Word of the Day
Brobdingnagian
adjective
of huge size; gigantic; tremendous.
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Why Dictionary.com chose Brobdingnagian
More about Brobdingnagian
- Brobdingnagian was first recorded in 1725–30.
- Brobdingnagian comes from the name Brobdingnag, a fictional place from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.
- In Brobdingnag, everything was of enormous size.
- Its opposite in the book was Lilliput, where everything was tiny. Something Lilliputian is extremely small.
EXAMPLES OF BROBDINGNAGIAN
- As we hiked through the forest, we came across a Brobdingnagian oak tree that towered above all others.
- The construction of the skyscraper required a Brobdingnagian crane to lift and place each massive steel beam.
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Why Dictionary.com chose galore
More about galore
- Galore was first recorded around 1660–70.
- Galore comes from the Irish phrase, go leór, meaning “enough, plenty.”
- The go element roughly translates as “to,” and leór, which comes from the Old Irish word lour, means “sufficiency.”
EXAMPLES OF GALORE
- The party decorations were vibrant and colorful, with balloons, streamers, and confetti galore.
- When I entered the bakery, my senses were greeted with the delightful aroma of freshly baked goods galore.
da capo
adverb
repeated from the beginning (used as a musical direction).
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Why Dictionary.com chose da capo
More about da capo
- Da capo entered English around 1715–25.
- Da capo comes from Italian and literally means “from the head.”
- You may hear da capo used in music with al fine, which means “to the end” as in, da capo al fine.
- In sheet music, da capo is often abbreviated d.c. and can also be used with al coda, meaning “to the tail.”
EXAMPLES OF DA CAPO
- The violinist knew she would have to go on playing the song through again da capo until the guest of honor appeared.
- That particular piece of music sounded better when played da capo al fine.
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