cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
begum
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /bəˈɡʌm/
rhymes: -ʌm
ipa: /ˈbeɪɡəm/
ipa: /ˈbɛɡəm/
rhymes: -ɛɡəm
ipa: /bəˈɡʌm/
rhymes: -ʌm
Forms: form: begums
Etymology: From Classical Persian بیگم (bēgum), from East Turkic begüm, from beg (a title of nobility in Iran, Central Asia and South Asia) + -um (feminine suffix for titles of nobility). Compare Classical Persian خانم (xānum).
Senses: examples: text: He went to India with his capital, and there, according to a wild legend in our family, he was once seen riding on an elephant, in company with a Baboon; but I think it must have been a Baboo—or a Begum.
ref: 1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, chapter 1, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:
text: She was the daughter of an English officer, who having fallen in love with an Indian Begum gave up home, country, and friends, and married her.
ref: 1872, James De Mille, The Cryptogram, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2009:
text: toxic politics dominated by the bitter infighting of the “battling begums” (the widow and daughter of former presidents, who lead the two main parties).
ref: 2012, “Bangladesh: Out of the basket”, in The Economist:
glosses: a high-ranking Muslim woman, especially in South Asia
examples: text: It was a known fact that an envoy from an Indian Prince, a Colonel Altamont, the Nawaub of Lucknow’s prime favourite, an extraordinary man, who had, it was said, embraced Mahometanism, and undergone a thousand wild and perilous adventures was at present in this country, trying to negotiate with the Begum Clavering, the sale of the Nawaub’s celebrated nose-ring diamond, ‘the light of the Dewan.’
ref: 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 45, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
glosses: the form of address for such a woman
Related terms: english: male form of begum
translation: male form of begum
word: bey
coven
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkʌv.ən/
rhymes: -ʌvən
Forms: form: covens
Etymology: From Middle English covent, from Anglo-Norman covent, cuvent, from Old French covent, from Latin conventum, from conveniō, from cum (“with”) and venio (“I come”). Doublet of convent.
Senses: glosses: A nunnery, a convent
glosses: A confederacy or band of people (obsolete)
glosses: A formal group or assembly of witches.
glosses: In fantasy fiction, a family, group or assembly of vampires.
examples: text: “This is a very African area”, he said as they maneuvered their way among the covens of menacing children gathered in the halls.
ref: 1986, David Leavitt, The Lost Language of Cranes (paperback), Penguin, page 12:
glosses: A clique that shares common interests or activities.
Derived terms: covener
covenstead
covendom
limo
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈlɪ.məʊ/
ipa: /ˈlɪ.moʊ/
rhymes: -ɪməʊ
Forms: form: limos
Etymology: Clipping of limousine.
Senses: examples: text: He is believed to be a patron of certain brothels and élite “home delivery” services specializing in celebrity look-alikes. On one occasion he was actually caught in flagrante with a counterfeit Vina in the back of a super-stretch, but when the sharp-eyed cop who saw the hooker responding to a signal and entering the limo understood what was going on, […]
ref: 1999, Salman Rushdie, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, New York: Henry Holt, page 495:
text: No, he didn't play it cheap, but that didn't alter the fact that he was never going to let himself hurt Melodye.
ref: 2008, Francine Craft, Designed for Passion, page 244:
text: There were no limos or extravagances at this point, because we all wanted to make as much money as possible. We played it cheap. No huge catering bills, no wild parties, not even upgraded hotel rooms. Whenever we arrived at an airport Robin would be there to meet us in a rented SUV or big sedan, and we'd head to the gig on our own.
ref: 2010, Jeff Dunham, All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed, and Me:
text: No flashy dressers, skimpily dressed starlets, or celebrities stepping out of stretch limos. Instead, on a warm Friday evening in June 2009, one hundred protestors sang prayers, chanted slogans, and carried signs […]
ref: 2013, Julian Sher, Somebody's Daughter:
text: Limo tinted with the gold plates / Straight from the bottom, this the belly of the beast / From a peasant to a prince to a motherfuckin' king
ref: 2015, “King Kunta”, in To Pimp a Butterfly, performed by Kendrick Lamar:
glosses: Clipping of limousine.
Derived terms: limolike
stretch limo
chancel
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtʃɑːnsəl/
ipa: /ˈt͡ʃænsəl/
rhymes: -ɑːnsəl
rhymes: -ænsəl
Forms: form: chancels
form: chauncel
Etymology: From Old French chancel. Doublet of cancellus.
Senses: examples: text: The Citizens in their rage, imagining that euery poſt in the Churche had bin one of yᵉ Souldyers, ſhot habbe or nabbe at randon^([sic – meaning random]) uppe to the Roode lofte, and to the Chancell, leauing ſome of theyr arrowes ſticking in the Images.
ref: 1577, Raphaell Holinshed; Richarde Stanyhurst [i.e., Richard Stanihurst], “[The Historie of Irelande […].] The Thirde Booke of the Historie of Ireland, Comprising the Raigne of Henry the Eyght: ….”, in The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume I, London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Iohn Hunne, →OCLC, pages 77–78, column 2:
text: Hester Earle and Violet Wayne were moving about the aisle with bundles of wheat-ears and streamers of ivy, for the harvest thanksgiving was shortly to be celebrated, while the vicar stood waiting for their directions on the chancel steps with a great handful of crimson gladioli.
ref: 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 20, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:
glosses: The space around the altar in a church, often enclosed, for use by the clergy and the choir. In medieval cathedrals the chancel was usually enclosed or blocked off from the nave by an altar screen.
Synonyms: apse
presbytery
sanctuary
Derived terms: chancel organ
chancel repair liability
Related terms: chancellery
gussy up
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: gussies up
form: gussying up
form: gussied up
form: gussied up
form: gussie up
Senses: examples: text: You bet she'll gussy up for the party.
text: Not trusting filmgoers to catch the drift, Ms. Coppola underscores the women’s attempts to gussy up with snippets of arch dialogue.
ref: 2017 June 30, Ruth La Ferla, “In ‘The Beguiled,’ Pretty Confections Whipped Up to Seduce”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
synonyms: doll up
glosses: To don fancy clothing; to dress up particularly in flattering or specially altered garments.
examples: text: You can have plain green beans, or gussie them up with a bit of cheese and onion.
text: WWE and WCW gussied up the ritual with a lot of shock-and-awe pyrotechnics and the most innovative use of video graphics this side of MTV. Not so Extreme Championship Wrestling.
ref: 2006, Thomas Hackett, Slaphappy: Pride, Prejudice, and Professional Wrestling, New York, NY: HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 22:
text: The trouble arrives when he tries to gussy up his psychologist’s hat with his more elaborate public intellectual’s attire.
ref: 2021 September 29, Jennifer Szalai, “In ‘Rationality,’ Steven Pinker Sticks Up (Again) for Reason’s Role in Human Progress”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
synonyms: spruce up
glosses: To make fancy or attractive, as by artificial or contrived means.
concern
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /kənˈsɝn/
ipa: /kənˈsɜːn/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)n
Forms: form: concerns
form: concerning
form: concerned
form: concerned
Etymology: Borrowed from Middle French concerner, from Medieval Latin concernō, concernere (“I distinguish, have respect to”), from Latin concernō (“I mix, sift, or mingle together, as in a sieve”), combined form of con- + cernō (“distinguish”).
Senses: examples: text: Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts xxviii:31:
text: our wars with France have always affected us in our most tender interests, and concerned us more than those we have had with any other nation
ref: 1708, Joseph Addison, The Present State of the War, and the Necessity of an Augmentation:
text: ignorant, so far as the usual instruction was concerned
ref: 1821, James Fenimore Cooper, The Spy:
text: As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish, but I would not go out of my way to protest against it. My servant is, so far as I am concerned, welcome to as many votes as he can get. I would very gladly make mine over to him if I could.
ref: 1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC:
glosses: To relate or belong to; to have reference to or connection with; to affect the interest of; to be of importance to.
examples: text: A good prince concerns himself in the happiness of his subjects.
text: They think themselves out the reach of Providence, and no longer concerned to solicit his favour.
ref: a. 1729, John Rogers, A Sufficiency adjusted and recommended:
text: It had been his intention to go to Wimbledon, but as he himself said: “Why be blooming well frizzled when you can hear all the results over the wireless. And results are all that concern me.[…]”
ref: 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 3, in Death on the Centre Court:
glosses: To engage by feeling or sentiment; to interest.
examples: text: I’m concerned that she’s becoming an alcoholic.
glosses: To make somebody worried.
Derived terms: as far as I'm concerned
concernable
overconcern
to those it may concern
to whom it may concern
to whom this may concern
b-word
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: b-words
form: B-word
Senses: examples: text: Although some women may casually use the term among friends or as a sign of empowerment, the b-word is still widely considered a particularly aggressive and demeaning insult when hurled at a woman, especially if it comes from a man.
ref: 2016 June 16, Jenna Johnson, “Donald Trump Calls Her 'Crooked Hillary,' but His Fans Just Say 'B----'”, in Washington Post:
glosses: Any of various vulgar words beginning with the letter B, particularly bitch and bastard.
examples: text: After years of Labour downplaying the B-word [Brexit], it was a marked shift, drawing it into the framing of her tax and spending plans.
ref: 2025 October 31, Richard Partington, “‘The money machine is misfiring’: City blames Brexit for UK’s £20bn productivity headache”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: Any word beginning with the letter B, considered (often humorously) to be taboo in its context.
Related terms: word: bitch
word: bastard
word: bollocks
word: bugger
sense: ‘x’-word euphemisms
word: a-word
word: c-word
word: d-word
word: e-word
word: f-word
word: g-word
word: G-word
word: h-word
word: i-word
word: j-word
word: k-word
word: l-word
word: m-word
word: n-word
word: o-word
word: p-word
word: q-word
word: Q-word
word: r-word
word: s-word
word: t-word
word: u-word
word: v-word
word: w-word
word: x-word
word: y-word
word: z-word
word: related terms C-bomb
word: f-bomb
word: f-slur
word: L-bomb
word: n-bomb
word: Q-slur
word: r-slur
threaten
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: thrĕt′n̩
ipa: /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/
ipa: [ˈθɹɛt.n̩]
ipa: [ˈθɹɛʔ.n̩]
rhymes: -ɛtn̩
Forms: form: threatens
form: threatening
form: threatened
form: threatened
Etymology: From Middle English thretenen, from Old English þrēatnian (“to urge, force, compel”), equivalent to threat + -en.
Senses: examples: text: No one, however, would have anything to do with him, as Mr. Keeson's orders in those respects were very strict ; he had often threatened any one of his employés with instant dismissal if he found him in company with one of these touts.
ref: 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Hocussing of Cigarette”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
text: "Taiwanese are very enthusiastic and love freedom and democracy, so many good international friends have come to Taiwan to support us. This is a normal and good thing, but China threatens and intimidates Taiwan," she said.
