Bill W

The adjective "chivalrous" originated in Middle English (1150-1500) around the 14th century from the Old French words chevalier, meaning "knight", and chevalereux, meaning "knightly", and chevalerie ("knighthood" or "horse soldiery"). it's ultimately from the Latin caballus (horse), reflecting the medieval knight's reliance on a horse. The word's meaning evolved from the literal "pertaining to knights" to the associated virtues of courage, courtesy, and honor, later revived by Romantic writers. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the adjective "chivalrous" was first used in English around 1374 by Geoffrey Chaucer, author of "The Canterbury Tales". Examples of "chivalrous" used in a sentence: "That doesn't means you can't be brave, strong and chivalrous." "Henry was a chivalrous man at heart, and he loved the chance to save me." "Now that I know him and he's my husband, he's so chivalrous." "Oh, so now you're some sort of chivalrous guy again?" "You are such an enigma, one minute all cocky and brash, the next formal and chivalrous." "He was too chivalrous to abandon his opponent in an apparent extremity." "Since it's not very chivalrous to keep referring to him as an Idiot, ASK IDIOT ABOUT HIMSELF." "In 1799 Scott translated Goethe's play "Götz von Berlichingen mit der eisernen Hand", the tale of a chivalrous medieval German knight."

The word disingenuous is a 17th century English formation from the prefix dis- ("not") and the word ingenuous. Ingenuous, in turn, comes from the Latin ingenui, meaning "freeborn". The Romans linked "freeborn" to positive qualities like honesty and straightforwardness, so disingenuous literally means "not honest" or "dishonest," referring to someone who lacks candor or frankness. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the adjective "disingenuous" was first used in 1648. The OED's earliest evidence comes from the writings of Joseph Beaumont, an English poet and college head. Examples of "disingenuous" used in a sentence: "I thought both men made some good points and both said some evasive, disingenuous things." "To single out Moore in an age of mind-numbing folksiness in politics is disingenuous." "So to say that we're disingenuous in standing behind the defense is absolutely wrong." "The press's coverage of health care and accessibility issues is disingenuous at best." "The governor's objections are disingenuous at best." "This is why we are urging stockholders to avoid being misled by what amounts to a contradictory and disingenuous ploy."

Thanks, Danilo, I appreciate your kind comments. Yes, there will be a large gathering for Christmas and an even larger gathering for the New Year. Let's hope it all goes as planned. 🤞 🙏

The etymology of "in memoriam" is rooted in Latin, which means "in memory of". It is a Latin phrase consisting of the preposition in ("in") and the accusative form of memoria ("memory"), which comes from the word memor meaning "mindful" or "remembering". It also gives us English words like memory, memorial, commemorate, and mourn. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the phrase in memoriam was first used in English before 1654, in the writings of Independent minister William Strong. While used earlier, the phrase gained significant popularity in the 19th century, in part due to Alfred, Lord Tennyson's famous 1850 poem, In Memoriam A.H.H., written to mourn his friend Arthur Henry Hallam. Examples of "in memoriam" used in a sentence: "They held a concert in memoriam of the fallen soldiers." "The statue was erected in memoriam of the local hero." "The park was built in memoriam to honor the brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives for our country." "This scholarship is established in memoriam of Dr. Sarah Thompson, a renowned scientist who made significant contributions to her field." "After the event, a special broadcast was aired in memoriam of the television personality who had passed away." "School was closed today in memoriam of the President and will be closed tomorrow too, for his funeral."

Good for you @Laurentian90 and welcome back. If you start to get down and need someone to talk to, just reach out to one of the posters and authors on this site. I'm sure they'll be open to listening and seeing what they can do to help. We're a large and caring community.

Thanks you for your concern and your suggestions. Believe me, I'm considering all options.

Sorry, weinerdog. I responded to your second comment first and absent mindedly skipped over this one. Now, to answer you're questions. Yes, even though this wasn't a question, I think everyone is waiting to see if they won any money on the various lottery tickets. 💲 Yes, various women, my mom, aunts, wives, and sisters-in-law have all made similar comments that I've heard, especially with really large gatherings. i guess some guys never made it past the Neanderthal stage. 😞 And finally, I'm afraid I'm not a skinwalker and I'm not immortal. I working hard to cling to whatever I have left to live, be it days, months, years or possibly even decades, although I doubt that. I'll just do what I can while I'm still around. 😉

Anton, that you for your understanding and consideration right now. I appreciate it very much. Just to let you know, I have been reaching out concerning my most significant problem, which although it isn't life-threatening, it comes with a great deal of pain that we've (the doctors and I) haven't been able to control with a wide array of drugs, other remedies, and different techniques. It's just that the pain comes in waves and is often severe enough that I'm unable to focus, think, or do basic tasks like eating (do to the pain caused when opening my mouth and chewing) and sleeping (since I often wake up due to a sudden wave of pain after I do fall asleep). I appreciate you well-wishes, and I love your dreamcatcher. I have one hanging on the wall in three different rooms of my house. 🤞

Thank you for reminding everyone, weinerdog, that people are finding rare treasures all the time, it's just that Devin's family, which for all intents and purposes now includes Mac. The only exception is that their luck with finding these treasures isn't limited to just a one-time occasion. Devin and Mac are now multitasking in elusive treasure treasure finds of different sorts and different sources.

