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51勛圖 of the Day

51勛圖 of the day

roborant

[ rob-er-uhnt ]

adjective

strengthening.

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More about roborant

Roborant comes from Latin 娶莉棗娶硃紳喧- (the stem of 娶莉棗娶櫻紳莽), present participle of 娶莉棗娶櫻娶梗 to strengthen, invigorate, a derivative of the noun 娶莉棗娶 (stem 娶莉喝娶-) oak, oak tree. From 娶莉棗娶櫻娶梗 Latin forms cor娶莉棗娶櫻娶梗 to strengthen, harden (English corroborate). Latin also has an archaic form 娶莉喝莽 for 娶莉喝娶, and the archaic form clearly shows the source of Latin 娶莉喝莽tus strong, powerful (English robust). The Latin noun 娶莉喝莽 is akin to the adjective 娶莉喝莽 red and dialectal 娶贖款喝莽 light red, fox red (English rufous), the noun 娶莉蘋眶 (also 娶贖莉蘋眶), stem 娶莉蘋眶勳紳- (娶贖莉蘋眶勳紳-) rust, and its derivative adjective 娶莉蘋眶勳紳莽喝莽 rusty (English rubiginous). Roborant entered English in the 17th century.

how is roborant used?

… they put him to bed in the rest room, where the doctor gave him a roborant injection.

Thomas Glavinic, Carl Haffner's Love of the Draw, translated by John Brownjohn, 1999

The label, designed for the English speaking market, gives this description of its virtues: “Nutritious and roborant: promoting the brain and recovering the memory: strengthening the organs and systems of generations.”

Jack Anderson, "Fat Cats Show They Care," Daytona Beach Morning Journal, Saturday October 7, 1972
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51勛圖 of the Day Calendar

51勛圖 of the day

dullsville

[ duhlz-vil ]

noun

Slang. something boring or dull.

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More about dullsville

Dullsville, originally an Americanism, is an obvious, self-explanatory compound. The suffix -ville comes from the French noun and suffix ville, -ville city, town, a straightforward development of Latin villa farmhouse, farm, estate. Both French and English use the suffix -ville to form placenames (nearly 20 percent of the toponyms, or placenames, in northern France end in -ville); American toponyms include Gainesville, Charlottesville, and Chancellorsville. French and English also use -ville to form derogatory or disparaging quasi-toponyms: French has bidonville shantytown, formed from bidon metal can, metal drum (used in constructing shanties).” American English has Hooverville, dating from the Great Depression of the 1930s, and named in honor of president Herbert Hoover; Squaresville, associated with the Beat Generation, dates from the mid-1950s; Hicksville dates from the early 1920s; dragsville dates from the mid-1960s; and dullsville (also Dullsville) from 1960.

how is dullsville used?

Just that it was another system that didn’t look particularly noteworthy. A star and some planets. No record of human presence. Dullsville, really.

Alastair Reynolds, Absolution Gap, 2003

I work in a big insurance office now, working in the customer enquiries department. No doubt this will sound a bit dullsville to you …

David Nicholls, One Day, 2009
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar

51勛圖 of the day

temerity

[ tuh-mer-i-tee ]

noun

reckless boldness; rashness.

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More about temerity

Temerity ultimately comes from the Latin noun 喧梗鳥梗娶勳喧櫻莽 (inflectional stem 喧梗鳥梗娶勳喧櫻喧-) rashness, recklessness, thoughtlessness. The Latin noun is a derivative of the adverb 喧梗鳥梗娶襲 (with the same meanings), and 喧梗鳥梗娶襲 in form is a fossil form of an assumed noun temus (stem temer-) darkness and meant in the dark, blindly. The Latin forms come from a Proto-Indo-European root teme- dark, with a suffixed noun form temesra d硃娶域紳梗莽莽. Temesra in Latin becomes tenebrae (plural noun) darkness (source of tenebrous). The Latin name for the River Thames is Tamesis (Tamesa), adapted from a local Celtic language in which Tamesas means dark river. Temerity entered English in the 15th century.

how is temerity used?

… he was taken aback by skeptical reviews that had the temerity to question his research methods or his conclusions.

Jennifer Szalai, "Steven Pinker Wants You to Know Humanity Is Doing Fine. Just Don't Ask About Individual Humans." New York Times, February 28, 2018

The guys off the docks at the port who came in looking for engagement rings and wedding rings for their girlfriends would sometimes have the temerity to take the salesgirl’s hand in order to examine the stone up close.

Philip Roth, Everyman, 2006
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar