51吃瓜 of the Day
brontide
noun
a rumbling noise heard occasionally in some parts of the world, probably caused by seismic activity.
More about brontide
Brontide is an uncommon word, probably formed from the Greek noun 产谤辞苍迟岣� 鈥渢hunder鈥� and the suffix -ide, a variant of -id (鈥渙ffspring of鈥�) occurring originally in loanwords from Greek, and productive in English especially in names of dynasties (e.g., Attalid) and in names of periodic meteor showers, with the base noun usually denoting the constellation in which the shower appears (e.g., Perseid). 叠谤辞苍迟岣� appears in brontosaurus 鈥渢hunder lizard鈥� and is from the same Proto-Indo-European root bhrem- (with a variant brem-) 鈥渢o growl鈥� as Latin fremitus 鈥渄ull roar,鈥� Old High German breman and Old English bremman, both meaning 鈥渢o roar,鈥� and Slavic (Polish) 产谤锄尘颈别膰 鈥渢o make a sound.鈥� Brontide entered English about 2000.
how is brontide used?
鈥淲hat’s a brontide?鈥� she said, keeping him from bolting. … “They’re like thunder on a clear day. They’re like the unexplained sounds of artillery when there’s no battle.”
… he urges that brontides predominate in countries which are subject to earthquakes, that they are often heard as heralds of earthquakes, and are specifically frequent during seismic series, and that brontides are sometimes accompanied by very feeble tremors.
concupiscent
adjective
lustful or sensual.
More about concupiscent
Not many Latin words are as easy to break down into their component parts as concupiscent is. The first element is a variant of the preposition and prefix cum 鈥渨ith,鈥� here used as an intensive prefix (鈥渢horoughly鈥�). The second element is the Latin root cup- 鈥渄esire.鈥� The third, -isc, is the inceptive (also called inchoative) suffix (鈥渂eginning to 鈥︹��). The final element is -ent, the inflectional stem of the present participle; concupiscent literally means 鈥渂eginning to strongly desire鈥� or simply “desirous.” Concupiscent entered English in the 14th century.
how is concupiscent used?
He looks at Faust鈥檚 romance with Gretchen (Camilla Horn) with an agonized tenderness, and at Mephisto鈥檚 courtship of the concupiscent Marthe (Yvette Guilbert) with rib-shaking ribaldry.
He’d have bet his Porsche, from that one look, that she had summed him up as one more concupiscent old guy, easily manipulated.
palpebral
adjective
of or relating to the eyelids.
More about palpebral
The Latin noun palpebra (also palpebrum) 鈥渆yelid鈥� is composed of the verb 辫补濒辫腻谤别 鈥渢o touch, stroke, caress鈥� and -brum, a suffix forming nouns of instruments, e.g., 肠补苍诲脓濒腻产谤耻尘 鈥渁 stand for holding several candles, candelabra.鈥� 笔补濒辫腻谤别 derives from a complicated Proto-Indo-European root 辫腻濒- (from 辫别菨濒-) and its many variants, e.g., pel-, 辫别濒菨-, 辫濒脓-, etc. 鈥渢o touch, feel, flutter, float.鈥� A palpebra is 鈥渟omething that flutters (quickly).鈥� The root is also the source of Latin 辫补濒辫颈迟腻谤别 鈥�(of a pulse) to beat, pulsate,鈥� 辫腻辫颈濒颈艒 鈥渂utterfly, moth,鈥� and Old English 蹿脓濒补苍 鈥渢o examine by touch,鈥� English feel. Palpebral entered English in the mid-18th century.
how is palpebral used?
adrift on a gold-brown leather recliner, / the little finger of her left hand tapping / on the crocheted antimacassar, / palpebral twitches of chronic hypnagogia.
In his palpebral vision, she beckoned.