cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
bow
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: bō
ipa: /bəʊ/
enpr: bō
ipa: /boʊ/
rhymes: -əʊ
homophone: beau
homophone: bo
enpr: bou
ipa: /baʊ/
rhymes: -aʊ
homophone: bao
homophone: bough
rhymes: -aʊ
homophone: bough
rhymes: -aʊ
homophone: bough
Forms: form: bows
form: bowing
form: bowed
form: bowed
Etymology: Clipping of bow-wow
Senses: glosses: Ellipsis of bow-wow
Related terms: english: different etymology
translation: different etymology
word: bow chicka wow wow
word: bow diddley
english: different etymology
translation: different etymology
word: diddley bow
word: coll'arco
word: curtsey
word: kowtow
word: throw them bows
protestant
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more protestant
form: most protestant
Etymology: See Protestant. The legal sense either has the same source or is simply protest + -ant.
Senses: examples: text: a protestant effort
text: protestant work ethic
glosses: Alternative letter-case form of Protestant.
examples: text: He cut his Psychology once or twice, nor could he succeed, during office hours, in keeping his mind on office-routine. His superiors became impatient and then protestant.
ref: 1919, Henry B[lake] Fuller, “Cope Again in the Country”, in Bertram Cope’s Year: A Novel, Chicago, Ill.: Ralph Fletcher Seymour, The Alderbrink Press, →OCLC, page 274:
text: Her sense of desolation, the knowledge that for some reason, God alone knew why, she loved him, made her for a moment protestant. Why not ? Why shouldn’t I write to him?
ref: 1932, Graham Greene, Stamboul Train, Penguin, published 1963, Part 4, Chapter 4, p. 191:
glosses: Protesting.
protestant
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: protestants
Etymology: See Protestant. The legal sense either has the same source or is simply protest + -ant.
Senses: examples: text: These are too mean parts of the pageant: and you don't hear widows' cries or mothers' sobs in the midst of the shouts and jubilation in the great Chorus of Victory. And yet when was the time that such have not cried out: heart-broken, humble protestants, unheard in the uproar of the triumph!
ref: 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
text: 1915 November 3, decision in the case of the State of New Mexico v. Garrett, published in 1916 among the Decisions of the Department of the Interior in Cases Relating to Public Lands, volume 44 (edited by George J Hesselman), page 490: In the case of Hyacinthe Villeneuve a homestead entry had been allowed upon a tract of land that had been patented to the Santa Fe Railroad Company, whose grantees had expressed a willingness to reconvey in order that effect might be given to the equities of the homesteader, whereas in the present case the State stands in the position of a protestant.
topics: law
glosses: One who protests; a protester.
glosses: Alternative letter-case form of Protestant.
Lutheran
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈluːθəɹ(ə)n/
ipa: /ˈluːθɹ(ə)n/
ipa: /ˈluθəɹən/
ipa: /ˈluθɹən/
Forms: form: more Lutheran
form: most Lutheran
Etymology: From the surname of German theologian and ecclesiastical reformer Martin Luther (1483–1546) + -an. Probably immediately from Renaissance Latin Lutheranus, or German Lutheraner.
Luther is from an Old High German given name, from liut (“people”) + heri (“army”) (from Proto-Germanic *harjaz (“army; commander, warrior”), from Proto-Indo-European *kóryos (“war; troops”), from *ker- (“army”)).
Senses: examples: text: A Lutheran understanding of the Lord’s Supper is not the same as that of other denominations.
text: [I]f when Luther firſt began to teach new doctrine, the catholiks at that time had not vouchſafed to giue him the hering, but had auoided his prechings & preuy couenticles, ther had not bin now in the worlde, either Lutheran, Swinglian, Calueniſt, Puritan, Anabaptiſt, Trinetarie, Family of loue, Adamite, or the lyke: whereof now there are ſo many thouſands abroad, al ſpringing of that firſt ſecte, and troubling at this day the whole worlde, […]
ref: 1581, D. Fulke [i.e., William Fulke], A Briefe Confutation, of a Popish Discourse: Lately Set Forth, and Presumptuously Dedicated to the Queenes Most Excellent Maiestie: By Iohn Howlet [pseudonym; Robert Persons], or Some Other Birde of the Night, vnder that Name. Contayning Certaine Reasons, why Papistes Refuse to Come to Church, which Reasons are here Inserted and Set Downe at Large, with Their Generall Answeres, London: Printed [by Thomas Dawson] for George Byshop, →OCLC, folio 12, recto and verso:
text: On the borders of that river [the Volga] 104 colonies have ſettled, conſiſting of Germans, who emigrated to thoſe parts in the years of dearth and famine. Theſe colonies have already three Calviniſt, and four Lutheran ministers.
ref: 1798 August, “Extract of a Letter from the Rev. Mr. Gunther, Minister at Wodonoy Bujerack, in the Russian Government of Saratow, on the Wolga, in Asia, to the Rev. Dr. Burckhardt, London”, in The Evangelical Magazine, volume VI, London: Printed by and for T. Chapman, No. 151 Fleet-Street, →OCLC, page 309:
text: [A] number of Lutheran priests were involved in the activities of the EHS [Estonian Heritage Society]. The EELC [Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church] identified itself again as 'the people's church' and stressed the connection between the Lutheran Church and Estonian national identity, although the alleged connection with radical nationalism is an exaggeration.
ref: 2015, Ringo Ringvee, “Religion and Nation-building in Estonia: Some Perspectives on Secular Society”, in Greg Simons, David Westerlund, editors, Religion, Politics and Nation-building in Post-Communist Countries (Post-Soviet Politics), Farnham, Surrey; Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate Publishing, →ISBN, page 151:
topics: Christianity
glosses: Of or pertaining to the theology of Martin Luther (1483–1546) or his followers, or the Lutheran church.
Synonyms: word: Evangelical Lutheran
word: Lutheranist
english: one sense
translation: one sense
word: Lutherist
Derived terms: Augustana Lutheran
arrow
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈæɹəʊ/
note: without the Mary–marry–merry merger
ipa: /ˈæɹoʊ/
note: Mary–marry–merry merger
ipa: /ˈɛ(ə)ɹoʊ/
ipa: /ˈæɹə/
rhymes: -æɹəʊ
Forms: form: arrows
form: arrowing
form: arrowed
form: arrowed
Etymology: From Middle English arwe, from Old English earh (oblique form ēarw-), from Proto-West Germanic *arhu, from Proto-Germanic *arhwō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂érkʷo- (“bow, arrow”). Cognate with Faroese ørv (“arrow”), Icelandic ör (“arrow”), örvar (“arrows”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐍈𐌰𐌶𐌽𐌰 (arƕazna, “dart”), Latin arcus (“bow”).
Senses: examples: text: Above his head, a startled bird arrows up, into the sun.
ref: 2019, Maaza Mengiste, The Shadow King, Canongate Books (2020), page 279:
glosses: To move swiftly and directly (like an arrow).
examples: text: Jermain Defoe dinked in an equaliser and Gareth Bale hit the crossbar for the hosts before Elliott Bennett arrowed in Norwich's winner.
ref: 2012 April 9, Mandeep Sanghera, “Tottenham 1 - 2 Norwich”, in BBC Sport:
glosses: To let fly swiftly and directly.
examples: text: The more vigorous and luxuriant the vegetation of a field of canes, the less will the tendency to flowering be shewn; whereas nearly all the canes will be found to arrow if the soil be poor and the vegetation meagre.
ref: 1848, Louis Antoine A.G. De Verteuil, Three essays on the cultivation of the sugar-cane in Trinidad, page 12:
text: In some sugar cane countries efforts are made to harvest the cane crops before the period of arrowing, and in Barbados it is thought that a considerable loss occurs in the yield of sugar if the harvest be delayed and only completed through the arrowing season.
ref: 1903, Planter and Sugar Manufacturer, volume 30, page 374:
text: It is easily grown and arrows freely. It appears to be of moderate merit only, but might be cautiously tried on a small scale.
ref: 1905, Sugar-Cane Experiments in the Leeward Islands:
topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
glosses: To develop an inflorescence.
raw_tags: of a sugar cane plant
examples: text: Arrow left until you reach the start of the text you want to delete.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: To navigate using the arrow keys.
examples: text: Just because I never come for meeting … my boss arrow me to do this job.
ref: 2011, Susan Tsang, Audrey Perera, Singapore at Random, →ISBN, page 36:
glosses: To single out or nominate (someone) to be responsible for something, especially an undesirable task.
arrow
Language: English
Part of speech: contraction
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈæɹəʊ/
note: without the Mary–marry–merry merger
ipa: /ˈæɹoʊ/
note: Mary–marry–merry merger
ipa: /ˈɛ(ə)ɹoʊ/
ipa: /ˈæɹə/
rhymes: -æɹəʊ
Etymology: Representing pronunciation.
Senses: examples: text: though he hath lived here this many years, I don't believe there is arrow a servant in the house ever saw the colour of his money.
ref: 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society, published 1973, page 153:
glosses: Contraction of ever a (sometimes used with a redundant a or an).
armor
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɑː.mə/
ipa: /ˈɑːɹ.mɚ/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)mə(ɹ)
Forms: form: armors
form: armoring
form: armored
form: armored
form: armour
Etymology: From Middle English armure, armour, armor, armeure, borrowed from Anglo-Norman armure and Old French armeüre, from Latin armātūra. Doublet of armature and armure. By surface analysis, arm (“to cover or furnish”) + -or (suffix forming agent nouns or nouns of quality, state, or condition).
Senses: glosses: To equip something with armor or a protective coating or hardening.
glosses: To provide something with an analogous form of protection.
slash
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /slaʃ/
ipa: /slæʃ/
rhymes: -æʃ
Forms: form: slashes
form: slashing
form: slashed
form: slashed
Etymology: Late Middle English, originally a verb of uncertain etymology. Perhaps of imitative origin, or possibly from Old French esclachier (“to break in pieces”), a variant of esclater, which is likely a Germanic borrowing, from Frankish *slaitan (“to slit, tear”).
Used in the Wycliffe Bible as slascht (see 1 Kings 5:18) but otherwise unattested until 16th century. Conjunctive use from various applications of the punctuation mark ⟨/⟩. See also slash fiction.
Senses: examples: text: They slashed at him with their swords, but only managed to nick one of his fingers.
text: She hacked and slashed her way across the jungle.
glosses: To cut or attempt to cut
To cut with a swift broad stroke of an edged weapon.
glosses: To cut or attempt to cut
To produce a similar wound with a savage strike of a whip.
topics: hobbies
ice-hockey
lifestyle
skating
sports
glosses: To cut or attempt to cut
To strike swiftly and laterally with a hockey stick, usually across another player's arms or legs.
examples: text: Competition forced them to slash prices.
text: Profits are only up right now because they slashed overhead, but employee morale and product quality have collapsed too.
glosses: To cut or attempt to cut
To reduce sharply.
topics: fashion
lifestyle
glosses: To cut or attempt to cut
To create slashes in a garment.
glosses: To cut or attempt to cut
To criticize cuttingly.
glosses: To strike violently and randomly, particularly
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To strike violently and randomly
To swing wildly at the ball.
glosses: To move quickly and violently.
glosses: To crack a whip with a slashing motion.
examples: text: The province's traditional slash-and-burn agriculture was only sustainable with a much smaller population.
glosses: To clear land, (particularly forestry) with violent action such as logging or brushfires or (agriculture, uncommon) through grazing.
examples: text: Having read slash for other fandoms (mainly X-Files and Sentinel), I can say the whole gay issue gets dealt with more often in that slash than it does in Trek slash. That's not to say that all the slashers who slash in a "modern-era" show deal with AIDS, homophobia and other gay issues, but some of them do.
ref: 1997 December 17, ASCEM, quoting Ruth Gifford, “Re: An Interesting Question, re Slash vs. Gay Fiction”, in alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated (Usenet):
topics: lifestyle
glosses: To write slash fiction.
Synonyms: sense: to strike with a whip
word: lash
sense: to strike with a whip
word: scourge
sense: to strike with a whip
word: thrash
sense: to strike a whip
word: crack
Coordinate terms: sense: slash fiction
word: ship
Derived terms: femslasher
slash down
slasher
slash off
slash out
slash pile
slash up
slash
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /slaʃ/
ipa: /slæʃ/
rhymes: -æʃ
Etymology: Late Middle English, originally a verb of uncertain etymology. Perhaps of imitative origin, or possibly from Old French esclachier (“to break in pieces”), a variant of esclater, which is likely a Germanic borrowing, from Frankish *slaitan (“to slit, tear”).
Used in the Wycliffe Bible as slascht (see 1 Kings 5:18) but otherwise unattested until 16th century. Conjunctive use from various applications of the punctuation mark ⟨/⟩. See also slash fiction.
Senses: glosses: Used to note the sound or action of a slash.
slash
Language: English
Part of speech: conj
Pronunciation: ipa: /slaʃ/
ipa: /slæʃ/
rhymes: -æʃ
Etymology: Late Middle English, originally a verb of uncertain etymology. Perhaps of imitative origin, or possibly from Old French esclachier (“to break in pieces”), a variant of esclater, which is likely a Germanic borrowing, from Frankish *slaitan (“to slit, tear”).
Used in the Wycliffe Bible as slascht (see 1 Kings 5:18) but otherwise unattested until 16th century. Conjunctive use from various applications of the punctuation mark ⟨/⟩. See also slash fiction.
Senses: examples: text: Saul Hudson is a famous musician/songwriter.
text: What this, the Slashie, means is that you consider me the best actor slash model and not the other way around.
ref: 2001, Drake Sather, Ben Stiller, John Hamburg, Zoolander, spoken by Fabio Lanzoni:
text: “It’s been a joke-slash-tragedy,” the restaurant host, 29, said of the president’s tumultuous far-right administration as she cast her vote against him in her country’s most important election in decades.
ref: 2022 October 2, Tom Phillips, “‘A day of hope’: Lula fans eager to see Bolsonaro defeated”, in The Guardian:
text: “Maybe the problem is that you’re a romantic,” says my former lover-slash-friend-slash-male-sensitivity-reader. “And maybe so are the other fatalists.”
ref: 2025 July 21, Jean Garnett, “The Trouble With Wanting Men”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 21 Jul 2025:
glosses: Used to connect two or more identities in a list.
examples: Alternatives can be marked by the slash/stroke/solidus punctuation mark, a tall, right-slanting oblique line.
Read: Alternatives can be marked by the slash-slash-stroke-slash-solidus punctuation mark, a tall, right-slanting oblique line.
glosses: Used to list alternatives.
Synonyms: sense: exclusive or
word: or
sense: inclusive or
word: and
sense: inclusive or
word: or
sense: inclusive or
word: and/or
word: stroke
slash
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /slaʃ/
ipa: /slæʃ/
rhymes: -æʃ
Forms: form: slashes
Etymology: Uncertain. Compare Scots slash (“large splash”), possibly from Old French esclache. Slang use for urination attested from the 1950s.
Senses: glosses: A drink of something; a draft.
examples: text: Where's the gents? I need to take a slash.
glosses: A piss: an act of urination.
examples: text: That bus shelter smells of slash.
glosses: Piss; urine.
slash
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /slaʃ/
ipa: /slæʃ/
rhymes: -æʃ
Forms: form: slashes
form: slashing
form: slashed
form: slashed
Etymology: Uncertain. Compare Scots slash (“large splash”), possibly from Old French esclache. Slang use for urination attested from the 1950s.
Senses: examples: text: If you can slash in my bed (I thought) don't tell me you can't suck my cock.
ref: 1973, Martin Amis, The Rachel Papers,, page 189:
glosses: To piss, to urinate.
slash
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /slaʃ/
ipa: /slæʃ/
rhymes: -æʃ
Forms: form: slashes
Etymology: Uncertain. Compare British dialectal slashy (“wet and dirty, miry”) and Scots slash (“act of walking forcefully through water or mud”) and slatch (“wet and muddy place, mire”). Perhaps related to Swedish slask (“slush”).
Compare also slash (“clearing in a forest”): in many cases it is difficult to tell whether that sense or this one is meant. (Also compare flash (“a marsh; a pool of water”).)
Senses: examples: text: On the North side of one of ye Windings of a great Slash or Swamp called ye Roundabout.
ref: 1687, Colonial Virginia Patents 7, page 590, quoted in 1940, George Davis McJimsey, Topographic Terms in Virginia, page 120
text: three acres one Rood and Six pole of Land … Extending Northward along the Ditch thirty six poles and two fifths of a pole to a slash called Pitch and Tar Slash or Swamp[,] then along that Slash till it come to the Main Cart road westward …
ref: 1694, Edmond Andros, Isabella Mackland, colonial Virginia record (granting land to Robert Beverly), quoted in 1988, Beverley Fleet, Virginia Colonial Abstracts, page 318
text: 720 acres "lying in the Forrest between Rappahannock and Mattapony river". Adjoins Goldman's land, the line of Robins by and old Indian path in a slash, the land of Majr Robert Beverley, deceased.
ref: 1694 October 26, colonial Virginia record (regarding Capt. Richard Halle of the County of Essex)m quoted in 1988, Beverley Fleet, Virginia Colonial Abstracts, page 406
text: Thence . . . to two small pines by a Slash or Sunken ground. . . . Thence . . . to two white oaks by a slash in lowground.
ref: 1714, Colonial Virginia Patents 10, pages 153, 168, quoted in 1940, George Davis McJimsey, Topographic Terms in Virginia, page 121
text: Beginning at the North side of a Slash incomposeing Long …
ref: 1715, Colonial Virginia Patents 10, 247, quoted in 1940, George Davis McJimsey, Topographic Terms in Virginia, page 121
text: 80 acres in Amelia Co., in the fork betw Persimmon Slash and the Gulley[.]
ref: 1747 September, John Garrott, Virginia deed (of Amelia County, Deed Book 2, page 542) quoted in 1988, Beverley Fleet, Virginia Colonial Abstracts, page 459
glosses: A swampy area; a swamp.
examples: text: […] second growth long-leaf yellow slash. And also we have a short-leaf pine.
ref: 1932, Mr. Yon, statement regarding a waterway from Choctawhatchee Bay to West Bay, Florida, printed in the Hearings of the United States House Committee on Rivers and Harbors (1932), page 8
text: Slash pine (Pinus caribaea Morelet) / Slash pine is also known as yellow slash, swamp pine, hill slash, and Cuban pine.]
ref: [1935, Miscellaneous Publication, issue 209, page 15
glosses: A slash pine, which grows in such (swampy) areas.
glosses: A large quantity of watery food such as broth.
slash
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /slaʃ/
ipa: /slæʃ/
rhymes: -æʃ
Forms: form: slashes
form: slashing
form: slashed
form: slashed
Etymology: Uncertain. Compare British dialectal slashy (“wet and dirty, miry”) and Scots slash (“act of walking forcefully through water or mud”) and slatch (“wet and muddy place, mire”). Perhaps related to Swedish slask (“slush”).
Compare also slash (“clearing in a forest”): in many cases it is difficult to tell whether that sense or this one is meant. (Also compare flash (“a marsh; a pool of water”).)
Senses: glosses: To work in wet conditions.
slash
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /slaʃ/
ipa: /slæʃ/
rhymes: -æʃ
Forms: form: slashes
Etymology: See slatch
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of slatch: a deep trough of finely-fractured culm or a circular or elliptical pocket of coal.
fireball
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfaɪəbɔːl/
ipa: /ˈfaɪəɹˌbɔl/
ipa: /-ɑl/
Etymology: The noun is derived from fire (noun) + ball (noun). The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.
Senses: examples: text: "Give us a hand," said Mack. "How's she look?" / "Fireball," said Eddie.
ref: 1954 June 10, John Steinbeck, “Sweet Thursday Revisited”, in Sweet Thursday, 1st British edition, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 258:
synonyms: word: ace
word: admirable
word: awe-inspiring
word: awesome
word: bang on
word: bang-up
word: based
word: beneship
word: bitching
word: bomb
word: brilliant
word: bully
word: cher
word: choice
word: chronic
word: chur
word: cock on
word: cool
word: copacetic
word: crackerjack
word: cushty
word: dank
word: def
word: dope
word: excellent
word: exceptional
word: fab
word: fabulous
word: fantabulosa
word: fantastic
word: finger-lickin' good
word: fire
word: fireball
word: first-rate
word: fly
word: frabjous
word: gnarly
word: goated
word: great
word: grouse
word: kicking
word: killer
word: lash
word: lautitious
word: lit
word: marvelous
word: nang
word: outstanding
word: out of sight
word: phat
word: peng
word: phenomenal
word: pukka
word: quality
word: rad
word: radical
word: rum
word: sick
word: slap-up
word: slick
word: spiffing
word: splendid
word: sterling
word: super
word: superb
word: superior
word: sweet
word: swell
word: terrific
word: tight
word: top
word: top-drawer
word: top-hole
word: top-notch
word: top-of-the-range
word: top-shelf
word: topping
word: tubular
word: wicked
word: wicked pissah
word: wonderful
word: worldie
antonyms: word: excellent
word: good
word: great
word: positive
word: superior
glosses: Excellent, terrific.
fireball
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfaɪəbɔːl/
ipa: /ˈfaɪəɹˌbɔl/
ipa: /-ɑl/
Forms: form: fireballs
form: fireballing
form: fireballed
form: fireballed
Etymology: The noun is derived from fire (noun) + ball (noun). The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.
Senses: topics: fantasy
fiction
literature
media
publishing
science-fiction
glosses: To attack (someone or something) with balls of fire.
examples: text: The car swerved off a road, hit a wall, and fireballed as the petrol tank exploded.
text: On Feb. 24, [Yaroslava] Mahuchikh (pronounced ma-GU–chi-huh or ma-HU-chick) was startled awake by shuddering booms in Dnipro, her hometown, in east-central Ukraine. Russia had begun its invasion. An explosion, caught on video, fireballed into the dark sky. Dnipro's airport and area military facilities had come under attack.
ref: 2022 July 15, Jeré Longman, “‘Sometimes I am crying in the room’”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Aug 2024:
glosses: To explode in a ball of fire or flame.
examples: text: But the swoon was only brief. [Klay] Thompson scorched his way to 27 first-half points, the Warriors fireballed back into a 17-point lead and a statement half was sealed from the deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep left corner, early in the clock and without a dribble – vintage Klay, vintage Warriors.
ref: 2019 March 9, Anthony Slater, “Five Observations from the Warriors’ 122–105 Win over the Nuggets”, in The Athletic, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, archived from the original on 13 Aug 2024:
glosses: To emerge suddenly; to explode.
topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To pitch a baseball very fast.
iceball
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: iceballs
form: ice ball
Etymology: From ice + ball.
Senses: glosses: A ball of ice.
glosses: A snack consisting of a ball of shaved ice with syrup.
snowball
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsnəʊbɔːl/
enpr: snōʹbôl
ipa: /ˈsnoʊbɔl/
enpr: snōʹbôl
ipa: /ˈsnoʊbɑl/
Forms: form: snowballs
Etymology: From Middle English snoweball, snoweballe, snaweballe, snayballe, equivalent to snow + ball. Cognate with Scots snawbaw, German Schneeball, Luxembourgish Schnéiball, Dutch sneeuwbal, Afrikaans sneeubal, Limburgish snieëbal, West Frisian sniebal, Saterland Frisian Sneebaal, Sneebal, Swedish snöboll, Elfdalian sniųoboll, Danish snebold, Norwegian Bokmål snøball, Norwegian Nynorsk snøball and Icelandic snjóbolti.
