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Wiktionary:Word of the day/Archive/2021/April

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2021
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1

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Word of the day
for April 1
bakfiets n
  1. (cycling, originally Netherlands) A bicycle or tricycle with a long wheelbase between the front wheel and handlebars holding a large box, originally used to transport goods but now more commonly for carrying young children.

fat bikes n

  1. (cycling, winter sports) plural of fat bike (“a bicycle equipped with larger than normal tyres and a wider frame to accommodate them, which provides better traction on off-road surfaces such as sand or snow”)

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

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2

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Word of the day
for April 2
reptatorial adj
  1. (zoology) Crawling, creeping.

proletariat n

  1. (often derogatory, also figuratively) The lowest class of society; also, the lower classes of society generally; the masses.
  2. (Marxism) Wage earners collectively, excluding salaried workers; people who own no capital and depend on their labour for survival; the working class, especially when seen as engaged in a class struggle with the bourgeoisie (“the capital-owning class”).
  3. (chiefly Ancient Rome, historical) The lowest class of citizens, who had no property and few rights, and were regarded as contributing only their offspring to the state.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

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3

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Word of the day
for April 3
anthropodicy n
  1. (Christianity, philosophy) An attempt, or an argument attempting, to justify that human beings are fundamentally good despite the commission of evil acts by some people.

corytophanid n

  1. (herpetology (saurology)) Any lizard in the family Corytophanidae; a casquehead or helmeted lizard.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

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4

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Word of the day
for April 4
Easter n
  1. (Christianity)
    1. A Christian feast commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, celebrated on the first Sunday (and Monday) following the full moon that occurs on or next after the vernal equinox, ranging in most of Western Christianity (such as Protestantism and Roman Catholicism) from March 22 to April 25, and in Eastern Christianity (such as the Coptic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church) from April 4 to May 8.
    2. Eastertide (“the period from Easter to Whitsun”).
    3. (specifically, Roman Catholicism, dated, now chiefly figuratively) Usually preceded by an inflection of make: the act of receiving the Eucharist during Easter.
  2. (education, law) Short for Easter term (“the summer term of the University of Cambridge, and other educational institutions, running from April to June; the third term of the legal year, running from April to May, during which the upper courts of England and Wales, and Ireland, sit to hear cases”).
  3. (paganism) A festival held in honour of the goddess Eostre or Ostara, celebrated at the vernal equinox or within the month of April; Eostre, Ostara.
  4. (obsolete) The Jewish Passover.

[...]

Easter v

  1. (intransitive) To celebrate Easter.
  2. (intransitive) To spend the Easter season in some place.

saeter n

  1. A Scandinavian mountainside meadow used during the summer for grazing milking cows or goats.
  2. A barn, cabin, dairy, or farm located in such a meadow.
  3. (Orkney, Shetland) A meadow, especially one used for grazing that is attached to a dwelling.

Today is Easter Sunday in Western Christianity in 2021. Also, to celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

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5

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Word of the day
for April 5
gold star wife n
  1. (US military) The widow of a member of the United States armed forces who was killed in action.

Today is Gold Star Wives or Gold Star Spouses Day in the United States, which recognizes the sacrifices made by the spouses of U.S. armed forces members who have fallen in the line of duty.

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6

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Word of the day
for April 6
percontation n
  1. (formal, rare or obsolete) A question which cannot properly be given a one-word answer like “yes” or “no”.

pernoctation n (formal)

  1. (uncountable) The action of abiding through the night at a location; (countable) an instance of this; an overnight stay.
  2. (uncountable) The action of walking about at night, especially as a vigil or watch; (countable) an instance of this.
  3. (countable, religion, chiefly Christianity, obsolete) A religious watch kept during normal sleeping hours, during which prayers or other ceremonies are performed; a vigil.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

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7

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Word of the day
for April 7
Schröderization n (American spelling, Oxford British English)
  1. (politics) The co-opting and corruption of foreign business or political figures by hostile regimes.

The former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, after whom this word was coined, was born on this day in 1944.

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8

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Word of the day
for April 8
magnoperate v (rare)
  1. (transitive) To magnify the greatness of (someone or something); to exalt.
  2. (intransitive) To act grandly.

[...]

  1. (intransitive, rare) To work on one's magnum opus (“great or important work of art, literature, or music, a masterpiece; best, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an artist or author, representing their major life effort”).

pomegranate n

  1. The fruit of the Punica granatum, about the size of an orange with a thick, hard, reddish skin enclosing many seeds, each with an edible pink or red pulp tasting both sweet and tart.
  2. The shrub or small tree that bears the fruit.
  3. A dark red or orange-red colour, like that of the pulp or skin of a pomegranate fruit.
    pomegranate:    
  4. (Australia, colloquial, derogatory, obsolete) A person of British descent, especially one who has (recently) immigrated to Australia; a pom, a pommy.

pomegranate adj

  1. Of a colour like that of the pulp or skin of a pomegranate fruit; dark red or orange-red.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

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9

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10

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Word of the day
for April 10
exonerating v
  1. present participle of exonerate (“(archaic) to relieve (someone or something) of a load; to unburden (a load); (obsolete, reflexive) of a body of water: to discharge or empty (itself); to free (someone) from an obligation, responsibility or task; to free (someone) from accusation or blame.”)

