Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, August 1, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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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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 Sargon of AkkadSargon of Akkad was a 24th-century BCE Mesopotamian king who established one of the first multiethnic and centrally ruled empires in history. His dynasty lasted approximately 160 years, and his vast territory extended from Elam to the Mediterranean Sea and included Mesopotamia, parts of modern-day Iran, Syria, and possibly portions of the Arabian Peninsula. An account of Sargon's early childhood from his purported autobiography closely resembles that of what religious figure? 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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 One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever.Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) | |
| 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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 Trinidad and Tobago Emancipation Day (2022)Since 1985, August 1 has been celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago as Emancipation Day, rather than Columbus Discovery Day, as in former years. Slavery was abolished in 1833 throughout the British Empire, and eventually slaves in the colony of Trinidad and Tobago were freed. The day begins with an all-night vigil and includes religious services, cultural events, processions past historic landmarks, addresses by dignitaries, and an evening of shows with a torchlight procession to the National Stadium. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: noonhigh noon - Exactly 12 noon. More... luncheon - An extension of the word lunch, based on nuncheon, "a drink taken at noon." More... noon - Derived from the Latin word nona, "ninth," as it originally meant the ninth hour after sunrise, about 3 p.m. More... post meridiem - The expansion of p.m., from Latin, meaning "after noon" (1647). More... | |