nandhakumarms/qualc-wiktionary-en huggingface dataset:
Word: short cut Part of Speech: noun 1. Alternative spelling of shortcut. Labels: alt-of, alternative Example: He added: "We are doing everything we can to complete the Elizabeth Line as quickly as possible, but there are no short cuts to delivering this hugely complex railway. Example: More than £4 million worth of government funding will create new pedestrian connections on the Edgeley side, and a new short cut from Thompson Street.
Word: alta Part of Speech: noun Pronunciation: /ˈɑːltə/ 1. Rose bengal dye worn by Indian women on the feet during festivals. Labels: uncountable
Word: licit Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Latin licitus (“lawful”), perfect participle of licet (“[it] is permitted”, impersonal verb). Pronunciation: /ˈlɪs.ɪt/ 1. Not forbidden by formal or informal rules. Example: Undated, Pope Honorius III Solet Annuere (anonymous translator), Let it not be in any way licit to anyone among men to infringe this page of our confirmation, or to contravene it with rash daring. Example: You seem to have been very much offended because your father talks a little sculduddery after dinner, which it is perfectly licit for him to do, and which (although I am not very fond of it myself) appears to be entirely an affair of taste. 2. Explicitly established or constituted by law. Example: The contract validly made and consummated is dissolved by death alone. However, the Church must determine what is required for a valid and licit marriage contract.
Word: orca Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Learned borrowing from Latin orca (“tun, cask; whale”), see there for more. Although the origin is obscure, the sometimes-cited association with orcus (“underworld”) is folk-etymology. Doublet of orc. Pronunciation: /ˈoɹkə/, /ˈɔːkə/ 1. A sea mammal (Orcinus orca) related to dolphins and porpoises, commonly called the killer whale. Example: In the summer, when the weather is calm and beautiful, large flocks of orcæ can be seen approaching the shallow places near the shore, or between the numerous islands of the White Sea. Several fishermen associate for hunting orcæ, each one furnishing a boat, and a large seine made of cords of the thickness of a finger, the meshes being 10½ inches square.
Word: jihad Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from Arabic جِهَاد (jihād, “struggle; effort”). Pronunciation: /d͡ʒɪˈhæd/, /d͡ʒɪˈhɑːd/, /d͡ʒəˈhɑːd/, /ˈd͡ʒiːhæd/, /ˈd͡ʒiːhɑːd/ 1. A holy war undertaken by Muslims. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Young Iraqis of both sects obeyed the imams' ruling last week by rushing to conscription offices in hot, dirty, dusty Bagdad to offer themselves or their money for the jihad. Example: Small groups of killers, the scent of blood in their nostrils, now fanned out by taxi, bicycle or even on horseback into the surrounding countryside, spreading the word that a general jihad, or ‘holy war’, had broken out. 2. A personal spiritual struggle for self-improvement or against evil. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: As a result, Amirull has renounced his radical beliefs in armed jihad and the use of violence. He now sees jihad as caring for his parents, improving himself, and contributing to society. 3. An aggressive campaign for an idea. Labels: broadly, countable, uncountable Example: And now, the prophecy. One will come, the voice from the outer world, bringing the holy war, the jihad, which will cleanse the universe and bring us out of darkness.
Word: jihad Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Borrowed from Arabic جِهَاد (jihād, “struggle; effort”). Pronunciation: /d͡ʒɪˈhæd/, /d͡ʒɪˈhɑːd/, /d͡ʒəˈhɑːd/, /ˈd͡ʒiːhæd/, /ˈd͡ʒiːhɑːd/ 1. To participate in a jihad. Labels: transitive, uncommon
Word: jehad Part of Speech: noun 1. Alternative spelling of jihad. Labels: alt-of, alternative Example: [Their] courage in war […] had not, like that of the Mohammedan dervishes of the Sudan, or of Mohammedans anywhere engaged in a jehad, a religious motive and the promise of future bliss behind it.
Word: shopworn Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From shop (noun) + worn (adjective). Pronunciation: /ˈʃɒpwɔːn/, /ˈʃɑpˌwɔɹn/ 1. Of a product in a retail store: damaged from being on display and handled by customers, etc.; shop-soiled. Example: The handbag looks nice, but shopworn. Example: Broke Sycamores by Oaks may be ſuppli'd: / Faln bricks by ſtones to make a Building fair; / But by ſuch patching 'tvvill be vvorſe alaſs, / Nevv generous vvine vvill break old Shop-vvorn Glaſs. 2. Not fresh or new. Labels: figuratively Example: Peace with honour—that immortal phrase coined by the greatest phrase-maker of his generation—has become slightly shop[-]worn, although still admittedly serviceable, and honour is not lightly to be defined. Example: The shopworn ghost-story part of the tale has been energized by the brilliant performance of little Owen Meany, who—despite his diminutive size—is a huge presence onstage; the miniature Meany simply dwarfs the other performers. 3. Not fresh or new. Labels: figuratively
Word: junkie Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree English junk Proto-Germanic *-j-, *-ij- Proto-West Germanic *-i, *-ī Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English -ie English junkie From junk (“narcotic drug”) + -ie. Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒʌŋki/ 1. A narcotics addict, especially a heroin user. Labels: derogatory, slang Example: Rats in the front room, roaches in the back / Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat Example: It's wiser to say no / God made me a junkie / But Satan told me so 2. An enthusiast of something. Labels: broadly, slang Example: English people are travel junkies, but Americans hardly ever leave their state. Example: My uncle is a classic-car junkie.
Word: junky Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree English junk Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English junky From junk + -y (adjectival suffix). Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒʌŋkiː/, [ˈd͡ʒʌŋkʰɪi̯] 1. Resembling or characteristic of junk; cheap, worthless, or of low quality. Example: 1970–1975, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed in Pleasure I took my jewelry box & made a bracelet for J from an old broken necklace & the clasp from a junky pink charm bracelet. 2. Full of junk. Example: We really need to clear out the junky basement.
Word: junky Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree English junk Proto-Germanic *-j-, *-ij- Proto-West Germanic *-i, *-ī Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English junky From junk + -y (“person associated”). Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒʌŋkiː/, [ˈd͡ʒʌŋkʰɪi̯] 1. Alternative spelling of junkie. Labels: alt-of, alternative, derogatory, slang
Word: ad- Part of Speech: prefix Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad-bor. English ad- Borrowed from Latin ad-. Doublet of at-. 1. Doing, enacting, forming a verb. Labels: idiomatic, morpheme Example: accouple Example: admarginate 2. Near, close to, adjacent. Labels: morpheme Example: adaxonal Example: addental 3. Towards in direction or movement. (anatomy) Towards the midline of the body. Labels: morpheme Example: adapical Example: adfluvial 4. Intensifying, additionally. Labels: idiomatic, morpheme Example: acclaim Example: adsignification 5. Along, alongside. Labels: morpheme Example: admarginal Example: adnervular 6. Appending and/or prepending. Adding from either side. Labels: morpheme Example: adfix Example: adposition 7. Modifying. Labels: morpheme Example: adnominal Example: adverb 8. Atop or above in position. Labels: morpheme Example: adatom Example: adcumulate
Word: cubby Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English cub (“stall”) + -y (diminutive suffix). Cognate with French cagibi. Pronunciation: /kʌbi/, /ˈkʊbi/ 1. A small, confined space. 2. A cell in a shelf for storing items, particularly in a school. Example: It’s standard for Norwegian kindergartens to have rows of cubbies just inside the door, each storing layers of spare clothes, including rain and snow gear and boots and mittens.
Word: ditz Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Back-formation from ditzy. Pronunciation: /dɪts/ 1. A scatterbrained person, especially a woman. Labels: derogatory, informal Example: It’s clear Belle Delphine is playing a character: the empty-headed gamer girl ditz who floats around spreading love and magic wherever she goes,” says Vito. Example: Crystal says, “I had to become almost a cartoon of vapid femininity to explain why I was so outof it. I couldn’t be good at being a person, but I could be good at being a girl. And my girly-ness could explain why I was so dumb at math and so bad at people. She’s such a ditz.”
Word: ditzy Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Since early 1800s commonly used by Pennsylvania Dutch (Penslfawnisch Deitsch); possibly a borrowing from dialectal German dutzig, also dützig, ditzig (“numb, dazed, dizzy, as after having been punched; dull, stupid”), from dialectal dutzen (“to butt, hit, punch”). Compare German verdutzt (“dumbfounded”) and regional Dötsche (“bump, dent, bruise”). Unlikely, an alteration of dizzy, of American origin. Pronunciation: /ˈdɪtsi/ 1. Silly or scatterbrained, usually of a young woman. Labels: informal Example: What’s more, Friends offers someone for everyone: a tall, dorky, insecure guy (David Schwimmer); a ditzy, guitar-strumming blonde (Lisa Kudrow); a handsome, jean-clad palooka (Matt LeBlanc); a sarcastic, 9-to-5-ing funnyman ([Matthew] Perry); a dark-haired, blue-eyed Veronica (Courteney Cox); and a spoiled suburban princess just finding her legs ([Jennifer] Aniston). Example: The guy tossed some cash on the counter, then left with the ditzy girl and Abigail's fan.
Word: ditsy Part of Speech: adj 1. Alternative spelling of ditzy. Labels: alt-of, alternative, informal Example: All the author’s familiar trademarks are here: a multitudinous cast with ditsy, Dickensian names; […]
Word: ditsy Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Unknown, possibly a variation on dicty. 1. Tending to fuss over small details 2. Of a pattern on an item of repeated small objects, often floral
Word: rosebud Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From rose + bud. Pronunciation: /ˈɹəʊz.bʌd/, /ˈɹoʊz.bʌd/ 1. The bud of a rose. Example: Holonyms: rose < rosebush Example: Gather ye Roſe-buds vvhile ye may, / Old Time is ſtill a flying: / And this ſame flovver, that ſmiles to day; / To morrovv vvill be dying. 2. A pretty young woman. Labels: UK, sometimes 3. A debutante. Labels: US, rare 4. Any of assorted small seashells with a pink or partially pink color, usually of the family Muricidae. Labels: rare 5. A mouth. Labels: Cockney 6. the indentation of a surface caused by an incorrect hammer strike (missing the nail) Labels: slang 7. The anus. Labels: slang, vulgar Example: Her ass was the ultimate goal for both of us, but I wanted to draw out the anticipation. […] She watched from between her knees as I prepared to push into her rosebud. Example: Squeezing a healthy dollop of lube onto her rosebud, he stretched the tight ring and forced more lubrication into her ass. 8. The clitoris. Labels: slang, vulgar Example: His thumbs spread her woman's center so he could fit his mouth more closely and enter her with his tongue. Now she could not contain her cries of excitement. The tip of his tongue licked the hard rosebud hidden within, then circled it slowly over and over until she was swollen with need. Example: Her plea was ignored entirely. He stood over her, crowding her with his powerful body, and tugged the tunic from her nerveless grasp. “Do you remember how I plied the wet rosebud between your thighs?” Holding her gaze, he traced a finger between her breasts, downward to her narrow waist, drawing his hand slowly, lingeringly, over her skin. “I could show you such pleasure again, sweeting. ...” 9. A woman's nipples, namely when erect. Labels: in-plural, slang Example: I gasped when I felt the powerful spray from the shower against my breasts. First one, then the other. My rosebuds swelled up immediately, red and stiff. She sprayed between my breasts and on the small of my back. Then she quit for a minute. Example: Caleb lifted her above him, accepting the hard rosebud of her nipple into his mouth as he drank from her. ‘You're beautiful’, Cat, he groaned as he rolled over so that she was the one beneath him. ‘So very beautiful.’