Generation X proper n (originally Canada, US)

  1. (originally) A generation of people whose future is uncertain; a lost generation.
  2. (specifically) The generation of people born after the baby boom that followed World War II, especially those born from the mid 1960s to early 1980s, sometimes characterized as cynical, disaffected, lacking direction in life, and unwilling to take part fully in society.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are featuring a series of anagrams. Enjoy!

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11

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Word of the day
for April 11
Houston, we have a problem phrase
  1. (US, humorous) Used to report that a (major) problem has occurred.

NASA’s Apollo 13 mission to the Moon launched on this day in 1970, but was aborted after an oxygen tank triggered an explosion. The spacecraft returned safely to Earth on April 17.

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12

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Word of the day
for April 12
push the envelope v
  1. (intransitive, idiomatic, originally aeronautics) To go beyond established limits; to pioneer.

Today is the International Day of Human Space Flight, which is recognized by the United Nations to celebrate the start of the space era, to reaffirm space science and technology’s contributions towards achieving sustainable development goals, and to emphasize the need to maintain outer space for peaceful purposes. It commemorates the first human space flight by the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, which took place on this day 60 years ago in 1961.

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13

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Word of the day
for April 13
vaguen v (informal)
  1. (transitive) To make (something) vague or more vague; to blur, to obscure.
  2. (intransitive) To become (more) vague; to blur.

The Irish author, playwright, and theatre director Samuel Beckett, who coined the word, was born on this day 115 years ago in 1906.

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14

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Word of the day
for April 14
conlang n
  1. (linguistics, colloquial) Synonym of constructed language (“a human language such as Esperanto, Klingon, Quenya, or Volapük that has been consciously devised by an individual or a small group, as opposed to having naturally evolved as part of a culture like a natural language”)

conlang v

  1. (intransitive) To create a conlang (constructed language).

The Polish ophthalmologist and linguist L. L. Zamenhof, who invented the conlang Esperanto, died on this day in 1917.

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15

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Word of the day
for April 15
leprous adj
  1. Relating to or infected with one of the diseases known as leprosy.
  2. Similar to leprosy or its symptoms.
  3. Having the appearance of the skin of one infected with leprosy; flaking, peeling, scabby, scurfy.
  4. (figuratively, archaic) Immoral, or corrupted or tainted in some manner; also, ostracized, shunned.
  5. (alchemy, historical) Of gold or other metals: contaminated with other substances; impure.
  6. (botany, archaic) Synonym of leprose (“covered with thin, scurfy scales; lepidote”)
  7. (obsolete) Causing leprosy or a disease resembling it.

The Belgian Roman Catholic priest Saint Damien De Veuster, better known as Father Damien, died on this day in 1889. He ministered to people with leprosy in Molokai, Hawaii, from 1873 until his death from the disease, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.

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16

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Word of the day
for April 16
the moon on a stick n
  1. (chiefly US, hyperbolic, idiomatic) All that one could desire, especially as an unreasonable demand; everything.
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17

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Word of the day
for April 17
hell-bent adj
  1. (originally US, informal) Recklessly determined to do or achieve (something). [with on ‘something’]

hell-bent (comparative more April, superlative most April)

  1. (originally US, informal) In a recklessly determined manner; determinedly, wholeheartedly.
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18

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19

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Word of the day
for April 19
approach v
  1. (intransitive) To come or go near, in place or time; to advance nearer; to draw nigh.
  2. (intransitive, golf, tennis) To play an approach shot.
  3. (transitive, intransitive, figuratively) Used intransitively, followed by to: to draw near (to someone or something); to make advances; to approximate or become almost equal.
  4. (transitive, rarely intransitive) Of an immovable object or a number of such objects: to be positioned as to (notionally) appear to be moving towards (a place).
  5. (transitive, also figuratively) To come near to (someone or something) in place, time, character, or value; to draw nearer to.
  6. (transitive) To bring (something) near something else; to cause (something) to draw near.
  7. (transitive) To attempt to make (a policy) or solve (a problem).
  8. (transitive) To bring up or propose to (someone) an idea, question, request, etc.
  9. (transitive, archaic, euphemistic) To have sexual intercourse with (someone).
  10. (transitive, military) To take approaches to (a place); to move towards (a place) by using covered roads, trenches, or other works.
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20

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Word of the day
for April 20
hutong n
  1. A narrow alley or street in a traditional residential district of a city in China, especially Beijing.