"However, I would like to reassure everyone that both our government and the military are prepared, and I will definitely take care of Taiwan."
ref: 2022 August 13, Sarah Wu, David Kirton, Ben Blanchard, quoting Tsai Ing-wen, “Taiwan thanks U.S. for maintaining security in Taiwan Strait”, in Tom Hogue, Michael Perry, William Mallard, editors, Reuters, archived from the original on 13 Aug 2022, World:
text: He threatened me with a knife.
glosses: To make a threat against someone; to use threats.
examples: text: The rocks threatened the ship's survival.
glosses: To menace, or be dangerous.
examples: text: The black clouds threatened heavy rain.
antonyms: promise
glosses: To portend, or give a warning of.
examples: text: The new information threatened our original hypothesis.
ref: 2019 January 26, Kevin Seybold, “Does Science Threaten Belief?”, in Cathedral of Hope:
glosses: To call into question the validity of (a belief, idea, or viewpoint); to challenge.
examples: text: The player quickly surmised that things weren't kosher and the suddenly wiser ballplayer threatened the world record for the fifty-yard dash as he sought safety. As Reynolds dived into the van, Dietz and the other players rolled with laughter.
ref: 2000, Lew Freedman, Diamonds in the Rough: Baseball Stories from Alaska, page 69
glosses: To be close to equaling or surpassing (a record, etc.)
Derived terms: forethreaten
threatening
threatensome
Cornish
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkɔːnɪʃ/
ipa: /ˈkɔːɹnɪʃ/
Etymology: From Corn(wall) + -ish, from Cornish Kernewek, Kernowek.
Senses: glosses: Of or pertaining to Cornwall, a county of southwest England.
glosses: Native to Cornwall.
glosses: Of or pertaining to the Cornish language.
Derived terms: Cornish boiler
Cornish diamond
Cornish elm
Cornish game hen
Cornish hen
Cornishman
Cornish palm
Cornish pasty
Cornish sole
Cornishwoman
Cornish wrestling
Cornish
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkɔːnɪʃ/
ipa: /ˈkɔːɹnɪʃ/
Etymology: From Corn(wall) + -ish, from Cornish Kernewek, Kernowek.
Senses: glosses: The inhabitants of Cornwall, especially native-born.
Synonyms: Cornishman
Cornubian
Cornish
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkɔːnɪʃ/
ipa: /ˈkɔːɹnɪʃ/
Etymology: From Corn(wall) + -ish, from Cornish Kernewek, Kernowek.
Senses: examples: text: There is a movement to revive Cornish.
glosses: The Celtic language of Cornwall, related to Welsh and Breton.
glosses: The name of a town:
A town in Maine.
glosses: The name of a town:
A town in New Hampshire.
glosses: The name of a town:
A town in Oklahoma.
glosses: The name of a town:
A town in Utah, at the border with Idaho.
glosses: A habitational surname from Old English [in turn originating as an ethnonym], referring to someone from Cornwall.
Related terms: Wiktionary’s coverage of Cornish terms
w/
Language: English
Part of speech: prep
Senses: synonyms: w
w.
wth
wᵗʰ
wt
wᵗ
c̄
antonyms: w/o
w/out
sans
coordinate_terms: &
+
glosses: Abbreviation of with.
Related terms: w/i
w/r/t
round
Language: English
Part of speech: prep
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹaʊnd/
ipa: /ɹuːnd/
ipa: /ˈɹaʊnd/
rhymes: -aʊnd
Forms: form: around
form: ron
Etymology: From Middle English round, rounde, from Old Northern French roünt, rund, Old French ront, runt, reont ( > French rond), from both Late Latin retundus and the original Latin rotundus. The noun developed partly from the adjective and partly from the corresponding French noun rond. Doublet of rotund.
Senses: examples: text: I look round the room quickly to make sure it's neat.
text: The serpent Error twines round human hearts.
ref: 1782, William Cowper, The Progress of Error:
glosses: Alternative form of around.
raw_tags: in US
examples: text: The farmer fed his cow hay all the year round.
glosses: Alternative form of around.
raw_tags: in US
used postpositively
Derived terms: word: ask round
word: bat round
word: bet round
word: bring round
word: call round
word: cast round
word: close round
word: come round
word: cut round
word: dig round
word: drop round
word: fuck round
word: get round
word: get round to
word: go round
word: go round with
word: hand round
word: hang round
word: knock round
word: look round
word: pass round
word: put round
word: putz round
word: rally round
word: ring round
word: show round
word: spin round
word: talk round
word: wheel round
word: win round
word: work round
sense: other multiword phrases
word: albatross round one's neck
sense: other multiword phrases
word: beat someone round the ears
sense: other multiword phrases
word: flog someone round the fleet
sense: other multiword phrases
word: giddy-go-round
sense: other multiword phrases
word: go all round the houses
sense: other multiword phrases
word: go round the houses
sense: other multiword phrases
word: let the grass grow round one's feet
sense: other multiword phrases
word: merry-go-round
sense: other multiword phrases
word: pass round the hat
sense: other multiword phrases
word: pinch-me-round
sense: other multiword phrases
word: rally round the flag
sense: other multiword phrases
word: ranter-go-round
sense: other multiword phrases
word: round the bend
sense: other multiword phrases
word: round-the-clock
sense: other multiword phrases
word: round the corner
sense: other multiword phrases
word: round the Horn
sense: other multiword phrases
word: round the twist
sense: other multiword phrases
word: round the wicket
sense: other multiword phrases
word: run circles round
sense: other multiword phrases
word: run round in circles
sense: other multiword phrases
word: shot heard round the world
sense: other multiword phrases
word: sushi-go-round
sense: other multiword phrases
word: swing round the circle
word: all-year-round
word: the other way round
word: year-round
round
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹaʊnd/
ipa: /ɹuːnd/
ipa: /ˈɹaʊnd/
rhymes: -aʊnd
Forms: form: around
form: ron
Etymology: From Middle English round, rounde, from Old Northern French roünt, rund, Old French ront, runt, reont ( > French rond), from both Late Latin retundus and the original Latin rotundus. The noun developed partly from the adjective and partly from the corresponding French noun rond. Doublet of rotund.
Senses: examples: text: The invitations were sent round accordingly.
ref: 1822, [Walter Scott], Peveril of the Peak. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC:
text: They travelled for thirteen hours down-hill, whilst the streams broadened and the mountains shrank, and the vegetation changed, and the people ceased being ugly and drinking beer, and began instead to drink wine and to be beautiful. And the train which had picked them at sunrise out of a waste of glaciers and hotels was waltzing at sunset round the walls of Verona.
ref: 1905, E. M. Forster, Where Angels Fear to Tread, chapter 6
glosses: Alternative form of around.
Derived terms: word: howl-round
word: roundabout
word: round and round
english: from turn round
translation: from turn round
word: turnround
word: whip-round
word: wrapround
english: from the verb wrap round
translation: from the verb wrap round
word: wrap-round
round
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹaʊnd/
ipa: /ɹuːnd/
ipa: /ˈɹaʊnd/
rhymes: -aʊnd
Forms: form: rounds
form: rounding
form: rounded
form: rounded
form: around
form: ron
Etymology: From Middle English rounen, from Old English rūnian (“to whisper, talk low, talk secrets, consipre, talk secretly”), from Proto-Germanic *rūnōną (“to talk secrets, whisper, decide”), *raunijaną (“to investigate, examine, prove”), from Proto-Indo-European *(e)rewə-, *(e)rwō- (“to trace, find out, look out”). Cognate with Scots roun (“to converse with in whispers, speak privately”), Middle Low German rūnen (“to whisper”), Middle Dutch ruinen (“to whisper”), German raunen (“to whisper, murmur”), Old English rūn (“whisper, secret, mystery”), Swedish röna (“to meet with, experience”). More at rune.
Senses: glosses: To speak in a low tone; whisper; speak secretly; take counsel.
examples: text: rounded in the ear
ref: c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
text: The Bishop of Glasgow rounding in his ear, "Ye are not a wise man," […] he rounded likewise to the bishop, and said, "Wherefore brought ye me here?"
ref: c. 1617, David Calderwood (quoted as saying to King James VI)
text: Tiberius the emperor […] perceiving a fellow round a dead corse in the ear, would needs know wherefore he did so […]
ref: 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], chapter I, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 2, section 4, member IV:
glosses: To address or speak to in a whisper, utter in a whisper.
round
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹaʊnd/
ipa: /ɹuːnd/
ipa: /ˈɹaʊnd/
rhymes: -aʊnd
Forms: form: rounds
form: around
form: ron
Etymology: From Middle English roun, from Old English rūn (“whisper, secret, mystery”), from Proto-Germanic *rūnō, *raunō (“a whisper, secret, secret sign”), from Proto-Indo-European *(e)rewə-, *(e)rwō- (“to trace, find out, look out”). Cognate with Scots roun, round (“a whisper, secret story”), German raunen (“to whisper, say secretly”), Swedish rön (“findings, observations, experience”).
Senses: glosses: A whisper; whispering.
glosses: Discourse; song.
bi
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /baɪ/
rhymes: -aɪ
homophone: bye
homophone: buy
homophone: by
Etymology: Clipping of bisexual and biceps.
Senses: examples: text: I'm straight, but my oldest sister is bi.
synonyms: word: bi
word: AC/DC
word: ambisextrous
word: curious
word: flexible
word: Kinsey 3
word: open-minded
word: switch-hitting
word: versatile
coordinate_terms: pan
mono
glosses: Bisexual.
glosses: Bigender.
bi
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /baɪ/
rhymes: -aɪ
homophone: bye
homophone: buy
homophone: by
Forms: form: bis
Etymology: Clipping of bisexual and biceps.
Senses: examples: text: For some reason, I'm feeling _very_ sensitive to bi-discrimination tonight. I'm really not trying to mock the points being made here, it's just that many of the same arguments can be turned around and used to describe the discrimination that bis face.
ref: 1991 October 10, Ken Jones, “Re: Bisexual privilege? (Was Re: Tom Robinson Concert”, in soc.motss (Usenet):
synonyms: word: bisexual
word: bisexual
word: bi
word: switch hitter
word: fence sitter
word: fence-straddler
glosses: A bisexual person.
examples: text: You cannot train your back without regard to your tris and bis.
topics: bodybuilding
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A biceps muscle.
Derived terms: antibi
bicon
bi-curious
bidar
biphobic
cisbi
forced bi
Related terms: bi-
bi
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /baɪ/
rhymes: -aɪ
homophone: bye
homophone: buy
homophone: by
enpr: bē
ipa: /biː/
rhymes: -iː
homophone: b
homophone: be
homophone: Bea
homophone: bee
ipa: /baɪ/
rhymes: -aɪ
homophone: bye
homophone: buy
homophone: by
Forms: form: bi
form: pi
Etymology: From Mandarin 璧 (bì).
Senses: glosses: A type of jade disk produced in ancient China.
bib
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: bĭb
ipa: /bɪb/
rhymes: -ɪb
Forms: form: bibs
Etymology: Originally verb sense “drink heartily”, from Middle English bibben, either from Latin bibō (“I drink”) or of imitative origin. Noun sense (clothing) presumably either because worn while drinking, or because the clothing itself “drinks up” spills.
