倫倫的小blog

utopia    /juˈtoʊ‧pi‧ə/

n.烏托邦

 etymology:  by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island society in the south Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South America.  Greek: οὐ ("not") and τόπος ("place") and means "no-place", and strictly describes any non-existent society 'described in considerable detail'.

  utopia <> dystopia

  utopian adj.烏托邦的

   ex. Taiwan has been considered as a utopia for gay marriage in Asia.

Book Discussion | Utopia

 Utopia is Dystopia

utter   /ˈʌtɚ/

ut(=out)-er

adj.徹底的 [ Complete; absolute. ]

  ex. This play is in utter amazement.

v.發出（聲音等） [to send forth as a sound]

  ex. It is regrettable that a rising NBA star would utter such trash talk.

  ex. In the classroom, the students wrote down the words he uttered.

  ex. Amid the chaos, Trump looked at Vega and uttered one word: 「No.」 Washington PostJul 20, 2018

etymology :Old English, comparative adjective from ut (out) 

vaccine    /ˈvæksin/

vacc( L. vacca = cow )-ine( suffix xx的延伸)

n.疫苗

  note: 因為早期使用 cowpox virus (牛痘, 天花病毒的近親)來對抗 smallpox.

  etymology: 1800, used by British physician Edward Jenner (1749-1823) for the technique he devised of preventing smallpox by injecting people with the cowpox virus (variolae vaccinae).  vacca "cow," a word of uncertain origin.

  vaccinate

  v.注射疫苗 [Treat with a vaccine to produce immunity against a disease]

  ex. The government urges people to get vaccinated.

  synonym:

  inoculate     /ɪnˋɑkjə͵let/

  in-ocul( L. = bud)-ate ==> to graft a bud

  v.注射疫苗 ( 接芽 -- old meaning)

  (M-W word of the day)

How do vaccines work? - Kelwalin Dhanasarnsombut

vacillate    /ˋvæs!͵et/

vacil( = sway)-ate

v.動搖；猶豫 [waver between different opinions or actions; be indecisive]

  ex. Most of time, she vacillates from one brand to another brand, and cannot make the final decision.

  ex. Many young scientists are vacillating between an academic position and lucrative industrial job.

note: vacillate implies prolonged hesitation from inability to reach a firm decision.

note: oscillate  v.振盪

vacuous    /ˈvækjʊǝs/

vac(empty)-u-ous

adj.空洞的; 無意義的 [Having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless]

  ex. Instead of continuing to complain about President Donald Trump's nonsensical, vacuous policies, why don't the nation's Democrats put forth some positive ideas, like convening some sort of North American Migration Conference in Washington, D.C.? Seattle TimesJun 26, 2018

(M-W word of the day) 

note: vacuum, evacuate, vacation, void 具有相同的來源 -- vac = empty.

vagary    /ˋvegərɪ/

vag( to wander, L. vagari)-ary

n.怪異的行為 [ an erratic, unpredictable, or extravagant manifestation, action, or notion ] 

  ex. the vagaries of the weather. the vagaries of voter preferences.

note: 通常使用複數, vagaries, 強調在難以預測的變化

note: vagabond -- 浪人劍客(漫畫)

(M-W word of the day)  

vagrant    /ˋvegrənt/

vag(to wander)-rant

n.流浪者 [a person who has no home or job and who moves from place to place]

  ex. After it closed, anything valuable was stolen or destroyed and the building became a popular spot for squatters, vagrants and urban explorers. (link)

   note: Vagrant is an open-source software product for building and maintaining portable virtual software development environments, e.g. for VirtualBox, Hyper-V, Docker containers, VMware.

adj. [wandering about from place to place usually with no means of support]

vagrancy    /ˋvegrənsɪ/

vag(to wander)-rancy

n. [The state of living as a vagrant; homelessness.]

  ex. He noted that vagrancy laws at the time made it so that blacks were often convicted of minor offenses, such as loitering, and sentenced to years of hard labor in the fields. (link)

vague    /veg/

vag(to wander)-ue

adj.模糊不清的 [not clearly stated, described, or explained, or not clearly seen or felt]

   ex. a vague memory.

   ex. In April, the high court ruled that language describing a 「crime of violence」 in immigration law is unconstitutionally vague. (link)
 

vain    /ven/

adj.徒然的 [unsuccessful or useless; failing to achieve a purpose]

  ex. Beijing is trying to recruit support, so far in vain, from Europe, South Korea and other governments. (Washington TimesJul 16, 2018)

adj.愛虛榮的 [too proud of yourself, esp. in your appearance or achievements]

  ex. She was vain about her clothes.

  note: first recorded 1690s. referring to that one's appearance or achievement is not great, but one is too proud of it.

note: vein n. 靜脈/ven/

valediction    /͵væləˋdɪkʃən/

vale(L. goodbye)-dict(say)-ion

n. [the act of saying goodbye, especially formally, or a formal speech in which someone says goodbye]

  ex. Cassini will transmit data to Earth to the very end, squeezing out the last drips of science as a valediction for one of NASA's greatest missions. (link)

  note: farewell

valedictory    /͵væləˋdɪktərɪ/

adj. [relating to saying goodbye, especially formally]

  ex. a valedictory speech.

  (M-W)