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Staff Picks! Our Word Gift For You!

zeitgeist

[ zahyt-gahyst ] [ ˈzaɪtˌgaɪst ] Show IPA Phonetic Respelling

noun

the spirit of the time.

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Why Noël Spurgeon from Dictionary.com chose zeitgeist

Noël Spurgeon, UX Researcher, chose zeitgeist as a gift for you. Find out why!

More about zeitgeist

  • Zeitgeist was first recorded in English in 1840–50.
  • Zeitgeist comes from the German word Zeitgeist.
  • Zeit means “time, age, epoch” and Geist means “spirit, mind, intellect.”

EXAMPLES OF ZEITGEIST

  • The music of that era perfectly embodied the zeitgeist, expressing the collective emotions and aspirations of a generation.
  • The zeitgeist of excess and extravagance was reflected in the fashion trends of the 1980s.

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Staff Picks! Our Word Gift For You!

mountweazel

[ mount-wee-zuhl ] [ ˈmaʊntˌwi zəl ] Show IPA Phonetic Respelling

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.

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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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Staff Picks! Our Word Gift For You!

cromulent

[ krom-yuh-luhnt ] [ ˈkrɒm yə lənt ] Show IPA Phonetic Respelling

adjective

acceptable or legitimate.

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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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