cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
A&E
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: /eɪ(ə)n(d)ˈiː/
Forms: form: A & E
form: A and E
Senses: examples: text: It is too soon to measure the impact of Hubbard’s work on hospital admission figures. But a practice frailty nurse helped reduce A&E attendances and admissions by 54% and GP home visit requests by 81%.
ref: 2016 June 30, Kate Murray, “How occupational therapists help keep older people out of hospital”, in The Guardian:
glosses: The accident and emergency (casualty) department of a hospital.
glosses: Initialism of Arts and Entertainment.
ER
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Forms: form: E.R.
form: E. R.
Etymology: Abbreviation
Senses: synonyms: EIIR
glosses: Initialism of Elizabeth Regina (“Queen Elizabeth”).
synonyms: EVIIR
glosses: Initialism of Edward Rex (on coins, letterboxes, etc.) The royal cypher for Edward VII, king of Great Britain
topics: government
politics
glosses: Initialism of Eleanor Roosevelt.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: Abbreviation of Erie (“Erie, Pennsylvania, USA”).
ER
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: ERs
form: E.R.
form: E. R.
Etymology: Abbreviation
Senses: topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
coordinate_terms: ERA
glosses: Initialism of earned run.
topics: biology
natural-sciences
glosses: Initialism of endoplasmic reticulum.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
related: word: E-R
glosses: Initialism of entity-relationship.
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: Initialism of emergency room.
topics: biochemistry
biology
chemistry
microbiology
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: Initialism of estrogen receptor.
topics: natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
related: word: E-R
coordinate_terms: EPR
glosses: Initialism of Einstein-Rosen bridge.
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: Initialism of enhanced radiation.
Related terms: go ER
CMYK
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
media
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
printing
publishing
sciences
glosses: Initialism of cyan, magenta, yellow, key: the colour model used in colour printing.
gagging order
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: gagging orders
Senses: examples: text: The figures, uncovered by the BBC, have prompted allegations that universities are deliberately using gagging orders to stop grievances becoming public.
ref: 2019 April 17, Simon Murphy, “UK universities pay out £90m on staff 'gagging orders' in past two years”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: An official order forbidding press or broadcast discussion of a specified subject; a public interest immunity certificate.
Related terms: word: gag order
cheese straw
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: cheese straws
Senses: glosses: a long, thin cheese-flavoured pastry.
forbidding
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /fɚˈbɪdɪŋ/
ipa: /fəˈbɪdɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪdɪŋ
Etymology: By surface analysis, forbid + -ing.
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of forbid
forbidding
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /fɚˈbɪdɪŋ/
ipa: /fəˈbɪdɪŋ/
rhymes: -ɪdɪŋ
Forms: form: forbiddings
Etymology: By surface analysis, forbid + -ing.
Senses: examples: text: But all these poor forbiddings could not stay him;
ref: 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC:
text: 1920, St. John G. Ervine, The Foolish Lovers, London: W. Collins & Sons, Chapter 3, VIII, p. 228,
All law was composed of hindrances and obstacles and forbiddings, and therefore he was entirely opposed to Law.
glosses: The act by which something is forbidden; a prohibition.
povvo
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more povvo
form: most povvo
Senses: glosses: Alternative spelling of povo.
povvo
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: povvos
Senses: glosses: Alternative spelling of povo.
genetic engineering
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Etymology: Made popular by Jack Williamson in his book Dragon's Island (1941). First mentions of genetic engineering in print appear in the 1910s.
Senses: synonyms: gengineering
glosses: The practice or science of genetic modification.
glosses: Genetic modification.
Related terms: biomodification
genetically engineered
genetically modified
genetic engineer
genetic modification
GM
genetic engineer
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: genetic engineers
Etymology: Coined by Poul Anderson in his 1954 novella "Big Rain", after the term genetic engineering.
Senses: examples: text: Meanwhile giant pulverizers were reducing barren stone and sand to fine particles which would be mixed with fertilizers to yield soil; and the genetic engineers were evolving still other strains of life which could provide a balanced ecology; and the water units were under construction.
ref: 1954 October, Poul Anderson, “Big Rain”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume 54, number 2, page 22:
text: The culture of embryos in the laboratory, destined to develop into adults whose physical and, possibly, intellectual characteristics had been chosen in advance by the genetic engineers.
ref: 1966 June, New Scientist, page 762:
glosses: A scientist or engineer whose specialty is genetic engineering.
wikipedia: Poul Anderson
genetic modification
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: genetic modifications
Senses: glosses: Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see genetic, modification.
glosses: The deliberate modification of the genetic structure of an organism.
Derived terms: genetically modified
Related terms: genetic engineering
lady abbess
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: lady abbesses
Senses: examples: text: That Lady Abbess of all secret sin. / Swears that she is so lean and ugly grown, / She will not pass with her for half a crown, / Yet Stamford's countess does admire her wit, / But likes it most because 'tis lewdly writ.
ref: ca 1670–80, ?, Description of a Poetress
text: The Lady Abbess took leave of her young Probationer, to dispatch some affairs of her own elsewhere; having promised to return next morning about the same Hour she had done that day.
ref: 1683, Ferrante Pallavicino, The Whores Rhetorick, pages 128–129:
text: This is our College, Madam; and these are the Students: Or rather, Madam, this is a Nunnery, and I am Lady Abbess.
ref: 1732, Richard Johnson, Caelia:
text: And whenever any She-member could convert a Proselite, and bring her over from a vertuous Life to be willing to embrace that earthly Tabernacle, Man, for such excellent Service done to the Church of Venus, she was to receive ten Shillings of the Mother of the Maids, provided the Conformist was under twenty Years of Age, had a tollerable Share of Beauty, and either was, or could confidently put herself into the Hands of the old Matron, as a Virgo intacta, and would submit herself to be dispos'd on by her as should me most agreeable to their united Interest; the Lady-Abbess of the Brothel Monastry never wanting among the Salacious Quality of her old Acquaintance; a Gouty Courtier, or some rich over-grown Officer, to be ready-money Chapmen for any of her Punchable Nuns, who had not, as yet, broken the brittle Vow of Female Chastity.
ref: 1756, ?, A compleat and humorous account of all the remarkable clubs and societies, seventh edition, page 270
glosses: A bawd, the mistress of a brothel.
Synonyms: madam
abbess
genetically modified
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Senses: examples: text: Genetically modified foods have been the subject of heated debate.
text: As one of the largest producers of genetically modified (GM) seeds in the country, Monsanto has been vilified by activists who describe GM products as 'frankenfood.'
ref: 2016 April 18, Cristina Alesci, “Monsanto CEO frustrated over 'polarized' GMO debate”, in CNN Business:
synonyms: gene-modified
gene-engineered
genetically engineered
gene-manipulated
genetically manipulated
glosses: Produced by genetic modification; abbreviated as GM.
Derived terms: GMO
continuer
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: continuers
Etymology: From continue + -er.
*
 Audio (Southern England): (file)
Senses: examples: text: Under the current CCAFL scheme, syllabuses are developed at three levels: beginners, continuers (second language) and background/first language speakers […]
ref: 2014, Peter Perciles Trifonas, Themistoklis Aravossitas, Rethinking Heritage Language Education, page 71:
glosses: One who, or that which, continues.
examples: text: The team found that doctors used continuers only 22 percent of the time.
ref: 2008 January 8, Denise Grady, “For Cancer Patients, Empathy Goes a Long Way”, in New York Times:
topics: human-sciences
linguistics
sciences
glosses: A word or phrase interjected by the listener to indicate that he/she is listening to the speaker.
abram
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more abram
form: most abram
Etymology: Alteration of auburn.
Senses: glosses: auburn
Abram cove
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: Abram coves
form: Abraham-cove
form: Abraham cove
Senses: examples: text: "Curse him, Squire," croaked Chinnery, "don't suffer such an Abram cove to play the counterfeit crank. If he were to refuse to booze it at the George in White Friars, the Bear and Harrow in Chancery Lane, the Setting Dog and Partridge in Jackanapes Alley, or any of the loyal houses in London, they would mill him with a filch, or give him a worse Rose-Alley salutation than Johnny Dryden's."
ref: 1827, Horace Smith, Reuben Apsley, page 121:
text: Duds and Cheats thou oft hast won, / […] / Cank and Dommerar thou couldst play, / Or Rum-maunder in one day; / And like an Abram-cove couldst pray, / Yet pass with Jybes well jerk'd away.
ref: 1869, William Hugh Logan, A pedlar's^([sic]) pack of ballads and songs:
text: What, you — you bit av a beak and trail. Ecod, but Bess is meat for your master, and that's me, as you'll soon know. She's an old wench o' mine, and I'll buss her when I choose, and ask no leave of an Abram cove of corporal like you afore I run you through the body."
ref: 1902, Herbert Compton, A Free Lance in a Far Land, page 94:
text: So loathly was he and verminous they scarce could seize and bind him, but when haled before the magistrate he proved to be an abram-cove named Jacques Roulet, who with his brother Jean and a cousin Julien[…]
ref: 1933, Montague Summers, The Werewolf:
qualifier: thieves' cant
glosses: Synonym of Abraham man.
synonyms: word: Abraham man
Abram man
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: Abram men
Senses: examples: text: And these, what name or title e'er they bear, / Jarkman, or Patrico, Cranke, or Clapper-dudgeon, / Frater, or Abram-man; I speak to all / That stand in fair election for the title / Of king of beggars.
ref: Beggars' Bush (17th-century play), act 2 scene 1
glosses: Alternative form of Abraham man.
complacency
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /kəmˈpleɪsənˌsiː/
Forms: form: complacencies
form: complacence
Etymology: Late Middle English complacence, from Late Latin complacentia. Compare French complaisance.
Senses: examples: text: Others proclaim the infirmities of a great man with satisfaction and complacency, if they discover none of the like in themselves.
ref: 1712 January 4 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “MONDAY, December 24, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 256; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:
text: […] looking at Mr. George Osborne's pale interesting countenance, and those beautiful black, curling, shining whiskers, which the young gentleman himself regarded with no ordinary complacency, she thought in her little heart that in His Majesty's army, or in the wide world, there never was such a face or such a hero.
ref: 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 5, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
text: There was something pathetic in his concentration as if his complacency, more acute than of old, was not enough to him any more. When, almost immediately, the telephone rang inside and the butler left the porch Daisy seized upon the momentary interruption and leaned toward me.
ref: 1925, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, chapter 1, in The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published 1953, →ISBN, →OCLC:
text: "However, incidents such as the derailment at Walton-on-Thames clearly show us that there is no room for complacency."
ref: 2025 March 5, “Network News: RAIB report: rail left on the track derailed train travelling at 85mph”, in RAIL, number 1030, page 13:
glosses: A feeling of contented self-satisfaction, especially when unaware of upcoming trouble.
glosses: An instance of self-satisfaction.
glosses: Passivity as a result of contentment with the current situation.
Derived terms: automation complacency
overcomplacency
self-complacency
Related terms: complacent
sham Abram
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: shams Abram
form: shamming Abram
form: shammed Abram
form: shammed Abram
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of sham Abraham
pushing school
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: pushing schools
form: pushing-school
Senses: glosses: A brothel.
Synonyms: vaulting school
ace of spades
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: /eɪs.əv.speɪdz/
Forms: form: aces of spades
Synonyms: death card
Hyponyms: Old Frizzle
duty card
duty ace
spadille
Derived terms: black as the ace of spades
Related terms: ♠
🂡
cast up one's accounts
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: casts up one's accounts
form: casting up one's accounts
form: cast up one's accounts
form: cast up one's accounts
form: cast up accounts
Senses: examples: text: He was very careful to cast up his accounts every quarter ; which he did, that he might spend neither more nor less than what he could spend every year.
ref: 2005, Benedictus de Spinoza, A Theologico-Political Treatise, and a Political Treatise, →ISBN, page xviii:
text: If a man should cast up his accounts once a week, or once a month, he may not be able to discern that he doth grow rich, and yet he may grow rich.
ref: 2007, J. C. Ryle, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots, →ISBN, page 121:
text: EVERY WISE MERCHANT will occasionally hold a stock-taking, when he will cast up his accounts, examine what he has on hand, and ascertain decisively whether his trade is prosperous or declining.
ref: 2008, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Devotional Classics of C. H. Spurgeon, →ISBN, page 18:
glosses: To come to an accounting; to examine and strike the balance of debt and credit; reckon.
examples: text: To cast up one's accounts upon excessive drinking ; either, says Cotgrave, because in spewing one makes a noise like a fox that barks, or (from the subject to the effect) because the flaying of so unsavoury a beast will make any one spew.
ref: 1854, François Rabelais, Jacob Le Duchat, John Ozell, The Works of Francis Rabelais - Volume 1, page 134:
text: A foul taste. Vomit. 'Struth! Embarrassing memory flooded back. He'd cast up his accounts in front of a woman.
ref: 2004, Jo Beverley, Secrets of the Night, →ISBN:
text: As he handed the tray over, he heard the knocker echo through the house. Thinking it might be Jimmy, he turned back to his father to warn him only to see him reach for the chamber pot and cast up his accounts.
ref: 2014, Heather Boyd -, Just a Dream, →ISBN:
text: She was about to be sick right here in front of them all. That would be the worst humiliation imaginable. Mustn't cast up my accounts, mustn't cast up my accounts.
ref: 2015, Sabrina Jeffries, If the Viscount Falls, →ISBN, page 20:
glosses: To vomit.
thicket
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈθɪkɪt/
rhymes: -ɪkɪt
Forms: form: thickets
Etymology: From Middle English *thikket, from Old English þiccet, from þicce (“thick”) + Old English nominal suffix -et. Compare similar German Dickicht (“thicket”), which is first attested in the 17th century, however.
Compare typologically Bulgarian гъстак (gǎstak), Macedonian густеж (gustež), Czech houští, Polish gęstwina (< Proto-Slavic *gǫstъ); Latin dūmus (akin to dense).
Senses: examples: text: Suddenly from a lumpy tussock of old grass some twenty yards in front of them, with black-tipped ears erect and long hinder limbs throwing it forward, started a hare. It bolted for a thicket of alders.
ref: 1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter 18, in The Picture of Dorian Gray:
glosses: A dense, but generally small, growth of shrubs, bushes or small trees; a copse.
examples: text: He had to complete a thicket of paperwork before he was allowed to join the company.
text: Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.
ref: 2013 July 19, Timothy Garton Ash, “Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 18:
glosses: A dense aggregation of other things, concrete or abstract.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: The collection of many small linked files created when a document is saved in HTML format by some word processors and web site creation software.
Derived terms: patent thicket
thicketbird
thicket tinamou
Related terms: brush
copse
grove
scrub
scrubland
shrubland
connexions
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of connexion
ride a horse foaled by an acorn
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: rides a horse foaled by an acorn
form: riding a horse foaled by an acorn
form: rode a horse foaled by an acorn
form: ridden a horse foaled by an acorn
form: mount a horse foaled by an acorn
form: ride a horse foaled of an acorn
Etymology: An allusion to the oak used to construct the gallows.
Senses: examples: text: You'll ride on a horſe that was foal'd of an acron.
That is; the gallows.
ref: 1670, John Ray, “Proverbial Phraſes”, in A Compleat Collection of Engliſh Proverbs, 4th edition, published 1768, page 197:
text: "What ho, my kiddy!" cried Job, "don't be glimflashy; why you'd cry beef on a blater; the cove is a bob cull, and a pal of my own; and moreover, is as pretty a Tyburn blossom as ever was brought up to ride a horse foaled by an acorn."
ref: 1828, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, chapter 82, in Pelham: or The Adventures of a Gentleman, page 385:
text: Fourteen, sir. No age to be riding a horse foaled by an acorn, I can tell you.
ref: 2003, Michael Crummey, River Thieves, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 272:
text: A sheep stealer, the mother told the child... and now the man twisted there, riding a horse foaled by an acorn, as the saying went, while the fat Welsh sheep in safety grazed the green pasture all around.
ref: 2008, Barbara Ker Wilson, The Lost Years of Jane Austen, Ulysses Press, →ISBN, page 21:
synonyms: word: hang
word: swing
word: dance on a rope
word: dance on nothing
word: dance the hempen jig
word: dance the Tyburn jig
word: dance upon nothing
word: dangle
word: hang
word: ride a horse foaled by an acorn
word: stretch hemp
word: string up
word: swing
word: take a ride to Tyburn
word: trine
word: truss
word: wag hemp
glosses: To be hanged on the gallows.
