51吃瓜 of the Day
obnubilate
verb (used with object)
to cloud over; becloud; obscure.
More about obnubilate
The verb obnubilate, 鈥渢o cloud over; obscure,鈥� comes straight from Latin 辞产苍奴产颈濒腻迟耻蝉, the past participle of the verb 辞产苍奴产颈濒腻谤别 鈥渢o become cloudy, to darken (the mind),鈥� a compound verb formed from the prefix ob– 鈥渢owards, in the face of, against鈥� and the simple verb 苍奴产颈濒腻谤别 鈥渢o become cloudy, overcast, opaque,鈥� a derivative of the adjective 苍奴产颈濒耻蝉 鈥渃loudy, overcast,鈥� which in its turn is a derivative of the noun 苍奴产脓蝉 鈥渃loud.鈥� In Latin, 苍奴产– is a regular phonetic development from the Proto-Indo-European root sneudh– 鈥渕ist, cloud鈥� (sneudh– > snoudh– > 苍奴产-), the source of Avestan (the language of the Zoroastrian scriptures) snaodha– 鈥渃louds, cloud cover鈥� and Welsh nudd 鈥渇辞驳.鈥� Obnubilate entered English in the second half of the 16th century.
how is obnubilate used?
Dost thou think because a cloud sometimes may cover and obnubilate the Sun, that it will therefore shine no more?
It is the pity of the world, Dr Maturin, to see a man of your parts obnubilate his mind with the juice of the poppy.
obnubilate
lackadaisical
adjective
without interest, vigor, or determination; listless; lethargic.
More about lackadaisical
The adjective lackadaisical, 鈥渓acking interest or determination; listless; lazy; indolent,鈥� comes from the interjection, adjective, and noun lackadaisy. Lackadaisy as an interjection expresses dismay, sorrow or disapproval; as an adjective it means 鈥済iven to crying lackadaisy; and as a noun, 鈥渁 person given to crying lackadaisy.鈥� Lackadaisy is a variant of the archaic interjection lackaday, a shortened variant of alack the day. Middle English has the interjection alacke (also alagge), possibly related to the noun lak, lack(e) 鈥渁 lack, fault, shortcoming,鈥� and alack the day may have originally meant 鈥渟hame on the day (for turning out like this),鈥� like alas the day. Lackadaisical weakened in meaning from a person who cried lackadaisy to someone who complained about trivialities, then still further to someone who was sentimental, and finally to someone who was just lazy. Lackadaisical entered English in the second half of the 18th century.
how is lackadaisical used?
So while you may have every right to resent your colleagues鈥� sloth and your boss鈥檚 lackadaisical attitude about it, merely venting is more likely to make you seem petty than it is to result in change.
Our government鈥檚聽lackadaisical approach聽to genomic surveillance leaves us blind to precisely how prevalent these mutants are 鈥� and yet, even as other nations have responded to the emergence of such strains with lockdowns, our cities聽are reopening indoor dining聽just in time to accelerate their spread.
lackadaisical
machinate
verb (used with or without object)
to contrive or plot, especially artfully or with evil purpose.
More about machinate
The English verb machinate comes from Latin 尘腻肠丑颈苍腻迟耻蝉, the past participle of the verb 尘腻肠丑颈苍腻谤墨 鈥渢o invent, contrive, devise artfully, plot.鈥� 惭腻肠丑颈苍腻谤墨 has both neutral and pejorative senses, but English machinate has mostly pejorative or hostile senses. 惭腻肠丑颈苍腻谤墨 is a derivative of the noun 尘腻肠丑颈苍补 鈥渁pparatus, mechanism, machine,鈥� a borrowing from Doric Greek 尘腻肠丑补苍腻虂 鈥渃ontrivance, machine, crane.鈥� Machinate entered English in the first half of the 16th century.
how is machinate used?
His is a character which is typical in the heroic poetry of the Tuetons … the malicious counselor of the old king who machinates against the young hero.
And while Ford’s Theater has become a secular shrine in Washington, only a true trivialist knows that the house where John Wilkes Booth machinated, at 604 H Street N.W., is now a Chinese restaurant.
machinate