Senses: glosses: A ball of snow, usually one made in the hand and thrown for amusement in a snowball fight; also a larger ball of snow made by rolling a snowball around in snow that sticks to it and increases its diameter.
glosses: A cocktail made from lemonade and advocaat.
examples: text: Representatives of the small airlines that felt betrayed by Brown's policy started a political snowball rolling, resulting in the Airmail Act of 1934...
ref: 2005, Eldad Ben-Yosef, The Evolution of the US Airline Industry:
glosses: Something that snowballs (grows rapidly out of control).
topics: lifestyle
sex
sexuality
glosses: A sex act involving passing ejaculated semen from one person's mouth to another's.
glosses: A type of ice dessert: a snow cone.
examples: text: It didn't take long to eat a packetful of snowballs - they are simply delicious.
glosses: A small cake, typically cream-filled and covered in chocolate icing and desiccated coconut.
Derived terms: cast snowballs
Chinese snowball
coconut snowball
dirty snowball
Mexican snowball
New York snowball
snowball bush
snowball cactus
Snowball Earth
snowball effect
snowball fight
snowball hammer
snowball in hell
snowball marches
snowball opacity
snowball prime
snowball sample
snowball sampling
snowball's chance
snowball's chance in an oven
snowball's chance in hell
snowball tree
snowball’s chance in hell
snowball
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsnəʊbɔːl/
enpr: snōʹbôl
ipa: /ˈsnoʊbɔl/
enpr: snōʹbôl
ipa: /ˈsnoʊbɑl/
Etymology: From Middle English snoweball, snoweballe, snaweballe, snayballe, equivalent to snow + ball. Cognate with Scots snawbaw, German Schneeball, Luxembourgish Schnéiball, Dutch sneeuwbal, Afrikaans sneeubal, Limburgish snieëbal, West Frisian sniebal, Saterland Frisian Sneebaal, Sneebal, Swedish snöboll, Elfdalian sniųoboll, Danish snebold, Norwegian Bokmål snøball, Norwegian Nynorsk snøball and Icelandic snjóbolti.
Senses: examples: text: Scandal, with her, did not lose any of its usual snowball propensities, of gathering as it went.
ref: 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Another London Life”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 175:
glosses: Of something with rapid growth, often uncontrolled. Compare snowball effect.
snowball
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsnəʊbɔːl/
enpr: snōʹbôl
ipa: /ˈsnoʊbɔl/
enpr: snōʹbôl
ipa: /ˈsnoʊbɑl/
Forms: form: snowballs
form: snowballing
form: snowballed
form: snowballed
Etymology: From Middle English snoweball, snoweballe, snaweballe, snayballe, equivalent to snow + ball. Cognate with Scots snawbaw, German Schneeball, Luxembourgish Schnéiball, Dutch sneeuwbal, Afrikaans sneeubal, Limburgish snieëbal, West Frisian sniebal, Saterland Frisian Sneebaal, Sneebal, Swedish snöboll, Elfdalian sniųoboll, Danish snebold, Norwegian Bokmål snøball, Norwegian Nynorsk snøball and Icelandic snjóbolti.
Senses: examples: text: The high unemployment rates quickly snowballed into a major budget problem for the government.
text: There's a further knock-on effect from cancelling trains. It's not unusual for train crew diagrams to include a period 'on the cushions', travelling as a passenger to get staff from one train to the next. Cancel this train and it's likely the crew won't reach their next train, so this too is cancelled. Disruption snowballs and diagrams become harder to deliver.
ref: 2023 January 11, Philip Haigh, “Comment: The worst chaos for 40 years”, in RAIL, number 974, page 4:
glosses: To rapidly grow out of proportion or control, from an initially smaller state.
glosses: To play at throwing snowballs.
glosses: To pelt with snowballs; to throw snowballs at.
topics: lifestyle
sex
sexuality
glosses: To receive ejaculated semen in one's mouth, and to then pass it back and forth between one’s mouth and another person’s mouth.
Derived terms: word: snowballing
rock
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹɒk/
enpr: rŏk
ipa: /ɹɑk/
ipa: /ɹɔk/
homophone: roc
homophone: rawk
rhymes: -ɒk
Forms: form: rocks
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English rokken, from Old English roccian, from Proto-West Germanic *rokkōn, from Proto-Germanic *rukkōną, from Proto-Germanic *rukkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ruknéh₂ti, from *h₃rewk-, *h₃runk-.
See also obsolete Dutch rokken, Middle High German rocken (“to drag, jerk”), Modern German rücken (“to move, shift”), Icelandic rukka (“to yank”); also Latin runcāre (“to weed”), Latvian rũķēt (“to toss, dig”).
Senses: glosses: An act of rocking; a rocking motion; a sway.
rock
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹɒk/
enpr: rŏk
ipa: /ɹɑk/
ipa: /ɹɔk/
homophone: roc
homophone: rawk
rhymes: -ɒk
Etymology: Shortened from rock and roll. Since the meaning of rock has adapted to mean a simpler, more modern, metal-like genre, rock and roll has generally been left referring to earlier forms such as that originating in the 1950s, notably more swing-oriented style.
Senses: topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A style of music characterized by basic drum-beat, generally 4/4 riffs, based on (usually electric) guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards (often), and vocals.
Hyponyms: acid rock
acoustic rock
active rock
adult-oriented rock
Afro-rock
album-oriented rock
alternarock
alternative rock
alt-rock
arena rock
art rock
blues-rock
Britrock
butt-rock
Celtic rock
Christian rock
classic rock
cock rock
country rock
dadrock
deathrock
desert rock
doom rock
electronic rock
folk rock
funk-rock
garage rock
glam rock
glitter rock
gothic rock
hard rock
indie rock
industrial rock
jazz-rock
J-rock
kindie rock
krautrock
light rock
lover's rock
math rock
mellow rock
noise rock
pop rock
post-rock
progressive rock
prog rock
psychedelic rock
pub rock
punk rock
raga rock
rap rock
reggae rock
Rock Against Communism
roots-rock
shock rock
soft rock
Southern rock
space rock
stadium rock
stoner rock
surf rock
synth rock
technorock
trap rock
trop rock
tropical rock
wizard rock
yacht rock
Derived terms: post-rock
rockabilly
rockathon
rock band
rockfest
rock group
rockish
rockism
rock music
rock opera
rock star
rockumentary
rock violin
rock whore
rock
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹɒk/
enpr: rŏk
ipa: /ɹɑk/
ipa: /ɹɔk/
homophone: roc
homophone: rawk
rhymes: -ɒk
Forms: form: rocks
form: rocking
form: rocked
form: rocked
Etymology: Shortened from rock and roll. Since the meaning of rock has adapted to mean a simpler, more modern, metal-like genre, rock and roll has generally been left referring to earlier forms such as that originating in the 1950s, notably more swing-oriented style.
Senses: examples: text: Let's rock!
text: I wanna rock! (Rock!) / I wanna rock! (Rock!) / I want to rock! (Rock!) / I wanna rock! (Rock!)
ref: 1984, Dee Snider, “I Wanna Rock”, in Stay Hungry, performed by Twisted Sister:
glosses: To play, perform, or enjoy rock music, especially with a lot of skill or energy.
examples: text: Chocolate rocks.
text: My holidays in Ibiza rocked! I can't wait to go back.
synonyms: word: bang
word: rule
word: bang
word: devour
word: eat
word: eat and leave no crumbs
word: excel
word: go hard
word: kick
word: kick ass
word: rock
word: rule
word: shine
word: slap
word: slay
antonyms: stink
suck
glosses: To be very favourable or skilful; excel; be fantastic.
examples: text: Let's rock this joint!
glosses: To thrill or excite, especially with rock music.
examples: text: The scene was rocking, all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, The Crypt-Kicker Five.
ref: 1962, “Monster Mash”, Bobby "Boris" Pickett and Lenny Capizzi (lyrics), performed by Bobby (Boris) Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers:
glosses: To have people dancing and enjoying rock music.
examples: text: I need to rock a piss.
glosses: To do something with excitement yet skillfully.
examples: text: I call all the shots, rip all the spots / Rock all the rocks, cop all the drops
ref: 1997, “Mo Money Mo Problems”, in Life After Death, performed by The Notorious B.I.G. ft. Ma$e and Diddy:
text: Take today, where she's rocking that well-known fashion combo – a Tory Burch outfit offset with a whacking great bruise attained by smacking her head on a plane's overhead lockers.
ref: 2011 April 29, Tim Jonze, “Nerdy but nice”, in The Guardian:
text: Rihanna was the pick of the best bunch, rocking a black backless crocodile dress from Tom Ford’s Autumn 2012 collection
ref: 2012 May 8, “Rhianna dazzles at the Met Gala”, in The Sun newspaper:
synonyms: sport
glosses: To wear (a piece of clothing, outfit etc.) successfully or with style; to carry off (a particular look, style).
Related terms: ready to rock
rock and roll
rock
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹɒk/
enpr: rŏk
ipa: /ɹɑk/
ipa: /ɹɔk/
homophone: roc
homophone: rawk
rhymes: -ɒk
Forms: form: rocks
Etymology: From Middle English rok, rocke, rokke, perhaps from Middle Dutch rocke (whence Dutch rokken), Middle Low German rocken, or Old Norse rokkr (whence Icelandic / Faroese rokkur, Danish rok, Swedish spinnrock (“spinning wheel”)). Cognate with Old High German rocko (“distaff”).
Senses: examples: text: Sad Clotho held the rocke, the whiles the thread / By grisly Lachesis was spun with pain, / That cruel Atropos eftsoon undid.
ref: 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 48:
text: By order of the General Court in 1642, the "prudentiall" men of each town were instructed "to take care of such [children] as are sett to keep cattle be set to some other employment withal, as spinning upon the rock, knitting, weaving tape, etc., and that boys and girls be not suffered to converse together so as may occasion any wanton, dishonest or immodest behavior.
ref: 1899, T Frank Waters, The Development of Our Town Government:
text: A prepared end of yarn being fixed into the notch, the spinster, by a smart rolling motion of the spindle with the right hand against the right leg, threw it out from her, spinning in the air, while, with the left hand, she drew from the rock an additional supply of fibre which was formed into a uniform and equal strand with the right.
ref: 1902, Day Otis Kellogg, Thomas Spencer Baynes, William Robertson Smith, The Encyclopaedia Britannica, page 664:
text: It is true that in Ireland, even in recent years, the flax, before being placed on the rock or distaff, was tangled into a mass, or, as Cormmelin expresses it, “drawn out in a flat cake.”
ref: 1920, John Horner, The Linen Trade of Europe During the Spinning-wheel Period, page 32:
glosses: Distaff.
glosses: The flax or wool on a distaff.
rock
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹɒk/
enpr: rŏk
ipa: /ɹɑk/
ipa: /ɹɔk/
homophone: roc
homophone: rawk
rhymes: -ɒk
Forms: form: rocks
Senses: glosses: Archaic form of roc (mythical bird).
boulder
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈbəʊl.də(ɹ)/
ipa: /ˈboʊldɚ/
rhymes: -əʊldə(ɹ)
homophone: bolder
Forms: form: boulders
form: bowlder
form: bulder
Etymology: From late Middle English bulder, short for Middle English bulder ston (“a stone that's been worn into a round shape, boulder, cobblestone”), possibly from Old Swedish *buldersten, itself possibly from Old Swedish bulder (“rumble, noise”) + sten (“stone”); whence dialectal Swedish bullersten (“large stone in a stream, causing water to roar around it”). The first element may alternatively be allied to Old Swedish bulle, bolle (“round drinking vessel, tumbler”), from Old Norse bolli, related to Old English bolla (“round object, bowl”), see English bowl.
Senses: glosses: A large mass of stone detached from the surrounding land.
topics: geography
geology
natural-sciences
glosses: A particle greater than 256 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale
examples: text: There were four sizes of marbles and we called them boulders, biggies, regulars, and teenies.
ref: 2006, Carol Benson, The Old Lonesome, page 84:
glosses: A large marble, in children's games.
topics: climbing
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A session of bouldering; involvement in bouldering.
Derived terms: boulder clay
boulder holder
bouldering
boulderless
boulderlike
boulder opal
boulderstone
bouldery
over-the-shoulder boulder holder
river boulder
boulder
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈbəʊl.də(ɹ)/
ipa: /ˈboʊldɚ/
rhymes: -əʊldə(ɹ)
homophone: bolder
Forms: form: boulders
form: bouldering
form: bouldered
form: bouldered
form: bowlder
form: bulder
Etymology: From late Middle English bulder, short for Middle English bulder ston (“a stone that's been worn into a round shape, boulder, cobblestone”), possibly from Old Swedish *buldersten, itself possibly from Old Swedish bulder (“rumble, noise”) + sten (“stone”); whence dialectal Swedish bullersten (“large stone in a stream, causing water to roar around it”). The first element may alternatively be allied to Old Swedish bulle, bolle (“round drinking vessel, tumbler”), from Old Norse bolli, related to Old English bolla (“round object, bowl”), see English bowl.
Senses: examples: text: He bouldered a route in the same area with ease. Mitchell, 11, was hanging with the older kids in an area where bouldering nearly upside down seemed to be....
ref: 2005 November 18, “The ties that bind ..., ... and prevent falls have become family unifier in rock climbing”, in Salt Lake Tribune:
text: As the week unfolded, we were taught about the equipment we needed, how to tie a rope and what to wear. We learnt to balance on our feet rather than cling on with our arms and to trust our rock shoes, the moulded rubber slippers that can grip the smoothest of surfaces. We abseiled, bouldered and belayed.
ref: 2006 July 18, Tony Durrant, “The steep learning curve”, in telegraph.co.uk:
text: There's even old climbing hardware in it because people bouldered on it for years.
ref: 2007 February 15, “Homes blend eco-friendliness, unique design”, in Sierra Sun:
topics: climbing
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To engage in bouldering.
Derived terms: boulderer
weird
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈwɪə(ɹ)d/
ipa: /ˈwiːə(ɹ)d/
ipa: /ˈwiɚd/
ipa: /ˈwɪɚd/
rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)d
Forms: form: weirds
form: weïrd
form: wierd
form: weyard
form: weyward
Etymology: From Middle English werde, wierde, wirde, wyrede, wurde, from Old English wyrd (“fate”), from Proto-West Germanic *wurdi, from Proto-Germanic *wurdiz, from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn, wind”). Cognate with Icelandic urður (“fate”). Related to Old English weorþan (“to become”). Doublet of wyrd. More at worth.
Obsolete by the 16th century in English, but reintroduced from Middle Scots weird, whence Shakespeare borrowed it in naming the Weird Sisters (originally Weyward Sisters, the Three Witches), reintroducing it to English. The senses “abnormal”, “strange” etc. arose via reinterpretation of Weird Sisters and date from after this reintroduction.
Senses: examples: text: Step by reluctant step, he had come to know his weird. The North must be saved from her.
ref: 1965, Poul Anderson, The Corridors of Time, page 226:
text: In the weird of death shall the hapless be whelmed, and from Doom’s dark prison
 Shall she steal forth never again.
ref: 1912, Arthur S. Way, transl., Medea, Heinemenn, translation of original by Euripides, published 1946, page 361:
synonyms: word: kismet
word: lot
word: orlay
word: wyrd
word: chance
word: destin
word: destiny
word: doom
word: fatality
word: fate
word: foredoom
word: foreordination
word: fortune
word: kismet
word: lot
word: orlay
word: portion
word: predestination
word: predestiny
word: preordination
word: qadar
word: weird
word: wyrd
glosses: Fate; destiny; luck.
synonyms: word: foretale
word: foretelling
word: foretale
word: foretelling
word: prediction
word: prognostication
word: weird
glosses: A prediction.
examples: text: Thou shalt bear thy penance lone
In the Valley of Saint John,
And this weird shall overtake thee
ref: 1813, Walter Scott, The Bridal of Triermain:
synonyms: enchantment
glosses: A spell or charm.
glosses: That which comes to pass; a fact.
synonyms: Norns
qualifier: personification
glosses: The Fates.
examples: text: You know why it feels so good to be amongst real friends? They allow you to be your weird and love you for it. Imagine how it would feel to freely let your weird out and have the world love you for it.
ref: 2019, Justin Blackburn, The Bisexual Christian Suburban Failure Enlightening Bipolar Blues, page 33:
glosses: Weirdness.
Derived terms: dree one’s weird
weirdless
weird
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈwɪə(ɹ)d/
ipa: /ˈwiːə(ɹ)d/
ipa: /ˈwiɚd/
ipa: /ˈwɪɚd/
rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)d
Forms: form: weirds
form: weirding
form: weirded
form: weirded
form: weïrd
form: wierd
form: weyard
form: weyward
Etymology: From Middle English werde, wierde, wirde, wyrede, wurde, from Old English wyrd (“fate”), from Proto-West Germanic *wurdi, from Proto-Germanic *wurdiz, from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn, wind”). Cognate with Icelandic urður (“fate”). Related to Old English weorþan (“to become”). Doublet of wyrd. More at worth.
Obsolete by the 16th century in English, but reintroduced from Middle Scots weird, whence Shakespeare borrowed it in naming the Weird Sisters (originally Weyward Sisters, the Three Witches), reintroducing it to English. The senses “abnormal”, “strange” etc. arose via reinterpretation of Weird Sisters and date from after this reintroduction.
Senses: glosses: To destine; doom; change by witchcraft or sorcery.
glosses: To warn solemnly; adjure.
weird
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈwɪə(ɹ)d/
ipa: /ˈwiːə(ɹ)d/
ipa: /ˈwiɚd/
ipa: /ˈwɪɚd/
rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)d
Forms: form: weïrd
form: wierd
form: weyard
form: weyward
Etymology: From Middle English werde, wierde, wirde, wyrede, wurde, from Old English wyrd (“fate”), from Proto-West Germanic *wurdi, from Proto-Germanic *wurdiz, from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn, wind”). Cognate with Icelandic urður (“fate”). Related to Old English weorþan (“to become”). Doublet of wyrd. More at worth.
Obsolete by the 16th century in English, but reintroduced from Middle Scots weird, whence Shakespeare borrowed it in naming the Weird Sisters (originally Weyward Sisters, the Three Witches), reintroducing it to English. The senses “abnormal”, “strange” etc. arose via reinterpretation of Weird Sisters and date from after this reintroduction.
Senses: examples: text: I waltzed into that club just as straight as a goose and I kept tripping over things and people were looking at me weird.
ref: 1972, Edwin Shrake, Strange Peaches: A Novel:
text: Man, you're talking weird!
ref: 1974, Vernard Eller, The Most Revealing Book of the Bible: Making Sense Out of Revelation:
synonyms: funny
strangely
weirdly
glosses: In a strange manner.
strange
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: strānj
ipa: /stɹeɪnd͡ʒ/
rhymes: -eɪndʒ
Forms: form: stranges
form: stranging
form: stranged
form: stranged
Etymology: From Middle English straunge, strange, stronge, from Old French estrange, from Latin extrāneus (“that which is on the outside”). Doublet of extraneous and estrange. Cognate with French étrange (“strange, foreign”) and Spanish extraño (“strange, foreign”). Largely displaced native fremd, selcouth, and uncouth, from Old English fremede, seldcūþ, and uncūþ.
Senses: glosses: To alienate; to estrange.
glosses: To be estranged or alienated.
examples: text: [I]f the world and motion were not from Eternity, then God was Idle; were all the Aſſertions of Ariſtotle, which Theology pronounceth impieties. Which yet we need not ſtrange at from one, of whom a Father ſaith, Nec Deum coluit nec curavit [he neither worshipped nor cared for God]: […]
ref: 1661, Joseph Glanvill, chapter XIX, in The Vanity of Dogmatizing: Or Confidence in Opinions. […], London: […] E. C[otes] for Henry Eversden […], →OCLC, page 184:
glosses: To wonder; to be astonished at (something).
strange
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: strānj
ipa: /stɹeɪnd͡ʒ/
rhymes: -eɪndʒ
Forms: form: stranges
Etymology: From Middle English straunge, strange, stronge, from Old French estrange, from Latin extrāneus (“that which is on the outside”). Doublet of extraneous and estrange. Cognate with French étrange (“strange, foreign”) and Spanish extraño (“strange, foreign”). Largely displaced native fremd, selcouth, and uncouth, from Old English fremede, seldcūþ, and uncūþ.
Senses: examples: text: It was a bar by license, but in hiring practice it became an intergalactic smorgasbord of xenosexual delights, females of fancy species serving drinks and offering cultural exchange to human males seeking some strange.
ref: 2010, Larry Doyle, “Back Seat Dating”, in Go, Mutants!: A Novel, 1st edition (Fiction), HarperCollinsPublishers, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 123:
text: All he has to do is walk into a bar, and he can get some Strange.'” “Oh yeah, Tom,” I mutter, “that's exactly how it was, every Saturday night. Nothing but Strange. Up here too.”
ref: 2017, J.D. Kleinke, Dudeville:
glosses: Sex outside of one's current relationship.
topics: natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: A strange quark.
Derived terms: get some strange
tame strange
ply
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /plaɪ/
rhymes: -aɪ
Forms: form: plies
form: plying
form: plied
form: plied
Etymology: From Middle English plīen, pli, plie (“to bend, fold, mould, shape; to be flexible; to be submissive, humble oneself; to compel someone to submit”), from Anglo-Norman plier, plaier, pleier, ploier, and Middle French plier, ployer (“to bend, fold; to be submissive; to compel someone to submit”) (modern French plier, ployer), from Old French ploiier, pleier (“to fold”), from Latin plicāre (“to fold”); see further at etymology 1. The word is cognate with Catalan plegar (“to bend, fold”), Italian piegare (“to bend, fold, fold up”), Old Occitan plegar, plejar, pleyar (“to fold”) (modern Occitan plegar), Spanish plegar (“to fold”).
Senses: examples: text: And now when at length the Vineyard has ſhed its late Leaves, and the cold Northwind ſhook from the Groves their Honours; even then the active Swain extends his Cares to the enſuing Year, and cloſe plys the deſolate forſaken Vine, cutting off the ſuperfluous Roots with Saturn's crooked Hook, and forms it by pruning.
ref: 1743, Virgil, “The Georgics of Virgil. Book II.”, in [Joseph Davidson], transl., The Works of Virgil Translated into English Prose, […] In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Printed for Joseph Davidson, […], →OCLC, page 135:
glosses: To bend; to fold; to mould; (figuratively) to adapt, to modify; to change (a person's) mind, to cause (a person) to submit.
examples: text: The Oak Upbraided the Willow, that it was Weak and Wavering, and gave way to Every Blaſt. […] Some very little while after This Diſpute, it Blew a Violent Storm. The Willow Ply’d, and gave way to the Guſt, and ſtill recover’d it ſelf again, without receiving any Damage: But the Oak was Stubborn, and choſe rather to Break than Bend.
ref: 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “[The Fables of Anianus, &c.] Fab[le] CCXV. An Oak and a Willow.”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC, page 187:
glosses: To bend, to flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield (to a force, etc.).
Derived terms: word: overply
word: plier
word: pliers
ply
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /plaɪ/
rhymes: -aɪ
Etymology: From apply; compare Middle English plīen, pli, plie, pleie (“to place (something) around, on, or over, to cover; to apply, use; to strive”), short for aplīen, applīen (“to combine, join; to attach; to assemble; to use, be of use; to allot; to apply; to inflict; to go; to ply, steer; to comply, submit”), from Old French applier, aplier, aploier (“to bend; to apply”), from Latin applicāre, present active infinitive of applicō (“to apply; to attach, join; to add”), from ad- (“to, towards”) + plicō (“to bend, fold, roll up”); see further at etymology 1.
Senses: glosses: A bent; a direction.