2008-10-03

否定形しかない英単語

Grammar GirlのWhy Isn't “Gruntled” a Word?で取り上げられた。
  • disgruntled
  • disheveled
  • out of whack
  • disaster

2008-09-16

mitosis, meiosis

mitosis: The process in cell division by which the nucleus divides, typically consisting of four stages, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase, and normally resulting in two new nuclei, each of which contains a complete copy of the parental chromosomes

meiosis: The process of cell division in sexually reproducing organisms that reduces the number of chromosomes in reproductive cells, leading to the production of gametes in animals and spores in plants.

2010-01-11

2008-08-24

paralinguistic restitution

emoticonや、強調のためにすべてを大文字で書くなどのことを指す。

2008-06-24

prochlorococcus

日本語では原核緑藻類というのが正しいようだが、プロクロロコッカスとすることもある。

2008-06-10

cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is a psychological state that describes the uncomfortable feeling when a person begins to understand that something the person believes to be true is, in fact, not true. Similar to ambivalence, the term cognitive dissonance describes conflicting thoughts or beliefs (cognitions) that occur at the same time, or when engaged in behaviors that conflict with one's beliefs. In academic literature, the term refers to attempts to reduce the discomfort of conflicting thoughts by performing actions that are opposite to one's beliefs.
-- from Wikipedia
日本語では「認知的不協和」というようだ。

2008-06-07

debilitate

To sap the strength or energy of; enervate.
Having "the flu" is something of a generic complaint. Other common and less debilitating diseases are often mistaken for influenza. As a result, people tend to regard flu in casual terms, and to take it less seriously than they should---at least until they actually get the real thing!

2008-05-09

wither

it seems to me that the history of corporate acquisitions is littered with takeovers in which the shareholders may have profited, but the corporation's life and creativity withered.

2008-05-07

mycelium

The vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, threadlike hyphae.
hypha (pl hyphae): 菌糸

tenacious

1. Holding or tending to hold persistently to something, such as a point of view. See synonyms at strong.
2. Holding together firmly; cohesive: a tenacious material.

2008-05-04

get under (one's) skin

1. To irritate or stimulate; provoke.
2. To become an obsession.

scrounge

v.t. せびり取る.
v.i. あちこちあさる.

2008-05-03

have A to show for B

Bに対する成果としてAを得ている

2008-05-01

2008-04-26

Burkholderia cepacia

その道の人はB cepaciaと呼ぶようだ。
正式にはBurkholderia cepacia complexで日本語ではバークホルデリア・セパシア菌群のようだ。
そしてセパシア菌と呼ぶことが多いよう。

2008-04-23

類義語パズル

A Way with Wordsでやっていたパズル。
単語Aと単語Bが類義語で、かつ単語Bと単語Cが類義語であるとする。
単語Aと単語Cが与えられた場合に、単語Bを当てるパズル。
以下の例では答えはすべて動物。
  1. 問題: imp, mess around
    答え: monkey
  2. 問題: school, angle
    答え: fish
  3. 問題: deliver, stomach
    答え: bear
  4. 問題: coward, showdown
    答え: chicken
  5. 問題: highway, weapon
    答え: pike

2008-04-14

Too much catsup can ruin the fries

Too many cooks spoil the brothの変形というところか

2008-04-13

時を表す節で完了形を使う例

By the time you've finished this book, you will have learned not only the language itself, but also how to apply well to your day-to-day asks.

2008-04-11

barefaced, bald-faced, bold-faced

いずれも、厚かましい・ずうずうしい、という意味で、この順に古い。barefacedはシェークスピアも使っているそうだ。bold-facedはボールド体の活字でという意味にもなるし、比較的新しく、bald-facedを使うのが無難なようだ。

2008-03-17

Staphylococcus aureus

黄色ブドウ球菌。Graig Venterが講演の中でStaphylo. aureusと略していた。

2008-02-06

Thucydides

Greek historian. Considered the greatest historian of antiquity, he wrote a critical history of the Peloponnesian War that contains the funeral oration of Pericles.
日本語ではツキディデス