51吃瓜 of the Day
More about esurient
Esurient, 鈥渉ungry, greedily hungry, greedy,鈥� comes from Latin 脓蝉耻谤颈脓苍蝉 (stem esurient-), the present participle of the verb 脓蝉耻谤墨谤别 鈥渢o feel hunger, suffer from hunger,鈥� formed from 脓蝉(耻蝉), past participle of edere 鈥渢o eat鈥� and the desiderative suffix -耻谤墨谤别 (of unknown origin); thus 脓蝉耻谤墨谤别 literally means 鈥渢o desire to eat.鈥� Esurient may be familiar to those who like Johann Sebastian Bach鈥檚 Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), which contains the verse 膾surient膿s impl膿vit bon墨s et d墨vit膿s d墨m墨sit in膩n膿s, 鈥淗e [God] hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath sent empty away.鈥� Esurient entered English in the second half of the 17th century.
how is esurient used?
The whole business of bribing, so far as it is carried on, will fall into disreputable hands, those of untrustworthy, esurient, broken attorneys, who will sell their clients very often …
However, this esurient eye for detail can, on rare occasions, cloud the larger picture.
esurient
simulacrum
noun
an effigy, image, or representation: a simulacrum of Aphrodite.
More about simulacrum
Simulacrum, 鈥渁 likeness, an image,鈥� comes straight from Latin 蝉颈尘耻濒腻肠谤耻尘 鈥渁 resemblance in sight or sound, an image, a statue (of a god).鈥� 厂颈尘耻濒腻肠谤耻尘 is a derivative of the verb 蝉颈尘耻濒腻(谤别) 鈥渢o simulate, pretend鈥� and -crum, a variant of -culum, a suffix denoting tools or instruments. 厂颈尘耻濒腻谤别 in its turn is a derivative of the adjective similis 鈥渓ike, similar,鈥� which through Medieval Latin 蝉颈尘颈濒腻谤颈蝉 and Old French similaire becomes English similar. Simulacrum entered English at the end of the 16th century.
how is simulacrum used?
Except for flakes of plaster in its streets, the little city is entirely undamaged. The simulacrum now more whole than the original.
A gallery of thumbnail-size co-workers on a laptop screen is a diminished simulacrum of the conference-table gatherings that drive so much of corporate life.
simulacrum
vacillate
verb (used without object)
to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute: His tendency to vacillate makes him a poor leader.
More about vacillate
The verb vacillate comes from Latin 惫补肠颈濒濒腻迟(耻蝉), the past participle of the verb 惫补肠颈濒濒腻谤别 鈥�(of a person) to be unsteady on one鈥檚 feet, stagger, reel; to waver in mind or opinion; (of a thing) to rock, sway, be in an unsound or precarious condition,鈥� which is also used of persons in regard to their financial condition (yet another demonstration that in some respects the ancients were quite modern). Vacillate entered English at the end of the 16th century.
how is vacillate used?
Manfred, who has an unusual ability to vacillate between pugnacious and charming, cajoled owners, stressing the idea that the sport had to have a season.
As state and local governments vacillate between easing and increasing restrictions, normal summer programs may be unavailable, or if open, may be operating at significantly reduced capacities.
vacillate