51吃瓜 of the Day
decussate
verb (used with or without object)
to cross in the form of an X; intersect.
More about decussate
The verb decussate 鈥渢o cross in the form of an X; intersect,鈥� comes from Latin 诲别肠耻蝉蝉腻迟-, the inflectional stem of 诲别肠耻蝉蝉腻迟us, the past participle of the verb 诲别肠耻蝉蝉腻谤别 鈥渢o mark with a cross or an X.鈥� 顿别肠耻蝉蝉腻谤别 is a derivative of the noun decussis 鈥渁 bronze ten-piece coin; the number ten, a decade; an X-shaped mark鈥� (X was the Latin symbol for 10). Decussis is a reduced form of decem 鈥渢en鈥� and as (also assis) 鈥渁 copper coin or monetary unit; a penny.鈥� Decussate entered English in the second half of the 17th century.
how is decussate used?
So if you decide you want to move your right arm, or your right leg, the signal would leave the motor cortex of the left hemisphere, travel down towards your brainstem, and then at the level of the聽medulla, it would聽decussate, or cross over to the right side of the brainstem, and then continue into your spinal cord.
the leaf-stalks of the second pair decussate with those of the first, and are just so much longer as to bring up that pair nearly, or quite, to a level with the first …
decussate
pharaonic
adjective
impressively or overwhelmingly large, luxurious, etc.
More about pharaonic
The adjective pharaonic, 鈥減ertaining to or like a Pharaoh; impressively or overwhelmingly large,鈥� is a derivative of the noun Pharaoh. Pharaoh comes via Late Latin 笔丑补谤补艒 (inflectional stem 笔丑补谤补艒n-) from Greek 笔丑补谤补峁� (inflectional stem 笔丑补谤补艒n-), from Hebrew 辫补谤士艒, from Egyptian pr–士示 (probably pronounced like the Hebrew 辫补谤士艒) 鈥済reat house鈥� (the order is the noun pr-, then the adjective 士示). In Egyptian 辫谤-士示 was not the name of a Pharaoh, but the name of a Pharaoh’s (palatial) residence, very like our own 鈥淭he White House.鈥� Pharaonic entered English toward the end of the 18th century.
how is pharaonic used?
He retired in 2017 to devote himself to new projects, notably raising funds for a somewhat pharaonic museum dedicated to East Africa鈥檚 ecology and its status as a birthplace of prehistoric man.
A teapot bunker retails for just shy of $40,000; a more pharaonic model, complete with swimming pool and hot tub, bowling alley, and home theater, goes for $8 million.
pharaonic
snollygoster
noun
a clever, unscrupulous person.
More about snollygoster
Snollygoster 鈥渁 clever, unscrupulous person,鈥� is an American slang term that first appears in print in 1845 in Marion County, Indiana. As with many, if not most slang terms, there is no reliable etymology for the word. Some authorities have suggested that snollygoster is a variant of snallygaster, a mythical monster that preys on poultry and children and is supposedly found in Maryland, but the earliest citation for snallygaster is 1940, nearly a century after snollygoster.
how is snollygoster used?
But the people will awaken, and all that will be left of the snollygoster will be an unsavory blotch on the history of American politics.
President Reagan has done for succotash what President Truman did for snollygoster: put the spotlight of pitiless publicity on an obscure Americanism.
snollygoster