synaesthesia

en-noun

synaesthesia (countable and uncountable, plural synaesthesiae or synaesthesias)

synaesthesiae (plural)
synaesthesias (plural)

/ˌsɪn.ɪsˈθiː.ʒə/

From Ancient Greek σύν (sún, “with”) + αἴσθησις (aísthēsis, “sensation”), modelled after anaesthesia. It is analysable as syn- + -aesthesia.

On a phonemic level, phenomena of synesthesia have often been described and studied. Practically all children and a good many adults—though for the most part adults will deny it—spontaneously associate sounds, whether phonemes or the timbre of musical instruments, with colors and forms.

1963, Claude Lévi–Strauss, “Postscript to Chapters III and IV”, in Claire Jacobson, Brooke Grundfest Schoepf, transl., Structural Anthropology: Translated from the French (Harper Torchbooks; TB5017), New York, N.Y.: Basic Books, →OCLC, pages 91–92

For one of the enigmatic features of synaesthesia is that, within a given cultural group, the kinds of associations made by different subjects occur according to statistically verifiable recurring patterns. As Jakobson explains, ‘when we ask whether /i/ or /u/ is darker, testing such phonic oppositions as grave vs. acute, some of the subjects may respond that this question makes no sense to them, but hardly one will respond that /i/ is the darker of the two’[…].

2007, Boris Wiseman, “Structuralism, Symbolist Poetics and Abstract Art”, in Lévi-Strauss, Anthropology, and Aesthetics (Ideas in Context; 85), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, page 112

(by extension) The association of one sensory perception with, or description of it in terms of, a different perception that is not experienced at the same time.


sublime

en-verb

sublime (third-person singular simple present sublimes, present participle subliming, simple past and past participle sublimed)

sublimes (present singular third-person)
subliming (participle present)
sublimed (participle past)
sublimed (past)
sublime (infinitive)

PIE word
 *upó
Partly from the following:
* From Middle English sublimen, sublime, sublyme (“to exalt, extol, glorify, honour; (alchemy) to refine (a substance) by vaporizing in a closed container; to obtain (a substance) by cooling vapour obtained through sublimation; to extract (a pure substance) from a mixture by sublimation; to sublimate (a substance)”), from Middle French sublimer, Old French sublimer (“to exalt, glorify, honour; to refine (a substance) by vaporizing in a closed container; of a substance: to undergo sublimation”) (modern French sublimer), and from its etymon Latin sublīmāre, the present active infinitive of sublimō (“to elevate, raise; to soar”) (compare Late Latin sublimō (“to elevate, raise; to exalt, glorify, honour; to sublimate, vaporize”)), from sublīmis (“elevated, raised; exalted, uplifted, sublime; elevated in style”) (from sub- (prefix meaning ‘under; up to’) + possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- (“to bend”) (whence Latin līmen (“threshold”) and līmus (“askew; sideways”))) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs).
* From sublime (adjective).
cognates
* Catalan sublimar
* Italian sublimare
* Old Occitan sublimar
* Portuguese sublimar
* Spanish sublimar

cog

That beauty, which the hues of thought create / By thee enchanted,—slakes the mental fire / That parches us within: and yearning dreams, / And aspirations high as immortality, / Thy power sublimeth with mysterious aid.

1832, Robert Montgomery, “Book VI”, in The Messiah. […], London: John Turrill, […], →OCLC, page 243

(by extension, figurative) To raise (someone or an intangible thing) to a state of (especially moral or spiritual) excellence; to exalt.

(by extension, figurative) To become higher in quality or status; to improve.


twilight

en-noun

twilight (countable and uncountable, plural twilights)

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English twilight, twyelyghte, equivalent to twi- (“double, half-”) + light, literally ‘second light, half-light’. Cognate to Scots twa licht, twylicht, twielicht (“twilight”), Low German twilecht, twelecht (“twilight”), Dutch tweelicht (“twilight, dusk”), German Zwielicht (“twilight, dusk”). Compare Old English twēone lēoht (“twilight”).

The twilight of one's life

, Book IV, Chapter XIV
The twilight […] of probability.

(figurative, by extension) An in-between or fading condition through which something is perceived.


electric eel

(broadly) Any species of the genus Electrophorus.


yard sale

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-yard sale.wav

(sports, by extension) A notable fall during a sports activity, such as trail running.


airtime

airtime (countable and uncountable, plural airtimes)

Let them know you’re looking to create a loosely held balance of air time and want to hear from everyone.

2017 May 17, “Critical to your team's culture: Equal air time”, in SmartBrief, retrieved 2021-09-15

And all sorts of people who have traditionally been excluded are now being let in and given a voice, and they're pushing you out and reducing your airtime, and threatening your privilege, […]

2023, Eleanor Catton, Birnam Wood, page 109

(by extension) The duration spent talking during a conversation.


moonlight

en-verb

moonlight (third-person singular simple present moonlights, present participle moonlighting, simple past and past participle moonlighted)

moonlights (present singular third-person)
moonlighting (participle present)
moonlighted (participle past)
moonlighted (past)

From Middle English monelight, from Old English mōnan lēoht (“moonlight”, literally “moon's light, light of the moon”). Equivalent to moon + light. Cognate with Scots munelicht ~ muinlicht, West Frisian moanneljocht, Dutch maanlicht, German Mondlicht.

inh

Mr. Katzenberg, who moonlights as a top Biden official and has worked with Mr. Clooney on philanthropy for decades, reached out to him to see if there was an off-ramp, according to three people familiar with the matter.

2024 July 11, Theodore Schleifer, Jacob Bernstein, Reid J. Epstein, “How Biden Lost George Clooney and Hollywood”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

(by extension) To engage in an activity other than what one is known for.

(by extension, of an inanimate object) To perform a secondary function substantially different from its supposed primary function, as in protein moonlighting.


scruple

From Old French scrupule, from Latin scrūpulus (“(literally) a small sharp or pointed stone; the twenty-fourth part of an ounce; uneasiness of mind, anxiety, doubt, trouble; scruple”), diminutive of scrūpus (“a rough or sharp stone; anxiety, uneasiness”); perhaps akin to Ancient Greek σκύρος (skúros, “the chippings of stone”), from ξυρόν (xurón, “razor”), from ξύω (xúō, “to scrape”), from Proto-Indo-European *ksunyo-. Doublet of escropulo and escrupulo.

der

Why euery thing adheres togither, that no dramme of a ſcruple, no ſcruple of a ſcruple, no obſtacle, no incredulous or unſafe circumſtance: What can be ſaide? Nothing that can be, can come betweene me, and the full proſpect of my hopes.

c. 1600–1601, William Shakespeare, “Tvvelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies, London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, act III, scene iv, page 267, column 2

(obsolete, by extension) A very small quantity; a particle.


voicemail

en-noun

voicemail (countable and uncountable, plural voicemails)

From voice + mail, genericized trademark.

(countable, by extension) An individual message on such a system.


footstep

From Middle English fotstep, fotstappe, from Old English *fōtstepe, *fōtstæpe (attested only in derivative fōtstappel (“footstep”)), equivalent to foot + step. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Foutstappe (“footstep”), West Frisian fuotstap (“footstep”), Dutch voetstap (“footstep”).

cog

To walk the footsteps of greatness requires that you start at the bottom of a long stair.

follow in someone's footsteps

(by extension, sometimes figurative) The indications or waypoints of a course or direction taken.


cockle

From Middle English cokel, cokkel, kokkel, cocle, of uncertain origin. Perhaps a diminutive of Middle English cokke, cok (“cockle”), from Old English cocc (found in sǣcocc (“cockle”)) + -le; or perhaps from Old French coquille, from Vulgar Latin *cocchilia, from conchylia, from Ancient Greek κογχύλιον (konkhúlion), diminutive of κογχύλη (konkhúlē, “mussel”), of Pre-Greek substrate origin.

(by extension) A defect in sheepskin; firm dark nodules caused by the bites of keds on live sheep


big gun

This has been a great day for the big guns. This does not refer to Prof. Lummis and the other big guns of the Board of Visitors, for every day is a great one for them.

1888 June 6, “A Great Day for Big Guns”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-08-20

Berra Is Big Gun In Yankee Victory

1957 Aug. 28, Ed Wilks, "Sports" (Headline), Park City News (USA), p. 15 (retrieved 20 Aug. 2011)

And the administration's big guns — Bush, Cheney, Powell and once-and-current Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — had the clout to make bold and necessary changes.

2001 June 29, Frank Pellegrini, “Whatever Happened to Military Restructuring?”, in Time

Clapton kept the big guns for last, finishing the set off with Derek and the Domino's "Layla", complete with the haunting instrumentals at song's end.

2007 March 26, Yuri Wuensch, “Eric Clapton simply masterful”, in canoe.ca, Canada, retrieved 2011-08-20

(idiomatic, by extension, chiefly in the plural) A person, group, thing, or course of action that is powerful, influential, or particularly effective.


hotbed

The problem faced by Government and railway alike is the dreadful legacy of the 'stay home' policy which has left millions of people fearing that trains are a hotbed of infection to be avoided like the... well, do I have to say it?!

2020 August 12, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Rail at the brink? Not yet...”, in Rail, page 3

(by extension) An environment that is ideal for the growth or development of something, especially of something undesirable.

بُؤْرَة

place ideal for the growth of something undesirable


handholding

(by extension, of a couple) Deeply and ostentatiously in love.


sortie

PIE word
 *upó
The noun is borrowed from French sortie (“act of exiting; exit, way out; (military) sally, sortie”), the feminine past participle of sortir (“to exit, go out”), from Old French sortir, from Latin sortīrī, the present active infinitive of sortior (“to cast or draw lots; to choose, select; to distribute, divide; to obtain, receive; to share”), from sors (“something used to determine chances, a lot; casting or drawing of lots; decision by lot; a share”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, tie together; a thread”)), possibly influenced by surrēctus (“arisen, having been caused to arise; gotten up, having been gotten up”), the perfect passive participle of surgō (“to arise, get up, rise”), from subrigō (“to lift up; to straighten”), from sub- (prefix meaning ‘beneath, under’) + regō (“to direct, guide, steer; to govern, rule; to manage, oversee”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to right oneself, straighten; just; right”)).
The verb is derived from the noun.

scramble

emergency defensive air force mission to intercept attacking enemy aircraft

‘I'm just not interested in the whole class crap that seems to needle you and all the tax-payers,’ the teenager tells some ‘pre-historic monster’ of an adult, with a ‘cool’ snobbishness which MacInnes's companion on many of his Notting Hill sorties, the late Professor Richard Wollheim, compared to the ‘Sang Froid’ of Baudelaire's Dandy as he cruised through Fin-de-Siecle Paris with a similar sensibility, or lack of it.

2007 April 14, Ed Vulliamy, “Absolute MacInnes”, in The Guardian

Finally, the astronauts will descend to the lunar surface. After their sortie on the moon, they'll return to the orbital station.

2019 July 8, Jeff Foust, “NASA’s Lunar Space Station Is a Great/Terrible Idea”, in IEEE Spectrum, New York, N.Y.: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-11-28

An act of venturing out to do a task, etc.

An act of trying to enter a new field of activity.

Kai Johansen made a sortie down the right and, running out of ideas, tried a shot from more than 20 yards.

1998, David Potter, Tom Campbell, Jock Stein: The Celtic Years, Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing, published 2005

(by extension)
(figuratively)
(sports) An attacking move.

(astronautics) An operational flight carried out by a spacecraft involving a return to Earth.

(military) Synonym of sally port (“an entry to or opening into a fortification to enable a sally”)

sally port

(photography) A series of aerial photographs taken during the flight of an aircraft; (by extension) a photography session.


derby

→ German: Derby

→ Spanish: derbi

→ Hungarian: derbi

→ Japanese: ダービー (dābī)

→ Polish: derby

→ Portuguese: dérbi

→ Russian: де́рби (dérbi)

→ Chinese: 德比 (débǐ)

From Epsom Derby horse race, named after Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby.

named-after

a donkey derby


disguised

en-adj

disguised (comparative more disguised, superlative most disguised)

more disguised (comparative)
most disguised (superlative)

The saylers and the shipmen all, / Through foul excesse of wine, / Were so disguised that at the sea / They shew'd themselves like swine.

c. 1600, Thomas Deloney, Strange histories, or, Songs and sonnets


sprat

From Middle English sprotte, from Old English sprot. Older source is unknown. Cognate with German Sprotte, Dutch sprot. Compare sprout.

(by extension) Anything petty or insignificant.


scripture

en-noun

scripture (countable and uncountable, plural scriptures)

/ˈskɹɪpt͡ʃɚ/

From Middle English scripture, from Latin scrīptūra (“a writing, scripture”), from scrīptum, the supine of scrībō (“I write”).

der

(by extension) An authoritative statement.


battalion

(by extension) A great number of things.


brunt

From Middle English brunt, bront (“sudden onset, attack, charge, blow”), from Old Norse brundr or brundtíð (“oestrus, rut”) (from Proto-Germanic *brunstiz), or bruna (“to rush”, literally “to advance like wildfire”) (see brenna).

(obsolete, by extension) A sudden harmful onset or attack (of disease, unbelief, persecution, etc.).


fluff

en-verb

fluff (third-person singular simple present fluffs, present participle fluffing, simple past and past participle fluffed)

fluffs (present singular third-person)
fluffing (participle present)
fluffed (participle past)
fluffed (past)

From earlier floow (“woolly substance, down, nap, lint”), also spelt flough, flue, and flew, from West Flemish vluwe,
of uncertain ultimate origin:
* Compare Old English flōh (“that which is flown off, fragment, piece”) - see flaw
* Possibly representing a blend of flue + puff; compare Middle Dutch vloe, or perhaps onomatopoeic; compare dialectal English floose, flooze, fleeze (“particles of wool or cotton; fluff; loose threads or fibres”), Danish fnug (“down, fluff”), Swedish fnugg (“speck, flake”).
* Alternatively, West Flemish vluwe may derive from French velu (“hairy, furry”), from Latin villūtus (“having shaggy hair”), from villus (“shaggy hair, tuft of hair”).
For words of similar sound and meaning in other languages, compare Japanese フワフワ (fuwafuwa, “lightly, softly”), Hungarian puha (“soft, fluffy”), Polish puchaty (“soft, fluffy”),Romanian puf (“down, peachfuzz, soft hair of some animals, powderpuff”).

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeic

cog

The warmup guy — as I now know is common for live audiences in taped television performances — kept fluffing the crowd like they were preschoolers.
“Now what are you going to do when we introduce the first comedian?”
Wild cheers.
“C'mon, that's not good enough! Let's try it again! What are you going to do???”

(transitive, slang, by extension) To bring to a state of excitement.


scree

en-noun

scree (countable and uncountable, plural screes)

Probably a back-formation from screes, from Old Norse skriða (“landslide, landslip”); compare skríða (“to glide”) (from Proto-Germanic *skrīþaną (“to crawl; to glide; to walk”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreyt-, *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”)). The word is cognate with Icelandic skriða (“avalanche; landslide, landslip; steep mountain- or hillside made up of gravel and loose rocks”).

cog

Acres of the industrial port had been reduced to desolation, half-walls, half-chimneys, crazy sticks of steel that looped up out of concrete scree. The temptation not to clear and rebuild must have been strong.

2002, Catherine Merridale, Night of Stone: Death and Memory in Twentieth-century Russia, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, →OCLC, page 243

(uncountable, by extension) Similar debris made up of broken building material such as bricks, concrete, etc.


trifecta

Along with runtime errors, two other errors we saw earlier round out the JavaScript bug trifecta: syntax errors, logic errors, and runtime errors.

2007, Michael Morrison, Head First JavaScript, page 525

I might never have learned my name or met my birth family if I hadn't ended up in the hospital in Rhode Island in 2007, after traveling to a trifecta of malaria hotspots: Mali, Egypt and Colombia.

2013 November 27, Emily Jane O'Dell, “Deep cover”, in The New York Times

And the Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Regina Hall trifecta stumbled through inconsistent chemistry as they, too, attempted to insult their peers.

2024 March 10, Fran Hoepfner, “What Billy Crystal Knew About Hosting the Oscars”, in The Atlantic

(by extension) A set of three related things, often things that cause problems.


bandage

This new healthcare proposal merely applies a bandage to the current medical crisis.

(figuratively, by extension) A provisional or makeshift solution that provides insufficient coverage or relief.

laastari

figuratively: provisional or makeshift solution


stipend

The noun is derived from Late Middle English stipend, stipende (“salary, wage”) [and other forms], from Old French stipende, stipendie, from Latin stīpendium (“contribution; dues; impost, tax; tribute; military pay or stipend; military service”), from *stipipendium, *stippendium, from stips (“alms; contribution, donation, gift”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steyp- (“erect; stiff”)) + pendere (the present active infinitive of pendō (“to cause to hang down or suspend; to weigh, weigh out; (hence) to pay”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to pull; to spin; to stretch”)) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns).
The verb is derived from the noun.
cognates
* Italian stipendio
* Portuguese estipendio
* Spanish estipendio

der

My stipend for doing public service is barely enough to cover living expenses.

Some other form of fixed (and generally small) payment occurring at regular intervals, such as an allowance, a pension, or (obsolete) a tax. [from 16th c.]

(education) A scholarship granted to a student. [from 20th c.]

bourse

scholarship granted to a student — see also scholarship


elemental

(by extension) Of, or relating to a force of nature, especially to severe atmospheric conditions.


gurnard

From Middle English gurnard, from Old French gournart, from the verb gronir, from Latin grunnīre (“to grunt”). Compare French grondin (“gurnard”), which evolved in a similar way.

(loosely) Other fish with appearance like that of members of family Triglidae, such as certain of those in families Dactylopteridae, Peristediidae, and Scorpaenidae.


anesthesia

en-noun

anesthesia (countable and uncountable, plural anesthesias)

/ˌæn.əsˈθi.ʒə/

Sense of “insensibility” attested since 1679, from New Latin anaesthēsia, from Ancient Greek ἀναισθησία (anaisthēsía, “without sensation”), from ἀν- (an-, “not”) and αἴσθησις (aísthēsis, “sensation”). By surface analysis, an- + -esthesia.
Sense of “state induced by an agent” attested since 1846.

der

(loosely, proscribed, sometimes Philippines) Synonym of anesthetic


life cycle

→ Japanese: ライフサイクル (raifusaikuru)

Since it began operating in 1950, Sellafield has had different duties. First it manufactured plutonium for nuclear weapons. Then it generated electricity for the National Grid, until 2003. It also carried out years of fuel reprocessing: extracting uranium and plutonium from nuclear fuel rods after they’d ended their life cycles.

December 15 2022, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The Guardian

(by extension) The useful life of a product or system; the developmental history of an individual or group in society.

lewensiklus

useful life of a product or system; developmental history of an individual or group


changeling

/ˈt͡ʃeɪnd͡ʒlɪŋ/

The noun is derived from change + -ling (suffix with the sense ‘immature; small’). Sense 6 (“idiot, simpleton”) is from the idea that foolish children had been left by magical creatures (sense 1).
The adjective is derived from the noun.

suffix

When I firſt read Mr. Walker’s Circular Letter to the Arch-deacons, I fancied he intended to give us an Account of thoſe worthy Men, [...] But after about ten Years going with this Work, and that the Time of its Birth was come, I ſoon found it to be a perfect Changeling. Inſtead of what I expected it to be, I ſaw a huge Heap of the moſt Heterogeneous Characters, [...] a great many of them much more deſerving to have their Names blotted out, than their Memory to be preſerved.

1717, [John Lewis], A Few English Notes on a Late Sermon Preached before the Sons of the Clergy by Dr. [Thomas] Bisse, Intended to Vindicate the English Reformation from the Charge of Sacrilege, Fraud, &c. […], London: […] James Knapton, […]; and sold by John Morphew, […], →OCLC, page 15

(by extension) A person or object (especially when regarded as inferior) secretly exchanged for something else.

(by extension, informal, rare) An infant secretly exchanged with another infant deliberately or by mistake; a swapling.


meteoric

en-adj

meteoric (comparative more meteoric, superlative most meteoric)

more meteoric (comparative)
most meteoric (superlative)

Her meteoric rise to power was followed by a slow, lackluster career at the top.

With the meteoric rise has come broad concerns about the app’s impact on its relatively young users.

2022 December 30, Kari Paul, “US bans China-based TikTok app on all federal government devices”, in The Guardian

(by extension) Like a meteor in speed, brilliance, or ephemeralness.


burnish

en-verb

burnish (third-person singular simple present burnishes, present participle burnishing, simple past and past participle burnished)

burnishes (present singular third-person)
burnishing (participle present)
burnished (participle past)
burnished (past)
except British (obsolete)

From Middle English barnishen, barnish (“to grow big (with child), to become pregnant; to grow stout or strong”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from barn (“child, offspring; infant; unborn child; human being, person; male person, man (especially a young man or young warrior)”). (from Old English bearn (“child”), from Proto-West Germanic *barn (“child”), from Proto-Germanic *barną (“child”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”)) + -ishen (suffix forming verbs).

inh

(by extension) Of a thing: to increase in size; to expand, to spread out, to swell.


Darren

Unknown. A twentieth-century invention, possibly from a rare Irish surname of obscure meaning, possibly from Dara or Daragh, meaning "oak". It is also the name of an old silver mine near Aberystwyth, Wales.
* The name became popular, particularly in the UK, because of a character in the 1960s American TV series Bewitched, actually spelled Darrin.
* (person with sense of entitlement): As a rhyming equivalent for Karen.

(by extension, derogatory) Any person, especially male, exhibiting an exaggerated sense of entitlement.


bazooka

→ Arabic: بازوكة (bāzūka)

→ Chinese: 巴祖卡 (bāzǔkǎ)

→ French: bazooka

→ Dutch: bazooka

→ Finnish: bazooka

→ German: Bazooka

→ Indonesian: bazoka

→ Japanese: バズーカ (bazūka)

→ Korean: 바주카 (bajuka)

→ Macedonian: базука (bazuka)

→ Maranao: basoka

→ Polish: bazooka

→ Portuguese: bazuca

→ Romanian: bazooka

→ Spanish: bazuca

→ Swedish: bazooka

Bazooka (disambiguation)
Bob Burns (humorist)
European debt crisis

From an extension of the word bazoo (“mouth, boastful talk”), which ultimately probably stems from Dutch bazuin (“trumpet”). In the finance sense first used by policymakers during the European debt crisis (2010).

(by extension) Any shoulder-fired rocket grenade launcher.

بَازُوكَة

American shoulder fired rocket grenade launcher

sinko

any shoulder fired rocket grenade launcher


tough nut to crack

en-noun

tough nut to crack (plural tough nuts to crack)

(idiomatic, by extension) A situation, individual, group, etc. that is difficult to deal with.


ham-fisted

en-adj

ham-fisted (comparative more ham-fisted, superlative most ham-fisted)

more ham-fisted (comparative)
most ham-fisted (superlative)

From ham (“thigh and buttock of an animal slaughtered for meat”) + fisted (adjective), probably referring to someone being clumsy as if they have hams at the end of their arms instead of hands.

påtschert

lacking skill in physical movement with the hands — see also clumsy

[Stephen] Harper has a few weeks' grace, during which he and his ham-fisted finance minister, Jim Flaherty, can ponder the error of their ways.

2008 December 5, “Everyone benefits from prorogue”, in Michael Den Tandt, editor, The Sun Times, volume 156, number 285, Owen Sound, Ont.: Osprey Media Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page A4, column 1

What an utter farce. Just like DfT [the Department for Transport]'s ham-fisted, blundering ticket office closure programme.

2023 September 6, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Leaderless and Rudderless”, in Rail, number 991, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3

(by extension) Lacking skill in general; incompetent.


missing in action

/ˈmɪsɪŋ ɪn ˈækʃən/

He says that when pressed about why the money was missing in action, NAB [National Australia Bank] failed to provide an explanation and threatened to foreclose on the customer.

2007 December 13, Katie Cincotta, “Is internet banking safe?”, in The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, N.S.W.: Nine Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-09-18

Finding her toothbrush last night had been the extent of her unpacking and her slippers were still missing in action.

John Barclay and [Stuart] McInally controlled the tackle area, denying England quick possession and fracturing the champions’ supply line, Simon Berghan anchored the scrum and behind Finn Russell, missing in action in the opening two rounds, fulfilled his captain Barclay’s prediction on the eve of the game that he would be the man of the match.

2018 February 24, Paul Rees, “Finn Russell masterminds historic Scotland victory over England”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2018-04-22

President Donald Trump called Attorney General Jeff Sessions "scared stiff and Missing in Action" on Saturday in his latest broadside on Twitter against the nation's top law enforcement officer.

2018 August 12, Clare Foran, “Trump Calls Attorney General Jeff Sessions ‘Scared Stiff and Missing in Action’”, in CNN, archived from the original on 2019-08-18

A Canadian pledge of 200 soldiers for peacekeeping missions is missing in action more than 18 months after it was first promised to the United Nations by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

2019 July 9, The Canadian Press, “Missing in Action: Promised 200-strong Force yet to be Registered with UN”, in CityNews, Citytv, Toronto, Ont., archived from the original on 2019-07-10

(by extension) Not present when one is expected to be.


lordship

en-noun

lordship (countable and uncountable, plural lordships)

From Middle English lordshipe, laverdschipe, from Old English hlāfordsċiepe, equivalent to lord + -ship. Cognate with Scots lairdschip.

your Grace

form to address archbishops, and some bishops

May I ask that the order be granted, if your lordship so pleases?

'He's had his bath,' she said. 'He's just had his bath, bless his little lordship's heart.'

Charles had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place, but he was not such a whopstraw as to make the least noise in the performance of his duties when his lordship was out of humour.

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

(by extension, with "his" or "your", often capitalised) Title applied to a lord, bishop, judge, or another man with a title.


critical mass

critical mass (countable and uncountable, plural critical masses)

[…] depending on the rare circumstance of there being a critical mass of persons whose combination of interests and resources is high enough to overcome the feasibility problem.

1993, Gerald Marwell, Pamela Oliver, The Critical Mass in Collective Action, Cambridge University Press, page 87

The critical mass comprises the pioneers of an SNS who pay the start-up costs and set up a circle of acquaintances for newcomers; thereafter new subscribers to a mature SNS can join one after another rather than as a group (Heijden, 2004).

2015, Giuseppe Riva, Brenda K. Wiederhold, Pietro Cipresso, editors, The Psychology of Social Networking, volume 1, Walter de Gruyter, page 204

The problem was not just that they had never quite reached that point of critical mass where their income would finally exceed their many costs and liabilities, it was that breaking good, for Mira at least, had always meant more than simply breaking even.

2023, Eleanor Catton, Birnam Wood, page 19

(by extension, figurative) The minimum amount of something or the minimum number of people needed to trigger a phenomenon.


ichor

ichor (countable and uncountable, plural ichors)

Sense 1 (“liquid said to flow in place of blood in the veins of the gods”) is borrowed from Medieval Latin ichor, from Ancient Greek ῑ̓χώρ (īkhṓr, “fluid running through the veins of gods, ichor; watery part of blood, lymph, serum; watery part of milk, whey; gravy; pus; naphtha”); further etymology unknown, probably from Pre-Greek.
Sense 2.4 (“fetid, watery discharge from a sore”) is from Middle English icor, icore [and other forms], from Medieval Latin ichor; see further above.

der

(chiefly poetic) The blood of human beings or animals; also (obsolete) the clear, fluid portion of blood; blood plasma, plasma.

They will not live / As shades but angle forward to enjoy / The pluck of life, the pressure of their ichor.

1988, Peter Porter, “They Come Back More”, in Quadrant, volume 32, Sydney, N.S.W.: Quadrant Magazine, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 29, column 2

Like snow fall you cry a silent storm. / Your tears paint rivers on this oaken wall / Amber nectar / misery ichor.

2002 August 13, “You Were But a Ghost in My Arms”, in John Haughm (lyrics), John Haughm, Don Anderson, and Jason William Walton (music), The Mantle, performed by Agalloch

(chiefly poetic, figuratively) A blood-like fluid.

(geology, archaic) A fluid believed to seep out from magma and cause rock to turn into granite.

(pathology, obsolete) A fetid, watery discharge from a sore; pus.

վէրք

fetid, watery discharge from a sore — see also pus


pharaonic

en-adj

pharaonic (comparative more pharaonic, superlative most pharaonic)

more pharaonic (comparative)
most pharaonic (superlative)

/ˌfɛəɹeɪˈɒnɪk/

From Latin Pharaōn- (stem of Pharaō (“Pharaoh”)) + -ic, originally modelled on German.

It could be argued there is a note of shared significance to both deaths. Both feel like reminders that the real divide, so starkly present at this Pharaonic sporting super-show, is between the powerful and the powerless.

2022 November 21, Barney Ronay, “Iran’s brave and powerful gesture is a small wonder from a World Cup of woe”, in The Guardian

Mark Zuckerberg sculpts his pharaonic Hawaii compound. He and his ilk own the present.

2023 December 28, Ross Barkan, “The zeitgeist is changing. A strange, romantic backlash to the tech era looms”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

(by extension) Impressively large or luxurious.


gazetteer

The noun is borrowed from French gazettier (archaic), gazetier (“journalist, newspaperman”) + English -eer (suffix forming agent nouns denoting people associated with or engaged in a specified activities). Gazettier, gazetier are derived from gazette (“newspaper”) + -ier (suffix denoting a profession); and gazette from Italian gazzetta, from Venetian gazeta, from gazeta dele novità (literally “a gazeta of news”) (referring to the cost of the newspaper, a gazeta being a Venetian coin of little value, whence English gazet (obsolete)), possibly a diminutive of Latin gaza (“riches, treasure; treasury”), ultimately from Old Median *ganǰam (“treasure; wealth”). The English word is analysable as gazette + -eer.
The verb is derived from the noun.

der

/ˌɡæzəˈtɪəɹ/

(by extension, obsolete) A gazette, a newspaper.


gazetteer

The noun is derived from The Gazetteer’s, or Newsman’s Interpreter (1st edition, 1692), the name of a geographical index compiled by the English clergyman and historian Laurence Echard (c. 1670 – 1730); in the preface he said “The Title was given me by a very eminent Person, whom I forbear to name.” The preface also stated that the work was “partly design’d for all such as frequent Coffee-Houses, and other places for News”, that is, to help readers better understand the newspapers written by gazetteers or journalists (see etymology 1).
The verb is derived from the noun.

nb...

Shewing in what Kingdoms, Provinces, and Counties They are in; to what Prince They are now Subject; upon, or nigh what Rivers, Bays, Seas, Mountains, &c. They Stand; Their Distances (in English Miles) from Several Other Places of Note, with Their Longitude and Latitude, according to the Best and Approved Maps. Of Special Use for the True Understanding of All Modern Histories of Europe, as well as the Present Affairs; and for the Conveniency of Cheapness and Pocket-carriage, Explained by Abbreviations and Figures.

at the King’s Arms next St. Dunstan’s Church in Fleet-street.

/ˌɡæzəˈtɪəɹ/

[A]ll the brighter stars of the sky are registered in their true relations one to another, on charts and photographic plates. […] When a higher precision is required, one must consult those gazetteers of the sky known as star catalogues.

1897, David P[eck] Todd, “The Stars and the Cosmogony”, in A New Astronomy, New York, N.Y.; Cincinnati, Oh.: American Book Company, →OCLC, page 426

The mountain was McKinley. At twenty thousand feet, it was a third lower than Everest but, in the gazetteers of mountaineering, was highly prized because its rise from plain to peak – what climbers call the 'uplift', a technical description with a metaphor hiding behind it – is greater than that of the Nepalese skyscraper.

2013, Mark Lawson, “Continuing Service to Dead Horse: Alaska”, in The Battle for Room Service: Journeys to All the Safe Places, London: Picador, page 123

Statistical gazetteers of the time that were written explicitly for merchants, such as Timothy Pitkin's Statistical View, were filled with pages of international import and export data but included only a few, rather meager population tables.

2017, Eli Cook, “The Hunt for Growth”, in The Pricing of Progress: Economic Indicators and the Capitalization of American Life, Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press, page 144

Unlike other prehistoric processes, there is no comprehensive gazetteer of radiocarbon dates for the entire Bell Beaker phenomenon apart from a few high-quality regional datasets[…].

2024 February, Mark Vander Linden, “Where and When?”, in Manuel Fernández-Götz, Bettina Arnold, editors, The Bell Beaker Phenomenon in Europe: A Harmony of Difference (Cambridge Elements; Elements in the Archaeology of Europe), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →DOI, →ISSN, page 18

(by extension) A descriptive list (often alphabetical) of any subject.


poach

en-verb

poach (third-person singular simple present poaches, present participle poaching, simple past and past participle poached)

poaches (present singular third-person)
poaching (participle present)
poached (participle past)
poached (past)

table
From Old French pocher, pochier (“to trample, poach into”). Doublet of poke.

