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Wiktionary:Word of the day/Archive/2020/December

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2020
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1

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Word of the day
for December 1
saccharine adj
  1. (dated) Of or relating to sugar; sugary.
  2. (dated) Containing a large or excessive amount of sugar.
  3. (figurative, derogatory) Excessively sweet in action or disposition, especially if romantic or sentimental to the point of ridiculousness; sickly sweet, syrupy.
  4. (chiefly botany, geology) Resembling granulated sugar; saccharoid.

[...]

  1. Of or relating to saccharin (“a white, crystalline powder, C7H5NO3S, used as an artificial sweetener in food products”).
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2

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Word of the day
for December 2
bit bucket n (computing)
  1. (historical) A container for holding chad (“small punched-out pieces of paper”) from paper tape or punch cards used with teleprinters, early computers, and other machines; a chad box.
  2. (by extension, humorous, slang) The supposed place where bits (binary digits) go when they fall off the end of a register during a shift operation; the notional resting place of lost or missing digital information.

bit bucket v

  1. (transitive, humorous, slang) To delete.

  Today is World Computer Literacy Day, which was launched by Indian company NIIT to encourage the development of computing skills, especially among women and children in India.

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3

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Word of the day
for December 3
valiant adj
  1. Possessing or showing courage or determination; brave, heroic.
  2. Characterized by or done with bravery or valour.

valiant n

  1. (obsolete) A person who acts with valour, showing hero-like characteristics in the midst of danger.

  Today is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which is recognized by the United Nations to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights, and well-being of persons with disabilities.

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4

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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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6

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7

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8

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Word of the day
for December 8
asweat adj
  1. (dated) In a sweat; covered or soaked with sweat or some liquid resembling sweat; sweating.
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9

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10

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Word of the day
for December 10
dreidel n
  1. A four-sided spinning top, inscribed with the four Hebrew letters נ (nun), ג (gimel), ה (hey), and ש (shin) (or פ (pey)) on each side, often used to play a traditional game during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
  2. A gambling game played using this top.

  Hanukkah is celebrated in 2020 from sunset on 10 December to nightfall on 18 December.

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11

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Word of the day
for December 11
montane adj
  1. (ecology) Of, inhabiting, or growing in mountain areas; specifically, the cool, moist upland slopes below the timberline.

montane n

  1. (ecology) An animal or a plant of a montane habitat.

  Today is International Mountain Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to highlight the importance of sustainable mountain development.

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12

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13

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14

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15

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Word of the day
for December 15
changeling n
  1. (European folklore, also figurative) In pre-modern European folklore: an infant of a magical creature that was secretly exchanged for a human infant. In British, Irish and Scandinavian mythology the exchanged infants were thought to be those of fairies, sprites or troll; in other places, they were ascribed to demons, devils, or witches.
  2. (by extension) A person or object (especially when regarded as inferior) secretly exchanged for something else.
  3. (by extension, informal, rare) An infant secretly exchanged with another infant deliberately or by mistake; a swapling.
  4. (fantasy, science fiction) An organism which can change shape to mimic others; a shape-shifter.
  5. (archaic, also figurative) A person apt to change their loyalty or thinking; a waverer.
  6. (obsolete) An idiot, a simpleton.

changeling adj

  1. (archaic, rare) Changeable, fickle, inconstant, wavering.
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16

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Word of the day
for December 16
reconciliation n
  1. The re-establishment of friendly relations; conciliation, rapprochement.
  2. (accounting) The process of comparing and resolving apparent differences between sets of accounting records, or between accounting records and bank statements, receipts, etc.
  3. Religious senses.
    1. (Christianity) The end of estrangement between a human and God as a result of atonement.
    2. (Christianity) The reconsecration of a desecrated church or other holy site.
    3. (Christianity, chiefly Roman Catholicism) Admission of a person to membership of the church, or readmission after the person has previously left the church.
    4. (Roman Catholicism) Short for sacrament of reconciliation (“a sacrament (sacred ritual) formerly called confession, involving contrition by a person, confessing sins to a priest, penance performed by the person, and absolution granted by the priest”).

  Today is the Day of Reconciliation in South Africa, which aims to foster reconciliation and national unity for the country.

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17

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Word of the day
for December 17
sharrow n
  1. (US) A marking (often consisting of an image of a bicycle with two inverted V shapes either above or below it) on the surface of a paved road shared by both bicycles and other vehicles indicating the portion of the road that cyclists may use.
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18

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Word of the day
for December 18
diasporal adj
  1. Pertaining to a diaspora.

diasporal n

  1. (chemistry, medicine) A diluted colloidal solution of some compound.

  Today is International Migrants Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to emphasize the importance of treating migrants with respect, and the need to strengthen mechanisms to protect them.

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19

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Word of the day
for December 19
me-tooism n (originally US, derogatory, informal)
  1. (politics) The act of following or taking on a policy of another (especially competing) person or political party.
  2. (by extension) The tendency to do or say the same as somebody else; the tendency to follow something that is trendy.
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20

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Word of the day
for December 20
scram v
  1. (intransitive, originally US, often imperative) To leave in a hurry; to go away.

[...] (chiefly nuclear physics)

  1. (transitive) To shut down (a nuclear reactor or, by extension, some other thing) for safety reasons, usually because of an emergency.
  2. (intransitive) Of a nuclear reactor or some other thing: to shut down, usually because of an emergency.

[...]

  1. (transitive, Derbyshire, Wales) To scratch (something) with claws or fingernails; to claw.

scram n (chiefly nuclear physics)

  1. (also attributively) A shutdown of a nuclear reactor (or, by extension, some other thing), often done rapidly due to an emergency.
  2. The device used to shut down a nuclear reactor; also, the button or switch used to initiate a shutdown.

[...]

  1. (Derbyshire, Wales) A scratch, especially caused by claws or fingernails.
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21

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Word of the day
for December 21
Jack Frost proper n
  1. A personification of frosty weather or winter.

  In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice falls on this day in 2020 according to UTC.

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22

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Word of the day
for December 22
daresay v
  1. (intransitive, archaic, originally) Chiefly in the form I daresay: to say something boldly; to affirm or assert.
  2. (intransitive, by extension) Chiefly in the form I daresay: to venture to say (as the speaker believes something is likely to be the case); to think something probable; to presume.
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23

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Word of the day
for December 23
botheration interj (originally Ireland, dated, often humorous)
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24

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Word of the day
for December 24
reindeer games plural n
  1. (US, informal) Activities which exclude outsiders.

  Have yourself a merry little Christmas Eve!

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25

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Word of the day
for December 25
and a partridge in a pear tree phrase
  1. (humorous) Used at the end of a list of items to emphasize its length.

  Merry Christmas from all of us at the English Wiktionary!

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26

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Word of the day
for December 26
agitprop n
  1. (uncountable, also attributively) Political propaganda disseminated through art, drama, literature, etc., especially communist propaganda; (specifically, communism, historical) such propaganda formerly disseminated by the Department for Agitation and Propaganda of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
  2. (countable) An instance of such propaganda.
  3. (countable) An organization or person engaged in disseminating such propaganda.

agitprop v

  1. (transitive, intransitive, politics) To disseminate (something as) political propaganda, especially communist propaganda, through art, drama, literature, etc.

  The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or Soviet Union, was officially proclaimed to have been dissolved with effect from this date in 1991.

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27

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Word of the day
for December 27
temporize v (American spelling, Oxford British English)
  1. (intransitive) To deliberately act evasively or prolong a discussion in order to gain time or postpone a decision, sometimes so that a compromise can be reached or simply to make a conversation more temperate; to stall for time.
  2. (intransitive, by extension) To discuss, to negotiate; to reach a compromise.
  3. (transitive, dentistry) To apply a temporary piece of dental work that will later be removed.
  4. (intransitive, archaic) To comply with the occasion or time; to humour, or yield to, current circumstances or opinion; also, to trim (“fluctuate between parties, so as to appear to favour each”).
  5. (intransitive, obsolete) To delay, especially until a more favourable time; to procrastinate.
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28

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Word of the day
for December 28
gallize v (American spelling, Oxford British English)
  1. (transitive, winemaking) To add sugar and water to (unfermented grape juice) so as to increase the quantity of wine produced.

  The German inventor Dr. Ludwig Gall, who developed the gallization process, was born on this day in 1791.

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29

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Word of the day
for December 29
rout v
  1. (transitive) To completely defeat and force into disorderly retreat (an enemy force, opponent in sport, etc.).
  2. (intransitive, archaic) To retreat from a confrontation in disorder.

[...]

  1. (transitive) To dig or plough (earth or the ground); to till.
  2. (transitive) Usually followed by out or up: of a person: to search for and find (something); also (transitive) to completely empty or clear out (something).
  3. (transitive, chiefly US) Usually followed by from: to compel (someone) to leave a place; specifically (usually followed by out or up), to cause (someone) to get out of bed.
  4. (transitive, intransitive) Of an animal, especially a pig: to search (for something) in the ground with the snout; to root.
  5. (transitive, intransitive) To use a gouge, router, or other tool to scoop out material (from a metallic, wooden, etc., surface), forming a groove or recess.
  6. (intransitive) Of a person: to search through belongings, a place, etc.; to rummage.

[...]

  1. (transitive) Usually followed by out or up: to dig or pull up (a plant) by the roots; to extirpate, to uproot.
  2. (transitive, figurative) Usually followed by out: to find and eradicate (something harmful or undesirable); to root out.
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30

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Word of the day
for December 30
politburo n
  1. The governing council and chief policymaking body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and other Marxist-Leninist political systems.
  2. (by extension, sometimes derogatory) A senior governing or policymaking body in a political or other organization, generally consisting of members who are either appointed by the party in control of the organization, or who attain membership through their personal political affiliations.

  The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or Soviet Union, was established on this day in 1922.

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31

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