Wiktionary:Word of the day/Archive/2010/October

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October

(Recycled October)

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When the words for a given month have all been replaced (or whatever) then subst: the sub-templates in on this page. That will preserve this month's archive, leaving the entries in the "Recycled" monthly pages to be (optionally) reused next year.

1

Word of the day
for October 1
meal ticket n
  1. A ticket or voucher that can be exchanged for food.
  2. (idiomatic) Someone or something that provides income or livelihood, especially as an exploited source
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2

Word of the day
for October 2
pussyfoot v
  1. To move silently, stealthily, or furtively.
  2. To act timidly or cautiously.
  3. To use euphemistic language or circumlocution
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3

Word of the day
for October 3
fishmonger n
  1. (UK) A shop that sells fish.
  2. (UK) A person who sells fish.
  3. (archaic) A pimp
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4

Word of the day
for October 4
indigenous adj
  1. Born or engendered in, native to a land or region.
  2. Innate, inborn
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5

Word of the day
for October 5
peristalsis n
  1. The rhythmic, wave-like contraction of the digestive tract that forces food through it
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6

Word of the day
for October 6
stupefy v
  1. To dull the senses or capacity to think, thereby reducing responsiveness
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7

Word of the day
for October 7
burdensome adj
  1. Of or like a burden; arduous or demanding
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8

Word of the day
for October 8
analgesic n
  1. (pharmacology) Any medicine, such as aspirin, that reduces pain without inducing unconsciousness
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9

Word of the day
for October 9
uplift v
  1. To raise something or someone to a higher physical, social, moral, intellectual, spiritual or emotional level
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10

Word of the day
for October 10
torrential adj
  1. Coming or characterized by torrents; flowing heavily or in large quantities
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11

Word of the day
for October 11
histrionics n
  1. Exaggerated, overemotional behaviour, especially when calculated to elicit a response; melodramatics
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12

Word of the day
for October 12
dividual adj
  1. Separate; distinct
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13

Word of the day
for October 13
orate v
  1. To speak formally; to give a speech.
  2. To speak passionately; to preach for or against something
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14

Word of the day
for October 14
corrigendum n
  1. An error that is to be corrected in a printed work after publication.
  2. (usually plural) A list of errors in a printed work as a separate page of corrections, known as an errata page
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15

Word of the day
for October 15
anadromous adj
  1. (of a migratory fish) That lives in the sea and breeds in fresh water.
  2. (botany) Of a fern in which the first veins in a frond segment are produced towards the apex of the frond
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16

Word of the day
for October 16
toggle v
  1. To alternate between two positions using a single switch or lever.
  2. To switch between alternate states
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17

Word of the day
for October 17
knackered adj
  1. (UK, Aus, NZ) Extremely tired or exhausted.
  2. (Irish, S Afr) Broken, inoperative
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18

Word of the day
for October 18
fractal n
  1. A geometric figure that repeats itself under several levels of magnification, and that shows self-similarity on all scales.
  2. A geometric figure that appears irregular at all scales of length
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19

Word of the day
for October 19
whangdoodle n
  1. (often humorous) A whimsical monster in folklore and children's fiction; a bugbear.
  2. (obsolete) Term of disparagement
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20

Word of the day
for October 20
adventitious adj
  1. From an external source; not innate or inherent, foreign.
  2. Accidental, additional, appearing casually.
  3. (medicine) Not congenital; acquired.
  4. (biology) Developing in an unusual place or from an unusual source
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21

Word of the day
for October 21
gleek v
  1. (archaic) To jest, ridicule, or mock; to make sport of.
  2. (informal) To discharge a thin stream of liquid through the teeth or from under the tongue
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22

Word of the day
for October 22
engross v
  1. (law) To write a final copy in large and legible lettering.
  2. To monopolize; To concentrate in the single possession of someone, especially unfairly.
  3. To completely engage the attention of
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23

Word of the day
for October 23
tandoor n
  1. A cylindrical clay oven used, in Middle Eastern and South Asian cuisine, to make flat bread, or to bake meat
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24

Word of the day
for October 24
logological adj
  1. Of or pertaining to logology; related to the study of words.
  2. (linguistics) Of or pertaining to conceptual patterns or mental categories of words and their referents
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25

Word of the day
for October 25
verily adv
  1. Truly, doubtlessly, in truth.
  2. Confidently, certainly
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26

Word of the day
for October 26
antihero n
  1. (literature) A protagonist who proceeds in an unheroic manner, such as by criminal means, via cowardly actions, or for mercenary goals
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27

Word of the day
for October 27
nether adj
  1. Lower; under.
  2. Lying beneath, or conceived as lying beneath, the earth’s surface
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28

Word of the day
for October 28
has-been n
  1. A person, especially one formerly popular or influential, whose popularity or effectiveness has peaked and is now in decline
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29

Word of the day
for October 29
worsted n
  1. Wool yarn made from long strands of wool.
  2. The fine, smooth fabric made from such wool yarn
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30

Word of the day
for October 30
catalyst n
  1. A chemical substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process.
  2. Someone or something that encourages progress or change
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31

Word of the day
for October 31
macabre adj
  1. Representing or personifying death.
  2. Obsessed with death or the gruesome.
  3. Ghastly, shocking, terrifying
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