51吃瓜 of the Day
revenant
noun
a person who returns as a spirit after death; ghost.
More about revenant
Revenant 鈥渁 person who returns as a spirit after death鈥� is a direct borrowing from French, in which the word is a present participle meaning 鈥渃oming back, returning.鈥� The infinitive, revenir, is a combination of the prefix re- 鈥渂ack, again鈥� and venir 鈥渢o come,鈥� the latter from Latin 惫别苍墨谤别, of the same meaning. 痴别苍墨谤别 is the source of English terms such as adventure, avenue, convenient, eventual, and invention, all of which originally related to movement, gathering, or discovery (i.e., coming across something); the Latin verb derives from the same Proto-Indo-European root, 驳飞腻- 鈥渢o go, come,鈥� that gives us come, become, welcome, and the Ancient Greek-derived terms acrobat and basis (from 产补铆苍别颈苍). Revenant was first recorded in English in the 1820s.
how is revenant used?
Greek literature has often referenced the rising of the undead, like in Homer鈥檚 Odyssey, when Odysseus sacrifices a ram and an ewe to convince the dead to appear for his service. Since the concept of death was viewed as more fluid than concrete in ancient Greece, the belief that the dead could rise as revenants to fulfill their own agendas or the agendas of a conjurer was not uncommon.
One afternoon I was over at my friend Rudd鈥檚. We were in his studio, a rough space framed out above the garage. Rudd is a contractor and photographer, and we were looking at his landscape photos. We鈥檇 been talking about a picture of a barren tree in a field burning with red brush. I said something about haunted landscapes, revenants, and he grabbed a crate off a bookcase. 鈥楴ow this here鈥檒l haunt you. This is a real ghost from the past.鈥�
revenant
Faustian
adjective
sacrificing spiritual values for power, knowledge, or material gain.
More about Faustian
Faustian 鈥渟acrificing spiritual values for power, knowledge, or material gain鈥� is derived from the name of the part-historical, part-legendary figure Johann Georg Faust, whose surname often appears instead as the more Latin-sounding Faustus. The surname Faust is of uncertain origin but may derive either from the Latin adjective faustus 鈥渇ortunate, lucky,鈥� a cognate of favorable and favorite, or from the German noun Faust 鈥渇ist.鈥� Faust鈥檚 first notable appearance in the English-speaking world was as the main character of Christopher Marlowe鈥檚 play The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, in which Faust makes a deal with the Devil that leads to an unfortunate end. Though originally written in German, another famous play featuring this character was Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which was published almost 200 years after Marlowe鈥檚 earlier work. Faustian was first recorded in English in the late 1870s.
how is Faustian used?
The Ogallala Aquifer, the vast underground reservoir that gives life to these fields, is disappearing …. This is the breadbasket of America鈥攖he region that supplies at least one fifth of the total annual U.S. agricultural harvest .鈥� With a liquid treasure below their feet and a global market eager for their products, farmers here and across the region have made a Faustian bargain鈥攇iving up long-term conservation for short-term gain. To capitalize on economic opportunities, landowners are knowingly 鈥渕ining鈥� a finite resource.
I always wanted to do a show about a couple that鈥檚 on a honeymoon鈥攁 thing about money, and someone marrying into money, and realizing what she may have lost. The Faustian bargain that happens when you want a life style, but you also want to retain your independence and power. And so I thought that was a good place to start.
Faustian
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