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原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 30, 2020 is: louche • \LOOSH\  • adjective : not reputable or decent Examples: “Here, he’s just a dude, with an earring and a motorcycle, a dude who wears jeans to military court. Freeman’s best when he’s not trying to win re-election or standing at the Pearly Gates, when he’s just a guy slouching in dungarees, looking a little louche .” — Wesley Morris, The New York Times , 30 Apr. 2020 “On 7 May, for one week only, it released a modern-dress version of Antony and Cleopatra set in a series of strategy rooms, conference centres and five-star hotel suites. The lovestruck Roman was played by a louche , gruff, brooding Ralph Fiennes.” — Lloyd Evans, The Spectator (UK), 16 May 2020 Did you know? Louche ultimately comes from the Latin word luscus , meaning “blind in one eye” or “having poor sight.” This Latin term gave rise to the French louche , meaning “ squinting ” or “ cross-eyed .” The French gave their te...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 29, 2020 is: parse • \PARSS\  • verb 1 a : to divide (a sentence) into grammatical parts and identify the parts and their relations to each other b : to describe (a word) grammatically by stating the part of speech and explaining the inflection and syntactical relationships 2 : to examine in a minute way : analyze critically 3 : to give a grammatical description of a word or a group of words 4 : to admit of being parsed Examples: The lawyer meticulously parsed the wording of the final contract to be sure that her client would get all that he was asking for. “ AI technologies can be very useful when there’s enormous amounts of data to parse , and that data is patterned in a way that is either already known or which the AI can discover.” — Alexander García-Tobar, quoted in The San Francisco Business Times , 19 May 2020 Did you know? If parse brings up images of elementary school and learning the parts of s...

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原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 28, 2020 is: argot • \AHR-goh\  • noun : the language used by a particular type or group of people : an often more or less secret vocabulary and idiom peculiar to a particular group Examples: “Should all go well, after three weeks or more, the state would move on to phase two, which officials, creating a new virus-age argot , have labeled ‘Cautious.'” — Matt Stout and Tim Logan, The Boston Globe , 18 May 2020 “The Universe, [ Galileo ] famously wrote, ‘is written in the language of mathematics.’ It was an argot that allowed him to break reliance on the Aristotelian cosmology prized by the Catholic Church, and to forge a new, quantitative study of nature.” — Alison Abbott, Nature , 4 May 2020 Did you know? We borrowed argot from French in the early 1800s, although our language already had several words covering its meaning. There was jargon , the Anglo-French ancestor of which meant “twittering of birds”; it h...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 27, 2020 is: incontrovertible • \in-kahn-truh-VER-tuh-bul\  • adjective : not open to question : indisputable Examples: “‘Why are you kids inside? It’s nice outside.’ It wasn’t a question. It was a directive. Out the door, pronto. Further, to us kids, the logic seemed incontrovertible . Indeed, if the sun were shining, why wouldn’t we be playing under it?” — Phil Luciano, The Journal Star (Peoria, Illinois), 12 May 2020 “And so while all this may just be temporary—and it may simply be that in our leisure and idleness we are hearing birdsong that always was there, and noticing wildlife that was just beyond our ken —it nonetheless is incontrovertible  that there is a small but discernible uptick in our apprehension of nature, and of our appreciation of the natural world.” — David M. Shribman, The Salem (Massachusetts) News , 16 May 2020 Did you know? If something is indisputable, it’s incontrovertible. But if it ...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 26, 2020 is: yokel • \YOH-kul\  • noun : a naive or gullible inhabitant of a rural area or small town Examples: Many of the town’s residents felt that the documentary unfairly portrayed them as bumbling yokels . “Few would have predicted that the guys behind the frat-house anthem ‘Fight for Your Right’ would grow into alt-rock heroes, acclaimed for their innovative sampling and attention to musical craft. By the 2000s, the Beastie Boys were festival headliners, beloved by music fans of all stripes—from rock snobs to hip-hop heads to shirtless  yokels .” — Rafer Guzmán, Newsday (Long Island, New York), 24 Apr. 2020 Did you know? The origins of yokel are uncertain, but it might have come from the dialectal English word yokel used as the name for the green woodpecker (the nickname is of imitative origin). Other words for supposedly naive country folk are chawbacon (from chaw , meaning “chew,” and bacon ), hayse...

