resplendent, moraine, peso, marimba, glacial

 Unsurprisingly, over more than 40 years as the subtle spider-figure at the heart of his party and usually of the cabinet, Mr Andreotti came to be seen as the custodian and originator of Italy’s darkest secrets. His glacial composure seldom wavered.



Spotlight:

How did an 'S' with a vertical line through it become the symbol for the dollar? Although there are a number of theories about the origin of the dollar sign, the most popular belief is that it came from the symbol for the Spanish-Mexican peso or the "Spanish dollar," an "s " superinscribed over a "p." The Spanish peso was the first world currency and the basis for many other national currencies, including the US dollar, the Canadian dollar and the Chinese yuan. Many nations just use the initials of the name of the currency for their symbol; e.g., DM for the German deutsche mark, NIS for the new Israeli shekel and R for South Africa's rand. One of the more eclectic currencies is found in Guatemala — the Guatemalan quetzal, or GTQ. It's named for its national bird, the resplendent quetzal. A new 200-quetzales bill (200 GTQ=US$25.45) goes into circulation today. On one side will be images of three Guatemalan musicians and the reverse side will show a marimba, the Guatemalan national instrument.

glacial

Pronunciation: /ˈgleɪsɪəl, -ʃ(ə)l/

Definition of glacial

adjective

• 1relating to or denoting the presence or agency of ice, especially in the form of glaciers:thick glacial deposits a glacial lake
• very cold; icy:glacial temperatures figurativehis glacial blue eyes
• extremely slow (like the movement of a glacier):an official described progress in the talks as glacial

• 2 Chemistry denoting pure organic acids (especially acetic acid) which form ice-like crystals on freezing.

noun

Geology

• a glacial period.

Derivatives

glacially

adverb

Origin: mid 17th century: from French, or from Latin glacialis 'icy', from glacies 'ice'

moraine (muh-RAYN)

noun: An accumulation of boulders, gravel, or other debris carried and deposited by a glacier.

Etymology
From French moraine, from Savoy dialect morena (mound).

Usage
"Professor Shulmeister's team believes a large landslide dumped a huge volume of rock on top of the glacier, causing it to advance and, when the advance stopped, the moraine was created." — Angela Gregory; Glacial Find Pours Cold Water on World Theory; The New Zealand Herald (Auckland); Jun 30, 2008.


moraine

• 〔mréin | m-〕

[名]モレーン, 氷堆積(たいせき).

mo・ráin・ic, mo・ráin・al

[形]

resplendentLine breaks: re¦splen|dent

Pronunciation: /rɪˈsplɛnd(ə)nt/ 

Definition of resplendent in English:

adjective

Attractive and impressive through being richlycolourful or sumptuous:she was resplendent in a sea-green dress

SYNONYMS

Origin

Late Middle English: from Latin resplendent- 'shining out', from the verb resplendere, from re- (expressing intensive force) + splendere 'to glitter'.