Word of the Day

Noun
coquetry

1. Coquettish behavior; actions designed to excite erotic attention, without intending to reciprocate such feelings (chiefly of women towards men); flirtatious teasing.
2. An act constituting such behavior; an affectation of amorphous interest or enticement, especially of a woman directed towards a man.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coquetry

Adjective
recherché (comparative more recherché, superlative most recherché)

1. Sought out and chosen with care; choice; exquisite.
2. Exotic; of rare quality, elegance, attractiveness, etc.
3. (by extension) Precious, pretentious, affected.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/recherch%C3%A9#English

Noun
sycophant (plural sycophants)

1. One who uses obsequious compliments to gain self-serving favour or advantage from another; a servile flatterer.
   Synonyms: ass-kisser, brown noser, suck-up, yes man
2. One who seeks to gain through the powerful and influential.
   Synonyms: parasite, flunky, lackey
3. (obsolete) An informer; a talebearer.

Derived terms:
sycophancy
sycophantic
sycophantish
sycophantism

Verb
sycophant (third-person singular simple present sycophants, present participle sycophanting, simple past and past participle sycophanted)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To inform against; hence, to calumniate.
2. (transitive, rare) To play the sycophant toward; to flatter obsequiously.

Noun
opprobrium (countable and uncountable, plural opprobriums or opprobria)

1. (archaic) A cause, object, or situation of disgrace or shame. [from mid 17th c.] Synonym: (obsolete) opprobry
2. Disgrace or bad reputation arising from exceedingly shameful behaviour; ignominy. [from late 17th c.]
   Synonyms: obloquy, (obsolete) opprobry
3. Scornful contempt or reproach; an instance of this.
   Synonyms: blame, castigation, censure, derision, invective, (obsolete) opprobry
4. (archaic) Behaviour which is disgraceful or shameful.

Adjective
cogent (comparative more cogent, superlative most cogent)

1. Reasonable and convincing; based on evidence.
2. Appealing to the intellect or powers of reasoning.
3. Forcefully persuasive; relevant, pertinent.
   The prosecution presented a cogent argument, convincing the jury of the defendant's guilt.

Synonyms:
compelling, conclusive, convincing, indisputable

Antonyms:
debatable, irrelevant, uncogent

Derived terms:
cogency
cogently
incogent
uncogent

Related terms:
cache
coagulate
squat

Etymology
An allusion to the ancient Athenian historian and military general Thucydides, who posited that the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta had been inevitable because of Spartan fears of the growth of Athenian power.

Noun
Thucydides trap (plural Thucydides traps)

• An apparent tendency towards war when an emerging power threatens to displace an existing great power as a regional or international hegemon.
  Usage notes:
  Coined and primarily used to describe a potential conflict between the United States and the People's Republic of China.

Alternative forms

• Thucydides' trap
• Thucydian Realpolitik

Noun
dearth (countable and uncountable, plural dearths)

1. A period or condition when food is rare and hence expensive; famine.
2. (by extension) Scarcity; a lack or short supply.
3. (obsolete) Dearness; the quality of being rare or costly.

Verb
dearth (third-person singular simple present dearths, present participle dearthing, simple past and past participle dearthed)

• (transitive, dated, obsolete) To cause or produce a scarcity in something.

anathema (plural anathemas or anathemata)

1. (ecclesiastical, historical) A ban or curse pronounced with religious solemnity by ecclesiastical authority, often accompanied by excommunication; something denounced as accursed. [from early 17th c.]
   Synonyms: ban, curse
2. (by extension) Something which is vehemently disliked by somebody.
   Synonyms: antipathy, bête noire, bugbear
3. (literary) An imprecation; a curse; a malediction.
4. (ecclesiastical) Any person or thing anathematized, or cursed by ecclesiastical authority to unending punishment.

accouterment (plural accouterments)

1. (military, chiefly in the plural) A soldier's equipment, other than weapons and uniform.

2. (chiefly in the plural) An article of clothing or equipment, in particular when used as an accessory.
   Synonyms: equipment, gear, trappings, accessory

3. (by extension) An identifying yet superficial characteristic.

4. (archaic) The act of accoutering; furnishing.

