cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
elemental
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /(ˌ)ɛləˈmɛntəl/
rhymes: -ɛntəl
Etymology: From Middle English elementall, from Medieval Latin elementālis; compare Old French elementel. By surface analysis, element + -al.
Senses: topics: chemistry
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: Of, relating to, or being an element (as opposed to a compound).
examples: text: Those who have escaped the dark and terrible aspects of life will find my brutality, my flash of rage in our final tragedy, easy enough to blame; for they know what is wrong as well as any, but not what is possible to tortured men. But those who have been under the shadow, who have gone down at last to elemental things, will have a wider charity.
ref: 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 219:
text: The pervasive emptiness and stultifying summer heat were only minor deterrents when compared with the more elemental consideration that all the banking and commercial institutions were based elsewhere, chiefly in Philadelphia and New York.
ref: 2000, Joseph J. Ellis, Founding Brothers, New York: Vintage Books, pages 79–80:
glosses: Basic, fundamental or elementary.
examples: text: Seth is the embodiment of mother-right, warfare, terror, human sacrifice; he is an elemental deity who deals in the fundamental reality of blood.
ref: 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 216:
glosses: Of the ancient supposed elements of earth, air, fire and water.
glosses: Of, or relating to a force of nature, especially to severe atmospheric conditions.
Derived terms: bielemental
bioelemental
dielemental
elementalism
elementality
elementalize
elementally
monoelemental
multielemental
nonelemental
omnielemental
trielemental
unelemental
elemental
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /(ˌ)ɛləˈmɛntəl/
rhymes: -ɛntəl
Forms: form: elementals
Etymology: From Middle English elementall, from Medieval Latin elementālis; compare Old French elementel. By surface analysis, element + -al.
Senses: examples: text: Incidentally, such beings may be said to have an existence of a sort upon the lower astral plane; they are elementals created by man's evil desires and unclean thoughts.
ref: 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 115:
topics: fantasy
human-sciences
mysticism
philosophy
sciences
glosses: A creature (usually a spirit) that is attuned with, or composed of, one of the classical elements: air, earth, fire and water or variations of them like ice, lightning, etc. They sometimes have unique proper names and sometimes are referred to as Air, Earth, Fire, or Water.
Hyponyms: english: earth
translation: earth
word: gnome
english: fire
translation: fire
word: salamander
english: air
translation: air
word: sylph
english: water
translation: water
word: undine
noughts and crosses
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: topics: games
glosses: A two-player game played on a three-by-three grid, in which players take it in turns to place their respective symbol (either a nought or a cross) in a cell of the grid, the objective being to form a row, column or diagonal of three of one's own symbol.
Synonyms: word: ticktacktoe
word: tic-tac-toe
word: zero cross
word: zeroes and crosses
Related terms: nine men's morris
morpion
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: /ˈmɔː(ɹ)piən/
Forms: form: morpions
Etymology: From French, from mordre (“to bite”) + Latin pedis (“louse”).
Senses: examples: text: His Flea, his Morpion, and Punese,
He 'ad gotten for his proper Ease
ref: 1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC:
glosses: A louse.
nitrogen cycle
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: The natural circulation of nitrogen, in which atmospheric nitrogen is converted to nitrogen oxides by lightning and deposited in the soil by rain, where it is assimilated by plants and either eaten by animals (and returned as faeces) or decomposed back to elemental nitrogen by bacteria.
on-line
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Senses: glosses: Dated spelling of online.
on-line
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Senses: glosses: Dated spelling of online.
long live
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Senses: examples: text: Long live the King!
glosses: Used in the subjunctive mood: may he, she, they, or it live for a long time; may it prosper.
Derived terms: word: the king is dead, long live the king
alt: snowclone
word: X is dead, long live Y
anharmonic
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: From an- + harmonic.
Senses: glosses: Not harmonic. Inharmonic.
examples: text: An anharmonic oscillator is a perturbed version of a harmonic oscillator.
topics: engineering
mechanical-engineering
mechanics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: Exhibiting anharmonicity
topics: geometry
mathematics
sciences
glosses: Describing the section of a line by four points, A, B, C, D, when their mutual distances are such that AB divided by CB is not equal to AD divided by CD.
Derived terms: anharmonically
anharmonic ratio
equianharmonic
Related terms: anharmonics
formalism
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfɔːməlɪz(ə)m/
ipa: /ˈfɔɹml̩ˌɪzm̩/
Forms: form: formalisms
Etymology: From formal + -ism.
Senses: glosses: Strict adherence to a given form of conduct, practice etc.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: One of several alternative computational paradigms for a given theory.
topics: literature
media
publishing
glosses: An approach to interpretation and/or evaluation focused on the (usually linguistic) structure of a literary work rather than on the contexts of its origin or reception.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: The tendency to elevate formal above expressive value in music, as in serialism.
examples: text: Heisenberg seems to have been motivated by his intense annoyance that Schrödinger's more intuitive version of quantum theory was more widely accepted than his own, even though both formalisms led to the same results.
ref: 2011, Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw, The Quantum Universe, Allen Lane, published 2011, page 54:
topics: mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
sciences
glosses: A particular mathematical or scientific theory or description of a given state or effect.
examples: text: Dirac approaches quantum mechanics by means of a so-called symbolic method, the bracket formalism. Although this formalism has a mathematical flavour, in fact, it is based upon bold claims which lack mathematical foundation.
ref: 1986, S. J. L. van Eijndhoven, J. de Graaf, A Mathematical Introduction to Dirac's Formalism, Elsevier (North-Holland), page ix:
text: 1992, tuart M. Shieber, Constraint-based Grammar Formalisms, The MIT Press, page 51,
It is this abstraction that justifies considering these methods as characterizing constraint-based formalisms in general, rather than an individual formalism.
topics: computing
engineering
human-sciences
linguistics
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: A formal expression of a grammar; a formal grammar; a set of rules of syntax that, without reference to semantics, determine whether a sequence of symbols is a well-formed sentence in a given formal language.
topics: human-sciences
philosophy
sciences
glosses: The ontological view of mathematics as a mere collection of string manipulation rules.
raw_tags: of mathematics
Derived terms: antiformalism
canonical formalism
neoformalism
nonformalism
path integral formalism
Russian formalism
zombie formalism
Related terms: formalist
formulism
canonical formalism
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: canonical formalisms
Senses: topics: mathematics
sciences
glosses: A formalism for a physical theory which is based upon the canonical equations of Hamiltonian dynamics.
path integral formalism
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: A formalism for a physical theory which is based upon Feynman path integrals.
crumpet
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkɹʌmpɪt/
rhymes: -ʌmpɪt
Forms: form: crumpets
Etymology: 17th century, either from crompid cake (“wafer, literally, curled-up cake”), from crompid, form of crumpen (“to curl up”); cognate to crumpled. Alternate etymology is from Celtic; compare Breton krampouezh (“crepe, pancake”) and Welsh crempog (“pancake”).
Sense of “desirable woman” attested 1936, possibly as Cockney rhyming slang for strumpet; alternatively, compare tart (“loose woman, prostitute”) (itself possibly Cockney rhyming slang for heart or sweetheart). Note that muffin has a similar sense, and that, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, "Muffins and crumpets" was a familiar street-cry in UK.
Senses: examples: text: T-Saint: I say we kill 'em!
Donner: I say we hump 'em.
Booga: I say we eat crumpets and tea.
Deetee: Tasty! Crumpets and tea. All in favor of crumpets and tea, say "I."
All: I!
T-Saint: Shut up! Ain't gonna be no crumpets and tea.
ref: 1995, Tedi Sarafian, Tank Girl, spoken by T-Saint, Deetee & Booger (respectively) (Ice-T, Jeff Kober, and Reg E. Cathey):
glosses: A type of savoury cake, typically flat and round, made from batter and yeast, containing many small holes and served toasted, usually with butter.
examples: text: Joan Bakewell was famously described as "the thinking man's crumpet".
text: John and his mates have gone out to find themselves some crumpet.
text: The regulars are all guys, a varied selection, my friends. There's Sammy—small, wiry, dark-haired. A hat manufacturer, crumpet mad—always chatting up different birds.
ref: 1969, Jackie Collins, The Stud, reprint edition, Simon & Schuster, published 1999, →ISBN, page 32:
text: Our lives are saturated with middle-class crumpet Benedict Cumberbatch - but does he deserve the attention, asks Michael Hogan
ref: 2014 November 12, Michael Hogan, “Have we reached peak Benedict Cumberbatch?”, in The Telegraph:
glosses: A sexually attractive person or, collectively, people; usually referring to women.
examples: text: He bad been worried off his crumpet all day, making arrangements on her behalf.
ref: 1900 October 27, The Warwick Argus, Qld, page 4, column 5:
text: "If I don't get down them stairs soon I'll go off my crumpet, sittin' about up here all day with the jumps on me."
ref: 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 80:
glosses: The head.
Synonyms: sense: sexually desirable person
word: beautiful person
Derived terms: sense: sexually desirable person
word: bit of crumpet
sense: sexually desirable person
word: piece of crumpet
sense: sexually desirable person
word: thinking man's crumpet
sense: others
word: crumpet-faced
Related terms: crumple
crumpled
pikelet
strumpet
tart
drowning
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdɹaʊnɪŋ/
ipa: /ˈdɹuːnɪn/
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of drown
drowning
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdɹaʊnɪŋ/
ipa: /ˈdɹuːnɪn/
Forms: form: drownings
Senses: examples: text: It's dangerous to swim in that river — there were three drownings there last year.
glosses: An instance of a person or animal drowning.
glosses: An instance of a person or animal being drowned.
Derived terms: drowning chain
secondary drowning
tiger shark
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: tiger sharks
Senses: glosses: A large shark, of species Galeocerdo cuvier, of wide warm-water distribution, that hunts alone and has dark stripes across its back.
Derived terms: sand tiger shark
thresher
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈθɹɛʃə(ɹ)/
rhymes: -ɛʃə(ɹ)
Forms: form: threshers
head_nr: 1
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-der.?
Proto-Germanic *þreskaną
Old English þrescan
Middle English threschen
Middle English -er
Middle English thresshere
English thresher
From Middle English thresshere; equivalent to thresh + -er. The shark's tail is thought to resemble the implement.
