51吃瓜 of the Day
picaresque
adjective
of, relating to, or resembling rogues.
More about picaresque
The English adjective picaresque, 鈥減ertaining to or resembling rogues,鈥� is modeled on Spanish picaresco 鈥減ertaining to or resembling a 辫铆肠补谤辞鈥� (i.e., a rogue or vagabond), which first appears in print in Spanish in 1569. Picaresque in the sense 鈥減ertaining to a kind of narrative fiction鈥� first appears in print in English in 1810; Spanish picaresco in the same sense appears in 1836. The etymology of 辫铆肠补谤辞 is contested: it may come from the verb picar 鈥渢o prick, pierce,鈥� from Vulgar Latin 辫颈肠肠腻谤别, and be related to Latin 辫墨肠耻蝉 鈥渨辞辞诲辫别肠办别谤.鈥� 笔铆肠补谤辞 first appears in print in Spanish in the first half of the 16th century in the phrase 辫铆肠补谤辞 de cozina 鈥渒itchen knave鈥�; it was not a literary term. 笔铆肠补谤辞 in the sense 鈥渉ero of a genre of novel鈥� first appears in English in the first half of the 17th century.
how is picaresque used?
Ronnie Cornwell was a picaresque, forceful, charming, world-class con man, and he is the obsession of his famous son to this day.
The author … has composed meticulous biographies of each of the complete Gutenberg Bibles that have come down to us. Many have led picaresque lives. Harvard鈥檚 copy was briefly stolen, in 1969, by a troubled young man who smashed its glass encasement, took the book, climbed out a window, and knocked himself unconscious when he fell to the ground.
picaresque
More about ravelment
Ravelment, 鈥渆ntanglement; confusion,鈥� is a compound of the verb ravel 鈥渢o tangle, entangle鈥� and the noun suffix –ment, here denoting a resulting state. Ravel most likely comes from Dutch ravelen 鈥渢o become entangled or confused, (of fabric or thread) to fray.鈥� Ravelment entered English in the first half of the 19th century.
how is ravelment used?
We are prone to seek out one cause as the single cause, which by itself determines all later events in a chain of events. But historical causes are a ravelment and there can be no single turning point from which all events flow.
This jagged shard of American history has become a ravelment of an election, a tangle of confusion and complexity.
ravelment
predilection
noun
a tendency to think favorably of something in particular; partiality; preference.
More about predilection
Predilection, 鈥渁 tendency to think favorably of something; partiality; preference,鈥� has several origins. One is Middle French 辫谤茅诲颈濒别肠迟颈辞苍, from the second half of the 15th century; another is Italian predilezione from the early 17th century ; and the final source is the rare Medieval Latin noun 辫谤补别诲墨濒别肠迟颈艒 (inflectional stem 辫谤补别诲墨濒别肠迟颈艒n-), dating from the 10th century. 笔谤补别诲墨濒别肠迟颈艒 is a derivative of the verb 辫谤补别诲墨濒颈驳别谤别, 鈥渢o prefer over others,鈥� a compound of the preposition and prefix prae, prae– 鈥渂efore鈥� and 诲墨濒颈驳别谤别 鈥渢o love鈥� (usually not as strong as 补尘腻谤别). 顿墨濒颈驳别谤别 in turn is a compound of the prefix dis– 鈥渁part鈥� and the simple verb legere 鈥渢o choose, select.鈥� Predilection entered English in the first half of the 17th century.
how is predilection used?
It turns out that Swedes have an unlikely predilection for the American South. The Scandinavian country is a major hub for country music. Swedes have their own square dancing association. And thanks to one man, Johan Fritzell, they also have聽Holy Smoke BBQ, arguably the most authentic Texas barbecue in all of Europe.
Most of us hold unrealistically optimistic views of the future, research shows, downplaying the likelihood that we will have bad experiences. Now a study… has found clues to the brain’s predilection for the positive, identifying regions that may fuel this 鈥渙ptimism bias鈥� by preferentially responding to rosier information.
predilection