51吃瓜 of the Day
stalwart
adjective
firm, steadfast, or uncompromising.
More about stalwart
Stalwart 鈥渟trong and brave; valiant鈥� or “firm, steadfast, or uncompromising” is in origin a Scots form of Middle English stalworth 鈥渟trong, sturdy, serviceable.鈥� Stalworth has many variant spellings in Middle English because its second syllable was confused with the adjective worth 鈥渉aving monetary value.鈥� In fact, stalworth comes from Old English 蝉迟忙虅濒飞颈谤迟丑别 鈥渁ble to stand a person in good stead; serviceable (of ships).鈥� 厂迟忙虅濒 is probably a contraction of stathol 鈥渂ase, support, bottom (of a haystack)鈥�; the Old English adjective suffix –wirthe, with the variants –飞颈别谤冒别, –飞测谤冒别, –飞别辞谤冒别 鈥済ood, worthy,鈥� survives in modern English worth. Stalwart in the sense 鈥渟erviceable鈥� entered English before 900; the other senses date from the late 12th century.
how is stalwart used?
Martha was envious, but she was a stalwart friend, and mordantly funny about women鈥檚 plight.
It would have needed a very stalwart young woman in 1828 to disregard all those snubs and chidings and promises of prizes. One must have been something of a firebrand to say to oneself, Oh, but they can鈥檛 buy literature too. Literature is open to everybody.
stalwart
More about cunctation
Cunctation 鈥渓ateness; delay; tardy action鈥� comes from Latin 肠耻苍肠迟腻迟颈艒 (inflectional stem 肠耻苍肠迟腻迟颈艒n-), a derivative of the verb 肠耻苍肠迟腻谤墨 鈥渢o delay, hang back.鈥� 颁耻苍肠迟腻谤墨 is a derivative of the Proto-Indo-European root kenk-, konk– 鈥渢o hang; hang back; vacillate.鈥� The root appears in Sanskrit 艣谩峁卥补迟别 鈥�(he) vacillates, doubts, fears,鈥� Hittite kanki 鈥�(he) hangs.鈥� In Proto-Germanic the original root konk– becomes hanh-, forming the transitive verb hanhan 鈥渢o hang (e.g., a malefactor)鈥� and the intransitive verb hanganan 鈥渢o hang, be suspended, be in suspense.鈥� Cunctation entered English in the second half of the 16th century.
how is cunctation used?
Lord Eldon, however, was personally answerable for unnecessary and culpable 鈥�cunctation,鈥� as he called it, in protracting the arguments of counsel and in deferring judgment from day to day, from term to term, and from year to year, after the arguments had closed and he had irrevocably decided in his own mind what the judgment should be.
Break off delay, since we but read of one / That ever prosper’d by cunctation.
cunctation
sacrosanct
adjective
extremely sacred or inviolable.
More about sacrosanct
Sacrosanct 鈥渆xtremely sacred or inviolable鈥� comes directly from Latin 蝉补肠谤艒蝉补苍肠迟耻蝉, which more correctly should be a phrase 蝉补肠谤艒 sanctus 鈥渕ade holy by a sacred rite.鈥� 厂补肠谤艒 is the ablative singular of the noun sacrum 鈥渟acred object or place; sacrificial victim; religious observance or rite.鈥� Sanctus 鈥渟ecured by religious sanctions, inviolate鈥� is an adjective use of the past participial of 蝉补苍肠墨谤别 鈥渢o ratify solemnly, prescribe by law; consecrate.鈥� The Romans liked everything nice and tidy, legal, watertight, and 蝉补肠谤艒蝉补苍肠迟耻蝉 is just such a word. In the 500 years of the Roman Republic, the Tribunes of the People (Trib奴n墨 Pl膿bis) defended the rights of the common people against the patricians, controlling the power of the magistrates, issuing vetoes right and left. The tribunes derived their power not from statute but from the oath that the plebeians swore to maintain the tribunes鈥� 蝉补肠谤艒sanctit膩s, their sacrosanctity. Sacrosanct entered English in the 17th century.
how is sacrosanct used?
The result is a standoff between two camps that regard the site as sacrosanct for very different reasons, and have spent years in a quiet tug of war between ancient traditions and modern regulations.
Voting in the United States of America is a sacrosanct right. It is both a precious obligation and a sacred opportunity we all have to participate in our democracy, and our voting process should be treated with the gravity and seriousness that it demands.
sacrosanct