Chelsea's embarrassment was symbolised by Ross Barkley's inexplicable header straight to the feet of Aguero to poach his second and Ilkay Gundogan capped that early blitz with a low drive.

2019 February 10, Phil McNulty, “Manchester City 6-0 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport

(by extension, transitive, intransitive) To take anything illegally or unfairly.


when in Rome, do as the Romans do

The first attestation is Medieval Latin si fueris Rōmae, Rōmānō vīvitō mōre; si fueris alibī, vīvitō sīcut ibī (“if you should be in Rome, live in the Roman manner; if you should be elsewhere, live as they do there”), which is attributed to St Ambrose. Robert Burton in his Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) uses the phrase “When they are at Rome, they doe there as they see done.”

der

But my friend says, ‘when in Rome, we must do as Rome does,’ Ah! this is the very principle of an ungodly world; and Christians have caught the spirit, and are acting up to it. Peter and Paul were in Rome.—If they had done as Rome did, they would not have suffered death there. If we were in Rome, and must do as Rome does, we must become idolaters, and papists, or lose Rome's favor, and suffer her displeasure. But we must separate ourselves from Rome, and from the world, and their wicked and God-robbing practices. We must not be conformed to the world. We must be Christians in deed and in truth.

1842 July, “The Opinion of the Apostle Peter Respecting Trifles”, in Barton W. Stone, editor, The Christian Messenger, volume 12, number 9, Jacksonville, IL, page 282

I know of many instances where such persons have been under the necessity of buying or hiring slaves, just to preserve their reputation and keep up appearances; and even among a class of people who profess to be opposed to Slavery, have I known instances of the same kind, and have heard them apologize for their conduct by saying that “when in Rome, we must do as the Romans do.”

1857, Austin Steward, Twenty-two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman; Embracing a Correspondence of Several Years, While President of Wilberforce Colony, London, Canada West, Rochester, NY: William Alling, page 101

The good intentions of the individual cannot control the evil operations of an organization which is essentially wrong. Men when in Rome are apt to do as the Romans do, however evil it may be; and the member of a Lodge is not likely to remain for a long time better than the Lodge itself.

1873, J. W. Phelps, editor, Secret Societies, Ancient and Modern; an Outline of Their Rise, Progress, and Character with Respect to the Christian Religion and Republican Government, Chicago: Ezra A. Cook, page 224

(loosely, idiomatic) To adapt to the circumstances; to follow common custom.

ʕindamā takūn fī rūmā, ifʕal mā yafʕalah ar-rūmān

عِنْدَمَا تَكُون فِي رُومَا، اِفْعَل مَا يَفْعَلَه الرُّومَان

入乡随俗 (ji̍p-hiong-sûi-sio̍k, literally “when entering a village, follow the customs”)

入境随俗 (rùjìngsuísú, literally “when entering an area, follow the customs”)

kies gasto mi estas, ties feston mi festas

ha Rómában élsz, élj úgy, mint a rómaiak

di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung

郷に入っては郷に従え

ごうにいってはごうにしたがえ

郷に入りては郷に従え

ごうにいりてはごうにしたがえ

입향순속(入郷循俗) (iphyangsunsok, literally “enter the country, follow custom”)

고을에 들어가면 고을 풍속을 따르라

go'eure deureogamyeon go'eul pungsogeul ttareura

li gorî derdor û adetên xwecihî tevgeriyan

masuk ke dalam kandang kambing mengembek, masuk ke dalam kandang kerbau menguak

jeśli wejdziesz między wrony, musisz krakać jak i one

w czyim chlebie smakujemy, tego i pochlebujemy

с волка́ми жить — по-во́лчьи выть (s volkámi žitʹ — po-vólčʹi vytʹ, literally “to live amongst wolves, you should howl like a wolf”)

со свои́м уста́вом в чужо́й монасты́рь не хо́дят (so svoím ustávom v čužój monastýrʹ ne xódjat, literally “don’t go with your own rules to someone else’s monastery”)

beus na tuath, far am bithear 's e a nithear

meel Il laga la'yahay ishaa layska tuura

si entre burros te ves, rebuzna alguna vez

เข้าเมืองตาหลิ่ว ต้องหลิ่วตาตาม (kâo meuang dtaa lìw dtông lìw dtaa dtaam, literally “to enter the town of squint-eyed people and need to squint one's own eyes like them”)

pan foch yn Rhufain, gwnewch fel y Rhufeiniaid


flagship

The retail company's store in London is their flagship.

Ars Technica’s Ron Amadeo considered the two smartphones together, and claimed them worthy flagships for Android: […]

2015 October 20, Stuart Dredge, “Google Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P review roundup: impressive Android flagships”, in The Guardian

Next year, Stella McCartney’s London flagship store will move from Bruton Street to a landmark Old Bond Street location. The move is the most prominent symbol of the label’s strong financial results.

2017 October 2, Jess Cartner-Morle, “Stella McCartney lays waste to disposable fashion in Paris”, in The Guardian

Transport Minister Baroness Vere has conceded that the Government does not yet know how its flagship £96 billion Integrated Rail Plan "will actually work on the ground".

2022 January 12, Paul Stephen, “Network News: Vere admits to Lords: IRP lacks information”, in RAIL, number 948, page 10

(by extension, often attributive) The most important one out of a related group.

vlajková loď

the most important one out of a related group


cannon fodder

Mid-19th century, from cannon (“artillery piece”) + fodder (“food”), a calque of German Kanonenfutter, itself possibly a calque of English food for powder. See the German for more.

compound

It is arrogant to simply dismiss San Marino and say they should not be playing qualifiers at this level but it is hard to see what England and manager Southgate learned from this one-sided, rather soulless experience against a team who were little more than cannon fodder.

2021 March 25, Phil McNulty, “England 5-0 San Marino”, in BBC Sport

(by extension) Any group of contestants that have no hope of success.


overkill

/ˈəʊ.vəˌkɪl/

24 hours of TV coverage of the US election verged on overkill.

Should I give you yet more homework, or would that be overkill?

This is a live concert album, a good choice because it allows for simpler instrumental backup and avoids the studio overkill that would be inappropriate for such a forthright album.

1984 August 4, Maida Tilchen, “Sex, Politics, and Good Vibes”, in Gay Community News, page 8

(by extension) An unnecessary excess of whatever is needed to achieve a goal.


paddock

The noun is almost certainly a variant of dialectal British parrock (“enclosure; park; croft, small field, paddock”), from Middle English parrok, parrock (“enclosed pasture, paddock; coop; feeding stall; cabin, hut”) [and other forms], from Old English pearroc, pearruc (“fence used to enclose a space; area enclosed by such a fence, enclosure”), from Proto-West Germanic *parruk (“enclosure; pen for animals”), from Proto-Germanic *parrukaz (“fence; enclosure”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *barō (“bar, beam; barrier”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“to pierce; to strike”). Doublet of park.
The verb is derived from the noun.
cognates
* Danish park (“pond”)
* Dutch perk (“flowerbed; garden; pen”)
* German Pferch (“sheepfold, sheep-pen”)

cog

(horse racing) An enclosure next to a racecourse where horses are paraded and mounted before a race and unsaddled after a race.

haka

(motor racing) An area at a racing circuit where the racing vehicles are parked and worked on before and between races.

varikko

(sports, slang) A field on which a game is played; a playing field.

(Australia, New Zealand) A field of grassland of any size, either enclosed by fences or delimited by geographical boundaries, especially a large area for keeping cattle or sheep.

laidun

(chiefly Australia, New Zealand, mining) A place in a superficial deposit where ore or washdirt (“earth rich enough in metal to pay for washing”) is excavated; also, a place for storing ore, washdirt, etc.

koekuoppa

place in a superficial deposit where ore or washdirt is excavated; place for storing ore, washdirt, etc.


expedite

en-verb

expedite (third-person singular simple present expedites, present participle expediting, simple past and past participle expedited)

expedites (present singular third-person)
expediting (participle present)
expedited (participle past)
expedited (past)

From Latin expedītus (“unimpeded, unfettered”), perfect passive participle of expediō (“bring forward, set right”).

der

(transitive, by extension) To perform (a task) fast and efficiently.


rookery

Spying flames vomiting from a Manhattan tenement one night last week, a scavenging junkman named Roderick Good turned in an alarm. In their beds in the five-story rookery lay more than 100 tenants.

1934 April 2, “Business: Tenements”, in Time, archived from the original on 2012-03-05

The squares near Ladbroke Grove station ... never managed to attract the kind of people for which they were designed and sank rapidly into multiple occupation, becoming almost as bad as the nearby rookeries of north-west Kensington.

2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, page 50, quoting Christian Wolmar

The Flower and Dean St rookery had been home to many of those who lived at least partly by street crime.

1980, Jerry White, Rothschild Buildings: life in an East End tenement block, 1887-1920, page 128

These rookeries sustained criminal social systems that provided schooling in crime for the young and newcomers.

1995, Cyrille Fijnaut, Changes in Society, Crime and Criminal Justice in Europe

In the Victorian imagination, crime and the criminal class were always associated with rookeries, the dense slum areas in which criminals were said to live.

1998, Stephen Inwood with Roy Porter, A History of London, page 522

(British, historical, by extension) A place where criminals congregate, often an area of a town or city.


mugwump

The noun is borrowed from Massachusett mugquomp, mummugquomp (“war leader”). Folk etymology reinterpreted it as referring to a person who sat on the fence with their mug (“face”) on one side and wump (“rump”) on the other, which influenced political cartoons during the 1884 United States presidential election.
The verb is derived from the noun.

(by extension) A person who purports to stay aloof from party politics.

(Australia, US, by extension) One who switches from supporting one political party to another, especially for personal benefit.

Anthea hasn't a notion in her head but to vamp a lot of silly mugwumps. She's set her heart on that tennis bloke [...] whom the papers are making such a fuss about.

1935, George Goodchild, chapter 1, in Death on the Centre Court: A McLean Mystery, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC

(Australia, US, by extension, colloquial, somewhat derogatory) A person who stays neutral or non-committal; a fence sitter; also, a person who maintains an aloof and often self-important demeanour.


daresay

en-verb

daresay (third-person singular simple present daresays, present participle daresaying, simple past and past participle daresayed or daresaid)

daresays (present singular third-person)
daresaying (participle present)
daresayed (participle past)
daresayed (past)
daresaid (participle past)
daresaid (past)

From dare say: dare (“to have enough courage (to do something)”) + say.

compound

Are you going to stay up all night? I daresay that I am.

You daresay, Blanche. Ay, that is always the way; everybody daresay. Mrs. Grainger and John daresaid I should not miss Thomas, who is gone home for a week to get strong again after the ague, but I shall. Then they daresaid I should like his cousin Richard, who takes his place, just as well; but I shall not.

