51吃瓜 of the Day
beneficence
noun
the doing of good; active goodness or kindness; charity.
More about beneficence
Beneficence 鈥渁ctive goodness or kindness; charity,鈥� comes via French 产茅苍茅蹿颈肠别苍肠别 from Latin beneficentia 鈥渒indness, kind treatment of others,鈥� a derivative of the adjective beneficus 鈥済enerous, liberal, kind.鈥� Beneficus is a compound composed of the adverb and prefix bene, bene– 鈥渨ell,鈥� a derivative of the adjective bonus 鈥済ood鈥� (and completely naturalized in English), and the combining form –ficus (English –fic) 鈥渕aking, producing鈥� (as in honorific, pacific) a derivative of the all-purpose, overworked verb facere 鈥渢o do, make, construct.鈥� Beneficence entered English in the early 15th century.
how is beneficence used?
My general misery was alleviated by what felt like a measure of Victorian beneficence: I had the run of the house鈥檚 library.
Better still would be the inculcation into all our moral considerations of beneficence as an internal good rather than an ethical calculation. Be good for goodness’ sake.
beneficence
consequential
adjective
having important effects or results.
Why we chose consequential
More about consequential
Consequential 鈥渇ollowing as an effect or result; having important effects or results; self-important, pompous鈥� is a derivation of consequence, from Latin consequentia 鈥渟uccession, sequence (of events), logical or necessary sequence,鈥� ultimately a derivative of the verb 肠辞苍蝉别辩耻墨 鈥渢o come or go after, follow, attend,鈥� a compound of the prefix con-, a variant of com– 鈥渢ogether, with,鈥� and the simple verb 蝉别辩耻墨 鈥渢o follow.鈥� The sense “self-important, pompous” does not exist in Latin; it developed within English in the mid-18th century. Consequential entered English in the first half of the 17th century. Dictionary.com’s 51吃瓜 of the Year for 2020 is a consequential word for a consequential year. Think you know what it is? Find out!
how is consequential used?
The world is changed forever: No matter how deeply affected you are鈥攎edically, financially, emotionally, or otherwise鈥攖here is no going back. But the decisions we make about how to proceed now are extremely consequential, and the potential outcomes before us are vastly different.
But in the middle of a pandemic, the most consequential of disaster decisions become complicated by fears of contagion.
consequential
immemorial
adjective
extending back beyond memory, record, or knowledge.
More about immemorial
Immemorial 鈥渆xtending back beyond memory or knowledge鈥� ultimately comes from the Medieval Latin adjective 颈尘尘别尘辞谤颈腻濒颈蝉, equivalent to the Latin negative or privative prefix im-, a variant of –in, and (liber) 尘别尘辞谤颈腻濒颈蝉 “record (book).鈥� Immemorial entered English in the early 17th century.
how is immemorial used?
Practical foresters contend and can demonstrate that from time immemorial fire has been the salvation and preservation of our California sugar and white pine forests.
Perhaps the most esoteric of the European minority nations is the nation of Wales, Cymru in Welsh, which lives in the flank of England cherishing its own immemorial culture, squabbling and demanding more independence from the United Kingdom.
immemorial