51吃瓜 of the Day
guileless
adjective
sincere; honest; straightforward; frank.
More about guileless
Guileless means 鈥渨ithout guile, sincere, honest, frank.鈥� Guile comes from Middle English gile, guile 鈥渁 crafty or fraudulent trick, double-dealing,鈥� from Old French guile 鈥渓ie, trick, deception,鈥� most likely from a Germanic source. The problem is: Which Germanic language or languages? From the point of view of phonetics, Old French guile could very well come from Germanic 飞墨濒, but sources are lacking: Old English 飞墨濒 鈥渄evice, trick鈥� may itself be a borrowing from Old French. Old Norse 惫茅濒 鈥渁rtifice, device, trick鈥� is wrong for phonetic reasons. Guileless entered English in the first half of the 18th century.
how is guileless used?
Looking at them is an exercise in nostalgia not only for the languid California of the early seventies, or the looseness offered by working in a medium that had little respect from the art world and therefore no money, but for a moment when, even if only in the world of these images, the encounter between self and stranger could be guileless.
Guileless? Guess again, sister. There is nothing remotely guileless聽about this guy
guileless
whithersoever
conjunction
to whatever place.
More about whithersoever
Whithersoever, now archaic, meaning 鈥渢o whatever place,鈥� comes from Middle English whider-so-evere, whidersere, whidursever, an adverb phrase that could be spelled as two or three words; the one-word spelling first appears in the first half of the 17th century. Etymologists break down whithersoever in several ways: whitherso (by itself meaning 鈥渨hithersoever鈥�) + ever; whither + so + ever; whider + so-ever; and whider–so + ever. Old English has the adverb phrase sw膩 hwider sw膩, which means the same thing as the Middle English forms but is not their direct ancestor. Whithersoever entered English in the first half of the 13th century.
how is whithersoever used?
Though you may cross vast spaces of sea … your faults will follow you whithersoever you travel.
From wheresoever they come and whithersoever they afterward go, all ships that use the canal will pass through the Caribbean.
whithersoever
bel-esprit
noun
a person of great wit or intellect.
More about bel-esprit
Bel-esprit 鈥渁 person of great wit or intellect鈥� is a French term. It means literally 鈥渂eautiful mind, fine mind, wit,鈥� and by extension 鈥減erson of wit and intelligence.鈥� Bel is the regular French development of Latin bellus 鈥渘ice, pretty, handsome, charming,鈥� a diminutive adjective formed from bonus 鈥済ood, good at (something), morally good.鈥� The French noun esprit 鈥渟pirit, mind鈥� comes from Latin spiritus 鈥渂reath, breathing, vital principle, soul.鈥� Bel-esprit entered English in the first half of the 17th century.
how is bel-esprit used?
She was a bel esprit, and a dreadful Radical for those days.
Though I would prefer to be dubbed an aristophren, someone of superior intelligence, or a bel-esprit, a person of refined intellect and graceful wit, the proper term for me is lexiphanes (lek-SIF-uh-neez), a showoff with words.
bel-esprit