cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
funereal
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /fjuːˈnɪəɹɪ.əl/
Forms: form: more funereal
form: most funereal
form: funeral
Etymology: From Middle French funerail, from Latin funereus + -al.
Senses: examples: text: From the belfries far and near the funereal deathbell tolled unceasingly while all around the gloomy precincts rolled the ominous warning of a hundred muffled drums punctuated by the hollow booming of pieces of ordnance.
ref: 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], pages 293–294:
text: Seven were chosen to push the funereal boat to the water, in honor of the seven faces of god.
ref: 2000 August 8, George R[aymond] R[ichard] Martin, “Catelyn [Stark]”, in A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire; 3), London: Voyager, →ISBN, page 392:
synonyms: funerary
glosses: Of or relating to a funeral.
examples: text: A funereal gloom prevailed over the whole ſcene.
ref: 1786, [William Beckford], translated by [Samuel Henley], An Arabian Tale, from an Unpublished Manuscript: […] [Vathek], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 196:
english: Vathek
translation: Vathek
text: "Sounds curst funereal, Zeb! O my poor nunky! Go fetch 'em, Sergeant, and let me see 'em—'twill distress and pain me I know but—go fetch 'em!"
ref: 1918, Jeffery Farnol, Our Admirable Betty:
text: There was something menacing and uncomfortable in the funereal stillness, in the muffled, subtle trickle of distant brooks, and in the crowding green peaks and black-wooded precipices that choked the narrow horizon.
ref: 1931, H. P. Lovecraft, chapter 6, in The Whisperer in Darkness:
glosses: Similar to or befitting the mood or elements of a funeral: slow; black colors; formal; dignified or solemn.
Derived terms: funereally
fish out of water
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: fishes out of water
form: fish out of water
Etymology: * Earliest recorded uses: "fish out of the water" (1585, Lamentable Complaint of Commonality), "Fishes out of the Water" (1613, Samuel Purchas, Pilgrimage).
* Earliest use of metaphor by Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales: Prologue (c. 1405) as "fissh þᵗ is waterlees".
Compare also the antonymous French comme un poisson dans l'eau, German wie ein Fisch im Wasser.
Senses: examples: text: [I]nto this queer assembly, something of a fish out of water and wholly out of his element, strode Cherry Bim, that redoubtable man.
ref: 1921, Edgar Wallace, chapter 2, in The Book of All-Power:
text: A pitcher at bat is usually considered such a fish out of water that he is expected to foul, ground or strike out.
ref: 1942 May 25, “Sport: Pitcher Hits Ball”, in Time, retrieved 02 Oct 2016:
text: “The basis of this show is fish out of water,” said the executive producer, Quincy Jones, the music impresario who has never before put his name on a television series but whose work as producer of Michael Jackson's albums won him respect in Hollywood as a canny judge of public tastes.
ref: 1990 September 17, Larry Rohter, quoting Quincy Jones, “‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ Puts Rap in Mainstream”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
text: Many stay-at-home fathers find that they are fish out of water, too.
ref: 2004 December 22, Jennifer Medina, “Housewives, Try This for Desperation”, in New York Times, retrieved 02 Oct 2016:
synonyms: square peg in a round hole
glosses: A person in unfamiliar and often uncomfortable surroundings.
spacefiller
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: spacefillers
Etymology: From space + filler.
Senses: topics: hobbies
lifestyle
philately
glosses: A stamp in poor condition used to fill a space in an album until a better quality example becomes available, or if the better example is prohibitively expensive.
examples: text: Spacefiller patterns might possibly even be within reach of current search programs; these would have much more predictable (and higher) growth rates from the start.
ref: 2008 May 31, Dave Greene, “Life: B37/S23 - A Chaotic Universe.”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet):
text: Other things that can be built (I see no reason why not) are a self-replicator, quadratically growing spacefiller, programmable computer/constructor, self-growing prime number sieve.
ref: 2009 December 16, Mark Jeronimus, “WireWorld Extendable 3”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet):
topics: cellular-automata
computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: A pattern that grows quadratically by filling space with still life.
cruelty
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkɹuː(ə)lti/
Forms: form: cruelties
form: cruellty
form: cruelltie
Etymology: From Middle English cruelte, from Old French crualté (French cruauté), from Latin crudelitas. By surface analysis, cruel + -ty.
Senses: examples: text: Fear of their cargo bred a savage cruelty into the crew. One captain, to strike terror into the rest, killed a slave and dividing heart, liver and entrails into 300 pieces made each of the slaves eat one, threatening those who refused with the same torture. Such incidents were not rare.
ref: 1963, C.L.R. James, The Black Jacobins, 2nd Revised edition, page 9:
synonyms: mercilessness
barbarism
ruthlessness
antonyms: mercy
clemency
glosses: An indifference to suffering or pleasure in inflicting suffering.
examples: text: The Begums' ministers, on the contrary, to extort from them the disclosure of the place which concealed the treasures, were, […] after being fettered and imprisoned, led out on to a scaffold, and this array of terrours proving unavailing, the meek tempered Middleton, as a dernier resort, menaced them with a confinement in the fortress of Chunargar. Thus, my lords, was a British garrison made the climax of cruelties!
ref: 1788 June, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, “Mr. Sheridan’s Speech, on Summing Up the Evidence on the Second, or Begum Charge against Warren Hastings, Esq., Delivered before the High Court of Parliament, June 1788”, in Select Speeches, Forensick and Parliamentary, with Prefatory Remarks by N[athaniel] Chapman, M.D., volume I, [Philadelphia, Pa.]: Published by Hopkins and Earle, no. 170, Market Street, published 1808, →OCLC, page 474:
text: Gay songwriter behind bars! Needs sincere letter to help ease the tension from cruelties inside the joint.
ref: 1980 December 27, Walter Williams, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 23, page 15:
glosses: A cruel act.
Derived terms: anticruelty
cruelty-free
mental cruelty
brain fag
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: brain-fag
form: brainfag
Etymology: (mild forgetfulness): Possibly originates from West Africa.
Senses: synonyms: brain tiredness
glosses: A condition in which male high school and college students experience mild forgetfulness, and difficulty in concentrating and maintaining a train of thought, arising from overthinking.
glosses: Cerebropathy.
cerebropathy
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Etymology: From cerebro- + -pathy, coined for medical usage prior to 1913.
Senses: synonyms: brain fag
glosses: A hypochondriacal condition verging upon insanity, occurring in those whose brains have been unduly taxed.
claw hammer
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: claw hammers
Etymology: From claw + hammer, descriptive of the shape of the tool's head.
Senses: glosses: A hammer with two prongs protruding back from the head to allow for removing nails from wood.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A fingerpicking technique primarily used by banjo players, but also by some guitarists.
Derived terms: claw-hammer coat
claw hammer coupling
Related terms: ball peen hammer
framing hammer
mallet
sledgehammer
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈslɛd͡ʒhæmə/
ipa: /ˈslɛd͡ʒhæmɚ/
Forms: form: sledgehammers
form: sledge-hammer
Etymology: Compound of sledge + hammer.
Senses: examples: text: These were succeeded by anchor and chain-cable forges, where sledgehammers were dinging upon iron all day long.
ref: 1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:
glosses: A hammer that consists of a large, heavy, broad and flat block of metal (the head) attached to a handle typically 0.5 meter to 1 meter long. The sledgehammer's design is meant to allow it to be swung powerfully, and to distribute force over a wide area upon impact.
Coordinate terms: mallet
maul
Derived terms: use a sledgehammer to crack a nut
Related terms: forehammer
hammer
sledgehammer
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈslɛd͡ʒhæmə/
ipa: /ˈslɛd͡ʒhæmɚ/
Forms: form: sledgehammers
form: sledgehammering
form: sledgehammered
form: sledgehammered
Etymology: Compound of sledge + hammer.
Senses: examples: text: Some lawmakers were so incensed that they even invited the news media to watch the sledgehammering of the Japanese company's products on the Capitol's steps.
ref: 1989 October 12, Clyde H. Farnsworth, “Japan's Loud Voice in Washington”, in The New York Times:
text: She’s trying to piece together shards of precious pottery gleefully sledgehammered by a delegation led by the Taliban’s minister of culture, who deemed the world’s greatest collection of Central Asian artifacts un-Islamic.
ref: 2009 February 22, Jane And Michael Stern, “Nirvana Express”, in The New York Times:
glosses: To strike (something) with a sledgehammer.
sledgehammer
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈslɛd͡ʒhæmə/
ipa: /ˈslɛd͡ʒhæmɚ/
Forms: form: more sledgehammer
form: most sledgehammer
Etymology: Compound of sledge + hammer.
Senses: examples: text: Promising new treatments avoid the sledgehammer approach of traditional chemotherapy in two key ways."
ref: 2015 October 26, Michael Boyer, “Brave new world of cancer treatment revealed”, in The University of Sydney:
glosses: Completely lacking grace and dexterity.
Related terms: shotgun approach
stretto
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈstɹɛtəʊ/
rhymes: -ɛtəʊ
Forms: form: strettos
form: stretti
Etymology: Borrowed from Italian stretto. Doublet of strait and strict.
Senses: topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: The presence of two close or overlapping statements of the subject of a fugue, especially towards the end.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: An acceleration in the tempo of an opera that produces an ending climax.
stretto
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈstɹɛtəʊ/
rhymes: -ɛtəʊ
Etymology: Borrowed from Italian stretto. Doublet of strait and strict.
Senses: topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: With gradually increasing speed.
stretto
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈstɹɛtəʊ/
rhymes: -ɛtəʊ
Etymology: Borrowed from Italian stretto. Doublet of strait and strict.
Senses: examples: text: So that over and above the public components – holidays, tourist attractions – there are private meanderings, linked to the climate as if this spell were a stretto passage in the year’s fugue: haphazard weather, aimless loves, unpredicted commitments…
ref: 1960, Thomas Pynchon, Entropy:
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: Having gradually increasing speed.
retrieve
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹɪˈtɹiːv/
ipa: /ɹə-/
ipa: /ɹi-/
note: Indic
ipa: /riʈˈriːv/
note: spelling pronunciation
ipa: /reʈ-/
note: Indic
ipa: /-ˈrajv/
rhymes: -iːv
rhymes: (Indic spelling pronunciation) -aɪv
Forms: form: retrieves
form: retrieving
form: retrieved
form: retrieved
Etymology: Recorded in Middle English c. 1410 as retreve (altered to retrive in the 16th century; modern form is from c. 1650), from Middle French retruev-, stem of Old French retrover (“to find again”, modern retrouver), itself from re- (“again”) + trover (“to find”), probably from Vulgar Latin *tropāre (“to compose”).
Senses: examples: text: to retrieve one's character or independence; to retrieve a thrown ball
text: With late repentance now they would retrieve / The bodies they forsook, and wish to live.
ref: 1697, Virgil, “The Sixth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
glosses: To regain or get back something.
glosses: To rescue (a creature).
glosses: To salvage something
glosses: To remedy or rectify something.
glosses: To remember or recall something.
examples: text: to retrieve them from their cold, trivial conceits
ref: 1714, Rev. Dean Berkeley, letter to Alexander Pope, May 1, 1714:
glosses: To fetch or carry back something, especially (computing) a file or data record.
examples: text: The cook doesn't care what's shot, only what's actually retrieved.
glosses: To fetch and bring in game.
examples: text: Dog breeds called 'retrievers' were selected for retrieving.
glosses: To fetch and bring in game systematically.
examples: text: Most dogs love retrieving, regardless of what object is thrown.
glosses: To fetch or carry back systematically, notably as a game.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To make a difficult but successful return of the ball.
examples: text: Accept my sorrow, and retrieve my fall.
ref: 1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Solomon on the Vanity of the World. A Poem in Three Books.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):
text: There is much to be done […] and much to be retrieved.
ref: 1795–1797, Edmund Burke, “(please specify |letter=1 to 4)”, in [Letters on a Regicide Peace], London: [Rivington]:
glosses: To remedy the evil consequence of, to repair (a loss or damage).
Derived terms: retriever
Related terms: retrieval
retrieve
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹɪˈtɹiːv/
ipa: /ɹə-/
ipa: /ɹi-/
note: Indic
ipa: /riʈˈriːv/
note: spelling pronunciation
ipa: /reʈ-/
note: Indic
ipa: /-ˈrajv/
rhymes: -iːv
rhymes: (Indic spelling pronunciation) -aɪv
Forms: form: retrieves
Etymology: Recorded in Middle English c. 1410 as retreve (altered to retrive in the 16th century; modern form is from c. 1650), from Middle French retruev-, stem of Old French retrover (“to find again”, modern retrouver), itself from re- (“again”) + trover (“to find”), probably from Vulgar Latin *tropāre (“to compose”).
Senses: glosses: A retrieval
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: The return of a difficult ball
glosses: A seeking again; a discovery.
examples: text: we'll bring Wax to the retrieve
ref: 1625 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson, The Staple of Newes. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Robert Allot […], published 1631, →OCLC, (please specify the page), (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
glosses: The recovery of game once sprung.
fuzz
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: fŭz
ipa: /fʌz/
rhymes: -ʌz
Forms: form: fuzzes
Etymology: Uncertain. Some dictionaries suggest a Germanic source; compare Low German fussig (“loose; spongy”), Dutch voos (“unsound; rotten”). Others, such as Webster's New College Dictionary, suggest a back-formation from fuzzy. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests, “Perhaps imitative of the action of blowing away light particles.”
Senses: examples: text: His cheeks were like peaches, with much the same sort of fuzz over them.
ref: 1895, Hamlin Garland, Rose of Dutcher's Coolly, page 352:
text: Once the eaglets are born—tiny balls of white fuzz—the adult eagles prove that birds can be as protective and solicitous of their young as humans.
ref: 1962 July 24, Richard Petrow, “Last chance to save the Bald Eagle”, in Popular Science, volume 181, number 1, →ISSN, page 192:
glosses: A frizzy mass of hair or fibre.
examples: text: ...scientific advances happen more often at the frontier of representation, at the edge of resolution where an image dissolves into fuzz and blur.
ref: 2010, Iain Boyd Whyte, Beyond the Finite: The Sublime in Art and Science, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN:
glosses: Quality of an image that is unclear; a blurred image.
examples: text: "Fuzz testing" or "fuzzing" is a technique for software testing that provides random data ("fuzz") to the inputs of a program.
ref: 2008, Asoke Talukder, Manish Chaitanya, Architecting Secure Software Systems, Boca Raton: CRC Press, →ISBN, page 94:
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: The random data used in fuzz testing.
examples: text: This gives a good soft clipping effect and a good fuzz sound.
ref: 1994, R.A. Penfold, Music Projects, Boston: New Tech, →ISBN, page 33:
glosses: A distorted sound, especially from an electric guitar or other amplified instrument.
examples: text: I think I'm in a fuzz, and don't know what I ſay, I never ſaw the like.
ref: 1784, Jonathan Swift, “Journal to Stella”, in The works of the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Swift, page 54:
text: So I'm in a fuzz of not knowing what to do
ref: 2016 February 10, Ally, “Signs of an Online Dating Scam”, in Christie Hartman Ph.D., archived from the original on 26 Oct 2016, Comments:
glosses: A state of befuddlement.
glosses: Fuzziness, vagueness.
Derived terms: fuzzball
fuzzbox
fuzz box
fuzzer
fuzzification
fuzzify
fuzzless
fuzzlike
fuzznut
fuzznuts
fuzztail
fuzz test
fuzztone
fuzzword
fuzzy
peachfuzz
peach fuzz
fuzz
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: fŭz
ipa: /fʌz/
rhymes: -ʌz
Forms: form: fuzzes
form: fuzzing
form: fuzzed
form: fuzzed
Etymology: Uncertain. Some dictionaries suggest a Germanic source; compare Low German fussig (“loose; spongy”), Dutch voos (“unsound; rotten”). Others, such as Webster's New College Dictionary, suggest a back-formation from fuzzy. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests, “Perhaps imitative of the action of blowing away light particles.”
Senses: glosses: To make fuzzy.
glosses: To become fuzzy.
examples: text: Or maybe my mind was just fuzzed with the drink.
ref: 2004, Quintin Jardine, Alarm Call, London: Headline, →ISBN:
glosses: To make drunk.
examples: text: Sulley works by fuzzing the first fuzzable field to be fuzzed. While it is iterating through all the values it wants to try for that field, all the other fields are untouched and remain at their default value.
ref: 2012, Charlie Miller, Dion Blazakis, Dino DaiZovi, iOS Hacker's Handbook, page 172:
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: To test a software component by running it on randomly generated input.
glosses: To fly off in minute particles with a fizzing sound, like water from hot metal.
Derived terms: fuzz out
fuzz up
fuzzable
fuzz
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: fŭz
ipa: /fʌz/
rhymes: -ʌz
Etymology: Unknown. Godfrey Irwin (1930) suggests a possible connection to fuss, "over-particular", excessive bother.
Senses: examples: text: Let's get the hell out of here before the fuzz turns up
ref: 2009, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, 0:26:17
glosses: The police, or any law enforcement agency.
Derived terms: fuzzbuster
fuzz
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: fŭz
ipa: /fʌz/
rhymes: -ʌz
Senses: glosses: Misspelling of fuss.
fury
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfjʊə.ɹi/
ipa: /ˈfjɔːɹi/
ipa: /ˈfjʊɹ.i/
ipa: /ˈfjɝ.i/
ipa: /ˈfjʉːɹi/
ipa: /ˈfjuːɹi/
rhymes: -ʊəɹi
Forms: form: furies
Etymology: From Middle English furie, from Old French furie, from Latin furia (“rage”).
Senses: examples: text: Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd, / Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman ſcorn'd.
ref: 1697, [William] Congreve, The Mourning Bride, a Tragedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act III, page 39:
text: The building of the railway in this notable beauty spot roused the great Victorian writer John Ruskin to fury.
ref: 1960 March, J. P. Wilson, E. N. C. Haywood, “The route through the Peak - Derby to Manchester: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 155:
glosses: Extreme anger.
examples: text: Small lightes are ſoone blown out, huge fires abide, / And with the winde in greater furie fret: / The petty ſtreames that paie a dailie det / To their ſalt ſoveraigne with their freſh fals haſt, / Adde to his flowe, but alter not his taſt.
ref: 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC:
text: I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera,[…]the speed-mad fugitives from the furies of ennui, the neurotic victims of mental cirrhosis,[…]!
ref: 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VI, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
glosses: Strength or violence in action.
glosses: An angry or malignant person.
Derived terms: furious
furisome
hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
like fury
sound and fury
Spanish fury
fury
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfjʊə.ɹi/
ipa: /ˈfjɔːɹi/
ipa: /ˈfjʊɹ.i/
ipa: /ˈfjɝ.i/
ipa: /ˈfjʉːɹi/
ipa: /ˈfjuːɹi/
rhymes: -ʊəɹi
Forms: form: furies
Etymology: Latin fur (“thief”).
Senses: examples: text: But have an eye to your plate , for there be Furies.
ref: 1625 (date written), Iohn Fletcher, [Philip Massinger], The Elder Brother. A Comedie. […], London: […] F[elix] K[ingston] for J[ohn] W[aterson] and J[ohn] B[enson], published 1637, →OCLC, Act III, scene (please specify |scene=i or ii):
glosses: A thief.
fume
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /fjuːm/
rhymes: -uːm
Forms: form: fumes
Etymology: From Middle English fume, from Old French fum (“smoke, steam, vapour”), from Latin fūmus (“vapour, smoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós (“smoke”), from *dʰewh₂- (“to smoke, raise dust”). Doublet of thymus and thymos. More at dun, dusk, dust.
Senses: examples: text: Don't stand around in there breathing the fumes while the adhesive cures.
text: the fumes of new-shorn hay
ref: 1753, Thomas Warton, Ode:
glosses: A gas or vapour/vapor that is strong-smelling or dangerous to inhale.
examples: text: Lead fume is a greyish powder, mainly comprising lead sulfate.
glosses: A material that has been vaporized from the solid or liquid state to the gas state and re-coalesced to the solid state.
examples: text: The Fumes of his Passion do as really intoxicate and confound his judging and discerning Faculty , as the Fumes of Drink discompose and stupify the Brain of a Man over - charged with it.
ref: 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
text: In his execution of this mission, Mr Tinkler perhaps expressed that Mr Dorrit was in a raging fume.
ref: 1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC:
glosses: Rage or excitement which deprives the mind of self-control.
examples: text: a show of fumes and fancies
ref: a. 1627 (date written), Francis [Bacon], “Considerations Touching a Warre with Spaine. […]”, in William Rawley, editor, Certaine Miscellany Works of the Right Honourable Francis Lo. Verulam, Viscount S. Alban. […], London: […] I. Hauiland for Humphrey Robinson, […], published 1629, →OCLC:
glosses: Anything unsubstantial or airy; idle conceit; vain imagination.
examples: text: to smother him with fumes and eulogies
ref: 1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy, […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:
glosses: The incense of praise; inordinate flattery.
glosses: A passionate person.
Derived terms: exhaust fume
fumacious
fume cupboard
fumed
fume date
fume hood
fumeless
fumelike
fumewort
fumish
fumivorous
fumulus
fumy
fumigate
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfjuːmɪɡeɪt/
Forms: form: fumigates
form: fumigating
form: fumigated
form: fumigated
Etymology: First attested in 1530; borrowed from Latin fūmigātus, perfect passive participle of fūmigō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from fūmus (“smoke”).
Senses: examples: text: They fumigated the Church with burnt wool and feathers instead of incense, put foul water into the holy-water basins, and celebrated a parody on the Church-service, the mock Abbot officiating at the altar; […]
ref: 1820, [Walter Scott], chapter XV, in The Abbot. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne & Co.] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and for Archibald Constable and Company, and John Ballantyne, […], →OCLC, page 319:
text: ‘Pest control are coming too. They’ll be fumigating the place.’
ref: 2016, Ian McEwan, Nutshell, Vintage, page 87:
glosses: To disinfect, purify, or rid of vermin with the fumes of certain chemicals.
