April 2018 – WOTDs

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April 2018 WOTDs

30 April 2018

billet-doux

[bil-ey-doo, bil-ee-; French bee-yey-doo]

noun, plural billets-doux [bil-ey-dooz, bil-ee-; French bee-yey-doo] (Show IPA)

1. a love letter.

Origin of billet-doux

1665-1675; < French: literally, sweet note. See billet1, douce

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for billet-doux

Historical Examples

He summoned me into his study, where I saw my billet-doux lying on the table.
Tom, Dick and Harry
Talbot Baines Reed

A papal excommunication is a billet-doux compared to the Commination of Jugana.
The Lock And Key Library
Various

Excuse me, Mr. Coates, I must have a peep at her ladyship’s billet-doux.
Rookwood
William Harrison Ainsworth

They receive a challenge like a ” billet-doux,” and a home-thrust as a favour.
Thackerayana
William Makepeace Thackeray

Twenty to seven,—seven oclock they were due at the billet-doux.
Twos and Threes
G. B. Stern

It cannot be that Belinda then saw for the first time a billet-doux.
The Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 2 (of 10)
Alexander Pope

Oh, you have not heard of the billet-doux that Schwarzfelder has written you?
In Hostile Red
Joseph Altsheler

“Why, then, you must swear the billet-doux miscarried,” answered the Duke.
Peveril of the Peak
Sir Walter Scott

He could not write a common answer to a dinner invitation without its assuming the tone of a billet-doux.
Art in England
Dutton Cook

Sir Philip was actually reading Miss Luttridge’s billet-doux aloud when the black entered the library.
Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth

Anagram

bled oil tux
diet bull ox

29 April 2018

firmament

[fur-muh-muh nt]

noun

1. the vault of heaven; sky.

Origin of firmament

Middle English, Late Latin

1250-1300; Middle English < Late Latin firmāmentum sky, Latin: support, prop, stay, equivalent to firmā(re) to strengthen, support (see firm2) + -mentum -ment

Related forms

firmamental [fur-muh-men-tl], adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for firmament

Contemporary Examples

The reader leaves with a better sense of the firmament and frontline fights occurring in the current independent movement.
Political Independents: The Future of Politics?
John Avlon
September 23, 2012

But his disappearance from the Washington firmament does not mean that the work he used to do is being left undone.
David’s Book Club: ‘Capitol Punishment’
David Frum
March 23, 2012

Historical Examples

But now came a cloud which swallowed every other in my firmament.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald

The troop of the stars was posted in the immeasurable deeps of the firmament.
A Spirit in Prison
Robert Hichens

In the great days, presentiments hover before me in the firmament.
Essays, First Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson

In all the firmament of poetry there was no star to outshine his.
William Shakespeare
Samuel Levy Bensusan

The firmament rang with laughter as the other candidates panted up.
Dreamers of the Ghetto
I. Zangwill

It looks to me like the firmament at night, with all the stars a-shining.
The Long Roll
Mary Johnston

It gave the appearance of a grating in the firmament, a small dungeon grating.
The Long Roll
Mary Johnston

Again the tenor and chorus in a brief number describe the firmament.
The Standard Oratorios
George P. Upton

Anagram

Mr mean fit
met in farm

28 April 2018

ursitory

The Ursitory (“white women” also known as Ursitori, Oursitori, Ursitele, Urbitele, Urditele, Osatorele, Ursoi, Ursoni or Urmen, Uremi, Ourmes) are a group of three fairies or female spirits of fate in Romani folklore. Two of them are good spirits, while one tries to harm people. Their queen is Matuya, who makes use of gigantic birds called the charana.

These fairies became more widely known by the novel “The Ursitory” written by Matéo Maximoff in 1938 and first published in 1946. According to him, the Ursitory are three angels of fate, the good angel, the bad angel and the impartial angel of reason, who decide about the fate of the baby on the third day after its birth. On that day, the mother places three pieces of bread and three glasses of wine in a circle around the child for the ursitory. Then she whispers the child’s real name, which is according to some traditions kept secret against the father and the children themselves until they become adults, because the name represents power.

Wikipedia

Contemporary examples

Whether the ursitory allowed my brother to choose wisely, or like a fool.
The Nostradamus Prophecies
Mario Reading

Anagram

I try sour

27 April 2018

tontine

[ton-teen, ton-teen]

noun

1. an annuity scheme in which subscribers share a common fund with the benefit of survivorship, the survivors’ shares being increased as the subscribers die, until the whole goes to the last survivor.
2. the annuity shared.
3. the share of each subscriber.
4. the number of subscribers.
5. any of various forms of life insurance in which the chief beneficiaries are those whose policies are in force at the end of a specified period (tontine period)

Origin of tontine

French

1755-1765; < French; named after Lorenzo Tonti, Neapolitan banker who started the scheme in France about 1653. See -ine1

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for tontine

Historical Examples

When it was discovered that Loka was nowhere in the immediate vicinity, tontine was furious.
Bayou Folk
Kate Chopin

The suspense over, tontine began to cry; that followed naturally, of course.
Bayou Folk
Kate Chopin

They were to shut the gates of the tontine, and barricade them with the coaches.
The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 2/2
Camden Pelham

Anagram

eon tint

26 April 2018

kohl

[kohl]

noun

1. a powder, as finely powdered antimony sulfide, used as a cosmetic to darken the eyelids, eyebrows, etc.

Origin of kohl

Arabic

1790-1800; < Arabic kohl, variant of kuhl. See alcohol

Can be confused

coal, koel, kohl.

Examples from the Web for kohl

Contemporary Examples

Her eyes were exaggerated with thick lines of kohl reaching all the way to her temples.
Nepal Old and New: Kathmandu Valley’s Royal Cities Get a Facelift
Condé Nast Traveler
August 19, 2013

Earlier this month, Ryan wore a $70 printed dress from kohl ‘s when Ryan’s candidacy was announced.
Janna Ryan’s Discount Style: Two Talbots Dresses at The Republican National Convention
Isabel Wilkinson
August 31, 2012

Touches of individuality make a fleeting impression—a dash of kohl and turquoise on a heavily cloaked face.
Afghan Women Fear Backsliding As President Karzai Negotiates With Taliban
Magsie Hamilton-Little
February 19, 2012

Merkel first broke kohl ‘s promise in May 2010, with the first $150 billion bailout of Greece.
Is Europe’s Troubled Marriage Doomed?
Stefan Theil
November 6, 2011

His eyes were black with kohl, the nightcolored cosmetic that Taliban soldiers wore.
When Everything Changed
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
March 11, 2011

Historical Examples

Her lustrous eyes, heavy with kohl, shone like those of a beast at bay.
Halima And The Scorpions
Robert Hichens

Mr kohl commences his work with a description of the Islands.
Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 374, December, 1846
Various

Surely, Mr kohl, you do not speak from knowledge of the fact!
Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 374, December, 1846
Various

If you do not approve of their fashions in dress, I suppose that you will adopt their kohl for the eyes.
Letters to an Unknown
Prosper Mrime

Take your pencils and your kohl, and make me dark and tanned as a true Syrian!
God Wills It!
William Stearns Davis

25 April 2018

behoof

[bih-hoof]

noun, plural behooves [bih-hoovz]

1. use; advantage; benefit:
The money was spent for his own behoof

Origin of behoof

Middle English, Old English
1000 before 1000; Middle English behove, Old English behōf profit, need; cognate with Dutch behoef, German Behuf

behoove
[bih-hoov] (chiefly in impersonal use)

Spell Syllables

verb (used with object), behooved, behooving.
1. to be necessary or proper for, as for moral or ethical considerations; be incumbent on:
It behooves the court to weigh evidence impartially.
2. to be worthwhile to, as for personal profit or advantage:
It would behoove you to be nicer to those who could help you.
verb (used without object), behooved, behooving.
3. Archaic. to be needful, proper, or due:
Perseverance is a quality that behooves in a scholar.

Origin

before 900; Middle English behoven, Old English behōfian to need ( behōf behoof + -ian infinitive suffix)

Synonyms

2. benefit, advantage, serve, better, advance; suit, befit, beseem.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for behoof

Contemporary Examples

I will still say that it behooves us not to forget that Morsi was no democrat.
Coming Clean on Egypt
Michael Tomasky
August 15, 2013

Given that said government is now spending almost a quarter of our annual income, it behooves us to keep an eye on it.
Is DC Real Estate Headed Up or Down?
Megan McArdle
October 23, 2012

Historical Examples

And so, my lads, it behooves us to be cautious with a very great caution.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler

It behooves me all the more to see to it that I am not duped in the end.
Casanova’s Homecoming
Arthur Schnitzler

It behooves the materialists to use language with more precision and accuracy than this.
Life: Its True Genesis
R. W. Wright

We know nothing about it, and, therefore, it behooves us to say nothing.
Homeward Bound
James Fenimore Cooper

It behooves us, gentlemen, to think first of the cities of our King.
Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer
Cyrus Townsend Brady

It behooves us then to acquaint ourselves with these new aspects of the human soul.
Chinese Painters
Raphael Petrucci

For so it behooves a modern parent to behave in the presence of his children.
Red Cap Tales
Samuel Rutherford Crockett

It behooves us to keep close track of our herds and mark them carefully.
The Story of Wool
Sara Ware Bassett

Anagram

hob foe

24 April 2018

aleatory

[ey-lee-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, al-ee-]

adjective

1. Law. depending on a contingent event:
an aleatory contract.
2. of or relating to accidental causes; of luck or chance; unpredictable:
an aleatory element.
3. Music. employing the element of chance in the choice of tones, rests, durations, rhythms, dynamics, etc.

Also, aleatoric [ey-lee-uh-tawr-ik, -tor-, al-ee-]

Origin of aleatory

Latin

1685-1695; < Latin āleātōrius, equivalent to āleātōr- (stem of āleātor gambler ( āle(a) game of chance + -ātor -ator ) + -ius adj. suffix; see -tory1

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for aleatory

Historical Examples

At best the actor’s is an aleatory profession and, as in all games of chance, the losses score highest.
My Actor-Husband
Anonymous

Some are aleatory, but the light-minded or interested alone call them so.
Decadence and Other Essays on the Culture of Ideas
Remy de Gourmont

This was the aleatory element in life, the element of risk and loss, good or bad fortune.
Folkways
William Graham Sumner

Anagram

early oat
royal tea

23 April 2018

wonga

/ˈwɒŋɡə/

noun

1. (Brit, informal) money

Word Origin

possibly from Romany wongar coal

Collins English Dictionary

Examples from the Web for wonga

Historical Examples

A large flight of wonga wonga pigeons were feeding on the seeds of various species of Acacia; we shot two of them.
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia
Ludwig Leichhardt

Anagram

a gown

22 April 2018

spondulicks or spondulix

[spon-doo-liks]

noun, Older Slang.

1. money; cash.

Origin of spondulicks

1855-1860 An Americanism dating back to 1855-60; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for spondulicks

Historical Examples

Suppose I can’t raise the spondulicks in time for the ten train!
Molly Brown’s Orchard Home
Nell Speed

” spondulicks,” said Dicky with a laugh, as the other hesitated for a word.
Blindfolded
Earle Ashley Walcott

“I wonder where he got the spondulicks,” broke in her son Richard.
The Fourth Watch
H. A. Cody

Also it was convincingly true that the ingoing party—its way now made a pacific one—would need the ” spondulicks.”
Cabbages and Kings
O. Henry

Word Origin and History for spondulicks

n.

1856, American English slang, “money, cash,” of unknown origin, said to be from Greek spondylikos, from spondylos, a seashell used as currency (the Greek word means literally “vertebra”). Used by Mark Twain and O. Henry and adopted into British English, where it survives despite having faded in American English.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Anagram

disco plunks
clouds pinks
unsold picks

21 April 2018

acer

/ˈeɪsə/

noun

1. any tree or shrub of the genus Acer, often cultivated for their brightly coloured foliage See also maple

Examples from the Web for acer

Historical Examples

Growing on the outer surface of the bark of acer, Fagus, etc.
The Myxomycetes of the Miami Valley, Ohio
A. P. Morgan

Growing out of fissures of the bark and wood of Hickory, acer, etc.
The Myxomycetes of the Miami Valley, Ohio
A. P. Morgan

The occasional forms in ‘er’ and ‘il’ will have similar power ( acer, basil).
Proserpina, Volume 1
John Ruskin

Anagram

race

20 April 2018

flak or flack

[flak]

noun

1. antiaircraft fire, especially as experienced by the crews of combat airplanes at which the fire is directed.
2. criticism; hostile reaction; abuse:
Such an unpopular decision is bound to draw a lot of flak from the press.

Origin of flak

German

1935-1940; German Fl(ieger)a(bwehr)k(anone) antiaircraft gun, equivalent to Flieger aircraft (literally, flyer) + Abwehr defense + Kanone gun, cannon

Can be confused

flack, flak.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for flak

Contemporary Examples

It felt to me like a plane flying through the flak of an economy.
F-111: Death-Dealing, Pop-Art Masterpiece
Nicolaus Mills
October 15, 2014

You fired off a tweet about ISIS recently that got you some flak.
Bill Maher: ‘Sorry J. Law, We’re Going to Have to Look at Your Nipples…’
Marlow Stern
September 10, 2014

They looked younger now than when weighed down in camouflage, flak jackets and helmets.
Shakeup In the Ukraine Rebel High Command
Jamie Dettmer
August 15, 2014

When NYC Prep premiered, it got a lot of flak for the sheer gall of its unreality.
The Surreal Genius of Bravo’s Rich Kids Docudrama ‘NYC Prep’
Amy Zimmerman
April 23, 2014

He was bare armed under a protective jacket a jail official termed “a kind of flak jacket.”
Ex-Cop’s Shooting of Texting Moviegoer Ends in Tragedy
Michael Daly
January 15, 2014

Historical Examples

Sim’s ship had picked up a small piece of flak, but it had done no damage.
A Yankee Flier Over Berlin
Al Avery

Stan laid over and made a sweep, ducking in and out of the flak.
A Yankee Flier Over Berlin
Al Avery

Over the estuary of the Rhine River Stan met his first flak.
A Yankee Flier Over Berlin
Al Avery

I’ll take you right down on top of them, and nuts to their flak fire.
Dave Dawson at Truk
Robert Sydney Bowen

We never worried about the flak much because we could normally avoid it.
The Biography of a Rabbit
Roy Benson

19 April 2018

inroad

[in-rohd]

noun

1. a damaging or serious encroachment:
inroads on our savings.
2. a sudden hostile or predatory incursion; raid; foray.

Origin of inroad

1540-1550 First recorded in 1540-50; in-1+ road

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for inroad

Historical Examples

At all events, an inroad of careless courage was the consequence.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald

This change and desecration, this inroad of modernness, merely completes its eternity.
The Spirit of Rome
Vernon Lee

They have to repudiate the inroad, and stand by the inroad er.
Following the Equator, Complete
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

18 April 2018

equerry

[ek-wuh-ree, ih-kwer-ee]

noun, plural equerries.

1. an officer of a royal or similar household, charged with the care of the horses.
2. an officer of the British royal household who attends the sovereign or other member of the royal family.

Origin of equerry
Middle French Latin
1520-1530; alteration (influenced by Latin equus horse) of earlier esquiry, escuirie < Middle French escuirie stable, squires collectively, derivative of escuyer squire; see -y3

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for equerry

Historical Examples

Here, then, we found the equerry again, consumed by anxiety.
The Strolling Saint
Raphael Sabatini

The chamberlains and the equerry have departed with their letters of announcement.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 2, August, 1863
Various

Take Martin, the equerry, with you, and three of the grooms.
Graham’s Magazine Vol XXXIII No. 1 July 1848
Various

Holding his captive before him, Damis turned to the equerry.
Giants on the Earth
Sterner St. Paul Meek

He ordered his equerry to offer them his protection, and everything that they might require.
The Frog Prince and Other Stories
Anonymous

The Prince conferred on him the appointment of equerry, with a salary of 300L.
Real Life In London, Volumes I. and II.
Pierce Egan

17 April 2018

abed

[uh-bed]

adverb

1. in bed :
to stay abed late on Sundays.
2. confined to bed.

Origin of abed

Middle English

1200-1300 Middle English word dating back to 1200-1300; See origin at a-1, bed

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for abed

Contemporary Examples

From behind the steering wheel, abed introduced me as a journalist.
The Fourth War: My Lunch with a Jihadi
Elliot Ackerman
January 21, 2014

Abu Hassar began to slowly nod and his gaze moved from abed to me.
The Fourth War: My Lunch with a Jihadi
Elliot Ackerman
January 21, 2014

abed filled his mouth with a piece of the baklava, I needed to get our conversation going.
The Fourth War: My Lunch with a Jihadi
Elliot Ackerman
January 21, 2014

Anagram

bade
bead

16 April 2018

oppugnant

[uh-puhg-nuh nt]

adjective

1. opposing; antagonistic; contrary.

Origin of oppugnant

Latin

1505-1515; < Latin oppugnant- (stem of oppugnāns), present participle of oppugnāre to oppose. See oppugn, -ant

Related forms

oppugnancy, noun

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for oppugnant

Historical Examples

He could have taken another, an oppugnant stand, as many a familiar confederate did.
Abraham Lincoln’s Cardinal Traits;
Clark S. Beardslee

Ant pop gun
to pun pang

15 April 2018

appurtenant

[uh-pur-tn-uh nt]

adjective

1. appertaining or belonging; pertaining.
noun
2. an appurtenance.

