cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
joist
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /d͡ʒɔɪst/
rhymes: -ɔɪst
Forms: form: joists
Etymology: From Old French giste, feminine of gist, the past participle of gesir (“to lie down”).
Senses: examples: text: […] a Family was infected there, in so terrible a Manner that every one of the House died; the last Person lay dead on the Floor, and as it is supposed, had laid her self all along to die just before the Fire; the Fire, it seems had fallen from its Place, being of Wood, and had taken hold of the Boards and the Joists they lay on, and burnt as far as just to the Body, but had not taken hold of the dead Body […]
ref: 1722, Daniel Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year, London: E. Nutt et al., page 190:
text: There are generally forty-two teeth in all; in old whales, much worn down, but undecayed; nor filled after our artificial fashion. The jaw is afterwards sawn into slabs, and piled away like joists for building houses.
ref: 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 74, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
text: A formidable wooden beam, resting on four pillars, which appeared to have bent under the weight of the decrepit house, had been encrusted with as many coats of different paint as there are of rouge on an old duchess’s cheek. In the middle of this broad and fantastically carved joist there was an old painting representing a cat playing rackets.
ref: 1895, Honoré de Balzac, translated by Clara Bell, At the Sign of the Cat and Racket, London: J.M. Dent, published 1842, page 17:
text: […] even the carpenters who made her over for the service had not thought her worth the trouble, and had done their worst by her. The new partitions were hung to the joists by a few nails.
ref: 1923, Willa Cather, One of Ours, Book Four, Chapter 6:
text: Once the floor joists were in position, the framing of the next storey could continue, with a bressummer laid along their ends.
ref: 1986, R. J. Brown, Timber-Framed Buildings of England, London: R. Hale, →ISBN, page 63:
glosses: A piece of timber or steel laid horizontally, or nearly so, to which the planks of the floor, or the laths or furring strips of a ceiling, are nailed.
Derived terms: binding joist
bridging joist
ceiling joist
floor joist
interjoist
joistless
joistlike
rejoist
trimming joist
two-way joist slab
joist
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /d͡ʒɔɪst/
rhymes: -ɔɪst
Forms: form: joists
form: joisting
form: joisted
form: joisted
Etymology: From Old French giste, feminine of gist, the past participle of gesir (“to lie down”).
Senses: examples: text: The floors are joisted with sapling tree trunks, and the flooring itself is made of bark, split and pounded flat into strips. No attempt is made either to fasten or join the strips of flooring.
ref: 2001, David Pickell, Between the Tides: A Fascinating Journey Among the Kamoro of New Guinea, revised edition, Hong Kong: Periplus, published 2002, Chapter Four, page 112:
glosses: To fit or furnish with joists.
nest egg
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: nest eggs
Senses: examples: text: My improvement relates to artificial eggs composed of a substance which is offensive to insects, the object being to render the same effective, not only as a nest-egg, but also as a destroyer of vermin.
ref: 1879, Patent No. 211,363, issued Jan. 14, 1879 to O. F. Woodward for a Nest-Egg
glosses: A natural or artificial egg placed in a bird's nest, to encourage the bird to lay its own eggs there.
examples: text: Over time, they accumulated a tidy nest egg and retired comfortably.
text: When Mrs. Carey was married she had three hundred pounds, and this money, carefully watched, had been used by her to meet any unforeseen expense, any urgent charity, or to buy Christmas and birthday presents for her husband and for Philip. In the course of years it had diminished sadly, but it was still with the Vicar a subject for jesting. He talked of his wife as a rich woman and he constantly spoke of the "nest egg".
ref: 1915, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter XXXIX, in Of Human Bondage, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC:
text: This is just like "Easy Rider." Except, now it's our turn. I mean, we can drop out and we can still have our nest egg!
ref: 1985, Albert Brooks, Lost in America (motion picture), spoken by David Howard (Albert Brooks):
text: Last year, Elliot Liebman, a 30-year-old musician in Austin, Texas, began investing part of every paycheck in some of those currencies, hoping to build a nest egg. Of his $10,000 investment, about $3,000 remains.
ref: 2022 June 29, David Yaffe-Bellany, “Crypto Crash Widens a Divide: ‘Those With Money Will End Up Being Fine’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
glosses: A saving; a reserve of money.
glosses: An egg squash.
make the cut
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: makes the cut
form: making the cut
form: made the cut
form: made the cut
Etymology: From the sport of golf, in which players are said to make the cut when they match or exceed a certain score, thus avoiding elimination during the final two rounds of a four-round tournament.
Senses: examples: text: Out of a pool of 20 applicants, only three made the cut.
glosses: To succeed at something or meet a requirement; to be chosen out of a field of candidates or possibilities.
Related terms: cutline
make the grade
make the grade
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: makes the grade
form: making the grade
form: made the grade
form: made the grade
Etymology: Probably from a railway train climbing a length of track sloping uphill (a grade).
