nubi-, nub-

Translation: "She hides her head among the clouds."

Who is she that hides her head in the clouds? The line is from Virgil, who had the personified Fame in mind as the subject of the verb condit. For most people, fame never emerges from behind the clouds; instead, most people labor in obscurity, waiting for their few minutes of fame that never comes.

1. To clear of smoke, mist, clouds, or obscurity: Carol opened the window in order to enubilate the kitchen of smoke from the burning steak she was frying.
2. To elucidate, to clear up, to make clear: Manfred was finally able to enubilate his theory well enough for his colleagues to understand what he was talking about.
3. Etymology: from Latin enubilatus, "cleared of clouds"; enubilare "to clear of mist or clouds"; from ex-, "out, from" + nubilus, nubilous, "cloudy; from nubes, "cloud".

Incapable of being cleared of clouds; unclear, indistinct, inexplicable: What James was striving to tell his students turned out to be more of an inenubilable explanation than comprehensible for most of them.

1. A very slight difference in meaning, feeling, tone, or color: The nuances in Rebecca's tone of voice while talking about her late husband conveyed a feeling of gloom and melancholy.
2. The use or awareness of subtle shades of meaning or feeling; especially, with references to artistic expressions or performances: The pianist performed the pieces with complete mastery of all of the nuances of the tones in the music.
3. A subtle deviation in meanings, opinions, or attitudes; hence, a slight degree of perceivable variations in anything apparent to the mind: The contrasts in the appearances of the twin boys was only detectable if given close attention; since there were only very slight nuances in details that revealed their individualities.
4. Etymology: from French nuance, "slight difference, shade of color" (so called with reference to the dissimilar colors of the clouds); from nuer, "to shade"; from nue, "cloud", from Gallo-Romance nuba; from Latin nubes, "cloud"; related to obnubere, "to veil". © ALL rights are reserved.

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1. A faint cloud or cloudiness.
2. Cloudiness, as of the cornea of the eye.

1. A woman's light scarf worn over the head and neck.
2. A light, knitted fabric of wool, worn on the head by women.
3. A cloud.
4. When capitalized, Nubia refers to a desert region and ancient kingdom in the Nile River valley of southern Egypt and northern Sudan.

After the 20th century B.C., it was controlled by the rulers of Egypt, although in the 8th and 7th centuries an independent kingdom arose that conquered Egypt and ruled as the XXV Dynasty (712-663).

Converted to Christianity in the 6th century A.D., Nubia united with Ethiopia but fell to the Muslims in the 14th century. Much of the region was flooded by the completion of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s.

Cloud-bringing.

Resembling a cloud; cloud like.

1. Cloud-born.
2. Born of, or produced from, clouds.

To obscure or to make cloudy.

1. Cloudy, misty, or foggy: The nubilous skies drove many tourists off the beach today.

A nubilous figure was seen approaching Ken and Dianne through the thick haze as they were walking back home after visiting friends in their neighborhood.

2. Obscure or vague; indefinite: Jim said the nubilous anger by his sister at the party last night could not be explained.

The politician made a nubilous speech which caused the audience to be more confused than being able to understand what he was talking about.

© ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

1. Make less visible or unclear.
2. To make unclear, indistinct, or blurred.
3. To cloud over; to becloud; to obscure.