nandhakumarms/qualc-wiktionary-en huggingface dataset:
Word: strapping Part of Speech: noun 1. Adhesive plaster for strapping injuries. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Jones had heavy strapping on his left thigh and it was tempting to wonder what José Mourinho, his manager at Manchester United, will have made of it in a week of withdrawals from Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur players. 2. A length of narrow material to be used for straps, or straps collectively. Labels: countable, uncountable 3. A beating with a strap. Labels: countable, uncountable 4. The act of fastening with a strap. Labels: countable, uncountable
Word: wunderkind Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Unadapted borrowing from German Wunderkind, from Wunder (“wonder”) + Kind (“child”). Compare native wonderchild. Pronunciation: /ˈvʊn.də.kɪnd/, /ˈwʊn.də.kɪnd/, /ˈvʊn.dɚ.kɪnt/, /ˈvʊn.dɚ.kɪnd/, /ˈwʊn.dɚ.kɪnd/ 1. A child prodigy; a wonderchild. 2. A highly talented or gifted person, especially one who is successful at a young age. Example: Harriet Pappenheim, a psychotherapist at Park Avenue Relationship Consultants who wrote “For Richer or Poorer,” a 2006 book on money in marriage, said that the repercussions could be acute for Wall Street wunderkinds who define their identities through their job titles and the size of their bonuses. Example: The downfall of Austria’s onetime political Wunderkind put a spotlight on the cozy, sometimes corrupt, relationship between right-wing populists and parts of the news media.
Word: woebegone Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English wo-bigon, wo-begon (“(adjective) deeply affected by woe, distressed, sorrowful, wretched; affected by physical impairment or pain; tired, weary; abominable, cursed; (noun) unfortunate person, wretch”), from wo (“distress, misery, woe; physical pain or suffering; etc.”) + bigon (the past participle form of bigon (“of a state: to come upon or overtake (someone), beset, overwhelm, bego; of a person: to be overwhelmed by grief, etc.”)): * wo is derived from Old English wā (“woe”), from Proto-West Germanic *wai (“woe!”, interjection), from Proto-Germanic *wai (“woe!”, interjection), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wáy (“ah!, oh!; alas!, woe!”, interjection). * bigon is derived from Old English begān (“to go over, traverse; to beset, surround; to occupy; to overrun; etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *bigān, from *bi- (from Proto-Germanic *bi- (prefix meaning ‘at; by’), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁épi (“at; near; on”)) + *gān (“to go”) (from Proto-Germanic *gāną (“to go; to walk”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- (“to go; to reach; to abandon, leave”)). By surface analysis, woe + begone (the past participle form of bego (“(obsolete) to affect”)). Noun sense 1 (“person who is deeply affected or overwhelmed by suffering or trouble, and so filled with woe”) became obsolete after the 14th or 15th century, and was only revived in the 19th century. Pronunciation: /ˈwəʊbɪɡɒn/, /ˈwoʊbiˌɡɔn/, /-bə-/, /-ɡɑn/ 1. Of a person: deeply affected or overwhelmed by suffering or trouble, and so filled with woe (“great distress or sadness”); (loosely) forlorn, sad, unhappy. Example: [M]ake an ende of mone, / For you are ſicke, and ſhe is woe begone. Example: Thou trembleſt, and the vvhitenes in thy cheeke, / Is apter then thy tongue to tell thy arrand, / Euen ſuch a man, ſo faint, ſo ſpiritleſſe, / So dull, ſo dead in looke, ſoe vvoe begon, / Drevv Priams curtaine in the dead of night, / And vvould haue told him halfe his Troy vvas burnt: […] 2. Of a person or thing: having a distressed, miserable, or sad appearance. Labels: broadly Example: Pen and Miss Bolton were hard by listening to the same concert, and the latter remarked, and Pen laughed at Mr. Foker's wo-begone face. Fanny asked what it was that made that odd-looking little man so dismal? "I think he is crossed in love!" Pen said. Example: I now went down to have a look at the "port." It was the most woebegone excavation, full of mud and fishy refuse, you ever saw. 3. Of a thing: in a deplorable state. Labels: broadly Example: The 44-year-old [Mikhail] Prokhorov, the second-richest man in Russia, is expected to assume control of the woebegone Nets within the next few weeks.
