Word of the Day
paschal
adjective
of or relating to Easter or to Passover.
More about paschal
Paschal “of or relating to Easter or to Passover” derives from Late Latin paschālis, of the same meaning, which is the adjectival form of Pascha “Easter, Passover.” Pascha, as with many words in Latin that contain the telltale ch, is adapted from Ancient Greek Páscha, which is itself borrowed from Aramaic pasḥā. The ultimate source is Hebrew pesaḥ “Passover,” derived from the verb pāsaḥ “to pass over.” In this way, Passover is a calque of the original Hebrew term; to learn more about calques, compare the recent Word of the Day inveigle. Unlike the majority of European languages, which use derivatives of Latin Pascha for both Passover and Easter, most Germanic languages derive their term for Easter from the same source as the word east—not, per popular misconception, from a Middle Eastern goddess such as Astara or Ishtar. Paschal was first recorded in English in the early 15th century.
how is paschal used?
Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox (the halfway point between the summer and winter solstices, which is also the first day of spring). This full moon is called the ‘paschal moon’ in the Christian tradition …. Two things happened in the fourth century–the Christian Council of Nicea laid down the first-Sunday-after-the-full-moon formula, and Jewish scholars standardized the date of Passover to a fixed date in the Hebrew calendar. Neither Easter nor Passover have a fixed date in the secular (standard) calendar. On the other hand, both Easter and Passover have a relationship to the paschal moon.
The Last Supper, which is so celebrated in art, was of course a Seder. It was a Passover meal. And this year, as Neal [Conan] said at the beginning, Easter week begins at the same time as Passover. And the echoes of Passover in all of the Easter liturgies are enormous. The symbolism of the Paschal lamb and the Paschal Sacrifice, the meaning of going from slavery to freedom, from death to life, are the same. So there are many, many things that make you feel more together than apart at this season of the year.
indite
verb (used with object)
to compose or write, as a poem.
More about indite
Indite “to compose or write, as a poem” sounds identical to the verb indict, and there’s a good reason for that: both indite and indict were originally the same word, and while indite more directly preserves the Old French spelling of enditer, indict preserves the earlier Latin spelling of indictus “having been announced.” Indictus is the perfect participle of indīcere “to announce, proclaim,” which is based on dīcere “to say, tell.” Dīcere (stem dict-) is the source of speech-related terms such as contradict, valedictorian, and (of course) dictionary, and it comes from the same ultimate source as the recent Word of the Day vendetta. Indite was first recorded in English in the mid-14th century.
how is indite used?
After Chia Cheng had listened to these words, he pondered for a while. “These tablets and scrolls,” he remarked, “present however a difficult task. According to the rites, we should, in order to obviate any shortcoming, request the imperial consort to deign and compose them; but if the honourable consort does not gaze upon the scenery with her own eyes, it will also be difficult for her to conceive its nature and indite upon it!”
If answerable style I can obtain Of my celestial patroness, who deigns Her nightly visitation unimplor’d, And dictates to me slumbering; or inspires Easy my unpremeditated verse: Since first this subject for heroick song Pleas’d me long choosing, and beginning late; Not sedulous by nature to indite Wars, hitherto the only argument Heroick deem’d chief mastery to dissect With long and tedious havock fabled knights In battles feign’d
almsgiving
noun
the act of donating money, food, or other items to poor or needy people, especially as a spiritual practice.
More about almsgiving
Almsgiving “the act of donating to needy people” is a compound of alms “donations to needy people” and giving. The seemingly simple word alms has a complicated history; it is a contraction of Old English ælmesse, which was borrowed from Late Latin eleēmosyna, source of Word of the Day eleemosynary. While most words of Latin origin passed into Middle English by way of Old French, a minority of terms were borrowed into Old English directly from later versions of the Latin language. Other examples of early borrowings include chalk, cheese, cook, street, wall, and wine. Turning back to Late Latin, eleēmosyna derives from Ancient Greek eleēmosýnē “compassion,” from éleos “pity.” Almsgiving was first recorded in English long before the year 1000 AD.
how is almsgiving used?
Panhandling is a basic form of charitable solicitation with a long history. Almsgiving dates back to the days of ancient Greece and the Bible. Instead of asking for help on behalf of an animal shelter, food pantry or any other kind of nonprofit, the panhandlers ask for help satisfying their own personal need. In case after case, the courts have clearly ruled that the Constitution safeguards the right to make personal pitches the same way that it protects the ability of organizations to make their own asks.
The pandemic has given a boost to philanthropy in Latin America, but it is also a threat. Donors have less money to give or are shifting it to public health from other good causes …. The Latin American countries with the largest philanthropic sectors are Mexico and Colombia, according to a study published in 2018. Their foundations’ assets are worth 1% of annual gdp, compared with 4.8% in the United States. Ordinary folk seem less altruistic than in other regions, though the tradition of almsgiving through the church remains strong.