51吃瓜 of the Day
imponderabilia
plural noun
imponderables; things that cannot be precisely determined, measured, or evaluated: the imponderabilia surrounding human life.
More about imponderabilia
There are not very many seven-syllable words in English, which makes imponderabilia a really weighty word. It鈥檚 Latin for “imponderable things, imponderables.” It comes from New Latin 颈尘辫辞苍诲别谤腻产颈濒颈补, a noun use of the neuter plural of the Medieval Latin adjective 颈尘辫辞苍诲别谤腻产颈濒颈蝉 鈥渦nable to be weighed or measured,鈥� ultimately deriving from Latin 辫辞苍诲别谤腻谤别 鈥渢o weigh.鈥� Imponderabilia entered English in the early 20th century.
how is imponderabilia used?
… the imponderabilia,鈥攖hose obscure but all-powerful factors like sentiment, public opinion, good will, affection, and so on. You can’t weigh or measure them, nor get at them by any rule of thumb.
Bronis艂aw Malinowski, called [them] 鈥渢he imponderabilia聽of actual life.鈥� These are, he wrote, 鈥渟mall incidents, characteristic forms of taking food, of conversing, of doing work, [that] are found occurring over and over again.鈥�
More about oneiric
The English adjective oneiric derives from the Greek noun 贸苍别颈谤辞蝉 鈥渄ream, the god of dreams.鈥� 脱苍别颈谤辞蝉 itself is a later derivative from the noun 贸苍补谤 鈥渄ream, fortune-telling dream; in a dream.鈥� Oneiromancy is divination through dreams; oneirocriticism is the interpretation of dreams. 脱nar has relatives in only two other Indo-European languages: Albanian 毛苍诲毛谤谤毛 (the 毛 represents schwa) and Armenian anurj, both meaning 鈥渄ream鈥� (linguists have recognized for nearly a century features of phonology, morphology, and vocabulary shared only by Greek and Armenian). Oneiric entered English in the mid-19th century.
how is oneiric used?
The clouds are pregnant and always in bloom, like oneiric cauliflowers ….
Leonardo鈥檚 world was atomistic, volatile, constantly in flux. At the same time, it was also surprising and oneiric, like scenes from a daydream, and this is how he depicted that world in his art.
rax
verb (used without object)
to stretch oneself, as after sleeping.
More about rax
The verb rax 鈥渢o stretch oneself, as after sleeping,鈥� is used in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Rax comes from Middle English raxen, rasken (Old English racsan, raxan). Raxan is from the same root as rack 鈥渁 bar, framework of bars鈥� and is akin to the verb reccan, reccean 鈥渢o stretch, extend.鈥� Rax dates from the Old English period.
how is rax used?
The quenis dog begowthe to rax …
On easy chair that pamper’d lie, / Wi’ banefu’ viands gustit high, / And turn an’ fauld their weary clay, / To rax an’ gaunt the live-lang day.