51吃瓜 of the Day
supernumerary
adjective
being in excess of the usual, proper, or prescribed number; additional; extra.
More about supernumerary
Supernumerary comes from the Latin adjective 蝉耻辫别谤苍耻尘别谤腻谤颈耻蝉 鈥�(of soldiers) appointed to a legion after its numbers have been completed,鈥� a compound of the preposition and prefix super, super– 鈥渁bove, higher, more than,鈥� the noun numerus 鈥渘umerical sum, number,鈥� and the adjective and noun suffix –腻谤颈耻蝉. In Late Latin (St. Augustine of Hippo), 蝉耻辫别谤苍耻尘别谤腻谤颈耻蝉 also meant 鈥渁dditional鈥� (adjective) and finally the noun 鈥渁n additional person.鈥� The English sense 鈥渆xtra person; employee, crew member, or officer鈥� dates from the 17th century; the English sense 鈥減erson appearing on stage in a nonspeaking role鈥� dates from the mid-18th century. Supernumerary entered English in the early 17th century.
how is supernumerary used?
But our century鈥檚 revelations of unthinkable largeness and unimaginable smallness, of abysmal stretches of geological time when we were nothing, of supernumerary galaxies and indeterminate subatomic behavior, of a kind of mad mathematical violence at the heart of matter have scorched us deeper than we know.
So the housekeeper (it鈥檚 usually a she) will stack up the dishes, put the cart in the hallway, clean up the toast crumbs, and then proceed to the rest of her work of stripping the beds, picking up the supernumerary pillows on the floor, wiping the butter stains off the remote, and leaving the bathroom, now with coffee spills, gleaming.
supernumerary
whillikers
interjection
Informal.
(used as an intensive after gee or golly gee to express astonishment, delight, etc.)
More about whillikers
Whillikers and its variant whillikens are used only in the exclamatory phrase (golly) gee whillikers (whillikens). There is no satisfactory etymology for whillikers or whillikens. Gee whillikens first appeared in print in 1851.
how is whillikers used?
“Why,” she gasped, “It’s money!” “Gee whillikers鈥攖en bucks!” Jason echoed.
We鈥檙e all going to look at the things that are thrilling and exciting for him and say, 鈥楤ut that music sucks!鈥� Gee whillikers, guess who else said that? Every generation ever.
whillikers
cachinnate
verb (used without object)
to laugh loudly or immoderately.
More about cachinnate
Cachinnate, 鈥渢o laugh loudly or immoderately,鈥� comes straight from Latin 肠补肠丑颈苍苍腻迟耻蝉, the past participle of the verb 肠补肠丑颈苍苍腻谤别 鈥渢o laugh boisterously, guffaw.鈥� 颁补肠丑颈苍苍腻谤别 is a verb of imitative origin that even has its own Proto-Indo-European root: khakha– (who knew that primitive Indo-Europeans laughed?). The root khakha– yields Greek 办补办丑谩锄别颈苍, 办补办办丑谩锄别颈苍, and 办补苍办丑谩锄别颈苍, Old Church Slavonic xoxotati, Old High German kachazzwen, and Sanskrit 办谩办丑补迟颈 鈥渉e laughs.” Cachinnate entered English in the first half of the 19th century.
how is cachinnate used?
She does not laugh so much as cachinnate, finding at least one thing hysterical in every episode.
Just don鈥檛 expect to guffaw or cachinnate, and forget all about busting a gut. It鈥檚 not that kind of comedy.
cachinnate