saturnine [ˈsætərˌnaɪn] a.
1.) [Astrol.] Born under or affected by the influence of the planet Saturn.
2.) Hence (in later use without allusion to the primary sense), sluggish, cold, and gloomy in temperament.
3.) Of appearance or mien: dark, grim, louring.
4.) [Rare] Pertaining to the planet Saturn.
5.) Of or pertaining to lead.
6.) [Path.] Of disorders: Caused by absorption of lead. Of a patient: Suffering from lead-poisoning.
saturnine n.
1.) A person born under the planet Saturn; a gloomy person (Oxford English Dictionary 2nd Edition).
Etymology: adaptation of the Medieval Latin Saturninus, from Saturnus, Saturn. Cf. French saturnin, and Spanish, Portugese, and Italian saturnino.
"What of George Willoughby, with his powdered hair and fantastic patches? How evil he looked! The face was saturnine and swarthy, and the sensual lips seemed to be twisted with disdain" (The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde, 1890).
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
welter
welter [ˈwɛltər] v. i.
1.) To roll, as the body of an animal; to tumble about, especially in anything foul or defiling; to wallow.
2.) To rise and fall, as waves; to tumble over, as billows.
welter v. t.
1.) To wither; to wilt.
welter a.
1.) (Horse Racing) Of, pertaining to, or designating, the most heavily weighted race in a meeting; as, a welter race; the welter stakes.
welter n.
1.) That in which any person or thing welters, or wallows; filth; mire; slough.
2.) A rising or falling, as of waves; as, the welter of the billows; the welter of a tempest (GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English).
Etymology: From Middle English welteren, to toss about, as in high seas, from Middle Low German, or Middle Dutch, to roll.
"Into a gradual calm the breezes sink,
A blue rim borders all the lake's still brink;
There doth the twinkling aspen's foliage sleep,
And insects clothe, like dust, the glassy deep:
And now, on every side, the surface breaks
Into blue spots, and slowly lengthening streaks;
Here, plots of sparkling water tremble bright
With thousand thousand twinkling points of light;
There, waves that, hardly weltering, die away,
Tip their smooth ridges with a softer ray;
And now the whole wide lake in deep repose
Is hushed, and like a burnished mirror glows,
Save where, along the shady western marge,
Coasts, with industrious oar, the charcoal barge (An Evening Walk Addressed to a Young Lady, William Wordsworth, 1793).
1.) To roll, as the body of an animal; to tumble about, especially in anything foul or defiling; to wallow.
2.) To rise and fall, as waves; to tumble over, as billows.
welter v. t.
1.) To wither; to wilt.
welter a.
1.) (Horse Racing) Of, pertaining to, or designating, the most heavily weighted race in a meeting; as, a welter race; the welter stakes.
welter n.
1.) That in which any person or thing welters, or wallows; filth; mire; slough.
2.) A rising or falling, as of waves; as, the welter of the billows; the welter of a tempest (GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English).
Etymology: From Middle English welteren, to toss about, as in high seas, from Middle Low German, or Middle Dutch, to roll.
"Into a gradual calm the breezes sink,
A blue rim borders all the lake's still brink;
There doth the twinkling aspen's foliage sleep,
And insects clothe, like dust, the glassy deep:
And now, on every side, the surface breaks
Into blue spots, and slowly lengthening streaks;
Here, plots of sparkling water tremble bright
With thousand thousand twinkling points of light;
There, waves that, hardly weltering, die away,
Tip their smooth ridges with a softer ray;
And now the whole wide lake in deep repose
Is hushed, and like a burnished mirror glows,
Save where, along the shady western marge,
Coasts, with industrious oar, the charcoal barge (An Evening Walk Addressed to a Young Lady, William Wordsworth, 1793).
Saturday, April 2, 2011
piquant
piquant [ˈpikənt, -kɑnt, piˈkɑnt] a.
1.) Pleasantly pungent or tart in taste; spicy.
2.) Appealingly provocative: a piquant wit.
3.) Charming, interesting, or attractive: a piquant face.
4.) [Archaic] Causing hurt feelings; stinging (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).
Etymology: French, from Old French, present participle of piquer, to prick.
"Infancy conforms to nobody: all conform to it, so that one babe commonly makes four or five out of the adults who prattle and play to it. So God has armed youth and puberty and manhood no less with its own piquancy and charm, and made it enviable and gracious and its claims not to be put by, if it will stand by itself" ("Self-Reliance", Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841).
1.) Pleasantly pungent or tart in taste; spicy.
2.) Appealingly provocative: a piquant wit.
3.) Charming, interesting, or attractive: a piquant face.
4.) [Archaic] Causing hurt feelings; stinging (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).
Etymology: French, from Old French, present participle of piquer, to prick.
"Infancy conforms to nobody: all conform to it, so that one babe commonly makes four or five out of the adults who prattle and play to it. So God has armed youth and puberty and manhood no less with its own piquancy and charm, and made it enviable and gracious and its claims not to be put by, if it will stand by itself" ("Self-Reliance", Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841).
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