• https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/accouterment#English

purloin

Verb

• (transitive, usually formal or humorous) To take the property of another, often in breach of trust; to appropriate wrongfully; to steal.
• (intransitive) To commit theft; to thieve.

purloin (third-person singular simple present purloins, present participle purloining, simple past and past participle purloined)

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/purloin

Example: One of three men on trial in the case of the purloined potty was involved in stealing it and the other two helped to sell the spoils.

https://lemmy.world/post/26091679
https://globalnews.ca/news/11050389/golden-toilet-stolen-cctv-video-released/

garrulous

1. Excessively or tiresomely talkative; (Synonyms: chatty, talkative, longiloquence, long-winded, loquacious, tonguey, voluble)
2. wordy and rambling; (Synonyms: bombastic, rambling, wordy)

Adjective
garrulous (comparative more garrulous, superlative most garrulous)

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/garrulous

• verismo - An artistic movement, from 19th-century Italian literature and opera, in which rural and everyday people and themes were treated in an often melodramatic manner
• naturism - (1.) The belief in or practice of going nude in social settings, often in mixed-gender groups, specifically either in cultures where this is not the norm or for health reasons. (2.) The worship of the powers of nature.
• naturalism - A movement in theatre, film, and literature that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality, as opposed to such movements as romanticism, surrealism, or abstract art, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic or idealistic treatment.

• verisimilitude - the property of seeming true, of resembling reality; resemblance to reality.

Noun

1. (chiefly Northern England, Scotland) A sniff.
2. (figurative)
   • (chiefly Northern England, Scotland) A strong or severe wind.
   • (originally and chiefly US) A small, wide, pear-shaped glass used for drinking aromatic liquors such as bourbon and brandy.
   • (originally US, informal) Synonym of "nip" (a small amount of an alcoholic beverage, especially one equivalent to what a snifter might hold).
   • (US, slang) Synonym of "cocaine addict"; a sniffer.
   • (US, slang) A small amount of cocaine taken by inhaling through the nose.
   • (US, slang) A handheld device used to detect signals from radio transmitters; a sniffer.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To sniff; also, to snivel or snuffle.
2. (transitive, archaic, rare) Followed by "out": to speak (words) in a nasal, snuffling manner.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Word_of_the_day/2024/November_27

Adjective

lecherous (comparative more lecherous, superlative most lecherous)

• Given to excessive sexual activity and debauchery.

• https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lecherous

Adjective

convivial (comparative more convivial, superlative most convivial)

• Having elements of a feast or of entertainment, especially when it comes to eating and drinking, with accompanying festivity
• Synonyms: festive, social, gay, jovial, merry

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21792459

I was recently 'complaining' about how I find the name for Vermillion was difficult for me because it seems like it should be a green color. Since "ver" usually means green, like "verde".

So, I looked up why it's called Vermillion and found that the reason is because of this bug called Kermes vermilio:

Photo credit Paul Starosta

Etymology

Alluding to Hamlet. The two senses result from two interpretations of the word coil, one taking it to mean “tumult, confusion, fuss”, the other “case, wrapping”. In either case, the phrase “shuffle off this mortal coil” must mean “die”. Since "shuffle off" is generally taken to mean "get rid of" or "evade" it is likely that in the sense that Shakespeare used it, it was specifically referring to the act of suicide.

Noun

mortal coil (plural mortal coils)

1. The chaos and confusion of life.
2. The physical body of a man (containing the spirit inside).

• https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mortal_coil

Noun

pareidolia (plural pareidolias)

• (psychology) The tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the observer, such as interpreting marks on Mars as canals, seeing shapes in clouds, or hearing hidden messages in music.

Etymology

Borrowed from German Pareidolie, constructed from Ancient Greek παρα- (para-, “alongside”) + εἴδωλον (eídōlon, “image”) + -ία (-ía).

Links

• [email protected]
• https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pareidolia

chippy (plural chippies)

Noun

1. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, slang) A carpenter. [from 19th c.]
2. (slang, Western US) A prostitute or promiscuous woman. [from 19th c.]
3. (UK, Ireland, informal) A fish-and-chip shop. [from 20th c.] Synonym: chipper
4. (Australia, slang) The youngest member of a team or group, normally someone whose voice has not yet deepened, talking like a chipmunk.
5. (New Zealand) A potato chip.
6. (demoscene, informal) A chiptune.
7. (US) A chipping sparrow.
8. (slang) An occasional drug habit, less than addiction.

chippy (comparative chippier, superlative chippiest)

Adjective

1. (Canada, UK) Ill-tempered, disagreeable.
2. (Canada, sports) Involving violence or unfair play.
3. (of wood) Tending to form chips when cut, rather than larger, more usable pieces of wood.
4. (dated) As dry as a chip of wood.
5. (archaic) Feeling sick from drinking alcohol; hung over.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chippy#English

Etymology 1

The earliest known appearance in print dates from 1922, in Thomas Coward's "Country Diary" column for the Manchester Guardian of 6 December 1921; the piece was subsequently included in his 1922 book Bird Haunts and Nature Memories. He attributed it to "a west-coast Irishman", and explained:

if we are walking on the road and see, far ahead, someone whom we recognise although we can neither distinguish features nor particular clothes, we may be certain that we are not mistaken; there is something in the carriage, the walk, the general appearance which is familiar; it is, in fact, the individual's jizz.

