51吃瓜 of the Day
quasar
noun
one of over a thousand known extragalactic objects, starlike in appearance and having spectra with characteristically large redshifts, that are thought to be the most distant and most luminous objects in the universe.
More about quasar
Quasar 鈥渁 starlike extragalactic object鈥� is a contraction of quasi-stellar, as in quasi-stellar radio source, a term that developed because of quasars鈥� resemblance to stars. Quasars are not galaxies but are rather galactic nuclei that draw their energy from supermassive black holes. The later term pulsar, contracted from pulsating star, was based on quasar. The element quasi- 鈥渞esembling鈥� derives from Latin quasi 鈥渁s if, as though,鈥� from quam 鈥渁s鈥� and 蝉墨 鈥渋f.鈥� For more about the stellar element, navigate to the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day circumstellar; it comes from Latin stella 鈥渟迟补谤.鈥� Quasar was coined by astrophysicist Hong-Yee Chiu in 1964.
how is quasar used?
Supermassive black holes …. likely are the driving force behind quasars, which are among the brightest objects in the universe. Astronomers can detect quasars from the farthest corners of the cosmos, making quasars among the most distant objects known. The farthest quasars are also the earliest known quasars鈥攖he more distant one is, the more time its light took to reach Earth.
If this were a Sherlock Holmes story, its title would surely be “The Case of the Disappearing Quasar.” In this case, however, the mystery wasn’t solved by an aging Victorian-era detective, but by a young American astronomer at Penn State University named Jessie Runnoe and her colleagues ….聽[W]hat Runnoe and her colleagues think happened is the quasar just ran out of gas. Literally. All the nearby gas fell into the black hole, and there wasn’t enough left to produce the brilliance quasars are known for.
quasar
subgum
adjective
prepared with mixed vegetables, as with water chestnuts, mushrooms, and bean sprouts.
More about subgum
Subgum 鈥減repared with mixed vegetables,鈥� despite its appearance, is not based on Latin sub 鈥渦nder鈥� and English gum. Rather, subgum is adapted from Cantonese 蝉补丑辫-驳谩尘 鈥渁ssorted,鈥� cognate with Mandarin 蝉丑铆箩菒苍. The literal definition of 蝉补丑辫-驳谩尘 is 鈥渢en brocades,鈥� from sahp (Mandarin 蝉丑铆) 鈥渢en鈥� and 驳谩尘 (Mandarin 箩菒苍) 鈥渂rocade.鈥� One of the many differences between how Cantonese and Mandarin are romanized in English is how tones are indicated. While Mandarin is romanized in the pinyin system using diacritics such as macrons (膩) and acute marks (谩), tones in Cantonese are often indicated in English through the use of superscript numbers. Subgum was first recorded in English in the late 1930s.
how is subgum used?
Numerous one-pint boxes of Chinese takeout stood on the kitchen table. Foo yung loong har, which was lobster omelet with chopped onion. Subgum chow goong yue chu鈥攆ried scallops with mixed vegetables …. There were noodles and rice. Jane ate a little of the latter, none of the former, but indulged in every variety of protein.
“Hey, waiter!” called out the man in booth four. “We ordered subgum chow mein.” He lifted the lid off. “This is shrimp chow mein.” He replaced the metal lid quickly and looked up at Ben Loy, who meekly took the dish away.
subgum
xyst
noun
a covered portico, as a promenade.
More about xyst
Xyst 鈥渁 covered portico鈥� derives via Latin xystus 鈥済arden terrace, shaded walk鈥� from Ancient Greek 虫测蝉迟贸蝉, which as a noun means 鈥溾�嬧�媋 covered colonnade鈥� and as an adjective means 鈥渟craped, polished, smoothed.鈥� 齿测蝉迟贸蝉 comes from the verb 虫媒别颈苍 鈥渢o scrape, polish,鈥� which is of uncertain origin but may be related to Latin 苍辞惫腻肠耻濒补 and Sanskrit 办峁谤谩, both 鈥渞azor鈥� (compare Spanish navaja and Hindi 肠丑耻谤腻). Note that, despite the spelling similarity, xyst is not related to 虫媒濒辞苍 鈥渨ood,鈥� which is the source of terms such as xylophone. Xyst was first recorded in English circa 1660.
how is xyst used?
A few years ago I visited the wonderful city of Bologna, and was struck there particularly by the astonishing 3,796-metre-long portico of San Luca that links the city to the top of the Colle della Guardia high above it, and its magnificent basilica. Even a short stretch of this architectural gem is sufficient to give an impression of what a xyst 鈥� would have looked like, for the term denotes a long portico, especially one used in ancient Greece for athletics.
Veering ever onward, I try to shut my ears to the tumult et cetera. Will you glide a little way with me, ransack the dips for freshwater? If these jaunts were through xysts lined with trees鈥攕omething fragrant like linden, like fireflower鈥攑erhaps yaw velocity might compute differently. Perhaps the wandering body that鈥檚 forgotten what zero motion might sight at last a distant ring of islands, a cliff of chalky white in the final mile.
xyst