cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
homeostatic
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌhoʊmioʊˈstætɪk/
Forms: form: homoeostatic
Etymology: From homeo- + -static.
Senses: examples: text: Multicellular organisms require a homeostatic internal environment in order to live.
text: Sleep, rest, food and sex provide restorative homeostatic experiences that return consciousness to order after the needs of the body intrude and cause psychic entropy to occur.
ref: 1992, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow, Rider, published 2002, →ISBN, page 46:
topics: biology
medicine
natural-sciences
physiology
sciences
glosses: Of or pertaining to homeostasis.
Derived terms: counterhomeostatic
homeostatically
nonhomeostatic
osmohomeostatic
polyhomeostatic
Gregg Shorthand
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Senses: glosses: Alternative letter-case form of Gregg shorthand.
poop deck
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: poop decks
Etymology: From poop (“the stern of a ship”) + deck.
Senses: examples: text: Holonyms: watercraft, vessel, vessel
text: The vessel appears strongly constructed of seasoned white oak timber, the bow bluff-headed, while aft the poop-deck has a rise which takes in the mizzenmast and pump.
ref: 1938, George Wharton Rice, The Shipping Days of Old Boothbay from the Revolution to the World War, page 49:
topics: nautical
transport
hypernyms: deck
related: word: aftcastle
word: aftercastle
coordinate_terms: afterdeck
foredeck
glosses: A high, exposed deck at the stern of a ship on top of the cabin(s).
kha-nyou
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /kɑ.nju/
Forms: form: kha-nyous
Etymology: From Lao ຂະຍຸ (kha nyu).
Senses: glosses: A rodent species of the Khammouan region of Laos, Laonastes aenigmamus, first described in 2005
Synonyms: Laotian rock rat
rat-squirrel
dreamer
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdɹimɚ/
ipa: [ˈdɹimɚ]
ipa: [d͡ʒɹimɚ]
ipa: /ˈdɹiːmə/
rhymes: -iːmə(ɹ)
Forms: form: dreamers
Etymology: From Middle English dremer, dremere, dremare, equivalent to dream + -er. Cognate with West Frisian dreamer (“dreamer”), Saterland Frisian Dröömer (“dreamer”), Dutch dromer (“dreamer”), German Träumer (“dreamer”), Danish drømmer (“dreamer”), Swedish drömmare (“dreamer”).
Senses: glosses: One who dreams.
examples: text: You may say I'm a dreamer/ But I'm not the only one/ I hope someday you'll join us/ And the world will live as one.
ref: 1971, John Lennon, “Imagine”:
text: Eighties witches were not the patchouli-dipped, lovebead-wearing, back-to-the-earth dreamers of the seventies.
ref: 2015, Jennifer Crusie, Leah Wilson, Totally Charmed: Demons, Whitelighters And the Power of Three, →ISBN:
glosses: Someone whose beliefs are far from realistic.
glosses: Any anglerfish of the family Oneirodidae.
glosses: A swallow-winged puffbird (Chelidoptera tenebrosa)
Derived terms: age dreamer
lucid dreamer
nondreamer
Related terms: daydreamer
strengths
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /stɹɛŋ(k)θs/
rhymes: -ɛŋθs
Senses: glosses: plural of strength
strengths
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /stɹɛŋ(k)θs/
rhymes: -ɛŋθs
Senses: glosses: third-person singular simple present indicative of strength
overworked
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)kt
Forms: form: more overworked
form: most overworked
Etymology: From over- + worked.
Senses: examples: text: Overworked and underpaid? Then quit your job and become a pro darts player.
text: Miss Suu Kyi’s overworked advisers[…]argue that people have to be realistic about what can be achieved in a short time and on a slender budget.
ref: 2013 October 19, “Preparing for success”, in The Economist, volume 409, number 8858:
text: The truth is that we are too overworked, under capitalism, to be deeply, collectively horny, too overworked even to realise that this is the case.
ref: 2020, Sophie Lewis, “Collective Turn-off”, in Mal:
glosses: Subjected to too much work.
examples: text: overworked, unaffecting cliches
text: [Tim Garton Ash] is what you might call—overworked phrase—a public intellectual.
ref: 2009 July 23, Michael White, “Don't let Anthony Blunt fool us again”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
text: Dare I say “Let it go” without images of an animated princess flashing before your eyes? If it was an overworked phrase before Frozen, it’s now hard to use the expression without a shudder.
ref: 2015 January 18, Mariella Frostrup, “I don’t know how to move on from my first boyfriend”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
synonyms: overused
clichéd
glosses: Having been overused such that it has lost its meaning; trite; banal.
raw_tags: of a word
Derived terms: overworkedness
Related terms: burnt out
overworked
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)kt
Etymology: From over- + worked.
Senses: glosses: simple past and past participle of overwork
chitchat
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: chitchats
Senses: examples: text: “What are you doing down here, father?” “Just having a bit of chitchat with your curious creation.” “Right.”
ref: 2024 November 11, Jake Bender & Zach Dunn, “Laszlo's Father” (20:06 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 6, episode 6, spoken by Lord Roderick Cravensworth (Steve Coogan):
glosses: Alternative spelling of chit-chat.
chitchat
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: chitchats
form: chitchatting
form: chitchatted
form: chitchatted
Senses: examples: text: We were still chitchatting in the same nothingy vein five minutes later when George opened his bedroom door.
ref: 2013, Ali Cronin, Santa Baby, →ISBN:
glosses: Alternative spelling of chit-chat.
brewery
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈbɹuːəɹi/
Forms: form: breweries
Etymology: From Dutch brouwerij (“brewery”), equivalent to brew + -ery. See also brewhouse.
Senses: examples: text: We took a day trip to the Guiness Brewery.
glosses: A building where beer is produced.
examples: text: Mike works for the local brewery.
glosses: A company that brews beer.
Derived terms: auto-brewery syndrome
breweriana
couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery
craft brewery
macrobrewery
microbrewery
minibrewery
nanobrewery
superbrewery
Related terms: brew
brewer
brewing
rainforest
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: rainforests
form: rain forest
Etymology: From rain + forest, a calque of German Regenwald.
Senses: examples: text: Perhaps the most impressive expression of species diversity is the density of species found in a given area of rainforest.
ref: 2002, Chris C. Park, Tropical Rainforests, page 27:
text: Tropical rainforests in Australia have suffered a fate similar in many ways to that of rainforests elsewhere in the world, but considerable progress in safeguarding the future of what remains has been made.
ref: 2004, Nigel E. Stork, “24: The Theory and Practice of Planning for Long-Term Conservation of Biodiversity of Wet Tropics Rainforests in Australia”, in Eldredge Bermingham, Christopher W. Dick, Craig Moritz, editors, Tropical Rainforests: Past, Present, and Future, page 508:
text: Enjoy your visit to the rainforests, because the next time you go there things could be very different.
ref: 2014, Nick Hunter, Rainforests, page 38:
text: Some researchers worry that rainforests will soon reach a tipping point — a point of no return in which the once-lush forests transition to arid regions.
ref: 2021 June 22, Sam Romano, “Rainforests are under siege. Here’s what you should know.”, in CNN:
text: The Sentinelese hunt in the rainforest and fish in the coastal waters using spears, bows and arrows, as well as homemade narrow outrigger canoes, according to Survival International.
ref: 2025 April 4, Lex Harvey and Esha Mitra, “US tourist arrested after allegedly attempting to contact ‘world’s most isolated’ tribe”, in CNN:
glosses: A forest in a climate with high annual rainfall and no dry season.
Synonyms: jungle
tropical forest
Derived terms: rainforestless
rainforestlike
rainforest mystic
temperate rainforest
tropical rainforest
hick
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /hɪk/
homophone: hic
rhymes: -ɪk
Forms: form: hicks
Etymology: From Hick (“pet form of Richard”).
Senses: synonyms: word: boor
word: country bumpkin
word: churl
word: hillbilly
word: lob
word: redneck
word: rustic
word: yokel
word: bogger
word: bogtrotter
word: boor
word: bucolic
word: bydlo
word: culchie
word: carl
word: churl
word: corncob
word: cornhusker
word: country bumpkin
word: country cousin
word: clodhopper
word: dubbo
word: joskin
word: hayseed
word: hillbilly
word: hick
word: hob
word: hobnail
word: hog-rubber
word: honyock
word: hunk
word: lob
word: promdi
word: provincial
word: redneck
word: rube
word: rustic
word: woolly back
word: yokel
glosses: An awkward, naive, clumsy and/or rude country person.
Derived terms: hick-hop
hickish
hicklike
hickock
hickster
Hicksville
hixploitation
hick
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /hɪk/
homophone: hic
rhymes: -ɪk
Forms: form: hicks
form: hicking
form: hicked
form: hicked
Etymology: Onomatopoeic.
Senses: glosses: To hiccup.
fruity
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfɹuːti/
rhymes: -uːti
Forms: form: fruitier
form: fruitiest
Etymology: From fruit + -y.
Senses: examples: text: That moist and fruity dish is simply delectable.
glosses: Containing fruit or fruit flavoring.
glosses: Similar to fruit or tasting of fruit.
synonyms: word: 5150
word: bananas
word: barking
word: barking mad
word: buggish
word: buggy
word: bughouse
word: barmy
word: batchy
word: batpoop
word: bats
word: batty
word: bonkers
word: bread baskets
word: cracked
word: crackers
word: cra-cra
word: cray
word: cray-cray
word: crazed
word: crazy
word: crazy as a bedbug
word: crazy as a cootie
word: crazy as a cootie bug
word: crazy as a pet coon
word: cuckoo
word: daffy
word: daft
word: demented
word: deranged
word: distraught
word: disturbed
word: doolally
word: dotty
word: eccentric
word: fruit loops
word: gaga
word: hatstand
word: harebrained
word: insane
word: kooky
word: loon
word: loco
word: loony
word: loony tunes
word: loopy
word: lunatic
word: mad
word: mental
word: mentally ill
word: meshigener
word: meshugge
word: moonsick
word: non compos mentis
word: nonsane
word: nucking futs
word: nut job
word: nutballs
word: nut
word: nuts
word: nutso
word: nutty
word: nutter
word: off the beam
word: off the chain
word: over the edge
word: potty
word: psycho
word: psychoceramic
word: psychotic
word: sicko
word: screwy
word: squirrelly
word: starkers
word: tonto
word: unbalanced
word: unsane
word: wackadoodle
word: weird
word: whackjob
word: whacko
word: whacky
word: wode
word: yampy
word: zany
word: apeshit
word: batcrap
word: batshit
word: bat-shit
word: fucked in the head
word: fucked up
word: ripshit
glosses: Crazy.
glosses: Effeminate, flamboyant; homosexual.
raw_tags: of a male
examples: text: His text message was filled with fruity language.
synonyms: racy
risqué
glosses: Sexually suggestive.
Derived terms: fruitily
fruitiness
fruity in the booty
unfruity
fruity
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfɹuːti/
rhymes: -uːti
Forms: form: fruities
Etymology: From fruit + -y.
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of fruitie (“fruit machine”).
unforgettable
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌʌnfə(ɹ)ˈɡɛtəbəl/
rhymes: -ɛtəbəl
Forms: form: more unforgettable
form: most unforgettable
Etymology: From un- + forget + -able or un- + forgettable.
