51吃瓜 of the Day
chernozem
noun
a soil common in cool or temperate semiarid climates, very black and rich in humus and carbonates.
More about chernozem
Chernozem 鈥渁 soil common in cool or temperate semiarid climates, very black and rich in humus鈥� is a borrowing from Russian 肠丑别谤苍辞锄毛尘, a compound of 肠丑毛谤苍测沫 鈥渂lack鈥� and 锄别尘濒测谩 鈥渆arth.鈥� The first element derives from a root also found in the Slavic names Chernobog 鈥渂lack god鈥� (also spelled Chernabog and Czernobog), one of two gods of fate in Slavic mythology, and Chernobyl, the site of a nuclear disaster in Ukraine, whose name derives from Russian chernobyl 鈥渨ormwood鈥� or, literally, 鈥渂lack herb.鈥� This same root also appears in Sanskrit as the Hindu god Krishna, whose name means 鈥渂lack.鈥� The latter part of chernozem derives from the Proto-Indo-European root dhghem- 鈥渆arth,鈥� which is the source of several land-related words, such as chthonic (from Ancient Greek 办丑迟丑艒苍 鈥渆补谤迟丑鈥�), exhume and humble (from Latin humus 鈥渆补谤迟丑鈥�), and chameleon and chamomile (from Ancient Greek 肠丑补尘补铆 鈥渙n the ground鈥�). Further derivatives of this root include person-related terms such as bridegroom (from Old English guma 鈥渕补苍鈥�), hominid (from Latin 丑辞尘艒 鈥渕补苍鈥�), and human (from Latin 丑奴尘腻苍耻蝉, of the same meaning). Chernozem was first recorded in English in the mid-1800s.
how is chernozem used?
The temperate climate of the Ukraine, which lies south of Russia, is similar to that of France and the American Midwest. Here, rainfall is well distributed, and we鈥檒l be riding with heads bowed under a drizzle every other day. As we advance, the earth turns black; this is the famous chernozem that nourishes this lush and grassy country and enables it to support many species of wildlife flying, grazing, and crawling in every direction.
Two thirds of Ukrainian land, or 42.7 million hectares, is made up of chernozem, the legendary black earth that is widely regarded as the world鈥檚 most fertile soil. This is almost exactly the same size as the US state of California. Ukraine鈥檚 remarkable land bank makes the country a potential agricultural superpower.
chernozem
perfidy
noun
deliberate breach of faith or trust; faithlessness; treachery.
More about perfidy
Perfidy 鈥渄eliberate breach of faith or trust鈥� derives from Latin perfidia 鈥渇aithlessness,鈥� from the adjective perfidus, literally meaning 鈥渢hrough faith鈥� but more accurately translated as 鈥渂eyond the limits of faith.鈥� The base of perfidus is 蹿颈诲脓蝉 鈥渢rust, honesty, faith,鈥� which is related to the verb 蹿墨诲别谤别 鈥渢o trust,鈥� and both terms are the source of numerous trust-related words, such as confidence, defiance, fealty, and fidelity. Perfidy was first recorded in English in the late 1500s.
how is perfidy used?
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat [sic] the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
Perhaps the only thing stranger than my circuitous locution in English is my sheepishness in ordering General Tso鈥檚 in Chinese in front of other Chinese people, uttering a name that is simultaneously so evidently Chinese and not-Chinese that its very pronunciation presents, at least to this neurotic immigrant, a paralyzing problem of cultural fidelity and perfidy.
perfidy
More about codicil
Codicil 鈥渁ny supplement; appendix鈥� derives via Late Latin 肠艒诲颈肠颈濒濒耻蝉 from Latin 肠艒诲别虫 (stem 肠艒诲颈肠-) 鈥渂ound book鈥� or, earlier, 鈥減iece of wood鈥� or 鈥渢ree trunk.鈥� This semantic shift from 鈥減art of a tree鈥� to 鈥渂ook鈥� is rather common in world languages; the word book is likely connected to the beech tree, and Latin liber 鈥渂ook鈥� originally referred to the inner bark of a tree. 颁艒诲别虫 is a variant of caudex, with the same meaning, of uncertain origin, though a connection to Latin cauda or 肠艒诲补 鈥渢ail鈥� has been suggested. An additional theory is a derivation from the Proto-Indo-European root kau- 鈥渢o hit, strike,鈥� as a tree must be struck and cut down to obtain wood; if this theory is correct, caudex would be a cognate of the English words hew 鈥渢o strike forcibly with an ax鈥� and hay 鈥済rass cut and dried for use as forage.鈥� Codicil was first recorded in English in the late 1300s or early 1400s.
how is codicil used?
William Ernest Hocking, an emeritus professor of philosophy at Harvard 鈥� considered the First Amendment 鈥済lorious鈥� but 鈥減otentially mischievous,鈥� and he took it upon himself to recalibrate it. Initially he proposed adding a codicil to the Bill of Rights stating that its freedoms extend only to those who exercise them responsibly. Other commission members resisted a rewrite of the Constitution, so he came up with a way to reconceive it without changing the text.
I鈥檓 still on board with the scientists who believe that advances in AI will make life better for all of us. Ultimately, using the power of computation for cognition is a great and historic human enterprise. But may I add a codicil to that declaration? Always check the printouts.
codicil