Word of the Day
chelonian
adjective
belonging or pertaining to a reptilian order comprising turtles, tortoises, and terrapins.
More about chelonian
Chelonian comes from Ancient Greek 肠丑别濒峁搉脓, meaning 鈥渢urtle, tortoise.鈥� 颁丑别濒峁搉脓 could have connections with Slavic words for 鈥渢urtle鈥� or other Ancient Greek words, or it could come from an extinct ancient Mediterranean language. 颁丑别濒峁搉脓 is not related to Spanish 驳补濒谩辫补驳辞, 鈥渢ortoise.鈥� Chelonian was first recorded in English in the 1820s.
EXAMPLE OF CHELONIAN USED IN A SENTENCE
A bale of several chelonian critters scurried about in the water, every so often poking their heads out of their shells.
jarabe 迟补辫补迟铆辞
noun
a dance of Mexican origin, performed by a couple and consisting of nine figures and melodies, in which the partners often dance facing each other but not touching.
More about jarabe 迟补辫补迟铆辞
Jarabe means 鈥渟yrup鈥� in Spanish, while 迟补辫补迟铆辞 refers to a person or thing from Guadalajara, a city in Jalisco, Mexico. Spanish jarabe and English syrup both come from Arabic 蝉丑补谤腻产, 鈥渁 drink,鈥� which is related to sherbet and sorbet. 罢补辫补迟铆辞 derives from the Nahuatl word tlapatiotl, 鈥減rice, value,鈥� after the Guadalajara area鈥檚 notable use of cacao beans as currency. Jarabe 迟补辫补迟铆辞 was first recorded in English in the mid-1870s.
EXAMPLE OF JARABE TAPAT脥O USED IN A SENTENCE
The dancer dropped his sombrero to the floor as a signal to his partner to begin their jarabe 迟补辫补迟铆辞.
More about kvetch
Kvetch is adapted from Yiddish kvetshn, meaning 鈥渢o squeeze, pinch,鈥� which is closely related to German quetschen, also meaning 鈥渢o squeeze.鈥� One possibility is that kvetch ultimately comes from Latin 辩耻补蝉蝉腻谤别 or quatere, 鈥渢o shake,鈥� which is the source of English concussion and squash. Kvetch was first recorded in English in the early 1960s.
EXAMPLE OF KVETCH USED IN A SENTENCE
The couple refused to buy an air conditioner, preferring instead to kvetch constantly about the heat in the summer.