21 May 2015

encomium

[en-koh-mee-uh m]

noun, plural encomiums, encomia [en-koh-mee-uh]
1. a formal expression of high praise; eulogy:
An encomium by the president greeted the returning hero.

Origin of encomium
Latin, Greek
1580-1590; < Latin < Greek enkṓmion, equivalent to en- en-2+ kôm (os) a revel + -ion noun suffix

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for encomium
– I think he stopped earning that encomium in about the summer of 2000.
(Ralph Nader Has Truly Lost It Michael Tomasky July 28, 2013)

Anagram

I commune
on ice mum

Today’s aphorism

It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.

– Mahatma Gandhi

On this day

21 May – World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.

21 May 1929 – Charles Lindbergh lands in Paris after completing the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight. He had departed the day before from New York. Lindbergh was competing for the Orteig Prize which was to be awarded to the first person to make the transatlantic flight. Lindbergh won $25,000 in prize money. Six people had previously lost their lives in competing for the Orteig Prize.

21 May 1932 – Amelia Earhart flies from Newfoundland to Ireland, becoming the first woman to make a solo transatlantic flight.

21 May 1960 – An 8.5 magnitude earthquake hits Chile, causing massive land-slides and tsunamis, including an 8 metre wave. More than 5,000 people are killed and 2 million left homeless.

21 May 1979 – Dan White is convicted of voluntary manslaughter following being charged with first degree murder after assassinating Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. His defence team had successfully argued for conviction on the lesser charge because they claimed his mental state was diminished as he was suffering depression, evidenced by his consumption of Twinkies and other sugary foods. The defence became known as the ‘Twinkie Defence’.