Word: woebegone Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English wo-bigon, wo-begon (“(adjective) deeply affected by woe, distressed, sorrowful, wretched; affected by physical impairment or pain; tired, weary; abominable, cursed; (noun) unfortunate person, wretch”), from wo (“distress, misery, woe; physical pain or suffering; etc.”) + bigon (the past participle form of bigon (“of a state: to come upon or overtake (someone), beset, overwhelm, bego; of a person: to be overwhelmed by grief, etc.”)): * wo is derived from Old English wā (“woe”), from Proto-West Germanic *wai (“woe!”, interjection), from Proto-Germanic *wai (“woe!”, interjection), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wáy (“ah!, oh!; alas!, woe!”, interjection). * bigon is derived from Old English begān (“to go over, traverse; to beset, surround; to occupy; to overrun; etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *bigān, from *bi- (from Proto-Germanic *bi- (prefix meaning ‘at; by’), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁épi (“at; near; on”)) + *gān (“to go”) (from Proto-Germanic *gāną (“to go; to walk”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- (“to go; to reach; to abandon, leave”)). By surface analysis, woe + begone (the past participle form of bego (“(obsolete) to affect”)). Noun sense 1 (“person who is deeply affected or overwhelmed by suffering or trouble, and so filled with woe”) became obsolete after the 14th or 15th century, and was only revived in the 19th century. Pronunciation: /ˈwəʊbɪɡɒn/, /ˈwoʊbiˌɡɔn/, /-bə-/, /-ɡɑn/ 1. A person who is deeply affected or overwhelmed by suffering or trouble, and so filled with woe. Example: Near-synonym: (chiefly US, informal) sad sack Example: According to the prophecy of Mrs. [Maria] Woodworth, George Erickson and several other revivalists, who created considerable excitement in Oakland some time ago, this was the day on which San Francisco and Oakland were to be destroyed by earthquake and a tidal wave, and the cities of Chicago and Milwaukee were also to suffer the same calamity. […] All the weakminded and ‘locoed’ people in Oakland seemed to get the craze and from dark until midnight the main street was a pandemonium of salvation brass-bands, corner preachers, delirious doom sealers, and fleeing ‘woebegones’ with their torches. […] I see by despatches in The Sun that some of them have sold their property at low figures, […] but if I’m not much mistaken, the woebegones will come back and reclaim their property, […]
Word: wassail Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English wassail, from Old Norse ves heill (“be healthy!”), from the imperative of vesa (“to be”) + heill (“healthy”). The earliest documented use of the term is from the first part of the 12th century CE, in Geoffroy of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (see page's citations). Pronunciation: /ˈwɑseɪl/, /ˈwɒseɪl/, /ˈwɒsl/, /ˈwæsl/ 1. A toast to health, usually on a festive occasion. Labels: countable, uncountable 2. The beverage served during a wassail, especially one made of ale or wine flavoured with spices, sugar, roasted apples, etc. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Add ſugar, nutmeg and ginger, / VVith ſtore of ale too; / And thus ye muſt doe / To make the vvaſſaile a ſvvinger. 3. Revelry. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: In merry wassail he […] peals his loud song. Example: The victors abandoned themselves to feasting and wassail. 4. A festive or drinking song or glee. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Have you done your wassail? 'Tis a handsome, drowsy ditty, I'll assure you.
Word: wassail Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English wassail, from Old Norse ves heill (“be healthy!”), from the imperative of vesa (“to be”) + heill (“healthy”). The earliest documented use of the term is from the first part of the 12th century CE, in Geoffroy of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (see page's citations). Pronunciation: /ˈwɑseɪl/, /ˈwɒseɪl/, /ˈwɒsl/, /ˈwæsl/ 1. To toast, to drink to the health of another. Labels: transitive Example: The next morning he much regretted the gusto with which he had wassailed the night before. 2. To drink wassail. Labels: intransitive 3. To go from house to house at Christmastime, singing carols. Example: Schoolchildren around the globe have gleefully sung Torches at Christmastime for half a century. Many of those in Birmingham have wassailed the carol at the front door of a cosy Victorian house in Moseley, unaware that behind that front door lives its composer. Example: During the Christmas season, carolers traveled from house to house, bringing good wishes and carrying an empty bowl. The master of the house being wassailed was expected to fill the bowl with hot, spicy ale.
Word: phthalo green Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From phthalo and green, from phthalocyanine. 1. A synthetic pigment (full name phthalocyanine) of a bright, high intensity, used in oil- and acrylic-based artists' paints, and in other applications. Labels: uncountable
Word: spadroon Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Compare French and Spanish espadon, Italian spadone. See espadon, spade. 1. A single-handed, lightweight sword. 2. A long heavy sword for both hands; a spadone.
Word: tribal Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Latin tribālis. By surface analysis, tribe + -al, first attested in the 1630s. The specific adjectival sense under the defunct theory of recapitulation derives from tribal history as an overly literal learned borrowing from German Stammesgeschichte; ordinarily, Stamm would only be translated as tribe when used in its ethnographic sense. Pronunciation: /ˈtɹaɪbəl/ 1. Of or relating to tribes. Example: social order through tribal law Example: ‘What has he done?’ ‘Oh, killed a few natives. That wouldn’t count so much if it was all ‘tribal’; but he’s ‘gone cheeky’ and threatens wholesale murder. My job is to grab him before he slaughters more.’ 2. Based on or organized according to tribes. Example: a tribal society 3. Phylogenic. Labels: historical, rare Example: tribal history 4. Incorporating designs or styles typical of an indigenous people. Example: tribal techno music Example: a purse with a tribal design
Word: tribal Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Latin tribālis. By surface analysis, tribe + -al, first attested in the 1630s. The specific adjectival sense under the defunct theory of recapitulation derives from tribal history as an overly literal learned borrowing from German Stammesgeschichte; ordinarily, Stamm would only be translated as tribe when used in its ethnographic sense. Pronunciation: /ˈtɹaɪbəl/ 1. A design or image that has been influenced by indigenous peoples; especially such a tattoo. 2. A member of a tribe. Labels: India Example: This right had been accepted by relative tribals but misobeyed and effaced by non-tribals and foreign peasants. Example: […] the legendary Adivasi leader Jaipal Singh Munda who came to represent the tribals not just of his native plateau, but also of all of India […]
Word: regulome Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From regulation + -ome. 1. The whole set of regulation components in a cell, tissue, organ, organism, and species, usually used in the context of a signal transduction. Example: Regulation materials of cells vary greatly: even water can be an important regulome entity.
Word: voluptuary Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From French voluptuaire, or directly from its etymon Late Latin voluptuārius, from Latin voluptārius (“pleasure-seeker; agreeable, delightful, pleasant; sensual”), from voluptās (“delight, pleasure, satisfaction”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns). Voluptās is derived from volup (“with pleasure; agreeably, pleasantly, satisfactorily”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose; to want”)) + -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns indicating a state of being). Pronunciation: /vəˈlʌptʃʊəɹi/, /vəˈlʌptʃʊɹi/, /vəˈlʌptʃɹi/, /-tjʊ-/, /vəˈlʌpt͡ʃʊˌɛɹi/ 1. One whose life is devoted to sensual appetites; a pleasure-seeker, a sensualist. Example: But Mrs. Cole, in oppoſition to this, aſſured me that the gentlemen I ſhould be preſented to, were, by their rank and taſte of things, infinitely ſuperior to the being touch'd with any glare of dreſs, or ornaments, ſuch as ſilly women rather confound, and overlay, than ſet off their beauty with; that theſe veteran voluptuaries knew better than not to hold them in the higheſt contempt, […] Example: His features might have been called good, had there not lurked under the pent-house of his eye, that sly epicurean twinkle which indicates the cautious voluptuary.
Word: voluptuary Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From French voluptuaire, or directly from its etymon Late Latin voluptuārius, from Latin voluptārius (“pleasure-seeker; agreeable, delightful, pleasant; sensual”), from voluptās (“delight, pleasure, satisfaction”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns). Voluptās is derived from volup (“with pleasure; agreeably, pleasantly, satisfactorily”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose; to want”)) + -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns indicating a state of being). Pronunciation: /vəˈlʌptʃʊəɹi/, /vəˈlʌptʃʊɹi/, /vəˈlʌptʃɹi/, /-tjʊ-/, /vəˈlʌpt͡ʃʊˌɛɹi/ 1. Of or relating to the seeking of sensual pleasure. Example: For as it hath beene well obſerued, that the Arts which flouriſh in times, while vertue is in growth, are Militarie: and while vertue is in State are Liberall; and while vertue is in declination, are voluptuarie; ſo I doubt, that this age of the world, is ſomewhat vpon the deſcent of the wheele; with Arts voluptuarie, I couple practiſes Iocularie; for the deceiuing of the ſences, is one of the pleaſures of the ſences. Example: As to mental Perturbations, which render the Lives of Fools miſerable and calamitous, […] All theſe Perturbations may be comprehended under four general Heads, but admit of many Subdiviſions. Their general Diviſion is into Uneaſineſs, Fear, Luſt, and that voluptuary Elevation of a wanton Spirit which I call Joy; though the Stoics generally term it both as applicable to Soul and Body, ἡδονη.
Word: specular Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Latin speculāris, from speculum; and in some senses from speculārī (“to watch, observe”). Some later senses via French spéculaire. Pronunciation: /ˈspɛk.jʊ.lə/, /ˈspɛk.jə.lɚ/ 1. Pertaining to mirrors; mirror-like, reflective. Example: a perfect likeness would rather suggest a specular, and hence speculatory, phenomenon [...]. 2. Of or relating to a speculum; conducted with the aid of a speculum. Example: a specular examination 3. Assisting sight, like a lens etc. Example: Thy specular orb / Apply to well-dissected kernels; lo! / In each observe the slender threads / Of first-beginning trees. 4. Offering an expansive view; picturesque. Labels: poetic Example: Calm as the Universe, from specular towers / Of heaven contemplated by Spirits pure. Example: Look once more, e're we leave this specular mount.
Word: dudgeon Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Uncertain: * Perhaps the same as Etymology 2, below * Perhaps from Welsh dygen (“anger, grudge”) (from dy- + cwyn (“complaint”)), though the OED rejects this. * Possibly from dudgen (“trash, something worthless”). * Possibly borrowed from Italian aduggiare (“to overshadow”), similar to the semantic development of umbrage. Pronunciation: /ˈdʌd͡ʒən/ 1. A feeling of anger or resentment, especially haughty indignation. Labels: uncountable Example: All gentle folks who owe a grudge / To any living thing, / Open your ears and stay your trudge / Whilst I in dudgeon sing. Example: To crown his discontent, his approach was utterly unnoticed by that capricious damsel. He dashed away in dudgeon from the house at an early hour, certainly less regretted by the maid than by the master of the inn.
Word: dudgeon Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English dogeon, apparently from Anglo-Norman or Middle French, but the ultimate origin is obscure. Compare French douve (“stave”). Pronunciation: /ˈdʌd͡ʒən/ 1. A kind of wood used especially in the handles of knives; the root of the box tree. Labels: obsolete Example: Turners and Cutlers, if I mistake not the matter, doe call this wood Dudgeon, wherewith they make Dudgeon hafted daggers. 2. A hilt made of this wood. Labels: obsolete Example: And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood 3. A dagger which has a dudgeon hilt. Labels: archaic
Word: Elysium Part of Speech: name Etymology: From Latin, from Ancient Greek Ἠλῠ́σῐον (Πεδῐ́ον) (Ēlŭ́sĭon (Pedĭ́on)). Pronunciation: /ɪˈlɪz.i.əm/, /ɪˈlɪʒ.i.əm/, /ɪˈli.ʒi.əm/, /ɪˈli.zi.əm/ 1. The home of the blessed after death. Labels: Greek, Roman 2. A place or state of ideal happiness; paradise. Example: Joseph seemed sitting in a sort of elysium alone, beside a roaring fire; a quart of ale on the table near him, bristling with large pieces of toasted oat-cake; and his black, short pipe in his mouth. 3. A region in the northern hemisphere of Mars.
Word: Elysian Fields Part of Speech: name Etymology: From Elysian + fields, as a calque of Latin Campī Ēlysiī, from Ancient Greek Ἠλῠ́σῐον Πεδῐ́ον (Ēlŭ́sĭon Pedĭ́on). Pronunciation: /ɪˈlɪziən ˈfiːldz/, /ɪˈlɪʒən/, /ɪˈliʒən ˈfildz/ 1. Elysium; home of the blessed, after death. Labels: Greek, Roman, plural, plural-only Example: Indeed, the Elysian Fields themselves were a part of Hades, though they have since been removed to Paris. 2. A place or state of ideal happiness; paradise. Labels: idiomatic, plural, plural-only
Word: Hobson's choice Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Hobson + -’s + choice, widely claimed to have been named after Thomas Hobson (c. 1544–1631) of Cambridge, England, who rented horses and had an extensive stable, but is said to have required each customer to take the horse in the stall closest to the door, to prevent the best horses from always being chosen and becoming overused. The Oxford English Dictionary also suggests an alternative etymology based on a 1607 work, The Pleasant Conceites of Old Hobson, which refers to one William Hobson (died 1581), a haberdasher from London, who is said to have been unable to recognize his own horse, and so had the habit of waiting at stables until other people had claimed their horses as the one remaining had to be his. This story is most likely fictional as it is identical to one entitled “Of the Two Yong Men that Rode to Walsingham” in Mery Tales and Quick Answeres (1530). Pronunciation: /ˌhɒbs(ə)nz ˈt͡ʃɔɪs/, /ˌhɑbsənz ˈt͡ʃɔɪs/ 1. A situation where a person is presented with the illusion of a free choice, but in reality there is only one option available: accepting the offer or having nothing at all. Labels: idiomatic Example: A man is ſaid to have Hobſons''' choice given him, vvhen he muſt either take vvhat is left him, or chooſe vvhether he vvill have any part or no. Example: Several other marriages took place, the scarcity of subjects making it somewhat hazardous to delay: when Hobson's choice is placed before one, deliberation is of no great use. 2. A choice between several undesirable options; Sophie's choice. Labels: broadly, idiomatic 3. The voice. Labels: Cockney, slang Example: He's claiming copyright on his hobson's. / I beg your pardon. / His hobson's choice—his voice.
Word: gravitas Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷreh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-us Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us Proto-Italic *gʷraus Latin gravis Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin gravitāsbor. English gravitas Borrowed from Latin gravitās (“weight, heaviness”). Doublet of gravity. Pronunciation: /ˈɡɹævɪtɑs/, /ˈɡɹɑvɪtɑs/, /ˈɡɹæv.ɪ.tɑːs/, /ˈɡɹæv.ɪ.tæs/ 1. Seriousness in bearing or manner; dignity. Labels: uncountable Example: “Because he refuses to level with the American people about the dangers which he has placed American troops and our diplomatic corps, personnel and civilians, as well as our partners and allies, or demonstrated even a modicum of presidential gravitas, I will attempt to do that,” said Mr. Biden, who is one of 14 candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. 2. Substance, weight. Labels: figuratively, uncountable Example: The other campaign against Ms. Yellen has been subtler, involving repeated suggestions — almost always off the record — that she lacks the “gravitas” to lead the Fed. What does that mean? […] Sorry, but it’s hard to escape the conclusion that gravitas, in this context, mainly means possessing a Y chromosome. Example: Unlike most moons of the solar system, ours has the heft, the gravitational gravitas, to pull itself into a sphere.
Word: kismet Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Ottoman Turkish قسمت (kısmet, “fate, destiny”) (Turkish kısmet), from Arabic قِسْمَة (qisma, “division, lot, destiny”). Pronunciation: /ˈkɪz.mɛt/, /ˈkɪs.mɛt/ 1. Fate; a predetermined or unavoidable destiny. Labels: uncountable, usually Example: But these things are kismet, and we only find out all about them just when any knowledge is too late. Example: "Golly!" he cried. "I'm awfully sorry, Bo'sun, but you're It. You're luck's clean out to-day. What rotten Kismet you do have. The Lot fell on you all right, smack in the middle of your chest."
Word: venial Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Old French venial, borrowed from Late Latin veniālem (“pardonable”), from Latin venia (“forgiveness”). Pronunciation: /ˈviːni.əl/ 1. Able to be forgiven; worthy of forgiveness. Example: He did not say that he should favour such an attempt; But he did say that such an attempt would be venial. 2. Able to be forgiven; worthy of forgiveness. Labels: especially, often Example: His venial youthful indiscretions. 3. Not causing spiritual death.
