51吃瓜 of the Day
ghoulish
adjective
strangely diabolical or cruel; monstrous: a ghoulish and questionable sense of humor.
More about ghoulish
Ghoulish literally means 鈥渙f, relating to, or like a ghoul.鈥� If you know your folklore (and word origins), you won鈥檛 be surprised to learn why ghoulish evolved to mean 鈥渟trangely diabolical or cruel; monstrous.鈥� Recorded in the late 1700s, English ghoul is borrowed from the Arabic 驳丑奴濒 (based on a verb meaning 鈥渢o seize鈥�), a desert-dwelling demon in Arabic legend that robbed graves and preyed on human corpses. A 驳丑奴濒 was also believed to be able to change its shape鈥攅xcept for its telltale feet, which always took the form of donkey鈥檚 hooves. A 鈥渕onstrous鈥� creature, indeed. Ghoulish entered English in the 1800s.
how is ghoulish used?
… her dark humor and ghoulish sensibility are not for everyone.
… much of the story鈥檚 ghoulish humor derives from his habit of visualizing and communicating with murder victims, their ghosts intervening to help him solve each crime in trial-and-error fashion.
requiescat
noun
a wish or prayer for the repose of the dead.
More about requiescat
Requiescat, as any high school Latin student can tell you, is the third person singular present subjunctive active of the Latin verb 谤别辩耻颈脓蝉肠别谤别 鈥渢o rest, be at rest, rest in death鈥� and means 鈥淢ay he/she/it rest.鈥� If the kid wants to show off, they may volunteer that requiescat is an optative subjunctive, that is, a subjunctive that expresses a wish, as opposed to a hortatory subjunctive, a subjunctive that exhorts, as in 谤别辩耻颈脓蝉肠腻尘耻蝉 鈥淟et鈥檚 take a rest,鈥� or a jussive subjunctive, which expresses a command, as in requiescant 鈥淟et them rest!鈥� (搁别辩耻颈脓蝉肠补苍迟 can also be an optative subjunctive, 鈥淢ay they rest.鈥�) Requiescat usually appears in the phrase Requiescat In Pace (abbreviated R.I.P.) “May he/she/it rest in peace,鈥� seen on tombstones. Requiescat entered English in the second half of the 1700s.
how is requiescat used?
In delivering its eulogy, perhaps I can beg a requiescat from its enemies as well.
That emotion. I bury it here by the sea … And a heart’s requiescat聽I write on that grave.
macabre
adjective
gruesome and horrifying; ghastly; horrible.
More about macabre
The history of the adjective macabre is confusing. The word is Middle French and first occurs (in French) in 1376, Je fis de 惭补肠补产谤茅 la dance 鈥淚 made the Dance of Death.鈥� In late Middle English Macabrees daunce meant 鈥淒ance of Death.鈥� French 惭补肠补产谤茅 may be an alteration of 惭补肠补产茅 鈥淢accabaeus鈥�; if so, 惭补肠补产谤茅 la dance may be the same as the medieval ritual or procession chor膿a Machabae艒rum “dance of the Maccabees,” honoring the martyrdom of Judas Maccabaeus and his brothers (II Maccabees). Macabre entered English in the 15th century.
how is macabre used?
Their macabre task is swabbing dead animals they find by the side of the road to get hold of their microbiomes鈥攖he communities of microorganisms that inhabit these mammals.
Vincent聽(1982) combines Burton鈥檚 burgeoning visual aesthetic with his lifelong love of the macabre and interest in stop-motion animation.