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原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 25, 2020 is: omnipotent • \ahm-NIP-uh-tunt\  • adjective 1 often capitalized Omnipotent : having absolute power over all : almighty 2 : having virtually unlimited authority or influence 3 obsolete : being notoriously without moderation : arrant Examples: “To the omnipotent leader, rules and norms are meant for everyone but them.” — Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg, The Harvard Business Review , 12 Apr. 2019 “This isn’t the Jean-Luc [Picard] who went toe-to-toe with omnipotent beings, Klingons, Romulans, and the Borg. This is a man with no ship, no crew…, no purpose.” — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone , 23 Jan. 2020 Did you know? The word  omnipotent  made its way into English through Anglo-French, but it ultimately derives from the Latin prefix  omni- , meaning “all,” and the word  potens , meaning “potent.” The  omni-  prefix has also given us similar words such as  omniscient ...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 24, 2020 is: gourmand • \GOOR-mahnd\  • noun 1 : one who is excessively fond of eating and drinking 2 : one who is heartily interested in good food and drink Examples: “Their love was a tale of two gourmands . ‘Marty and I fell in love and we loved to eat. Marty knew every restaurant in New York that did second helpings, and we knew every restaurant in Queens that didn’t charge for dessert.'” — Marisa Meltzer, This Is Big , 2020 “Chefs and restaurants in South Florida are gearing up to offer gourmands  a foodie fix with live streaming and video channels with cooking tutorials, designed specifically for their culinary fans who can’t leave home because of COVID-19 .” — Rod Stafford Hagwood, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel , 29 Apr. 2020 Did you know? “What God has plagu’d us with this gourmaund guest?” As this exasperated question from Alexander Pope’s 18th-century translation of Homer’s Odyssey suggests, being a...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 23, 2020 is: fraternize • \FRAT-er-nyze\  • verb 1 : to associate or mingle as brothers or on fraternal terms 2 a : to associate on close terms with members of a hostile group especially when contrary to military orders b : to be friendly or amiable Examples: The boss warned that fraternizing with the junior employees could be a risky career move for a manager. “Today’s social distancing orders make the commonplace themes of pre- COVID ads—singles fraternizing in crowded bars, teen potato chip parties, folks all feasting from a communal bucket of fried chicken—look like cautionary tales, the unwitting equivalent of a ‘This is your brain on drugs’ PSA.” — Lorraine Ali, The Los Angeles Times , 23 Apr. 2020 Did you know? Both fraternize and fraternal (meaning “of, relating to, or involving brothers”) come to us, by way of Medieval Latin, from Latin frater , meaning “brother.” Other frater descendants in Engl...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 22, 2020 is: crux • \KRUKS\  • noun 1 :  a puzzling or difficult problem  :  an unsolved question 2 :  an essential point requiring resolution or resolving an outcome 3 :  a main or central feature (as of an argument) Examples: “Manipulation is a key trait of individuals with controlling personalities. Call it  gaslighting , whitewashing , or rewriting the script: The crux of the matter is the manipulator’s desire to control the narrative and either be the hero or the victim.” — Kristy Lee Hochenberger, Psychology Today , 22 Feb. 2020 “[David] Leib [chair of microbiology and immunology at Dartmouth College] said one of the challenges of combating COVID-19 in humans is the fact that viruses hijack our cells. ‘This is really the crux of the reason why it has been so hard to develop antiviral drugs, because almost any drug that will stop viruses dead in [their] tracks will also stop our ce...

