e-government

• E-government
• E-Government
• e-Gov
• egov
• EGOV
• E-GOV
• Egovernment
• eGovernment
• government
• egovernment
• EGovernment
• electronic government
• online government
• online
• e-Services
• e-Service
• Services
• e-
• E-
• Service
• e-commerce
• commerce
• electronic
• B2G

Also:
eGovernment, egovernment, Egovernment, E-government, E-Government, e-Gov, egov, EGOV, E-GOV, EGovernment
1. "B2G" (see); the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve the activities of public sector organisations:
a) the delivery of public services, where there is an online or Internet based aspect to
the delivery of the services;
b) the conduct of government business where the activities of those involved in the process of government itself (such as legislators and the legislative process) where some electronic or online aspect is under consideration;
c) voting where some technological aspect is under consideration.
2. Non-Internet aspects of eGovernment:
a) Telephone and telecommunications issues in a government context, including:
- the provision of government services by telephone (such as in call centers),
- the use of fax in the provision of government services and the conduct of government business,
- the use of mobile phone (and PDA) based communications technology (such as SMS text messaging and MMS as well as Bluetooth etc.) in the provision of government services and the conduct of government business;
b) General Government IT, which is now starting to be reclassified as eGovernment, in many cases because it is becoming ever more difficult to disentangle "internal" (i.e., non-'citizen-facing') IT resources and projects (which have hitherto mostly not been seen as part of eGovernment) from "external" (and thus mostly already seen as eGovernment) service provision. (This reclassification is by no means universal and is often controversial.);
c) Surveillance systems, CCTV, tracking systems, RFID, biometric identification, road traffic management and regulatory enforcement;
d) Identity cards, smart cards;
e) Polling station technology (where non-online "e-voting" is being considered);
f) TV and radio-based delivery of government services (this often has a "crossover" with the Internet, but also includes many non-Internet based aspects and projects such as Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), Digital TV and High Definition TV (HDTV) provision).
Non-Website-specific aspects of Internet-based eGovernment concerns:
- the use of Email in the provision of government services and the conduct of government business,
- the use of "online community" facilities, such as message boards, newsgroups and discussion lists
- the use of "real-time" Internet facilities, such as "online chat" and "instant messenger" technologies.
Example:
Implementation of E-Government is important in making Government more responsive and cost-effective.
Etymology:
The term (in all its uses) is generally agreed to derive from "electronic government" which introduces the notion and practicalities of electronic technology into the various dimensions and ramifications of government. Online government services are sometimes called e-Services, often a label which is considered to be a distinction from e-commerce, but in some cases e-services and e-commerce are practically interchangeable terms.
Synonym:
online government


earwig
[EER-wig]
To annoy or attempt to influence by private talk.
Example:
[He] earwigged the big man at the Labour conference, asking him to take the lead in banning tobacco advertising from newspapers. (Stephen Cook, "The Guardian" [London], October 1986)
History, more meanings:
Earwigs are small insects that were once thought to crawl into the ears of sleeping people. This isn't true - earwigs prefer moist, dark places under leaves and rocks to human ears - but the superstition led people to name the insect "earwicga," Old English for "ear insect." Over time, people connected the idea of having an insect in one's ear to situations that involve whispering or speaking privately into someone's ear. The noun "earwig" came to also mean "a whispering busybody" (though this sense is now considered archaic), and the verb "earwig" evolved to refer to the acts of such meddlers.


easy as pie

• as easy as a pie
• as easy as pie
• easy as a pie
• piece of cake
• piece
• cake
• easy
• pie
• a piece of cake
• as easy as falling off a log
• as easy as rolling off a log
• easy as falling off a log
• easy as rolling off a log

Very simple; extremely easy; not difficult; requiring practically no effort.
Examples:
1) The job was easy as pie, and we finished up an hour early. 2) You want Mom to give you fifty dollars? Easy as pie. Just tell her you need to buy some new shoes.
3) That math problem is easy as pie. I'll show you how to do it.
4) I thought that getting my teacher to raise my grade would be as easy as pie.
Etymology:
There are two similar modern idioms that mean extremely easy: "easy as pie" and "piece of cake". Why should they both relate to baked desserts? 'Pie' is a tasty, sweet dish that is easy to make, and even easier to eat.
Synonyms: (a) piece of cake; (as) easy as falling off a log; (as) easy as rolling off a log


easy come, easy go

• easy come easy go
• easy come
• easy go
• easy
• come
• go

Something that is easily obtained, as money, can be lost or parted with just as easily.
Example:
As Ming was spending his lottery money, he said, "Easy come, easy go."
History:
This saying goes all the way back to the famous "Canterbury Tales", written in the 1300s. The author, Geoffrey Chaucer, was saying that if you get something quickly and easily without really working hard for it, you'll probably spend or lose it just as quickly.

eat crow

• Eat
• crow
• eat one's words
• eat humble pie
• eat a humble pie
• take it back
• take
• back
• word
• humble pie
• humble
• pie

To be forced to do something very disagreeable; to acknowledge a mistake or defeat; to admit you were wrong, take back what you said.
Synonyms: eat one's words; eat humble pie; take it back.
Examples:
1) I made Jon admit that he was wrong, and now he has to eat crow.
2) The racing car driver bragged that his was the fastest, best-built car ever to run the
Indianapolis 500. He said confidently that he was guaranteed to win the race. But he had to eat crow when his car got two flat tires and lost the race.
Etymology:
This is a saying from the War of 1812 when an American officer was forced to eat a dead crow. People who have actually eaten a crow say that it tastes horrible. To be forced to "eat crow" is humbling and humiliating, like having to admit that you've done or said something terribly wrong. If you "eat crow", you are taking back something that you once said.


eat humble pie

• eat
• humble pie
• humble
• pie
• eat crow
• crow

To be apologetic or suffer humiliation; to act humble or admit guilt.
Examples:
1) Carlos bragged that he was the fastest runner in the school, but he had to eat humble pie when he came in last at the time trials.
2) When he finds out how wrong he's been, he'll eat humble pie.
Etymology, synonyms:
"Humble" means "modest, lowly, meek". Humble pie, which originally had no relation to being humble, was a meat pie made of animal intestines. The expression "eat humble pie" came to stand for the unpleasant situation in which you are forced to admit your mistakes or weaknesses.
This expression is very similar to "eat crow", but it comes from medieval times, when there really was a pie called an "umble", or "numble" pie. Umbles were the heart, liver, and entrails of deer and other animals, and only servants ate a pie made out of animals' guts. "Umble pie" was changed to "humble". By the early 1800s the expression "eat humble pie" meant profusely apologizing for a humiliating error.

eat lead

• eat
• lead

To be shot at with a gun; as an exclamation, the phrase is directed toward the intended target.
Example:
"Eat lead!" yelled the bank robber as he fired his gun at the police outside.
Etymology:
A bullet is made of lead so when a gun is fired at someone, the intended target might be 'eating lead' - that is, bringing the bullet inside their body.


eat my dust

• eat
• dust

A phrase meaning "I'm winning!", usually used to taunt someone who is losing a race or any kind of competition.
Example: Eat my dust, boy! Catch me if you can!
Etymology: In a car race, the lead car will produce a cloud of dirt that all the other cars will have to drive through; and the drivers of those cars will have to 'eat' (or breathe) that cloud of 'dust' (or dirt).

eat one's hat

• eat my hat
• eat your hat
• eat
• hat

A statement made when you are positive that something will happen.
Example:
If we don't win this basketball game by at least twenty points, I'll eat my hat.
Etymology:
Many great writers, including Charles Dickens, have used this expression. The idea behind it is that you are 100 percent certain that some event will take your place (or not take place). If the opposite of what you publicly predict unexpectedly happens, you will do something ridiculous like eat your hat. Since you expect your prediction to come true, you feel safe in promising that you'll do something stupid if it doesn't.

eat one's words

• eat your words
• eat
• words
• word
• eat crow
• eat humble pie
• take it back
• crow
• humble
• pie
• humble pie
• take
• back
• take smth. back

To have to take back what you said; to admit humbly that you were wrong; to regret what you said.
Examples:
1) He predicted that I'd fail biology, but I got a D. Now he'll have to eat his words.
2) He told me the answer, and I had to eat my words. I was wrong.
Synonyms:
eat crow, eat humble pie; take it back.
Etymology:
Words come out of your mouth. Food goes in to be eaten. If you're said something that turns out to be not true, maybe you wish you could take back those wrong words, put them back into your mouth, and eat them. A similar expression is "eat crow" etc. (see "Synonyms"), but "eat your words" makes more sense.
So, remember to keep your words soft and sweet, you never know when you may have to eat them.


eat out of one's hand

• eat out of your hand
• eat out of
• hand
• eat
• out of

To trust someone fully; believe or obey someone without question; to be very cooperative and submissive; to believe and obey someone without question.
Examples:
1) The governor has the reporters eating out of his hand. Helen is so pretty and popular that all the boys eat out of her hand.
2) That kid will be eating out of my hand when I show him my new video game.
Etymology:
This expression, from the 20th century, describes what a tame or trusting animal will do if you treat it right. The person who created this idiom applied the same idea to human beings who trust fully and obey without question. People don't actually eat out of someone's hand, but they do behave like obedient animals sometimes.

eat your heart out

• eat one's heart out
• eat the heart out
• eat out
• eat
• heart

1. To feel extremely unhappy about a hopeless situation; to make yourself sick with grief and worry.
2. To envy my prize, wish that you had one.
Examples:
1) After Elena lost the plane tickets, she ate her heart out over the mistake.
2) When Kurt won the Porsche, he said, "Eat your heart out, guys."
3) When Marika got the lead in the school play, Fiona ate her heart out because she wanted it.
Etymology:
This expression goes all the way back to the ancient Greek. The poet Homer used it in his famous epic poem the "Odyssey". A person's heart has always been considered the center of his or her emotions. For instance, a person can be "brokenhearted", or have a "heart of gold." This idiom is saying that if you become thin and weak from sorrow, if your misery is making you sick, then it's as if you are figuratively eating your heart out. The same happens if someone is extremely jealous.


eats

• eat
• grub

Food, particularly simple, inexpensive food.
Example:
I'm hungry. Let's get some eats!
Etymology:
One eats food. This slang term turns a verb into a noun. Synonym: grub


eavesdropper

• eavesdrop

One who listens in on another person's private conversation.
Etymology:
It began in Anglo-Saxon England. The word came from Old Norse and originally referred to the area around a building that was liable to be wetted by water flowing off the projecting eaves of the roof above (gutters hadnt been invented yet). There was an ancient custom that stopped a landowner from building within two feet of his boundary, for fear that the water cascading off the eaves might cause problems for his neighbour.
By the end of the medieval period, the word eavesdropper had been invented for somebody who stood within this strip of ground, under the projecting eaves and close to the walls of a building, in order to listen surreptitiously to the conversations within. The verb to eavesdrop in the same sense came along about a century later.


ebullient
[ih-BUL-yuhnt]
1. Overflowing with enthusiasm or excitement; high-spirited, exuberant.
2. Boiling up or over; agitated.
Examples:
1) The glasses he wore for astigmatism gave him a deceptively clerkish appearance, for he had an ebullient, gregarious personality, a hot temper, and an outsized imagination. (Jon Lee Anderson, "Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life")
2) He was no longer an ebullient, energetic adolescent. (Linda Simon, "Genuine Reality: A Life of William James")
3) Sometimes he would come back from the Drenchery Club holding on to the walls till he got to my office, where he'd be jolly and ebullient. At other times, he'd return morose. (Harriet Wasserman, "Handsome Is: Adventures with Saul Bellow")
4) Students found Mr. Brennan's science class to be a challenge, but his ebullient style made his lectures very entertaining.
Etymology, related words:
"Ebullient" comes from Latin "ebullire" ("to bubble up"), from "e-" ("out of, from") + "bullire" ("to bubble, to boil"); the stem "bullire" is an ancestor of our word "boil" and derives from "bulla," the Latin word for "bubble".
Someone who is ebullient is bubbling over with enthusiasm. In its earliest known uses in English in the late 1500s, "ebullient" was used in the sense of "boiling" or "bubbling" that might have described a pot simmering on the stove. Only later did the word's meaning broaden to encompass emotional agitation in addition to the tempestuous roiling of a boiling liquid.


echelon
1. A steplike arrangement.
2. A body of troops arranged in a line. (classification: military, armed forces, armed services, military machine, war machine)
3. a) One of a series of levels or grades in an organization or field of activity; b) the individuals at such a level.
Example:
Capturing her third straight title finally convinced critics that Janice belonged in the upper echelon of tennis players.
4. A diffraction grating consisting of a pile of plates of equal thickness arranged stepwise with a constant offset. Synonyms: diffraction grating, grating.
Etymology:
"Echelon" is a useful word for anyone who is climbing the ladder of success. It traces back to "scala", a Late Latin word meaning "ladder" that was the ancestor of the Old French "eschelon", meaning "rung of a ladder". Over time, the French word (which is "echelon" in Modern French) came to mean "step", "grade", or "level". When it was first borrowed into English in the 18th century, "echelon" referred specifically to a steplike arrangement of troops, but it now usually refers to a level or category within an organization or group of people.


echo bubble

• echo bubble
• echo
• bubble
• tech-driven bubble
• tech-driven
• tech
• driven
• B-wave
• wave
• bubble junior
• junior

