelandic word byrr meaning "favorable wind."
1. A whirring sound.
2. Emphasis in statement, speech, etc.
3. A whirring sound.
verb:
1. To move with or make a whirring sound.
She pursed her lips and, expertly, imitated the red-winged blackbird's call: not the liquid piping of the wood thrush, which dipped down into the dry tcch tchh tchh of the cricket's birr and up again in delirious, sobbing trills…
-- Donna Tartt, The Little Friend: A Novel
I turn to the woman. There's a wheezing birr coming from her own bleached-out face.
-- Irvine Welsh, Filth
Birr is derived from the Icelandic word byrr meaning "favorable wind."
2012年1月27日 星期五
2012_01_26 conciliate \kuhn-SIL-ee-eyt\, verb: 调解
调解
为了克服不信任或敌对;安抚，笼络。
conciliate \kuhn-SIL-ee-eyt\, verb:
1. To overcome the distrust or hostility of; placate; win over.
2. To win or gain (goodwill, regard, or favor).
3. To make compatible; reconcile.
4. To become agreeable or reconciled.
"Mrs. Dombey," said Mr. Dombey, resuming as much as he could of his arrogant composure, "you will not conciliate me, or turn me from any purpose, by this course of conduct."
-- Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son
But this was sufficient, and served to conciliate the good will of the natives, with whom our congeniality of sentiment on this point did more towards inspiring a friendly feeling than anything else that could have happened.
-- Herman Melville, Typee
Conciliate comes from the Latin word conciliāre meaning "to bring together." It is related to the words council and calendar.
为了克服不信任或敌对;安抚，笼络。
conciliate \kuhn-SIL-ee-eyt\, verb:
1. To overcome the distrust or hostility of; placate; win over.
2. To win or gain (goodwill, regard, or favor).
3. To make compatible; reconcile.
4. To become agreeable or reconciled.
"Mrs. Dombey," said Mr. Dombey, resuming as much as he could of his arrogant composure, "you will not conciliate me, or turn me from any purpose, by this course of conduct."
-- Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son
But this was sufficient, and served to conciliate the good will of the natives, with whom our congeniality of sentiment on this point did more towards inspiring a friendly feeling than anything else that could have happened.
-- Herman Melville, Typee
Conciliate comes from the Latin word conciliāre meaning "to bring together." It is related to the words council and calendar.
2012年1月26日 星期四
2012_01_25 mettle \MET-l\, noun: 气概 Courage and fortitude.
mettle \MET-l\, noun:
1. Courage and fortitude.
2. Disposition or temperament.
Who is so ignorant as not to know that knights-errant are beyond all jurisdiction, their only law their swords, while their charter is their mettle and their will is their decrees?
-- Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
"--must do something to justify your existence," Marlene was saying to Tim, "and now is the chance to show your mettle."
-- Muriel Spark, The Bachelors
Mettle was used interchangeably with the material metal until the early 1700s. Mettle continued to be used in the figurative sense of "stuff of which a person is made" even as the spellings diverged.
1. Courage and fortitude.
2. Disposition or temperament.
Who is so ignorant as not to know that knights-errant are beyond all jurisdiction, their only law their swords, while their charter is their mettle and their will is their decrees?
-- Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
"--must do something to justify your existence," Marlene was saying to Tim, "and now is the chance to show your mettle."
-- Muriel Spark, The Bachelors
Mettle was used interchangeably with the material metal until the early 1700s. Mettle continued to be used in the figurative sense of "stuff of which a person is made" even as the spellings diverged.
2012年1月25日 星期三
2012_01_25 bleb \bleb\, noun: 大疱 A bubble A blister.
大疱
bleb \bleb\, noun:
1. A bubble.
2. Medicine/Medical. A blister or vesicle.
One day, as he was bathing her, a bleb of shampoo had streamed into her eye, and she had kept a hand pressed to it for the rest of the day, quailing away from him whenever he walked past.
-- Kevin Brockmeier, Things That Fall From the Sky
His gaze skims over the computer out the side-yard window, to rest on a fat avocado, a bleb of green light hanging from a branch.
-- Diana Abu-Jaber, Birds of Paradise
Bleb was first used in the early 1600s. It is considered imitative of a blister itself. It is also related to the Middle English word blob
bleb \bleb\, noun:
1. A bubble.
2. Medicine/Medical. A blister or vesicle.
One day, as he was bathing her, a bleb of shampoo had streamed into her eye, and she had kept a hand pressed to it for the rest of the day, quailing away from him whenever he walked past.
-- Kevin Brockmeier, Things That Fall From the Sky
His gaze skims over the computer out the side-yard window, to rest on a fat avocado, a bleb of green light hanging from a branch.
-- Diana Abu-Jaber, Birds of Paradise
Bleb was first used in the early 1600s. It is considered imitative of a blister itself. It is also related to the Middle English word blob
2012年1月24日 星期二
2012_01_24 educe \ih-DOOS\, verb: 唤起 To infer or deduce.
唤起
educe \ih-DOOS\, verb:
1. To draw forth or bring out, as something potential or latent.
2. To infer or deduce.
Forty or fifty minutes of vigorous and unslackened analytic thought bestowed upon one of them usually suffices to educe from it all there is to educe, its general solution…
-- Edited by Umberto Eco and Thomas A. Sebeok, The Sign of Three: Dupin, Holmes, Peirce
If, after this, you can possibly want any further aid towards knowing what Sir Lionel was, we can tell you, that in his soul "the scientific combinations of thought could educe no fuller harmonies of the good and the true, than lay in the primaeval pulses which floated as an atmosphere around it!"...
-- George Eliot, Middlemarch
Related to educate, educe is derived from the Latin roots ex- meaning "out" and ducere meaning "to lead." Shakespeare was the first writer to use it in the sense of "to provide schooling" in Loves Labours Lost.
educe \ih-DOOS\, verb:
1. To draw forth or bring out, as something potential or latent.
2. To infer or deduce.
Forty or fifty minutes of vigorous and unslackened analytic thought bestowed upon one of them usually suffices to educe from it all there is to educe, its general solution…
-- Edited by Umberto Eco and Thomas A. Sebeok, The Sign of Three: Dupin, Holmes, Peirce
If, after this, you can possibly want any further aid towards knowing what Sir Lionel was, we can tell you, that in his soul "the scientific combinations of thought could educe no fuller harmonies of the good and the true, than lay in the primaeval pulses which floated as an atmosphere around it!"...
-- George Eliot, Middlemarch
Related to educate, educe is derived from the Latin roots ex- meaning "out" and ducere meaning "to lead." Shakespeare was the first writer to use it in the sense of "to provide schooling" in Loves Labours Lost.
2012年1月23日 星期一
2012_01_23 Chinese New Year slimsy \SLIM-zee\, adjective:Flimsy; frail.
Chinese New Year
slimsy \SLIM-zee\, adjective:
Flimsy; frail.
"Nice girl . . ." he mused, "but sort of thin and slimsy and delicate, not robust and hearty like the kind of girl you ought to have on a farm."
-- Bess Streeter Aldrich, A White Flying Bird
The coat was a slimsy bit of dark silk, with a glister in it; and the hat was the thinnest straw, the brim curling a little in the wind.
-- Max Brand, Storm on the Range
Slimsy is an Americanism that came into common use in the 1830s and early 1840s. It is a combination of slim and flimsy.
slimsy \SLIM-zee\, adjective:
Flimsy; frail.
"Nice girl . . ." he mused, "but sort of thin and slimsy and delicate, not robust and hearty like the kind of girl you ought to have on a farm."
-- Bess Streeter Aldrich, A White Flying Bird
The coat was a slimsy bit of dark silk, with a glister in it; and the hat was the thinnest straw, the brim curling a little in the wind.
-- Max Brand, Storm on the Range
Slimsy is an Americanism that came into common use in the 1830s and early 1840s. It is a combination of slim and flimsy.
2012年1月22日 星期日
2012_01_22 natheless \NEYTH-lis\, adverb: natheless \NEYTH-lis\, adverb:
natheless \NEYTH-lis\, adverb:
natheless \NEYTH-lis\, adverb:
Natheless, it was I who did educate Miss Lucy in all useful learning.
-- Sir Walter Scott, Guy Mannering
Natheless, God send you good success, and to that end will we pray.
-- Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Natheless is an Old English word. Nā meant "not" in Old English, and the other roots (the and less) have remained constant in modern English.
natheless \NEYTH-lis\, adverb:
Natheless, it was I who did educate Miss Lucy in all useful learning.
-- Sir Walter Scott, Guy Mannering
Natheless, God send you good success, and to that end will we pray.
-- Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Natheless is an Old English word. Nā meant "not" in Old English, and the other roots (the and less) have remained constant in modern English.
2012年1月21日 星期六
2012_01_21 remora \REM-er-uh\, noun:An obstacle, hindrance, or obstruction.
remora \REM-er-uh\, noun:
1. An obstacle, hindrance, or obstruction.
2. Any of several fishes of the family Echeneididae, having on the top of the head a sucking disk by which they can attach themselves to sharks, turtles, ships, and other moving objects.
Notwithstanding the extreme unpopularity of the Duke of Kent as a soldier, there was no remora to his employment.
-- Robert Huish, The History of the Life and Reign of William the Fourth
They all coexist today in diachronic contradictions, and what coexists is the colonial remora of Bolivian history, the different articulations of colonizing forces and colonized victims.
-- Walter D. Mignolo, Local Histories/Global Designs: Coloniality, Subaltern Knowledges, and Border Thinking
Remora is derived from the Latin word remorārī meaning "to delay."
1. An obstacle, hindrance, or obstruction.
2. Any of several fishes of the family Echeneididae, having on the top of the head a sucking disk by which they can attach themselves to sharks, turtles, ships, and other moving objects.
Notwithstanding the extreme unpopularity of the Duke of Kent as a soldier, there was no remora to his employment.
-- Robert Huish, The History of the Life and Reign of William the Fourth
They all coexist today in diachronic contradictions, and what coexists is the colonial remora of Bolivian history, the different articulations of colonizing forces and colonized victims.
-- Walter D. Mignolo, Local Histories/Global Designs: Coloniality, Subaltern Knowledges, and Border Thinking
Remora is derived from the Latin word remorārī meaning "to delay."
2012年1月20日 星期五
2012_01_20 过度 deucedly \DOO-sid-lee\, adverb:Devilishly; damnably.
过度
deucedly \DOO-sid-lee\, adverb:
Devilishly; damnably.
When I went in I had seen that there was a deucedly pretty girl sitting in that particular seat, so I had taken the next one.
-- P. G. Wodehouse, Man With Two Left Feet and Other Stories
It's most important. You will put me in a deucedly awkward position if you don't.
-- C. S. Lewis, The Magician's Nephew
Deucedly is related to the word deuce which refers to the face of a die with one dot, as in "to roll deuces." It comes from the Latin word for two, duos. In the mid-1600s, it became associated with bad luck, probably because it was the lowest score you could get when playing dice.
deucedly \DOO-sid-lee\, adverb:
Devilishly; damnably.
When I went in I had seen that there was a deucedly pretty girl sitting in that particular seat, so I had taken the next one.
-- P. G. Wodehouse, Man With Two Left Feet and Other Stories
It's most important. You will put me in a deucedly awkward position if you don't.
-- C. S. Lewis, The Magician's Nephew
Deucedly is related to the word deuce which refers to the face of a die with one dot, as in "to roll deuces." It comes from the Latin word for two, duos. In the mid-1600s, it became associated with bad luck, probably because it was the lowest score you could get when playing dice.
2012年1月18日 星期三
2012_01_18 persnickety 小气的 Overparticular; fussy.
小气的
persnickety \per-SNIK-i-tee\, adjective:
1. Overparticular; fussy.
2. Snobbish or having the aloof attitude of a snob.
3. Requiring painstaking care.
These critics can take some consolation by looking at the recent rehabilitation of Hamilton Grange, the upper Manhattan house built by founding father Alexander Hamilton. It shows just how persnickety a preservation project can be.
-- Robbie Whelan, "Historic Home on the Grange," The Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2011
The point here is to make your animal understand that its upstairs neighbour is exceptionally persnickety about territory.
-- Yann Martel, Life of Pi
Persnickety dates back to the late 1800s. It is a variant of the Scots word pernickety, which is of uncertain origin. Pernickety is perhaps related to other Scots words with the per- prefix, like perskeet which meant "fastidious."
persnickety \per-SNIK-i-tee\, adjective:
1. Overparticular; fussy.
2. Snobbish or having the aloof attitude of a snob.
3. Requiring painstaking care.
These critics can take some consolation by looking at the recent rehabilitation of Hamilton Grange, the upper Manhattan house built by founding father Alexander Hamilton. It shows just how persnickety a preservation project can be.
-- Robbie Whelan, "Historic Home on the Grange," The Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2011
The point here is to make your animal understand that its upstairs neighbour is exceptionally persnickety about territory.
-- Yann Martel, Life of Pi
Persnickety dates back to the late 1800s. It is a variant of the Scots word pernickety, which is of uncertain origin. Pernickety is perhaps related to other Scots words with the per- prefix, like perskeet which meant "fastidious."
2012年1月17日 星期二
2012_01_17 alate \EY-leyt\, adjective:有翅 Having wings; winged.
有翅
alate \EY-leyt\, adjective:
1. Having wings; winged.
2. Having membranous expansions like wings.
noun:
1. The winged form of an insect when both winged and wingless forms occur in the species.
Vainly a few diehard physicists pointed out that wings are of no propulsive help in airless void, that alate flight is possible only where there are wind currents to lift and carry.
-- Robert Silverberg, Earth is the Strangest Planet
There are no words branded into this gate, only the shape of a large bird with its wings stretched out over the width of the road like an alate protector.
-- Jenny Siler, Easy Money
Alate is comprised of the Latin roots āla meaning "wing" and the suffix -ate which was used in Latin to make a word an adjective (like separate) but in English came to be used to create a verb out of a noun (like agitate).
alate \EY-leyt\, adjective:
1. Having wings; winged.
2. Having membranous expansions like wings.
noun:
1. The winged form of an insect when both winged and wingless forms occur in the species.
Vainly a few diehard physicists pointed out that wings are of no propulsive help in airless void, that alate flight is possible only where there are wind currents to lift and carry.
-- Robert Silverberg, Earth is the Strangest Planet
There are no words branded into this gate, only the shape of a large bird with its wings stretched out over the width of the road like an alate protector.
-- Jenny Siler, Easy Money
Alate is comprised of the Latin roots āla meaning "wing" and the suffix -ate which was used in Latin to make a word an adjective (like separate) but in English came to be used to create a verb out of a noun (like agitate).
2012年1月16日 星期一
2012_01_16 perspicacious 睿 discerning. \pur-spi-KEY-shuhs\, adjective:
perspicacious \pur-spi-KEY-shuhs\, adjective:
1. Having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning.
2. Archaic. Having keen vision.
You are perspicacious, know the ways of the world, and are more tactful than most men of your age.
-- Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
More perspicacious neighbors, the Paulsens among them, suspected that Joey also enjoyed being the smartest person in the house.
-- Jonathan Franzen, Freedom
Perspicacious is derived from the Late Latin word perspicācitās meaning "sharpness of sight."
1. Having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning.
2. Archaic. Having keen vision.
You are perspicacious, know the ways of the world, and are more tactful than most men of your age.
-- Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
More perspicacious neighbors, the Paulsens among them, suspected that Joey also enjoyed being the smartest person in the house.
-- Jonathan Franzen, Freedom
Perspicacious is derived from the Late Latin word perspicācitās meaning "sharpness of sight."
2012年1月15日 星期日
2012_01_15 outrance \oo-TRAHNS\, noun:過度 The utmost extremity.
過度
outrance \oo-TRAHNS\, noun:
The utmost extremity.
"Its prevailing features are equability, ease, perfect accuracy and purity of style, a manner never at outrance with the subject matter, pathos, and verisimilitude."
-- Edgar Allen Poe, The Linwoods
I pretend not to be a champion of that same naked virtue called truth, to the very outrance. I can consent that her charms be hidden with a veil, were it but for decency's sake.
-- Sir Walter Scott, Kenilworth
Outrance came from the Old French word oltrance meaning "to pass beyond." It is probably related to outrage.
outrance \oo-TRAHNS\, noun:
The utmost extremity.
"Its prevailing features are equability, ease, perfect accuracy and purity of style, a manner never at outrance with the subject matter, pathos, and verisimilitude."
-- Edgar Allen Poe, The Linwoods
I pretend not to be a champion of that same naked virtue called truth, to the very outrance. I can consent that her charms be hidden with a veil, were it but for decency's sake.
-- Sir Walter Scott, Kenilworth
Outrance came from the Old French word oltrance meaning "to pass beyond." It is probably related to outrage.
2012年1月13日 星期五
2012_01_13 viscid \VIS-id\, adjective: 粘的 sticky; adhesive.
viscid \VIS-id\, adjective: 粘的
1. Having a glutinous consistency; sticky; adhesive.
2. Botany. Covered by a sticky substance.
This was the moment for the curious, shading their faces from the fiery glow, to plunge their walking-sticks into the viscid mass and dip out portions of the lava.
-- T. M. Coan, "An Island of Fire," Scribner's Monthly
But now a snake commenced to coil around my feet, and with a momentary terror I rushed forward, only to strike a rock and fall into a viscid pool.
-- Will L. Garver, Brother of the Third Degree
Viscid comes from the Latin word for mistletoe, visc. Mistletoe was used to make a sticky paste to trap birds called birdlime. It is clearly also related to the word "viscous."
1。在一個糯米的一致性;粘;膠粘劑。
2。植物。涵蓋的粘性物質。
1. Having a glutinous consistency; sticky; adhesive.
2. Botany. Covered by a sticky substance.
This was the moment for the curious, shading their faces from the fiery glow, to plunge their walking-sticks into the viscid mass and dip out portions of the lava.
-- T. M. Coan, "An Island of Fire," Scribner's Monthly
But now a snake commenced to coil around my feet, and with a momentary terror I rushed forward, only to strike a rock and fall into a viscid pool.
-- Will L. Garver, Brother of the Third Degree
Viscid comes from the Latin word for mistletoe, visc. Mistletoe was used to make a sticky paste to trap birds called birdlime. It is clearly also related to the word "viscous."
1。在一個糯米的一致性;粘;膠粘劑。
2。植物。涵蓋的粘性物質。
2012年1月12日 星期四
2012_01_12 bonny \BON-ee\, adjective: 悅目。Pleasing to the eye.
1。悅目。
2。英國方言。 A.（人）身體健康，甜美，活潑。 B.（地方）的安詳，寧靜。 C.賞心悅目;同意;好。
bonny \BON-ee\, adjective:
1. Pleasing to the eye.
2. British Dialect. A. (Of people) Healthy, sweet, and lively. B. (Of places) Placid; tranquil. C. Pleasing; agreeable; good.
adverb:
1. British Dialect. Pleasingly; agreeably; very well.
noun:
1. Scot. and North England Archaic. A pretty girl or young woman.
Mayhap 'tis time to speak of more than how fine the weather is or how bonny she looks.
-- Hannah Howell, Highland Honor
As he was about to fix the last nail in the last of the shoes, the man in green said, "Would you be knowing what ails the bonny young lady?"
-- Ethel Johnston Phelps and Pamela Baldwin-Ford, Tatterhood and Other Tales
Bonny is of uncertain origin. It may be related to the Old French word bon meaning "good." It entered the Scots dialect in the mid-1400s.
2。英國方言。 A.（人）身體健康，甜美，活潑。 B.（地方）的安詳，寧靜。 C.賞心悅目;同意;好。
bonny \BON-ee\, adjective:
1. Pleasing to the eye.
2. British Dialect. A. (Of people) Healthy, sweet, and lively. B. (Of places) Placid; tranquil. C. Pleasing; agreeable; good.
adverb:
1. British Dialect. Pleasingly; agreeably; very well.
noun:
1. Scot. and North England Archaic. A pretty girl or young woman.
Mayhap 'tis time to speak of more than how fine the weather is or how bonny she looks.
-- Hannah Howell, Highland Honor
As he was about to fix the last nail in the last of the shoes, the man in green said, "Would you be knowing what ails the bonny young lady?"
-- Ethel Johnston Phelps and Pamela Baldwin-Ford, Tatterhood and Other Tales
Bonny is of uncertain origin. It may be related to the Old French word bon meaning "good." It entered the Scots dialect in the mid-1400s.
2012年1月11日 星期三
2012_01_11 勸戒 expostulate \ik-SPOS-chuh-leyt\, verb:
expostulate 勸戒 \ik-SPOS-chuh-leyt\, verb:
To reason earnestly with someone against something that person intends to do or has done.
The tears would run plentifully down my face when I made these reflections; and sometimes I would expostulate with myself, why Providence should thus completely ruin his creatures, and render them so absolutely miserable, so without help abandoned, so entirely depressed, that it could hardly be rational to be thankful for such a life.
-- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
Peter at last determined one day, all of a sudden, that he would step into this highland reaver's den, and expostulate with him on the baseness and impolicy of his conduct, and try to convince him of these, and persuade him to keep his own laird's bounds.
-- James Hogg, Tales of the Wars of Montrose
Expostulate is derived from the Latin word expostulātus which meant "demanded urgently or required."
To reason earnestly with someone against something that person intends to do or has done.
The tears would run plentifully down my face when I made these reflections; and sometimes I would expostulate with myself, why Providence should thus completely ruin his creatures, and render them so absolutely miserable, so without help abandoned, so entirely depressed, that it could hardly be rational to be thankful for such a life.
-- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
Peter at last determined one day, all of a sudden, that he would step into this highland reaver's den, and expostulate with him on the baseness and impolicy of his conduct, and try to convince him of these, and persuade him to keep his own laird's bounds.
-- James Hogg, Tales of the Wars of Montrose
Expostulate is derived from the Latin word expostulātus which meant "demanded urgently or required."
2012年1月10日 星期二
2012_01_10 paregmenon \puh-REG-muh-non\, noun: “理智與情感”The juxtaposition of words that have a common derivation, as in “sense and sensibility.”
並列的話，在一個共同的推導，“理智與情感”。
paregmenon \puh-REG-muh-non\, noun:
The juxtaposition of words that have a common derivation, as in “sense and sensibility.”
Although as artificial as his use of traductio, this use of paregmenon at least reveals Sidney's ingenuity and wit.
-- Sherod M. Cooper, The Sonnets of Astrophel and Stella
The recurrence of the same word with a different inflection, as in the polyptoton, or of different words of the same origin, as in the paregmenon, draws attention to the word thus recurring, and adds somewhat to its logical worth.
-- Josiah Willard Gibbs, Philological Studies with English Illustrations
Paregmenon comes from the Greek word parēēgménon meaning "to bring side by side or derive."
paregmenon \puh-REG-muh-non\, noun:
The juxtaposition of words that have a common derivation, as in “sense and sensibility.”
Although as artificial as his use of traductio, this use of paregmenon at least reveals Sidney's ingenuity and wit.
-- Sherod M. Cooper, The Sonnets of Astrophel and Stella
The recurrence of the same word with a different inflection, as in the polyptoton, or of different words of the same origin, as in the paregmenon, draws attention to the word thus recurring, and adds somewhat to its logical worth.
-- Josiah Willard Gibbs, Philological Studies with English Illustrations
Paregmenon comes from the Greek word parēēgménon meaning "to bring side by side or derive."
2012年1月9日 星期一
2012_01_09 heterotelic \het-er-uh-TEL-ik\, adjective:
heterotelic \het-er-uh-TEL-ik\, adjective:
Having the purpose of its existence or occurrence apart from itself.
You're of heteroteleic value, that means you were invoked for an extraneous purpose alone, the outcome of which won't even be known to me until I'm back with my physical body in the physical world…
-- William Cook, Love in the Time of Flowers
Therefore, what has been proposed above as a means of redirecting the development of postmodernity toward more livable, human dimensions is a heterotelic narrative transitivity—an active reimmersion of narrative in the social—which contrasts sharply with the autotelic concern for their own procedures and the hermetic intransitivity of modernist self-consciousness and late modernist self-reflexivity.
-- Joseph Francese, Narrating Postmodern Time and Space
Heterotelic is directly derived from the Greek roots héteros meaning "other", tele- meaning "distant", and the suffix -ic which denotes an adjective, as in metallic and athletic.
Having the purpose of its existence or occurrence apart from itself.
You're of heteroteleic value, that means you were invoked for an extraneous purpose alone, the outcome of which won't even be known to me until I'm back with my physical body in the physical world…
-- William Cook, Love in the Time of Flowers
Therefore, what has been proposed above as a means of redirecting the development of postmodernity toward more livable, human dimensions is a heterotelic narrative transitivity—an active reimmersion of narrative in the social—which contrasts sharply with the autotelic concern for their own procedures and the hermetic intransitivity of modernist self-consciousness and late modernist self-reflexivity.
-- Joseph Francese, Narrating Postmodern Time and Space
Heterotelic is directly derived from the Greek roots héteros meaning "other", tele- meaning "distant", and the suffix -ic which denotes an adjective, as in metallic and athletic.
2012年1月8日 星期日
2012_01_09 profligacy \PROF-li-guh-see\, noun: 放蕩 Reckless extravagance.
profligacy \PROF-li-guh-see\, noun:
1. Reckless extravagance.
2. Shameless dissoluteness.
3. Great abundance.
The extravagance and general profligacy which he scrupled not to lay at Mr. Wickham's charge, exceedingly shocked her; the more so, as she could bring no proof of its injustice.
-- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
The profligacy of a man of fashion is looked upon with much less contempt and aversion, than that of a man of meaner condition.
-- Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Profligacy comes from the Latin word prōflīgātus which meant "broken down in character or degraded."
1. Reckless extravagance.
2. Shameless dissoluteness.
3. Great abundance.
The extravagance and general profligacy which he scrupled not to lay at Mr. Wickham's charge, exceedingly shocked her; the more so, as she could bring no proof of its injustice.
-- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
The profligacy of a man of fashion is looked upon with much less contempt and aversion, than that of a man of meaner condition.
-- Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Profligacy comes from the Latin word prōflīgātus which meant "broken down in character or degraded."
2012年1月7日 星期六
2012_0107 Cimmerian \si-MEER-ee-uhn\, adjective: Very dark; gloomy; deep.
Cimmerian \si-MEER-ee-uhn\, adjective:
1. Very dark; gloomy; deep.
2. Classical Mythology. Of, pertaining to, or suggestive of a western people believed to dwell in perpetual darkness.
I was ripe for death, and along a road full of dangers, weakness led me to the boundaries of the world and the Cimmerian land of darkness and whirlwinds.
-- Arthur Rimbaud, A Season in Hell
Once beneath the over-arching trees all was again Cimmerian darkness, nor was the gloom relieved until the sun finally arose beyond the eastern cliffs, when she saw that they were following what appeared to be a broad and well-beaten game trail through a forest of great trees.
-- Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan the Untamed
Like gasconade, cimmerian was originally a toponym. It referred to the Cimmerii, an ancient nomadic people who live in Crimea, according to Herodotus.
1. Very dark; gloomy; deep.
2. Classical Mythology. Of, pertaining to, or suggestive of a western people believed to dwell in perpetual darkness.
I was ripe for death, and along a road full of dangers, weakness led me to the boundaries of the world and the Cimmerian land of darkness and whirlwinds.
-- Arthur Rimbaud, A Season in Hell
Once beneath the over-arching trees all was again Cimmerian darkness, nor was the gloom relieved until the sun finally arose beyond the eastern cliffs, when she saw that they were following what appeared to be a broad and well-beaten game trail through a forest of great trees.
-- Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan the Untamed
Like gasconade, cimmerian was originally a toponym. It referred to the Cimmerii, an ancient nomadic people who live in Crimea, according to Herodotus.
2012年1月6日 星期五
2012_01_06 sprat \sprat\, noun: 西鯡 A small or inconsequential person or thing
sprat \sprat\, noun:
1. A small or inconsequential person or thing.
2. A species of herring, Clupea sprattus, of the eastern North Atlantic.
How'd you get yourself into this, sprat, Bustard wanted to know.
-- Gene Wolfe, Epiphany of the Long Sun
Edgerton was cursing, but Mr. Bullock just shook his head. "No, sir, don't say such things in front of the little sprat…"
-- Catherine Coulter, Deception
Sprat is a variation of the Old English word sprot which meant "a sprout or twig." Its most common usage is in the nursery rhyme "Jack Sprat."
1. A small or inconsequential person or thing.
2. A species of herring, Clupea sprattus, of the eastern North Atlantic.
How'd you get yourself into this, sprat, Bustard wanted to know.
-- Gene Wolfe, Epiphany of the Long Sun
Edgerton was cursing, but Mr. Bullock just shook his head. "No, sir, don't say such things in front of the little sprat…"
-- Catherine Coulter, Deception
Sprat is a variation of the Old English word sprot which meant "a sprout or twig." Its most common usage is in the nursery rhyme "Jack Sprat."
2012年1月5日 星期四
2012_01_05 gasconade \gas-kuh-NEYD\, noun: boastful talk.
gasconade \gas-kuh-NEYD\, noun:
1. Extravagant boasting; boastful talk.
verb:
1. To boast extravagantly; bluster.
The British officers laugh, because they are well armed and many, and Kemal's men are pitifully few, but they enjoy and admire Kemal's swashbuckling gasconade, and they let his party pass.
-- Louis de Bernières, Birds Without Wings
The papers, barely days old, were full of boastful malarkey and gasconade, but of much more evident value when it came to information about the state of things in France, and in the local area.
-- Dewey Lambdin, Troubled Waters
Gasconade originally referred to people who were from the Gascony region of southwest France, bordering Spain. Gascons reputedly boast and exaggerate their success, and their toponym took on a life of its own. It became common in English in the early 1700s.
1. Extravagant boasting; boastful talk.
verb:
1. To boast extravagantly; bluster.
The British officers laugh, because they are well armed and many, and Kemal's men are pitifully few, but they enjoy and admire Kemal's swashbuckling gasconade, and they let his party pass.
-- Louis de Bernières, Birds Without Wings
The papers, barely days old, were full of boastful malarkey and gasconade, but of much more evident value when it came to information about the state of things in France, and in the local area.
-- Dewey Lambdin, Troubled Waters
Gasconade originally referred to people who were from the Gascony region of southwest France, bordering Spain. Gascons reputedly boast and exaggerate their success, and their toponym took on a life of its own. It became common in English in the early 1700s.
2012年1月4日 星期三
2012_01_04 fetial \FEE-shuhl\, adjective: Concerned with declarations of war and treaties of peace.
fetial \FEE-shuhl\, adjective:
Concerned with declarations of war and treaties of peace.
When a just and rightful war was declared upon a foreign enemy—and were there any other kinds of wars?—a special fetial priest was called upon to hurl a spear from the steps of the temple over the exact top of the ancient stone pillar into the earth of Enemy Territory.
-- Colleen McCullough, The First Man in Rome
He struck his treaties with foreign princes in the Forum, sacrificing a pig and reciting the ancient formula of the fetial priests.
-- Edited by John Carew Rolfe, Suetonius
Fetial comes directly from the Latin word fētiālis, which referred to a member of the Roman college of priests who were representatives in disputes with foreign nations.
Concerned with declarations of war and treaties of peace.
When a just and rightful war was declared upon a foreign enemy—and were there any other kinds of wars?—a special fetial priest was called upon to hurl a spear from the steps of the temple over the exact top of the ancient stone pillar into the earth of Enemy Territory.
-- Colleen McCullough, The First Man in Rome
He struck his treaties with foreign princes in the Forum, sacrificing a pig and reciting the ancient formula of the fetial priests.
-- Edited by John Carew Rolfe, Suetonius
Fetial comes directly from the Latin word fētiālis, which referred to a member of the Roman college of priests who were representatives in disputes with foreign nations.
2012年1月3日 星期二
2012_01_03 solecism :謬誤 \SOL-uh-siz-uhm\, noun: A breach of good manners or etiquette.
solecism :謬誤 \SOL-uh-siz-uhm\, noun:
1. A breach of good manners or etiquette.
2. A nonstandard or ungrammatical usage, as unflammable and they was.
3. Any error, impropriety, or inconsistency.
To pick a fight with a visiting lord is a solecism, but being caught that way would have put the solecism squarely on Minch's head…
-- Joel Rosenburg, Hour of the Octopus
The idea of having committed the slightest solecism in politeness, whether real or imaginary, was agony to him; for perhaps even guilt itself does not impose upon some minds so keen a sense of shame and remorse, as a modest, sensitive, and inexperienced youth feels from the consciousness of having neglected etiquette, or excited ridicule.
-- Sir Walter Scott, Waverly
Solecism was originally a toponym for people from the Greek city of Cilicia where a corrupt form of Greek was spoken. It came to mean "a mistake in speaking or writing" in Middle French in the 1500s. The sense of "a breach in manners" was recorded in the early 1600s.
1. A breach of good manners or etiquette.
2. A nonstandard or ungrammatical usage, as unflammable and they was.
3. Any error, impropriety, or inconsistency.
To pick a fight with a visiting lord is a solecism, but being caught that way would have put the solecism squarely on Minch's head…
-- Joel Rosenburg, Hour of the Octopus
The idea of having committed the slightest solecism in politeness, whether real or imaginary, was agony to him; for perhaps even guilt itself does not impose upon some minds so keen a sense of shame and remorse, as a modest, sensitive, and inexperienced youth feels from the consciousness of having neglected etiquette, or excited ridicule.
-- Sir Walter Scott, Waverly
Solecism was originally a toponym for people from the Greek city of Cilicia where a corrupt form of Greek was spoken. It came to mean "a mistake in speaking or writing" in Middle French in the 1500s. The sense of "a breach in manners" was recorded in the early 1600s.
2012年1月2日 星期一
2012_01_02 truss \truhs\, verb: 桁架 紮緊 To tie, bind, or fasten.
truss \truhs\, verb:
1. To tie, bind, or fasten.
2. To make fast with skewers, thread, or the like, as the wings or legs of a fowl in preparation for cooking.
3. To furnish or support with a truss or trusses.
4. To tie or secure (the body) closely or tightly; bind (often followed by up).
5. Falconry. (Of a hawk, falcon, etc.) To grasp (prey) firmly.
noun:
1. Civil Engineering, Building Trades. A. Any of various structural frames based on the geometric rigidity of the triangle and composed of straight members subject only to longitudinal compression, tension, or both: functions as a beam or cantilever to support bridges, roofs, etc. Compare complete (def. 8), incomplete (def. 3), redundant (def. 5c). B. Any of various structural frames constructed on principles other than the geometric rigidity of the triangle or deriving stability from other factors, as the rigidity of joints, the abutment of masonry, or the stiffness of beams.
2. Medicine/Medical. An apparatus consisting of a pad usually supported by a belt for maintaining a hernia in a reduced state.
3. Horticulture. A compact terminal cluster or head of flowers growing upon one stalk.
4. Nautical. A device for supporting a standing yard, having a pivot permitting the yard to swing horizontally when braced.
5. A collection of things tied together or packed in a receptacle; bundle; pack.
6. Chiefly British. A bundle of hay or straw, especially one containing about 56 pounds (25.4 kg) of old hay, 60 pounds (27.2 kg) of new hay, or 36 pounds (16.3 kg) of straw.
She showed me how to bone a fish with one pass of the knife, how to truss a turkey, change the oil in a car, do taxes. Instruction seemed to be her only method of communication as far as I was concerned.
-- Ann Patchett, The Patron Saint of Liars
A dress like this does not require a maid to truss me and my hair requires only a brush.
-- Madeline Hunter, The Sinner
Truss is derived from the Middle English word trussen which is a related to the Vulgar Latin word torsāre meaning "to twist, wind or wrap."
1. To tie, bind, or fasten.
2. To make fast with skewers, thread, or the like, as the wings or legs of a fowl in preparation for cooking.
3. To furnish or support with a truss or trusses.
4. To tie or secure (the body) closely or tightly; bind (often followed by up).
5. Falconry. (Of a hawk, falcon, etc.) To grasp (prey) firmly.
noun:
1. Civil Engineering, Building Trades. A. Any of various structural frames based on the geometric rigidity of the triangle and composed of straight members subject only to longitudinal compression, tension, or both: functions as a beam or cantilever to support bridges, roofs, etc. Compare complete (def. 8), incomplete (def. 3), redundant (def. 5c). B. Any of various structural frames constructed on principles other than the geometric rigidity of the triangle or deriving stability from other factors, as the rigidity of joints, the abutment of masonry, or the stiffness of beams.
2. Medicine/Medical. An apparatus consisting of a pad usually supported by a belt for maintaining a hernia in a reduced state.
3. Horticulture. A compact terminal cluster or head of flowers growing upon one stalk.
4. Nautical. A device for supporting a standing yard, having a pivot permitting the yard to swing horizontally when braced.
5. A collection of things tied together or packed in a receptacle; bundle; pack.
6. Chiefly British. A bundle of hay or straw, especially one containing about 56 pounds (25.4 kg) of old hay, 60 pounds (27.2 kg) of new hay, or 36 pounds (16.3 kg) of straw.
She showed me how to bone a fish with one pass of the knife, how to truss a turkey, change the oil in a car, do taxes. Instruction seemed to be her only method of communication as far as I was concerned.
-- Ann Patchett, The Patron Saint of Liars
A dress like this does not require a maid to truss me and my hair requires only a brush.
-- Madeline Hunter, The Sinner
Truss is derived from the Middle English word trussen which is a related to the Vulgar Latin word torsāre meaning "to twist, wind or wrap."
2012年1月1日 星期日
2012_01_01 novation \noh-VEY-shuhn\, noun: 更替
novation \noh-VEY-shuhn\, noun:
1. The introduction of something new; innovation.
2. Law. The substitution of a new obligation for an old one, usually by the substitution of a new debtor or of a new creditor.
Everything seems to suggest that his discourse proceeds according to a two-term dialectic: popular opinion and its contrary, Doxa and paradox, the stereotype and the novation, fatigue and freshness, relish and disgust: I like/I don't like.
-- Roland Barthes, Roland Barthes
The Text is a little like a score of this new kind: it solicits from the reader a practical collaboration. A great novation this, for who executes the work?
-- Edited by Dorothy Hale, The Novel: An Anthology of Criticism and Theory 1900-2000
Novation comes directly from the Latin word novātiōn which meant "a renewing." Its roots are novāre which means "to renew" and the suffix -ion which denotes an action, as in creation or fusion.
1. The introduction of something new; innovation.
2. Law. The substitution of a new obligation for an old one, usually by the substitution of a new debtor or of a new creditor.
Everything seems to suggest that his discourse proceeds according to a two-term dialectic: popular opinion and its contrary, Doxa and paradox, the stereotype and the novation, fatigue and freshness, relish and disgust: I like/I don't like.
-- Roland Barthes, Roland Barthes
The Text is a little like a score of this new kind: it solicits from the reader a practical collaboration. A great novation this, for who executes the work?
-- Edited by Dorothy Hale, The Novel: An Anthology of Criticism and Theory 1900-2000
Novation comes directly from the Latin word novātiōn which meant "a renewing." Its roots are novāre which means "to renew" and the suffix -ion which denotes an action, as in creation or fusion.
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