Related terms: ride the lightning
wooden mare
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: wooden mares
Senses: glosses: Synonym of wooden horse.
synonyms: word: wooden horse
Acteon
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: Acteons
Senses: glosses: Alternative spelling of Actaeon.
Adam's ale
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Etymology: Attested in 1643. A reference to the only drink available to Adam, the first man in the biblical tradition, while in Eden.
Senses: examples: text: [T]hey have beene ſhut up in priſons and dungeons lying on the cold ground, ſtones or boards without beds, ſtraw, fire or any the leaſt refreſhment; allowed onely a poore pittance of Adams''' Ale, and ſcarce a penny bread a day to ſupport their lives, though their friends would provide it for them; [...]
ref: 1643, William Prynne, “The Soveraigne Power of Parliaments & Kingdomes. […]”, in The Soveraigne Power of Parliaments and Kingdomes: […], London: […] Michael Sparke Senior, →OCLC, page 32:
text: She had loaded Floss into the basket, tied a sugarbag containing necessities—sketch pad, pencils, corned beef sandwiches wrapped in newsprint, a bottle of water from the garden tap, the best water, the clearest, Adam's ale — to the frame of her bicycle and set off, Floss sits up in the basket, looking ahead, though of course she can't see, but her nose is up, her world a dizzy palette of smell, as clear and bright as it is to Sybil, pedalling carefully along the river and down Fitzgerald Avenue towards the hills.
ref: 2017, Fiona Farrell, Decline and Fall on Savage Street, →ISBN, page 59:
synonyms: Adam's wine
glosses: Water.
Adam Tiler
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: Adam Tilers
Senses: examples: text: "In the same way as I got this," showing a handful of silver, "by turning autem diver, or, if you like it better, my Adam tiler."
"I do not understand you, Billy!"
"Why, an autem diver is a pickpocket who practises in a church, and an Adam tiler his associate, who receives his booty …"
ref: 1823, Tales of my Father, and my Friends, printed for T. and G. Underwood, Fleet Street, and Macredie, Skelly, and Co., Edinburgh; page 90–91
text: He waved his hand. "Well, you know how these sods gas. Most likely there's nothing in it. It's a cert Gursey sank dead on the gutter at the Flat. It'd be hard to prove he was Jem's Adam Tiler."
ref: 1934, Brian Penton, Landtakers: The Story of an Epoch
text: "In Mr Yarde's picturesque but somewhat obscure language, he — er — tipped the cole to Adam Tiler. Have I that right?'
'How the d-devil should I know?' snapped Brandon.
'You must forgive me. You seem to me to be so familiar with — er — thieves and — er — swashbucklers, that I assumed that you were conversant also with thieving cant.'
ref: 1940 (2009 edition), Georgette Heyer, The Corinthian, page 112
text: “And do you know what an Adam Tiler does?” Wickham looked a bit embarrassed. “Is he employed in the repair of roofs, sir?”
...
“An Adam Tiler is the associate of a Fork, better known as a pickpocket.”
ref: 2007, S. Thomas Russell, Under Enemy Colors:
text: “Then Sue lifted his passkey as he turned to go back to the office.”
“Lifted?” I said. “So now you've got the lingo down? Next you'll be telling me about marks, nippers, and Adam Tilers.” The Adam Tiler bit brought a puzzled look from even Sue.
“Oh, oh, I was the misdirection,” Narlene blurted. “I sort of let my pareo slip off of my shoulder at just the right time.”
ref: 2007, Ronnie Blackwell, Spite, page 154:
qualifier: thieves' cant and slang
glosses: A pickpocket's accomplice; the person who takes the goods a pickpocket steals and leaves with them.
ansatz
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈænsæts/
Forms: form: ansatzes
form: ansatze
form: Ansatz
Etymology: Unadapted borrowing from German Ansatz.
Senses: examples: text: In such cases, scientists often make an ansatz, an educated guess if you like, and then proceed to compute the consequences of the guess.
ref: 2011, Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw, The Quantum World, Allen Lane, published 2011, page 12:
topics: mathematics
sciences
glosses: A mathematical assumption used to describe a certain phenomenon, posited in order to help provisionally solve an equation or other problem.
addle pate
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: addle pates
Etymology: From addle (“confused”) + pate (“head”).
Senses: examples: text: Then he executed a war-dance, and at its close stepped before Crawford, regarded him for an instant, and croaked out:
“Addle-pate! Addle-pate!”
“Upon my word, I believe you are the foul fiend himself,” muttered Mark.
ref: 1882, Frank Lee Benedict, “Miss Alderly's Law-Suit”, in Peterson's Magazine, volumes 81-82, page 443:
glosses: A foolish or dull-witted person.
examples: text: Am I to be ramshaklt out of the super nakullums in spite o’ my teeth? Yea and go softly! I crack the nut and you eat the kernel!
I tellee once again you’ve an addle pate o’ your own! [...] Squire Nincompoop!
ref: 1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives:
text: “Go to bed, and don’t bother your addle pate about your neighbours. Can’t a man cut up a few sticks without your coming to investigate?”
ref: 1910, Grace S. Richmond, Red Pepper Burns:
glosses: Such a person’s brain or mental faculties.
Related terms: addle-pated
catboat
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: catboats
Etymology: According to Watkins, the first element is related to the animal cat and has correlations in Dutch kat (“vessel with wide fore and aft”), Medieval Latin gatus, gattus, Old French chat, a war machine or portable shed for protecting sapping operations, or a boat with such a shed, and Middle French chat (“kind of commercial vessel”).
However, it could instead derive from Irish cot, coit; see cot (sense 3).
Senses: examples: text: Men that I knew around Wapatomac didn't wear high, shiny plug hats, nor yeller spring overcoats, nor carry canes with ivory heads as big as a catboat's anchor, as you might say.
ref: 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter X, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
glosses: A sailing boat with a single sail, usually rigged on a gaff spar, used for fishing in New England and later adapted for racing and cruising. It has a single mast set near to the bow and a long boom which may extend over the stern.
Synonyms: Una boat
Derived terms: catboater
aegrotat
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: /ˈʌɪ.ɡɹəʊˌtæt/
/ˈiː.ɡɹəʊˌtæt/
Forms: form: aegrotats
Etymology: UK 19th century. Latin aegrotat, literally “he/she is ill”, third-person singular present active indicative form of aegrōtō.
Senses: examples: text: Near-synonym: sick note
text: I sent my servant to the apothecary for a thing called an ægrotat, which I understood, for I never saw one, meant a certificate that I was indisposed, and that it would be injurious to my health to attend chapel, or hall, or lectures. This was forwarded to the college authorities.
ref: 1864, Charles Babbage, “Cambridge”, in Passages from the Life of a Philosopher, page 37:
glosses: A certificate indicating that a student is ill, excusing attendance at lectures and examinations and allowing courses to be passed without finishing the work.
examples: text: Aegrotat and posthumous awards will normally be considered only when no interim award is available, no degree award may be made within the regulations, and the student is/was close to completion of the award.
ref: 2018, “Aegrotat and Posthumous Awards”, in Academic Quality Handbook, Aberystwyth University, retrieved 19 Apr 2018:
glosses: An unclassified degree awarded to such a student.
Related terms: aeger
affidavit man
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: affidavit men
Senses: examples: text: We know how easy it is for Ministers to find Affidavit Men, and no Court in England could give the Gentleman any Redress, because the Search was every Night made according to the express Directions of an Act of Parliament. […] no Man could say, the Affidavit Man had taken a false Oath, when he swore he had Reason to suspect, that Seamen would be that night concealed in such a House; […]
ref: 1742 January, “Proceedings of the Political Club &c”, in The London Magazine, page 222:
glosses: A man who (in the 1700s or 1800s) loitered around courts, offering to bear false witness.
Related terms: straw shoe
after-clap
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: after-claps
Senses: examples: text: What he loses by Venus he thinks to recover by Mercury, but catches his cure as an after-clap, that commonly proves the worse disease of the two.
ref: 1630–1680 (date of composition), 1759 (date of publication), Samuel Butler, Characters
text: Sir:—I have long feared that by our continually worrying the ministry here with successive after-clap demands for more and more money, we should at length tire out their patience.
ref: 1782, letter from Benjamin Franklin to Robert Morris, 9 January, 1782, published in The Complete Works of Benjamin Franklin: volume VII (John Bigelow, editor; →ISBN in 2008
glosses: Alternative form of afterclap.
spanker
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈspæŋkə/
ipa: /ˈspæŋkɚ/
rhymes: -æŋkə(ɹ)
Forms: form: spankers
Etymology: From spank + -er.
Senses: glosses: Someone who spanks.
glosses: An instrument used to give someone a spanking or spank, such as a paddle.
examples: text: beyond the broad white wing of the spanker sail
ref: 1839, Charlotte Elizabeth, Glimpses of the Past:
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: A fore-and-aft gaff-rigged sail on the aft-most mast of a square-rigged vessel.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A musician who plays his instrument well.
examples: text: Egad, Jack, I am glad to see you, for I want a few spankers.
ref: 1772, The Town and Country Magazine, volume 4, page 344:
glosses: A small coin.
glosses: One who takes long, quick strides in walking.
glosses: A swift horse.
glosses: Something very large, or larger than usual; a whopper.
examples: text: I like the new vehicle. A real spanker. Not a mark on it. Particularly as regards the bodywork.
ref: 2015, Alan Bennett, The Lady in the Van:
text: Well, you would say […] you didn't know what kind of carpet it was. It could be from Timbuktu or John O'Groats or anywhere else. But Dixon seems to know his stuff, and he said it's a spanker and that he would've had it himself, only it's too big for his front room.
ref: 2002, Catherine Cookson, The Silent Lady:
glosses: Something splendid; a fine example of its kind.
Synonyms: sense: gaff-rigged sail
word: blooper
sense: gaff-rigged sail
word: tallboy
Derived terms: plank spanker
spankermast
tasseography
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: -ɒɡɹəfi
Etymology: A macaronic blend of French tasse (“cup”) and -graphy (“writing”).
Senses: examples: text: Tasseography can be a very accurate means of seeing the patterns and choices playing out in your life.
ref: 2008, Colette Baron-Reid, Messages From Spirit: The Extraordinary Power of Oracles, Omens, and Signs, page 145:
text: Another activity option is tasseography—the art of reading tea leaves.
ref: 2008, Sabrina Hill, Joni Russell, The Everything Baby Shower Book: Throw a Memorable Event for Mother-to-Be, page 125:
text: Although tasseography is commonly associated with Gypsy fortunetellers, the tradition of tea-leaf reading arose independently in Asia, the Middle East, and Ancient Greece. Modern tasseography has also been associated with the Scottish, Irish, and cultures of Eastern Europe.
ref: 2011, Maureen Hancock, The Medium Next Door: Adventures of a Real-Life Ghost Whisperer, page 15:
synonyms: tassology
tasseomancy
glosses: Divination with tea leaves or coffee grounds.
Related terms: tasseographer
cup-tosser
aground
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈɡɹaʊnd/
rhymes: -aʊnd
Etymology: From Middle English agrounde, on grounde (“on ground”), equivalent to a- + ground.
Senses: topics: nautical
transport
glosses: Resting on the bottom.
raw_tags: of a normally floating craft
glosses: at a loss, ruined, with no way out
aground
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈɡɹaʊnd/
rhymes: -aʊnd
Etymology: From Middle English agrounde, on grounde (“on ground”), equivalent to a- + ground.
Senses: examples: text: The boat was stuck aground until the tide rose.
text: The Canadian Coast Guard says a stranded container barge has been refloated, after running aground off Quadra Island over the weekend.
ref: 2019 November 15, Simon Little, “Stranded container barge refloated, moved after running aground on Quadra Island”, in Global News:
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: Resting on the bottom.
raw_tags: of a normally floating craft
Derived terms: run aground
Related terms: ashore
act of parliament
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: acts of parliament
form: Act of Parliament
Senses: examples: text: No cloggings, lumps of dirt, or underlocks should be suffered to be rolled up with the fleece, as such a practice is unfair to the purchaser, and by act of parliament there is a heavy penalty attached to those who are convicted of doing it.
ref: 1839, British Farmer's Magazine, volume 3, page 187:
glosses: A law which has received assent (royal, presidential or gubernatorial) after having been passed by the houses (or house) of a parliament.
Derived terms: Act of Parliament clock
act
georeactor
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: georeactors
Etymology: From geo- + reactor.
Senses: examples: text: Physicists analyzing a tiny sample of this ancient georeactor—discovered in the African country of Gabon in 1972—have now determined how it worked.
ref: 2005 February 4, Jessa Forte Netting, “Nature's Nuclear Reactor”, in Discover Magazine:
glosses: A geologically occurring slow fission reactor, especially in the Earth's past.
glosses: Any man-made industrial structure built into the Earth's crust and operating on the principle of nuclear fission.
glosses: The theorized natural fission reactor at the center of the Earth which would account for the geomagnetic field.
sleeping sickness
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: sleeping sicknesses
Senses: topics: medicine
pathology
sciences
glosses: Any of several diseases of which lethargy is a major symptom:
Especially, African sleeping sickness, an endemic infectious disease of humans and animals in tropical Africa, caused by a parasitic trypanosome.
topics: medicine
pathology
sciences
glosses: Any of several diseases of which lethargy is a major symptom:
Animal trypanosomiasis.
topics: medicine
pathology
sciences
glosses: Any of several diseases of which lethargy is a major symptom:
Eastern equine encephalitis, caused by a zoonotic alphavirus and arbovirus present in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean.
topics: medicine
pathology
sciences
glosses: Any of several diseases of which lethargy is a major symptom:
Encephalitis lethargica, a form of encephalitis, of unknown cause, that swept the world in the 1920s.
Synonyms: sense: African sleeping sickness
word: African trypanosomiasis
sense: African sleeping sickness
word: negro lethargy
sense: African sleeping sickness
word: sleepy distemper
remediation
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /rɪˌmiːdiˈeɪʃn/
Forms: form: remediations
Etymology: From remediate + -ion.
Senses: examples: text: The site required extensive environmental remediation before it could be used for other purposes.
glosses: The act or process of remedying a situation.
Derived terms: bioremediation
electroremediation
mycoremediation
nanobioremediation
nanoremediation
phytoremediation
rhizoremediation
zooremediation
Related terms: remedial
remedially
remediate
remedy
tsetse
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtsitsi/
ipa: /ˈtitsi/
ipa: /ˈsitsi/
ipa: /ˈtsɛtsi/
ipa: /ˈtɛtsi/
ipa: /ˈsɛtsi/
Forms: form: tsetses
form: tsetse
form: tsetze
form: tzetse
form: tzetze
Etymology: Borrowed from Tswana tsêtsê (“fly”).
Senses: examples: text: Species of Trypanosoma transmitted by tsetse cause diseases of economic importance in humans and domestic animals in sub-Saharan Africa.
ref: 1999, Stephen G. A. Leak, Tsetse Biology and Ecology: Their Role in the Epidemiology and Control of Trypanosomosis, CABI Publishing, page 7:
synonyms: tsetse fly
glosses: Any fly of the genus Glossina, native to Africa, that feeds on human and animal blood; known primarily as a carrier of parasitic trypanosomes.
Related terms: Glossina
trypanosome
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: trypanosomes
Etymology: Learned borrowing from translingual Trypanosoma. By surface analysis, trypano- + -some.
Senses: glosses: Any of a group of protozoan parasites which are transmitted by biting insects and infect the blood of humans and other vertebrates; order Trypanosomatida in class Kinetoplastea
Trypanosoma, a genus within Trypanosomatida whose members are often referred to as trypanosomes
Trypanosoma brucei, a major human pathogen that causes sleeping sickness.
glosses: Any of a group of protozoan parasites which are transmitted by biting insects and infect the blood of humans and other vertebrates; order Trypanosomatida in class Kinetoplastea
Trypanosoma, a genus within Trypanosomatida whose members are often referred to as trypanosomes
Trypanosoma cruzi, a major human pathogen that causes Chagas disease.
glosses: Any of a group of protozoan parasites which are transmitted by biting insects and infect the blood of humans and other vertebrates; order Trypanosomatida in class Kinetoplastea
Trypomastigotes, a morphological class of trypanosomatids with a flagellum laterally attached to the cell body.
Derived terms: trypanosomal
trypanosomic
trypanosomiasis
trypanotoxic
Related terms: Leishmania
trypanosomiasis
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: trypanosomiases
Etymology: From trypanosome + -iasis.
Senses: examples: text: Spotted fever, yaws, typhus and trypanosomiasis throve here.
ref: 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin, published 2006, page 297:
topics: medicine
pathology
sciences
glosses: Any of several diseases or infections caused by a trypanosome.
Derived terms: animal African trypanosomiasis
animal trypanosomiasis
Congo trypanosomiasis
human African trypanosomiasis
Related terms: African trypanosomiasis
Chagas' disease
dourine
nagana
sleeping sickness
surra
tsetse disease
tsetse fly disease
Huguenot
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: hyūʹgə-nō'
ipa: /ˈhjuː.ɡə.nəʊ/
enpr: hyūʹgə-nŏt'
ipa: /ˈhju.ɡə.nɒt/
ipa: [ˈɕu.ɡə.nɒt]
Forms: form: Huguenots
Etymology: From French huguenot (“Huguenot”), of uncertain origin.
Senses: examples: text: The village was once well known for its paper-milling, founded by Huguenot immigrants in 1648, which produced high-quality hand-made paper until 1952.
ref: 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 178, about Eynsford:
glosses: A member of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th century.
Huguenot
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: enpr: hyūʹgə-nō'
ipa: /ˈhjuː.ɡə.nəʊ/
enpr: hyūʹgə-nŏt'
ipa: /ˈhju.ɡə.nɒt/
ipa: [ˈɕu.ɡə.nɒt]
Forms: form: more Huguenot
form: most Huguenot
Etymology: From French huguenot (“Huguenot”), of uncertain origin.
Senses: glosses: Of, like or relating to Huguenotism or Huguenots.
Shana
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Etymology: Anglicized variant of the Welsh name Siân (pet form Siana) - or a version of the French name Jeanne.
Senses: glosses: A female given name from Welsh.
Related terms: english: beautiful
translation: beautiful
alt: also spelled Shana; both derived from the Yiddish female given name שיינע (sheyne; )
word: Shayna
leishmaniasis
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /liːʃməˈnaɪəsɪs/
ipa: /laɪʃməˈnaɪəsɪs/
rhymes: -aɪəsɪs
Forms: form: leishmaniases
Etymology: Leishmania + -iasis
Senses: topics: medicine
pathology
sciences
synonyms: leishmaniosis
sandfly disease
glosses: Any of various ulcerative skin diseases caused by any of the protozoans of the genus Leishmania, transmitted to humans and animals by bloodsucking sandflies.
Synonyms: leishmaniosis
Hyponyms: black fever
Dum Dum fever
kala-azar
oriental sore
tropical sore
Derived terms: American leishmaniasis
antileishmaniasis
cutaneous leishmaniasis
mucocutaneous leishmaniasis
nasopharyngeal leishmaniasis
New World leishmaniasis
visceral leishmaniasis
Related terms: Leishmania
leishmania
leishmaniosis
leishmaniotic
quadrathlon
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /kwɒˈdɹæθlɒn/
Forms: form: quadrathlons
Etymology: From quadr- + -athlon.
Senses: topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A contest involving four successive events, usually swimming, kayaking, cycling, and running.
Derived terms: quadrathlete
Related terms: biathlon
marathon
tetrathlon
triathlon
high explosive
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: high explosives
Senses: examples: text: Having completed their task, Fireman Page telephoned from a lineside box to the next signal cabin, briefly reported the incident and said that, as no high explosive had dropped and the track was safe, they proposed proceeding "at caution".
ref: 1944 July and August, “Top Link Drivers: XXI—Driver H. Blunt, L.N.E.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 226:
text: But signalman Bridges was never to answer driver Gimbert's desperate question. A deafening, massive blast blew the wagon to shreds, the 44 high-explosive bombs exploding like simultaneous hits from the aircraft they should have been dropped from. The station was instantly reduced to bits of debris, and the line to a huge crater.
ref: 2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 43:
glosses: A chemical explosive capable of detonation rather than solely of deflagration; a chemical explosive capable of reacting at a sufficiently-fast rate to produce a shock wave which propagates the reaction throughout the explosive mass; a chemical explosive capable of producing an explosion even when unconfined.
Related terms: TNT
TCAP
mercury fulminate
ammonal
plastic explosive
hydrogen peroxide
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: topics: chemistry
inorganic-chemistry
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: A colourless liquid, H₂O₂, soluble in water, used as a mild antiseptic, bleaching agent (especially for bleaching hair), oxidizing agent and chemical reagent.
Pollyannish
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more Pollyannish
form: most Pollyannish
form: Pollyanna-ish
form: Pollyannaish
Etymology: From Pollyanna + -ish.
Senses: examples: text: […] what we've been waiting for so long: a positive but never Pollyanish play about gays leading lives which are neither some bizarre caricature taken from heterosexual fantasy nor even more nuclear and apple-pie normal than any straight lives anyone has ever heard of.
ref: 1981 December 12, Andrea F. Loewenstein, “Gay Theatre Verité”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 21, page 10:
text: She insisted: "Look, the House is not very different from when I was there. You have to have some faith in the governing majority, which I do, because I have a lot of respect for members on both sides of the aisle to do what’s best for the American people. And that is not some pollyannish thing. I know them."
ref: 2023 June 1, David Smith, quoting Shalanda Young, director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, “Apostle of bipartisanship: why US debt ceiling deal was a victory for Joe Biden”, in The Guardian:
glosses: irrepressibly or excessively optimistic; capable of seeing good in anyone
tetrathlon
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /təˈtɹæθlɒn/
Forms: form: tetrathlons
Etymology: From tetra- + -athlon.
