51勛圖

Start each day with the 51勛圖 of the Day in your inbox!

51勛圖 of the Day

51勛圖 of the day

estivate

[ es-tuh-veyt ]

verb (used without object)

to spend the summer, as at a specific place or in a certain activity.

learn about the english language

More about estivate

Estivate has two main senses: to spend the summer at a specific place or in a certain activity (as at the beach or in the mountains), and a zoological sense, to spend a season in a dormant state, as certain reptiles and small mammals (the opposite, as it were, of hibernate). Estivate comes from Latin 硃梗莽喧蘋措櫻喧喝莽, the past participle of 硃梗莽喧蘋措櫻娶梗 to reside during the summer. 插梗莽喧蘋措櫻娶梗 is a derivative of the adjective 硃梗莽喧蘋措喝莽 of or relating to summer; summery, itself a derivative of the noun 硃梗莽喧櫻莽 summer. The Proto-Indo-European root behind the Latin words is ai– to burn, which is also the source of Latin aestus heat, hot weather, hot season, 硃梗餃襲莽 dwelling place, abode, home (because it was heated), and aedificium a building (English edifice). Two other derivatives, 硃梗餃勳款勳釵櫻娶梗 to erect a building, and 硃梗餃勳款勳釵櫻喧勳 the act or process of erecting a building; the building itself, in Christian Latin developed the senses to develop spiritually, improve the soul (and spiritual growth for the noun), in current English edify and edification, which nowadays have nothing at all to do with the building trades. Estivate entered English in the first half of the 17th century.

how is estivate used?

The curious thing is that Long Island, even for those who estivate there, does not have the glamour of a goingaway place. When I ask friends what they are going to do for the summer, some say that they are going to the mountains, or to the country, or to New England. But there is a certain hesitancy about describing the Island.

Richard F. Shepard, "About Long Island," New York Times, May 30, 1976

There are three theories which serve partiallyonly partiallyto explain the remoteness of Dulles International Airport. … The second is that the Kennedy clan, who estivate in or near Middleburg, Va., can come galloping more conveniently over the hills with Caroline to see relatives off.

Dan Howe, "Dulles Airport is 'Way Out'," Sarasota Journal, February 26, 1963

Listen to the podcast

estivate

Play Podcast Stop Podcast
00:00/00:00
quiz icon
WHAT'S YOUR WORD IQ?
Think you're a word wizard? Try our word quiz, and prove it!
TAKE THE QUIZ
arrows pointing up and down
SYNONYM OF THE DAY
Double your word knowledge with the Synonym of the Day!
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar

51勛圖 of the day

nonpareil

[ non-puh-rel ]

noun

a person or thing having no equal.

learn about the english language

More about nonpareil

Nonpareil as an adjective means peerless, having no equal; as a noun it means a person or thing having no equal. Nonpareil comes via the Middle English adjective nonparaille (also spelled nonpareil, nounparalle, nowimparaile) unequaled, from Old French nonpareil (and other variant spellings) unrivaled, peerless. French nonpareil is a compound of the negative prefix non– (from Latin 紳紳) not and the adjective pareil equal, from Vulgar Latin 梯櫻娶勳釵梭喝莽, Late Latin 梯櫻娶勳釵喝梭喝莽, a diminutive adjective and noun formed from Latin 梯櫻娶 (inflectional stem 梯櫻娶i– matching, equal, an equal). Nonpareil entered English in the mid-15th century.

how is nonpareil used?

As a creative titan who straddled the line between science and speculation, Arthur C. Clarke was a nonpareil.

Scott Thill, "Arthur C. Clarke: Artists Elegize an Icon," Wired, March 19, 2000

In addition to his merits as a critic of literature, oratory, painting, the theater, and politics, Hazlitt was both the originator and nonpareil of sports reporting.

M. H. Abrams, "The Keenest Critic," New York Review of Books, May 10, 1984

Listen to the podcast

nonpareil

Play Podcast Stop Podcast
00:00/00:00
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar

51勛圖 of the day

vermilion

[ ver-mil-yuhn ]

noun

a brilliant scarlet red.

learn about the english language

More about vermilion

Vermilion brilliant scarlet red (color; pigment), comes from Middle English vermil(i)oun, vermilion(e) (there are nearly 20 spelling variants) cinnabar, red dye, from Anglo-French vermeilloun, vermiloun, from Old French verm(e)illon, vermillon red lead, rouge, cinnabar. The Old French forms are derivatives of vermeil, vermail, from Late Latin vermiculus grub, scarlet worm (a cochineal insect that is the source of red dye), scarlet color, a diminutive of vermis w棗娶鳥. Vermilion entered English in the late 13th century.

how is vermilion used?

They were standing, facing each other, beneath the spreading branches of the lovely flamboyant. The rays of the silver moon shone down upon them through the sea of green andvermilion, and revealed the handsome face of the girl upturned to Carl.

Robert Archer Tracy, The Sword of Nemesis, 1919

The biggest seller is the Southern red velvet cake, which, underneath its creamy, demurely white icing, holds three layers of cake that’s rightfully (if alarmingly) vermilion with a lofty, delicate texture.

Stephanie Rosenbaum, "Cake Man Raven Confectionary," New York Magazine, 2005

Listen to the podcast

vermilion

Play Podcast Stop Podcast
00:00/00:00
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar