51吃瓜 of the Day
frondescence
noun
leafage; foliage.
Why the Museum of Science chose frondescence
Fall is upon us, which means cooler temperatures and a change in the color of frondescence from green to brilliant yellows, oranges, and reds. It had us wondering, what causes these beautiful Fall colors? To find out, watch this video about frondescence from science communicator, Alex Dainis, PhD.
More about frondescence
Frondescence comes from a Latin verb meaning 鈥渢o become leafy, put forth leaves,鈥� which is based on the word for 鈥渂ranch, bough鈥� that also gives us frond. An easily confused word is the Latin word 蹿谤艒苍蝉, meaning 鈥渇orehead,鈥� which is the source of front, frontage, and frontal. Frondescence was first recorded in English circa 1840.
EXAMPLE OF FRONDESCENCE USED IN A SENTENCE
When autumn sets in and the leaves shift colors, a rainbow of frondescence can be seen far and wide.
FUN FACT ABOUT FRONDESCENCE
Leaves already contain the yellow and orange pigments we see emerge in Fall. They are just hidden most of the year by the overwhelming green of chlorophyll. Learn more fun facts .
scarper
verb (used without object)
to flee or depart suddenly, especially without having paid one's bills.
More about scarper
Scarper, 鈥渢o flee or depart suddenly,鈥� originated in a British argot, likely Polari, and probably comes from Italian scappare 鈥渢o flee,鈥� which is related to English escape (compare French 茅肠丑补辫辫别谤). The ultimate origin appears to be from a Vulgar Latin verb reconstructed as 别虫肠补辫辫腻谤别, based on Latin ex 鈥渙ut of, from鈥� and Late Latin cappa 鈥渉ooded cloak, cape.鈥� For another example of Polari鈥檚 influence on English, see the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day busk. Scarper was first recorded in English in the late 1840s.
how is scarper used?
But thwart a young rat鈥檚 zeal for play (by rearing it alone or with drugged companions that won鈥檛 play) and you create an adult that loses its cool in social situations. When things start getting edgy, play-deprived rats either succumb to rat-rage or scarper, quaking, to a corner.”
When [the giant peach] disappears they have to scarper, off to America on the Queen Mary, though since they apparently haven鈥檛 yet collected on all the money they thought was coming their way, it鈥檚 a mystery how they can afford it.
More about 辫别苍蝉茅别
笔别苍蝉茅别, 鈥渁 thought,鈥� is a loanword from French, in which it is the past participle of the verb penser 鈥渢o think.鈥� Penser derives from Latin 辫脓苍蝉腻谤别, of the same meaning, which in turn comes from pendere 鈥渢o hang鈥濃�攕imilar to the English expression 鈥渉ave hanging over (one鈥檚) head,鈥� namely, when a persistent thought causes fear and anxiety. Pendere has two stems in English: the first is pend-, as in pendulum, suspend, and the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day spendthrift, and the second stem is pens-, as in compensate, expensive, and pension. 笔别苍蝉茅别 was first recorded in English in the late 1880s.
how is 辫别苍蝉茅别 used?
The phone rings incessantly, and James, never losing his aplomb, dashes to answer it between lifting lids and turning, in his faded blue dress shirt and undersized, black owl glasses, to share a morsel of gossip or a 辫别苍蝉茅别 about his latest book, a collection of photographs titled, simply, Paris.
鈥淟ife is a hospital where each patient is driven by the desire to change beds.鈥� Such a 辫别苍蝉茅别 fits with the French moralist tradition of Montaigne, Pascal and La Rochefoucauld, yet Baudelaire always regarded Edgar Allan Poe, whom he translated, as his spiritual brother.