Word of the Day
mountweazel
noun
a decoy entry in a dictionary or encyclopedia, secretly planted among the genuine entries to catch other publishers in the act of copying content.
Why Kory Stamper from Dictionary.com chose mountweazel
Kory Stamper, Senior Editor of Lexicography, chose mountweazel as a gift for you. Find out why!
More about mountweazel
- Mountweazel was first recorded in 1975–80.
- Mountweazel comes from a fictitious entry in the fourth edition of the New Columbia Encyclopedia for Lillian Virginia Mountweazel.
- Lillian Virginia Mountweazel, who supposedly died on assignment while covering an explosion for the fictitious Combustibles magazine, never existed.
EXAMPLES OF MOUNTWEAZEL
- Readers of the new dictionary were stunned by the inclusion of the word “esquivalience,” which was certainly a mountweazel.
- They spend many hours searching for mountweazels in Dictionary.com to no avail.
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cromulent
adjective
acceptable or legitimate.
Why Grant Barrett from Dictionary.com chose cromulent
Grant Barrett, Head of Lexicography, chose cromulent as a gift for you. Find out why!
More about cromulent
- Cromulent was first recorded in 1996 in an episode of the TV show The Simpsons.
- We added cromulent to Dictionary.com in March of 2021.
- Cromulent is a facetious formation that ends with a Latin adjective suffix.
- Cromulent was invented for the episode to describe the other neologism embiggen as acceptable.
EXAMPLES OF CROMULENT
- The committee considered various proposals and finally agreed on a cromulent solution that satisfied everyone.
- The idea of using recycled materials for packaging is cromulent in today’s eco-conscious society.
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transmogrify
verb
to change in appearance or form, especially strangely or grotesquely; transform.
Why Dictionary.com chose transmogrify
More about transmogrify
- Transmogrify entered English around 1650–60.
- Earlier, transmogrify was also written transmigrify or transmography.
- Transmogrify is apparently a pseudo-Latinism, which is a word formed from or imitative of Latin.
EXAMPLES OF TRANSMOGRIFY
- The old, rusty car magically transmogrified into a sleek, futuristic vehicle at the touch of a button, leaving bystanders in awe.
- The caterpillar underwent a remarkable transformation as it transmogrified into a vibrant butterfly, spreading its colorful wings for the first time.