cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
nutate
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: -eɪt
Forms: form: nutates
form: nutating
form: nutated
form: nutated
Etymology: First attested in 1880; back-formation from nutation (1610s) on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), from Latin nūtātiō (“a nodding”), from nūtō (“to nod”), from Proto-Indo-European *neu-. Compare mutate.
Senses: glosses: To rock or sway involuntarily.
topics: engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: To wobble; to make a circular rocking motion.
Derived terms: circumnutate
oaf
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /əʊf/
ipa: /oʊf/
rhymes: -əʊf
Forms: form: oafs
form: oaves
form: auf
Etymology: From awf, related to Old Norse álfr (“elf”) (whence Norwegian Bokmål alv). Doublet of alf and elf.
Senses: examples: text: Ouch! You dropped that box on my feet, you lumbering oaf!
glosses: A person, especially a large male, who is clumsy or a simpleton.
glosses: An elf's child; a changeling left by fairies or goblins, hence, a deformed or foolish child.
Synonyms: sense: clumsy or idiotic person
word: dummy
word: galoot
word: imbecile
word: lout
word: moron
word: fool
word: unskilled person
sense: elf's child
word: auf
sense: elf's child
word: swapling
Derived terms: oafdom
oafish
oaflike
oaf-rocked
oater
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈoʊ.tɚ/
rhymes: -əʊtə(ɹ)
homophone: odor stripped-by-parse_pron_post_template_fn
Forms: form: oaters
Etymology: From oat + -er (“Variety -er”). ~1945-50, alluding to the fodder for horses, which are common in the movies.
Senses: examples: text: In recent years the western or horse opera, known in the trade as the "oater," has come to be recognized as an art form just as formal as the ballet or the symphony. […] To prove his contention that all this is so, Life Photographer John Florea took these unusual pictures during the filming of Yellow Sky. This is a $1,450,000 western with big-name stars […] and technical talent from 20th Century's top drawer, but is basically a typical oater.
ref: 1949 January 10, “The Great American Horse Opera”, in Life:
text: By far the more common was the low-budget "hoss opera" or "oater," ground out in relentless numbers by studios such as Universal and Republic, and designed basically for edification of the young, who took them in on Fridays and Saturdays[…] There were, to be sure, degrees of the oater; a somewhat more subtle version, designed for adult as well as child viewing, was also made.
ref: 1995, Louis Decimus Rubin, Jerry Leath Mills, A Writer's Companion:
text: While trying to run a trading post at the depths of the Great Depression, Harry Goulding heard that a Hollywood director was looking for the perfect Western backdrop for his next oater.
ref: 2006 April 2, Timothy Egan, “Monument Valley: Endless Earth, Infinite Sky”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
text: Akira Kurosawa’s samurai movies were already heavily influenced by the western genre, so it wasn’t hard for Hollywood to convert Seven Samurai (1954) back into a bona fide oater.
ref: 2025 May 15, Anne Billson, “The 20 best US remakes of foreign language films – ranked!”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
synonyms: horse opera
oat opera
glosses: A movie or television show about cowboy or frontier life; a western movie.
Related terms: soap opera
sudser
objets
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /oʊbˈʒeɪz/
Senses: glosses: plural of objet
oblate
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɒbleɪt/
ipa: /ɒˈbleɪt/
ipa: /ˈɑbleɪt/
rhymes: (UK adjective) -eɪt
Forms: form: oblates
form: oblati
Etymology: From French oblat and its source, post-classical Latin oblātus (“person dedicated to religious life”), a nominal use of the past participle of offerō (“I offer”).
Senses: topics: Catholicism
Christianity
Roman-Catholicism
glosses: A person dedicated to a life of religion or monasticism, especially a member of an order without religious vows or a lay member of a religious community.
examples: 2007, The Venerable Bede started as an oblate at St Paul's, Jarrow, but by the time of his death in 735 was surely the most learned man in Europe. — Tom Shippey, ‘I Lerne Song’, London Review of Books 29:4, p. 19
glosses: A child given up by its parents into the keeping or dedication of a religious order or house.
Related terms: oblation
offer
offering
oblate
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɒbleɪt/
ipa: /ɒˈbleɪt/
ipa: /ˈɑbleɪt/
rhymes: (UK adjective) -eɪt
Forms: form: more oblate
form: most oblate
Etymology: From Late Latin oblātus, from Latin ob (“in front of, before”) + lātus (“broad, wide”), (modeled after prōlātus (“extended, lengthened”)).
Senses: examples: text: The Earth is an oblate spheroid.
text: Why should I not speak to him or to any human being who walks upright upon this oblate orange?
ref: 1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
text: ’Tis prolate, still,’ with a long dejected Geordie O. ‘Isn’t it…?’ ‘I’m an Astronomer,– trust me, ’tis gone well to oblate.’
ref: 1997, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 39, in Mason & Dixon, 1st US edition, New York: Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN, part Two: America, page 392:
glosses: Flattened or depressed at the poles.
Derived terms: nonoblate
oblately
oblateness
suboblate
Related terms: oblatum
equidimensional
oblate
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɒbleɪt/
ipa: /ɒˈbleɪt/
ipa: /ˈɑbleɪt/
rhymes: (UK adjective) -eɪt
Forms: form: oblates
form: oblating
form: oblated
form: oblated
Senses: glosses: To offer as either a gift or an oblation.
oboe
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: ō'bō
ipa: /ˈəʊbəʊ/
ipa: /ˈoʊboʊ/
rhymes: -əʊbəʊ
enpr: ō'boi
ipa: /ˈoʊbɔɪ/
Forms: form: oboes
Etymology: An earlier form in English is hautboy, but the spelling oboe was adopted into English ca. 1770 from the Italian oboè, a transliteration in that language's orthography of the 17th-century pronunciation of the French word hautbois, a compound word made of haut (“high, loud, high-pitched”) and bois (“wood, woodwind”).
Senses: examples: text: Whistles, mirlitons, flutes, trumpets or horns, clarinets, and oboes are all played in one or more parts of the continent.
ref: 1990, Francis Bebey, African music: a people's art, page 64:
text: This does become monstrously antimusical in one scene: when Tchaikovsky’s music, softly depicting the sleeping palace (my favorite passage of this composer’s entire oeuvre, with its beautifully muffled oboe melody suggesting how beauty ripens in sleep like a chrysalis), is turned into an epic battle for the poor passive Prince, conducted between the wicked Carabosse, with her ghoulish minions, and the Lilac Fairy, with her elves.
ref: 2007 June 4, Alastair Macaulay, “Wake Up, Princess, the Movies Are Calling”, in The New York Times:
text: Using the “endangered species” model employed by the World Wide Fund for Nature, campaigners are highlighting the scarcity of bassoonists and paving the way for the promotion of some other orchestral instruments that are under threat, such as the oboe, French horn, viola, trombone and double bass.
ref: 2015 August 1, Vanessa Thorpe, “Musicians launch campaign to save the bassoon as shortage threatens orchestra”, in The Guardian:
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A soprano and melody wind instrument in the modern orchestra and wind ensemble. It is a smaller instrument and generally made of grenadilla wood. It is a member of the double reed family.
Derived terms: baroque oboe
bass oboe
contrabass oboe
oboe da caccia
oboe di caccia
oboe d’amore
oboeist
oboelike
oboe-player
oboist
piccolo oboe
pink oboe
Related terms: cor anglais
hautboy
oboist
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: oboists
form: oboeist
Etymology: From oboe + -ist.
Senses: topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: Someone who plays an oboe.
Synonyms: oboe-player
ocelot
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɒsəlɒt/
ipa: /ˈɑsəlɑt/
Forms: form: ocelots
Etymology: From French ocelot, a word formed by Buffon from Classical Nahuatl ōcēlōtl (“jaguar”).
Senses: glosses: An American feline carnivore (Leopardus pardalis, syn. Felis pardalis) covered with blackish ocellated spots and blotches which are variously arranged.
Synonyms: chati
Derived terms: marlot
ocebob
oceloid
ocelotlike
Ocicat
tree ocelot
octane
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: ŏk'tān
ipa: /ˈɒkteɪn/
rhymes: -ɒkteɪn
Forms: form: octanes
Etymology: From oct- + -ane.
Senses: topics: chemistry
natural-sciences
organic-chemistry
physical-sciences
glosses: Any of the eighteen isomeric aliphatic hydrocarbons (C₈H₁₈) found in petroleum, especially an iso-octane 2,2,4 trimethyl-pentane; they are used as fuels and solvents.
glosses: octane number
Coordinate terms: octyl
Derived terms: cyclooctane
diazabicyclooctane
high-octane
isooctane
low-octane
methoctramine
n-octane
octanal
octanamide
octanedione
octane number
octane rating
octanoic
octanol
octanone
octanyl
octodrine
perfluoroctane
research octane number
Related terms: octene
octyne
octant
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: octants
Etymology: From Latin octāns. Doublet of Octans.
Senses: glosses: The eighth part of a circle; an arc of 45 degrees.
topics: astrology
human-sciences
mysticism
philosophy
sciences
glosses: The aspect of two planets that are 45°, or one-eighth of a circle, apart.
topics: geometry
mathematics
sciences
glosses: The eighth part of a disc; a sector of 45 degrees; half a quadrant.
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: An instrument for measuring angles, particularly of elevation.
Synonyms: topics: astronomy
natural-sciences
word: octile
Derived terms: hyperoctant
octantal
Related terms: quadrant
sextant
oft
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɔft/
enpr: ôft
ipa: /ɑft/
enpr: ŏft
ipa: /ɒft/
enpr: ŏft
rhymes: -ɒft
homophone: offed
Forms: form: ofter
form: oftest
Etymology: From Middle English oft (also ofte, often > Modern English often), from Old English oft (“often”), from Proto-West Germanic *oftu, *oftō, from Proto-Germanic *uftō (“often”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian oafte (“oft, often”), West Frisian oft, ofte (“oft, often”), Dutch oft (“oft, often”), German oft (“oft, often”). More at often.
Senses: examples: text: An oft-told tale
text: What I can do, can do no hurt to try:
Since you ſet up your reſt 'gainſt remedy:
He that of greateſt works is finiſher,
Oft does them by the weakeſt miniſter;
So holy writ in babes hath judgment ſhown,
When judges have been babes.
ref: c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
text: 1819, George Gordon Byron, John Galt (biography), The Pophecy of Dante, Canto the Fourth, 1857, The Complete Works of Lord Byron, Volume 1, page 403,
And how is it that they, the sons of fame,
Whose inspiration seems to them to shine
From high, they whom the nations oftest name,
Must pass their days in penury or pain,
Or step to grandeur through the paths of shame,
And wear a deeper brand and gaudier chain?
text: 1902, James H. Mulligan, In Kentucky, quoted in 2005, Wade Hall (editor), The Kentucky Anthology, page 203,
The moonlight falls the softest
In Kentucky;
The summer days come oftest
In Kentucky;
text: Now, the English-language Wikipedia does make an attempt to document knowledge of the whole world, not just the English-speaking world. At the same time, it admits in its own oft-cited “essays” that it has a pro-Western “systemic bias”; this is borne out by studies cited in the Wikipedia article about itself.
ref: 2025 September 30, Larry Sanger, “4. Revive the original neutrality policy.”, in larrysanger.org:
glosses: often; frequently; not rarely
Derived terms: many a time and oft
oft-mentioned
oftness
oft-repeated
ofttimes
oft-used
oftwhiles
Related terms: often
ofter
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Senses: glosses: comparative form of oft: more oft; more often
ohmic
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈoʊmɪk/
ipa: /ˈəʊmɪk/
rhymes: -əʊmɪk
Forms: form: more ohmic
form: most ohmic
Etymology: From ohm + -ic.