Senses: topics: agriculture
business
lifestyle
head_nr: 1
glosses: Anything or anyone that threshes.
topics: agriculture
business
lifestyle
head_nr: 1
glosses: A now-obsolete hand tool for threshing, also called a flail.
topics: agriculture
business
lifestyle
head_nr: 1
glosses: A modern farm machine for threshing grain, now a part of combine harvesters rather than a separate implement.
topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
head_nr: 1
glosses: Ellipsis of thresher shark.
Derived terms: harvester-thresher
thresherman
thresher whale
Related terms: threshing
thresh
Alopias
angelfish
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: angelfish
form: angelfishes
form: angel fish
form: angel-fish
Etymology: From angel + fish; so called for its wing-like pectoral fins.
Senses: glosses: Any of the genus Pterophyllum of freshwater, tropical cichlids.
glosses: Any marine fish of the family Pomacanthidae, common on shallow tropical reefs.
glosses: Atlantic pomfret (Brama brama).
glosses: Angelshark, of the family Squatinidae.
glosses: Atlantic spadefish (Chaetodipterus faber).
glosses: cave angelfish, a karst-dwelling member of the family Balitoridae, found only in Thailand.
Derived terms: taxonomic: Holacanthus ciliaris
word: queen angelfish
chrysalis
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkɹɪsəlɪs/
enpr: krĭʹsəlĭs
Forms: form: chrysalises
form: chrysalides
form: chrysalisses
form: chrysalid
form: chrysaloid
Etymology: From Latin chrysalis, from Ancient Greek χρυσαλλίς (khrusallís), from χρυσός (khrusós, “gold”), because of the color of some of them.
Senses: examples: text: Amongst the particular signs testifying the same thing, are also those exhibited by worms which feed on herbs, which, when they are to undergo a metamorphosis, encompass themselves as with a womb, that they may be born again, being therein changed into nymphs and chrysalisses, and presently into beautiful butterflies, when they fly into the air as into their heaven, where the female sports with her male companion, as one conjugal partner with another, and they nourish themselves from odoriferous flowers, and lay their eggs, thus providing that their species may live after them: […]
ref: 1828, The Athanasian Creed, Extracted from the Apocalypse or Book of Revelations Explained, of Emanuel Swedenborg, Boston, Mass.: Adonis Howard, […], page 174:
text: The herbaceous or herbiferous produce had such gummy gelatinous properties, that tiniest tiddles incorporated themselves into huge chrysalisses, from whence monster butterflies egged it, all the world over, like snowberries, during a moist September, as soon as the blossom is by!
ref: 1857, Charles Hancock, Gaieties and Gravities for Holy Days and Holidays, London: Saunders and Otley, […], page 155:
text: Caterpillars, chrysalisses soon reveal / The future gandy butterfly.
ref: 1865, [Johann Wolfgang von] Goethe, translated by William Barnard Clarke, Translation of Goethe’s Faust, Iˢᵗ and IIⁿᵈ Parts, Freiburg: Schmidt, page 264:
text: Fanny was afraid. She was like an insect new-hatched from its chrysalis, naked and unprotected in a dawn she could not face.
ref: 1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, chapter VII, in A House is Built, section VIII:
text: A project on butterflies! And caterpillars and chrysalisses and things, and lots of nice drawings, coloured with felt pens.
ref: 1979, Sheila Lavelle, My Best Fiend, London: Hamish Hamilton, →ISBN, page 165:
glosses: The pupa of a butterfly or moth, particularly bare and hanging or girdled, as opposed to enclosed in a cocoon, in which metamorphosis takes place.
glosses: The cocoon itself.
examples: text: However, with the dainty volume my quondam friend sprang into fame. At the same time he cast off the chrysalis of a commonplace existence.
ref: 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
text: No, no matter how far Ray Kurzweil gets with his artificial intelligence project at Google, we cannot simply rise from the chrysalis of matter as pure consciousness.
ref: 2020 September 1, Douglas Rushkoff, “The Privileged Have Entered Their Escape Pods”, in OneZero:
glosses: A limiting environment or situation.
Derived terms: chrysalid
chrysaline
Chrysalis
chrysalised
chrysalism
chrysaloid
teleiochrysalis
lungful
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: lungfuls
form: lungsful
Etymology: From lung + -ful.
Senses: examples: text: The diver took in lungfuls of air as he returned to the surface.
text: For there are many kinds of freedom, not just the ones that involve surf and lungfuls of fresh air.
ref: 2014, Rebecca Ley, “City versus country childhoods”, in The Guardian, +201 December 2014:
glosses: As much as the lungs will hold.
flying fish
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: flying fishes
form: flying fish
Senses: glosses: Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see flying, fish.
glosses: A tropical marine fish of the family Exocoetidae, having enlarged winglike pectoral fins enabling it to escape predators by taking short gliding flights through the air.
Related terms: flying carp
prefabricated
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: From pre- + fabricated.
Senses: examples: text: A prefabricated home
glosses: manufactured in advance, usually to a standard format, and then assembled on site
examples: text: They both told the police a prefabricated version of events.
text: Some computer fonts include a prefabricated ellipsis.
glosses: invented or constructed in advance
Synonyms: prefab
Derived terms: non-prefabricated
Related terms: prefabricate
prefabrication
prefabricated
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Etymology: From prefabricate + -ed.
Senses: glosses: simple past and past participle of prefabricate
ajaja
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: ajajas
Senses: glosses: A traditional Inuit song accompanied by dancing and drumming.
ase
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: ashe
Etymology: Borrowed from Yoruba àṣẹ.
