#word origin
Noun
[ ih-fyoo-zhuhn ]
1. the act of effusing or pouring forth.
2. something that is effused.
3. an unrestrained expression, as of feelings:poetic effusions.
4.Pathology.
a. the escape of a fluid from its natural vessels into a body cavity.
b. the fluid that escapes.
5.Physics. the flow of a gas through a small orifice at such density that the mean distance between the molecules is large compared with the diameter of the orifice.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English (<Anglo-French ) <Latin effūsiōn- (stem of effūsiō), equivalent to ef-ef-+fūsion-fusion
“There is an intensity and effusion of spirit in them, in which his own more studied compositions are somewhat wanting.”
- CHARLES J. ABBEY AND JOHN H. OVERTON, THE ENGLISH CHURCH IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
Adjective
[plan-juhnt ]
1. resounding loudly, especially with a plaintive sound, as a bell.
Origin:
1815–25; <Latin plangent- (stem of plangēns), present participle of plangere to beat, lament. See plain2,-ent
“It seemed as large as the shell of a cathedral, and for organ there was the plangent, echoing sound of sea waves.”
- CYRIL ARTHUR EDWARD RANGER GULL, THE AIR PIRATE
Verb (used with object)
[ flout ]
1. to treat with disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff at; mock:to flout the rules of propriety.
Verb (used without object)
2. to show disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff, mock, or gibe (often followed by at).
Noun
3. a disdainful, scornful, or contemptuous remark or act; insult;gibe.
Origin:
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English flouten “to play the flute” (see flute); compare Dutch fluiten “to play the flute, talk smoothly, soothe, blandish, impose upon, jeer”
“Is it a safe thing, think you, Sir Count, to jest with a princess in her own land and then come back to flout her for it?”
- S(AMUEL) R(UTHERFORD) CROCKETT, JOAN OF THE SWORD HAND
Adjective
[dawnt-lis,dahnt- ]
1. not to be daunted or intimidated; fearless; intrepid; bold:
a dauntless hero.
Noun
2. (initial capital letter) Also called Douglas SBD. the principal U.S. Navy fleet bomber of early World War II, capable of carrying bombs or depth charges and particularly successful as a dive bomber.
Origin:
First recorded in 1585–95; daunt+-less
“But in spite of those rather weary looking eyes, young Mortier was possessed of a burning enthusiasm and a dauntless courage.”
- R. P. DUNN-PATTISON, NAPOLEON’S MARSHALS
Noun
[ pir-oo-et]
1. a whirling about on one foot or on the points of the toes, as in ballet dancing.
2.Dressage. a complete turn in which the horse uses its hind legs as a pivot.
Verb (used without object),pir·ou·et·ted, pir·ou·et·ting.
to perform a pirouette; whirl, as on the toes.
Origin:
1700–10; <French: a whirl, top, feminine of Middle French pirouet, equivalent to pirou-(cognate with Italian pirolo, diminutive of piropeg) + -et-et
“Jessie suddenly hopped down from the chair arm and began a pirouette about the room, clapping her hands as she danced.”
- MARGARET PENROSE, THE CAMPFIRE GIRLS OF ROSELAWN
Adjective
[vi-tree-uhs ]
1. of the nature of or resembling glass, as in transparency, brittleness, hardness, glossiness, etc.:
vitreous china.
2. of or relating to glass.
3. obtained from or containing glass.
Origin:
1640–50; <Latin vitreus, equivalent to vitr(um)glass + -eus-eous
“This he dropped into some molten lead, but it was nearly all exhaled in smoke, and the residue was simply of a vitreous character.”
- WILLIAM HENRY DAVENPORT ADAMS, WITCH, WARLOCK, AND MAGICIAN
Noun
[meyl-struhm ]
1. a large, powerful, or violent whirlpool.
2. a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs:
the maelstrom of early morning traffic.
3.(initial capital letter) a famous hazardous whirlpool off the NW coast of Norway.
