Word of the Day
inveigle
verb (used with object)
to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk or inducements.
More about inveigle
Inveigle “to entice or lure” derives by way of Anglo-French from Old French avogle “blind” (compare modern French aveugle). Avogle, in turn, comes from a Vulgar Latin term reconstructed as aboculus “eyeless,” from the phrase ab oculīs “without eyes.” This phrase is considered to be a calque based on a phrase meaning “without eyes” in another language, such as Gaulish or Ancient Greek. A calque, also known as a loan translation, is a word or phrase that is literally translated when borrowed from one language into another. One famous literary calque appears in the series The Lord of the Rings; author J. R. R. Tolkien created the name Bag End as a calque of the French term cul-de-sac, which means “bottom of the bag.” Inveigle was first recorded in English circa 1480.
how is inveigle used?
On a larger scale, the supermarket is designed to inveigle customers into spending as much time as possible within its doors. Dairy departments are almost invariably located as far from the entrance as possible, ensuring that customers—most of whom will have at least one dairy item on their lists—will have to walk the length of the store, passing a wealth of tempting products, en route to the milk, eggs, cheese, and yogurt. Especially popular items are routinely located in the middle of aisles, so that even the most single-minded buyer has a chance to be distracted by alternatives.
The good news about the new film from Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite,” is that you are likely to emerge from it in good humor—bemused, or amused, or a mixture of the two …. One of the oddest things about this film is how many of the oddities, especially the more lubricious ones, are true. There really was an Abigail; she really did inveigle herself into the Queen’s esteem; and the Duchess of Marlborough really was incensed.
palingenesis
noun
rebirth; regeneration.
More about palingenesis
Palingenesis “rebirth” derives from Ancient Greek pálin “again” and génesis “origin, source.” Pálin appears in several other English words that pertain to doubling or redoing, such as palimpsest “a parchment from which writing has been erased to make room for another text” and palindrome “a word or phrase reading the same backward as forward.” Common palindromes include the words kayak, level, racecar, and rotator as well as phrases such as “Madam, I’m Adam.” Génesis, the source of English genesis, has three important cognates that have also found their way into English. The first is Latin gēns (stem gent-) “race, people,” which gives rise to English gentle and gentry. The second is Sanskrit jāti “birth; class,” which was borrowed into English as jati, another term in Hinduism for “caste.” The third is Old English gecynd “nature, race, origin,” which exists today as kind “a class or group of people.” Palingenesis was first recorded in English circa 1620.
how is palingenesis used?
For my own part, I am delighted to hear the birds again. Spring always reminds me of the Palingenesis, or re-creation, of the old alchemists, who believed that form is indestructible and that out of the ashes of a rose the rose itself could be reconstructed,—if they could only discover the great secret of Nature. It is done every spring beneath our windows and before our eyes; and is always so wonderful and so beautiful!
Nothing but a disagreeable impression was left, and Jane perceived no reason in the nature of things why this peculiar and terrible vision had been re-created and re-enacted for her eye and brain alone—why a palingenesis from this decay and ruin had flung off the mantle of years and restored it at the most terrific moment of its past.
contumacious
adjective
stubbornly perverse or rebellious; willfully and obstinately disobedient.
More about contumacious
Contumacious “stubbornly perverse or rebellious” is derived from the noun contumacy “obstinate resistance to authority,” ultimately from the Latin adjective contumāx “unyielding, stubborn.” The -tum- element in contumāx is of uncertain origin, but there are two hypotheses. The definition-based theory connects -tum- to the verb temnere “to despise,” which is also the source of the stem tempt-, as in contempt, while the spelling-based theory connects -tum- to the verb tumēre “to swell,” the source of tumescent and tumor. Contumacious was first recorded in English in the 1590s.
how is contumacious used?
It is a principle of human nature to hate those whom we have injured; and Domitian was constitutionally inclined to anger, which was the more difficult to be averted, in proportion as it was the more disguised. Yet he was softened by the temper and prudence of Agricola; who did not think it necessary, by a contumacious spirit, or a vain ostentation of liberty, to challenge fame or urge his fate.