nandhakumarms/qualc-wiktionary-en huggingface dataset:
Word: berserker Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from Old Norse berserkr (“Norse warrior who fights with frenzy”), probably from bjǫrn (“bear”) + serkr (“coat; shirt”), referring to the bearskins worn by the warriors. Bjǫrn is possibly ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”); and serkr from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; thread”). Alternatively, it has been suggested that the first element of the word is from berr (“bare, naked”), suggesting warriors who went into battle without armour, but this is now thought unlikely. Doublet of berserk. The word was introduced in English by the Scottish author and historian Walter Scott (1771–1832) in Illustrations of Northern Antiquities (1814) (spelled berserkir), and in his novel The Pirate (1822) (spelled berserkar). The sense “type of von Neumann probe whose mission is to exterminate alien lifeforms” was coined by the American author Fred Saberhagen (1930–2007) in 1963 in his Berserker series of novels and short stories. Cognates * Icelandic berserkur * Swedish bärsärk Pronunciation: /ˈbɜːsɜːkə/, /bəˈzɜːkə/, /bɜː-/, /-ˈsɜːkə/, /ˈbɚˌsɚkɚ/ 1. A Norse warrior who purportedly fought in a trance-like frenzy; a berserk. Labels: historical 2. One who fights as if frenzied, like a berserker. Labels: broadly 3. A type of von Neumann probe whose mission is to exterminate alien lifeforms. Labels: broadly
Word: besiege Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English besegen, bisegen, equivalent to be- (“around, about”) + siege. Pronunciation: /bəˈsiːd͡ʒ/ 1. To beset or surround with armed forces for the purpose of compelling to surrender, to lay siege to, beleaguer. Labels: transitive 2. To beleaguer, to vex, to lay siege to, to beset. Labels: figuratively, transitive Example: When it arrived, the train was headed by a "K" class 4-6-0 wood-burning locomotive, and a water-tank wagon next to the tender was immediately besieged by women and girls, clad in their picturesque national costume, all with empty kerosene tins for water, a scene which was re-enacted at each stop down the line. Example: They should have inflicted a much heavier loss on their besieged opponents, the highlight being a late goal for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins on debut after he came on as a substitute. 3. To assail or ply, as with requests or demands. Labels: transitive Example: The box office was besieged by fans wanting tickets.
Word: betray Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English betrayen, bitrayen (“to commit an act of treason against”), equivalent to be- + tray (“to betray”). Middle English bi- is from Old English be- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at, near”). Compare also traitor, treason, tradition. The modern sense “to disclose, discover, reveal unintentionally” is due to influence from or merger with English bewray (“to reveal, divulge”), which is similar in sound and meaning. The similarity with German betrügen, Dutch bedriegen, from Proto-West Germanic *bidreugan (“to betray, deceive”), is coincidental. Pronunciation: /bɪˈtɹeɪ/, /bəˈtɹeɪ/ 1. To deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or fraud, in violation of trust; to give up treacherously or faithlessly. Labels: transitive Example: An officer betrayed the city. Example: He betrayed his own sister to the secret police. 2. To prove faithless or treacherous to, as to a trust or one who trusts; to be false to; to deceive. Labels: transitive Example: to betray a person or a cause Example: Quresh betrayed Sunil to marry Nuzhat. 3. To violate the confidence of, by disclosing a secret, or that which one is bound in honor not to make known. Labels: transitive 4. To disclose (a secret, etc.) in deliberate violation of someone’s confidence. Labels: transitive Example: The dead leap at the throat, destroy The meaning of the day; dark forms Have scaled your walls, and spies betray Old secrets to amorphous swarms. 5. To disclose or indicate, for example something which prudence would conceal; to reveal unintentionally. Labels: transitive Example: Though he had lived in England for many years, a faint accent betrayed his Swedish origin. Example: Jones’ sad eyes betray a pervasive pain his purposefully spare dialogue only hints at, while the perfectly cast [Josh] Brolin conveys hints of playfulness and warmth while staying true to the craggy stoicism at the character’s core. 6. To mislead; to expose to inconvenience not foreseen; to lead into error or sin. Labels: transitive 7. To lead astray; to seduce (as under promise of marriage) and then abandon. Labels: transitive
Word: biceps Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwís Proto-Italic *dwis Old Latin duis Latin bis substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap-? Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *káput Proto-Italic *kaput Proto-Indo-European *ís Proto-Italic *is Proto-Italic *-kaput-isder. Old Latin -cipesder. Latin -ceps Latin bicepsder. English biceps Derived from Latin biceps (“double-headed, two-peaked”), from bis (“twice”) + -ceps (“headed”). Pronunciation: /ˈbaɪ.sɛps/ 1. Any muscle having two heads. Example: The leg is bent by the action of the flexor muscles situated on the back of the thigh, the chief of these being called the biceps of the leg. 2. Specifically, the biceps brachii, the flexor of the elbow. Example: The arm muscles are the show muscles of the physique. When someone asks to "see your muscles," they are most likely referring to your arms, and more specifically, your biceps. 3. The upper arm, especially the collective muscles of the upper arm. Labels: informal Example: Today, Stonewall's flexed biceps measure 18 inches around. Example: Biting her lip, she held his biceps for balance and waded farther. 4. A point in a metrical pattern that can be filled either with one long syllable (a longum) or two short syllables (two brevia). Example: Also it is advisable to distinguish this ( ˘ ˘ ) — ˘ ˘ — rhythm, where the princeps was probably shorter in duration than the biceps (as in the dactylic hexameter), from true (marching) anapaests, in which they were equal. Example: This means that in the metrical sequence[…] recited in ordinary speech rhythm, the princeps occupied a slightly shorter time than the biceps (5:6), and if a long syllable was used to fill the biceps it had to be dragged a little[…]
Word: bifurcation Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree English bifurcate 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 bifurcation From bifurcate + -ion. Pronunciation: /ˌbaɪfəˈkeɪʃən/, /ˌbaɪfɚˈkeɪʃən/ 1. A division into two branches. Labels: countable, uncountable 2. Any place where one thing divides into two. Labels: broadly, countable, uncountable 3. The act of bifurcating; branching or dividing in two. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: “Get away from me, freak.” “Actually, my designation is Logic-y. I take issue with the pejorative when I am simply a product of your self-inflicted bifurcation.” 4. Either of the forks or other branches resultant from such a division. Labels: countable, uncountable 5. A place where two roads, tributaries etc. part or meet. Labels: countable, uncountable 6. The point where a channel divides when proceeding from seaward. Labels: countable, uncountable 7. The change in the qualitative or topological structure of a given family as described by bifurcation theory. Labels: countable, uncountable 8. A command that executes one block or other of commands depending on the result of a condition. Labels: countable, uncountable
Word: biggest Part of Speech: adj Pronunciation: /ˈbɪɡ.ɪst/, /ˈbɪɡ.əst/ 1. superlative form of big: most big Labels: form-of, superlative
Word: biggest Part of Speech: noun Pronunciation: /ˈbɪɡ.ɪst/, /ˈbɪɡ.əst/ 1. Something that is bigger than all others in its class. Example: The Guinness Book of Records lists many biggests.
Word: biologist Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-der. Ancient Greek βίος (bíos) Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek -λογῐ́ᾱ (-logĭ́ā)bor. Latin -logia New Latin biologialbor. English biology Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Hellenic *-tās Ancient Greek -τής (-tḗs) Ancient Greek -ῐστής (-ĭstḗs)bor. Latin -istader. Old French -istebor. Middle English -ist English -ist English biologist From biology + -ist. Pronunciation: /baɪˈɒləd͡ʒɪst/ 1. A student or professor of biology; one versed in the science of biology. Example: Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus.[…]A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that. Developed as a tool to electronically combine the sharpest bits of multiple digital images, focus stacking is a boon to biologists seeking full focus on a micron scale. Example: Wildlife biologist Stanley Temple hypothesised that perhaps the dodo tree was dependent on its seeds passing through the digestive system of dodos in order to properly germinate and that the handful of individuals in the 1970s were the last remaining trees from seeds that passed through a dodo in the 1690s-1700s when they went extinct.
Word: bipedal Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From biped + -al. Pronunciation: /ˌbaɪˈpiːdəl/, /ˌbaɪˈpɛdəl/ 1. Walking on two feet or two legs; biped. Labels: not-comparable Example: Initial reports indicate the vessel contains a large number of intelligent bipedal aliens in some form of hibernation. 2. Pertaining to a biped. Labels: not-comparable Example: bipedal locomotion
Word: bivouac Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Unadapted borrowing from French bivouac (earlier biouac, bivac), from Alemannic German Biiwacht (“reinforcements of guard or town watch”), from bii- + Wacht (“watch, guard”). Pronunciation: /ˈbɪv.u.æk/, /ˈbɪv.wæk/ 1. An encampment for the night, usually without tents or covering. Example: Townsend hare inhabit this area, particularly above the cabin, and a skier is likely to have one explode from a tree well and disappear into the whiteness as he skis by. Life is a constant bivouac for them -- they spend days huddled in tree wells during storms -- but I suspect they are as content and warm in their luxurious coats as we are in a cabin. 2. Any temporary encampment. 3. A temporary shelter constructed generally for a few nights. Example: Behold the Mansion reared by Dædal Jack! See the Malt stored in many a plethoric sack, In the proud cirque of Juan's bivouac! Example: The outing begins by Thursday noon, when the recreational vehicles start rumbling into town and their owners set up bivouacs. 4. The watch of a whole army by night, when in danger of surprise or attack. Labels: dated 5. A structure formed by migratory ants out of their own bodies to protect the queen and larvae.
Word: bivouac Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Unadapted borrowing from French bivouac (earlier biouac, bivac), from Alemannic German Biiwacht (“reinforcements of guard or town watch”), from bii- + Wacht (“watch, guard”). Pronunciation: /ˈbɪv.u.æk/, /ˈbɪv.wæk/ 1. To set up camp. Labels: intransitive, transitive Example: We'll bivouac here tonight. Example: They reached the fir wood which had caused them so much trouble while it was still daylight, and bivouacked in a hollow just above it. It was tedious gathering the fire wood; […] 2. To watch at night or be on guard, as a whole army. Labels: intransitive 3. To encamp for the night without tents or covering. Labels: intransitive
Word: bland Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mel- Proto-Indo-European *meld- Proto-Indo-European *mland-der. Latin blandusbor. English bland Borrowed from Latin blandus (“pleasant”). Pronunciation: /blænd/, [bleənd] ~ [blɛənd], /bland/, /blæːnd/, [bleːnd] ~ [blɛːnd] 1. Having a soothing effect; not irritating or stimulating. Example: a bland oil Example: a bland diet 2. Lacking in taste or flavor. Example: The coffee was bland. 3. Lacking in vigor. Example: First and foremost, alternative country artists generally claim to reject mainstream country music as musically indistinguishable from bland pop music, as lyrically superficial, and as having no artistic merit […] 4. Lacking interest; boring; dull. Labels: figuratively Example: bland comment Example: He's reading Balzac and knocking back Prozac / It's a helping hand that makes you feel wonderfully bland 5. Mild; soft, gentle, balmy; smooth in manner; suave. Labels: archaic Example: Where didst thou find, young Bard, thy sounding lyre? / Where the bland accent, and the tender tone? Example: “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron;[…]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.
