51吃瓜

More about androsphinx

Androsphinx, 鈥渁 sphinx with the head of a man,鈥� is a compound of andro-, 鈥渕an,鈥� and sphinx, the mythical riddle-posing creature composed of a woman鈥檚 head, a lion鈥檚 body, and a bird鈥檚 wings. Andro- comes from Ancient Greek 补苍岣梤, 鈥渕an,鈥� which is the source of the names Alexander, Andromeda, and Cassandra. Sphinx comes from Ancient Greek 蝉辫丑铆苍虫, which is based on the verb 蝉辫丑铆苍驳别颈苍, 鈥渢o hold tight,鈥� perhaps after a sphinx鈥檚 storied tendency to strangle the poor souls who could not solve its riddles. The female equivalent of androsphinx should be 鈥�gynecosphinx鈥� for etymological reasons, though numerous sources use the not-quite-yet-standardized 鈥�gynosphinx鈥� instead. Androsphinx was first recorded in English in the first decade of the 17th century.

EXAMPLE OF ANDROSPHINX USED IN A SENTENCE

Though the sphinx in the Greek myth of Oedipus was a winged female, the Great Sphinx of Giza is a wingless androsphinx.

More about dwy

Dwy, 鈥渁 gusty flurry,鈥� is used in the Newfoundland dialect of English, and it may be linked originally to dwyes, 鈥渆ddies,鈥� in the dialect of the Isle of Wight (off the coast of southern England) or twy, 鈥渃oastal squall,鈥� in the dialects of Hampshire and Wiltshire (in southern England). Newfoundland is well known for its unique variety of English, which exhibits heavy influence from the English dialects of southern/southwestern England, southeastern Ireland, and both Highland and Lowland Scotland, despite its location in Atlantic Canada, because of longtime immigration from those regions. Dwy was first recorded in English in the early 1860s.

EXAMPLE OF DWY USED IN A SENTENCE

The lighthouse keeper knew that she had to prepare for the dwies of winter.

More about momentous

Momentous, 鈥渙f great or far-reaching importance or consequence,鈥� is based on the noun moment and the adjective-forming suffix -ous. Moment comes from Latin 尘艒尘别苍迟耻尘, literally meaning 鈥渕otion鈥� and figuratively signifying an influential element, such as a point in time. The 尘艒- element of 尘艒尘别苍迟耻尘 comes from the verb 尘辞惫脓谤别, 鈥渢o move.鈥� 惭辞惫脓谤别 is the direct source of move, while its stem 尘艒迟- is found in motion and motor, and 尘艒- also appears in mobile. Momentous was first recorded in English circa 1650.

EXAMPLE OF MOMENTOUS USED IN A SENTENCE

Serena Williams has achieved many momentous wins in her historic career, including a record setting number of Grand Slam titles.

For another momentous word, find out what we chose as the 2022 51吃瓜 Of The Year!