Derived terms: fumigable
fumigatable
fumigation
fumigator
refumigate
refumigation
unfumigated
frizz
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /fɹɪz/
rhymes: -ɪz
Forms: form: frizzes
form: frizzing
form: frizzed
form: frizzed
form: friz
Etymology: From Middle English frysen, from Old French friser, frizer (“to frizzle, crisp, curl, ruffle, braid, touch lightly, graze, scratch”), of Proto-Germanic origin, perhaps via Old Frankish *fris (“curl”), from Proto-Germanic *frisaz (“frizzy, curly”). Cognate with Old Frisian frisle, frēsle ("the hair of the head, lock of hair, curl, ringlet"; > North Frisian friessle, fressle (“hair, horse's tail”), West Frisian frisseljen (“braid of hair, braid”)), Old English frīs (“crisped, curled”).
Senses: glosses: Of hair, to form into a mass of tight curls.
examples: text: with her hair frized short up to her ears
ref: 1660 December 2 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “November 22nd, 1660”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume I, London: George Bell & Sons […]; Cambridge: Deighton Bell & Co., published 1893, →OCLC:
text: In labour-saving homes, with care, / Their wives frizz out peroxide hair.
ref: 1937, John Betjeman, Slough:
text: There was also hairdressing: hairdressing, too, really was hairdressing in those times — no running a comb through it and that was that. It was curled, frizzed, waved, put in curlers overnight, waved with hot tongs; […]
ref: 1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:
glosses: To curl; to make frizzy.
glosses: To form into little burs, knobs, or tufts, as the nap of cloth.
glosses: To make (leather) soft and of even thickness by rubbing, as with pumice stone or a blunt instrument.
glosses: To fry, cook, or sear with a sizzling noise; to sizzle.
Derived terms: antifrizz
defrizz
frizz up
frizzy
unfrizz
Related terms: friseur
frizzle
frizz
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /fɹɪz/
rhymes: -ɪz
Forms: form: frizzes
form: friz
Etymology: From Middle English fryse, from the verb. See above.
Senses: glosses: A mass of tightly curled or unruly hair.
frizzy
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: enpr: frĭz'i
ipa: /ˈfɹɪzi/
rhymes: -ɪzi
Forms: form: frizzier
form: frizziest
Etymology: From frizz + -y.
Senses: examples: text: The wet weather made her hair frizzy and untidy.
synonyms: fuzzy
glosses: Formed of a mass of small, tight, wiry curls; unruly or extending in all directions.
Derived terms: frizzily
frizziness
unfrizzy
frizzy
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: frĭz'i
ipa: /ˈfɹɪzi/
rhymes: -ɪzi
Forms: form: frizzies
Etymology: From frizz + -y.
Senses: glosses: A small amount of unkempt, curly hair
me too
Language: English
Part of speech: phrase
Forms: form: metoo
form: me-too
Senses: glosses: That applies to me as well.
Derived terms: #MeToo
me-tooer
me-tooism
me three
me too
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: me toos
form: me tooing
form: me tooed
form: me tooed
form: metoo
form: me-too
Senses: examples: text: This is a big ME TOO for the list of things to do when you are bored.
(I asked for it in r.h.d a while back and got no response so I feel justified in ``me tooing.)
ref: 1990 January 14, Tamara Schacham, “big me to for things to do”, in rec.humor (Usenet):
text: I was put in mind of the possibility because of a recent thread in which someone claimed that some vegetable which I like tasted like soap to him and several others me tooed it.
ref: 1997 July 13, Rich Clancey <rhc@world.std.com>, “weak lemon and soap”, in alt.fan.cecil-adams (Usenet):
text: I know me tooing is frowned upon, but me too!
ref: 2001 May 28, Vegard Valberg <Vvalberg@online.no>, “Re: WI Pearl Harbor Done Right -- Part 2”, in soc.history.what-if (Usenet):
text: I'm more or less agreeing with you too (but don't let Moby hear-he'll accuse me of me tooing).
ref: 2002 July 19, Ken Higgs <kenhiggs8@hotmail.com>, “Re: Bring on the Aussies...”, in rec.sport.cricket (Usenet):
glosses: To agree with someone.
tarmac
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtɑː(ɹ)mæk/
Forms: form: tarmacs
Etymology: Clipping of tarmacadam, which is from tar + macadam (“crushed stones”). Originally a trademark owned by its inventor, Edgar Hooley.
Senses: coordinate_terms: asphalt concrete
glosses: Tarmacadam.
examples: text: How meek and shrunken did that haughty Tarmac become as it slunk by the wide circle of asphalt of the yellow sort, that was loosely strewn before the great iron gates of Lady Hall as a forerunner of the consideration that awaited the guests of Rupert, Earl of Kare, […].
ref: 1922, Michael Arlen, “3/1/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
synonyms: asphalt
glosses: Any bituminous road surfacing material.
glosses: The driveable surface of a road.
topics: aeronautics
aerospace
aviation
business
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: The area of an airport, other than the runway, where planes park or maneuver.
Related terms: asphalt
tarmac
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtɑː(ɹ)mæk/
Forms: form: tarmacs
form: tarmacking
form: tarmacing
form: tarmaccing
form: tarmacked
form: tarmacked
form: tarmaced
form: tarmaced
form: tarmacced
form: tarmacced
Etymology: Clipping of tarmacadam, which is from tar + macadam (“crushed stones”). Originally a trademark owned by its inventor, Edgar Hooley.
Senses: examples: text: To your left is a green lane, partly tarmacked with chippings, which leads up to a little car-parking area.
ref: 2008, Valerie Belsey, Exploring Green Lanes in North and North-West Devon, →ISBN, page 108:
text: Residents in Bolton are angry after workmen tarmaced only one half of their road leaving the other half strewn with potholes.
ref: 2014, Taking the rough with the smooth: Bolton residents anger over half-tarmaced road, ITV Granada
glosses: To pave with tarmacadam or a similar material.
examples: text: "It is not unusual these days for the time spent tarmacking to exceed the time spent in the air, " said Senator John Danforth, R-Mo.
ref: 1989, Donald F. Wood, James C. Johnson, Contemporary Transportation, →ISBN, page 213:
topics: aeronautics
aerospace
aviation
business
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: To spend time idling on a runway, usually waiting for takeoff clearance.
Derived terms: retarmac
untarmacked
tarmacadam
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: tarmacadams
Etymology: From tar + macadam.
Senses: glosses: A mixture of tar and small stones used in paving.
Synonyms: tarmac
Coordinate terms: asphalt
asphalt concrete
tarmacadam
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: tarmacadams
form: tarmacadaming
form: tarmacadamed
form: tarmacadamed
Etymology: From tar + macadam.
Senses: glosses: To cover or surface with tarmacadam.
baffle
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈbæfl̩/
ipa: /ˈbæf(ə)l/
rhymes: -æfəl
Forms: form: baffles
Etymology: The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly:
* from French bafouer, baffoüer (“to abuse, revile; to confuse, baffle; to deceive; to flout; to scorn”), imitative of someone making a disdainful sound by expelling air quickly through pouted lips (compare Occitan baf (interjection expressing disdain)); or
* from French befer, beffer, beffler (“(obsolete) to deceive; to mock, ridicule”) (compare Old French befe, beffe, buffe (“deception; mockery”); beferie (“deceit; quibbling”)), possibly from bafouer: see above.
The noun is derived from the verb.
Cognates
* Italian beffare (“(verb) to deride, mock”), beffa (“(noun) banter; mockery”)
* Occitan bafar (“(verb) to deride, mock”), bafa (“(noun) banter; mockery”)
* Old Spanish bafa (modern Spanish befa (“(noun) banter; mockery”))
* Spanish befar (“(verb) to deride, mock”)
Senses: examples: text: sound baffle
text: Tanker trucks use baffles to keep the liquids inside from sloshing around.
topics: engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
technology
glosses: A device used to dampen, muffle, restrain, or otherwise control the movement of a fluid, or waves travelling through a fluid such as light or sound; specifically, a surface positioned inside an open area to inhibit direct motion from one place to another without preventing motion altogether.
topics: engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
technology
qualifier: coal mining
glosses: A lever for operating the throttle valve of a winding engine.
glosses: A barrier designed to obstruct and confuse enemies, rendering them vulnerable.
examples: text: As to Nonplus an Ariſtotle vvould look, not only like a Slur to a particular Philoſopher, but like a Baffle to Philoſophy it ſelf.
ref: 1661 December 20 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar); first published 1698, Robert South, “False Foundations Removed, and True Ones Laid for such Wise Builders as Design to Build for Eternity. In a Sermon Preached at St Mary’s Oxon, before the University, Decem. 10. 1661.”, in Twelve Sermons upon Several Subjects and Occasions, volume III, London: […] Tho[mas] Warren for Thomas Bennet […], →OCLC, page 200:
glosses: An argument or objection based on an ambiguity of wording or similar trivial circumstance; a minor complaint; a quibble.
Derived terms: bafflectomy
baffle painting
bafflestone
baffle
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈbæfl̩/
ipa: /ˈbæf(ə)l/
rhymes: -æfəl
Forms: form: baffles
Etymology: The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly from Scots bauchle (“to annoy; to cause harm or trouble to; to disgrace; to jilt; to treat with contempt”), from bauchle (“useless or worn-out person or thing; clumsy work, bungle; clumsy or untidy person; contemptible person; laughing stock”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to bauch (“feeble, sorry; backward, foolish”, adjective), possibly related to Old Norse bagr (“awkward, clumsy”), bāgr (“hard up, poor; uneasy”)
The noun is derived from the verb.
Senses: examples: text: Novv that you intend to trail a Pike, and make Profeſſion of Arms, let me give you this Caveat, that nothing muſt be more precious to you than your Reputation. […] If you get but once handſomely off, you are made ever after; for you vvill be free from all Baffles and Affronts.
ref: 1634 August 13 (Gregorian calendar), James Howell, “XIV. To My Cousin Mr. J. P. at Gravesend.”, in Epistolæ Ho-Elianæ. Familiar Letters Domestic and Forren. […], 3rd edition, volume II, London: […] Humphrey Mos[e]ley, […], published 1655, →OCLC, section VI, page 311:
glosses: Intentional insult; affront; also, disgrace; (countable) an instance of this.
perplex
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: pərplĕksʹ
ipa: /pɚˈplɛks/
enpr: pəplĕksʹ
ipa: /pəˈplɛks/
rhymes: -ɛks
Forms: form: perplexes
form: perplexing
form: perplexed
form: perplexed
Etymology: From Old French, from Latin perplexus (“entangled, confused”), from per (“through”) + plexus, perfect passive participle of plectō (“plait, weave, braid”).