Word: bland Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English blanden, blonden, from Old English blandan (“to blend, mix, mingle; trouble, disturb, corrupt”), from Proto-Germanic *blandaną (“to mix, blend”). Cognate with Icelandic blanda, Norwegian, Danish blande, Swedish blanda. See also blend. Pronunciation: /blænd/, [bleənd] ~ [blɛənd], /bland/, /blæːnd/, [bleːnd] ~ [blɛːnd] 1. To mix; blend; mingle. Labels: UK, dialectal, transitive 2. To connect; associate. Labels: UK, dialectal, transitive
Word: bland Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English bland, from Old English bland, blond (“blending, mixture, confusion”), from Proto-Germanic *blandą (“a mixing, mixture”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlendʰ- (“to grow turbid, dim, see badly, be blind”). Cognate with Icelandic blanda (“a mixture of liquids, especially of hot whey and water”). Pronunciation: /blænd/, [bleənd] ~ [blɛənd], /bland/, /blæːnd/, [bleːnd] ~ [blɛːnd] 1. Mixture; union. Labels: UK, countable, dialectal, uncountable 2. A summer beverage prepared from the whey of churned milk, common among the inhabitants of the Shetland Islands. Labels: countable, uncountable
Word: blanch Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English blaunchen, from Old French blanchir, from Old French blanc (“white”), from Early Medieval Latin blancus, from Frankish *blank, from Proto-Germanic *blankaz (“bright, shining, blinding, white”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ- (“to shine”). Cognates Cognate with blench (“to deceive, to trick”) through Proto-Indo-European, whence other etymology of blanch. Pronunciation: /blɑːnt͡ʃ/, /blænt͡ʃ/ 1. To grow or become white. Labels: intransitive Example: His cheek blanched with fear. Example: The rose blanches in the sun. 2. To take the color out of, and make white; to bleach. Labels: transitive Example: to blanch linen Example: Age has blanched his hair. 3. To cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water. Labels: transitive 4. To whiten, for example the surface of meat, by plunging into boiling water and afterwards into cold, so as to harden the surface and retain the juices. Labels: transitive 5. To bleach by excluding light, for example the stalks or leaves of plants by earthing them up or tying them together. Labels: transitive 6. To make white by removing the skin of, for example by scalding. Labels: transitive Example: to blanch almonds 7. To give a white lustre to (silver, before stamping, in the process of coining) Labels: transitive 8. To cover (sheet iron) with a coating of tin. Labels: intransitive 9. To give a favorable appearance to; to whitewash; to whiten; Labels: figuratively, transitive Example: c. 1680, John Tillotson, The indispensable necessity of the knowledge of the Holy Scripture Blanch over the blackest and most absurd things.
Word: blanch Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Variant of blench, of same Proto-Indo-European origin. Pronunciation: /blɑːnt͡ʃ/, /blænt͡ʃ/ 1. To avoid, as from fear; to evade; to leave unnoticed. Example: Ifs and ands to qualify words of treason; whereby every man might express his malice, and blanch his danger. Example: I suppose you will not blanch Paris in your way. 2. To cause to turn aside or back. Example: to blanch a deer 3. To use evasion. Example: Books will speak plain, when counsellors blanch.
Word: blazer Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English blasour (“one who over-praises”), from blasen (“to blow; to sound a blast”) + -our (suffix forming agent nouns). Blasen is possibly derived from Old English *blǣsan (“to blow”), from Proto-West Germanic *blāsan (“to blow”), from Proto-Germanic *blēsaną (“to blow”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to blow”), from *bʰel- (“to blow; to swell up”). By surface analysis, blaze (“to blow (a trumpet); to announce publicly, publish”, verb) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns). Pronunciation: /ˈbleɪzə/, /ˈbleɪzəɹ/ 1. One who blazes (“announces or proclaims something publicly”); an announcer, a herald, a proclaimer. Labels: archaic, obsolete Example: VVithin the Barbican a Porter ſate, / Day and night duely keeping vvatch and vvard, / Nor vvight, nor vvord mote paſſe out of the gate, / But in good order, and vvith devv regard; / Vtterers of ſecrets he from thence debard, / Bablers of folly, and blazers of cryme. Example: To have their blazers abroad to ſee out their virtues, and to prepare their friends in every Province.
Word: blazer Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English blaseyr (“one who blazons coats of arms”), probably from blasen (“to inscribe with armorial bearings, emblazon; to blazon a coat of arms”) + -er, -ir (suffix forming agent nouns). Blasen is probably derived from blason, blasoun (“shield usually with a coat of arms; coat of arms”), from Old French blason (“shield; coat of arms”) (modern French blason); further etymology uncertain, probably from Frankish *blãsjan (“to light up, brighten, illuminate”), from Proto-West Germanic *blasā (“a flame, blaze; a firebrand, torch”) (see further at etymology 1). By surface analysis, blaze (“(heraldry) to blazon”, verb) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns). Pronunciation: /ˈbleɪzə/, /ˈbleɪzəɹ/ 1. Synonym of blazoner (“one who blazons (“describes”) coats of arms; a herald”). Labels: obsolete Example: But now it is tyme to come to the auncient Poets, which were alſo Philoſophers, and who by their feynings opened the gap to the pluralitie of Gods. Amang theſe the firſt that wee méete with is Orpheus, whom Iuſtine calleth the firſt Author of them, the firſt giuer of names vnto them, and the firſt blazer of their Pedegrées.
Word: bleak Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English bleke (also bleche, whence the English doublet bleach (“pale, bleak”)), and bleike (due to Old Norse), and earlier Middle English blak, blac (“pale, wan”), from Old English blǣc, blǣċ, blāc (“bleak, pale, pallid”) and Old Norse bleikr (“pale, whitish”), all from Proto-Germanic *blaikaz (“pale, shining”). Cognate with Dutch bleek (“pale, wan, pallid”), Low German blek (“pale”), German bleich (“pale, wan, sallow”), Danish bleg (“pale”), Swedish blek (“pale, pallid”), Norwegian Bokmål bleik, blek (“pale”), Norwegian Nynorsk bleik (“pale”), Faroese bleikur (“pale”), Icelandic bleikur (“pale, pink”). Pronunciation: /bliːk/ 1. Without color; pale; pallid. Example: When she came out she looked as pale and as bleak as one that were laid out dead. 2. Desolate and exposed; swept by cold winds. Example: a bleak and bare rock Example: a bleak, crater-pocked moonscape 3. Unhappy; cheerless; miserable; emotionally desolate. Example: Downtown Albany felt bleak that February after the divorce. Example: A bleak future is in store for you.
Word: bleak Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English bleke (“small river fish, bleak, blay”), perhaps an alteration (due to Old English blǣc (“bright”) or Old Norse bleikja) of Old English blǣġe (“bleak, blay, gudgeon”); or perhaps from a diminutive of Middle English *bleye (“blay”), equivalent to blay + -ock or blay + -kin. See blay. Pronunciation: /bliːk/ 1. A small European river fish (Alburnus alburnus), of the family Cyprinidae.
Word: bleb Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Possibly onomatopoeic, similarly to blob and blubber. Pronunciation: /blɛb/ 1. A bubble, such as in paint or glass. 2. A large vesicle or bulla, usually containing a serous fluid. Example: 2008, Lin Her-Shyuan Lin, Adam C, Reynolds, 180: Filtering Blebs and Associated Problems, Frederick Hampton Roy, Frederick W. Fraunfelder, Frederick T. Fraunfelder (editors), Roy and Fraunfelder's Current Ocular Therapy, 6th Edition, page 340, Inflammation and scarring is a shared mechanism for chemical irritants, cryotherapy, laser thermotherapy, and autologous blood injection in the treatment of bleb dysesthesia, overfiltering blebs, and bleb leaks. Example: 2009, Anthony Wells, Tina Wong, Jonathan G. Crowston, 79: Tenon's Cyst Formation, Wound Healing, and Bleb Evaluation: Part A: Tenon's Cyst Formation and Management, Tarek M. Shaawary, Mark B. Sherwood, Roger A. Hitchings, Jonathan G. Drowston (editors), Glaucoma, Volume 2: Surgical Management, page 236, If the leak allows bulk flow of aqueous, the rest of the bleb can collapse, allowing apposition of the inflamed inner bleb walls, which are likely to adhere. If such adherence is over most or all of the bleb area, bleb failure is probably inevitable. 3. An irregular bulge in the plasma membrane of a cell undergoing apoptosis. Example: Figure 4.20 reveals blebs on the surface of a bacterial cell. In many instances, these blebs are released from the cell into the surrounding media. Example: 2013, Louis Foucard, Xavier Espinet, Eduard Benet, Franck J. Vernerey, The Role of the Cortical Membrane in Cell Mechanics: Model and Simulation, Shaofan Li, Dong Qian (editors), Multiscale Simulations and Mechanics of Biological Materials, page 261, As the bleb grows (the growth time is on order of a minute), the actin cortex starts reassembling beneath the bleb membrane. 4. A bubble-like inclusion of one mineral within another. Example: 1974, George E. Stoertz, George E. Ericksen, Geology of Salars in Northern Chile, Geological Survey Professional Paper 811, page 32, Figure 23. […] The crust is underlain by silty sand, which is loosely cemented by a meshwork of gypsum crystals and contains blebs and small nodules of white ulexite (U).
Word: bleb Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Possibly onomatopoeic, similarly to blob and blubber. Pronunciation: /blɛb/ 1. To form, or cause the formation of, blebs. Example: And there, while big drops bow the grassy stems, / And bleb the withering hay with pearly gems,/ Dimple the brook, and patter in the leaves, / The song or tale ah hour's restraint relieves. Example: Cells were blebbed by brief exposure (5-20 s) to 2 M NaCl-NaOH (pH 10.0) and then labeled with rhodamine-conjugated Fab fragments.
Word: blithe Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English blithe (“glad, happy, joyful; causing joy, joyous; gentle, mild; gracious, merciful; bright, shining; beautiful, fair”) [and other forms], from Old English blīþe (“happy, gentle”), from Proto-West Germanic *blīþī, from Proto-Germanic *blīþiz (“friendly; gentle, mild; pleasing”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlī- (“fine; light; pleasant”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“shiny; white”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian bliede (“glad, cheerful, merry”), West Frisian bliid (“cheerful, glad”), Dutch blij (“happy”), German Low German blied (“happy, lucky”). Pronunciation: /blaɪð/, /blaɪθ/ 1. Casually careless or indifferent; showing a lack of concern; nonchalant. Example: She had a blithe disregard of cultures outside the United States. Example: From mother and nurse it was a guerilla^([sic]) gunfire of commands, and blithe, quicksilver disobedience from the three blonde, never-still little girls. 2. Cheerful, happy. Labels: Scotland Example: And now ſweet Emperour be blithe againe, And bury all thy feare in my deuiſes. Example: For that fair femal Troop thou ſawſt, that ſeemd Of Goddeſſes, ſo blithe, ſo ſmooth, ſo gay, Yet empty of good wherein conſiſts, Womans domeſtic honour and chief praiſe; […] 3. Fair, beautiful, comely; gracious, pleasant and attractive in manner. Labels: obsolete Example: Thy garters fringed with the golde, And siluer aglets hanging by, Which made thee blithe for to beholde, And yet thou wouldst not loue me. Example: There on Beds of Violets blew, And freſh-blown Roſes waſht in dew, Fill'd her with thee a daughter fair, So buckſom, blith, and debonair.
Word: bluff Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Probably from Dutch bluffen (“to brag”), from Middle Dutch bluffen (“to make something swell; to bluff”); or from the Dutch noun bluf (“bragging”). Related to German verblüffen (“to stump, perplex”). Pronunciation: /blʌf/, /blɐf/, /blʊf/ 1. An act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one’s position in order to intimidate or deceive; braggadocio. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: That is only bluff, or That is only a bluff. Example: "That's enough," announced Joolby with decision. "You've put up all the bluff you know, Carrados, and we've got you dog-beaten. […]" 2. An attempt to represent oneself as holding a stronger hand than one actually does. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: John’s bet was a bluff: he bet without even so much as a pair. 3. The card game poker. Labels: US, dated, uncountable Example: BLUFF OR POKER [title of a chapter] 4. One who bluffs; a bluffer. Labels: countable 5. Pretense, excuse. Labels: countable, dated, slang, uncountable
Word: bluff Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Probably from Dutch bluffen (“to brag”), from Middle Dutch bluffen (“to make something swell; to bluff”); or from the Dutch noun bluf (“bragging”). Related to German verblüffen (“to stump, perplex”). Pronunciation: /blʌf/, /blɐf/, /blʊf/ 1. To make a bluff; to give the impression that one’s hand is stronger than it is. Example: John bluffed by betting without even a pair. 2. To frighten, deter, or deceive with a false show of strength or confidence; to give a false impression of strength or temerity in order to intimidate or gain some advantage. Example: The government claims it will call an election if this bill does not pass. Is it truly ready to do so, or is it bluffing? 3. To perform or achieve by bluffing. Example: We bluffed our way past the guards. 4. To give false information intentionally, to lie (to someone), to deceive; to put on an act. Labels: Manglish, Singlish Example: Vinod, you want to bluff the doctor, your mother, father, uncle, auntie, CMPB all that I don't care. But you cannot bluff me.
Word: bluff Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Related to Middle Low German blaff (“smooth”). Pronunciation: /blʌf/, /blɐf/, /blʊf/ 1. A high, steep bank, for example by a river or the sea, or beside a ravine or plain; a cliff with a broad face. Example: In the sketch (which is taken about 75 Jovian days after that of the 2nd July) there is shown a dark copper-coloured streak along the southern margin of the south brown belt, butting on to a bluff-headed streak of cumulus cloud which may be the same remarkable bluff head noticed on July 2. Example: It seems there was a worm that slept upon a pile of treasure, which it had zealously heaped up under a stone bluff. 2. A small wood or stand of trees, typically poplar or willow. Labels: Canadian-Prairies
Word: bluff Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Related to Middle Low German blaff (“smooth”). Pronunciation: /blʌf/, /blɐf/, /blʊf/ 1. Having a broad, flattened front. Example: the bluff bows of a ship 2. Rising steeply with a flat or rounded front. Example: a bluff or bold shore Example: Its banks, if not really steep, had a bluff and precipitous aspect. 3. Surly; churlish; gruff; rough. Example: […] he had a bluff, rough-and-ready face, all roughened and reddened and lined in his long travels. 4. Roughly frank and hearty in one's manners. Example: a bluff answer Example: a bluff manner of talking
Word: bluff Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Possibly onomatopoeic, perhaps related to blow and puff. Pronunciation: /blʌf/, /blɐf/, /blʊf/ 1. To fluff, puff or swell up. Example: Not a sparrow on the cottage thatch, where the chimney's warmth had thawed the snow, that did not seem to have his great coat on, so bluffed out were the feathers, and not a frozen-out duck who did not glance up at the icicles hanging to the roof, and quack a prayer for rain. Example: [W]hen the bare boughs of a tree intervened between her and the rising bright but deep red sun, frosted as the twigs were, on them sat a merry flock of sparrows, the feathers on their breasts bluffed out, as if they had donned warm winter spencers to shield them from the biting blast.
Word: blurt Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Possibly imitative, or possibly an alteration of Middle English blurden (“to wail, cry out, threaten”), or possibly from Middle English *blerten, *blarten, *blorten, from Old English *blǣrettan, a frequentative or emphatic form of *blǣran (“to blear, bellow, roar”). If so, equivalent to blear + -t. Pronunciation: /ˈblɜːt/, /ˈblɝt/ 1. To utter suddenly and unadvisedly; to speak quickly or without thought; to divulge inconsiderately — commonly with out. Example: Please think about your reply and don't just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Example: "Who are you?!" he blurted into the woman's palm, and she shook it off in obvious disgust, wiping spittle onto his D-class uniform. 2. To spurt. Labels: informal, uncommon Example: the sound of rusty water blurting from the faucet in the kitchen Example: Blurted tea onto the monitor at FAL being "satisfying" and Brine's reaction . . .
Word: blurt Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Possibly imitative, or possibly an alteration of Middle English blurden (“to wail, cry out, threaten”), or possibly from Middle English *blerten, *blarten, *blorten, from Old English *blǣrettan, a frequentative or emphatic form of *blǣran (“to blear, bellow, roar”). If so, equivalent to blear + -t. Pronunciation: /ˈblɜːt/, /ˈblɝt/ 1. An abrupt outburst.
Word: bombast Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Old French bombace (“cotton, cotton wadding”), from Late Latin bombax (“cotton”), a variant of bombyx (“silkworm”), from Ancient Greek βόμβυξ (bómbux, “silkworm”), possibly related to Middle Persian pmbk' (“cotton”), from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning “to twist, wind”. Pronunciation: /ˈbɒmbæst/, /ˈbɑmbæst/, /ˈbʌmbæst/ 1. Cotton, or cotton wool. Labels: archaic, countable, uncountable Example: SURBATING; a Diſtemper in a Horſe, who is ſaid to be ſurbated, when the Sole is worn, bruiſed or ſpoiled by travelling without Shoes, or with ill ſhoeing: [...] take Frankincenſe, and rolling it in a little fine Cotton Wool or Bombaſt, with a hot Iron melt it into the Foot betwixt the Shoe and the Toe, until the Orifice, where the Blood was taken away, is fill'd up; [...] Example: This strange wool-bearing plant is of the mallow tribe. [...] Another name formerly given to the vegetable fleece was bombast. This word was in use before our ancestors were skilful enough to weave the cotton wool which was brought to them from the East in the merchant ships of Venice and Genoa. What they did not want for candle-wicks, they employed in stuffing and wadding their doublets and other articles of dress. 2. Cotton, or any soft, fibrous material, used as stuffing for garments; stuffing, padding. Labels: archaic, countable, uncountable Example: [C]ertayne I am there was neuer any kinde of apparell euer inuented, that could more diſproportion the body of man, then theſe Dublettes with great bellies hanging downe beneath their Pudenda, (as I haue ſayd) & ſtuffed with foure, fiue, or ſixe pound of Bombaſt at the least: [...] Example: Heere comes leane Iacke, heere comes bare-bone. How now my ſweet Creature of Bombaſt, how long is't agoe, Iacke, ſince thou ſaw'ſt thine owne Knee? 3. High-sounding words; language above the dignity of the occasion; a pompous or ostentatious manner of writing or speaking. Labels: countable, figuratively, uncountable Example: Bombaſt and Buffoonry, by Nature lofty and light, ſoar higheſt of all, [...] Example: And let burleſque in ballads be employ'd; / Yet noiſy bombaſt carefully avoid, / Nor think to raiſe, tho on Pharſalia's plain, "Millions of mourning mountains of the ſlain:" [...]
Word: bombast Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Old French bombace (“cotton, cotton wadding”), from Late Latin bombax (“cotton”), a variant of bombyx (“silkworm”), from Ancient Greek βόμβυξ (bómbux, “silkworm”), possibly related to Middle Persian pmbk' (“cotton”), from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning “to twist, wind”. Pronunciation: /ˈbɒmbæst/, /ˈbɑmbæst/, /ˈbʌmbæst/ 1. To swell or fill out; to inflate, to pad. Example: Their doctrine is to be seen in Jacob Behmen's books by him that hath nothing else to do, than to bestow a great deal of time to understand him that was not willing to be easily understood, and to know that his bombasted words do signify nothing more than before was easily known by common familiar terms. 2. To use high-sounding words; to speak or write in a pompous or ostentatious manner. Example: [']The ugly truth is, Gerald,' she said viciously, 'that you're a phoney, a rotten, bombasting phoney, trying to cover up from all the world,[…][']
Word: bombast Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Old French bombace (“cotton, cotton wadding”), from Late Latin bombax (“cotton”), a variant of bombyx (“silkworm”), from Ancient Greek βόμβυξ (bómbux, “silkworm”), possibly related to Middle Persian pmbk' (“cotton”), from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning “to twist, wind”. Pronunciation: /ˈbɒmbæst/, /ˈbɑmbæst/, /ˈbʌmbæst/ 1. Big without meaning, or high-sounding; bombastic, inflated; magniloquent. Example: But he (as louing his owne pride, and purpoſes) / Euades them, with a bumbaſt Circumſtance, / Horribly ſtufft with Epithites of warre, / Non-ſuites my Mediators. Example: 'Tis not ſuch Lines as almoſt crack the Stage. / When Bajazet begins to rage. / Nor a tall Met'phor in the Bombaſt way, / Nor the dry chips of ſhort-lung'd Seneca.
Word: bonanza Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-der. Ancient Greek μᾰλᾰκός (mălăkós) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek μᾰλᾰκῐ́ᾱ (mălăkĭ́ā)bor. Latin malacia ▲ Latin bonusinflu. Vulgar Latin *bonacia Spanish bonanzabor. English bonanza Borrowed from Spanish bonanza (“dead calm, fair weather, good luck, rich lode”), from Vulgar Latin *bonacia (“lull, dead calm”), in turn from Latin malacia (“calm sea”), influenced by bonus (“good”) under the false impression that initial mal- is a derivate of malus (“bad”). Pronunciation: /bəˈnæn.zə/ 1. A rich mine or vein of silver or gold. 2. The point at which two mother lodes intersect. 3. Anything which is a great source of wealth or yields a large income or return. Labels: broadly, figuratively Example: The popular show quickly became a ratings bonanza for the network. Example: For two decades the bonanza on Scotland’s west coast continued. An occupation that had been seasonal and modestly profitable became year-round and lucrative. Baskets of herring put televisions into fishermen’s cottages and cars outside their doors. But fish, like oil and gas, with which Scotland’s continental shelf is also well-endowed, are not in unlimited supply.
Word: bookish Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree English book Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Middle English -ish English -ish English bookish From book + -ish. Pronunciation: /ˈbʊkɪʃ/, [ˈbɵkɪʃ], /ˈbʉkɪʃ/, /ˈbuːkɪʃ/ 1. Fond of reading or studying, especially said of someone lacking social skills as a result. Example: From a child I was fond of reading, and all the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books. […] This bookish inclination at length determined my father to make me a printer, though he had already one son (James) of that profession. Example: A Google search reveals Gendrot has no great internet or social media footprint, but in any case, he says, the police recruiters did not delve into his background. He did change his round spectacles to look less “bookish”. 2. Characterized by a method of expression generally found in books. Example: Besides, all my New York friends were in the negative, nightmare position of putting down society and giving their tired bookish or political or psychoanalytical reasons, […] Example: Obviously, neither Corneille nor the characters who laugh at excessively bookish speech avoid literary convention.
Word: botanical Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree English botany Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ic Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al Middle English -ical English -ical English botanical From botany + -ical. Pronunciation: /bəˈtænɪkəl/ 1. Of or pertaining to botany; relating to the study of plants. Labels: not-comparable Example: a botanical system Example: a botanical textbook 2. Of or pertaining to plants; vegetable in the broad sense. Labels: nonstandard, not-comparable
Word: botanical Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree English botany Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ic Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al Middle English -ical English -ical English botanical From botany + -ical. Pronunciation: /bəˈtænɪkəl/ 1. Something derived from a botanical, especially herbal, source. Example: But where vodka stays neutral, gin is infused with botanicals — a witch’s pantry of roots, berries, herbs, dried fruits and spices — dominated by the piney, breezy aroma of juniper berries.
Word: botheration Part of Speech: intj Etymology: From bother + -ation (suffix indicating an action or process, or its result). Pronunciation: /ˌbɒðəˈɹeɪʃn̩/, /ˌbɑðəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/ 1. A mild expression of annoyance or exasperation: bother! Labels: dated, humorous, often Example: "Botheration ! Who cares ? Why don't you ask if [our ancestors] carried pocket-books ?" Example: Botheration! How she had crumpled her skirt, kneeling in that idiotic way.
Word: botheration Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From bother + -ation (suffix indicating an action or process, or its result). Pronunciation: /ˌbɒðəˈɹeɪʃn̩/, /ˌbɑðəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/ 1. The state of being bothered; annoyance, vexation. Labels: dated, humorous, often, uncountable Example: 1803, William Blake, Letter to his brother James Blake dated 30 January, 1803, in The Poetry and Prose of William Blake, edited by David V. Erdman, New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1970, p. 696, I write in great haste & with a head full of botheration about various projected works … Example: [...] I am determined to be peevish after my long day's botheration. 2. An act of bothering or annoying. Labels: countable, dated, humorous, often 3. A person or thing that causes bother, inconvenience, trouble, etc. Labels: countable, dated, humorous, often Example: [...] the by-products and botherations that go with pleasures make it hardly worth it. Sex is supposedly life's greatest pleasure and look what it gives you.
Word: brace Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English brace, from Old French brace (“arm”), from Latin bracchia, the nominative and accusative plural of bracchium (“arm”). Pronunciation: /bɹeɪs/ 1. To prepare for something bad, such as an impact or blow. Labels: intransitive, transitive Example: All hands, brace for impact! Example: Brace yourself! 2. To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly. Example: He braced himself against the crowd. Example: A sturdy lance in his right hand he braced. 3. To swing round the yards of a square rigged ship, using braces, to present a more efficient sail surface to the direction of the wind. Example: to brace the yards 4. To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police. 5. To confront with questions, demands or requests. Example: Just about then the young kid who had braced us when we came in uttered a curse and made for the door. Example: “Constable Fancy’s collecting evidence from his flat while Morse and me brace Valdemar.” 6. To furnish with braces; to support; to prop. Example: to brace a beam in a building 7. To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen. Example: to brace the nerves Example: And welcome war to brace her drums. 8. To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly. Example: The women of China[…], by bracing and binding them [their feet] from their infancy, have very little feet. Example: some who spurs had first braced on
Word: braise Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From French braise (“live coals”) and braiser (“to braise”, from the noun), from Old French brese (“embers”), from Old Low Franconian/Old Dutch; akin to Norwegian/Swedish braseld (“sparkling fire”), Norwegian/Swedish dialectal brasa (“to roast”), Danish dialectal brase (“to flambé, enflame”). Perhaps from Gothic *𐌱𐍂𐌰𐍃𐌰 (*brasa, “glowing coal”), from Proto-Germanic *brasō (“gleed, crackling coal”), Proto-Indo-European *bʰres- (“to crack, break, burst”). Cognate with Icelandic brasa (“to harden by fire”). See burst. Pronunciation: /bɹeɪz/ 1. Alternative spelling of braze. Labels: alt-of, alternative 2. A dish (usually meat) prepared by braising. Example: Pot roast is typically a braise, as is osso buco. 3. A sauce used for braising. Example: Braised cabbage is cooked in a braise of sliced bacon, one or two thickly sliced onions, one or two sliced carrots, parsley, thyme, a bay leaf, and stock to nearly cover.
Word: braise Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From French braise (“live coals”) and braiser (“to braise”, from the noun), from Old French brese (“embers”), from Old Low Franconian/Old Dutch; akin to Norwegian/Swedish braseld (“sparkling fire”), Norwegian/Swedish dialectal brasa (“to roast”), Danish dialectal brase (“to flambé, enflame”). Perhaps from Gothic *𐌱𐍂𐌰𐍃𐌰 (*brasa, “glowing coal”), from Proto-Germanic *brasō (“gleed, crackling coal”), Proto-Indo-European *bʰres- (“to crack, break, burst”). Cognate with Icelandic brasa (“to harden by fire”). See burst. Pronunciation: /bɹeɪz/ 1. To cook in a small amount of liquid, in a covered pan, somewhere between steaming and boiling. 2. Alternative spelling of braze (joining non-ferrous metal using a molten filler metal) Labels: alt-of, alternative
Word: braise Part of Speech: noun Pronunciation: /bɹeɪz/ 1. Pagellus bogaraveo, syn. Pagellus centrodontus (sea bream)
Word: breach Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English breche, from Old English bryċe (“fracture, breach”) and brǣċ (“breach, breaking, destruction”), from Proto-West Germanic *bruki, from Proto-Germanic *brukiz (“breach, fissure”) and *brēkō (“breaking”). Pronunciation: /ˈbɹiːt͡ʃ/, [ˈbɹʷɪi̯t͡ʃ], /ˈbɹit͡ʃ/ 1. A gap or opening made by breaking or battering, as in a wall, fortification or levee / embankment; the space between the parts of a solid body rent by violence. Example: "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead." Example: Services between Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Falkirk High are currently suspended, following a 30-metre breach of the Union Canal that occurred on August 12 after torrential rain and thunderstorms. The thousands of gallons of water that cascaded onto the railway line below washed away track, ballast and overhead line equipment, and undermined embankments along a 300-metre section of Scotland's busiest rail link. 2. The act of breaking, in a figurative sense. Example: But were the poet to make a total difression from his subject, and introduce a new actor, nowise connected with the personages, the imagination, feeling a breach in transition, would enter coldly into the new scene; 3. A breaking or infraction of a law, or of any obligation or tie; violation; non-fulfillment. Example: breach of promise 4. A breaking up of amicable relations, a falling out. Example: There's fallen between him and my lord / An unkind breach. 5. A difference in opinions, social class, etc. Labels: figuratively Example: For London to have its own exclusive immigration policy would exacerbate the sense that immigration benefits only certain groups and disadvantages the rest. It would entrench the gap between London and the rest of the nation. And it would widen the breach between the public and the elite that has helped fuel anti-immigrant hostility. 6. A breaking of waters, as over a vessel or a coastal defence; the waters themselves. Example: A clear breach is when the waves roll over the vessel without breaking. A clean breach is when everything on deck is swept away. Example: And Dauid came to Baal-Perazim, and Daiud ſmote them there, and ſaid, The Lord hath broken foorth vpon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. 7. A breaking out upon; an assault. Example: And Dauid was diſpleaſed, becauſe the Lord had made a breach vpon Uzza; wherefore that place is called Perez-Uzza, to this day. 8. A bruise; a wound. Labels: archaic Example: An vncouth paine torments my grieued ſoule, And death arreſts the organe of my voyce. Who entring at the breach thy ſword hath made, Sackes euery vaine and artier of my heart, […] Example: Breach, for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath cauſed a blemiſh in a man, ſo ſhall it be done to him againe. 9. A hernia; a rupture. Labels: archaic
Word: breach Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English breche, from Old English bryċe (“fracture, breach”) and brǣċ (“breach, breaking, destruction”), from Proto-West Germanic *bruki, from Proto-Germanic *brukiz (“breach, fissure”) and *brēkō (“breaking”). Pronunciation: /ˈbɹiːt͡ʃ/, [ˈbɹʷɪi̯t͡ʃ], /ˈbɹit͡ʃ/ 1. To make a breach in. Labels: transitive Example: They breached the outer wall, but not the main one. 2. To violate or break. Labels: transitive Example: breach an agreement Example: breach an accord 3. To break into a ship or into a coastal defence. Labels: transitive Example: On this occasion, the damage was far more serious. The sea wall was breached completely for a distance of over 50 yd., and the gap had to be bridged by a temporary timber viaduct. 4. To suffer a breach. Labels: intransitive Example: Picard: We don't have time for this! The Pasteur’s core is going to breach! 5. To leap out of the water. Labels: intransitive Example: The fearless whale-fishermen now found themselves in the midst of the monsters; ... some ... came jumping into the light of day, head uppermost, exhibiting their entire bodies in the sun, and falling on their sides into the water with the weight of a hundred tons, and thus "breaching" with a crash that the thunder of a park of artillery could scarcely equal. Example: But one of its most surprising feats, as has been mentioned of the genera already described, is leaping completely out of the water, or 'breaching,' as it is called. ... it seldom breaches more than twice or thrice at a time, and in quick succession. 6. To charge, convict or take legal action against someone due to not meeting a legal obligation. Labels: informal, passive, transitive, usually Example: […]the Pre-Sentence Report states that: "He was breached by the probation officer within several months of the commencement of the Probation Order for failing to report as he relocated to another Province and did not report there as directed.[…]" Example: However, you can breach your landlord if the maintenance item is considered an emergency repair under the terms of your lease.