Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Today's army works on rotations; soldiers are deployed for about a year and then
(in principle at least) they come home. When that happens, localliaisons and intelligence
relationships must be rebuilt. James K. Galbraith, Mother Jones, March/April 2006
26.Mannequin is a figure shaped like a human body that is used for making or displaying
clothes
French, from Dutch mannekijn little man
<the mannequin over there looks so real>
<several mannequins posing for this year's catalogue look especially emaciated>
27. Mediocre is of only ordinary or moderate quality.
Middle French, from Latin mediocris, from medius middle + Old Latin ocrisstony
mountain; akin to Latin acer sharp
The dinner was delicious, but the dessert was mediocre.
The carpenter did a mediocre job.
The critics dismissed him as a mediocre actor.
They sensed that mediocre students like Roosevelt really did possess a set of
virtues that needed to be protected and cherished. David Brooks, New York Times
Book Review, 6 Nov. 2005
28.Memoir is a record written by a person based on personal observation.
Middle French memoire, from memoire memory, from Latin memoria
A retired politician who is writing his memoirs
He has written a memoir of his mother.
a memoir of Hollywood in the 1930s
29.Moiety is one of the portions into which something is divided : COMPONENT, PART <an
ether molecule with a benzene moiety>
Middle English moite, from Anglo-French meit, moit, from Late Latin medietat-,
medietas, from Latin medius middle
<the lot was split into two equal moieties>
30.
Myriad is a very great or indefinitely great number.
Greek myriad-, myrias, from myrioi countless, ten thousand
There are a myriad of possibilities.
<the car can be outfitted with a myriad of options>
Mr. McCullough hails Adams for being uncannily prescient foreseeing
amyriad of developments, from the difficulty of defeating the British to the divisive
consequences of slavery. Michiko Kakutani, New York Times, 22 May 2001
French
He was hit by a ricochet.
the ricochet of the bullet off the wall
37. Schadenfreude is a feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing or hearing about the
troubles of other people
German, from Schaden damage + Freude joy
38.Thaw is to pass from a frozen to a liquid state.
Middle English, from Old English thawian; akin to Old High Germandouwen to thaw,
Greek tkein to melt, Latin tabre to waste away
Plant the seeds in early spring as soon as the ground thaws.
The sun will soon thaw the snow and ice.
The weather is beginning to thaw.
Our cold fingers and toes eventually thawed.
She held the coffee cup tightly, trying to thaw her frozen fingers.
39.Turquoise is a bluish-green stone used in jewelry.
Middle English turkeys, from Anglo-French turkeise, from feminine of turkeis Turkish,
from TurcTurkish
40. Yacht is a private cruising vessel.
obsolete Dutch jaght, from Middle Low German jacht, short for jachtschip,literally,
hunting ship
Average
1. Abridgment is a shortened form of a book.
<this Italian-English pocket dictionary is an abridgment of the hardback
edition>
2. Acquiesce means to comply or submit.
French acquiescer, from Latin acquiescere, from ad- + quiescere to be quiet.
They demanded it, and he acquiesced.
<apparently the contractor expected me to acquiesce to my own fleecing>
the tender understanding with which he had acquiesced to her wish not to
consummate their relationship out of wedlock. Dorothy West, The Wedding, 1995
3. Asphyxiate is to cause (someone) to stop breathing and often to become unconscious
and die
The murder victim was asphyxiated.
10.
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14.
Sean P. Diddy Combs, now starring in Broadway's A Raisin in the Sun, takes his
grooming rituals seriously. I take a bath around 3 a.m. when I get home to wind down.
I'm a bath connoisseur, says Combs, 34. I have bath salts, bath beadsI can make you
the best bath in the world. Ann Marie Cruz, People, 14 June 2004
Croissant is a rich, buttery crescent-shaped roll.
French, literally, crescent, from Middle French, from present participle of croistre to
grow, from Latin crescere
Denouement is the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot.
French dnouement, literally, untying, from Middle
French desnouement,from desnouer to untie, from Old French desnoer, from des- de+ noer to tie, from Latin nodare, from nodus knot
In the play's denouement, the two lovers kill themselves.
Diphthong is an unsegmented gliding speech sound
Middle English diptonge, from Middle French diptongue, from Late
Latindipthongus, from Greek diphthongos, from di- + phthongos voice, sound
The sounds of ou in out and of oy in boy are diphthongs.
Exsiccate is to remove the moisture from.
Middle English, from
Latin exsiccatus, past participle of exsiccare, from ex- + siccare to dry, fromsiccus dry
Faux is something that is made or produced a copy; imitation.
French, false
<even the animal rights activists were fooled by the faux furs>
15. Fuchsia is a bright, purplish-red color.
New Latin, from Leonhard Fuchs 1566 German botanist
16. Gnu is a large African animal that has long curving horns
Khoikhoi t'gnu
17. Holocaust is a great or complete destruction.
Middle English, from Late Latin holocaustum, from Greek holokauston,from neuter
of holokaustos burnt whole, from hol- + kaustos burnt, fromkaiein to burn
The museum is devoted to the Holocaust.
There were fears of a nuclear holocaust.
18. Idyll is a composition, usually describing pastoral scenes or any appealing incident, or
the like.
Latin idyllium, from Greek eidyllion, from diminutive of eidos form; akin to
Greek idein to see
<her year as a vineyard worker in the south of France was not the idyll that she
had expected it to be>
19. Labyrinth is an intricate combination of paths in which it is difficult to find the exit.
Middle English laborintus, from Latin labyrinthus, from Greek labyrinthos
a complex labyrinth of tunnels and chambers
The cockpit was a labyrinth of instruments and controls.
a labyrinth of social customs and rules
20. Malfeasance is wrongdoing by a public official.
mal- + obsolete feasance doing, execution
The investigation has uncovered evidence of corporate malfeasance.
<a campaign to impeach the governor for malfeasance in office>
21. Myrrh a sticky brown substance that comes from trees, that has a sweet smell, and that
is used in products that give the air or people's bodies a pleasing smell
Middle English myrre, from Old English, from Latin myrrha, from Greek, of Semitic
origin; akin to Arabic murr myrrh
22. Mousse is a sweetened dessert with whipped cream as a base.
French, literally, froth, moss, from Old French mosse, of Germanic origin; akin to Old
High German mos moss
a jar of styling mousse
23. Mozzarella is a mild, white, semi-soft Italian cheese.
Italian, diminutive of mozza, a kind of cheese, from mozzare to cut off, from mozzo cut
off, docked, from Vulgar Latin *mutius, alteration of Latinmutilus
24. Mystique is an aura of mystery or mystical power surrounding a particular occupation
or pursuit.
French, from tienne de Silhouette 1767 French controller general of finances; perhaps
from his ephemeral tenure
the silhouettes of buildings against the sky
The buildings appeared in silhouette against the sky.
My piano teacher has a framed silhouette of Mozart on her wall.
a portrait of my mother done in silhouette
He admired the sports car's sleek silhouette.
35. Siphon is a tube bent into legs of unequal length, for getting liquid from one container
to another.
French siphon, from Latin siphon-, sipho tube, pipe, siphon, from Greek siphn
36. Subpoena is the usual writ for the summoning of witnesses.
Middle English suppena, from Latin sub poena under penalty
<received a subpoena to appear as a witness for the prosecution>
37. Toupee is a man's wig.
French toupet forelock, from Old French, diminutive of top, toup, of Germanic origin;
akin to Old High German zopf tuft of hair
<the weatherman calmly adjusted his toupee after the wind nearly blew it off
38. Trapeze is an apparatus consisting of a horizontal bar attached to two suspending
ropes.
French trapze, literally, trapezoid, from New Latin trapezium
performing tricks on the trapeze
39. Travois a simple vehicle used by Plains Indians consisting of two trailing poles serving
as shafts and bearing a platform or net for the load
American French travail, from Canadian French, shaft of a cart, from Middle
French traveilcatafalque, prop, from Late Latin trepalium instrument of torture
40. Zucchini is a variety of summer squash.
Italian, plural of zucchino, diminutive of zucca gourd