nandhakumarms/qualc-wiktionary-en huggingface dataset:
Word: scythe Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English sythe, sithe, from Old English sīþe, sīgþe, sigdi (“sickle”), from Proto-West Germanic *sigiþi, from Proto-Germanic *sigiþiz, *sigiþō, derived from *seg- (“saw”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”). Immediate Germanic cognates include Middle Low German sēgede, Dutch zicht, Icelandic sigð (all “sickle”). More distantly related with Dutch zeis, German Sense (both “scythe”). Also akin to English saw, which see. The silent c crept in during the early 15th century owing to folk-etymological association with Medieval Latin scissor (“tailor, carver”), from Latin scindō (“to cut, rend, split”). The verb, which was first used in the intransitive sense, is from the noun. Pronunciation: /ˈsaɪð/, /ˈsaɪθ/ 1. To use a scythe. Labels: intransitive 2. To cut with a scythe. Labels: transitive 3. To cut off as with a scythe; to mow. Labels: transitive 4. To attack or injure as if cutting. Labels: figuratively, intransitive, often Example: The boy began to keen, and the high-pitched noise scythed through Song's head. Example: The smaller shells make a complete slaughterhouse of the bridge, and the splinters scythe through anyone out on deck.
Word: secondary Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English secundarie, from Latin secundārius (“of the second class or quality”), from secundus (whence the English second) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary), equivalent to second + -ary; compare the French secondaire, the Italian secondario, the Occitan secundari, the Portuguese secundario, and the Spanish secundario. Pronunciation: /ˈsɛkənd(ə)ɹɪ/, /ˈsɛkənˌdɛɹi/ 1. Next in order to the first or primary; of second place in origin, rank, etc. Labels: not-comparable, usually 2. Originating from a deputy or delegated person or body. Labels: not-comparable, usually Example: the work of secondary hands 3. Derived from a parent compound by replacement of two atoms of hydrogen by organic radicals. Labels: not-comparable, usually 4. Produced by alteration or deposition subsequent to the formation of the original rock mass. Labels: not-comparable, usually 5. Developed by pressure or other causes. Labels: not-comparable, usually Example: secondary cleavage 6. Pertaining to the second joint of the wing of a bird. Labels: not-comparable, usually 7. Dependent or consequent upon another disease, or occurring in the second stage of a disease. Labels: not-comparable, usually Example: Bright's disease is often secondary to scarlet fever. Example: the secondary symptoms of syphilis 8. Of less than primary importance. Labels: not-comparable, usually Example: a secondary issue Example: the problem of sexual equality became even more secondary than before in the eyes of the kibbutz and of its women members. 9. Related to secondary education, i.e. schooling between the ages of (approximately) 11 and 18. Labels: not-comparable, usually 10. Relating to the manufacture of goods from raw materials. Labels: not-comparable, usually 11. Formed by mixing primary colors. Labels: not-comparable, usually Example: Yellow is a secondary light color, though a primary CMYK color. 12. Representing a reversion to an ancestral state. Labels: not-comparable, usually Example: With the exception of a secondary loss in Dimecoenia, larvae of Ephydrini have prominent, ventral prolegs that bear crochets.
Word: secondary Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English secundarie, from Latin secundārius (“of the second class or quality”), from secundus (whence the English second) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary), equivalent to second + -ary; compare the French secondaire, the Italian secondario, the Occitan secundari, the Portuguese secundario, and the Spanish secundario. Pronunciation: /ˈsɛkənd(ə)ɹɪ/, /ˈsɛkənˌdɛɹi/ 1. Any flight feather attached to the ulna (forearm) of a bird. 2. A radar return generated by the response of an aircraft's transponder to an interrogation signal broadcast by a radar installation, containing additional encoded identification and situational data not available from a simple primary return. 3. The second stage of a multistage thermonuclear weapon, which generates a fusion explosion when imploded as an indirect result of the fission explosion of the primary, and which, in a few extremely large weapons, itself implodes a fusion tertiary. 4. An act of issuing more stock by an already publicly traded corporation. 5. The defensive backs. Labels: Canadian 6. An inductive coil or loop that is magnetically powered by a primary in a transformer or similar. 7. One who occupies a subordinate or auxiliary place; a delegate deputy. Example: the secondary, or undersheriff, of the city of London Example: Old Escalus […] is thy secondary. 8. A secondary circle. 9. A satellite. 10. A secondary school. Example: There are four secondaries in this district, each with several thousand pupils. 11. Ellipsis of secondary colour. Labels: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis 12. Anything secondary or of lesser importance.
Word: secondly Part of Speech: adv Etymology: Etymology tree English second 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 secondly From second + -ly. Pronunciation: /ˈsɛk.(ə)ndli/, /ˈsɛk.(ə)ntli/, /ˈsɛkəndli/ 1. In the second place. Labels: not-comparable Example: Firstly, I continue to base most species treatments on personally collected material, rather than on herbarium plants. […] Secondly, I continue to base my concepts on intensive study of a limited suite of collections, rather than superficial study of every packet that comes to hand.
Word: sedge Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *sagjaz Proto-West Germanic *sagi Old English seċġ Middle English segge English sedge From Middle English segge, from Old English seċġ, from Proto-West Germanic *sagi, from Proto-Germanic *sagjaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sak- (“marsh plant”). Cognate with Dutch zegge and German Segge, dialectal German Saher (“reeds”). Pronunciation: /sɛd͡ʒ/ 1. Any plant of the family Cyperaceae. Labels: countable, uncountable 2. Any plant of the family Cyperaceae. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: But when the moon rose and the breeze awakened, and the sedges stirred, and the cat's-paws raced across the moonlit ponds, and the far surf off Wonder Head intoned the hymn of the four winds, the trinity, earth and sky and water, became one thunderous symphony—a harmony of sound and colour silvered to a monochrome by the moon. 3. Any of various other plants resembling true sedges, such as Gentiana rubricaulis and Andropogon virginicus. Labels: countable, uncountable
Word: sedge Part of Speech: noun Etymology: By contraction from sedge fly. Pronunciation: /sɛd͡ʒ/ 1. A dry fly used in fly fishing, designed to resemble a sedge or caddis fly.
Word: sedge Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Variant spellings. Pronunciation: /sɛd͡ʒ/ 1. Obsolete spelling of siege. Labels: alt-of, obsolete 2. A flock of herons, cranes, or bitterns.
Word: sedulous Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Latin sēdulus (“diligent, industrious, sedulous; solicitous; unremitting; zealous”) + English -ous. Sēdulus is probably derived from sēdulō (“diligently; carefully; purposely; zealously”) (possibly from sē- (prefix meaning ‘without’) + dolō (ablative singular of dolus (“deceit, deception; evil intent, malice”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *del- (“to count, reckon”))) + -us (suffix forming adjectives). Pronunciation: /ˈsɛd͡ʒʊləs/, /ˈsɛdjʊ-/, /ˈsɛd͡ʒələs/ 1. Of a person: diligent in application or pursuit; constant and persevering in business or in endeavours to effect a goal; steadily industrious. Example: Since firſt this Subject for Heroic Song / Pleaſ'd me long chooſing, and beginning late; / Not ſedulous by Nature to indite / Warrs, hitherto the onely Argument / Heroic deem'd, [...] Example: His [Edward III of England's] parliament made frequent remonſtrances againſt this baſe oblivion of himſelf: the parliaments, at this time, were not as formerly, factions ready to oppreſs public liberty, but aſſemblies of wiſe and good men, ſedulous for common welfare, and of wiſdom equal to the rectitude of their intentions; [...] 2. Of an activity: carried out with diligence. Example: Now as there are many great wits to be condemned, who have neglected the increment of Arts, and the ſedulous purſuit of knowledge; ſo are there not a few very much to be pittied, whoſe induſtry being not attended with naturall parts, they have ſweat to little purpoſe, and rolled the ſtone in vain. Example: Miss [Elizabeth] Branwell's affectionate regard for her dead sister's [Maria Branwell's] children caused her to take deep interest in everything relating to them, their health, the comfort and cleanliness of their home, and the sedulous culture of their minds.
Word: segregate Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Latin sēgregātus, perfect passive participle of sēgregō (“to separate”), from sē- (“apart”) + gregō (“to flock or group”), from grex (“flock”). Compare gregarious, aggregate. Pronunciation: /ˈsɛɡɹəɡət/ 1. Separate; select. 2. Separated from others of the same kind. 3. Separate from a mass and collected together along lines of fraction.
Word: segregate Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Latin sēgregātus, perfect passive participle of sēgregō (“to separate”), from sē- (“apart”) + gregō (“to flock or group”), from grex (“flock”). Compare gregarious, aggregate. Pronunciation: /ˈsɛɡɹəˌɡeɪt/ 1. To separate. Labels: transitive Example: One aim of the reorganisation on both routes is to segregate completely the operation of the District and Tilbury Lines between London and Upminster, removing physical connections between the two. Example: Throw me in cuffs, no chance of parole / Back in the house, thirty days in the hole / Segregate me from the local population, your love is, uh, incarceration 2. In particular, to separate and organize by characteristics. Labels: transitive Example: Please segregate the pairs of shoes by size into their respective boxes. 3. To separate (races, sexes, or other groups, especially black and white people), especially by social policies that directly or indirectly keep them apart. Labels: intransitive Example: Although the California State Supreme Court ended the official segregation of public schools in 1877, Sacramento continued to segregate well into the 1880s (Sacramento African American Historical and Cultural Society [SAAHCS] 1990:9, 20). Example: Although some lunch counters continued to segregate well into 1965, despite the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter relented on July 25, 1960.26 Unwilling for the slow process of litigation in federal courts to work its way through[…]
Word: segregate Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Latin sēgregātus, perfect passive participle of sēgregō (“to separate”), from sē- (“apart”) + gregō (“to flock or group”), from grex (“flock”). Compare gregarious, aggregate. 1. An entity that is separated in some way from a reference group or entity. Example: A segregate becomes conspicuous once it is removed from its aggregate. Example: […] to determine whether geographic segregates are discernible.
Word: segregation Part of Speech: noun Etymology: 1555. From Latin segregatio. Morphologically segregate + -ion. Pronunciation: /sɛɡɹəˈɡeɪ̯ʃən/ 1. The act of setting apart and organizing things based upon their characteristics. Labels: countable, uncountable 2. The separation of people based upon race, sex, religion, or other identity in institutions. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: The fact that one is gay or one's brother is gay […] — this has less influence on the average HK person's attention or attitude than how he or she finds a job, the way he lives and the way he eats, which is like New York or oter large cities. There tends to be a segregation between a person's private life and his job or other affairs. It does not mean that they are liberal, just that city life fosters this individualism. 3. The setting apart in Mendelian inheritance of alleles, such that each parent passes only one allele to its offspring. Labels: countable, uncountable 4. Separation from a mass, and gathering about centers or into cavities at hand through cohesive or adhesive attraction or the crystallizing process. Labels: countable, uncountable 5. The separation of people (geographically, residentially, or in businesses, public transit, etc) into racial or other categories (e.g. religion, sex). Labels: countable, uncountable 6. The separation of people (geographically, residentially, or in businesses, public transit, etc) into various categories which occurs due to social forces (culture, etc). Labels: countable, uncountable 7. The separation of a pair of chromatids or chromosomes during mitosis and meiosis Labels: countable, uncountable 8. Separation for practical reasons, by necessity. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: It has long been recognised that complete segregation of control of the respective services provided by the two undertakings, and of the power supply, signalling, and tracks relating to each was desirable. 9. The separation of a subset of prisoners from the general prison population, possibly solitary confinement. Labels: countable, uncountable
Word: selflessness Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree English self Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Proto-Germanic *-lausaz Proto-West Germanic *-laus Old English -lēas Middle English -les English -less English selfless Proto-Germanic *-in- Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English selflessness From selfless + -ness. 1. The quality or state of being selfless. Labels: uncountable, usually Example: But the truth is that I came to cherish Japan’s civility and selflessness.
Word: self-reliant Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *swé? Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *selbaz Old English self Old English self- Middle English self- English self- English reliant English self-reliant From self- + reliant. 1. Reliant upon oneself; trusting to one's own powers or judgment. Example: The Constitution deliberately makes the President and the Congress competitors as well as partners. The Founding Fathers created an elaborate system of checks and balances to keep each partner self-reliant while still assuring their interdependence. No brief account can fully capture the complexity of this relationship, in which each partner contributes his own share of stubbornness, pride, hostility, warmth, suspicion, skill, and affection.
Word: septette Part of Speech: noun 1. A set of seven persons or objects. Example: a septette of singers 2. A musical composition for seven instruments or seven voices; a septuor.
Word: sequential Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Latin sequentia + -al. Pronunciation: /səˈkwɛntʃəl/ 1. Succeeding or following in order. Labels: not-comparable Example: Hitest keeps the complexity of its pattern generation under control by not allowing extensive time searches in attempts to drive fault data to and through sequential elements. Rather it treats the inputs to sequential elements as pseudoprimary outputs, and treats outputs of sequential elements as pseudoprimary inputs that are fixed for any given simulation time. 2. Succeeding or following in order. Labels: not-comparable 3. Executed as a sequence of instructions, without concurrency or parallelism. Labels: not-comparable
Word: serve Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English serven, from Old French servir, from Latin serviō (“be a slave; serve”), from Latin servus (“slave; servant”), which perhaps derives from Etruscan (compare Etruscan proper names 𐌔𐌄𐌓𐌅𐌉 (servi), 𐌔𐌄𐌓𐌅𐌄 (serve)), or from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“watch over, protect”). Pronunciation: /sɜːv/, /sɝv/, /sɑː(ɹ)v/ 1. An act of putting the ball or shuttlecock in play in various games. Example: Whose serve is it? Example: He had no power serve of his own, no backhand, no volley, no lob, no idea of pace or tactics. 2. A portion of food or drink, a serving. Labels: Australia Example: The night before your event, base your evening meal on high-carbohydrate foods with a small serve of lean protein. Example: Come here for a cappuccino that could hold its own on Via Veneto in Rome (€2) and a serve of their crunchy fresh cheese börek. 3. An impressive presentation (especially of a person's appearance). Example: That white eyeliner is such a serve. Example: And, of course, there’s the video, which didn’t need to be such a serve since the song slapped so hard. But, it’s still iconic years later.
Word: server Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English servere, equivalent to serve + -er. Pronunciation: /ˈsɜːvə/, /ˈsɝvɚ/ 1. A program that provides services to other programs or devices, either in the same computer or over a computer network. 2. A computer dedicated to running such programs. Example: Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. 3. A community space where only those who joined it can communicate in channels. Example: Please take a look at my log its completely going haywire… My server is changing the admin name and doesn’t store any created channels. Example: Discord gives you the power to create an invite-only home for your friends or community - a place where you can talk, hang out, and have fun. We call these special places - servers [...] 4. One who serves. 5. One who serves. 6. One who serves. 7. A tray for dishes. 8. A spoon for serving food.
Word: serviette Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English serviotis pl, from Middle French serviette. Pronunciation: /ˌsɜː.viˈɛt/, /ˌsɝ.viˈɛt/ 1. A table napkin, now especially a paper one. Labels: Canada, Ireland, UK Example: 1887, “A Member of the Aristocracy”, Manners and Rules of Good Society; Or Solecisms to Be Avoided, 1999 facsimile edition, Angus&Robertson, page 116, She should unfold her serviette and place it on her lap. It is immaterial whether she places the bread on the right or left-hand side of the cover when taking it from the serviette. A gentleman should do the same with his serviette and bread, placing the one across his knees, and the other at his right or left hand. Example: 1914, Arnold Bennett, The Price of Love, 2005, Echo Library, page 40, And then, when the meal finally did begin Mrs. Maldon′s serviette and silver serviette-ring had vanished. 2. A lazy Susan. Labels: obsolete
Word: setback Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Deverbal from set back. Compare drawback. Pronunciation: /ˈsɛtbæk/ 1. An obstacle, delay, disadvantage, or blow (an adverse event which slows down, or prevents progress towards a desired outcome). Example: After some initial setbacks, the expedition went safely on its way. Example: DUKAT: I blame no one but myself. I was indiscreet. I compromised myself and have been punished accordingly. If someone under my command had behaved so outrageously, I would do the same thing to him. Besides, I assure you, this is only a temporary setback. Everything I have lost, I will regain. It's only a matter of time. 2. Any adverse event, defeat, or impediment of progress. Labels: broadly 3. The required distance between a structure and a road. Labels: US 4. A step-like recession in a wall. Example: Setbacks were initially used for structural reasons, but now are often mandated by land use codes. 5. An offset to the temperature setting of a thermostat to cover a period when more or less heating is required than usual. Example: Fuel savings from thermostat setbacks have long been accepted as fact, but little documentation existed to support it. 6. A backset; a countercurrent; an eddy. Labels: archaic, possibly 7. A backset; a check; a repulse; a relapse. Labels: archaic
Word: sett Part of Speech: noun Etymology: A variant of set to distinguish various technical senses. Pronunciation: /sɛt/ 1. The system of tunnels that is the home of a badger. Example: But it is quite sad to reflect that some 4,500 badger setts were already wiped out using poisoned gas between 1975 and 1982. When you consider that an average sett can contain up to 15 animals, parents and cubs, it is easy to imagine the scale of suffering involved. 2. The pattern of distinctive threads and yarns that make up the plaid of a Scottish tartan. Example: The Vestiarium gave setts for Lowland houses as well as Highland clans[…]and many families within the clans have their own setts to add to the clan tartans.[…]The clans and families are branching out with Dress and Hunting tartans, and the same sett—any sett—may be produced in dark "modern," lighter "ancient" or "muted" color schemes. 3. The number of warp ends per inch in the cloth. Example: To achieve a balanced weave, the sett must be a little tighter than it would be for a twill. 4. The number of reeds or splits per inch – one half the number of ends per inch. Labels: England 5. A small, square-cut piece of quarried stone used for paving and edging. Example: Very durable grey granite has been quarried near Aberdeen for more than 300 years, and blocked and dressed paving "setts," kerb and building stones, and monumental and other ornamental work of granite have long been exported from the district to all parts of the world. Example: Three horses trotted abreast, with the clatter of hoofs on the granite setts, and the yellow, uproarious machine jolted violently behind them, […] 6. A mine or set of mines on lease. Example: […] let the dialler, with the same instrument he uses underground, run a north and south line on the surface, in any convenient part of the sett, marking the extremities by well-fixed points, […] 7. A collection of pumps in a mine. Example: After a delay of about three months, the 24 inches sett of pumps was ready for work, and sinking was resumed with one sett of pumps 18 inches in diameter in No. 1 pit, and one sett 24 inches in diameter in No. 2 pit; […] 8. Obsolete form of set (“group”) Labels: alt-of, obsolete Example: The Father cannot stay any longer for the Portion, nor the Mother for a new Sett of Babies to play with […]
Word: sett Part of Speech: verb Etymology: A variant of set to distinguish various technical senses. Pronunciation: /sɛt/ 1. To determine the ends per inch of the warp. Labels: transitive Example: In my personal weaving and for these samples, I tend to sett Tencel a bit more tightly than the charts recommend. I prefer the hand of the fabric that results and don't find it to be stiff. 2. Obsolete spelling of set (particularly as a simple past and past participle). Labels: alt-of, obsolete
Word: settee Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Unclear, possibly from settle (“seat, long bench”) + -ee (diminutive suffix). Pronunciation: /sɛˈtiː/ 1. A long seat with a back, made to accommodate several persons at once; a sofa. Labels: Texas, UK Example: The lounge was furnished in old English oak and big Knole settees. There were rugs from Tabriz and Kerman on the highly polished floor. […] A table lamp was fashioned from a silver Egyptian hookah. Example: “You might have to calm this down, my darling. I'm not sure this settee can take it.” “This settee has taken centuries of our love.”
Word: settee Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From French scétie, scitie. Pronunciation: /sɛˈtiː/ 1. A vessel with a very long, sharp prow, carrying two or three masts with lateen sails, used in the Mediterranean.
Word: shabby Part of Speech: adj Etymology: The adjective is derived from shab (“(obsolete except UK, dialectal) scaly skin disease; skin disease of sheep; crust forming over wound, scab”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives). The verb is derived from the adjective. Cognates * Dutch schabbig (“poor, needy, shabby”) * Middle High German schebic (modern German schäbig (“shabby”)) * Middle Low German schabbich (“miserable”) (modern Low German schabbig, schäbbig) * Scots shabby (“in poor health, ill”) * Swedish sjabbig (“shabby, mangy, scruffy”), skabbig (“scabby”) Pronunciation: /ˈʃæbi/ 1. Of clothing, a place, etc.: unkempt and worn or otherwise in poor condition due to age or neglect; scruffy. Example: They lived in a tiny apartment, with some old, shabby furniture. Example: [A]s there was a stream of people pouring into a shabby house not far from the entrance, he waited until they had made their way in, […] 2. Of a person: wearing ragged or very worn, and often dirty, clothing. Example: The fellow arrived looking rather shabby after journeying so far. Example: The ſame gentleman, vvhenever he vvanted credit for a ſuit of cloaths, alvvays made the propoſal in a laced coat; for he found by experience, that, if he appeared ſhabby on theſe occaſions, his taylor had taken an oath againſt truſting; […] 3. Of a person, their behaviour, etc.: despicable, mean; also, not generous; stingy, tight-fisted. Labels: figuratively Example: shabby treatment Example: "A thousand dollars are money, my father used to say when he drove fat oxen to market," replied John Wilde, in a mocking tone; "but it will not leave my hands for that shabby price; and, for my own part, it may ornament the foot of my daughter's doll." 4. Poor in quality; also, showing little effort or talent. Labels: figuratively Example: His painting is not too shabby. Example: [M]y Lord Duke's entertainments were both ſeldom and ſhabby […] 5. Poor in quality; also, showing little effort or talent. Labels: archaic, figuratively 6. Poor in quality; also, showing little effort or talent. Labels: UK, dialectal, figuratively, informal 7. Poor in quality; also, showing little effort or talent. Labels: UK, dialectal, figuratively
Word: shabby Part of Speech: verb Etymology: The adjective is derived from shab (“(obsolete except UK, dialectal) scaly skin disease; skin disease of sheep; crust forming over wound, scab”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives). The verb is derived from the adjective. Cognates * Dutch schabbig (“poor, needy, shabby”) * Middle High German schebic (modern German schäbig (“shabby”)) * Middle Low German schabbich (“miserable”) (modern Low German schabbig, schäbbig) * Scots shabby (“in poor health, ill”) * Swedish sjabbig (“shabby, mangy, scruffy”), skabbig (“scabby”) Pronunciation: /ˈʃæbi/ 1. To make (something) shabby (adjective sense 1); to shabbify. Labels: transitive 2. To become shabby; to shabbify. Labels: intransitive Example: You'll be one of those tough, square, solid middle-aged men, like a shabbying brown bear, your golden crew-cut greying judiciously at the temples.
Word: shack Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Unknown. Some scholars derive this word from Mexican Spanish jacal, from Nahuatl xacalli (“adobe hut”). Alternatively, the word may instead come from ramshackle/ramshackly (e.g., old ramshackly house) or perhaps it may be a back-formation from shackly. Compare Tavringer Romani hak (“place, house”), Traveller Norwegian hak (“place”). Pronunciation: /ʃæk/ 1. A crude, roughly built hut or cabin. Example: The men resided in a huge bunk house, which consisted of one room only, with a shack outside where the cooking was done. In the large room were a dozen bunks ; half of them in a very dishevelled state, […] 2. Any poorly constructed or poorly furnished building. Example: The stations are generally very poor, even for a branch line; some are mere wooden shacks, and Moniaive itself is one of the least prepossessing terminal stations I have ever seen. 3. The room from which a ham radio operator transmits. Labels: slang
Word: shack Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Unknown. Some scholars derive this word from Mexican Spanish jacal, from Nahuatl xacalli (“adobe hut”). Alternatively, the word may instead come from ramshackle/ramshackly (e.g., old ramshackly house) or perhaps it may be a back-formation from shackly. Compare Tavringer Romani hak (“place, house”), Traveller Norwegian hak (“place”). Pronunciation: /ʃæk/ 1. To live (in or with); to shack up.
Word: shack Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Obsolete variant of shake. Compare Scots shag (“refuse of barley or oats”). Pronunciation: /ʃæk/ 1. Grain fallen to the ground and left after harvest. Labels: countable, obsolete, uncountable 2. Nuts which have fallen to the ground. Labels: countable, obsolete, uncountable 3. Freedom to pasturage in order to feed upon shack. Labels: countable, obsolete, uncountable Example: […] first comes the case of tenants with a customary right to shack their sheep and cattle who have overburdened the fields with a larger number of beasts than their tenement entitles them to, or who have allowed their beasts to feed in the field out of shack time. Example: 1996, J M Neeson, Commoners http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&vid=ISBN0521567742&id=2CqhjjiwLtEC&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&sig=3geUREguU3vTYj_05PtAfzFODDA The fields were enclosed by Act in 1791, and Tharp gave the cottagers about thirteen acres for their right of shack. 4. A shiftless fellow; a low, itinerant beggar; a vagabond; a tramp. Labels: UK, US, countable, dialectal, obsolete, uncountable Example: Some peple hev a fakilty two get along into the world, whilst others air poor shacks & good for nothing. Example: All the poor old shacks about the town found a friend in Deacon Marble. 5. Bait that can be picked up at sea. Labels: countable, uncountable 6. A drink, especially an alcoholic one. Labels: Nigeria, countable, slang, uncountable
Word: shack Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Obsolete variant of shake. Compare Scots shag (“refuse of barley or oats”). Pronunciation: /ʃæk/ 1. To shed or fall, as corn or grain at harvest. Labels: obsolete 2. To feed in stubble, or upon waste. Labels: obsolete Example: They [turkeys] are then sold‥to the larger farmers to ‘shack’ upon the barley or oat stubbles. Example: […] first comes the case of tenants with a customary right to shack their sheep and cattle who have overburdened the fields with a larger number of beasts than their tenement entitles them to, or who have allowed their beasts to feed in the field out of shack time. 3. To wander as a vagabond or tramp. Labels: UK, dialectal 4. To hibernate; to go into winter quarters. Labels: US, intransitive 5. To drink, especially alcohol. Labels: Nigeria, slang
Word: shack Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From shagged or shagged out. Pronunciation: /ʃæk/ 1. Alternative form of shag (“exhausted; tiring”). Labels: Singapore, Singlish, alt-of, alternative, slang
Word: shaker Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From shake + -er. Pronunciation: /ˈʃeɪkɚ/ 1. A person or thing that shakes, or by means of which something is shaken. 2. A person or thing that shakes, or by means of which something is shaken. Example: Near-synonyms: cruet, caster (sometimes synonymous) 3. A variety of pigeon. 4. One who holds railroad spikes while they are hammered. 5. A musical percussion instrument filled with granular solids which produce a rhythmic sound when shaken. 6. A kind of straight-sided, stackable glass for beer, soda, etc.
Word: shaky Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From shake + -y. Pronunciation: /ˈʃeɪki/ 1. Shaking or trembling. Example: a shaky spot in a marsh Example: a shaky hand 2. Nervous, anxious. Example: He’s a nice guy but when he talks to me, he acts shaky. Example: For the college clinician, restless nights after letting a shaky student walk out of the office are an occupational hazard. Are the student's safety assurances credible? Will he or she make it safely through the weekend? 3. Full of shakes or cracks; cracked. Example: shaky timber Example: For quotations using this term, see Citations:shaky. 4. Easily shaken; tottering; unsound. Example: a shaky constitution Example: shaky business credit 5. Wavering; undecided.
Word: shaver Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English schaver; equivalent to shave + -er. In its meaning of a boy, lad, recorded since 1592, the word shaver has also been postulated to derive from Romani chavo (“young man”), which also gives us the modern slang chav, ultimately derived from Sanskrit छा (chā, “young animal”). Pronunciation: /ˈʃeɪvə/, /ˈʃeɪvɚ/ 1. One who shaves. 2. A barber, one whose occupation is to shave. 3. A tool or machine for shaving; an electric razor. 4. An extortionate bargainer; a sharper. Labels: obsolete, slang Example: The shaver is an honest friendly man as before: he has a good deal to do to smother his Welsh fire, which, you know, he has in a greater degree than some would imagine. He posts himself a good part of the year in some warm house, wins the ladies money at ombre, and convinces them, that they are highly obliged to him. 5. One who fleeces; a pillager; a plunderer. Example: By these shavers the Turks were stripped. 6. A boy; a lad; a little fellow. Labels: colloquial Example: "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen," said the sergeant, "but as I have mentioned at the door to this young shaver" (which he hadn't), "I am on a chase in the name of the King, and I want the blacksmith."
Word: sheen Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English shene, schene, from Old English sċīene (“beautiful, fair, bright, brilliant, light”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaunī, from Proto-Germanic *skauniz (“beautiful”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁-. Cognate with Scots schene, scheine (“beautiful, fair, attractive”), Saterland Frisian skeen (“clean, pure”), West Frisian skjin (“nice, clean”), Dutch schoon (“clean, beautiful, fair”), German schön (“beautiful”), Danish skøn (“beautiful”), Norwegian Bokmål skjønn (“beautiful”), Norwegian Nynorsk skjønn (“beautiful”), Swedish skön (“beautiful, fine”). Compare also the loanword Finnish kaunis (“beautiful”). See also English show. Pronunciation: /ʃiːn/ 1. Beautiful, good-looking, attractive, fair; bright, radiant; shiny. Labels: archaic, poetic, rare, usually Example: Up rose each warrier bold and brave, / Glistening in filed steel and armor sheen. Example: The doleful Dumps I sing, and tearful Woes, Of Marian teeming with unlawful Throes: The sheenest Lass in Berkshire was she known, Of all that Butter fell to Reading Town: […] 2. Clear, pure, clean; noble, illustrious; (by extension) innocent, chaste. Labels: archaic, poetic, rare, usually Example: […] And all her crystal springs, whence clear and sheen Her brooks receive the wat'ry element, […] Example: 'Twas not when early flowers were springing, When skies were sheen, And wheat was green, […]
Word: sheen Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English shene, schene, from Old English sċīene (“beautiful, fair, bright, brilliant, light”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaunī, from Proto-Germanic *skauniz (“beautiful”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁-. Cognate with Scots schene, scheine (“beautiful, fair, attractive”), Saterland Frisian skeen (“clean, pure”), West Frisian skjin (“nice, clean”), Dutch schoon (“clean, beautiful, fair”), German schön (“beautiful”), Danish skøn (“beautiful”), Norwegian Bokmål skjønn (“beautiful”), Norwegian Nynorsk skjønn (“beautiful”), Swedish skön (“beautiful, fine”). Compare also the loanword Finnish kaunis (“beautiful”). See also English show. Pronunciation: /ʃiːn/ 1. Splendor; radiance; shininess. Labels: also, countable, figuratively, uncountable Example: There is a greenish sheen across the shoulders of his greasy black suit, for the morning light has of a sudden begun to dance through the bay window. Example: Mr. Leerhsen said in an interview that he wanted to write a book without the dutiful sheen of what he called “an official Bourdain product.” 2. A thin layer of a substance (such as oil) spread on a solid or liquid surface. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: oil sheen Example: Perhaps the simplest of sauces is the pat of butter dropped on a heap of hot vegetables, or stirred into rice or noodles, or drawn across the surface of an omelet or steak to give a sheen.
Word: sheen Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English shene, schene, from Old English sċīene (“beautiful, fair, bright, brilliant, light”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaunī, from Proto-Germanic *skauniz (“beautiful”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁-. Cognate with Scots schene, scheine (“beautiful, fair, attractive”), Saterland Frisian skeen (“clean, pure”), West Frisian skjin (“nice, clean”), Dutch schoon (“clean, beautiful, fair”), German schön (“beautiful”), Danish skøn (“beautiful”), Norwegian Bokmål skjønn (“beautiful”), Norwegian Nynorsk skjønn (“beautiful”), Swedish skön (“beautiful, fine”). Compare also the loanword Finnish kaunis (“beautiful”). See also English show. Pronunciation: /ʃiːn/ 1. To shine; to glisten. Labels: intransitive, poetic, rare Example: This town, / That, sheening far, celestial seems to be.
Word: sheen Part of Speech: noun Pronunciation: /ʃiːn/ 1. The letter ش in the Arabic script.
Word: sheer Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English shere, scheere, schere, skere, from Old English sċǣre (“pure, sheer; shining, clear”), from Proto-Germanic *skairiz; supplanted the semantically close shire (dialectal), from Middle English schyre, schire, shire, shir, from Old English sċīr (“clear, bright; brilliant, gleaming, shining, splendid, resplendent; pure”), beside which existed Middle English skyr, from Old Norse skírr (“pure, bright, clear”), both from Proto-Germanic *skīriz (“pure, sheer”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₁y- (“luster, gloss, shadow”). Cognate with Danish skær, German schier (“sheer”), German Low German schier (“sheer, pure, unadulterated”; “completely, almost”), Dutch schier (“almost”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍂𐍃 (skeirs, “clear, lucid”). Outside Germanic, cognate to Albanian hir (“grace, beauty; goodwill”). Pronunciation: /ʃɪə̯/, /ʃɪː/, /ˈʃɪj.ə/, /ʃɪɚ/, /ʃɛː/ 1. Very thin or transparent. Example: Her light, sheer dress caught everyone’s attention. Example: “She sheathed her legs in the sheerest of the nylons that her father had brought back from the Continent, and slipped her feet into the toeless, high-heeled shoes of black suède.” 2. Pure in composition; unmixed; unadulterated. Labels: obsolete Example: If she say I am not fourteen pence on the score for sheer ale, score me up for the lying’st knave in Christendom. Example: Thou sheer, immaculate and silver fountain, / From when this stream through muddy passages / Hath held his current and defiled himself! 3. Downright; complete; pure. Labels: broadly Example: I think it is sheer genius to invent such a thing. Example: This poem is sheer nonsense. 4. Used to emphasize the amount or degree of something. Example: The army's sheer size made it impossible to resist. Example: Perhaps as startling as the sheer toll was the devastation to some of the state’s well-known locales. Boardwalks along the beach in Seaside Heights, Belmar and other towns on the Jersey Shore were blown away. Amusement parks, arcades and restaurants all but vanished. Bridges to barrier islands buckled, preventing residents from even inspecting the damage to their property. 5. Very steep; almost vertical or perpendicular. Example: It was a sheer drop of 180 feet.
Word: sheer Part of Speech: adv Etymology: From Middle English shere, scheere, schere, skere, from Old English sċǣre (“pure, sheer; shining, clear”), from Proto-Germanic *skairiz; supplanted the semantically close shire (dialectal), from Middle English schyre, schire, shire, shir, from Old English sċīr (“clear, bright; brilliant, gleaming, shining, splendid, resplendent; pure”), beside which existed Middle English skyr, from Old Norse skírr (“pure, bright, clear”), both from Proto-Germanic *skīriz (“pure, sheer”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₁y- (“luster, gloss, shadow”). Cognate with Danish skær, German schier (“sheer”), German Low German schier (“sheer, pure, unadulterated”; “completely, almost”), Dutch schier (“almost”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍂𐍃 (skeirs, “clear, lucid”). Outside Germanic, cognate to Albanian hir (“grace, beauty; goodwill”). Pronunciation: /ʃɪə̯/, /ʃɪː/, /ˈʃɪj.ə/, /ʃɪɚ/, /ʃɛː/ 1. Clean; completely; at once. Labels: archaic Example: Hector the ashen lance of Ajax smote / With his broad faulchion, at the nether end, / And lopp’d it sheer. Example: Swift into the dark stream at once he fell, / As the red star at once falls swift and sheer / From sky to sea
Word: sheer Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English shere, scheere, schere, skere, from Old English sċǣre (“pure, sheer; shining, clear”), from Proto-Germanic *skairiz; supplanted the semantically close shire (dialectal), from Middle English schyre, schire, shire, shir, from Old English sċīr (“clear, bright; brilliant, gleaming, shining, splendid, resplendent; pure”), beside which existed Middle English skyr, from Old Norse skírr (“pure, bright, clear”), both from Proto-Germanic *skīriz (“pure, sheer”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₁y- (“luster, gloss, shadow”). Cognate with Danish skær, German schier (“sheer”), German Low German schier (“sheer, pure, unadulterated”; “completely, almost”), Dutch schier (“almost”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍂𐍃 (skeirs, “clear, lucid”). Outside Germanic, cognate to Albanian hir (“grace, beauty; goodwill”). Pronunciation: /ʃɪə̯/, /ʃɪː/, /ˈʃɪj.ə/, /ʃɪɚ/, /ʃɛː/ 1. A sheer curtain or fabric. Example: Use sheers to maximize natural light. Example: Lightweight, tightly woven silkies, sheers, lingerie
Word: sheer Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Perhaps from Dutch scheren (“to move aside, skim”); see also shear. Pronunciation: /ʃɪə̯/, /ʃɪː/, /ˈʃɪj.ə/, /ʃɪɚ/, /ʃɛː/ 1. The curve of the main deck or gunwale from bow to stern. 2. An abrupt swerve from the course of a ship.
Word: sheer Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Perhaps from Dutch scheren (“to move aside, skim”); see also shear. Pronunciation: /ʃɪə̯/, /ʃɪː/, /ˈʃɪj.ə/, /ʃɪɚ/, /ʃɛː/ 1. To swerve from a course. Example: I sheered her well inshore—the water being deepest near the bank, as the sounding–pole informed me. Example: Seydlitz correctly identifies the larger shell splashes as coming from the two "large light cruisers" at the rear, and takes aim. Moments later, Courageous sheers out of line, smoke and steam venting through a massive hole in her side, the shells having blasted right through whatever excuse for armor was present and detonated amidst the boiler rooms. She is doomed. 2. Obsolete spelling of shear. Labels: alt-of, obsolete Example: So thick, our navy scarce could sheer their way
Word: shell Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- Proto-Indo-European *skolH-yeh₂ Proto-Germanic *skaljō Proto-West Germanic *skallju Old English sċiell Middle English schelle English shell From Middle English schelle, from Old English sċel, sċell, sċiell, sċil, sċill, sċyl, sċyll, from Proto-West Germanic *skallju, from Proto-Germanic *skaljō (“shell; husk; rind; peel”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to cut; to separate, split”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch schil (“bark, rind, skin; crust; shell; slice”), Danish skæl (“scale; dandruff”), Faroese and Icelandic skel (“shell”), Norwegian Bokmål skjell (“shell; scale”), Norwegian Nynorsk skjel (“shell; bivalve; scale; carapace”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰 (skalja, “brick, tile”), French écaille (“scale; shell”), Friulian scae (“scale”), Italian scaglia (“scale; flake, sliver; splinter”); also Breton killi (“grove”), Cornish kelli (“grove”), Irish coill (“forest, wood”), Manx keyll (“forest, wood; grove, plantation”), Scottish Gaelic coille (“forest”), Welsh celli (“grove”), Latin scalpō (“to scratch; to carve”), Ancient Greek σκᾰ́λλω (skắllō, “to hoe, stir up”), Albanian çel (“to open up; to sprout; to hatch up; to rise”), Lithuanian skelti (“to crack, split”), Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Russian скала́ (skalá, “cliff, rock”), Czech skála (“rock”), Polish skała, skáła, szkała (“rock”), Slovak and Slovene skala (“rock”), Ukrainian скала́ (skalá), ска́ля (skálja, “cliff, rock”), Armenian քաղել (kʻaġel, “to pick; to gather; to mow”), Sanskrit कॢप् (kḷp, “to order; to manage; to perform; to create; to cut”). More at shale. Doublet of sheal. * (computing): From being viewed as an outer layer of interface between the user and the operating-system internals. Pronunciation: /ʃɛl/, /ʃel/, /ʃæl/ 1. To remove the outer covering or shell of something. 2. To bombard, to fire projectiles at, especially with artillery. Example: The guns shelled the enemy trenches. Example: There wasn’t even a shed there, and she was shelling the bush. 3. To disburse or give up money, to pay. (Often used with out). Labels: informal 4. To fall off, as a shell, crust, etc. Labels: intransitive 5. To cast the shell, or exterior covering; to fall out of the pod or husk. Labels: intransitive Example: Nuts shell in falling. Example: Wheat or rye shells in reaping. 6. To switch to a shell or command line. Labels: intransitive Example: Automenu is a good program to try, and offers a fair amount of protection - but, unfortunately, it's one of those systems that allow users to shell to DOS. 7. To form shallow, irregular cracks (in a coating). 8. To form a shelling. 9. To drop (the ball). Labels: slang, transitive Example: He shelled it, and dislocated his finger in the process.
Word: shibboleth Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Learned borrowing from Biblical Hebrew שִׁבֹּלֶת /שיבולת (šibbṓleṯ, “ear [of wheat] or stream, torrent”). Doublet of sebboleth and Middle English sebolech, both from Late Latin sebboleth in the Vulgate. Pronunciation: /ˈʃɪbəlɛθ/, /ˈʃɪbələθ/ 1. A particular pronunciation or custom that is regarded as distinguishing members of a group from non-members, especially when used as a test. Example: In recent times, the correct treatment of initial h in speech has come to be regarded as a kind of shibboleth of social position. Example: He also declares that "th" is the veritable English shibboleth. He advises those Germans who cannot pronounce the sound correctly to pronounce it like "d," the symbol which he regularly uses for "th" in his lessons. 2. A common or longstanding belief, custom, or catchphrase associated with a particular group, especially one with little current meaning or truth. Example: It's about time we abandoned the bourgeois shibboleth that earning money makes you a better person. Example: The teacher says he must stick largely to the old methods and cling to the old shibboleths or he will naturally get bad results in the examination. Only much practice along the lines the examination is going to follow will insure a [success].
Word: shorthand Part of Speech: noun Etymology: The noun is derived from short + hand (“handwriting; style of penmanship”). The verb is derived from the noun. Pronunciation: /ˈʃɔːthænd/, /ˈʃɔɹthænd/ 1. A rough and rapid method of writing by substituting symbols for letters, words, etc. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: There is a Notion prevails among many People, to yͤ prejudice of all kinds of Short-hand; which is this. That when a Person sets down a Memorandum in his pocket Book in Short-hand, it is lost, in caſe of Death or any other accident, to yͤ rest of yͤ World, though it may contain things of great Consequence to other People. [...] I affirm, [...] that if any Person makes use of my long Short hand, which he will certainly do, in caſe he deſigns that what he writes should be read by another Person, it will be as legible to any one acquainted with this Art, as if it was writ in Round Hand. Example: All ſhort Hands are ſubject to Ambiguity; for there being but 8 Marks to repreſent 24 Letters, and thoſe 8 being uſed for 8 of them in the Short Hand Alphabets, the other Letters muſt be deſcribed by Characters compounded of theſe 8. 2. Any brief or shortened way of saying or doing something. Labels: broadly, countable, uncountable Example: The jargon becomes a shorthand for these advanced concepts. Example: It is important to recall that the European construct of "the Indian" and the abstraction designated as "Native American religion" are both artificial labels suggesting a unity that is nowhere to be found. When we borrow such shorthands, we are really referring to the Arapaho, Blackfeet, Chumash, Delaware, Eskimo, Flathead, Ghost Dancers, Hopi, Iowa—and so on through the rest of the alphabet right to the Yuma and Zuni.