51吃瓜 of the Day
ersatz
adjective
serving as a substitute; synthetic; artificial.
More about ersatz
Ersatz 鈥渟erving as a substitute鈥� is a borrowing of the German noun Ersatz 鈥渁 substitute,鈥� from the verb ersetzen 鈥渢o replace.鈥� Ersetzen is a compound of the Old High German elements ir- 鈥渙ut鈥� and sezzan 鈥渢o set.鈥� Ir-, a variant of ur-, is related to English about, but, out, utmost, and utter as well as to German Urheimat and Ursprache, plus the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day carouse. Sezzan is closely related to English nest, saddle, seat, set, settle, sit, and soot, and to borrowings originally from other Indo-European languages including the recent 51吃瓜s of the Day assiduity, chaise longue,听补苍诲 蝉铆诲丑. Ersatz was first recorded in English in the early 1870s.
how is ersatz used?
Unable to print the real thing, Zimbabwe鈥檚 central bank recently announced that it would introduce a kind of ersatz American money for citizens to use in its place.
Christman says it’s possible to induce ersatz left-handedness by moving the eyes from side to side, which gets both sides of the brain going.
doughty
adjective
steadfastly courageous and resolute; valiant.
More about doughty
Doughty 鈥渟teadfastly courageous,鈥� despite spelling and pronunciation, is not related to doubt, doughy, or dowdy. Instead, it comes from Old English dohtig 鈥渨orthy,鈥� which is equivalent to modern English dow 鈥渢o be able鈥� or 鈥渢o thrive, prosper鈥� plus two suffixes: -th, which indicates a noun of action (as in birth) or quality (as in warmth), and -y 鈥渃haracterized by, inclined to鈥� (as in dreamy and juicy). In this way, doughty literally translates from Old English as 鈥渨orthiness-y,鈥� which is an awkward mouthful. Doughty was first recorded in English before 1000 a.d.
how is doughty used?
A doughty branch of the early human family, Neanderthals were big-brained and thick-boned hunters who once ranged from Spain to Siberia.
He was a doughty defender of his grandfather鈥檚 legacy and even though many of those subjected to the estate鈥檚 strictures in relation to permissions and fees actively resented them, Stephen was acting, as he saw it, to uphold his grandfather鈥檚 heritage.
phlogiston
noun
a nonexistent chemical that, prior to the discovery of oxygen, was thought to be released during combustion.
More about phlogiston
Phlogiston 鈥渁 chemical once thought to be released during combustion鈥� is the neuter form of Ancient Greek 辫丑濒辞驳颈蝉迟贸蝉 鈥渋nflammable, burnt up,鈥� from the verb 辫丑濒辞驳铆锄别颈苍 鈥渢o set on fire.鈥� Relatives of 辫丑濒辞驳铆锄别颈苍 in English include phlegm (from 辫丑濒茅驳尘补 鈥渇lame鈥�) and phlox (from 辫丑濒贸虫 鈥渁 flame-colored plant鈥�). All these words ultimately come from a Proto-Indo-European root roughly meaning 鈥渢o burn, flash, shine鈥� that appears today in English words containing bl-, fl-, ful-, or phl-, depending on the language of origin. For more descendants in English from this rather productive root, check out our recent 51吃瓜s of the Day听effulgent,听Phlegethon, and trailblaze. Phlogiston was first recorded in English circa 1730.
how is phlogiston used?
The theory of phlogiston was not debunked until the 1770s, when Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier showed that combustion is a reaction with a gas鈥攐xygen. More than a century after that, it became possible to transmute one metal into another鈥攂ut using a nuclear reactor rather than a philosopher鈥檚 stone.