51吃瓜 of the Day
triturate
verb (used with object)
to reduce to fine particles or powder by rubbing, grinding, bruising, or the like; pulverize.
More about triturate
Triturate 鈥渢o reduce to powder by grinding鈥� comes from Late Latin 迟谤墨迟奴谤腻迟耻蝉, the past participle of the verb 迟谤墨迟奴谤腻谤别 鈥渢o thresh, rub, crush,鈥� which is the frequentative of the verb terere, of the same meaning. (To learn more about frequentative verbs, check out our recent 51吃瓜 of the Day dauntless.) Terere is also the source of English terms such as contrite and detriment, and distantly related to terere are numerous words in Indo-European languages somewhat related to rubbing, turning, and similar actions. From Latin 迟谤颈艒 鈥減low ox鈥� comes the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day septentrion, while Ancient Greek 迟贸谤苍辞蝉 鈥渢ool for making circles鈥� gives us attorney, contour, detour, and turn. Because Latin t tends to correspond to English th, native English relatives of triturate include thrash, thread, threshold, and throw; compare the recent 51吃瓜s of the Day togated and transcendental. Triturate was first recorded in English circa 1620.
how is triturate used?
When well triturated, the mixture is to be dissolved in about two ounces of proof spirits (good whiskey) and put into a tall vial, such as eau-de-Cologne bottle …. If … the weather [is] promising to be fine, all the solid part of the composition which appears in the glass will be closely collected at the bottom, and the liquid above will be quite clear; but on the approach, of a change to rain, the solid matter will appear gradually to rise, and small crystalline stars will be observed to float.
鈥淏ut to get this oil you’re using now you triturate and distill the oil-free meal of bitter almonds鈥斺��
鈥�Triturate?鈥� Andy didn’t want to put Maclain on the spot, but he couldn’t help breaking in.
鈥淧ulverize,鈥� Steve explained admiringly. 鈥淵es, that鈥檚 it, sir.鈥�
flageolet
noun
a small end-blown flute with four finger holes in front and two in the rear.
More about flageolet
Flageolet 鈥渁 small end-blown flute鈥� comes from Old French flajolet, which comprises flajol 鈥渇lute鈥� and the diminutive suffix -et. Flajol is originally a word from the Proven莽al language, also known as Occitan, which was once widely spoken throughout what is now southern France and still survives thanks to language revitalization efforts. Ultimately, flageolet may come from the Latin verb 蹿濒腻谤别 鈥渢o blow,鈥� which is the source of deflate, inflate, and even flavor. Because Latin f tends to correspond to English b, cognates of flageolet in English include blow, blast, and perhaps bladder and blather, the latter two from a Germanic source roughly translated as 鈥渟omething blown up.鈥� Flageolet was first recorded in English in the 1650s.
how is flageolet used?
Beginning with a few flutes that he used for a children’s program, Mr. [Trevor] Wye, a collector of rare and unusual flutes, gradually developed a program he called “Afflatus.” In it, he uses 40 different types of flutes, which he plays one after another, including the rare “triple flageolet” and a flute that catches fire…
More about vexillology
Vexillology 鈥渢he study of flags鈥� is a compound of the Latin noun vexillum 鈥渇lag鈥� and the combining form -logy, which indicates the study of a subject and is of Ancient Greek origin. Vexillum (also spelled 惫脓虫颈濒濒耻尘) is a diminutive of 惫脓濒耻尘 鈥渟ail, covering,鈥� making vexillum literally mean 鈥渓ittle sail.鈥� The reason why vexillum, rather than a word such as 鈥�惫脓濒颈濒濒耻尘,鈥� is the diminutive of 惫脓濒耻尘 is likely because of the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day syncope, or the loss of a sound from the middle of a word. 痴脓濒耻尘 probably was once pronounced like 鈥�vexlum鈥� in the early days of Latin, and the x was eventually dropped鈥攂ut not before the stem vex- could be combined with the suffix -illum to create vexillum. If that sounds a little odd, bear in mind that English lord comes from Old English 丑濒腻蹿飞别补谤诲 鈥渓oaf-keeper,鈥� which shed half its consonants! Vexillology was coined in the late 1950s.
how is vexillology used?
Of the millions of pages of documents and reports generated by the first moon landing, none is more telling, to me anyway, than an eleven-page paper [“Where No Flag Has Gone Before: Political and Technical Aspects of Placing a Flag on the Moon”] presented at the twenty-sixth annual meeting of the North American Vexillological Association. Vexillology is the study of flags, not the study of vexing things, but in this case, either would fit.
Whitney Smith, who聽turned a childhood fascination with flags into a scholarly discipline鈥�vexillology鈥攐f which he was the leading light, 鈥� coined the term vexillology, combining the Latin word for flag, 鈥渧exillum,鈥� with the Greek suffix meaning 鈥渢he study of.鈥� 鈥淚鈥檝e been criticized because it combines Latin and Greek, a barbarism,鈥� he told Smithsonian, 鈥渂ut I say, 鈥業 was a teenager!鈥欌��