51吃瓜 of the Day
empyrean
noun
the highest heaven, supposed by the ancients to contain the pure element of fire.
More about empyrean
Empyrean 鈥渢he highest heaven鈥� ultimately derives via Late Latin from Ancient Greek 别尘辫媒谤颈辞蝉 鈥渇iery,鈥� from 辫欧谤 鈥渇ire,鈥� which is the source of words such as pyre, pyrite, and pyro- and is distantly related to English fire. The Ancient Greeks believed that the world around them comprised five elements鈥攆ire, water, air, earth, and ether鈥攁nd although ether was considered a distinct airlike element found in the upper atmosphere, there was some overlap with fire; ether (Ancient Greek 补颈迟丑岣梤) was related to the verb 补铆迟丑别颈苍 鈥渢o burn鈥� and was considered together with fire to constitute the heavens and emit light and heat. Empyrean was first recorded in English in the early 1600s.
how is empyrean used?
It was the belief of Europe during the Middle Ages, that our globe was the centre of the universe. The earth, itself fixed and immovable, was encompassed by ten heavens successively encircling one another, and all of these except the highest in constant rotation about their centre. This highest and immovable heaven, enveloping all the others and constituting the boundary between created things and the void, infinite space beyond, is the Empyrean, the heaven of fire…
Makeda, rumor has it, is skilled in the sinister arts of voodoo. But what she鈥檚 channeling here is a spirit of pure divinity. And as Ms. Foy rides the bucking rhythms of Makeda鈥檚 journey through the past, present and future of African-Americans, she achieves an exaltation that lifts her and the audience into the empyrean.
empyrean
hex
verb (used with object)
to bewitch; practice witchcraft on.
More about hex
Hex 鈥渢o bewitch鈥� is a borrowing via Pennsylvania Dutch from German hexen, related to the noun Hexe 鈥渨颈迟肠丑.鈥� Hexe is a cognate of the English word hag 鈥渨itch, sorceress; ugly old woman,鈥� and the two are shortened from Old High German hagazussa and Old English 丑忙驳迟别sse, respectively. Though hex and hag have long had negative connotations in English because of their magical associations, theories about their origin are far less biased; the 丑补驳补-/丑忙驳- element may derive from a root meaning 鈥渁ble, skilled鈥� or could be connected to hawthorn, hay, and hedge, thereby reflecting a historical link between plants and sorcery. The -zussa/-tesse element, in turn, may be related to a variety of words in the Indo-European language family with meanings such as 鈥渇airy,鈥� 鈥済host,鈥� and 鈥渄emon.鈥� Hex was first recorded in English in the 1820s.
how is hex used?
鈥淸The villagers] thought she had the evil eye, they thought she was hexing their cows. They didn鈥檛 want to waste their bullets so they used stones. Stones and clubs .鈥� But she knew it was going to happen, she was a clairvoyant. She handed me over to a friend she had, in another village, the night before. That鈥檚 what saved me.鈥�
I remember all manner of morality tales and fables about boys who stole pie and were hexed, vexed, and haunted, so many and so often that I came to believe that pie thievery must have been a very common thing back then. I would not do it again鈥攊t would be unseemly. But sometimes I pass a pie in a bakery, and I wonder. It would probably just taste like pie. But how will I ever know unless鈥�
hex
fartlek
noun
a training technique, used especially among runners, consisting of bursts of intense effort loosely alternating with less strenuous activity.
More about fartlek
Fartlek 鈥渁 training technique consisting of bursts of intense effort鈥� is a direct borrowing from Swedish and comprises the elements fart 鈥渟peed鈥� and lek 鈥减濒补测.鈥� Fart is cognate with the English verb fare 鈥渢o go, travel,鈥� as found in the nouns warfare, wayfarer, and welfare, from a Proto-Indo-European root per- 鈥渢o pass over.鈥� Other derivatives from this root include port, portable, and portal (via Latin porta 鈥渄oor, gate鈥� and 辫辞谤迟腻谤别 鈥渢o carry鈥�) and pore and emporium (via Ancient Greek 辫贸谤辞蝉 鈥减补蝉蝉补驳别鈥�). Lek may be related to English lark 鈥渁 carefree adventure; to have fun鈥� but has a far more popular relative: LEGO, the name of a brand of interlocking plastic bricks, from Danish leg godt 鈥渢o play well.鈥� Fartlek was first recorded in English in the 1950s.
how is fartlek used?
Fartlek running is racing then recovering and so on. It became harder to race at a certain distance, and then slow to recover, then race again. At the moment his training was racing for half a mile then recovering for the next quarter. It was damned tough, but if he could get below three hours it would be worth every ounce of sweat and tears.
We head back and Sam puts me through another kind of torture, this time a Swedish interval training technique called ‘Fartlek‘鈥攁 word I’d find funny if the training weren’t so exhausting鈥攚here I have to sprint then jog alternately between the lampposts that all too frequently for my liking line the promenade.
fartlek