Senses: examples: text: The things he subjected me to were horrible and unforgettable.
text: He had never seen dogs fight as these wolfish creatures fought, and his first experience taught him an unforgetable lesson. It is true, it was a vicarious experience, else he would not have lived to profit by it.
ref: 1903 July, Jack London, “The Law of Club and Fang”, in The Call of the Wild, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 44:
text: The leading engine was one of the Class Y6 2-8-8-2 compound articulateds, [...] The stack noise of one of these great brutes slogging up a grade was quite unforgettable.
ref: 1961 July, J. Geoffrey Todd, “Impressions of railroading in the United States: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 419:
synonyms: word: memorable
word: indelible
word: memorable
word: memorious
word: nameable
word: rememberable
word: remembersome
word: unforgettable
antonyms: forgettable
glosses: Very difficult or impossible to forget.
breeze-block
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: breeze-blocks
form: breeze block
form: breezeblock
form: brieze block
Etymology: From breeze (“residue from a furnace”) + block.
Senses: glosses: A lightweight building block made from cinders and concrete.
Synonyms: cinder block
clinker block
hollow block
breeze-block
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: breeze-blocks
form: breeze block
form: breezeblock
Etymology: From breeze (“light, gentle wind”) + block.
Senses: examples: text: Featuring, as the title “Concrete House” suggests, a main theme of concrete and perforated breeze blocks so evocative of the ’70s, it was cited in several categories of the Think Brick Awards and named project of the year in the Housing Industry Association’s Perth Innovation Housing Awards.
ref: 2016 March 12, Jenny Brown, “Perth's concrete house reinvents the front porch”, in Domain, Sidney, archived from the original on 12 Mar 2016:
text: A triangular breeze block is introduced to create screening walls, forming the new entry pathway.
ref: 2023, Patricia Callan, “House Gezelling”, in The New Modernist House: Mid-century Homes Renewed for Contemporary Living, Melbourne: Thames & Hudson Australia, →ISBN, page 269:
text: Unlike some building technologies, breezeblock doesn’t have one single “inventor.” Rather, the idea of decorative concrete blocks seems to have emerged in multiple corners of the world in the late 1910s and early 1920s, simultaneously appearing in buildings in Brazil, France, and California.
ref: 2024 April 2, Timothy A. Schuler, “Why Honolulu Is Primed for a Breezeblock Comeback”, in FLUX Hawaii, Honolulu, archived from the original on 02 Apr 2024:
glosses: A type of perforated building block used for ventilation and letting natural light in.
bison grass
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: Hierochloe odorata (syn. Anthoxanthum nitens), an aromatic herb native to North America and Eurasia, so called principally when used to flavor a Polish vodka.
Synonyms: sense: Hierochloe odorata
word: vanilla grass
sense: Hierochloe odorata
word: sweetgrass
stewardesses
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of stewardess
block and tackle
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: block and tackles
form: blocks and tackles
Senses: synonyms: polyspast
muffle
hoisting-tackle
hypernyms: hoist
coordinate_terms: come-along
winch
glosses: A system in which a rope, cable, or chain (the tackle) is passed over pulleys enclosed in two (or rarely more) blocks, one fixed and one attached to a load, which is used to gain mechanical advantage to lift or pull heavy loads.
glosses: The underwear combination of stockings worn with a suspender belt.
Related terms: sense: garment combination
word: belt and braces
word: block tackle
spandex
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈspændɛks/
rhymes: -ændɛks
Forms: form: spandexes
Etymology: Coined as an anagram of the word expands.
Senses: glosses: A synthetic fibre known for its exceptional elasticity.
glosses: Clothing made from such material.
Synonyms: elastane
lycra
riverside
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹɪvɚˌsaɪd/
Forms: form: riversides
Etymology: From river + side.
Senses: examples: text: Gonna lay down my burden; Down by the riverside...
text: Staff have worked since February 10 to remove debris from the River Nith, install rock armour protection and strengthen the riverside before rebuilding and reprofiling the embankment.
ref: 2020 April 8, “Network News: ... and Kilmarnock line after landslips”, in Rail, page 16:
glosses: A bank or side of a river.
Derived terms: Barking Riverside
riverside
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹɪvɚˌsaɪd/
Etymology: From river + side.
Senses: glosses: At or near the side of a river.
Related terms: creekside
riverbank
surfside
decor
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdeɪkɔː/
ipa: /deɪˈkoɹ/
ipa: /dɪˈkoɹ/
ipa: /ˈdeɪkoɹ/
ipa: /ˈdɛkoɹ/
ipa: /ˈdæekoː/
rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)
Forms: form: decors
form: décor
Etymology: From French décor.
Senses: examples: text: Her living room had a lush Persian-style decor.
glosses: The style of decoration of a room or building.
glosses: A stage setting; scenery; set; backdrop.
Derived terms: cocaine decor
sundown
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsʌnˌdaʊn/
Forms: form: sundowns
Etymology: From sun + down.
Senses: examples: text: We’ll meet by the pier at sundown.
text: Yet oft when sundown skirts the moor
⁠An inner trouble I behold,
⁠A spectral doubt which makes me cold,
That I shall be thy mate no more, […]
ref: 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XL”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 63:
glosses: Sunset.
glosses: A hat with a wide brim to shade the eyes from sunlight.
Synonyms: dusk
mirkning
nightfall
Derived terms: sundown syndrome
sundown town
sundown
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsʌnˌdaʊn/
Forms: form: sundowns
form: sundowning
form: sundowned
form: sundowned
Etymology: From sun + down.
Senses: examples: text: "She also “sundowned”, and someone had to keep an eye on her 24-7."
ref: 2009, Kay Cameron, Tim Rhodus, Life With God 101:
glosses: to experience an episode or an onset of some detrimental mental condition like agitation, anxiety, hallucination or dementia, daily at nightfall.
Derived terms: sundowner
sundowning
snuff
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /snʌf/
ipa: /snɐf/
ipa: /snʊf/
rhymes: -ʌf
Forms: form: snuffs
Etymology: Late Middle English, from Middle Dutch snuffen (“to snuff, sniff, snuffle”).
