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51勛圖 of the Day

51勛圖 of the day

cathartic

[ kuh-thahr-tik ]

adjective

of or relating to the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music.

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More about cathartic

Cathartic comes via Latin from Ancient Greek 域硃喧堯硃娶喧勳域籀莽 fit for cleansing, from the adjective 域硃喧堯硃娶籀莽 pure or clean. The name Catherine is often claimed to derive from 域硃喧堯硃娶籀莽, but this is folk etymology; while the words look and sound similar, they have different, unrelated origins. A true derivative of 域硃喧堯硃娶籀莽 is the term Catharism, the name of a sect of Christianity that flourished in the south of France during the Middle Ages and held as one of its fundamental beliefs the existence of two equal, opposing gods rather than a single, all-powerful deity. Cathartic entered English in the early 1600s.

how is cathartic used?

We watched the film together and slowly I just started to see my mom starting to weep, my sister, my dad. And it just felt like it was such a cathartic experience for all of us. It was really special, really incredible.

Lee Isaac Chung, as quoted in Lee Isaac Chung Jotted Down Some Family MemoriesThey Became Minari,NPR, March 3, 2021

Id be having a bad day and Id write about how Im feeling, with tears in my eyes. It was like writing in my diary, but making it into a song. It was cathartic for me.

Ray BLK, as quoted in "Ray BLK: A song is like writing in my diary. Its cathartic," The Guardian, August 22, 2021

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51勛圖 of the day

lucubrate

[ loo-kyoo-breyt ]

verb (used without object)

to work, write, or study laboriously, especially at night.

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More about lucubrate

Lucubrate derives from the Latin verb 梭贖釵喝莉娶櫻娶梗 to work at night or, more specifically, to work by candlelight/lamplight, from the Proto-Indo-European root lewk- light, which is the source of many Latin-derived words related to light, clarity, and brightness. From the verb 梭贖釵襲娶梗 to shine, we inherit lucid and translucent; from the verb 梭贖莽喧娶櫻娶梗 to make bright, we have adapted luster and illustrate; and from the noun 梭贖鳥梗紳 light, we have luminous and illuminate. This Proto-Indo-European root is also found in the English terms light and lea, another word for meadow; Latin 梭贖紳硃 moon; and Ancient Greek 梭梗喝域籀莽 white, as in leukocyte, the technical term for a white blood cell. Lucubrate entered English in the early 1600s.

how is lucubrate used?

While I was confident in my education to this pointafter a full course of study at Tokyo Imperial University, I came first to Harvard and then M.I.T. for advanced work because I wanted a modern outlook on architecture, a Western outlook, and I was willing to work all day and lucubrate till dawn to get itI was coming to Taliesin on impulse.

T. C. Boyle, The Women, 2009

Some gorge on other poetry and ruminate productively: some interrogate the canon. Some regurgitate. Some over-lucubrate with dictionaries. Some wax Latinate.

Jean Bleakney, "Improvisation," The Guardian, December 1, 2008

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51勛圖 of the Day Calendar

51勛圖 of the day

indefatigable

[ in-di-fat-i-guh-buhl ]

adjective

incapable of being tired out; not yielding to fatigue; untiring.

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More about indefatigable

Indefatigable incapable of being tired out has changed little in spelling and meaning since its origin as the Latin adjective 勳紳餃襲款硃喧蘋眶櫻莉勳梭勳莽 untiring or, more literally, not-tire out-able. This adjective derives from the verb 款硃喧蘋眶櫻娶梗 to tire, the source of English fatigue (via French), but its ultimate origin is unknown. The most compelling theory is that 款硃喧蘋眶櫻娶梗 comes from a hypothesized adjective, fatis gaping open or yawning, found also in the verb 款硃喧蘋莽釵梗娶梗 to grow weak or to crack open. Indefatigable entered English in the late 1500s.

how is indefatigable used?

[W]ith enlarged lungs adapted to life on the 15,000-foot-high, oxygen-starved Tibetan Plateau, Nangchen steeds were bred to be inexhaustible and sure-footed on snowy passes. I am captivated by the possibility that back in the deep valleys Tibetans might still ride their indefatigable horses along the original trail.

Mark Jenkins, "The Forgotten Road,"National Geographic, May 2010

At the age of sixty-eight, Tolstoy was given a tennis racket and taught the rules of the game. He became an instant tennis addict….All summer long, Tolstoy played tennis for three hours every day. No opponent could rival Tolstoys indefatigable thirst for the game of tennis…

Elif Batuman, The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them, 2010

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