Senses: glosses: An item of clothing for people (especially babies) tied around their neck to protect their clothes from getting dirty when eating.
glosses: Similar items of clothing such as the Chinese dudou and Vietnamese yem.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A rectangular piece of material, carrying a bib number, worn as identification by competitors.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
synonyms: pinny
glosses: A colourful polyester or plastic vest worn over one's clothes, usually to mark one's team during group activities.
glosses: The upper part of an apron or overalls.
topics: cycling
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: Ellipsis of bib short.
examples: text: In summer the whole throat and breast are black, but in winter plumage the throat is white bounded by a horseshoe-shaped black bib.
ref: 1950, Arthur Cleveland Bent, Life Histories of North American Wagtails, Shrikes, Vireos, and their Allies:
text: He don't look anything like the captain. This here cat has got a nice thick black coat of fur with a nice white bib and white feet.
ref: 2011, Arthur Peacock, Gettysburg the Cat, page 22:
glosses: A patch of colour around an animal's upper breast and throat.
synonyms: pouting
glosses: A north Atlantic fish (Trisopterus luscus), allied to the cod.
glosses: A bibb (bibcock).
Derived terms: best bib and tucker
biballs
Bibgate
bibless
biblike
bib shorts
sports bib
training bib
bib
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: bĭb
ipa: /bɪb/
rhymes: -ɪb
Forms: form: bibs
form: bibbing
form: bibbed
form: bibbed
Etymology: Originally verb sense “drink heartily”, from Middle English bibben, either from Latin bibō (“I drink”) or of imitative origin. Noun sense (clothing) presumably either because worn while drinking, or because the clothing itself “drinks up” spills.
Senses: examples: text: Wise women use them, but new fathers seldom seem to understand that one minute bibbing baby saves who knows how long swabbing, finding clean clothes, changing, and coddling later — not to mention laundry time.
ref: 1990, Don Aslett, Don Aslett's Stain-buster's Bible: The Complete Guide to Spot Removal:
text: Mel got Daniel into his chair and bibbed him up.
ref: 2011, Dawn Atkins, The Baby Connection, page 101:
glosses: To dress (somebody) in a bib.
examples: text: Iff I were a fleſhly felowe, and a preacher of lyes and tolde them that they might ſyt bebbinge and bollynge, and be droncken: O that were a prophet for this people.
ref: 1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible), [Cologne or Marburg]: [Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?], →OCLC, Micheas [Micah] ij:[11], folio xcij, verso, column 2:
text: they gave him drink as often as he cry'd; so that he was constantly bibbing
ref: 1693, [John Locke], “§18”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC:
glosses: To drink heartily; to tipple.
Related terms: bibber
bibble
bib
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: bĭb
ipa: /bɪb/
rhymes: -ɪb
Forms: form: bibs
form: bibbing
form: bibbed
form: bibbed
Senses: glosses: To beep (e.g. a car horn).
sot
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /sɒt/
rhymes: -ɒt
homophone: sought (cot–caught merger)
Forms: form: sots
Etymology: From Middle English sot, from Old English sot, sott (“foolish, stupid”), from Medieval Latin sottus (“foolish”), of obscure origin and relation. Possibly an expressive interjection, similar to French zut! (“damn it!”).
Compare Middle Low German sot (“insane, foolish, stupid”), Middle Dutch sot ("foolish, absurd, stupid"; > modern Dutch zot), French sot (“stupid, foolish, goofy”).
Senses: examples: text: Remember
 First to possess his books; for without them
 He's but a sot, as I am […]
ref: 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
text: c. 1670-1680, John Oldham, The Eighth Satire of Monsieur Boileau, imitated
In Egypt oft has seen the Sot bow down,
And reverence some deified Baboon.
glosses: Stupid person; fool.
examples: text: Every sign
 That calls the staring sots to nasty wine.
ref: 1684, Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon, Essay on Translated Verse:
text: Take a picture by Teniers, of sots quarrelling over their dice; it is an entirely clever picture; so clever that nothing in its kind has ever been done equal to it; but it is also an entirely base and evil picture.
ref: April 21, 1864, John Ruskin, "Traffic", Unto This Last and Other Writings, New York: Penguin (1997), p. 235
glosses: Drunkard.
Synonyms: english: wisdom
translation: wisdom
word: fool
sense: drunkard
word: alcoholic
word: souse
word: suck-pint
Derived terms: sottish
sot
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /sɒt/
rhymes: -ɒt
homophone: sought (cot–caught merger)
Forms: form: sots
form: sotting
form: sotted
form: sotted
Etymology: From Middle English sotten, from the adjective (see above).
Senses: glosses: To drink until one becomes drunk
examples: text: I hate to see a brave, bold fellow sotted.
ref: 1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number):
glosses: To stupefy; to infatuate; to besot.
Derived terms: besot
sotted
sot-weed
sot
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /sɒt/
rhymes: -ɒt
homophone: sought (cot–caught merger)
ipa: /sɒt/
ipa: /sɒt/
rhymes: -ɒt
homophone: sought (cot–caught merger)
Forms: form: more sot
form: most sot
Etymology: Compare sod (vulgar interjection).
Senses: examples: text: Ngl still damn sot about PV barging into Pasir Ris-Punggol and forcing a vote-split. The disrespect towards SDA was NOT ACCEPTABLE
ref: 2020 July 11, @risaannwong, Twitter:
glosses: Upset, unhappy or bitter about something.
sot
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /sɒt/
rhymes: -ɒt
homophone: sought (cot–caught merger)
ipa: /sɒt/
Forms: form: more sot
form: most sot
form: sot sot
Etymology: From Cantonese short (sot¹, “crazy”), itself a clipping of English short circuit.
