51吃瓜 of the Day
anfractuous
adjective
characterized by windings and turnings; sinuous; circuitous: an anfractuous path.
More about anfractuous
Anfractuous ultimately comes from the Late Latin adjective 腻苍蹿谤腻肠迟耻艒蝉耻蝉, a term in rhetoric meaning 鈥渞oundabout, prolix,鈥� and first used by St. Augustine of Hippo in one of his sermons. 膧苍蹿谤腻肠迟耻艒蝉耻蝉 is a derivative of the noun 腻苍蹿谤腻肠迟耻蝉 (also 腻尘蹿谤腻肠迟耻蝉) 鈥渁 bend, curve, circular motion, digression, recurrence,鈥� formed by the prefix am-, an-, a rare variant of ambi– 鈥渂oth, around, about,鈥� and a derivative of the verb frangere 鈥渢o break, shatter, smash.鈥� Anfractuous entered English in the early 15th century.
how is anfractuous used?
Then, as the road resumed its anfractuous course, clinging to the extreme margin of this tumbled and chaotic coast, the fun began.
Chavis endured a bumpy, anfractuous trip …. He started with a turbulent flight from Syracuse, where the Pawtucket Red Sox were stationed, to Detroit. Then another flight from Detroit to Tampa.
anfractuous
coffers
plural noun
funds, especially of a government or corporation.
More about coffers
English coffers, 鈥渢reasury, funds,鈥� is the plural of coffer, 鈥渂ox, chest (for valuables).鈥� The Middle English cofre (and coffre, coffer) had the same senses in the singular and plural. Middle English cofre comes from Old French cofre, from Latin cophinus 鈥渂asket, hamper,鈥� from Greek 办贸辫丑颈苍辞蝉 鈥渂ig basket; unit of measure.鈥� Cophinus, going the easy way, yields coffin in English via Old French coffin 鈥渂asket; coffer; sarcophagus.鈥� (Latin ph from Greek words frequently becomes f in the Romance languages.) Cophinus, going the hard way, becomes cophn(o); the n then dissimilates to r, cofn(o) becoming cofre, just as Latin Londinium 鈥淟ondon鈥� becomes Londn(ium), the second n dissimilating to Londr- (Londres in Modern French). Coffers entered English in the 13th century.
how is coffers used?
For decades, American presidential campaigns have churned out enormous quantities of swag鈥�$5 buttons, $15 mugs, $75 guacamole bowls鈥攖o promote candidates, fill campaign coffers and gather sophisticated data about聽supporters.
coffers
taciturn
adjective
inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join in conversation.
More about taciturn
Taciturn ultimately derives from Latin taciturnus 鈥渒eeping silent, saying nothing, silent by habit or disposition,鈥� a derivative of tacitus, past participle of 迟补肠脓谤别 鈥渢o say nothing, be silent.鈥� 罢补肠脓谤别 and its derivatives come from an uncommon Proto-Indo-European root tak-, 迟补办脓- 鈥渢o be silent.鈥� Tak- regularly becomes thah- in Germanic, yielding Gothic thahan 鈥渢o keep silent, hold one鈥檚 peace,鈥� and Old Icelandic thagna 鈥渂ecome silent.鈥� Tak- in Celtic yields Welsh tagu and Breton taga 鈥渟trangling, choking鈥� (one way of obtaining silence). Taciturn entered English in the 18th century.
how is taciturn used?
Ern艖 Rubik has often been painted as a taciturn loner, a grudging genius who built a beautiful object he hoped would create an introspective space where individuals could consider the elegance of geometry, and who instead became an icon for one of the great marketing crazes of all time.
taciturn