51吃瓜 of the Day
psittacine
adjective
of or relating to parrots.
More about psittacine
The English adjective psittacine comes straight from Latin psittacinus, which comes straight from the Greek adjective 辫蝉颈迟迟谩办颈苍辞蝉, a derivative of the noun 辫蝉颈迟迟补办贸蝉 鈥減arrot鈥� and the common adjective suffix -inos. 厂颈迟迟补办贸蝉 and 产颈迟迟补办贸蝉, variant spellings of 辫蝉颈迟迟补办贸蝉, confirm what one would expect, that 辫蝉颈迟迟补办贸蝉 is not a native Greek word. Psittacine entered English in the 19th century.
how is psittacine used?
In 1930, the U.S. Health Service clamped down on the importation of psittacine birds, other than a few permitted to research institutions, zoos, and private parrot fanciers returning from Europe with uninfected birds they had owned for at least six months.
Now the psittacine tribe can claim another brainy feat: tool use. Researchers at the University of York and the University of St. Andrews observed captive greater vasa parrots … using date pits and pebbles to pulverize cockle shells.
Johnsonese
noun
a literary style characterized by rhetorically balanced, often pompous phraseology and an excessively Latinate vocabulary: so called from the style of writing practiced by Samuel Johnson.
More about Johnsonese
Samuel Johnson (1709鈥�84) is indeed guilty of Johnsonese, as in his (1755) dictionary definition for network 鈥淎ny thing reticulated or decussated, at equal distances, with interstices between the intersections,鈥� which is incomprehensible (and unforgivable in a dictionary). But far more often Dr. Johnson is direct and pungent (and sometimes amusing), as in his definition for lexicographer 鈥淎 writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge鈥︹�� Johnsonese entered English in the 19th century.
how is Johnsonese used?
Though I, too, admired his Dictionary, his delightfully wrong-headed 鈥淟ives of the Poets鈥� and his countless celebrated apothegms, I agree with Macaulay that he translated the English language into a 鈥�Johnsonese鈥� dialect whose now deflated orotundities still disfigure public speaking and other such pious utterances.
He valued its uncluttered prose 鈥� its freedom from the Johnsonese and Gallicisms that had marred Burney鈥檚 late style.
aspersion
noun
a damaging or derogatory remark or criticism; slander: casting aspersions on a campaign rival.
More about aspersion
Aspersion comes from aspersion-, the stem of the Latin noun 补蝉辫别谤蝉颈艒 鈥渁 sprinkling.鈥� In classical Latin the noun is restricted to literal sprinkling. In the Vulgate (the Latin version of the Bible prepared by Saint Jerome at the end of the 4th century a.d.), 补蝉辫别谤蝉颈艒 also refers to the sprinkling of blood (as for a sacrifice). 础蝉辫别谤蝉颈艒 in the sense 鈥渟prinkling with holy water鈥� has always been practiced in the Roman Catholic Church, e.g., in baptisms. The metaphorical sense 鈥渟prinkling calumnies; slander鈥� is a development within English. Aspersion entered English in the 16th century.
how is aspersion used?
The full enormity of this remark then dawned on me; it was at once a lie and a cruel aspersion on my mother, who would certainly have got me some lighter clothes had I not discouraged her.
A notorious New York magazine profile this fall, which cast aspersions on Kaur鈥檚 reading habits and penchant for gold rings, showed its cards in the first paragraph …