Adumbrate

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Adumbrate ADUM'BRATE, v.t. [L. adumbro, to shade, from umbra, a shade.]
To give a faint shadow, or slight likeness; to exhibit a faint resemblance, like a shadow.


WordNet (r) 3.0

adumbrate v 1: describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of; "sketch the outline of the book"; "outline his ideas" [syn: sketch, outline, adumbrate] 2: give to understand; "I insinuated that I did not like his wife" [syn: intimate, adumbrate, insinuate]

Primo

WordNet (r) 3.0

primo adj 1: the best of its kind n 1: the principal part of a duet (especially a piano duet)


Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003)

primo I. noun (plural primos) Etymology: Italian, from primo first, from Latin primus Date: 1792 the first or leading part (as in a duet or trio) II. adverb Etymology: Latin, from primus Date: circa 1901 in the first place III. adjective Etymology: probably from Italian, chief, first Date: 1972 slang of the finest quality ; excellent


Oxford English Reference Dictionary

primo
n. (pl. -os) Mus. the leading or upper part in a duet etc.


English Explanatory Dictionary

primo n. (pl. -os) Mus. the leading or upper part in a duet etc.


Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Primo Pri"mo, a. [It.] (Mus.) First; chief.

Purfling

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Purfling Pur"fling, n. Ornamentation on the border of a thing; specifically, the inlaid border of a musical instrument, as a violin.

Lothario

WordNet (r) 3.0

Lothario n 1: a successful womanizer; a man who behaves selfishly in his sexual relationships with women


Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003)

lothario noun (plural -ios) Usage: often capitalized Etymology: Lothario, seducer in the play The Fair Penitent (1703) by Nicholas Rowe Date: 1756 a man whose chief interest is seducing women


Oxford English Reference Dictionary

Lothario
n. (pl. -os) a rake or libertine.
Etymology: a character in Rowe's Fair Penitent (1703)


Oxford English Reference Dictionary

lothario
n. (pl. -os) a rake or libertine.
Etymology: a character in Rowe's Fair Penitent (1703)


English Explanatory Dictionary

Lothario ləuˈθɑ:rɪəu n. (pl. -os) a rake or libertine. [a character in Rowe's Fair Penitent (1703)]


Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Lothario Lo*tha"ri*o, n. [Name of a character in Rowe's drama, ``The Fair Penitent.''] A gay seducer of women; a libertine.

Quipping

Quip Quip, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Quipped; p. pr. & vb. n. Quipping.] To taunt; to treat with quips. The more he laughs, and does her closely quip. --Spenser.

Chivalrous

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003)

chivalrous adjective Date: 14th century 1. valiant 2. of, relating to, or characteristic of chivalry and knight-errantry 3. a. marked by honor, generosity, and courtesy b. marked by gracious courtesy and high-minded consideration especially to women Synonyms: see civil • chivalrously adverb • chivalrousness noun


Oxford English Reference Dictionary

chivalrous
adj.
1 (usu. of a male) gallant, honourable, courteous.
2 involving or showing chivalry.
Derivatives:
chivalrously adv.
Etymology: ME f. OF chevalerous: see CHEVALIER


Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary

chivalrous A chivalrous man is polite, kind, and unselfish, especially towards women. He was handsome, upright and chivalrous. ADJ [approval]


English Explanatory Dictionary

chivalrous ˈʃɪvəlrəs adj. 1 (usu. of a male) gallant, honourable, courteous. 2 involving or showing chivalry. øøchivalrously adv. [ME f. OF chevalerous: see CHEVALIER]


English-Old English dictionary

chivalrous
eorlic


Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Chivalrous Chiv"al*rous, a. [OF. chevalerus, chevalereus, fr. chevalier. See Chivalry.] Pertaining to chivalry or knight-errantry; warlike; heroic; gallant; high-spirited; high-minded; magnanimous. In brave pursuit of chivalrous emprise. --Spenser.


Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

chivalrous n. 1. Gallant, adventurous, valiant, brave, warlike, bold, knightly. 2. High-minded, generous, gallant, magnanimous, knightly.


English Explanatory Dictionary (Synonyms)

chivalrous ˈʃɪvəlrəs adj. courtly, gracious, courteous, polite, gallant, noble, knightly, gentlemanly, considerate, kind, charitable, magnanimous: It was quite chivalrous of you to drive me home.


Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

74 Moby Thesaurus words for "chivalrous": aristocratic, benevolent, big, bighearted, bold, bold-spirited, brave, ceremonious, charitable, chivalric, considerate, courageous, courteous, courtly, doughty, ducal, elevated, exalted, formal, gallant, generous, genteel, gentle, gentlemanlike, gentlemanly, gracious, great, great of heart, greathearted, handsome, hardy, heroic, herolike, high, high-minded, idealistic, intrepid, ironhearted, kind, kinglike, kingly, knightlike, knightly, ladylike, largehearted, liberal, lionhearted, lofty, magnanimous, manful, manly, noble, noble-minded, of gentle blood, of rank, old-fashioned, old-world, openhanded, patrician, polite, princelike, princely, queenlike, queenly, quite the lady, soldierlike, soldierly, stalwart, stout, stouthearted, sublime, titled, valiant, valorous

Geniculate

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Geniculate Ge*nic"u*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Geniculated; p. pr. & vb. n. Geniculating.] To form joints or knots on. [R.] --Cockeram.

Flout

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Flout FLOUT, v.t. To mock or insult; to treat with contempt.
Phillida flouts me.
He flouted us downright.
FLOUT, v.i. To practice mocking; to sneer; to behave with contempt.
Fleer and gibe, and laugh and flout.
FLOUT, n. A mock; an insult.

Schmuck

WordNet (r) 3.0

schmuck n 1: (Yiddish) a jerk [syn: schmuck, shmuck, schmo, shmo]


Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003)

schmuck noun Etymology: Yiddish shmok, literally, penis Date: 1892 slang jerk 4b


Oxford English Reference Dictionary

schmuck
n. esp. US sl. a foolish or contemptible person.
Etymology: Yiddish


English Explanatory Dictionary

schmuck n. esp. US sl. a foolish or contemptible person. [Yiddish]


Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

23 Moby Thesaurus words for "schmuck": ass, born fool, buffoon, clown, doodle, egregious ass, figure of fun, fool, idiot, ignoramus, jackass, jerk, lunatic, milksop, mooncalf, nincompoop, ninny, perfect fool, softhead, sop, stupid ass, tomfool, zany

asceticism

WordNet (r) 3.0

asceticism n 1: the doctrine that through renunciation of worldly pleasures it is possible to achieve a high spiritual or intellectual state 2: the trait of great self-denial (especially refraining from worldly pleasures) [syn: austerity, asceticism, nonindulgence] 3: rigorous self-denial and active self-restraint [syn: asceticism, ascesis]

Pariah

Oxford English Reference Dictionary

pariah
n.
1 a social outcast.
2 hist. a member of a low caste or of no caste in S. India.
Phrases and idioms:
pariah-dog = PYE-DOG.
Etymology: Tamil paraiyar pl. of paraiyan hereditary drummer f. parai drum


Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary

pariah (pariahs) If you describe someone as a pariah, you mean that other people dislike them so much that they refuse to associate with them. His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal, a pariah. = outcast N-COUNT [disapproval]

Affiance

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Affiance Af*fi"ance, v. t. [imp. ? p. p. Affianced; p. pr. ? vb. n. Affiancing.] [Cf. OF. afiancier, fr. afiance.] 1. To betroth; to pledge one's faith to for marriage, or solemnly promise (one's self or another) in marriage. To me, sad maid, he was affianced. --Spenser. 2. To assure by promise. [Obs.] --Pope.

Obscureness

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Obscureness OBSCU'RENESS,
OBSCU'RITY, n. [L. obscuritas.]
1. Darkness; want of light.
We wait for light, but behold obscurity. Isa 59.
2. A state of retirement from the world; a state of being unnoticed; privacy.
You are not for obscurity designed.
3. Darkness of meaning; unintelligibleness; as the obscurity of writings or of a particular passage.
4. Illegibleness; as the obscurity of letters or of an inscription.
5. A state of being unknown to fame; humble condition; as the obscurity of birth or parentage.

Ingustable

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Ingustable INGUST'ABLE, a. [L. in and gusto, to taste.]
That cannot be tasted. [Little used.]

Pantheist

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Pantheist PANTHE'IST, n. One that believes the universe to be God; a name given to the followers of Spinosa.
The earliest Grecian pantheist of whom we read is Orpheus.

WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)

pantheist adj 1: of or relating to pantheism [syn: pantheist, pantheistic] n 1: someone who believes that God and the universe are the same

Nominal

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Nominal NOMINAL, a.
1. Titular; existing in name only; as , a nominal distinction or difference is a difference in name and not in reality.
2. Pertaining to a name or names; consisting in names.
NOMINAL, n. The Nominalists were a sect of school philosophers, the disciples of Ocham or Ocdcam, in the 14th century, who maintained that words and not things are the object of dialectics. They were the founders of the university of Leipsic.

Comeupance

WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)

comeupance n 1: an outcome (good or bad) that is well deserved [syn: deserts, comeuppance, comeupance]

Compunction

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Compunction COMPUNCTION, n. [L. To prick or sting.]
1. A pricking; stimulation; irritation; seldom used in a literal sense.
2. A pricking of heart; poignant grief or remorse proceeding from a consciousness of guilt; the pain of sorrow or regret for having offended God, and incurred his wrath; the sting of conscience proceeding from a conviction of having violated a moral duty.
He acknowledged his disloyalty to the king, with expressions of great compunction.


Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner\'s English Dictionary

compunction If you say that someone has no compunction about doing something, you mean that they do it without feeling ashamed or guilty. He has no compunction about relating how he killed his father. N-UNCOUNT [disapproval]

Zamboni

Zamboni n 1: the trademark for a machine that smooths the ice in an ice- skating rink

Perfidious

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Perfidious PERFID'IOUS, a. [L. perfidus; per and fidus, faithful. Per in this word signifies through, beyond, or by, aside.]
1. Violating good faith or vows; false to trust or confidence reposed; treacherous; as a perfidious agent; a perfidious friend. [See Perfidy.]
2. Proceeding from treachery, or consisting in breach of faith; as a perfidious act.
3. Guilty of violated allegiance; as a perfidious citizen; a man perfidious to his country.

Fadge

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Fadge FADGE, v.i. [L. pango, pegi, pepegi, figo; Gr.]
1. To suit; to fit; to come close, as the parts of things united. Hence, to have one part consistent with another.
2. To agree; to live in amity.
3. To succeed; to hit.
[This word is now vulgar, and improper in elegant writing.]


1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

FADGE It won't fadge; it won't do. A farthing.

Vermeil

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Vermeil \Ver"meil\, n. [F., vermilion, fr. LL. vermiculus, fr. L. vermiculus a little worm, the coccus Indicus, from vermis a worm. See Worm, and cf. Vermicule.] 1. Vermilion; also, the color of vermilion, a bright, beautiful red. [Poetic & R.] In her cheeks the vermeil red did show Like roses in a bed of lilies shed. --Spenser. 2. Silver gilt or gilt bronze. 3. A liquid composition applied to a gilded surface to give luster to the gold. --Knight.

Pugnacious

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Pugnacious PUGNA'CIOUS, a. [L. pugnax, from pugna, a fight; from pugnus, the fist. See Pugil.]
Disposed to fight; inclined to fighting; quarrelsome; fighting.

WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)

pugnacious adj 1: tough and callous by virtue of experience [syn: hard- bitten}, hard-boiled, pugnacious] 2: ready and able to resort to force or violence; "pugnacious spirits...lamented that there was so little prospect of an exhilarating disturbance"- Herman Melville; "they were rough and determined fighting men" [syn: pugnacious, rough]

Hoyden

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003)

hoyden noun Etymology: perhaps from obsolete Dutch heiden country lout, from Middle Dutch, heathen; akin to Old English hǣthen heathen Date: 1676 a girl or woman of saucy, boisterous, or carefree behavior • hoydenish adjective

Incongruous

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Incongruous \In*con"gru*ous\, a. [L. incongruus. See In- not, and Congruous.] Not congruous; reciprocally disagreeing; not capable of harmonizing or readily assimilating; inharmonious; inappropriate; unsuitable; not fitting; inconsistent; improper; as, an incongruous remark; incongruous behavior, action, dress, etc. ``Incongruous mixtures of opinions.'' --I. Taylor. ``Made up of incongruous parts.'' --Macaulay. Incongruous denotes that kind of absence of harmony or suitableness of which the taste and experience of men takes cognizance. --C. J. Smith. Incongruous numbers (Arith.), two numbers, which, with respect to a third, are such that their difference can not be divided by it without a remainder, the two numbers being said to be incongruous with respect to the third; as, twenty-five are incongruous with respect to four. Syn: Inconsistent; unsuitable; inharmonious; disagreeing; absurd; inappropriate; unfit; improper. See Inconsistent. -- In*con"gru*ous*ly, adv. -- In*con"gru*ous*ness, n.

Derisory

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Derisory DERISORY, a. Mocking; ridiculing.


WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)

derisory adj 1: incongruous;inviting ridicule; "the absurd excuse that the dog ate his homework"; "that's a cockeyed idea"; "ask a nonsensical question and get a nonsensical answer"; "a contribution so small as to be laughable"; "it is ludicrous to call a cottage a mansion"; "a preposterous attempt to turn back the pages of history"; "her conceited assumption of universal interest in her rather dull children was ridiculous" [syn: absurd, cockeyed, derisory, idiotic, laughable, ludicrous, nonsensical, preposterous, ridiculous]

Walter Mitty

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003)

Walter Mitty noun Etymology: Walter Mitty, daydreaming hero of a story by James Thurber Date: 1949 a commonplace unadventurous person who seeks escape from reality through daydreaming • Walter Mittyish adjective

Importune

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Importune IMPORTU'NE, v.t. [L. importunus; in and porto, to bear on.]
To request with urgency; to press with solicitation; to urge with frequent or unceasing application.
Their ministers and residents here have perpetually importuned the court with unreasonable demands.
IMPORTU'NE, a. [L. importunus. Formerly accented on the second syllable.]
1. Pressing in request; urgent; troublesome by frequent demands; vexatious; unreasonable.
2. Unseasonable.
[This word is obsolete; being superseded by importunate, unless perhaps in poetry.]


WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)

importune v 1: beg persistently and urgently; "I importune you to help them" [syn: importune, insist]

Funambulist

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Funambulist FUNAM'BULIST, n. [L. funis, rope, and ambulo, to walk.] A rope walker or dancer.

WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005)

funambulist n 1: an acrobat who performs on a tightrope or slack rope [syn: funambulist, tightrope walker]

Prostibulous

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Prostibulous \Pros*tib"u*lous\, a. [L. prostibulum prostitute.] Of or pertaining to prostitutes or prostitution; meretricious. [Obs.] --Bale.

Impallid

Websters 1828 Dictionary

Impallid IMPAL'LID, v.t. To make pallid or pale. [Not in use.]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Impallid \Im*pal"lid\, v. t. To make pallid; to blanch. [Obs.] --Feltham.