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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...

原文链接 一周又开始了。加油工作！（由 IFTTT 发送） Lake桑 June 29, 2020 at 07:00AM

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...

原文链接 周五中午啦～ 吃完午饭，下午继续工作！ （由 IFTTT 发送） Lake桑 June 26, 2020 at 12:01PM

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...

原文链接 一周又开始了。加油工作！（由 IFTTT 发送） Lake桑 June 22, 2020 at 07:00AM

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 ...

原文链接 周五中午啦～ 吃完午饭，下午继续工作！ （由 IFTTT 发送） Lake桑 June 19, 2020 at 12:00PM

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...