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51勛圖 of the Day

51勛圖 of the day

brio

[ bree-oh ]

noun

vigor; vivacity.

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More about brio

The Italian noun brio comes from Spanish 莉娶穩棗 energy, determination, ultimately from Celtic 莉娶蘋眶棗莽 strength (compare Middle Welsh bri honor, dignity, Old Irish 莉娶穩眶 strength, power). Celtic 莉娶蘋眶棗莽 derives from Proto-Indo-European 眶滄娶蘋眶棗莽, a derivative of the very common and complicated Proto-Indo-European root gwer- heavy, which has many variations, including 眶滄梗娶-, 眶滄梗娶喝-, and 眶滄梗娶蘋-. From 眶滄梗娶- and its variants, English has grave, gravid, gravity from Latin; the prefixes baro- heavy and bary- deep from Greek; and guru from Sanskrit. From 眶滄娶蘋眶棗莽, the same source as Celtic 莉娶蘋眶棗莽, Germanic derives 域娶蘋眶硃堝 fight, strife, German Krieg w硃娶. Brio entered English in the 18th century.

how is brio used?

Although Stopsack had probably never before directed such an undertaking, he performed his duties with brio, skillfully heaping verbal abuse on the manacled inmates …

James Morrow, Gal獺pagos Regained, 2014

Her work rustles with the premonition that she was obsolete, that her splendor and style and ferocious brio had been demoted to a kind of sparkling irrelevance.

Tobi Haslett, "The Other Susan Sontag," The New Yorker, December 11, 2017
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51勛圖 of the Day Calendar

51勛圖 of the day

axilla

[ ak-sil-uh ]

noun

Anatomy. the armpit.

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More about axilla

Axilla, the Latin word for armpit, is a diminutive of 櫻梭硃 wing (of a bird or insect), fin (of a fish), armpit, flank (of an army). 梭硃 comes from an earlier, unrecorded 硃眶莽-梭櫻 (axla in Latin orthography), one of the Latin reflexes of Proto-Indo-European ages-, aks- pivot, pivot point. Another Proto-Indo-European derivative, aks-lo-s, becomes ahsulaz in Germanic, eaxl in Old English, and axle in English. A third derivative noun, aks-is, becomes Latin axis axle, axletree, chariot, wagon, assis in Old Prussian (an extinct Baltic language), and in Polish. Axilla entered English in the 17th century.

how is axilla used?

There is a game of croquet set up on the lawn and my second cousin Sonsoles can be found there any hour of the afternoon, bent over, with a mallet in her hand, and looking out of the corner of her eye, between the arm and the axilla, which form a sort of arch for her thoughtful gaze, at the unwary masculine visitor who appears in the harsh afternoon light.

Carlos Fuentes, "La Desdichada," Constancia and Other Stories for Virgins, translated by Thomas Christensen, 1990

He recoiled from one odor to another until, in resignation, he accepted and his nose pumped steadily at the single generalized odor that was a meld of everything from axilla to organic debris and smelled like clam soil.

Thomas McGuane, The Sporting Club, 1968
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar

51勛圖 of the day

schadenfreude

[ shahd-n-froi-duh ]

noun

satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

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More about schadenfreude

Schadenfreude is a direct borrowing from German. In German Schadenfreude is a compound noun made up of the nouns Schaden harm, injury, damage and Freude j棗聆. Schaden is related to English scathe (via Old Norse). Freude is a derivative of the adjective froh happy, and is related to English frolic, which comes from Dutch vrolijk cheerful, gay. Schadenfreude entered English in the late 19th century.

how is schadenfreude used?

Social media exploded with gleeful Schadenfreude.

Naomi Fry, "Searching for Meaning in the Leftover Merchandise of Fyre Festival," The New Yorker, May 24, 2018

It also let Peggy see the sagging flesh under Blanche’s chin. Since her own jawline was still pretty good, she soaked up some Schadenfreude on that score.

Harry Turtledove, The Big Switch, 2011
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar