Facts of the day. Today is Monday, April 21, 2014. This is the 111th day of the year, with 254 days remaining in 2014. Fact of the Day: leaves Leaves manufacture food for a plant by photosynthesis. They are usually thin and flat, exposing a large surface area to the sun in order to collect energy by means of chlorophyll, the substance that gives them their characteristic green color. Holidays Feast day of St. Brazil: Tiradentes Day. Texas: San Jacinto Day.
Indonesia: Kartini Day. Events 753 B.C.E. - Legend says Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, founded Rome. 1509 - Henry VIII became King of England. 1836 - Sam Houston's Texas army defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, assuring Texas independence. 1895 - Woodville Latham demonstrated motion picture projection in New York. 1940 - The quiz show "Take It or Leave It, " premiered on radio; this was the show that asked the "$64 Question. " 1960 - The new city of Brasilia was declared the capital of Brazil, replacing Rio de Janeiro. Births Deaths. Photo of the Day. Quote of the Day. Online. "… so we repaired to a publick-house, took a friendly glass, and thus parted. " — Peter Drake, Amiable Renegade: The Memoirs of Captain Peter Drake, 1671–1753, 1960 "… Warren repaired to the dining alcove off the kitchen … and ate dinner with Nina and the children, discussing their schoolwork and events of the day. " — Kevin Starr, Embattled Dreams, 2002 We are all familiar with the verb repair used as a synonym of fix.
But today's word, while it is a homograph and a homophone of the more familiar repair, is a slightly older and unrelated verb. Repair, the synonym of fix, comes via Anglo-French from the Latin reparare, a combination of the re- prefix and parare ("prepare"). Test Your Memory: What former Word of the Day refers to the study of the origin and forms of proper names? Now I Know.