Wiktionary:Word of the day/Archive/2018/April

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2018
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1[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 1
percussive maintenance n
  1. (humorous) The use of physical concussion, such as a knock or a tap, in an attempt to make a malfunctioning device or person work.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, this week we are featuring a series of unusual concepts – enjoy! Today is also the anniversary of the founding of Apple Inc. in 1976, an American company established to develop and sell a product sometimes subject to percussive maintenance – the personal computer.

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2[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 2
beer o'clock n
  1. (slang, humorous) The time of the first beer (or alcoholic beverage) of the day.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, this week we are featuring a series of unusual concepts. Enjoy!

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3[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 3
chairness n
  1. The essence of what it means to be a chair; the qualities that make a chair what it is.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, this week we are featuring a series of unusual concepts. Enjoy!

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4[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 4
disemvowel v
  1. (transitive, sometimes humorous) To remove the vowels from, for example, for the purpose of expurgating offensive words.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, this week we are featuring a series of unusual concepts. Enjoy!

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5[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 5
eucatastrophe n
  1. (literature) A catastrophe (dramatic event leading to plot resolution) that results in the protagonist's well-being.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, this week we are featuring a series of unusual concepts. Enjoy!

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6[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 6
pornocracy proper n
  1. (Roman Catholicism, historical, sometimes capitalized) The period of the papacy known as the saeculum obscurum (Latin for “dark age”), and also as the “Rule of the Harlots”, which began with the installation of Pope Sergius III in 904 and lasted for sixty years until the death of Pope John XII in 964, during which time the popes were strongly influenced by the Theophylacti, a powerful and corrupt aristocratic family.

pornocracy n

  1. (derogatory, sometimes figuratively) A government by, or dominated by, prostitutes or corrupt persons.
  2. (derogatory) A societal culture dominated by pornography.

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, this week we are featuring a series of unusual concepts. Enjoy!

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7[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 7
pharmacovigilance n
  1. (medicine, pharmacology) The detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects of medicines.

Today is World Health Day, which is sponsored by the World Health Organization to draw attention to matters of importance to global health. The WHO was founded on this day 70 years ago in 1948.

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8[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 8
enhypostasia n
  1. (Christianity (Christology)) The state of the human nature of Jesus Christ being entirely dependent on, and not existing independently of, the divine nature of God as a whole (which is the hypostasis of the Holy Trinity comprising God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit), or individual persons of the Trinity such as the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Today is Easter in Eastern Christianity in 2018.

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9[edit]

10[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 10
caveat v
  1. (transitive, regarded by some as nonstandard) To qualify a statement with a caveat or proviso.
  2. (transitive, law) To formally object to something.
    1. (transitive, law, specifically) To lodge a formal notice of interest in land under a Torrens land-title system.
  3. (transitive, law, dated) To issue a notice requesting that proceedings be suspended.
  4. (transitive, obsolete) To warn or caution against some event.

The tongue-in-cheek International Be Kind to Lawyers Day falls on this day in 2018, the second Tuesday of April.

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11[edit]

12[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 12
horses for courses phrase
  1. (chiefly British, idiomatic) Different people are suited for different jobs or situations; what is fitting in one case may not be fitting in another.

The Grand National, a horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, UK, begins on this day in 2018.

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13[edit]

14[edit]

15[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 15
Leonardeschi n
  1. A group of artists who worked in the studio of, or under the influence of, Leonardo da Vinci.

Today, the anniversary of the day Italian Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452, is declared by the International Association of Art to be World Art Day to celebrate the fine arts.

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16[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 16
sprachbund n
  1. (linguistics) A group of languages sharing a number of areal features (similar grammar, vocabulary, etc.) which are primarily due to language contact rather than cognation.

Russian linguist Nikolai Trubetzkoy, who coined the German word Sprachbund from which the English word is derived, was born on this day in 1890.

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17[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 17
kyriarchy n
  1. A system of ruling and oppression in which many people may interact and act as oppressor or oppressed.

Romanian-born German feminist Roman Catholic theologian Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, who coined the word in a 1992 book, was born on this day 80 years ago in 1938.

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18[edit]

19[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 19
dreamworker n
  1. A person who attempts to discover what deeper meaning might be contained in his or her own, or another person's, dreams.
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20[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 20
words fail someone v
  1. (transitive, idiomatic) Of a person: to be incapable of describing something with words, especially due to fear, shock, or surprise.
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21[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 21
gens n
  1. (Ancient Rome, historical) A legally defined unit of Roman society, being a collection of people related through a common ancestor by birth, marriage or adoption, possibly over many generations, and sharing the same nomen gentilicium.
  2. (anthropology) A tribal subgroup whose members are characterized by having the same descent, usually along the male line.

Rome is traditionally regarded as having been founded on this day.

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22[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 22
Gaia proper n
  1. (ecology) The ecosystem of the Earth regarded as a self-regulating organism.
  2. Alternative form of Gaea (“Greek goddess personifying the Earth”).

Today is Earth Day, a day for observing the need to protect the Earth.

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23[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 23
tarn n
  1. (Northern England) A small mountain lake, especially in Northern England.
  2. (US, chiefly Montana) One of many small mountain lakes or ponds.

Today is Saint George’s Day, the feast day of the patron saint of England.

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24[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 24
platitudinous adj
  1. Characterised by clichés or platitudes.
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25[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 25
monimolimnion n
  1. The lower, dense stratum of a meromictic lake (one with permanently stratified layers) that does not mix with the waters above.
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26[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 26
kenning n
  1. (obsolete) Sight, view; specifically a distant view at sea.
  2. (obsolete) The range or extent of vision, especially at sea; (by extension) a marine measure of approximately twenty miles.
  3. As little as one can discriminate or recognize; a small portion, a little. […]
  4. (zoology, obsolete, rare) A chalaza or tread of an egg (a spiral band attaching the yolk of the egg to the eggshell); a cicatricula. […]
  5. (poetry) A metaphorical phrase used in Germanic poetry (especially Old English or Old Norse) whereby a simple thing is described in an allusive way. […]
  6. (Northern England) A dry measure equivalent to half a bushel; a container with that capacity.
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27[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 27
ghost town n
  1. A town which has become deserted, usually due to failing economic activity, especially one that still has substantial visible remains.
  2. (figuratively) Anything that has been deserted or abandoned, or has been empty all along.

The town of Pripyat in the Soviet Union (now in Ukraine) became a ghost town after it was evacuated on this date in 1986 following the meltdown at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

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28[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 28
do ill v
  1. (idiomatic) To harm, to injure.

Today is recognized by the United Nations as World Day for Safety and Health at Work, which emphasizes the importance of preventing accidents and diseases in the workplace.

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29[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 29
fraudulence n
  1. The condition of being fraudulent; deceitfulness.

American former financier and investment advisor Bernard “Bernie” Madoff, was born on this day 80 years ago in 1938. Madoff was convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme considered to be the largest financial fraud in United States history.

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30[edit]

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Word of the day
for April 30
sudorific adj
  1. In a state of perspiration; covered in sweat; sudoriferous, sweaty.
  2. (chiefly pharmacology) That produces sweating.

The song “Sweat (A La La La La Long)” was released in Europe by the Jamaican reggae fusion group Inner Circle on this day 25 years ago in 1993.

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