51吃瓜 of the Day
spitzenburg
noun
any of several red or yellow varieties of apple that ripen in the autumn.
More about spitzenburg
A spitzenburg or spitzenberg is a variety of apple from Esopus, New York, a town on the west bank of the Hudson River about 100 miles north of New York City. The full name of the variety of apple is Esopus Spitzenberg, after Esopus, a Lenape (Delaware Indian) word meaning 鈥渉igh banks,鈥� and Dutch spits 鈥減oint鈥� and berg 鈥渕ountain鈥� (a seedling was found on a hill near Esopus). This variety of apple was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson, who had several trees of the variety planted at Monticello. Spitzenburg entered English at the end of the 18th century.
how is spitzenburg used?
… the old gentleman turned in his tracks, looked at me severely, and said, “Young man, the Spitzenburg聽is the best apple God ever invented.”
Biting into a Spitzenburg produces an explosion of flavor; the yellow flesh is crisp, firm, tender, juicy with an extremely rich, aromatic flavor: the ultimate gourmet apple.
maugre
preposition
Archaic.
in spite of; notwithstanding.
More about maugre
The archaic preposition maugre 鈥渋n spite of; notwithstanding鈥� shows its origin in some of its other Middle English spellings, e.g., malgrie, malgre, from Old French 尘补耻驳谤茅, 尘补濒驳谤茅, mal 驳谤茅, malgreit. The open compound mal 驳谤茅 shows the etymology of maugre: the Old French adjective mal 鈥渂ad, wrongful鈥� (from Latin malus 鈥渂ad, unpleasant, evil鈥�) and the noun 驳谤茅, gred, gret 鈥減leasure, goodwill, favor鈥� (from Latin 驳谤腻迟耻尘 鈥�(something) pleasing,鈥� a noun use of the neuter of the adjective 驳谤腻迟耻蝉). Old French 驳谤茅 is the source of Middle English gre 鈥済oodwill, favor,鈥� from which English has the archaic noun gree in the same sense. Maugre entered English at the end of the 13th century.
how is maugre used?
He had his faults; but聽maugre them all, I loved him.
In his only tender moment, [Shakespeare’s] Aaron promises: ” This before all the world do I prefer, This maugre聽all the world will I keep safe. “
More about viridity
English viridity聽鈥済reenness (as of vegetation); youth and inexperience,鈥� comes via Old French 惫颈谤颈诲颈迟茅 鈥済reenness,鈥� from Latin 惫颈谤颈诲颈迟腻蝉 (stem 惫颈谤颈诲颈迟腻迟-) 鈥済reenness (as of vegetation); youth and inexperience鈥� (a sense lacking in the French), a derivative of the adjective viridis 鈥済reen, abounding in vegetation, unripe (vegetables and cereals), clear, fresh (of the air after rain).鈥� Viridity entered English in the 15th century.
how is viridity used?
What intellectual viridity that exemplary creature possesses!
I preface the incident thus abruptly, from a desire to extenuate in some measure at the outset my dear parent’s viridity and trustfulness in the matter ….