51吃瓜 of the Day
animus
noun
strong dislike or enmity; hostile attitude; animosity.
More about animus
In Latin the noun animus has many meanings: 鈥渢he mind (as opposed to the body), the mind (or soul) that with the body constitutes a person, the mind as the seat of consciousness, the immortal part of a person (the soul)鈥�.鈥� Animus comes from the same Proto-Indo-European source (补苍讫– 鈥渢o breathe鈥�) as Greek 谩苍别尘辞蝉 鈥渢he wind.鈥� The modern sense 鈥渟trong dislike, enmity鈥� is a development within English, appearing only at the end of the 18th century.
how is animus used?
This time, it鈥檚 not a border wall or a health care proposal driving the animus, but an online ad for a men鈥檚 razor, because, of course.
Second, people should not let their animus toward him鈥攁nd his animus toward the truth鈥攖rick them into trafficking in conspiracy theories.
tergiversate
verb
to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate.
More about tergiversate
Tergiversate comes from the Latin verb 迟别谤驳颈惫别谤蝉腻谤墨 鈥渢o keep turning one鈥檚 back on a task, show reluctance.鈥� The Latin noun tergum means 鈥渂ack (of a human or animal),鈥� and the verb 惫别谤蝉腻谤墨 鈥渢o keep moving about鈥� is a derivative of vertere 鈥渢o turn.鈥� Tergiversate entered English in the 17th century.
how is tergiversate used?
The nominees will equivocate and tergiversate. They will never engage.
I can sense a growing concentricity in my manner of thinking, a desire to circle back on my own thoughts, to tergiversate, to animadvert, to extemporise.
petrichor
noun
a distinctive scent, usually described as earthy, pleasant, or sweet, produced by rainfall on very dry ground.
More about petrichor
Petrichor is an uncommon word used in mineral chemistry or geochemistry to describe the pleasant scent of rain falling on very dry ground. Petrichor is a compound of the Greek nouns 辫茅迟谤腻 鈥渞ock, stone鈥� (as in petroleum 鈥渞ock oil鈥�) and 墨肠丑峁搑, the juice or liquid鈥攏ot blood!鈥攖hat flows in the veins of the Olympian gods. About 60 percent of ancient Greek words have no satisfactory etymology; 墨肠丑峁搑 is one of them. Petrichor was coined by two Australian chemists, Isabel 鈥淛oy鈥� Bear and Richard Grenfell Thomas, in 1964.
how is petrichor used?
I surfaced from the tunnel in a shack, where the air was close and smelled of petrichor.
So whether rainfall reminds you of summer soccer games, puddle-splashing with siblings or a terrifying storm, thank (or blame) the planets [sic], microbes and minerals that give petrichor such a distinctive odor.