nandhakumarms/qualc-wiktionary-en huggingface dataset:
Word: bludger Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Corruption of bludgeoner. 1. A pimp, a man living off the earnings of a harlot. Labels: Australia, slang Example: Oscar pondered for a while, then said, "Oh, but halfcastes don't seem to be any good at all. All the men here are loafers and bludgers, the women practically all whores." Example: This was the bludger or, in American parlance, the pimp, a man who lived on the earnings of prostitution. He was often the husband or boyfriend of a prostitute and could be actively involved in protecting or touting for the prostitute. Parliamentarians described the bludger as ‘the most detestable wretch on the face of the earth’ and as a man ‘worthy of no respect whatsoever’ (NSWPD 31:1675). 2. A person who avoids working, or doing their share of work, a loafer, a hanger-on, one who does not pull their weight. Labels: Australia, New-Zealand, derogatory, slang Example: If she is doing the work of two parents because her husband has died or left her or is violent and has driven her and the kids from home, then suddenly she is a bludger. 3. A widespread species of large marine fish, Carangoides gymnostethus, in the jack family, Carangidae. 4. A ball used in the sports of Quidditch and Muggle Quidditch.
Word: chaser Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree English chase Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English chaser From chase (“groove; decorate metal”) + -er. Pronunciation: /ˈt͡ʃeɪsə/, /ˈt͡ʃeɪsɚ/ 1. Someone who chases (decorates) metal; a person who decorates metal by engraving or embossing. Example: "Mr B., heraldic chaser, says there are several processes in making heraldy plates, sketching, engraving, embossing, chasing and burnishing." "H. & C., manufacturers of cloth and gilt buttons, say it requires some weeks to learn to chase the gilt buttons, which are done with small metal tools and a hammer. Chasers are paid by the piece, working ten hours a day, and some can earn $1 a day." Example: "Flat chasing in sunken or low relief is a technique by which the ornament is formed by beating down the ground from the front. This is done in essentially the same manner as repoussé work, where the ornament appears in high relief, but the design is punched from the face of the silver plate. ... Sometimes, instead of applying a freehand design, the chaser covers the greased surface with a paper pattern in which the design is pricked with pins." 2. A tool used for cleaning out screw threads, either as an integral part of a tap or die to remove waste material produced by the cutting tool, or as a separate tool to repair damaged threads. Example: In Fig. i is shown one of the chasers in the position which it occupies in cutting a thread. Example: "Many screw threads are also finished completely with chasers of this type, although they are not adapted for extremely accurate work unless the teeth are ground after hardening, because the pitch of the chaser teeth is affected more or less by..." 3. A chase gun. Example: bow chaser; stern chaser
Word: pyjamas Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi पैजामा (paijāmā) / Urdu پائِجامَہ (pāijāma)), from Classical Persian پایجامه (pāyjāma), archaic form of پاجامه (pājāma). Pronunciation: /pɪˈd͡ʒɑːməz/, /paɪˈd͡ʒɑːməz/, /pə(j).dʒɑ.mɑs/, /pɑː(j)-/, /pɛː-/ 1. UK standard form of pajamas. Labels: UK, alt-of, plural, plural-only, standard Example: The performer opens one of the small drawers and takes out two sets of pyjamas. Example: She wasn′t sure if Lena looked more surprised by her clobbering hug or the sight of her pyjamas on the bright New York City sidewalk.
Word: beater Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English beter, betere, bettere, from Old English bēatere (“a beater; boxer, fighter; champion”), equivalent to beat + -er. Related to beetle (“a type of mallet”). Pronunciation: /ˈbiːtə/, /ˈbitɚ/, [ˈbiɾɚ] 1. Someone or something that beats. Example: His batwings were somehow more frightening for being the pathetic broken floundering things they were than if they had been strong, muscular beaters of the air. 2. A kitchen implement for mixing. 3. A stick used to play a percussion instrument. 4. A person who drives game towards shooters in a hunting party, typically working in a group with other beaters. Example: The beaters halted in a group to watch, and some of them could not refrain from clicking their tongues; they thought it queer and rather shocking to see a woman handle a gun. Example: "Our beaters are doing a marvellous job, just listen to them, will you?" 5. A papermaking machine for processing fibres by fibrillation in order to improve bonding strength 6. An old or dilapidated automobile. Labels: US, informal Example: Packed merrily into my friends’ beater, an old Ford Pinto, we headed into Jennings, a mostly Black North St. Louis County community heavily patrolled by white officers, to pick up one more college friend. 7. A weaving tool designed to push the weft yarn securely into place. It contains the comb-like insert reed and is sometimes a part of the loom. 8. In the sport Quidditch or Muggle quidditch, a player a who attempts to hit the opposing team's players with bludgers and to block the bludgers from hitting their own team's players. 9. A harp seal pup after its first moult and before its second moult. Labels: Canada 10. A shoe suitable for everyday wear, during which it may get dirty or scuffed, as opposed to more valuable shoes that one wishes to keep in good condition. Labels: informal Example: Beaters generally don't sell for much, unless they're a particularly legendary model, and they’re generally sold without the original box or extra laces. Unlike most "worn" sneakers that have been kept as close to perfect as possible, beaters tend to be the shoes used for rainy days and in the gym. Example: What constitutes a beater varies from person to person — some might consider affordable sneakers like the Vans Sk8-Hi or a pair of Nike Air Force 1s a pair worth beating to death, while other sneakerheads might discover that one of their favorite "hyped" sneakers just naturally becomes a beater over time. 11. A durable and usually inexpensive wristwatch. Labels: informal
Word: beater Part of Speech: noun Etymology: By shortening from wifebeater. Pronunciation: /ˈbiːtə/, /ˈbitɚ/, [ˈbiɾɚ] 1. A sleeveless undershirt. Labels: US, informal
Word: either Part of Speech: det Etymology: From Middle English either, from Old English ǣġhwæþer, from Proto-West Germanic *aiw + *gahwaþar. Akin to Old Saxon eogihwethar, iahwethar (Low German jeed); Old Dutch *iogewether, *iowether, *iother (Dutch ieder); Old High German eogihwedar, iegihweder, ieweder (German jeder). The pronunciations with /iː/ and /eɪ/ respectively reflect Middle English forms in /ɛː/ and /æi/; the origin of that with /aɪ/ is less clear, but it may reflect a Middle English form with /iː/; see Middle English either for more discussion. Pronunciation: /ˈaɪ.ðə/, /ˈiː.ðə/, /ˈɑjðə/, /ˈɪjðə/, /ˈaɪ.ðɚ/ 1. Any one (of two). Example: You can have it in either colour. 2. Each of two; both. Example: There is a locomotive at either end of the train, one pulling and the other pushing. Example: There are roses on either side of the garden. 3. Any one (of more than two). Labels: often, proscribed Example: I hope you will be ready to own publicly, whenever you shall be called to it, that by your great and frequent urgency you prevailed on me to publish a very loose and uncorrect account of my travels, with directions to hire some young gentleman of either university to put them in order, and correct the style, as my cousin Dampier did, by my advice, in his book called “A Voyage round the world.” Example: They entreat, they pray, they beg, they supplicate (will either of these do, Miss Clary?) that you will make no scruple to go to your uncle Antony's […].
Word: either Part of Speech: pron Etymology: From Middle English either, from Old English ǣġhwæþer, from Proto-West Germanic *aiw + *gahwaþar. Akin to Old Saxon eogihwethar, iahwethar (Low German jeed); Old Dutch *iogewether, *iowether, *iother (Dutch ieder); Old High German eogihwedar, iegihweder, ieweder (German jeder). The pronunciations with /iː/ and /eɪ/ respectively reflect Middle English forms in /ɛː/ and /æi/; the origin of that with /aɪ/ is less clear, but it may reflect a Middle English form with /iː/; see Middle English either for more discussion. Pronunciation: /ˈaɪ.ðə/, /ˈiː.ðə/, /ˈɑjðə/, /ˈɪjðə/, /ˈaɪ.ðɚ/ 1. One or the other of two people or things. Example: He made me two offers, but I did not accept either. Example: Hodgson may now have to bring in James Milner on the left and, on that basis, a certain amount of gloss was taken off a night on which Welbeck scored twice but barely celebrated either before leaving the pitch angrily complaining to the Slovakian referee. 2. Both, each of two or more. Labels: obsolete Example: Scarce a palm of ground could be gotten by either of the three. Example: And either vowd with all their power and wit, / To let not others honour be defaste […]
Word: either Part of Speech: adv Etymology: From Middle English either, from Old English ǣġhwæþer, from Proto-West Germanic *aiw + *gahwaþar. Akin to Old Saxon eogihwethar, iahwethar (Low German jeed); Old Dutch *iogewether, *iowether, *iother (Dutch ieder); Old High German eogihwedar, iegihweder, ieweder (German jeder). The pronunciations with /iː/ and /eɪ/ respectively reflect Middle English forms in /ɛː/ and /æi/; the origin of that with /aɪ/ is less clear, but it may reflect a Middle English form with /iː/; see Middle English either for more discussion. Pronunciation: /ˈaɪ.ðə/, /ˈiː.ðə/, /ˈɑjðə/, /ˈɪjðə/, /ˈaɪ.ðɚ/ 1. As well. Labels: conjunctive, not-comparable Example: I don't like him, and I don't like her either. Example: I know a cheap Spanish restaurant. It's not far from here, either.
Word: either Part of Speech: conj Etymology: From Middle English either, from Old English ǣġhwæþer, from Proto-West Germanic *aiw + *gahwaþar. Akin to Old Saxon eogihwethar, iahwethar (Low German jeed); Old Dutch *iogewether, *iowether, *iother (Dutch ieder); Old High German eogihwedar, iegihweder, ieweder (German jeder). The pronunciations with /iː/ and /eɪ/ respectively reflect Middle English forms in /ɛː/ and /æi/; the origin of that with /aɪ/ is less clear, but it may reflect a Middle English form with /iː/; see Middle English either for more discussion. Pronunciation: /ˈaɪ.ðə/, /ˈiː.ðə/, /ˈɑjðə/, /ˈɪjðə/, /ˈaɪ.ðɚ/ 1. Introduces the first of two (or occasionally more) options or possibilities, the second (or last) of which is introduced by “or”. Example: Either you eat your dinner or you go to your room. Example: You can have either potatoes or rice with that, but not both.
Word: snitch Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Origin uncertain. Perhaps an alteration of Middle English snacche (“a trap, snare”), snacchen (“to seize (prey)”, whence modern English snatch). Compare also Middle English snik snak (“a sudden blow, snap”). Alternatively, perhaps from a dialectal variant of sneak, from Middle English sniken, from Old English snīcan (“to creep; crawl”). More at sneak, snatch. Pronunciation: /snɪt͡ʃ/ 1. To inform on someone, especially in betrayal of others. Labels: intransitive, slang 2. To contact or cooperate with the police for any reason. Labels: intransitive, slang 3. To steal, quickly and quietly. Labels: dated, slang, transitive Example: Besides, I shall require your help in snitching the pig. But I was forgetting. You are not abreast of that side of our activities, are you? Emsworth has a pig. The Duke wants it.
Word: snitch Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Origin uncertain. Perhaps an alteration of Middle English snacche (“a trap, snare”), snacchen (“to seize (prey)”, whence modern English snatch). Compare also Middle English snik snak (“a sudden blow, snap”). Alternatively, perhaps from a dialectal variant of sneak, from Middle English sniken, from Old English snīcan (“to creep; crawl”). More at sneak, snatch. Pronunciation: /snɪt͡ʃ/ 1. A thief. Labels: slang 2. An informer, one who betrays their group. Labels: slang 3. A nose. Labels: UK, slang Example: 'Yah, I wouldn't git a second-'and dress at a pawnbroker's!' 'Garn!' said Liza indignantly. 'I'll swipe yer over the snitch if yer talk ter me. [...] " Example: He added in conclusion that he strongly disliked the police coming and sticking its nose into his affairs and, since the horror which such actions inspired in him was not far from making him wish to vomit, he extracted from his pocket a silken square of the colour of the lilac flower (the one that isn’t white) but impregnated with Barbouze, the Fior perfume, and with it dabbed his snitch. 4. A tiny morsel. Example: "He pays for the food you eat," said the woman. "Yeah," said the boy. "And I earn every snitch doing everything ever gets done around here." 5. A ball used in the sport of Quidditch: the Golden Snitch.
Word: seeker Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English sekar, sekere (also sechar, sechere), equivalent to seek + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Säiker (“seeker”), West Frisian syker (“seeker”), Dutch zoeker (“seeker”), German Low German Söker (“seeker”), German Sucher (“seeker”). Pronunciation: /ˈsiːkə/, /ˈsikəɹ/ 1. One who seeks. 2. Especially, a religious seeker: a pilgrim, or one who aspires to enlightenment or salvation. Example: But these seekers, too, are saved - by virtue of the inherited symbolic aids of society, the rites of passage, the grace-yielding sacraments, given to mankind of old by the redeemers and handed down through millenniums. 3. In Quidditch or Muggle quidditch, the player who is supposed to catch the snitch.
Word: det Part of Speech: noun 1. Abbreviation of determiner. Labels: abbreviation, alt-of 2. Abbreviation of detachment. Labels: US, abbreviation, alt-of
Word: diazotroph Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Hellenic *dwi- Ancient Greek δῐ- (dĭ-)bor. Latin di-bor. English di- Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Hellenic *ə- Ancient Greek ᾰ̓- (ă-) Ancient Greek ζωή (zōḗ) French azotebor. English azote English azo- English -troph English diazotroph From di- (“two”) + azo- (“nitrogen”) + -troph. 1. Any microorganism that can fix molecular nitrogen (N₂).
Word: bijection Part of Speech: noun Etymology: PIE word *dwóh₁ From French bijection, introduced by Nicolas Bourbaki in their treatise Éléments de mathématique. Pronunciation: /baɪˈd͡ʒɛk.ʃən/ 1. A one-to-one correspondence, a function which is both a surjection and an injection. Example: The present text has defined a set to be finite if and only if there exists a bijection onto a natural number, and infinite if and only if there does not exist any such bijection. Example: Note in particular that a function is a bijection if and only if it's both an injection and a surjection.
Word: surjection Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From French surjection, introduced by Nicolas Bourbaki in their treatise Éléments de mathématique. Ultimately borrowed from Latin superiectiō (“a throwing over or on; (fig.) an exaggeration, a hyperbole”). Pronunciation: /sɜː(ɹ)ˈd͡ʒɛk.ʃən/ 1. A function for which every element of the codomain is mapped to by some element of the domain; (formally) Any function f:X→Y for which for every y∈Y, there is at least one x∈X such that f(x)=y. Example: In some special cases, however, the number of surjections A#92;rightarrowB can be identified. Example: Let J#61;#92;cap#95;im#95;i be the (irredundant) primary decomposition of J. We associate to the pair (J,#92;omega) the element #92;textstyle#92;sum#95;i(m#95;i,#92;omega#95;i)#92;inG, where #92;omega#95;i is the equivalence class of surjections from L#47;m#95;iL#92;oplus(A#47;m#95;i)#123;n-1#125; to m#95;i#47;m#95;i² induced by #92;omega.
Word: confluence Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From late Middle English confluence, from Late Latin cōnfluentia (“a flowing together, conflux”), from cōnfluēns (present participle of cōnfluō (“to flow or run together”)) + -ia (nominal suffix). Pronunciation: /ˈkɒn.flu.əns/, /ˈkɑnˌflu.əns/, /kənˈflu.əns/ 1. The act of combining that occurs where two rivers meet. Example: The confluence of the rivers produced a great rush of water. 2. The act of combining that occurs where two rivers meet. Example: We encountered an abandoned boat at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Example: There has been much controversy especially as to the ownership of the large triangular delta at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, known as the Khabarovsk Delta, or Heihsiatzu [translating 黑瞎子 (Hēixiāzi)] Island in Chinese. 3. The act of combining that occurs where two rivers meet. 4. A convergence or combination of forces, people, or things. Example: The confluence of our skills resulted in a successful home renovation project. Example: The political turmoil was the result of a confluence of factors, and the corollary of years of misrule, as evidenced by a low home ownership rate incommensurate with the economic growth. 5. The proportion of cells, in a culture medium, that adhere to each other. 6. A property describing which terms can be rewritten with other, equivalent terms.
Word: confluence Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From late Middle English confluence, from Late Latin cōnfluentia (“a flowing together, conflux”), from cōnfluēns (present participle of cōnfluō (“to flow or run together”)) + -ia (nominal suffix). Pronunciation: /ˈkɒn.flu.əns/, /ˈkɑnˌflu.əns/, /kənˈflu.əns/ 1. To join together into one stream. Labels: intransitive, transitive Example: CHN 082 flows for approximately 304.8 meters (1,000 feet) before confluencing with the North Bald Eagle Creek. Example: I added a third manhole to my model so you can see how a junction might look. It just provides a nice way to confluence two streams into one pipe, which is an important job in a sewer system since a sewershed all has to flow to one place.
Word: Latino sine Flexione Part of Speech: name Etymology: Coined by Giuseppe Peano in 1903. 1. An artificial language based on a simplified version of Latin without inflections; also known as Interlingua
Word: tongue-twister Part of Speech: noun 1. A phrase that is deliberately designed to be difficult to say correctly, usually because of varying combinations of similar phonemes. Example: The present name being a translation, "in brief," of the original tongue-twister, meaning "the river of the rock"
Word: porta Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from Latin porta (“a gate”). See port. 1. The part of the liver or other organ where its vessels and nerves enter; the hilum. 2. The foramen of Monro. Example: the porta permits the passage of injection mass from the aula into the procælia
Word: yob Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Backslang for boy. The second sense was likely influenced by hobnob and/or yokel. Pronunciation: /jɒb/, /jɑb/ 1. A boy. Labels: obsolete Example: And you bet that each gal, not to mention each yob, Didn't care how much ooftish it cost 'em per nob. Example: As we left the cemetery, I heard an elderly gravedigger muttering back slang to himself before Lucien's headstone. "Bloody shame, ain't it? Doubt the yob did much living by eighteen." I corrected the man, saying, “No fear, that yob did plenty of living.” 2. A person who engages in antisocial behaviour or drunkenness. Labels: Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, derogatory, slang Example: Yes, it's holiday time again for British yobs – and the rest of us can flee to those parts of Abroad which the louts ignore, or just cringe in shame at home.
Word: flighty Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From flight + -y. Compare Dutch vluchtig (“volatile; fleeting; cursory”), German flüchtig (“volatile; fleeting; momentary; quick”), Danish flygtig (“elusive; evasive”), Swedish flyktig. Pronunciation: /ˈflaɪti/ 1. Given to unplanned and silly ideas or actions. 2. That flies easily or often. Example: "We know that flighty birds suffer from greater risk of raptor predation, and I assume that it is useful to understand the effects of urbanization because flighty species may be more vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance." 3. Swift. Labels: dated Example: Permanent way and other checks then somewhat slowed down this flighty progress.
Word: whelp Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English whelp, from Old English hwelp, from Proto-West Germanic *hwelp, from Proto-Germanic *hwelpaz (compare Dutch welp, German Welpe, Welfe, Old Norse hvelpr, Norwegian Nynorsk kvelp, Danish hvalp), from pre-Germanic *kʷelbos, of uncertain origin. Pronunciation: /wɛlp/, /ʍɛlp/ 1. A young offspring of a various carnivores (canid, ursid, felid, pinniped), especially of a dog or a wolf, the young of a bear or similar mammal (lion, tiger, seal); a pup, wolf cub. Example: […]And fared like a furious wyld Beare, / Whose whelpes are ſtolne away, ſhe being otherwhere. Example: Pro. […]Then was this Iſland / (Saue for the Son, that he^([sic]) did littour heere, / A frekelld whelpe, hag-borne) not honour'd with / A humane ſhape. 2. An insolent youth; a mere child. Labels: derogatory Example: July 13, 1713, Joseph Addison, The Guardian That awkward whelp with his money bags would have made his entrance. Example: October 22, 2011, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, "Luna Eclipsed" Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp! 3. A kind of ship. Labels: obsolete 4. One of several wooden strips to prevent wear on a windlass on a clipper-era ship. 5. A tooth on a sprocket wheel (compare sprocket and cog).
Word: whelp Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English whelpen, from Old English hwelpian, derived from hwelp. 1. To give birth. Labels: ambitransitive, usually Example: The bitch whelped. Example: The she-wolf whelped a large litter of cubs.
Word: whelp Part of Speech: intj Etymology: Variant of welp. 1. Alternative form of welp (“well”). Labels: alt-of, alternative
Word: swine Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English swyn, swin, from Old English swīn, from Proto-West Germanic *swīn, from Proto-Germanic *swīną, from an adjectival form of Proto-Indo-European *suH- (“pig”). In modern use, especially as a term of abuse, frequently a calque of German Schwein or its derivatives. In reference to wolffish, a clipping of swinefish. Cognates Related to West Frisian swyn, Low German Swien, Dutch zwijn, German Schwein, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish svin, Faroese and Icelandic svín, and more distantly to Polish świnia, Russian свинья́ (svinʹjá), Latin sūinus, Latin sūs, Ancient Greek ὗς (hûs), Persian خوک (xuk). Pronunciation: /swaɪn/ 1. A pig, an animal of family Suidae, especially in agricultural contexts. Example: The Zimmermann farm raises swine for their meat. 2. Pig, pork, the meat of pigs. Example: Nah, I ain't Jewish. I just don't dig on swine, that's all. Example: The Book says don't eat no swine. 3. A "pig", variously Labels: derogatory, figuratively Example: Thousands of workers and students screaming "Get out of town, you Nazi swine!" stormed a police barricade here today in an attempt to silence Adolf von Thadden, head of the right-wing National Democratic party. Example: Their captain's a swine, an evil bastard. Name of Cavendish. 4. A "pig", variously Labels: derogatory, figuratively, slang, uncommon Example: Keep your mouths shut. Don't tell the swine anything. 5. A "pig", variously Labels: derogatory, figuratively, slang Example: That old car is a swine to manoeuvre. 6. Synonym of wolffish. Labels: obsolete, rare
Word: swine Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English swyn, swin, from Old English swīn, from Proto-West Germanic *swīn, from Proto-Germanic *swīną, from an adjectival form of Proto-Indo-European *suH- (“pig”). In modern use, especially as a term of abuse, frequently a calque of German Schwein or its derivatives. In reference to wolffish, a clipping of swinefish. Cognates Related to West Frisian swyn, Low German Swien, Dutch zwijn, German Schwein, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish svin, Faroese and Icelandic svín, and more distantly to Polish świnia, Russian свинья́ (svinʹjá), Latin sūinus, Latin sūs, Ancient Greek ὗς (hûs), Persian خوک (xuk). Pronunciation: /swaɪn/ 1. plural of sow Labels: archaic, form-of, plural
Word: draconic Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *derḱ-der. Proto-Hellenic *dérkomai Ancient Greek δέρκομαι (dérkomai) Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn)der. Latin dracō Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English draconic From Latin dracō (“dragon”, stem dracōn-) + English -ic. Pronunciation: /dɹəˈkɒnɪk/, /dɹəˈkɑnɪk/, /dɹæk-/ 1. Relating to or suggestive of dragons. Example: There are amongst the constellations four great draconic or serpent-like forms.
Word: draconic Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Latin Dracō (stem Dracōn-) + -ic, after the Athenian lawmaker Draco, known for making harsh laws. Pronunciation: /dɹəˈkɒnɪk/, /dɹəˈkɑnɪk/, /dɹæk-/ 1. Very severe or strict; draconian. Labels: dated, rare Example: […] they no land / Doom'd to bewail the blasphemy of laws / Making kings' rights divine, by some Draconic clause. Example: The sexual instinct can hardly be changed by prescriptions; I doubt whether all laws against homosexual intercourse, even the most draconic, have ever been able to extinguish the peculiar desire of anybody born with homosexual tendencies.
Word: cretin Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From French crétin (“cretin, idiot”), likely from crestin, an Alpine dialectal form of chrétien, from Latin christiānus in the lost sense of “anyone in Christendom”, often with a sense of “poor fellow”. Doublet of Christian. Pronunciation: /ˈkɹɛtɪn/, /ˈkɹiːtɪn/ 1. A person who fails to develop mentally and physically due to a congenital hypothyroidism. Labels: archaic 2. An idiot. Labels: broadly, derogatory Example: When I challenged the symbolism, tried to make the professor consider the book as a piece of realism, he regarded me as if I were an absolute cretin. He got very supercilious and condescending […]
Word: reave Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English reven, from Old English rēafian, from Proto-West Germanic *raubōn. Germanic cognates include West Frisian rave, Old English rēaf (“spoils, booty”)), and Old English past participle rofen (“torn, broken”), Norwegian rjuva, German rauben, Danish røve, and Swedish röva. Outside of Germanic, related to Latin rumpō (“to break”), Lithuanian rùpti (“to roughen”), Sanskrit रोपयति (ropayati, “to make suffer”)). See rob and reif. Pronunciation: /ɹiːv/ 1. To plunder, pillage, rob, pirate, or remove. Labels: archaic Example: And I for one am not convinced of the innocence of the model: it is as if we let a criminal make up the law as he or she ambles along, reaving right and left. 2. To deprive (a person) of something through theft or violence. Labels: archaic Example: Few of the chroniclers of Nero’s reign have been accurate when relating the situation that obtained between the Emperor and his mother from the time when, reft of her German and Pannonian guards, she lived in a more or less solitary rage on one estate or another.
Word: reave Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Alteration of rive by confusion with the above. Pronunciation: /ɹiːv/ 1. To split, tear, break apart. Labels: archaic Example: There was the same enforced composure on her face, that there had been when she was dressing; and the wreath upon her head encircled the same cold and steady brow. But it would have been better to have seen its leaves and flowers reft into fragments by her passionate hand, […]
Word: finger-fumbler Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From finger and fumble. Pronunciation: /ˌfɪŋɡəˈfʌmbəl/, /ˌfɪŋɡɚˈfʌmbəl/ 1. The sign language equivalent of a tongue-twister; a phrase that is very difficult to sign correctly.
Word: unco Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From Scots unco, shortening of uncouth. 1. Strange, weird. Labels: Scotland Example: It was noted by them that kenned best that her cantrips were at their worst when the tides in the Sker Bay ebbed between the hours of twelve and one. At this season of the night the tides of mortality run lowest, and when the outgoing of these unco waters fell in with the setting of the current of life, then indeed was the hour for unholy revels. Example: And the second quean was Hope and she was near as unco as Faith, but had right bonny hair, red hair, though maybe you'd call it auburn […].
Word: unco Part of Speech: adv Etymology: From Scots unco, shortening of uncouth. 1. Very. Labels: Northern, Scotland, UK, not-comparable Example: ‘Ye should tear up this carpet, Robbie,’ Uncle Peter called back over his shoulder. ‘It's most unco wearisome when a body′s leg-weary.’ Example: Jamie has met only two kids of women: the mainly elderly and unco good who belong to his father's congregation, and those who drink in pubs and shebeens used by nearly penniless medical students.
Word: unco Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From uncoordinated. 1. Uncoordinated. Labels: Australia, New-Zealand, slang Example: ‘Aren′t he the most unco kid you ever come across?’ Norm refused to have Kevin on his boat even if he begged to be taken because he was too clumsy.
Word: dissimilar Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Old French des-bor. ▲ Latin dis-bor. Middle English dis- English dis- English similar English dissimilar From dis- + similar. Pronunciation: /dɪˈsɪmɪlə(ɹ)/ 1. Not similar; unalike; different.
Word: dissimilar Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Old French des-bor. ▲ Latin dis-bor. Middle English dis- English dis- English similar English dissimilar From dis- + similar. Pronunciation: /dɪˈsɪmɪlə(ɹ)/ 1. That which is dissimilar to, or does not resemble, something else. Example: Whether or not the primary function of a good metaphor is the appreciation of the similarity of dissimilars, the naturalist philosopher, reacting to Platonic transcendence, insists that […]
Word: Limburgian Part of Speech: noun 1. A native or resident from Limburg.
Word: Limburgian Part of Speech: name 1. The Limburgish language.
Word: theodicy Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Borrowed from French théodicée, from Ancient Greek θεός (theós, “god”) + δίκη (díkē, “justice”), coined by German mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in his 1710 work Essais de Théodicée sur la bonté de Dieu, la liberté de l'homme et l'origine du mal (Essays of Theodicy on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the Origin of Evil), commonly known as Théodicée. Pronunciation: /θiːˈɒd.ɪ.si/, /θiˈɑd.ɪ.si/ 1. A justification of a deity or of particular attributes of a deity; specifically, a justification of the existence of evil and suffering in the world; a work or discourse justifying the ways of God. Example: 2000 [Kluwer Academic], Charles Seymour, A Theodicy of Hell, 2010, Springer, Softcover reprint, page 195, In general, my theodicy of hell is more congenial to those denominations with less rigidly defined doctrinal systems. Does this mean I have allowed theodicy to encroach on theology, contrary to my avowed purpose? Example: Distilling the characteristic features of the theodicies of the world religions, Weber identified five varieties or forms that the answers to this problem take, which in his view speaks to the varieties of forms that religion itself takes: a messiah who initiates the end of the world as we know it, the transmigration of souls, a universal day of judgment, predestination, or dual divinities of good and evil.
Word: deus ex machina Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Unadapted borrowing from Latin deus ex māchinā (literally “god from a machine [i.e., a device, scaffolding, contrivance]”), a calque of Ancient Greek ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός (apò mēkhanês theós). Pronunciation: /ˌdeɪ.əs ɛks ˈmækɪnə/, /ˌdeɪ.əs ɛks məˈʃiːnə/, /ˌdiːəs ɛks məˈʃiːnə/, /ˌdeɪ.əs ˌɛks ˈmɑkənə/, /ˌdeɪ.əs ˌɛks ˈmækənə/ 1. Any resolution to a story that does not pay due regard to the story's internal logic and that is so unlikely that it challenges suspension of disbelief, and presumably allows the author, director, or developer to end the story in the way that they desired. Example: Near-synonym: (vulgar, slang) ass-pull Example: The women who merge in the final pages leave me unsettled and depressed. Their future is grim. There is no deus ex machina to save them. 2. A contrived solution to a problem, relying on an agent external to the situation. Labels: broadly Example: The belief that a cure for cancer is being withheld by vested interests is a long-standing one. It is often used as a universal deus ex machina for those pushing an alternative alleged cure […] Example: Handler’s bad advice for generals […] is mostly notable as the most extreme expression of peculiar pleas by Trump opponents who seek some deus ex machina that will stop the president: generals simply disobeying the president, other civil servants refusing to follow through on orders, or even the invocation of the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. 3. A deity in Greek and Roman drama who was brought in by stage machinery to intervene in a difficult situation (i.e., to resolve a crisis, or untangle issues surrounding it, a character logically expected to do so). Labels: historical, literary Example: I was going to wait for Monsieur Hyppolyte and, like a craven, hand the whole thing over to him. Let the deus ex machina fly in out of the clouds... 4. A machine used to bring an actor playing a god onto the stage, either up through a trapdoor or (e.g. by crane) from above. Labels: historical
Word: brand spanking new Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Apparently a blend of brand new + spanking new, with spanking coming to serve as an intensifier. 1. Utterly new, as new as possible. Labels: slang Example: Pardon me, ma'am. I'm brand-spanking-new in town, and I was hoping to get a look at the Statue of Liberty.
Word: public policy Part of Speech: noun Pronunciation: /pʌb.lɪk ˈpɔ.lɪ.si/ 1. The set of policies (laws, plans, actions, behaviors) of a government; plans and methods of action that govern that society; a system of laws, courses of action, and priorities directing a government action. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: 1993 Henry H. Perritt, Jr. "Knowbots, Permissions Headers and Contract Law", paper for the conference on Technological Strategies for Protecting Intellectual Property in the Networked Multimedia Environment "The licensee exceeding the use restrictions would argue that it violates public policy to enforce the restrictions and therefore that state contract law may not impose liability for their violation." Example: "Construction contract provisions against public policy. "(A) Any provision of a construction contract, agreement, or understanding that waives rights under a surety bond is void and unenforceable as against public policy."
Word: prognosis Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *próder. Ancient Greek πρό (pró) Ancient Greek προ- (pro-) Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃tisder. Ancient Greek γνῶσῐς (gnôsĭs) Ancient Greek πρόγνωσῐς (prógnōsĭs)bor. Late Latin prognōsislbor. English prognosis Learned borrowing from Late Latin prognōsis (“forecast, prediction; forecast of the course and outcome of a disease”), itself borrowed from Ancient Greek πρόγνωσις (prógnōsis, “forecast of the course and outcome of a disease; (Koine) foreknowledge, perceiving beforehand, prediction”), from προ- (pro-, prefix meaning ‘before; beforehand’) + γνῶσῐς (gnôsĭs, “inquiry, investigation; knowledge”). The plural prognoses is a learned borrowing from Late Latin prognōsēs. Cognates * Middle French prognosie (“forecast, prediction”) (modern French prognosie (obsolete), prognose (“forecast of the course and outcome of a disease”)) * Sanskrit प्रज्ञा (prajñā, “intelligence, wisdom; judgment; knowledge”) Pronunciation: /pɹɒɡˈnəʊsɪs/, /pɹɑɡˈnoʊsɪs/, /-səs/, /pɹɒɡˈnəʊsiːz/, /pɹɑɡˈnoʊsiz/ 1. A forecast of the future course or outcome of a situation based on what is presently known; a prediction. Example: I may say here that it is one of the evidences of original character, that it is apt to baffle all prognosis from a mere observer's standpoint. Example: Despite the positive, constructive aspects of the Beeching Report, the gloomy prognoses on B.R. which issued from so many commentators prior to its publication have left a widespread impression that the railway is an outdated concept. 2. A forecast of the future course or outcome of a disease or disorder based on current medical knowledge. Example: Hovvbeit it is to be noted (vvhich vve hinted in the prognoſis) that the ſvvelling doth often appear critically and profitably, and thereby the ſick are recovered of their diſeaſes; […] Example: The prognosis [of measles] is unfavourable when the child is very young, when the eruption appears before the third day, or when it suddenly disappears. […] The prognosis is favourable when the gastro-pulmonary symptoms are slight, the progress of the disease is regular, and when the skin is moist after the appearance of the exanthema.
Word: tatterdemalion Part of Speech: adj Etymology: First attested circa 1608. An early spelling was tatter-de-mallion, rhymed with Italian. The first part of the word is tatter; the origin of the second part is uncertain; Ebenezer Cobham Brewer suggested it might be from de maillot (“shirt”). Pronunciation: /tætədəˈmeɪliɒn/ 1. Tattered. Example: The house, on his arrival, seemed in some confusion, as if a catastrophe had happened in the family; and the servants clustered together in the hall, and were unable, or perhaps not altogether anxious, to suppress their merriment at the tatterdemalion figure of the secretary. Example: For the same reason the kings of Europe could not resist the tatterdemalion soldiers of the Convention.
Word: tatterdemalion Part of Speech: noun Etymology: First attested circa 1608. An early spelling was tatter-de-mallion, rhymed with Italian. The first part of the word is tatter; the origin of the second part is uncertain; Ebenezer Cobham Brewer suggested it might be from de maillot (“shirt”). Pronunciation: /tætədəˈmeɪliɒn/ 1. A person with tattered clothing. Example: […] we haue ordeined that through euery ward […] there be erected one sound, sufficient, and well painted whipping poste, the very sight of which wil not only scarre them, worse then the scowting face of a Serieant being seen peeping through a red lettice, frights a yong gallant, but also in time driue the whole band of Tatterdemalions from poste to piller. Example: St. Martin [of Tours] looks round, first, deliberately;—becomes aware of a tatterdemalion and thirsty-looking soul of a beggar at his chair side, who has managed to get his cup filled somehow, also—by a charitable lacquey. St. Martin turns his back on the Empress, and hobnobs with him!
Word: cyclopean Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From cyclops + -ean. Pronunciation: /ˈsaɪkləʊpi.ən/, /ˌsaɪkləˈpiː.ən/ 1. Suggestive of a cyclops. Example: Some of the descendants of this cyclopean ancestor left their burrows and started to swim. 2. Fitted together of huge irregular stones. 3. Massive in stature. Labels: broadly Example: 2006, Fernando Pessoa, "Salutation to Walt Whitman," in A Little Larger Than the Entire Universe: Selected Poems, edited and translated by Richard Zenith, Penguin, pp. 198-9, You were cyclopean and muscular, not pretty, / Yet your attitude toward the world was feminine, / And for you each leaf of grass, each stone and each man was the Universe. See also quotation under cyclopian. 4. Created by combining two images. Example: When he wrote the word, / the o's were joined / like eyeglass lenses without / a bridge. Cross-eyed, hypnotic, / they threatened to merge, / become Cyclopean. […]
Word: visage Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English visage, from Anglo-Norman visage, from Vulgar Latin *vīsāticum, derived from Latin vīsus (“appearance, sight”), derived from vidēre (“to see”). Compare vision. See -age (“noun suffix”). Pronunciation: /ˈvɪz.ɪd͡ʒ/ 1. Countenance; one's face. Example: Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart. He was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage. It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was. 2. The appearance or aspect of something, especially when expressive or distinctive. Example: Snowflakes fell gently across the mountain’s rugged visage. Example: [T]he monſter, rouſed by the noiſe, ſtarted forward, preſented ſuch a viſage of horror, and raiſed ſuch a hideous roar, that the hearts of the bold were contracted, and the nerves of the valiant unſtrung.
Word: labyrinthine Part of Speech: adj Etymology: From labyrinth + -ine from Ancient Greek λᾰβύρῐνθος (lăbúrĭnthos, “a maze”). Pronunciation: /ˌlab.əˈɹɪn.θʌɪn/, /ˌlæb.əˈɹɪn.θɪn/, /ˌlæb.əˈɹɪnˌθaɪn/, /ˌlæb.əˈɹɪnˌθin/ 1. Physically resembling a labyrinth; with the qualities of a maze. Example: As our train to Paris dashed through the labyrynthine flyovers at Porchefontaine, barely a mile from Versailles, the 75 m.p.h. limit was already almost attained. Example: In the pyloric canal, muscular ridges are more fixed than elsewhere and produce quite a labyrinthine surface. 2. Relating to the labyrinth of the inner ear. 3. Convoluted, baffling, confusing, perplexing. Labels: figuratively Example: Mamet, like one of his characters, invents a labyrinthine, convoluted spiel leading nowhere, and like a magician distracts us with his words while elaborately not producing a rabbit from his hat. Example: Any attempt to answer that question would carry us into the labyrinthine corridors of Jefferson's famously elusive mind.
Word: gibber Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Uncertain; usually regarded as a back-formation from gibberish (see gibberish for more). Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒɪbə(ɹ)/ 1. Gibberish, unintelligible speech. Labels: countable, uncountable
Word: gibber Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Uncertain; usually regarded as a back-formation from gibberish (see gibberish for more). Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒɪbə(ɹ)/ 1. To jabber, talk rapidly and unintelligibly or incoherently. Example: A little ere the mightiest Julius fell, / The graves stood tenantless and the sheeted dead / Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets – […]
Word: gibber Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Dharug giba. Pronunciation: /ˈɡɪbə/ 1. A stone or rock, of chalcedony or similar mineral, found strewn over arid regions of inland Australia; a gibber stone. Labels: Australia 2. Any small rock or stone, especially one used for throwing. Labels: Australia, colloquial Example: “Well, all I can say is that if yer don't take yer dial outer the road I'll bloomin' well take an' bounce a gibber off yer crust.” 3. A large boulder or rocky outcrop; also, an overhanging rock formation. Labels: Australia, obsolete
Word: gibber Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree English gib Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English gibber From gib + -er. 1. A balky horse. Example: 1831-1850, William Youatt, On the Structure and the Diseases of the Horse A hasty and passionate breaker will often make a really goodtempered young horse an inveterate gibber
Word: ensanguine Part of Speech: verb Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Latin in- Old French en-bor. Middle English en- English en- English sanguine English ensanguine From en- + sanguine. Pronunciation: /ɛnˈsæŋ.ɡwən/, /ɪn-/ 1. to stain with blood
Word: sepulchral Part of Speech: adj Etymology: Etymology tree Latin sepeliō Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-trom Proto-Indo-European *-tlom Proto-Italic *-klom Latin -crum Latin sepulcrum Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin sepulcralislbor. English sepulchral Learned borrowing from Latin sepulcralis. Pronunciation: /səˈpʌlkɹəl/, /səˈpʊlkɹəl/ 1. Relating to a grave or to death; funereal. 2. Suggestive of a grave or of death; gloomy; solemn. Example: He alluded constantly to Europe, to the people I was supposed to know there - putting leading questions as to my acquaintances in the sepulchral city, and so on. Example: Over and over I found myself visiting homes where the predominant feeling was sepulchral, dusty, and deserted […] 3. Having a hollow and deep sound. Example: As for your treatment of ME," concluded Uncle Tinfish, almost having another disaster to his vocal chords at the thought of it, "I wash my hands of you, sir - I renounce you - I " Uncle Tinfish's voice was suddenly lowered to a tone of sepulchral hollowness. Example: 'The Master of Krikkit,' said Slartibartfast again, and if his breathing had been sepulchral before, this time he sounded like someone in Hades with bronchitis.
Word: ensconce Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From en- + sconce, “to place in a sconce (“fortification”)”. Pronunciation: /ɛnˈskɒns/, /ɛnˈskɑns/ 1. To place in a secure environment. Labels: transitive Example: She shall not see me, I will ensconce mee behinde the Arras. Example: They found the sharp new heap they were seeking, and ensconced themselves within the protection of three great elms that grew in a bunch within a few feet of the grave. 2. To settle comfortably. Labels: intransitive, transitive Example: So many invitations had been extended to this premiére that the train was pretty nearly full; [...] the press and other guests distributed themselves over the remaining accommodation, and I ensconced myself in a facing window seat in one of the compartments of the third-class brake next the tender. Example: […] Major was already ensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam.
Word: dirge Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English dirige, from Latin dirige (“steer, direct”), from the beginning of the first antiphon in matins for the dead, Dirige, Domine, deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam. Doublet of dirige. Pronunciation: /dɜːdʒ/, /dɝd͡ʒ/ 1. A mournful poem or piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a deceased person. Example: Therefore our ſometimes Siſter, now our Queen, / Th’ imperiall Ioyntreſſe of this warlike State, / Haue we, as ’twere, with a defeated ioy, / With one Auſpicious, and one Dropping eye, / With mirth in Funerall, and with Dirge in Marriage, / In equall Scale weighing Delight and Dole / Taken to Wife […] Example: While I watched the tempest, so beautiful yet terrific, I wandered on with a hasty step. This noble war in the sky elevated my spirits; I clasped my hands, and exclaimed aloud, “William, dear angel! this is thy funeral, this thy dirge!” 2. A song or piece of music that is considered too slow, bland or boring. Labels: informal
Word: dirge Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English dirige, from Latin dirige (“steer, direct”), from the beginning of the first antiphon in matins for the dead, Dirige, Domine, deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam. Doublet of dirige. Pronunciation: /dɜːdʒ/, /dɝd͡ʒ/ 1. To sing dirges
Word: rancor Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Latin ranceō Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *-ōs Proto-Italic *-ōs Latin -or Latin rancor Old French rancorbor. Middle English rancour English rancor First attested in the 13th century as Middle English rancour, from Old French rancor, from Latin rancor (“rancidity, grudge, rancor”), from ranceō (“to be rotten or putrid”), from which also English rancid. Pronunciation: /ˈɹæ̞ŋkə/, /ˈɹæ̝ŋkɚ/, /ˈɹeɪ̯ŋkɚ/, /ˈɹɛ̃ŋkɚ/ 1. A feeling of long-lasting ire for another, sometimes to the point of hatred, over a perceived wrongdoing; bitterness. Labels: US, countable, uncountable Example: I could almost see the rancor in his eyes when he challenged me to a fight. 2. Rancidity, rankness. Labels: US, countable, rare, uncountable