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原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 21, 2020 is: masterful • \MASS-ter-ful\  • adjective 1 a : inclined and usually competent to act as master b : suggestive of a domineering nature 2 : having or reflecting the power and skill of a master Examples: “But he hasn’t stopped challenging himself or his players or opponents on the baseball field…. Maddon has earned a reputation as a bright and innovative tactician, but more as a masterful leader and developer of young players in particular.” — Kirk Wessler, The Journal Star (Peoria, Illinois), 9 Oct. 2015 “‘The Last Dance’ surpassed Netflix’s hit ‘Tiger King’ in global popularity after last week’s two episodes (3 and 4)…. [E]ven two decades after their masterful run, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls are still so interesting.” — Joe D’Amodio, SILive.com (Staten Island, New York), 3 May 2020 Did you know? Some commentators insist that masterful must only mean “domineering,” reserving the “expe...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 20, 2020 is: envisage • \in-VIZ-ij\  • verb 1 : to view or regard in a certain way 2 : to have a mental picture of especially in advance of realization Examples: In planning out their new patio, Betty and Sherman envisaged a place where they could grill food on the barbecue and invite friends over to relax. “The internet was envisaged as a decentralized global network, but in the past 25 years it has come to be controlled by a few, very powerful, centralized companies.” — Mark van Rijmenam and Philippa Ryan, Blockchain , 2018 Did you know? Envisage has been part of the English language since the 17th century. It was sometimes used with the sense of “to meet squarely” or “to confront” ( visage means “face” so the word suggests face-to-face encounters); however, that sense is now archaic and the word is primarily used in senses that involve having a particular conception or mental picture of something ( visage al...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 19, 2020 is: stalwart • \STAWL-wert\  • adjective : marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit Examples: “Hubert and Phan—two defenders—stepped in … and played key roles in a stalwart  defensive attack that gave up a mere 17 goals all season.” — Chris Jackson, The Coppell (Texas) Gazette , 11 May 2020 “But female birds make stalwart mothers. After all, theirs is the job of nest making. For example, a female northern cardinal collects nesting material of twigs, leaves, grasses and sundry fibers. The bird chews on twigs with her beak to make them pliable. Her feet then shove the bendable twigs into an open cup shape wedged against a fork of limbs in a bush or tree. Finally, the bird carpets the nest interior with leaves and grasses.” — Gary Clark, The Houston Chronicle , 8 May 2020 Did you know? Sometime in the 15th century, English speakers began to use stalwart in place of the older form ...

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原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 18, 2020 is: conflate • \kun-FLAYT\  • verb 1 a : to bring together : fuse   b : confuse 2 : to combine (things, such as two readings of a text) into a composite whole Examples: “Some wonder if students are conflating  a decision to put off school for a year, and maybe take a job, with the more formal process of an actual gap year —a planned experience that has career and academic benefits.” — Bill Schackner, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , 11 May 2020 “Given its name, St. Thomas in Houston has on occasion been conflated with St. Thomas in Minnesota, which as one of the nation’s most successful Division III programs is now trying to make the jump to NCAA Division I. St. Thomas in Houston has no such aspirations.” — David Barron, The Houston Chronicle , 28 Apr. 2020 Did you know? We’re not just blowing hot air when we tell you that conflate can actually be traced back to the same roots as the English ve...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 17, 2020 is: harangue • \huh-RANG\  • noun 1 : a speech addressed to a public assembly 2 : a ranting speech or writing 3 : lecture Examples: The comedian’s stand-up act included some delightfully incisive harangues against celebrity culture. “The loquacious 49ers’ cornerback always has a thought, opinion, retort, reply, instinct or handy harangue regarding just about anything. That’s why the cameras and notebooks are usually in heavy supply for Sherman, whose skill as a crafty defender is accentuated by his proficiency as one of the NFL’s deepest thinkers.” — Jarrett Bell, USA Today , 29 Jan. 2020 Did you know? In Old Italian, the noun aringo referred to a public assembly, the verb aringare meant “to speak in public,” and the noun aringa referred to a public speech. Aringa was borrowed into Middle French as arenge , and it is from this form that we get our noun harangue , which made its first appearance in ...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 16, 2020 is: null • \NULL\  • adjective 1 : having no legal or binding force : invalid 2 : amounting to nothing : nil 3 : having no value : insignificant 4 a : having no elements b : having zero as a limit 5 : of, being, or relating to zero Examples: “If a teacher organization is found in contempt, any collective bargaining agreement they worked on would be rendered null and they would be barred from collecting dues.” — Jesse Paul, The Denver Post , 23 Apr. 2018 “While negative and null results can often be overlooked—by authors and publishers alike—their publication is equally as important as positive outcomes and can help fill in critical gaps in the scientific record.” — PLOS.org, 6 Apr. 2020 Did you know? English borrowed null from the Anglo-French nul, meaning “not any.” That word, in turn, traces to the Latin word nullus , from ne- , meaning “not,” and ullus , meaning “any.” Null often pops up...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 15, 2020 is: bellwether • \BEL-WEH-ther\  • noun : one that takes the lead or initiative : leader ; also : an indicator of trends Examples: “The tech giant has long been a bellwether  for global industry, and investors will now hope that is still the case. Apple said on Thursday that its revenue rose nearly 1 percent to $58.3 billion in the first three months of the year….” — Jack Nicas, The New York Times , 30 Apr. 2020 “That transition to natural gas as the bellwether  of the state’s energy portfolio has decreased emissions in the state nearly 90% since 1990 as natural gas production grew eleven-fold from 2010 to 2018.” — Mike Butler, The Observer-Reporter (Washington, Pennsylvania), 4 May 2020 Did you know? We usually think of sheep more as followers than leaders, but in a flock one sheep must lead the way. Long ago, it was common practice for shepherds to hang a bell around the neck of one sheep in t...

