Bear/etymology

Famous quotes containing the words bear and/or etymology:

    “The last faint spark
    In the self-murdered heart, the wounds of the sad uncomprehending
    dark,
    The wounds of the baited bear,—
    The blind and weeping bear whom the keepers beat
    On his helpless flesh . . . the tears of the hunted hare.”
    —Dame Edith Sitwell (1887–1964)

    “Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
    —Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)