Word: uxorious Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Borrowed from Latin uxōrius (“of or pertaining to a wife”), from uxor (“wife”) + -ious. Pronunciation: /ʌkˈsɔːɹ.i.əs/, /ʌkˈsɔɹ.i.əs/, /ʌɡˈzɔɹ.i.əs/ 1. Very devoted and possibly submissive to one's wife; showing excessive uxorial devotion. Example: With theſe in troop Came Aſtoreth, whom the Phœnicians call'd Aſtarte, Queen of Heav'n, with creſcent Horns; To whoſ,e bright Image nightly by the Moon Sidonian Virgins paid their Vows and Songs, In Sion alſo not unſung, where ſtood Her Temple on th' offensive Mountain, built By that uxorious King, whoſe heart though large, Beguil'd by fair Idolatreſſes, fell To Idols foul. Example: In truth, Richard was a fond—almost an uxorious husband.
Word: undulate Part of Speech: verb Etymology: First attested in 1664; borrowed from New Latin undulātus, the perfect passive participle of undulō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from an unattested *undula (“small wave”), diminutive of Latin unda (“wave”). Pronunciation: /ˈʌndjəleɪt/, /ˈʌndjʊleɪt/, /ˈʌnd͡ʒəleɪt/, /ˈʌnd͡ʒʊleɪt/, /ˈʌndəleɪt/ 1. To cause to move in a wavelike motion. Labels: transitive Example: Breath vocalized, i.e., vibrated and undulated. 2. To cause to resemble a wave. Labels: transitive 3. To move in wavelike motions. Labels: intransitive Example: His tongue undulated. Example: Come lovely and soothing death, / Undulate round the world, serenely arriving, arriving, / In the day, in the night, to all, to each, / Sooner or later delicate death. 4. To appear wavelike. Labels: intransitive
Word: undulate Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Borrowed from Late Latin undulātus (“undulated”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix). Pronunciation: /ˈʌndjəlɪt/, /ˈʌndjʊlɪt/, /ˈʌnd͡ʒəlɪt/, /ˈʌnd͡ʒʊlɪt/, /ˈʌndəlɪt/ 1. Wavy in appearance or form. 2. Changing the pitch and volume of one's voice. 3. sinuous, winding up and down.
Word: ululate Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Borrowed from Latin ululō, ululātus, of imitative origin. Cognate with Spanish aullar (“to howl”) and ulular (“to hoot”), and French ululer (“to howl”). Pronunciation: /ˈjuːljuleɪt/, /ˈʌljəleɪt/ 1. To howl loudly or prolongedly in lamentation or joy. Example: Should I ever marry, Watson, I should hope to inspire my wife with some feeling which would prevent her from being walked off by a housekeeper when my corpse was lying within a few yards of her. It was badly stage-managed; for even the rawest investigators must be struck by the absence of the usual feminine ululation. Example: Women dance in tight circles, ululating with joy, while groups of men sit nearby watching. 2. To produce a rapid and prolonged series of sharp noises with one's voice.
Word: dirty grease Part of Speech: noun 1. Grease which contains remnants of other materials (e.g. particles of food, metals, chemicals, dirt, etc.). Labels: uncountable
Word: ukase Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from Russian ука́з (ukáz, “edict, decree”). Pronunciation: /juːˈkeɪz/, /ˈjuːkeɪs/ 1. An authoritative proclamation; an edict, especially decreed by a Russian czar or later ruler. Example: Many estates peopled with crown peasants have been, according to an ukase of Peter the Great, ceded to particular individuals on condition of establishing manufactories […] Example: An Ukase, it appears, has been issued by the Emperor Alexander, to facilitate the introduction of calimancoes and other Norwich goods into his Empire. 2. Any absolutist order or arrogant proclamation Labels: figuratively Example: I knew a stunned plunge of disappointment and a bitter anger. What right had he to issue such an arbitrary ukase? Example: It is a short step from discovering that the world we know is a fake or a cheat to discovering that human beings are themselves factitious: that we are robots, ‘simulacra’ (the title of one of Dick’s novels), ‘just reflex machines’, ‘repeating doomed patterns, a single pattern, over and over’ in accordance with biological or economic ukases.
Word: authoritative Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₂owg-éye-ti Proto-Italic *augejō Proto-Italic *augeō Latin augeō Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin auctor Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin auctōritāsbor. Old French autoritébor. Middle English auctorite English authorit(y) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātuslbor. English -ate Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Old French -ifbor. Middle English -yf English -ive English -ative English authoritative From authorit(y) + -ative. Pronunciation: /ɔːˈθɒɹɪtətɪv/, /ɔːˈθɒɹɪtɪv/, /əˈθɔɹɪˌteɪtɪv/, /əˈθɑɹɪˌteɪtɪv/, /ɔ-/ 1. Arising or originating from a figure of authority. Example: The authoritative rules in this school come not from the headmaster but from the aged matron. 2. Highly accurate or definitive; treated or worthy of treatment as a scholarly authority. Example: This book is the world's most authoritative guide to insect breeding habits. 3. Having a commanding style. Example: He instructed us in that booming, authoritative voice of his. Example: The fourth model is called the enlightment model: Actors are seen to be responsible for problems but unable or unwilling to provide solutions. They are believed to need discipline provided by authoritative guidance. The Alcoholic Anonymous^([sic]) groups are considered prototypical for this model.
