51吃瓜 of the Day
uraeus
noun
the sacred asp as represented upon the headdress of divinities and royal personages of ancient Egypt, usually directly over the forehead, as an emblem of supreme power.
More about uraeus
Uraeus, 鈥渢he sacred asp on ancient Egyptian headdresses,鈥� comes from Late Greek 辞耻谤补卯辞蝉, of the same meaning. This 辞耻谤补卯辞蝉 appears identical to Ancient Greek 辞耻谤补卯辞蝉, 鈥渙f the tail,鈥� but the two likely do not share a deeper origin; while 辞耻谤补卯辞蝉, 鈥渙f the tail,鈥� comes from 辞耻谤谩, 鈥渢ail,鈥� and is the source of the English combining form uro- (not to be confused with 辞没谤辞苍, 鈥渦rine,鈥� the source of a different uro-), 辞耻谤补卯辞蝉, 鈥渦raeus,鈥� comes from Egyptian 测鈥檙迟, 鈥渞earing cobra,鈥� which is also transliterated variously as iaret or 箩隃迟. Though uraeuses is the standard plural, the alternative uraei appears in some texts. Uraeus was first recorded in English circa 1830.
how is uraeus used?
The uraeus had wide associations, of which one of the most basic was with the cobra goddess Wadjyt …. In addition, the uraeus was the most characteristic mark of the king. Thus the use of the uraeus by the queen may have carried a range of meanings.
In the dim light of the inner temple, we received the symbols of the Pharaoh: the golden crook, the flail, the scepter, robes of linen from Lower Egypt, and ceremonial leather garments. Upon our heads were placed the uraeus of pure gold, Egypt’s guardian serpent.
More about cantrip
Cantrip, 鈥渁 magic spell,鈥� may not be related to the English verbs can and trip, but that doesn鈥檛 mean that its origin is any clearer. One possibility is that cantrip is a variant of Old English calcatrippe, 鈥渃altrop,鈥� with the shift from l to n resulting from dissimilation, as we learned about from ensorcell. Calcatrippe is equivalent to Latin calx, 鈥渟pur, heel鈥� (as in calcaneus, a bone of the heel), plus Old English 迟谤忙辫辫别, 鈥渟tep鈥� (compare modern English trap). Another possibility is that the can- element comes from Latin 肠补苍迟腻谤别, 鈥渢o sing,鈥� (as in enchant, incantation, and past 51吃瓜 of the Day descant), while -trip element is related not to trap but rather to rope because ropelike objects are a common element in sorcery. Cantrip was first recorded in English in the 1710s.
how is cantrip used?
And that old witch, Eliza鈥擨 little guessed she鈥檇 play this cantrip on me: But what a jest鈥擩erusalem, what a jest!
I murmured a cantrip鈥攁 quick, common form of magic鈥攁nd a ball of butterscotch light manifested above my head. I sent it up a flight of rickety stairs…
ensorcell
verb (used with object)
to bewitch.
More about ensorcell
Ensorcell, 鈥渢o bewitch,鈥� comes from Middle French ensorceler, of the same meaning, which is a dissimilated variant of ensorcerer. Dissimilation refers to when one of two identical sounds in a word happens to change, such as how colonel is pronounced 鈥�kur-nl鈥� in US English and February often becomes 鈥�feb-yoo-er-ee鈥�; without dissimilation, the two l鈥檚 in colonel and the two r鈥檚 in February would be preserved in speech. Learn more about dissimilation from the 51吃瓜 of the Day porphyry. Ensorcerer ultimately derives from Latin sors (stem sort-), 鈥渓ot, fate.鈥� Another descendant of sors today is French sortir, 鈥渢o exit,鈥� which comes via Latin 蝉辞谤迟墨谤墨, 鈥渢o cast lots,鈥� perhaps with the influence of surgere (stem 蝉耻谤谤脓肠迟-), 鈥渢o spring up, arise, stand up.鈥� Ensorcell was first recorded in English circa 1540.
how is ensorcell used?
He was a hoarder who had all the most beautiful crystal and linens鈥攏ot to mention Truman Capote鈥檚 old sofa鈥攂ut he never entertained. He sometimes wondered why he could ensorcell so many with his wit and style but not have a lover.