51吃瓜 of the Day
artiodactyl
adjective
having an even number of toes or digits on each foot.
More about artiodactyl
Artiodactyl is a compound of artio-, meaning 鈥渆ven number,鈥� and -dactyl, meaning 鈥渇inger, toe.鈥� Artio- comes from Ancient Greek 谩谤迟颈辞蝉, 鈥渆ven, fitting, perfect,鈥� while -dactyl comes from 诲谩办迟测濒辞蝉, which also referred to the fruit of the date palm tree. Artiodactyl was first recorded in English in the 1840s.
EXAMPLE OF ARTIODACTYL USED IN A SENTENCE
Among the zoo鈥檚 longtime residents were alpacas, giraffes, goats, and various other artiodactyl animals.
rampart
noun
a broad elevation or mound of earth raised as a fortification around a place and usually capped with a stone or earth parapet.
More about rampart
Rampart comes from Middle French remparer, 鈥渢o take back possession of,鈥� which derives from re-, meaning 鈥渁gain, back,鈥� and emparer, 鈥渢o take possession of.鈥� Emparer is ultimately formed from Latin ante, 鈥渂efore,鈥� plus 辫补谤腻谤别, 鈥渢o prepare.鈥� Rampart was first recorded in English around 1580.
EXAMPLE OF RAMPART USED IN A SENTENCE
A rolling series of ramparts聽protected the palace from the besieging army.
noctilucent
adjective
(of high-altitude clouds) visible during the short night of the summer.
More about noctilucent
In noctilucent, the nocti- element comes from Latin nox, meaning 鈥渘ight.鈥� Meanwhile, -lucent derives from Latin 濒耻肠脓谤别, 鈥渢o shine,鈥� from lux, meaning 鈥渓ight.鈥� In this way, anything noctilucent is literally a night-light. Noctilucent was first recorded in English in the early 1690s, originally referring generally to things that shone in the dark.
EXAMPLE OF NOCTILUCENT USED IN A SENTENCE
A thin, threadlike patch of noctilucent clouds slowly came into view as the sun set behind the mountains.