Senses: examples: text: Near-synonym: fit the bill
text: In 1916 the famed Van Sweringen brothers bought their first railroad—the Nickel Plate. . . . This year, as usual, the tarnished Nickel Plate cannot make the grade. In first seven months it lost $2,003,779.
ref: 1938 October 17, “Tarnished Plate”, in Time:
text: I read the news today, oh boy
 About a lucky man who made the grade
 And though the news was rather sad
 Well, I just had to laugh
ref: 1967, Beatles, A Day In The Life:
text: In the end, only eight plucky contestants made the grade.
ref: 2009 March 19, Margaret Wente, “Please stop nannying us, Toronto!”, in Globe and Mail, Canada, page A13:
ref: 2020 November 1, Alan Young, “He quit the role after You Only Live Twice, frustrated by the repetitive plots, but was enticed back after his successor George Lazenby failed to make the grade.”, in The Scotsman:
synonyms: cut it#Verb
cut the mustard#Verb
make the cut#Verb
measure up#Verb
pass muster#Verb
glosses: To prove satisfactory; to be successful or worthy of merit.
Related terms: up to par
up to snuff
turnbuckle
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: turnbuckles
Etymology: From turn + buckle.
Senses: glosses: A coupling device consisting of two eyelets or other connection points connected in screw threads. The joint in between can be turned to shorten or lengthen the device with mechanical advantage provided by the screw threads.
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: A link threaded on both ends of a short bar which is used to pull objects together. (FM 55-501)
examples: text: A player who is checked into the turnbuckles may be injured.
topics: hobbies
ice-hockey
lifestyle
skating
sports
glosses: The area at either end of a bench where the edge of the glass is padded and meets the boards at a right angle.
Related terms: turnbarrel
eyelets
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of eyelet
once in a while
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Senses: examples: text: I send her a note once in a while to let her know I'm thinking of her.
text: He used to drop into my chambers once in a while to smoke, and was first-rate company. When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him.
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, page 2:
synonyms: word: at times
word: ever and anon
word: every once in a while
word: every now and then
word: every so often
word: from time to time
word: intermittently
word: irregularly
word: now and again
word: now and then
word: occasionally
word: on occasion
word: once in a while
word: sometimes
word: sporadically
word: uncommonly
word: while
word: whilom
glosses: Occasionally; sometimes.
Synonyms: every once in a while
Derived terms: even a blind pig can find an acorn once in a while
even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while
every once in a while
Related terms: every now and then
every so often
time to time
now and again
now and then
sometimes
Glenn
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: enpr: glĕn
ipa: /ɡlɛn/
enpr: glĭn
ipa: /ɡlɪn/
rhymes: -ɛn
Senses: glosses: An unincorporated community in Glenn County, California, United States.
glosses: An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Heard County, Georgia, United States.
glosses: An unincorporated community in Jackson County, Illinois, United States.
glosses: An unincorporated community in Ripley County, Missouri, United States.
glosses: A surname from Scottish Gaelic, variant of Glen.
examples: text: The Glen was the prettiest place she knew, so pretty she thought she ought to name her first baby after it. With another "n" added "to make it look more like a name", she called him Glenn Hammond Curtiss. The middle name was taken from the town itself, or its first settler, Lazarus Hammond.
The whimsy of naming her son after a local landmark was typical of Lua Curtiss. Then too a name like Glenn Hammond Curtiss has sweep and resonance, was much less commonplace than Harry or Jim or Charlie; or Frank, like his father.
ref: 1937, Clara Studer, Sky storming Yankee, Stackpole sons, 1937, page 19:
text: Of course Crake wasn't Crake yet, at that time; his name was Glenn. Why did it have two n's instead of the usual spelling? "My dad liked music," was Crake's explanation, once Jimmy got around asking him about it, which had taken a while. "He named me after a dead pianist, some boy genius with two n's."
ref: 2003, Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake, Virago, published 2004, →ISBN, page 80:
text: As Glenn Beck was bashing Sarvis as a GPS-installing LINO on his show,,^([sic]) his muckraking journalists at TheBlaze "revealed" that Sarvis was "bankrolled" by an "Obama bundler."
ref: 2014 March 8, John Vaught Labeaume, “No Thanks, CPAC. This Libertarian Won't Attend a Conservative Love-Fest.”, in Reason Magazine:
glosses: A male given name transferred from the surname, fairly popular in the middle of the 20th century.
glosses: A female given name transferred from the surname.
Derived terms: Glenn County
Hellenism
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈhɛlənɪzm/
Forms: form: Hellenisms
form: Hellenicism
form: Hellenisticism
Etymology: Either via French hellénisme or Latin Hellēnismus or directly from Ancient Greek Ἑλληνισμός (Hellēnismós, “imitation of the Greeks”), from Ἕλλην (Héllēn, “a Greek”).
Senses: glosses: Any of the characteristics of ancient Greek culture, civilization, principles and ideals, including humanism, reason, the pursuit of knowledge and the arts, moderation and civic responsibility.
glosses: The national character or culture of Greece.
glosses: The culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period.
glosses: The culture and civilization of the Hellenistic period.
The admiration for and adoption of ancient Greek culture, ideas and civilization.
glosses: A Greek idiom or turn of phrase.
glosses: The modern-day revival of the polytheistic religious system of Ancient Greece.
Related terms: Hellas
Hellen
Hellene
Hellenic
Hellenisation
Hellenization
Hellenise
Hellenize
Helleniser
Hellenizer
Hellenist
Hellenistic
Hellenistical
flyswatter
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: flyswatters
form: fly swatter
form: fly-swatter
Etymology: From fly + swatter.
Senses: synonyms: fly swat
glosses: A hand-held device for swatting flies or other insects, to kill or shoo them.
swatting
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Etymology: From swat + -ing.
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of swat
swatting
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: swattings
Etymology: From swat + -ing.
Senses: examples: text: This […] evoked a new disorder — a tendency to sudden, tic-like jabbings and swattings in the air, as if she were fending off flies or mosquitoes.
ref: 1973, Oliver Sacks, Awakenings:
glosses: A motion or gesture that swats; a swat.
examples: text: Swatting started in the combative world of online gaming. It was a way to terrorize someone more famous, get even with a rival or retaliate against someone with different political views.
ref: 2020 January 23, Sheera Frenkel, “People Are Calling SWAT Teams to Tech Executives’ Homes”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
text: Mr. Herring’s relatives said they wanted tougher laws against swatting and more training for police agencies on how to recognize potential fake calls.
ref: 2021 July 24, Maria Cramer, “A Grandfather Died in ‘Swatting’ Over His Twitter Handle, Officials Say”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
glosses: The action of making an illegitimate call to the police so as to have a SWAT team dispatched to a location.
Hellenist
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈhɛl.ɪ.nɪst/
ipa: /ˈhɛl.ə.nɪst/
Forms: form: Hellenists
Etymology: From Ancient Greek ἑλληνιστής (hellēnistḗs, “somebody who speaks Greek”), from ἑλληνίζειν (hellēnízein, “to speak Greek, to behave like a Greek, to become Greek, hellenize”) (infinitive of ἑλληνίζω (hellēnízō)), from Ἕλλην (Héllēn, “Greek”).
Senses: glosses: A specialist in the study of Greek language, literature, culture, or history, or an admirer of the Greek culture and civilization.
glosses: A person who adopted the Greek customs, language and culture during the Hellenistic period, especially a Hellenized Jew.
glosses: A non-Greek follower and practitioner of Hellenic religion (aka Hellenism)
Related terms: Helladic
Hellas
Hellen
Hellene
Hellenic
Hellenisation
Hellenization
Hellenise
Hellenize
Helleniser
Hellenizer
Hellenism
Hellenistic
Hellenistical
plumeless
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more plumeless
form: most plumeless
Etymology: From plume + -less.
Senses: glosses: Without plumes.
Derived terms: curly plumeless thistle
plumelet
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: plumelets
Etymology: From plume + -let.
Senses: examples: text: When rosy plumelets tuft the larch.
glosses: A small plume.
Derived terms: plumeleteer
plumery
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: plumeries
Etymology: From plume + -ery.
Senses: examples: text: O may the raven-bird whose cry our hapless parting croaked / Find ne'er a nesty home and eke shed all his plumery!
ref: 1894, Leonard Charles Smithers, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, volume 1, page 194:
glosses: Plumes, collectively or in general; plumage.
plumicorn
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: plumicorns
Etymology: From Latin pluma (“feather”) + cornu (“horn”).
Senses: topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
synonyms: ear tuft
glosses: An ear tuft of feathers, as in the horned owls.
plumigerous
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: -ɪdʒəɹəs
Etymology: From Latin plumiger, from pluma (“feather”) + gerere (“to bear”).
Senses: glosses: Feathered; having feathers.
have one's ducks in a row
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: has one's ducks in a row
form: having one's ducks in a row
form: had one's ducks in a row
form: had one's ducks in a row
form: get one's ducks in a row
form: put one's ducks in a row
Etymology: Perhaps from the image of ducklings following their mother in an orderly line. See also line up one's ducks.
Senses: examples: text: Wouldn't it be nice to have our ducks in a row and not have to search for the papers every time we needed them?
text: "You didn't need us." The man standing next to the steps laughed. "The work was done before to-night. You had your ducks in a row all right."
ref: 1911, Kate Langley Bosher, Miss Gibbie Gault:
glosses: To be organized; to have one's affairs in order; specifically, to have a multiperson effort coordinated towards the exact same goal.
Related terms: line up one's ducks
put one's house in order
waterfowl alignment
plumiliform
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: From Latin plumula (“little feather”, dim. of pluma (“feather”)) + -form.
Senses: synonyms: penniform
glosses: Having the shape of a plume or feather.
plumiped
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: From Latin plumipes, plumipedis, from pluma (“feather”) + pes.
Senses: topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
glosses: Having feet covered with feathers.
plumiped
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: plumipeds
Etymology: From Latin plumipes, plumipedis, from pluma (“feather”) + pes.
Senses: glosses: A plumiped bird.
get a handle on
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: gets a handle on
form: getting a handle on
form: got a handle on
form: got a handle on
form: gotten a handle on
Senses: examples: text: After a week of poring over the manuals, I am just beginning to get a handle on the software.
glosses: To build or acquire a basic level of understanding or control.
Related terms: have a handle on
plumming
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Senses: glosses: present participle and gerund of plum
plumming
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: topics: business
mining
glosses: The operation of finding, by means of a mine dial (compass), the place where to sink an air shaft, or to bring an adit to the work, or to find which way the lode inclines.
topics: arts
hobbies
lifestyle
photography
glosses: A plum-colored distortion of prints.
Derived terms: antiplumming
have a handle on
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: has a handle on
form: having a handle on
form: had a handle on
form: had a handle on
Senses: examples: text: To work efficiently, it's important to have a handle on the procedures involved.
glosses: To understand or grasp.
examples: text: But the other three problems had all grown out of assigning jobs to people he had no handle on.
ref: 2003, Tony Hillerman, The Sinister Pig, →ISBN, page 36:
text: We don't have to report to them anymore, but they still have a handle on our Justice Department and the police.
ref: 2011, H. Henrietta Stockel, Drumbeats from Mescalero, →ISBN, page 82:
glosses: To be in control of, to have power over.
Related terms: get a handle on
plummy
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: enpr: plŭmʹē
ipa: /ˈplʌmi/
rhymes: -ʌmi
Forms: form: plummier
form: plummiest
Etymology: From plum + -y. In the sense of a voice, because of the supposed similarity to speaking with a plum in one's mouth.
Senses: examples: text: The jam had a rich plummy aroma.
glosses: Of, pertaining to, containing, or characteristic of plums.
examples: text: The poets have made tragedies enough about signing one's self over to wickedness for the sake of getting something plummy; I shall write a tragedy of a fellow who signed himself over to be good, and was uncomfortable ever after.
ref: 1876, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter 16, in Daniel Deronda, volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC:
glosses: Desirable; profitable; advantageous.
examples: text: plummy-voiced
text: Then, feeling the fat hands caressing her reluctant bosom, listening dutifully to the rich, plummy voice, she realized finally what marriage to the King meant.
ref: 1948, Michael Glenne, Catherine Howard: The Story of Henry VIII's Fifth Queen, page 137:
text: Ludovic's deferential voice ("after what's happened, Sir, don't you think it will be more suitable") suddenly turns from its plummy to the plebeian key ("to shut your bloody trap").
ref: 1968, Harry John Mooney, Thomas F. Staley, The Shapeless God: Essays on Modern Fiction, page 85:
text: The fact that David Cameron, the conservative prime minister, is a plummy-voiced, Eton-educated, upper-class Brit from central casting has played into [Alex] Salmond's hands.
ref: 2014 March 31, Roger Cohen, “The case for Scotland”, in The New York Times:
text: But a plummy-voiced Labour peer, Baron Peter Hain, decided to defy the court order, invoking his parliamentary privilege to identify Mr. Green as the subject of the newspaper’s investigation.
ref: 2018 October 26, Ellen Barry, Amie Tsang, “London’s King of Retail Fashion, Brought Low by #MeToo”, in New York Times:
text: Reviewing a collection of Tom Wolfe’s journalism, Hitchens deplored Wolfe’s affectations and his plummy conservative politics.
ref: 2024 January 1, Dwight Garner, “Want to Feel, Intellectually, Like Someone Is Rotating Your Tires?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
glosses: Rich, mellow and carefully articulated, especially with an upper-class accent.
raw_tags: of a voice
Derived terms: plummily
plumminess
Related terms: peachy
cherry
plum in one's mouth
plumous
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more plumous
form: most plumous
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of plumose.
plumose
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈplu.moʊs/
Forms: form: more plumose
form: most plumose
Etymology: From Latin plūmōsus (“feathered”), from plūma (“feather”): compare French plumeux. By surface analysis, plume + -ose.
Senses: glosses: Having feathers or plumes.
examples: text: Male mosquitoes have plumose antennae
text: a plumose leaf
text: plumose tentacles
synonyms: feathery
plumelike
glosses: Having hairs, or other parts, arranged along an axis like a feather.
Derived terms: plumose alum
plumosely
plumosity
mineralogy
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌmɪnəˈralədʒi/
ipa: /ˌmɪnəˈɹɑləd͡ʒi/
ipa: /ˌmɪnəˈɹæləd͡ʒi/
Forms: form: mineralogies
form: minerology
Etymology: From mineral + -logy.
Senses: topics: geography
geology
natural-sciences
petrology
meronyms: gemmology
glosses: The branch of petrology that studies minerals.
glosses: Mineral materials.
glosses: A treatise on mineralogy.
Derived terms: biomineralogy
micromineralogy
mineralogical
mineralogist
mineralogize
soil mineralogy
Related terms: gemology
petrography
touch-and-go landing
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: touch-and-go landings
Senses: topics: aeronautics
aerospace
aviation
business
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
synonyms: touch-and-go
glosses: A landing on a runway immediately followed by a takeoff without an intervening full stop.
vaward
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈvɔːwəd/
ipa: /ˈvɔwɚd/
ipa: /ˈvɑwɚd/
Forms: form: vawards
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English vawarde, late form of vantwarde, aphetism of Anglo-Norman avantwarde, a variant of Old French avant-guarde. Doublet of avant-garde and vanguard.
Senses: examples: text: THenne kyng Arthur made redy his hoost in x batails and Nero was redy in the felde afore the castel Tarabil with a grete hoost / & he had x batails with many mo peple than Arthur had / Thenne Nero had the vaward with the moost party of his peple / & merlyn cam to kyng lot of the yle of Orkeney
ref: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter X, in Le Morte Darthur, book II:
english: THEN King Arthur made ready his host in ten battles and Nero was ready in the field afore the Castle Terrabil with a great host, and he had ten battles, with many more people than Arthur had. Then Nero had the vanguard with the most part of his people, and Merlin came to King Lot of the Isle of Orkney
translation: THEN King Arthur made ready his host in ten battles and Nero was ready in the field afore the Castle Terrabil with a great host, and he had ten battles, with many more people than Arthur had. Then Nero had the vanguard with the most part of his people, and Merlin came to King Lot of the Isle of Orkney
bold_translation_offsets: 210
218
text: Then they were marched off to the railway station with the band in the vaward playing ‘Have you ever caught your ballocks in a rat trap?’
ref: 1988, Anthony Burgess, Any Old Iron:
glosses: The vanguard.
vaward
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈvɔːwəd/
ipa: /ˈvɔwɚd/
ipa: /ˈvɑwɚd/
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English vawarde, late form of vantwarde, aphetism of Anglo-Norman avantwarde, a variant of Old French avant-guarde. Doublet of avant-garde and vanguard.
Senses: glosses: On or towards the front; vanward.
plumosite
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: topics: chemistry
geography
geology
mineralogy
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: jamesonite.
speak one's mind
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: speaks one's mind
form: speaking one's mind
form: spoke one's mind
form: spoken one's mind
Senses: examples: text: [H]e would speak his mind, and lecture her all the same as if she were a little girl.
ref: 1847 December, Ellis Bell [pseudonym; Emily Brontë], Wuthering Heights: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Thomas Cautley Newby, […], →OCLC:
text: It was seldom that Mrs. Ladybug hesitated to speak her mind right out to a person if she happened to disapprove of him.
ref: 1921, Arthur Scott Bailey, chapter 13, in The Tale of Mrs. Ladybug:
text: Rudy Giuliani[…]spoke his mind and did not suffer fools even a tiny bit—but then, creative incivility is part of the job description for a successful mayor of New York.
ref: 2007 April 12, Joe Klein, “President Fuhgeddaboutit”, in Time, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2012:
synonyms: speak one's conscience
glosses: To state one's thoughts or opinions honestly or frankly.
Related terms: give somebody a piece of one's mind
feldspathic
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: From German Feldspath (“feldspar”) + -ic.
Senses: topics: chemistry
geography
geology
mineralogy
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: Containing feldspar.
Derived terms: nonfeldspathic
quartzofeldspathic
call on
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: calls on
form: calling on
form: called on
form: called on
Senses: examples: text: I really should call on my aunt more often.
synonyms: pay a visit
visit
wait on
glosses: To visit (a person); to pay a call to.
examples: text: He sat there, baffled, hoping nobody would call on him.
text: “Mr. Rayney, Mr. Rayney,” the reporters clamored, and hands shot up. ¶ Charlotte called on the reporter from the L.A. Times, promising herself that she would lead with the OC Register reporter next time.
ref: 2007, Barbara Seranella, Deadman's Switch, Thomas Dunne Books, →ISBN, pages 33–4:
glosses: To select (a student in a classroom, etc.) to provide an answer.
examples: text: The king called on his subjects to take up arms and defend the kingdom.
text: The alma mater had again called on her sons in her hour of need and again they had responded.
ref: 1909 October 14, Edward Kimball Hall, speech, in The Inauguration of Ernest Fox Nichols, D.Sc., LL.D., as president of Dartmouth College, The Rumford Press, page 88
text: Because of the drastic reduction in the use of petrol and tyres the railway is now called on to effect practically all the island's transport, with the exception of a small amount handled by one coastwise steamer.
ref: 1945 November and December, H. R. Fox, “The Jamaica Railway, 1845-1945”, in Railway Magazine, page 315:
text: President Kennedy imposed a naval blockade on Cuba to prevent delivery of the missiles and called on his allies for support.
ref: 1974, Bruce Thordarson, Lester Pearson: Diplomat and Politician, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 120:
text: De Gaulle called on the military to break with their hierarchical superiors and on the other French citizens to distance themselves from their government.
ref: 2002, Bruno Coppieters, “Legitimate Authority”, chapter 2 of Bruno Coppieters and Nick Fotion (editors), Moral Constraints on War: Principles and Cases, Lexington Books, page 46
synonyms: call upon
glosses: To request or ask something of (a person); to select for a task.
examples: text: Exhausted, he called on his last ounce of strength.
text: The young adventurer set out on the new planet alone, thankful that she could still call on her captain for advice in case of emergency.
synonyms: call upon
summon up
glosses: To have recourse to.
examples: text: The salesman persisted in quoting a rate higher than was listed, until we called him on it.
synonyms: correct
call out
glosses: To correct; to point out an error or untruth.
Related terms: call upon
make oneself scarce
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: makes oneself scarce
form: making oneself scarce
form: made oneself scarce
form: made oneself scarce
Senses: examples: text: Perhaps I should make myself scarce before he finds any more chores to assign me.
glosses: To leave or stay away from a place, especially in order to avoid an encounter.
venality
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /vɪˈnælɪti/
Forms: form: venalities
Etymology: From venal + -ity, from French vénalité or Latin vēnālitās, from vēnālis (“venal”), from vēnum; compare English vend.
Senses: examples: 1785, The Times, 17 Jan 1785, p.1 col. B
As your spirited paper has declared war, not only against venality and despotism, but was intended to correct follies and abuses in private life, I hope the following will come within its useful plan.
glosses: The fact or state of being for sale, especially with reference to bribes or corruption.
metamorphism
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /mɛtəˈmɔːfɪz(ə)m/
Forms: form: metamorphisms
Etymology: From metamorphosis + -ism, after French métamorphisme.
Senses: examples: text: burial means that the ambient pressure on the rock increases – as does the temperature. This encourages metamorphism.
ref: 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 100:
topics: geography
geology
natural-sciences
glosses: The process by which rocks are changed into other forms by the application of heat and/or pressure.
topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
glosses: The process by which insects develop through life stages, for example, those of embryo, larva, pupa and imago. The life cycle of the butterfly is one of complete metamorphosis, in which the embryo grows within the egg, hatches into the larval stage caterpillar, enters the pupal stage within its chrysalis, and finally emerges as an adult butterfly imago.
examples: December 28 2015, Barrett Pall writing in the Huffington Post, 11 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Be Happy
Ultimately, being happy means that even when things aren’t perfect you still understand how blessed you truly are. You remain in a constant state of uncomfortable change, evolution and metamorphism because you know that this is a process that requires care and love.
glosses: Any dramatic change from one thing to another
Derived terms: contact metamorphism
hydrometamorphism
hypermetamorphism
polymetamorphism
pyrometamorphism
regional metamorphism
ultrametamorphism
Related terms: metamorphic
metamorphosis
you shouldn't have
Language: English
Part of speech: phrase
Etymology: Abbreviated from full sentence with verb, such as "you shouldn't have gone through all that trouble" or "you shouldn't have spent so much money".
Senses: examples: text: What a lovely vase! You shouldn't have!
glosses: Used to express gratitude at unnecessary generosity, especially when receiving a gift.
venery
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: /ˈvɛnəɹi/
Forms: form: veneries
form: venarie
Etymology: From Middle English venerie, borrowed from Middle French venerie, from Old French venerie (“hunting”), derived from vener, from Latin vēnor (“I hunt”).
Senses: examples: text: There are extant of his in Greek, four books of Cynegeticks or venation, five of Halieuticks or piſcation, commented and publiſhed by Ritterhuſius; wherein deſcribing beaſts of venery and fiſhes[…]
ref: 1650, Thomas Browne, “A brief enumeration of Authors”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 24:
text: But soon enough he’d wake up the second, real time, to make again the tiresome discovery that it hadn’t really ever stopped being the same simple-minded, literal pursuit; V. ambiguously a beast of venery, chased like the hart, hind or hare, chased like an obsolete, or bizarre, or forbidden form of sexual delight.
ref: 1963, Thomas Pynchon, V.:
glosses: The hunting of wild animals.
glosses: Game animals.
Derived terms: beast of venery
term of venery
Related terms: venison
venery
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: /ˈvɛnəɹi/
Forms: form: veneries
form: venarie
Etymology: From Middle English venery, venerie, venerye, borrowed from Medieval Latin veneria, from venus (“love”).
Senses: examples: text: […] Opium it ſelf is conceived to extimulate unto venery, and for that intent is ſometimes uſed by Turkes, Perſians, and moſt orientall Nations; […]
ref: 1650, Thomas Browne, “Of the Mandrakes of Leah”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 7th book, page 301:
text: [T]he ſalt of vipers is alſo thought to exceed any other animal ſalt vvhatever, in giving vigour to the languid circulation, and prompting to venery.
ref: 1791, Oliver Goldsmith, “Of Venemous Serpents in General”, in An History of the Earth, and Animated Nature. […], new edition, volume VII, London: […] F[rancis] Wingrave, successor to Mr. [John] Nourse, […], →OCLC, page 191:
glosses: The pursuit of sexual indulgence or pleasure.
Related terms: venereal
jum
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of jhum.
clitorides
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: plural of clitoris
Derived terms: hemiclitorides
plumosity
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Etymology: From plumose + -ity.
Senses: glosses: The quality or state of being plumose.
pluralist
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: pluralists
Etymology: From plural + -ist.
Senses: glosses: A person who holds multiple offices, especially a clergyman who holds more than one ecclesiastical benefice.
glosses: An advocate of pluralism (in all senses)
Derived terms: antipluralist
ethnopluralist
pluralist
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more pluralist
form: most pluralist
Etymology: From plural + -ist.
Senses: examples: text: In addition, a more pluralist system in a large diverse democracy should foster aggregation, compromise, and tolerance.
ref: 2014, Bruce E. Cain, Democracy More or Less:
glosses: Of, or related to pluralism.
pluralism
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: pluralisms
Etymology: From plural + -ism.
Senses: examples: text: Polytheism was inherently tolerant of the worship of many gods, because no single god was thought to control all the phenomena that are vital for human life. The gods were believed to tolerate this pluralism, and several could be worshiped in the same sanctuary or addressed in the same prayer.
ref: 2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 1017:
glosses: The quality or state of being plural, or in the plural number.
topics: ecclesiastical
lifestyle
religion
glosses: The state of a pluralist; the holding of more than one ecclesiastical living at a time.
examples: text: Instead, it is more probable that globalization is leading to a plurality of pluralisms.
ref: 2007, Matthias Koenig with Paul F. A. Guchteneire, Unesco, Democracy and Human Rights in Multicultural Societies, page 251:
topics: human-sciences
sciences
social-science
sociology
glosses: A social system that permits smaller groups within a society to maintain their individual cultural identities.
topics: government
politics
glosses: The belief that there should be diverse and competing centers of power in society.
topics: government
politics
glosses: The acknowledgement of a diversity of political systems.
topics: law
glosses: The existence of differing legal systems in a population or area.
examples: text: Due to pluralism and conflicts within the good itself, such perfection, for Berlin, is not possible. A compromise does not bring us closer to a higher telos in history.
ref: 2006, Connie Aarsbergen-Ligtvoet, Isaiah Berlin: A Value Pluralist and Humanist View of Human Nature and the Meaning of Live, →ISBN:
text: Pluralism is a creative force because it admits of multiple ways to see a thing, multiple valuable paths to choose from.
ref: 2016, Stuart Firestein, Failure: Why Science is So Successful, page 217:
topics: human-sciences
philosophy
sciences
glosses: The belief that values can be simultaneously antagonistic and incommensurable.
examples: ref: 2014, Salvatore Florio, “Untyped Pluralism”, in Mind, volume 123, number 490, pages 317–337:
ref: 2015, Michael Rieppel, “Pluralities and Plural Logic”, in Analysis, volume 75, number 3, pages 504–514:
topics: human-sciences
philosophy
sciences
glosses: The belief that a plural predicate refers to its individuals rather than to a collective.
Synonyms: topics: ecclesiastical
religion
lifestyle
word: plurality
Derived terms: antipluralism
ethnopluralism
hyperpluralism
religious pluralism
strategic pluralism
Related terms: plural
pluralist
pluralistic
labra
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: labras
head_nr: 2
Senses: head_nr: 1
glosses: plural of labrum
head_nr: 2
glosses: Clipping of labrador
plunket
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: plunkets
Senses: examples: text: Burels at this time seem to have been made in lengths of 20 ells and sold at 8d. the ell, while the better quality cloths - browns, plunkets, blues, and greens - were nearly twice the length, and cost about 22d. the ell.
ref: 1964, L. F. Salzman, English Industries of the Middle Ages, page 199:
glosses: Synonym of blunket.
synonyms: word: blunket
plunderer
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: plunderers
Etymology: From plunder + -er.
Senses: glosses: One who plunders or pillages.
Synonyms: word: depredator
word: despoiler
word: marauder
word: pickeerer
word: pilferer
word: pillager
word: plunderer
word: raper
word: rapist
word: ransacker
word: raptor
word: sacker
word: spoiler
Hypernyms: word: criminal
word: thief
Hyponyms: word: pirate
word: ranger
Related terms: word: looter
plunderage
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Etymology: From plunder + -age.
Senses: topics: law
maritime
nautical
transport
glosses: The embezzlement of goods on shipboard.
scouse
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: scouses
form: scouce
Etymology: Clipping of lobscouse, of uncertain origin.
Senses: examples: text: Unsurprisingly, given the geography of the area, Liverpool’s scouse isn’t dissimilar to Irish stew or Lancashire hotpot, either, and, like those noble dishes, is eminently practical, easy to make in a small kitchen, or indeed a galley, and to adapt to current circumstances – there’s even a vegetarian variant, blind scouse, for when you can’t, or won’t, run to meat.
ref: 2019 October 30, Felicity Cloake, “How to cook the perfect scouse – recipe”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: A stew associated with the Liverpool area, usually containing (at least) meat, onions, carrots and potatoes.
Derived terms: blind scouse
scouse
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Forms: form: scouce
Etymology: Clipping of lobscouse, of uncertain origin.
Senses: examples: text: But my favourite accent is to be found in Belfast; a Northern Irish accent immediately adds three points to a person’s attractiveness. It has the friendliness of scouse, but is much softer and more charming.
ref: 2020 November 20, Hannah Jane Parkinson, “From melodic scouse to Adele's cockney – I love the UK's regional accents”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: Alternative letter-case form of Scouse.
plumy
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: more plumy
form: most plumy
Etymology: From plume + -y.
Senses: glosses: Covered or adorned with plumes, or as with plumes; feathery.
Derived terms: pluminess
plumulose
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: From plumule + -ose.
Senses: glosses: Having hairs branching out laterally, like the parts of a feather.
plumule
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: plumules
Etymology: From Latin plūmula, diminutive of plūma (“feather”); compare French plumule.
Senses: topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
synonyms: gemmule
glosses: The first bud, or growing point, of a plant embryo, situated above the cotyledons.
topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
glosses: A down feather.
topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
glosses: The aftershaft of a feather.
topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
glosses: One of the featherlike scales of certain male butterflies.
Derived terms: plumulaceous
plumular
plumulose
plumularian
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌpluː.mjʊˈlɛəɹi.ən/
ipa: /ˌplu.mjəˈlɛɹi.ən/
rhymes: -ɛəɹiən
Forms: form: plumularians
Etymology: From plumularia + -an.
Senses: topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
glosses: Any plumularia.
plumularian
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌpluː.mjʊˈlɛəɹi.ən/
ipa: /ˌplu.mjəˈlɛɹi.ən/
rhymes: -ɛəɹiən
Etymology: From plumularia + -an.
Senses: topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
glosses: Belonging or relating to the plumularia.
mera
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: meras
Senses: glosses: The seventh month of Meitei traditional lunar calendar.
vernissage
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /vɛːnɪˈsɑːʒ/
ipa: /ˌvɛɹnəˈsɑʒ/
Forms: form: vernissages
Etymology: From French vernissage, derived from the earlier habit of the artists to varnish their paintings the day before the opening of an exhibition.
Senses: examples: text: […] the artists' association will be forced to advance or delay its vernissage and opening day.
ref: 1893 May 2, The Times, p.5 col. C:
glosses: A private viewing of an art exhibition before it opens to the public.
