51吃瓜 of the Day
esculent
adjective
suitable for use as food; edible.
More about esculent
People of a certain age may remember the old TV commercial from around 1957 or 1958 for Nucoa oleomargarine, 鈥淭he new ubiquitous comestible is Nucoa, over all,鈥� written by the great Stan Freberg. Esculent is right up there with comestible in the obscure word category. Both words mean exactly the same thing, 鈥渆dible, something edible,鈥� and both words derive from the Latin verb esse 鈥渢o eat,鈥� from the Proto-Indo-European root ed– 鈥渢o eat鈥� (preliterary Latin edsi 鈥渢o eat鈥� becomes esse in Latin). A suffixed noun form of ed-, edeska, becomes Latin esca 鈥渇ood,鈥� from which the adjective esculentus is derived. Comestible comes from Late Latin comestibilis 鈥渆atable, edible,鈥� from the Latin compound verb comesse (also comedere) 鈥渢o eat up, finish eating,鈥� formed from the intensive prefix com– and the simple verb esse. Esculent entered English in the first half of the 17th century (comestible in the late 15th century).
how is esculent used?
We have a surplus of rice, tobacco, furs, peltry, potash, lamp oils, timber, which France wants; she has a surplus of wines, brandies,聽esculent聽oils, fruits, manufactures of all kinds, which we want.
Kala had moved slowly along an elephant track toward the east, and was busily engaged in turning over rotted limbs and logs in search of esculent bugs and fungi …
festal
adjective
pertaining to or befitting a feast, festival, holiday, or gala occasion.
More about festal
The adjective festal comes via Old French festal, festel from the Latin neuter singular noun festum 鈥渉oliday,鈥� a noun use of the adjective festus 鈥渞elating to or befitting a feast or holiday.鈥� (The French and English suffix –al derives from Latin –腻濒颈蝉.) Festa, the plural of festum, becomes a singular feminine noun in Vulgar Latin and the Romance languages, yielding feste in Old French (蹿锚迟别 in French), festa in Proven莽al, Catalan, Portuguese, and Italian, and fiesta in Spanish (Castilian). Festus forms the Latin adjective 蹿别蝉迟墨惫耻蝉 鈥渇estal, jovial, festive.鈥� Festal entered English in the second half of the 15th century.
how is festal used?
In honour of this glad day, we shall drink the best wine and sup on the finest festal dishes.
Into this festal season of the year鈥攁s it already was, and continued to be during the greater part of two centuries鈥攖he Puritans compressed whatever mirth and public joy they deemed allowable to human infirmity …
Brobdingnagian
adjective
of huge size; gigantic; tremendous.
More about Brobdingnagian
The adjective Brobdingnagian, 鈥渆normous in size, immense, gigantic,鈥� derives from the noun Brobdingnag, the land of the giants, the second of the exotic lands that Lemuel Gulliver visited as recorded in Jonathan Swift鈥檚 Gulliver鈥檚 Travels. Just as Lilliput and Lilliputian sound small and cute, so Brobdingnag and Brobdingnagian sound clumsy and heavy. Brobdingnagian entered English in the first half of the 18th century.
how is Brobdingnagian used?
… the entire space will be given over to a single Brobdingnagian sculpture鈥斺�淩everse Curve,鈥� back-to-back plates that form an S-shape and wind, riverlike, for 99 feet.
Since the launch of the Kepler telescope, scientists have discovered that the boiling, Brobdingnagian planets are in fact rarities and are just simpler to spot than cold, rocky planets.