antic
antic \an-tik\, adjective
1. Ludicrous; funny.
2. Fantastic; odd; grotesque: an antic disposition.
noun:
1. Usually, antics. A. A playful trick or prank; caper. B. A grotesque, fantastic, or ludicrous gesture, act, or posture.
2. Archaic. A. An actor in a grotesque or ridiculous presentation. B. A buffoon; clown.
3. Obsolete. A. A grotesque theatrical presentation; ridiculous interlude. B. A grotesque or fantastic sculptured figure, as a gargoyle.
From the subversive to the antic, the uproarious to the disturbing, the stories of Bruce Sterling are restless,
energy-filled journeys through a world running on empty.
-- Bruce Sterling, A Good Old-Fashioned Future
Grey Magic is a work of great scope and stylistic virtuosity, combining antic humor with immense sophistication, an Anglo-American setting with an Anglo-European sensibility and a profound insight into contemporary issues of both personal and collective resonance.
-- Richard Leigh, Grey Magic
Antic comes from the Italian word antico which meant "ancient." Apparently, it was associated with the fantastic figures of the Roman ruins and came to mean "grotesque."
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ataraxia
ataraxia \at-uh-RAK-see-uh\, noun
A state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety; tranquility.
The former breathes only peace and liberty; he desires only to live and be free from labor; even the ataraxia of the Stoic falls far short of his profound indifference to every other object.
-- Jean-Jacques Rousseau, A Discourse on the Origin of Inequality and a Discourse on Political Economy
Thus, hedonism ends in ataraxia, which confirms the paradoxical relation between sadism and stoicism.
-- Marquis de Sade, 120 Days of Sodom and Other Writings
Ataraxia stems from the Greek word of the same spelling that meant "impassiveness."
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assoil
assoil \uh-SOIL\, verb
1. To absolve; acquit; pardon.
2. To atone for.
Come up, wives, offer of your yarn! See, I enter your name here in my roll; you shall enter into heaven's bliss; I assoil you by mine high power, you that will make offerings, as clear and clean as when you were born ? (lo sirs, thus I preach).
-- Bennett Cerf, An Anthology of Famous British Stories
"Go, and assoil thy living patient: the dead are past thy cares." ? " I go," said the Monk of Montcalm, " and Heaven grant that I may shed around his death-hour, that peace which, I fear me, bloody prelate, will be denied to thine!"
-- Charles Robert Maturin, The Albigenses
Assoil is derived from the same root as the similar word absolve. However, assoil came into English through the Middle French word asoiler rather than directly from Latin like the word absolve.
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