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It's the most wonderful time of the year

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is a popular Christmas song written in triple time in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle. It was recorded and released that year by pop singer Andy Williams for his first Christmas album, The Andy Williams Christmas Album. However, the song was not released as a promotional single by Williams' record label (Columbia Records) that year, as they instead opted to promote his cover of "White Christmas" as the official promo single from the album.

website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFtb3EtjEic

The Twelve Days of Christmas

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is an English Christmas carol that enumerates in the manner of a cumulative song a series of increasingly grand gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas (the twelve days that comprise the Christmas season starting with Christmas Day).The song, published in England in 1780 without music as a chant or rhyme, is thought to be French in origin."The Twelve Days of Christmas" has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 68. The tunes of collected versions vary. The standard tune now associated with it is derived from a 1909 arrangement of a traditional folk melody by English composer Frederic Austin, who first introduced the now familiar prolongation of the verse "five gold rings".

website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyEyMjdD2uk

The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the second day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the third day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fourth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fifth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the sixth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the seventh day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eighth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the ninth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the tenth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

10 Lords a Leaping

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eleventh day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

11 Pipers Piping

10 Lords a Leaping

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the twelfth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

12 Drummers Drumming

11 Pipers Piping

10 Lords a Leaping

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Auld Lang Syne

"Auld Lang Syne" (Scots pronunciation: [ˈɔːl(d) lɑŋˈsəin]: note "s" rather than "z") is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song (Roud # 6294). It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world, its traditional use being to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight. By extension, it is also sung at funerals, graduations and as a farewell or ending to other occasions. The international Boy Scout youth movement, in many countries, uses it to close jamborees and other functions.

Sex and the City

Sex and the City is an American romantic comedy television series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of 94 episodes. Throughout its six-year run, the show received contributions from various producers, writers and directors, perhaps most significantly from Michael Patrick King.

      

Maleficent

Maleficent is a 2014 American dark fantasy film directed by Robert Stromberg from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton and starring Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville. Loosely based on Charles Perrault's original fairy tale and inspired by Walt Disney's 1959 animated film, Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent portrays the story from the perspective of the eponymous antagonist, depicting her conflicted relationship with the princess and king of a corrupt kingdom.

Cain and Abel

In Abrahamic religions, Cain and Abel (Hebrew: הֶבֶל ,קַיִן‎ Qayin, Heḇel; Arabic: قابيل، هابيل‎‎ Qābīl, Hābīl) were two of the sons of Adam and Eve.They worked as food producers for their family; Cain was a crop farmer, and Abel was a shepherd. When they sacrificed to God, he favored Abel's sacrifice over Cain's. Later, Cain killed Abel, committing the first murder. God expelled Cain, but lightened his punishment after Cain complained that his original punishment was too difficult to bear. Cain was the first person born, and Abel was the first to die.

Beowulf

Beowulf (/ˈbeɪoʊwʊlf, ˈbiːoʊ-/; Old English: [ˈbeːo̯ˌwulf]) is an Old English epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative lines. It may be the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of Old English literature. A date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating pertains to the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025.The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to by scholars as the "Beowulf poet".

       

The Decameron

The Decameron (Italian: Decameron [deˈkaːmeron; dekameˈrɔn; dekameˈron] or Decamerone [dekameˈroːne]), subtitled Prince Galehaut (Old Italian: Prencipe Galeotto [ˈprentʃipe ɡaleˈɔtto; ˈprɛntʃipe]), is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. Boccaccio probably conceived the Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. The various tales of love in The Decameron range from the erotic to the tragic. Tales of wit, practical jokes, and life lessons contribute to the mosaic. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence (for example on Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales), it provides a document of life at the time. Written in the vernacular of the Florentine language, it is considered a masterpiece of classical early Italian prose.^[1]

Frost

Frost is the coating or deposit of ice that may form in humid air in cold conditions, usually overnight. In temperate climates it most commonly appears as fragile white crystals or frozen dew drops near the ground, but in cold climates it occurs in a greater variety of forms. Frost is composed of delicate branched patterns of ice crystals formed as the result of fractal process development.

      

Machiavelli

Niccolò Machiavelli (Italian: [nikkoˈlɔ makjaˈvɛlli]; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), or more formally Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, was an Italian Renaissance historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, humanist, and writer.He has often been called the founder of modern political science.He was for many years a senior official in the Florentine Republic, with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He also wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is renowned in the Italian language. He was secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512, when the Medici were out of power. He wrote his most renowned work The Prince (Il Principe) in 1513.

The Prince

The Prince (Italian: Il Principe [il ˈprintʃipe]) is a 16th-century political treatise, by the Italian diplomat and political theorist, Niccolò Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus (About Principalities). However, the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. This was done with the permission of the Medici pope Clement VII, but "long before then, in fact since the first appearance of The Prince in manuscript, controversy had swirled about his writings".

Republic (Plato)

The Republic (Greek: Πολιτεία, Politeia; Latin: De Re Publica is a Socratic dialogue, written by Plato around 380 BCE, concerning justice (δικαιοσύνη), the order and character of the just city-state and the just man. It is Plato's best-known work, and has proven to be one of the world's most influential works of philosophy and political theory, both intellectually and historically.

        

Dystopia

A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος, alternatively, cacotopia, kakotopia, or simply anti-utopia) is a community or society that is undesirable or frightening.It is translated as "not-good place", an antonym of utopia, a term that was coined by Sir Thomas More and figures as the title of his most well-known work, Utopia (the blueprint for an ideal society with minimal crime, violence and poverty). Dystopian societies appear in many artistic works, particularly in stories set in the future. Some of the most famous examples are George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Dystopias are often characterized by dehumanization, totalitarian governments, environmental disaster, or other characteristics associated with a cataclysmic decline in society. Dystopian societies appear in many subgenres of fiction and are often used to draw attention to real-world issues regarding society, environment, politics, economics, religion, psychology, ethics, science, and/or technology. Some authors however also use the term to refer to actually-existing societies, many of which are or have been totalitarian polities, or societies in an advanced state of collapse and disintegration. An attempt to draw together and compare both the fictional and real dystopias has been made in Gregory Claeys's Dystopia: A Natural History (Oxford University Press, 2016).

  

Thomas More

Sir Thomas More (/ˈmɔːr/; 7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated by Roman Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was also a councillor to Henry VIII, and Lord High Chancellor of England from October 1529 to 16 May 1532. He also wrote Utopia, published in 1516, about the political system of an imaginary ideal island nation.

Apocalypse

An apocalypse (Ancient Greek: ἀποκάλυψις apokálypsis, from ἀπό and καλύπτω, literally meaning "an uncovering") is a disclosure of knowledge or revelation. In religious contexts it is usually a disclosure of something hidden, “a vision of heavenly secrets that can make sense of earthly realities".

Hermes

Hermès International S.A., Hermes of Paris, or simply Hermès (French pronunciation: ​[ɛʁmɛs]; ) is a French high fashion luxury goods manufacturer established in 1837, today specializing in leather, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewellery, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, since the 1950s, is of a Duc carriage with horse. Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski is the creative director.

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore, a granite batholith formation in the Black Hills in Keystone, South Dakota, United States. Sculpted by Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum, Mount Rushmore features 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865).The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (2.00 sq mi; 5.17 km²)and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.

    

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servile

servile (adj.) 

late 14c., from Latin servilis "of a slave" (as in Servile Wars, name given to the slave revolts in the late Roman Republic), also "slavish, servile," from servus "slave" (see serve (v.)). Earliest sense was legal, servile work being forbidden on the Sabbath; sense of "cringing, fawning" first recorded c. 1600.

sojourn

sojourn (n.) 

mid-13c., "temporary stay, visit," from Anglo-French sojorn, variant of Old French sejorn, from sejorner "stay or dwell for a time" (see sojourn (v.)).

sojourn (v.) 

late 13c., "stay temporarily, reside for a time; visit;" also "reside permanently, dwell;" from Old French sojorner "stay or dwell for a time," from Vulgar Latin *subdiurnare "to spend the day" (source also of Italian soggiornare), from Latin sub- "under, until" (see sub-) + diurnare "to last long," from diurnus "of a day," from diurnum "day" (see diurnal). Modern French séjourner formed via vowel dissimilation. Related: Sojourned; sojourning.

confront

confront (v.) 

1560s, "to stand in front of," from Middle French confronter (15c.), from Medieval Latin confrontare "assign limits, adjoin," from Latin com "with, together" (see com-) + frontem (nominative frons) "forehead" (see front (n.)). Sense of "to face in defiance or hostility" is late 16c. Related: Confronted; confronting.

volition

volition (n.) 

1610s, from French volition (16c.), from Medieval Latin volitionem (nominative volitio) "will, volition," noun of action from Latin stem (as in volo "I wish") of velle "to wish," from PIE root *wel- (2) "to wish, will" (see will (v.)). Related: Volitional.

antipathy

antipathy (n.) 

c. 1600, from Latin antipathia, from Greek antipatheia, abstract noun from antipathes "opposed in feeling, having opposite feeling; in return for suffering; felt mutually," from anti "against" (see anti-) + root of pathos "feeling" (see pathos).

tenable

tenable (adj.) 

"capable of being held or maintained," 1570s, from Middle French tenable, from Old French (12c.), from tenir "to hold," from Latin tenere "to hold, keep" (see tenet).

austere

austere (adj.) 

early 14c., from Old French austere (Modern French austère) and directly from Latin austerus "dry, harsh, sour, tart," from Greek austeros "bitter, harsh," especially "making the tongue dry" (originally used of fruits, wines), metaphorically "austere, harsh," from PIE *saus- "dry" (see sere (adj.)). Use in English is figurative: "stern, severe, very simple." Related: Austerely.

superfluous

superfluous (adj.) 

early 15c. (earlier superflue, late 14c.), from Latin superfluus "unnecessary," literally "overflowing, running over," from superfluere "to overflow," from super "over" (see super-) + fluere "to flow" (see fluent). Related: Superfluously; superfluousness.

felicitous

felicitous (adj.) 

1726, "blissful, very happy," from felicity + -ous. There is an isolated use of felicitously from 1530s.

halcyon

halcyon (adj.) 

"calm, quiet, peaceful," 1540s, in halcyon dayes (translating Latin alcyonei dies, Greek alkyonides hemerai), 14 days of calm weather at the winter solstice, when a mythical bird (also identified with the kingfisher) was said to breed in a nest floating on calm seas. The name of this fabulous bird is attested in Middle English as alcioun (late 14c.).

The name is from Latin halcyon, alcyon, from Greek halkyon, variant (perhaps a misspelling) of alkyon "kingfisher," a word of unknown origin. The explanation that this is from hals "sea; salt" (see halo-) + kyon "conceiving," present participle of kyein "to conceive," literally "to swell" (see cumulus) probably is ancient folk-etymology to explain a loan-word from a non-Indo-European language. Identified in mythology with Halcyone, daughter of Aeolus, who when widowed threw herself into the sea and became a kingfisher.

iconoclast

iconoclast (n.) 

"breaker or destroyer of images," 1590s, from French iconoclaste and directly from Medieval Latin iconoclastes, from Late Greek eikonoklastes, from eikon (genitive eikonos) "image" + klastes "breaker," from klas- past tense stem of klan "to break" (see clastic).

Originally in reference to those in the Eastern Church in 8c. and 9c. whose mobs of followers destroyed icons and other religious objects on the grounds that they were idols. Applied to 16c.-17c. Protestants in Netherlands who vandalized former Catholic churches on similar grounds. Extended sense of "one who attacks orthodox beliefs or cherished institutions" is first attested 1842.

therapy

therapy (n.) 

1846, "medical treatment of disease," from Modern Latin therapia, from Greek therapeia "curing, healing, service done to the sick; a waiting on, service," from therapeuein "to cure, treat medically," literally "attend, do service, take care of" (see therapeutic).

motivate

motivate (v.) 

1863, "to stimulate toward action," from motive + -ate (2); perhaps modeled on French motiver or German motivieren. Related: Motivated; motivating.

rationalize

rationalize (v.) 

1767, "explain in a rational way, make conformable to reason," from rational + -ize. In the psychological sense of "to give an explanation that conceals true motives" it dates from 1922. Related: Rationalized; rationalizing.

nascent

nascent (adj.) 

1620s, from Latin nascentem (nominative nascens) "arising young, immature," present participle of nasci "to be born" (Old Latin gnasci; see genus). Related: Nascence (1560s); nascency.

phobia

-phobia 

word-forming element meaning "excessive or irrational fear of," from Latin -phobia and directly from Greek -phobia "panic fear of," from phobos "fear" (see phobia). In widespread popular use with native words from c. 1800. Related: -phobic.

phobia (n.) 

"irrational fear, horror, aversion," 1786, perhaps on model of similar use in French, abstracted from compounds in -phobia, from Greek -phobia, from phobos "fear, panic fear, terror, outward show of fear; object of fear or terror," originally "flight" (still the only sense in Homer), but it became the common word for "fear" via the notion of "panic, fright" (compare phobein "put to flight, frighten"), from PIE root *bhegw- "to run" (source also of Lithuanian begu "to flee;" Old Church Slavonic begu "flight," bezati "to flee, run;" Old Norse bekkr "a stream"). Psychological sense attested by 1895.

erudite

erudite (adj.) 

early 15c., "learned, well-instructed," from Latin eruditus "learned, accomplished, well-informed," past participle of erudire "to educate, teach, instruct, polish," literally "to bring out of the rough," from assimilated form of ex "out" (see ex-) + rudis "unskilled, rough, unlearned" (see rude). Related: Eruditely.

vertigo

vertigo (n.) 

early 15c., from Latin vertigo "dizziness, sensation of whirling," originally "a whirling or spinning movement," from vertere "to turn" (see versus).

conductive

conductive (adj.) 

1520s, from conduct + -ive. Physics sense is from 1840. Related: Conductivity (1837).

germane

germane (adj.) 

mid-14c., "having the same parents," same as german (adj.) but directly from Latin germanus instead of via French (compare urbane/urban). Main modern sense of "closely connected, relevant" (c. 1600) derives from use in "Hamlet" Act V, Scene ii: "The phrase would bee more Germaine to the matter: If we could carry Cannon by our sides," which is a figurative use of the word in the now-obsolete loosened sense of "closely related, akin" (late 15c.) in reference to things, not persons.

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glib

glib (adj.) 

1590s, "smooth and slippery," a dialect word, possibly a shortening of obsolete glibbery "slippery," which is perhaps from Low German glibberig "smooth, slippery," from Middle Low German glibberich, from or related to glibber "jelly," all part of the Germanic group of gl- words for "smooth, shining, joyful" (see glad (adj.)). Of words, speakers, etc., from c. 1600. Related: Glibly; glibness.

trend

trend (n.) 

"the way something bends" (coastline, mountain range, etc.), 1777, earlier "round bend of a stream" (1620s), from trend (v.); sense of "general course or direction" is from 1884. Sense of "a prevailing new tendency in popular fashion or culture" is from c. 1950.

trend (v.) 

1590s, "to run or bend in a certain direction" (of rivers, coasts, etc.), from Middle English trenden "to roll about, turn, revolve," from Old English trendan "turn round, revolve, roll," from Proto-Germanic *trandijan (source also of Old English trinde "round lump, ball," Old Frisian trind, Middle Low German trint "round," Middle Low German trent "ring, boundary," Dutch trent "circumference," Danish trind "round"); origin and connections outside Germanic uncertain. Sense of "have a general tendency" (used of events, opinions, etc.) is first recorded 1863, from the nautical sense. Related: Trended; trending.

legerdemain

legerdemain (n.) 

early 15c., "conjuring tricks, sleight of hand," from Middle French léger de main "quick of hand," literally "light of hand." Léger "light" in weight (Old French legier, 12c.) is from Latin levis "light," from PIE root *legwh- "light, having little weight; easy, agile, nimble" (see lever); it is cognate with Spanish ligero, Italian leggiero "light, nimble" (hence also leger line in music). Main "hand" is from Latin manus (see manual (adj.)).

malleable

malleable (adj.) 

late 14c., "capable of being shaped by hammering," from Middle French malleable and directly from Medieval Latin malleabilis, from malleare "to beat with a hammer," from Latin malleus "hammer" (see mallet). Figurative sense, of persons, "capable of being adapted" first recorded 1610s.

homogeneous

homogeneous (adj.) 

1640s, from Medieval Latin homogeneus, from Greek homogenes "of the same kind," from homos "same" (see homo- (1)) + genos "kind, gender, race, stock" (see genus). Earlier in this sense was homogeneal (c. 1600). Related: Homogeneously; homogeneousness.

homogenous (adj.) 

a spelling of homogeneous that represents a common pronunciation, perhaps by influence of homogenize.

fatal

fatal (adj.) 

late 14c., "decreed by fate," also "fraught with fate," from Middle French fatal (14c.) and directly from Latin fatalis "ordained by fate, decreed, destined; destructive, deadly," from fatum (see fate (n.)); sense of "causing or attended with death" in English is from early 15c. Meaning "concerned with or dealing with destiny" is from mid-15c.

passe

passe (adj.) 

1775, from French passé (fem. passée) "past, faded," past participle of passer "to pass" (see pass (v.)). Originally of a woman past the period of greatest beauty.

facets

facet (n.) 

1620s, "one side of a multi-sided body," from French facette (12c., Old French facete), diminutive of face "face, appearance" (see face (n.)). The diamond-cutting sense is the original one. Transferred and figurative use by 1820. Related: Faceted; facets.

procrastinate

procrastinate (v.) 

1580s, a back formation from procrastination or else from Latin procrastinatus, past participle of procrastinare "to put off till tomorrow; defer, delay" (see procrastination). Related: Procrastinated; procrastinating. Earlier verb was procrastine (1540s), from French.

Do not put off till tomorrow what can be put off till day-after-tomorrow just as well. [Mark Twain]

stagnant

stagnant (adj.) 

1660s, from French stagnant (early 17c.), from Latin stagnantem (nominative stagnans), present participle of stagnare "to stagnate" (see stagnate). Related: Stagnancy (1650s); stagnantly.

capitulate

capitulate (v.) 

1570s, "to draw up in chapters" (i.e., under "heads"), in part a back-formation from capitulation, in part from Medieval Latin capitulatus, past participle of capitulare "to draw up in heads or chapters, arrange conditions." Often of terms of surrender, hence meaning "to yield on stipulated terms" (1680s). Related: Capitulated; capitulating.

stigmatize

stigmatize (v.) 

1580s, "to brand or tattoo," from Medieval Latin stigmatizare, from Greek stigmatizein, from stigmat-, stem of stigma (see stigma). Meaning "to blemish" is from 1610s (figurative), 1630s (literal). Related: Stigmatized; stigmatizing.

audacity

audacity (n.) 

mid-15c., from Medieval Latin audacitas "boldness," from Latin audacis genitive of audax (see audacious).

foist

foist (v.) 

1540s, probably from Dutch vuisten "take in hand," from Middle Dutch vuist "fist" (see fist (n.)). Earliest sense was cheating at dice by concealing a loaded one in the palm of the hand with the intention of introducing it into play; general meaning "introduce surreptitiously, work in by a trick" is from 1560s. Related: Foisted; foisting.

tantalize

tantalize (v.) 

1590s, with -ize + Latin Tantalus, from Greek Tantalos, king of Phrygia, son of Zeus, father of Pelops and Niobe, punished in the afterlife (for an offense variously given) by being made to stand in a river up to his chin, under branches laden with fruit, all of which withdrew from his reach whenever he tried to eat or drink. His story was known to Chaucer (c. 1369). Related: Tantalized; tantalizing; tantalizingly; tantalization.

chicanery

chicanery (n.) 

c. 1600, "legal quibbling, sophistry," from French chicanerie "trickery," from Middle French chicaner "to pettifog, quibble" (15c.), which is of unknown origin, perhaps from Middle Low German schikken "to arrange, bring about," or from the name of a golf-like game once played in Languedoc. Thornton's "American Glossary" has shecoonery (1845), which it describes as probably a corruption of chicanery.

docile

docile (adj.) 

late 15c., "easily taught," from Italian or French docile, from Latin docilis "easily taught," from docere "teach" (see doctor). Sense of "obedient, submissive" first recorded 1774.

tacit

tacit (adj.) 

c. 1600, "silent, unspoken," from French tacite and directly from Latin tacitus "that is passed over in silence, done without words, assumed as a matter of course, silent," past participle of tacere "be silent, not speak," from suffixed form of PIE root *tak- "to be silent" (source also of Gothic þahan, Old Norse þegja "to be silent," Old Norse þagna "to grow dumb," Old Saxon thagian, Old High German dagen "to be silent"). The musical instruction tacet is the 3rd person present singular of the Latin verb. Related: Tacitly.

reticent

reticent (adj.) 

1834, from Latin reticentem (nominative reticens), present participle of reticere "be silent" (see reticence).

retort

retort (n.1) 

"act of retorting," c. 1600, from retort (v.).

retort (n.2) 

"vessel used in chemistry for distilling or effecting decomposition by the aid of heat," c. 1600, from Middle French retorte, from Medieval Latin *retorta "a retort, a vessel with a bent neck," literally "a thing bent or twisted," from past participle stem of Latin retorquere (see retort (v.)).

retort (v.) 

1550s, "make return in kind" (especially of an injury), from Old French retort and directly from Latin retortus, past participle of retorquere "turn back, twist back, throw back," from re- "back" (see re-) + torquere "to twist" (see torque (n.)). Applied to exchanges of jest or sarcasm by c. 1600, hence "say or utter sharply and aggressively in reply" (1620s). Related: Retorted; retorting.

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saga

saga (n.) 

1709, an antiquarians' revival to describe the medieval prose narratives of Iceland and Norway, from Old Norse saga "saga, story," cognate with Old English sagu "a saying" (see saw (n.2)). Properly, a narrative composition of Iceland or Norway in the Middle Ages, or one that has their characteristics. Meaning "long, convoluted story" is from 1857.

imperturbable

imperturbable (adj.) 

c. 1500, from Middle French imperturbable (15c.) and directly from Late Latin imperturbabilis "that cannot be disturbed" (Augustine), from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + *perturbabilis, from Latin perturbare "to confuse, disturb" (see perturb). Related: Imperturbably (1785); imperturbability (1831; earlier as a dictionary word); imperturbation.

belated

belated (adj.) 

1610s, "overtaken by night," past participle adjective from belate "to make late, detain," from be- + late. Sense of "coming past due, behind date" is from 1660s. Related: Belatedly.

decrepit

decrepit (adj.) 

mid-15c., from Middle French décrépit (15c.), from Latin decrepitus "very old, infirm," from de- "down" (see de-) + *crepitus, past participle of crepare "to crack, break" (see raven).

vacillates

vacillate (v.) 

1590s, "to sway unsteadily," from Latin vacillatus, past participle of vacillare "sway to and fro; hesitate" (see vacillation). Meaning "to waver between two opinions or courses" is recorded from 1620s. Related: Vacillated; vacillates; vacillating.

opprobrium

opprobrium (n.) 

1680s, from Latin opprobrium "disgrace, infamy, scandal, dishonor," from opprobare (see opprobrious).

Machiavellian

Machiavellian (adj.) 

"cunning, deceitful, unscrupulous," 1570s, from Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), Florentine statesman and author of "Il Principe," a work advising rulers to place advantage above morality. A word of abuse in English well before his works were translated ("The Discourses" in 1636, "The Prince" in 1640), in part because his books were Indexed by the Church, in part because of French attacks on him (such as Gentillet's, translated into English 1602).

unconscionable

unconscionable (adj.) 

1560s, "showing no regard for conscience," from un- (1) + now rare conscionable "conscientious." Related: Unconscionably.

pandemonium

pandemonium (n.) 

1667, Pandæmonium, in "Paradise Lost" the name of the palace built in the middle of Hell, "the high capital of Satan and all his peers," coined by John Milton (1608-1674) from Greek pan- "all" (see pan-) + Late Latin daemonium "evil spirit," from Greek daimonion "inferior divine power," from daimon "lesser god" (see demon).

Transferred sense "place of uproar" is from 1779; that of "wild, lawless confusion" is from 1865. Related: Pandemoniac; pandemoniacal; pandemonian; pandemonic.

staunch

staunch (adj.) 

early 15c., "impervious to water," from Old French estanche "firm, watertight," fem. of estanc "tired, exhausted, wearied, vanquished; water-tight; withered, dried" (Modern French étanche), from Vulgar Latin *stanticare (source also of Spanish estanco "water-tight," Italian stanco "exhausted, weary"), probably from Latin stans (genitive stantis), present participle of stare "to stand," from PIE root *stā- "to stand" (see stet). Sense of "strong, substantial" first recorded mid-15c.; of persons, "standing firm and true to one's principles" from 1620s.

vindicate

vindicate (v.) 

1620s, "to avenge or revenge," from Latin vindicatus, past participle of vindicare "to stake a claim; to liberate; to act as avenger" (see vindication). Meaning "to clear from censure or doubt, by means of demonstration" is recorded from 1630s. Related: Vindicated, vindicating.

flay

flay (v.) 

Old English flean "to skin, to flay" (strong verb, past tense flog, past participle flagen), from Proto-Germanic *flahan (source also of Middle Dutch vlaen, Old High German flahan, Old Norse fla), from PIE root *pl(e)ik-, *pleik- "to tear, rend" (source also of Lithuanian plešiu "to tear"). Related: Flayed; flaying.

demeanor

demeanor (n.) 

late 15c., from obsolete Middle English demean "handle, manage, conduct," later "behave in a certain way" (early 14c.), from Old French demener (11c.) "to guide, conduct; to live, dwell," from de- "completely" (see de-) + mener "to lead, direct," from Latin minari "to threaten," in Late Latin "to drive (a herd of animals);" see menace (n.). Sense in English evolved from notion of "conduct, manage" (oneself). Spelling changed by influence of nouns in -or, -our.

heinous

heinous (adj.) 

late 14c., "hateful, odious, atrocious," from Old French hainos "inconvenient, awkward; hateful, unpleasant; odious" (12c., Modern French haineux), from haine "hatred, hate," from hair "to hate," from Frankish, from Proto-Germanic *hatjan, from PIE *kad- "sorrow, hatred" (see hate (v.)). Related: Heinously; heinousness.

delineation

delineation (n.) 

1560s, native formation from delineate, or else from Latin delineationem (nominative delineatio) "sketch, description," noun of action from past participle stem of delineare (see delineate).

infraction

infraction (n.) 

mid-15c., "the breaking of an agreement," from Old French infraction (13c.) and directly from Latin infractionem (nominative infractio) "a breaking, weakening," noun of action from past participle stem of infringere "to damage, break off, break, bruise," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + frangere "to break" (see fraction). The verb infract (1560s) is archaic.

callous

callous (adj.) 

c. 1400, "hardened," in the physical sense, from Latin callosus "thick-skinned," from callus, callum "hard skin" (see callus). The figurative sense of "unfeeling" appeared in English by 1670s. Related: Callously; callousness.

vituperation

vituperation (n.) 

mid-15c., but rare before early 19c., from Latin vituperationem (nominative vituperatio) "blame, a blaming, censuring," from past participle stem of vituperare "disparage, find fault with," from vitiperos "having faults," from vitium "fault, defect" (see vice (n.1)) + parare "prepare, provide, procure" (see pare). Vituperatio was stronger than either Latin reprehensio or Modern English vituperation.

redress

redress (v.) 

mid-14c., "to correct, reform;" late 14c., "restore, put right" (a wrong, error, offense); "repair; relieve; improve; amend," from Old French redrecier "reform, restore, rebuild" (Modern French redresser), from re- "again" (see re-) + drecier "to straighten, arrange" (see dress (v.)). Formerly used in many more senses than currently. Related: Redressed; redressing.

turpitude

turpitude (n.) 

"depravity, infamy," late 15c., from Middle French turpitude (early 15c.), from Latin turpitudinem (nominative turpitudo) "baseness," from turpis "vile, physically ugly, base, unsightly," figuratively "morally ugly, scandalous, shameful," of unknown origin. Klein suggests perhaps originally "what one turns away from" (compare Latin trepit "he turns").