sallymn: (words 6)
[personal profile] sallymn

iceblink [ahys-blingk]

noun:
a bright reflection of sunlight, esp. in polar regions, on the bottom of a low cloud, caused by ice on a distant expanse of water or land

Examples:

"When other means of reconnaissance are not available, travelers in the polar seas can use water sky and iceblink to get a rough idea of ice conditions at a distance," according to the US Government National Snow and Ice Data Center. (Lauren Cahn, 20 Majestic Photos of the Real-Life North Pole, Reader's Digest, August 2021)

At II pm the fog lifted a little and they saw to the west the reflection of the land ice and of the land projected on the sky in two strata, the 'iceblink,' all white, and the 'land-blink,' a yellowish white; then the fog veil became still thinner, and very elevated land appeared in the distance (Adrien de Gerlache, 'The North-East Coast of Greenland, beyond 77 Degrees N. Lat.', Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, Vol 38, No 12 (1906), pp.721-729)

              These hours of brightness polishing snowfield so she learns
              iceblink binocular as I slowly can adjust burns
              retina to control perceptions until sight discerns
              under and over glare
                     (Collin Sims quoted in Robert Macfarlane, Hen Harrier Poems by Colin Simms review - a remarkable tribute to an endangered bird, The Guardian, August 2015)


(Ice Islands with ice blink, watercolour by Georg Forster, made 1773; click to enlarge)


Origin:

ice + blink, translation of Dutch ijsblink or Danish isblink (Collins Dictionary)

1765–75; ice + blink; compare Dutch ijsblink Dictionary.com)

[identity profile] nerdfury.livejournal.com
Whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day, Ashura, Posadas Navidenas, Yule, Litha, the Death of the Prophet Zarathushtra, Watch Night, Holy Innocents, Solstice, Festivus, Giftmas, Noworkmas or Bah-Humbugmas, I would like to wish each and every one of you and your families happy holidays!


Dépaysement
French

The feeling that comes from not being in one’s home country.


Tingo
Pascuense (Easter Island)
The act of taking objects one desires from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing all of them.

Hyggelig
Danish

Its “literal” translation into English gives connotations of a warm, friendly, cozy demeanor, but it’s unlikely that these words truly capture the essence of a hyggelig; it’s likely something that must be experienced to be known. I think of good friends, cold beer, and a warm fire.
[identity profile] nerdfury.livejournal.com
Slightly late, sorry! Totally unintentional. Extra word for you, too.

Koi No Yokan
(Japanese)
The sense upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall into love.
(and no, I don't think 'love at first sight' is the same. I asked a Japanese guy at work what he thought of the phrase, and he said it's deeper, insofar that it's more when you've met someone, had enough tome to get a sense of them, and then felt you might fall in love, as opposed to just seeing someone and falling in love. Can anyone corroborate or correct this?)

Mamihlapinatapai
(Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego)
This word captures that special look shared between two people, when both are wishing that the other would do something that they both want, but neither want to do.

Fremdschämen (German); Myötähäpeä (Finnish)
The kindler, gentler cousins of Schadenfreude, both these words mean something akin to “vicarious embarrassment.”

Cafune
(Brazilian Portuguese)
Tenderly running your fingers through your lover’s hair.

Greng-jai
(Thai)
That feeling you get when you don’t want someone to do something for you because it would be a pain for them.

Kaelling
(Danish)
You know that woman who stands on her doorstep (or in line at the supermarket, or at the park, or in a restaurant) cursing at her children? The Danes know her, too.


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