51吃瓜 of the Day
draconian
adjective
rigorous; unusually severe or cruel.
More about draconian
Draconian 鈥渦nusually severe or cruel鈥� is based on Latin 顿谤补肠艒 (stem 顿谤补肠艒n-), plus the adjectival suffix -ian. In ancient Athens, a city-state that is now the capital of Greece, Draco (known to his fellow Athenians as 顿谤谩办艒苍) was a statesman who was famous鈥攐r infamous鈥攆or the unusually harsh laws he enacted. The Latin common noun 诲谤补肠艒 means 鈥渄ragon, serpent鈥� and appears in the motto of the school Hogwarts, from the Harry Potter series: 顿谤补肠艒 dormi膿ns nunquam t墨tillandus, meaning 鈥淎 sleeping dragon must never be tickled.鈥� Latin 诲谤补肠艒, originally an adaptation of Ancient Greek 诲谤谩办艒苍, is the source of English dragon, dragoon, and drake. Draconian was first recorded in English in the 1810s.
how is draconian used?
Wyatt was both a victim and a collaborator in a new kind of political system: the totalitarian state. The 16th century may have been the golden age of English literature, but it also fostered an increasingly draconian monarchy.
The U.S. Federal Reserve risks weak economic growth throughout this year due to its backward-looking, 鈥�draconian鈥� rate hikes, warned Wall Street鈥檚 best-known tech sector bull [Cathie Wood].
dissent
noun
disagreement with the philosophy, methods, goals, etc., of a political party or government.
More about dissent
Dissent 鈥渄isagreement with a party or government鈥� comes by way of Middle English and Middle French from the Latin verb 诲颈蝉蝉别苍迟墨谤别, 鈥渢o differ, disagree,鈥� which is based on the prefix dis- 鈥渁part鈥� and the verb 蝉别苍迟墨谤别 鈥渢o feel, observe.鈥� Dissent is both a verb and a noun, and the noun sense arose in the late 16th century, well over one hundred years after the verb first appeared in English. The Latin verb 蝉别苍迟墨谤别 has two stems: sent- and sens-. The first of these is found in English sentence, sentient, sentiment, and sentinel, while the second appears in consensus, sense, sensible, and sensual鈥攁ll of which relate in some way to feeling, thought, opinion, or observation. 厂别苍迟墨谤别 is also the source of numerous Romance language words and phrases related to emotion and perception, including Spanish lo siento 鈥淚 am sorry鈥� (literally 鈥淚 feel it鈥�). Dissent was first recorded in English in the early 15th century.
how is dissent used?
Newsrooms should reflect the country, the world that they are covering, and the world is in the middle of some dissent and disagreement and debate right now. I don鈥檛 know how we鈥檙e supposed to escape that.
Art not only makes concrete the notion that dissent is possible in times of darkness but also reminds viewers that dissent can manifest itself in beautiful and complex forms. Art is a strategy for political activism.
choice
noun
the right, power, or opportunity to choose; option.
More about choice
Choice 鈥渢he right to choose鈥� is a noun derived from the Old French verb choisir 鈥渢o perceive, choose,鈥� which comes from a long-lost source in one of the Germanic languages, perhaps Frankish. Unlike choice, the verb choose is native to English and was recorded in Old English as 肠脓辞蝉补苍, in which -an marked an infinitive verb, just as adding the separate word to before a verb does today. Ultimately, both choice and choose are related to Ancient Greek 驳别煤别蝉迟丑补颈 鈥渢o taste鈥� and Latin gustus 鈥渢asting, flavor, sense of taste.鈥� From the former, English has adopted ageusia 鈥渓oss of the sense of taste鈥� and dysgeusia 鈥渋mpairment of the sense of taste,鈥� while the latter is the source of (through Italian) gusto 鈥渉earty or keen enjoyment鈥� and (through French) ragout, a type of tasty meat stew. Choice was first recorded in English in the late 13th century.
how is choice used?
I was thinking all this time that she has a choice. Me or Lindy. Which is a lot better than I have. It just hit me, though, …. she probably doesn’t feel like she has a choice at all.
Late June brought a series of housing squabbles鈥攕ome serious, some so ridiculous and petty that we had no choice but to highlight.