Origin of appurtenant

Middle English, Late Latin

1350-1400; Middle English (see appurtenance, -ant ); replacing Middle English apertinent < Late Latin appertinent- (stem of appertinēns, present participle of appertinēre). See ap-1, pertinent

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for appurtenant

Historical Examples

It is my duty to warn you that the property does not produce much revenue; the appurtenant estates are not well kept up.
The White House (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume XII)
Charles Paul de Kock

And its appurtenant projectiles belong to the same branch as in the preceding case.
Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson

Only pieces of land together with the appurtenant territorial waters are alienable parts of territory.
International Law. A Treatise. Volume I (of 2)
Lassa Francis Oppenheim

Waste land (it may be) is given in large quantities, but merely as appurtenant to the profitable core of the gift.
Domesday Book and Beyond
Frederic William Maitland

Has any of your readers met with, or heard of the second short line, appendant and appurtenant to the first?
Notes & Queries, No. 39. Saturday, July 27, 1850
Various

Have the Dalbergs no ghost such as is appurtenant to all well-regulated royal families?
The Colonel of the Red Huzzars
John Reed Scott

A right of pasture attached to land in the way we have described is said to be appendant or appurtenant to such land.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 7
Various

appurtenant to the towns of Karanglan and Pantabangan are a few minor communities, among them Patakgao.
The Negrito and Allied Types in the Philippines and The Ilongot or Ibilao of Luzon
David P. Barrows

Anagram

Apparent nut
pupa entrant
tartan pen up
papa turn net

14 April 2018

antecedent

[an-tuh-seed-nt]

adjective

1. preceding; prior:
an antecedent event.
noun
2. a preceding circumstance, event, object, style, phenomenon, etc.
3. antecedents.
ancestors.
the history, events, characteristics, etc., of one’s earlier life:
Little is known about his birth and antecedents.
4. Grammar. a word, phrase, or clause, usually a substantive, that is replaced by a pronoun or other substitute later, or occasionally earlier, in the same or in another, usually subsequent, sentence. In Jane lost a glove and she can’t find it, Jane is the antecedent of she and glove is the antecedent of it.
5. Mathematics.
the first term of a ratio; the first or third term of a proportion.
the first of two vectors in a dyad.
6. Logic. the conditional element in a proposition, as “Caesar conquered Gaul,” in “If Caesar conquered Gaul, he was a great general.”.

Origin of antecedent

Middle English, Middle French, Latin
1350-1400; Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin antecēdent- (stem of antecēdēns) going before, present participle of antecēdere to antecede; see -ent

Related forms

antecedental [an-tuh-see-den-tl] (Show IPA), adjective
antecedently, adverb

Can be confused

antecedence, antecedents.

Synonyms

1. precursory, preexistent. 2. precursor, forerunner, ancestor.

Antonyms

1. subsequent. 2. successor.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for antecedent

Contemporary Examples

Even online chat rooms have an antecedent in the exchanges of nineteenth-century American telegraph operators.
Social Media is So Old Even the Romans Had It
Nick Romeo
October 25, 2013

Historical Examples

The antecedent of this pronoun had been mentioned for the last time at eight o’clock.
Barnaby Rudge
Charles Dickens

If magnetism be an antecedent factor, magnetism may be its product.
The Machinery of the Universe
Amos Emerson Dolbear

Anagram

net enacted
a decent ten

13 April 2018

mimetic

[mi-met-ik, mahy-]

adjective

1. characterized by, exhibiting, or of the nature of imitation or mimicry:
mimetic gestures.
2. mimic or make-believe.

Anagram

mime tic

12 Arpril 2018

isomorphic

[ahy-suh-mawr-fik]

adjective

1. Biology. different in ancestry, but having the same form or appearance.
2. Chemistry, Crystallography. isomorphous.
3. Mathematics. pertaining to two sets related by an isomorphism.

Origin of isomorphic

1860-1865 First recorded in 1860-65; iso- + -morphic

Related forms

unisomorphic, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for isomorphic

Historical Examples

To-day we should say that they had dealt with isomorphic groups.
The Foundations of Science: Science and Hypothesis, The Value of Science, Science and Method
Henri Poincar

A group may be represented as isomorphic with itself by transforming all its operations by any one of them.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 6
Various

Anagram

I mops choir
chip is moor
I rip smooch

11 April 2018

enfant terrible

[ahn-fahn te-ree-bluh]

noun, plural enfants terribles [ahn-fahn te-ree-bluh]. French.

1. an incorrigible child, as one whose behavior is embarrassing.
2. an outrageously outspoken or bold person who says and does indiscreet or irresponsible things.
3. a person whose work, thought, or lifestyle is so unconventional or avant-garde as to appear revolutionary or shocking.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for enfant terrible

Contemporary Examples

But what happens when the enfant terrible has enfants of her own?
Sarah Silverman on Getting Old and Having Kids
Rebecca Dana
April 19, 2010

At 39, he is no longer young enough to be an enfant terrible, but people still peg him as a kid too cool to grow up.
Spike Jonze’s Wild World
Caryn James
October 6, 2009

Historical Examples

On the literary side of things I am, I fear, a Philistine, or enfant terrible.
Rustic Sounds
Francis Darwin

She was an enfant terrible, whose friends no one knew, who passed for very wise, and whose lines of intrigue were inscrutable.
The Secret of the Night
Gaston Leroux

The argumentative child is scarcely less trying than the enfant terrible.
Collections and Recollections
George William Erskine Russell

The youth laughed, but for the sake of ‘making a trade’ set down his basket and took the ‘ enfant terrible.’
Prudy Keeping House
Sophie May

Of him and of his recruits in South Africa, Churchill spoke with the awful frankness of the enfant terrible.
Real Soldiers of Fortune
Richard Harding Davis

Wedekind, who to the mtier of the artist joins that of the enfant terrible, strains in this play every nerve to shock.
Modernities
Horace Barnett Samuel

The enfant terrible is making papa and mamma alike ridiculous by showing us mamma’s lover, who is lurking behind the screen.
John Leech, His Life and Work, Vol. II (of II)
William Powell Frith

He has always been rather an unknown quantity, and he is regarded by the powers as an enfant terrible.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 1157, March 5, 1898
Various

Anagram

infernal better
internal bereft
elf inn batterer
ten rift enabler

10 April 2018

carpetbag

[kahr-pit-bag]

noun

1. a bag for traveling, especially one made of carpeting.
verb (used without object), carpetbagged, carpetbagging.
2. to journey with little luggage.
3. to act as a carpetbagger.

Slang definitions & phrases for carpetbag

carpetbag

verb

To try to make a good impression (1930s+ Students)

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.

Origin of carpetbag

1820-1830 First recorded in 1820-30; carpet + bag
Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for carpetbag

Historical Examples

When the boy got through, he cast a speculative glance at the carpetbag.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger

The boy shouldered the carpetbag and started in advance, Robert following.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger

I gave him my carpetbag to carry this morning, and he ran away with it.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger

He’s too honest entirely to stale the value of a pin, let alone a carpetbag.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger

For I read on your carpetbag, when we met in the orchard, ‘P. Bug.
The Tale of Mrs. Ladybug
Arthur Scott Bailey

And as he turned to leave her she looked closely at his carpetbag.
The Tale of Mrs. Ladybug
Arthur Scott Bailey

A traveller got out with his carpetbag in his hand, and was shown into the sanded parlour.
My Novel, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

In short, the post-chaise was ordered and the carpetbag packed.
The Caxtons, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

With a whoop of joy, he grabbed up his carpetbag and started for the Vermonter.
Frank Merriwell’s Son
Burt L. Standish

I stood with my shawl and carpetbag in hand, gazing doubtingly on the vehicle.
The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales
Bret Harte

Anagram

bract gape
A bag crept
bag act peg

9 April 2018

orthogonal

[awr-thog-uh-nl]

adjective

1. Mathematics.
Also, orthographic. pertaining to or involving right angles or perpendiculars:
an orthogonal projection.

(of a system of real functions) defined so that the integral of the product of any two different functions is zero.
(of a system of complex functions) defined so that the integral of the product of a function times the complex conjugate of any other function equals zero.

(of two vectors) having an inner product equal to zero.

(of a linear transformation) defined so that the length of a vector under the transformation equals the length of the original vector.

(of a square matrix) defined so that its product with its transpose results in the identity matrix.

2. Crystallography. referable to a rectangular set of axes.

Origin of orthogonal

Late Latin, Greek
1565-1575; obsolete orthogon(ium) right triangle (< Late Latin orthogōnium < Greek orthogṓnion (neuter) right-angled, equivalent to ortho- ortho- + -gōnion -gon ) + -al1

Related forms

orthogonality, noun
orthogonally, adverb

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for orthogonal

Contemporary Examples

Actually, the issue of plural vs. singular is orthogonal to the dilemma she wants to pose.
Responding To Critics Of “On Questioning The Jewish State”
Joseph Levine
March 18, 2013

And that brings up another question about those bacterial targets, the ones that are so orthogonal to human cellular pathways.
Worried About Incurable Tuberculosis? Stand By for Incurable Everything.
Megan McArdle
March 12, 2013

Historical Examples

Velocities in linkages were determined by orthogonal components transferred from link to link.
Kinematics of Mechanisms from the Time of Watt
Eugene S. Ferguson

Anagram

a logo thorn
galoot horn

8 April 2018

exigency

[ek-si-juh n-see, ig-zij-uh n-]

noun, plural exigencies.

1. exigent state or character; urgency.
2. Usually, exigencies. the need, demand, or requirement intrinsic to a circumstance, condition, etc.:
the exigencies of city life.
3. a case or situation that demands prompt action or remedy; emergency:
He promised help in any exigency.

Also, exigence.

Origin of exigency

Medieval Latin

1575-1585 From the Medieval Latin word exigentia, dating back to 1575-85. See exigent, -ency
Synonyms

3. crisis, contingency, plight, strait; predicament, fix, pinch.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for exigency

Historical Examples

He could quiet the horses, but not a woman, in so vague an exigency.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown

His speaking was unequal, and always rose with the subject and the exigency.
Patrick Henry
Moses Coit Tyler

In this exigency the pirate desisted from his plan against the lady.
Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer
Cyrus Townsend Brady

7 April 2018

venial

[vee-nee-uh l, veen-yuh l]

adjective

1. able to be forgiven or pardoned; not seriously wrong, as a sin (opposed to mortal ).
2. excusable; trifling; minor:
a venial error; a venial offense.

Origin of venial

Middle English, Medieval Latin
1250-1300; Middle English < Medieval Latin veniālis, equivalent to Latin veni(a) grace, favor, indulgence (akin to venus; see venerate, Venus ) + -ālis -al1

Related forms

veniality, venialness, noun
venially, adverb
unvenial, adjective
unvenially, adverb
unvenialness, noun

Can be confused

venal, venial.

Synonyms

2. slight, pardonable, forgivable.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for venial

Contemporary Examples

The SEC charging Goldman with securities fraud is like the Vatican charging a priest with venial sin.
The Fallacy of ‘Fraud’
Alan M. Dershowitz
April 16, 2010

Historical Examples

Now that she was caught, she no longer thought of her offense as venial.
Hooking Watermelons
Edward Bellamy

Those who keep the fast “will be pardoned all their past venial sins.”
The Faith of Islam
Edward Sell

Anagram

an live

6 April 2018

daub

[dawb]

verb (used with object)

1. to cover or coat with soft, adhesive matter, as plaster or mud:
to daub a canvas with paint; to daub stone walls with mud.
2. to spread (plaster, mud, etc.) on or over something:
to daub plaster on a brick wall.
3. to smear, soil, or defile.
4. to apply, as paint or colors, unskillfully.
verb (used without object)
5. to daub something.
6. to paint unskillfully.
noun
7. material, especially of an inferior kind, for daubing walls.
8. something daubed on.
9. an act of daubing.
10. a crude, inartistic painting

Origin of daub

Middle English Old French Latin

1275-1325; (v.) Middle English dauben < Anglo-French, Old French dauber to whiten, paint < Latin dealbāre, equivalent to de-, prevocalic variant of dē- de- + albāre to whiten, derivative of albus white; (noun) late Middle English, derivative of the v.

Related forms

dauber, noun
daubingly, adverb
dauby, adjective
undaubed, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for daub

Contemporary Examples

That she is, but daub took the phone call to Hill at face value.
Why Clarence’s Wife Called Anita
Jacob Bernstein
October 21, 2010

After law school, she joined daub full-time, working as his legislative assistant on issues like health care and Social Security.
Why Clarence’s Wife Called Anita
Jacob Bernstein
October 21, 2010

Historical Examples

He supposed he must think up something to daub on there—the poorer the better.
Chip, of the Flying U
B. M. Bower

Anagram

A bud
Baud
A dub

5 April 2018

finger man

noun, Slang.

1. a person who points out someone to be murdered, robbed, etc. Example: The public hit owed its success to the discreet presence of the finger man.