Word: breaking news Part of Speech: noun 1. News that has either just happened or is currently happening. Labels: uncountable Example: Breaking news may contain incomplete information, factual errors, or poor editing because of a rush to publication. Example: There is also breaking news that the delayed Crossrail project in London cannot be completed without a further £80 million injection of funds.
Word: NSFW Part of Speech: adj 1. Initialism of not safe for work; i.e., containing inappropriate or adult content (e.g. pornography or profanity) that may be unsuitable for public, formal or controlled environments, such as at work. Labels: Internet, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism Example: Molinier dolls, wrapped in their haimet stockings, on the other hand, always welcome—no matter which way their buttocks are turned, whether to the front or the back, NSFW, no matter, as long as their vaginas know what's behind them—the big fight Example: Whose utopia is this? Smart phone applications for porn, Grindr, sex available unbound by time or space—except for the dictates of NSFW [Not Safe For Work].
Word: impotent Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Old French impotent, from Latin impotēns, from in- (expresses negation) + potēns (“powerful”). Pronunciation: /ˈɪm.pə.tənt/, /ˈɪm.pə.tɪnt/ 1. Lacking physical strength or vigor; weak 2. Lacking in power, as to act effectively; helpless Example: Technology without morality is barbarous; morality without technology is impotent 3. Incapable of sexual intercourse, often because of an inability to achieve or sustain an erection, having impotentia coeundi. Example: A person smeared with the excrement of a mouse was rendered impotent, according to Pliny the Elder. 4. Sterile 5. Lacking self-restraint Labels: obsolete Example: Then, impotent of tongue (her ſilence broke) / Thus turbulent in rattling tone ſhe ſpoke.
Word: impotent Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Old French impotent, from Latin impotēns, from in- (expresses negation) + potēns (“powerful”). Pronunciation: /ˈɪm.pə.tənt/, /ˈɪm.pə.tɪnt/ 1. A man who has erectile dysfunction 2. An impotent or powerless person
Word: ant- Part of Speech: prefix 1. A variant form of anti- used before a vowel. Labels: morpheme Example: antacid 2. A variant form of ante- used before a vowel. Labels: morpheme Example: antumbra
Word: apud Part of Speech: prep Etymology: Borrowed from Latin apud (“at, by, in the presence of, in the writings of”). Pronunciation: /ˈæpəd/ 1. Used in scholarly works to cite a reference at second hand Example: Jones apud Smith means that the original source is Jones, but that the author is relying on Smith for that reference.
Word: caddie Part of Speech: noun Etymology: The noun is borrowed from Scots caddie (“military cadet; young man; ragamuffin; person engaged to run errands; person hired to assist a golfer”), from French cadet (“army cadet; younger sibling”), from capdet (“captain; chief”) (Gascony, archaic), from Late Latin capitettum, from Latin caput (“head”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“head”). Doublet of cadel, cadet, capital, capitellum, and caudillo. The verb is derived from the noun. Pronunciation: /ˈkædi/, [-ɾi], /ˈkɑdi/ 1. Synonym of cadet (“a gentleman (often a younger son from a noble family) who joined the military without a commission as a career”). Labels: Scotland, also, attributive, obsolete 2. A young man; a boy, a lad; specifically (derogatory), one regarded as of low social status; a ragamuffin. Labels: Scotland, archaic, broadly Example: But gie him't het, my hearty cocks! / E'en cowe the cadie! 3. A person engaged to run errands such as carrying goods and messages; a commissionaire, an errand boy or errand girl, a gofer; specifically, a member of an organized group of such persons working in large Scottish cities and towns in the early 18th century. Labels: Scotland, broadly, historical Example: A tattered cadie, or errand porter, whom David Deans had jostled in his attempt to extricate himself from the vicinity of the scorners, exclaimed in a strong north-country tone, "Ta de'il ding out her Cameronian een—what gi'es her titles to dunch gentlemans about?" Example: There would be a prosperity such as might seem fabulous, a prosperity of which every Scotchman, from the peer to the cadie, would partake. 4. A person hired to assist a golfer by carrying their golf clubs and providing advice. Labels: also, attributive, broadly Example: As caddy I had to carry the clubs, for there are four varieties almost everyone used, and some used more. Besides doing this, the caddy has to keep score of the number of strokes used, and watch and find each ball. Example: Then Carter Chapman picked out his putter, stepped confidently up to the ball, sighted once along the ground, and made his stroke. The ball rolled straight as a die toward the caddy who was holding the flag, and tinkled into the cup for a birdie three!
Word: caddie Part of Speech: verb Etymology: The noun is borrowed from Scots caddie (“military cadet; young man; ragamuffin; person engaged to run errands; person hired to assist a golfer”), from French cadet (“army cadet; younger sibling”), from capdet (“captain; chief”) (Gascony, archaic), from Late Latin capitettum, from Latin caput (“head”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“head”). Doublet of cadel, cadet, capital, capitellum, and caudillo. The verb is derived from the noun. Pronunciation: /ˈkædi/, [-ɾi], /ˈkɑdi/ 1. Chiefly followed by for: to serve as a caddie (noun etymology 1, noun sense 2) for a golfer. Labels: intransitive Example: We took turns caddying, one caddying, two playing. We went out across the river to the teeing ground of the first hole. Example: The next day the thirty-two qualifying players were paired off into sixteen sets of opponents. Charlotte was matched against a girl from California. After the first few minutes, the result was never in doubt. "Take it easy, miss," said the highly gratified Mr. Ogilvie, who was caddying for Charlotte. "You hold her in the hollow of your hand."
