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tenebrific

[ ten-uh-brif-ik ] [ tn br阞f 阞k ] Show IPA Phonetic Respelling

adjective

producing darkness.

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More about tenebrific

Tenebrific producing darkness is based on Latin tenebrae darkness, plus the adjective-forming suffix -fic. Tenebrae, which is also the source of English tenebrous dark, gloomy, obscure, appears to come from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning dark that is also the source of German 嗨瓣鳥鳥梗娶喝紳眶 twilight, Sanskrit 喧獺鳥硃莽 darkness, and Welsh tywyll dark. Another possible relative of tenebrae is Thames, a river that runs through southeastern England, which may come from a Celtic source meaning dark. Related to tenebrae is the Latin adverb temere blindly, heedlessly, perhaps originally meaning in the dark, which is the source of English temerarious reckless, rash. Tenebrific was first recorded in the 1640s.

how is tenebrific used?

Tell me what you saw, I ventured to suggest. At the question, a veil seemed to fall between us, impalpable but tenebrific. He shook his head morosely and made no reply. The human terror, which perhaps had driven him back toward his normal self, and had made him almost communicative for the nonce, fell away from Amberville. A shadow that was darker than fear, an impenetrable alien umbrage, again submerged him.

Clark Ashton Smith, Genius Loci, Genius Loci and Other Tales, 1948

The opening was so narrow, I had to turn sideways to squeeze through. Narrow steps led to the top. The low-ceilinged space felt tight, claustrophobic. It smelled damp, and I tasted dust on my tongue. Tenebrific shadows danced on the walls as two brilliant flashes of lightning appeared in the small roof window about six paces to my right. A moment later, the muffled boom of thunder rattled the loose floorboards.

J. R. Ripley, Die, Die Birdie, 2016

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agglutinative

[ uh-gloot-n-ey-tiv ] [ glut ne阞 t阞v ] Show IPA Phonetic Respelling

adjective

pertaining to or noting a language characterized by combining morphemes (meaningful word elements) without fusion or change.

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More about agglutinative

Agglutinative pertaining to a language characterized by combining morphemes without fusion is formed from the verb agglutinate to unite, as with glue, plus the adjective-forming suffix -ive. Agglutinate ultimately comes from the Latin noun 眶梭贖喧梗紳 (stem 眶梭贖喧勳紳-) glue, which also lends its name to the sticky protein that is found in wheat and other grains that can negatively affect those with an allergy or celiac disease. Partially or totally agglutinative languages are found worldwide, from Japanese, Malay, and Navajo (Din矇 Bizaad) to Basque (Euskera), Finnish, and Swahili. Agglutinative was first recorded in English circa 1630.

how is agglutinative used?

Cornelia Gerhardt, an English linguist at Saarland University in Germany and one of the founders of culinary linguistics, a field concerned with the ties between language and food, believes that English is a language that does not like to pack too much information into one word. English is analytical, using a series of words to explain an idea, Dr. Gerhardt said, unlike polysynthetic languages (where entire concepts are reduced to a single word) or agglutinative languages (where suffixes and prefixes are added to a root word to create new words).

Ruth Dsouza Prabhu, Sitting Outside on a Sunny Day and Enjoying a Beer, New York Times, February 14, 2022
[F]ully appreciating the challenges of communicating technical information in ASL requires understanding that ASL is not a signed form of English. Its a distinct language, with specific rules and grammar. When theres a new phenomenon in English, people tend to create a new word for it. ASL tends to use agglutinative structure, which means that the signs are composed of different signs, which do not change much when strung together to make a word, says Jon Henner, a deaf linguist specializing in ASL at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Leigh Krietsch Boerner, "Expanding American Sign Language's scientific vocabulary," Chemical and Engineering News, July 11, 2021

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aegis

[ ee-jis ] [ i d阞s ] Show IPA Phonetic Respelling

noun

protection; support.

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More about aegis

Aegis protection, support comes by way of Latin from Ancient Greek 硃勳眶穩莽 shield of Zeus or Athena, which may derive from 硃穩單 (stem aig-) goat in reference to a type of cloak or shield made of goatskin, plus -is, a noun-forming suffix. Because the stem of 硃勳眶穩莽 is 硃勳眶穩餃-, aegis may be pluralized in English either as aegises or, more traditionally, as aegides. Ancient Greek 硃穩單 does not have any clear relatives in modern English, and it remains uncertain whether 硃穩單 is of Indo-European origin or is a borrowing from a Middle Eastern source. Be sure not to confuse 硃穩單 with Latin agnus lamb, which looks similar but is not related. Aegis was first recorded in the mid-15th century.

how is aegis used?

Longtime home of the Anasazi and inhabited by the Navajo since at least the 1700s, Canyon de Chelly is now a national park in Chinle, Arizona, and is operated by Navajos under the aegis of the National Park Service. The guides, who are all Navajo, speak of the remarkable geology of what is the second largest canyon in the United States, and about what has been learned from artifacts found in the 84,000-acre archaeological sanctuary.

Frances Madeson, Fate of Navajo, Canyon de Chelly, and Sheep Is Life Celebration on Field Trip Agenda, Indian Country Today, June 13, 2017

The history of the towns that became Roman is known to us very imperfectly and unevenly …. Further, great mystery shrouds the particulars of their overthrow when the aegis of the Roman authority was withdrawn. There are but few survivals of towns to the present day, and parallels must be sought rather in Pannonia and North Africa than in the Western European Empire.

James Oliver Bevan, The Towns of Roman Britain, 1917

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