51吃瓜 of the Day
propinquity
noun
nearness in place; proximity.
More about propinquity
Propinquity, 鈥渃loseness in space, time, kinship,鈥� comes via Middle English propinquite from Old French propinquite, from Latin 辫谤辞辫颈苍辩耻颈迟腻迟-, the inflectional stem of the noun 辫谤辞辫颈苍辩耻颈迟腻蝉. The English, Middle English, Old French, and Latin nouns even share the same meanings. 笔谤辞辫颈苍辩耻颈迟腻蝉 is a derivative of the adjective propinquus, itself a derivative of the preposition and adverb prope 鈥渘ear, nearby, close.鈥� The suffix –inquus is very rare in Latin, but it also occurs in the adjective longinquus 鈥渇ar, far off, remote,鈥� the opposite of propinquus. Prope and propinquus are the positive degree whose comparative degree is the regularly formed propinquior 鈥渃loser, nearer鈥�; the superlative degree is the irregular proximus 鈥渘ext, next to, nearest, adjacent,鈥� from which English derives proximate. Propinquity entered English in the first half of the 15th century.
how is propinquity used?
when he was called to New York, to become a partner in his father鈥檚 banking-house, I realized that our interests had already diverged, and that only propinquity had served to hold us together. For poor George had already allowed himself to be mastered by a fatal vice鈥攖he passion for money-making …
In the case of the pictures in 鈥�#nyc,鈥� closeness involves not just a physical propinquity but also a kind of psychic insight into others鈥� hearts and minds.
propinquity
vibrissa
noun
one of the stiff, bristly hairs growing about the mouth of certain animals, as a whisker of a cat.
More about vibrissa
Vibrissa, 鈥渙ne of the stiff hairs growing about the mouth of an animal, such as a cat鈥檚 whisker,鈥� is restricted pretty much to (human) anatomy, ornithology, and zoology. Vibrissa is the singular of the Late Latin plural noun vibrissae, a word that occurs only once, in a work by Sextus Pompeius Festus, a Roman grammarian and lexicographer who flourished in the late 2nd century a.d. Festus defines vibrissae as 鈥渢he nose hairs of a human being, so called because when they are pulled out, the head shakes (caput 惫颈产谤腻迟耻谤)鈥� (vibrissae does in fact derive from the Latin verb 惫颈产谤腻谤别 鈥渢o shake鈥�). This 鈥渉uman鈥� sense is the original meaning in English in the late 17th century, but it is no longer common; the more general zoological and ornithological meaning arose in the first half of the 19th century. The singular form vibrissa first appears in English in the first quarter of the 19th century.
how is vibrissa used?
I stroked his splendid vibrissae, the stiff, sensitive whiskers that a walrus uses to search for bivalves through the seabed’s dark murk, and that feel like slender tubes of bamboo.
Whiskers 鈥� technically called vibrissae in mammals 鈥� are an important part of my cats鈥� sensory arrays. When Margarita abruptly tears across the apartment for reasons I can only speculate about, her whiskers can tell her if she鈥檚 cutting to[o] close to a wall so that she doesn鈥檛 run headlong into the doorway.
vibrissa
putative
adjective
commonly regarded as such; reputed; supposed.
More about putative
Putative, 鈥渟upposed, so called, commonly regarded,鈥� ultimately comes from Late Latin 辫耻迟腻迟墨惫耻蝉 鈥渃onsidered, reckoned, presumptive,鈥� a derivative of the Latin verb 辫耻迟腻谤别 鈥渢o think, consider,鈥� originally a farming or country word meaning 鈥渢o trim, prune (trees), scour or clean (wool); purify, refine (gold).鈥� In Latin 辫耻迟腻谤别 is not much used in its original senses, but it is very common in its developed senses, 鈥渢o go over in the mind, ponder; to go over in words, discuss; estimate, deem, consider.鈥� Putative entered English in the 15th century.
how is putative used?
The putative black hole would have to be feeding at one-millionth of its potential rate if it were there at all, Dr. Gultekin said.
Jules had to remember: Oh right, Ibsen, the putative reason Ash had gone to Oslo. Isben’s Ghosts.
putative