nandhakumarms/qualc-wiktionary-en huggingface dataset:
Word: cattle Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English catel, from Anglo-Norman catel (“personal property”), from Old Northern French (compare French cheptel, Old French chetel, chatel, also English chattel) from Medieval Latin capitāle, from Latin capitālis (“of the head”) (whence also capital, from caput (“head”) + -alis (“-al”)). For the sense evolution, compare pecuniary and fee. Also compare Russian поголо́вье (pogolóvʹje, “total number of livestock”) from Russian голова́ (golová, “head”). Doublet of capital and chattel. Pronunciation: /ˈkætəl/, [ˈkʰætʰəl] ~ [ˈkʰætʰl̩], /ˈkæɾəl/, [ˈkʰæɾəl] ~ [ˈkʰæɾl̩] 1. Domesticated animals of the species Bos taurus (cows, bulls, steers, oxen etc), and other hoofed mammals of the genus Bos. Labels: plural, plural-normally Example: Many cattle were suffering from a disease called BSE. 2. Certain other livestock, such as sheep, pigs or goats. Also rarely applied to horses. Labels: plural, plural-normally Example: Mr. Jos had hired a pair of horses for his open carriage, with which cattle, and the smart London vehicle, he made a very tolerable figure in the drives about Brussels. Example: The Dover mail was in its usual genial position that the guard suspected the passengers, the passengers suspected one another and the guard, they all suspected everybody else, and the coachman was sure of nothing but the horses; as to which cattle he could with a clear conscience have taken his oath on the two Testaments that they were not fit for the journey. 3. People who resemble domesticated bovine animals in behavior or destiny. Labels: derogatory, figuratively, plural, plural-normally Example: "Come, that will do," interrupted Joolby with an impatient growl; "talk, talk, talk—that's all it ever comes to with your kind of cattle. Do you still think that you are playing at charades, girl? […]" Example: "I always knew it, but I always denied it, because I'm one of them, and I'm like them." ¶"We're just cattle," the Prison Governor said, relieved now. 4. chattel Labels: English, countable, obsolete, plural, plural-normally, sometimes Example: goods and cattle Example: That then every person so offending and convict, shall for his third offence, forfeit to our Sovereign Lady the Queen, all his goods and cattles, and shall suffer imprisonment during his life. 5. Used in restricted contexts to refer to the meat derived from cattle. Labels: plural, plural-normally, rare, uncountable Example: The temptation of a lone white man was too great for any gathering of myall-natives, and sheep-fat and cattle-steak seemed there for the spearing, so that a stockman always ran the risk of attack, especially if his shepherds interfered with the native women. Example: “But you cooked a human being and ate him,” say I. “I couldn’t help it,” says she. “I remember the cattle steaks of the old days, the juicy pork, the dripping joints of lamb, the venison.”
Word: cattle Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English catel, from Anglo-Norman catel (“personal property”), from Old Northern French (compare French cheptel, Old French chetel, chatel, also English chattel) from Medieval Latin capitāle, from Latin capitālis (“of the head”) (whence also capital, from caput (“head”) + -alis (“-al”)). For the sense evolution, compare pecuniary and fee. Also compare Russian поголо́вье (pogolóvʹje, “total number of livestock”) from Russian голова́ (golová, “head”). Doublet of capital and chattel. Pronunciation: /ˈkætəl/, [ˈkʰætʰəl] ~ [ˈkʰætʰl̩], /ˈkæɾəl/, [ˈkʰæɾəl] ~ [ˈkʰæɾl̩] 1. Ellipsis of cattle truck (“to fuck: to break, destroy”). Labels: Cockney, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, slang, transitive Example: I would talk to rayburn, and the people who converted it..I have assumed from what you said that it was an old coal burner converted...or is it a revamped oil burner? In which case the revampers may have cattled it..
Word: camel Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English camel, through Old English camel and Old Northern French camel (Old French chamel, modern French chameau), from Latin camēlus, from Ancient Greek κάμηλος (kámēlos), from a Semitic source, ultimately from Proto-Semitic *gamal-; compare Arabic جَمَل (jamal), Hebrew גמל (gamál), Aramaic ܓܡܠܐ (gamlā), Coptic ϭⲁⲙⲟⲩⲗ (čamoul). As a marine device, from Dutch. As an ethnic slur, short for camelfucker, camel jockey, etc. Pronunciation: /ˈkæml̩/, /ˈkæm(ə)l/ 1. A mammalian beast of burden, much used in desert areas, of the genus Camelus. Example: Returne our Mules and emptie Camels backe, That we may trauell into Siria, […] Example: It is as hard to come, as for a Cammell / To threed the poſterne of a ſmall needles eie: […] 2. A light brownish color, like that of a camel (also called camel brown). 3. A vessel or tank, typically paired, used to make an object more buoyant. Example: Near-synonym: pontoon Example: Nantucket Island is probably the only place in the United States where camels were put to work to solve the problem created by a sandbar. They were Marine camels, and like their live namesake, they were of a rugged construction and were designed to do very heavy work. In the shape of two large wooden boxes, the camels were flooded with sea water until they sank to a low level in the water; they were then arranged on each side of a heavily-loaded ship and drawn tightly together around the ship by means of heavy chains passing under the ship's hull. As the sea water was pumped out of the camels, they rose up to a higher level, raising the ship between them, and when fully emptied the camels and the ship were towed across the bar easily and safely because of the lesser draft. First used in Holland as early as 1688, the camels were invented by one M. M. Bakker, who named them for their great strength. The Dutch used them to carry large ships over the Pampas, which was a passage between two sandbanks in the Zyder Zee, opposite the mouth of the River Y, and about six miles from the city of Amsterdam. The Russians adopted the idea and used camels for carrying ships over the shoals at Neva... 4. A person of Middle Eastern origin. Labels: ethnic, slur 5. A fairy chess piece that is moved three squares in one direction and one at right angles to that direction in a single move, leaping over any intervening pieces. Example: The fers and camel can reach all the cells of one colour. The others are more restricted; the dummy cannot move at all, and the commuter can only move back and forth between two cells.
