51吃瓜 of the Day
banausic
adjective
serving utilitarian purposes only; mechanical; practical.
More about banausic
There has always been more than a hint of snobbery about banausic, 鈥渟erving utilitarian purposes only; mechanical; practical.鈥� The word comes from the Greek adjective 产补苍补耻蝉颈办贸蝉, 鈥減ertaining to or for artisans,鈥� which is related to the noun 产补耻蝉补苍铆补 鈥渉andicraft; the habits of a mere artisan, bad taste, vulgarity.鈥� 叠补苍补耻蝉颈办贸蝉 and 产补耻蝉补苍铆补 are derivatives of 产补没苍辞蝉 (also 产补耻苍贸蝉), 鈥渇urnace, forge,鈥� a pre-Greek word with no known etymology. In modern German Banause 鈥渦ncouth person鈥� is the exact equivalent of English Philistine. Banausic entered English in the first half of the 19th century.
how is banausic used?
Nor should we underestimate the counterinstinct, most prevalent among aristocrats and intellectuals, that looked down in contempt on all mundane and banausic occupations from the vantage point of inherited capital or estate income.
The modern undergraduates are what we should have called 鈥�banausic,鈥� with a strict utilitarian outlook. For their virtues: they are more temperate and frugal than we were, less snobbish about athletics, more industrious, better sons to their parents and, I am inclined to think, better mannered.
banausic
amphibious
adjective
of or relating to military operations by both land and naval forces against the same object.
More about amphibious
Amphibious and amphibian have several overlapping meanings in zoology and botany, but in the sense 鈥渞elating to combined military operations by land and naval forces against a common target,鈥� only amphibious is used. In the mid-1930s, at a time when air power was rapidly developing, the neologisms triphibian and triphibious were coined very useful for describing combined land, sea, and air operations, but an abomination鈥攖wo abominations, even, for purists. Amphibious ultimately comes from Greek 补尘辫丑铆产颈辞蝉 鈥渉aving a double life,鈥� used by science writers about frogs and plants. In later Greek the Neoplatonist philosopher Plotinus used 补尘辫丑铆产颈辞蝉 metaphorically to describe the human soul as an inhabitant of two worlds. 础尘辫丑铆产颈辞蝉 is composed of two very common Proto-Indo-European roots, ambhi– 鈥渙n both sides, around鈥� and 驳飞别颈蓹-, gwey-, 驳飞墨-, gwi– (with many other variants) 鈥渢o live.鈥� Ambhi– becomes 补尘辫丑铆 in Greek, as in 补尘辫丑颈迟丑茅腻迟谤辞苍 鈥渁mphitheater,鈥� literally, 鈥渁 place for watching from both sides.鈥� Ambhi– becomes amb(i)– in Latin, a prefix meaning 鈥渁round, both..,鈥� as in ambiguus 鈥渦nsettled, undecided.鈥� \ The Greek combining form bio– comes from 产铆辞蝉 鈥渓ife,鈥� from Proto-Indo-European gwios (gw– becomes b– in Greek under certain conditions). The root variant 驳飞墨– is the source of Latin 惫墨迟补 鈥渓颈蹿别.” Amphibious entered English in the 17th century.
how is amphibious used?
Through tactical and strategic unification the Allies successfully undertook the greatest amphibious landings yet attempted in warfare.
All the elements for the D-day attack were in place by the spring of 1944: more than 150,000 men, nearly 12,000 aircraft, almost 7,000 sea vessels. It was arguably the largest amphibious invasion force in history.
amphibious
agglomeration
noun
a jumbled cluster or mass of varied parts.
More about agglomeration
The English noun agglomeration, 鈥渁 jumbled cluster or mass of varied parts,鈥� comes from Latin 补驳驳濒辞尘别谤腻迟耻蝉, the past participle of 补驳驳濒辞尘别谤腻谤别 鈥渢o mass together, pile up, join forces,鈥� a derivative of 驳濒辞尘别谤腻谤别 鈥渢o roll into a ball, collect into a dense mass.鈥� 骋濒辞尘别谤腻谤别 in turn is a derivative of the noun glomus (inflectional stem glomer-) 鈥渁 ball, a skein or ball of yarn.鈥� Glomus is related to the Latin nouns globus 鈥渞ound body, round cake, sphere鈥� (English globe) and 驳濒脓产补 (also glaeba) 鈥渓ump or clod of earth鈥� (English glebe 鈥渟oil, field鈥�). Agglomeration entered English in the second half of the 17th century.
how is agglomeration used?
In our exuberance to build more green things, we need to focus on updating what we鈥檝e already damaged. That dead mall could be a solar field. (It already has the power hookups.) That agglomeration of gas pumps could be a park-and-ride charging station for commuters traveling farther by train.
A galaxy is much more than a radiant agglomeration of stars. To modern astrophysicists, galaxies are more notable for their dark sides: their hidden material that is only 鈥渟een鈥� by its gravitational pull upon the shiny stuff it seems to vastly outweigh.
agglomeration