51吃瓜 of the Day
peripeteia
noun
a sudden turn of events or an unexpected reversal, especially in a literary work.
More about peripeteia
Peripeteia comes from Greek 辫别谤颈辫茅迟别颈补 鈥渟udden change.鈥� 笔别谤颈辫茅迟别颈补 has a literal sense of 鈥渇alling around,鈥� composed of the prefix peri– 鈥渁bout, around,鈥� pet-, base of 辫铆辫迟别颈苍 鈥渢o fall,鈥� and –eia, a noun-forming suffix. In his Poetics, Aristotle describes peripeteia as the turning point in the plot of a tragedy where the protagonist experiences a sudden, surprising, and often ironic reversal of fortune, such as when, in Sophocles鈥檚 Oedipus Rex, Oedipus discovers鈥攕poiler alert鈥攈e killed his father and married his mother. This critical moment of recognition or discovery had a name in ancient Greek tragedy, too: anagnorisis.
how is peripeteia used?
Mr. Weld’s political peripeteia鈥攚hich, as a student of the classics, he would recognize as the point in a drama when a sudden reversal occurs鈥攕eems to have come during his second term as governor of Massachusetts.
Bendjelloul鈥檚 documentary is delicately balanced on an iceberg-sized peripeteia that is easily spoiled, so if you want to see this movie … read no further.
esculent
adjective
suitable for use as food; edible.
More about esculent
People of a certain age may remember the old TV commercial from around 1957 or 1958 for Nucoa oleomargarine, 鈥淭he new ubiquitous comestible is Nucoa, over all,鈥� written by the great Stan Freberg. Esculent is right up there with comestible in the obscure word category. Both words mean exactly the same thing, 鈥渆dible, something edible,鈥� and both words derive from the Latin verb esse 鈥渢o eat,鈥� from the Proto-Indo-European root ed– 鈥渢o eat鈥� (preliterary Latin edsi 鈥渢o eat鈥� becomes esse in Latin). A suffixed noun form of ed-, edeska, becomes Latin esca 鈥渇ood,鈥� from which the adjective esculentus is derived. Comestible comes from Late Latin comestibilis 鈥渆atable, edible,鈥� from the Latin compound verb comesse (also comedere) 鈥渢o eat up, finish eating,鈥� formed from the intensive prefix com– and the simple verb esse. Esculent entered English in the first half of the 17th century (comestible in the late 15th century).
how is esculent used?
We have a surplus of rice, tobacco, furs, peltry, potash, lamp oils, timber, which France wants; she has a surplus of wines, brandies,聽esculent聽oils, fruits, manufactures of all kinds, which we want.
Kala had moved slowly along an elephant track toward the east, and was busily engaged in turning over rotted limbs and logs in search of esculent bugs and fungi …
festal
adjective
pertaining to or befitting a feast, festival, holiday, or gala occasion.
More about festal
The adjective festal comes via Old French festal, festel from the Latin neuter singular noun festum 鈥渉oliday,鈥� a noun use of the adjective festus 鈥渞elating to or befitting a feast or holiday.鈥� (The French and English suffix –al derives from Latin –腻濒颈蝉.) Festa, the plural of festum, becomes a singular feminine noun in Vulgar Latin and the Romance languages, yielding feste in Old French (蹿锚迟别 in French), festa in Proven莽al, Catalan, Portuguese, and Italian, and fiesta in Spanish (Castilian). Festus forms the Latin adjective 蹿别蝉迟墨惫耻蝉 鈥渇estal, jovial, festive.鈥� Festal entered English in the second half of the 15th century.
how is festal used?
In honour of this glad day, we shall drink the best wine and sup on the finest festal dishes.
Into this festal season of the year鈥攁s it already was, and continued to be during the greater part of two centuries鈥攖he Puritans compressed whatever mirth and public joy they deemed allowable to human infirmity …