51吃瓜 of the Day
subitize
verb (used without object)
Psychology.
to make an immediate and accurate reckoning of the number of items in a group or sample without needing to pause and actually count them.
More about subitize
Subitize is a useful word in psychology regardless of the awkwardness of its formation. The first part of the word, subit-, comes from the Late Latin verb 蝉耻产颈迟腻谤别 鈥渢o come suddenly and unexpectedly upon鈥� (a derivative of the adjective subitus 鈥渟udden, abrupt鈥�). The familiar, completely naturalized suffix –ize (“to render, make; convert into; subject to; etc.”) comes via Late Latin –颈锄腻谤别 from Greek –铆锄别颈苍.
how is subitize used?
Below five, we鈥檙e able to聽subitize, or rapidly judge numbers of items without counting.
Getting the computer model to subitize the way humans and animals did was possible, he found, only if he built in 鈥渘umber neurons鈥� tuned to fire with maximum intensity in response to a specific number of objects.
utopian
adjective
founded upon or involving idealized perfection.
More about utopian
The English adjective and noun utopian comes from New Latin 弄迟辞辫颈腻苍耻蝉, an adjective derived from the noun 弄迟辞辫颈补, a quasi-Greek noun meaning 鈥渘o place,鈥� formed from the negative adverb and particle ou 鈥渘ot鈥� (“quasi-Greek” because in Greek ou cannot be used as a prefix for nouns), top-, the stem of the noun 迟贸辫辞蝉 鈥渁 place,鈥� and the noun suffix –ia (the adjective suffix –腻苍耻蝉 is purely Latin). 弄迟辞辫颈补 is a coinage of Sir Thomas More鈥檚 in his 1516 satire D膿 optim艒 re墨publicae stat奴 d膿que nov膩 insul膩 弄topi膩 (“Concerning the Best State of a Republic [Commonwealth] and Concerning the New Island Utopia”). In English, but not in other languages, the first syllable of 弄迟辞辫颈补 rhymes with the prefix eu– (as in Euclid or Eucharist); thus in English there is a confusion between 弄迟辞辫颈补 鈥渘o place鈥� and Eutopia 鈥済ood place, a place of happiness and felicity.鈥�
how is utopian used?
For its proponents, it offered a聽utopian聽vision聽of an art world in which color and class barriers were finally dismantled.
At a time of such social, political and ecological upheaval, it鈥檚 natural to dream of a utopian world in which these problems are no more鈥攊n fact, people have been doing it for centuries.
shivaree
noun
a mock serenade with kettles, pans, horns, and other noisemakers given for a newly married couple; charivari.
More about shivaree
The etymology of shivaree is obscure. Most authorities consider it to be a Mississippi Valley French alteration (or a vulgar corruption) of French charivari, a noun of obscure origin, said to be from Late Latin 肠补谤墨产补谤颈补 鈥渉eadache,鈥� from Greek 办补谤脓产补谤铆补, equivalent to 办补谤脓-, a combining form of 办谩谤腻, 办谩谤脓 鈥渉ead,鈥� and the noun suffix –产补谤铆补 鈥渉eaviness鈥� (from 产补谤媒蝉 鈥渉eavy鈥� and the abstract noun suffix –铆补). Supposedly such a racket would give someone a headache.
Other authorities claim that shivaree comes from French chez vous 鈥渁t your home鈥� and list many variants in spelling (and presumably in pronunciation): chevaux, cheveaux, chev-ho, chivoo, shavoo, sheave-o, sheavo, sheevo, shevoo, shivaree, shivaroo, shiveree, shiverree, shivoe.
Vulgar or not,聽shivaree was noble enough for Mark Twain to use it (in that spelling) in A Tramp Abroad (1880): “… she turned on all the horrors of the 鈥楤attle of Prague,鈥� that venerable shivaree, and waded chin deep in the blood of the slain.鈥� Charivari entered English in the first half of the 19th century. Shivaree seems to have entered English in 1875.
how is shivaree used?
“Let’s give the governor and his lady a real shivaree!” Nearly a hundred drunks assembled outside the tavern with horns and drums and washboards and bugles and tin pots.
Encouraging cake mashing, like a host of other awful wedding customs, from shivaree (a noisy mock serenade on the wedding night) to tying a tin can to the newlyweds鈥� getaway car, is one last chance for the couple鈥檚 friends to indulge in the game of 鈥淴 and Y, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.鈥