Wiktionary:Word of the day/2020/December 5

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Word of the day
for December 5
gaslight n (British, historical)
  1. A lamp which operates by burning piped illuminating gas.
  2. The light produced by the burning gas in such a lamp.

gaslight v

  1. (transitive) To manipulate (someone) psychologically such that they question their own memory, perception, and sanity, thereby evoking in them cognitive dissonance and low self-esteem.

The stage play Gas Light by the English playwright and novelist Patrick Hamilton, from which the verb is derived, premiered in London on this day in 1938.

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