Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, June 11, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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omniscient
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using Prepositions with VerbsCertain verbs require prepositions in order to connect to their sentences' objects. These combinations, known as "prepositional verbs," allow the prepositions to act as necessary links between verbs and nouns or gerunds. What are the prepositions used in these combinations sometimes called? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 AkkadAkkad was an ancient city and region in northern Babylonia, now central Iraq. It was founded by the conqueror Sargon around 2,300 BCE. Sargon extended the vast Akkadian Empire by uniting the city-states of Mesopotamia, and the now-extinct Akkadian language became a lingua franca of the region. After about a century, the empire declined, ushering in a dark age. Sargon's grand capital city has not been found, and there are several theories as to the location of its ruins. Where might they be? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Jargeau Begins (1429)After helping break the English siege of Orléans during the Hundred Years' War, teenage heroine Joan of Arc set her sights on recapturing the Loire River valley, beginning with the town of Jargeau. Though the post was heavily fortified and well defended, the French soon gained the upper hand. After Jargeau, a number of other English strongholds fell in quick succession, paving the way for Charles VII's coronation at Rheims. What nearly killed Joan as she scaled a ladder during the battle? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Joseph Warren (1741)A Boston physician, Warren became a political leader in the American Revolution after the passage of the hated 1765 Stamp Act. In 1774, he drafted the Suffolk Resolves, which advocated forcible resistance to the British and were endorsed by the Continental Congress. In April of the following year, he dispatched William Dawes and Paul Revere to warn fellow patriots that the British were marching on Concord. He was killed months later at Bunker Hill. Why was his body buried four times? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A woman's heart must be of such a size and no larger, else it must be pressed small, like Chinese feet; her happiness is to be made as cakes are, by a fixed recipe.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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head the ball— A stupid, foolish, or idiotic person; someone who is crazy or mentally unstable. Primarily heard in Ireland. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fronleichnamsfest (Corpus Christi, Germany) (2020)Corpus Christi Day in Germany is celebrated with colorful processions where the Sacrament and other holy symbols are carried through villages, where streets are decorated with flowers and greenery. The most picturesque of these processions take place in Bavaria, where Corpus Christi is a legal holiday. Some are held on lakes rather than in the streets, with flower-decked boats carrying members of the procession and worshippers across crystal clear waters. The processions at Lake Staffelsee and Lake Chiemsee in Upper Bavaria are among the most dramatic. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: refugeasylum - Comes from Greek asulon, "refuge," from asulos, "inviolable." More... bast - A word for an asylum, refuge, or sanctuary. More... harbor - First meant "shelter" and "lodging," and that is how the word first entered English place-names, as a "place of shelter; refuge" for a crowd of people. A port is a haven for vessels and it is equipped for loading and unloading ships, while a harbor is a haven for vessels but does not necessarily have onshore facilities. More... redoubt - Has no connection to "doubt," but comes from French redoute and Latin reductus, "hidden place, refuge, stronghold." More... | |