burgh-bote
n. a tax for the repair of fortresses
Search Results for: in a word
In a Word
undoctor
v. to make unlike a doctor, to degrade a doctor
In a Word
andabatarian
adj. struggling while blindfolded
In a Word
anemocracy
n. a government by the wind
Frank Hurley took the photo above during Douglas Mawson’s Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911. “The figure is actually leaning on a constant 100 miles per hour wind while picking ice for culinary purposes.”
In a Word
ambilevous
adj. “left-handed on both sides”; clumsy
In a Word
polysemant
n. a word having more than one meaning
In 1000 Most Obscure Words, lexicographer Norman Schur notes that the Oxford English Dictionary gives three strikingly different definitions for rosmarine:
rosemary
sea spray
the walrus
Similarly, merkin manages to mean both “an artificial covering of hair for the female pubic region” and “a mop to clean cannon.” Kudos.
In 1973, textile merchant Marcus Shloimovitz sued the Oxford Dictionary for defining Jew in part as “a grasping or extortionate money-lender or usurer.” “The Jewish race includes sages, scholars, judges, scientists and people from the arts and stage,” he argued. “They have done great service for their countries. They are not cheats or unscrupulous usurers.” He lost because he failed to show that the definition had caused him personal suffering.
In a Word
carfax
n. a place where four roads meet
Traveling between country towns, you arrive at a lonely crossroads where some mischief-maker has uprooted the signpost and left it lying by the side of the road.
Without help, how can you choose the right road and continue your journey?
In a Word
eriff
n. a two-year-old canary
In a Word
plagose
adj. fond of flogging
baculine
adj. pertaining to punishment by flogging
mastigophorous
adj. carrying a whip
In a Word
impervestigable
adj. incapable of being fully investigated