1843, Ellen Pickering, chapter II, in The Grumbler; […], volume II, London: T[homas] C[autley] Newby, 65, Mortimer St. Cavendish Sq., →OCLC, page 53

[H]e brings out a crumpled piece of paper, and displays it in approved Dr. Marigold style, "Here's what the arsenic or strychnine was in, but now it is mixed with the dishes, knives, forks, spoons, biscuits, beef, &c.; in fact, our pantry and store-room are worse than a score of Pritchard's." Grand chorus, reprobatory of Max, who takes it very coolly, and says he daresays Dick has just spilt it, "his fingers being all thumbs," but never to mind, as he won't use any of the things till he has cleaned out the chest.

1870 February–March, David Leslie, “Wild Life in South Africa”, in W[illiam] H[enry] Drummond, editor, Among the Zulus and Amatongas: With Sketches of the Natives, Their Language and Customs; and the Country, Products, Climate, Wild Animals, &c. […], Glasgow: […] W[illiam] Gilchrist, […], published 1875, →OCLC, section VI (A Night Round the Fire), page 132

I daresay he's got other things to think of. I'll set all that right to-morrow.

1873, [Margaret] Oliphant, “The Gathering of the Storm”, in Innocent: A Tale of Modern Life. […], volume III, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Searle, […], →OCLC, page 178

Daniel daresays he could get five thousand or more for the piece if he tried.

1883 November, Alan Muir, “‘Golden Girls.’ A Picture-gallery.”, in London Society. An Illustrated Magazine of Light and Amusing Literature for the Hours of Relaxation, volume XLIV, number CCLXIII, London: Robson and Sons […], →OCLC, chapter LXV (Which Begins with Collision and Ends with Explosion), page 531, column 2

The showman gave Simon ten shillings ("I daresay it's worth three times as much" muttered Justin) and he spent it on doughnuts for the whole party and a visit to the fire-breathing dragon (where Dido disgraced them by tiptoeing around to the back and discovering a little man in the dragon's stomach producing jets of steam by means of a boiling kettle).

1964, Joan Aiken, Black Hearts in Battersea, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company, published 1992, page 135

"I daresay," Howard said, pacing, holding his bandaged hand in the palm of his good hand. "I daresay …" He wanted to say something about their early love. "I daresay," he began for the third time. / "Stop daresaying and start saying," Elenore said, impatient.

1979, Ernest Hebert, “The .308”, in The Dogs of March (Hardscrabble Books), Lebanon, N.H.: University Press of New England, published 1995, page 20

And I daresay you fancy he's fallen for you, too. But he's not like the farm hands in the village, Effie. You can't just twist him round your little finger.

2014, Donna Douglas, chapter 20, in Nightingales on Call (Nightingales; 4), London: Arrow Books, Random House, page 189

(intransitive, by extension) Chiefly in the form I daresay: to venture to say (as the speaker believes something is likely to be the case); to think something probable; to presume.


wet dream

Bruce Springsteen may become middle America's wet dream.

1986 October 24, Liam Lacey, “Same old irresistible Seeger”, in The Globe and Mail, Toronto, page D11

The plan is, if all goes well, to have these batteries, an eco warrior's wet dream due to their non-toxicity, on sale in two or three years.

2007, Addy Dugdale, "Betavoltaic Battery Could Power Your Laptop for Thirty Years," gizmodo.com, 2 Oct

(idiomatic, by extension) An exciting fantasy; a very appealing, ideal thing, person, or state of affairs.


conflate

en-verb

conflate (third-person singular simple present conflates, present participle conflating, simple past and past participle conflated)

conflates (present singular third-person)
conflating (participle present)
conflated (participle past)
conflated (past)

Attested since 1541: borrowed from Latin cōnflātus, from cōnflō (“fuse, melt, or blow together”); cōn (“with, together”) + flō (“blow”).

“Bacon was Lord Chancellor of England and the first European to experiment with gunpowder.” — “No, you are conflating Francis Bacon and Roger Bacon.”

(by extension) To fail to properly distinguish or keep separate (things); to mistakenly treat (them) as equivalent.

confondre

to fail to properly distinguish things or keep them separate; mistakenly treat them as equivalent

(by extension) To deliberately draw a false equivalence or association, typically in a tacit or implicit manner as propaganda and/or an intentional distortion or misrepresentation of the subject matter.


Zouave

From French, from Arabic زَوَاوِيّ (zawāwiyy), used to refer to a Kabyle soldier, especially of the Igawawen people.

(military, historical, by extension) One of a body of soldiers who adopt the dress and drill of the Zouaves in French service, as was done by a number of volunteer regiments in the army of the United States in the Civil War (1861–65).


thimble

thimble (third-person singular simple present thimbles, present participle thimbling, simple past and past participle thimbled)

thimbles (present singular third-person)
thimbling (participle present)
thimbled (participle past)
thimbled (past)

The noun is derived from Middle English thymbyll, thimel (“thimble”) [and other forms], from Old English þȳmel (“thimble, thumbstall; fingerstall”), then either:
* from Old English þūma (“thumb”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- (“to swell”)) + -el (suffix forming agent nouns and the names of instruments); or
* from Proto-Germanic *þūmilaz (“thumb-covering, thumb-sheath”), from *þūmô (“thumb”) (ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root mentioned above) + *-ilaz (suffix forming agent nouns).
The English word is analysable as thumb + -le (suffix forming agent nouns), and is cognate with Dutch duimeling (“thumbstall”), German Däumling (“thumbstall”), German Low German Dümelke (“thumbstall”), Saterland Frisian Düümelke (“thumbstall”), Scots thummle, thumble (“thimble”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

nb...

themel, themelle, themyl, themylle, thomble, thomelle, thymbyl, thymbyll, thymelle, thymle, thymyl, thymylle, timmele, þymel


concession

en-noun

concession (usually uncountable, plural concessions)

From late Middle English concession, from Middle French concession, from Latin concessiō (“a grant, permission, conceding”), from concēdō.

der

(by extension) Any admission of the validity or rightness of a point; an instance of this.

զիջում

any admission of the validity of a point; instance of this


tropism

en-noun

tropism (countable and uncountable, plural tropisms)

From -tropism (suffix meaning ‘growth towards; movement, turning’) (possibly based on geotropism and heliotropism), from Latin tropus + English -ism (suffix forming nouns of action, process, or result). Tropus is derived from Ancient Greek τρόπος (trópos, “a turn; a manner, style, way; figure of speech, trope; etc.”), from τρέπω (trépō, “to turn; to divert; to rotate or change orientation”) (from Proto-Indo-European *trep- (“to turn”)) + -ος (-os, suffix forming nouns of result or abstract nouns of action).
Sense 1 (“turning of an organism or part of an organism towards or away from a stimulus”) is modelled after German Tropismus.

der

host tropism    tissue tropism

Studies similar to those describe above for cells cultivated in vitro were performed using homogenates of tissues and organs from humans and rhesus monkeys to investigate tissue tropisms in susceptible species […] McLaren (personal communication) found an excellent correlation between poliovirus tissue tropisms and presence or absence of receptor activity in human and rhesus tissues and organs.

1964, J. J. Holland, “Viruses in Animals and in Cell Culture”, in Joan Taylor, editor, Microbial Behaviour, ‘in Vivo’ and ‘in Vitro’: Fourteenth Symposium of the Society for General Microbiology Held at the Royal Institution, London, April 1964, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press for the Society for General Microbiology, →OCLC, page 271

Virus tropism can be defined at two levels: host tropism being the range of host species that a virus can productively infect, and tissue tropism reflecting the particular tissues or organs within the host that are the site(s) of virus replication. […] The primary determinant of virus tropism is the presence on the cell surface of a suitable receptor which the virus can utilize to gain entry to the cell.

1977, D. J. Evans, “Picornavirus Receptors, Tropism and Pathogenesis”, in M. A. McCrae, J. R. Saunders, C. J. Smyth, N. D. Stow, editors, Molecular Aspects of Host–pathogen Interactions: Fifty-fifth Symposium of the Society for General Microbiology Held at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, March 1997, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press for the Society for General Microbiology, page 23

HBLV [human B-cell lymphotropic virus] has a broad range of cell tropisms, and it infects B cells, T cells, megakaryocytes, and glioblastoma cells.

1989 January 4, Susan P. Spring, Ann Scluederberg, William P. Allen, Jack Gruber, “Commentary: Pathogenic Diversity of Epstein-Barr Virus”, in Robert E. Wittes, editor, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, volume 81, number 1, Bethesda, Md.: National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, Department of Health & Human Services, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 19, column 1

A very wide spectrum of tissue tropism among the animal adenoviruses is evident, e.g. porcine adenovirus type 3 shows a tropism for columnar epithelial cells whereas bovine adenoviruses prefer capillary endothelial cells; however, it is not clear how far tissue tropism relates to pathogenesis and disease.

1994, William C. Russell, Mária Benkö, “Animal Viruses”, in Robert G[ordon] Webster, Allan Granoff, editors, Encyclopedia of Virology, volume 1, London; San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press, pages 16–17

The capacity of a virus to selectively infect cells in particular organs is referred to as tropism[…]. Viral tropism depends on viral and host factors.

1999, Frederick A. Murphy, E. Paul J. Gibbs, Marian C. Horzinek, Michael J. Studdert, “Mechanisms of Infection and Viral Spread through the Body”, in Veterinary Virology, 3rd edition, San Diego, Calif.; London: Academic Press, part I (Principles of Virology), page 97, column 1

Orthoreovirus has primary tropisms associated with its acquisition and transmission as an upper respiratory infection and those include the facial sinuses, lungs, pharynx, and tonsils, presumably its tropism towards the intestines represents a secondary tropism (assuming that fecal-oral transmission does not also represent a primary route of disease spread, in which case the intestines would have to be considered a primary tropism), […]

2011, Christon J. Hurst, “The Relationship between Humans, Their Viruses, and Prions”, in Christon J. Hurst, editor, Studies in Viral Ecology: Animal Host Systems, volume 2, Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Blackwell, John Wiley & Sons, section II (Viruses of Macroscopic Animals), page 361, column 1

(countable, by extension, chiefly virology) A capability or tendency for a pathogen (chiefly a virus) to infect a type of cell, tissue, organ, or host organism.

tropismi

capability or tendency for a pathogen to infect a type of cell, tissue, organ, or host organism


figurehead

/ˈfɪɡjəɹˌhɛd/

/ˈfɪɡəɹˌhɛd/

Evidently he did not mean to be a mere figurehead, but to carry on the old tradition of Wilsthorpe's; and that was considered to be a good thing in itself and an augury for future prosperity.

1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 2, in Well Tackled!

Instead she played, largely impeccably, the part of a modern constitutional monarch, a symbolic figurehead with a right to be consulted and to advise and warn political leaders privately and to show herself publicly as a focus of national life, celebration and commemoration.

2022 September 8, Stephen Bates, “Queen Elizabeth II obituary”, in The Guardian

Supporters of Wagenknecht, a controversial but prominent figurehead, are already hatching plans for a breakaway party to compete in the 2024 European elections, the German newspaper Taz reported this week.

2022 September 19, Philip Oltermann, “Germany’s Die Linke on verge of split over sanctions on Russia”, in The Guardian

(by extension) Someone in a nominal position of leadership who has no actual power; a front or front man.

kransekagefigur

someone in a nominal position of leadership


infernal

en-adj

infernal (comparative more infernal, superlative most infernal)

more infernal (comparative)
most infernal (superlative)

celestial

antonym(s) of “of or relating to hell, underworld or fire”

From Middle French infernal, from Medieval Latin infernalis, from Latin īnfernus, from īnferum (“netherworld, underworld, hell”), equivalent to inferno + -al.

(by extension) Of or relating to a fire or inferno.

infernaal

by extension: of or relating to a great fire or inferno


lanyard

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-lanyard.wav

Auckland War Memorial Museum
Imperial War Museum
M777 howitzer
New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Royal Artillery
United States Army

From late Middle English lainer, lainere, lanyer (“strap or thong used to fasten armour”) (with the ending modified in the 17th century under the influence of yard), from Old French laniere, lasniere (“thong, lash”) (see modern French lanière (“lanyard, strap”)).
The English word is cognate with Old High German nestila (“band, headband; strap”) (modern German Nestel (“lace; strap; string”)), Old Norse nesta (“brace; fastener, strap”).

ref

From the collection of the Auckland War Memorial Museum in Auckland, New Zealand.

From the collection of the Imperial War Museum, UK.

cog

(by extension) A cord worn around the neck, shoulder, or wrist which is attached to a small object to be carried such as an identity card or security pass, key, knife, or whistle.

šňůrka

(by extension, military) A cord with a hook which is secured to an artillery piece, and pulled to fire the weapon.

Abzugsleine

cord with a hook secured to an artillery piece, and pulled to fire the weapon


ephemera

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐφήμερᾰ (ephḗmera), neuter plural form of ἐφήμερος (ephḗmeros).

video ephemera

audio ephemera

(by extension) Transitory audiovisual matter not intended to be retained or preserved.


termination shock

en-noun

termination shock (plural termination shocks)

(by extension, astronomy) That point for space around any star.


epistemic

PIE word
 *h₁epi
From Ancient Greek ἐπιστήμη (epistḗmē, “knowledge; science”) + English -ic (suffix meaning of or pertaining to forming adjectives from nouns) (compare modern Greek επιστημικός (epistimikós, “relating to science, scientific”)). Ἐπιστήμη (Epistḗmē) is derived from ἐπῐ́στᾰμαι (epístamai, “to have knowledge of, know”) (from ἐπῐ- (epi-, prefix meaning ‘all over; on, on top of’) + ῐ̔́στημῐ (hístēmi, “to stand; to weigh”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”))) + -η (-ē, suffix forming action nouns).

der

Professor [Richard] Boyd provides a powerful argument for the conclusion that in the sciences metaphor is often theory-constitutive, by means of an important modification of the causal theory of reference in terms of ‘epistemic access’; Metaphors provide epistemic access to the world via the articulation of new ideas at a stage when literal language cannot cope, enabling us with increasing accuracy to accommodate language to the world.

1981 April, Martin Warner, “Metaphor and Thought. Edited by Andrew Ortony. London, New York, and Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. 1979. x+501 pp. £20.00 (paperbound £7.50). [book review]”, in C. C. Smith, editor, The Modern Language Review, volume 76, number 2, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Modern Humanities Research Association, →ISSN, →JSTOR, →OCLC, page 428

(by extension, linguistics) Of or relating to how cognition or knowledge is expressed in language.

episteeminen

of or relating to how cognition or knowledge is expressed in language


graveyard

/ˈɡɹeɪvˌjɑɹd/

From grave + yard. Compare West Frisian begraafplak (“graveyard”), Dutch begraafplaats (“graveyard”), Norwegian gravplass (“graveyard”).

kirkegård

final storage place for collections of things no longer used

Certain cards place other cards here because such cards might have abilities deemed too strong if they sent them to the graveyard instead.

2006, John Kaufeld, Jeremy Smith, Trading Card Games For Dummies, page 49

If you want to be tricky, though, Rapid Decay can be a flying elbow drop out of nowhere for a surprise win against graveyard manipulation decks; they will always see a Beetles coming, remember.

2006, Michael J. Flores, Deckade: 10 Years of Decks, Thoughts, and Theory!, page 235

When a player does discard or use a card or when a creature also died or a spell gets destroyed, that card gets placed into the player's graveyard.

2015, Kinetik Gaming, Magic the Gathering Game Guide (Unofficial)

(figuratively, by extension) A final storage place for collections of things that are no longer useful or useable.

(collectible card games) The discard pile, in some trading card games.

(sports) A team where players are sent when they are not useful, or a team where players become useless if sent there.


safeguard

en-verb

safeguard (third-person singular simple present safeguards, present participle safeguarding, simple past and past participle safeguarded)

safeguards (present singular third-person)
safeguarding (participle present)
safeguarded (participle past)
safeguarded (past)

From Middle English savegard, from Middle French sauvegarde, from Old French salve garde, sauve garde, reconstructed as safe + guard.

(UK, Ireland, by extension) To implement safeguarding.


CPAP

en-noun

CPAP (countable and uncountable, plural CPAPs)

NPPV

non-invasive positive pressure ventilation

(by extension) The machine used for continuous positive airway pressure therapy.


corrosion

corrosion (countable and uncountable, plural corrosions)

From Middle English corrosioun, from Old French corrosion, or its source, Late Latin corrōsiōnem, accusative singular of corrōsiō (“gnawing away, corroding”), from Latin corrōdō (“gnaw away, corrode”).

the corrosion of values

(by extension) The gradual destruction or undermining of something.


rosary

From Middle English rosarie, from Latin rosārium, here in its sense as a garland of roses. The coin usage referred to the laurel wreath appearing on the obverse bust, as opposed to the bare head on the pollard. Doublet of Rosario and rosarium.

psalter (150-bead rosary for use with the Psalms)

(by extension) A series or collection of thoughts, literary pieces, etc. intended for similar contemplation.


mezzanine

PIE word
 *médʰyos
The noun is borrowed from French mezzanine, and from its etymon Italian mezzanino, from mezzano (“(adjective) middle; (noun) go-between”) + -ino (diminutive suffix). Mezzano is derived from Latin mediānus (“central, middle”, adjective), from medius (“mid, middle”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“middle”)) + -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’).
The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.

der

(by extension) An apartment, room, etc., on such an intermediate floor.


gemot

Learned borrowing from Old English ġemōt (“meeting, council, moot, encounter”).

lbor

I have spoken to Veedron, a member of one of Trellisane's many gemots, or ruling councils.

1984, David Dvorkin, The Trellisane Confrontation


doolally

en-adj

doolally (comparative more doolally, superlative most doolally)

more doolally (comparative)
most doolally (superlative)

From doolally tap (“camp fever; (by extension) eccentricity; madness”), with doolally interpreted as an adjective. Doolally is derived from the Deolali transit camp, a former British army camp about 100 miles (160 kilometres) northeast of Bombay, India, used as a transit station for soldiers awaiting transport back to Britain; while tap (“Indian malarial fever”) is from Persian or Urdu تب (tab, “malarial fever”), ultimately from Sanskrit ताप (tāpa, “fever; heat; pain, torment”).

noncog

You are there to entertain. Education is something we like doing. That's not actually the biggest thing on the night, when people are queuing to get in and paying their money. They want to go doolally to their favourite records.

1999 May 13, Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, quoting Pete Tong, “Pete Tong: Essential Selector: Interviewed by Bill and Frank in London, May 13, 1999”, in The Record Players: The Story of Dance Music Told by History’s Greatest DJs, London: Virgin Books, published 2012, page 424

'I've never had a pet before,' Darkus gazed happily at Baxter [a beetle]. 'Thank you.' / 'That's all right, lad.' Uncle Max threw his hands up in defeat. 'I can hardly say no, when I know Barty would say yes.' / Darkus looked up, surprised. 'He would?' / 'Of course! A handsome hexapod like this? He'd be doolally about it!'

2016, M. G. Leonard [pseudonym; Maya Gabrielle], “The Entomology Vaults”, in Beetle Boy, Frome, Somerset: Chicken House, page 49

Australia went doolally for the visit: the Queen [Elizabeth II] waved away flies in 57 towns over 58 days; inspected an endless row of sheeps' arses in Wagga; ate Australia-shaped sandwiches with Vegemite borders at a reception in Rockhampton; and said hello to a bedridden woman in Hobart who was trundled four miles for the meeting.

2021, Kaz Cooke, “Sit Down & Shoosh”, in You’re Doing It Wrong: A History of Bad & Bonkers Advice to Women, [Hawthorn, Vic.]: Viking, page 35

(by extension) Carried away by enjoyment, excitement, etc.

ဟွံပေင်ဒကေဝ်

carried away by enjoyment, excitement, etc.


invasive

en-adj

invasive (comparative more invasive, superlative most invasive)

more invasive (comparative)
most invasive (superlative)

PIE word
 *h₁én
The adjective is derived from Middle English invasif (“of a weapon: offensive”), from Middle French invasif, Old French invasif (“invasive”) (modern French invasif), from Medieval Latin invāsīvus, from Latin invāsus (“entered; invaded”) + -īvus (suffix forming adjectives). Invāsus is the perfect passive participle of invādō (“to enter; to invade”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside’) + vādō (“to go; to rush; to walk”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weh₂dʰ- (“to go, proceed; to pass, traverse”)).
The noun is derived from the adjective.

der

It's wrong of me to ask such an invasive question when I keep so many secrets hidden from you.

2008 October, Leanne Smith, chapter 21, in Silent Mysteries: Discover the Mystery of Kara …, Chepachet, R.I.: Leanne Elise Smith, page 396

Intrusive on one's privacy, rights, sphere of activity, etc.

invasiu

intrusive on one’s privacy, rights, sphere of activity, etc.

an invasive species

(biology) Of an animal or plant: that grows (especially uncontrollably) in environments which do not harbour natural enemies, often to the detriment of native species or of food or garden flora and fauna.

غَازٍ

of an animal or plant: that grows (especially uncontrollably) in environments which do not harbour natural enemies

The natural evolution of minimally invasive surgery has taken the surgeon to new heights and has extended the breadth of laparoscopic surgery to include procedures of the colon.

1995, Constantine T. Frantzides, Laparoscopic and Thoracoscopic Surgery, St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby, page 135

(medicine, surgery) Of a procedure: involving the entry of an instrument into part of the body.

ինվազիվ

of a procedure: involving the entry of an instrument into part of the body

Two patients developed cancer in the upper urinary tract, and 3 eventually developed invasive cancer.

1982, William W. Bonney, George R. Prout, Jr., editors, Bladder Cancer: American Urological Association Seminar on Bladder Cancer, Chicago, Illinois, April 1980 (AUA Monographs; 1), Baltimore, Md.: Williams & Wilkins, page 162

(pathology) Of a carcinoma or other abnormal growth: that invades healthy tissue, especially rapidly.


seminary

From Latin sēminārium, from sēmen (“seed”). Compare seminar. In the ground sense, from Middle English semynair, semynary.

