Age of DiscoveryCantino planisphere 1502, earliest surviving chart showing the explorations of Columbus to Central America, Corte-Real to Newfoundland, Gama to India and Cabral to Brazil. Tordesillas line depicted, Biblioteca Estense, Modena
Christopher ColumbusPosthumous portrait of Christopher Columbus by Sebastiano del Piombo, 1519. There are no known authentic portraits of Columbus
First Sino-Japanese War
Parable of the Good Samaritan
This stained glass window illustrating the parable shows the priest and the Levite in the background (Church of St. Eutrope, Clermont-Ferrand). Word Root
VocabularyWeek 44
1.canard (n.) before 1850, from French canard "a hoax," literally "a duck" (from Old French quanart, probably echoic of a duck's quack); said by Littré to be from the phrase vendre un canard à moitié "to half-sell a duck," thus, from some long-forgotten joke, "to cheat." 2.carnage (n.) c. 1600, from Middle French carnage (16c.), from Old Italian carnaggio "slaughter, murder," from Medieval Latin carnaticum "flesh," from Latin carnaticum "slaughter of animals," from carnem (nominative caro) "flesh," originally "a piece of flesh," from PIE root *(s)ker- (1) "to cut" (see shear (v.)). In English always used more of slaughters of men than beasts. Southey (1795) tried to make a verb of it. 3.defamatory (adj.) 1590s, from Middle French diffamatoire, Medieval Latin diffamatorius "tending to defame," from diffamat-, past participle stem of diffamare (see defame). 4.deluge (v.) 1590s; see deluge (n.). Related: Deluged; deluging. deluge (n.)late 14c., from Old French deluge (12c.), earlier deluve, from Latin diluvium "flood, inundation," from diluere "wash away," from dis- "away" (see dis-) + -luere, comb. form of lavere "to wash" (see lave). 5.deprecate (v.) 1620s, "to pray against or for deliverance from," from Latin deprecatus, past participle of deprecari "to pray (something) away" (see deprecation). Meaning "to express disapproval" is from 1640s. Related: Deprecated, deprecating. 6.devout (adj.) early 13c., from Old French devot "pious, devoted, assiduous," from Latin devotus "given up by vow, devoted," past participle of devovere "dedicate by vow" (see devotion). 7.diminutive (adj.) in grammar, late 14c. (also as a noun, "derivative word denoting a small or inferior example of what is meant by the word it is derived from"), from Old French diminutif (14c.), from Latin diminutivus, earlier deminutivus, from past participle stem of deminuere (see diminish). 8.dulcet (adj.) late 14c., from Old French doucet, diminutive of doux "sweet," earlier dulz, from Latin dulcis, from PIE *dlk-wi-, suffixed form of root *dlk-u- "sweet" (compare glucose). 9.excoriate (v.) early 15c., from Late Latin excoriatus, past participle of excoriare "flay, strip off the hide," from Latin ex "out, out of, off" (see ex-) + corium "hide, skin" (see corium). Figurative sense of "denounce, censure" first recorded in English 1708. Related: Excoriated; excoriating. 10.frail (adj.) mid-14c., "morally weak," from Old French fraile, frele "weak, frail, sickly, infirm" (12c., Modern French frêle), from Latin fragilis "easily broken" (see fragility). It is the Frenchified form of fragile. Sense of "easily destroyed, liable to break" in English is from late 14c. The U.S. slang noun meaning "a woman" is attested from 1908; perhaps with awareness of Shakespeare's "Frailty, thy name is woman." 11.futility (n.) 1620s, from French futilité or directly from Latin futilitatem (nominative futilitas) "worthlessness, emptiness, vanity," from futilis "vain, worthless" (see futile). Hence, jocular futilitarian (1827, n. and adj.); futilitarianism. 12.impromptu (adv.) 1660s, from French impromptu (1650s), from Latin in promptu "in readiness," from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (see in- (2)) + promptu, ablative of promptus "ready, prepared; set forth, brought forward," from past participle of promere "to bring out," from pro "before, forward, for" (see pro-) + emere "to obtain" (see exempt (adj.)). From 1764 as an adjective; as a noun from 1680s. 13.libel (v.) mid-15c., "make an initial statement setting out a plaintiff's case," from libel (n.), which see for sense development. Meaning "defame or discredit by libelous statements" is from c. 1600. Related: Libeled; libelled; libeling; libelling; libellant; libellee. libel (n.) Look up libel at Dictionary.com c. 1300, "formal written statement, a writing of any kind," especially, in civil law, "plaintiff's statement of charges" (mid-14c.); from Old French libelle (fem.) "small book; (legal) charge, claim; writ; written report" (13c.), from Latin libellus "a little book, pamphlet; petition, written accusation, complaint," diminutive of liber "book" (see library). Meaning "false or defamatory statement" is from 1610s. Specific legal sense of "any published or written statement likely to harm a person's reputation" is first attested 1630s. 14.malevolent (adj.) c. 1500, from Middle French malivolent and directly from Latin malevolentem (nominative malevolens) "ill-disposed, spiteful, envious," from male "badly" (see mal-) + volentem (nominative volens), present participle of velle "to wish" (see will (v.)). Related: Malevolently. 15.nullify (v.) 1590s, from Late Latin nullificare "to esteem lightly, despise," literally "to make nothing," from Latin nullus "not any" (see null) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Related: Nullified; nullifying. 16.plaintiff (n.) c. 1400, from Anglo-French pleintif (late 13c.), noun use of Old French plaintif "complaining; wretched, miserable," from plainte (see plaint). Identical with plaintive at first; the form that receded into legal usage retained the older -iff spelling. 17.potent (adj.) early 15c., from Latin potentem (nominative potens) "powerful," present participle of *potere "be powerful," from potis "powerful, able, capable; possible;" of persons, "better, preferable; chief, principal; strongest, foremost," from PIE root *poti- "powerful; lord" (source also of Sanskrit patih "master, husband," Greek posis, Lithuanian patis "husband"). Meaning "having sexual power" is first recorded 1899. 18.profuse (adj.) early 15c., "lavish, extravagant," from Latin profusus "spread out, lavish, extravagant," literally "poured forth," noun use of past participle of profundere "pour forth," from pro "forth" (see pro-) + fundere "to pour" (see found (v.2)). Meaning "bountiful" is from c. 1600. Related: Profusely; profuseness. 19.reputed (adj.) 1540s, "held in repute," past participle adjective from repute (v.). Meaning "supposed to be" is from 1570s. Related: Reputedly. 20.technology (n.) 1610s, "a discourse or treatise on an art or the arts," from Greek tekhnologia "systematic treatment of an art, craft, or technique," originally referring to grammar, from tekhno- (see techno-) + -logy. The meaning "study of mechanical and industrial arts" (Century Dictionary, 1902, gives examples of "spinning, metal-working, or brewing") is first recorded 1859. High technology attested from 1964; short form high-tech is from 1972.
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