Word of the Day
plenipotent
adjective
invested with or possessing full power.
More about plenipotent
The adjective plenipotent,鈥渋nvested with or possessing full power,鈥� comes from Late Latin 辫濒脓苍颈辫辞迟别苍迟– (stem of 辫濒脓苍颈辫辞迟脓苍蝉), which is composed of 辫濒脓苍颈-, the combining form of 辫濒脓苍耻蝉 鈥渇ull鈥� and potent-, the combining form of 辫辞迟脓苍蝉, the present participle of posse 鈥渢o be able, have power.鈥� Plenipotent is not as common in English as its close relative, the adjective and noun plenipotentiary (as a noun, plenipotentiary usually refers to a diplomat with full power to conduct business or negotiations.) Plenipotent entered English in 1639; plenipotentiary in 1646.
how is plenipotent used?
In his youth he drudged 12 hours a day, at a salary of 4 shillings a week ($1.00). Last week he welcomed to the sumptuous mayoral board a company of diners plenipotent and distinguished.
Nature, impassive and聽plenipotent, waits to reward or punish us.
plenipotent
hapax legomenon
noun
a word or phrase that appears only once in a manuscript, document, or particular area of literature.
More about hapax legomenon
The phrase hapax legomenon, 鈥渁 word or phrase appearing only once in literature,鈥� comes from Greek 丑谩辫补虫 legomenon, composed of the adverb 丑谩辫补虫 鈥渙nce, one time鈥� and the neuter singular present passive participle 濒别驳贸尘别苍辞苍 鈥�(being) said,鈥� from the verb 濒茅驳别颈苍 鈥渢o say.鈥� (Hapax is also used by itself in English as a noun; the plural of hapax legomenon is hapax legomena.) One famous hapax鈥攁s far as these things go鈥攊s the adjective 别辫颈辞煤蝉颈辞苍 in the phrase 谩谤迟辞苍鈥� 别辫颈辞煤蝉颈辞苍 in the clause 鈥�(Give us this day our) daily bread,鈥� in the Lord鈥檚 Prayer in the gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke. The Greek noun 谩谤迟辞蝉 means 鈥渨heat bread, bread (in general)鈥� and presents no problem. 贰辫颈辞煤蝉颈辞苍 may mean 鈥�(enough) for today, today’s, next day鈥檚, necessary, sufficient.鈥� 贰辫颈辞煤蝉颈辞苍 is variously translated in Latin: one of them, 辩耻辞迟墨诲颈腻苍耻尘 鈥渄aily,鈥� is an inadequate, even wrong translation of 别辫颈辞煤蝉颈辞苍, but it was used in Tyndale鈥檚 translation of the Bible (1534) and the King James Bible (1611), and it is used today in most modern English translations. Hapax legomenon entered English in the late 17th century.
how is hapax legomenon used?
I have no such grand designs in this essay, nor could I possibly discuss all of the hapax legomena in just The Lord of the Rings, not even in the most cursory fashion because there are more than five thousand of them.
The adjective 蠁慰位魏蠈蟼 is an absolute hapax legomenon in the Greek language: it occurs only here and in some ancient scholia, lexica, and commentaries on this very passage.
hapax legomenon
moonshot
noun
a very challenging and innovative project or undertaking.
More about moonshot
Moonshot, 鈥渁 launching of a spacecraft to the moon,鈥� a transparent compound of moon and shot, entered English in 1949, near the beginning of large-scale rocket development in the U.S. Moonshot in its extended sense 鈥渁 challenging and innovative project鈥� first appears in 1967.
how is moonshot used?
Jennifer Granholm, the energy secretary, called the U.S. plan to tackle climate change 鈥渙ur generation鈥檚 moonshot.鈥�
Moonshots don鈥檛 begin with brainstorming clever answers. They start with the hard work of finding the right questions.
moonshot