Senses: topics: lifestyle
religion
glosses: An essential energy in West African religions.
fic
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /fɪk/
rhymes: -ɪk
Forms: form: fics
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-s
Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s
Proto-Italic *faznom
Latin fānum
Latin -ātus
Proto-Indo-European *-kos
Proto-Italic *-kos
Latin -cus
Latin -icus
Latin -āticus
Latin fānāticuslbor.
Latin fānāticuslbor.
French fanatiqueinflu.
English fanatic
English fancyinflu.
English fan
English fiction
English fan fiction
English fanfic
English fic
Clipping of fanfic, itself a clipping of fan fiction.
Senses: glosses: A fictional story set within a preexisting fandom; a fanfic.
Derived terms: actorfic
altfic
angstfic
babyfic
badfic
bandfic
Buffyfic
cancerfic
casefic
clopfic
comfortfic
crack fic
crackfic
crapfic
curtainfic
darkfic
deathfic
Doggettfic
ficathon
ficcer
ficlet
flashfic
futurefic
gamefic
genfic
giftfic
goodfic
hatefic
hetfic
holidayfic
humorfic
issuefic
jokefic
kidfic
kinkfic
lesfic
litfic
metafic
Moffic
netfic
original fic
podfic
Potterfic
profic
rapefic
sadfic
sci-fic
Scullyfic
Senfic
shipfic
shockfic
shortfic
sickfic
sillyfic
slashfic
slavefic
smutfic
Snapefic
songfic
spamfic
Spenderfic
transfic
Trekfic
trollfic
Twific
twitfic
uberfic
wingfic
Xfic
zinefic
gagging for it
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Senses: glosses: Having a strong desire for something; especially sex.
glosses: Sexually aroused.
Synonyms: randy
sugarcoat
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈʃʊɡɚˌkoʊt/
ipa: /ˈʃʊɡəˌkəʊt/
Forms: form: sugarcoats
form: sugarcoating
form: sugarcoated
form: sugarcoated
form: sugar coat
form: sugar-coat
Etymology: From sugar + coat; figurative sense from the practice of coating medicinal tablets or pills with sugar in order to disguise their unpleasant taste (sugarcoating the pill).
Senses: glosses: To coat with sugar.
examples: text: There's no way to sugarcoat the loss of the space shuttle; it was an unmitigated disaster.
text: I went to the unheard-of trouble of re-writing the letter and saying the same harsh things softly, so as to sugarcoat the anguish and make it a little more endurable […]
ref: 1876 November 1, Mark Twain, “Letter to Mr. Burrough, of St. Louis”, in The Letters Of Mark Twain,, volume 3:
text: The only difference is I got the balls to say it in front of y'all / And I don't gotta be false or sugarcoat it at all
ref: 2000, “The Real Slim Shady”, in The Marshall Mathers LP, performed by Eminem:
text: […] And I don't think we can sugarcoat both the human toll that is unfolding in Ukraine, but also how it is reordering the international architecture in ways that we haven't seen in decades.
ref: 2022 March 23, Barack Obama, 2:52 from the start, in Centennial Celebration Conversation with President Barack Obama and Yo-Yo Ma, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, via YouTube:
text: "The insurgents killed them all?"
"Very likely." Scout's expression was kindly, but he was apparently not the sort to sugarcoat things. Then again, maybe he had simply read her receptivity well.
ref: 2023 October 12, HarryBlank, “Fire in the Hole”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 02 Sep 2024:
synonyms: candy-coat
gild
gild the pill
sugarcoat the pill
glosses: To make superficially more attractive; to give a falsely pleasant appearance to.
Derived terms: word: sugarcoat a bitter pill
word: sugarcoated
word: sugarcoating
burlesque
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /bə(ɹ)ˈlɛsk/
Forms: form: more burlesque
form: most burlesque
form: burlesk
Etymology: Borrowed from French burlesque, from Italian burlesco (“parodic”).
Senses: examples: text: It is a dispute among the critics, whether burlesque poetry runs best in heroic verse, like that of the Dispensary, or in doggerel, like that of Hudibras.
ref: 1711 December 26 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “SATURDAY, December 15, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 249; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:
text: Podunk. A term applied to an imaginary place in burlesque writing or speaking.
ref: 1877, John Russell Bartlett, Dictionary of Americanisms, 4th edition, page 791:
glosses: Parodical; parodic
Coordinate terms: vaudevillian
Derived terms: burlesquely
burlesqueness
neo-burlesque
burlesque
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /bə(ɹ)ˈlɛsk/
Forms: form: burlesques
form: burlesk
Etymology: Borrowed from French burlesque, from Italian burlesco (“parodic”).
