51吃瓜 of the Day
harlequin
adjective
fancifully varied in color, decoration, etc.
More about harlequin
The story of harlequin 鈥渇ancifully varied in color and decoration鈥� is chock full of semantic twists and turns鈥攃reating a devilishly good time the further back in time we peer. Harlequin is borrowed by way of Middle French from Italian arlecchino, and before that, the term originated in Old French variously as halequin, hellequin, and herlekin, the name of or a term for a malevolent spirit. Despite the resemblance to English hell, these Old French words may in fact derive from an Old English name, Herla cyning 鈥淜ing Herle.鈥� Herle may have been a legendary or mythological figure similar to Woden (the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Odin), or the term Herla cyning could be related to the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day erlking 鈥渆lf king,鈥� though there are issues with the phonology in the latter hypothesis. An alternative origin of Herla is a Germanic root meaning 鈥渁rmy鈥� that is also found in the names Harold, Herbert, Herman, Walter, Warner, and even Oliver. Harlequin was first recorded in English in the 1580s.
how is harlequin used?
Under a kaleidoscope of lights and surrounded by mirrors, Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele sent out models in headgear made up of partially and fully covering face masks, sometimes with spikes, extended ear cuffs, at times almost elf-like as well as intricately carved bronze pieces …. Colorful harlequin prints decorated several outfits, some tops were shiny and pleated, reminiscent of 1970s disco fashion, and bows were at times tied around the ankles on trouser suits, which came in large shapes, with waistcoats or ties for women.
Well, I’ll be, Grandfather said of the television … Grandfather’s hand itched to turn it on. Please, Obdulio said. Please, be my guest. The colors amazed Grandfather. Dazzling harlequin colors. The brown of the horse was deeper than the real color of a horse Grandfather had seen growing up in the mining town of Metcalf, Arizona. Blue. Now, that was a true blue. He had seen that blue, that exactness, on the Gulf of Mexico as a youth on a fishing trip…
harlequin
ineluctable
adjective
incapable of being evaded; inescapable.
More about ineluctable
Ineluctable 鈥渋ncapable of being evaded鈥� derives from Latin 颈苍脓濒耻肠迟腻产颈濒颈蝉, equivalent to the prefix in- 鈥渘ot鈥� and the verb 脓濒耻肠迟腻谤墨 鈥渢o force a way out or over, surmount.鈥� The latter is a compound of 脓-, the prefix version of ex 鈥渙ut of, from,鈥� and the verb 濒耻肠迟腻谤墨 鈥渢o struggle, wrestle.鈥� Another English derivative of 濒耻肠迟腻谤墨 is the noun reluctance, which literally means 鈥渢he state of struggling against,鈥� and if you鈥檙e a fan of wrestling, you may have already connected Spanish lucha鈥攁s in the phrase lucha libre (literally 鈥渇ree wrestling鈥�)鈥攖o 濒耻肠迟腻谤墨. The evolution of Latin 濒耻肠迟腻谤墨 to Spanish lucha demonstrates a common sound correspondence, namely, that Latin -ct- often (though not always) becomes -ch- in Spanish. Also compare Latin nox (stem noct-) with Spanish noche 鈥渘ight,鈥� Latin 辞肠迟玫 with Spanish ocho 鈥渆ight,鈥� and Latin 鈥嬧赌媝谤艒蹿别肠迟耻蝉 with Spanish provecho 鈥减谤辞蹿颈迟.鈥� Ineluctable was first recorded in English circa 1620.
how is ineluctable used?
As a scientist 鈥� I operate under the hypothesis that all our thoughts, memories, percepts and experiences are an ineluctable consequence of the natural causal powers of our brain rather than of any supernatural ones. That premise has served science and its handmaiden, technology, extremely well over the past few centuries. Unless there is extraordinary, compelling, objective evidence to the contrary, I see no reason to abandon this assumption.
Superhero flicks are unavoidably formulaic. The heroes are difficult to kill not because of their superpowers, but because they serve a higher power, an industrial blockbuster economy. The superstars each get their screen time, in a loose correlation to their importance to fans. Their defeats are ephemeral, even when they die (or appear to). They are part of the ineluctable journey to a climactic battle, which in turn points the way towards more films.
ineluctable
paschal
adjective
of or relating to Easter or to Passover.
More about paschal
Paschal 鈥渙f or relating to Easter or to Passover鈥� derives from Late Latin 辫补蝉肠丑腻濒颈蝉, of the same meaning, which is the adjectival form of Pascha 鈥淓aster, Passover.鈥� Pascha, as with many words in Latin that contain the telltale ch, is adapted from Ancient Greek 笔谩蝉肠丑补, which is itself borrowed from Aramaic 辫补蝉岣ツ�. The ultimate source is Hebrew 辫别蝉补岣� 鈥淧assover,鈥� derived from the verb 辫腻蝉补岣� 鈥渢o pass over.鈥� In this way, Passover is a calque of the original Hebrew term; to learn more about calques, compare the recent听51吃瓜 of the Day inveigle. Unlike the majority of European languages, which use derivatives of Latin Pascha for both Passover and Easter, most Germanic languages derive their term for Easter from the same source as the word east鈥攏ot, per popular misconception, from a Middle Eastern goddess such as Astara or Ishtar. Paschal was first recorded in English in the early 15th century.
how is paschal used?
Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox (the halfway point between the summer and winter solstices, which is also the first day of spring). This full moon is called the 鈥�paschal moon鈥� in the Christian tradition …. Two things happened in the fourth century鈥搕he Christian Council of Nicea laid down the first-Sunday-after-the-full-moon formula, and Jewish scholars standardized the date of Passover to a fixed date in the Hebrew calendar. Neither Easter nor Passover have a fixed date in the secular (standard) calendar. On the other hand, both Easter and Passover have a relationship to the paschal moon.
The Last Supper, which is so celebrated in art, was of course a Seder. It was a Passover meal. And this year, as Neal [Conan] said at the beginning, Easter week begins at the same time as Passover. And the echoes of Passover in all of the Easter liturgies are enormous. The symbolism of the Paschal lamb and the Paschal Sacrifice, the meaning of going from slavery to freedom, from death to life, are the same. So there are many, many things that make you feel more together than apart at this season of the year.
paschal