prestidigitation
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- prestidigitator noun
- prestidigitatorial adjective
- prestidigitatory adjective
Etymology
Origin of prestidigitation
First recorded in 1840–45; from French preste “nimble” (from Italian presto ) + Latin digit(us) “finger” + French -ation; or perhaps based on prestigiateur “juggler, conjurer,” derivative of Latin praestīgiae “juggler's tricks”; presto, prestige, digit, -ation
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Still, the biggest act of prestidigitation is yet to come, and actually occurs after Pence provides his proof texts.
From Salon • Aug. 27, 2023
We may never see a more masterful display of constitutional prestidigitation.
From Slate • Jun. 17, 2021
If cooking involves a mastery of prestidigitation — for which Mauro has the hands, “a worker’s hands and an artist’s hands” — it also requires the adoption of a new vocabulary, “a foreign tongue.”
From New York Times • May 21, 2019
Like the similar reanimation of the young Kurt Russell in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” it’s an impressive bit of CGI prestidigitation.
From Washington Post • May 25, 2017
The older woman, with a movement so rapid that it seemed almost prestidigitation, lifted and threw back her companion's veil.
From Out of the Ashes by Mumford, Ethel Watts
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
