Wiktionary:Word of the day/Archive/2020/November

2020
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1

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canonize v (transitive, American spelling, Oxford British English)

(chiefly Roman Catholicism) To declare (a deceased person) as a saint, and enter them into the canon of saints. (figurative) To regard as a saint; to glorify, to exalt to the highest honour. (Christianity) To formally declare (a piece of religious writing) to be part of the biblical canon. (by extension) To regard (an artistic or written work) as one of a group of works representative of a particular field. (chiefly Christianity) Especially of a church: to give official approval to; to authorize, to sanction. Today is All Saints’ Day in Western Christianity.

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3

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elector n

(politics) A person eligible to vote in an election; a member of an electorate, a voter. (British, Commonwealth) A person eligible to vote to elect a Member of Parliament. A member of an electoral college; specifically (US) an official selected by a state as a member of the Electoral College to elect the president and vice president of the United States. (historical) Alternative letter-case form of Elector (“a German prince entitled to elect the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire”). Today is Election Day for the 2020 United States presidential election.

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4

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no one pron

Used in contrast to either someone or everyone: not one person; nobody. The song “Ain’t Nobody” by funk band Rufus and singer Chaka Khan was released on this day in 1983 in their album Stompin’ at the Savoy – Live.

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5

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obelus n

(historical) A symbol resembling a horizontal line (–), sometimes together with one or two dots (for example, ⨪ or ÷), which was used in ancient manuscripts and texts to mark a word or passage as doubtful or spurious, or redundant; an obelisk. A dagger symbol (†), which is used in printed matter as a reference mark to refer the reader to a footnote, marginal note, etc.; beside a person's name to indicate that the person is deceased; or beside a date to indicate that it is a person's death date; an obelisk.

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6

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sprightly adj

Animated, gay, or vivacious; lively, spirited. Of a person: full of life and vigour, especially with a light and springy step. Especially of an older person: energetic and in good health; spry. (obsolete, rare) Of or relating to a sprite; ghostly, spectral. sprightly adv In a lively and vigorous way; sprightlily.

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fly in the ointment n

(idiomatic) Something (especially a minor thing) which ruins or spoils everything else, or makes it less pleasant; a nuisance or problem; a disagreeable or unpleasant detail.

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9

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endorheic adj

(hydrology) Of a basin or lake: having no outflow to an external body of water such as a river or ocean, and only losing water through evaporation or seepage into the ground.

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10

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rake n

(agriculture, horticulture) A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn by a horse or a tractor. (by extension) A similarly shaped tool used for other purposes. (gambling) A tool with a straight edge at the end used by a croupier to move chips or money across a gaming table. [...] (Northern England and climbing, also figurative) A course, a path, especially a narrow and steep path or route up a hillside. (mining) A fissure or mineral vein of ore traversing the strata vertically, or nearly so. (British, originally Northern England, Scotland) A series, a succession; specifically (rail transport) a set of coupled rail vehicles, normally coaches or wagons. (systems theory) In cellular automata: a puffer that emits a stream of spaceships rather than a trail of debris. (Midlands, Northern England) Alternative spelling of raik (“a course, a way; pastureland over which animals graze; a journey to transport something between two places; a run; also, the quantity of items so transported”) [...] A person (usually a man) who is stylish but habituated to hedonistic and immoral conduct. English artist William Hogarth was born today in 1697. His series of paintings called A Rake’s Progress (1732–1734) depicts a rake who wastes his money on extravagant living, gambling, and prostitutes, and ends up first in prison and then in an insane asylum.

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11

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poppy n

Any plant of the genus Papaver or the family Papaveraceae, with crumpled, often red, petals and a milky juice having narcotic properties; especially the common poppy or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) which has orange-red flowers; the flower of such a plant. A bright red colour tinted with orange, like that of the common poppy flower. poppy:   (chiefly Australia, British, Canada) A simple artificial poppy flower worn in a buttonhole or displayed in other contexts to remember those who died in the two World Wars and other armed conflicts, especially around Remembrance Sunday. [...] Today, the date in 1918 when hostilities in World War I ceased, is observed as Remembrance Day in many countries to remember armed forces members who have died in the line of duty.

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12

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World Wide Web proper n

(Internet) Usually preceded by the: collectively, all of the hypertext documents (web pages) on the Internet stored in different computers around the world that hyperlink to each other and to other kinds of media, and are typically retrieved by the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). Today is the 30th anniversary of the day in 1990 when Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau coined the term in a formal proposal to build a “web” of “hypertext documents” to be viewed by “browsers” using a client–server architecture.

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13

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fantasia n

(music, also figurative) A form of instrumental composition with a free structure and improvisational characteristics; specifically, one combining a number of well-known musical pieces. (chiefly art, by extension) Any work which is unstructured or comprises other works of different genres or styles. A traditional festival of the Berbers of the Maghreb (in northwest Africa) featuring exhibitions of horsemanship. The Walt Disney animated film Fantasia premiered on this day 80 years ago in 1940.

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14

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cogitabund adj

(archaic, literary) Deep in thought; meditative, thoughtful. The French sculptor Auguste Rodin, who created the sculpture known as The Thinker, was born 180 years ago on 12 November 1840.

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15

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haplogy n

(phonology, usually humorous) Synonym of haplology (“(uncountable) the process of deleting one of two almost identical syllables within a word; (countable) an instance of this”)

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19

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worship the porcelain god v

(intransitive, idiomatic, humorous) To vomit into a toilet bowl. Today is designated by the United Nations as World Toilet Day to draw attention to inadequate sanitation facilities in countries around the world.

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20

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stripling n

(archaic, also attributive, sometimes humorous) A young man in the state of adolescence, or just passing from boyhood to manhood; a lad. (horticulture) A seedling with most of the leaves stripped off. Today is World Children’s Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to promote international togetherness and the importance of improving children’s welfare.

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21

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gudgeon n

A small freshwater fish, Gobio gobio, that is native to Eurasia. (Australia) Any of various similar small fish of the family Eleotridae, often used as bait. (figurative, archaic) A person apt to take the bait; one easily cheated or duped; also, an idiot. (figurative, archaic) Something used to lure or tempt; bait, a lure. [...] (also attributively) A circular or cylindrical fitting, often made of metal, into which a pin or pintle fits to create a hinge or pivoting joint. (nautical, specifically) In a vessel with a stern-mounted rudder: the fitting into which the pintle of the rudder fits, allowing the rudder to swing freely. gudgeon v (transitive, archaic) To deprive (someone) fraudulently; to cheat, to dupe. (intransitive, archaic) To take the bait; to be defrauded or duped. Today is World Fisheries Day, which was established by the World Fisheries Forum to advocate sustainable fishing practices and policies.

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22

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introit n

(Christianity, chiefly Protestantism, music) A composition of vocal music sung at the opening of a church service. (Christianity, chiefly Protestantism, music) An anthem or psalm sung before a Communion service. (Roman Catholicism, music) A part of a psalm or other portion of the Bible read or sung at Mass immediately after the priest ascends to the altar. (Roman Catholicism, music) A psalm sung or chanted immediately before the collect, epistle, and gospel, and while the priest is entering within the rails of the altar, which begins with the line “Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine” (“Grant them eternal rest, O Lord”). (obsolete) The action of entering or going in; an entrance. (obsolete, figuratively) An introduction. (obsolete, Christianity) The first few words of the office (“daily service”) for a particular day, sometimes used to refer to the day. For some Christian churches, today is the feast day of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians.

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25

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toe-tapper n

(music) A piece of music with a prominent beat, to which one feels compelled to tap their toes. A joke which is found to be pleasingly humorous. (possibly derogatory) A homosexual who is closeted regarding sexual orientation, especially one who solicits gay sex. American tap dancer, actor, and singer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson died on this day in 1949.

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26

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turkey n

(countable, originally, now obsolete) The guinea fowl (family Numididae). (countable) A bird in the genus Meleagris with a fan-shaped tail and wattled neck, especially the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo, now domesticated). (uncountable) The flesh or meat of this bird eaten as food. (countable) With a distinguishing word: a bird resembling the Meleagris gallopavo (for example, the brush turkey or bush turkey (Alectura lathami), and the water turkey (Anhinga anhinga)). (countable, bowling) An act of throwing three strikes in a row. (countable, medicine, slang, derogatory) A patient feigning symptoms; a person faking illness or injury; a malingerer. (countable, Australia, US, slang, dated) A pack carried by a lumberman; a bindle; also, a large travel bag, a suitcase. (countable, US, slang) A failure. (countable, US, slang, usually mildly derogatory) A foolish or inept person. Happy Thanksgiving! Today, the fourth Thursday in November in 2020, is Thanksgiving Day in the United States and some other countries.

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27

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nunchaku n (martial arts, weaponry)

(countable) A weapon originating from Okinawa, Japan, consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or cord. (uncountable) The skill of using this weapon in martial arts. The Hong Kong-American actor, martial artist, and nunchaku exponent Bruce Lee was born on this day 80 years ago in 1940.

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29

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lead someone up the garden path v

(idiomatic) To deceive, hoodwink, mislead, or seduce someone. The British horticulturist and garden designer Gertrude Jekyll was born on this day in 1843.

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30

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firth n

(chiefly Scotland) An arm or inlet of the sea; a river estuary. [...] (chiefly Northern England, Scotland) Alternative form of frith (“a forest used for hunting; a (small) wood; wooded country; land covered mainly by brushwood”) Today is Saint Andrew’s Day, Scotland’s national day.

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