Definition: (noun) Identifying word or words by which someone or something is called and classified or distinguished from others.
Synonyms: designation, denomination.
Usage: When the adventurers … met, in the center of the forests, immense plains, covered with rich verdure or rank grasses, they naturally gave them the appellation of meadows.
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Source: The Free Dictionary
In ancient Athens, ostracism was a method of temporarily banishing a public figure. Each year, the assembly took a preliminary vote to decide whether a vote of ostracism should be held. If a majority approved holding an ostracism, voters would put into an urn a piece of pottery—called an ostrakon—marked with the name of a person they wished to be ostracized. If at least 6,000 votes were cast, the person named on the most ostraka was exiled. How long did the exile last? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (adjective) Excessively or hypocritically pious.
Synonyms: holier-than-thou, pharisaic, sanctimonious, pietistic.
Usage: My self-righteous neighbor Mary makes herself out to be a paragon of virtue and chastity, but I know that she has some dirty little secrets of her own.
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Source: The Free Dictionary
One of the biggest holidays of the year in Korea, Sol (or Seollal), the Lunar New Year, is celebrated largely by rural people and is a national holiday. On Sol, tradition calls for families to gather in their best clothes and for children to bow to parents and grandparents to reaffirm family ties. A soup made of rice dumplings called duggook is always served. It is customary to play yut, a game played with wooden blocks and a game board, and young girls bounce on a see-saw standing up. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The expression “perpetual motion” arose in connection to the quest for a mechanism that, once set in motion, would continue to do useful work without an external source of energy. A mechanism using this type of motion, now called perpetual motion of the first kind, would clearly violate the now firmly established principle of conservation of energy. Still, this fact has not deterred inventors throughout history from proposing hypothetical perpetual motion machines. What are some of them? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (adjective) Practicing complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages.
Synonyms: dry.
Usage: I happen to be teetotal, so I will forgo the wine being served with dinner.
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Source: The Free Dictionary
The anniversary of James W. Marshall‘s discovery of gold in 1848 while overseeing the construction of a sawmill near Coloma, California, is commemorated with an annual celebration at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park on the weekend nearest January 24. An employee of John A. Sutter, a wealthy entrepreneur, Marshall noticed flakes of gold in the streambed as he was inspecting work on the mill. Marshall’s cabin is now part of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, and Sutter’s home is part of a museum and park in Sacramento. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Rust Belt is an economic region in the northeast quadrant of the US, including the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The term gained wide use in the 1970s, as the once dominant industrial region became noted for the abandonment of factories and unemployment. Although some Rust Belt cities have improved after the expansion of non-manufacturing industries, others have been unable to do so. What US city has lost more than half of its population in recent decades? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) A small piece of anything (especially a piece that has been snipped off).
Synonyms: piece, scrap, fragment, part, particle, snatch, shred.
Usage: She went round the farm-garden, nibbling off snippets of all the different sorts of herbs that are used for stuffing roast duck.
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Source: The Free Dictionary
Although almost nothing is known of his life or works, Greek tradition holds that Thespis was a poet often considered the “inventor of tragedy.” According to Themistius, Aristotle said that tragedy in its earliest stage was entirely choral until Thespis introduced the prologue and speeches. Thespis, according to Themistius’s account, was thus the first “actor.” He was also the first recorded winner of a prize for tragedy at the Great Dionysia drama festival in what year? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary