over

From Middle English over, from Old English ofer, from Proto-West Germanic *obar, from Proto-Germanic *uber (“over”), from Proto-Indo-European *upér, a comparative form of *upo.
Akin to Dutch over, German ober, über, Danish over, Norwegian over, Swedish över, Icelandic yfir, Faroese yvir, Gothic 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂 (ufar), Latin super, Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér), Albanian upri (“group of peasants”), Sanskrit उपरि (upári).
Doublet of uber, super, and hyper.

Let's talk over the project at tomorrow's meeting.

Let me think that over.

I'm going to look over our department's expenses.

During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant[…]

1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond:

Thoroughly; completely; from beginning to end.

She seemed a placid creature altogether - eminently respectable - perhaps not over intelligent.

1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 12, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 158:

(often in compounds) To an excessive degree; overly.

He tipped the bottle over, and the water came gushing out.

That building just fell over!

He bent over to touch his toes.

From an upright position to a horizontal one.

Slide the toilet-paper dispenser's door over when one roll is empty in order to reveal the other.

I moved over to make room for him to sit down.

Horizontally; left to right or right to left.

The fence is too high. I don't think I'll be able to get over.

From one side of something to another, passing above it.

Please pass that over to me.

He came over to our way of thinking on the new project.

Come over and play!

I'll bring over a pizza.

We stayed over at Grandma's.

Can I sleep over?

край

(military) finished transmitting and is expecting a response

I lost my paper and I had to do the entire assignment over.

(US, usually with do) Again; another time; once more; over again.


amen

Inherited from Middle English amen, from Old English [Term?], from Ecclesiastical Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן (ʾāmēn, “certainly, verily”) (cognate with Arabic آمِينَ (ʔāmīna), Classical Syriac ܐܡܝܢ (ʾāmên)). In Old English, it was used only at the end of the Gospels. Elsewhere, it was translated as sōþlīċe! (“truly”, “indeed!”), swā hit is (“so it is”), and sīe! (“[so] be it!”).

der

Iesvs anſvvered, Amen, Amen I ſay to thee, Vnles a man be borne againe of vvater and the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God.

1582, English College of Rheims, transl., The New Testament of Jesus Christ, John 3:5, page 222:


nowhere

From Middle English nowher, from Old English nōhwēr, nāhwǣr, from nā- + hwǣr. By surface analysis, no + where.
Adjective usage is taken from phrases like nowhere on the map (signifying the location was too small or too insignificant to be listed), nowhere you want to be, etc.

Nowhere did the rules say anything about popcorn.

We sat in traffic, going nowhere.


pianissimo

en-adv

pianissimo (comparative more pianissimo, superlative most pianissimo)

more pianissimo (comparative)
most pianissimo (superlative)


crescendo

/kɹɪˈʃɛn.dəʊ/

/kɹəˈʃɛn.dəʊ/

Borrowed from Italian crescendo, gerund of crescere (“to grow, to increase”).

(music) Gradually increasing in force or loudness.


staccato

staccato (comparative more staccato, superlative most staccato)

more staccato (comparative)
most staccato (superlative)

Borrowed from Italian staccato (“detached, disconnected”), past participle of staccare (“to detach, separate”), aphetic variant of distaccare (“to separate, detach”), from Middle French destacher (“to detach”), from Old French destachier (“to detach”), from des- + atachier (“to attach”), alteration of estachier (“to fasten with or to a stake, lay claim to”), from estache (“a stake”), from Low Frankish *stakkā (“stake”), from Proto-Germanic *stakkaz, *stakô (“stick, stake”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“stick, stake”). Akin to Old High German stecko (“post”) (German Stecken (“stick”)), Old Saxon stekko (“stake”), Old Norse stakkr (“hay stack, heap”), Old English staca (“stake”). More at stake.

der

Now, play the same passage very staccato.


allegretto

Borrowed from Italian allegretto, diminutive form of allegro.

(music) To be played rather fast and lively.


legato

Borrowed from Italian legato, past participle of legare (“to tie up, tie together, to bind”), learned borrowing from Latin ligō (“tie, bind”). Doublet of ligate.

Play this passage legato, not portato.

(music) Smoothly, in a connected manner.


bias

c. 1520 in the sense "oblique line". As a technical term in the game of bowls c. 1560, whence the figurative use (c. 1570).
From Middle French biais, adverbially ("sideways, askance, against the grain") c. 1250, as a noun ("oblique angle, slant") from the late 16th century.
The French word is likely from Old Occitan biais, itself of obscure origin, most likely from Vulgar Latin *biaxius (“with two axes”).

to cut cloth bias

In a slanting manner; crosswise; obliquely; diagonally.


under

From Middle English under, from Old English under, from Proto-Germanic *under (whence also German unter, Dutch onder, Danish and Norwegian under), from a merger of Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥dʰér (“under”) and *h₁entér (“inside”). Akin to Old High German untar (“under”), Sanskrit अन्तर् (antar, “within”), Latin infrā (“below, beneath”) and inter (“between, among”).

pulled under by the currents

weighed under by worry

The minstrel fell, but the foeman's chain / Could not bring his proud soul under.

In or to a lower or subordinate position, or a position beneath or below something, physically or figuratively.

There's quite a gap, so you may be able to sneak under.

The plants were underwatered.

Women are under-represented.

(usually in compounds) Less than what is necessary to be adequate or suitable; insufficient.

It took the hypnotist several minutes to make his subject go under.

(informal) In or into an unconscious state.


maybe

From an ellipsis of Middle English it may be, equivalent to may + be. Compare mayhap.

A small extra effort now can maybe save you much work later.

Maybe I was imagining it, but I could swear that the dog understood what I was saying.

Okay. See you later, maybe. — Maybe I’ll see you later.
Audio (US): (file)

2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

(as a pro-sentence) Perhaps that is true (expressing no commitment to a decision or a neutral viewpoint to a statement).

Maybe not the best idea.


sooner

I would sooner die than marry you!


sooner or later

He’ll turn up sooner or later.

Sooner or later / You hit the deck, you get found out / Save it for later / Don't run away and let me down

1982, The English Beat (lyrics and music), “Save It for Later”, in Special Beat Service:

(set phrase) Eventually, at some undetermined time in the not-too-distant future.


honest

en-adv

honest (comparative more honest, superlative most honest)

more honest (comparative)
most honest (superlative)

From Middle English honest, honeste (“honourable, appropriate, excellent”), from Old French honeste, from Latin honestus, from honor. For the verb, see Latin honestāre (“to clothe or adorn with honour”), and compare French honester. Displaced native Old English sōþfæst (literally “truth-firm”).

inh

It wasn’t my fault, honest.


adagio

/əˈdɑːd͡ʒiəʊ/

/əˈdæd͡ʒiəʊ/


yay

Alteration of yea (“yes; even, truly, verily”). More at yea.

The tree was yay big.

See, in the 1800s, the island was yay big, but by the 1990s, it was yay big.

2018 October 30, CGP Grey, 5:29 from the start, in Who Owns The Statue of Liberty?, archived from the original on 2024-07-16:


accidently

en-adv

accidently (comparative more accidently, superlative most accidently)

more accidently (comparative)
most accidently (superlative)

From Middle English accidently, accidentli (“by chance; temporarily; artificially”), equivalent to accident + -ly.

[T]he exceptions remind me of an ingenious conjecture respecting Newton: that he was probably a being of a superior order, accidently caged in a human body.

1791 (date written), Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1792, →OCLC:

As I arrived at the foot of the hill I overtook two ladies, whom I passed. As I did so, I brushed one of them accidently on the arm.

1899, Knut Hamsun, “Part I”, in George Egerton [pseudonym; Mary Chavelita Dunne Bright], transl., Hunger […], London: Leonard Smithers and Co […], →OCLC, page 15:

[W]hich arises from four galaxies at four quite different distances that accidently appear close together in the sky. The second line represents two galaxies close together in space and the other two accidently close in projection, the third line close triplets plus a fourth accidently close in projection, the fourth line two close pairs accidently seen close together in projection.

1980, Phillip James Edwin Peebles, The Large-Scale Structure of the Universe (Astrophysics), Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 151:

[R]elayed similar cases but suspected that the rocks were accidently dislodged as the animals fled. […] Hall (1963) considered the same data and concluded that while such behavior might originate accidently during flight or display, […]

2011, Robert W. Shumaker, Kristina R. Walkup, Benjamin B. Beck, Gordon M. Burghardt, Animal Tool Behavior, 2nd edition, JHU Press, →ISBN, page 92:

Juan accidently spills some coffee on a client during a business meeting. Juan's tort is clearly in the scope of employment.

2012, Patrick R. Delaney PhD, CPA, O. Ray Whittington, Wiley CPA Exam Review 2012, Regulations, page 334:

(now nonstandard) Accidentally; by chance, unintentionally.


off

(older Received Pronunciation, General American) -ɔːf

From Middle English of, from Old English of, af, æf (“from, off, away”), from Proto-West Germanic *ab, from Proto-Germanic *ab (“from”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epo (“from, off, back”). Doublet of of.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots of, af (“off, away”), West Frisian af, ôf (“off, away”), Dutch af (“off, from”), German Low German of (“off, from”), German ab (“off, from”), Danish af (“of, off”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish av (“of, off”), Icelandic af (“of, off”), Gothic 𐌰𐍆 (af, “of, from”); and with Latin ab (“of, from, by”), Ancient Greek ἀπό (apó, “from”), and others.

inh

No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or[…]. And at last I began to realize in my harassed soul that all elusion was futile, and to take such holidays as I could get, when he was off with a girl, in a spirit of thankfulness.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 46:

So this was my future home, I thought![…]Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.

1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

He drove off in a cloud of smoke.

In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point.

dhe-ves

in a direction away from the speaker or object

Please switch off the light when you leave.

The dinosaurs died off long ago.

Into a state of non-operation or non-existence.

yn farow

into a state of non-operation or non-existence

He bit off the end of the carrot.

Some branches were sawn off.

Please take your clothes off so that I can examine you.

The space had been sectioned off with colorful plastic shelves so that her textbooks rested on the bottom and her binders and personal effects lay across the middle.

2010, Jo Whittemore, Front Page Face-Off, page 113:

So as to remove or separate, or be removed or separated.

noises off

Used in various other ways specific to individual idiomatic phrases, e.g. bring off, show off, put off, tell off, etc. See the entry for the individual phrase.


nay

From Middle English nai, nei, from Old Norse nei (“no”), contraction of ne (“not”) + ei (“ever”), itself from Proto-Germanic *nai (“never”), *nē (“not”). More at no.

(archaic or regional, otherwise humorous) No.

Nay, what are you smiling at so damnably?

(archaic or regional) Introducing a statement, without direct negation.

His face was dirty, nay, filthy.

[…] And proved not only horse, but cows, / Nay pigs, were of the elder house: / For beasts, when man was but a piece / Of earth himself, did th' earth possess.

1663, Samuel Butler, Hudibras, part 1, canto 2:

And even in our wildest and most wandering reveries, nay in our very dreams, we shall find, if we reflect, that the imagination ran not altogether at adventures,

1748, David Hume, chapter 18, in Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral, London: Oxford University Press, published 1973:

And all rejected: Has this course been used? Arch. We grant it has not; but— King. Nay, give me leave,— I urge, from your own grant, it has not been. If then, in process of a petty sum, Both parties having not been fully heard,[…]

2016 February 2, John Dryden, The works of John Dryden, Vol.7: Top English Literature (Top English Literature), VM eBooks:

Earnestly bent upon fulfilling the weighty, nay solemn, responsibilities of his office at all hazard, even at the risk of so far neglecting his parliamentary duties as to appear upon the division-list less frequently than any of his colleagues, Sir John Pakington wore the wooden spoon at the whitebait dinner, though with an air of waggery — almost as a decoration.

1858, Charles Kent, The Derby Ministry: A Series of Cabinet Pictures, page 237:

(archaic, otherwise humorous) Or rather, or should I say; moreover (introducing a stronger and more appropriate expression than the preceding one).


only

From Middle English oonly, onli, onlych, onelich, anely, from Old English ānlīċ, ǣnlīċ (“like; similar; equal”), from Proto-Germanic *ainalīkaz, equivalent to one + -ly. Cognate with obsolete Dutch eenlijk, German ähnlich (“similar”), Old Norse álíkr, Swedish enlig (“unified”). Regarding the different phonological development of only and one, see the note in one.

In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.

2013 June 7, Ed Pilkington, “‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 6:

My heart is hers, and hers only.

The cat sat only on the mat. It kept off the sofa.

Without others or anything further; exclusively.

vetëm

without others or anything further; exclusively

To DAD
who only reared twelve children
and
To MOTHER
who reared twelve only children

1949, Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen, dedication

‘No. I only opened the door a foot and put my head in. The street lamps shine into that room. I could see him. He was all right. Sleeping like a great grampus. Poor, poor chap.’

1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 20, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

[…] oot of a' six suspects there's not one that's been proved to ha' been nigh the place where the corpse was found, only Mr Graham.

1931, Dorothy L Sayers, chapter 24, in The Five Red Herrings:

Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.

2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:

The cat only sat on the mat. It didn't scratch it.

If there were only one more ticket!

c. 1924-1955, anonymous, The Urantia Book
Only yesterday did I feed you with bread for your bodies; today I offer you the bread of life for your hungry souls.

The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today’s prices).

2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:

He left only moments ago.

It's only fair to let him borrow your kite, after you've had his toys all day.

He'd been belittling her for years. It's only natural that she left.

Emphasizing something that is just or necessary.

She's only gone and run off with the milkman!

The van said ‘BURT’S BURGERS’ on one side and ‘BURT’S PEST CONTROL’ on the other. Zoe stared at the van. The creepy man was only using the same vehicle for catching rats that he did for frying burgers!

2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

(British) Used to express surprise or consternation at an action.

They rallied from a three-goal deficit only to lose in the final two minutes of play.

I helped him out only for him to betray me.

He met Luis Suarez's cross at the far post, only for Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to show brilliant reflexes to deflect his header on to the bar. Carroll turned away to lead Liverpool's insistent protests that the ball had crossed the line but referee Phil Dowd and assistant referee Andrew Garratt waved play on, with even a succession of replays proving inconclusive.

2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:

Introduces a disappointing or surprising outcome that renders futile something previously mentioned.

his most only elected mistress

1604 (date written), Iohn Marston [i.e., John Marston], Parasitaster, or The Fawne, […], London: […] T[homas] P[urfoot] for W[illiam] C[otton], published 1606, →OCLC, (please specify the page):

(obsolete) Above all others; particularly.


indubitably

en-adv

indubitably (comparative more indubitably, superlative most indubitably)

more indubitably (comparative)
most indubitably (superlative)

Now his first suspicion was indubitably confirmed.

1871, Thomas Hardy, chapter 18, in Desperate Remedies:

The world is indubitably one if you look at it in one way, but as indubitably is it many, if you look at it in another. It is both one and many—let us adopt a sort of pluralistic monism.

1907, William James, Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking:

They were all indubitably, aggressively alive! Everybody was alive once more!

1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

In a manner that leaves no possibility of doubt; undoubtedly.


characteristically

characteristically (comparative more characteristically, superlative most characteristically)

more characteristically (comparative)
most characteristically (superlative)

The threat the most radical of them pose is evidently far greater at home than abroad: in one characteristically slick and chilling Isis video – entitled “a message to the Jordanian tyrant” – a smiling, long-haired young man in black pats the explosive belt round his waist as he burns his passport and his fellow fighters praise the memory of Zarqawi, who was killed in Iraq in 2006.

2014 November 27, Ian Black, “Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis”, in The Guardian:

Valentine’s Day means different things for different people. For Homer, it means forking over a hundred dollars for a dusty box of chocolates at the Kwik-E-Mart after characteristically forgetting the holiday yet again. For Ned, it’s another opportunity to prove his love for his wife. Most germane to the episode, for Lisa, Valentine’s Day means being the only person in her entire class to give Ralph a Valentine after noticing him looking crestfallen and alone at his desk.

2012 August 5, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “I Love Lisa” (season 4, episode 15; originally aired 02/11/1993)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

There, characteristically, he refused to be carried on a stretcher, saying he was too heavy for nurses. He walked in with their support.

2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 43:

In a usual or expected way; in characteristic manner.


retrograde

retrograde (comparative more retrograde, superlative most retrograde)

more retrograde (comparative)
most retrograde (superlative)

The adjective is derived from Middle English retrograd, retrograde (“of a planet: appearing to move in a direction opposite to the order of the zodiac signs, retrograde; unfortunate”), from Middle French retrograde and Old French retrograde (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards; moving backwards; reverse; palindromic; opposed to change”) (modern French rétrograde), and from their etymon Latin retrōgradus (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards”) (compare Late Latin retrōgradus (“reverse; palindromic”)), from retrō (“back, backwards; behind; before, formerly”) + gradus (“pace, step”). By surface analysis, retro- + -grade.
The adverb and noun are derived from the adjective.

cog

/ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd/

/ˈɹɛtɹəˌɡɹeɪd/


unco

‘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.’

1920, Tod Robbins, “Who Wants a Green Bottle?”, in Freaks And Fantasies, published 2007, page 70:

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.

1996, Alasdair Gray, “The Story of a Recluse”, in Every Short Story 1951-2012, Canongate, published 2012, page 267:


niente

(music) totally silent, as a musical direction (abbreviated to n. or ∅ in sheet music)


dab

From Middle English dabben (“to strike”), probably of North Germanic origin, related to Old Icelandic dabba (“to tap, slap”), perhaps ultimately imitative. Compare also with Middle Dutch dabben (“to pinch, knead, fumble, dabble”) (Dutch dabben (“(of a horse) to stamp with the forelegs”)), Dutch deppen (“to dab”), possibly German tappen (“to fumble, grope”).
The noun is from Middle English dabbe (“a strike, blow”), from the verb. Related to tap. Compare also drub, dub.
African-American sense of “playful box” perhaps influenced by dap (“fistbump”).

onomatopoeic

imitative


soon

en-adv

soon (comparative sooner, superlative soonest)

sooner (comparative)
soonest (superlative)

From Middle English sone, from Old English sōna (“immediately, at once”), from Proto-West Germanic *sān(ō), from Proto-Germanic *sēna, *sēnô (“immediately, soon, then”), from *sa (demonstrative pronoun), from Proto-Indo-European *só (demonstrative pronoun).
Cognate with Scots sone, sune, schone (“soon, quickly, at once”), North Frisian san (“immediately, at once”), dialectal Dutch zaan (“soon, before long”), Middle Low German sân (“right afterwards, soon”), Middle High German sān, son (“soon, then”), Old High German sār (“immediately, soon”). Compare also Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐍃 (suns, “immediately, soon”), from Proto-Germanic *suniz (“soon”).

cog

I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly,[…], down the nave to the western door.[…]At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.

1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese[…]began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated. The poisoning was irreversible, and soon ended in psychosis and death.

2014 April 21, “Subtle effects”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8884:

How is it that ye are come so soon to day?

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 2:18:

“Been huntin’ fuh mah mule. Anybody seen ’im?” he asked.
“Seen ’im soon dis mornin’ over behind de school-house,” Lum said. “’’Bout ten o’clock or so. He musta been out all night tuh be way over dere dat early.”

1937, Zora Neale Hurston, chapter 6, in Their Eyes Were Watching God, University of Illinois Press, published 1978, page 87:

I would as soon see a river winding through woods or in meadows, as when it is tossed up in so many whimsical figures at Versailles.

1713, Joseph Addison, The Guardian, number 101:

Readily; willingly; used with would, or some other word expressing will.


exactly

en-adv

exactly (comparative more exactly, superlative most exactly)

more exactly (comparative)
most exactly (superlative)

Measure exactly so we can be sure it is right.

The edge is not exactly straight.

He divided the coins exactly in half.

(manner) Without approximation; precisely.

He did it that way exactly to prove the point.

His hair is a semilong dull red and pulled back in a sloppy pony at the base of his neck, and his face is riddled with small freckles and grease, but out here I can see personal hygiene isn't exactly at the top of the priority list.

2012, Amlynn Smith, Lost and Found, page 18:

(focus) Precisely, used to provide emphasis.


ergo

From Middle English ergo, from Latin ergō.

"I merely made an individual application of a general rule. All women love flattery—ergo, Miss Arundel liked it."

1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter III, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 59:

The pirates who invaded this fort left Sparrow locked in his cell; ergo, they are not his allies.


definitely

definitely (comparative more definitely, superlative most definitely)

more definitely (comparative)
most definitely (superlative)

Joe definitely doesn't know how to drive a tractor.

She said she wasn't coming, definitely.

hogyne

An emphatic affirmative answer; of course

It was really impossible on board that ship to get away definitely from Almayer

1912, Joseph Conrad, “Chapter IV”, in A Personal Record:

And the Nose definitely turned away.

1916, Nikolai Gogol, translated by Claud Field, The Nose, published 1836:

And these Elders were men of good standing in that community, and they swore definitely before the counsel that this lady committed this impropriety, and there was nobody to gainsay that, except the lady herself, […]

2003, Herbert Mitgang, Once Upon a Time in New York, page 187:


super

From super- (prefix), from Middle English super-, from Latin super-, from super (“above”). Doublet of over and hyper.

The party was super awesome.

The job is super interesting for a person who enjoys a hardware environment and communicating with people.

1992 March 14, The Canberra Times, page 9, column 2:

“The best people are staying, so I’m not super worried,” he tweeted.

2022 November 18, Ryan Mac, Mike Isaac, Kellen Browning, quoting Elon Musk, “Elon Musk’s Twitter Teeters on the Edge After Another 1,200 Leave”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(informal) Very; extremely (used like the prefix super-).


foremost

From Old English formest, fyrmest (“earliest, first, most prominent”), from Proto-Germanic *frumistaz, from the locative stem *fur-, *fr- + the superlative suffix *-umistaz, stem ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pr-. The suffix *-umistaz was a compound suffix, created from the rarer comparative suffix *-umô (as in Old English fruma) + the regular superlative suffix *-istaz (English -est); *-umô in turn is from Proto-Indo-European *-mHo-.
Cognate with Old Frisian formest, Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌿𐌼𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 (frumists). See for, first and Old English fruma for more. Partially cognate to primus, from Proto-Indo-European *pr- + Latin superlative suffix -imus, from Proto-Indo-European *-mHo-.
A comparative former was back-formed analogically, leaving the m from *-umô in place. Later the Old English suffix complex -(u)m-est was conflated with the word most through folk etymology, so that the word is now interpreted as fore + -most.

No Man hath more nicely observed our Climate, than the Bookseller who bought the Copy of this Work; He knows to a Tittle what Subjects will best go off in a dry Year, and which it is proper to expose foremost, when the Weather-glass is fallen to much Rain.

1704, Jonathan Swift, “The Conclusion”, in A Tale of a Tub, London: John Nutt, pages 215-216:

1820, John Keats, “Lamia,” Part 1, in Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: Taylor and Hessey, p. 15,
She saw the young Corinthian Lycius / Charioting foremost in the envious race,

The little engine stood, tender foremost, at the platform, with its two coaches; [...].

1944 January and February, E. R. McCarter, “The Cairn Valley Light Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 47:

[…] what haunts the heart will, when it is found, leap foremost, blinding the eye and leaving the main of Life in darkness.

1946, Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan, Penguin, published 1981, page 137:

c. 1618, Philip Massinger, Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, The Old Law, London: Edward Archer, 1656, Act III, Scene 1, p. 41,
Alwayes the worst goes foremost, so twill prove I hope

Our thirst, at length, and hunger both sufficed, / I, foremost speaking, ask’d you to the wars

1791, William Cowper, transl., The Iliad of Homer, London: J. Johnson, Book 11, lines 946-947, p. 299:

[…] Mrs. Nickleby, with the utmost sincerity, gave vent to her sorrows after her own peculiar fashion of considering herself foremost,

1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 51, in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 597:

It seemed as if he had been gently awakened from a long sleep. The corners of his mouth hung down, drugged and paralyzed, and through the gray light of this soft, new-born consciousness it occurred to him first, prime and foremost (order, order, he found himself pleading) that he was not properly articulating.

1951, William Styron, chapter 5, in Lie Down in Darkness, Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, page 214:


apace

From Middle English apās (“step by step, slowly; quickly, rapidly; at once, promptly”), from Old French à pas (“at a quick pace”).

inh

Construction of the new offices is proceeding apace.

Gallop apace, you fiery footed ſteedes, / Towards Phœbus lodging, ſuch a Wagoner / As Phaeton would whip you to the weſt, / And bring in Cloudie night immediately.

c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 65:

Ow faire Hippolita, our nuptiall houre / Drawes on apace: foure happy daies bring in / Another Moon[…]

c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 145:

(To one, it is ten years of years.
... Yet now, and in this place,
Surely she leaned o'er me—her hair
Fell all about my face. ...
Nothing: the autumn fall of leaves.
The whole year sets apace.)

1850, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Blessed Damozel, The Germ; reprinted in Poems [Collection of British and American Authors; 1380], copyright edition, Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1873, OCLC 933409239, page 2, lines 19–24

Twilight was coming on apace and a star or two was already out, but the remains of the sunset could still be seen in the west.

1954, C. S. Lewis, chapter 1, in The Horse and His Boy, Collins, published 1998:

Despite efforts to prevent it, officials say, the radicalisation of young Muslims living in Europe proceeds apace.

2017 August 20, “The Observer view on the attacks in Spain”, in The Observer:


wai

(Internet slang) why (a purposeful misspelling)


much

en-adv

much (comparative more, superlative most)

From Middle English muche (“much, great”), apocopated variant of muchel (“much, great”), from Old English myċel, miċel (“big, much”), from Proto-West Germanic *mikil, from Proto-Germanic *mikilaz (“great, many, much”), from Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂- (“big, stour, great”). See also mickle, muckle.
cognates
Cognate with Scots mickle, mukill, mekil, mikil (“big, large, great, much”), Middle Dutch mēkel (“great, many, much”), Middle High German michel ("great, many, much"; > German michel (“great, big, large”)), Norwegian Bokmål mye (“much”), Norwegian Nynorsk mykje (“much”), Swedish mycket (“much”), Danish meget (“much”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌺𐌹𐌻𐍃 (mikils, “great, many”), Ancient Greek μέγας (mégas, “large, great”), Modern Greek μεγάλος (megálos, “large, great”).
Note that English much is not related to Spanish mucho, and their resemblance in both form and meaning is purely coincidental, as mucho derives from Latin multus and is not related to the Germanic forms. Instead, related to Spanish maño.

gloss

"great, many, much"; > German <i class="Latn mention" lang="de">michel</i> (“great, big, large”)

cog

I don't like fish much. I don’t much care for strawberries either.

He is much fatter than I remember him.

He left her, much to the satisfaction of her other suitor.

That boyfriend of yours is much {like - the same as} the others.

My English was much the worst, and I'm certainly not much good at math either.

Honestly, I can't stand much more of this.

Both candidates, who are much of an age, say much the same thing, but the youngest shows much the commoner behavior of the two.

They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups.

1909, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], “A Court Ball”, in The Squire’s Daughter, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published 1919, →OCLC, page 9:

I can’t lie (I miss you much). Watching every day that goes by (I miss you much).

2008, “Right Now (Na Na Na)” (track 1), in Freedom, performed by Akon:

Tangling with Ziv, Cameron caught him with a flailing elbow, causing the Israeli defender to go down a little easily. However, the referee was in no doubt, much to the displeasure of the home fans.

2011 October 20, Michael da Silva, “Stoke 3-0 Macc Tel-Aviv”, in BBC Sport:

From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.

2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:

Does he get drunk much?

I don't like Wagner as much as I like Mozart.

(in combinations such as 'as much', 'this much') Used to indicate or compare extent.

Jamie's always preaching about how we need to save a planet when she drives literally everywhere she goes. Like, hypocritical much?

The moment you've been waiting for—the lowdown on the Overstock hottie. I talked to her by phone last week. (Jealous much, gentlemen? Ad Report Card talks to all the fine ladies.)

2005 December 28, Seth Stevenson, “What’s With That Overstock.com Ad?”, in Slate, New York, N.Y.: The Slate Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-01-20:

rhetorical question
rhetorical question#Noun

(slang) Combining with an adjective or (occasionally) a noun, used in a rhetorical question to mock someone for having the specified quality.


oddly

From Middle English oddely, odly, equivalent to odd + -ly.

For December, it was oddly warm.

In a peculiar manner; strangely; unusually.

The oddly counted lords are always out of sync with at least one other evenly counted cycle. These two strange counts assured that at no single moment could all cycles end at the same time for an extraordinarily long time, for at least one odd count threw off all the even ones.

1998, Kay Almere Read, Time and Sacrifice in the Aztec Cosmos, page 107:


quixotically

en-adv

quixotically (comparative more quixotically, superlative most quixotically)

more quixotically (comparative)
most quixotically (superlative)


relative

[ˈɹɛl.ə.ɾɪv]

From Middle French relatif, from Late Latin relātīvus, from Latin relātus, perfect passive participle of referō (“to carry back, to ascribe”), from re- (“again”) + ferō (“to bear or carry”).

In 1924 it moved to a commonious campus at Stockton. Like other Californian colleges, however, it decided to remain a relative small institution.

1961, Earl Leon Werley Heck, The Rise of Higher Education in California, 1834–1910:

Mr. Schneebell. Instead of the relative small number of cases, you should phrase it probably differently.
Professor Brazer. I accept that correction.

1974, Select Committee on Small Business, United States Senate, Small Business Tax Reform, 1970–74, page 175:

In addition to the typical external disturbances faced by small open economies, such as shocks to terms of trade, to capital flows, or to the rest of the world’s demand, it is subject to a number of idiosyncratic shocks stemming from its relative big neighbors Brazil and—especially—Argentina.

2010, Sebastian Sosa, The Influence of “Big Brothers:” How Important are Regional Factors for Uruguay?, page 3:


quitely

From quite + -ly. Probably unconnected with Middle English quitly.


each

From Middle English eche, from Old English ǣlċ, contraction of ǣġhwelċ, from Proto-West Germanic *aiwgahwalīk (“each, every”). Compare Scots ilk, elk (“each, every”), Saterland Frisian älk (“each”), West Frisian elk, elts (“each”), Dutch elk (“each”), Low German elk, ellik (“each”), German Low German elk, elke (“each, every”), German jeglicher (“any”).

inh

The apples cost 50 cents each.

(e.g., po dek cendoj, ten cents each) po

à (placed before the price/weight/measurement and used when you have a defined number of something, for example Tre äpplen à 50 cent.)

We ordered half a chicken each, but we each got a whole one.

You are each right in a different way.

There are three of us and we have five dollars each, so that means we've got 15 dollars.

Individually; separately; used in a sentence with a plural subject to indicate that the action or state described by the verb applies to all members of the described group individually, rather than collectively to the entire group.


hardcore

From hard + core: hard to the core; 1936 (n.); 1951 (adj.)

(colloquial) In a hardcore manner; intensely or extremely.


dos a dos

/ˌdəʊsəˈdəʊ/

/ˌdəʊsiˈdəʊ/

From French dos à dos (“back to back”), from dos (“back”) (from Latin dorsum (“back”)) and à (from Latin ad (“to”).

to sit dos a dos on a camel

to dance dos a dos, so that two dancers move forward and pass back to back


adance

shadows across the table sent adance

1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow:


confirm

From Middle English confirmen, confermen, from Old French confermer, from Latin cōnfirmāre (“to make firm, strengthen, establish”), from con- (“together”) + firmāre (“to make firm”), from firmus (“firm”).

der

This is confirm not my handwriting.

That ex-lecturer-to-be confirm gone case liao.

2006, DanielS, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):

(Singlish, Manglish) For sure, definitely.


of course

He inspired love and emulation wherever he appeared; envy and jealous rage followed of course; so that he became a very desirable, though a very dangerous acquaintance.

1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:

Not tarrying long enough in the brain to be subject to reflection, the next sensations, of course, obliterate them.

1790, Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Men:

It was at one time made a question whether giving the royal assent to a single bill did not of course put an end to the session.

1845, Henry John Stephen, New commentaries on the laws of England:

(now rare) In due course; as a matter of course, as a natural result.

Of course I know that!

You will of course surrender all your future rights to the property.

“Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.[…]”

1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

We tiptoed into the house, up the stairs and along the hall into the room where the Professor had been spending so much of his time. 'Twas locked, of course, but the Deacon man got a big bunch of keys out of his pocket and commenced to putter with the lock.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter XIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

There were other flapper-era starlets, of course—Louise Brooks, Greta Garbo—but they were poseurs by comparison.

2012, Christoper Zara, Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, chapter 1, 25:

Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins. For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you.

2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76:

Naturally, as would be expected; for obvious reasons, obviously.


aggregately

en-adv

aggregately (comparative more aggregately, superlative most aggregately)

more aggregately (comparative)
most aggregately (superlative)


agitatedly

agitatedly (comparative more agitatedly, superlative most agitatedly)

more agitatedly (comparative)
most agitatedly (superlative)

She has long, raven-colored hair with a floppy widow's peak, and tosses it agitatedly as she speaks.

1974 April 27, Gary Jane Hoisington, “Susan Sontag”, in Gay Community News, page 8:


originally

originally (comparative more originally, superlative most originally)

more originally (comparative)
most originally (superlative)

/əˈɹɪd͡ʒɪnəli/

/əˈɹɪd͡ʒənəli/

/əˈɹɪd͡ʒnəli/

From Middle English originali; equivalent to original + -ly.

Originally, this paper was white, but over the years it has yellowed with age.

The little green men were clearly professional soldiers by their bearing, carried Russian weapons, and wore Russian combat fatigues, but they had no identifying insignia. Vladimir Putin originally denied they were Russian soldiers; that April, he confirmed they were.

2019 March 18, Steven Pifer, Five years after Crimea’s illegal annexation, the issue is no closer to resolution, The Center for International Security and Cooperation:

(not comparable) As it was in the beginning.

They had to think originally to come up with those creative ideas.


axiomatically

By the use of axioms; in the form of an axiom.


axially

In relation to, or in a line with, an axis; in the axial (magnetic) line.


aweather

aweather (comparative more aweather, superlative most aweather)

more aweather (comparative)
most aweather (superlative)

From a- + weather; distantly cognate in structure to German Gewitter.

Helm aweather!

(nautical) On the weather side, or toward the wind; in the direction from which the wind blows (See upwind)


awrong

awrong (comparative more awrong, superlative most awrong)

more awrong (comparative)
most awrong (superlative)


awkly

awkly (comparative more awkly, superlative most awkly)

more awkly (comparative)
most awkly (superlative)

(obsolete) In an unlucky or perverse manner.


awork

[…]and ſo the dyſputation beganne, ſette a woꝛke by the Prolocutor with a verye ſhorte pꝛæludium.

1563, Iohn Foxe, “Book 5”, in Actes and Monuments of theſe latter and perillous dayes […] , London: Iohn Day, page 1006:


availably

availably (comparative more availably, superlative most availably)

more availably (comparative)
most availably (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-availably.wav


avidiously

avidiously (comparative more avidiously, superlative most avidiously)

more avidiously (comparative)
most avidiously (superlative)


awfully

awfully (comparative more awfully, superlative most awfully)

more awfully (comparative)
most awfully (superlative)

She led after the swimming and cycling, but ran awfully and came in fourth.

It was wondrous. 'I'm awfully glad I came now,' his thought ran; 'I'm managing it rather well.'

1912, Arnold Bennett, The Grim Smile of the Five Towns:

It’s awfully considerate of you to think of me here / And I’m most obliged to you for making it clear that I’m not here

1968, Syd Barrett (lyrics and music), “Jugband Blues”, in A Saucerful of Secrets, performed by Pink Floyd:

(not comparable) Very; exceedingly; extremely; excessively.

I returned to the inn yard, and, impressed by my remembrance of the face, looked awfully around for it. It was not there.

1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:


aversely

aversely (comparative more aversely, superlative most aversely)

more aversely (comparative)
most aversely (superlative)

emitted aversely

With repugnance or aversion; unwillingly.


avie

avie (comparative more avie, superlative most avie)

more avie (comparative)
most avie (superlative)


awhile

From Old English ane (“(for) a”) hwile (“while”).

Sit with me awhile.

Gratiano:
[…]Fare ye well awhile:
I'll end my exhortation after dinner.

c. 1596–97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, act 1, scene 1:

Engine No. 18 went off into a shed to rest awhile, and No. 7, a precisely similar one, backed on to the train in her place.

1944 May and June, “When the Circle was Steam Operated”, in Railway Magazine, page 137:

I'll slip beneath these sheets and shiver here awhile / I find this happening more frequently these days

1979, The Boomtown Rats (lyrics and music), “Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)”, in The Fine Art of Surfacing:

Can I get you a drink awhile?

(US, Pennsylvania Dutch English) In the meantime; during an implicit ongoing process.


pronto

[ˈpʰɹɒntʰəʊ̯]

[ˈpʰɹɑntʰoʊ̯]

Borrowed from Spanish pronto, from Latin prōmptus. Doublet of prompt.

I need to finish this assignment pronto.

(informal) Quickly, very soon, promptly.


jus

I JUS WON A GRAMMY

2022 April 3, @JAYVERSACE, Twitter, archived from the original on 2023-11-03:

Hey jus really quick wanna ask if anyone got some recommendations for some SoundCloud Playlists Pluto thug gunna 21 yktv lmao thanks in advance 😭

2023 February 19, u/Bane_XX10, “Recommendations 😬”, in Reddit, r/future, archived from the original on 2023-11-03:

literally jus happened to me!

2023 October 19, u/CacheMeOutside, “He was just sitting there”, in Reddit, r/MHNowGame, archived from the original on 2023-11-03:

u know that thing a person does when they tuck ur hair behind ur ear jus a few strands, or fix ur hair or move a piece out your eye or see a strand on your lips and -

2020 October 28, @heavenbrat, Twitter, archived from the original on 2023-11-03:

(Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of just.


nowadays

Cars nowadays are more efficient.

Me-thinkes miſtreſſe, you ſhould haue little reaſon for that: and yet to ſay the truth, reaſon and loue keepe little company together, now-adayes.

c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 152, column 2:

What is it that now adayes makes all our quarrells mortall?

1603, Michel de Montaigne, “Cowardize, the Mother of Crueltie”, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC, page 399:

The appellation of Germany, is ſeldom uſed now-a-days any where but in the title of the Emperor and Elector of Mentz.

1762, A[nton] F[riedrich] Busching, “Introduction to the Description of Germany”, in [Patrick Murdoch], transl., A New System of Geography: In Which Is Given, a General Account of the Situation and Limits, the Manners, History, and Constitution, of the Several Kingdoms and States in the Known World; […], volumes IV (Containing, Part of Germany, viz. Bohemia, Moravia, Lusatia, Austria, Burgundy, Westphalia, and the Circle of the Rhine), London: […] A[ndrew] Millar […], →OCLC, § 4, page 4:

And in his spare moments, of which there were not many nowadays, he would go alone to the quarry, collect a load of broken stone, and drag it down to the site of the windmill unassisted.

1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter VI, in Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC, page 50:

My favourite reading nowadays is Pulse, one of the house magazines for GPs.

2012 June 11, Dick Vinegar, The Guardian:

At the present time; in the current era.


ayen

Variant or relative of again, in its obsolete sense "against".

The ſecunde is rebate youre hawke: to yowre fyſt, ⁊ thatt is whan yowre hawke batith, the leeſt meuyng that ye can make with yowre fyſt ſhe will rebate ayen vppon yowre fyſt[.]

1486, Juliana Berners, Book of Saint Albans:


damn

From Middle English dampnen, from Old French damner, from Latin damnāre (“to condemn, inflict loss upon”), from damnum (“loss”).

der

That car was going damn fast!

How are you damn quick?

You must be so damn rapid.

It went currently damn identical.

We're begging, damn near down on our knees, and not getting one red cent.

1989 December 10, John Zeh, quoting Tony Allen, “AIDS Groups' Execs Arrested In D.C.”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 22, page 1:


awk

en-adv

awk (comparative more awk, superlative most awk)

more awk (comparative)
most awk (superlative)

From Middle English [Term?], from Old Norse ǫfugr, ǫfigr, afigr (“turned backwards”) (whence Danish avet (“backwards”), Swedish avig (“turned backwards”)), from Proto-Germanic *abuhaz. Cognate with German äbich, Gothic 𐌹𐌱𐌿𐌺𐍃 (ibuks, “turned back”). Akin to Sanskrit अपाच् (apāc, “turned away”). Compare dialectal Danish ave (“to turn”), Dutch averechts (“opposite, backwards, contrary”), Icelandic öfga (“to reverse”).

cog

(obsolete) Perversely; in the wrong way.


to wit

Originally that is to wit (“that is to know”). See wit.

The directors of the company, to wit, Fred Smith and Albert Jones, inform us that…

The defendant is charged with possession of a controlled substance, to wit, cocaine…

Thus, I had so long suffered in this quest,
Heard failure prophesied so oft, been writ
So many times among "The Band"─to wit,
The knights who to the Dark Tower's search addressed
Their steps - that just to fail as they, seemed best,
And all the doubt was now—should I be fit?

1855, Robert Browning, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, section VII:

July 2000, Todd Greanier, Discover the secrets of the Java Serialization API
Though the animation code above demonstrates how a thread could be included as part of an object while still making that object be serializable, there is a major problem with it if we recall how Java creates objects. To wit, when we create an object with the new keyword, the object’s constructor is called only when a new instance of a class is created.

(formal) That is to say; namely; specifically.


per se

Borrowed from Latin per sē (“by itself”), from per (“by, through”) and sē (“itself, himself, herself, themselves”).

bor+

Near-synonyms: by definition, essentially, in essence, ipso facto, intrinsically; see also Thesaurus:intrinsically

They say he is a very man per se,
And stands alone.

c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

A proposition is per se known as regards itself , but not per se known as regards us, when it has no medium of proof a priori, nor is its truth directly and immediately evident to us on first apprehending the terms.

1877, Walter Henry Hill, Elements of Philosophy: Comprising Logic and Ontology Or General Metaphysics, page 220:

What words actionable. to subject the offender to contempt, and deprive him of public confidence, and to accuse one who is a notary public of procuring a false affidavit to be made before him is libelous and actionable per se.

1909, Emlin McClain, A Digest of Decisions of the Supreme Court of Iowa: From the Organization of the Territory Until the End of January, 1908 ..., page 3672:

It's not that I've got anything against kids per se, but I believe in discipline.

2007, Tima Smith, Per Se: An Anthology of Fiction, page 176:

Some people say that a hangover is caused by impurities in the drink, not by the alcohol per se.

Without determination by or involvement of extraneous factors; by its very nature.

It's not a museum per se, but they do have some interesting artifacts.

I take photographs. But I'm not a photographer.
Per se.
Right. Not per se.
Right.

a. 1998, anonymous conversationalists, quoted in, 1998, Tom Chiarella, Writing Dialogue, Story Press, page 12

It's not a race against the competition per se: that's not how it feels to me when I'm working on a project.

2012 March 22, Pamela Burnard, Musical Creativities in Practice, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 202:

Annoyed, frustrated, edgy, but not angry per se.

2012, Tes Hilaire, Deliver Me From Temptation: A Novel of the Paladin Warriors:

As we shall see, since the 1960s, the ELN, although not a religious movement per se, represents an interesting amalgam of beliefs that helped serve in recruitment, commitment, and identification of a revolutionary belief and ritual.

2013 February 12, Kjell-Ake Nordquist, Gods and Arms: On Religion and Armed Conflict, Wipf and Stock Publishers, →ISBN, page 70:

Through this lingual haze we quickly established that Suleyman was a member of “Batono” Abashidze's personal militia, but not a policeman per se

2015, Thomas Goltz, Georgia Diary: A Chronicle of War and Political Chaos in the ...:

What she meant was, It's not a baby per se. It's a He-bean (she was already certain the bean was a boy).

2016 September 19, Karen Karbo, Motherhood Made a Man Out of Me: A Novel, Hawthorne Books, →ISBN:

He sells a story, flirts with a waitress, looks handsome, has writer's block, and feels sorry for himself, but it's not a story about the Depression per se: it could be set in any time period, almost anywhere.

2017 May 22, Stephen Pimpare, Ghettos, Tramps, and Welfare Queens: Down and Out on the Silver Screen, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:

(nonstandard, more loosely, chiefly in the negative) In a true or literal sense; as one would expect from the name or description.

顾名思义

as such; as one would expect from the name

Everything not applying per se in one of these two senses is called an accident.

1988, J. van Rijen, Aspects of Aristotle’s Logic of Modalities, page 137:

Peter is per se alive, endowed with intellect, and the faculty of laughter, the artist is per se one who fashions objects. But Peter is per accidens a sufferer from influenza

a. 2005, Jacques Maritain, An EPZ Introduction to Philosophy, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 153:

Thus, unless there exists some being that exists per se, the origination of esse in a chain of composites itself remains unexplained and quite mysterious. And the existence of a being that exists per se is affirmed through a denial of an infinite regress of essence-esse composites causing other such composites.

2015, Gaven Kerr, Aquinas's Way to God: The Proof in De Ente et Essentia:

Aquinas rejects this position, because then God would not be per se necessary, but would be necessitated by his own divine nature to create. Hence to be per se necessary, God must be free to create.

2022 October 15, Gaven Kerr, Collected Articles on the Existence of God, BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN, page 218:

(philosophy) As the principle of its own determination and positing itself.

The law makes drunk driving illegal per se.

In an effort to assist states that may have recently adopted or expect to adopt administrative per se, NHTSA has collected sample copies of forms and a brief description of the administrative procedures from selected states with in-place programs.

1986, Administrative Per Se: A Summary of State Forms and Procedures:

(law) Not leaving discretion to the judge to take into account additional factors that could rebut the judgment, deriving the qualification from the statute.


quay

en-adv

quay (comparative quayer, superlative quayest)

quayer (comparative)
quayest (superlative)

(MLE) Alternative spelling of qway (“far”)


agitato

(music) Played in a restless agitated style.


awry

awry (comparative more awry, superlative most awry)

more awry (comparative)
most awry (superlative)

From Middle English awry, awrie. By surface analysis, a- + wry.


either

From Middle English either, from Old English ǣġhwæþer, from *aiwon + *gahwaþera. Akin to Old Saxon eogihwethar, iahwethar (Low German jeed); Old Dutch *iogewether, *iowether, *iother (Dutch ieder); Old High German eogihwedar, iegihweder, ieweder (German jeder).

I don't like him, and I don't like her either.

I know a cheap Spanish restaurant. It's not far from here, either.

But Richmond[…]appeared to lose himself in his own reflections. Some pickled crab, which he had not touched, had been removed with a damson pie; and his sister saw[…]that he had eaten no more than a spoonful of that either.

1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:

(conjunctive, after a negative) As well.


quite

Jersey Dutch: kwāit

A development of quit, influence by Anglo-Norman quite. For an analogous semantic development from the same root, compare Armenian շատ (šat).

Thus when they had the witch diſrobed quight, / And all her filthy feature open ſhowne, / They let her goe at will, and wander waies vnknowne.

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 49, page 118:

Nobuyoshi Araki has been called a monster, a pornographer and a genius—and the photographer quite agrees.

2005 October 4, Adrian Searle, The Guardian:

To the greatest extent or degree; completely, entirely.

With verbs, especially past participles.

Margaret passed quite through the pines, and reached the opening beyond which was what was once the yard, but was now, except for a strip of flower-border and turf which showed care, simply a tangle of bushes and briars.

1891, Thomas Nelson Page, On Newfound River:

Religion and parochial etiquette are probed to reveal unhealthy, and sometimes shockingly violent, internal desires quite at odds with the surface life of a town in which tolerance is preached.

2010 October 30, Joanna Briscoe, The Guardian:

With prepositional phrases and spatial adverbs.

El adrea was quite dead. No more will he slink silently upon his unsuspecting prey.

1915 December 4 – 1916 January 8, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter V, in The Son of Tarzan, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., published March 1917, →OCLC, pages 66–67:

It was almost quite dark in there and she kept her arms stretched out in front of her so as not to bump her face into the back of the wardrobe.

1950, C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:

In Lejeuneaceae vegetative branches normally originate from the basiscopic basal portion of a lateral segment half, as in the Radulaceae, and the associated leaves, therefore, are quite unmodified.

1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page 5:

When I warned him that his words might be offensive to identical twins, he said that identical twins were a quite different case.

2003, Richard Dawkins, A Devil's Chaplain:

Create a new, quite separate, private company – say Murdoch Newspaper Holdings – and give it all, or most of, the papers that News Corp owns.

2011 September 18, Peter Preston, The Observer:

With attributive adjectives, following an (especially indefinite) article; chiefly as expressing contrast, difference etc.

I ventured to hint that he was not quite a fair judge, as [Charles] Churchill had attacked him violently.

1791, James Boswell, “[1763]”, in The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. […], volume I, London: […] Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, […], →OCLC, page 227:

And with a prolonged sound, not quite a sniff and not quite a snort, he trod on Euphemia's toe, and went out, leaving a sensation and a faint scent of barley−sugar behind him.

1920, John Galsworthy, “Timothy Stays the Rot”, in In Chancery (The Forsyte Saga; 2), London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, part II, page 212:

Preceding nouns introduced by the indefinite article. Chiefly in negative constructions.

However, the proceedings were quite carefully orchestrated to produce what seemed to be a predetermined outcome.

2009, John F. Schmutz, The Battle of the Crater: A complete history:

Higher education institutions in the UK are, quite rightly, largely autonomous.

2011 October 18, Bob Burgess, The Guardian:

"My little plot has been rather successful, after all, hasn't it?" "Quite a perfect success," said Drake.

1898, Charles Garvice, Nell of Shorne Mills:

While the government claims to lead the world with its plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the figures tell quite a different story.

2001 February 7, Paul Brown, The Guardian:

In a fully justified sense; truly, perfectly, actually.

Coming before the indefinite article and an attributive adjective. (Now largely merged with moderative senses, below.)

“My Continental prominence is improving,” I commented dryly. / Von Lindowe cut at a furze bush with his silver-mounted rattan. / “Quite so,” he said as dryly, his hand at his mustache. “I may say if your intentions were known your life would not be worth a curse.”

1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

London Underground is quite unique in how many front line staff it has, as anyone who has travelled on the Paris Metro or New York Subway will testify.

2010 November 5, Dave Hill, The Guardian:

With plain adjectives, past participles, and adverbs.

Laploshka was one of the meanest men I have ever met, and quite one of the most entertaining.

1910, Saki [pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro], “The Soul of Laploshka”, in Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 66:

Scaramouche has already been greeted as the finest French Revolution yet brought to the screen-and even if you are a little weary of seeing a strongly American band of sans-culottes demolish a pasteboard Paris, you should not miss Scaramouche, for it is quite the best thing Rex Ingram has done since The Four Horsemen.

1923 October 8, “The New Pictures”, in Time:

Coming before the definite article and an attributive superlative.

To debauch the Indians with rum and cheat them of their land was quite a Government affair, and not at all criminal; but to use rum to cheat them of their peltry, was an abomination in the sight of the law.

“Looks like you and Clay had quite a party,” she said with a glimmer in her dark blue eyes.

Before a noun preceded by an indefinite article; now often with ironic implications that the noun in question is particularly noteworthy or remarkable.

It is quite the proper thing for a lady to be on intimate, and even on affectionate, terms with her favourite clergyman, and Lizzie certainly had intercourse with no clergyman who was a greater favourite with her than Mr. Emilius.

1871 July – 1873 February, Anthony Trollope, “The Aspirations of Mr. Emilius”, in The Eustace Diamonds. A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], published 1872, →OCLC, page 288, column 1:

His memoir features a child named Tommy Nothing Fancy who suffers from and dies of a seizure disorder. Quite the coincidence, don't you think?

2006 February 6, Sherman Alexie, “When the story stolen is your own”, in Time:

Before a noun preceded by the definite article.

(now rare) With prepositional or adverbial phrases.

Mind your shoes, the basement is quite wet.

To a moderate extent or degree; somewhat, rather.

ҡына (qına)/ кенә (kenə)/ ғына (ğına)/ генә (genə) (in postposition)

elég

with adjectives and adverbs but not verbs


aye

From Middle English ay, ai, aȝȝ, from Old Norse ei, ey, from Proto-Germanic *aiwa, *aiwō (“ever, always”) (compare Old English āwo, āwa, ā, ō, Middle Dutch ie, German je), from *aiwaz (“age; law”) (compare Old English ǣ(w) (“law”), West Frisian ieu (“century”), Dutch eeuw (“century”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (“long time”) (compare Irish aois (“age, period”), Breton oad (“age, period”), Latin ævum (“eternity”), Ancient Greek αἰών (aiṓn)). Doublet of aeviternity and aevum.

der

[…]Do that good miſcheefe, which may make this Iſland / Thine owne for euer, and I thy Caliban, / For aye thy foot-licker.

1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast, / And southward aye we fled.

1834, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:

Huge hills and mountains of casks on casks were piled upon her wharves, and side by side the world-wandering whale ships lay silent and safely moored at last; while from others came a sound of carpenters and coopers, with blended noises of fires and forges to melt the pitch, all betokening that new cruises were on the start; that one most perilous and long voyage ended, only begins a second; and a second ended, only begins a third, and so on, for ever and for aye.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter XIII, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

Let the Amen sound from His people again; / Gladly for aye we adore Him.

1863, Catherine Winkworth (translator), Praise to the Lord, the Almighty:


Anglice

Botticelli was born in the city of Firenze, Anglice Florence.

An old gin (Anglice, black woman) said that in the interior - as far as she could explain it, about 200 miles S.S.W. from the head of the river - there were two large lagoons where a very old white man had been camped for years, waited upon by two old black gins.

1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 333:

In the English language; in plain English.


bally

That was a bally foolish thing to do, old chap!


awful

From Middle English agheful, awfull, auful, aȝefull, equivalent to awe + -ful. Compare Old English eġeful, eġefull (“terrifying; awful”).

The race was run, and the dog ran "awful".

1933 January 21, The Sydney Sportsman, NSW, page 1:

(colloquial) Awfully; dreadfully; terribly.

That's an awful big house.

She seemed awful nice when I met her yesterday.

He was blubbering away something awful.

(colloquial, US, Canada) Very, extremely.


awkward

en-adv

awkward (comparative more awkward, superlative most awkward)

more awkward (comparative)
most awkward (superlative)

Than groned the knyght for his grymme woundis, and gyrdis to Sir Gawayne and awkewarde hym strykes, and […] kut thorow a vayne[…].

1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum X”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book V, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC:


aside

From Middle English aside, asyde, a-side, oside, from Middle English on side, from Old English on sīdan (literally “on (the) side (of)”), equivalent to a- + side. Compare beside.

der

Move aside, please, so that these people can come through.

But soft! but soft! aside: here comes the king.

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

[…] and thou shalt set aside that which is full.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Kings 4:4:

The storm rush'd in, and Arcite stood aghast; / The flames were blown aside, yet shone they bright, / Fann'd by the wind, and gave a ruffled light.

1700, John Dryden, Palamon and Arcite, book 3, translation of The Knight's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer:

Here was my chance. I took the old man aside, and two or three glasses of Old Crow launched him into reminiscence.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

An indulgent playmate, Grannie would lay aside the long scratchy-looking letter she was writing (heavily crossed ‘to save notepaper’) and enter into the delightful pastime of ‘a chicken from Mr Whiteley's’.

1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part I, London: Collins, →ISBN:

To or on one side so as to be out of the way.

joking aside

unusual circumstances aside

But musical ancestry aside, the influence to which [Justin] Bieber is most beholden is the current trends in pop music, which means Believe is loaded up with EDM [electronic dance music] accouterments, seeking a comfortable middle ground where Bieber’s impressively refined pop-R&B croon can rub up on techno blasts and garish dubstep drops (and occasionally grind on some AutoTune, not necessarily because it needs it, but because a certain amount of robo-voice is expected these days).

2012 June 26, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2020-08-06:

All scandals aside, Jewish establishment donors and leaders obsessed not only with Jewish continuity but the right kind of continuity—ardently pro-Israel children of two Jewish parents—have failed on their own terms.

2019 August 7, Marissa Brostoff, Noah Kulwin, “The Right Kind of Continuity”, in Jewish Currents:


squab

Unknown. Possibly descended from Swedish dialect skvabb (“fatty, flabby”). First attested in the 17th century.

The eagle took the tortoise up into the air, and dropped him down, squab, upon a rock.

1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC:


herein

From Middle English here-inne, her-in, her-inne, hier-ine, from Old English hēr-inne, from Proto-West Germanic *hērinna, from Proto-Germanic *hē₂rinna, equivalent to here + in. Cognate with West Frisian hjiryn (“herein”), Dutch hierin (“herein”), German hierin (“herein”), Danish heri (“herein”), Swedish häri (“herein”), Icelandic hér í (“herein”).

[…] that if he be not fully satisfied herein, or doubt that the rest of the associates shall not like of the delivery of them to her Majesty in this good manner […]

1759, William Robertson, History of Scotland:

I also claim making the touguing hand-plane in such a manner as to enable the workman to make therewith tongues of various thicknesses, substantially, in the manner herein set forth, whereby I prevent the necessity of providing different tools to tongue planks of different thicknesses.

1851, Appleton's Mechanics' Magazine and Engineers' Journal, page 190:

The equational theories developed herein are ordinary conditional equational theories.

1992, Ralph W. Wilkerson, Advances in Logic Programming and Automated Reasoning, page 53:

Were you a party to any suit terminated within the year immediately preceding the filing of the original petition herein?

2010, Carl Battle, Legal Forms for Everyone, page 192:

In this; within this content, context, or thing.


hollow

From Middle English holowe, holwe, holuȝ, holgh, from the noun (see above).

(colloquial) Completely, as part of the phrase beat hollow or beat all hollow.


below

From Middle English bilooghe, equivalent to be- + low. Compare also earlier Middle English alogh, alow, aloȝ, alowe (“below”), benethen (“beneath”), Dutch omlaag (“downwards”).

She lives below, on the ground floor.

In or to a lower place.
On or to a lower storey.

The captain went below to inspect the engine.

the landlubbers lying down below

(nautical) On or to a lower deck, especially as relative to the main deck.

The town is situated on a hillside, with a river running below.

He was pulled below by a sea monster.

But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection.
[…]The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window at the old mare feeding in the meadow below by the brook, and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge,[…].

1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

This point is explained below.

By their execution hereof, the Parties incur a legal obligation to pass consideration under this Loan Contract as is set forth below.

It was forty degrees below.


etc

/ˌɛt ˈsɛt(ə)ɹə/


ad nauseam

Unadapted borrowing from Latin ad nauseam, from ad (“to”) + nauseam (“sea-sickness, sickness, nausea”), accusative of nausea.

ubor

A drunk person was repeating the same old story ad nauseam.

The Feelings album flew off the shelves, and Albert became a pop sensation - until, thanks to airplay ad nauseam, radio listeners grew weary of his sentiments.

1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 325:

Having been done or repeated so often that it has become annoying or tiresome.


F.

And the following (page) - used in indexes.


nigh

From Middle English neygh, nygh, nye, nyȝ, from Old English nēah, nēh, from Proto-West Germanic *nāhw, from Proto-Germanic *nēhw.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian nai (“near”), West Frisian nei (“near, close by”), Dutch na (“close, near”), Luxembourgish no (“nearby, near, close”), German nah (“close, near, nearby”). See also near.

cog

So, after a spell, he decided to make the best of it and shoved us into the front parlor.[…]It looked like a tomb and smelt pretty nigh as musty and dead-and-gone.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter XII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

Hell of a surprise in the seventh season premiere of Game Of Thrones. Arya Stark, fresh off a nigh Cersei-level ambush of the Frey household, comes upon a small campfire surrounded by fresh-faced red cloaks.

2017 July 16, Brandon Nowalk, “Chickens and dragons come home to roost on Game Of Thrones (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club:


goodly

en-adv

goodly (comparative goodlier, superlative goodliest)

goodlier (comparative)
goodliest (superlative)

From Middle English goodly, goodliche, gōdliche, from Old English gōdlīċe (“goodly”), from the adjective; equivalent to good + -ly. Cognate with Middle High German guotlīche, güetlīche.

Thenne he sente for the thre knyghtes & they came afore hym / and he cryed hem mercy of that he had done to them / and they forgaf hit hym goodely and he dyed anone / Whanne the kynge was dede / alle the cyte was desmayed and wyst not who myghte be her kynge

1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xxij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XVII:

(obsolete) In a goodly way; courteously, graciously.

For love of vertue and of martial praise;
To which though nobly ye inclined are,
(As goodlie well ye shew'd in late assaies)

a. 1599, Edmund Spenser, To the Earle of Cumberland:

I know doin' marriage is tough and hard to pull off for a long time, but from what I has been led to believe, you two was doin' it quite goodly. As goodly as a huntin' shootin' fishin' filmin' drinkin' Englishy can do with a gyratin' pumpin' singin' lookin' wearinv Yankee-doodle icon. It was seemin' to be good together.

(dialectal or obsolete) Well; excellently.


magna cum laude

"With great praise"; an honor added to a diploma or degree for work considered to be of much higher quality than average.


nowt

Dialectal pronunciation of naught. Akin to West Frisian neat (“nothing”), German nichts (“nothing”).


cum laude

From Latin cum (“with”) + laude (ablative of laus, "praise").

With praise; an honor added to a diploma or degree for work that is above average.


summa cum laude

From Latin summā cum laude (“with the greatest praise”).

bor

Nancy graduated from the university summa cum laude.

With highest (of three degrees of) praise; as noted, as an honor, on diplomas and degrees for work that is considered to be of the highest quality.


piecemeal

From Middle English pecemele, from pece (“piece”) + mele (from Old English mǣlum (“at a time”), dative plural form of mǣl (“time, measure”), taking the place of Old English styċċemǣlum (“in pieces, bit by bit, piecemeal; to pieces, to bits; here and there, in different places; little by little, by degrees, gradually”); equivalent to piece + -meal.

cog

It’s as bad as selling a man a horse with half a dozen latent vices and watching him discover them piecemeal in the course of the hunting season.

The Western Region route, by contrast, was built up piecemeal and was not shaped in its present form until 1910.

1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 96:

The Government is under fresh pressure not to sell off piecemeal the route of the abandoned northern extension to Manchester until extra rail capacity has been clearly identified.

2024 May 1, Howard Johnston, “Network News: TfN plan reiterates plea to preserve abandoned HS2 land”, in RAIL, number 1008, page 12:

Piece by piece; in small amounts, stages, or degrees.

Stoop villaine, ſtoop, ſtoope for ſo he bids,
That may commaund thee peecemeale to be torne,
Or ſcattered like the lofty Cedar trees.
Strooke with the voice of thundring Iupiter.

c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act IIII, scene ii:

A few years ago also there was the case of Kate Webster, who at Richmond murdered her mistress, and, fiend-like, cut the body up piecemeal, and tried to dispose of it in various ways by small portions.

1888 October 3, “The Whitehall Murder”, in Daily Telegraph, London:


mad

New York City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Baltimore

From Middle English mad, madde, madd, medd, from Old English ġemǣdd, ġemǣded (“enraged”), past participle of ġemǣdan, *mǣdan (“to make insane or foolish”), from Proto-Germanic *maidijaną (“to change; damage; cripple; injure; make mad”), from Proto-Germanic *maidaz ("weak; crippled"; compare Old English gemād (“silly, mad”), Old High German gimeit (“foolish, crazy”), literary German gemeit (“mad, insane”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃 (gamaiþs, “crippled”)), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- ("to change"; compare Old Irish máel (“bald, dull”), Old Lithuanian ap-maitinti (“to wound”), Sanskrit मेथति (méthati, “he hurts, comes to blows”)).

gloss

He was driving mad slow.

It's mad hot today.

He seems mad keen on her.

(slang, chiefly New York, African-American Vernacular, UK and Ireland, dialectal) Intensifier; to a large degree; extremely; exceedingly; very; unbelievably.


ay

From Middle English ai, from Old Norse ei, from Proto-Germanic *aiwaz (“eternity, age”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (“vitality”); cognate with Old English ā, Ancient Greek ἀεί (aeí, “always”), and Latin aevum (“an age”).

O he that hath ay lived free, …

1670, John Barbour, The Acts and Life of the most victorious Conquerour Robert Bruce King of Scotland, as cited in 1860, Thomas Corser, Collectanea Anglo-poetica, page 160

(archaic, poetic or Northern England) Always; ever; continually; for an indefinite time.


p.m.

Abbreviation of Latin post meridiem (“after noon”).

HOURLY PRECIPITATION … 9 PM THROUGH 12 PM (MIDNIGHT) ZERO DAILY TOTAL

1971, U.S. Department of Commerce, Hourly Precipitation Data: Ohio, page 14

We never say 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. It's either 12 midnight or 12 noon, respectively.

2007, Khurana Rohit, Number Game 4, page 144:

The 12-hour clock uses A.M. for the morning hours of midnight (12:00 A.M.) to almost noon (11:59 A.M.) and the P.M. designation for the hours from noon (12:00 P.M.) to almost midnight (11:59 PM).

2009, Robert Bill, Medical Mathematics and Dosage Calculations for Veterinary Professionals, page 348:

The 12-hour clock, which is used in the U.S., Canada, and a few other countries, divides time into two cycles: a.m. (ante meridiem, Latin for before midday) from midnight, 12 a.m., to 11:59 a.m.; and p.m. (post meridiem, Latin for after midday) from noon, 12 p.m., to 11:59 p.m.

2015, Arhlene A. Flowers, Global Writing for Public Relations, page 141:

Anna. — Yes, Ms. Weaver. — Are you busy? — Yes, Ms. Weaver. I am busy. — My office. 5:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m.
Audio (US): (file)

2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

The Taoyuan City Fire Department said that two others, a man and a woman, were pulled from the vehicle alive after rescuers were called to the scene of the accident near Sbunaw Bridge in Fuxing District at 12:27 p.m.

2023 August 3, Yeh Chen, Bernadette Hsiao, “4 found without vital signs after vehicle plunges into rural Taoyuan valley”, in Focus Taiwan, archived from the original on 2023-08-03, Society:

(used after the hour) In the 12-hour period from noon to midnight (the latter half of the day) when using the 12-hour clock.


p.m.

Abbreviation of Latin post mortem (“after death”).


fancy

From Middle English fansy, fantsy, a contraction of fantasy, fantasye, fantasie, from Old French fantasie, from Medieval Latin fantasia, from Late Latin phantasia (“an idea, notion, fancy, phantasm”), from Ancient Greek φαντασία (phantasía), from φαντάζω (phantázō, “to render visible”), from φαντός (phantós, “visible”), from φαίνω (phaínō, “to make visible”); from the same root as φάος (pháos, “light”); ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂nyéti, from the root *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”). Doublet of fantasia, fantasy, phantasia, and phantasy.

doublet

I igonored it, hurdling her navel, riding her torso and taking both her breasts in my hands and mashing them none too fancy.

1970, Troy Conway, The Cunning Linguist, London: Flamingo Books, page 131:

(nonstandard) In a fancy manner; fancily.


a.m.

Abbreviation of Latin ante meridiem "before noon".

Greenfield … Monday thru Friday, 9 to 12 a.m.

1967, United States Travel Service, Plant Tours for International Visitors to the United States, page 49

One of the most common night shifts is the 12 a.m.-to-8 a.m. shift.

2001, Customs Service effects of proposed legislation on officers' pay, United States General Accounting Office, page 45:

The following daylight peaks are identified around lunchtime, from 12 am to 1 pm, while for weekend days, the curve show several daylight peaks from 7 am to late lunchtime, around 1 pm.

2021, Jukka Heinonen, Ortzi Akizu-Gardoki, Sanna Ala-Mantila, Energy Efficient Cities of Today and Tomorrow, page 196:

(used after the hour) In the 12-hour period from midnight to noon (the first half of the day) when using the 12-hour clock.

abínídą́ą́ʼ neeznáadi oolkił yę́ędą́ą́ʼ...


plat

en-adv

plat (comparative more plat, superlative most plat)

more plat (comparative)
most plat (superlative)

From Middle English plat, plate, platte (“flat; smooth; blunt, plain”), from Anglo-Norman, Middle French, and Old French plat (“(adjective) flat, level; calm; blunt, plain; (adverb) in a flat position; directly, straight; bluntly, plainly”), from Vulgar Latin *plattus (“flat; smooth”); further etymology uncertain, but possibly from Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “flat; wide”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (“flat”).
The English word is cognate with French plat, Italian piatto, Middle Dutch plat (modern Dutch plat (“flat”)), Middle High German blat, plat, Middle Low German plat (modern German platt (“flat”)), Old Danish plat (modern Danish plat), Old Occitan plat (modern Occitan plat), Old Swedish plat (modern Swedish platt); and is a doublet of flat and pleyt.

der

Fourth, see [that] thou hide nothing, nor dissemble, but speak plat, and plainly as much as thou knowest.

c. 1547‒1555, John Hooper, A Declaration of the Ten Commandments, published by the Parker Society in 1843

But single out, and say once plat and plain / That coy Matrona is a courtesan;

(obsolete except Scotland) Flatly, plainly.


within

From Middle English withinne, withinnen, from Old English wiþinnan; equivalent to with + in.


scant

Adjective and determiner from Middle English scant, from Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr (“short”), from Proto-Germanic *skammaz (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱem- (“mutilated, hornless”). Verb from Middle English scanten, from the adjective. Noun and adverb from Middle English scant, from the adjective.

[A]ske a Stoicke vvhich Philoſophy is true, he vvil preferre his ovvne. Then aske him vvhich approacheth next the truth, he vvill confeſſe the Academiques. So deale vvith the Epicure, that vvill ſcant indure the Stoicke to be in ſight of him, ſo ſoone as he hath placed himſelfe, he vvill place the Academiques next him.

1597, Francis [Bacon], “Of the Colours of Good and Evill, a Fragment”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland […], published 1632, →OCLC:

So weak that he was scant able to go down the stairs.

1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):

(uncommon or old-fashioned) With difficulty; scarcely; hardly.


midway

From Middle English mydwaye, mydweye, from Old English midweġ (“midway”), equivalent to mid- + way. Cognate with Dutch midweg (“midway”), Middle Low German midwech (“midway”).

Originally scheduled to come up mid-way through the alphabetically-ordered agenda by being listed as "Lesbianism," the issue was pushed back to 23 (out of 26 resolutions) with the renaming of it as "Sexual Preference."

1977 December 10, Leslie Cagan, “IWY: Lesbians at Houston and Beyond”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 23, page 3:

It shell-shocked the home crowd, who quickly demanded a response, which came midway through the half and in emphatic fashion.

2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:

Halfway; equidistant from either end point; in the middle between two points


like

en-adv

like (comparative more like, superlative most like)

more like (comparative)
most like (superlative)

Adjective from Middle English lik, lyk, lich, like, from Old English ġelīċ by shortening, influenced by Old Norse líkr, glíkr; both from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“like, similar, same”). Related to alike; more distantly, with lich and -ly. Cognate with West Frisian like (“like; as”), Saterland Frisian gliek (“like”), Danish lig (“alike”), Dutch gelijk (“like, alike”), German gleich (“equal, like”), Icelandic líkur (“alike, like, similar”), Norwegian lik (“like, alike”) Swedish lik (“like, similar”)
Adverb from Middle English like, lyke, liche, lyche, from Old English ġelīċe (“likewise, also, as, in like manner, similarly”) and Old Norse líka (“also, likewise”); both from Proto-Germanic *galīkê, from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“same, like, similar”).
Conjunction from Middle English like, lyke, lik, lyk, from the adverb Middle English like.
Preposition from Middle English like, lyke, liche, lyche, lijc, liih (“similar to, like, equal to, comparable with”), from Middle English like (adjective) and like (adverb).

der

DON PEDRO. May be she doth but counterfeit.
CLAUDIO. Faith, like enough.

1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:

Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 103:13:

(archaic or rare) In a like or similar manner.


derisively

en-adv

derisively (comparative more derisively, superlative most derisively)

more derisively (comparative)
most derisively (superlative)

As ſometimes, with us, a queſtion is put deriſively, in the form of an aſſertion, when the propoſer conceives, as ſeems to have happened here, ſome abſurdity in the thing, I thought it beſt, after the example of ſo many Lat[in] interpreters, to adopt the equivocal, or rather the oblique, form of the original expreſſion. The ambiguity is not real, but apparent.

1789, George Campbell, The Four Gospels, Translated from the Greek. With Preliminary Dissertations, and Notes Critical and Explanatory. … In Two Volumes, London: Printed for A[ndrew] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, →OCLC; republished as “Art. IX. Dr. Campbell on the Four Gospels. [Article concluded.] Dissertation XII.”, in The Monthly Review; or Literary Journal, Enlarged, volume II, London: Printed for R[alph] Griffiths; and sold by T. Becket, in Pall Mall, August 1790, →OCLC, page 411

In the personal bearing of Gustavus Adolphus [of Sweden], more distinctly than in his high aims, it now became evident that he deemed himself free from the obligations of deference to others, and regarded his own aspirations as his sole standard of action; he expressed himself to the Marquis as disapproving of the French King's course because he did not set himself up as the reformer of his Church, and he spoke derisively of the Pope.

1884, Anton Gindely, “The Neutrality Negotiations with the League and the Battle on the Lech”, in Andrew Ten Brook, transl., History of the Thirty Years’ War … With an Introductory and a Concluding Chapter by the Translator: Complete in Two Volumes, volume II, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 27 & 29 West Twenty-third Street, →OCLC, page 100:

["]And suddenly he notices the workman at a distance standing there and smiling deceitfully, that is, not deceitfully though, I'm wrong there, what is it …?" / "Derisively," Versilov prompted him discreetly. / "Derisively, yes, a little derisively, that kind, good Russian smile, you know; the great personage was in a bad humour, you understand: 'What are you waiting here for, big beard?' said he. 'Who are you?'"

1916, Fyodor Dostoevsky, chapter I, in Constance Garnett, transl., A Raw Youth (The Novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky; 7), London: William Heinemann, published 1956, →OCLC, part II, page 199:

In a derisive manner; demeaningly, mockingly.


az

The whole legiſlature likewize acts az a court for the trial of public delinquents.

1790, Noah Webster, A Collection of Essays and Fugitiv Writings, pages 340–341:


usually

usually (comparative more usually, superlative most usually)

more usually (comparative)
most usually (superlative)

From Middle English usualli, equivalent to usual + -ly. Displaced native Old English ġewunelīċe.

Except for one or two days a year, he usually walks to work.

He and Gerald usually challenged the rollers in a sponson canoe when Gerald was there for the weekend ; or, when Lansing came down, the two took long swims seaward or cruised about in Gerald's dory, clad in their swimming-suits; and Selwyn's youth became renewed in a manner almost ridiculous,[…].

1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

Most of the time; less than always, but more than occasionally.


what about

What about going to a restaurant tonight?

‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough! […] What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? A bootee or a bit of embroidery or anything at all?’

1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 15, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

You're obviously having a good time, but what about me?

Used to ask someone to consider something or someone that they have apparently not considered.

...怎麼樣

used to ask someone to consider something or someone that they have apparently not considered

A: Is John coming tomorrow? B: Yes A: What about David?

A: Do you like football? B: No A: What about basketball?

To repeat a question but referring to a different subject or object.

A: Do you remember John Smith from work? B: Yeah, what about him? A: Oh, nothing. I just ran into him today.

To inquire about the purpose of someone introducing a subject to the speaker.

What about the second goal!

To express approval of an occurrence or a result.


past

past (comparative more past, superlative most past)

more past (comparative)
most past (superlative)

From Middle English, past participle of passen (“to pass, to go by”), whence Modern English pass.

I watched him walk past


fine

fine (comparative more fine, superlative most fine)

more fine (comparative)
most fine (superlative)

From Middle English fin, fyn, from Old French fin (“fine, minute, exact”), of obscure origin, but probably derived from Latin fīnīre (“to finish”) and/or fīnis (“boundary, limit, end”), with an abstract sense of "fine" or "thin" also arising in many Romance languages (compare Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian fino). Doublet of fino.

Expression of (typically) reluctant or agreement.

Everything worked out fine.

Well, nicely, in a positive, agreeable way.

(dated, dialect, colloquial) Finely; elegantly; delicately.

(pool, billiards) In a manner so that the driven ball strikes the object ball so far to one side as to be barely deflected, the object ball being driven to one side.


how much

How much do you like me?

(interrogative) To what degree; to what extent.


leeward

leeward (comparative more leeward, superlative most leeward)

more leeward (comparative)
most leeward (superlative)

From lee (“side away from the wind”) + -ward (“direction”).

suffix

Some hours after midnight, the Typhoon abated so much, that through the strenuous exertions of Starbuck and Stubb—one engaged forward and the other aft—the shivered remnants of the jib and fore and main-top-sails were cut adrift from the spars, and went eddying away to leeward, like the feathers of an albatross, which sometimes are cast to the winds when that storm-tossed bird is on the wing.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 23, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

No lady goat is safe from criminal assault, even on the Sabbath Day, when there is a genteman goat within three miles to leeward of her and nothing in the way but a fence fourteen feet high[…]

ca. 1909, Mark Twain, ;;Letters from the Earth Letter VIII:

Away from the direction from which the wind is blowing; downwind.


serious

From Middle English seryows, from Old French serieux, from Medieval Latin sēriōsus, an extension of Latin sērius (“grave, earnest, serious”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“heavy”). Cognate with German schwer (“heavy, difficult, severe”), Old English swǣr (“heavy, grave, grievous”). More at swear, sweer.

cog

The only time I walk out on singin' is when there's muckin' about and youse don't take it serious.

1957, Ray Lawler, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Sydney: Fontana Books, published 1974, page 68:

(colloquial or dialect) seriously, in a serious manner (most often heard in take or mean serious)


deffo

en-adv

deffo (comparative more deffo, superlative most deffo)

more deffo (comparative)
most deffo (superlative)

From definitely or definite + -o (“diminutive suffix”).

He told me that he's deffo going to be there tonight.

And I deffo don′t believe in me, cos I′m a proper knobhead, aren′t I, and always have been.

2009, Nick Leather, Billy Wonderful, page 12:

It′s weird, but even though Dosser was only grounded for like two weeks, I was actually starting to kind of miss him, and I deffo would′ve loved to have gone for a good old-fashioned crow-hunt that Saturday afternoon,[…].

2011, Andrew Fitzpatrick, Strictly Legal, page 128:

‘[…]And no giving in at the slightest whimper. Agreed?’
‘Deffo!’ He couldn′t see my fingers crossed behind my back.

2011, Maggie Graham, Me and My Animals, page 142:

(colloquial, Australia, UK, Ireland, Canada) Definitely.


natch

The Queen was seen wearing a hat when she visited Ascot, natch.

[Bug:] You can parry and thrust wittily at a press conference?
 [Dog:] Natch.

1960 May 16, Walt Kelly, Pogo, comic strip, →ISBN, page 146: