Word of the Day
Learn a new word every day! The Dictionary.com team of language experts carefully selects each Word of the Day to add some panache to your vocabulary.
the leading female dancer in a ballet company.
In French, première danseuse means “first dancer,” and the male equivalent is premier danseur. Danseuse comes from the verb danser, “to dance,” of unclear origin. Première ultimately derives from Latin prīmārius, “of the first rank,” from prīmus, “first.” Première danseuse was first recorded in English in the 1820s. EXAMPLE OF PREMIÈRE DANSEUSE USED IN A SENTENCE The première danseuse played the dual roles of Odette and Odile in the production of Swan Lake.
belonging or pertaining to a reptilian order comprising turtles, tortoises, and terrapins.
Chelonian comes from Ancient Greek chelṓnē, meaning “turtle, tortoise.” Chelṓnē could have connections with Slavic words for “turtle” or other Ancient Greek words, or it could come from an extinct ancient Mediterranean language. Chelṓnē is not related to Spanish galápago, “tortoise.” Chelonian was first recorded in English in the 1820s. EXAMPLE OF CHELONIAN USED IN A SENTENCE A bale of several chelonian critters scurried about in the water, every so often poking their heads out of their shells.
a dance of Mexican origin, performed by a couple and consisting of nine figures and melodies, in which the partners often dance facing each other but not touching.
Jarabe means “syrup” in Spanish, while tapatío refers to a person or thing from Guadalajara, a city in Jalisco, Mexico. Spanish jarabe and English syrup both come from Arabic sharāb, “a drink,” which is related to sherbet and sorbet. Tapatío derives from the Nahuatl word tlapatiotl, “price, value,” after the Guadalajara area’s notable use of cacao beans as currency. Jarabe tapatío was first recorded in English in the mid-1870s. EXAMPLE OF JARABE TAPATÍO USED IN A SENTENCE The dancer dropped his sombrero to the floor as a signal to his partner to begin their jarabe tapatío.
to complain, especially chronically.
Kvetch is adapted from Yiddish kvetshn, meaning “to squeeze, pinch,” which is closely related to German quetschen, also meaning “to squeeze.” One possibility is that kvetch ultimately comes from Latin quassāre or quatere, “to shake,” which is the source of English concussion and squash. Kvetch was first recorded in English in the early 1960s. EXAMPLE OF KVETCH USED IN A SENTENCE The couple refused to buy an air conditioner, preferring instead to kvetch constantly about the heat in the summer.
a bright ring, caused by diffraction of light rays, that appears around the shadow cast by a person’s head on wet grass.
Heiligenschein (plural Heiligenscheine) is from German, in which it means “halo” or, literally, “saint’s shine.” Heiligen- is a form of Heiliger, “saint,” which is related to English hallow and Halloween. Schein means the same thing as its English relative shine. Heiligenschein was first recorded in English in the early 1910s. EXAMPLE OF HEILIGENSCHEIN USED IN A SENTENCE The skydivers saw Heiligenscheine around their shadows as they landed in the dewy field.