Senses: examples: text: Burlesque is therefore of two kinds; the first represents mean persons in the accoutrements of heroes, the other describes great persons acting and speaking like the basest among the people.
ref: 1711 December 26 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “SATURDAY, December 15, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 249; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:
text: The dull burlesque appeared with impudence, / And pleased by novelty in spite of sense.
ref: 1683, John Dryden, The Art of Poetry:
text: “H'm !” he said, “so, so—it is a tragedy in a prologue and three acts. I am going down this afternoon to see the curtain fall for the third time on what […] will prove a good burlesque ; but it all began dramatically enough. It was last Saturday […] that two boys, playing in the little spinney just outside Wembley Park Station, came across three large parcels done up in American cloth. […]”
ref: 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Lisson Grove Mystery”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
synonyms: lampoon
travesty
glosses: A derisive art form that mocks by imitation; a parody.
glosses: A variety adult entertainment show, usually including titillation such as striptease, most common from the 1880s to the 1930s.
examples: text: Who is it that admires, and from the heart is attached to, national representative assemblies, but must turn with horror and disgust from such a profane burlesque and abominable perversion of that sacred institute?
ref: 1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC:
synonyms: imitation
caricature
glosses: A ludicrous imitation; a caricature; a travesty; a gross perversion.
Coordinate terms: vaudeville
Derived terms: boylesque
burlesquer
neoburlesque
preburlesque
burlesque
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /bə(ɹ)ˈlɛsk/
Forms: form: burlesques
form: burlesquing
form: burlesqued
form: burlesqued
form: burlesk
Etymology: Borrowed from French burlesque, from Italian burlesco (“parodic”).
Senses: examples: text: When the venerable New York Times took my quote in which I described the neon elements as "burlesquing the myth of male dominance" and instead printed "he prefers to describe them as . . . symbols of male dominance" it became clear that dealing with journalists was going to be one long, rocky road.
ref: 1988 February 5, Billie Lawless, “Laying Down the Lawless”, in Chicago Reader:
glosses: To make a burlesque parody of.
examples: text: They burlesqued the prophet Jeremiah's words, and turned the expression he used into ridicule.
ref: 1678, Edward Stillingfleet, A Sermon preached on the Fast-Day, November 13, 1678:
glosses: To ridicule, or to make ludicrous by grotesque representation in action or in language.
Derived terms: unburlesqued
burnish
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈbɜːnɪʃ/
ipa: /ˈbɝnɪʃ/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)nɪʃ
Forms: form: burnishes
Etymology: The verb is derived from Middle English burnishen, burnysshen (“to polish, burnish; (figuratively) to brighten, give lustre to; to clean (something) until shiny; to decorate (with something shiny), adorn”) [and other forms], from burniss-, a stem of Old French burnir (compare, for example, the first-person present singular indicative form burnis), a variant of brunir (“to make clean and shiny, polish; to make brown”) (modern French brunir), from Frankish *brūnijan (“to polish, make resplendent”), from Proto-Germanic *brūnijaną (“to decorate; tan”), from Proto-Germanic *brūnaz (“brown”, adjective), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”, adjective). Doublet of brown and brunneous; unrelated to burn.
The noun is derived from the verb.
Senses: glosses: A shine of something which has been polished; a lustre, a polish.
glosses: A shiny layer applied to a surface or other thing.
examples: text: With a good burnish, the old table should fetch a higher price.
glosses: The making of something bright, shiny, and smooth by, or (by extension) as if by, rubbing; (countable) an instance of this; a burnishing, a polishing, a shining.
shepherdess
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: shepherdesses
Etymology: From Middle English scheperdesse, shepperdesse; equivalent to shepherd + -ess.
Senses: examples: ref: 1709, Anthony Aston, The Coy Shepherdess, page 18:
text: I thought it a crime to refuse nature the maintenance of a life much more grievous than death. I changed my* dress for the simple habit of a shepherdess, and embraced this state as my only refuge; since that time all my consolation has been to weep over this grave, which shall be my own.
ref: 1763, Select Moral Tales. (The Good Mother, The Shepherdess of the Alps), page 83:
text: A Faithful Shepherdess
ref: 1778, The Dramatick Works of Beaumont and Fletcher, page 115:
text: September 2014, New York Film Festival to Revive Paul Grimault’s Animated Classic IndieWire
the satirical The King And The Mockingbird follows a chimney sweep and shepherdess on the run from a tyrannical king
text: November 2014, It’s Taken Decades, But the Surreal Animated Film The King and the Mockingbird Is Finally Here Vulture
The king is in love with a beautiful shepherdess in a painting on his wall, but she herself is in love with the handsome chimney sweep in the painting beside her.
glosses: A female shepherd.
glosses: A large and deep armchair with a cushion.
Synonyms: sense: female shepherd
word: pastoress
sense: female shepherd
word: pastrix
Derived terms: shepherdess pie
shepherdesses
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of shepherdess
calzone
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /kæltˈsəʊni/
ipa: /kælˈzəʊni/
enpr: kălt-sōʹnē
enpr: kăl-zōʹnē
ipa: /kælˈzoʊn/
ipa: /kælˈzoʊneɪ/
note: ā
enpr: kăl-zōnʹ
rhymes: -əʊni
rhymes: -əʊn
Forms: form: calzones
form: calzoni
form: calzony
form: calzoney
form: calzoni
form: calzonie
Etymology: Unadapted borrowing from Italian calzone (literally “stocking, trouser”). Doublet of chausson.
Senses: examples: text: It was a much classier presentation than the oil-stained paper plate I would use to transport my calzones of yore, and it tasted better, too. […] That was the first calzone I made after my Lucali meal, and the recipe is a good template for a calzone of the cheesiest kind.
ref: 2012 April 13, Melissa Clark, “See You Later, Pizza, This Dough Is for Calzones”, in The New York Times:
glosses: A baked Italian turnover made of pizza dough and stuffed with tomato, cheese and other toppings.
Coordinate terms: panzerotto
pizza pocket
stromboli
sheepherder
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: sheepherders
Etymology: From sheep + herder.
Senses: glosses: A person who herds sheep; a shepherd.
sheepherders
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of sheepherder
lowball
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: American railroad term that described one of two positions of the ball of a ball signal. Compare highball.
Senses: examples: text: In April, NASA selected SpaceX to build the lunar lander for the Artemis program, thanks in part to a lowball $2.9 billion bid.
ref: 2021 December 13, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year 2021”, in Time Magazine, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2021:
text: At the meeting last Wednesday during which these changes were announced, the interim head of the NEH also estimated that each of the 250 statues would cost $100,000 to $200,000, bringing the total cost as high as $50 million. And this may have been a lowball figure.
ref: 2025 April 15, Gal Beckerman, “Looks Like Mussolini, Quacks Like Mussolini”, in The Atlantic:
glosses: Significantly below the actual cost or value.
lowball
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: lowballs
Etymology: American railroad term that described one of two positions of the ball of a ball signal. Compare highball.
Senses: glosses: The position of the ball on an American railroad ball signal that indicated Stop.
topics: card-games
poker
glosses: A form of poker in which the lowest-ranking poker hand wins the pot. Usually the ace is the lowest-ranking card, straights and flushes do not count making the best possible hand being A, 2, 3, 4, 5 regardless of suits (in contrast to deuce-to-seven lowball.)
glosses: A form of cribbage in which the first to score 121 (or 61) is the loser.
glosses: An unmixed alcohol drink served on ice or water in a short glass.
glosses: Clipping of lowball glass.
Coordinate terms: sense: drink & glass
word: highball
Derived terms: lowball glass
Related terms: cribbage
poker
lowball
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: lowballs
form: lowballing
form: lowballed
form: lowballed
Etymology: American railroad term that described one of two positions of the ball of a ball signal. Compare highball.
Senses: examples: text: It may be, but it is worth noting that if the mortality rate is as low as 0.7% as some experts now hope rather than between 3 and 5% as the data suggests so far, that is still a lot of dead Americans. Californian health officials are bracing for a 56% infection rate. In New York, they are talking about a range of between 30% and 80%, so if we just lowball that, that is close to seven hundred thousand dead Americans as a result of COVID-19. Modeling based on current social and economic disruption actually puts the number at 1.2 million people dying, all the way up to 2.2 million if no measures are taken to reduce contagion and the virus is allowed to run its course.
ref: 2020, Trump's ambitious plan as the US becomes the COVID-19 pandemic's new epicentre (Planet America), spoken by John Barron (John Barron), ABC News In-depth (YouTube):
glosses: To give an intentionally low estimate of anything, not necessarily with deceptive intent.
examples: text: A few other news flashes from the interview: The president of the United States thinks that the government should not pay its bills in full. It should lowball its contractors and force them to accept half payment, he said.
ref: 2025 February 19, Tom Nichols, “Who Is Running the United States, Musk or Trump?”, in The Atlantic:
glosses: To give (a customer) a deceptively low price or cost estimate that one has no intention of honoring or to prepare a cost estimate deliberately and misleadingly low.
glosses: To make an offer well below an item's true value, often to take advantage of the seller's desperation or desire to sell the item quickly.
Derived terms: lowballer
shocked
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʃɒkt/
rhymes: -ɒkt
Forms: form: more shocked
form: most shocked
Senses: examples: text: We were shocked to see how ill she was.
glosses: Surprised, startled, confused, or taken aback, particularly when also indignant.
examples: text: The patient is shocked.
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: Suffering from shock.
examples: text: shocked quartz
topics: natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: Affected, altered, or transformed by one or more shock waves.
examples: text: Dr. Kurt Urban, most shocked man in the world, on roof of Mt. Generoso lightningproof cabin.
ref: 1931, Popular Science, volume 119, number 3, page 26:
glosses: Subjected to electric shock.
Derived terms: shell-shocked
shocked Pikachu
shocked quartz
sticker-shocked
shocked
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʃɒkt/
rhymes: -ɒkt
Senses: glosses: simple past and past participle of shock
shopgirl
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: shopgirls
Etymology: From shop + girl.
Senses: glosses: A girl who works in a shop; a young saleswoman.
Coordinate terms: shopboy
shopgirls
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of shopgirl
shoreline
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: shorelines
Etymology: From shore + line.
Senses: examples: text: An algae bloom has killed thousands of fish in the San Francisco Bay Area in recent weeks, officials say, forcing shoreline cleanups, spreading unpleasant odor and spurring scientists to further investigate the extent of the ecological damage.
ref: 2022 September 3, Taylor Romine and Jason Hanna, “An algae bloom has killed thousands of fish in the San Francisco Bay Area”, in CNN:
glosses: The divide between land and a body of water.
glosses: The line on a map that illustrates this.
Derived terms: palaeoshoreline
shorelines
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of shoreline
hats
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /hæts/
rhymes: -æts
Senses: glosses: plural of hat
hats
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /hæts/
rhymes: -æts
Senses: glosses: third-person singular simple present indicative of hat
sharecropping
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: sharecroppings
Etymology: From share + cropping.