Related to Dutch snuiven (“to sniff”), Middle Low German snûve (“pose, head-cold”), German Schnupfen (“head-cold”). The noun is probably from Dutch snuf (“snuff”), an abbreviation of snuftabak, snuiftabak (“snuff”). Related to sniff (compare Dutch snuffen (“snuff”), German schnupf (“snuff”), French schnouff (“junk”)).
Senses: examples: text: The native of some South American tribes use this drug as an aphrodisiac in the form of a snuff called cohoba.
ref: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 51:
coordinate_terms: chewing tobacco#Noun
dip
glosses: Finely ground or pulverized tobacco (or other plant derivative) intended for use by being sniffed or snorted into the nose.
examples: text: Dry snuffs are often adulterated with quicklime, and moist snuffs, as rappee, with ammonia, hellebore, pearl-ash, etc.
ref: 1896, Universal Dictionary of the English Language:
text: […] most of the women dipped snuff and of course had a spit-cup in the house.
ref: 1937, Zora Neale Hurston, chapter 5, in Their Eyes Were Watching God, University of Illinois Press, published 1978, page 76:
synonyms: chewing tobacco
dip
glosses: Fine-ground or minced tobacco, dry or moistened, intended for use by placing a pinch behind the lip or beneath the tongue.
glosses: A snort or sniff of fine-ground, powdered, or pulverized tobacco.
glosses: The act of briskly inhaling by the nose; a sniff, a snort.
glosses: Resentment or skepticism expressed by quickly drawing air through the nose; snuffling; sniffling.
glosses: Snot, mucus.
glosses: Smell, scent, odour.
Derived terms: creamy snuff
fairy snuff
snuff-and-butter
snuff bottle
snuffbox
snuff-box
snuff box
snuff box sea bean
snuff film
snuff-horn
snuff movie
snuff-mull
snuff out
up to snuff
snuff
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /snʌf/
ipa: /snɐf/
ipa: /snʊf/
rhymes: -ʌf
Forms: form: snuffs
form: snuffing
form: snuffed
form: snuffed
Etymology: Late Middle English, from Middle Dutch snuffen (“to snuff, sniff, snuffle”).
Related to Dutch snuiven (“to sniff”), Middle Low German snûve (“pose, head-cold”), German Schnupfen (“head-cold”). The noun is probably from Dutch snuf (“snuff”), an abbreviation of snuftabak, snuiftabak (“snuff”). Related to sniff (compare Dutch snuffen (“snuff”), German schnupf (“snuff”), French schnouff (“junk”)).
Senses: examples: text: He snuffs the wind, his heels the sand excite.
ref: 1697, Virgil, “Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
text: Earl Walter winds his bugle horn; / To horſe, to horſe, halloo, halloo! / His fiery courſer ſnuffs the morn, / And thronging ſerfs their Lord purſue.
ref: 1796, Gottfried Augustus Bürger, “The Chase”, in [Walter Scott], transl., The Chase, and William and Helen: Two Ballads, from the German […], Edinburgh: […] Mundell and Son, […], for Manners and Miller, […]; and sold by T[homas] Cadell, Jun. and W[illiam] Davies (successors to Mr. [Thomas] Cadell) […], →OCLC, stanza I, page 1:
text: Napoleon paced to and fro in silence, occasionally snuffing at the ground.
ref: 1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:
glosses: To inhale through the nose.
examples: January 29, 1625, Joseph Hall, Public thanksgiving for the wonderful mitigation of the late morality
Do the enemies of the church rage and snuff?
glosses: To turn up the nose and inhale air, as an expression of contempt; hence, to take offence.
glosses: To drug (a person) with a mixture of snuff and beer.
snuff
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /snʌf/
ipa: /snɐf/
ipa: /snʊf/
rhymes: -ʌf
Forms: form: snuffs
Etymology: From Middle English snoffe, snuffe, of uncertain origin. Compare Middle Dutch snuf, snof (“snuff”), Dutch sneuvelen (“to die in battle”).
Senses: examples: text: his memory stinks like the snuff of a candle when it is put out […]
ref: 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 3, member 3:
text: If the burning snuff happens to get out of the snuffers, you have a chance that it may fall into a dish of soup.
ref: 1731 (date written; published 1745), [Jonathan] Swift, Directions to Servants […], London: […] R[obert] Dodsley, […], and M. Cooper, […], →OCLC:
glosses: The burning part of a candle wick, or the black, burnt remains of a wick (which must be periodically removed).
glosses: Leavings in a glass after drinking; heeltaps.
examples: text: The cops are chasing their own asses on the St Christopher case, so how about a “Are You St Christopher's Next Slaying?” piece? Profiles of all the snuffs to date and reconstructions of the victims' last minutes.
ref: 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN:
glosses: A murder.
glosses: A film or video clip which involves a real non-acted murder.
Derived terms: snuff-dish
snuff film
snuff movie
snuff
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /snʌf/
ipa: /snɐf/
ipa: /snʊf/
rhymes: -ʌf
Forms: form: snuffs
form: snuffing
form: snuffed
form: snuffed
Etymology: From Middle English snuffen, snoffen, from the noun (see Etymology 2 above).
Senses: examples: text: If you like snuff stories, Mr. Witomski's computer will send you information about the Gladiator newsletter. And if you happen to prefer killing sexual partners of the opposite sex — no problem, the computer will alter the pronouns.
ref: 1987 February 22, Lars Eighner, “Gay Writers Are Attempting Quality Work”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 31, page 4:
text: insane woman voice: no i’m not into snuff or gore I just like when pretty femmes get their heads chopped off
ref: 2025 August 7, @Morbol_Wife, X:
topics: lifestyle
sexuality
glosses: To extinguish a candle or oil-lamp flame by covering the burning end of the wick until the flame is suffocated.
examples: text: The dimness of the light her candle emitted made her turn to it in alarm; but there was no danger of its sudden extinction, it had yet some hours to burn; and that she might not have any greater difficulty in distinguishing the writing than what its ancient date might occasion, she hastily snuffed it. Alas! it was snuffed and extinguished in one.
ref: 1803 (date written), [Jane Austen], Northanger Abbey; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], 20 December 1817 (indicated as 1818), →OCLC:
glosses: To trim the burnt part of a candle wick.
examples: text: Too much of a coward to snuff myself
Guess I'll just have to suffer myself
ref: 1985, J. G. Thirlwell, “Enter the Exterminator”, in Nail, performed by Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel:
text: A court yesterday rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of prohibiting same-sex marriage, snuffing hopes for marriage equality proponents to shortcut stalled legislative efforts.
ref: 2021 November 18, Coconuts Bangkok, “Thai constitution does not permit same-sex marriage, court rules”, in Coconuts Bangkok, Bangkok: Coconuts, retrieved 18 Nov 2021:
glosses: To snuff out; to extinguish; to put out; to kill.
Derived terms: snuffer
snuff it
snuff out
hustler
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈhʌsləɹ/
Forms: form: hustlers
Etymology: From hustle + -er.
Senses: glosses: One who rushes or hurries; an energetic person.
examples: Near-synonym: ringer
synonyms: sandbagger
coordinate_terms: shill#Noun
glosses: Somebody who pretends to be an amateur at a game in order to win bets.
glosses: A pimp.
glosses: A prostitute.
glosses: A prostitute.
A male prostitute who sells his services to men.
examples: text: Both of these people are race hustlers, though not of the same degree.
ref: 2018, Ben Shapiro, “Al Sharpton and Corey Stewart: Two Race Hustlers”, in National Review:
text: So why were what I consider the usual national race hustler personalities here in Minnesota?
ref: 2021, Bob Jentges, “Marginalize influence of race hustlers”, in Mankato Free Press:
glosses: A charlatan, huckster, grifter, swindler, a scoundrel.
qualifier: corporate jargon
glosses: One who is willing to suffer the most for the sake of company profits; a hard worker.
Derived terms: Hollywood hustler
Related terms: ringer
spurge
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /spɜːdʒ/
ipa: /spɜɹdʒ/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)dʒ
Forms: form: spurges
form: spurging
form: spurged
form: spurged
Etymology: Uncertain, but likely closely related to etymology 1, thus a doublet of purge.
Senses: examples: text: The body's somthing noysome: 'tis a stale one; / Good troth it spurgeth very monstrously.
ref: 1661, W. Cartwright, Siedge:
glosses: To emit foam; to froth; said of the emission of yeast from beer during fermentation.
spineless
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more spineless
form: most spineless
Etymology: From spine + -less.
Senses: synonyms: unspined
unspiny
antonyms: spined#Adjective
spiny
coordinate_terms: barbless
thornless
glosses: Having no spines, prickles, or thorns.
synonyms: invertebrate
glosses: Having no spinal column.
examples: text: If this results in a society which MacIntyre has criticized as being the province of the manager, the aesthete and the analyst, types almost sinister in their philosophical lightmindedness, superficiality, programmed uninterestingness, and their depressingly spineless willingness to grant the presence of 'despicable types' for the sake of political freedom, then so be it.
ref: 2006, Robin Holt, Wittgenstein, Politics and Human Rights, →ISBN:
text: Killership requires a person to become brave and polite. It is not deal of weakwilled and spineless people. This deal likes neither cheating nor foolishness.
ref: 2012, Vagif Sultanly, Iraj Ismaely, Modern Azerbaijanian Prose:
synonyms: word: invertebrate
word: ;
word: gutless
word: boneless
word: boneless
word: chicken
word: chicken-hearted
word: chickenshit
word: cowardly
word: craven
word: dastardly
word: fainthearted
word: fearful
word: heartless
raw_tags: in this sense
word: gutless
word: hen-hearted
word: kiasi
word: lily-livered
word: milky
word: mousy
word: niddering
word: nidering
word: niding
word: nithing
word: poor-spirited
word: pusillanimous
word: sissy
word: spineless
word: timid
word: timorous
word: unhearty
word: weak-kneed
word: wimpish
word: yellow
word: yellow-bellied
glosses: Cowardly, uncourageous; lacking character.
Derived terms: spineless eel
spinelessness
spineless sadism
heil
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /haɪl/
rhymes: -aɪl
Forms: form: heils
form: heiling
form: heiled
form: heiled
Etymology: Borrowed from German Heil. Doublet of whole, hail, and hale.
Senses: glosses: To greet with a Sieg Heil.
Related terms: Heil Hitler
herpes
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈhɜː(ɹ).piz/
ipa: /ˈhɚ.piz/
Forms: form: herpeses
Etymology: From Latin herpēs, from Ancient Greek ἕρπης (hérpēs, “herpes”, literally “a creeping”), from ἕρπειν (hérpein, “to creep”).
Senses: examples: text: This, of course, is something only people with that STI would know. For example, herpes is 437737.
ref: 2017 June 24, Arti Patel, “Dating with an STI: 7 ways to navigate the (often harsh) dating world”, in Global News:
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: A viral infection, caused by Human alphaherpesvirus 1 and Human alphaherpesvirus 2, marked by painful, watery blisters in the skin or in the mucous membranes or on the genitals.
Synonyms: herpes simplex
Human herpesvirus 1
Human herpesvirus 2
Hyponyms: herpes simplex
herpes zoster
Derived terms: 437737
antiherpes
genital herpes
herpe
herpes angina
herpes gladiatorum
herpes simplex virus
herpes tonsurans
herpesviral
herpesvirus
herpetism
postherpes
space herpes
Related terms: english: the branch of biology dealing with reptiles and amphibians
translation: the branch of biology dealing with reptiles and amphibians
word: herpetology
feedback
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfiːdˌbæk/
Forms: form: feedbacks
Etymology: From feed + back.
