cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
snipe
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /snaɪp/
rhymes: -aɪp
Forms: form: snipes
form: snipe
Etymology: From Middle English snipe, snype (a type of bird), from Old Norse snípa, as in mýrisnípa (“moor snipe”). Akin to Norwegian snipe.
The verb originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India where a hunter skilled enough to kill the elusive snipe was dubbed a "sniper". The term sniper was first attested in 1824 in the sense of the word "sharpshooter".
Senses: glosses: Any of various limicoline game birds of the genera Gallinago, Lymnocryptes and Coenocorypha in the family Scolopacidae, having a long, slender, nearly straight beak.
examples: text: For I mine own gained knowledge should profane,/ If I would time expend with such a snipe,/ But for my sport and profit.
ref: c. 1603, William Shakespeare, Othello, act I, scene 3, line 390:
glosses: A fool; a blockhead.
glosses: A shot fired from a concealed place.
topics: government
military
naval
navy
politics
war
glosses: A member of the engineering department on a ship.
topics: hobbies
ice-hockey
lifestyle
skating
sports
glosses: A goal.
Derived terms: Australian painted snipe
common snipe
great snipe
jacksnipe
muck-snipe
nerd-snipe
nerd snipe
painted-snipe
painted snipe
pin-tailed snipe
pool snipe
robin snipe
sea snipe
shore snipe
snipebill
snipe eel
snipefish
snipe fly
snipe hunt
snipelike
stone-snipe
whole snipe
Wilson's snipe
snipe
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /snaɪp/
rhymes: -aɪp
Forms: form: snipes
Etymology: Probably from snip or a cognate
Senses: glosses: A cigarette butt.
synonyms: snipe-end
glosses: An end of a log remaining after timber has been cut away.
glosses: An animated promotional logo during a television show.
glosses: A strip of copy announcing some late breaking news or item of interest, typically placed in a print advertisement in such a way that it stands out from the ad.
glosses: A bottle of wine measuring 0.1875 liters, one fourth the volume of a standard bottle; a quarter bottle or piccolo.
snipe
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /snaɪp/
rhymes: -aɪp
Forms: form: snipes
Etymology: Either from sneap or a figurative development from Etymology 1.
Senses: glosses: A sharp, clever answer; sarcasm.
examples: text: [R]egular campaign posters are easily adapted to the student market by sniping them. […] The student snipe should say something like, "FOR STUDENTS ONLY: 5 EVENTS FOR AS LITTLE AS $20.00!"
ref: 1983, Joseph V. Melillo, Market the Arts!:
glosses: A note or sticker attached to an existing poster to provide further information (e.g. an event is sold out, political criticism, etc.).
snipe
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /snaɪp/
rhymes: -aɪp
Forms: form: snipes
form: sniping
form: sniped
form: sniped
Etymology: Either from sneap or a figurative development from Etymology 1.
Senses: examples: text: Capitalizing on the restive mood, Mr. Farage, the U.K. Independence Party leader, took out an advertisement in The Daily Telegraph this week inviting unhappy Tories to defect. In it Mr. Farage sniped that the Cameron government — made up disproportionately of career politicians who graduated from Eton and Oxbridge — was “run by a bunch of college kids, none of whom have ever had a proper job in their lives.”
ref: 2013 May 23, Sarah Lyall, “British Leader’s Liberal Turn Sets Off a Rebellion in His Party”, in New York Times, retrieved 29 May 2013:
text: After the president held a White House event announcing a shared venture, with up to $500 billion of funding[…] Elon Musk sniped on X that the money for the venture wasn’t really there.
ref: 2025 January 25, Ross Douthat, “In the Court of King Trump”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
synonyms: snark
glosses: To make malicious, underhand remarks or attacks.
examples: text: Campus newspaper advertising rates are inexpensive, flyers can be simple because the ticket-price message is strong, and regular campaign posters are easily adapted to the student market by sniping them.
ref: 1983, Joseph V. Melillo, Market the Arts!:
text: At the time, a poster cost more to snipe than to print. The company quoted us $1.50 per poster, and made such a point of guaranteeing coverage, I decided to covertly follow one of their crews around one night to see for myself.
ref: 2018, Avram Finkelstein, After Silence: A History of AIDS Through Its Images, page 42:
glosses: To attach a note or sticker to (an existing poster) to provide further information, political criticism, etc.
snout
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /snaʊt/
ipa: /snʌʊt/
rhymes: -aʊt
Forms: form: snouts
form: snouting
form: snouted
form: snouted
Etymology: From Middle English snowte, snoute, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German snute (alternatively spelled snuut, snuyt), from Proto-West Germanic *snūt, from Proto-Germanic *snūtaz.
Compare Saterland Frisian Snuute, Dutch snuit or snoet (“snout; cute face”), German Schnauze, Schnute. Doublet of snoot.
Senses: glosses: To furnish with a nozzle or point.
so-called
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: enpr: sōʹkôld'
ipa: /ˈsəʊˌkɔːld/
ipa: /ˈsoʊˌkɔld/
Forms: form: so called
form: socalled
Etymology: From so + called.
Senses: examples: text: the so-called Ising mode
text: Another Canadian example is that of the so-called Halfback Program initiated in the province of Ontario. With this scheme state lottery tickets with which no prizes are won retain 50% of the value of their initial cost […]
ref: 1988, Ingrid Coetzee, Gerhard-Mark Van der Waal, Conservation of Culture: Changing Context and Challenges:
text: ... I hadn't met any straight women at the gay bars — a few so called "fag hags" fraternizing with the boys, of course, but ...
ref: 2010, Matty McEire, Looking for Sheville, Dog Ear Publishing, →ISBN, page 78:
text: The Central Intelligence Agency on Tuesday became the first major national security agency to offer so-called buyouts to its entire workforce, a CIA spokesperson and two other sources familiar with the offer said, part of President Donald Trump’s broad effort to shrink the federal government and shape it to his agenda.
ref: 2025 February 4, Katie Bo Lillis and Kaitlan Collins, “CIA sends ‘buyout’ offers to entire workforce”, in CNN:
glosses: So named; commonly called.
examples: text: These so-called "assistants" are making our jobs harder, not easier!
text: […]dawdling away the hours in the Park as if all the world and its millions of honest hard workers were created solely for the casual diversion of the so-called 'upper' classes,[…]
ref: 1895, Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan: or The Strange Experience of One Geoffrey Tempest, Millionaire […], 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, published 1896, →OCLC, page 5:
text: So-called Orthodox synagogues who organized mixed dances in order to raise money for various causes.
ref: 2024, David Golinkin, “Is Mixed Dancing Really Forbidden At Weddings?”, in Responsa in a Moment, volume 4, page 242:
glosses: commonly called by such a name, but false or unfitting.
Derived terms: so-called dollar
solitary
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsɑlɪˌtɛɹi/
ipa: /ˈsɒlɪt(ə)ɹi/
Forms: form: solitaries
Etymology: From Middle English solitarie, borrowed from Latin sōlitārius. Doublet of solitaire.
Senses: examples: text: He brooded and intrigued fantastically. He was becoming one of the big-time solitaries. And he wasn't meant to be a solitary. He was meant to be in active life, a social creature.
ref: 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 24:
text: Tilling my own grave to keep me level
Jam another dragon down the hole
Digging to the rhythm and the echo of a solitary siren
One that pushes me along and leaves me so
Desperate and ravenous
ref: 2003, “Weak and Powerless”, performed by A Perfect Circle:
synonyms: word: aloner
word: anchoret
word: anchorite
word: eremite
word: hermit
word: Miller of Dee
word: monk
word: recluse
word: shut-in
word: solitary
word: sullen
glosses: One who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchorite, hermit or recluse.
examples: text: The prisoners who started the riot were moved to solitary.
glosses: Ellipsis of solitary confinement.
examples: text: You must wonder why I'm relentless and all strung out/I'm consumed by the chill of solitary
ref: 1995, Alanis Morissette, “All I Really Want”, in Jagged Little Pill:
glosses: The state of being solitary; solitude
solitary
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsɑlɪˌtɛɹi/
ipa: /ˈsɒlɪt(ə)ɹi/
Senses: glosses: Archaic form of solitaire (“Rodrigues solitaire”).
sophist
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsɒfɪst/
ipa: /ˈsoʊfɪst/
Forms: form: sophists
Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin sophista, also sophistes, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek σοφιστής (sophistḗs, “pursuer of wisdom”), from σοφίζομαι (sophízomai, “to become wise”).
Senses: glosses: One of a class of teachers of rhetoric, philosophy, and politics in ancient Greece.
glosses: A teacher who uses plausible but fallacious reasoning.
examples: text: [T]hey have acted in this Calumny both the injuſtice of the Tyrant, and the forgery of the Sophiſt.
ref: 1699, Richard Bentley, “The Preface”, in A Dissertation upon the Epistles of Phalaris. With an Answer to the Objections of the Honourable Charles Boyle, Esquire, London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for Henry Mortlock […], and John Hartley […], →OCLC, page iii:
synonyms: logic chopper
glosses: One who is captious, fallacious, or deceptive in argument.
glosses: Alternative form of sophister (“university student who has completed at least one year”).
Related terms: sophism
sophister
sophisticated
sophistress
sophistry
sophomore
soubrette
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /suːˈbɹɛt/
rhymes: -ɛt
Forms: form: soubrettes
Etymology: Borrowed from French soubrette, from Occitan soubreta (“coy”) (feminine of soubret), from soubra (Provençal sobrar), from Latin superare (“be above”).
Senses: examples: text: At present I have only a soubrette's part, with an apron and pockets, and a ballad; but, as I said before, luck's all in this world, and I have every requisite for being lucky.
ref: 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Success”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 77:
text: And then too it was exhilarating to see the baron come sailing in with a pair of soubrettes on his arm—each time a different pair.
ref: 1936, Henry Miller, “The Tailor Shop”, in Black Spring, Paris: The Obelisk Press […], →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, 1963, →ISBN, page 98:
text: This version of the fragile, yet touching story accents the romance and courtship of the schoolmaster, properly called Mr. Chipping, and the music hall soubrette he falls in love with while vacationing in Pompeii.
ref: 1969, Film Bulletin, volume 38, page 127:
text: The servants in the hall tonight are whitely-wigged black slaves in livery of a certain grade of satin and refinement of lace,– black Major-domos and black Soubrettes.
ref: 1997, Thomas Pynchon, Mason & Dixon:
glosses: A female attendant or servant, especially one who is cheeky or mischievous, often featuring in theatrical comedies.
souse
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /saʊs/
rhymes: -aʊs
homophone: sowse
Forms: form: souses
Etymology: From Middle English souse (“to salt pickle”) also a noun (“liquid for pickling,” “pickled pig parts”), from Old French sous (“preserved in salt”), from Frankish *sultija (“saltwater, brine”), from Proto-Germanic *sultijō (“saltwater, brine”). Cognate with Old Saxon sultia (“saltwater”), Old High German sulza (“brine”).
Senses: examples: text: And he that can rear up a pig in his house, / Hath cheaper his bacon, and sweeter his souse.
ref: 1848, Thomas Tusser, Some of the Five hundred points of good husbandry, page 58:
glosses: Something kept or steeped in brine.
The pickled ears, feet, etc., of swine.
glosses: Something kept or steeped in brine.
The pickled ears, feet, etc., of swine.
Pickled scrapple.
glosses: Something kept or steeped in brine.
The pickled ears, feet, etc., of swine.
Pickled or boiled ears and feet of a pig
glosses: Something kept or steeped in brine.
A pickle made with salt.
glosses: Something kept or steeped in brine.
The ear; especially, a hog's ear.
glosses: The act of sousing; a plunging into water.
examples: text: "If there's any, giving in charge here I'll give you in charge for sneaking my beer, you slop-bellied old souse!" exclaimed Peter.
ref: 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 187:
glosses: A drunkard.
Synonyms: sense: person suffering from alcoholism
word: alcoholic
word: sot
word: suck-pint
Related terms: topics: food
lifestyle
word: brawn
topics: food
lifestyle
word: budin
topics: food
lifestyle
word: haggis
topics: food
lifestyle
word: head cheese
topics: food
lifestyle
word: pudding
topics: food
lifestyle
word: sausage
topics: food
lifestyle
word: scrapple
souse
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /saʊs/
rhymes: -aʊs
homophone: sowse
Forms: form: souses
form: sousing
form: soused
form: soused
Etymology: From Middle English souse (“to salt pickle”) also a noun (“liquid for pickling,” “pickled pig parts”), from Old French sous (“preserved in salt”), from Frankish *sultija (“saltwater, brine”), from Proto-Germanic *sultijō (“saltwater, brine”). Cognate with Old Saxon sultia (“saltwater”), Old High German sulza (“brine”).
Senses: examples: text: (Although I bee well soused in this showere,)
ref: 1575, George Gascoigne, The introduction to the Psalme of De Profundis:
text: For then I viewd his body fall and ſowſe / Into the fomy maine, […]
ref: c. 1603 (date written), Iohn Marston, The Malcontent, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for William Aspley, […], published 1604, →OCLC, Act IV, scene iii:
text: As for my ſelf, they uſed to ſowſe me over head and ears in water when I was a boy
ref: 1730, Joseph Addison, The Works of the Late Right Honorable Joseph Addison, Esq., volume the fourth, London: Jacob Tonson, →OCLC, page 154:
text: As she heard him sousing heartily in cold water, heard the eager scratch of the steel comb on the side of the bowl, as he wetted his hair, she closed her eyes in disgust.
ref: 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 2, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
glosses: To immerse in liquid; to steep or drench.
glosses: To steep in brine; to pickle.
Derived terms: soused
souse
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /saʊs/
rhymes: -aʊs
homophone: sowse
Forms: form: souses
Etymology: Obscure origin. Compare Middle German sûs (“noise”).
Senses: examples: text: Eft fierce retourning as a foulcon fayre, / That once hath failed of her souse full neare
ref: 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
glosses: The act of sousing, or swooping.
examples: text: With that his murdrous mace he vp did reare, / That seemed nought the souse thereof could beare,
ref: 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
glosses: A heavy blow.
souse
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /saʊs/
rhymes: -aʊs
homophone: sowse
Forms: form: souses
form: sousing
form: soused
form: soused
Etymology: Obscure origin. Compare Middle German sûs (“noise”).
Senses: glosses: To strike, beat.
examples: text: Him so transfixed she before her bore / Beyond his croupe, the length of all her launce; / Till, sadly soucing on the sandy shore, / He tombled on an heape, and wallowd in his gore.
ref: 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
text: Thus on some silver swan or tim'rous hare / Jove's bird comes sowsing down from upper air
ref: 1697, Virgil, “The Ninth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 484, lines 761-762:
glosses: To fall heavily.
examples: text: [The gallant monarch] like an eagle o'er his eyrie towers, / To souse annoyance that comes near his nest.
ref: c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:
glosses: To pounce upon.
souse
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /saʊs/
rhymes: -aʊs
homophone: sowse
Etymology: Obscure origin. Compare Middle German sûs (“noise”).
Senses: examples: text: Mr Nash […] suddenly taking the gentleman by the collar of his coat, and waistband of his breeches, threw him souse over the parapet to the object of his love.
ref: 1780, Philip Thicknesse, The Valetudinarian's Bath Guide:
glosses: Suddenly, without warning.
souse
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /saʊs/
rhymes: -aʊs
homophone: sowse
Etymology: Borrowed from French, from Old French sous (plural of sout), from Latin solidus. Compare solidus (“gold coin of the late Roman empire”).
Senses: glosses: A sou (the French coin).
glosses: A small amount.
souse
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /saʊs/
rhymes: -aʊs
homophone: sowse
Etymology: First appeared online during the Bush administration.
Senses: glosses: Pronunciation spelling of source.
span
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /spæn/
ipa: /spæːn/
rhymes: -æn
rhymes: -æn
ipa: /spæn/
ipa: /spæːn/
rhymes: -æn
Forms: form: spans
form: spanning
form: spanned
form: spanned
Etymology: From Middle English spannen, from Old English spannan, from Proto-Germanic *spannaną (“to stretch, span”). Cognate with German spannen, Dutch spannen.
Senses: examples: text: The suspension bridge spanned the canyon.
text: The rivers were spanned by arches of solid masonry.
ref: 1855–1858, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson, and Company, →OCLC:
text: Completed in 1823, Gaunless Bridge was designed by George Stephenson to span the River Gaunless in West Auckland, forming part of a line serving Witton Park Colliery.
ref: 2023 March 8, “Network News: Grant for repairs at Gaunless Bridge”, in RAIL, number 978, page 9:
glosses: To extend through the distance between or across.
examples: text: The parking lot spans three acres.
text: The novel spans three centuries.
glosses: To extend through (a time period).
examples: text: to span a space or distance; to span a cylinder
text: Mine hand alſo hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath ſpanned the heauens: when I call vnto them, they ſtand vp together.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 48:13, column 2:
glosses: To measure by the span of the hand with the fingers extended, or with the fingers encompassing the object.
topics: mathematics
sciences
glosses: To generate an entire space by means of linear combinations.
glosses: To be matched, as horses.
examples: text: We spanned the dogs high up a corrie to the south of the ridge […]
ref: 1972, Mountain, numbers 20-24, page 22:
glosses: To fetter, as a horse; to hobble.
span
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /spæn/
ipa: /spæːn/
rhymes: -æn
rhymes: -æn
ipa: /spæn/
rhymes: -æn
ipa: /spæn/
ipa: /spæːn/
rhymes: -æn
rhymes: -æn
Forms: form: spun
Etymology: From Middle English span, from Old English spann, from Proto-Germanic *spann, first and third person singular preterit indicative of Proto-Germanic *spinnaną (“to spin”).
Senses: examples: text: But when Adam delued, and Eue ſpan,
VVho was then a Gentleman?
ref: 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], Act I:
text: So they went in to where Gudruda sat spinning in the hall, singing as she span.
ref: 1891, H[enry] Rider Haggard, “How Hall of Lithdale Took Tidings to Iceland”, in Eric Brighteyes, 2nd edition, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 204:
text: Five spectators remained in critical condition on Monday, a day after they were injured when a giant pick-up truck span out of control during a stunt show in a Dutch town, killing three people, local officials said.
ref: 2014 September 29, Reuters, “Five spectators in critical condition following stunt truck accident”, in Irish Independent, archived from the original on 11 Mar 2016:
glosses: simple past of spin
Derived terms: word: wheelspan
Related terms: english: probably etymologically unrelated
translation: probably etymologically unrelated
word: span-new
spandrel
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: spandrels
form: spandril
Etymology: From a diminutive in -el of Anglo-Norman spaundre, of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old French espandre (“to expand, extend, spread”). More at spawn, expand.
In the field of biology first used by Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Lewontin.
Senses: examples: text: Usual practice then builds a wall above each curved end of the arch, known as a spandrel, which directly joins the bridge's sidewalls. […] With sidewalls and spandrels in place, you can fill the space between them with material up to the height of the bridge deck, and then place the road or railway on top.
ref: 2023 May 3, Philip Haigh, “The art and science of building bridges”, in RAIL, number 982, page 40:
topics: architecture
coordinate_terms: pendentive
glosses: The space (often more or less triangular) between the outer curve of an arch (the extrados) and a straight-sided figure that bounds it; the space between two contiguous arches and a straight feature above them.
examples: 2002, Kerstin Lang, Seismic Vulnerability of Existing Buildings, vdf Hochschulverlag AG, page 25,
Due to the fact that the walls are joined by floors and spandrels, a coupling effect is produced. Depending on the extent of the spandrels, this coupling effect will be bigger or smaller.
topics: architecture
glosses: Horizontal member between the windows of successive storeys of a tall building.
topics: architecture
glosses: The triangular space under a stair; the material that fills the space.
glosses: An oriental rug having a pattern of arches; the design in the corners of such a rug, especially in a prayer rug.
examples: text: Another type of theory emphasises the sometimes accidental nature of evolution. A spandrel is a structure arising as a by-product of some other architectural configuration. In evolutionary terms, a spandrel is some trait of an organism which emerges not through direct adaptionist or exaptationist means, but rather as a side effect of some other evolutionary development.
ref: 2009, Anna R. Kinsella, Language Evolution and Syntactic Theory, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 13:
qualifier: evolutionary theory
glosses: A phenotypic characteristic that evolved as a side effect of an adaptation in response to evolutionary pressure.
topics: architecture
business
construction
manufacturing
glosses: soffit (usually used to describe metal or corrugated plastic types of roof soffit)
Derived terms: spandrelled
Related terms: exaptation
spare
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: spâr
ipa: /spɛə(ɹ)/
enpr: spâr
ipa: /spɛɚ/
ipa: /speː/
note: without the cheer–chair merger
ipa: /speə/
note: New Zealand, cheer–chair merger
ipa: /spiə/
ipa: /speɹ/
note: Lancashire, fair–fur merger
ipa: /spɜː(ɹ)/
homophone: spear (cheer–chair merger)
homophone: spur (fair–fur merger)
rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
Forms: form: spares
Etymology: From Middle English spare, spar, from Old English spær (“sparing, scant”), from Proto-Germanic *sparaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sph₁rós, from the root *speh₁-.
Compare Dutch spaar(zaam), German spar(sam) and spär(lich), Swedish spar(sam), Icelandic sparr (“sparing”); also Latin (pro)sperus (“lucky”), Old Church Slavonic споръ (sporŭ, “plentiful”), Albanian shperr (“earn money”), Persian سپار (sepâr, “entrust; deposit”), Ancient Greek σπαρνός (sparnós, “rare”), Sanskrit स्फिर (sphirá, “thick”).
Senses: examples: text: men slaine, then without any spare at all they trampled over the dead carkasses
ref: 1659, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “(please specify the book number)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] W. Hunt, for George Sawbridge, […], →OCLC:
glosses: The act of sparing; moderation; restraint.
examples: text: Pourd out their plenty, without spight or spare:
ref: 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 51:
glosses: Parsimony; frugal use.
glosses: An opening in a petticoat or gown; a placket.
glosses: That which has not been used or expended.
glosses: A spare part, especially a spare tire.
examples: raw_tags: dynastic context
text: an heir and a spare
text: The whole Heir versus Spare thing? Wasn't it a bit late for that tired childhood dynamic?
ref: 2023, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex; J. R. Moehringer, Spare, Penguin Random House, →ISBN:
glosses: A superfluous or second-best person.
topics: bowling
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: The right of bowling again at a full set of pins, after having knocked all the pins down in less than three bowls. If all the pins are knocked down in one bowl it is a double spare; in two bowls, a single spare.
topics: bowling
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: The act of knocking down all remaining pins in second ball of a frame; this entitles the pins knocked down on the next ball to be added to the score for that frame.
examples: text: I also remember watching David Letterman's short-lived morning show on TV when I had a spare during my school schedule.
ref: 2010, Sandra Rinomato, Realty Check: Real Estate Secrets for First-Time Canadian Home Buyers:
glosses: A free period; a block of school during which one does not have a class.
glosses: assistant or extra hand (typically on buses and lorries)
Derived terms: donut spare
hot spare
sparkle
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈspɑːkəl/
ipa: /ˈspɑɹkəl/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)kəl
homophone: SPARQL
Forms: form: sparkles
Etymology: From Middle English sparkel, sparkle, sparcle, equivalent to spark + -le (diminutive suffix). In some modern uses deverbal from etymology 2 below.
Senses: examples: text: As sparckles from the Anduile vse to fly, / When heauie hammers on the wedge are swaid
ref: 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 42:
text: The lamp was shaded, and the fire was dim, when suddenly the log, which had burnt through, gave way; a shower of sparkles rose from the hearth, and a bright blaze illuminated the room, falling full on Francesca's face, as she bent over the patient.
ref: 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 112:
text: The shock was sufficiently strong to strike out some sparkles of his fiery temper.
ref: 1855–1858, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson, and Company, →OCLC:
glosses: A little spark; a scintillation.
examples: text: the sparkle of a diamond
glosses: Brilliance; luster.
examples: text: the sparkle of his conversation over dinner
glosses: Liveliness; vivacity.
glosses: The quality of being sparkling or fizzy; effervescence.
Derived terms: sea sparkle
sparkledog
sparkle
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈspɑːkəl/
ipa: /ˈspɑɹkəl/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)kəl
homophone: SPARQL
Forms: form: sparkles
form: sparkling
form: sparkled
form: sparkled
form: sparckle
form: sparcle
Etymology: From Middle English sparklen, sperclen, equivalent to spark + -le (frequentative verb). Cognate with West Frisian sparkelje (“to sparkle”), Dutch sparkelen (“to sparkle”).
Senses: examples: text: The wood was sparkling in the bonfire.
glosses: To emit sparks; to throw off ignited or incandescent particles
examples: text: The stars sparkle in the sky.
text: Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.
ref: 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
glosses: To shine as if throwing off sparks; to emit flashes of light; to scintillate; to twinkle
examples: text: I see bright honour sparkle through your eyes.
ref: 1634, John Milton, “Arcades”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC:
glosses: To manifest itself by, or as if by, emitting sparks; to glisten; to flash.
examples: text: sparkling wine
text: sparkling water
glosses: To emit little bubbles, as certain kinds of liquors; to effervesce
examples: text: That the bright glister of their beames cleare / Did sparckle forth great light, and glorious did appeare.
ref: 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 32:
glosses: To emit in the form or likeness of sparks.
glosses: To disperse.
glosses: To scatter on or over.
Synonyms: sense: glisten, flash
word: shine
sense: glisten, flash
word: glisten
sense: glisten, flash
word: scintillate
sense: glisten, flash
word: radiate
sense: glisten, flash
word: coruscate
sense: glisten, flash
word: glitter
sense: glisten, flash
word: twinkle
Derived terms: asparkle
sparkle up
sparkler
sparkling water
Related terms: ❇
❈
✨
spectacle
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈspɛktəkl̩/
Forms: form: spectacles
Etymology: From Middle English spectacle, from Middle French spectacle, from Latin spectāculum (“a show, spectacle”), from spectō (“to see, behold”), frequentative of speciō (“to see”). See species. Doublet of spectaculum.
Senses: examples: text: The horse race was a thrilling spectacle.
text: VVith ſcoffes and ſcornes, and contumelious taunts, / In open Market-place produc't they me, / To be a publique ſpectacle to all: / Here, ſayd they, is the Terror of the French, / The Scar-Crovv that affrights our Children ſo.
ref: 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene vi], page 100, column 1:
text: 22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Gameshttp://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/
In movie terms, it suggests Paul Verhoeven in Robocop/Starship Troopers mode, an R-rated bloodbath where the grim spectacle of children murdering each other on television is bread-and-circuses for the age of reality TV, enforced by a totalitarian regime to keep the masses at bay.
glosses: An exciting or extraordinary scene, exhibition, performance etc.
examples: text: He made a spectacle out of himself.
glosses: An embarrassing or unedifying scene or situation.
examples: text: Some very interesting relics of Adam and Eve were shown us, that were brought from America; such as a fine-tooth comb, made of thorns, a part of a pair of leather spectacle frames, without glasses, a boot jack made of ebony, and a set of pawpaws of props, with the backs filled with a hard substance, resembling lava.
ref: 1858 August 14, Peleg Parsley Bell, “Seeing the World. Letter No. 5. […] Still in London.”, in The Flag of Our Union, volume XIII, number 33, Boston, Mass.: M[aturin] M[urray] Ballou, page 260, column 2:
glosses: Attributive form of spectacles.
glosses: The brille of a snake.
topics: rail-transport
railways
transport
glosses: A frame with different coloured lenses on a semaphore signal through which light from a lamp shines at night, often a part of the signal arm.
Synonyms: sense: exciting event
word: show
sense: exciting event
word: pageant
sense: optical instrument
word: glasses
sense: optical instrument
word: eyeglasses
sense: optical instrument
word: specs
Derived terms: bespectacled
counterspectacle
make a public spectacle of oneself
make a spectacle of oneself
spectacle case
spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch
superspectacle
Related terms: species
spectacular
speculate
spire
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: spīr
enpr: spīʹər
ipa: /spaɪə/
ipa: /ˈspaɪ.ə/
enpr: spīʹər
ipa: /ˈspaɪ.ɚ/
rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
Forms: form: spires
Etymology: From Middle English spire, spyre, spier, spir, from Old English spīr, from Proto-Germanic *spīrō, *spīrǭ (“peak; point; tip; stalk”). Cognate with Dutch spier, German Low German Spier, German Spier, Spiere, Danish spir, Norwegian spir and spire, Swedish spira, Icelandic spíra.
Senses: glosses: The stalk or stem of a plant.
examples: text: Clara had pulled a button from a hollyhock spire, and was breaking it to get the seeds.
ref: 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Chapter 12”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
glosses: A young shoot of a plant; a spear.
glosses: Any of various tall grasses, rushes, or sedges, such as the marram, the reed canary-grass, etc.
examples: text: A beech wood with silver firs in it rolled down the face of the hill, and the maze of leafless twigs and dusky spires cut sharp against the soft blueness of the evening sky.
ref: 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 1, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:
text: This park’s strange and beautiful rock formations were formed by the Yellowstone River and various streams that have cut through the rock over millions of years, carving out hoodoos, spires and caprocks. The name Makoshika comes from a Lakota word for badlands.
ref: 2018 July 17, Autumn Spanne, “Check out these crazy rock formations across the United States”, in CNN:
glosses: A sharp or tapering point.
examples: text: The spire of the church rose high above the town.
topics: architecture
glosses: A tapering structure built on a roof or tower, especially as one of the central architectural features of a church or cathedral roof.
examples: text: the spire and top of praises
ref: c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ix]:
glosses: The top, or uppermost point, of anything; the summit.
topics: business
mining
glosses: A tube or fuse for communicating fire to the charge in blasting.
Derived terms: broached spire
spire
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: spīr
enpr: spīʹər
ipa: /spaɪə/
ipa: /ˈspaɪ.ə/
enpr: spīʹər
ipa: /ˈspaɪ.ɚ/
rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
Forms: form: spires
form: spiring
form: spired
form: spired
Etymology: From Middle English spire, spyre, spier, spir, from Old English spīr, from Proto-Germanic *spīrō, *spīrǭ (“peak; point; tip; stalk”). Cognate with Dutch spier, German Low German Spier, German Spier, Spiere, Danish spir, Norwegian spir and spire, Swedish spira, Icelandic spíra.