Word: caddie Part of Speech: noun Etymology: A variant of caddy (etymology 1). Pronunciation: /ˈkædi/, [-ɾi], /ˈkɑdi/ 1. Alternative spelling of caddy. Labels: alt-of, alternative
Word: collie Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Perhaps originally from coal, with reference to its colour; compare colly and collier. More at Wikipedia at collie § Name. Pronunciation: /ˈkɒli/, /ˈkɑli/ 1. Any of various breeds of dog originating in Scotland and England as sheepdogs
Word: croon Part of Speech: verb Etymology: The verb is borrowed from Scots croon (“to utter a deep, long-drawn-out sound; to utter a lament, mourn; to sing in a wailing voice, whimper, whine; to mutter or sing in an undertone, hum”) [and other forms], from Middle English cronen (“to sing or speak softly, hum, croon”) (croyn (Scotland)) [and other forms], probably from Middle Dutch crônen, krônen (“to groan, moan; to lament”) (modern Dutch kreunen (“to moan”)), or Old High German chrônan, krônen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *kraunijan, from Proto-Indo-European *gerH- (“to cry hoarsely”). The noun is partly: * borrowed from Scots croon (“a lament, wail; mournful song; low murmuring tune; (obsolete) long-drawn-out sound”), from croon (verb): see above; and * derived from the verb. Cognates * Middle Dutch krônen (modern Dutch kreunen (“to groan, moan; to lament”)) * Middle Low German kroenen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), kronen (“to growl; to grumble; to scold”) * Old High German chrônan, chrônnan (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”) * Saterland Frisian krȫnen (“to cause to weep”) Pronunciation: /kɹuːn/, /kɹun/, /krøn/, /krʏn/ 1. To hum or sing (a song or tune), or to speak (words), softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice. Labels: transitive Example: He was crooning a song. Example: Tam ſkelpit on thro' dub and mire, / Deſpiſing vvind, and rain, and fire; / VVhiles holding faſt his gude blue bonnet; / VVhiles crooning o'er ſome auld Scots ſonnet; […] 2. To soothe (a person or an animal) by singing softly. Labels: transitive Example: [I]n his ill-remembered prayer, and in the fragment of the childish hymn with which he sung and crooned himself asleep, there breathed as true a spirit as ever studied homily expressed, or old cathedral arches echoed. Example: “But, you know, crooners gonna croon.” 3. To hum or sing, or to speak, softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing a popular song in a low, mellow voice. Labels: intransitive Example: She was crooning, but I couldn’t make out what the song was. Example: But hark! the robin takes up the strain. […] Thou art a type of the true poet, even of him who "crooneth to himsel" amid poverty, and want, and toil. Other birds require the sunshine and the flower to wake their musical utterances, but the drifting flake and the arrowy hail stay not thy song. 4. To lament, to moan. Labels: Northern-England, Scotland, intransitive 5. To make a continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle; to bellow, to low. Labels: Northern-England, Scotland, intransitive Example: Novv Clinkumbell, vvi' rattlin tovv, / Begins to jovv an' croon; […] Example: Even the dull cattle crooned and gazed, / And murmured and looked with anxious pain / For something the mystery to explain. 6. Of a large bell: to make a low-pitched sound. Labels: Northern-England, Scotland, intransitive
Word: croon Part of Speech: noun Etymology: The verb is borrowed from Scots croon (“to utter a deep, long-drawn-out sound; to utter a lament, mourn; to sing in a wailing voice, whimper, whine; to mutter or sing in an undertone, hum”) [and other forms], from Middle English cronen (“to sing or speak softly, hum, croon”) (croyn (Scotland)) [and other forms], probably from Middle Dutch crônen, krônen (“to groan, moan; to lament”) (modern Dutch kreunen (“to moan”)), or Old High German chrônan, krônen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *kraunijan, from Proto-Indo-European *gerH- (“to cry hoarsely”). The noun is partly: * borrowed from Scots croon (“a lament, wail; mournful song; low murmuring tune; (obsolete) long-drawn-out sound”), from croon (verb): see above; and * derived from the verb. Cognates * Middle Dutch krônen (modern Dutch kreunen (“to groan, moan; to lament”)) * Middle Low German kroenen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), kronen (“to growl; to grumble; to scold”) * Old High German chrônan, chrônnan (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”) * Saterland Frisian krȫnen (“to cause to weep”) Pronunciation: /kɹuːn/, /kɹun/, /krøn/, /krʏn/ 1. A soft, low-pitched sound; specifically, a soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune. Example: O, a’ ye Bards on bonie Doon! / An’ vvha on Ayr your chanters tune! / Come, join the melancholious croon / O’ Robin’s reed! / His heart vvill never get aboon! / His Mailie’s dead! Example: Bitterly she cried as she thought over the old hag's croon:— / "Quick joy, long pain, / You will take your gift again." 2. A continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle; a bellow. Labels: Northern-England, Scotland Example: Amang the brachens, on the brae, / Betvveen her an' the moon, / The Deil, or elſe an outler Quey, / Gat up an' gae a croon: […] Example: The bittern mounts the morning air; / And rings the sky with quavering croon; […] 3. The low-pitched sound of a large bell. Labels: Northern-England, Scotland
Word: forebear Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Late 15th century, from fore- + beer (“one who is or exists”, literally “be-er”). Pronunciation: /ˈfɔːˌbɛə/, /ˈfɔɹˌbɛɚ/ 1. An ancestor. Example: One day, among the days, he bethought him of this and fell lamenting for that the most part of his existence was past and he had not been vouchsafed a son, to inherit the kingdom after him, even as he had inherited it from his fathers and forebears; by reason whereof there betided him sore cark and care and chagrin exceeding. Example: [1906] 2004, Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville, Ethel Wedgwood tr. Sirs, I am quite sure that the King of England's forbears rightly and justly lost the conquered lands that I hold […]
Word: forebear Part of Speech: verb 1. Obsolete spelling of forbear. Labels: alt-of, obsolete
Word: rampage Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Scots rampage, equivalent to ramp + -age. Perhaps influenced by Middle English rampnen (“to force, ram”), from Old English *hrampian, from Proto-West Germanic *hrampōn (“to obstruct, hinder”), see ramp. Pronunciation: /ˈɹæmpeɪd͡ʒ/ 1. A course of violent, frenzied action. Example: Blast after blast, fiery outbreak after fiery outbreak, like a flaming barrage from within,[…]most of Edison's grounds soon became an inferno. As though on an incendiary rampage, the fires systematically devoured the contents of Edison's headquarters and facilities. 2. Wild partying, typically a drinking binge Example: Great card he was. Waltzing in Stamer street with Ignatius Gallaher on a Sunday morning, the landlady's two hats pinned on his head. Out on the rampage all night.