Senses: glosses: Of or relating to, or measured in, ohms.
glosses: That obeys Ohm's law
Derived terms: nonohmic
ohmically
ohmic resistance
subohmic
superohmic
olefin
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈəʊləfɪn/
Forms: form: olefins
form: olefine
Etymology: From olefiant, "oil-producing".
Senses: topics: chemistry
natural-sciences
organic-chemistry
physical-sciences
glosses: Any of a class of unsaturated open-chain hydrocarbons such as ethylene; an alkene with only one carbon-carbon double bond.
Derived terms: cycloolefin
diolefin
elastolefin
hydrofluoroolefin
nitroolefin
olefination
olefinic
olefin metathesis
polyfluoroolefin
polyolefin
omened
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: From omen + -ed.
Senses: examples: text: happy-omened day
glosses: Acting as, or containing, an omen or omens.
Derived terms: ill-omened
onyx
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɒnɪks/
rhymes: -ɒnɪks
Forms: form: onyxes
Etymology: From Middle English onix (c. 1300), earlier oniche (c. 1250), from Old French oniche or onix, from Latin onyx, from Ancient Greek ὄνυξ (ónux, “onyx”). Doublet of unguis.
Senses: examples: text: People talk about using marble in the bathrooms. Marble wasn't good enough for use—we have onyx!
ref: 2023 September 23, Tom Robbins, “Suite dreams”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 1:
topics: chemistry
geography
geology
mineralogy
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: A banded variety of chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline form of quartz.
glosses: A jet-black color, named after the gemstone.
glosses: Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genus Horaga.
Derived terms: onyx marble
onyx
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɒnɪks/
rhymes: -ɒnɪks
Etymology: From Middle English onix (c. 1300), earlier oniche (c. 1250), from Old French oniche or onix, from Latin onyx, from Ancient Greek ὄνυξ (ónux, “onyx”). Doublet of unguis.
Senses: examples: text: And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
ref: , Genesis, 2:12
text: There was no moon, only stars set brilliantly in the soft black onyx of the sky : a black night and very silent on Cimiez ; and a black and silent prospect from the verandah […]
ref: 1922, Michael Arlen, “3/7/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
glosses: jet-black
Related terms: sardonyx
oocyte
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈəʊəsʌɪt/
ipa: /ˈoʊ.oʊ.saɪt/
Forms: form: oocytes
form: oöcyte
Etymology: From oo- + -cyte.
Senses: topics: biology
cytology
medicine
natural-sciences
sciences
glosses: A cell that develops into an egg or ovum; a female gametocyte.
Hypernyms: gametocyte
Coordinate terms: spermatocyte
Derived terms: intraoocyte
oocytectomy
oocytelike
oocytogenesis
pro-oocyte
opal
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈəʊpəl/
ipa: /ˈoʊpəl/
rhymes: -əʊpəl
Forms: form: opals
Etymology: In Florio’s A World of Words 1598 as opale, from French opale, from Latin opalus, from Byzantine Greek ὀπάλλιος (opállios), from Sanskrit उपल (upala, “gem, stone”), from उपरि (upári, “the upper millstone”). Distantly related to over.
Senses: examples: text: Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)
ref: 2012 March 24, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 14 Jun 2012, page 128:
topics: chemistry
geography
geology
mineralogy
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: A mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO₂·nH₂O.
topics: chemistry
gemology
geography
geology
jewelry
lifestyle
mineralogy
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: A mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO₂·nH₂O.
A precious gem, an iridescent gemstone found in the opal-silica mineral substrate (potch)
examples: text: The witchery of the dawn turned the grey river-reaches to purple, gold, and opal; and it was as though the lumbering dhoni crept across the splendors of a new heaven.
ref: 1889, Rudyard Kipling, “Only A Subaltern”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 141:
glosses: The colour of opal: any shade of blue with bright flecks of other colours, such as white, yellow, and red.
topics: biochemistry
biology
chemistry
genetics
medicine
microbiology
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: A colloquial name used in molecular biology referring to a particular stop codon sequence, "UGA."
glosses: Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genus Nesolycaena.
Derived terms: black opal
boulder opal
chloropal
fire opal
jasper opal
opal aura
opaled
opalesce
opalescence
opalescent
opalesque
opaleye
opal glass
opalic
opaline
opalise
opalish
opalize
opalotype
opal pineapple
opal pseudomorph
Opalton
opalware
pineapple opal
pipe opal
semiopal
wood opal
xylopal
operon
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: operons
Etymology: From operator + -on.
Senses: glosses: A unit of genetic material that functions in a coordinated manner by means of an operator, a promoter, and structural genes that are transcribed together.
Derived terms: interoperon
intraoperon
operonic
operonization
suboperon
superoperon
Related terms: divergon
regulon
stimulon
opine
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ə(ʊ)ˈpaɪn/
ipa: /oʊˈpaɪn/
rhymes: -aɪn
Forms: form: opines
form: opining
form: opined
form: opined
Etymology: Borrowed from Middle French opiner, from Latin opīnor (“to hold as an opinion”), from *opīnus (“thinking, expecting”), only in negative nec-opīnus (“not expecting”) and in-opīnus (“not expected”); akin to optō (“to choose, desire”), and to apīscor (“to obtain”); see optate and opt.
Senses: examples: text: I opined that matters would soon become considerably worse.
text: "Your decisions," she opined, "have been unfailingly disastrous for this company."
glosses: To express an opinion; to state as an opinion; to suppose, consider (that).
examples: text: I had to opine on the situation because I thought a different perspective was in order.
glosses: To give one's formal opinion (on or upon something).
examples: text: Do you, Maister Francis, opine that ye will re-establish your father's credit by cutting your kinsman's thrapple, or getting your ain sneckit instead thereof in the College-yards of Glasgow?
ref: 1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], Rob Roy. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC:
text: This, I opine, is a correct and fair statement of the case.
ref: 1870, Pennsylvanian College of Dental Surgery, The Dental Times, Vol VII p 130:
glosses: to suppose, consider as correct, or entertain, an opinion.
Derived terms: opination
unopined
Related terms: opinion
opinionated
opine
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ə(ʊ)ˈpaɪn/
ipa: /oʊˈpaɪn/
rhymes: -aɪn
Forms: form: opines
Etymology: Derived from Ancient Greek ὀπός (opós, “juice of a plant”) + -ine.
Senses: topics: biochemistry
biology
chemistry
microbiology
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: Any of a class of organic compounds, derived from amino acids, found in some plant tumours
orate
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɔːˈɹeɪt/
ipa: /ɒɹˈeɪt/
ipa: /əˈɹeɪt/
ipa: /ˈɔɹ.eɪt/
ipa: /ɔˈɹeɪt/
note: Indic
ipa: /ɵˈɾeʈ/
rhymes: -eɪt
Forms: form: orates
form: orating
form: orated
form: orated
Etymology: Back formation from oration, from Latin ōrātiō (“speech, discourse, oration”), from ōrātus (“spoken, orated”), from ōrō (“speak, pray”).
Senses: glosses: To speak formally; to give a speech.
glosses: To speak passionately; to preach for or against something.
Synonyms: sense: to speak formally
word: speak
sense: to speak passionately
word: harangue
sense: to speak passionately
word: preach
Derived terms: perorate
Related terms: oral
oration
orator
oratory
oratrix
orate
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɔːˈɹeɪt/
ipa: /ɒɹˈeɪt/
ipa: /əˈɹeɪt/
ipa: /ˈɔɹ.eɪt/
ipa: /ɔˈɹeɪt/
note: Indic
ipa: /ɵˈɾeʈ/
rhymes: -eɪt
Forms: form: more orate
form: most orate
Etymology: Back formation from oration, from Latin ōrātiō (“speech, discourse, oration”), from ōrātus (“spoken, orated”), from ōrō (“speak, pray”).
Senses: glosses: Competent in oracy; having good speaking skills.
ossify
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɒs.ɪ.faɪ/
ipa: /ˈɑ.sə.faɪ/
rhymes: -aɪ
Forms: form: ossifies
form: ossifying
form: ossified
form: ossified
Etymology: Back-formation from ossification, or modeled on French ossifier and formed from Latin os, ossis (“bone”) + -ify.
Senses: examples: text: […], nor do all bones of the same skeleton ossify during the samе period of time.
ref: 1884, Arthur C. Cole, Studies in Microscopical Science, page 35:
antonyms: deossify
coordinate_terms: chondrify
glosses: To transform (or cause to transform) from a softer animal substance into bone; particularly the processes of growth in humans and animals.
examples: text: Before long, the entire organization ossifies.
ref: 1996, Peter Schwartz, The Art of the Long View, →ISBN, page 96:
text: Possession of absolute knowledge would ossify the human spirit, quenching human creativity;
ref: 2006, Michael S. Jones, Metaphysics of Religion: Lucian Blaga and Contemporary Philosophy, →ISBN, page 79:
synonyms: harden
glosses: To become (or cause to become) inflexible and rigid in habits or opinions.
examples: text: This accidental repartition gets repeated, develops advantages of its own, and gradually ossifies into a systematic division of labour.
ref: 1886, Samuel Moore, “Chapter 14”, in Capital, volume I, translation of original by Karl Marx:
text: Now, in turn, we apply a revolutionary critique that […] ossifies into a rhetoric to become "the monstrous Latin of a monstrous church."
ref: 2001, Kevin O'Neill, David Suchoff, The Wisdom of Love, translation of original by Alain Finkielkraut, →ISBN, page 55:
text: [T]he charge threatens to ossify into conventional wisdom before the movie's audience can get to theaters to see how misguided it is.
ref: 2005 December 20, Michelle Goldberg, “The war on 'Munich'”, in Salon.com, archived from the original on 06 Mar 2008:
glosses: To grow (or cause to grow) formulaic and permanent.
examples: text: The cartilages become brittle, and in many instances are ossified; the ligaments are rendered harder, but are less capable of resisting extension.
ref: 1850, Roxey Ann Caplin, “Chapter X”, in Health and Beauty:
glosses: To calcify.
Derived terms: coossify
nonossifying
reossify
Related terms: word: ossification
word: ossifier
word: calcify
oust
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /aʊst/
ipa: /ʌʊst/
rhymes: -aʊst
Forms: form: ousts
form: ousting
form: ousted
form: ousted
Etymology: From Anglo-Norman ouster, oustier, from Old French oster (modern French ôter), from post-classical Latin obstare (“to remove”), classical obstāre (“to obstruct, stand in the way of”). Not related to out.
Senses: examples: text: The protesters became so noisy that they were finally ousted from the meeting.
text: The CEO was ousted by the board of directors.
glosses: To expel; to remove.
Synonyms: banish
dismiss
eject
exclude
kick out
Derived terms: oustee
ouster
ouster
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈaʊstə/
ipa: /ˈaʊstəɹ/
rhymes: -aʊstə(ɹ)
Forms: form: ousters
Etymology: From Old French ouster, oustre, a nominalization of Anglo-Norman oustre (“to oust”).
Senses: glosses: A putting out of possession; dispossession; ejection.
topics: law
property
glosses: Action by a cotenant that prevents another cotenant from enjoying the use of jointly owned property.
examples: text: According to three Lakeview employees, Mr. Kendrick’s ouster came as the nursing home was telling staff members to try to clear out less-profitable residents to make room for a new class of customers who would generate more revenue: patients with Covid-19.
ref: 2020 June 21, “‘They Just Dumped Him Like Trash’: Nursing Homes Evict Vulnerable Residents”, in New York Times:
text: Mr. Sunak, a former chancellor whose resignation in July precipitated Mr. Johnson’s ouster, earlier said he would not serve in Ms. Truss’s cabinet.
ref: 2022 September 6, Mark Landler, Stephen Castle, “Truss Takes Office, Promising Britons They Can ‘Ride Out the Storm’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
text: The announcement blindsided employees, many of whom learned of the sudden ouster from an internal announcement and the company’s public facing blog.
ref: 2023 November 18, Blake Montgomery, Dani Anguiano, “OpenAI fires co-founder and CEO Sam Altman for allegedly lying to company board”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: The forceful removal of a politician or regime from power; a coup; an ousting.
Related terms: ouster le main
ouster
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈaʊstə/
ipa: /ˈaʊstəɹ/
rhymes: -aʊstə(ɹ)
Forms: form: ousters
form: oustering
form: oustered
form: oustered
Etymology: From Old French ouster, oustre, a nominalization of Anglo-Norman oustre (“to oust”).
Senses: glosses: To oust.
ouster
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈaʊstə/
ipa: /ˈaʊstəɹ/
rhymes: -aʊstə(ɹ)
Forms: form: ousters
Etymology: From oust + -er.
Senses: glosses: Someone who ousts.
ouzel
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈuːzəl/
rhymes: -uːzəl
Forms: form: ouzels
form: ousel
form: oozel
Etymology: From Middle English osel, from Old English ōsle, from Proto-West Germanic *ą̄slā, *amslā, from Proto-Germanic *amslǭ. Cognate with German Amsel.
For the spelling, compare Early Modern English bloud (“blood”).
Senses: glosses: A Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula).
glosses: A water ouzel, an aquatic perching bird (Cinclus mexicanus).
Synonyms: sense: water ouzel
word: dipper
Derived terms: taxonomic: Turdus torquatus
word: ring ouzel
word: water ouzel
taxonomic: Cinclus cinclus
word: white-throated dipper
ovate
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈəʊ.veɪt/
ipa: /ˈoʊ.veɪt/
ipa: /ˈəʉ.væɪt/
Forms: form: more ovate
form: most ovate
Etymology: oval + -ate, from Latin ovatus.
Senses: examples: text: The Geese, Anserinæ, have the body ovate, the head small, the bill stout and somewhat conical; the legs rather long; the wings of great length and breadth.
ref: 1852, William Macgillivray, A history of British birds, indigenous and migratory, page 573:
glosses: Shaped like an egg.
topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
glosses: With the broadest extremity near the base.
raw_tags: of leaves
Synonyms: egg-shaped
ovoid
Derived terms: obovate
ovately
semiovate
subovate lance-ovate
ovate
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈəʊ.veɪt/
ipa: /ˈoʊ.veɪt/
ipa: /ˈəʉ.væɪt/
Forms: form: ovates
Etymology: oval + -ate, from Latin ovatus.
Senses: examples: text: Slightly derived handaxes from the Mildenhall glaciofluvial sands, generally in fresh condition and dominated by ovates and cordates.
ref: 2012, Paul Pettitt, Mark White, The British Palaeolithic, page 122:
topics: archaeology
history
human-sciences
sciences
glosses: An egg-shaped hand axe.
ovate
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈəʊ.veɪt/
ipa: /ˈoʊ.veɪt/
ipa: /ˈəʉ.væɪt/
Forms: form: ovates
Etymology: See vates.
Senses: glosses: An Irish bard.
glosses: A member at a certain grade of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, a neo-druidism order based in England.
glosses: A modern-day bard of a gorsedd, especially one acknowledged at an eisteddfod.
oxalic
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɒkˈsælɪk/
ipa: /ɑkˈsælɪk/
Etymology: Borrowed from French oxalique, from Oxalis (“the sorrel plant”).
Senses: examples: text: If not sufficiently purified, a little hydrochloric or oxalic acid, or caustic potash may be put in the water, according as the stains are from grease or from ink.
ref: 1880, William Blades, The Enemies of Books, page 92:
glosses: Of or pertaining to oxalic acid or its derivatives.
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: Of or pertaining to oxaluria.
Derived terms: desoxalic
hyperoxaluria
mesoxalic acid
nonoxalic
oxalamide
oxaldehyde
oxalemia
oxalethyline
oxalic anhydride
oxalyl
oxeye
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: oxeyes
form: ox-eye
Etymology: From ox + eye. Apparently in some senses, specifically Buphthalmum, translated from Arabic عَيْن الْبَقَر (ʕayn al-baqar, literally “ox-eye”), as also the case for French œil-de-bœuf.
Senses: glosses: Several daisy-like flowers in various genera,
Heliopsis spp.
glosses: Several daisy-like flowers in various genera,
Heteranthemis viscidehirta
glosses: Several daisy-like flowers in various genera,
Telekia speciosa
glosses: Any oxeye daisy.
Leucanthemum vulgare
glosses: Any oxeye daisy.
Any of a genus of composite plants (Buphthalmum spp.), with large yellow flowers.
glosses: The corn camomile (Anthemis arvensis).
glosses: A titmouse, especially the great titmouse (Parus major) or the blue titmouse (Parus caeruleus).
glosses: The dunlin (Calidris alpina)
glosses: A fish of species Boops boops (bogue, box)
Derived terms: taxonomic: Sphagneticola trilobata
word: Bay Biscayne creeping-oxeye
taxonomic: Wedelia spp. etc
word: creeping oxeye
taxonomic: Telekia speciosa
word: heart-leaved oxeye
taxonomic: Leucanthemum vulgare
word: oxeye daisy
word: oxeye herring
taxonomic: Allocyttus folletti
word: oxeye oreo
word: sea oxeye
word: sea oxeye daisy
word: seaside oxeye
taxonomic: Borrichia frutescens
word: smooth oxeye
taxonomic: Buphthalmum salicifolium
word: yellow oxeye daisy
taxonomic: Telekia speciosa
word: yellow oxeye
Related terms: ox-eyed
oxeyed
pall
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /pɔːl/
ipa: /pɔl/
ipa: /pɑl/
rhymes: -ɔːl
homophone: Paul
Forms: form: palls
form: palling
form: palled
form: palled
Etymology: From the noun pall (“cloth”).
Senses: examples: text: Come, thick Night, / And pall thee in the dunneſt ſmoake of Hell, / That my keene Knife ſee not the Wound it makes, / Nor Heauen peepe through the Blanket of the darke, / To cry, hold, hold.
ref: c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v], page 134, column 2, lines 48–49:
glosses: To cloak or cover with, or as if with, a pall.
pall
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /pɔːl/
ipa: /pɔl/
ipa: /pɑl/
rhymes: -ɔːl
homophone: Paul
Forms: form: palls
Etymology: From the verb pall (“to make vapid”).
Senses: examples: text: Tho the Impatience of abſtaining be greater; the Pleaſure of Indulgence is really leſs. The Palls or Nauseatings which continually intervene, are of the worſt and moſt hateful kind of Senſation. Hardly is there any thing taſted which is wholly free from this ill reliſh of a ſurfeited Senſe and ruin'd Appetite.
ref: 1699, [Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury], An Inquiry Concerning Virtue: In Two Discourses, […], London: Printed for A. Bell … E. Castle … and S. Buckley, →OCLC; republished as “Treatise IV. Viz. An Inquiry Concerning Virtue, or Merit. […]”, in Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times. In Three Volumes, volume II, [London: Printed by John Darby], 1711, →OCLC, book II, part II, section II, pages 149–150:
glosses: A feeling of nausea caused by disgust or overindulgence.
pall
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /pɔːl/
ipa: /pɔl/
ipa: /pɑl/
rhymes: -ɔːl
homophone: Paul
Forms: form: palls
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of pawl.
pall
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /pɔːl/
ipa: /pɔl/
ipa: /pɑl/
rhymes: -ɔːl
homophone: Paul
Forms: form: palls
form: palling
form: palled
form: palled
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of pawl.
Related terms: pall mall
pard
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɑː(ɹ)d/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)d
Forms: form: pards
Etymology: From Middle English parde, from Old French, from Latin pardus, from Ancient Greek πάρδος (párdos), possibly of Iranian origin and related to other Sanskrit and Ancient Greek terms (see leopard).
Senses: examples: text: Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel …
ref: c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii], lines 1047-49:
text: Ten Brace, and more, of Greyhounds, snowy fair,
And tall as Stags, ran loose, and cours'd around his Chair,
A Match for Pards in flight, in grappling, for the Bear
ref: 1700, John Dryden, Palamon and Arcite, Book III:
text: In a mistake of the gall-bladder for some part of South America it is mostly found in the pard […]
ref: 1813, John Mason Good, Pantologia. A new (cabinet) cyclopædia, by J.M. Good, O. Gregory, and N. Bosworth assisted by other gentlemen of eminence, page 41:
text: St. Jerome takes the pard of Jeremiah to mean the onslaught of Alexander upon India. His contemporary, St. Ambrose, avers that the pard’s variety of hue signifies the various impulses of the soul.
ref: 1902, Richard Thayer Holbrook, Dante and the Animal Kingdom:
text: Centuries ago it was believed that the leopard was a cross between a lion and a pard, hence its title of leo-pard. Some authorities said that a pard was another name for a panther and others stated that a panther was a female leopard. The relationship between the pard, the panther and the leopard kept changing until, at last, the great Dr Johnson in his 1760 dictionary declared bluntly that a panther was a pard and that a pard was a leopard. In other words, the three animals were one and the same. After Johnson's time the pard faded into history, but the panther managed to survive […].
ref: 2014 June 15, Desmond Morris, Leopard, Reaktion Books, →ISBN:
glosses: A leopard; a panther.
Derived terms: pardine
pard
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɑː(ɹ)d/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)d
Forms: form: pards
Etymology: From pardner (“partner”), by shortening.