Senses: glosses: To cause to feel baffled; to puzzle.
examples: text: What was thought obscure, perplexed, and too hard for our weak parts, will lie open to the understanding in a fair view.
ref: a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC:
text: The Ways of Heav’n are dark and intricate,
Puzzled in Mazes, and perplext with Errors;
Our Underſtanding traces ’em in vain,
Loſt and bewilder’d in the fruitleſs Search; […]
ref: 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2:
glosses: To involve; to entangle; to make intricate or complicated.
examples: text: Chloe's the wonder of her sex, 'Tis well her heart is tender, How might such killing eyes perplex, With virtue to defend her.
ref: 1726, George Granville, Chloe:
text: All night no ruder air perplex
⁠Thy sliding keel, till Phosphor, bright
⁠As our pure love, thro’ early light
Shall glimmer on the dewy decks.
ref: 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto IX”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
glosses: To plague; to vex; to torment.
Derived terms: perplexion
perplexly
unperplex
Related terms: perplexable
perplexation
perplexed
perplexedness
perplexing
perplexity
perplexment
perplex
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: enpr: pərplĕksʹ
ipa: /pɚˈplɛks/
enpr: pəplĕksʹ
ipa: /pəˈplɛks/
rhymes: -ɛks
Forms: form: more perplex
form: most perplex
Etymology: From Old French, from Latin perplexus (“entangled, confused”), from per (“through”) + plexus, perfect passive participle of plectō (“plait, weave, braid”).
Senses: examples: text: How the soul directs the spirits for the motion of the body, according to the several animal exigents, is as perplex in the Theory, as either of the former.
ref: 1665, Joseph Glanvill, Scepsis Scientifica: Or, Confest Ignorance, the Way to Science; […], London: […] E. C[otes] for Henry Eversden […], →OCLC:
text: Finally, I explore possible audience interpretations of the film and offer some alternative reading strategies of these highly perplex sketches.
ref: 2007, Sean Brayton, “MTV's Jackass: Transgression, Abjection and the Economy of White Masculinity”, in Journal of Gender Studies, volume 16, page 58:
glosses: intricate; difficult
Derived terms: perplex number
perplex
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: pərplĕksʹ
ipa: /pɚˈplɛks/
enpr: pəplĕksʹ
ipa: /pəˈplɛks/
rhymes: -ɛks
Forms: form: perplexes
Etymology: From Old French, from Latin perplexus (“entangled, confused”), from per (“through”) + plexus, perfect passive participle of plectō (“plait, weave, braid”).
Senses: glosses: A difficulty.
perplexity
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /pəˈplɛksɪti/
ipa: /pəɹˈplɛksəti/
Forms: form: perplexities
Etymology: From Middle English perplexite, borrowed from Middle French perplexité or post-classical Latin perplexitās, from perplexus (“entangled”). By surface analysis, perplex + -ity.
Senses: synonyms: puzzlement
bewilderment
confusion
glosses: The state or quality of being perplexed.
examples: text: The Emperor, who was by then a focus of unresolvable perplexities, stood providing a strongly contrary appearance.
ref: 1942, Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Canongate, published 2006, page 149:
glosses: Something that perplexes.
topics: computing
engineering
information-theory
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: A measure of how well a probability distribution or model predicts a sample.
redrum
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹiːˈdɹʌm/
rhymes: -ʌm
Forms: form: redrums
form: redrumming
form: redrummed
form: redrummed
Etymology: From re- + drum.
Senses: examples: text: The most common procedure used to overcome these problems is to redrum the contents. [...] Although the labor cost increases because of implied redrumming requirements, the primary increase in cost is that of the drums.
ref: 1990, Edwin F. Barth, Stabilization and solidification of hazardous wastes, page 133:
glosses: To place into new drums (barrels).
perplexed
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: enpr: pərplĕkstʹ
ipa: /pɚˈplɛkst/
enpr: pəplĕkstʹ
ipa: /pəˈplɛkst/
rhymes: -ɛkst
Forms: form: more perplexed
form: most perplexed
Senses: examples: text: The scientists were perplexed by the new discovery.
text: She was perplexed. 'Plege'illegience is plege'illegience!'"
ref: 1963, James Clavell, The Children's Story, unnumbered page:
text: Perplexed, Wheeler continues to play for a moment or two, keeping to his own internal time. But after another moment it becomes clear that something is wrong, something which everybody can see but him. He steals a glance up from his instrument, and finds that Luján is staring at him. In fact, every musician in the orchestra is staring at him, all of them wearing the same expression of stony, barely-contained ang—
They've been replaced.
ref: 2019 April 10, qntm, “CASE HATE RED”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 137:
glosses: Confused or puzzled.
glosses: Bewildered.
examples: text: "[…] But come, Lady, we are too near the mouth of the cavern; let us seek its inmost recesses. […]" "Though all your actions are noble, […] is it fitting that I should accompany you alone into these perplexed retreats? Should we be found together, what would a censorious world think of my conduct?"
ref: 1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto:
glosses: Entangled; labyrinthine.
Derived terms: perplexedly
perplexedness
unperplexed
perplexed
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: pərplĕkstʹ
ipa: /pɚˈplɛkst/
enpr: pəplĕkstʹ
ipa: /pəˈplɛkst/
rhymes: -ɛkst
Senses: glosses: simple past and past participle of perplex
perplexing
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: enpr: pərplĕks'ĭng
ipa: /pɚˈplɛksɪŋ/
Forms: form: more perplexing
form: most perplexing
Senses: examples: text: utterly perplexing
text: perplexing question
text: perplexing problem
text: The detective faced a perplexing mystery.
text: She found the instructions perplexing.
synonyms: baffling
confusing
puzzling
bewildering
glosses: That causes perplexity.