There are several theories as to the etymology of “jizz”:

• From the military term GIS (“general impression and shape”).
• Possible contraction of just is (in the sense that a particular bird species “just is” that species).

An essay by Greenwood and Greenwood in 2018 debunks these theories. Other suggestions include variants of guise, gist and gestalt (mispronounced).

Noun

jizz (usually uncountable, plural jizzes)

1. (ornithology, birdwatching) The physical and behavioural characteristics of a bird that enable it to be immediately recognised by an experienced birder as a certain type of bird, especially to family or genus level.

   • 1922, TA Coward, Bird Haunts and Nature Memories, London: Warne:

     A West Coast Irishman was familiar with the wild creatures which dwelt on or visited his rocks and shores; at a glance he could name them, usually correctly, but if asked how he knew them would reply ‘By their "jizz".’

   • 2009, Jeremy Mynott, chapter 3, in Birdscapes, Princeton and Oxford: Princeton, page 74:

     Political cartoonists rely a lot on jizz. When a new president or prime minister comes into office it usually takes the cartoonists a little while to decide which features to select as field marks but they then stylise these in ways that make them instantly recognisable to the rest of us, even though they may be grossly exaggerated.

   • 2015, Nick Davies, chapter 3, in Cuckoo - Cheating by Nature (paperback), London: Bloomsbury, page 53:

     His birds are not carefully posed to illustrate every plumage detail; they are impressions rather than portraits. With a few deft strokes of his pencil, he captures their 'jizz'.

Further definitions can be found at:

• https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jizz
• https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jizz

pastiche

Noun

1. A work of art, drama, literature, music, or architecture that imitates the work of a previous artist, usually in a positive or neutral way. (Coordinate term: parody)
2. A musical medley, typically quoting other works.
3. An incongruous mixture; a hodgepodge.
4. A postmodern playwriting technique that fuses a variety of styles, genres, and story lines to create a new form.

Verb

1. To create or compose in a mixture of styles.

Etymology

• Via French pastiche, from Italian pasticcio (“pie, something blended”), from Vulgar Latin *pastīcius, from Late Latin pasta (“dough, pastry cake, paste”), from Ancient Greek παστά (pastá, “barley porridge”), from παστός (pastós, “sprinkled with salt”). Doublet of pasticcio.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pastiche

Etymology 1

• Learned borrowing from Latin cum (“with”).

Preposition

1. Used in indicating a thing or person which has two or more roles, functions, or natures, or a which has changed from one to another.

Etymology 3

Adjective

1. Clipping of cumulative.

Etymology 4

Noun

Abbreviation of cubic metre. (ex: The density of cement is 1440 kg/cum.)

For further definitions omitted see: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cum

Why this one? Because I used it in a joke and some apparently did not know the primary use as a preposition.

Encountered over in the [email protected] community:

https://midwest.social/post/18146430

Wiktionary has this to say:

1886, originally for a five-cent US coin (a nickel); use for taxis and buses due to these services originally charging five cents as fare, popularized circa 1915.

The etymology is uncertain; it is believed to originate from Louisiana Creole jetnée, from French jeton (“token, coin-sized metal disc”), though this is disputed. Evidence for the Louisiana Creole French origin include the geographic distribution (Southeastern US, especially Black/African-American), and early spelling as gitney, which is common French spelling for the /ʒi/ pronunciation.

Noun

jitney (plural jitneys)

• A small bus or minibus which typically operates service on a fixed route, sometimes scheduled.
• An unlicensed taxi cab.
• A shared-ride taxi.
• (US, archaic) A small coin, a nickel.
• (in attributive use, US, archaic) Very inexpensive.
• (Canada) An informal lawn bowling, curling, or darts competition in which all players present are randomly drawn into teams.

Noun (verb below)

paragon (plural paragons)

1. A person of preeminent qualities, who acts as a pattern or model for others.
2. (obsolete) A companion; a match; an equal.
3. (obsolete) Comparison; competition.
4. (typography, printing, dated) The size of type between great primer and double pica, standardized as 20-point.
5. A flawless diamond of at least 100 carats.

Verb

paragon (third-person singular simple present paragons, present participle paragoning, simple past and past participle paragoned)

1. To compare; to parallel; to put in rivalry or emulation with.
2. To compare with; to equal; to rival.
3. To serve as a model for; to surpass.
4. To be equal; to hold comparison.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/paragon