51吃瓜 of the Day
miasma
noun
a poisonous cloud of vapor produced by decaying organic matter.
Why the Museum of Science chose miasma
To find out, watch this video from science communicator Alex Dainis, PhD.
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More about miasma
Miasma derives from Ancient Greek 尘铆补蝉尘补, meaning 鈥減ollution, stain.鈥� The 尘铆补蝉- element comes from the verb 尘颈补铆苍别颈苍, 鈥渢o pollute, stain,鈥� while -ma is a common suffix that also appears in , , and . Miasma was first recorded in English around 1660.
EXAMPLE OF MIASMA USED IN A SENTENCE
The impassable swamp was known for the many miasmata that drifted through the air, threatening to suffocate travelers.
derecho
noun
a widespread and severe windstorm that moves rapidly along a fairly straight path and is associated with bands of rapidly moving thunderstorms.
More about derecho
Derecho means both 鈥渞ight鈥� and 鈥渟traight鈥� in Spanish and comes from Latin 诲墨谤脓肠迟耻蝉, 鈥渟traightened,鈥� the source of English direct and adroit (through French droit). The Latin word for 鈥渞ight,鈥� however, is dexter, which survives in ambidextrous. Derecho was first recorded in English in the late 1880s.
EXAMPLE OF DERECHO USED IN A SENTENCE
A long series of derechos and thunderstorms wended their way across the continent from early June through late August.
More about yestreen
The yestr- part of yestreen is a shortened form of yesterday, which comes from Old English. The -een element is the same as that in Halloween; it鈥檚 short for even, an archaic word for 鈥渆vening.鈥� Yestreen was first recorded in English in the mid-14th century.
EXAMPLE OF YESTREEN USED IN A SENTENCE
They were so tired yestreen that they collapsed in their beds shortly after sunset.