Senses: examples: text: After you hand in your essays, I will give both grades and feedback.
text: “Over the past month, the Department has held three separate meetings with the ACLU to receive feedback and engage the organization in the solutions,” the department said in a statement. “As a result of the meetings, the Department agrees that publishing FIO statistics going forward is necessary, and the Department is working toward personalizing interactions between officers and citizens.”
ref: 2014 October 9, Marina Carver, “Study finds Boston police target African-Americans disproportionately”, in CNN:
synonyms: estimation
assessment
critique
evaluation
glosses: Critical assessment of a process or activity or of their results.
examples: text: The fact that similar cortical abnormalities can be experimentally induced in monkeys has allowed Michael Merzenich and his colleagues in San Francisco to explore an animal model of focal dystonia, and to demonstrate the abnormal feedback in the sensory loop and the motor misfirings that, once started, grow relentlessly worse.
ref: 2007, Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain:
topics: business
electrical-engineering
electricity
electromagnetism
electronics
energy
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
qualifier: cybernetics; control theory; cybernetics; control theory
glosses: The part of an output signal that is looped back into the input to control or modify a system.
examples: text: A loud feedback screech blasted from a speaker on the wall. It was a hailing signal of some kind.
ref: 2002, John Griesemer, No One Thinks of Greenland, Picador, →ISBN:
synonyms: audio feedback
Larsen effect
howlback
howlround
qualifier: amplification
glosses: The high-pitched howling noise heard when there is a loop between a microphone and a speaker.
Hyponyms: negative feedback
positive feedback
Coordinate terms: buffering
feedforward
Derived terms: 360 degree feedback
antifeedback
autofeedback
biofeedback
enterprise feedback management
feedback control
feedbacker
feedback loop
feedback transfer function
feedbacky
ice-albedo feedback
neurofeedback
postfeedback
video feedback
feedback
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfiːdˌbæk/
Forms: form: feedbacks
form: feedbacking
form: feedbacked
form: feedbacked
Etymology: From feed + back.
Senses: examples: text: The show ended with a riot of feedbacking guitars.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: To generate the high-frequency sound by allowing a speaker to cause vibration of the sound generator of a musical instrument connected by an amplifier to the speaker.
examples: text: His employees feedbacked him a lot more than he wanted.
glosses: To provide informational feedback to.
examples: text: Customers feedbacked their complaints and some praise.
glosses: To convey by means of specialized communications channel.
rodeo
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹəʊ.di.əʊ/
ipa: /ˈɹoʊ.di.oʊ/
Forms: form: rodeos
Etymology: From Spanish rodeo, from rodear (“to surround”), which refers to a cattle roundup.
Senses: glosses: A gathering of cattle to be branded.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A North American sport involving skills with horses, cows and other livestock.
glosses: An entertainment event associated with the sport.
Derived terms: been to the rodeo
buffer rodeo
goat rodeo
not one's first rodeo
roadeo
rodeo clown
rolleo
rodeo
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹəʊ.di.əʊ/
ipa: /ˈɹoʊ.di.oʊ/
Forms: form: rodeos
form: rodeoing
form: rodeoed
form: rodeoed
Etymology: From Spanish rodeo, from rodear (“to surround”), which refers to a cattle roundup.
Senses: glosses: To perform in a rodeo show.
dribbling
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdɹɪblɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪblɪŋ
Forms: form: dribblings
Senses: examples: text: In dry weather, when plants are drawn out of the seed bed, and planted with a common dibber, receiving daily dribblings of water, many will perish, and all are materially injured.
ref: 1850, The Journal of the Horticultural Society of London:
text: From the mouth you early observe a dribbling of saliva of a sticky nature and mixed with air, and of a disagreeable fetor […]
ref: 1866, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Parliamentary Papers, House of Commons and Command:
glosses: An amount of liquid that is dribbled.
examples: text: ... dribbling skills. Depending on the purpose of dribbling, an athlete can use different dribbling techniques to accomplish his/her goals. There are four dribbling skills: (1) inside of the foot dribbling, (2) innerside of the instep dribbling[…]
ref: 2006, Jin Wang, Soccer made easy: From fundamentals to championship play, Ameriscientific, Inc., →ISBN, page 78:
topics: ball-games
basketball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
soccer
sports
glosses: The act of dribbling.
dribbling
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdɹɪblɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪblɪŋ
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of dribble
Related terms: dribbling drunk
yeeha
Language: English
Part of speech: intj
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of yeehaw.
provider
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /pɹəˈvaɪ.də(ɹ)/
ipa: /pɹəˈvaɪ.dɚ/
ipa: /pɹəˈvɑɪ.də(ɹ)/
Forms: form: providers
Etymology: From provide + -er. Since 15th century.
Senses: examples: text: In view of this, it is clear why internet service providers (ISPs) are inclined to play a backbench role when it comes to combating file sharing.
ref: 2012, S. Allegrezza, A. Dubrocard, Internet Econometrics, →ISBN:
text: Using BLE, a merchant or other provider can define more targeted "micro-locations" to trigger an alert, in some cases requiring that you be in the presence of an iBeacon in order to validate a Passbook entry.
ref: 2013 June 19, Daniel Eran Dilger, “Inside iOS 7: iBeacons enhance apps' location awareness via Bluetooth LE”, in Apple Insider:
text: Even if policy shifts resources away from hard investment and back into social spending, the "Floridization" of Chinese demographics will intensify the shortage of healthcare provision over the next decade, worsening the frayed contract between patients, providers, and the government.
ref: 2013 September 24, Damien Ma, William Adams, “Welfare: Socialism with Chinese … Actually No, Not Socialism at All”, in In Line Behind a Billion People: How Scarcity Will Define China’s Ascent in the Next Decade, Upper Saddle River, N.J.: FT Press, →ISBN, part II (Social Scarcity), page 103:
text: A part of the nervousness at Chelsea involves whether any more sponsors will follow the telecommunications and internet service provider Three in withdrawing support, at least temporarily.
ref: 2022 March 11, David Hytner, “Chelsea are in crisis but there is no will to leave club on their knees”, in The Guardian:
text: Both switching costs and network effects tend to lead to enshittification because platform providers see early adopters as an investment in future profits.
ref: 2023 March 3, Tim Harford, “The enshittification of apps is real. But is it bad?”, in Financial Times, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2023:
glosses: One who, or that which, provides a service, commodity, or the means for subsistence.
