51吃瓜 of the Day
More about psephology
Psephology, 鈥渢he study of elections,鈥� comes from Greek 辫蝉锚辫丑辞蝉 鈥渟mall stone, pebble.鈥� (The Greeks used pebbles in counting and arithmetic functions; the ancient Athenians also used pebbles to cast votes in elections and trials.) The element –logy is the completely naturalized combining form used in the names of sciences (geology, biology) and bodies of knowledge (theology, astrology). The 20th-century British historian R.B. McCallum wrote in a personal letter that while with C.S. Lewis and other heavy-hitting philologists, he proposed the term electionology, which so offended the sensibilities of Lewis and the others that they proposed the etymologically correct psephology, avoiding the dreadful Latin-Greek hybrid. Psephology entered English in the mid-20th century.
how is psephology used?
You don鈥檛 need a degree in psephology from the Kennedy School of Government to figure out that without the female vote and the male vote it鈥檚 hard to be elected President.
Well, for one thing, we鈥檙e inveterate聽辫蝉别辫丑辞濒辞驳测听addicts鈥攂ut also, the more special elections that occur, the more data we have to identify patterns not only across special elections, but within them.
psephology
nimbus
noun
a cloud, aura, atmosphere, etc., surrounding a person or thing.
More about nimbus
Nimbus, 鈥渟hining cloud surrounding a deity; dense clouds with ragged edges,鈥� comes straight from Latin nimbus, 鈥渞ainstorm, rain cloud, cloud (of smoke), cloudburst.鈥� Nimbus comes from a complicated Proto-Indo-European root (e)nebh-, (n)embh– 鈥渄amp, vapor, cloud,鈥� as in Sanskrit 苍谩产丑补蝉– 鈥渇og, vapor, cloud, heaven,鈥� Latin nebula, Greek 苍别辫丑茅濒脓, 苍茅辫丑辞蝉 鈥渃loud,鈥� Old Irish nem and Welsh nef, both meaning 鈥渉eaven,鈥� Polish niebo 鈥渟ky, heaven,鈥� Hittite nebis 鈥渉eaven,鈥� German Nebel 鈥渇og, mist,鈥� and Old Norse nifl–heimr 鈥渉ome of fog, abode of the dead, Niflheim.鈥� Nimbus entered English in the early 17th century.
how is nimbus used?
She had a capacity for excess, and a nimbus of exhausted hedonism trailed along with her.
It is curious how certain words accumulate a nimbus of positive associations, while others, semantically just as innocuous, wind up shrouded in bad feelings.
nimbus
desideratum
noun
something wanted or needed.
More about desideratum
The noun desideratum (plural desiderata) means 鈥渟omething wanted or needed.鈥� It is a noun use of the Latin neuter past participle 诲脓蝉墨诲别谤腻迟耻尘, from the verb 诲脓蝉墨诲别谤腻谤别 鈥渢o long for, desire.鈥� According to the Roman grammarian Festus, 诲脓蝉墨诲别谤腻谤别 and its close relative 肠艒苍蝉墨诲别谤腻谤别 鈥渢o observe attentively, contemplate,鈥� were compound verbs formed from 蝉墨诲耻蝉 (stem 蝉墨诲别谤-) 鈥渉eavenly body, star, planet,鈥� that is, 诲脓蝉墨诲别谤腻谤别 and 肠艒苍蝉墨诲别谤腻谤别 were originally terms used in astrology in general or Roman augury in particular, but aside from Festus there isn鈥檛 much evidence for the sidereal connection. Desideratum entered English in the 17th century.
how is desideratum used?
Power becomes its own desideratum. The search for it can trump economic well being, stability and safety.
Sitzfleisch, or 鈥渟itting still,鈥� became the ultimate desideratum for showing one鈥檚 understanding of the new language of classical music.
desideratum