Seeing then there is indeed a twofold Seminary or stock in nature, from whence are deriv’d the issues of love and hatred distinctly flowing through the whole masse of created things, and that Gods doing ever is to bring the due likenesses and harmonies of his workes together, except when out of two contraries met to their own destruction, he moulds a third existence, and that it is error, or some evil Angel which either blindly or maliciously hath drawn together in two persons ill imbarkt in wedlock the sleeping discords and enmities of nature lull’d on purpose with some false bait, that they may wake to agony and strife, later then prevention could have wisht, if from the bent of just and honest intentions beginning what was begun, and so continuing, all that is equall, all that is fair and possible hath been tri’d, and no accommodation likely to succeed, what folly is it still to stand combating and battering against invincible causes and effects, with evill upon evill, till either the best of our dayes be linger’d out, or ended with some speeding sorrow.

1643, John Milton, Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce

(by extension) The place or original stock from which anything is brought or produced.


etiolated

en-adj

etiolated (comparative more etiolated, superlative most etiolated)

more etiolated (comparative)
most etiolated (superlative)

From etiolate + -ed (suffix forming adjectives); modelled after French étiolé, the past participle of étioler (“to become pale and weak, etiolate”), from Norman étieuler (“to become plant stalks left over after harvesting to be used as fodder or for thatching”), probably from éteule (“plant stalks left over after harvesting, stubble”) + -er (suffix forming verbs). Éteule is derived from Old French esteule (“straw”), from Latin stipula (“plant stalk; plant stalk left over after harvesting, stubble; straw”), from Proto-Italic *stipelā, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steyp- (“to be stiff; erect”).

der

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-etiolated.wav

Birds inhabiting desert regions have an etiolated appearance.

It is also to be noticed that men who spend their days in the most sedentary occupations, and often in a most confined atmosphere, do not suffer from this pain of the side as women so confined and so occupied do. [...] Tailors, again, who often work under conditions not very dissimilar from those of milliners and dressmakers, and often get almost similarly ætiolated, do not suffer from this form of pain as these latter do.

1867 July 20, Peter Eade, “Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. Clinical Remarks on Neuralgic Pain lf the Side.”, in The Medical Times and Gazette. A Journal of Medical Science, Literature, Criticism, and News, volume II, number 890, London: John Churchill and Sons, […], →OCLC, page 65, column 1

(by extension) Of an animal or person: having an ashen or pale appearance; also, haggard or thin; physically weak.


Eden

en-noun

Eden (countable and uncountable, plural Edens)

From Hebrew עֵדֶן (eden), perhaps from Sumerian 𒂔 (edin, “steppe, garden”).

The first explorers saw America as an Eden.

(by extension, countable) A paradise on Earth.

(by extension, uncountable) A state of innocence.


trample

en-verb

trample (third-person singular simple present tramples, present participle trampling, simple past and past participle trampled)

tramples (present singular third-person)
trampling (participle present)
trampled (participle past)
trampled (past)

From Middle English trample, from tramp + -le (frequentative).
Attested in the original sense 'walk heavily' since early 14th century.

(by extension) To treat someone harshly.

(by extension) To cause emotional injury as if by trampling.

trampe

(intransitive) to cause emotional injury as if by trampling


fish bowl

(by extension) Any place or event that lacks privacy or is intensely scrutinized.


hearthstone

/ˈhɑːθstəʊn/

I am going to my own hearth-stone, / Bosomed in yon green hills alone,

1846, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Good-Bye, line 15

The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearth-stone, all over this broad land

1861, Abraham Lincoln, First inaugural address

The denominational relations of a household will shape the future political positions of the young men growing around the hearth-stone, just as they did those of their fathers

1876, Richard J. Hinton, English Radical Leaders, page 55


byway

From Middle English bywey, equivalent to by- + way.

Though his account of written communication over the past 5,000 years necessarily has a powerful forward momentum, his diversions down the fascinating byways of the subject are irresistible ...

2013 September 14, Jane Shilling, “The Golden Thread: the Story of Writing, by Ewan Clayton, review [print edition: Illuminating language]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review), page R29

(by extension) a little-known or arcane field of study or detail.


by the book

(idiomatic, by extension) In a manner which appears too studied, ritualized, and therefore artificial.


parturient

en-adj

parturient (comparative more parturient, superlative most parturient)

more parturient (comparative)
most parturient (superlative)

Borrowed from Latin parturiēns, present participle of parturiō (“I am in labour”).

(by extension) About to create a new product, or float a new idea.


inoculate

en-verb

inoculate (third-person singular simple present inoculates, present participle inoculating, simple past and past participle inoculated)

inoculates (present singular third-person)
inoculating (participle present)
inoculated (participle past)
inoculated (past)

From Middle English inoculate, from Latin inoculātus, perfect passive participle of inoculō (“ingraft an eye or bud of one plant into (another), implant”), from in (“in”) + oculus (“an eye”).

(transitive, by extension) To safeguard or protect something as if by inoculation.


love-in

The summer in between wasn't a total love-in of hugs and sweet family times, for us and other families.

2018, Carol Kuykendall, Krista Gilbert, Give Them Wings: Preparing for the Time Your Teen Leaves Home

(by extension, colloquial) A situation characterized by (possibly insincere) friendship and affection.


fossilize

fossilize (third-person singular simple present fossilizes, present participle fossilizing, simple past and past participle fossilized)

fossilizes (present singular third-person)
fossilizing (participle present)
fossilized (participle past)
fossilized (past)

(figurative, by extension, intransitive) To become inflexible or outmoded.

I'll meet you again
Blanketed in soil
Fossilized in photographs

2013, Days N' Daze (lyrics and music), “Blue Jays”, in Rogue Taxidermy

(figurative, by extension, transitive) To make antiquated, rigid, or fixed; to deaden.


leitmotif

From German Leitmotiv (“leading motif”), from leiten (“to lead”) + Motiv (“motif”), originally used to describe Wagnerian opera.

People have pointed out the influence of Wagner’s music on my work. Certainly I do not disclaim this influence. In particular, I followed Wagner in the use of the leitmotif, which I carried over into the work of language.

1953 January, Thomas E. Mann, “The Making of "The Magic Mountain"”, in The Atlantic

If one looks for a pattern in the political life of John Connally, one finds a leitmotif of scandals which threatened but never destroyed his career.

1975 October 27, Aaron Latham, “John Connally on the Comeback Road”, in New York, volume 8, number 43, page 48

Mann's adaptation of Wagner's technique and its development throughout his writing is analysed, including how Mann uses the leitmotif in a naturalistic, characterising and mechanical sense in Buddenbrooks, attaching it to persons and situations as etiquettes.

2009, David Gallagher, Metamorphosis, Rodopi, page 183

Such language about an American president from a European ally would have been unthinkable before Mr. Trump made outrage the leitmotif of his presidency, along with an assault on truth.

2021 January 19, Roger Cohen, “Trump Bequeaths Biden an Upended World”, in The New York Times, →ISSN


lifespan

壽命

The virtual enterprise forum developed several "classical" management functions for which resources were available throughout its lifespan.

2002, Luis M Camarinha-Matos, Collaborative business ecosystems and virtual enterprises

The reactor, located in the city of Fuqing city in China’s southeastern Fujian province, was designed to have a 60-year lifespan, with its core equipment domestically produced.

2021 January 30, “China’s first Hualong One nuclear reactor begins operations”, in AP News, archived from the original on 2021-01-30

(by extension) The length of time for which something exists or is current, valid, or usable.


resounding

en-adj

resounding (comparative more resounding, superlative most resounding)

more resounding (comparative)
most resounding (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-resounding.wav

We had a resounding win against the rival team.

On this assessment, whatever one's personal criticisms, the Southern Region's booklet Want to Run a Railway? must be acknowledged a resounding success.

1963 February, “Nobody runs this railway, mate”, in Modern Railways, page 73

Mr. Serra has managed to coax two legendary European actors out of retirement for the production: 79-year-old Ingrid Caven, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s wife and muse, plays an exiled French duchess and notorious libertine, and 73-year-old Helmut Berger, who appeared in several of Luchino Visconti’s films, takes the role of a freethinking German duke. But despite the big names attached, “Liberté” is a resounding failure.

2018 March 1, A. J. Goldmann, “Revolution’s the Rage in German Theaters. But Don’t Expect Utopia.”, in New York Times


tinderbox

From tinder + box, first use appears c. 1530, in the writings of John Palsgrave.

And then came the night that made America famous / Was it carelessness or someone's sick idea of a joke? / In the tinderbox trap that we hippies lived in, someone struck a spark

1974, Harry Chapin (lyrics and music), “What Made America Famous”, in Verities & Balderdash

Think of your blank journal as a tinderbox, a box for holding combustible materials, ready to catch fire when you sit down to work.

2010, L. K. Ludwig, Creative Wildfire: An Introduction to Art Journaling, page 30

(by extension) A place that is so dry and hot that there is danger of fire.


gobble up

en-verb

gobble up (third-person singular simple present gobbles up, present participle gobbling up, simple past and past participle gobbled up)

gobbles up (present singular third-person)
gobbling up (participle present)
gobbled up (participle past)
gobbled up (past)

The city grew over the years by gobbling up land around its limits.

(by extension, figurative) To continually absorb or expand through annexation.


Black Friday

From black (“bad; ill-omened; marked by disaster”). Friday is an ill-omened day according to ancient superstition, so a Friday that was darkened by another ill-omen (such as being the 13th) or an actual disaster became known as "Black Friday". Philadelphia police applied the term to the day after Thanksgiving because the large number of people out shopping made traffic chaotic. Later, PR efforts purposely invented the incorrect, more positive "etymology" (which is a very popular urban legend and false etymology that was even in Wiktionary from 2008 to 2015) that the name was given because this day is supposedly the first day of the year on which retailers typically posted profits ('in the black') rather than losses ('in the red').

en:busy sales weekend after US Thanksgiving, metonymically

(by extension) The sales period involving heavy price reductions immediately following US Thanksgiving Day, from Friday (the original Black Friday) through Monday (Cyber Monday).


nectar

en-noun

nectar (countable and uncountable, plural nectars)

From Latin nectar, from Ancient Greek νέκταρ (néktar, “nourishment of the gods”), from Proto-Indo-European *neḱ- (“perish, disappear”) + *-tr̥h₂ (“overcoming”), from *terh₂- (“to overcome, pass through, cross over”).

der

(by extension) Any delicious drink, now especially a type of sweetened fruit juice.


eschaton

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἔσχατον (éskhaton, “last thing”), from the neuter singular of ἔσχατος (éskhatos, “last”).

bor+

He, too, constructs a philosophical history towards an eschaton. In a peculiarly inverted manner he is among the believers in progress—the goal being the undoing of the things done.

1949 December, Helmut Kuhn, “[Review of Karl Löwith, Meaning in History: The Theological Implications of the Philosophy of History]”, in The Journal of Philosophy, volume 46, number 25, →JSTOR, page 825

The most major of these eschatons involves the 65-million-year Cenozoic era, which began with the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event that decimated the dinosaurs and is now closing with another mass extinction event.

2011, Darrin Drda, The Four Global Truths: Awakening to the Peril and Promise of Our Times, page 152

From predictions of an imminent technological eschaton to theologically inflected ideas of human perfectibility achieved through technological means, there is ample warrant to see transhumanism as culturally other.

2016, J. Benjamin Hurlbut, Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, “Introduction: Technology, Utopianism and Eschatology”, in J. Benjamin Hurlbut, Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, editors, Perfecting Human Futures: Transhuman Visions and Technological Imaginations, page 10

(by extension) An end or fulfilment of history in general.


shearwater

Macronesian shearwater

Puffinus lherminieri baroli or Puffinus baroli

Persian shearwater

Puffinus lherminieri persicus or Puffinus persicus

tropical shearwater

Puffinus lherminieri bailloni or Puffinus bailloni

(by extension) Any of the entire family Procellariidae, including certain of the petrels.


go over

en-verb

go over (third-person singular simple present goes over, present participle going over, simple past went over, past participle gone over)

goes over (present singular third-person)
going over (participle present)
went over (past)
gone over (participle past)

He went over to the finance department's side in this dispute.

(intransitive, by extension) To convert or switch sides.


homespun

our homespun authors must forsake the field

1707, Joseph Addison, Prologue to Phaedra and Hippolitus (spoken by Mr. Wilkes, written by Edmund Smith)

The McCains, by contrast, dole out such homespun wisdom as "in Arizona, the only way to get around the state is by small private plane" and understand that in this crazy modern world where the typical family owns eleven homes and spends hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on household staff, you can't possibly expect transportation alternatives to gain popularity.

2008 July 15, Matthew Yglesias, “Obama's Elitism Problem, Continued”, in The Atlantic

(by extension) Plain and homely; unsophisticated and unpretentious.


hagiographic

en-adj

hagiographic (comparative more hagiographic, superlative most hagiographic)

more hagiographic (comparative)
most hagiographic (superlative)

/ˈhæɡioʊˌɡɹæfɪk/

“Chairman Xi is a world leader. His book on governance has sold out in many countries across the world,” Zhong gushed, parroting the unashamedly hagiographic bulletins in which the party news agency Xinhua excels.

2017 October 14, Tom Phillips, “Chairman Xi crushes dissent but poor believe he’s making China great”, in The Observer

(by extension) Uncritically reverent; adulating.


Pauline conversion

en-noun

Pauline conversion (plural Pauline conversions)

(by extension) any life-changing event in which one's views are significantly altered


bird's-eye view

bird's-eye view (plural bird's-eye views)

(by extension) A general overview or summary of a topic.


custard

custard (countable and uncountable, plural custards)

奶黄

thick egg custard filling in Chinese steamed buns

Vanillesoße

usually does but need not contain vanilla

all over the place like a mad woman's custard

(by extension) A similar sauce made from milk and cornflour or custard powder (and usually sugar, and sometimes vanilla or other flavourings) and thickened by heat.


colonialism

colonialism (countable and uncountable, plural colonialisms)

(by extension, derogatory) Any form of foreign influence seen as undesirable.


blowsabella

18th-century Great Britain. From a character in John Gay's 1714 poem The Shepherd's Week.

(obsolete, by extension) A hot-tempered, unjustifiably angry woman, usually stereotyped as a red-haired Irish maidservant.

"I declare I have not been able to get a single glance in the glass, and I am sure I shall look a regular Blouzabella," remarked a sparkling brunette.

1850, Marguerite Gardiner, Country Quarters, volume 1, page 145

(obsolete, by extension) A disheveled woman; a slattern.

It is the way of the world. It is just as well Polly is faithless. If it were otherwise, she would very likely break her heart for him.¶ And deep down in his muddled mind he knows that stately ship as the symbol of his first love, a love more cruel in her way than this poor Blowsabella of Paradise Street, a love whose gifts are hardship, and cold, and peril in great waters—yet to whom, while breath is in his body, he will continually return.

1923, Cicely Fox Smith, Sailor Town Days, page 137

(obsolete, by extension) A promiscuous woman or prostitute.


fusillade

From French fusillade, from fusiller (“shoot with a firearm”), from fusil (“rifle, gun”).

But her husband was on his hands and knees groping wildly on the floor in search of the paw. If he could only find it before the thing outside got in. A perfect fusillade of knocks reverberated through the house, and he heard the scraping of a chair as his wife put it down in the passage against the door.


stopped

en-adj

stopped (comparative more stopped, superlative most stopped)

more stopped (comparative)
most stopped (superlative)

From stop + -ed. In some senses, the adjective follows from the verb; in others, it may derive directly from the noun stop.

even a stopped clock is right twice a day

A stopped clock is right twice a day.

(more generally) In the state resulting from having stopped.


fustigation

en-noun

fustigation (countable and uncountable, plural fustigations)


Hell's Kitchen

(by extension) Any neighborhood with a reputation for poverty and crime.


armlock

2012, The Economist, Sep 29th 2012 issue, Venezuela’s presidential election: The autocrat and the ballot box
Mr Chávez remains a formidable opponent. […] He has an armlock on the country’s institutions.

(figuratively, by extension) Power to control or heavily influence something or someone.


jukebox

1939, juke (“roadside café”) + box, replacing older collocational terms such as nickel-in-a-slot phonograph, coin-in-the-slot phonograph, and coin-operated phonograph.

Before you export a movie to tape, double-check the following: Make sure all unnecessary programs are closed, including your e-mail program, MP3 jukebox, and Web browser.

2011, Keith Underdahl, Adobe Premiere Pro For Dummies

(computing, by extension) A software application capable of replaying tracks from a digital music collection.


jukebox

en-verb

jukebox (third-person singular simple present jukeboxes, present participle jukeboxing, simple past and past participle jukeboxed)

jukeboxes (present singular third-person)
jukeboxing (participle present)
jukeboxed (participle past)
jukeboxed (past)

Foamy-chopped dogs frisk the pavements for barf-free kebab or hot dropped fry, mobiles trilling de-daw-de-dee theme tunes, their birdsong jukeboxing the cigarette air as rain falls from a plum sky ...

2007, Alan A. Gillis, Hawks and doves, page 18

Another one of her sister's old records jukeboxed on in her head.

2012, Steven Wishnia, When the Drumming Stops

(by extension) To play or repeat as if on a jukebox.


godhead

en-noun

godhead (countable and uncountable, plural godheads)

Inherited from Middle English godhede, equivalent to god + -head (“-hood”). First attested in the Ancrene Wisse (ca. 1225); compare godhood and Dutch godheid as well as German Gottheit.

He pauses, as if hesitant to mention the godhead of computer design aloud, and adds, "Maybe even something Apple would be interested in."

2007 June, Gregory Mone, “Invention: A New Breed of Mouse”, in Popular Science, volume 270, number 6, archived from the original on 2011-12-17, page 56

(by extension) An admired or influential person or entity.


Jell-O

Trademarked by Pearle Bixby Wait and named by his wife, May Wait. From gelatin and jelly, following a then relatively popular trend to add “O” to the end of products.

The store brand Jell-O is just as good and one third the price.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:Jell-O.

(by extension) Any brand of fruit flavored gelatin dessert mix.


defrock

en-verb

defrock (third-person singular simple present defrocks, present participle defrocking, simple past and past participle defrocked)

defrocks (present singular third-person)
defrocking (participle present)
defrocked (participle past)
defrocked (past)

From French défroquer, from dé- + froc. By surface analysis, de- + frock.

There are refugees and black marketers, defrocked bankers and resistance fighters, gamblers, floozies, French colonial policemen, American and Spanish entertainers, and, eventually, Nazi officers (who in reality never set foot in Casablanca).

2012 March 19, David Denby, “Everybody Comes to Rick’s: “Casablanca” on the Big Screen”, in The New Yorker

(by extension) To formally remove the rights and authority of someone, e.g. a government official or a medical practitioner.


disciplinarian

/dɪsɪplɪˈnɛəɹɪən/

From discipline + -arian or disciplinary + -an.

(by extension) One who believes in discipline as a tool for regulation or control.


christen

christen (third-person singular simple present christens, present participle christening, simple past and past participle christened)

christens (present singular third-person)
christening (participle present)
christened (participle past)
christened (past)

From Middle English cristenen, cristnien, from Old English cristnian (“to christen, baptise”), from cristen (“Christen, Christian”) + -nian. Cognate with Dutch kerstenen (“to christen”), Middle Low German kristenen, kerstenen, karstenen (“to christen”), Danish kristne (“to christen”) Swedish kristna (“to christen”), Icelandic kristna (“to christen”).

inh

I christen this ship the Bonny Barnacle.

1684-1690, Thomas Burnet, Sacred Theory of the Earth
Christen the thing what you will.


dipsomania

en-noun

dipsomania (countable and uncountable, plural dipsomanias)

From dipso- (“thirst; drinking”) + -mania.

A most ingenuous youth was Master Snape, round-eyed, round-cheeked, with an ever ready smooth and round unvarnished tale—a youth afflicted with a dipsomania for information.

1883 November 10, Basil [pseudonym; Richard Ashe King], “A Drawn Game”, in Charles Dickens, editor, All the Year Round, volume XXXII, number 780, page 507, column 1

Such a negative outcome seemed impossible to investors experiencing dot-com dipsomania in late 1999 and early 2000.

2010, Scott Patterson, The Quants: How a Small Band of Math Wizards Took Over Wall St. And Nearly Destroyed It, New York, N.Y.: Crown Business, pages 199–200

(by extension) A strong craving for something.


instantiation

instantiation (countable and uncountable, plural instantiations)

20th-century coinage from instantiate + -ion, itself coined 1946 from instance + -ate. The latter, in the sense "a case, an example", from Middle English instance, from Medieval Latin īnstantia (“a being near, presence; also perseverance, earnestness, importunity, urgency”), from Latin īnstāns (“urgent”); see English instant.

der

object-oriented programming
object-oriented programming

(by extension, object-oriented programming) Creation of an instance of some class or template.


whisperer

From whisper + -er. The extended senses were popularized by the film The Horse Whisperer (1998).

dog whisperer

hormone whisperer

'Cause I hear you've been worse than usual this morning and I didn't think that was possible. So I've been dispatched to be the Steve whisperer.

2015, Aaron Sorkin, Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs, spoken by John Sculley (Jeff Daniels)

Among my coworkers, I'd been developing a reputation as a boss-whisperer, in part due to the success of my unusual negotiation strategy, and as of that week, the unexpected success of the billboard.

2020, Emily Segal, Mercury Retrograde, New York: Deluge Books

These include Steve Davies, The Boring Company CEO, and Omead Afshar, who once led Tesla's Gigafactory in Austin and is nicknamed “the Elon whisperer”.

2023 September 30, Hannah Murphy, “The wildest job in Silicon Valley”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 18

(figurative, by extension) Someone who has an uncanny ability to control or manipulate a certain thing or person; an expert or guru in a particular field or subject


Anglophile

(by extension) A person who loves or admires the country, culture or people of the United Kingdom.


Anglophile

(by extension) British loving; admiring British culture.