Origin of finger man

1925-1930 An Americanism dating back to 1925-30

Dictionary.com

Slang definitions & phrases for finger man

finger man

noun phrase

A person who points out potential loot, potential victims, wanted criminals, etc (1920s+ Underworld)

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.

4 April 2018

assize

[uh-sahyz]

noun

1. Usually, assizes. a trial session, civil or criminal, held periodically in specific locations in England, usually by a judge of a superior court.
2. an edict, ordinance, or enactment made at a session of a legislative assembly.
3. an inquest before members of a jury or assessors; a judicial inquiry.
4. an action, writ, or verdict of an assize.
5. judgment:
the last assize; the great assize.
6. a statute for the regulation and control of weights and measures or prices of general commodities in the market.

Origin of assize

Middle English

1250-1300; Middle English asise < Old French: a sitting, noun use of feminine of asis seated at (past participle of aseeir), equivalent to a- a-5+ -sis < Latin sēssum (sed- stem of sedēre to sit1+ -tus past participle suffix)

Dictionary.com

Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018.

Examples from the Web for assize

Historical Examples

The old saying, ‘Truth will out,’ does not apply in an assize court.
The New Tenant
E. Phillips Oppenheim

The trial came on at the Court of assize about six weeks ago.
Fantmas
Pierre Souvestre

The judges on assize were ordered to press the king’s demand.
History of the English People, Volume V (of 8)
John Richard Green

3 April 2018

persimmon

[per-sim-uh n]

noun

1. any of several trees of the genus Diospyros, especially D. virginiana, of North America, bearing astringent, plumlike fruit that is sweet and edible when ripe, and D. kaki, of Japan and China, bearing soft, red or orange fruit.
2. the fruit itself.

Origin of persimmon

Virginia Algonquian
1605-1615, Americanism; < Virginia Algonquian (E spelling) pessemmins, pichamins, pushemins, putchamins (unidentified initial element + reflex of Proto-Algonquian *-min- fruit, berry)

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for persimmon

Contemporary Examples

Sometimes the flowers multiplied in shades of persimmon or turned into two-dimensional appliqué.
Miuccia Prada and Emporio Armani: Milan Spring 2013 Collections
Robin Givhan
September 21, 2012

The beautiful garden is completely bare except for one persimmon tree that has no leaves.
One Woman’s Formula for Change
Lynn Sherr
March 12, 2010

Historical Examples

This field we overlooked through a fence-row of persimmon and wild plum.
The Cavalier
George Washington Cable

Anagram

mine romps
sniper mom
prism omen

2 April 2018

verger

[vur-jer]

noun

1. Chiefly British. a church official who serves as sacristan, caretaker, usher, and general attendant.
2. British. an official who carries the verge or other symbol of office before a bishop, dean, or other dignitary.

Origin of verger

late Middle English

1425-1475 late Middle English word dating back to 1425-75; See origin at verge1, -er1

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for verger

Historical Examples

The verger scratched his head, and looked doubtfully at Henry Dunbar.
Henry Dunbar
M. E. Braddon

We light our candles and follow the verger down the stone steps.
The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 25, January 1893
Various

The verger was in the choir, putting the books in order, and making all ready for the service.
Poppy’s Presents
Mrs O. F. Walton

“Yes, sir; his Lordship is here every Sunday when he is at the palace,” said the verger.
Is He Popenjoy?
Anthony Trollope

“But not here,” he added, hearing the clank of the verger ‘s keys.
The Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton, Part 1 (of 10)
Edith Wharton

But as she did so she paused and said something to the verger, who was in the aisle.
A Modern Tomboy
L. T. Meade

It was the verger, who came to inform me that it was time to close the library.
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
Washington Irving

Well, our friends of the “enclosed gardens” still take him for a verger.
Visions and Revisions
John Cowper Powys

He even swore he had been taken for a verger or a Church warden.
Visions and Revisions
John Cowper Powys

He handed the man a piece of silver and the verger disappeared.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Vol. 13
Elbert Hubbard

1 April 2018

pascha

Noun

(plural Paschas)

– Easter, the most important Christian religious feast.
– Orthodox Christian church services during the week preceding Easter.

Adjective

Pascha (not comparable)

Pertaining to Easter.

In the Orthodox Christian church, Pascha week is the week preceding Easter.

Etymology
From Latin pascha, from Ancient Greek πάσχα (páskha, “Passover”), from Aramaic פסחא‎ (paskha), from Hebrew פסח‎ (pesakh).

Anagrams
Chapas, pachas

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