Senses: examples: text: He had long believed, in secret, that his old pard, Tom Terror, was the leader of the Thugs that infested the famous pass; he was confident of it now, and it would be safe to say that, as he rode along, his neck did not itch as formerly.
ref: 1882, James Jackson, Tom Terror, the Outlaw:
text: 'He's my pard, and you shall not bully him,' he cried.
ref: 1898, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Man with the Watches:
text: The American thrust a gold piece into his hand, saying: 'Take it, pard! it's your pot; and don't be skeer'd. This ain't no necktie party that you're asked to assist in!'
ref: 1914, Bram Stoker, The Squaw:
glosses: Partner; fellow; Used as a friendly appellation
parser
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɑː(ɹ).zə/
ipa: /ˈpɑː(ɹ).sə/
ipa: /ˈpɑɹ.sɚ/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)zə(ɹ)
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)sə(ɹ)
Forms: form: parsers
Etymology: From parse + -er.
Senses: topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: A computer program that parses.
glosses: One who parses.
Derived terms: geoparser
predictive parser
pas
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /pɑː/
Forms: form: pas
Etymology: Borrowed from French pas.
Senses: examples: text: ‘Nobody of any elegance of manners can exist, where tradesmen, attornies, and mechanics have the pas.’
ref: 1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 71:
text: Even Mrs. Bute Crawley, the Rector's wife, refused to visit her, as she said she would never give the pas to a tradesman's daughter.
ref: 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 9, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
glosses: The right of going foremost; precedence.
examples: text: The premier pas in life is the most important of all ……
ref: 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 18, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
glosses: A step in a dance.
Derived terms: have the pas of someone
Related terms: haut-pas
n'est-ce pas
pas de deux
pas de quatre
pas de trois
pas devant
pas devant les enfants
pas seul
pas
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /pɑː/
ipa: /pɑːz/
ipa: /pɑː/
Etymology: * see pa
Senses: glosses: plural of pa
paster
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: -eɪstə(ɹ)
Forms: form: pasters
Etymology: From paste + -er.
Senses: glosses: One who, or that which, pastes.
glosses: A slip of paper, usually bearing a name, intended to be pasted by the voter, as a substitute, over another name on a printed ballot.
topics: communications
electrical-engineering
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
telecommunications
telephony
glosses: A diagram of the circuitry of a telephone, glued inside the telephone itself.
Derived terms: cutter and paster
pated
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: From pate + -ed.
Senses: examples: text: long-pated
text: shallow-pated
glosses: Having a pate or a particular type of pate (head)
raw_tags: used in combinations
Derived terms: addlepated
baldpated
clodpated
crazy-pated
dunderpated
featherpated
maggot-pated
maggotpated
shatterpated
twitterpated
wool-pated
patina
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpætɪnə/
ipa: /pəˈtiː.nə/
ipa: /ˈpæ.tɪ.nə/
rhymes: -ætɪnə
rhymes: -iːnə
Forms: form: patinas
form: patinae
Etymology: Borrowed from Italian patina, from Latin patina (“dish, pan”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek πατάνη (patánē), either from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread”) or from Pre-Greek. Doublet of paten, patena, and patine.
Senses: qualifier: originally
glosses: A paten, flat type of dish.
glosses: The colour or incrustation which age and wear give to (mainly metallic) objects; especially, the green rust which covers works of art such as ancient bronzes, coins and medals.
glosses: A green colour, tinted with grey, like that of bronze patina.
examples: text: he enjoys a patina of respect by the police, despite being an ex-criminal
text: It demonstrates how scientific authority could be constructed on the fly, as it were, by someone with no connections and no psychological credentials who offered a technique that had the patina of modern science[…]
ref: 2012, Alison Winter, Memory: Fragments of a Modern History:
glosses: A gloss or superficial layer.
Derived terms: fauxtina
patinaed
patinate
patination
patinize
patinous
Related terms: patella
patina
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpætɪnə/
ipa: /pəˈtiː.nə/
ipa: /ˈpæ.tɪ.nə/
rhymes: -ætɪnə
rhymes: -iːnə
Etymology: Borrowed from Italian patina, from Latin patina (“dish, pan”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek πατάνη (patánē), either from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread”) or from Pre-Greek. Doublet of paten, patena, and patine.
Senses: glosses: Of a green colour, tinted with grey, like that of bronze patina.
Related terms: verdigris
peaky
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpiːki/
rhymes: -iːki
Forms: form: peakier
form: peakiest
Etymology: From peak + -y.
Senses: examples: text: Her appetite did not improve, however, and she looked very thin and peaky.
ref: 1956 [1880], Johanna Spyri, translated by Eileen Hall, Heidi, page 111:
glosses: Sickly; peaked.
examples: text: Or over hills with peaky tops engrail'd, / And many a tract of palm and rice, / The throne of Indian Cama slowly sail'd / A summer fann'd with spice.
ref: 1842, Alfred Tennyson, “The Palace of Art”, in Poems. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 143:
text: A wide spread of possible outcomes will give a relatively flat distribution and so indicate a risky project. A narrow spread of results will give a very peaky graph and indicate a low risk project.
ref: 1994, John S. Hares, Duncan Royle, Measuring the value of information technology, page 176:
glosses: Characterised by peaks.
Derived terms: peakily
peakiness
peaky blinder
peakyish
peal
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /piːl/
homophone: peel
rhymes: -iːl
Forms: form: peals
Etymology: From Middle English pele, peil, probably an apheretic variant of Middle English apel, appel, from Old French apel (“an appeal; pealing of bells”). Compare appeal.
