51吃瓜 of the Day
baetyl
noun
a meteorite or stone held sacred or believed to be of divine origin.
More about baetyl
Baetyl, 鈥渁 sacred meteorite,鈥� comes by way of Latin baetulus from Ancient Greek 产补铆迟测虅濒辞蝉, 鈥渕eteoric stone.鈥� 叠补铆迟测虅濒辞蝉 is sometimes hypothesized to be of pre-Greek origin, meaning that it may be a borrowing from a long-lost language of the Mediterranean. However, a far more interesting (and likely) proposal is that 产补铆迟测虅濒辞蝉 comes from a Semitic source such as Hebrew 产脓迟h 鈥櫮搇 (compare bethel) or Phoenician 产脓迟 鈥檒, both of which mean 鈥渉ouse of god.鈥� Phoenician 产脓迟, 鈥渉ouse,鈥� is the origin of the Ancient Greek letter beta and, by extension, alphabet. Baetyl was first recorded in English in the early 1850s.
EXAMPLE OF BAETYL USED IN A SENTENCE
Though they may look to us simply like old, rugged stones, baetyls served a central purpose in ancient Mediterranean religions.
More about cannikin
Cannikin, 鈥渁 small can or drinking cup,鈥� is adapted from Middle Dutch cannekijn, 鈥渓ittle can,鈥� which is equivalent to Middle Dutch canne, 鈥渃an,鈥� combined with the diminutive suffix -kijn, 鈥渓ittle, small.鈥� Canne and English may be related to Late Latin canna, 鈥渟mall vessel,鈥� which itself may derive from Latin canna, 鈥渞eed,鈥� but any potential connections among these four words is controversial. The suffix -kijn is the source of English -kin, as in lambkin, and is related to German -chen, as in Gretchen, 鈥渓ittle Margareta.鈥� Cannikin was first recorded in English in the 1560s.
EXAMPLE OF CANNIKIN USED IN A SENTENCE
Minutes after tapping another keg of mead, cannikins and goblets across the dining hall were filled to their brims鈥攁nd quickly emptied.
calash
noun
a light vehicle pulled by one or two horses, seating two to four passengers, and having two or four wheels, a seat for a driver on a splashboard, and sometimes a folding top.
More about calash
Calash 鈥溾�嬧�媋 light vehicle seating two to four passengers鈥� is an adaptation of French 肠补濒猫肠丑别, which is itself a borrowing by way of German from Czech kolesa 鈥渃arriage,鈥� related to kolo 鈥渨heel,鈥� both from an ancient Slavic root meaning 鈥渨heel.鈥� Because the Slavic languages constitute a branch of the Indo-European language family, Czech kolesa and kolo have relatives throughout Europe and southern Asia, from English wheel (Old English 丑飞脓辞濒) and Ancient Greek 办媒办濒辞蝉 鈥渨heel, circle, ring鈥� (compare English cycle and cyclo-) to Sanskrit cakra 鈥渨heel, circle鈥� (borrowed into English as chakra) and Persian charkha (also transliterated as 膷补谤虫别) 鈥渟pinning wheel.鈥� Check out the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day bazaar for more. Calash was first recorded in English in the 1660s.
EXAMPLE OF CALASH USED IN A SENTENCE
As the calash clattered over the slick, wet cobblestones, the passengers pulled down the folding top to keep the rain out.