51吃瓜 of the Day
philippic
noun
any speech or discourse of bitter denunciation.
More about philippic
The adjective and noun philippic come from Latin Philippicus 鈥渙f or pertaining to King Philip II of Macedon鈥� (the father of Alexander the Great), from Greek 笔丑颈濒颈辫辫颈办贸蝉 with the same meaning. 笔丑颈濒颈辫辫颈办贸蝉 is usually used in the plural, 笔丑颈濒颈辫辫颈办贸颈, with the plural noun 濒贸驳辞颈 鈥渟peeches鈥� understood. The original 笔丑颈濒颈辫辫颈办贸颈 濒贸驳辞颈 were three speeches delivered by the Athenian statesman Demosthenes against King Philip of Macedon between 351 and 341 b.c. The second set of philippics were the 14 orations that the Roman statesman and man of letters Marcus Tullius Cicero delivered against Mark Antony between 44 and 43 b.c. Cicero himself called these speeches (艒r膩ti艒n膿s) Philippicae 鈥淧hilippic (orations).鈥� The speeches not unnaturally enraged Mark Antony, who ensured that Cicero鈥檚 name stood at the head of the list of proscriptions. The adjective sense of philippic entered English in the mid-16th century.
how is philippic used?
Ms. Goldstein鈥檚 book is meticulously fair and disarmingly balanced, serving up historical commentary instead of a searing philippic.
… his philippic against King Leopold for the atrocities he sanctioned called the attention of the whole world to conditions that constituted a disgrace to modern civilization.
desuetude
noun
the state of being no longer used or practiced.
More about desuetude
Desuetude comes from French 诲茅蝉耻茅迟耻诲别, a borrowing of Latin 诲脓蝉耻脓迟奴诲辞 鈥渄isuse,鈥� a derivative of the verb 诲脓蝉耻脓蝉肠别谤别 鈥渢o lay aside a habit or custom鈥� and the abstract noun suffix –迟奴诲艒. 顿脓蝉耻脓蝉肠别谤别 is a compound verb composed of the preposition and prefix 诲脓, 诲脓-, here indicating negation, and the verb 蝉耻脓蝉肠别谤别 鈥渢o become accustomed to, to make accustomed.鈥� In 蝉耻脓蝉肠别谤别 the suffix –脓蝉肠别谤别 indicates an inchoative or inceptive meaning (鈥渢o begin to鈥︹��). Desuetude entered English in the 15th century.
how is desuetude used?
A very few people, not appearing to be up to much, sat far apart at desks in a dimly lighted panorama of desuetude.
The practice of “leaving a calling card” may have fallen into desuetude among human beings, but as a description of pet behavior the phrase continues to have legs.
caucus
noun
U.S. Politics. a local meeting of party members to select candidates, elect convention delegates, etc.
More about caucus
鈥淵ou pays your money, and you takes your choice鈥� when it comes to the origin of caucus. The true answer is that the origin of caucus is unknown, which naturally leads to many folk etymologies. The word first appears in the Boston Gazette (1760) and is spelled Corcas. The modern spelling caucus appears in 1788, and the citation reads 鈥淢ore than fifty years ago [therefore about 1735], Mr. Samuel Adams’s father, and twenty others…, used to meet, make a caucus.鈥� A possible source of caucus is the Late Latin noun caucus 鈥渄rinking cup,鈥� from Greek 办补没办辞蝉 with the same meaning. The trouble with Latin caucus is that there is no evidence for this development of meaning, and that Latin caucus occurs only once, in a work by St. Jerome. A second etymology, closer to home, so to speak, claims that caucus is an Algonquian word, from Virginia Algonquian Cawcawwassough, specifically, and means 鈥渆lders of the Chickahominy people.” Cawcawwassough dates from 1608, but again there is no 鈥渃hain of evidence鈥� connecting Cawcawwassough to political clubs in Boston.
how is caucus used?
The Iowa caucuses are never simple. Voters spend hours in high school gymnasiums or public libraries, starting their night by declaring support for their preferred presidential candidate.
The caucuses were supposed to be less important this time. But they still might pick the winner.