Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, May 25, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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ebullience
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Perfective and Imperfective AspectThe perfective aspect highlights actions, states, or events as a whole. The imperfective aspect is used when we focus on the internal structures of an action. What is the continuous aspect? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 ZaalZaal is a legendary warrior in the Persian Shahnameh, or Book of Kings. Born an albino, he is abandoned on a mountain, where he is found by a giant phoenix-like bird, the Simurgh, that takes him to her nest and raises him. Years later, his father—a king—reclaims him. The Simurgh is heartbroken at Zaal's departure and gives him three feathers for protection. He marries a princess descended from an evil king and fathers the great Persian hero Rostam. When does Zaal use the feathers? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Edict of Worms Declares Martin Luther an Outlaw and Heretic (1521)The Diet of Worms was an assembly opened by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to deal with the question of Martin Luther's recalcitrant behavior. Luther was asked to retract his teachings condemned by the pope, but he refused. Various theologians argued with him for a week, but he would not change his position. On May 25, Luther was formally declared an outlaw in the Edict of Worms, and the lines of the Reformation were thereby hardened. Who hid Luther to protect him from the edict's enforcers? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803)Emerson was a poet and essayist who established himself as a leading spokesman for transcendentalism. He developed his own philosophy combining German idealism, Neo-Platonism, and Asian mysticism, and dominated the American lecture circuit of the 1830s with his winter lecture tours, which included the notable essays "The Over-Soul" and "Self-Reliance." Although he published many volumes of essays and poetry, his lectures provided most of his income. What famous philosopher was Emerson's godson? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Compromise, n.: Such an adjustment of conflicting interests as gives each adversary the satisfaction of thinking he has got what he ought not to have, and is deprived of nothing except what was justly his due.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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talk to the hand— A rude interjection meant to interrupt and dismiss what another person is saying. (Sometimes written or spoken in longer forms, such as, "talk to the hand, because the face isn't listening," or the like.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 African Liberation Day (2022)This day can be traced back to April 15, 1958, when the Conference of Independent African States was held in Accra, Ghana. On May 25, 1963, 31 independent African countries met to form the Organisation of African Unity, changing the name and the date of what is now African Liberation Day. In 1999, the group reorganized into the African Union. Today, observances include marches, parades, rallies, and conferences, focusing on celebrating freedom from colonialism, educating people about the progress of the African liberation movement, and speaking out against oppression. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: musical instrumentpiano word - One in which all of its letters can be played as notes on a musical instrument (e.g. cabbage). More... cord, chord - Cord comes from Greek khorde, "gut, string of a musical instrument," and chord is a refashioning of cord. More... sweet potato - An informal name for the ocarina, a musical instrument. More... tone color - The same as timbre, the quality of sound that distinguishes one voice or musical instrument from another. More... | |