51吃瓜 of the Day
testudinate
adjective
formed like the carapace of a tortoise; arched; vaulted.
More about testudinate
Testudinate derives from the Latin adjective 迟别蝉迟奴诲颈苍腻迟耻蝉, of the same meaning, from the noun 迟别蝉迟奴诲艒 鈥渢辞谤迟辞颈蝉别.鈥� 罢别蝉迟奴诲艒, in turn, derives from testa 鈥渆arthenware vessel; shard of baked clay; shell of a crustacean.鈥� It is possible that testa comes from the Proto-Indo-European root ters- 鈥渄ry,鈥� which would make testa cognate to the words thirst (from Old English thurst 鈥渄谤测苍别蝉蝉鈥�), terrain and terrestrial (from Latin terra 鈥�(dry) land鈥�), and toast and torrid (from Latin 迟辞谤谤脓谤别 鈥渢o burn鈥�). In Late Latin, testa gained the additional sense of 鈥渟kull鈥� and developed into the word for 鈥渉ead鈥� in several Romance languages (such as French 迟锚迟别 and Italian testa). Testudinate entered English in the early 1700s.
how is testudinate used?
At every little clearing through the thorny path great horseflies flew Like aces taking bits and bites of me as I futilely swiped Then low tunnels testudinate respite from those winged furies gave Only to find that those ruelles I tread were rife with walking shells
testudinate
spelunk
verb (used without object)
to explore caves, especially as a hobby.
More about spelunk
Spelunk comes via Latin 蝉辫脓濒耻苍肠补 from Ancient Greek 蝉辫锚濒耻苍虫, one of several similar words for 鈥渃ave鈥� (along with 蝉辫茅辞蝉 and 蝉辫岣条补颈辞苍) a term that is likely of Pre-Greek origin. While Ancient Greek is an Indo-European language and inherits its grammar and most of its vocabulary from Proto-Indo-European, Ancient Greek contains over a hundred words and names that linguists hypothesize to have once been loanwords from a pre-Greek substrate, a lost language spoken in the Aegean Sea prior to the arrival of the Greeks that influenced the development of Ancient Greek. Spelunk first entered English in the 20th century.
how is spelunk used?
Confined to a narrow metal walkway 鈥� and limited to using nonprofessional cameras, Herzog and a few scientists cheerfully spelunk through the Stone Age. While the geologists marvel at the rocks and the historians assess cave-bear footprints and abandoned skulls, Herzog鈥檚 steady stream of typically bizarre observations ensure that the claustrophobia and gloominess don鈥檛 send us to sleep.
On the Travel Channel, we spelunk the caverns of Callao, explore the garish catacombs of the Great Barrier Reef, learn about the medicinal benefits of turmeric.
spelunk
More about yclept
The archaic English verb yclept is the past participle of the equally archaic verb clepe 鈥渢o call, name.鈥� This initial y- derives from Old English 摹别-, a prefix used to mark past participles; while ge- eventually fell out of use in English, many other Germanic languages, such as Dutch and German, still use ge- and similar prefixes to mark past participles. Even though ge- and y- are no longer used in English verbs, the prefixes have lived on in secret as the a- in words such as afford, aswoon, aware, and even dialectal ascared. Yclept was first recorded in the first millennium AD.
how is yclept used?
About the sixth hour, when beasts most graze, birds best peck, and men sit down to that nourishment which is called supper. So much for the time when. Now for the ground which鈥攚hich, I mean, I walked upon. It is yclept thy park.
A tenured Pat, my name鈥檚 Tom Brady; Foes have oft yclept me shady. Should my post I abdicate, New England hearts will fast deflate.
yclept