word of the day :: prodigious

prodigious:

[pruh-dij-uh s]

–adjective

1.  extraordinary in size, amount, extent, degree, force, etc.: aprodigious research grant. 

2. wonderful or marvelous: a prodigious feat.

3. abnormal; monstrous.

4. Obsolete . ominous.

  

Origin:

1545–55;  < L prōdigiōsus  marvelous. See prodigy, -ous

"It is one of the prodigious privileges of art that the horrific, artistically expressed, becomes beauty, and that sorrow, given rhythm and cadence, fills the spirit with a calm joy."

:: Charles Baudelaire ::

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

word of the day :: insouciance

insouciance:

[in-soo-see-uhns; Fr. an-soo-syahns]

–noun

the quality of being insouciant; lack of care or concern; indifference

Origin:

1790-1800; < F; see insouciant, -ance

"I have to confess that I had gambled on my soul and lost it with heroic insouciance and lightness of touch. The soul is so impalpable, so often useless, and sometimes such a nuisance, that I felt no more emotion on losing it than if, on a stroll, I had mislaid my visiting card."

 :: Charles Baudelaire ::

* Definition from www.dictionary.com