Word of the Day
More about melic
Melic comes from the Greek adjective melikós “lyric (poetry, poet),” a derivative of the noun mélos “limb (of a body), member, musical member, musical phrase, music, song.” Melic is not a common word, unlike its cousin melody, from mélos and ōidḗ “song” (the source of English ode). Melic entered English at the end of the 17th century.
how is melic used?
… anapaests are commonly used either as a sung form, “melic anapaests”, or chanted, a form sometimes called “marching anapaests.”
The earliest discussions call this kind of verse ‘melic’ (the Greek melos means ‘song’), and roughly distinguish sung poems from epic and tragedy.
animus
noun
strong dislike or enmity; hostile attitude; animosity.
More about animus
In Latin the noun animus has many meanings: “the mind (as opposed to the body), the mind (or soul) that with the body constitutes a person, the mind as the seat of consciousness, the immortal part of a person (the soul)….” Animus comes from the same Proto-Indo-European source (anә– “to breathe”) as Greek ánemos “the wind.” The modern sense “strong dislike, enmity” is a development within English, appearing only at the end of the 18th century.
how is animus used?
This time, it’s not a border wall or a health care proposal driving the animus, but an online ad for a men’s razor, because, of course.
Second, people should not let their animus toward him—and his animus toward the truth—trick them into trafficking in conspiracy theories.
tergiversate
verb
to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate.
More about tergiversate
Tergiversate comes from the Latin verb tergiversārī “to keep turning one’s back on a task, show reluctance.” The Latin noun tergum means “back (of a human or animal),” and the verb versārī “to keep moving about” is a derivative of vertere “to turn.” Tergiversate entered English in the 17th century.
how is tergiversate used?
The nominees will equivocate and tergiversate. They will never engage.
I can sense a growing concentricity in my manner of thinking, a desire to circle back on my own thoughts, to tergiversate, to animadvert, to extemporise.