A sharp but temporary rise in stock prices that follows the collapse of a recent stock market bubble.
Examples:
1) Given where tech stocks are at the moment - wheezing at a red light after a 17-month romp - where will they go from here? Will the Nasdaq hitch up its socks and dash to 2500 or maybe 3000? Or is the "echo bubble" starting to leak? And will this pull Nasdaq down to 1500? (Rich Karlgaard, "Tech Stocks at a Crossroads", Forbes, March 1, 2004)
2) After a spectacular rise in the S&P 500, signs of a major market top are rapidly falling into place. While many have heralded the rally as the emergence of a new bull market, history indicates that such large reactions are part and parcel of secular bear markets. Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith coined the term "echo bubble" to describe such typical post-bubble activity. When a market bubble bursts, it is generally followed by a secondary bubble, an "echo bubble" - during which market psychology matches the extremes of sentiment displayed in the first bubble. Typically, markets do not find a genuine bear market bottom until after the echo bubble pops. (Mark M. Rostenko, "Look out below!", CBS MarketWatch, March 18, 2004)
Etymology:
We've been using the word "bubble" to refer to a fragile or insubstantial financial scheme or situation since 1721 when Jonathan Swift, commenting on the South Sea Company's disastrous scheme to assume England's national debt, penned the following lines in his poem, "The Bubble": The Nation too late will find, Computing all their Cost and Trouble, Directors' Promises but Wind, South Sea at best a mighty Bubble. The new phrase "echo bubble" is being whispered throughout the financial community these days as people wonder whether the stock market gains of the past 18 months signal a fresh bull market or presage another spectacular collapse that will be the mirror of the late 90's tech-driven bubble.
Synonyms:
tech-driven bubble; B-wave (1987) or a bubble junior (2003)


eclectic
[ih-KLEK-tik]
1. Selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles.
2. Composed of elements drawn from various sources; heterogeneous.
Example:
Old-school musicians joined with today's rising stars to showcase an eclectic mix of music for charity.
Etymology, more examples:
"Eclectic" comes from a Greek verb meaning "to select" and was originally applied to ancient philosophers who were not committed to any single system of philosophy; instead, these philosophers selected whichever doctrines pleased them from every school of thought. Later, the word's use broadened to cover other selective natures. "Hard by, the central slab is thick with books / Diverse, but which the true eclectic mind / Knows how to group, and gather out of each / Their frequent wisdoms..." In this 19th century example from a poem by Arthur Joseph Munby, for example, the word is applied to literature lovers who cull selective works from libraries.


ecstatic
of, relating to, or marked by a state of extreme emotional excitement or rapturous delight
Example:
Carla was ecstatic when she received an acceptance letter from the college she had set her heart on attending.
Etymology:
"Ecstatic" has been used in our language since at least 1590, and the noun "ecstasy" is even older, dating from the 1300s. Both derive from the Greek verb "existanai" ("to put out of place"), which was used in a Greek phrase meaning "to drive someone out of his or her mind". That seems an appropriate history for words that can describe someone who is nearly out of his or her mind with intense emotion. In early use, "ecstatic" was sometimes linked to mystic trances, out-of-body experiences, and temporary madness. Today, however, it most typically implies a state of enthusiastic excitement or intense happiness.


edacious

• voracious
• insatiable
• ravenous

[ih-DAY-shuss]
1. Given to eating; having a huge appetite.
2. Excessively eager.
Synonyms: insatiable; ravenous.
Examples:
1) Fiona, an edacious reader, completed a book every few days and usually had begun her next one before she had finished her last.
2) Swallowed in the depths of edacious Time. (Thomas Carlyle)
3) Something that... will dismay edacious lips. ("The late showman," Independent, August 21, 1999)
4) Our... high-toned irritability, edacious appetites, and pampered constitutions. (Isaac Taylor, Natural History of Enthusiasm)
History, more synonyms:
"Tempus edax rerum." That wise Latin line by the Roman poet Ovid translates as "Time, the devourer of all things." Ovid's correlation between rapaciousness and time is appropriate to a discussion of "edacious." That English word is a descendant of "edax, edac-" ("gluttonous, consuming"), which is in turn a derivative of the Latin verb "edere," meaning "to eat." In its earliest known English uses, "edacious" meant "of or relating to eating." It later came to be used generally as a synonym of "voracious," and it has often been used specifically in contexts referring to time. That's how Scottish essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle used it when he referred to events "swallowed in the depths of edacious time."


