Word of the Day
repentance
noun
deep sorrow, compunction, or contrition for a past sin, wrongdoing, or the like.
More about repentance
Repentance ultimately derives via Old French from Latin paenitēre “to regret, be sorry.” Other derivatives of paenitēre include penance, penitence, and penitentiary. Although paenitēre is of uncertain origin, it was frequently confused with the similar-sounding noun poena “punishment, penalty,” a borrowing from Ancient Greek poinḗ. Poena is the source of numerous words related to crime and its consequences, such as subpoena, penalty, punish, punitive, and even pain; while these words are likely unrelated to repentance, they all share a p-vowel-n root and refer to the aftermath of a mistake or unfortunate choice. Repentance first appeared in English in the early 1300s.
how is repentance used?
And if only fate would have sent him repentance—burning repentance that would have torn his heart and robbed him of sleep…! Oh, he would have been glad of it! Tears and agonies would at least have been life. But he did not repent of his crime.
There is no greater opportunity for a pop star than repentance—the chance to rise again after a self-inflicted downfall. Much of Kanye West’s genius, for instance, lies in his ability to withstand his own occasional demise and to orchestrate a subsequent triumph.
camion
noun
a truck, as for military supplies.
More about camion
Camion is a borrowing from French, but its ultimate origin is obscure. Hypotheses include a connection to Late Latin chamulcus “chariot, cart, machine” (from Ancient Greek) or to French chemin “way” (via Vulgar Latin cammīnus from Gaulish). While we normally associate Celtic languages with the British Isles, Gaulish is a long-extinct Celtic language once spoken in what is now France that proved heavily influential to Late Latin and Vulgar Latin, the ancestor of all Romance languages. Camion entered English in the late 1800s.
how is camion used?
When the police inspector approached the camion, he accused the driver of off-loading the extra passengers who were now walking ahead of the camion. But the driver vehemently denied the allegation, and the subinspector, who could see the passengers walking ahead but had not seen them getting off the camion, could not technically substantiate the accusation that they had been off-loaded from the camion.
There was space left about big enough for a baby carriage to squeeze by, and “dauntless Harry,” seeing an opening, tried to see if his truck would fit said opening. It didn’t, and the first thing we knew the camion had crashed through the railing and the front wheels were dangling in space. The drop wasn’t a great distance, but if we had taken the fall no doubt we would have been found with the camion resting on the back of our necks.
testudinate
adjective
formed like the carapace of a tortoise; arched; vaulted.
More about testudinate
Testudinate derives from the Latin adjective testūdinātus, of the same meaning, from the noun testūdō “tortoise.” Testūdō, in turn, derives from testa “earthenware vessel; shard of baked clay; shell of a crustacean.” It is possible that testa comes from the Proto-Indo-European root ters- “dry,” which would make testa cognate to the words thirst (from Old English thurst “dryness”), terrain and terrestrial (from Latin terra “(dry) land”), and toast and torrid (from Latin torrēre “to burn”). In Late Latin, testa gained the additional sense of “skull” and developed into the word for “head” in several Romance languages (such as French tête and Italian testa). Testudinate entered English in the early 1700s.
how is testudinate used?
At every little clearing through the thorny path great horseflies flew Like aces taking bits and bites of me as I futilely swiped Then low tunnels testudinate respite from those winged furies gave Only to find that those ruelles I tread were rife with walking shells