Word of the Day
rarefied
adjective
extremely high or elevated; lofty; exalted: the rarefied atmosphere of a scholarly symposium.
More about rarefied
The adjective rarefied “elevated, lofty, exalted,” only first appears in this sense in English in the second half of the 17th century. In origin, rarefied is the past participle of the Middle English verb rarefien “to reduce the density of, thin, soften,” first recorded at the end of the 14th century. Rarefien comes from Old French rarefier, from Medieval Latin rārēficāre, from Latin rārēfacere “to make less solid, rarefy,” a Latin technical term occurring first and only in Lucretius’s Dē Rērum Nātūrā, a long Epicurean didactic poem aimed at freeing human beings from the scourge of superstition, religion, and the fear of death.
how is rarefied used?
The country gentry of old time lived in a rarefied social air: dotted apart on their stations up the mountain they looked down with imperfect discrimination on the belts of thicker life below.
In his 30s, breathing rarefied air, Mr. Coppola made two decisions that changed his career’s trajectory.
More about chirography
Chirography, an expensive word for “handwriting, penmanship,” comes from Greek cheirogaphía “written report, testimony in writing.” The first element, cheiro-, is a combining form of the noun cheír “hand,” which has many dialect forms (chérs, chḗr, chérr-). Cheír comes from the uncommon Proto-Indo-European root ghesor-, ghesr– “hand,” the source of Hittite kessar, Armenian jeṙ-, and Tocharian tsar, all meaning “hand.” The combining form –graphy, naturalized in English, is a derivative of the verb gráphein “to write,” from a Proto-Indo-European root ghrebh-, ghrobh– “to scratch, dig, bury,” the source of English grave (burial place), grub (to dig), and groove. Chirography entered English in the 17th century.
how is chirography used?
Miss Kate S. Chittenden’s hand is bold, fearless, and masculine, and there are decided indications that her temperament resembles her chirography in these respects.
“Three hours of hand-shaking is not calculated to improve a man’s chirography,” he [Lincoln] said later that evening.
magnanimous
adjective
generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness: to be magnanimous toward one's enemies.
More about magnanimous
Magnanimous comes from the Latin adjective magnanimus “noble in spirit, brave, generous.” Magnanimus is a loan translation of the Greek adjectives megáthymos, megalóthymos “great hearted,” and megalópsychos “generous, high-souled.” Magnanimus was used especially in translations of the Aristotelian term megalópsychos. Magnanimous entered English in the 16th century.
how is magnanimous used?
… if he would … discharge his heart of its hoarded bitterness—forgive the world, for having turned his head; and for not keeping it turned, by main force; become a little more magnanimous; and, a little less unhappy and suspicious … I do almost believe that he might do something decent, to be remembered by.
As a master of symbolism, Mandela supported his strategy by being magnanimous towards his former enemies.