eddy
[ED-ee]
1. A current of air or water running in a direction contrary to the main current, or moving in a circular direction.
Synonym: a whirlpool.
2. A tendency or current (as of opinion or history) contrary to or separate from a main current.
3. To move in an eddy or as if in an eddy; to move in a circle.
4. To cause to move in an eddy or as if in an eddy.
Examples:
1) Many inanimate systems have lifelike qualities - flickering flames, snowflakes, cloud patterns, swirling eddies in a river. (Paul Davies, "The Fifth Miracle")
2) Egypt, like many countries, was caught up in the eddies of the Great Depression, which overtook Europe and America and which came in Egypt just as the new graduates of the expanded schooling were entering the workforce, looking for the professional opportunities their education had promised. (Leila Ahmed, "A Border Passage")
3) The indifferent river swirls on, eddying past small promontories where grass peeks through the snow. (Roger Cohen, "Hearts Grown Brutal")
4) The fragrant water is not completely still but, stirred perhaps by his own entry, seems to eddy around him as if he were being bathed in a rippling brook fed by hot springs, one that cleanses itself even as it cleanses him. (Robert Coover, "Ghost Town")
Etymology:
"Eddy" is from Middle English "ydy", probably of Scandinavian origin.


edify
[ED-uh-fye]
1. To instruct and improve especially in moral and religious knowledge.
2. To enlighten, inform.
Example:
Jesse told the congregation, "The inspiring sermons of our new minister will edify you and propel you to greater spirituality."
Etymology, more meanings:
The Latin noun "aedes," meaning "house" or "temple," is the root of "aedificare," a verb meaning "to erect a house." Generations of speakers built on that meaning, and by the Late Latin period, the verb had gained the figurative sense of "to instruct or improve spiritually." The word eventually passed through Anglo-French before Middle English speakers adopted it as "edify" during the 14th century. Two of its early meanings, "to build" and "to establish," are now considered archaic.


efface
[ih-FAYS]
1. To cause to disappear by rubbing out, striking out, etc.; to erase; to render illegible or indiscernible.
2. To destroy, as a mental impression; to wipe out; to eliminate completely.
3. To make (oneself) inconspicuous.
Examples:
1) Her fingerprints were gone, she thought. Effaced. (Rosellen Brown, "Half a Heart")
2) Death, so omnipresent in the past that it was familiar, would be effaced, would disappear. (Philippe Aries, "Western Attitudes Toward Death from the Middle Ages to the Present")
3) Conversely, as a reaction, one may note in passing that more serious and dedicated writers choose to keep a low profile and to disguise or to efface themselves as much as possible. (Sergio Perosa, "The Heirs of Calvino and the Eco Effect," New York Times, August 16, 1987)
Etymology:
"Efface" comes from French "effacer", from Old French "esfacier", from "es-" ("out", from Latin "ex-") + "face" (from Latin "facies").


efficacious

• Effective
• efficient
• effectual

[ef-ih-KAY-shuhs]
Having the power to produce a desired effect; possessing the quality of being effective; producing, or capable of producing, the effect intended; as, an efficacious law.
Examples:
1) Lawyers make claims not because they believe them to be true, but because they believe them to be legally efficacious. (Paul F. Campos, "Jurismania")
2) Henri IV wrote to his son's nurse, Madame de Montglat, in 1607 insisting 'it is my wish and my command that he be whipped every time he is stubborn or misbehaves, knowing full well from personal experience that nothing in the world is as efficacious'. (Katharine MacDonogh, "Reigning Cats and Dogs: A History of Pets at Court")
3) Since the Renaissance Plagued by rats, the citizens of Hamelin desperately seek some efficacious method of pest control. (Francine Prose, review of "The Pied Piper of Hamelin, as retold by Robert Holden", New York Times, August 16, 1998)
Etymology, synonyms, more examples:
"Efficacious" is from Latin "efficax", "-acis", from "efficere" ("to effect, to bring about"), from "ex-" ("out") + "facere" ("to do or make").
"Effective," "efficient," and "effectual" are synonyms of "efficacious," but each of these words has a slightly different connotation. "Efficacious" suggests possession of a special quality or virtue that makes it possible to achieve a result ("a detergent that is efficacious in removing grease"). "Effective" stresses the power to produce or the actual production of a particular effect ("an effective rebuttal"), while "effectual" suggests the accomplishment of a desired result, especially as viewed after the fact ("measures taken to reduce underage drinking have proved effectual"). "Efficient" implies an acting or potential for acting that avoids loss or waste of energy ("an efficient small car").


effrontery

• insolence

[ih-FRUN-tuh-ree]
Insulting presumptuousness; shameless boldness.
Synonym: insolence.
Examples:
1) Who would have the effrontery to treat the chairman in this way? (Tom King, "The Operator")
2) Passionately she sang of Yoshitsune, her love and yearning for him, and her joy that he had successfully managed to evade his evil half-brother Yoritomo. Yoritomo was torn between rage at such effrontery and pleasure at the exquisite beauty of her voice. (Lesley Downer, "Women of the Pleasure Quarters")
Etymology:
"Effrontery" is from French "effronterie", ultimately from Late Latin "effrons, effront-" - "shameless," literally "without forehead" (to blush with), from Latin "ex-" ("out of") + "frons, front-" ("forehead").


