zaftig \ZAHF-tik\, adjective:
（女人）丰满匀称的；性感的；有曲线美的
Full-bodied; well-proportioned.
Rina's mom had been svelte, her dad had been fit and muscular, yet she'd managed to get the same zaftig genes as her mom's sister.
-- Susan Lyons, She's on Top
This chair is definitely an affable zaftig blobject, but very expensive compared to, and not very dissimilar from, the cheap $5 garden chairs made of polypropylene.
-- Christopher Bright, "The Haute Seat," Dwell, May 2007.
Zaftig is a borrowing from Yiddish, zaftik, literally meaning "juicy."
Friday, July 30, 2010
don
don \DON\, verb:
穿
1. To put on or dress in.
noun:
1. A Spanish title prefixed to a man's given name.
2. (In the Mafia) a head of a family or syndicate.
For some inexpensive 3-D fun on a sunny day, have your child don the special glasses included with Optrix 3-D Bubbles to see holographic stars, hearts, butterflies, or lightning bolts on the bubbles she blows.
-- Amy Kaldor-Bull, "Bubble toys that burst with fun," Kansas City Star, July 2010.
"Ay, ay, and the rector fancied, sitting teaching me Greek out of old wild Homer all weekday - and his girl slipping out and in - 'twould do to don the cassock of a Sunday and preach out of the pulpit against the world, the devil, and the flesh - then warn me against the sea - ha!
-- George Cupples, The green hand: adventures of a naval lieutenant: a sea story for boys
Don is an early 14th Century contraction of "do on," as doff is a similar contraction of "do off."
穿
1. To put on or dress in.
noun:
1. A Spanish title prefixed to a man's given name.
2. (In the Mafia) a head of a family or syndicate.
For some inexpensive 3-D fun on a sunny day, have your child don the special glasses included with Optrix 3-D Bubbles to see holographic stars, hearts, butterflies, or lightning bolts on the bubbles she blows.
-- Amy Kaldor-Bull, "Bubble toys that burst with fun," Kansas City Star, July 2010.
"Ay, ay, and the rector fancied, sitting teaching me Greek out of old wild Homer all weekday - and his girl slipping out and in - 'twould do to don the cassock of a Sunday and preach out of the pulpit against the world, the devil, and the flesh - then warn me against the sea - ha!
-- George Cupples, The green hand: adventures of a naval lieutenant: a sea story for boys
Don is an early 14th Century contraction of "do on," as doff is a similar contraction of "do off."
nitid
nitid \NIT-id\, adjective:
明亮的
Bright; lustrous.
Intolerably, I dreamt of an exiguous and nitid labyrinth: in the center was a water jar; my hands almost touched it, my eyes could see it, but so intricate and perplexed were the curves that I knew I would die before reaching it.
-- Jorge Luis Borges, The Immortal
"What!" exclaimed Sir Norfolk, almost shuddering at the inadvertence he had committed; "a waiting-man in such costly and nitid attire."
-- William Harrison Ainsworth, The Miser's Daughter
Nitid is related to the Latin nitidus, "glistening."
明亮的
Bright; lustrous.
Intolerably, I dreamt of an exiguous and nitid labyrinth: in the center was a water jar; my hands almost touched it, my eyes could see it, but so intricate and perplexed were the curves that I knew I would die before reaching it.
-- Jorge Luis Borges, The Immortal
"What!" exclaimed Sir Norfolk, almost shuddering at the inadvertence he had committed; "a waiting-man in such costly and nitid attire."
-- William Harrison Ainsworth, The Miser's Daughter
Nitid is related to the Latin nitidus, "glistening."
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
vestigial
vestigial \ve-STIJ-ee-uhl\, adjective:
形 痕迹;遗迹;退化的
1. Relating to a body part that has become small and lost its use because of evolutionary change.
2. Pertaining to, or of the nature of anything that is no longer present or in existence.
Pixar filmmakers have to be able to tap into their vestigial child, their inner Andy. In that sense, the Toy Story series is their collective autobiography.
-- Richard Corliss, "End of Innocence", Time, June 2010.
In gasps he replied that it was a boa - boas were notoriously good-natured - he only wished to see its vestigial hind-legs - then would let it go - he was not hurting it.
-- Patrick O'Brian, The far side of the world
Vestigial is from the French vestige, "a mark, trace, sign," which comes from the Latin vestigium, "footprint, trace," of unknown origin.
形 痕迹;遗迹;退化的
1. Relating to a body part that has become small and lost its use because of evolutionary change.
2. Pertaining to, or of the nature of anything that is no longer present or in existence.
Pixar filmmakers have to be able to tap into their vestigial child, their inner Andy. In that sense, the Toy Story series is their collective autobiography.
-- Richard Corliss, "End of Innocence", Time, June 2010.