Senses: examples: text: all swe [software engineers] recently sot sot one. spent the last 3 years chasing too much headline salaries but now tech winter so all scared and frustrated . frustrations boiling over
ref: 2024 April 3, Unregistered, “Shopee fresh grad pay”, in Salary.sg Forums:
glosses: Insane, crazy, screwed up.
sot
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /sɒt/
rhymes: -ɒt
homophone: sought (cot–caught merger)
ipa: /sɒt/
Etymology: From Cantonese short (sot¹, “crazy”), itself a clipping of English short circuit.
Senses: examples: text: my stock horn sot sot liao
ref: 2009 May 29, anric79, “[Group] YAMAHA Fazer”, in singaporebikes.com:
glosses: To short circuit, to go haywire or malfunction.
examples: text: All these delusional ACN graduates. Must be OT so much until brain sot liao
ref: 2021 July 13, Unregistered, “Roles in accenture singapore”, in Salary.sg Forums:
glosses: To go crazy.
sot
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /sɒt/
rhymes: -ɒt
homophone: sought (cot–caught merger)
ipa: /sɒt/
Etymology: Analogically formed on the model of get:got by those who use either git (“get”) or set (“sit”).
Senses: glosses: simple past and past participle of sit
cause
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: kôz
ipa: /kɔːz/
ipa: [kʰoːz̥]
ipa: /kɔz/
ipa: [kʰɒːz̥]
ipa: /ˈkɑz/
homophone: caws
homophone: 'cause
homophone: cores (non-rhotic)
rhymes: -ɔːz
Forms: form: causes
form: causing
form: caused
form: caused
form: no-table-tags
form: glossary
form: cause
form: cause
form: caused
form: cause
form: causest
form: caused
form: causedst
form: causes
form: causeth
form: caused
form: cause
form: caused
form: cause
form: caused
form: cause
form: -
form: causing
form: caused
Etymology: * From Middle English cause (also with the sense of “a thing”), borrowed from Old French cause (“a cause, a thing”), borrowed from Latin causa (“reason, sake, cause”), from Proto-Italic *kaussā, which is of unknown origin. Doublet of chose (“(law) a thing; personal property”). See accuse, excuse, recuse, ruse. Displaced native Old English intinga.
* From Middle English causen, Old French causer and Medieval Latin causāre.
Senses: examples: text: The lightning caused thunder.
text: Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.[…]She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.
ref: 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
text: An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic[…]real kidneys[…]. But they are nothing like as efficient, and can cause bleeding, clotting and infection—not to mention inconvenience for patients, who typically need to be hooked up to one three times a week for hours at a time.
ref: 2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly):
coordinate_terms: occasion
bring
glosses: To set off an event or action; to bring about; to produce.
examples: text: His dogged determination caused the fundraising to be successful.
text: I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 7:4:
text: And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good.
ref: 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
glosses: To actively produce as a result, by means of force or authority.
examples: text: He, to shifte their curious request, / Gan causen why she could not come in place.
ref: 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
glosses: To assign or show cause; to give a reason; to make excuse.
Derived terms: causable
causation
cause a stir
causee
causer
causingness
uncause
cause
Language: English
Part of speech: conj
Pronunciation: enpr: kôz
ipa: /kɔːz/
ipa: [kʰoːz̥]
ipa: /kɔz/
ipa: [kʰɒːz̥]
ipa: /ˈkɑz/
homophone: caws
homophone: 'cause
homophone: cores (non-rhotic)
rhymes: -ɔːz
Senses: examples: text: Why not? Cause I don't wanna.
glosses: Alternative form of 'cause; because
diphthong
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdɪfˌθɒŋ(ɡ)/
ipa: /ˈdɪpˌθɒŋ(ɡ)/
ipa: /ˈdɪpˌθɔŋ/
ipa: /ˈdɪfˌθɔŋ/
ipa: /ˈdɪpˌθɑŋ/
ipa: /ˈdɪfˌθɑŋ/
rhymes: -ɪfθɔŋ
rhymes: -ɪpθɔŋ
rhymes: -ɪfθɑŋ
rhymes: -ɪpθɑŋ
Forms: form: diphthongs
form: dipthong
Etymology: PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From French diphtongue, from Late Latin diphthongus, from Ancient Greek δίφθογγος (díphthongos, “two sounds”), from δίς (dís, “twice”) + φθόγγος (phthóngos, “sound”).
Senses: topics: human-sciences
linguistics
phonetics
phonology
sciences
synonyms: gliding vowel
coordinate_terms: monophthong
triphthong
hiatus
synizesis
glosses: A complex vowel sound that begins with the sound of one vowel and ends with the sound of another vowel, in the same syllable.
topics: human-sciences
linguistics
phonetics
phonology
sciences
glosses: A diaphoneme realized as a two-target vowel in some but not necessarily all dialects.
examples: text: And he might have written the name, also, with the diphthong æ, as well as the single vowel, in the initial syllable, throughout all the preceding forms.
ref: 1854, Robert Bigsby, Historical and Topographical Description of Repton, in the County of Derby, Woodfall and Kinder, page 47:
text: An improper diphthong has only one of the vowels sounded; as, ea in heat, oa in coal.
ref: 1860, Joseph E. Worcester, An Elementary Dictionary of the English Language, Swan, Brewer, and Tileston, page 12:
text: The diphthong ae is sounded like ē (§7); that is, it has the sound of ey in they.
ref: 1874, Theophilus Dwight Hall, A Child’s First Latin Book, John Murray, page 3:
glosses: A vowel digraph or ligature.
