51吃瓜 of the Day
Delphic
adjective
oracular; obscure; ambiguous: She was known for her Delphic pronouncements.
More about Delphic
English Delphic comes via Latin Delphicus from the Greek adjective 顿别濒辫丑颈办贸蝉, a derivative of the plural noun 顿别濒辫丑辞铆, the name of the inhabitants of Delphi and of the historic city itself. The many dialect forms of the name, especially Aeolic 叠茅濒辫丑辞颈, point to a form gwelphoi with an original labiovelar (a sound combining a velar, such as k or g, and a bilabial, such as w), as in Latin quis, quid 鈥渨ho, what鈥� and English quick and Gwendolyn. Gwelphoi is a Greek derivative of the Proto-Indo-European root gwelbh– 鈥渨omb鈥� (the city was so named from its shape). Gwelbh– is also the source of the Greek noun 补诲别濒辫丑别贸蝉 (Attic 补诲别濒辫丑贸蝉) 鈥渂rother,鈥� whose first letter a– is a much-reduced form of sem– 鈥渙ne,鈥� related to Greek 丑辞尘贸蝉 鈥渟ame鈥� and English 鈥渟ame.鈥� 础诲别濒辫丑(别)贸蝉 therefore means 鈥渂orn of the same womb.鈥� Delphic entered English at the end of the 16th century.
how is Delphic used?
The poems of his mature career were often Delphic, haunted, and bleak.
… he would certainly make a few Delphic pronouncements that next to nobody would understand, such as: “You can get many kinds of balance toward any seemingly grinding postulate of life.”
More about stymie
The verb stymie has an obscure origin. It may be a golfing term, a noun referring to an opponent鈥檚 ball that lies closer to the hole than one鈥檚 own and is in the line of play, from which the slightly later verb sense in golf developed. By the beginning of the 20th century, the verb stymie had a generalized sense 鈥渢o impede, hinder, thwart.鈥� Stymie may come from Scots stymie 鈥渁 person with poor eyesight,鈥� a derivative of stime, styme 鈥渁 glimmer, glimpse.鈥� Stymie in the sense of 鈥渁 person with poor vision鈥� entered English in the early 17th century, the golfing sense in the first half of the 19th century.
how is stymie used?
This kind of leader would have little to no incentive to work with the Board of Supervisors and could easily stymie much of the progress the county is making on critical problems.
Astronomers concluded that the gas was being blasted out by winds from newly formed stars, a huge loss of starmaking material that could stymie the galaxy鈥檚 future growth.
virtuoso
noun
a person who excels in musical technique or execution.
More about virtuoso
We might refer to a gifted violinist, for instance, as a virtuoso. First recorded in English in the early 1600s with a now-obsolete sense of 鈥渓earned person,鈥� virtuoso is borrowed from Italian virtuoso 鈥渁 person with exceptional skill in the arts or sciences,鈥� in Italian used especially of musicians by the latter part of the 1500s. Italian virtuoso is a noun form of the adjective virtuoso 鈥渟killed, virtuous.鈥� English virtuous (via Anglo-French) and virtuoso are indeed related. Both ultimately derive from Late Latin 惫颈谤迟耻艒蝉耻蝉, which joins the Latin adjective-forming suffix –艒蝉耻蝉 鈥渇ull of鈥� with Latin 惫颈谤迟奴蝉 (inflectional stem 惫颈谤迟奴迟-). Latin 惫颈谤迟奴蝉 means 鈥渕anliness, strength, courage.鈥� Apparently due to associations with honor and bravery (as of soldiers), the meaning of Latin聽惫颈谤迟奴蝉 was extended to 鈥渕oral excellence,鈥� hence English virtue. The root of 惫颈谤迟奴蝉 is vir 鈥渕an,鈥� which yields virile聽“manly” and virago, which evolved from 鈥渉eroic woman, female warrior鈥� to the unsavory “scolding woman, shrew.” The Proto-Indo-European root聽wi-ro-, the source of Latin vir, resulted in Old English wer 鈥渕an,鈥� which survives in werewolf, literally 鈥渕an-wolf,鈥� a virtuosic vocalist, perhaps, in its own howling way.
how is virtuoso used?
What was it like to be the first pop virtuoso of the recorded era鈥攖he man whose earliest releases set the tune for America鈥檚 love affair with modern black music, and who went on to become one of history鈥檚 most famous entertainers?
… he is a literary virtuoso who understands the charisma needed to make songs you can play in a club.