Origin:
Maelstrom comes from an early Dutch proper noun that is a combination of the verb malen (“to grind”) and the noun stroom (“stream”). The original Maelstrom, now known as the Moskstraumen, is a channel located off the northwest coast of Norway that has dangerous tidal currents and has been popularized among English speakers by writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne (whose writing was widely translated from French) in stories exaggerating the Maelstrom’s tempestuousness and transforming it into a whirling vortex. Maelstrom entered English in the 16th century and was soon applied more generally in reference to any powerful whirlpool. By the mid-19th century, it was being applied figuratively to things or situations resembling such maelstroms in turbulence or confusion.
“There is that might-have-been which is the single rock we cling to above the maelstrom of unbearable reality.”
- William Faulkner
Noun
[ shey-ree]French.
1. dear; sweetheart: used in referring to or addressing a woman or girl.
Origin:
Borrowed from Anglo-Norman cheri, from Old Northern French cherise (“cherry”), from Vulgar Latin ceresia, a reinterpretation of the neuter plural of Late Latin ceresium, from Latin cerasium(cerasum,cerasus (“cherry tree”)), from Ancient Greek κεράσιον (kerásion, “cherry fruit”), from κερασός (kerasós, “bird cherry”), and ultimately possibly derived from a language of Asia Minor. Displaced Old English ciris (also from Vulgar Latin ceresia), which died out after the Norman invasion and was replaced by the French-derived word.
“"I tell you it is like taking the life of a puppy, ma cherie,“ he was saying.”
- JAMES OLIVER CURWOOD, THE COURAGE OF MARGE O'DOONE
Adjective
[urst-hwahyl, -wahyl ]
1. former; of times past:
erstwhile friends.
Adverb
2. Archaic. formerly; erst.
Origin:
The adverb erstwhile has been part of English since the 16th century, but it is formed from two words that are much older. It comes from the Old English words ær, meaning “early,” and hwīl, which has much the same meaning as the modern word while. (The English word ere, meaning “before,” is also descendant of ær.) The adjective erstwhile, as in erstwhile enemies, joined the language around 1900.
“After all, my erstwhile dear, my no longer cherished, need we say it was no love, just because it perished?“
- Edna St. Vincent Millay
Noun
[ weyf ]
1. a person, especially a child, who has no home or friends.
2. something found, especially a stray animal, whose owner is not known.
3. a very thin, often small person, usually a young woman.
4. a stray item or article:to gather waifs of gossip.
5. Nautical. waft (def. 8).
Origin:
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, originally “lost, stray (animal), unclaimed (property)” (compare Old French guaif “stray beast”), from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse veif “movement to and fro, something waving, flag”; see waive
“Ann is an opera singer, fragile and captivating onstage, somewhere between waif and warrior.”
- ANNETTE IS GORGEOUS TO LOOK AT BUT ALL THE WRONG KINDS OF WEIRD|STEPHANIE ZACHAREK|AUGUST 6, 2021|TIME
Noun
[ kwah-fyoor;Frenchkwa-fyr]
1. a style of arranging the hair.
2. a head covering; headdress.
Verb (used with object)
3. to arrange or comb (the hair) in a coiffure; to style (the hair).
4. to provide with a head covering or headdress; cover with a coiffure.
Origin:
First recorded in 1625–35; from French, equivalent to coiff(er) “to dress the hair” + -ure noun suffix; see origin at coif2,-ure
“He rose and kissed her lightly on the forehead, experience teaching him to avoid a stray hair from the carefully built coiffure.”
- Gertrude Atherton, Ancestors
Noun
[ kroo-suh-vur-buh-list ]
1. a designer or aficionado of crossword puzzles.
Origin:
Cruciverbalist is a combination of two Latin words—crux “cross” and verbum “word”—and in this way, it’s a direct translation of the word crossword using Latin elements. Crux is also the source of numerous words related to crosses or, more figuratively, focal points, such as crucial and excruciating, while verbum’s descendants include verbal, verbiage, and verbose, all of which pertain to words.
“There is an honour among crossword-solvers. I would never give away an answer to a fellow cruciverbalist, unless specifically asked to do so. And if someone did ask me for an answer, I have to confess that I wouldn’t regard that person as a proper cruciverbalist.”
- SIMON BRETT, BLOOD AT THE BOOKIES, 2008
Adjective
[ ad-uh-man-teen, -tin, -tahyn ]
1. utterly unyielding or firm in attitude or opinion.
2. too hard to cut, break, or pierce.
3. like a diamond in luster.
Origin:
1200–1250; Middle English <Latin adamantinus<Greek adamántinos. See adamant,-ine1
“Each bound to the other, through all the vicissitudes of life, in adamantine bonds of love and admiration!”
- Various, Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 71, No. 436, February 1852
Adjective
[lee-uh-nahyn ]
1. of or relating to the lion:
We breathlessly watched the pride, in its leonine majesty, as it moved across the veldt.
2. resembling or suggestive of a lion:
the conductor’s wild, leonine hair.
3. (usually initial capital letter) of or relating to Leo, especially Leo IV or Leo XIII.
Origin:
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English leonyn, from Latin leōnīnus “lionlike,” equivalent to leōn- (stem of leō) + -īnus; see origin at lion,-ine1
“He was still bearded, still rather leonine, but he was better groomed than in those days in India.”
- Anne Warner, The Tigress
Noun
[oh-ver-cher, -choor ]
1. an opening or initiating move toward negotiations, a new relationship, an agreement, etc.; a formal or informal proposal or offer:
overtures of peace; a shy man who rarely made overtures of friendship.
2.Music.
a. an orchestral composition forming the prelude or introduction to an opera, oratorio, etc.
b. an independent piece of similar character.
3. an introductory part, as of a poem; prelude; prologue.
4. (in Presbyterian churches)
a. the action of an ecclesiastical court in submitting a question or proposal to presbyteries.
b. the proposal or question so submitted.
Verb (used with object)
5. to submit as an overture or proposal:
to overture conditions for a ceasefire.
6. to make an overture or proposal to:
to overture one’s adversary through a neutral party.
Origin:
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old French; see overt,-ure; doublet of aperture
“High culture is the ability to hear the William Tell Overture and not think of the Lone Ranger.”
- Arthur D. Hlavaty
Noun
[suhn-gloh ]
1. a diffused, hazy light seen around the sun, caused by atmospheric dust.
Origin:
First recorded in 1835–45; sun+glow
“Out of the sunglow the arm crept like a snake, then it lay still in the shadow betwixt the two who slumbered unheeding.“
- Fiona MacLeod, Pharais and the Mountain Lovers
Verb (used with object)
[gawr-guh-nahyz ]
1. to affect as a Gorgon; hypnotize; petrify:
She felt trapped and totally helpless in his gorgonizing stare.
Origin:
Gorgonize is ultimately derived, via Latin, from Ancient Greek Gorgṓ, which comes from the adjective gorgós “dreadful” and is the original Greek name for each of the Gorgons, the triumvirate of mythic sisters with snakes for hair and whose appearance was so frightful that anyone who looked at them directly would turn to stone. The Gorgons were named Euryale, Medusa, and Stheno, and Medusa is the most famous of the three because of her mortality, which allowed for Perseus to behead her by using her reflection in his shield to guide his sword.
“Athena smiled, then turned to Po. “Not a word out of you, Poseidon, or I’ll freeze you so fast you won’t know what hit you. Now watch while I gorgonize your little girlfriend.”
- KATE MCMULLAN, SAY CHEESE, MEDUSA, 2002
Adjective
[noo-muh-nuhs,nyoo- ]
1. of, relating to, or like a numen; spiritual or supernatural.
2. surpassing comprehension or understanding; mysterious:
that element in artistic expression that remains numinous.
3. arousing one’s elevated feelings of duty, honor, loyalty, etc.:
a benevolent and numinous paternity.
Origin:
1640–50; <Latin nūmin- (stem of nūmen) numen+-ous
“A musician, educator and serial collaborator, Win is also a collector of objects, thoughts and, of course, words—her poetry an illumination of the everyday beauty found in things both tangible and numinous.” — Denise Sullivan, Datebook (The San Francisco Chronicle), 19 Oct. 2020
Adjective
[ ad-si-tish-uhs ]
1. added or derived from an external source; additional.
Origin:
1610–20; <Latin a(d)scīt(us)derived, assumed, foreign (past participle of a(d)scīscī), equivalent to ad-ad-+scī- (stem of scīre to know) + -tuspast participle suffix + -itious
“We rob them of their amusing but adscititious qualities; we make them utterly uninteresting to precisely 99.99 per cent.“
- Clive Bell, Since Czanne
Adjective
[ ep-i-kyoo-ree-uhn, -kyoor-ee- ]
1. fond of or adapted to luxury or indulgence in sensual pleasures; having luxurious tastes or habits, especially in eating and drinking.
Origin:
Epicurean “fond of or adapted to luxury or indulgence in sensual pleasures” derives via Middle English from Latin Epicūrēus “of Epicurus.” Epicurus (in the original Ancient Greek, Epíkouros) was a philosopher of Athenian origin who flourished in the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BC, and his school of thought, Epicureanism, had as its foundation the belief that pleasure was most important. The name Epicurus comes from the Ancient Greek adjective epíkouros “assisting,” which also functions as a noun meaning “ally, helper.” Epicurean was first recorded in English in the late 1300s.
“Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow …. with a gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. There are those, of course, who would adopt the epicurean motto of ‘Eat, drink, and be merry,’ but most people would be chastened by the certainty of impending death.”
- HELEN KELLER, “THREE DAYS TO SEE,” THE ATLANTIC, JANUARY 1933
Noun
[per-i-loon ]
1. the point in a lunar orbit that is nearest to the moon.
Origin:
Perilune “the point in a lunar orbit that is nearest to the moon” is a compound of the combining form peri- “about, around, near” and the element -lune“moon.”Peri-, from Ancient Greek perí “about, around,” is a common fixture in words related to closeness, such as perimeterandperiphery, and in perilune, it is combined with -lune on the pattern of perigee “the point in an orbit that is nearest to the earth” (using Ancient Greek gaîaorgê “earth”). Unlike perigee,perilune features a Latin-origin element, -lune (from Latin lūna) to mean “moon”; if this element were derived instead from Ancient Greek selḗnē “moon” to better match perigee, we would be saying something like “periselene” instead! Perilune was first recorded in English in the late 1950s.
“Since arriving at the Moon on 4 April, Beresheet has slowly lowered its orbit with a series of engine burns. On Tuesday, it circularized its orbit to an altitude of just 200 kilometers, and following a burn Wednesday, Beresheet dropped the perilune, or low point of its orbit, to just 15 kilometers over its eventual landing site in Mare Serenitatis.”
- JASON DAVIS, “BERESHEET IS ABOUT TO LAND ON THE MOON,” PLANETARY SOCIETY, APRIL 10, 2019
Adjective
[niv-ee-uhs ]
1. resembling snow, especially in whiteness; snowy.
Origin:
1615–25; <Latin niveus snowy, snow-white, of, from snow, equivalent to niv- (stem of nix) snow + -eus -eous
“So Cinaber becomes red by the acide exhalation of sulphur, which otherwise presents a pure and niveous white.“
- Thomas Browne, The Works of Sir Thomas Browne (Volume 2 of 3)
Adjective
[chok-uh-blok]
1. extremely full; crowded; jammed:
a room chockablock with furniture and plants.
2.Nautical.having the blocks drawn close together, as when the tackle is hauled to the utmost.
Adverb
3. in a crowded manner:
books piled chockablock on the narrow shelf.
Origin:
cf.chock close (up to), apparently as back formation from chock-full
“Quickly the enemy submarine maneuvered closer until the two craft 135 were almost chockablock.”
- VICTOR APPLETON, TOM SWIFT AND THE VISITOR FROM PLANET X
Adjective
[rav-uh-nuhs ]
1. extremely hungry; famished; voracious.
Origin:
Ravenous “extremely hungry” is a borrowing from Old French that derives ultimately from the Latin noun rapīna “plunder, robbery, pillage”; the sense shifted in Old French from “plunder” to describe people who are likely to plunder and then to the associated personality traits of plunderers, such as “violent” and “greedy,” and eventually came to mean “hungry.” Rapīna comes from the verb rapere “to seize,” which is the source of words such as rapacious,rapid, rapt, ravish, surreptitious, and usurp. A common misconception is that ravenous is related to raven, the black-feathered bird, but raven is of Germanic origin, from Old English hrǣfn, and may be a distant relative of Latin corvus “raven” and Ancient Greek kórax “raven, crow.” (In addition, despite the similar spelling and meaning, crow is not related to corvus—though crows and ravens are part of the genus Corvus.) Ravenous was first recorded in English in the late 1300s.
“Locusts are ravenous eaters. An adult desert locust that weighs about 2 grams (a fraction of an ounce) can consume roughly its own weight daily. And they’re not picky at all.”
- PRANAV BASKAR, “LOCUSTS ARE A PLAGUE OF BIBLICAL SCOPE IN 2020. WHY? AND … WHAT ARE THEY EXACTLY?” NPR, JUNE 14, 2020
Adjective
[ del-i-teer-ee-uhs ]
1. injurious to health:
deleterious gases.
2. harmful; injurious:
deleterious influences.
Origin:
1635–45; <Greek dēlētḗrios destructive, adj. derivative of dēlētḗr destroyer, equivalent to dēlē- variant stem of dēleîsthai to hurt, injure + -tēr agent suffix + -ios adj. suffix; see -ious
“Drugs are becoming more powerful with prescription painkillers used to enhance effect and prolong a deleterious pleasure.”
- DR. ANAND VEERAVAGU, MD, ROBERT M. LOBER, MD, PHD, HEROIN: AMERICA’S SILENT ASSASSIN
Noun
[sahy-uhn ]
1. a descendant.
2. Also ci·on . a shoot or twig, especially one cut for grafting or planting; a cutting.
Origin:
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English: “shoot, twig” <Old French cion, from Frankishkī- (unattested); (compare Old English cīnan, Old Saxon kīnan, Old High German chīnan “to sprout,” Old English cīth, Old Saxon kīth “sprout”) + Old French-on noun suffix
“Doctor Bataille, poor man, is the scion of an ordinary ancestry within the narrow limits of flesh and blood.”
- ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE, DEVIL-WORSHIP IN FRANCE
Noun
[ mey-lahnzh, -lahnj]
1. a mixture; medley.
Origin:
1645–55; <French; Old French meslance, equivalent to mesl(er)tomix(seemeddle) + -ance noun suffix ≪ Germanic -ingō-ing1
“The whole thing is a strange melange of official business and dying gossip!”
- RICHARD HENRY SAVAGE, A FASCINATING TRAITOR
Verb (used with object)
[ dih-ras-uh-neyt ]
1. to pull up by the roots; uproot; extirpate; eradicate.
2. to isolate or alienate (a person) from a native or customary culture or environment.
Origin:
First recorded in 1590–1600; from French déracin(er), equivalent to dé- + -raciner, verbal derivative of racine “root,” from Late Latin rādīcīna for Latin rādīc-, stem of rādīx + -ate
“His deracination begins with the education that sends him to Paris, there to lose his originality.”
- James Huneker, Egoists
French phrase
[ too-zhoor per-dree]
1. too much of a good thing.
