Daily Content Archive

(as of Thursday, February 13, 2020)
Word of the Day

unnameable

Definition:(adjective) Too sacred to be uttered.
Synonyms:ineffable, unspeakable, unutterable
Usage: The deliberate enunciation of the ancient, unnameable runes shocked the holy men devoted to guarding the idol.
Daily Grammar Lesson

Using "Could" to Ask for Permission

When we ask someone for permission to do something, it is often considered more polite to use "could" instead of "can." However, we can only make this substitution in what situation? More...
Article of the Day

The Uraeus

The uraeus is the stylized upright form of an Egyptian spitting cobra that often adorned the headdresses of the pharaohs as a symbol of divine authority. It represented one of the earliest Egyptian deities, Wadjet, and was believed to protect the pharaohs by spitting her fire at their enemies. According to myth, Isis made the first uraeus from the dust of the earth and the spittle of the sun god. Upon the unification of Egypt, the uraeus was joined with what other symbol? More...
This Day in History

The Massacre of Glencoe (1692)

Following the deposition of King James II in 1689 and the accession of William III, some Scottish clans fought—and failed—to restore James to the throne. In 1691, William offered to pardon all Highland clans that took an oath of allegiance to him before January 1, 1692. The MacDonald clan of Glencoe missed the deadline by six days, and for this they paid with their lives. The unsuspecting MacDonalds were massacred in their homes by soldiers that had arrived seeking shelter how many days earlier? More...
Today's Birthday

Sir Joseph Banks (1743)

Banks was a British naturalist, botanist, and patron of the sciences. After inheriting a large fortune in his early 20s, he began traveling extensively, collecting plant and natural history specimens. He outfitted and accompanied James Cook's voyage around the world, during which time he collected many biological specimens that had never before been classified. His herbarium, one of the most important in existence, and library are now at the British Museum. What plant genus was named after him? More...
Quotation of the Day
I realized that ritual will always mean throwing away something; destroying our corn or wine upon the altar of our gods.

Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936)

Idiom of the Day

the honest truth

The sincere, unadulterated truth. More...
Today's Holiday

Parentalia (2024)

This was an ancient Roman festival held in honor of the manes, or souls of the dead—in particular, deceased relatives. It began a season for remembering the dead, which ended with the Feralia on February 21. This week was a quiet, serious occasion, without the rowdiness that characterized other Roman festivals. Everything, including the temples, closed down, and people decorated graves with flowers and left food—sometimes elaborate banquets—in the cemeteries in the belief that it would be eaten by the spirits of the deceased. More...
Word Trivia

Today's topic: security

hostage - First referred to the state of someone handed over as a pledge or security (for the fulfillment of an undertaking). More...

policy - Meaning "insurance document," it is from a French word meaning "certificate, contract," from an earlier Latin word meaning "a receipt or security for money paid." More...

impignorate, pignorate - To impignorate or pignorate means to put up as security or to pawn. More...

wage, wager - Wage once meant "pledge, security" and wager was defined as "solemn pledge" or "undertaking," from French wagier, "to pledge." More...

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