Coordinate terms: monophthong
triphthong
tetraphthong
pentaphthong
Derived terms: diphthongal
diphthongation
diphthongic
diphthongization
diphthongisation
diphthongize
diphthongise
diphthongoid
diphthongy
murmur diphthong
spurious diphthong
Related terms: apothegm
glide
hiatus
ligature
polyphthong
arcane
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɑɹˈkeɪn/
rhymes: -eɪn
Forms: form: more arcane
form: most arcane
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin arcānus (“hidden, secret”), from arceō (“to shut up, enclose”); cognate with Latin arca (“a chest”).
Senses: examples: text: arcane rituals
text: arcane knowledge
text: The professor’s lecture was full of arcane references.
text: The manuscript contained arcane symbols no one could decipher.
text: He had an arcane knowledge of ancient rituals.
synonyms: esoteric
antonyms: mundane
glosses: Understood by only a few.
examples: text: arcane origins
text: arcane details
synonyms: enigmatic
esoteric
recondite
clandestine
glosses: Obscure, mysterious.
examples: 1997: Chris Horrocks, Introducing Foucault, page 67, The Renaissance Episteme (Totem Books, Icon Books; →ISBN
A “signature” was placed on all things by God to indicate their affinities — but it was hidden, hence the search for arcane knowledge. Knowing was guessing and interpreting, not observing or demonstrating.
glosses: Requiring secret or mysterious knowledge to understand.
examples: text: an arcane law
glosses: Extremely old (e.g. interpretation or knowledge), and possibly irrelevant.
Synonyms: word: arcane
word: dark
word: enigmatic
word: esoteric
word: mystic
word: obscure
word: occult
word: recondite
Hypernyms: word: covert
word: exclusive
word: incomprehensible
word: mysterious
Hyponyms: word: acroamatic
word: mandarin
Derived terms: arcanely
arcaneness
arcanist
arcanity
arcanology
superarcane
cook
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /kʊk/
text: Audio (UK) "to cook"
note: some speakers from Northern England and Ireland
ipa: /kuːk/
ipa: /kʉk/
homophone: cuck (most accents without the foot-strut split)
rhymes: -ʊk
Forms: form: cooks
Etymology: From Middle English cook, from Old English cōc (“a cook”), from Latin cocus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- (“to cook, become ripe”).
Cognate with Low German kokk, Dutch kok, German Koch, Danish kok, Norwegian kokk, Swedish kock, Icelandic kokkur (“cook”). Also compare Proto-West Germanic *kokōn (“to cook”).
Senses: examples: text: I'm a terrible cook, so I eat a lot of frozen dinners.
topics: cooking
food
lifestyle
synonyms: cooker
glosses: A person who prepares food.
topics: cooking
food
lifestyle
glosses: The head cook of a manor house.
topics: cooking
food
lifestyle
glosses: The degree or quality of cookedness of food.
examples: text: Police found two meth cooks working in the illicit lab.
text: By late October, the pressure on the Dark Arrows' ecstasy cook had eased. Other suppliers had moved in with product.
ref: 2008, Mel Bradshaw, Victim Impact:
text: Owsley Stanley was a pioneer LSD cook, and the Purple Owsley pill from his now-defunct lab was Dad's prized possession, a rare, potent, druggie collector's item, the alleged inspiration for the Hendrix song “Purple Haze.”
ref: 2011, Mackenzie Phillips, High on Arrival:
glosses: One who manufactures certain illegal drugs, especially meth.
examples: text: Punko told Plante he wanted to use a full barrel for the next cook.
ref: 2011, Neal Hall, Hell To Pay: Hells Angels vs. The Million-Dollar Rat, page 36:
glosses: A session of manufacturing certain illegal drugs, especially meth.
glosses: A fish, the European striped wrasse, Labrus mixtus.
examples: text: The original endgame was one file to the right (Kf1, Kb5 etc.). But there is a cook after 1. c6 dxc6 2. d6 cxd6 3. h4 gxh3 e.p. 4. gxh3 Ka4! 5. h4 b5. My version eliminates the cook.
ref: 2003 June, Pal Benko, “Endgame Lab”, in Chess Life, volume 58, number 6, New Windsor, N.Y.: United States Chess Federation, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 49:
topics: board-games
chess
games
glosses: An unintended solution to a chess problem, considered to spoil the problem.
Coordinate terms: word: chef
english: skilful or lead cook
translation: skilful or lead cook
word: culinary artist
word: magirist
english: skilful cook
translation: skilful cook
word: magirologist
word: sous-chef
english: assistant cook
translation: assistant cook
word: prep cook
english: team cook
translation: team cook
word: line cook
word: cookess
word: cookeress
word: scullery maid
word: kitchen maid
Derived terms: autocook
chief cook and bottle-washer
chief cook and bottle washer
cold cook
cook book
cookbook
cook car
cookdom
cookee
cookery
cookfire
cookhouse
cookie
cookish
cookless
cookline
cookmaid
cook-off
cookout
cook pot
cookpot
cookroom
cookset
cookshack
cookshed
cookshop
cookstove
cooktent
cook-tent
cook tent
cooktop
cook-up
cookware
fry cook
head cook and bottle-washer
head cook and bottle washer
McCook
noncook
pastrycook
pastry cook
plain cook
son of a sea-cook
subcook
supercook
undercook
cook
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /kʊk/
text: Audio (UK) "to cook"
note: some speakers from Northern England and Ireland
ipa: /kuːk/
ipa: /kʉk/
homophone: cuck (most accents without the foot-strut split)
rhymes: -ʊk
Forms: form: cooks
form: cooking
form: cooked
form: cooked
Etymology: Imitative.
