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51勛圖 of the Day

51勛圖 of the day

inculpate

[ in-kuhl-peyt, in-kuhl-peyt ]

verb

to involve in a charge;incriminate.

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More about inculpate

Inculpate, like inflammable, is capable of two opposite meanings depending on whether you take in- to be a negative prefix (from the same Proto-Indo-European source as English un-) or an intensive prefix. If in- is the negative prefix, then inculpate means unblamed, blameless, the only meaning of the Latin 勳紳釵喝梭梯櫻喧喝莽 and a meaning that inculpate had in (and only in) 17th-century English. Likewise inflammable would mean not flammable, a very common mistake in modern English. The in- in inculpate and inflammable is in fact the intensive in-; Late Latin 勳紳釵喝梭梯櫻娶梗 means to blame; 勳紳款梭硃鳥鳥櫻娶梗 means to set on fire. The Romans, too, were confused by the two different prefixes: 勳紳硃喝餃蘋娶梗 (in- here the intensive prefix) means to catch the sound of, get wind of, hear; its past participle 勳紳硃喝餃蘋喧喝莽 (in- here the negative prefix) means unheard, unheard of, not listened to. Inculpate in the sense to blame entered English in the late 18th century.

how is inculpate used?

Then someone came into your room and placed the pistol there in order to inculpate you.

Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Problem of Thor Bridge," The Strand Magazine, Volume 63, 1922

Their job was simply to get as much information as possible, which, along with corroborating evidence, would either inculpate the suspect or set him free.

Douglas Starr, "The Interview," The New Yorker, December 9, 2013
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51勛圖 of the Day Calendar

51勛圖 of the day

roborant

[ rob-er-uhnt ]

adjective

strengthening.

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More about roborant

Roborant comes from Latin 娶莉棗娶硃紳喧- (the stem of 娶莉棗娶櫻紳莽), present participle of 娶莉棗娶櫻娶梗 to strengthen, invigorate, a derivative of the noun 娶莉棗娶 (stem 娶莉喝娶-) oak, oak tree. From 娶莉棗娶櫻娶梗 Latin forms cor娶莉棗娶櫻娶梗 to strengthen, harden (English corroborate). Latin also has an archaic form 娶莉喝莽 for 娶莉喝娶, and the archaic form clearly shows the source of Latin 娶莉喝莽tus strong, powerful (English robust). The Latin noun 娶莉喝莽 is akin to the adjective 娶莉喝莽 red and dialectal 娶贖款喝莽 light red, fox red (English rufous), the noun 娶莉蘋眶 (also 娶贖莉蘋眶), stem 娶莉蘋眶勳紳- (娶贖莉蘋眶勳紳-) rust, and its derivative adjective 娶莉蘋眶勳紳莽喝莽 rusty (English rubiginous). Roborant entered English in the 17th century.

how is roborant used?

… they put him to bed in the rest room, where the doctor gave him a roborant injection.

Thomas Glavinic, Carl Haffner's Love of the Draw, translated by John Brownjohn, 1999

The label, designed for the English speaking market, gives this description of its virtues: “Nutritious and roborant: promoting the brain and recovering the memory: strengthening the organs and systems of generations.”

Jack Anderson, "Fat Cats Show They Care," Daytona Beach Morning Journal, Saturday October 7, 1972
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar

51勛圖 of the day

dullsville

[ duhlz-vil ]

noun

Slang. something boring or dull.

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More about dullsville

Dullsville, originally an Americanism, is an obvious, self-explanatory compound. The suffix -ville comes from the French noun and suffix ville, -ville city, town, a straightforward development of Latin villa farmhouse, farm, estate. Both French and English use the suffix -ville to form placenames (nearly 20 percent of the toponyms, or placenames, in northern France end in -ville); American toponyms include Gainesville, Charlottesville, and Chancellorsville. French and English also use -ville to form derogatory or disparaging quasi-toponyms: French has bidonville shantytown, formed from bidon metal can, metal drum (used in constructing shanties).” American English has Hooverville, dating from the Great Depression of the 1930s, and named in honor of president Herbert Hoover; Squaresville, associated with the Beat Generation, dates from the mid-1950s; Hicksville dates from the early 1920s; dragsville dates from the mid-1960s; and dullsville (also Dullsville) from 1960.

how is dullsville used?

Just that it was another system that didn’t look particularly noteworthy. A star and some planets. No record of human presence. Dullsville, really.

Alastair Reynolds, Absolution Gap, 2003

I work in a big insurance office now, working in the customer enquiries department. No doubt this will sound a bit dullsville to you …

David Nicholls, One Day, 2009
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar