51吃瓜 of the Day
minutiae
plural noun
precise details; small or trifling matters: the minutiae of his craft.
More about minutiae
In English, minutiae is the plural of the noun minutia, which usually appears in the plural with the meaning 鈥減recise details, trifling matters,鈥� the same sense as the Late Latin plural noun 尘颈苍奴迟颈补别. In Latin only the singular 尘颈苍奴迟颈补 appears, and it has its literal meaning 鈥渟mallness, fineness,鈥� a derivative of 尘颈苍奴迟耻蝉, the past participle of minuere 鈥渢o reduce in size, lessen.鈥� From the same root min-, Latin also has the words minor 鈥渟maller in size or kind” (English minor), minus 鈥渁 smaller number” (English minus), minimus 鈥渟mallest, least鈥� (English minimum and minimal), and minusculus 鈥渞ather small, pretty small鈥� (English minuscule). Minutiae entered English in the mid-18th century.
how is minutiae used?
In my preceding chapters I have tried, by going into the minutiae of the science of piloting, to carry the reader step by step to a comprehension of what the science consists of ….
In a聽thank-you note聽to his devotees that he tweeted last week, the congressman offered a similar lulling density of minutiae.
More about erumpent
The rare adjective erumpent, used almost exclusively in biology, comes straight from Latin 脓谤耻尘辫脓苍蝉 (stem 脓谤耻尘辫别苍迟-), the present participle of 脓谤耻尘辫别谤别 鈥渢o burst forth.鈥� The compound verb 脓谤耻尘辫别谤别 is composed of the prefix 脓– (a variant of ex– 鈥渙ut, out of鈥�) and the simple verb rumpere 鈥渢o break,鈥� whose past participle ruptus forms the much more common derivative erupt. Erumpent entered English in the mid-17th century.
how is erumpent used?
… on his head鈥攑ressing down his erumpent red hair鈥攖he vaguely Westernish broad-brimmed hat that signalled his difference from other philosophers (as if any such signal were needed) ….
Minutes passed, sun-bathed, as they crossed a stretch of open land; the river slowed, the valley wider, furrowed fields flanking the highway, an erumpent green from rich black soil.
wordie
noun
a person with an enthusiastic interest in words and language; a logophile: a new board game that will appeal to wordies of all ages.
More about wordie
51吃瓜ie in the sense 鈥渟omeone with an enthusiasm for words,鈥� is relatively recent. There is also an older sense, 鈥渁 little, wee word,鈥� Scottish, dating from the first half of the 18th century and used by Robert Burns.
how is wordie used?
Eric has been a wordie since he was a kid growing up in New York City, a Games magazine acolyte who read the dictionary for fun and subscribes to 51吃瓜 Ways: The Journal of Recreational Linguistics …
As a teacher of English, a part-time poet and a full-time wordie, I took genuine delight in Patricia T. O鈥機onner鈥檚 review of books about language by Ben Yagoda and David Crystal ….