Senses: examples: text: Whether thoſe peales of praiſe be his or no.
ref: c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 174, column 2:
text: a fair peal of artillery
ref: a. 1628 (date written), John Hayward, The Life, and Raigne of King Edward the Sixt, London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press, and J. Lichfield at Oxford?] for Iohn Partridge, […], published 1630, →OCLC:
text: and the deep thunder, peal on peal, afar
ref: 1816, Lord Byron, “Canto III”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Canto the Third, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […], →OCLC, stanza XXV:
text: Mrs. Green burst out into one of those peals so peculiarly British.
ref: 1828, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter XVI, in Pelham; or, The Adventures of a Gentleman. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 112:
text: And, falling on a bench, he laughed until the tears ran down his cheeks, I could not help joining; and we laughed together, peal after peal[…]
ref: 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
text: And she has half a mind to weep again now, for Jack Brotherhood, as the front doorbell sounds through the house like a bugle call, three short peals as ever.
ref: 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:
glosses: A loud sound, or a succession of loud sounds, as of bells, thunder, cannon, shouts, laughter, of a multitude, etc.
examples: text: Ingulphus, the chronicler of Croyland Abbey, mentions that a peal of seven bells was put up there in the tenth century, and that there was not such a harmonious peal in the whole of England; which implies that rings of bells were then common.
ref: 1908, H. B. Walters, chapter 1, in Church Bells:
glosses: A set of bells tuned to each other according to the diatonic scale.
glosses: The changes rung on a set of bells; in the strict sense a full peal of at least 5040 changes.
Derived terms: dumb peal
peal of bells
thunderpeal
peal
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /piːl/
homophone: peel
rhymes: -iːl
Forms: form: peals
form: pealing
form: pealed
form: pealed
Etymology: From Middle English pele, peil, probably an apheretic variant of Middle English apel, appel, from Old French apel (“an appeal; pealing of bells”). Compare appeal.
Senses: examples: text: Then pealed the bells more loud and deep...
ref: 1864, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Christmas Bells:
text: To the church we'll swiftly steal, then our wedding bells will peal, / You can go as far you like with me, in my merry Oldsmobile
ref: 1939 [1905], “In My Merry Oldsmobile”, Vincent P. Bryan (lyrics), Gus Edwards (music), performed by Bing Crosby:
text: The bell pealed 20 times, clanging into the dusk as Mr. Bush’s motorcade drove off.
ref: 2006 September 11, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “Bush Mourns 9/11 at Ground Zero as N.Y. Remembers”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
glosses: To sound with a peal or peals.
examples: text: The warrior's name, / Though pealed and chimed on all the tongues of fame.
ref: 1807, Joel Barlow, The Columbiad:
glosses: To utter or sound loudly.
examples: text: Nor was his ear less pealed.
ref: 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
glosses: To assail with noise.
examples: text: And the whole air pealed / With the cheers of our men.
ref: 1863, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Cumberland:
glosses: To resound; to echo.
examples: text: To A baron of chekker þay mun hit pele'.
ref: c. 1450, The Boke of Curtasye:
glosses: To appeal.
Derived terms: outpeal
peal out
unpealed
peal
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /piːl/
homophone: peel
rhymes: -iːl
Forms: form: peals
form: peel
Etymology: Uncertain.
Senses: glosses: A small salmon; a grilse; a sewin.
pelter
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: -ɛltə(ɹ)
Forms: form: pelters
Etymology: From pelt + -er.
Senses: examples: text: Sketching is always a peltable or mobable offence, as being contrary to the Koran, and sitting down tempts the pelter.
ref: 1915, H. G. Wells, The Research Magnificent:
text: Young stone-pelters took to the streets and faced armed police who fired straight at them, killing several.
ref: 2008, Outlook, volume 48, number 35, page 20:
glosses: One who pelts.
glosses: A pelting; a shower of missiles, rain, anger, etc.
glosses: A pinchpenny; a mean, sordid person; a miser; a skinflint.
Derived terms: agropelter
pelter
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: -ɛltə(ɹ)
Forms: form: pelters
form: peltering
form: peltered
form: peltered
Etymology: From pelt + -er.
Senses: examples: text: A person is "peltered" when he is subjected to a shower of stones, a shower of hail-stones, or a shower of anything. "Naay, gi'e ower peltering — one at a time! that's enew."
ref: 1862, C. Clough Robinson, The Dialect of Leeds and Its Neighbourhood, page 383:
text: Suddenly Iliin's machine-gun started rattling, peltering the columns, and a second machine-gun followed suit, whilst the Cossacks opened a continuous fire from all sides, seconded by the third, fith and second squadrons.
ref: 1923, Petr Nikolaevich Krasnov, From the Two-headed Eagle to the Red Flag, 1894-1921, page 96:
text: Chips as big as dinner plates were flying across the lawn and peltering the house like a gang of boys stoning telephone insulators.
ref: c. 1933, Erskine Caldwell, Country Full of Swedes:
glosses: To pelt.
peltry
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: /ˈpɛltɹi/
Forms: form: peltries
Etymology: From Old French peleterie, the trade of a skinner or peltmonger (peletier). Equivalent to pelt + -ry.
Senses: examples: text: ...those Indians informed him, that the war was not yet at an end, and that he would live better and with more safety among the French; who, in truth, do much indulge the Indians, and furnish them whatever they desire, because they employ those Indians to kill them beaver, and moose, and other peltry, whereby they gain much.
ref: 1677, Daniel Gookin, The Doings and Sufferings of the Christian Indians, page 521:
text: It has gray hair, and the fleece is sometimes sold with other peltries, but it is not worth much, although it has some odor.
ref: 1679-1680, Jasper Danckaerts, Journal of Jasper Danckaerts, 1679-1680:
text: We met with a party of three hunters from the Sioux river; they had been out for twelve months, and collected about nine hundred dollars worth of peltries and furs.
ref: 1814, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. I.:
text: Selling his glittering goods at a great advance, he received in exchange valuable peltries and furs at a corresponding reduction.
ref: 1855, Herman Melville, Israel Potter:
glosses: Pelts or skins, collectively; skins with the fur on them; furs.