Senses: examples: text: Slim came from sharecropping stock, his people farmed land but never owned it
ref: 2019, Bernardine Evaristo, Girl, Woman, Other, Penguin Books (2020), page 363:
glosses: The system where a tenant farmer, especially in the southern United States, farms the land in exchange for a portion of the crops.
Derived terms: digital sharecropping
Related terms: sharecrop
sharecropper
sharecropping
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Etymology: From share + cropping.
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of sharecrop
lysdexia
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Etymology: Humorous formation from dyslexia by metathesis, as if due to dyslexia.
Senses: glosses: Dyslexia; proneness to metathesis in reading, writing, or speech due to (real or imagined) dyslexia.
Related terms: lysdexic
downfall
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdaʊnfɔːl/
ipa: /daʊnˈfɔːl/
Forms: form: downfalls
form: downfal
Etymology: From down- + fall. In this spelling, from 16th century; spelled as two words from 13th century.
Senses: examples: text: Many economic and political reasons led to the downfall of the Roman Empire.
text: The Black Cats contributed to their own downfall for the only goal when Titus Bramble, making his first appearance since Boxing Day, and Michael Turner, let Phil Jones' cross bounce across the six-yard box as [Wayne] Rooney tucked in at the back post.
ref: 2012 May 13, Alistair Magowan, “Sunderland 0 – 1 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 09 May 2019:
synonyms: word: fall
english: precipitous decline in fortune
translation: precipitous decline in fortune
word: doom
english: death or rapid deterioration
translation: death or rapid deterioration
glosses: A precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth.
examples: Orson Scott Card
It is the downfall of evil, that it never sees far enough ahead.
glosses: The cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error.
examples: text: a downfall of rain
text: [T]he prominent character of leading young lady or heroine, which Paula was to personate, was really the most satisfactory in the whole list for her. For although she was to be wooed hard, there was just as much love-making among the remaining personages; while, as Somerset had understood the play, there could occur no flingings of her person upon her lover's neck, or agonized downfalls upon the stage, in her whole performance, [...]
ref: 1880–1881, Thomas Hardy, chapter VII, in A Laodicean; or, The Castle of the De Stancys. A Story of To-day. […], volume II, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, […], published 1881, →OCLC, book the third (De Stancy), page 147:
glosses: An act of falling down.
Derived terms: Operation Downfall
downfall
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdaʊnfɔːl/
ipa: /daʊnˈfɔːl/
Forms: form: downfalls
form: downfalling
form: downfell
form: downfallen
form: downfal
Etymology: From down- + fall. In this spelling, from 16th century; spelled as two words from 13th century.
Senses: examples: text: [...] wants to make civilization his subject, he will have a hard time proceeding with the sentence unless collapse is in his active vocabulary, for he cannot say "our civilization will downfall" or "fall down."
ref: 1977, Mina P. Shaughnessy, Errors and expectations: a guide for the teacher of basic writing:
text: Common belief has been that in the future the number of middle managers will downfall due to empowerment and team-building.
ref: 1998, Peter Vink, Ernst A. P. Koningsveld, Steven Dhondt, Human factors in organizational design and management-VI:
text: It should be noted that the magnitude of satellites decreases when tuning out of degeneracy, and in the wavelength range of 1.2-1.3 pm it downfalls to the value of 10-15% of the main spike magnitude.
ref: 1998, Lithuanian physics journal
text: [...] As goodly air as ever From lunar orb downfell— Be it by hazard, Or supervened it by arrogancy?
ref: 2008, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra:
glosses: To fall down; deteriorate; decline.
Derived terms: down-fallen
downfallen
kingpin
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkɪŋ.pɪn/
Forms: form: kingpins
Etymology: From king + pin.
Senses: topics: transport
glosses: The axis around which steered wheels pivot; a bolt that holds the axis in place—a kingbolt.
topics: transport
glosses: The pivot or connector between a tractor and trailer in the fifth-wheel coupling of semi-trailer truck.
examples: text: The rare salarian females are cloistered on their worlds out of tradition and respect. Powerful female Dalatrasses are dynasts and political kingpins. They determine the political course of their respective regions through shrewd negotiation.
ref: 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Salarians: Culture Codex entry:
glosses: The most important person in a usually evil undertaking or organization, often a druglord.
qualifier: ten-pin bowling
glosses: The pin at the centre of the triangle of bowling pins (originally the tallest pin in kayles). Sometimes also the headpin at the apex.
glosses: The bolt holding together the truck of a roller skate or skateboard.
Synonyms: sense: drug trafficking
word: druglord
sense: most important person
word: big cheese
sense: most important person
word: big enchilada
sense: most important person
word: big tamale
sense: most important person
word: big kahuna
sense: most important person
word: bigwig
sense: most important person
word: big wheel
sense: most important person
word: grand poobah
sense: most important person
word: head honcho
sense: most important person
word: muckety muck
sense: most important person
word: top banana
sense: most important person
word: top dog
sense: most important person
word: big noise
sense: most important person
word: queenpin
Derived terms: kingpin to rear axle
Related terms: linchpin
kinesthetic
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: /ˌkɪnɪsˈθɛtɪk/
Forms: form: more kinesthetic
form: most kinesthetic
form: kinaesthetic
form: kinæsthetic
Senses: glosses: Of or relating to kinesthesia.
