Word of the Day
cynosure
noun
something that strongly attracts attention by its brilliance, interest, etc.: the cynosure of all eyes.
More about cynosure
In Greek 碍测苍贸蝉辞耻谤补 means 鈥渄og鈥檚 tail鈥� and is also the name of the constellation Ursa Minor (also known as the Lesser Bear, Little Bear, and especially in American usage, the Little Dipper). The first element of 碍测苍贸蝉辞耻谤补 is the genitive singular of the Greek noun 办煤艒苍 鈥渄og, bitch, shepherd dog, watchdog.鈥� Greek 办煤艒苍 (and its stem kun-) come a very wide spread Proto-Indo-European noun 办煤飞艒苍 (stems kwon-, kun-) 鈥渄og,鈥� source of Sanskrit 艣惫腻虂 (also 艣耻惫腻虂) (stem 艣耻苍-), Old Prussian sunis, Germanic (German) Hund 鈥渄og,鈥� (Old English) hund, (English hound). Greek 辞耻谤腻虂 鈥渢ail鈥� is akin to Greek 贸谤谤丑辞蝉 鈥渞ump鈥� (from orso-) comes from Proto-Indo-European orsos 鈥渂uttocks, rump, tail,鈥� source of Germanic (German) Arsch and English arse (ass in American English). Cynosure entered English at the end of the 16th century.
how is cynosure used?
The throne of the gods was the most famous institution in Atvatabar. It was the cynosure of every eye, the object of all adoration, the tabernacle of all that was splendid in art, science and spiritual perfection.
… the garden鈥檚 look will be substantially different, with 16 new pieces by artists including … Katharina Fritsch, whose 鈥淗ahn/Cock,鈥� an ultramarine rooster more than 20 feet tall, might challenge 鈥淪poonbridge鈥� as the garden鈥檚 cynosure.
adultescent
noun
a young adult or middle-aged person who has interests, traits, etc., that are usually associated with teenagers.
More about adultescent
The informal noun kidult, a combination of kid and adult, which dates from about 1960, has mostly been replaced by the equally informal noun adultescent (from adult and adolescent), which first appears in the mid-1990s.
how is adultescent used?
It almost seems as if we鈥檙e actively trying to raise a nation of 鈥�adultescents.鈥�
Adultescent came of age in 2004, but only as a word. The adult it describes is too busy playing Halo 2 on his Xbox or watching SpongeBob at his parents’ house to think about growing up.
sub rosa
adverb
confidentially; secretly; privately.
More about sub rosa
The English adverbial phrase sub rosa comes directly from the Latin phrase sub ros膩 鈥渦nder the rose,鈥� from the use of a rose suspended from the ceiling of the council chamber during meetings to symbolize the sworn confidence of the participants. This use of the rose is based on the Greek myth that Aphrodite (Latin Venus) gave a rose to her son Eros (Latin Cupid); Eros then gave the rose to Harpocrates, the god of silence and secrets, to ensure that Aphrodite鈥檚 dalliances remained hidden. Sub rosa entered English in the 17th century.
how is sub rosa used?
He was too impatient. He should’ve worked sub rosa, built a wider network of supporters; and he should not have struck openly.
Besides the pleasure of a newly acquired possession, there is an agreeable feeling of having bought it sub rosa.