Word: camel Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English camel, through Old English camel and Old Northern French camel (Old French chamel, modern French chameau), from Latin camēlus, from Ancient Greek κάμηλος (kámēlos), from a Semitic source, ultimately from Proto-Semitic *gamal-; compare Arabic جَمَل (jamal), Hebrew גמל (gamál), Aramaic ܓܡܠܐ (gamlā), Coptic ϭⲁⲙⲟⲩⲗ (čamoul). As a marine device, from Dutch. As an ethnic slur, short for camelfucker, camel jockey, etc. Pronunciation: /ˈkæml̩/, /ˈkæm(ə)l/ 1. Of a light brown color like that of a camel. Labels: not-comparable Example: […] try to select accessories that are in the same color family as your coat," says millinery designer Patricia Underwood. To pick up the weave of a brown tweed jacket, for instance, choose a camel hat and black gloves.
Word: camel Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from Afrikaans kameel. Pronunciation: /ˈkæml̩/, /ˈkæm(ə)l/ 1. Synonym of giraffe. Labels: South-Africa, obsolete
Word: dromedary Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English dromedari, dromedarie (“dromedary; any camel”) [and other forms], from Old French dromedaire, from Late Latin dromedārius (“kind of camel”), from Latin *dromadārius, from dromas, dromadis (“dromedary”) + -ārius (suffix forming nouns denoting agents of use). Dromas and dromadis are derived from Ancient Greek δρομᾰ́ς (dromắs, “running; dromedary”), an ellipsis of δρομὰς κάμηλος (dromàs kámēlos, “running camel”), from δρόμος (drómos, “race, running; race course, track”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *drem- (“to run”). Pronunciation: /ˈdɹɒmɪdəɹi/, /ˈdrʌ-/, /-mə-/, /-dɹi/, /ˈdɹɑməˌdɛɹi/ 1. The single-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius). Example: The duke in his schelde and dreches no lengere, / Drawes hym a dromedarie, with dredfulle knyghtez; [...] Example: The Dromedarie, Camell, Horſe, and Aſſe, / For loade and carriage doth a Sheepe ſurpaſſe: [...] 2. Any swift riding camel. Example: [T]hou art like a ſwift dromedarie, that runneth by his wayes. 3. Referring to a biphasic clinical course of poliomyelitis, typically occurring in children, characterized by a minor illness, followed by an asymptomatic period of several days before the onset of a major illness involving the central nervous system. Labels: attributive, dated Example: The untreated cases have been arranged in three groups according to the clinical course. The first group, called the dromedary group, shows the curious phenomenon of two different periods of illness with an interval of well-being. […] Because of the two distinct groups or humps of symptoms, the analogy to the arrangement of the dromedary’s back was taken to express the type figuratively.
Word: ibex Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Latin ībex (“chamois”), possibly from Iberian or Aquitanian; akin to Old Spanish bezerro (“bull”) (modern becerro (“yearling”)). Pronunciation: /ˈaɪbɛks/ 1. A type of wild mountain goat of the genus Capra, such as the species Capra ibex. 2. An imaginary creature with serrated horns, somewhat similar to the heraldic antelope.
Word: roe deer Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English ro der, roadeor, from Old English rāhdēor (“roe deer”), corresponding to roe + deer. Cognate with Icelandic rádýr, Swedish rådjur, Norwegian and Danish rådyr. Pronunciation: /ˈɹəʊˌdɪə/, /ˈɹoʊˌdɪɹ/ 1. A small, nimble Eurasian deer with no visible tail, a white rump patch, and a reddish summer coat that turns grey in winter, the male having short three-pointed antlers (Capreolus capreolus and Capreolus pygargus). Example: Frightened by the noises approaching them from the rear, and apprehensive of the human silence ahead, the five roe deer were halted, their heads high in nervous alertness.
Word: beaver Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English bever, from Old English befer, from Proto-West Germanic *bebru, from Proto-Germanic *bebruz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰébʰrus (“beaver”). Cognate with West Frisian bever, Dutch bever, French bièvre, German Biber, dialectal Swedish bjur. Non-Germanic cognates include Welsh befer, Latin fiber, Lithuanian bẽbras, Russian бобр (bobr), Avestan 𐬠𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬭𐬀 (bauura), and Sanskrit बभ्रु (bábhru, “mongoose; ichneumon”). Slang use to refer to a woman evolved from use to refer to pubic hair, which evolved from use to refer to beards, which evolved from use to refer to the furry animal or its fur. Pronunciation: /ˈbiːvə/, /ˈbivɚ/ 1. To form a felt-like texture, similar to the way beaver fur is used for felt-making. Example: Without these attentions the woad will not beaver well, a term descriptive of the fineness of the capillary filaments into which it draws out when broken between the finger and thumb. 2. To work hard. Example: When A. G. Dickens published his English Reformation in 1964 the archival beavering of a generation of graduate students was given its imprimatur in the claim to understand how the English people felt about religious change—largely, according to Dickens, positively. 3. To cut a continuous ring around a tree that one is felling. Labels: slang 4. After being doubled, to immediately double the stakes again, a move that keeps the doubling cube on one’s own side of the board. 5. To spot a beard in a game of beaver. Labels: slang Example: Beavering of foreign visitors does not count. This is a rule, but it is never carried out.
Word: beaver Part of Speech: noun Etymology: See bevor. Pronunciation: /ˈbiːvə/, /ˈbivɚ/ 1. Alternative spelling of bevor (“part of a helmet”). Labels: alt-of, alternative Example: Lord Stafford’s father, Duke of Buckingham, Is either slain or wounded dangerously; I cleft his beaver with a downright blow: Example: With trembling hands her beaver he untied, / Which done, he saw, and seeing knew her face.
Word: beaver Part of Speech: noun Pronunciation: /ˈbiːvə/, /ˈbivɚ/ 1. Butter. Example: Butter – Beaver.
Word: fallow deer Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English falowe deer, falyf der, equivalent to fallow + deer, due to the deer's pale brown (fallow) colour. Pronunciation: /ˈfæl.əʊˌdɪə/ 1. A ruminant mammal of the genus Dama belonging to the family Cervidae.
Word: donkey Part of Speech: noun Etymology: The origin is uncertain. Originally a slang term from the late eighteenth century. Perhaps from Middle English *donekie (“a miniature dun horse”), a double diminutive of Middle English don, dun, dunne (a name for a dun horse), equivalent to modern English dun (“brownish grey colour”) + -ock (diminutive suffix) + -ie (diminutive suffix), or similarly formed from the given name Duncan. Compare Middle English donning (“a dun horse”), English dunnock. Became more common than the original term ass due to the latter's homophony and partial merger with arse (compare similar development between coney and rabbit). Pronunciation: /ˈdɒŋ.ki/, /ˈdɑŋ.ki/ 1. A domestic animal, Equus asinus asinus, similar to a horse. Example: Lost last Saturday between twenty and thirty shillings they that have found it please to leave it heare there is five shillings reward by Wm. Roberts that goeth with a Donkey with many thanks Example: DONKEY, donkey dick, a he, or jack ass, called donkey, perhaps from the Spanish, or don like gravity of that animal, entitled also the king of Spain's trumpeter 2. A stubborn person. 3. A fool. 4. A small auxiliary engine. 5. A box or chest, especially a toolbox. Labels: dated, slang 6. A bad poker player. Labels: slang 7. A sailor's storage chest. Labels: UK Example: The chest may be found among those who stick to the sailing vessels, but for the steamer, the donkey died its natural death when the Suez Canal—responsible for many changes at sea—became an accomplished fact.
Word: hedgehog Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English heyghoge; equivalent to hedge + hog. Eclipsed non-native Middle English yrchoun, irchoun (“hedgehog”), from Old French hirchoun, herichon (“hedgehog”); and displaced earlier Middle English il, from Old English īl, iġil (“hedgehog”). In the philosophical sense, from the 1953 essay The Hedgehog and the Fox by Isaiah Berlin. Compare typologically Korean 고슴도치 (goseumdochi) (<<+ Middle Korean 돝 (twoth, “pig, swine”)). Pronunciation: /ˈhɛd͡ʒ.hɒɡ/, /ˈhɛd͡ʒ.hɔɡ/ 1. To make use of a hedgehog barricade as a defensive maneuver. Example: Hedgehogging means — let us call a spade a spade — that we're were encircled: It's something that has been forced upon us, a predicament from which we ought to try to escape as fast as possible. Example: Luettwitz hedgehogged his regiment and held his positions until the rest of the division arrived two days later. 2. To array with spiky projections like the quills of a hedgehog. Example: All around were styrofoam cups hedgehogged with butts, and the threebar electric heater was encrusted with bits of charcoaled tobacco and frazzled stands of hair where people had stooped down to spark up. Example: The walls were pockmarked with fragments of stone and hedgehogged with jagged daggers of glass, while in the street below there were sickening splodges on the pavement which a workman was covering with sawdust. 3. To curl up into a defensive ball. Labels: ambitransitive Example: You try for his head, but he's hedgehogged round now, elbows beside his ears and you can't get him. Example: I stayed hedgehogged in my ball, listening for movement and trying to ignore the cramp in my legs, the ache in my gut and — encore — the throbbing in my temples.
Word: wildcat Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English wyld cat, wylde cat (in the plural as wild cattes, wylde catis, wyle cattes), equivalent to wild + cat. Cognate with Middle Low German wiltkatte, German Wildkatze, Swedish vildkatt. Its adjectival senses were originally American and derived from the "wildcat banks" of Michigan, following its elevation to statehood in 1837. Two laws—one easing the requirements for establishing a new bank and another occasioned by the Panic of 1837 that removed the need for payment in specie—led to the creation and collapse of around 50 banks within two years. The term is apocryphally derived from a wildcat supposedly featured on the currency printed by one of these banks, but more probably derived from the remote locations "where the wildcats roamed" chosen by these banks to avoid oversight and minimize redemption of notes. Pronunciation: /ˈwaɪldˌkæt/, /ˈwaɪ.əldˌkæt/, [ˈwaɪ.əlʔˌkæt] 1. A cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically: Labels: UK 2. A cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically: Labels: US 3. A cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically: 4. A cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically: Labels: alt-of, alternative, uncommon Example: 2003 April 24, CNN Upon checking it out, we found a total of 13 newborn wildcats: nine newborn tigers and two newborn leopards. 5. A person who acts like a wildcat, (usually) a violent and easily-angered person or a sexually vigorous one. Labels: figuratively Example: 2002 September 26, The Young and the Restless Anyone who's man enough to have landed a wildcat like you had to be quite a guy. 6. An offensive formation with an unbalanced line and a snap directly to the running back rather than the quarterback. 7. A wheel that can be adjusted so as to revolve either with or on the shaft of a capstan. 8. Clipping of wildcat cartridge. Labels: abbreviation, alt-of, clipping 9. Clipping of wildcat strike (“a strike undertaken without authorization from the relevant trade union”). Labels: abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, uncommon 10. Clipping of wildcat money (“notes issued by a wildcat bank”). Labels: abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, obsolete
