51吃瓜 of the Day
plastique
noun
a ballet technique for mastering the art of slow, controlled movement and statuelike posing.
More about plastique
Plastique, 鈥渁 ballet technique for mastering slow movement,鈥� is the French cognate of plastic. Both terms come by way of Latin plasticus 鈥渕oldable鈥� from Ancient Greek 辫濒补蝉迟颈办贸蝉, formed from 辫濒补蝉迟贸蝉 鈥渇ormed, molded.鈥澛�笔濒补蝉迟贸蝉 is based on the verb 辫濒谩蝉蝉别颈苍 (stem plath-) 鈥渢o form, mold鈥� and -tos, an adjective-forming suffix, with the change from the expected 鈥�辫濒补迟丑迟贸蝉鈥� to the actual 辫濒补蝉迟贸蝉 perhaps for easier pronunciation. Other derivatives of 辫濒谩蝉蝉别颈苍 include plasma, plaster, rhinoplasty, and the recent 51吃瓜s of the Day plasticity and esemplastic. While plastic in English dates to circa 1630, plastique was first recorded in English circa 1800.
how is plastique used?
While this breadth of repertory is no longer uncommon for Kirov dancers, Ms. Vishneva is exceptional in her ability to put her supple plastique鈥攈er gloriously articulate back from which all movement appears to emanate, her elongated line in arabesque, her exquisitely fluid arms鈥攁t the service of the choreography.
In dance terms, it is cerebral stuff, the choreographer mixing the classical vocabulary of movement with a variety of others; he is impressive too in his use of stasis and plastique, questioning whether motion is essential to dancing.
gingerly
adverb
with great care or caution; warily.
More about gingerly
Despite the similar spelling and pronunciation, gingerly 鈥渨ith great care or caution鈥� has nothing to do with the spicy root ginger. Gingerly is of uncertain origin but may come from Middle French gensor 鈥渄elicate, pretty鈥� (from gent 鈥済entle鈥�) combined with English -ly, an adjective- and adverb-forming suffix. The ultimate source of gensor is either the Latin verb gignere (stem genit-) 鈥渢o beget鈥� or the Latin noun 驳脓苍蝉 (stem gent-) 鈥渞ace, people.鈥� In contrast, ginger comes via Latin from Ancient Greek 锄颈苍驳铆产别谤颈蝉, perhaps by way of Sanskrit 艣峁涐箙驳补惫别谤补尘 or Pali 蝉颈峁僩颈惫别谤补尘 from a Dravidian language; compare Malayalam and Tamil 颈帽肠颈 鈥済颈苍驳别谤.鈥� Gingerly was first recorded in English in the 1510s.
how is gingerly used?
I felt the arm gingerly through his shirt鈥攏o compound fractures. I rolled it up carefully for a better look …. I bit my lip, feeling gingerly down the swell of his biceps. He had one of the worst bruises I had ever seen.
phoenix
noun
a person or thing that has become renewed or restored after suffering calamity.
More about phoenix
Phoenix, 鈥渁 person who has become restored after suffering calamity,鈥� comes from Ancient Greek 辫丑辞卯苍颈虫, which refers to the mythical bird, and this is where matters become murky. One popular proposal in the linguistic community is that 辫丑辞卯苍颈虫 comes from Ancient Egyptian bnw, the name of a heron represented as the god Benu. An alternative theory鈥攁 less broadly accepted one鈥攊s based on the fact that Ancient Greek had four 辫丑辞卯苍颈虫 words, meaning 鈥減hoenix,鈥� 鈥淧hoenician,鈥� 鈥渄ark red,鈥� and 鈥渄ate palm,鈥� respectively. According to this theory, all four words are one and the same, though whether these 辫丑辞卯苍颈虫 words are of Indo-European, Semitic, or lost ancient Mediterranean origin is anyone鈥檚 guess. Phoenix was first recorded in English before 900.
how is phoenix used?
The shell of St Michael鈥檚 survives today, the intact steeple presiding over a Gothic amphitheatre, a still-consecrated place linked to its successor, Sir Basil Spence鈥檚 concrete-framed cathedral completed in 1962. This is a phoenix from the ashes, full of powerful modern stained glass.
Jiwoo is a tough girl whose world is turned upside down …. Her bereavement and anguish are a result of the emotional turmoil she experiences before and after her father鈥檚 death. But she is a fighter. Although humiliated and mistreated, she rises from the ashes like a phoenix.