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原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 14, 2020 is: divagate • \DYE-vuh-gayt\  • verb : to wander or stray from a course or subject : diverge , digress Examples: The novel divagates and meanders through a labyrinth of subplots and asides. “Having spirited us briskly through Manhattan, New Bedford and Nantucket, and having flushed Ahab from his lair on to the deck of the Pequod, Herman Melville divagates into a disquisition on whale taxonomies.” — Stephen Phillips, The Spectator , 2 Nov. 2019 Did you know? Divagate hasn’t wandered far in meaning from its Latin ancestors. It descends from the verb divagari , which comes from dis- , meaning “apart,” and vagari , meaning “to wander.” Vagari also gave us vagabond , meaning “a wanderer with no home,” and extravagant , an early, now archaic, sense of which was “wandering away.” Latin vagari is also probably the source of our noun vagary , which now usually means “whim or caprice” but originally meant “journ...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 13, 2020 is: whodunit • \hoo-DUN-it\  • noun : a detective story or mystery story Examples: “What made  Broadchurch  so inherently watchable was its odd-couple detectives: David Tennant’s Hardy was as bitter and cantankerous as Olivia Colman’s Miller was open and warm. The whodunit unfurled episode by episode, crossing off suspects who doubled as relatives and friends.” — Gwen Inhat, The A.V. Club , 10 Apr. 2020 “For all the detective tales that dot television screens, the Agatha Christie-styled whodunit has gone curiously absent from movie theaters. The nostalgia-driven ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ (2017), popular as it was, didn’t do much to dispel the idea that the genre has essentially moved into retirement, content to sit out its days in a warm puffy armchair, occasionally dusting itself off for a remake.” — Jake Coyle, The Associated Press, 25 Nov. 2019 Did you know? In 1930, Donald Gordon, a book ...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 12, 2020 is: fictitious • \fik-TISH-us\  • adjective 1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of fiction : imaginary 2 a : conventionally or hypothetically assumed or accepted b of a name : false , assumed 3 : not genuinely felt Examples: “‘Outbreak’ follows a team of U.S. Army medical researchers as they struggle to contain a fictitious  disease, dubbed the Motaba virus, that’s quickly spreading in a California town. In the film, they’re successful in halting it in its tracks.” — Brent Lang, Variety , 15 Apr. 2020 “Forensic auditors released details of their findings at the last regular trustee meeting, noting that more than $14 million was mismanaged…. About $600,000 was spent on lavish travel by former administrators and on payments to what appears to be a fictitious vendor.” — Eva-Marie Ayala, The Dallas Morning News , 1 May 2020 Did you know? Fictitious is related to the Medieval Latin word fictīci...