Derived terms: digital service provider
fuel provider
health care service provider
identity provider
Internet service provider
internet service provider
lion's provider
liquidity provider
network provider
preferred provider
service provider
sole provider
web provider
Related terms: provisioner
purveyor
holier
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈhəʊliə/
ipa: /ˈhoʊliɚ/
note: UK, wholly-holy split
ipa: /ˈhəʊl.liə/
note: UK, wholly-holy split
ipa: [ˈhɒʊliə]
note: UK, wholly-holy split
ipa: [ˈhɒʊɫ.liə]
note: without wholly-holy split
ipa: /ˈhəʊliə/
Senses: glosses: comparative form of holy: more holy; more sacred.
glosses: comparative form of holey: more holey; more full of holes.
Derived terms: holier-than-thou
heirloom
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɛə.luːm/
ipa: /ˈɛəɹ.lum/
Forms: form: heirlooms
form: heir-loom
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English heirlome (“heirloom”, literally “a tool or article passed to one's heirs”), equivalent to heir + loom.
Senses: examples: text: Morning rehearsal starts at eleven. Wheeler takes a taxi from the hotel to the venue, bringing his tuxedo and his violin with him. His violin is an heirloom, more than a hundred years old, and while he's touring it never leaves his sight. (His tuxedo is just a tuxedo.)
ref: 2019 April 10, qntm, “CASE HATE RED”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 135:
synonyms: patrimony
glosses: A valued possession that has been passed down through the generations.
examples: text: My last trip to the market barely yielded enough unmealy heirlooms for a couple of salads.
ref: 2009 August 19, Melissa Clark, “Plums Rescue a Seasonal Favorite”, in New York Times:
text: At Hortus Bulborum you will find heirloom narcissi that date back at least to the 15th century and famous old tulips like 'Duc van Tol' (1595) and its sports.
ref: 2014 September 26, Charles Quest-Ritson, “The Dutch garden where tulip bulbs live forever: Hortus Bulborum, a volunteer-run Dutch garden, is dedicated to conserving historic varieties before they vanish for good [print version: Inspired by a living bulb archive, 27 September 2014, p. G5]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening):
text: In a paper published Thursday in the journal Science, a team of researchers say they analyzed the genetic code of nearly 400 varieties of tomatoes ― from the common red supermarket types to the funky heirlooms found in farmers markets.
ref: 2017 January 26, Nick Visser, “Scientists Say Something Is Very Wrong With The Tomato”, in HuffPost:
topics: agriculture
business
horticulture
lifestyle
glosses: An old crop variety that has been passed down through generations of farmers by seed saving and cultivation, in contrast to modern cultivars used in large-scale agriculture.
Related terms: topics: agriculture
business
lifestyle
word: heritage
topics: agriculture
business
lifestyle
word: landrace
vroom
Language: English
Part of speech: intj
Pronunciation: ipa: /vɹuːm/
ipa: /vɹum/
ipa: /vɹʊm/
rhymes: -uːm
rhymes: -ʊm
Forms: form: broom
form: brrm
form: brrrm
Etymology: Imitative.
Senses: examples: text: I never saw my uncle’s Ferrari, but I could always hear it going vroom as it flew past by my house.
glosses: The sound of an engine, especially when it is revving up.
vroom
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /vɹuːm/
ipa: /vɹum/
ipa: /vɹʊm/
rhymes: -uːm
rhymes: -ʊm
Forms: form: vrooms
Etymology: Imitative.
Senses: examples: text: Our ears are assaulted with the screeching of tires, the crashing of trash cans, the exaggerated vrooms of a revving engine.
ref: 2003, Los Angeles Magazine, volume 48, number 2, page 52:
glosses: The sound of an engine revving up.
vroom
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /vɹuːm/
ipa: /vɹum/
ipa: /vɹʊm/
rhymes: -uːm
rhymes: -ʊm
Forms: form: vrooms
form: vrooming
form: vroomed
form: vroomed
Etymology: Imitative.
Senses: glosses: To move with great speed; to zoom.
Related terms: putt putt
dynastic
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /daɪˈnæstɪk/
ipa: /dɪˈnæstɪk/
rhymes: -æstɪk
Forms: form: more dynastic
form: most dynastic
Etymology: From Ancient Greek δυναστικός (dunastikós). By surface analysis, dynasty + -ic.
Senses: synonyms: dynastical
glosses: Pertaining to a dynasty.
Derived terms: antidynastic
dynastically
dynasticism
dynasticity
nondynastic
postdynastic
post-dynastic
predynastic
protodynastic
pedicure
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɛ.dɪ.kjʊɹ/
Forms: form: pedicures
Etymology: From French pédicure, from Latin pes (“foot”).
Senses: coordinate_terms: mani#Noun
manicure#Noun
glosses: A cosmetic treatment for the feet and toenails.
glosses: A pedicurist.
Derived terms: fish pedicure
French pedicure
mani-pedi
pawdicure
pedi
pedicurism
pedicure
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɛ.dɪ.kjʊɹ/
Forms: form: pedicures
form: pedicuring
form: pedicured
form: pedicured
Etymology: From French pédicure, from Latin pes (“foot”).
