51吃瓜 of the Day
apothegm
noun
a short, pithy, instructive saying; a terse remark or aphorism.
More about apothegm
Apothegm, 鈥渁 short, instructive saying; a terse remark,鈥� is hard enough to pronounce even in its simplified spelling, which is based on the pronunciation of the word. The original spelling, still used, is apophthegm. Apothegm was the usual spelling until Dr. Johnson settled on apophthegm in his dictionary (1755). Apophthegm ultimately comes from the Greek noun 补辫贸辫丑迟丑别驳尘补, a derivative of the verb 补辫辞辫丑迟丑茅苍驳别蝉迟丑补颈 鈥渢o speak out, speak one鈥檚 opinion plainly,鈥� a compound of the prefix apo- 鈥渇orth鈥� and the simple verb 辫丑迟丑茅苍驳别蝉迟丑补颈 鈥渢o speak, raise one鈥檚 voice.鈥� Apothegm and apophthegm entered English within two years of each other, in the second half of the 16th century.
how is apothegm used?
鈥淭o live outside the law, you must be honest.鈥� Thompson, like a lot of people in the sixties and seventies, interpreted Dylan鈥檚 famous apothegm to mean that in order to be honest you must live outside the law.
It calls to mind the hoary apothegm that academic rivalries are so vicious because the stakes are so small. Ditto for the lit’ry folk, who can work themselves into lathers over matters that the big dogs who bark in the real world would decline even to sniff at, much less raise a leg over.
apothegm
polliniferous
adjective
producing or bearing pollen.
More about polliniferous
Those who suffer from rose fever in the spring or hay fever in the fall may be familiar with polliniferous 鈥減roducing or bearing pollen,鈥� the cause of their discomfort. Polliniferous, also spelled polleniferous, comes from Latin pollen (inflectional stem pollin-) 鈥渇ine flour, mill dust, dust鈥� and the combining form –ferous 鈥渂earing, producing.鈥� The pol- in Latin pollen is a derivative of the Proto-Indo-European root pel-, pol– 鈥渄ust, ground grain, meal鈥�; Latin pol(l)enta 鈥渂arley meal, groats鈥� becomes Italian polenta, originally 鈥済rain made of barley or chestnuts,鈥� but now 鈥渃ornmeal, corn flour, cornmeal porridge,鈥� which English adopted in the 18th century. The combining form –ferous is a derivative of the Latin verb ferre 鈥渢o bear, carry,鈥� from the widespread Proto-Indo-European root bher-, bhor-, 产丑峁�-, appearing in Sanskrit 产丑谩谤补迟颈 鈥渉e carries,鈥� in Greek as 辫丑茅谤别颈苍 鈥渢o carry,鈥� in Proto-Germanic as beran (Old English beran, Modern English 鈥渢o bear鈥�), Old Irish biru 鈥淚 carry,鈥� Armenian eber 鈥渉e carried,鈥� and Old Church Slavonic 产别谤谦 鈥淚 carry.鈥� Polliniferous entered English in the beginning of the 19th century.
how is polliniferous used?
Every observing person who has given attention to the matter has noticed that bees visit berries, it is necessary to intermix polliniferous plants quite liberally if we wish good crops.
When trees, weeds or grasses release pollen, it floats through the air and eventually settles on the mast cells. The second grains of pollen deliver the finishing blow: they follow their polliniferous cousins and release a protein which causes inflammation of the blood vessels.
polliniferous
arboreal
adjective
of or relating to trees; treelike.
More about arboreal
Arboreal, 鈥渞elating to trees; treelike; living in or among trees,鈥� comes from the Latin adjective arboreus 鈥減ertaining to trees; wooden,鈥� a derivative of the noun arbor (inflectional stem arbor-) 鈥渢ree, tree trunk, trees, timber, gallows, (ship鈥檚) mast, (wooden) beam or post.鈥� Latin arbor has no reliable etymology. The original meaning of arboreal is 鈥渞elating to trees鈥�; the sense 鈥渓iving in or among trees鈥� dates from the first half of the 19th century. One must not confuse the Latin noun with arbor 鈥渓eafy, shady recess formed by tree branches,鈥� which comes from Old French herbier, erbier 鈥済rassy place,鈥� with Late Latin 丑别谤产腻谤颈耻尘 鈥渄ried plants, herbarium,鈥� a derivative of herba 鈥済rass, small plant, herb.鈥� Arboreal entered English in the second half of the 17th century.
how is arboreal used?
Like an arboreal matchmaker, a forester could take seeds from spruces or lodgepole pines at a low elevation, say, and plant them farther upslope.
Gaps in the treetops might even curb the spread of leaf-munching insects, parasitic vines, or infectious disease. In some ways, crown shyness is the arboreal version of social distancing …
arboreal