Jump to content

Wiktionary:Word of the day/Archive/2009/December

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
« 2009/November

(Recycled November)

December

(Recycled December)

2010/January »

(Recycled January)

Day: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

{{wotd | theWord | p.o.s. | Definition | month | day }}

{{wotd | theWord | p.o.s. | Definition | month | day | audio=En-uk-{{subst:PAGENAME}}.ogg }}

When the words for a given month have all been replaced (or whatever) then subst: the sub-templates in on this page. That will preserve this month's archive, leaving the entries in the "Recycled" monthly pages to be (optionally) reused next year.

1

Word of the day
for December 1
hebetude n
  1. Mental lethargy or dullness
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

2

Word of the day
for December 2
sententious adj
  1. (obsolete) Full of meaning.
  2. Using as few words as possible; pithy and concise.
  3. Tending to use aphorisms, especially given to trite moralizing
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

3

Word of the day
for December 3
flaneur n
  1. One who wanders aimlessly, who roams, who travels at a lounging pace
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

4

Word of the day
for December 4
piffle v
  1. To act or speak in a futile, ineffective, or nonsensical manner
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

5

Word of the day
for December 5
consternation n
  1. Amazement or horror that confounds the faculties, and incapacitates for reflection; terror, combined with amazement
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

6

Word of the day
for December 6
maudlin adj
  1. Extravagantly or excessively sentimental; self-pitying.
  2. Affectionate or sentimental in an effusive, tearful, or foolish manner, such as from drunkenness
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

7

Word of the day
for December 7
animadversion n
  1. A criticism; a critical remark
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

8

Word of the day
for December 8
John Lennon glasses n
  1. A pair of eyeglasses (spectacles) with round lenses
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

9

Word of the day
for December 9
comport v
  1. To be in agreement (with); to be of an accord.
  2. (reflexive) To behave (in a given manner)
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

10

Word of the day
for December 10
intempestivity n
  1. Unseasonability; untimeliness
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

11

Word of the day
for December 11
undownable adj
  1. Undeniably important; describing that which cannot be played down or ignored.
  2. Invincible; describing that which cannot be brought down or overcome
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

12

Word of the day
for December 12
ideogram n
  1. A symbol which represents the idea of something without indicating the sequence of sounds used to pronounce it
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

13

Word of the day
for December 13
tussock n
  1. A tuft or clump of green grass or similar verdure, forming a small hillock
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

14

Word of the day
for December 14
ascribe v
  1. To attribute; to impute; to refer, as to a cause
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

15

Word of the day
for December 15
pensive adj
  1. Having the appearance of deep, often melancholic, thinking.
  2. Looking thoughtful, especially from sadness
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

16

Word of the day
for December 16
bookish adj
  1. Given to reading; fond of study; better acquainted with books than with people; learned from books.
  2. Characterized by a method of expression generally found in books
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

17

Word of the day
for December 17
don't look a gift horse in the mouth proverb
  1. Do not unappreciatively question a gift or handout too closely
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

18

Word of the day
for December 18
poltroon n
  1. An ignoble or arrant coward; a dastard; a mean-spirited wretch
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

19

Word of the day
for December 19
contiguous adj
  1. Connected; touching; abutting.
  2. Adjacent; neighbouring.
  3. Connecting without a break
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

20

Word of the day
for December 20
stertorously adv
  1. With heavy breathing, as if snoring; in a stertorous manner
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

21

Word of the day
for December 21
frowst v
  1. To enjoy a warm, stuffy room
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

22

Word of the day
for December 22
altruistic adj
  1. Regardful of others; beneficent; unselfish
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

23

Word of the day
for December 23
dulse n
  1. A seaweed of a reddish-brown color (Palmaria palmata) which is sometimes eaten
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

24

Word of the day
for December 24
unobtrusively adv
  1. In an unobtrusive manner; in a manner that is not noticeable or blatant
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

25

Word of the day
for December 25
chiliasm n
  1. Belief in an earthly thousand-year period of peace and prosperity, sometimes equated with the return of Jesus for that period
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

26

Word of the day
for December 26
supernal adj
  1. Pertaining to heaven or to the sky; celestial.
  2. Exalted, exquisite, superlative
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

27

Word of the day
for December 27
inexorably adv
  1. In an inexorable manner; without the possibility of stopping or preventing
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

28

Word of the day
for December 28
fiddle v
  1. To play aimlessly.
  2. To adjust in order to cover a basic flaw or fraud etc.
  3. To play the violin
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

29

Word of the day
for December 29
impetuous adj
  1. Making arbitrary decisions, especially in an impulsive and forceful manner.
  2. Characterized by sudden and violent force
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

30

Word of the day
for December 30
monochrome n
  1. A black and white image, especially a photograph.
  2. A ceramic glaze of a single colour, or an object so glazed.
  3. (dated) A painting executed in shades of a single colour
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →

31

Word of the day
for December 31
ancillary adj
  1. Subordinate; secondary; auxiliary; accessory
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →