Word of the Day
zeitgeist
noun
the spirit of the time.
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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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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