51吃瓜 of the Day
paragon
noun
a model or pattern of excellence or of a particular excellence: a paragon of virtue.
More about paragon
The English noun paragon comes from Middle French, from Old Italian paragone 鈥渢ouch stone,鈥� a derivative of the verb paragonare 鈥渢o test on a touchstone or whetstone.鈥� The Italian words perhaps derive from Greek 辫补谤补办辞苍芒苍 鈥渢o sharpen, whet,鈥� formed from the prefix and preposition para-鈥渂eside, alongside鈥� and 补办辞苍芒苍 鈥渢o sharpen, whet,鈥� a derivative of 补办贸苍脓 鈥渨hetstone, bone.鈥� Paragon entered English in the mid-16th century.
how is paragon used?
As that paragon of fatherhood Homer Simpson once told his brood, 鈥淩emember, as far as anyone knows, we’re a nice, normal family.鈥�
He has variously been considered a military icon who won a total victory; a presidential model for overcoming his own considerable flaws and a tragic weakness for scoundrels to achieve fame and glory; a literary phenomenon who crafted the most famous deathbed writing in American letters; and a celebrity who was a paragon of humility and modesty.
stanchless
adjective
incessant: a stanchless torrent of words.
More about stanchless
English stanchless is an awkward, uncommon word. Its meaning is obvious: 鈥渦nable to be stanched.鈥� Stanch comes from the Old French verb estanchier 鈥渢o close, stop鈥� and is probably from an unattested Vulgar Latin verb 蝉迟补苍迟颈肠腻谤别, equivalent to Latin stant- (stem of 蝉迟腻苍蝉, the present participle of 蝉迟腻谤别 鈥渢o stand鈥�) and the causative suffix -颈肠腻谤别; stanticare means 鈥渢o make stand or stop.鈥� Stanchless entered English in the 17th century.
how is stanchless used?
The flow of his language was slow, but steady and apparently stanchless.
The machine can only repeat, and if we repeated we should be machines and untrue to the stanchless creative mystery of the life within us.
nacreous
adjective
resembling nacre or mother-of-pearl; lustrous; pearly.
More about nacreous
The English adjective nacreous is a derivative of nacre 鈥渕other-of-pearl.鈥� Nacre comes from Middle French nacre, from Medieval Latin nacchara, nacara, nacrum. Other Romance languages have similar forms: Old Italian nacacra, nacchera, Catalan nacre, and Spanish 苍谩肠补谤, all meaning 鈥渕other-of-pearl.鈥� The further origin of nacre is uncertain: the most common etymology is that it comes from Arabic 苍补辩辩腻谤补 鈥渟mall drum,鈥� or from Arabic naqur “hunting horn,” a derivative of the verb nakara “hollow out,” from the shape of the mollusk shell that yields mother-of-pearl. Nacreous entered English in the 19th century.
how is nacreous used?
Nacreous pearl light swam faintly about the hem of the lilac darkness; the edges of light and darkness were stitched upon the hills.
It should not have surprised them to find the angel in that preserved condition. The fingernails, nacreous as the inside of an oyster shell …