51吃瓜 of the Day
halcyon
adjective
calm; peaceful; tranquil: halcyon weather.
More about halcyon
The English adjective halcyon 鈥渃alm; peaceful; tranquil鈥� is rooted in ancient Greek鈥攁nd classical mythology. Halcyon ultimately derives via Latin 补濒肠测艒苍 from Greek 补濒办测峁搉 鈥渒ingfisher.鈥� In ancient myths, the halcyon named a bird, usually identified with the kingfisher, that was said to breed around the time of the winter solstice in a nest floating on the sea, and was believed to have the power to charm the winds and waves into calmness. Halcyon frequently occurs in the expression halcyon days, a period of calm weather in the winter, historically a stretch of fourteen days around the winter solstice connected with (the myth of) breeding kingfishers. Halcyon days evolved to mean, more broadly, 鈥渁 time of peace and prosperity,鈥� and the adjective halcyon evolved to mean, variously, 鈥渃alm; rich; carefree.鈥� Halcyon is recorded in English by the late 1300s.
how is halcyon used?
… the sun high and bright, the sky a preternatural robin’s-egg blue. The kind of halcyon day reserved for picture postcards.
罢丑颈蝉听halcyon聽weather聽continued until the day a black storm arose.
effervescent
adjective
vivacious; merry; lively; sparkling.
More about effervescent
Effervescent is a buoyant adjective meaning 鈥渧ivacious; merry; lively; sparkling,鈥� as in 鈥淭he choir delivered an effervescent performance of favorite Christmas carols.鈥� Effervescent derives from Latin 别蹿蹿别谤惫脓蝉肠别谤别 鈥渢o boil (over); burst forth; seethe; rage.鈥� 贰蹿蹿别谤惫脓蝉肠别谤别 is composed of ef-, a variant of the prefix ex– 鈥渙ut of,鈥� and 蹿别谤惫脓蝉肠别谤别 “to start boiling,” from 蹿别谤惫脓谤别 鈥渢o be hot,鈥� ultimate source of English fervent 鈥渆nthusiastic, ardent.鈥� True to its Latin root, fervent originally meant 鈥渉ot, glowing鈥� in English, just as effervescent first meant 鈥済iving off bubbles of gas鈥� before evolving to its variously 鈥渂ubbly鈥� metaphorical senses. Effervescent entered English in the late 1600s.
how is effervescent used?
Yet his spirits are so聽effervescent聽that, with only a candle for fuel and only raw turnips for supper, he is able to lose himself in illusions of grandeur.
The book combines effervescent comedy and stinging critique, but its most arresting quality is the lively humanity of its characters.
More about 蹿濒芒苍别耻谤
贵濒芒苍别耻谤 鈥渋dler; dawdler; loafer鈥� is borrowed directly from French 蹿濒芒苍别耻谤, an agent noun of the verb 蹿濒芒苍别谤 鈥渢o stroll, saunter aimlessly; lounge.鈥� The ultimate origin of French 蹿濒芒苍别谤 is obscure. In 19th-century France, the 蹿濒芒苍别耻谤 was a figure for a type of wealthy, foppish man-about-town who leisurely wandered the boulevards of Paris and lounged at its caf茅s. In the early 1900s, German literary critic Walter Benjamin, inspired in great part by the writing of Charles Baudelaire, helped develop the 蹿濒芒苍别耻谤 into a symbol of the modern artist and writer, at once immersed in and alienated by the hustle and bustle of urban life. English borrowed another noun from French to describe the disposition of the 蹿濒芒苍别耻谤: 蹿濒芒苍别谤ie 鈥渋dleness, dawdling.鈥� 贵濒芒苍别耻谤 entered English in the mid-1800s.
how is 蹿濒芒苍别耻谤 used?
It was, after all, the age of the flaneur: a foppish, solvent young man who would roam the colonnades of Paris from dawn to dusk, idly though publicly observing the quotidian pathos of the working men around him.
Oscar Wilde is a flaneur, but not William 51吃瓜sworth. It happens in crowds, in great capital cities, in man-made environments.