Senses: examples: text: In gentle Ladies breste and bounteous race / Of woman kind it fayrest Flowre doth spyre, / And beareth fruit of honour and all chast desyre.
ref: 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
text: It is not so apt to spire up as the other sorts, being more inclined to branch into arms.
ref: 1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC:
qualifier: plant etc.
glosses: to sprout, to send forth the early shoots of growth; to germinate.
raw_tags: of a seed
glosses: To grow upwards rather than develop horizontally.
glosses: To furnish with a spire.
spire
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: spīr
enpr: spīʹər
ipa: /spaɪə/
ipa: /ˈspaɪ.ə/
enpr: spīʹər
ipa: /ˈspaɪ.ɚ/
rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
Forms: form: spires
form: spiring
form: spired
form: spired
Etymology: From Old French spirer, and its source, Latin spīrō (“to breathe”).
Senses: glosses: To breathe.
spire
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: spīr
enpr: spīʹər
ipa: /spaɪə/
ipa: /ˈspaɪ.ə/
enpr: spīʹər
ipa: /ˈspaɪ.ɚ/
rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
Forms: form: spires
Etymology: From Middle French spire.
Senses: examples: text: A dragon's fiery form bely'd the god:
Sublime on radiant spires he rode.
ref: 1700, [John] Dryden, “Alexander’s Feast; or, The Power of Musique. An Ode, in Honour of St. Cecelia’s Day.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
glosses: One of the sinuous foldings of a serpent or other reptile; a coil.
glosses: A spiral.
topics: geometry
mathematics
sciences
glosses: The part of a spiral generated in one revolution of the straight line about the pole.
splay
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: enpr: splā
ipa: /spleɪ/
rhymes: -eɪ
Forms: form: more splay
form: most splay
Etymology: PIE word
 *dwís
The verb is derived from Middle English splaien, splayen (“to display; to spread out, unfurl (a flag, etc.); (cooking) to cut open (a fish) lengthwise and lay it open; (figurative) to appear; to spread”), an aphetic form of Middle English displaien, displayen (“to display”): see display.
The adjective and adverb are derived from the verb, or from splayfoot (noun) or splayfooted (adjective). The noun is derived from the verb.
Senses: glosses: Oblique, slanted.
examples: text: to sit splay-legged
glosses: Turned outward; spread out.
examples: text: splay shoulders
text: In the German mind, as in the German language, there does seem to be something splay, something blunt-edged, unhandy, and infelicitous,—some want of quick, fine, sure perception, which tends to balance the great superiority of the Germans in knowledge, and in the disposition to deal impartially with knowledge.
ref: 1873, Matthew Arnold, “Preface”, in Literature & Dogma: An Essay towards a Better Apprehension of the Bible, London: Smith, Elder, & Co. […], →OCLC, page xxvi:
text: We have a fellow on board, an Irish-American, for all the world like a beggar in a print by [Georges] Callot; one-eyed, with great, splay crow's-feet round the sockets; […]
ref: 1879–1880, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Steerage Types”, in The Amateur Emigrant: From the Clyde to Sandy Hook, Chicago, Ill.: Stone and Kimball, published 18 January 1895, →OCLC, page 57:
synonyms: awry
glosses: Crooked, distorted, out of place.
Derived terms: splayfoot
splayfooted
splay-footed
splayleg
splay-legged
splay
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: enpr: splā
ipa: /spleɪ/
rhymes: -eɪ
Forms: form: more splay
form: most splay
Etymology: PIE word
 *dwís
The verb is derived from Middle English splaien, splayen (“to display; to spread out, unfurl (a flag, etc.); (cooking) to cut open (a fish) lengthwise and lay it open; (figurative) to appear; to spread”), an aphetic form of Middle English displaien, displayen (“to display”): see display.
The adjective and adverb are derived from the verb, or from splayfoot (noun) or splayfooted (adjective). The noun is derived from the verb.
Senses: synonyms: slantingly
slantwise
slopingly
glosses: In an oblique or slanted manner; obliquely, slantedly.
synonyms: splayfoot
glosses: Of walking, etc.: with the feet turned outwards; in a splayfooted manner.
splay
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: splā
ipa: /spleɪ/
rhymes: -eɪ
Forms: form: splays
Etymology: PIE word
 *dwís
The verb is derived from Middle English splaien, splayen (“to display; to spread out, unfurl (a flag, etc.); (cooking) to cut open (a fish) lengthwise and lay it open; (figurative) to appear; to spread”), an aphetic form of Middle English displaien, displayen (“to display”): see display.
The adjective and adverb are derived from the verb, or from splayfoot (noun) or splayfooted (adjective). The noun is derived from the verb.
Senses: glosses: An outward spread of an object such as a bowl or cup.
examples: text: The daylight was so lowered by the impervious roof of cloud overhead that it scarcely reached further into Lord Mountclere's entrance-hall than to the splays of the windows, even but an hour or two after midday; […]
ref: 1876, Thomas Hardy, “Lychworth Court”, in The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 141:
topics: architecture
glosses: A bevel, slant, or slope, especially of the frame or jamb of a door or window, by which an opening is made larger at one face of the wall than at the other, or larger at each of the faces than it is between them.
topics: architecture
glosses: The amount of such a bevel, slant, or slope.
examples: text: visibility splay
topics: road
transport
glosses: A widening of a minor road where it forms a junction with a major road to ensure that the view of traffic on the major road by drivers on the minor road is not obstructed.
topics: road
transport
glosses: The view to the left or right which a driver on a minor road has of traffic on the major road; also, a plan showing this.
Derived terms: splay tree
splay
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: splā
ipa: /spleɪ/
rhymes: -eɪ
Forms: form: splays
form: splaying
form: splayed
form: splayed
Etymology: From Middle English splaien, splayen, a variant of spaien, spayen (“to remove the ovaries of (a female animal), spay; to stab or kill (an animal)”): see spay.
Senses: examples: text: Sovves alſo are ſplaied as vvell as camels, but tvvo daies before, they be kept from meat; then hang they them by the forelegs for to make inciſion into their matrice [womb], and to take forth their ſtones: and by this means they vvill ſooner grovv to be fat.
ref: 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book VIII.] Of Swine and Their Natures.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 1st tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 230:
text: Eſc[alus]. Hovv vvould you liue Pompey? by being a bavvd? […] the Lavv vvould not allovv it Pompey; nor it ſhall not be allovved in Vienna. / Clo[wne, i.e., Pompey Bum, a pimp]. Do's your VVorſhip meane to geld and ſplay all the youth of the City?
ref: c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 66, column 2:
text: [T]o ſay nothing of the knovvn practice of ſplaying Svvine and Bitches; […]
ref: 1663, Robert Boyle, “Essay V. Proposing Some Particulars wherein Natural Philosophy may be Useful to the Therapeutical Part of Physick.”, in Some Considerations Touching the Vsefulnesse of Experimental Naturall Philosophy, […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Hen[ry] Hall printer to the University, for Ric[hard] Davis, →OCLC, part II, section I (Of It’s Usefulness to Physick), chapter XII, page 234:
qualifier: obsolete except Ireland
glosses: Synonym of spay (“to destroy or remove the ovaries and/or uterus (of a female animal) to prevent pregnancy”).
synonyms: word: spay
extra: (“to destroy or remove the ovaries and/or uterus (of a female animal) to prevent pregnancy”)
splendid
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈsplɛndɪd/
rhymes: -ɛndɪd
Forms: form: splendider
form: more splendid
form: splendidest
form: most splendid
Etymology: From Latin splendidus, from splendere (“to shine”) + -idus (“adjective forming suffix”).
Senses: examples: text: a splendid sun
text: It is distinguished from xanthocobaltic nitrate by its crystalline form, and by yielding a splendid cinnabarred precipitate with a solution of iodine in potassium iodide […]
ref: 1875, Henry Watts, A Dictionary of Chemistry and the Allied Branches of Other Sciences:
glosses: Possessing or displaying splendor; shining; very bright.
examples: text: a splendid palace
text: a splendid procession
text: a splendid pageant
glosses: Gorgeous; magnificent; sumptuous; of remarkable beauty.
examples: text: "We've fallen on our feet and no mistake," said Peter. "This is going to be perfectly splendid. That old chap will let us do anything we like."
ref: 1950, C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:
text: November 2 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk
Hart had to make two splendid saves as Van Persie and Di María took aim and Fellaini should really have done better with a headed chance.
glosses: Brilliant, excellent, of a very high standard.
Synonyms: great
magnificent
marvellous
Derived terms: splendidness
splendid fairywren
splendid first strike
Related terms: resplend
resplendent
splendor
splice
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /splaɪs/
rhymes: -aɪs
Forms: form: splices
Etymology: Circa 1525, borrowed from Middle Dutch splissen (Modern Dutch splitsen); akin to Middle Dutch splitten (“to split”), German spleißen (“to split, splice”), Spliss (“split ends, hair breakage”), French épisser (also from Dutch). The Dutch word originally referred only to the fraying of the ropes' ends but was then also used for the entire process of fraying and retying; hence the peculiar semantic development from “split” to “join”. The same development occurred in German.
Senses: topics: nautical
transport
glosses: A junction or joining of ropes made by splicing them together.
topics: business
electrical-engineering
electricity
electromagnetism
energy
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: The electrical and mechanical connection between two pieces of wire or cable.
examples: text: If the ball hits the splice, it is likely to dolly up for an easy catch.
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: That part of a bat where the handle joins the blade.
glosses: Bonding or joining of overlapping materials.
topics: biology
genetics
medicine
natural-sciences
sciences
glosses: The process of removing intron sequences from the pre-messenger RNA, and then joining together exons.
Derived terms: bent on a splice
comma splice
cunt splice
cut splice
eye splice
lineman splice
lineman's splice
mechanical splice
pig-tail splice
rat-tail splice
splice edit
splice form
splice grafting
splice tape
splice variant
T-splice
twist splice
Western Union splice