Derived terms: perplexingly
perplexingness
perplexing
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: pərplĕks'ĭng
ipa: /pɚˈplɛksɪŋ/
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of perplex
creative differences
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: examples: text: "Ace 2" is back on track after the original director resigned, citing creative differences with the star.
ref: 1995 June 26, “Funny Face: Jim Carrey Is One Twisted Superstar. But Look Who's Laughing”, in Newsweek:
glosses: Interpersonal disagreements within a collaborating group of musicians, authors, or other artists, especially as resulting in a collapse of the collaboration.
-nomy
Language: English
Part of speech: suffix
Forms: form: -onomy
Etymology: From Ancient Greek νόμος (nómos, “law, custom”).
Senses: glosses: a system of rules, laws, or knowledge about a body of a particular field; distribution, arrangement, management
Derived terms: Deuteronomy
geonomy
taxonomy
Related terms: -nomic
-nomics
-gnosy
-logy
understanding
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʌndəˈstandɪŋ/
ipa: /ˌʌndɚˈstændɪŋ/
rhymes: -ændɪŋ
Forms: form: understandings
Etymology: From Middle English understandinge, understondinge, from Old English understanding (“intelligence, understanding”), from Proto-West Germanic *undarstandingu, from Proto-Germanic *understandingō, equivalent to understand + -ing (gerund ending). Cognate with Middle Dutch onderstaninge, Middle Low German understandinge, Middle High German understandunge.
Senses: examples: text: There are certain things that defy human understanding.
text: The Ways of Heav’n are dark and intricate,
Puzzled in Mazes, and perplext with Errors;
Our Underſtanding traces ’em in vain,
Loſt and bewilder’d in the fruitleſs Search; […]
ref: 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2:
synonyms: comprehension
glosses: The act of one that understands or comprehends; the mental process of discernment of meaning.
examples: text: She has a solid understanding of particle physics.
synonyms: comprehension
grasp
glosses: Reason or intelligence; ability to grasp the full meaning of knowledge; ability to infer.
examples: text: It is the goneness of the Holocaust that produces the simultaneous profusion of discourses and understandings; the goneness is what opens up, what spurs, what unleashes the perpetual desire to do, to make, to rethink the Holocaust.
ref: 1999, Vivian Patraka, Spectacular Suffering: Theatre, Fascism, and the Holocaust:
text: There is a multitude of theisms, many understandings of God, even within the same religious tradition.
ref: 2002, Ross Mackenzie, Marcus J. Borg, editors, God at 2000, page 48:
text: The yawning gap in neuroscientists’ understanding of their topic is in the intermediate scale of the brain’s anatomy. Science has a passable knowledge of how individual nerve cells, known as neurons, work. It also knows which visible lobes and ganglia of the brain do what. But how the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure.
ref: 2013 August 3, “The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
text: According to my understanding, the situation is quite perilous. I wonder if you see it this way, too.
glosses: Opinion, judgement, or outlook.
examples: text: I thought we had an understanding - you do the dishes, and I throw the trash.
glosses: An agreement of minds; harmony; something mutually understood or agreed upon.
An informal contract; a mutual agreement.
examples: text: The parties of the negotiation have managed to come to an understanding.
glosses: An agreement of minds; harmony; something mutually understood or agreed upon.
A reconciliation of differences.
examples: text: He showed much understanding for my problems when he heard about my past.
glosses: Sympathy.
Derived terms: according to one's understanding
innerstanding
memorandum of understanding
mutual understanding
natural language understanding
peace that passeth understanding
Related terms: intellection
innerstanding
overstand
understanding
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʌndəˈstandɪŋ/
ipa: /ˌʌndɚˈstændɪŋ/
rhymes: -ændɪŋ
Forms: form: more understanding
form: most understanding
Etymology: From Middle English understandyng, understondynge, understondinde, undirstondend, understandande, from Old English understandende, from Proto-West Germanic *undarstandandī, from Proto-Germanic *understandandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *understandaną (“to stand between, intercede, understand”), equivalent to understand + -ing (present participle ending).
Senses: glosses: Showing compassion, tolerance, and forbearance; sympathetically aware.
glosses: Knowing; skilful.
understanding
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʌndəˈstandɪŋ/
ipa: /ˌʌndɚˈstændɪŋ/
rhymes: -ændɪŋ
Etymology: From Middle English understandyng, understondynge, understondinde, undirstondend, understandande, from Old English understandende, from Proto-West Germanic *undarstandandī, from Proto-Germanic *understandandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *understandaną (“to stand between, intercede, understand”), equivalent to understand + -ing (present participle ending).
Senses: examples: text: It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: […]; […]; or perhaps to muse on the irrelevance of the borders that separate nation states and keep people from understanding their shared environment.
ref: 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
glosses: present participle and gerund of understand
box girder
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: box girders
Senses: examples: text: The Britannia Tubular Bridge is immediately west of Menai Bridge Station on the Holyhead main line. In design it consists of two continuous box girders of rectangular cross section, one for each track. It was opened in 1850.
ref: 1946 May and June, “The Why and The Wherefore: Miscellanea”, in Railway Magazine, page 198:
text: An all-welded, box section underframe, incorporating box girders which run the full length of the locomotive, is welded to stress-bearing bodysides with partition walls forming reinforcing cross members.
ref: 1962 June, “Beyond the Channel: U.S.S.R.: A 3,000 h.p. diesel-hydraulic from MaK”, in Modern Railways, page 416:
glosses: A steel beam with a hollow rectangular cross section; used for constructing bridges etc.
Related terms: I-beam