effulgence

• effulgent
• fulgent
• Refulgence
• brilliance

[i-FUL-juhn(t)s]
The state of being bright and radiant; splendor; brilliance.
Examples:
1) The purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues. (Congressman Henry Lee's Eulogy for George Washington, 1799)
2) The setting sun as usual shed a melancholy effulgence on the ruddy towers of the Alhambra. (Washington Irving, "The Alhambra")
3) Nice gave him a different light from Paris - a high, constant effulgence with little gray in it, flooding broadly across sea, city and hills, producing luminous shadows and clear tonal structures. (Robert Hughes, "Inventing A Sensory Utopia," Time, November 17, 1986)
4) Though autumn's effulgence has passed in the north, down south the Chinese tallow trees have just begun a respectable display of their own.
History, related words, synonyms:
English speakers first took a shine to "effulgence" in the late 1600s, but it has older relatives in the English language. It derives from Latin "ex-" ("out of, from") and the Latin verb "fulgere," which means "to shine," a word that is also the root of "fulgent," a synonym of "radiant" that English speakers have used since the 15th century. The adjective form of the word is effulgent. "Refulgence" also appeared in the 1600s - but in the earlier half - and has a close meaning to "effulgence." It means "a radiant or resplendent quality or state" and, like "effulgence," is synonymous with "brilliance."


effusive

• effund

[ih-FYOO-siv]
1. Excessively demonstrative; giving or involving extravagant or excessive emotional expression; gushing; marked by the expression of great or excessive emotion or enthusiasm
Examples:
1) His speeches are embarrassingly effusive; treacle drips from their pages: "I yield to none in my admiration for our teachers, doctors, nurses and police . .. Our public servants are the best in the world, and when given the leadership and investment they need, they achieve world-class standards." (Mary Ann Sieghart, "Blair lays bare his iron fist for change," Times (London), June 1, 2001)
2) The effusive praise of critics has no doubt bolstered Beowulf's popularity. (Brendan I. Koerner, "Required reading," U.S. News, March 20, 2000)
3) This rectitude, even severity, was also a roundabout way of showing his affection and his generosity, for he was altogether incapable of indulging in effusive sentimentality. (Patrice Debr?, "Louis Pasteur", translated by Elborg Forster)
4) Although he acted a little embarrassed, Jason was probably delighted with the effusive compliments heaped on him when he was awarded the poetry prize.
2. characterized or formed by a nonexplosive outpouring of lava
Etymology, related words:
We've used "effusive" in English to describe excessive outpourings since at least 1662. In the 1800s, geologists adopted the specific sense related to flowing lava - or to hardened rock formed from flowing lava. "Effusive", at root meaning "pouring out," can be traced to the Latin verb "effusus", past participle of "effundere" ("to pour out"), which itself comes from "fundere" ("to pour") plus a modification of the prefix "ex-" ("out"). The verb "effuse" has the same Latin ancestors. A person effuses when he or she speaks effusively. Liquids effuse as well (as in "blood effusing from a wound"). There is also the verb "effund", which is synonymous with the liquid-flowing sense of "effuse", but it is archaic.


egg-sucking dog

• egg-sucking
• dog
• egg
• sucking
• suck

1. Occasionally, a trusted, working farm dog would develop the bad habit of taking eggs from nests and eating them, turning himself from asset into liability.
Example:
"His chief business was the doing away with dogs of ill-repute in the country; vicious dogs, sheep-killing dogs, egg-sucking dogs, were committed to Alan's dread custody, and often he would be seen leading off his wretched victims to his den in the woods, whence they never returned." ("Glengarry School Days" by Ralph Connor, 1902)
2. A figurative extension from that of a dog found with egg around its muzzle, mute evidence of the most wicked depravity.
Example:
"He's a miserable, fox-faced scoundrel, and I've no more use for him than I have for an egg-sucking dog." ("Nan Sherwood at Pine Camp", by Annie Roe Carr, of about 1919)



eggcorn

• egg corn
• centrifical
• supposably
• nucular
• intrical

(Amer., informal) A spell-as-you-speak error.
Example:
Some eggcorn examples are "supposably" for "supposedly", "nucular" for "nuclear", "intrical" for "integral", "centrifical" for "centrifugal".
Etymology:
Geoffrey Pullum invented the name in 2003. It comes from the story of an American woman who wrote "egg corn" when she meant "acorn", as in her dialect the first vowels are identical.


