Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, August 1, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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vicinity
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbial ObjectivesAdverbial nouns are nouns or noun phrases that function grammatically as adverbs to modify verbs and certain adjectives. They are sometimes referred to as "adverbial objectives" because they hold a position normally occupied by a verb's direct object, yet they act as an adverb to modify the verb with an aspect of time, distance, weight, age, or monetary value. What is the adverbial objective in the following sentence? "This wine is aged 25 years." More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 MisanthropyMisanthropy is a general dislike or distrust of the human species. Typically motivated by social alienation or feelings of contempt for society's prevailing characteristics, misanthropes express a dislike for humanity as a whole, but can have normal relationships with some individuals. Overt expressions of misanthropy can be attributed to characters throughout literature. What existentialist philosopher and writer famously wrote that "hell is other people" in his play No Exit? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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.svg.png) The Swiss Confederation Is Formed (1291)Despite its ethnic and religious diversity, Switzerland has maintained one of the world's oldest democracies for more than 700 years. Concerned about the encroaching Habsburg Empire, the three mountain communes of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden formed a defensive league in 1291, laying the foundations of the Swiss Confederation. Today, Switzerland is well known for its neutrality and reluctance to join the European Union. In 2002, it became one of the last nations to do what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (10 BCE)The nephew of Tiberius, Claudius became the Roman emperor unexpectedly, after Caligula was murdered. Sickly, unattractive, and scholarly, he tended to disfavor the upper classes and cater to the freedmen. He expanded the frontiers, invading Britain in 43 CE. He spent lavishly on public works and extended Roman citizenship throughout the empire. Having executed his scheming third wife, he married his niece, who then likely poisoned him. What modern diagnoses might explain his lifelong ill health? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It wouldn't do for us to have all our dreams fulfilled. We would be as good as dead if we had nothing left to dream about.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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poetry in motion— Something that is very elegant, graceful, and/or beautiful to observe, especially dance or the performing arts. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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Swiss National Day (2025)This nationwide celebration of the Swiss Confederation is observed with torchlight processions, fireworks, shooting contests, and folkloric events. The day commemorates the occasion in 1291 when representatives of the three original cantons of Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden met on the Rutli meadow and swore an oath of alliance and mutual defense to lay the foundations of the Confederation. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: socialcommunity - It can refer to group of animals or plants living together and was first used to refer to a "body of commons" or a social or political entity. More... party - Latin partitum, "part, side," became party, with the senses "political group" and, in the 18th century, "social gathering." More... mores, anomie - Mores is the Latin plural of mor/mos and means "acquired customs and manners"; social and moral conventions are mores, and the lack of these is anomie. More... sociable, social, society - Sociable, social, society, etc. originate in Latin socius, "companion, fellow," or "colleague." More... | |