Synonyms: preview
private view
Coordinate terms: opening
Related terms: soft opening
ras
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: rases
Etymology: From Amharic ራስ (ras). More at Etymology 2.
Senses: glosses: An Ethiopian king or prince.
ras
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: rases
Etymology: From Arabic رأس (raʔs, “head(land)”). Doublet of ras (Etymology 1) above, as well as of resh; further related to reis.
Senses: glosses: A headland; a cape.
Related terms: english: etymologically unrelated
translation: etymologically unrelated
word: ras el hanout
english: etymologically unrelated
translation: etymologically unrelated
word: ras malai
veronica
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /vəˈɹɒnɪkə/
Forms: form: veronicas
Etymology: Named after Saint Veronica.
Senses: examples: text: A veil that had wiped off the sweat of Christ? Who could possibly believe that? (…) The only true Veronica of this century was the veronica of the matador – the classic slow swing of the cape before the bull’s face, imitating that holy wiping, mocking it.
ref: 1973, Nicholas Monsarrat, The Kapillan of Malta:
text: He wiped the lady’s martini glass, having had some trouble with a kind of veronica of lipstick, spat in it viciously, then washed it again.
ref: 1988, Anthony Burgess, Any Old Iron:
topics: Catholicism
Christianity
Roman-Catholicism
glosses: The image of Jesus's face believed to have been made on the cloth with which St Veronica wiped his face as he went to be crucified; or the cloth used for this.
examples: text: The cougher makes a lunge. Slothrop sweeps aside, gives him a quick veronica with his cape, sticks his foot out and trips the kid, who lies on the ground cursing
ref: 1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow:
text: He stepped aside as a fight got going between an attendant and some kid by the Alkool display, hopping backwards in a practised veronica when a bottle broke, fearful for his flares.
ref: 1989, Martin Amis, London Fields, Vintage, published 2003, page 357:
topics: bullfighting
entertainment
lifestyle
glosses: A circular swinging movement of the cape, used to avoid the bull.
examples: text: meadows full of wildflowers that seemed to Kit enormous, violets as big as your hand, yellow lilies and blue veronica you could shelter from the rain under
ref: 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 871:
text: There are also (placed there by man or nature?) quite a lot of skinny fuchsias and dense veronicas, all in flower, and some kind of rather attractive grey-leaved sage.
ref: 1978, Iris Murdoch, The Sea, The Sea, Vintage, published 1999, page 11:
topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
glosses: A flower of the genus Veronica, usually having blue petals.
veronica
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /vəˈɹɒnɪkə/
Forms: form: veronicas
form: veronicaing
form: veronicaed
form: veronicaed
Etymology: Named after Saint Veronica.
Senses: glosses: To draw a muleta over and away from a bull's face in bullfighting.
siker
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Senses: glosses: Alternative spelling of sicker (“certain”).
examples: text: That schip had a ful siker mast,
And a sayl strong and large.
ref: 1847 (publication date), James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps, Dictionary of Archaisms and Provincialisms from the Fourteenth Century Vol. II., pages 741 and 743
glosses: Alternative spelling of sicker (“secure”).
Derived terms: sikerly
sikerness
siker
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Senses: glosses: Alternative spelling of sicker (“certainly”).
glosses: Alternative spelling of sicker (“securely”).
verst
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /vɜːst/
ipa: /vɝst/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)st
homophone: versed
Forms: form: versts
form: versta
form: verste
form: werst
Etymology: Borrowed from Russian верста́ (verstá), partly through German Werst and French verste.
Senses: examples: text: |The hill Pulkowa, twelve miles (seventeen wersts) south of Admiralty Palace in St. Petersburg, […]
ref: 1849, "The Observatory at Pulkowa" The North American Review Volume 0069 Issue 144 (July 1849)
text: Her particular part of the country was a few hundred versts the other side of Tamboff, with some fifteen miles of agrarian disturbance between her and the nearest neighbour.
ref: 1910, Saki [pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro], “Reginald in Russia”, in Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 6:
text: ‘Is it much further, Michael?’ she asked the clerk, to dispel the thoughts that frightened her. ‘They say it's seven versts from this village.’
ref: 1918, Aylmer and Louise Maude, translated by Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina, Oxford, published 1998, page 604:
text: You have to tramp three or four versts to get to the exhibition of war loot, past Fabergé eggs and the Impressionists.
ref: 1988, Anthony Burgess, Any Old Iron:
glosses: A Russian unit of length, equivalent to about 1.07 kilometres or about ²⁄₃ of a mile.
plumular
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: From plumule + -ar.
Senses: topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
glosses: Relating to a plumule.
plumulaceous
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: -eɪʃəs
Forms: form: more plumulaceous
form: most plumulaceous
Etymology: From plumule + -aceous.
Senses: topics: biology
natural-sciences
ornithology
zoology
glosses: Downy; bearing down.
Coordinate terms: pennaceous
plumula
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: plumulas
form: plumulae
Etymology: From Latin plūmula (“a small feather”).
Senses: topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
glosses: A plumule.
topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
glosses: A down feather.
plumpy
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Forms: form: plumpier
form: plumpiest
Etymology: From plump + -y.
Senses: examples: text: "We're here t' greet ye," piped a plumpy little girl, pulling at Cal's sleeve.
ref: 2010, Donald Meikle, Twowinter Tales, page 73:
glosses: Plump; fat; sleek.
Derived terms: plumpiness