51吃瓜 of the Day
Perseid
noun
Astronomy. any of a shower of meteors appearing in August and radiating from a point in the constellation Perseus.
More about Perseid
Perseid may have been introduced into English from Italian Perseidi, coined by the distinguished Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli (1835-1910), who is unfortunately best remembered today for the mistranslation into English of Italian canali 鈥渃hannels鈥� on Mars as 鈥渃anals,鈥� which has inspired decades and decades of science fiction. Perseid ultimately comes from Greek 笔别谤蝉别铆诲脓蝉 鈥渙ffspring or daughters of Perseus,鈥� because the meteors appear to be coming from the constellation Perseus. Perseid entered English in the 19th century.
how is Perseid used?
Comet Swift-Tuttle is the largest object known to repeatedly pass by Earth; its nucleus is about 16 miles (26 kilometers) wide. It last passed nearby Earth during its orbit around the sun in 1992, and the next time will be in 2126. But it won’t be forgotten in the meantime, because Earth passes through the dust and debris it leaves behind every year, creating the annual Perseid meteor shower.
The Perseids also feature 鈥渇ireballs,鈥� which are meteors of bright color and longer streaks that sometimes have 鈥渕agnitudes greater than -3.鈥�
decorous
adjective
characterized by dignified propriety in conduct, manners, appearance, character, etc.
More about decorous
The English adjective decorous ultimately derives from Latin 诲别肠艒谤耻蝉 鈥渁cceptable, fitting, proper.鈥� The adjective 诲别肠艒谤耻蝉 is a derivative of the noun decus (inflectional stem decor-) 鈥渆steem, honor.鈥� The Latin words derive from the Proto-Indo-European root dek-, dok- 鈥渢o accept, take,鈥� from which Latin also derives the verb 诲别肠脓谤别 鈥渢o be acceptable, be fitting,鈥� whose present participle stem decent- is the source of English decent. From the root dok- Latin forms the verb 诲辞肠脓谤别 鈥渢o teach (i.e., to make acceptable, make fitting).鈥� The English derivatives of 诲辞肠脓谤别 include doctrine and docent. The same root appears in Greek 诲辞办别卯苍 鈥渢o expect, suppose, imagine, seem, seem good,鈥� and its derivative nouns 诲贸驳尘补 鈥渨hat seems good, opinion, belief,鈥� source of English dogma, and 诲贸虫补 鈥渆xpectation, opinion, estimation, repute,鈥� and in the Septuagint and the New Testament, 鈥済lory, splendor,鈥� which forms the first element in doxology 鈥渉ymn of praise.鈥� Decorous entered English in the 17th century.
how is decorous used?
If you think British historical dramas are all decorous whisperings about how one should behave upon meeting the queen, this mini-series is here to prove that notion wrong …
The normally decorous Senate has been rocked by heated confrontations this week as fellow Republicans have traded personal and profane insults over how much loyalty to show President Trump.
agora
noun
the place where a popular political assembly met in Ancient Greece, originally a marketplace or public square.
More about agora
In Greek 补驳辞谤谩 originally meant 鈥渁ssembly,鈥� especially of the common people, not of the ruling class. 础驳辞谤谩 gradually developed the meanings 鈥渕arketplace, the business that goes on in the marketplace, public speaking.鈥� The Greek noun is a derivative of the verb 补驳别铆谤别颈苍 鈥渢o gather,鈥� from the Proto-Indo-European root ger-, gere- 鈥渢o gather, collect,鈥� source also of Latin grex 鈥渇lock, herd,鈥� with its English derivatives aggregate, egregious, and gregarious. Agora entered English in the late 16th century.
how is agora used?
In the fall of 1964, left-wing students at U.C. Berkeley demanded the right to hand out antiwar literature on Sproul Plaza, the red brick agora at the center of the campus.
… it has become a commonplace among ancient historians to single out the agora as the political centre of the polis where the people met to make all important decisions or, in oligarchies and tyrannies, to rubber stamp the decisions made by the rulers.