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prosopopoeia

[ proh-soh-puh-pee-uh ]

noun

personification, as of inanimate things.

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More about prosopopoeia

You can charge a lot for a learned Greek word like prosopopoeia, a term in rhetoric meaning personification, as of inanimate things; imaging an absent or dead person as speaking or acting. Prosopoeia is very effective when a master like Demosthenes or Cicero uses it, not so much when its badly bungled in a sermon. Prosopoeia comes via Latin prosopopoeia from Greek 梯娶棗莽梯棗勳穩硃 putting speeches in the mouths of characters, dramatization. 捩娶棗莽梯棗勳穩硃 is composed of the noun 梯娶籀莽梯棗紳 face, countenance, person and the Greek combining form –梯棗勳穩硃 making, creating, a derivative of the verb 梯棗勳梗簾紳 to make (ultimate source of English poesy and poetry). 捩娶籀莽梯棗紳, literally opposite the face (of the other), is composed of the preposition and prefix pros-, pros toward, in the face of and the noun 廜囷莽 eye, face, countenance. Prosopopoeia entered English in the mid-16th century.

how is prosopopoeia used?

Over the 14 lines of the sonnet, the poem moves from making a negative comparison to the Colossus of Rhodes to animating the new Colossus with a voice, an instance of what literary critics call personification or, to use the more unwieldy term, prosopopoeia

Walt Hunter, "The Story Behind the Poem on the Statue of Liberty,"The Atlantic, January 16, 2018

Lord Byron’s very numerous comparisons, all admirable, and often under the form of a prosopopoeia, are indicative of the warm imagination which clothed inanimate shapes with the breathing realities of life …

"Recollections of Shelley and Byron," Westminster Review, Vol. 69, 1858

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rueful

[ roo-fuhl ]

adjective

feeling, showing, or expressing sorrow, repentance, or regret.

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More about rueful

The adjective rueful is easy to define: full of rue, but what is rue? The noun rue comes from Middle English reu(e) pity, someone or something causing sorrow, a disgrace (herte-reue means sorrow in ones heart). Reu(e) comes from Old English 堯娶襲棗滄 sorrow, regret, penitence, repentance, and is akin to Old Frisian 娶蘋棗滄硃, Old Dutch rouwe, Dutch rouw, Old High German (h)riuwa, German Reue, all meaning regret, remorse, repentance. The noun ruth pity, compassion; sorrow, grief comes from Middle English reuth(e) (it has many extravagant spellings), a derivative of the adjective reu(e) plus the suffix –th, which forms nouns of action such as birth, bath, or of state, such as breadth, width. Lastly, the personal name Ruth comes from Hebrew 賊贖喧堯, possibly a contracted form of 娶尪贖喧堯 friend(s), female friend(s). Rueful entered English in the first half of the 13th century.

how is rueful used?

A common refrain from writers on Twitter is that writing is hard. Often, this insight is accompanied by the rueful observation that tweeting is easy.

Katy Waldman, "Is the Internet Making Writing Better?" The New Yorker, July 26, 2019

He stood for a moment with his hands held down and a rueful face, staring out over the waste that defied him.

H. G. Wells, The First Men in the Moon, 1901

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paczki

[ pawnch-kee ]

noun

a traditional Polish doughnut, filled with jam or another sweet filling and covered with powdered sugar or icing.

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More about paczki

The presence of cz in a word is enough to make one suspect we are dealing with Polish. Paczki, thus spelled, in Polish is the plural of the feminine noun paczka package, parcel. The Polish word we want, however, is 梯釵堝域勳 (the is a nasal vowel, pronounced approximately as in French on). 捩釵堝域勳 is the plural of the masculine noun 梯釵堝梗域 bud (as of a flower), and also jelly doughnut, a diminutive of the noun 梯域 bud (of a flower). So while 梯釵堝域勳 with the ogonek is the more accurate spelling, paczki without the diacritic is more prevalent in English. The tasty treat it refers to is a celebrated indulgence for some the day before Ash Wednesday, known in some circles as Paczki Tuesday.

how is paczki used?

They are rich, jelly doughnuts that have traditionally been a Fat Tuesday treat. Customers line up at Polish bakeries to get boxes of paczki, which they share with their families and friends.

Micheline Maynard, "As Fat Tuesday Approaches, Paczki Are Becoming A Midwest Mania," Forbes, February 23, 2020

Every year, hed come through the Capitol carrying a box ofpaczkithe Polish filled donutsreminding his friends of the pride he had in his immigrant roots.

Steny Hoyer, "My Friend, John Dingell," The Atlantic, February 8, 2019

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