Word: wildcat Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English wyld cat, wylde cat (in the plural as wild cattes, wylde catis, wyle cattes), equivalent to wild + cat. Cognate with Middle Low German wiltkatte, German Wildkatze, Swedish vildkatt. Its adjectival senses were originally American and derived from the "wildcat banks" of Michigan, following its elevation to statehood in 1837. Two laws—one easing the requirements for establishing a new bank and another occasioned by the Panic of 1837 that removed the need for payment in specie—led to the creation and collapse of around 50 banks within two years. The term is apocryphally derived from a wildcat supposedly featured on the currency printed by one of these banks, but more probably derived from the remote locations "where the wildcats roamed" chosen by these banks to avoid oversight and minimize redemption of notes. Pronunciation: /ˈwaɪldˌkæt/, /ˈwaɪ.əldˌkæt/, [ˈwaɪ.əlʔˌkæt] 1. Of or concerning businesses operating outside standard or legitimate practice, especially Labels: derogatory, not-comparable, usually Example: Then the development of the home country was neglected for some wildcat idea of bringing up the backward people of other lands. Example: […] the Tank being a small arena theatre located out between a traffic analysis firm and a wildcat transistor outfit that hadn't been there last year and wouldn't be this coming but meanwhile was underselling even the Japanese and hauling in loot by the steamshovelful. 2. Of or concerning businesses operating outside standard or legitimate practice, especially: Labels: dated, derogatory, not-comparable, usually 3. Of or concerning businesses operating outside standard or legitimate practice, especially: Labels: derogatory, not-comparable, usually 4. Of or concerning businesses operating outside standard or legitimate practice, especially: Labels: derogatory, not-comparable, usually 5. Of or concerning customized or hand-made cartridges. Labels: not-comparable 6. Unauthorized by the proper authorities. Labels: not-comparable Example: 2003 June 15, CNN Jewish settlers have also been active putting up five new wildcat outposts on hilltops in the West Bank to try to thwart their Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Word: wildcat Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English wyld cat, wylde cat (in the plural as wild cattes, wylde catis, wyle cattes), equivalent to wild + cat. Cognate with Middle Low German wiltkatte, German Wildkatze, Swedish vildkatt. Its adjectival senses were originally American and derived from the "wildcat banks" of Michigan, following its elevation to statehood in 1837. Two laws—one easing the requirements for establishing a new bank and another occasioned by the Panic of 1837 that removed the need for payment in specie—led to the creation and collapse of around 50 banks within two years. The term is apocryphally derived from a wildcat supposedly featured on the currency printed by one of these banks, but more probably derived from the remote locations "where the wildcats roamed" chosen by these banks to avoid oversight and minimize redemption of notes. Pronunciation: /ˈwaɪldˌkæt/, /ˈwaɪ.əldˌkæt/, [ˈwaɪ.əlʔˌkæt] 1. To drill for oil in an area where no oil has been found before. Example: You'd have to be very rich or very desperate to go wildcatting that far east. Example: His pitch was that fracking had transformed the production of gas from a hit-or-miss proposition to one that operated with an on and off switch. It was manufacturing, not wildcatting.
Word: hare Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English hare, from Old English hara (“hare”), from Proto-West Germanic *hasō ~ *haʀ-, from Proto-Germanic *hesô, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂s-én-; possibly related to or influenced by Proto-Germanic *haswaz (“grey”). Cognates See also West Frisian hazze, Dutch haas, German Hase, Norwegian and Swedish hare, Icelandic heri), Old English hasu, Middle High German heswe (“pale, dull”); also Welsh cannu (“to whiten”), ceinach (“hare”), Latin cānus (“white”), cascus (“old”), Old Prussian sasnis (“hare”), Pashto سوی (soe, “hare”) and Sanskrit शश (śaśa, “hare”). Pronunciation: /hɛə/, /hɛː/, /hɛɚ/, /heː/, /heə/ 1. Any of several plant-eating mammals of the genus Lepus, similar to a rabbit, but larger and with longer ears. Labels: countable Example: The hare has a reputation for exciting desire. Hare soup is credited with a particular aphrodisiac value. 2. The meat from this animal. Labels: uncountable Example: Ashe bit absent-mindedly into a piece of hare and swore mildly when he burned his tongue. Example: Hare is another delicious meat – it’s more ‘steaky’, darker and richer than rabbit. 3. The player in a paperchase, or hare and hounds game, who leaves a trail of paper to be followed. Labels: countable
Word: hare Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English hare, from Old English hara (“hare”), from Proto-West Germanic *hasō ~ *haʀ-, from Proto-Germanic *hesô, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱh₂s-én-; possibly related to or influenced by Proto-Germanic *haswaz (“grey”). Cognates See also West Frisian hazze, Dutch haas, German Hase, Norwegian and Swedish hare, Icelandic heri), Old English hasu, Middle High German heswe (“pale, dull”); also Welsh cannu (“to whiten”), ceinach (“hare”), Latin cānus (“white”), cascus (“old”), Old Prussian sasnis (“hare”), Pashto سوی (soe, “hare”) and Sanskrit शश (śaśa, “hare”). Pronunciation: /hɛə/, /hɛː/, /hɛɚ/, /heː/, /heə/ 1. To move swiftly. Labels: intransitive Example: But Wales somehow snaffled possession for fly-half Jones to send half-back partner Mike Phillips haring away with Stoddart in support. Example: Desperate, Kim hurls his phone overarm at the creature's forehead. It's a solid chunk of metal and it's a dead hit. Grey reels backwards and cracks his skull against the wall. By the time he recovers, Kim is out of sight, haring away down the left corridor, just echoing, fading footsteps on concrete.
Word: hare Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English harren, harien (“to drag by force, ill-treat”), of uncertain origin. Compare harry, harass. Pronunciation: /hɛə/, /hɛː/, /hɛɚ/, /heː/, /heə/ 1. To excite; to tease, or worry; to harry. Labels: obsolete Example: To hare and rate them thus at every turn, is not to teach them, but to vex, and torment them to no purpoſe.
Word: hare Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English hore, from Old English hār (“hoar, hoary, grey, old”), from Proto-Germanic *hairaz (“grey”). Cognate with German hehr (“noble, sublime”). Pronunciation: /hɛə/, /hɛː/, /hɛɚ/, /heː/, /heə/ 1. Grey, hoary; grey-haired, venerable (of people). Labels: regional Example: a hare old man 2. Cold, frosty (of weather). Labels: regional Example: a hare day
Word: otter Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English oter, otir, otur, otyre, from Old English otor, from Proto-West Germanic *otr, from Proto-Germanic *utraz, from Proto-Indo-European *udrós (“aquatic, water-animal”), from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“water”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Otter, Dutch otter, German Otter, Swedish utter, Norwegian oter, Icelandic otur, Sanskrit उद्र (udrá), Russian вы́дра (výdra), and Ancient Greek ὕδρα (húdra, “water snake”). Doublet of Hydra and hydra. More etymology under English water. Pronunciation: /ˈɒt.ə/, /ˈɑtɚ/, [(ʔ)ɑɾɚ] 1. An aquatic or marine carnivorous mammal in the subfamily Lutrinae. Labels: countable, uncountable 2. An aquatic or marine carnivorous mammal in the subfamily Lutrinae. Labels: uncountable Example: 'The Aleuts come from a country far to the north,' he said. 'Their ways are not ours nor is their language. They have come to take otter and to give us our share in many goods which they have and which we can use. 3. A hairy man with a slender physique, in contrast with a bear, who is more thickset. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable
Word: otter Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Corruption of annotto. Pronunciation: /ˈɒt.ə/, /ˈɑtɚ/, [(ʔ)ɑɾɚ] 1. annatto (dye) Labels: obsolete, uncountable
Word: otter Part of Speech: noun Pronunciation: /ˈɒt.ə/, /ˈɑtɚ/, [(ʔ)ɑɾɚ] 1. Archaic form of attar. Labels: alt-of, archaic, uncountable Example: […] the precious perfume called otter of roses.
Word: lynx Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English lynx, linx, lenx, lynce, from Latin lynx, from Ancient Greek λύγξ (lúnx), from Proto-Hellenic *lúnks, from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“white; light; bright”), because of the cat's seemingly glowing eyes and ability to see in the dark. Doublet of onza and ounce. Displaced English los; Middle English lusk (“lynx”), from Old English lox (“lynx”) as the animal died out in Britain during the Middle Ages. Pronunciation: /lɪŋks/ 1. Any of several medium-sized wild cats of the genus Lynx.
Word: marmot Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle French marmotte, from Old French marmotte; further etymology uncertain, possibly from a Gallo-Romance base *marm- (“to mumble; to murmur”) (referring to the sound made by the marmot when eating; possibly related to Proto-Indo-European *mur- (whence murmur) and ultimately imitative; compare also French marmot and marmonner) + Middle French -otte (diminutive suffix). Akin to French marmotte, Italian marmotta, Engadin Romansh murmont, Old High German *murmento (dialectal German Murmentel, standard Murmeltier); see also Latin mūs montānus (literally “mountain rat”). Pronunciation: /ˈmɑː.mət/, /ˈmɑɹ.mət/ 1. Any of several large ground-dwelling rodents of the genera Marmota and Cynomys in the squirrel family.
Word: marten Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English martren, martryn, from Old French martrine (“marten fur”), from Old Dutch *marthrīn (“of marten fur”), from *marthar (“marten”). Displaced related Old English mearþ, from Proto-Germanic *marþuz. Pronunciation: /ˈmɑː.tɪn/, /ˈmɑː.tən/, /ˈmɑɹ.tən/, [ˈmɑɹ.ʔn̩] 1. Any carnivorous mammal of the genus Martes.
Word: marten Part of Speech: noun Pronunciation: /ˈmɑː.tɪn/, /ˈmɑː.tən/, /ˈmɑɹ.tən/, [ˈmɑɹ.ʔn̩] 1. Archaic form of martin (the bird). Labels: alt-of, archaic Example: Towards the end of the month, swallows and house martens congregate, and are often seen resting on the ridges or sloping roofs of buildings.
Word: badger Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English bageard (“marked by a badge”), from bage (“badge”), referring to the animal's badge-like white blaze, equivalent to badge + -ard. Displaced earlier brock, from Old English brocc. Pronunciation: /ˈbæd͡ʒə/, /ˈbæd͡ʒɚ/ 1. Any mammal belonging to the genera Meles, Arctonyx, Mellivora or Taxidea. 2. A native or resident of the American state, Wisconsin. 3. A brush made of badger hair. Labels: obsolete 4. A gang of robbers who robbed near rivers, into which they threw the bodies of those they murdered. Labels: in-plural, obsolete 5. A person who is very fond of cricket. Labels: slang
Word: badger Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English bageard (“marked by a badge”), from bage (“badge”), referring to the animal's badge-like white blaze, equivalent to badge + -ard. Displaced earlier brock, from Old English brocc. Pronunciation: /ˈbæd͡ʒə/, /ˈbæd͡ʒɚ/ 1. To pester; to annoy persistently; to press. Labels: transitive Example: He kept badgering her about her bad habits. Example: "Yeah? Cool. Just a warning: people are going to badger you about that. It's practically inevitable for gay trans people."
Word: badger Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Unknown Possibly from bagger. "Baggier" is cited by the OED in 1467-8. Pronunciation: /ˈbæd͡ʒə/, /ˈbæd͡ʒɚ/ 1. An itinerant licensed dealer in commodities used for food; a hawker or huckster; especially one who bought grain in one place and sold it in another. Labels: obsolete
Word: weasel Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *wisulǭ Proto-West Germanic *wisulā Old English weosule Middle English wēsele English weasel From Middle English wesele, from Old English weosule, from Proto-West Germanic *wisulā, from Proto-Germanic *wisulǭ. The verb is from c. 1900, from the supposed cunningness of the weasel. Pronunciation: /ˈwiːz(ə)l/, /ˈwizəl/, /ˈwizl̩/ 1. Any of the carnivorous mammals of the genera Mustela, Neogale, Poecilogale, and Lyncodon, having a slender body, a long tail and usually a light brown upper coat and light-coloured belly. Example: An old traditional prescription for provoking erotic inclinations ran as follows, The toe of the foot of a man, anointed with oil, or honey, or the ashes of a weasel. 2. A least weasel (Mustela nivalis). 3. Any of certain other species of the family Mustelidae. 4. A devious or sneaky person or animal. Labels: derogatory, informal Example: Once you've gone beyond the scripted speeches, soundbites and cliches, you'll notice how the debate about leadership is primarily divided between the three governors and two senators, the other two weasels, Donald Trump and Ben Carson notwithstanding. 5. A type of yarn winder used for counting the yardage of handspun yarn; spinner's weasel. It most commonly has a wooden peg or dowel that pops up from the gearing mechanism after a certain number of yards have been wound onto the winder.
Word: weasel Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *wisulǭ Proto-West Germanic *wisulā Old English weosule Middle English wēsele English weasel From Middle English wesele, from Old English weosule, from Proto-West Germanic *wisulā, from Proto-Germanic *wisulǭ. The verb is from c. 1900, from the supposed cunningness of the weasel. Pronunciation: /ˈwiːz(ə)l/, /ˈwizəl/, /ˈwizl̩/ 1. To achieve by clever or devious means. Labels: transitive Example: Prisoners are notorious for weaseling day passes to get out of lockup […] . 2. To gain something for oneself by clever or devious means. Labels: reflexive, transitive Example: He's weaseled himself into a position where he can influence the outcome of this election. Example: Within just a couple of days, she [a dog] had weaseled her way into our hearts. 3. To engage in clever or devious behavior. Labels: intransitive Example: Authority figures have a history of weaseling on this topic.
Word: least weasel Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From least + weasel, from the fact that it is the smallest member of its genus. Pronunciation: /ˈliːst ˈwiːz(ə)l/, /ˈlist ˈwiz(ə)l/ 1. The common weasel, little weasel, or simply weasel (Mustela nivalis), the smallest member of the weasel genus Mustela, native to Eurasia, North America, and North Africa. Example: The range of the Least Weasel extends entirely across the continent on this hemisphere; but its north and south dispersion are less definite, in the present state of our knowledge. Example: Two other interesting animals may have lived in that tree, the least weasel and his sanguinary cousin the ermine, or large weasel. Both are brown, after the snow finally disappears, and both turn white with the first snow-storm.
Word: ermine Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English ermine, ermin, ermyn, from Old French ermin, ermine, hermine. There are two main theories for the origin of Old French ermine. Germanic origin is suggested via Old Dutch *harmino (“stoat skin”), from *harmo (“stoat, weasel”) (compare Dutch hermelijn and dialectal herm), from Proto-Germanic *harmǭ, *harmô (compare Old English hearma, Old High German harmo (harmin (adjective), obsolete German Harm), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱormō (compare Romansh carmun, obsolete Lithuanian šarmuõ). Romance sources identify the animal with the corresponding word for Armenian, possibly from Medieval Latin mūs Armenius (“Armenian mouse”) or a posterior compound. Pronunciation: /ˈɜːmɪn/, /ˈɝmɪn/ 1. A weasel found in northern latitudes (Mustela erminea in Eurasia, Alaska, and the Arctic, Mustela haidarum in Haida Gwaii, Mustela richardsonii in the rest of North America); its dark brown fur turns white in winter, apart from the black tip of the tail. Labels: countable, uncountable 2. The white fur of this animal, traditionally seen as a symbol of purity and used for judges' robes. Labels: countable, uncountable 3. The office of a judge. Labels: broadly, countable, figuratively, uncountable 4. The fur of this animal, used as a heraldic tincture: a white field with a repeating pattern of stylized black spots. Labels: countable, uncountable 5. Any of various moths, especially in the family Yponomeutidae Labels: countable, uncountable
Word: ermine Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English ermine, ermin, ermyn, from Old French ermin, ermine, hermine. There are two main theories for the origin of Old French ermine. Germanic origin is suggested via Old Dutch *harmino (“stoat skin”), from *harmo (“stoat, weasel”) (compare Dutch hermelijn and dialectal herm), from Proto-Germanic *harmǭ, *harmô (compare Old English hearma, Old High German harmo (harmin (adjective), obsolete German Harm), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱormō (compare Romansh carmun, obsolete Lithuanian šarmuõ). Romance sources identify the animal with the corresponding word for Armenian, possibly from Medieval Latin mūs Armenius (“Armenian mouse”) or a posterior compound. Pronunciation: /ˈɜːmɪn/, /ˈɝmɪn/ 1. In blazon, of the colour ermine (white with black spots). Labels: not-comparable
Word: ermine Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English ermine, ermin, ermyn, from Old French ermin, ermine, hermine. There are two main theories for the origin of Old French ermine. Germanic origin is suggested via Old Dutch *harmino (“stoat skin”), from *harmo (“stoat, weasel”) (compare Dutch hermelijn and dialectal herm), from Proto-Germanic *harmǭ, *harmô (compare Old English hearma, Old High German harmo (harmin (adjective), obsolete German Harm), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱormō (compare Romansh carmun, obsolete Lithuanian šarmuõ). Romance sources identify the animal with the corresponding word for Armenian, possibly from Medieval Latin mūs Armenius (“Armenian mouse”) or a posterior compound. Pronunciation: /ˈɜːmɪn/, /ˈɝmɪn/ 1. To clothe with ermine. Labels: transitive
Word: stoat Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English stote (“the ermine, especially in its brown summer coat”), of uncertain origin. The word bears some resemblance to Old Norse stutr (“bull”), Swedish stut (“bull, steer”) and Danish stud (“steer”) (see also English stot), but the semantic link is difficult unless a common origin is from “(brown?) male mammal”. First attested in the mid 1400s. Pronunciation: /ˈstəʊt/, /ˈstoʊt/ 1. Mustela erminea, the ermine or short-tailed weasel, a mustelid native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip. Example: I have never seen Stoats hunt in packs, but it is certain both Weasels and Stoats do so. Example: In 1953 it was reported that the stoat had increased to a high population level, but that the weasel introduced at the same time had disappeared (de Vos et al. 1956).
Word: stoat Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Unclear. Attested in the spellings stott, stot, stote and stoat, all said (in early texts) to be pronounced the same as stoat. Possibly related to the animal stoat whose fur is used in making garments, or to stot(t) (“bounce, rebound”) as the stitch 'rebounds' off and does not pass through to the other side of the material. Pronunciation: /ˈstəʊt/, /ˈstoʊt/ 1. To stitch (edges of relatively thick cloth, fur, etc, for example on either side of a join or tear) together in a way that is invisible from the 'front', by sewing part of the way into and then back out of the thickness of the material from the 'back' side (without the thread going all the way through to the 'front' side of the material). Labels: transitive Example: to stoat two very ravelled edges Example: The tear to be stoated must have firm edges; it is impossible to stoat ravelled edges such as most serges have. The cloths which give the best results are vicunas, boxcloths, closely woven tweeds, meltons, and overcoatings.
Word: polecat Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English polcat, pulkat, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Middle English *pole, *poule (“hen”), from Old French poule (“hen”) + Middle English cat. Compare English foulmart. Pronunciation: /ˈpəʊlkæt/, /ˈpoʊlˌkæt/ 1. Any of several long-bodied mammals of the subfamilies Mustelinae and Ictonychinae, both in the weasel family Mustelidae. 2. Any of several long-bodied mammals of the subfamilies Mustelinae and Ictonychinae, both in the weasel family Mustelidae. Example: For a long time the dormouse and polecat had seemed to him overfeeble enemies for his restless valour, even as the granary floor seemed to afford too narrow a field. Every day he read the papers of the previous day in the servants' hall of the houses he visited, and it appeared to him that this war in America, which was hailed as the awakening of the spirit of liberty and justice in the New World, ought to produce a revolution in France. Example: By the little garden pergola open to the winds some fluttered peacocks were blotted nervelessly amid the dripping trees, their heads sunk back beneath their wings: while in the pergola itself, like a fallen storm-cloud, lolled a negress, her levelled, polecat eyes semi-veiled by the nebulous alchemy of the rainbow. 3. A skunk. Labels: Appalachia, Texas 4. A tubular device used to support lights on a set. Example: This is adjustable telescopic tubing, wedged securely between floor and ceiling (vertical pole) or wall-to-wall (horizontal pole), within corridors, arches, window openings, doorways, etc. It may be held in position by a strong internal spring or end-screws. Designs include polecat, varipole, barricuda, jack tube, Acrow. Example: This uses a battery-operated HMI/MSR 200 W rigged on a magic arm fastened to a vertical 'pole-cat'. Check that the car roof is suitable for this application and remember to include a clean card (beer mat) between the top of the pole-cat and the car roof!
Word: ferret Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English furet, ferret, from Old French furet, from Vulgar Latin *furittum (“weasel, ferret”), diminutive of Latin fūr (“thief”). Pronunciation: /ˈfɛɹɪt/ 1. An often domesticated mammal (Mustela putorius furo) rather like a weasel, descended from the European polecat and often trained to hunt burrowing animals. 2. A black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes). 3. A diligent searcher. Labels: figuratively Example: The most challenging documentary discoveries were made by a tenacious archival ferret, Dr Antonio Bertoletti. In 1879 he published his findings in a slim, refreshingly dry volume, Francesco Cenci e la sua Famiglia.
Word: ferret Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English furet, ferret, from Old French furet, from Vulgar Latin *furittum (“weasel, ferret”), diminutive of Latin fūr (“thief”). Pronunciation: /ˈfɛɹɪt/ 1. To hunt game with ferrets. 2. To uncover and bring to light by searching; usually to ferret out. Labels: ambitransitive, broadly Example: Master Fer! I'll fer him, and firk him, and ferret him. Example: I confess that we were so unpopular with the outrageous mob, that I only got away from England at the risk of being ducked to death, and that Cly was so ferreted up and down, that he never would have got away at all but for that sham.
Word: ferret Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *bʰléh₃s Proto-Italic *flōs Latin flōrem Italian fiore Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tosder.? Late Latin -ittus Italian -etto Italian fiorettobor. English ferret Borrowed from Italian fioretto. Pronunciation: /ˈfɛɹɪt/ 1. A tape of silk, cotton, or ribbon, used to tie documents, clothing, etc. or along the edge of fabric. Labels: dated Example: red tape and green ferret
Word: dormouse Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English dormowse, of uncertain origin. Possibly from a dialectal *dor-, from Old Norse dár (“benumbed”) + mous (“mouse”). More at doze, mouse. The word is sometimes conjectured to come from an Anglo-Norman derivative of Old French dormir (“to sleep”) (as *dormouse (“tending to be dormant”), with second element mistaken for mouse), but no such Anglo-Norman term is known to have existed. Pronunciation: /ˈdɔɹ.maʊs/, /ˈdɔː.maʊs/ 1. Any of several species of small, mostly European rodents of the family Gliridae. Example: For a long time the dormouse and polecat had seemed to him overfeeble enemies for his restless valour, even as the granary floor seemed to afford too narrow a field. Every day he read the papers of the previous day in the servants' hall of the houses he visited, and it appeared to him that this war in America, which was hailed as the awakening of the spirit of liberty and justice in the New World, ought to produce a revolution in France. Example: Restoration such as this must work around wildlife habitats, and NR came to discover that almost the entire line was a haven for dormice. 2. Any of several species of small, mostly European rodents of the family Gliridae. 3. Any of several species of small, mostly European rodents of the family Gliridae. Labels: UK 4. A person who sleeps a great deal, or who falls asleep readily (by analogy with the sound hibernation of the dormouse). Labels: figuratively
