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
You could argue that this is all prestidigitation, the conjuring of money from nothing.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 24, 2021
Knowing remote prestidigitation could work, I spent the two weeks after booking my ticket to “The Present” lurking and squinting and nervously participating online and on the phone, exploring how.
From New York Times • May 15, 2020
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
However, profounder as a poet, he was no match for Poe in what might be termed intellectual prestidigitation.
From The Poems and Prose Poems of Charles Baudelaire with an Introductory Preface by James Huneker by Baudelaire, Charles
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.