Yes, Christmas for many families is a wonderful time and Mac and Devin's family and friends are no exception. 🎅

Thanks, Lee, and you won't have to wait very long to find out about all of those things. 😁 You'll find out what gifts Lonny and Clint brought for everyone, and you'll find out what gifts they gave them. You'll also find out about the lottery tickets, and hopefully I'll be able to post that chapter next week. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well. 🤞

Thanks, drs, and I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter.

Chapter 22 – Christmas Cheer Mom woke us up so we could have breakfast with her and Dad before they left for work, and then we got our things ready to take with us to the cabin. We both carried our duffle bags down to the SUV, and then we went back to get the Tupperware container with the baseball cards and the two boards, so we could show them to Ma and Pa. “Are you still planning on stopping at the mall so we can do the rest of our Christmas shopping before we go to the cabin?”

The word "arouse" comes from an Old French word meaning "to stir up" and was adopted into English in the mid-15th century, initially as a hawking term for making game rise from cover. It formed by adding the prefix "a-" to the existing verb "rouse," on the model of pairs like "rise" and "arise" or "wake" and "awake". The prefix "a-" in this context comes from Old English, meaning "on" or "in". The verb arouse was first used in English around the 1590s, with the earliest known evidence appearing in the writings of William Shakespeare before 1616. Examples of "arouse" used in a sentence: "Walking towards her, I tried to arouse her, but she would not wake." "The physical parts always feel very real to me, and arouse me." "I don't want to arouse the neighbors' curiosity" "The report aroused a great deal of public interest." "The husky sound of her voice could always arouse him." "Their proposal is certain to arouse the opposition."

The word "disheveled" comes from the Old French verb descheveler, meaning "to disarrange the hair". It's formed from the prefix des- (meaning "apart" or "away") and the word chevel, meaning "hair" (from the Latin capillus). The original sense in Middle English was "bare-headed" or with disordered hair, with the more general meaning of disordered dress developing later. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the adjective dishevelled was first used in English in the Middle English period, with the earliest evidence for its use dating back to 1493. The word may have entered English as a partial translation of the Anglo-French word deschevelé in the 14th century. Example of "disheveled" used in a sentence: "She twirled a strand of her long hair and smirked at my disheveled appearance." "He ran a hand through his disheveled hair and cleared his throat, looking faintly embarrassed." "In addition, they have a rough coat that gives them a disheveled appearance." "His wrinkled suit gave him a disheveled appearance." "What's up with the beard, nose ring and disheveled hair?" "The glass front door of the business was smashed and a desk was found disheveled."

The word "fresco" comes from the Italian word fresco, meaning "fresh", which itself derives from a German word related to the English word "fresh". In art, this refers to dipingere a fresco, or painting on a "fresh", still-wet coating of lime plaster, a technique used for creating durable murals. The term entered English in the 1590s and is also seen in the related phrase al fresco, meaning "outdoors" or "in the open air". According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the noun fresco was first used in English in 1598. The earliest citation is from a translation by physician Richard Haydocke. It appeared in the phrase "in fresco" to describe the painting technique of working on fresh, wet plaster. The OED also provides a later date for the first use of fresco as a verb, noting the earliest evidence is from 1849. According to the OED, the word "al fresco" was first used in English in the mid-1700s, with its earliest recorded instance appearing in a 1732 publication called the Whitehall Evening Post. The term "al fresco" means "outside" or "in the fresh air" and is usually related to dining. Examples of "fresco" used in a sentence: "Thus, the art of fresco is necessarily piecemeal." "It has beautiful frescoes and an enormous sense of the past." "Presumably, stucco decoration was more resistant to steam than fresco." "The miracle forms the subject of a celebrated fresco by Raphael in the Vatican." "There were no wall frescoes in here, because the walls of the most noble room in the house would have been hung with silk." "St Sophia's is a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of Ukraine's most significant cultural and religious monuments, with spectacular 11th Century mosaics and frescoes." Examples of "al fresco" used in English: "This makes them great for using on tables when you're dining al fresco." "So grab your sunglasses and dine al fresco this weekend!" "It became a must for tennis players and fans who dined al fresco in the shade of its trees. "They look great when put outside and can be used to line a walkway, hung on fence posts to add a little light, or placed on tables for al fresco dining." "The government hopes the changes will also make it easier to open new bars in disused shops, as well as promote outdoor drinking, al fresco dining and live performances."

That's a lot of gas to last him throughout the winter. It would be cheaper just to take a trailer filled with beans, or a very long extension cord.

But then he'd have to have a vehicle to make runs to the gas (petrol) station.

Steve, I'm sure a tribe in the Amazon would be willing to take you in for the winter, but you'd have to get your internet from a satellite service. Oh, and don't forget to pack a long extension cord to hook up to the nearest electrical outlet.

