51吃瓜 of the Day
timorous
adjective
full of fear; fearful: The noise made them timorous.
More about timorous
Timorous, 鈥渇earful,鈥� has several spellings in Middle English, e.g., tymerous, timerous, temerous, which all come via Old French temeros, timoureus from the Medieval Latin adjective 迟颈尘艒谤艒蝉耻蝉 鈥渇earful,鈥� a derivative of the Latin noun timor 鈥渇ear,鈥� itself a derivative of the verb 迟颈尘脓谤别 鈥渢o fear, be afraid.鈥� (There is no further reliable etymology for the Latin.) The English and French spellings tim- and tem- betray a confusion going back to at least the 14th century between derivations of the Latin verb 迟颈尘脓谤别 鈥渢o fear鈥� and adverb temere 鈥渞ashly, recklessly鈥� (the source of the English noun temerity). From the English variant spelling timerous (鈥渇earful鈥�), English forms the uncommon noun temerity 鈥渇earfulness, timidity,鈥� which is also spelled timerite and temerity, the latter spelling continuing that confusion. Timorous entered English in the 15th century.
how is timorous used?
Besides these fearful things, he was expected to do what terrified him into the very core of his somewhat timorous heart.
Though the fellow is far from being timorous in cases that are not supposed preternatural, he could not stand the sight of this apparition, but ran into the kitchen, with his hair standing on end, staring wildly, and deprived of utterance.
More about dirigible
Dirigible is a shortening of 鈥渄irigible balloon,鈥� a translation of the French ballon dirigeable 鈥渟teerable balloon.鈥� Dirigible and dirigeable are derivatives of the Latin verb 诲墨谤颈驳别谤别 鈥渢o guide, align, straighten鈥� and the common suffix -ible 鈥渃apable of, fit for.鈥� Dirigible in its literal sense 鈥渃apable of being directed鈥� dates from the late 16th century; the sense referring to the balloon or airship dates from the late 19th century.
how is dirigible used?
With gas cells collapsing, framework breaking up, and controls out of order, the great dirigible had reared and plunged and finally had fallen 3,000 feet into the Pacific.
Being up in that tower was like being in a dirigible above the clouds.
More about moonstruck
The original sense of moonstruck, 鈥渕entally deranged, insane,鈥� first appears in Paradise Lost (1667) by John Milton (1608鈥�74). Milton was astonishingly learned: he wrote poetry in Latin, Greek, and Italian; he translated Psalm 114 from Hebrew into Greek verse; he was a polemicist (or propagandist) for the English general, Puritan statesman, and Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Moonstruck is probably Milton鈥檚 own creation, a translation from Greek 蝉别濒脓苍贸产濒脓迟辞蝉 鈥渕oonstruck, epileptic,鈥� a compound of 蝉别濒岣梟脓 鈥渕oon鈥� and 产濒脓迟贸蝉 鈥渟tricken, stricken with palsy,鈥� a past participle of 产谩濒濒别颈苍 鈥漷o throw, hit (with a missile).鈥� The sense of 鈥渄reamily romantic鈥� dates from the mid-19th century.
how is moonstruck used?
He wanted to see her … Otherwise he wouldn’t have waited for nearly an hour like some moonstruck schoolboy and worried all the while about the reception he would receive.
The sonata was originally given the name that’s on your music. But an author renamed it the Moonlight Sonata. I like that name very much. … Because it’s music for a moonstruck man.