51吃瓜 of the Day
prestidigitation
noun
sleight of hand; legerdemain.
More about prestidigitation
Prestidigitation 鈥渟leight of hand鈥� is a borrowing from French, in which it literally means 鈥渘imble-fingeredness.鈥� From there, the etymology becomes a bit murky. The -digit- element is clear; it derives from Latin digitus 鈥渇inger,鈥� which is also the source of digital (literally 鈥渙f or relating to fingers鈥�). For the presti- element, in contrast, there are at least three theories. The first is that presti- comes from Latin 辫谤补别蝉迟艒 鈥渁t hand,鈥� a compound of prae 鈥渂efore鈥� and a derivation from the Proto-Indo-European root ghes- 鈥渉and.鈥� A second theory derives Latin 辫谤补别蝉迟艒 instead from prae and 蝉迟腻谤别 鈥渢o stand,鈥� which would make prestidigitation a distant relative of words such as stable, stand, state, and static. The third theory asserts that prestidigitation is a coinage based on or at least influenced by French prestigiateur 鈥渏uggler, conjurer,鈥� from Latin 辫谤补别蝉迟墨驳颈补别 鈥渏uggler鈥檚 tricks,鈥� a compound of prae and stringere 鈥渢o bind fast,鈥� which would make prestidigitation a distant relative of strait, stress, strict, and stringent. Prestidigitation was first recorded in English in the 1840s.
how is prestidigitation used?
Toscato began gently with a little prestidigitation, picking five-pound notes out of the air, and simplicities of that kind. He then borrowed a handkerchief, produced an orange out of the handkerchief, a vegetable-marrow out of the orange, a gibus hat out of the vegetable-marrow, a live sucking-pig out of the gibus hat, five hundred yards of coloured paper out of the sucking-pig, a Union-jack twelve feet by ten out of the bunch of paper, and a wardrobe with real doors and full of ladies鈥� dresses out of the Union-jack. Lastly, a beautiful young girl stepped forth from the wardrobe.
prestidigitation
verst
noun
a Russian measure of distance equivalent to 3,500 feet, or 0.6629 mile (1.067 kilometers).
More about verst
Verst 鈥渁 Russian measure of distance equivalent to 3,500 feet鈥� is borrowed by way of either French or German from Russian 惫别谤蝉迟谩, from Old Russian 惫沫谤蝉迟补 鈥渁ge; measure of length.鈥� Though these two definitions are rather different, their connection is measurement, whether of time or distance. 痴沫谤蝉迟补 derives from the Proto-Indo-European root wert- 鈥渢o turn,鈥� which is also the source of a profusion of words related to turning, twisting, and bending. The English suffix -ward (as in forward, inward, outward, and toward) is one such derivative, as are warp, worm, wrangle, wrap, wreath, wrench, wrestle, wring, wrinkle, wrist, and writhe. This root is also found in words that figuratively indicate turning in a negative direction, such as awry, weird, worry, wrath, and wrong. By way of Latin, English has inherited terms such as diversion, introvert, versatile, versus, vertebra, and vertex (from vertere 鈥渢o turn鈥�); reverberate (from verber 鈥渨hip鈥�); and converge and diverge (from vergere 鈥渢o be inclined鈥�). Several Ancient Greek-origin terms, such as rhapsody (from 谤丑谩辫迟别颈苍 鈥渢o stitch鈥�) and rhombus (from 谤丑茅尘产别颈苍 鈥渢o revolve鈥�), also derive from the same root. Verst was first recorded in English in the mid-1500s.
how is verst used?
After passing the fifteenth verst-stone, Chichikov suddenly recollected that, according to Manilov, fifteen versts was the exact distance between his country house and the town; but the sixteenth verst stone flew by, and the said country house was still nowhere to be seen. In fact, but for the circumstance that the travellers happened to encounter a couple of peasants, they would have come on their errand in vain.
Now that McDonald’s hamburgers and Pepsi-Cola are a hit with Moscow residents, American-style suburban town houses are on their way there too. Construction of the first 132 of 528 units planned for Krasnagorsk, a suburb about 23 versts鈥�15 miles鈥攏orthwest of Red Square, will begin in August.
verst
cryosphere
noun
the part of the earth鈥檚 surface where, at temperatures below 32掳F (0掳C), the water is frozen solid.
More about cryosphere
Cryosphere 鈥渢he part of the earth鈥檚 surface where the water is frozen solid鈥� is a compound of the combining form cryo-, which describes cold and ice, and sphere. Cryo- derives from Ancient Greek 办谤媒辞蝉 鈥渋cy cold,鈥� which comes from the same Proto-Indo-European root that gives us crystal (from Ancient Greek 办谤媒蝉迟补濒濒辞蝉 鈥渃lear ice鈥�) and both crouton and crustacean (from Latin crusta 鈥渃谤耻蝉迟鈥�). Sphere comes from Ancient Greek 蝉辫丑补卯谤补 鈥渂all,鈥� and outside the realm of geometry, the combining form -sphere is often used in English to describe geographic or ecological regions (such as biosphere and noosphere) and air layers (such as atmosphere and stratosphere). Cryosphere was first recorded in English in the late 1930s.
how is cryosphere used?
Release of methane into the atmosphere from any source is troubling because methane has far more potent greenhouse powers than carbon dioxide .鈥� Scientists have speculated about such methane releases and modeling has predicted that it would happen as the cryosphere…softens and melts .鈥� 鈥淏ut no one had ever shown that it was occurring or that it was a widespread phenomenon,鈥� [lead author Katey Walter Anthony] said. 鈥淭his paper really is the first time that we see with field evidence that this type of geologic methane is escaping as the cryosphere 谤别迟谤别补迟蝉.鈥�
cryosphere