In gasps he replied that it was a boa - boas were notoriously good-natured - he only wished to see its vestigial hind-legs - then would let it go - he was not hurting it.
-- Patrick O'Brian, The far side of the world
Vestigial is from the French vestige, "a mark, trace, sign," which comes from the Latin vestigium, "footprint, trace," of unknown origin.
tantivy
tantivy \tan-TIV-ee\, adjective:
1. Swift; rapid.
adverb:
1. At full gallop.
noun:
1. A rush, a gallop or stampede.
interjection:
1. (used as a hunting cry when the chase is at full speed.)
The passage of wild pigeons from this wood to that-with their slight tantivy-and carrier haste- Now from under some rotten stump your hoe turns up a spotted salamander- your own contemporary- A small trace of Egypt and the Nile in New England- Where is the priest of Isis.
-- Henry David Thoreau, Journal: 1842-1848
How does it come that a few short hours later we find him galloping tantivy over the dusty hills, no less than two hundred miles, as the birds fly, from the counter railings of welcomings?
-- Francis Lynde, Empire Builders
Tantivy, while associated with many aspects of horseback riding, is of unknown origin.
1. Swift; rapid.
adverb:
1. At full gallop.
noun:
1. A rush, a gallop or stampede.
interjection:
1. (used as a hunting cry when the chase is at full speed.)
The passage of wild pigeons from this wood to that-with their slight tantivy-and carrier haste- Now from under some rotten stump your hoe turns up a spotted salamander- your own contemporary- A small trace of Egypt and the Nile in New England- Where is the priest of Isis.
-- Henry David Thoreau, Journal: 1842-1848
How does it come that a few short hours later we find him galloping tantivy over the dusty hills, no less than two hundred miles, as the birds fly, from the counter railings of welcomings?
-- Francis Lynde, Empire Builders
Tantivy, while associated with many aspects of horseback riding, is of unknown origin.
subtilize
subtilize \SUHT-l-ahyz\, verb:
1. To make (the mind, senses, etc.) keen or discerning.
2. To elevate in character.
3. To make thin, rare, or more fluid or volatile; refine.
By long brooding over our recollections, we subtilize them into something akin to imaginary stuff, and hardly capable of being distinguished from it.
-- Nathanial Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance
Another (ah Lord helpe) mee vilifies /With Art of Love, and how to subtilize, /Making lewd Venus, with eternall Lines, /To tye Adonis to her love's designes.
-- John Davies of Hereford, Papers Complaint, compil'd in ruthfull Rimes Against the Paper-spoylers of these Times
Subtilize grew in popularity among practitioners of alchemy and early medical theory.
1. To make (the mind, senses, etc.) keen or discerning.
2. To elevate in character.
3. To make thin, rare, or more fluid or volatile; refine.
By long brooding over our recollections, we subtilize them into something akin to imaginary stuff, and hardly capable of being distinguished from it.
-- Nathanial Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance
Another (ah Lord helpe) mee vilifies /With Art of Love, and how to subtilize, /Making lewd Venus, with eternall Lines, /To tye Adonis to her love's designes.
-- John Davies of Hereford, Papers Complaint, compil'd in ruthfull Rimes Against the Paper-spoylers of these Times
Subtilize grew in popularity among practitioners of alchemy and early medical theory.
aeromancy
aeromancy \AIR-uh-man-see\, noun:
The prediction of future events from observation of weather conditions.
The wreckage of vast sundowns predicts in sulphurous aeromancy havoc to be.
-- Robert Malise and Bowyer Nichols, Fantastica: being The smile of the Sphinx, and other tales of imagination
Scrutinize the clouds for sun-dogs, gaze into the eyes of a baby or a feline, and practice the ancient divination arts of augury and aeromancy by recognizing intuitive messages received when watching birds or airplanes fly across the sky.
-- Margie Lapanja and Andrew F. Smith, Romancing the Stove: Celebrated Recipes and Delicious Fun for Every Kitchen
Aeromancy is but one sort of divination practiced in medieval times. Some other examples: augury, based on the flight of birds; cheiromancy, palm-reading; and oneiromancy, the interpretation of dreams.
The prediction of future events from observation of weather conditions.
The wreckage of vast sundowns predicts in sulphurous aeromancy havoc to be.
-- Robert Malise and Bowyer Nichols, Fantastica: being The smile of the Sphinx, and other tales of imagination
Scrutinize the clouds for sun-dogs, gaze into the eyes of a baby or a feline, and practice the ancient divination arts of augury and aeromancy by recognizing intuitive messages received when watching birds or airplanes fly across the sky.
-- Margie Lapanja and Andrew F. Smith, Romancing the Stove: Celebrated Recipes and Delicious Fun for Every Kitchen
Aeromancy is but one sort of divination practiced in medieval times. Some other examples: augury, based on the flight of birds; cheiromancy, palm-reading; and oneiromancy, the interpretation of dreams.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)