51吃瓜 of the Day
saponify
verb (used without object)
to become converted into soap.
More about saponify
Saponify, 鈥渢o become converted into soap,鈥� is based on Latin 蝉腻辫艒 (stem 蝉腻辫艒n-) 鈥渟oap鈥� and the combining form -ify, from Latin facere (stems fac-, fact-, -fect, and -fic-) 鈥渢o do, make.鈥� 厂腻辫艒 is the source of the word for 鈥渟oap鈥� in many Romance languages, from French savon and Italian sapone to Portuguese 蝉补产茫辞 and Spanish 箩补产贸苍. Latin 蝉腻辫艒 is an early borrowing from Frankish, a Germanic language once spoken in what is now France, which makes 蝉腻辫艒 a close relative of English soap and a distant relative of Latin 蝉脓产耻尘 鈥渢allow, grease鈥� (as in sebaceous). Saponify was first recorded in English circa 1820.
how is saponify used?
They can sometimes saponify, where the body fats literally turn into a soaplike substance, but that takes quite a while鈥搈onths鈥搒o I doubt it has happened here.
Soap was rarely used, apart from washing one’s clothes, and they were made from wood ash lye to saponify animal fat. The resultant odor was not much better than body odor before bath. Thankfully, they added rose petals to the bathwater.
radiant
adjective
bright with joy, hope, etc.
More about radiant
Radiant, 鈥渂right with joy and hope,鈥� is based on Latin 谤补诲颈腻苍蝉 鈥渟hining,鈥� the present participle of the verb 谤补诲颈腻谤别 鈥渢o radiate light, shine,鈥� which is based on the noun radius 鈥渂eam, ray.鈥� Radius is also the source of radian, radio, radium, and ray. While English uses -ing to mark its present participles (seeing, going), as we learned from the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day gallantly, Latin uses -腻苍蝉, -脓苍蝉, or -颈脓苍蝉鈥攄epending on the type of verb鈥攆or the same purpose. For phonetic reasons, the stems of these three Latin endings swap the s for t, which is how Latin 谤补诲颈腻苍蝉 becomes English radiant, 辫耻苍驳脓苍蝉 鈥減iercing鈥� becomes pungent, and 肠辞苍惫别苍颈脓苍蝉 鈥渃oming together鈥� becomes convenient. Radiant was first recorded in English in the late 15th century.
how is radiant used?
To align with a California beauty company committed to natural ingredients through sustainable means feels spot-on for a wellness-minded, preternaturally radiant person like [Logan] Browning.
In her later years, [Queen Elizabeth II] seemed to soften, her smile more radiant, surrounded by adoring grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but rewind over 70 years and she was a force to be reckoned with.
prevaricate
verb (used without object)
to speak falsely or misleadingly; deliberately misstate or create an incorrect impression; lie.
More about prevaricate
Prevaricate, 鈥渢o deliberately speak falsely,鈥� comes from the Latin verb 辫谤补别惫腻谤颈肠腻谤墨 鈥渢o straddle something,鈥� based on prae 鈥渂efore鈥� and 惫腻谤耻蝉 鈥渂ent outwards, bow-legged.鈥� Potential relatives of 惫腻谤耻蝉 include varius 鈥渟peckled, diverse鈥� (as in variety, various, and vary) and varix 鈥渄ilated vein鈥� (as in varicose). However, because of the simple difference in vowel length between the long 腻 in 惫腻谤耻蝉 and the short a in varius and varix, the linguistic community largely isn鈥檛 convinced that all three are related. Prevaricate was first recorded in English circa 1580.
how is prevaricate used?
Prevaricate. Equivocate. Fib. Call it what you like, it’s still lying. And lying, as everyone knows, is just bad and wrong.
Cottagers, commuters and rural-weekend escape artists are a bunch of liars. I know because I am one. I’ve shamelessly prevaricated with the best of them all summer long…