Senses: glosses: To apply such a treatment to the feet.
Derived terms: unpedicured
nifty
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈnɪfti/
rhymes: -ɪfti
Forms: form: niftier
form: niftiest
Etymology: From *nift + -y. First element is of unknown origin. Possibly theatrical slang, as a shortened, altered form of Magnificat. Alternatively, perhaps a special use of US regional niffed (“put off, peeved”).
Senses: examples: text: a nifty trick for reducing your household energy bill
text: The ‘bot makes this easier; scraping the NFL livescores page with some nifty Javascript,^([sic]) it tracks each game live for potential first-time scores; the most recent as of writing being the Chiefs beating the Texans 51-31. Not only that, but the ‘bot estimates the most likely possible scorigami scores of games in progress, keeping fans on tenterhooks until the final whistle is blown. Or is it a siren in NFL? Inquiring minds need to know.
ref: 2020 January 22, Lewin Day, “Scorigami Bot Charts NFL History In The Making”, in Hackaday:
glosses: Good, smart; useful or beneficial, often in an impressively clever way.
examples: text: nifty gear
text: You look nifty in that jacket.
text: The niftiest, snappiest slacks you ever saw!
ref: 1933, Stella Blum, Everyday Fashion of the Thirties as pictured in Sears Catalogs, published 1986, page 56:
glosses: Stylish.
Derived terms: niftily
niftiness
nifty
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈnɪfti/
rhymes: -ɪfti
Forms: form: nifties
Etymology: From *nift + -y. First element is of unknown origin. Possibly theatrical slang, as a shortened, altered form of Magnificat. Alternatively, perhaps a special use of US regional niffed (“put off, peeved”).
Senses: examples: text: New subscribers are the life of our party (any advertiser will tell you that) just as the regular reader of CLIPPINGS becomes the life of any party (and why not with such a supply of “nifties” and bon mots).
ref: 1929, Air Wonder Stories:
text: Because some of the stories that the Sultana told are nifties, the plays are sometimes edited. This facilitates production and eliminates a lot of questions from the kids when they get home.
ref: 1950 April 8, Billboard, page 146:
text: “Miss Fletcher knows exactly what she is doing, goes about her business with gratifying swiftness and comes up with a finish worthy of one of Roald Dahl's little nifties,” wrote Douglas Watt.
ref: 2011, Amnon Kabatchnik, Blood on the Stage, 1950-1975, page 580:
glosses: A possibly risqué comic story or anecdote.
examples: text: […] Winfield Sheehan had pulled a nifty on the wise guys of Hollywood and the film colony in Southern California when he disappeared for a week with a print of Sunrise, the Murnau picture recently completed.
ref: 2005, Film History, volume 17, page 195:
glosses: A trick.
putty
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpʌti/
rhymes: -ʌti
Forms: form: putties
Etymology: Borrowed from French potée (“polishing powder", originally "the contents of a pot, potful”), from French pot (“pot”). More at English pot.
Senses: glosses: A form of cement, made from linseed oil and whiting, used to fix panes of glass.
glosses: Any of a range of similar substances.
An oxide of tin, or of lead and tin, used in polishing glass, etc.
glosses: Any of a range of similar substances.
A fine cement of lime only, used by plasterers.
topics: golf
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A golf ball made of composition and not gutta-percha.
Derived terms: glazier's putty
nose putty
putty in someone's fingers
putty in someone's hands
putty knife
putty medal
putty powder
putty rubber
silly putty
wood putty
putty
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpʌti/
rhymes: -ʌti
Etymology: Borrowed from French potée (“polishing powder", originally "the contents of a pot, potful”), from French pot (“pot”). More at English pot.
Senses: glosses: Of, pertaining to, or resembling putty.
putty
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpʌti/
rhymes: -ʌti
Forms: form: putties
form: puttying
form: puttied
form: puttied
Etymology: Borrowed from French potée (“polishing powder", originally "the contents of a pot, potful”), from French pot (“pot”). More at English pot.
Senses: glosses: To fix or fill using putty.
putty
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpʌti/
rhymes: -ʌti
Forms: form: putties
Senses: examples: text: “He went to’ds de back, ma’am.” The negro opened the door and slid his legs, clad in army O.D. and a pair of linoleum putties, to the ground. “‘I’ll go git ’im.”’
ref: 1964 [1929], William Faulkner, Sartoris (The Collected Works of William Faulkner), London: Chatto & Windus, page 22:
glosses: Alternative form of puttee (“strip of cloth wound round the leg”).
twirl
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtwɜːl/
ipa: /ˈtwɝl/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)l
Forms: form: twirls
Etymology: Of Scandinavian origin, akin to Norwegian Nynorsk tvirla, Old High German dweran (German zwirlen, quirlen), Dutch dwarrelen and Icelandic þyrill; all from Proto-Germanic *þwirilaz (“stirring-stick, whisk”), *þweraną (“to stir”). Or, an alteration of tirl (“to twist”), with influence from whirl.
Senses: glosses: A movement where a person spins round elegantly; a pirouette.
examples: text: The conductor gave his baton a twirl, and the orchestra began to play.
glosses: Any rotating movement; a spin.
examples: text: Place the cream in a piping bag with a fairly large star pipe attached, fill each tartlet with a twirl of cream and top with a strawberry.
ref: 1969, The South African Sugar Journal, volume 53, page 51:
glosses: A little twist of some substance; a swirl.
examples: text: Which was in the main childishness and pettiness, the reason for this was that most of the twirls and the governors had […]
ref: 1958, Frank Norman, Bang to rights: an account of prison life, page 67:
synonyms: screw
glosses: A prison guard.
Derived terms: squirl
twirl one's thumbs
twirler