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原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 11, 2020 is: vilipend • \VIL-uh-pend\  • verb 1 : to hold or treat as of little worth or account :  contemn 2 : to express a low opinion of :   disparage Examples: As a women’s rights movement pioneer, Susan B. Anthony fought against the dicta of those who would vilipend women by treating them as second-class citizens. “Most people who retire do so after having invested multiple years in employment…. Most are on fixed incomes with tight budgets, hoping for good health and years of stress-free happiness. To  vilipend  them about their choice of not working, even if they are healthy enough, is just not fair.” — John F. Sauers, letter in The Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle , 26 June 2005 Did you know? Vilipend first appeared in English in the 15th century and had its heyday during the 19th century—being found in the works of such well-known authors as Sir Walter Scott, William Makepea...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 10, 2020 is: troubadour • \TROO-buh-dor\  • noun 1 : one of a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians often of knightly rank who flourished from the 11th to the end of the 13th century chiefly in the south of France and the north of Italy and whose major theme was courtly love 2 : a singer especially of folk songs Examples: “John Prine was a raspy-voiced heartland troubadour who wrote and performed songs about faded hopes, failing marriages, flies in the kitchen and the desperation of people just getting by. He was, as one of his songs put it, the bard of ‘broken hearts and dirty windows.'” — Matt Schudel, The Independent (UK), 19 Apr. 2020 “With strict social distancing and isolation directives in place at care centers and assisted living facilities, Bressan has adopted the role of a wandering troubadour , offering songs both sacred and secular from outside the windows of patients like Sherry.” — Jon Pompia,...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 9, 2020 is: lissome • \LISS-um\  • adjective 1 a :  easily flexed b : characterized by easy flexibility and grace :   lithe 2 : nimble Examples: “A couple of images haunt me from this ‘West Side Story,’ and both do come from video. One is of an anonymous, lissome figure, barely detectable as he or she dances at the end of a long, dark street. The other is of a television playing while Maria and Anita are arguing about a recent gang slaying.” — Ben Brantley, The New York Times , 20 Feb. 2020 “The visiting Americans … look dazed, like astronauts observing lissome green Martian women in a ’50s sci-fi cheapie.” — David Edelstein, Vulture , 23 Aug. 2019 Did you know? Lissome (sometimes spelled lissom ) is a gently altered form of its synonym, lithesome . While lissome tends to be the more popular choice these days, the two words have similar pasts. They both appeared in the 18th century, and they both trac...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 8, 2020 is: gest • \JEST\  • noun 1 : a tale of adventures; especially : a romance in verse 2 : adventure , exploit Examples: “The best authentic source of Robin Hood stories is the late medieval poem A Gest of Robyn Hode …, a compilation of traditional ballads and stories.” — Guy McDonald, England , 2003 “I was looking forward to this film [ Onward ] for the last month. My mom follows ‘new’ movie trailers and called me as soon as she saw this one. The gest was essentially an adventure about two brothers.” — Andrew McManus, The Portsmouth (Ohio) Daily Times , 11 Mar. 2020 Did you know? “Let the Queen know of our gests,” Antony instructs his men after a hard-won victory on the battlefield in William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra . Great deeds and heroic acts have been the stuff of gests since medieval days; in fact, the word is more often associated with knights and heroes of old than with modern adventurers...

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原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 7, 2020 is: advocate • \AD-vuh-kayt\  • verb : to support or argue for (a cause, policy, etc.) : to plead in favor of Examples: “During quarantine, teachers are broadcasting lessons from their own homes and figuring out new remote-learning technology and platforms on the fly, all while continuing to educate and connect with our kids. Advocating for the children of the world is no easy task, so I wanted to show teachers a little extra love right now.” — Reese Witherspoon, quoted in The Hollywood Reporter , 2 Apr. 2020 “As a journalist, [Zimbabwean Zororo] Makamba often used his platform to advocate for reform and transparency. In his online talk show, ‘State of the Nation,’ as well as appearances on other current affairs programs, Makamba argued for renewable energy, school reform, anti-corruption measures and youth empowerment.” — Andrew R. Chow, Time , 3 Apr. 2020 Did you know? Benjamin Franklin may have been a g...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 6, 2020 is: capricious • \kuh-PRISH-us\  • adjective : governed or characterized by  caprice   : impulsive ,  unpredictable Examples: “Like all great children’s writers, [Jacqueline] Wilson and [E.] Nesbit understood how strange and capricious children could be….” — Guy Lodge, Variety , 4 Apr. 2020 “[The television show] Succession doesn’t just get the details right; mirroring the capricious world of media and its greedy overlords, it also makes sweeping plot turns that build to climaxes as bloody as Macbeth .” — Laura Adamczyk, The A.V. Club , 11 Nov. 2019 Did you know? The noun caprice , which first appeared in English in the mid-17th century, is a synonym of whim . Evidence shows that the adjective capricious debuted before caprice ; both words are believed to derive, via French, from Italian capriccio , which originally referred not to a sudden desire but to a sudden shudder of fear. The origin...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 5, 2020 is: rendition • \ren-DISH-un\  • noun : the act or result of rendering something: such as a : a performance or interpretation of something b : depiction c : translation d : surrender ; specifically, US law : the surrender by a state of a fugitive to another state charging the fugitive with a crime : interstate extradition Examples: “Still, Cosme is bound to offer the ‘hood plenty of surprises, including a mescal -spiked, cactus-studded rendition of Manhattan clam chowder.” — Jeff Gordinier, The New York Times , 2 Sept. 2014 “The best part is the vast majority of adults will love [ Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse ]. Most know who Spider-Man is. We’ve seen many different renditions of this superhero.” — Andrew McManus, The Portsmouth (Ohio) Daily Times , 27 Apr. 2020 Did you know? Rendition entered English in the early 17th century and can be traced to the Middle French word reddition and ultim...

