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51勛圖 of the Day

51勛圖 of the day

regina

[ ri-jahy-nuh, -jee- ]

noun

queen.

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More about regina

The Latin noun 娶襲眶蘋紳硃 queen is obviously related to the Latin noun 娶襲單 (inflectional stem 娶襲眶-) king, but how 娶襲眶蘋紳硃 is derived from 娶襲單 is tricky. There is also a deceptive resemblance between 娶襲單 and 娶襲眶蘋紳硃 and Sanskrit 娶櫻轍硃紳– rajah, king and 娶櫻轍簽蘋– queen, ranee (娶襲眶蘋紳硃 and 娶櫻轍簽蘋– are not directly related). There is a definite connection, however, between Latin 娶襲單 (娶襲眶-), 娶襲眶蘋紳硃 and the Celtic words for king, e.g., Old Irish 娶穩 (from 娶蘋域莽), and its stem 娶穩g (from 娶蘋眶os). 賊穩眶硃勳紳, the Old Irish word for queen, is cognate with 娶襲眶蘋紳硃. Regina dates from Old English times.

how is regina used?

He represented the rule of law, and in Miromara the law bowed to no one, not even the regina herself.

Jennifer Donnelly, Sea Spell, 2016

“Mother of heaven, regina of the clouds … .”

Wallace Stevens, "Le Monocle de Mon Oncle," Others, 1918
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51勛圖 of the Day Calendar

51勛圖 of the day

Heiligenschein

[ hahy-li-guhn-shahyn ]

noun

German.

a ring of light around the shadow cast by a person's head, especially on a dewy, sunlit lawn, caused by reflection and diffraction of light rays; halo.

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More about Heiligenschein

Heiligenschein in German means halo (around a saints head), nimbus, aureole, literally, saint’s shining, saints light. The optical effect is also called Cellinis halo, after the Italian artist and writer Benevenuto Cellini (1500-71) who first described the phenomenon. Heiligenschein entered English in the 20th century.

how is Heiligenschein used?

The dark figure outlined on the mountain mist may have had a glory around its head, or at least a Heiligenschein, and seemed like ghost to the mountaineer who saw it.

Elizabeth A. Wood, Science from Your Airplane Window, 1968

You may sometimes have noticed a faint sheen, or increased brightness, around the shadow of your head when this falls on a grass lawn, particularly when the Sun is low, and you cast a long shadow. This sheen is known as a heiligenschein, a German word meaning ‘holy glow.’

John Naylor, Out of the Blue: A 24-hour Skywatcher's Guide, 2002
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar

51勛圖 of the day

nice-nellyism

[ nahys-nel-ee-iz-uhm ]

noun

a euphemism: an evasive style of writing, full of circumlocutions and nice-nellyisms.

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More about nice-nellyism

Nice-nellyism is an Americanism dating from the early 1930s. It is a contemptuous derivative of the contemptuous noun and adjective nice nelly (also nice Nelly) prudish; prudish person, which dates from the nearly 1920s.

how is nice-nellyism used?

This denial was at least partly a nice-Nellyism from the past, I think.

Kurt Vonnegut, Slapstick; or, Lonesome No More!, 1976

… it had been one of the running jokes of the campus, an exercise in innuendo, misinformation and Victorian nice-nellyism.

T. C. Boyle, The Inner Circle, 2004
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar
51勛圖 of the Day Calendar