Today is UN Chinese Language Day, one of six such days established by UNESCO to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity and to promote the equal use of its working languages. It is around the time of Guyu in the Chinese calendar, during which the legendary figure Cangjie, who is said to have invented Chinese characters, is celebrated.

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21

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Word of the day
for April 21
transformative adj
  1. That causes transformation.
  2. (linguistics) Chiefly in transformative-generative: of or relating to a theory of generative grammar in which defined operations called transformations produce new sentences from existing ones; transformational.

Today is World Creativity and Innovation Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to raise awareness about the importance of creativity and innovation in problem-solving to advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

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22

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Word of the day
for April 22
canaigre n
  1. (US) Rumex hymenosepalus, a species of dock native to southwestern North America with edible red stems and taproots containing tannin.
  2. (US) Tannin-containing matter obtained from the taproots of the plant.

Today is the eve of UN Spanish Language Day, one of six such days established by UNESCO to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity and to promote the equal use of its working languages. The Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes is believed to have died on this day in 1616 and to have been buried the following day.

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23

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24

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25

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Word of the day
for April 25
quinine n
  1. (pharmacology) An alkaloid with the chemical formula C₂₀H₂₄N₂O₂ derived from cinchona bark (from plants of the genus Cinchona) used to treat malaria and as an ingredient of tonic water, which presents as a bitter colourless powder; also, a drug containing quinine or a chemical compound derived from it.

quinine v

  1. (transitive, archaic) To treat (someone) with quinine.

Today is World Malaria Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to emphasize global efforts to control malaria.

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26

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Word of the day
for April 26
Kafkatrap n
  1. A sophistical rhetorical device in which any denial by an accused person serves as evidence of guilt.

Kafkatrap v

  1. (transitive) To employ a Kafkatrap against (someone).

The Bohemian author Franz Kafka’s book Der Proceß (The Trial), which inspired the word, was first published posthumously on this day in 1925.

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27

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Word of the day
for April 27
patent n
  1. (law)
    1. An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent.
    2. (specifically)
      1. (originally) A grant of a monopoly over the manufacture, sale, and use of goods.
      2. A declaration issued by a government agency that the inventor of a new invention has the sole privilege of making, selling, or using the claimed invention for a specified period.
    3. (US, historical) A specific grant of ownership of a piece of real property; a land patent.
  2. (by extension) A product in respect of which a patent (sense 1.2.2) has been obtained.
  3. Short for patent leather (“a varnished, high-gloss leather typically used for accessories and shoes”).
  4. (figuratively)
    1. A licence or (formal) permission to do something.
    2. A characteristic or quality that one possesses; in particular (hyperbolic) as if exclusively; a monopoly.

patent v

  1. (transitive, law)
    1. To (successfully) register (a new invention) with a government agency to obtain the sole privilege of its manufacture, sale, and use for a specified period.
    2. (US, historical) To obtain (over a piece of real property) a specific grant of ownership.
  2. (transitive, figuratively) To be closely associated or identified with (something); to monopolize.

patent adj

  1. Conspicuous; open; unconcealed.
    1. (baking) Of flour: fine, and consisting mostly of the inner part of the endosperm of the grain from which it is milled.
    2. (medicine) Open, unobstructed; specifically, especially of the ductus arteriosus or foramen ovale in the heart, having not closed as would have happened in normal development.
    3. (medicine, veterinary medicine) Of an infection: in the phase when the organism causing it can be detected by clinical tests.
  2. Explicit and obvious.
  3. (archaic)
    1. Especially of a document conferring some privilege or right: open to public perusal or use.
    2. Appointed or conferred by letters patent.
  4. (botany) Of a branch, leaf, etc.: outspread; also, spreading at right angles to the axis.
  5. (law) Protected by a legal patent.
  6. (by extension, figuratively) To which someone has, or seems to have, a claim or an exclusive claim; also, inventive or particularly suited for.

Yesterday was World Intellectual Property Day, which is commemorated by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to raise awareness about the impact of intellectual property in everyday life, and to celebrate creativity and the contributions of creators and innovators towards the development of societies.

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28

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Word of the day
for April 28
within an inch of one's life prepositional phrase
  1. To a point where one is at great risk of death; or (figuratively, hyperbolic) of severe danger or trouble.
  2. (figuratively, hyperbolic) Almost as much as possible; to an extreme extent.

Today is the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, which is recognized by the United Nations to promote awareness about work-related accidents and diseases.

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29

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30

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Word of the day
for April 30
aver v
  1. (transitive, intransitive) To assert the truth of (something); to affirm (something) with confidence; to declare (something) in a positive manner.
  2. (transitive, intransitive, law) To justify or prove (an allegation or plea that one has made).
  3. (transitive, obsolete) To avouch, prove, or verify the existence or happening of (something), or to offer to do so.

[...]

aver n

  1. (British, dialectal, archaic) A beast of burden; chiefly a workhorse, but also a working ox or other animal.
  2. (Northern England, Scotland, dialectal, archaic) An old, useless horse; a nag.
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