Senses: examples: text: Constant cuckoos cook on every side.
ref: 1599, Thomas Moffet, The Silkwormes, and their Flies, London: V.S. for Nicholas Ling, →OCLC:
glosses: To make the noise of the cuckoo.
Synonyms: word: cook
word: do
Hypernyms: word: prepare
Hyponyms: word: bake
word: barbecue
word: blanch
word: boil
word: braise
word: broil
word: fry
word: grill
word: microwave
word: parbake
word: parboil
word: parcook
word: parfry
word: poach
word: roast
word: scald
word: seethe
word: simmer
word: steam
word: stew
word: toast
Related terms: word: concoct
word: scramble
word: food
word: cookware
cook
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /kʊk/
text: Audio (UK) "to cook"
note: some speakers from Northern England and Ireland
ipa: /kuːk/
ipa: /kʉk/
homophone: cuck (most accents without the foot-strut split)
rhymes: -ʊk
Forms: form: cooks
form: cooking
form: cooked
form: cooked
Etymology: Unknown; possibly related to chuck.
Senses: examples: text: Cook. To throw. Cook me that ball, throw me that ball. Glou.
ref: 1787, Francis Grose, A Provincial Glossary: With a Collection of Local Proverbs, and Popular Superstitions, London: Printed for S. Hooper, →OCLC, page 37:
synonyms: word: fling
word: hurl
word: bung
word: cast
word: chuck
word: chunk
word: cook
word: dash
word: dump
word: feck
word: fling
word: jerk
word: heave
word: hield
word: hoy
word: huck
word: hurl
word: hurtle
word: launch
word: lob
word: peck
word: peg
word: pick
word: pitch
word: precipitate
word: project
word: quoit
word: shy
word: slight
word: skew
word: sling
word: thrill
word: throw
word: toss
word: traject
word: warp
word: whang
word: whip
word: whop
word: wing
glosses: To throw.
Synonyms: word: cook
word: do
Hypernyms: word: prepare
Hyponyms: word: bake
word: barbecue
word: blanch
word: boil
word: braise
word: broil
word: fry
word: grill
word: microwave
word: parbake
word: parboil
word: parcook
word: parfry
word: poach
word: roast
word: scald
word: seethe
word: simmer
word: steam
word: stew
word: toast
Related terms: word: concoct
word: scramble
word: food
word: cookware
competition
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌkɒmpəˈtɪʃən/
ipa: /ˌkɑmpəˈtɪʃən/
Forms: form: competitions
Etymology: Borrowed from French compétition, from Late Latin competītiō, competītiōnem, from Latin competō, from con- + petō. By surface analysis, compete + -ition.
Senses: examples: text: The competition for this job is strong.
text: The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again;[…]. Our table in the dining-room became again the abode of scintillating wit and caustic repartee, Farrar bracing up to his old standard, and the demand for seats in the vicinity rose to an animated competition.
ref: 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
glosses: The action of competing.
examples: text: The newspaper is featuring a competition to win a car.
glosses: A contest for a prize or award.
examples: text: The new stain remover was ten times more effective than the competition.
text: Japanese retail stores have strove to, and have succeeded in, fulfilling these severe demands, and in doing so, have constantly had to innovate both technologically and institutionally in order to keep up with the competition.
ref: 2013 February 6, Hideo Otake, “Revising the Interpretation of the Japanese Economy”, in Michio Muramatsu, Frieder Naschold, editors, State and Administration in Japan and Germany: A Comparative Perspective on Continuity and Change, page 319:
glosses: The competitors in such a contest.
Derived terms: anticompetition
competitional
competition-based learning
competition caution
competitioner
competitionless
competitionlike
competition wallah
contest competition
coopetition
co-opetition
economic competition
hypercompetition
immunocompetition
in competition
intercompetition
interspecific competition
intraspecific competition
mompetition
monopolistic competition
noncompetition
non-price competition
outcompetition
perfect competition
precompetition
scramble competition
subcompetition
unfair competition
wet t-shirt competition
Related terms: competitive
compete
competent
cushion
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkʊʃən/
rhymes: -ʊʃən
Forms: form: cushions
form: cushioning
form: cushioned
form: cushioned
Etymology: From Middle English quysshyn, from later Old French coissin (modern coussin), from Vulgar Latin *coxīnus (“seat pad”), derived from Latin coxa (“hip, thigh”) (with the suffix possibly after Latin pulvīnus (“pillow”)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *koḱs- (“joint, limb”).
Senses: examples: text: to cushion a sofa
synonyms: nestle
pad
glosses: To furnish with cushions.
examples: text: How many doughty monarchs, in later and more polite ages, would have slept in cottages, and have worked in falls, instead of inhabiting palaces, and being cushioned up in thrones, if this rule of government had continued in force ?
ref: 1734, Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, A Dissertation on Parties:
glosses: To seat or place on, or as on a cushion.
examples: text: to cushion a blow
text: […]the development of popular interest in Parliament made it less possible for the Privy Council in Dublin to cushion a bill which the Commons had presented to the Lord Lieutenant[…]
ref: 1903, Edward Porritt, “Poynings' Law”, in The Unreformed House of Commons, volume II, page 429:
text: And then I’d strip the message back to a basic sentence, not cushion it with an apology (an apology – from me!) or explain why I wanted the antisocial behaviour to stop.
ref: 2024 July 27, Hannah Ewens, “‘Do you mind listening to that with headphones?’ How one little phrase revolutionised my commute”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: To absorb or deaden the impact of.
glosses: To conceal or cover up, as under a cushion.
Derived terms: cushion the blow
recushion