A.Word.A.Day --Mona Lisa

A.Word.A.Day

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Today's Word

Mona Lisa

PRONUNCIATION:

(MOH-nuh LEE-suh/zuh)

MEANING:

noun: A woman with an enigmatic smile or expression.
adjective: Enigmatic, mysterious, or inscrutable, especially of a smile or expression.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (c. 1503-1519). Earliest documented use: 1835.

NOTES:

According to a 2005 emotion-recognition analysis, the Mona Lisa is “83% happy, 9% disgusted, 6% fearful, and 2% angry.” (BBC)

Computer artist Lillian Schwartz of Bell Labs proposed a Mona-Leo theory, arguing from digital comparisons that the portrait was partly a disguised self-portrait by Leonardo. What do you think?

USAGE:

“[Franz Welser-Möst, the music director of the Cleveland Orchestra] was neither solemn nor particularly expressive; he just flashed a Mona Lisa smile before turning to the players and gesturing the downbeat of a Mozart symphony.”
Joshua Barone; Preparing to Surrender the Baton; The New York Times; Jan 14, 2024.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

In order for me to write poetry that isn't political / I must listen to the birds / and in order to hear the birds / the warplanes must be silent. -Marwan Makhoul, poet (b. 2 Jul 1979)

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