Word of the Day
Bifrost
noun
the rainbow bridge from Asgard, the world of the Aesir gods, to earth.
More about Bifrost
Bifrost “the rainbow bridge of the gods” may look at first glance like a compound of Latin bi- “twice” and English frost, but it should come as little surprise that the name is of Old Norse origin instead. Old Norse is the ancestral language of Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish, and it was spoken throughout northern Europe 1000 years ago. In Old Norse, Bifrost (more accurately transliterated as Bifrǫst or Bifröst) is likely equivalent to bifa “to shake” and rǫst “league” or, more directly, “measure of length between two places of rest.” Old Norse and English are both Germanic languages, and while bifa does not have any relatives in modern English (except obsolete bive “to shake”), rǫst is cognate to English rest. Bifrost was first recorded in English in the late 18th century.
how is Bifrost used?
Bifrost was the strongest of bridges .… Rainbows often served as a path for gods in the mythic literature, and Bifrost was a classic example. The gods in the world above traveled down the rainbow to interact with the people on earth.
In its Tolkienian guise, Bifrost is most closely connected to the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, that bridge which the Fellowship must cross within the fiery heart of Moria. It is not at first obvious that the two bridges belong to one tradition …. Yet both bridges span a gap, a space, rather than a river or stream. Both are affiliated with fire.
circumambulate
verb
to walk or go about or around, especially ceremoniously.
More about circumambulate
Circumambulate “to walk around” is a compound of two Latin-origin stems: circum- “around” and ambul- “to walk.” As we learned from the recent Words of the Day circadian and circumstellar, circum- comes from Latin circus “circle,” which is the source of English terms such as circa, circular, and circumference. The stem ambul- comes from Latin ambulāre “to walk,” which gives rise to English amble, ambulance, and funambulist “tightrope walker.” In modern Romance languages, though nothing is certain, some linguists hypothesize that Latin ambulāre may be the root (following a long series of unusual sound changes) of Spanish andar “to walk” and French aller “to go” (as in the recent Word of the Day laisser-aller). Circumambulate was first recorded in the 1650s.
how is circumambulate used?
I’m proud to say I did circumambulate the gigantic, three-century-old Zamana tree. With branches that span the equivalent of a city block, it’s a tropical tree of life.
Circumambulation, an intentional, ceremonial circling of a sacred object, is an ancient ritual with roots in many world cultures …. [English professor and photographer David Robertson] explained that circumambulating Mt. Tam was a way for him to create meaning for himself in relation to the natural world.
ganache
noun
a whipped frosting or filling made with semisweet chocolate and cream, used for cakes, pastries, and candies.
More about ganache
Ganache “a filling made with chocolate and cream” is a loanword from French, and before it gained its sweet, present-day meaning, it meant “horse’s jaw” and could be used as an insult for another person’s intelligence (or lack of it). Quite the peculiar changes in definition there! Prior to French, ganache was adapted from Italian ganascia “jaw”; the change in spelling from sc to ch is to preserve the “shuh” sound, which is represented in French as ch and in Italian as sc (when followed by an e or i). Ultimately, ganache comes from Ancient Greek gnathos “jaw,” which is not connected to English gnash “to grind the teeth together” but is distantly related to English chin. Ganache was first recorded in English in the early 19th century.
how is ganache used?
Yazzie’s program–supported by World Central Kitchen–continues to purchase cocoa powders that baker Vanessa Casillas (Ho-Chunk, Chicana) whips into a tasty dessert for each meal, like a Belizean chocolate chantilly or cupcakes with Belizean chocolate ganache in the middle, served to a diverse tribal community, including Ojibwe and Dakota elders at the Indian Center.