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原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 4, 2020 is: posture • \PAHSS-cher\  • verb 1 : to cause to assume a given posture : pose 2 : to assume a posture ; especially : to strike a pose for effect 3 : to assume an artificial or pretended attitude  : attitudinize Examples: “During the rut , grabbing a bite to eat was an afterthought for bucks, but right now and in the weeks to come, choosing a prime food source is key to their survival. Sure … bucks are still banging antlers and posturing to prove who’s boss. But this is all happening at, or around, the best food sources in the area.” — Scott Bestul, Field & Stream , 6 Jan. 2020 “It’s also been assumed that a rift exists between Elway and Harris, but according to the player, that couldn’t be further from the truth, despite the two being postured as adversaries over contracts and money.” — Chad Jensen, Sports Illustrated , 11 Jan. 2020 Did you know? The Latin verb ponere , meaning “to put” o...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 3, 2020 is: compunction • \kum-PUNK-shun\  • noun 1 a : anxiety arising from awareness of guilt b : distress of mind over an anticipated action or result 2 : a twinge of misgiving : scruple Examples: “A big reason why Illinois’ population continues to plummet is that college-age youth feel no compunction  at all about heading out of state for college.” — editorial board, The Chicago Tribune , 22 Feb. 2020 “Roses can get old and sick, and there are better varieties to try. I have no compunction  ripping out a rose that no longer works for me.” — Adrian Higgins, The Washington Post , 13 Feb. 2020 Did you know? An old proverb says “a guilty conscience needs no accuser,” and it’s true that the sting of a guilty conscience—or a conscience that is provoked by the contemplation of doing something wrong—can prick very hard indeed. The sudden guilty “prickings” of compunction are reflected in the word’s etymolog...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 2, 2020 is: eolian • \ee-OH-lee-un\  • adjective : borne, deposited, produced, or eroded by the wind Examples: The park is known for its eolian caves—chambers formed in sandstone cliffs by powerful winds. “If an extremely tenuous atmosphere like that of Pluto can support the generation of bedforms from wind-driven sediment, what kind of eolian activity might we see on places like Io (a moon of Jupiter)…?” — Alexander Hayes, quoted in The Los Angeles Times , 31 May 2018 Did you know? When Aeolus blew into town, things really got moving. He was the Greek god of the winds and the king of the floating island of Aeolia. In The Odyssey , Homer claims Aeolus helped Odysseus by giving him a favorable wind. Aeolus also gave English speakers a few terms based on his name, including the adjective eolian (also spelled aeolian ), which is often used for wind-sculpted geological features such as caves and dunes, and aeolian ha...

原文链接 原文链接 Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day for June 1, 2020 is: stiction • \STIK-shun\  • noun : the force required to cause one body in contact with another to begin to move Examples: “ Stiction is stationary friction. Starting the bolt turning takes more force than keeping it turning. The tighter the bolt, the more stiction can affect torque readings.” — Jim Kerr, SRTForums.com, 4 Mar. 2004 “The theme of blue continues on the fork stanchions . The upside-down fork itself is the same Showa unit seen on the standard bike, but in this case the inner tubes feature a special nitride coating to help reduce stiction and provide a smoother stroke .” — Zaran Mody, ZigWheels.com , 14 Apr. 2020 Did you know? Stiction has been a part of the English language since at least 1946, when it appeared in a journal of aeronautics. While stiction refers to the force needed to get an object to move from a position at rest, it is not related to the verb stick . The word is a blend wo...

原文链接 一周又开始了。加油工作！（由 IFTTT 发送） Lake桑 June 01, 2020 at 07:00AM