Word: rampage Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Scots rampage, equivalent to ramp + -age. Perhaps influenced by Middle English rampnen (“to force, ram”), from Old English *hrampian, from Proto-West Germanic *hrampōn (“to obstruct, hinder”), see ramp. Pronunciation: /ˈɹæmpeɪd͡ʒ/ 1. To move about wildly or violently. Example: In the hip science of ultrasmall nanotechnology, fantastical future possibilities like rampaging nanorobots capture the most attention, but the first fruits of the field have been more mundane: tiny bits of mostly ordinary stuff that just sit there. Example: It is a sunny morning in Amman and the three uniformed judges in Jordan’s state security court are briskly working their way through a pile of slim grey folders on the bench before them. Each details the charges against 25 or so defendants accused of supporting the fighters of the Islamic State (Isis), now rampaging across Syria and Iraq under their sinister black banners and sending nervous jitters across the Arab world.
Word: scone Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Originally Scots, possibly from Middle Low German schö̂ne (“fine flour bread”), or Middle Dutch schoonbroot (“fine bread; a kind of flat angular loaf”), from schoon (“fine”) + broot (“bread”). Alternatively, might derive from Scottish Gaelic sgonn (“lump, mouthful”). Pronunciation: /skɒn/, /skəʊ̯n/, /skɔn/, /skoʊ̯n/, /skɑn/ 1. A small, rich, pastry or quick bread, sometimes baked on a griddle. Example: On Wednesdays I go shopping / And have buttered scones for tea Example: Well, that's all right, then, Brian. Sit down. Have a scone. Make yourself at home. You klutz! 2. Frybread served with honey butter spread on it. Example: Dinner rolls and deep-fried crusty scones that border on loaf-size or juicy fruit pies tagged with county-fair blue ribbons rise from backroad eating sites. 3. The head. Labels: Australia, New-Zealand, informal Example: …the white ball left a 5cm gash on his scone despite a floppy white hat absorbing some of the impact. Example: After Essendon coach James Hird tumbled off his bike and hit his scone on the unforgiving South Yarra terrain on Monday night, the chances are he was administered the Cogstate concussion test.
Word: scone Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Originally Scots, possibly from Middle Low German schö̂ne (“fine flour bread”), or Middle Dutch schoonbroot (“fine bread; a kind of flat angular loaf”), from schoon (“fine”) + broot (“bread”). Alternatively, might derive from Scottish Gaelic sgonn (“lump, mouthful”). Pronunciation: /skɒn/, /skəʊ̯n/, /skɔn/, /skoʊ̯n/, /skɑn/ 1. To hit on the head. Labels: Australia, New-Zealand, slang, transitive
Word: wizened Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From wizen + -ed. Inherited from Middle English wisenen, from Old English wisnian, weosnian, from Proto-Germanic *wisnōjaną. Cognate with Icelandic visna. Pronunciation: /ˈwɪzənd/, /ˈwaɪzənd/ 1. simple past and past participle of wizen Labels: form-of, participle, past
Word: wizened Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From wizen + -ed. Inherited from Middle English wisenen, from Old English wisnian, weosnian, from Proto-Germanic *wisnōjaną. Cognate with Icelandic visna. Pronunciation: /ˈwɪzənd/, /ˈwaɪzənd/ 1. Withered; lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness. Example: "Ill-fard, crazy, crack-brained gowk, that she is!" exclaimed the housekeeper. . . "If it hadna been that I am mair than half a gentlewoman by my station, I wad hae tried my ten nails in the wizen'd hide o' her!" Example: He was old, too, wizened with age, and the hair on his face was gray.
Word: billow Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *belganą Proto-Germanic *bulgijō Old Norse bylgjabor. Middle English *bilwe English billow From Middle English *bilwe, borrowed from Old Norse bylgja, from Proto-Germanic *bulgijō. Cognates include Danish bølge (“wave”); Norwegian Bokmål bølge (“wave”), Norwegian Nynorsk bylgje (“wave”); Swedish bölja (“wave”); German Low German Bulge, Bulg, Bülg (“billow, wave”); German Bulge (“billow, wave”). Compare bellow, bawl. Pronunciation: /ˈbɪl.oʊ/, /ˈbɪl.əʊ/, /ˈbɪl.əʉ/, /ˈbɪl.loː(w)/, /bɪˈloː(w)/ 1. A large wave, swell, surge, or undulating mass of something, such as water, smoke, fabric or sound. Example: […] Whom the winds waft where'er the billows roll, / From the world's girdle to the frozen pole; Example: The snow fell hissing in the brine, / And the billows frothed like yeast.
Word: billow Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *belganą Proto-Germanic *bulgijō Old Norse bylgjabor. Middle English *bilwe English billow From Middle English *bilwe, borrowed from Old Norse bylgja, from Proto-Germanic *bulgijō. Cognates include Danish bølge (“wave”); Norwegian Bokmål bølge (“wave”), Norwegian Nynorsk bylgje (“wave”); Swedish bölja (“wave”); German Low German Bulge, Bulg, Bülg (“billow, wave”); German Bulge (“billow, wave”). Compare bellow, bawl. Pronunciation: /ˈbɪl.oʊ/, /ˈbɪl.əʊ/, /ˈbɪl.əʉ/, /ˈbɪl.loː(w)/, /bɪˈloː(w)/ 1. To surge or roll in billows. Example: During the preceding afternoon a heavy North Pacific fog had blown in … Scudding eastward from the ocean, it had crept up and over the redwood-studded crests of the Coast Range mountains, […], billowing steadily eastward, it had rolled up the western slopes of the Siskiyou Range, […] Example: The nuns' veils billowed and flapped behind the snaky line of girls as if the sisters were shooing the serpent from the Garden of Eden. 2. To swell out or bulge. Example: Her new green flowered-muslin dress spread its twelve yards of billowing material over her hoops and exactly matched the flat-heeled green morocco slippers her father had recently brought her from Atlanta. Example: She had changed her auburn hair. Instead of wearing it in a billowing puff over her brow, she had gathered it into a ponytail, secured with a length of yellow yarn.
Word: bylaw Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English bylawe, bilawe, partly from Old English bīlage (“bylaw”) and partly from a variant of Middle English byrelawe, birlawe, from Old Norse býjar (“town's; settlement's”) + lǫg (“laws; jurisdiction”). Byrlaw is attested earlier in English but is unattested in Old Norse and the cognates in Scandinavian languages follow the development of bylaw: Danish bylov (“municipal law”), Swedish bylag and byalag. Pronunciation: /ˈbaɪ.lɔː/, /ˈbaɪ.lɔ/, /ˈbaɪ.lɑ/ 1. A local custom or law of a settlement or district. 2. A rule made by a local authority to regulate its own affairs. Labels: in-plural, often 3. A rule made by a local authority to regulate its own affairs. Labels: countable, in-plural, often, singular 4. A law or rule governing the internal affairs of an organization (e.g., corporation or business).
Word: flit Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English flitten, flytten, from Old Norse flytja (“to move”), from Proto-Germanic *flutjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow; run”). Cognate Icelandic flytja, Swedish flytta, Danish flytte, Norwegian flytte, Faroese flyta. Compare also Saterland Frisian flitskje (“to rush; run quickly”). Pronunciation: /flɪt/ 1. A fluttering or darting movement. 2. A sudden departure from a property. Example: I did a flit, as the landlord was due to arrive to collect the rent. Example: let's do a moonlight flit, if the loanshark catches us here tomorrow without the money to pay our debts, he'll break our fingers. 3. A particular, unexpected, short lived change of state. Example: My computer just had a flit. 4. A homosexual. Labels: dated, slang Example: The other end of the bar was full of flits. They weren't too flitty-looking—I mean they didn't have their hair too long or anything—but you could tell they were flits anyway.
Word: flit Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English flitten, flytten, from Old Norse flytja (“to move”), from Proto-Germanic *flutjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow; run”). Cognate Icelandic flytja, Swedish flytta, Danish flytte, Norwegian flytte, Faroese flyta. Compare also Saterland Frisian flitskje (“to rush; run quickly”). Pronunciation: /flɪt/ 1. To move about rapidly and nimbly. Example: A shadow flits before me, / Not thou, but like to thee; […] Example: There were many apes with faces similar to his own, and further over in the book he found, under "M," some little monkeys such as he saw daily flitting through the trees of his primeval forest. But nowhere was pictured any of his own people; in all the book was none that resembled Kerchak, or Tublat, or Kala. 2. To move quickly from one location to another. Example: By their means it became a received opinion, that the souls of men departing this life, do flit out of one body into some other. Example: The chevalier's manner was now completely altered; and Francesca wondered within herself that he could be so amusing, as he exerted himself to describe the various visitors who flitted to and fro. 3. To unpredictably change state for short periods of time. Example: My blender flits because the power cord is damaged. 4. To move house (sometimes a sudden move to avoid debts). Labels: UK, dialectal Example: After this manner did the late Warden of Barchester Hospital accomplish his flitting, and change his residence. Example: […] we can't give any one house-room just now, for every Christmas Eve such a pack of Trolls come down upon us that we are forced to flit, and haven't so much as a house over our own heads, to say nothing of lending one to any one else. 5. To move a tethered animal to a new grazing location. 6. To be unstable; to be easily or often moved. Example: the free soul to flitting air resign'd
Word: flit Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English flitten, flytten, from Old Norse flytja (“to move”), from Proto-Germanic *flutjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow; run”). Cognate Icelandic flytja, Swedish flytta, Danish flytte, Norwegian flytte, Faroese flyta. Compare also Saterland Frisian flitskje (“to rush; run quickly”). Pronunciation: /flɪt/ 1. Fast, nimble. Labels: obsolete, poetic Example: And in his hand two darts exceeding flit, / And deadly sharpe he held [...]. Example: To that god-trodden western shore, as flit benighted birds.
Word: flit Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Short for fl(ow control un)it or fl(ow control dig)it. 1. A flow control unit or flow control digit. Example: header flit
Word: garth Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *gʰórdʰos Proto-Germanic *gardaz Old Norse garðrbor. Middle English garth English garth Inherited from Middle English garth, from Old Norse garðr, from Proto-Germanic *gardaz, thus cognate with Old English ġeard, whence the English doublet yard, and also a doublet of garden. Pronunciation: /ɡɑː(ɹ)θ/ 1. A grassy quadrangle surrounded by cloisters. 2. A close; a yard; a croft; a garden. Example: a cloister garth Example: A clapper clapping in a garth / To scare the fowl from fruit. 3. A clearing in the woods; as such, part of many placenames in Northern England 4. A group or a household dedicated to the pagan faith of Heathenry. Labels: Germanic Example: The Candidate for membership of Hof, Garth or Hearth shall hold an Armill, or he may touch an unsheathed Sword throughout the ceremony. 5. A location or sacred space, in ritual and poetry in modern Heathenry. Labels: Germanic 6. A dam or weir for catching fish.
Word: gawk Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From a variant of gowk, from Middle English gowke, goke, from Old Norse gaukr (“cuckoo”), from Proto-Germanic *gaukaz (“cuckoo”). Cognate with Danish gøg, Swedish gök, German Gauch, Old English ġēac. Compare also French gauche, and English gawky and gallock. Pronunciation: /ɡɔːk/, /ɡɑk/ 1. A cuckoo; (sometimes by extension) any gawky bird. Example: His morning prey he craveth; So crowed the gawk of carrion⁶ […] (6) Gawk of carrion = [kenning for] raven. Example: Some sneakingly fly watching, as the hawk; Or, as a Cuckoo, grow to limb as a gawk. 2. A fool; a simpleton; a stupid or clumsy person. Example: A Duke of Weissenfels, for instance; foolish old gawk, whom Wilhehnina Princess Royal recollects for his distracted notions, — which were well shaken out of him by Wilhelmina's Brother afterwards.
Word: gawk Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Perhaps from English dialectal gaw (“to stare; gawk”) + -k, as in talk, stalk, etc., ultimately from Old Norse gá (“to heed”). Pronunciation: /ɡɔːk/, /ɡɑk/ 1. To stare or gape stupidly. 2. To stare conspicuously. 3. To suck. Labels: colloquial, vulgar
Word: gawk Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Perhaps from English dialectal gaw (“to stare; gawk”) + -k, as in talk, stalk, etc., ultimately from Old Norse gá (“to heed”). Pronunciation: /ɡɔːk/, /ɡɑk/ 1. A conspicuous or stupid stare or gape; an instance of gawking. Example: ... the gawks and gapes of townsfolk as stares of admiration. Example: ... the gawks and gapes of those who'd expected him to be long dead,[…]
Word: gust Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Apparently from an unrecorded Middle English *gust, from Old Norse gustr (“a gust, blast”), from Proto-Germanic *gustiz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew-. Cognate with Icelandic gustur (“gust of wind”). Related also to Old Norse gusa (“to gush forth”), Old High German gussa (“flood”), Middle English guschen (> English gush). The English word was not recorded before Shakespeare. Pronunciation: /ɡʌst/, /ɡʊst/ 1. A strong, abrupt rush of wind. Example: The maximum sustained winds recorded at Waglan Island, Tate’s Cairn and Cheung Chau Beach were 113, 101 and 97 kmh (70, 62, 60 mph) respectively, with maximum gusts 135, 154 and 130 kmh (84, 96, 81 mph) 2. Any rush or outburst (of water, emotion, etc.). Labels: broadly Example: they are merely driven about by every sudden gust and impulse of the mind Example: The author is not speaking now of actual love-makings, of intrigues and devilish villany, either perpetrated or imagined; but rather of those passing gusts of short-lived and unfounded suspicion to which, as to other accidents, very well-regulated families may occasionally be liable.
Word: gust Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Apparently from an unrecorded Middle English *gust, from Old Norse gustr (“a gust, blast”), from Proto-Germanic *gustiz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew-. Cognate with Icelandic gustur (“gust of wind”). Related also to Old Norse gusa (“to gush forth”), Old High German gussa (“flood”), Middle English guschen (> English gush). The English word was not recorded before Shakespeare. Pronunciation: /ɡʌst/, /ɡʊst/ 1. To blow in gusts. Labels: intransitive, transitive Example: Do the dryers disperse bacteria and viruses through the restroom, like autumn breezes gusting leaves across a lawn?
Word: gust Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English gust, guste, from Latin gustus (“taste”) and Old French gust, goust. Pronunciation: /ɡʌst/, /ɡʊst/ 1. The physiological faculty of taste. Labels: archaic, uncountable 2. Relish, enjoyment, appreciation. Labels: uncountable Example: , "The Spirit of Grace" An ox will relish the tender flesh of kids with as much gust and appetite. Example: Destroy all creatures for thy sport or gust. 3. Intellectual taste; fancy. Labels: uncountable Example: A choice of it may be made according to the gust and manner of the ancients.