Word: muskrat Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Perhaps so called for its musky odour and because it resembles a rat, or perhaps called by an Algonquian name like the Abenaki moskwas, with the spelling altered under the influence of the English words musk and rat. Pronunciation: /ˈmʌskɹæt/ 1. A semiaquatic rodent of the tribe Ondatrini. Example: 1865, Henry David Thoreau, Cape Cod, Chapter IX. "The Sea and the Desert", page 187. He also said that minks, muskrats, foxes, coons, and wild mice were found there, but no squirrels. Example: Later, dozing in the lamplight, he saw muskrats everywhere. Their small supple forms slipped busily along the floor at dusk, continually perfecting their burrows. He saw them pulling soft weeds and holding juicy roots in their tiny paws to eat. 2. Any of several shrews in the family Soricidae, especially an Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus). 3. A bandicoot rat. Labels: obsolete
Word: rabbit Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Inherited from Middle English rabet, rabette, from Anglo-Latin rabettus, from dialectal Old French rabotte, probably a diminutive of Middle Dutch or West Flemish robbe (“rabbit, seal”), of uncertain origin; possibly some imitative verb, maybe robben, rubben (“to rub”) is used here to allude to a characteristic of the animal. See rub. Related forms include Middle French rabouillet (“baby rabbit”) and in French rabot (“plane”)), coming via Walloon Old French (reflected nowadays as Walloon robète (“rabbit”)), from Middle Dutch robbe ("rabbit; seal"; whence Modern Dutch rob (“rabbit", also "seal”)); also Middle Low German robbe, rubbe (“rabbit”), and the later German Low German Rubbe, Robb (“seal”), West Frisian robbe (“seal”), Saterland Frisian Rubbe (“seal”), North Frisian rob (“seal”), borrowed into German Robbe (“seal”). Meant "young rabbit" until the 19th c., when it came to replace the original general term cony, owing to the latter's resemblance to and use as a euphemism for cunny, "vulva" (compare ass and donkey). Note that there is no inherited Germanic word for rabbits, since hares are the only leporids native to Britain (as with all of Europe outside the Iberian Peninsula and southwest France); rabbits were introduced from France in the late Middle Ages, likely after the Norman Invasion. (Fittingly, hare is indeed inherited from Proto-Germanic.) Pronunciation: /ˈɹæbɪt/, /ˈɹabɪt/, /ˈɹæbət/, /ˈɾabɪt/ 1. To hunt rabbits. Labels: intransitive 2. To flee. Labels: US, intransitive Example: The informant seemed skittish, as if he was about to rabbit. Example: When the three friends heard someone behind them yell, "police, freeze!" they each rabbited in a different direction.
Word: rabbit Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Cockney rhyming slang rabbit and pork, to talk. Pronunciation: /ˈɹæbɪt/, /ˈɹabɪt/, /ˈɹæbət/, /ˈɾabɪt/ 1. To talk incessantly and in a childish manner; to babble annoyingly. Labels: UK, intransitive Example: Stop your infernal rabbiting! Use proper words or nobody will listen to you! Example: Ah start tae feel her up, while rabbitin a load ay shite ahoot how we huv tae stick thegither at a time like this.
Word: rabbit Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Perhaps a corruption of rabate. Pronunciation: /ˈɹæbɪt/, /ˈɹabɪt/, /ˈɹæbət/, /ˈɾabɪt/ 1. Confound; damn; drat. Example: LORD D. There, Dick, d'ye hear how the tutorer talks? oh rabbit it! he can ladle you out of latin by the quart;—and grunts greek like a pig.
Word: mouflon Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Unadapted borrowing from French mouflon, from Italian muflone. From 1765–1775. Pronunciation: /ˈmuːflɒn/, /ˈmuːflɑn/ 1. A species of wild sheep, Ovis orientalis musimon, syn. Ovis aries musimon, endemic to Sardinia and Corsica. Example: One of the most modified domesticates is the sheep, the various breeds of which bear little resemblance to its wild ancestor, the mouflon.
Word: squirrel Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English squirel, squyrelle, from Anglo-Norman esquirel and Old French escurel (whence French écureuil), from Vulgar Latin *scūriolus, diminutive of *scūrius, variant of Latin sciūrus, from Ancient Greek σκίουρος (skíouros, “shadow-tail”, from σκιά (skiá, “shadow”) + οὐρά (ourá, “tail”)). Displaced native Middle English acquerne, aquerne, from Old English ācweorna. See dialectical English con and puristic English oakwern. Pronunciation: /ˈskwɪ.ɹ(ə)l/, /ˈskwɝ(ə)l/, /ˈskwɪ.ɾ(ə)l/, /ˈskwʌ.ɹəl/, /ˈskwɪ.ɹəl/ 1. Any of the rodents of the family Sciuridae. Example: tree squirrels Example: ground squirrels 2. Any of the rodents of the family Sciuridae. Labels: especially 3. Someone who displays squirrel-like qualities such as stealing or hoarding objects. 4. One of the small rollers of a carding machine which work with the large cylinder. 5. A person, usually a freezoner, who applies L. Ron Hubbard's technology in a heterodox manner. Labels: derogatory, often
Word: squirrel Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English squirel, squyrelle, from Anglo-Norman esquirel and Old French escurel (whence French écureuil), from Vulgar Latin *scūriolus, diminutive of *scūrius, variant of Latin sciūrus, from Ancient Greek σκίουρος (skíouros, “shadow-tail”, from σκιά (skiá, “shadow”) + οὐρά (ourá, “tail”)). Displaced native Middle English acquerne, aquerne, from Old English ācweorna. See dialectical English con and puristic English oakwern. Pronunciation: /ˈskwɪ.ɹ(ə)l/, /ˈskwɝ(ə)l/, /ˈskwɪ.ɾ(ə)l/, /ˈskwʌ.ɹəl/, /ˈskwɪ.ɹəl/ 1. To store in a secretive manner, to hide something for future use Labels: transitive 2. To become distracted Labels: intransitive