51吃瓜 of the Day
germinant
adjective
beginning to grow or develop.
Why the Museum of Science chose germinant
To find out, watch this video about germinant from science communicator, Alex Dainis, PhD.
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More about germinant
Germinant, 鈥渂eginning to grow or develop,鈥� comes from the Latin verb 驳别谤尘颈苍腻谤别, 鈥渢o bud, sprout,鈥� which comes from the noun germen, 鈥渟hoot, sprout.鈥� Germen is also the source of germ, which originally referred to a bud or seed and later came to refer to microorganisms as well. Despite the similar spelling, germen is not related to the name of the country Germany, which is of uncertain ultimate origin. Germinant was first recorded in English around the year 1600.
EXAMPLE OF GERMINANT USED IN A SENTENCE
A small cluster of germinant dandelions sprouted underneath the downspout.
eristic
adjective
pertaining to controversy or disputation; controversial.
More about eristic
Eristic, 鈥減ertaining to controversy,鈥� ultimately comes from Ancient Greek 茅谤颈蝉, 鈥渟trife, discord,鈥� which is also the origin of Eris, the Greek goddess of discord who instigated the Trojan War. In keeping with the tradition of naming astronomical bodies after mythological figures, the International Astronomical Union recognized Eris as the name of a dwarf planet first discovered on January 5, 2005. The noun 茅谤颈蝉 is of unknown origin, and appropriate enough, there is ample controversy over the several proposals to link it to other Indo-European terms. Eristic was first recorded in English in the 1630s.
EXAMPLE OF ERISTIC USED IN A SENTENCE
By claiming that he disliked last year鈥檚 widely beloved Best Picture winner, the film critic brought an eristic perspective to the conversation.
acmesthesia
noun
awareness of sharp points through the sense of touch without experiencing pain.
More about acmesthesia
Acmesthesia, 鈥渁wareness of sharp points through touch without pain,鈥� is based on Ancient Greek 补办尘岣�, 鈥減oint, highest point,鈥� and 补铆蝉迟丑脓蝉颈蝉, 鈥渟ensation, perception.鈥� 础办尘岣� comes from a family of words related to sharpness, whether literally or figuratively, both within and beyond Ancient Greek. For literal sharpness, compare English edge; Latin acus, 鈥渘eedle鈥� (as in acupuncture and acute); and Ancient Greek 辞虫媒蝉, 鈥渟harp鈥� (as in oxygen). For figurative sharpness, compare Latin 腻肠别谤, 鈥渂itter鈥� (as in acrid and acrimony); Latin acerbus, 鈥渟our, unripe鈥� (as in exacerbate); Latin acidus, 鈥渟our鈥� (as in acid); and Ancient Greek 谩办谤辞蝉, 鈥渢opmost鈥� (as in acrobat). Acmesthesia was first recorded in English circa 1910.
EXAMPLE OF ACMESTHESIA USED IN A SENTENCE
During the acupuncture session, she experienced acmesthesia and felt only minimal discomfort from the pinpricks.