6 April 2013

vaccilate

[vas-uh-leyt]

verb (used without object), vac·il·lat·ed, vac·il·lat·ing.

1. to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute: His tendency to vacillate makes him a poor leader.
2. to sway unsteadily; waver; totter; stagger.
3. to oscillate or fluctuate.
Origin:
1590–1600; < Latin vacillātus (past participle of vacillāre to sway to and fro); see -ate1

Related forms
vac·il·la·tor, noun

Synonyms
1. hesitate. See waver1 . 2. reel.

Today’s aphorism

‘Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.’

– Martin Luther King Jr.

On this day

6 April 1896 – The Olympic Games recommences in Athens 1,501 years after being banned by Emperor Theodosius I in 393AD.

6 April 1909 – Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson become the first men to reach the North Pole. Their claim is in dispute because of navigation techniques and lack of independent verification.

6 April 2006 – the National Geographic Society reveals the discovery of a papyrus codex in a cave near El Minya, Egypt, which it claims is the Gospel of Judas Iscariot. The codex is yet to be verified as written by Judas.