Daily Content Archive

(as of Sunday, March 25, 2018)
Word of the Day

gentility

Definition:(noun) Elegance by virtue of fineness of manner and expression.
Synonyms:breeding, genteelness
Usage: She was ladylike, too, after the manner of the feminine gentility of those days; characterized by a certain state and dignity, rather than by the delicate...grace which is now recognized as its indication.
Daily Grammar Lesson

Using Gerunds

Because they act like nouns, gerunds can be used as the subject of a sentence, the subject complement of the linking verb "be," the object of a preposition, or the object of a verb. They can also be used to form what? More...
Article of the Day

Fashion in the 15th Century

Fashion in 15th-century Europe was characterized by a series of extremes and extravagances. As Europe continued to become more prosperous, the urban middle class, including skilled workers, began to wear more complex clothes that followed the fashions set by the elite, ranging from voluminous gowns—called houppelandes—with sweeping, floor-length sleeves to draped, jeweled, and feathered hats, hoods, and other headdresses. What was the fashion trend known as slashing? More...
This Day in History

John Lennon and Yoko Ono Hold Their First Bed-In for Peace (1969)

Five days after John Lennon of the Beatles married the Japanese avant-garde artist Yoko Ono, the couple held the first of two week-long Bed-Ins for Peace as a non-violent way of protesting war and promoting peace. For the first Bed-In, the couple invited members of the press into their Amsterdam hotel room and then sat in bed and talked about peace. Months later, they held their second Bed-In in Montreal. What hit song did they record during the second Bed-In? More...
Today's Birthday

Saint Catherine of Siena (1347)

Born in Siena, Italy, as Caterina Benincasa, Catherine claimed to have mystic visions beginning in early childhood. In 1370, in response to a vision, she began sending letters to prominent figures. She later traveled to Avignon and influenced Pope Gregory XI to end the "Babylonian captivity" of the papacy and return to Rome. Although she never learned to write, she dictated hundreds of letters and some notable mystic works. Catherine is believed to have suffered from what condition? More...
Quotation of the Day
Let a fool be made serviceable according to his folly.

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)

Idiom of the Day

win (something) in a walk

To win (something) easily, handily, or without much or any effort. More...
Today's Holiday

Annunciation of the Lord (2024)

This day celebrates the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary announcing that she was to become the mother of Jesus. In England, the Feast of the Annunciation is commonly called Lady Day. Greek Orthodox Christians refer to this day as the Annunciation of the Theotokos. In Sweden it was called Varfrudagen, "Our Lady's Day." Common pronunciation turned it into Vaffeldagen, or "Waffle Day." This is the source of heart-shaped waffle irons: the waffles commemorate the heart of the Virgin Mary. More...
Word Trivia

Today's topic: strive

compete - Comes from Latin competere, "come together," but in later Latin, it developed the sense "strive together," which was the basis for the English term. More...

repugn, repugnant - Repugn means "to strive against" or "be contradictory or inconsistent," giving us repugnant. More...

strive - Seems to be from Old French estriver, "quarrel, strive." More...

win - Its Germanic base gave it its first meaning, "to labor, strive, work." More...

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