Senses: topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A contest with four successive events, usually showjumping, swimming, running and pistol shooting.
Derived terms: tetrathlete
Related terms: quadrathlon
retainer
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹɪˈteɪn.ə/
ipa: /ɹɪˈteɪn.ɚ/
ipa: /ɹəˈteɪn.ɚ/
rhymes: -eɪnə(ɹ)
Forms: form: retainers
Etymology: From retain + -er.
Senses: glosses: Any thing or person that retains.
examples: text: If they possessed the means to marshal labour, pile up food resources and provender armies of year-round retainers, what sort of royalty would consciously elect not to do so.
ref: 2021 October 19, David Graeber, David Wengrowr, “Unfreezing the ice age: the truth about humanity’s deep past”, in The Guardian, UK:
glosses: A dependent or follower of someone of rank.
glosses: A paid servant, especially one who has been employed for many years.
examples: text: This lawyer charges a retainer for his work.
glosses: A fee one pays to reserve the other's time for services.
examples: text: You give me head / It makes it worse / Take out your fuckin' retainer / Put it in your purse
ref: 1981, “Too Drunk to Fuck”, performed by Dead Kennedys:
topics: dentistry
medicine
sciences
glosses: A device that holds teeth in position after orthodontic treatment.
topics: engineering
mechanical
mechanical-engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
rail-transport
railways
transport
glosses: A retaining valve.
Derived terms: general retainer
special retainer
Related terms: brace
alderman
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɔːldəmən/
ipa: /ˈɒl-/
note: without the cot–caught merger
ipa: /ˈɔldəɹmən/
note: of Canada
ipa: /ˈɑldəɹmən/
note: of the US
ipa: /ˈɒldəɹmən/
ipa: /ˈoːldəmən/
Forms: form: aldermen
Etymology: From Middle English alderman, aldermon, from Old English ealdorman, ealdormann, from ealdor (“elder, parent, chief, prince, author”) + mann (“person”). Doublet of ealdorman.
Senses: glosses: A member of a municipal legislative body in a city or town.
examples: text: The price of a case (five shillings piece bad) from the smasher is about one shilling; an alderman (two and sixpence) about sixpence; a peg (shilling) about threepence; a downer or sprat (sixpence) about twopence.
ref: 1859, Snowden's magistrates assistant, page 90:
text: Half-a-crown is known as an alderman, half a bull, half a tusheroon, and a madza caroon; whilst a crown piece, or five shillings, may be called either a bull, or a caroon, or a cartwheel, or a coachwheel, or a thick-un, or a tusheroon.
ref: [1859, J. C. Hotten, A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words:
glosses: A half-crown coin; its value, 30 pence.
examples: text: In one part of Cockaigne an amalgamation of these two last has lately taken place; and the pleasure experienced by the parishioners of Walbrook is unbounded when smoking an alderman and churchwarden.
ref: 1843, John William Carleton, The Sporting Review, volume 10, page 419:
topics: lifestyle
smoking
glosses: A long pipe for smoking.
examples: text: He'd exercise, get the fat off, because if he let it go, he'd have too much on and maybe make his heart worse, and you looked like hell with an alderman. […] And she wouldn't want a guy who stuck out in front like a balloon.
ref: 1934, James T. Farrell, chapter 13, in The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan:
glosses: A large, protruding, or swollen abdomen; a paunch, a potbelly.
Synonyms: word: baillie
Derived terms: aldermanate
alderman-at-large
aldermancy
aldermaness
alderman hung in chains
alderman in chains
aldermanic
aldermanity
aldermanlike
alderman lizard
aldermanly
aldermanry
aldermanship
alderperson
ale-draper
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: ale-drapers
Senses: examples: text: No other occupation have I but to be an ale-draper.
ref: 1592, H. Chettle, Kind-harts Dreames:
text: (Burial of) Isaiah Clifton ale-draper .
ref: 1785, Parish Register of Barmston, East Yorkshire:
text: Fieldhouse, W., the elder, Yeadon, Leeds, joiner, and ale draper, (sued with W. Fieldhouse the younger)
ref: 1832, The Legal Examiner - Volume 2, page 26:
text: 1911, Kathleen Schlesinger, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 3 : Barrel-organ
Mr Thomas Brown relates that one Mr Stephens, a Poultry author, proposed to parliament for any one that should presume to keep an organ in a Publick House to be fined £20 and made incapable of being an ale-draper for the future.
glosses: An alehouse keeper or publican
Derived terms: ale-drapery
ale post
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: ale posts
form: ale-post
form: alepost
Senses: examples: text: O honor, farre beyond a brazen shrine,
To sit with Tarleton on an ale post's signe
ref: 1808, Joseph Hall, Works:
text: I believe it was the George the Something or other, although I feel sure that no monarch of any era would have felt at home in the neighbourhood or been gratified by the alepost's honourable mention of him.
ref: 1957, Alfred Edgar Coppard, It's Me, O Lord!:
text: I looked for the alepost of the Fighting Cock, and found none.
ref: 1991, Simone Zelitch, The Confession of Jack Straw, →ISBN:
glosses: A post displaying a pub sign; an alestake.