mondo

[mon-doh]

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noun, plural mon·dos. Zen.

a question to a student for which an immediate answer is demanded, the spontaneity of which is often illuminating.

Compare koan.

Origin of mondo

1925–30; < Japanese mondō, earlier mondau < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese wèn inquire + dá reply

mondo

Slang.

adverb

very; extremely: mondo cool.

adjective

large; big: a mondo history paper.

Origin of mondo

< Italian mondo world, extracted from the film Mondo Cane (1961) and reinterpreted as an adv. in Italian or pseudo-Italian phrases such as mondo bizarro very bizarre, literally, bizarre world

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for mondo

fantastic, colossal, awesome, marvelous, fabulous, formidable, dreadful, incredible, terrific, immense, amazing, wonderful, exceptional, astounding, great, extraordinary, excellent, prodigious, vast, enormous

Examples from the Web for mondo

Historical Examples of mondo

Parenzos first name was Sigismondo, of which Mondo is the diminutive.
A Lady of Rome
F. Marion Crawford
La gola, il dado e l'otiose piumeHanno dal' mondo ogni virt sbandita.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 10 (of 10)
Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)

Word Origin and History for mondo

adj.

"very much, extreme," 1979, from Italian mondo "world," from "Mondo cane," 1961 film, literally "world for a dog" (English title "A Dog's Life"), depicting eccentric human behavior; the word was abstracted from the original title and taken as an intensifier.