Word of the Day-lucubrate0 评论
Lucubrate (verb)
Pronunciation: ['lu-kyê-breyt] Definition: To study long and laboriously, especially at night by lamplight. Usage: The activity is lucubration (action noun), carried out by a lucubrator (agent noun), who works in lucubratory (adjective) fashion. To emphasize study at night work by lamplight, add the prefix e-: "elucubrate." Suggested Usage: Today's term is very comfortable in the university, "Buffy has an existentialism exam tomorrow; she faces a long night of concentrated lucubration." Here is an elementary tongue-twister exemplifying today's word: "Alphonse would be graduating this year had he lubricated his late-night lucubrations less." Applications in the business world should not be overlooked: "Building a new business from the bottom up（从上到下） requires frequent lucubration into the wee hours（凌晨） of the morning." Etymology: Latin lucubrare "work at night by lamplight." The PIE root, *leuk- is behind English "light," Latin lux, lucis "light" and luna "moon," Russian luch' "ray," and Greek leukos "clear, white" and lukhnos "lamp." Of course, all words with luc- referring to light share the same source: "lucid," "elucidate," and with an -m suffix, "illuminate" and "luminary." Lucifer is based on Latin luci- + fer "light-bearer," originally referring to the morning star. "Lynx" comes from Greek lunx, in reference to the animal's shining eyes. "Lunatic" is based on Latin "luna" from the ancient notion that insanity derives from looking at the moon. Word of the Day-declivity0 评论
noun.
Pronunciation: [dê-'kli-vê-tee] Definition: A downward slope. Usage: Several adjectives are related to today's noun; the two most common are "declivous" [dê-'kLI-vês] and "declivitous" [dê-'kli-vê-tês], currently the more popular of the pair. The antonym is acclivity "upward slope," whose adjective is "acclivitous." Suggested Usage: Today's word plays a major role in geological descriptions, "Truman lived and died on the Eastern declivity of Mount St. Helens." However, other types of descriptions can often accommodate it, too, "Their relationship has been in a declivitous state since the evening he lifted her cat from the couch by its tail." 复习一下前面学过的一个单词：precipitous Word of the Day-gainsay0 评论
noun.
Pronunciation: ['geyn-sey] Definition: To contradict, oppose or deny. Usage: This word sounds a tad archaic but still has its place in the language. Suggested Usage: If you want to delay an announcement, tell the reporters pestering you "I cannot gainsay the rumor that we are filing for bankruptcy." If none are yourDictionary regulars, they will need to consult a dictionary, gaining you a short delay. Know someone who contradicts you all the time? Try "I daresay don't gainsay all I say". Etymology: From Old English ge(a)n (from Old Norse gegn- "against, opposite") + secgan "to say"; Middle English gain "opposite" + sayen "say." "Gain" is also found in "again", "against" and "ungainly". It derives from the same Germanic root as German gegen "against." It is not related to the verb "gain." Word of the Day-nocuous0 评论
nocuous \NOK-yoo-uhs\, adjective:
very hurtful; noxious The most important conclusions are that the bile of nocuous or venomous serpents is the most powerful antidote to venom. -- Nature, May-October 1898 "Let us take for example a nocuous stimulus, such as a strong electric current or wounding or cauterization of the skin." -- Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, Conditioned Reflexes noxious obnoxious OPP: innocuous Word of the Day-ellipsis0 评论
ellipsis \i-LIP-sis\, noun:
three dots used to show an omission in writing or printing; the omission of a word or words in text These efforts are to no avail, however, because the author can't leave anything unsaid, any ellipsis gaping: sooner or later someone will say what everything means, and maybe more than once. -- Frank Rich, Arthur Miller's 'Danger: Memory!', New York Times, February 9, 1987 Mr. Gabler postulates the skip of an eye from one ellipsis to another, leading to the omission of several lines -- the longest omission in the book. -- Richard Ellmann, Finally, the Last Word on 'Ulysses': The Ideal Text, and Portable Too, New York Times, June 15, 1986 by 1570, from Latin ellipsis, from Greek elleipsis "a falling short, defect, ellipse," from elleipein "to fall short, leave out," from en- "in" + leipein "to leave." Grammatical sense first recorded 1612. eclipse Word of the Day-crepuscular0 评论
Pronunciation: [krê-'pês-kyu-lê(r)]
Definition: Pertaining to crepuscule, twilight; dim or weak in terms of visibility. Usage: Today's word is an adjective more appealing than the noun (crepuscule) it is derived from. "Twilight" certainly is a more beautiful way to describe the light at dusk than "crepuscule" but "crepuscular" has its charms. Suggested Usage: Today's word should come to mind in any situation characterized by dimness: "I'm afraid that reading the fine print of this contract demands too much of my crepuscular vision." The term fits many other legal situations, too, "Your honor, in the crepuscular light of the bar, it was easy to mistake my wallet for the wallet of the guy sitting next to me." The judge's vision would have to be crepuscular for him to not see through that excuse. Word of the Day-scintilla0 评论
Pronunciation: [sin-'ti-lê]
Definition: The faintest trace of anything. Usage: Look out for the silent "c" in this word, as well as the double "l". Suggested Usage: This word has the intensified sense of "trace": "I don't want a scintilla of vanilla in my shake" or "she didn't leave the scintilla of a doubt about her intentions". Here is something few people know: the diminutive of "scintilla" is "scintillula", i.e. a small scintilla. Amaze your teen-age peers with expressions like this: "Not even a scintillula of this conversation is to get back to my dad!" You may start the next word craze. Word of the Day-careen0 评论
Careen (verb)
Pronunciation: [kê-'reen] Definition: To lean to one side or cause a vehicle to lean to one side; originally, to lay a boat on its side to clean the keel. Usage: Today's verb is often confused with the verb "career." "Career"（疾驰，飞奔） means to race ahead at full speed. Neither verb means "bounce off of" as either is often used (that is "carom"), though people seem to understand you if you use it in that sense. Suggested Usage: "Mavis careened out of the pub" means that she exited leaning to one side, nothing more. If she bounced off the wall outside, you should add that: "Mavis careened out of the pub and caromed off the wall outside." If she careered out the pub it is probably because she didn't find her husband in that one and is on the way to the next. Cars may careen around a corner if they are careering ahead too fast—but no bouncing is implied. Word of the Day-allay0 评论
Allay (verb)
Pronunciation: [ê-'ley] Definition: To reduce the intensity or severity of something, as to allay a pain or allay fears. Usage: Today's word comes with two nouns, allayer "someone who allays" and allaying "the process of allaying." The intransitive correlate of "allay" is "abate." If something allays your fears, your fears abate. Suggested Usage: Though most dictionaries list several meanings of today' s word, all can be reduced to the single concept we offer today under Definition. Whether to allay an up-rising, a pain, or the tempo of work, the basic idea is a material reduction in intensity, potentially to nil: "Gee, mom, I need a high-speed computer connection to allay the impact of a week's grounding on（搁浅在。。。） my social life." Word of the Day-mollify0 评论
mollify \MAH-luh-fye\ verb
*1 : to soothe in temper or disposition : appease 2 : to reduce the rigidity of : soften 3 : to reduce in intensity : assuage, temper Example sentence: The clerk tried his best to mollify the irate customer. Did you know? “Mollify,” “pacify,” “appease,” and “placate” all mean “to ease the anger or disturbance of,” although each implies a slightly different way of pouring oil on troubled waters. “Pacify” suggests the restoration of a calm or peaceful state, while “appease” implies the quieting of insistent demands by making concessions; you can appease appetites and desires as well as persons. “Placate” is similar to “appease,” but it often indicates a more complete transformation of bitterness to goodwill. “Mollify,” with its root in Latin “mollis,” meaning “soft,” implies soothing hurt feelings or anger. Word of the Day-emollient0 评论
Emollient (adjective)
Pronunciation: [ê-'mahl-yênt or ee-'mahl-yênt] Definition: Softening, soothing; making less harsh or abrasive. Usage: There is an ancient verb, "emolliate," which apparently was replaced over the years by mollify "soften, allay, reduce tension." "Mollify" does share an origin with today's word but not emolument "compensation," which comes from Latin emolere "to grind out." "Emollient" may be used as a noun referring to an agent that softens, as to apply an emollient to one's hands. Suggested Usage: The basic thrust of today's word is to indicate a softening of the skin: "Lucinda often slipped emollient bath oils into Teddy's bath without his knowledge, but they had no effect on his crusty hide." However, there are few (if any) restrictions on the kinds of softening it applies to: "After storming out of the meeting, Molly returned with a few emollient words to settle the feathers she had ruffled."
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