Word: elbow grease Part of Speech: noun 1. Effort or hard work, especially physical work involving repeated motion of the forearm, such as scrubbing. Labels: idiomatic, uncountable Example: It is astonishing what miserable saws are sometimes used by mechanics, or those claiming to be such. The only way they can be coaxed or driven through the wood is by having an enormous set, a liberal use of oil, and another lubricator called elbow-grease. Example: When we were young we used to be told, in our house at home, that "elbow-grease" was the one essential necessary to getting a tough piece of work well done. If a mahogany table was to be made to shine, it was elbow-grease that the operation needed.
Word: junk mail Part of Speech: noun 1. Any mail or letters that are not welcome or solicited and typically sent in bulk; especially mail of a commercial nature such as advertising circulars and form letters. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: I don't believe it. Junk mail that talks back. Example: In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result.
Word: rara avis Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Unadapted borrowing from Latin rāra avis (“rare bird”). The synonym rare bird is attested earlier. The term is a quotation from Satire VI (written late 1st century – early 2nd century C.E.) of the Roman poet Juvenal: “Rara avis in terris, nigroque simillima cygno [a bird as rare upon the earth as a black swan]!”. The plural form rarae aves is a learned borrowing from Latin rārae avēs. Pronunciation: /ˌɹɑːɹə ˈeɪvɪs/, /ˌɹɛː-/, /-ˈɑːvɪs/, /-ˈævɪs/, /ˌɹɑɹə ˈeɪvɪs/ 1. A rare species or type of bird. Example: Ramsay flung open the door. "Lord Fred—damn it we are all in the lurch!", he exclaimed, […] "my rara avises have taken wing and flown off." / "What were they actually, Ramsay?" asked Newbank. / "Two black swans," replied he—"the finest creatures ever were beheld, except another of the kind that is in company with them, though I understand there is more of the breed." Example: Over the next eight months, with practically no funding except for what I could borrow, with an afflicted conscience, from my mother, I scoured the remotest corners of Cuba for rarae aves. I hitchhiked, jumped freight trains, cajoled guajiros into lending me their mules, slept in caves or beneath the canopies of immense ceiba trees. Cuba's landscape had changed so dramatically in only a decade that even the once populous birds that Dr. Forrest and I had collected were nowhere to be found, or found, at most, as singletons or in minuscule bands. 2. A rare or unique, and thus outstanding or unusual, person or thing; a rare bird. Labels: figuratively Example: That Parsons girl is quite the rara avis if you ask me. Example: And yet I knovv a Man vvho is all I have here deſcribed. But a ſingle Inſtance (and I really knovv not ſuch another) is not ſufficient to juſtify us, […] Such Raræ Aves ſhould be remitted to the Epitaph-VVriter, or to ſome Poet, vvho may condeſcend to hitch him in a Diſtich, or to ſlide him into a Rhime vvith an Air of Careleſneſs and Neglect, vvithout giving any Offence to the Reader.
Word: form letter Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Compound of form + letter. 1. A letter that is written generically with blanks to be filled in with individual details, often sent in bulk, and frequently regarded as impersonal. Example: For my trouble, they sent me a form letter with my name misspelled.
Word: purdah Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from Hindustani پردہ / पर्दा (pardā), and its etymon Classical Persian پرده (pardah, “curtain; screen; (archaic) veil”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”). Doublet of patka. Pronunciation: /ˈpɜːdə/, /-dɑː/, /ˈpɝdə/ 1. A curtain, especially one used in some Hindu or Muslim traditions to conceal women from the gaze of people, particularly men and strangers. Labels: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, South-Asia, also, countable, figuratively Example: As she passed through the dining-room she heard, behind the purdah that cloaked the drawing-room door, her husband's voice, […] Example: "Come and see my wife a little then," said Hamidullah, and they spent twenty minutes behind the purdah. 2. A long veil or other attire covering most of the body, worn by women in some Muslim societies. Labels: broadly, countable 3. The situation or system of secluding women from the gaze of people, particularly men and strangers, in some Muslim and Hindu traditions, by using a curtain or screen, and/or wearing a face veil or attire covering most of the body. Labels: broadly, uncountable Example: He was won by her love for him, by a loyalty that implied something more than submission, and by her efforts to educate herself against that lifting of the purdah that would come in the next generation if not in theirs. 4. Keeping apart; isolation, seclusion; also, concealment, secrecy. Labels: broadly, figuratively, uncountable Example: The diagnosis of Kit's malady was soon verified, and Fleur went into purdah. Example: Still, though the lettrist movement was not casual—members might be fined, put in purdah, or even expelled for malingering—aesthetic pluralism remained in effect. 5. The period between the announcement of an election or referendum and its conclusion, during which civil servants refrain from making policy announcements or taking actions that could be seen as advantageous to certain candidates in the election. Labels: UK, broadly, countable Example: Despite Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris's reassurance that "the White Paper is coming" it was further delayed by the period of purdah that preceded local elections held on May 6. 6. A striped cotton cloth which is used to make curtains. Labels: broadly, obsolete, rare, uncountable
Word: derailleur Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Unadapted borrowing from French dérailleur, from dérailler (“to derail”) + -eur (suffix forming masculine agent nouns from verbs). Dérailler is derived from dé- (prefix meaning ‘away; from; off’) + rail (“rail”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to righten; to straighten”)) + -er (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs). Doublet of derailer. Pronunciation: /dɪˈɹeɪl(j)ə/, /dəˈɹeɪləɹ/ 1. A mechanism on a bicycle wheel used while cycling to move the bicycle chain from one sprocket (gear) to another, to change speeds. Example: [H. A. G.] Keates again rode a fully-equipped machine (lamp excepted) and used a derailleur gear. It was probably this variation which enabled him to progress so well against the wind and yet take full advantage of its assistance on the return trip. Example: The chain is guided by dérailleurs from one sprocket to another, front and rear, until the gear ratio desired is reached. […] Generally the problems in this area will be with the dérailleurs or the chain. Still, it is possible that a bad chain will have worn the teeth on the freewheel or the front sprocket. 2. The entire gearset on a bicycle with such a mechanism.
Word: substantial Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English substancial, substantiall, from Old French substanciel, substantiel and its etymon Latin substantiālis. Pronunciation: /səbˈstænʃəl/ 1. Having a substance; actually existing. Example: substantial life 2. Not imaginary; real; actual; true; veritable. Example: 1850s, Cardinal John Henry Newman, The Rise and Progress of Universities to do some substantial good, is the compensation for much incidental imperfection 3. Corporeal; material; firm. 4. Having good substance; strong; stout; solid; firm. Example: substantial cloth Example: a substantial fence or wall 5. Addressing the substance of an injury Example: Substantial damages (i.e. damages set at a level that exactly covers the plaintiff's losses; synonym: compensatory damgages) 6. Possessed of goods or an estate; moderately wealthy. Example: a substantial freeholder 7. Large in size, quantity, or value; ample; significant. Example: He inherited a substantial amount of money from his uncle. Example: A substantial number of people went to the event. 8. Most important; essential. 9. Satisfying; having sufficient substance to be nourishing or filling. Example: I don't just want a snack; I need something substantial. Example: Teddy had a few crackers in his backpack, but he needed something more substantial if he was to survive a three-day trek.
Word: substantial Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English substancial, substantiall, from Old French substanciel, substantiel and its etymon Latin substantiālis. Pronunciation: /səbˈstænʃəl/ 1. Anything having substance; an essential part.
Word: Grub Street Part of Speech: name Etymology: After Grub Street in London, England (now named Milton Street), a haunt of and home to impoverished writers. 1. The home or state of impoverished writers and literary hacks. Example: Upon the occasion of his first publication he quit his day job, only to find that Grub Street wasn't lined with manors and villas but hovels and slums. Example: Not that the existence of Grub street is to be doubted: it was, indeed, a grim actuality, and many a garreter realised by experience How unhappy's the fate To live by one's pate And to be forced to write hackney for bread.
Word: conspecific Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From con- + specific. Pronunciation: /ˌkɑnspəˈsɪfɪk/, /ˌkɒnspəˈsɪfɪk/ 1. Relating to the same species. Labels: not-comparable
Word: conspecific Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From con- + specific. Pronunciation: /ˌkɑnspəˈsɪfɪk/, /ˌkɒnspəˈsɪfɪk/ 1. An organism belonging to the same species as another. Example: I duly laid on Adam the privilege and obligations of a conspecific.
Word: rusticate Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Borrowed from Latin rūsticātus, perfect active participle of rūsticor (“to live in the countryside”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), originally in the same sense. First attested in the mid-17th century. By surface analysis, rustic + -ate (verb-forming suffix). Pronunciation: /ˈrʌstɪkeɪt/ 1. To be suspended or expelled temporarily from the university, either compulsorily or voluntarily. Labels: ambitransitive Example: The college rusticated him after he failed all his exams. Example: I was very unwell, so I had to rusticate for a year. 2. To construct so as to produce jagged or heavily textured surfaces. Labels: transitive 3. To compel to live in or to send to the countryside; to cause to become rustic. Labels: transitive 4. To go to reside in the country. Labels: intransitive Example: So alarming did the state of my finances become, that I soon realized that I must either leave the metropolis and rusticate somewhere in the country, or that I must make a complete alteration in my style of living.
Word: rustication Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree English rusticate Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiōlbor. Old French -ationbor. Middle English -acioun English -ation English -ion English rustication From rusticate + -ion. 1. Residence in the country. Labels: uncountable 2. The act or process of rusticating. Labels: countable, uncountable 3. The result of having been rusticated. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: "You don't think he'll rusticate us, or any thing of that sort?" said Tom, who had felt horrible twinges at the captain's picture of the effects of rustication on ordinary mortals. 4. The process of posting a person or relocating a unit from London (or a command HQ) to elsewhere in the country. Labels: UK, countable, uncountable
Word: rusticator Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From rusticate + -or. 1. The instigator or perpetrator of rustication.
Word: heterospecific Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sḿ̥teros Proto-Hellenic *hə́teros Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros)lbor. English hetero- English specific English heterospecific From hetero- + specific. 1. Of or belonging to a different species.
Word: heterospecific Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sḿ̥teros Proto-Hellenic *hə́teros Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros)lbor. English hetero- English specific English heterospecific From hetero- + specific. 1. An organism belonging to a different species to another.
Word: chordate Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from Translingual Chordata. Pronunciation: /ˈkɔːdeɪt/, /ˈkɔːɹdeɪt/ 1. A member of the phylum Chordata; numerous animals having a notochord at some stage of their development; in vertebrates this develops into the spine.
Word: chordate Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Borrowed from Translingual Chordata. Pronunciation: /ˈkɔːdeɪt/, /ˈkɔːɹdeɪt/ 1. Of such animals. Labels: not-comparable
Word: cotton gin Part of Speech: noun 1. A machine used for separating cotton fibers from cotton seeds, etc. Example: Historians argue about the drivers of the British Industrial Revolution of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, but all recognize the profound social changes resulting from the exploitation of coal and iron, the building of canals, the development of clever new machines such as the spinning jenny and cotton gin for the textile industry.
Word: notochord Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From noto- + chord. 1. A flexible rodlike structure that forms the main support of the body in the lowest chordates; a primitive spine. 2. A similar structure found in the embryos of vertebrates from which the spine develops.
Word: unlined Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English lined English unlined From un- + lined. 1. Without lining; without liner. Labels: not-comparable Example: The bitter wind made me wish I hadn't opted for that unlined coat. Example: To keep constructional costs to a minimum track formations were narrower than is now customary, many tunnels were unlined, timber was largely used for bridging, and 85 lb. per yd. rails were regarded as adequate. 2. Unmarked by lines, especially of the skin. Labels: not-comparable Example: Even on her 70th birthday, her skin remains unlined. Example: [...] all other classes are painted in unlined green.
Word: unchained Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English chained English unchained From un- + chained. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈt͡ʃeɪnd/ 1. Free from chains or fetters; unencumbered.
Word: unchained Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English chained English unchained From un- + chained. Pronunciation: /ʌnˈt͡ʃeɪnd/ 1. simple past and past participle of unchain Labels: form-of, participle, past
Word: partially Part of Speech: adv Etymology: Etymology tree English partial Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English partially From partial + -ly. Pronunciation: /ˈpɑɹʃəli/, /ˈpɑːʃəli/ 1. To a partial degree or extent, incompletely. Labels: not-comparable Example: In all 5 untreated coeliacs as well as the 3 partially treated coeliacs who were in relapse at the time of biopsy, villi were entirely absent.
Word: workhouse Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English werkhous, from Old English weorchūs (“workshop, place of manufacture”), from Proto-Germanic *werkahūsą, equivalent to work + house. 1. An institution for homeless poor people funded by the local parish, where the able-bodied were required to work. Labels: UK, historical Example: Among other public buildings in a certain town which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, it boasts of one which is common to most towns, great or small, to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born, […] the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter. Example: "I don't want to spoil any comparison you are going to make," said Jim, "but I was at Winchester and New College." / "That will do," said Mackenzie. "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve.[…]" 2. A prison in which the sentence includes manual labour. Labels: US 3. A place of manufacture; a factory. Labels: archaic Example: He carefully guarded his secret, but it got out, and, when he had his invention almost completed, some men broke open his workhouse and carried it away. It was afterward returned, but his plan had been copied, and from the copy many machines were made.
Word: workhouse Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English werkhous, from Old English weorchūs (“workshop, place of manufacture”), from Proto-Germanic *werkahūsą, equivalent to work + house. 1. To place (a person) in the workhouse (institution for the poor). Labels: UK, historical, transitive
Word: unwed Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English wed English unwed From un- (not) + wed. 1. Not married. Labels: not-comparable
Word: unwed Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English wed English unwed From un- (not) + wed. 1. One who is not married; a bachelor or a spinster. Example: Should unweds living together receive the same social benefits as married couples? Example: Perhaps the most awkward situation for the inexperienced young landlady was how to deal with “unweds.”
Word: unwed Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂éntsder. Proto-Germanic *anda- Proto-West Germanic *anda- Old English and- Old English on- Middle English on- English un- English wed English unwed From un- (to reverse) + wed. 1. To annul the marriage of. Labels: transitive Example: At last it was determined to unwed the unhappy pair, during the arrangements for which the husband was arrested and put into jail for six months for rioting. 2. To separate. Labels: figuratively, transitive Example: A singer must be a fool indeed if you do not hear through Sullivan's notes the exact language of any song. Take, for example, the well-known Sentry song in Iolanthe and attempt to unwed the wit of the air from the wit of the thought and words; […]
Word: jaded Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From jade (“worn-out horse”), possibly from Old Norse jalda (“mare”). Jade as a term of abuse for a woman dates from 1560. Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒeɪdɪd/ 1. Bored or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having been overexposed to, or having consumed too much of something. Example: When she came, I could see at a glance she was tired and jaded and worried, and so, instead of letting her fret about in the hotel and get into a wearing tangle of gossip, I packed her and two knapsacks up, and started off on a long, refreshing, easy-going walk northward, until a blister on her foot stranded us at the Magenruhe Hotel on the Sneejoch. Example: But now I am jaded / You're out of luck / I'm rolling down the stairs / Too drunk to fuck 2. Worn out, wearied, exhausted or lacking enthusiasm, due to age or experience. 3. Made callous or cynically insensitive, by experience.
Word: jaded Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From jade (“worn-out horse”), possibly from Old Norse jalda (“mare”). Jade as a term of abuse for a woman dates from 1560. Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒeɪdɪd/ 1. simple past and past participle of jade Labels: form-of, participle, past