51吃瓜 of the Day
schwa
noun
the mid-central, neutral vowel sound typically occurring in unstressed syllables in English, however spelled, as the sound of a in alone and sofa, e in system, i in easily, o in gallop, u in circus.
More about schwa
Schwa, the neutral vowel sound like the a in sofa, comes via German Schwa from Hebrew 蝉丑蓹飞腻, a variant of 蝉丑腻飞鈥�, literally 鈥渘othingness, emptiness, vanity.鈥� Jewish grammarians used the word to mean 鈥渁 diacritic mark that shows a neutral vowel quality or no vowel at all.鈥� Schwa entered English toward the end of the 19th century.
how is schwa used?
The top six girls鈥檚 names in 2014鈥擡mma, Olivia, Sophia, Isabella, Ava, and Mia鈥攁ll end in 鈥渁,鈥� and, what鈥檚 more, they end in the same unstressed vowel sound聽that linguists call schwa.
The schwa鈥攖he vowel sound at the end of the word 鈥淎merica,鈥� represented in dictionary pronunciation guides with a backward and upside down 鈥渆鈥� (蓹)鈥攊s the most common vowel sound in the English language.
schwa
banausic
adjective
serving utilitarian purposes only; mechanical; practical.
More about banausic
There has always been more than a hint of snobbery about banausic, 鈥渟erving utilitarian purposes only; mechanical; practical.鈥� The word comes from the Greek adjective 产补苍补耻蝉颈办贸蝉, 鈥減ertaining to or for artisans,鈥� which is related to the noun 产补耻蝉补苍铆补 鈥渉andicraft; the habits of a mere artisan, bad taste, vulgarity.鈥� 叠补苍补耻蝉颈办贸蝉 and 产补耻蝉补苍铆补 are derivatives of 产补没苍辞蝉 (also 产补耻苍贸蝉), 鈥渇urnace, forge,鈥� a pre-Greek word with no known etymology. In modern German Banause 鈥渦ncouth person鈥� is the exact equivalent of English Philistine. Banausic entered English in the first half of the 19th century.
how is banausic used?
Nor should we underestimate the counterinstinct, most prevalent among aristocrats and intellectuals, that looked down in contempt on all mundane and banausic occupations from the vantage point of inherited capital or estate income.
The modern undergraduates are what we should have called 鈥�banausic,鈥� with a strict utilitarian outlook. For their virtues: they are more temperate and frugal than we were, less snobbish about athletics, more industrious, better sons to their parents and, I am inclined to think, better mannered.
banausic
amphibious
adjective
of or relating to military operations by both land and naval forces against the same object.
More about amphibious
Amphibious and amphibian have several overlapping meanings in zoology and botany, but in the sense 鈥渞elating to combined military operations by land and naval forces against a common target,鈥� only amphibious is used. In the mid-1930s, at a time when air power was rapidly developing, the neologisms triphibian and triphibious were coined very useful for describing combined land, sea, and air operations, but an abomination鈥攖wo abominations, even, for purists. Amphibious ultimately comes from Greek 补尘辫丑铆产颈辞蝉 鈥渉aving a double life,鈥� used by science writers about frogs and plants. In later Greek the Neoplatonist philosopher Plotinus used 补尘辫丑铆产颈辞蝉 metaphorically to describe the human soul as an inhabitant of two worlds. 础尘辫丑铆产颈辞蝉 is composed of two very common Proto-Indo-European roots, ambhi– 鈥渙n both sides, around鈥� and 驳飞别颈蓹-, gwey-, 驳飞墨-, gwi– (with many other variants) 鈥渢o live.鈥� Ambhi– becomes 补尘辫丑铆 in Greek, as in 补尘辫丑颈迟丑茅腻迟谤辞苍 鈥渁mphitheater,鈥� literally, 鈥渁 place for watching from both sides.鈥� Ambhi– becomes amb(i)– in Latin, a prefix meaning 鈥渁round, both..,鈥� as in ambiguus 鈥渦nsettled, undecided.鈥� \ The Greek combining form bio– comes from 产铆辞蝉 鈥渓ife,鈥� from Proto-Indo-European gwios (gw– becomes b– in Greek under certain conditions). The root variant 驳飞墨– is the source of Latin 惫墨迟补 鈥渓颈蹿别.” Amphibious entered English in the 17th century.
how is amphibious used?
Through tactical and strategic unification the Allies successfully undertook the greatest amphibious landings yet attempted in warfare.
All the elements for the D-day attack were in place by the spring of 1944: more than 150,000 men, nearly 12,000 aircraft, almost 7,000 sea vessels. It was arguably the largest amphibious invasion force in history.
amphibious