The word "disseminate" comes from the Latin verb dissēmināre, meaning "to scatter seeds" or "to spread abroad". It combines the prefix dis- meaning "in every direction" with seminare, "to plant, propagate," which is derived from semen, the Latin word for "seed". The word entered English around the mid-15th century to describe the act of scattering something, like seeds, for growth and propagation. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the verb disseminate was first used in English in the early 1600s, with the earliest evidence from 1603, appearing in a translation by Philemon Holland. The difference between the words disseminate and distribute is as follows: disseminate means to widely spread or broadcast information, ideas, or knowledge, often with the goal of gaining awareness and uptake, like the sowing of seeds. Distribute means to issue or share physical items or abstract content to many people with a focus on the efficient delivery of products to their users. Examples of "disseminate" in a sentence: "That's our job, is to disseminate information to the public." "Websites are not only used to disseminate information and propaganda." "They started to disseminate what they had learned to others." "It was my job to disseminate research findings about colorectal cancer." "Since, moreover, it is believed that at least five species of Glossina are carriers of nagana, it may well be that all tsetse-flies can disseminate both nagana and sleeping sickness."

Some male orb-weaver spiders castrate themselves by detaching their penis-like pedipalps after mating. A male spider has two sperm-transferring organs called pedipalps, and he often leaves one or both of them behind in the female's reproductive tract to serve as a "genital plug". The practice, sometimes called the "eunuch phenomenon," provides several advantages for the male and his offspring: Continued insemination: In certain species, the detached pedipalp continues to transfer sperm into the female for an extended period, maximizing the male's paternity. Prevention of remarriage: The severed palp or parts of it can effectively block the female's reproductive opening, preventing her from mating again with rival males. Enhanced defense: Some "eunuch" males who survive the mating process become more agile and aggressive fighters without the weight of their pedipalps. This helps them fend off other males and defend the female to protect his investment. Increased mating success: In some cases, the male will sever his own pedipalp to end copulation with a cannibalistic female and escape being eaten. A high-risk mating strategy This "gloves-off" strategy is not without peril. In many orb-weaver species, males risk being eaten by the much larger female during or after copulation. The detachable pedipalps, which are used only for mating, allow the male to invest completely in a single reproductive event, even if it means sacrificing his body. It is important to remember that not all orb-weaver species engage in this extreme behavior. Mating strategies and outcomes vary greatly across the many types of spiders.

Yikes! Do it grow a new one or is that it for the sex?

Proponent comes from Latin proponere "put forth, set forth, lay out, display, expose to view," figuratively "set before the mind; resolve; intend, design," from pro "before" + ponere "to put". According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the word "proponent" was first used in English in 1588 in the writings of Abraham Fraunce, a poet and lawyer. Example of "proponent" in a sentence: "She is the most high-profile proponent of a theory that video games have the power to heal." "Is becoming an Eagle Scout a waste of time and energy? Not at all, say its proponents." "He was a leading proponent of a rational, sensible approach." "There, he was an early proponent of the armed attack helicopter." "The mayor is a strong proponent of recycling."

Atrocious comes from Latin atrox, atroc- ‘fierce, savage, or cruel’ + the suffix "-ious". According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest evidence for the word "atrocious" in English dates to 1669 in the writings of Andrew Honyman. Another source notes had an earlier date of 1604, but there was no source material to tie it to.. Examples of "atrocious" used in a sentence: "In practice, this meant all but the most atrocious offenses got mere wrist slaps." "The people who are committing these atrocious acts are few, but they are mainly foreigners." "The food here is atrocious." "The judge said he had committed atrocious crimes against women." "The treatment of the prisoners by their captors is atrocious and breaks all international laws.

Platycryptus undatus Tan jumping spiders can be identified by their mottled tan coloration, thin bodies and chevron patterning on their abdomens. The tan jumping spider's thin body allows them to hide themselves under the loosened bark of trees and in other tight places. The prominent chevron-like pattern on their abdomens serves to break up their visual profile and make them more difficult to distinguish on mottled surfaces.[3][2] Females of this species are between 10 and 13 mm in body length, and males range from 8.5 to 9.5 mm.[2] Tan jumping spiders, like many jumping spider species, prefer to hunt on vertical surfaces and can frequently be found on the trunks of trees or on the walls of buildings. These spiders are not inclined to bite, though they can deliver a defensive bite if they are pinched or squeezed. Eggs are laid and hatch during the summer, and adults and other stages overwinter in their individual silken shelters. Although the shelters are built separately and keep the spiders out of direct contact with each other, Kaston reports that as many as fifty spiders may crowd their shelters for hibernation together, so tightly that they form a continuous blanket under the loose bark of a standing tree.[4] Distribution Adult male Platycryptus undatus can be found in North and Central America. The distribution of this species ranges from the Eastern States and adjacent Canada, to Texas and Wisconsin.[5][page needed] This species is also found in northern Mexico.[citation needed]