51吃瓜 of the Day
brattice
noun
any temporary wooden fortification, especially at the top of a wall.
More about brattice
Brattice 鈥渁 temporary wooden fortification鈥� comes by way of Old French from Medieval Latin brittisca, which appears to be a Latin adaptation of Old English Bryttisc 鈥淏ritish鈥� because of the assumption that this type of fortification originated in Britain. The word British鈥攁s well as the related terms Breton, Britain, Brittany, and Brythonic鈥攃omes from a lost Celtic name that Greek writers recorded variously as 叠谤别迟迟补苍辞铆 and 笔谤别迟迟补苍颈办岣� two millennia ago. An alternative proposal is that brattice is a compound of German Brett 鈥渂oard鈥� and a common Romance element derived from Latin -iscus, which forms adjectives. Brattice was first recorded in English in the early 14th century.
how is brattice used?
In the middle of the pass was a brattice in which a man always stood guard. While they were yet a good distance away, the man in the brattice saw them and shouted loudly, 鈥淓nemy approaching! Enemy approaching!鈥�
A constant thunk! of bolts and shafts echoed along the brattice now; points hitting wood and stone. Her body tensed against the searing rush of Greek Fire …. The hook of a scaling ladder thumped into another brattice, further along the wall; she had a bare second to see that the men with swords and axes beginning to swarm up it were not Visigoth auxiliary troops 鈥�
musaceous
adjective
of or relating to the fruit of the tropical treelike plants of the banana family, especially bananas and plantains.
More about musaceous
Musaceous 鈥渙f or relating to the fruit of the banana family鈥� comes from New Latin Musa, the name of the genus to which bananas belong, plus the suffixes -aceae 鈥渕ade of, resembling鈥� and -ous 鈥渇ull of.鈥� Musa is adapted from Arabic mawzah 鈥渂anana鈥� and, before that, perhaps Sanskrit 尘辞肠补岣�. One interesting proposal is that Musa ultimately comes from an unidentified language once spoken in what is now Indonesia. In contrast, the English word banana comes via Portuguese or Spanish likely from a Niger-Congo language, much like the recent 51吃瓜s of the Day capoeira and mbira, though the specific origin is still uncertain. Musaceous was first recorded in English in the early 1850s.
how is musaceous used?
Now there grows among all the rooms, replacing the night’s old smoke, alcohol and sweat, the fragile, musaceous odor of Breakfast: flowery, permeating, surprising, more than the color of winter sunlight 鈥� so the same assertion-through-structure allows this war morning鈥檚 banana fragrance to meander, repossess, prevail.
Q-Jo put a plantain phalanx to your lips, issued a brief, derisive chortle .鈥� She rapped the deck with the same musaceous digit she had employed to shush you. “A crystal ball, this is not, and you damn well ought to be glad about it.鈥�
amendatory
adjective
serving to alter, improve, or rectify; corrective.
More about amendatory
Amendatory 鈥渟erving to alter鈥� is an Americanism based on Late Latin 脓尘别苍诲腻迟艒谤颈耻蝉, with the 脓- swapped out with the a- from amend. The source of all these words is the Latin verb 脓尘别苍诲腻谤别 鈥渢o correct,鈥� equivalent to 脓 (or ex) 鈥渙ut of, from鈥� plus menda 鈥渂lemish, fault, mistake.鈥� Latin menda is also the source of three English words with a broad range of senses: mend 鈥渢o make usable by repairing,鈥� mendacious 鈥渢elling lies鈥� (via Latin 尘别苍诲腻虫 鈥渓ying鈥�), and mendicant 鈥渂egging鈥� (via Latin 尘别苍诲墨肠耻蝉 鈥渘别别诲测鈥�). Amendatory was first recorded in English in the 1780s.
how is amendatory used?
I have been considering the understanding of the question manifested by the framers of the original Constitution. In and by the original instrument, a mode was provided for amending it; and, as I have already stated, the present frame of “the Government under which we live” consists of that original, and twelve amendatory articles framed and adopted since.
Mr [Pat] Quinn thinks the bill is 鈥渆xcessive,鈥� so may not go all in. But the state’s finances are down to the felt, with the deficit expected to hit $11 billion. Most likely, he would tweak the bill with an 鈥�amendatory veto,鈥� taking out the elements he dislikes.