Word: gust Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English gusten (“to taste, have a taste for”), from the noun (see above). Pronunciation: /ɡʌst/, /ɡʊst/ 1. To taste. Labels: obsolete, transitive 2. To have a relish for. Labels: obsolete, transitive
Word: tarn Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English terne, tarne (“lake; pond, pool”), from Old Norse tjǫrn (“a small lake without tributaries”), from Proto-Germanic *ternō (“water hole”), perhaps related to *turnaz (“bitter, embittered”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *der- (“to separate, split; to crack, shatter”). The word is cognate with Danish tjern, Faroese tjørn (“pond”), Icelandic tjörn (“pond”), Norwegian Bokmål tjern (“small forest or mountain lake”) (Norwegian Nynorsk tjern, tjørn), Swedish tjärn (“small forest lake”). Pronunciation: /tɑːn/, /tɑɹn/ 1. A small mountain lake, especially in Northern England. Labels: Northern-England Example: Thou Wind, that ravest without, / Bare craig, or mountain-tairn, or blasted tree, / Or pine-grove whither woodman never clomb, / Or lonely house, long held the witches' home, / Methinks were fitter instruments for thee, / Mad Lutanist! [footnote: Tairn is a small lake, generally if not always applied to the lakes up in the mountains, and which are the feeders of those in the valleys.[…]] Example: It was possible, I reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene [of the House of Usher], of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression; and, acting upon this idea, I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled lustre by the dwelling, and gazed down—but with a shudder even more thrilling than before—upon the re-modelled and inverted images of the gray sedge, and the ghastly tree-stems, and the vacant and eye-like windows. 2. One of many small mountain lakes or ponds. Labels: US Example: It [the caribou] makes a fine, bold study on the foreground of an evening scene among the mountain tarns of Northern Idaho, as it fulfils the ideal description of the stag given by [Walter] Scott and other writers. Example: Have you ever been swimming in glacial water – water turned milky blue or deep maroon by minerals and deposits seized by the glacier as it ponderously made its way across a continent? You would have been high atop a mountain, maybe in the Canadian Rockies or in Montana, where glaciers, now in retreat, still press down on the earth's crust. And it would have been in the summer – late August perhaps – the sun warm and still and bright, making you feel as if a dip in this remote glacial tarn is just what your tired body needs at this point in your day.
Word: wight Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English wight, wiȝt, from Old English wiht (“thing, creature”), from Proto-West Germanic *wihti, from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz (“thing, creature”, literally “being”), from Proto-Indo-European *wekti- (“cause, sake, thing”), from *wekʷ- (“to say, tell”). Cognate with Scots wicht (“creature, being, human”), Dutch wicht (“child, baby, girl”), German Low German Wicht (“girl; wight”), German Wicht (“wretch, wight, little creature, scoundrel”), Danish vætte (“underground creature, gnome”), Norwegian Bokmål vette (“underground creature, gnome”), Swedish vätte (“underground creature, gnome”), Icelandic vættur (“imp, elf”). Doublet of whit. Pronunciation: /waɪt/ 1. A living creature, especially a human being. Labels: archaic Example: O bace gongarian wight, wilt thou the ſpicket willd? Example: Oh ſay me true if thou wert mortal wight And why from us ſo quickly thou didſt take thy flight. 2. A supernatural being, often used in compounds such as the land-vættr which guard the land, especially the four guardians of Iceland. Labels: Germanic, Old-Norse 3. A ghost, deity or other supernatural entity. Labels: poetic Example: But I saw a glow-worm near, / Who replied: ‘What wailing wight / Calls the watchman of the night? Example: “In judging of that tempestuous wind called Euroclydon,” says an old writer—of whose works I possess the only copy extant—“it maketh a marvellous difference, whether thou lookest out at it from a glass window where the frost is all on the outside, or whether thou observest it from that sashless window, where the frost is on both sides, and of which the wight Death is the only glazier.” 4. A wraith-like creature.
Word: wight Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Middle English wight, from Old Norse vígt, neuter of vígr (“skilled in fighting, of age”), from Proto-Germanic *wīgaz (“fighting”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyk- (“to fight”). Cognate with Old English wīġ. Pronunciation: /waɪt/ 1. Brave, valorous, strong. Labels: archaic Example: I haue two sones that were but late made knyghtes / and the eldest hyghte sir Tirre /[…]/ and my yongest sone hyght Lauayne / and yf hit please yow / he shalle ryde with yow vnto that Iustes / and he is of his age x stronge and wyght 2. Strong; stout; active. Labels: UK, dialectal, obsolete Example: Then spake Much the milner son, / Ever more well him betide! / ‘Take twelve of thy wight yeomen, / Well weapon’d by thy side. / Such one would thyselfë slon, / That twelve dare not abide.’ Example: Ye do you to my father's stable, / Where steeds do stand baith wight and able; / Strike ane o' them upo' the back, / The swiftest will gie his head a wap.
Word: ravel Part of Speech: noun Etymology: The verb is borrowed from Dutch ravelen, rafelen (“to tangle, become entangled; to fray; to unweave”) [and other forms]; further etymology uncertain. It has been suggested that the verb is originally derived from the noun, but the Oxford English Dictionary regards this as “very uncertain”, and instead regards the noun as having derived from the verb (compare Dutch rafel, raffel (“frayed thread”)). Ravel is a contranym having both the senses of tangling (verb senses 1.1, 1.2, 1.4.1, and 2.3; noun sense 1) and untangling (verb senses 1.3, 1.4.2, 1.4.3, 2.1, and 2.2; noun sense 2). It would appear that the tangling senses predate the untangling ones (as in Dutch), but this is uncertain because the first published uses of both senses of the words occur around the same time. Pronunciation: /ˈɹævəl/, [ˈɹævl̩] 1. A tangled mess; an entanglement, a snarl, a tangle. Labels: Scotland, literary Example: Mr. Urquhart was in sic a ravel after it that when he gies out the first line o' the hunder and nineteenth psalm for singing, says he, 'And so on to the end.' Example: There was a lovely ravel of sunflowers in the garden. She looked out the window. "There are my sunflowers!" she said. 2. A confusing, intricate, or perplexing situation; a complication. Labels: Scotland, figuratively, literary 3. A thread which has unravelled from fabric, etc.; also, a situation of fabric, etc., coming apart; an unravelling. Labels: also, figuratively
Word: multiplayer Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mel-der. Proto-Indo-European *ml̥tós? Proto-Italic *moltos Latin multus Latin multīder. Middle English multi- English multi- English player English multiplayer From multi- + player. Pronunciation: /ˌmʌl.tiˈpleɪ.əɹ/, [ˌmɐɫtiˈpl̥eɪ̯ə], [ˌmʌɫtiˈpl̥eɪ̯ɚ] 1. Requiring or allowing multiple (or more than the usual two) players to play simultaneously. Labels: not-comparable