Derived terms: cheirokinesthetic
kinesthetically
kinesthetize
podokinesthetic
visuokinesthetic
kinesthesia
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌkɪnɪsˈθiʒə/
ipa: /ˌkaɪnɪsˈθiʒə/
Forms: form: kinesthesias
form: kinaesthesia
form: kinæsthesia
Etymology: From kine- + -esthesia. Compare kinesthesis and Greek κιναισθησία (kinaisthisía).
Notes
If this word were borrowed on fully traditional principles it would be cinesthesia (or cinaesthesia); compare cinema from the same root. But more often this Greek root is spelled and pronounced with a k, and in the case of kinesthesia this avoids inconvenient homophony with synaesthesia, the sensation of one type of perception as another (e.g. the perception of smells as colors). Nevertheless the words are still occasionally confused; e.g. http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0849303710&id=_u4sZjHHwCYC&pg=PA581&lpg=PA581&dq=cinesthesia&sig=gFEo5BGoW75XcUVTk44aHGKgGuc.
Senses: examples: For quotations using this term, see Citations:kinesthesia.
glosses: Sensation or perception of motion.
topics: medicine
physiology
sciences
glosses: Sensation or perception of motion.
The perception of the movement of one's own body, its limbs and muscles etc.
glosses: Sensation or perception of motion.
A spectator's perception of the motion of a performer, or, the effect of the motion of a scene on the spectator.
qualifier: performing arts
glosses: Proprioception or static position sense; the perception of the position and posture of the body; also, more broadly, including the motion of the body as well. See usage notes below.
Synonyms: proprioception
kinesthesis
Derived terms: akinesthesia
cheirokinesthesia
kinesthesiologist
kinesthesiology
kinesthetic
kinesthetics
kino
Related terms: word: inesthesis
alt: kinesio-
word: kinesi-
kinesis
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /kɪˈniːsɪs/
rhymes: -iːsɪs
Forms: form: kineses
Etymology: Borrowed from Ancient Greek κίνησις (kínēsis, “motion, movement”).
Senses: topics: biology
natural-sciences
glosses: The movement of an organism in response to an external stimulus.
topics: natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: Any energy that creates/controls movement.
topics: human-sciences
philosophy
sciences
glosses: The force driving life forward.
Derived terms: -kine
-kinesis
Related terms: kinesia
kinetic
cinema
cataclysmic
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌkætəˈklɪzmɪk/
Forms: form: more cataclysmic
form: most cataclysmic
Etymology: From cataclysm + -ic.
Senses: examples: text: It is believed that a cataclysmic impact caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.
text: That’s why to be rejected in love was so cataclysmic: one had been judged and found wanting.
ref: 2005, Edmund White, My Women, archived from the original on 04 Dec 2012:
glosses: Of or pertaining to a cataclysm; causing great destruction or upheaval; catastrophic.
Derived terms: cataclysmically
cataclysmic variable star
postcataclysmic
precataclysmic
uncataclysmic
Related terms: cataclysm
climactic
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌklaɪˈmæk.tɪk/
Forms: form: more climactic
form: most climactic
Etymology: From climax + -ic.
Senses: examples: text: The race ended in a climactic, neck-and-neck scramble for the finish line.
text: And in Paris, Wick has a meeting with the Marquis, the Eiffel Tower providing a picturesque backdrop. A big, climactic scene is set on the steps and in the shadow of Sacré-Coeur.
ref: 2023 March 14, Caryn James, “John Wick: Chapter 4: 'Soars above most action films'”, in BBC:
glosses: Of, pertaining to, or constituting a climax; reaching a decisive moment or point of greatest excitement.
Derived terms: anticlimactic
climactically
disclimactic
paraclimactic
plagioclimactic
postclimactic
preclimactic
unclimactic
Related terms: climatic
climax
ploop
Language: English
Part of speech: intj
Pronunciation: ipa: /pluːp/
rhymes: -uːp
Etymology: Imitative; compare the more common plop.
Senses: examples: text: The pebbles went ploop and sunk to the bottom of the pond.
glosses: The sound of a small object falling into liquid.
ploop
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /pluːp/
rhymes: -uːp
Forms: form: ploops
Etymology: Imitative; compare the more common plop.
Senses: examples: text: I heard a ploop, but I couldn't tell where it came from.
glosses: An instance of this sound.
alfresco
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: enpr: ăl-frěs'-kō
ipa: /ælˈfɹɛs.koʊ/
Forms: form: al fresco
form: al-fresco
Etymology: From Italian al fresco. Compare Spanish al fresco.
Senses: examples: text: The walking district features many alfresco cafés.
glosses: Outdoor, open to the atmosphere.
alfresco
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: enpr: ăl-frěs'-kō
ipa: /ælˈfɹɛs.koʊ/
Forms: form: al fresco
form: al-fresco
Etymology: From Italian al fresco. Compare Spanish al fresco.
Senses: examples: text: As it was a sunny afternoon, we decided to dine alfresco on the patio.
text: We sat alfresco on the edge of a “square,” in reality a pond of cobbly mud with a plinth plonked in its navel […]
ref: 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN:
glosses: Outdoors; in fresh air.
topics: art
arts
glosses: Onto fresh plaster that is still moist.
Derived terms: al desko