51吃瓜 of the Day
ratoon
noun
a sprout or shoot from the root of a plant, especially a sugarcane, after it has been cropped.
More about ratoon
Ratoon 鈥渁 sprout from the root of a plant鈥� is likely anglicized from Spanish 谤别迟辞帽辞 鈥渟prout,鈥� which is based on the verb 谤别迟辞帽补谤 鈥渢o sprout again in the fall,鈥� from re- 鈥渁gain鈥� and 辞迟辞帽辞 鈥渇all, autumn.鈥� Spanish 辞迟辞帽辞 and English autumn together come from Latin autumnus, which is of uncertain origin, even stumping expert linguists! Among the few proposals are connections to the Etruscan language, to Latin 补耻驳脓谤别 (stem auct-) 鈥渢o increase,鈥� or distantly to English sere 鈥渄ry, withered鈥� (compare archaic English sere month 鈥淎ugust鈥�). Old English 鈥嬧赌媓忙谤蹿别蝉迟 鈥渁utumn鈥� is the source of modern English harvest. Ratoon was first recorded in English circa 1630.
how is ratoon used?
Sugarcane is one of the few crops that has seen an increase in planting area. But across Maharashtra, large fields of sugarcane ratoons鈥攖he new cane that grows from the stubble left behind from the previous year鈥攁re drying up instead of being nurtured to maturity.
Giant banana leaves, ratoons of sugar cane and bright orange guavas鈥攕et amid a jumble of sheds, trellises, fences and retaining walls鈥攇ive the hill the look of a rural village carved from jungle.
pax vobiscum
phrase
peace be with you.
More about pax vobiscum
Pax vobiscum 鈥減eace be with you鈥� is a loan from Latin that comprises pax 鈥減eace鈥� and 惫艒产墨蝉肠耻尘 鈥渨ith you.鈥� Pax is the source of appease, pacify, pay, and peace; the noticeable variation in spelling stems from natural sound changes that occurred as Latin pax (stem pac-) evolved into Old French pais (and modern French paix). 痴艒产墨蝉肠耻尘 is a compound of 惫艒产墨蝉, the prepositional object form of 惫艒蝉 鈥測ou,鈥� and cum 鈥渨ith.鈥� Similar constructions survive today in modern Romance languages, such as Spanish conmigo 鈥渨ith me鈥� and Portuguese convosco 鈥渨ith you.鈥� The singular equivalent of pax 惫艒产墨蝉肠耻尘, said to one person, is pax t膿cum, while 鈥減eace be with us鈥� is pax n艒b墨scum. Pax vobiscum was first recorded in English in the 1810s.
how is pax vobiscum used?
Sholom Aleichem was a pseudonym assumed by Sholom Rabinowitz, born in 1859 in what is now Ukraine. In Hebrew, 鈥渟holom aleichem鈥� is a greeting that means 鈥減eace be with you.鈥� Who knows? Maybe if he wrote in Latin he would have called himself Pax Vobiscum.
鈥�Pax vobiscum!鈥� he called. Continuing in Latin, he said, 鈥淧eace to you this night. Please, put up your swords. You have nothing to fear from us.鈥�
torrid
adjective
oppressively hot, parching, or burning, as climate, weather, or air.
More about torrid
Torrid 鈥渙ppressively hot鈥� comes from Latin torridus 鈥渄ried up, parched,鈥� from the verb 迟辞谤谤脓谤别 鈥渢o parch, burn.鈥� This Latin verb has two stems: torr-, as in torrent, and tost-, which is the source of toast. A popular hypothesis is that 迟辞谤谤脓谤别 is related to Latin terra 鈥渆arth,鈥� perhaps originally in the sense 鈥渄ry land,鈥� which is the source of the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day terrene. Because of Grimm鈥檚 law, Latin t tends to correspond to English th, and this is how Latin 迟辞谤谤脓谤别 is a distant relative of English thirst (from Old English thrust 鈥渄ryness鈥�). For more on terra, check out the recent 51吃瓜s of the Day testudinate and telluric, and to see Grimm鈥檚 law in action, compare togated and transcendental. Torrid was first recorded in English in the 1580s.
how is torrid used?
Torrid weather gripped large parts of western and central Europe on Wednesday, setting new June temperature records in Germany and the Czech Republic and forcing drivers to slow down on some sections of the famously speedy German autobahns.