Origin:
Toujours perdrix “too much of a good thing” is a direct borrowing of two French words: toujours “always” and perdrix“partridge.”Toujours derives from an Old French phrase meaning “all days” and is equivalent to Modern French tous jours.Tous (masculine singular tout) comes from Latin tōtus “whole, entire,” which is also the source of total and the Italian flavor tutti frutti “all fruits,” while jours(singularjour) comes from Latin diurnus “daily, of the day,” derivatives of which include diurnalandjournal. The phrase toujours perdrix is allegedly connected to King Henri IV of France, whose spiritual adviser loved to eat partridge but, upon being served partridge for every meal, grew tired, frustrated, and spiteful of the dish. Toujours perdrix was first recorded in English in the early 1800s.
“His new landlady’s ideas on the subject of cooking were of the most limited character. She gave him weak tea and bacon for breakfast without any apparent consciousness of the fact that such luxuries pall upon the taste by constant repetition, and that a diet of toujours perdrix wearies the meekest soul.”
- MARGARET OLIPHANT WILSON, THE THREE BROTHERS, 1870
Noun
[ kav-uh-leer,kav-uh-leer ]
1. a horseman, especially a mounted soldier; knight.
2. one having the spirit or bearing of a knight; a courtly gentleman; gallant.
3. a man escorting a woman or acting as her partner in dancing.
4.(initial capital letter) an adherent of Charles I of England in his contest with Parliament.
Adjective
5. haughty, disdainful, or supercilious:
an arrogant and cavalier attitude toward others.
6. offhand or unceremonious:
The very dignified officials were confused by his cavalier manner.
7.(initial capital letter) of or relating to the Cavaliers.
8.(initial capital letter) of, relating to, or characteristic of the Cavalier poets or their work.
Verb (used without object)
9. to play the cavalier.
10. to be haughty or domineering.
Origin:
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Middle French: “horseman, knight,” from Old Italian cavaliere, from Old Provençal, from Late Latin caballārius “man on horseback,” equivalent to Latin caball(us) “horse” (cf. capercaillie) + -ārius -ary
“She gave him a cavalier little nod, touched her horse with the whip, and a moment later was lost in a cloud of dust.”
- Gemma Arterton, Ancestors
Noun
[ ih-fem-er-uh]
1. a plural of ephemeron.
2. an ephemerid.
Origin:
1670–80; <Greek ephḗmera, neuter plural of ephḗmeros, taken as singular; see ephemeral
“Consider the stars. Among them are no passions, no wars. They know neither love nor hatred. Did man but emulate the stars, would not his soul become clear and radiant as they are? But man’s spirit draws him like a moth to the ephemera of this world, and in their heat he is consumed entire.”
- Sarah Monette
Noun
[vis-uh-nij ]
1. a particular neighborhood or district, or the people belonging to it.
Origin:
Vicinage “a particular neighborhood or district” is a fusion of the Latin adjective vīcīnus “nearby” and the English suffix -age, which forms nouns from other parts of speech. Vīcīnus derives from the noun vīcus “village, hamlet,” which is the source of the suffixes -wich and -wick in English place names, such as Greenwich and Brunswick, and comes from the Indo-European root weik- “clan” or “settlement.” This same root is the source of villa, from the Latin word for “country house,” and the Ancient Greek noun oikos “home,” which gives English ecology,economy,parochial, and parish.
“The Island of Mackinac has a circumference of about nine miles, and its shores and vicinage are picturesque and romantic in the highest degree.”
- T. ADDISON RICHARDS, APPLETONS’ ILLUSTRATED HAND-BOOK OF AMERICAN TRAVEL, 1857
Adjective
[ si-raf-ik ]
1. of or relating to seraphim.
2. suggestive of or resembling a seraphim or angel.
Origin:
From the Medieval Latin word seraphicus, dating back to 1625–35.
“Only thirty-seven when he died, his seraphic beauty was never marred by age.”
- JENNIE ELLIS KEYSOR, GREAT ARTISTS, VOL 1.
Adjective
[awr-ee-it, -eyt ]
1. golden or gilded.
Origin:
Aureate “golden or gilded” comes from Latin aureus “golden,” from aurum “gold.” The further etymology of aurum is uncertain, but there are two competing theories—one with a phonological similarity that lacks a semantic resemblance and the other with a semantic similarity that lacks a phonological resemblance. Aurum may be connected to aurōra “dawn,” from a Proto-Indo-European root, ausōs-, of the same meaning, from the root aus- “to shine”; the definition would have shifted from “shining thing” to “gold.” If this theory were true, aurum would be related to Eos, the Greek goddess of the dawn known for her rosy-tipped fingers, as well as to east and Easter, originally a Germanic goddess of springtime. An alternative theory connects aurum to aes “brass, bronze, copper,” from the Proto-Indo-European root ayos- “metal,” which is also the source of English ore. Aureate was first recorded in English in the early 1400s.
“Though Frost maintained that “nothing gold can stay,” some goodness remains, the play concludes. But the poet may have been right after all; whatever small measure of aureate glimmer and substance here is, ultimately, fleeting.”
- MAYA PHILLIPS, “REVIEW: STUCK IN MAINE IN ‘NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY,’” NEW YORK TIMES, OCTOBER 9, 2019
Verb
[ kleyv ]
1.Archaic. simple past tense of cleave.
Origin:
First recorded in 1925–30; Latin American Spanish, Spanish: “keystone,” from Latin clāvis “key”
“He clave the rock in the wilderness, and caused waters to run down like a river.“
- Isabelle Graham, The Power of Faith
Noun
[ kee-ahr-uh-skyoor-oh ]
1. the distribution of light and shade in a picture.
2.Painting. the use of deep variations in and subtle gradations of light and shade, especially to enhance the delineation of character and for general dramatic effect:
Rembrandt is a master of chiaroscuro.
3. a woodcut print in which the colors are produced by the use of different blocks with different colors.
4. a sketch in light and shade.
Origin:
1680–90; <Italian, equivalent to chiaro bright (<Latin clārus) + oscuro dark (<Latin obscūrus). See clear,obscure
“In the decoration of this Correggio surpassed himself in his mastery of chiaroscuro and the foreshortening of the human figure.”
- WILLIAM WIEHE COLLINS, CATHEDRAL CITIES OF ITALY
Adjective
[uhb-toos, -tyoos]
1. not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect; not sensitive or observant; dull.
2. not sharp, acute, or pointed; blunt in form.
3. (of a leaf, petal, etc.) rounded at the extremity.
4. indistinctly felt or perceived, as pain or sound.
Origin:
1500–10; <Latin obtūsus dulled (past participle of obtundere), equivalent to ob-ob-+tūd-, variant stem of tundere to beat + -tus past participle suffix, with dt>s
“No trail was so obtuse, no thicket so dense that members of that regiment would not track them to their lair.”
- BYRON A. DUNN, THE COURIER OF THE OZARKS
Adverb
[sot-oh -voh-chee;Italiansawt-taw -vaw-che ]
1. in a low, soft voice so as not to be overheard.
Origin:
First recorded in 1730–40; from Italian adverb sottovoce, “in a low voice,” from sotto “under” + voce “voice” (see origin at voice)
“Not the first time a man has obtained rank through his ‘baggage,’” observed one of the officers, sotto voce.“
- CAPTAIN FREDERICK MARRYAT, NEWTON FORSTER
Adjective
[ muh-rohs]
1. gloomily or sullenly ill-humored, as a person or mood.
2. characterized by or expressing gloom.
Origin:
First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin mōrōsus “fretful, peevish, willful,” equivalent to mōr- (stem of mōs ) “will, inclination” + -ōsus adjective suffix (see -ose1)
“Lee McQueen could see beauty in the morose and even the morbid.”
- MICHELLE OBAMA IN ALEXANDER MCQUEEN: LADY IN RED | ROBIN GIVHAN | JANUARY 19, 2011 | DAILY BEAST