egregious

• congregate
• gregarious

[ih-GREE-juhs]
Conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible.
Examples:
1) But by failing to understand the asymmetry of commitment between the United States and the Vietnamese communists, they paved the way for committing the most egregious error a country going to war can make: underestimating the adversary's capacity to prevail while overestimating one's own. (Jeffrey Record, "The Wrong War")
2) Mr. Gordon says he does not particularly like President Clinton, who also gets lavished with high job-approval ratings despite egregious personal acts. (Maureen Dowd, "Streetcar Named Betrayal." New York Times, February 24, 1999)
Etymology, related words:
"Egregious" derives from Latin "egregius" - "separated or chosen from the herd," from "e-, ex-" ("out of, from" ) + "grex, greg-" ("herd, flock").
Trivia: "Egregious" formerly indicated a good quality (that which was distinguished "from the herd" because of excellence), but now it is used only in a bad sense. It is related to "congregate" - "to flock together," from "con-" ("together, with") + "gregare" (to assemble, from "grex"); "segregate", from "segregare" ("to separate from the herd"), from "se-" ("apart") + "gregare"; and "gregarious" ("belonging to a flock"), from "gregarius".


egress
[EE-gress], noun:
1. The act of going out or leaving, or the right or freedom to leave.
Synonym: departure.
2. A means of going out or leaving.
Synonyms:
an exit; an outlet.
[ee-GRESS], intransitive verb
To go out; to depart.
Synonym: to leave.
Examples:
1) Today gates and walls, much more hard and fixed barriers than street patterns, control entrance and egress in suburban subdivisions and urban neighborhoods around the country. (Edward J. Blakely and Mary Gail Snyder, "Fortress America")
2) New York's superb natural harbor and its links westward via the Erie Canal and, later, several trunk railroads made it an ideal entry and egress point for goods and people. (Joshua B. Freeman, "Working-Class New York")
3) In order to keep the crowds moving through the exhibits in his traveling show . .. Mr. [P.T.] Barnum posted signs that read: "This Way to the Egress." Eager to view this presumably strange and exotic exhibit, the throngs would push through the door labeled "Egress" -- and find themselves in the street. (Laurie A. O'Neill, "Almanac Is Itself a Rare Occurrence," New York Times, December 27, 1981)
Etymology:
"Egress" is from Latin "egressus", from "egredi" ("to go out"), from "e-" ("out") + "gradi" ("to step").


eighty-six

• eighty
• six

(slang) 1. refuse to serve (a customer); discard; reject;
2. to get rid of; to throw out.
Example: He says the show will go on next month, though scheduling conflicts may move it to another hotel and the band may be eighty-sixed.
3. something should be gotten rid of.
Example: Eighty-six that monkey - the health department is outside
4. to end; to put a stop to (smth.);
5. being six more than eighty.
Synonyms: 86, LXXXVI.
6. sold-out (of an item);
7. undesirable customer, one who is denied service.
8. be out of something (about a restaurant, as a rule).
Example: We're eighty-six on flounder.
9. No! No way!
10. To kill, knock off, eradicate.
Example: All we gotta do is eighty-six that bitch judge, and we're straight.
11. (Bingo slang) between the sticks (that is bingo slang for the number eighty-six).
Etymology:
1) Probably rhyming slang for nix. Date: 1959.
2) Perhaps after Chumley's bar and restaurant at 86 Bedford Street in Greenwich Village, New York City. During Prohibition, when a raid was imminent, a cop on the take would call and warn the proprietor to eighty-six it (see): hide the booze and get the customers out. It does seem to be true that eighty-six originated in restaurants and bars in the late 1920s or early 1930s; the first firmly attested source is in the journal American Speech for February 1936; another example may be from the mid 1920s - the date is uncertain - which would rule out Chumley's, as it didn't open until 1927. The original sense was that the establishment had run out of some item on the menu.


eighty-six it

• eighty-six
• smithwright it
• smithwright
• smith wright it

take it off the list, it is one too many.
Example:
Our menu has too many entrees. Let's eighty-six the beef stroganoff.
Synonym: smithwright it

eke

• eke out

[EEK]
1. To gain or supplement with great effort or difficulty (used with 'out').
2. To increase or make last by being economical (used with 'out').
3. (Archaic) To enlarge.
4. (Archaic) In addition; likewise.
5. Addition.
Examples:
1) When the PRI unites around a candidate and the two opposition parties divide the rest of the vote, the ruling party can usually eke out a victory. (Mary Beth Sheridan, "PRI Wins Mexico State Governor's Race, but Loses Smaller Stronghold," Los Angeles Times, July 6, 1999)
2) Inevitably, the prodigious footnotes get in the way of what is, basically, a simple parable. Like the wide margins the publishers use to eke out a skimpy text, they make the novel seem bigger than it is. (James MacBride "What Did Myra Want?" New York Times, February 18, 1968)
3) Although life was hard it was not unendurable, and the rugged and resourceful villagers eked out a living on the thin crust of the soil. (Suheil Bushrui and Joe Jenkins, "Kahlil Gibran: Man and Poet")
4) But the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies managed to eke out a gain, rising 0.04 points, to 456.55. (Kenneth N. Gilpin, "Tuesday's Stocks: Selloff Leaves Stocks Slightly Lower," New York Times, July 7, 1999)
5) It will be prodigious hard to prove that this is eke the throne of love.
6) A trainband captain eke was he of famous london town.
7) These are clumsy ekes that may well be spared. Etymology:
"Eke" is from Old English "ecan" ("to increase").


elan

• elance

[ay-LAHNG] (the "NG" is not pronounced, but the vowel is nasalized)
1. Vigorous spirit or enthusiasm.
2. A dash.
Example:
With all the requisite elan, our guest blessed the food, toasted the cook, carved the roast turkey, served it around, and ate multiple helpings of everything.
History, related words:
Once upon a time, English speakers did not have "elan" (the word, that is; that's not to say they haven't always had potential for vigourous spirit). They had, however, "elance," a verb meaning "to hurl" that was used specifically for throwing lances and darts. "Elance" derived down the line from Middle French "(s')eslancer," meaning "to rush" or "dash" (that is, "to hurl oneself forth"). With the decline of lance-throwing, Englishmen tossed out "elance" a century and half ago. Just about that time they found "elan," a noun that traces to "(s')eslancer." They copied "elan" in form from the French, but they dispensed with the French sense of a literal "rush" or "dash," retaining the sense of enthusiastic animation that is sometimes characterized as "dash."


elaqueate
to free from a noose or other entanglement


elbow grease

• elbow
• grease
• effort
• exertion
• travail
• sweat

An effort and strength to clean something; physical effort, hard work; energetic manual labor; use of physical or mental energy.
Examples:
1) We'll have to use a lot of elbow grease to get the kitchen cleaned.
2) Put a little elbow grease into that job. Polish that car until it shines!
Synonyms:
effort, exertion, travail, sweat
History:
In Britain in the late 1600s people were using the term "elbow grease" to jokingly refer to the sweat worked up by strong, fast-moving work with one's arms, such as rubbing, polishing, and scraping.


eldritch
[EL-drich]
Strange; unearthly; weird; eerie.
Examples:
1) In the eldritch light of evening in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, the eye plays tricks on the brain. (Thom Stark, "Something's Burning," Boardwatch, November 2000)
2) The immitigable mountains and their stark, eldritch trees; coasts where earth abruptly snapped off, never to be continued, or beaches which gnawed it to bright dust and sucked it gently away.... (Carolyn Kizer, "A Childhood South of Nowhere," New York Times, April 9, 1989)
Etymology:
"Eldritch" perhaps derives from a Middle English word meaning "fairyland," from Middle English "elf" ("elf", from Old English "aelf") + "riche" ("kingdom", from Old English "rice").


eleemosynary
[el-uh-MOS-uh-ner-ee]
1. Of or for charity; charitable; as, "an eleemosynary institution."
2. Given in charity; having the nature of alms; as, "eleemosynary assistance."
3. Supported by or dependent on charity; as, "the eleemosynary poor."
Examples:
1) We also need to revive the great eleemosynary institutions through which compassionate people serve those in need with both greater flexibility and discipline than government agencies are capable. (Clifford F. Thies, "Bring back the bridewell," The World & I, September 1, 1995)
2) An author ought to consider himself, not as a gentleman who keeps a private or eleemosynary treat, but rather as one who keeps a public ordinary, at which all persons are welcome for their money. (Henry Fielding, Tom Jones)
3) Like Hilda's "eleemosynary doves," these birds depend upon the Author's charity, require mothering, just as Hilda finds solace in the Virgin -"a child, lifting its tear-stained face to seek comfort from a Mother." (John Dolis, "Domesticating Hawthorne: Home Is for the Birds," Criticism, Winter 2001)
Etymology:
The source of "eleemosynary" is Medieval Latin "eleemosynarius", from Late Latin "eleemosyna" ("alms"), from Greek "eleemosyne", from "eleemon" ("pitiful"), from "eleos" ("pity").

elucidate

• elucidating
• lucid
• lucent
• translucent

[ih-LOO-suh-dayt]
1. To make lucid especially by explanation or analysis.
2. To give a clarifying explanation.
Example:
Mary was asked to elucidate a bit for those in the audience who weren't up-to-date on the latest research.
Etymology, related words:
To "elucidate" is to make something clear that was formerly murky or confusing - and it is perfectly clear how the modern term got that meaning. "Elucidate" traces to the Latin term "lucidus," which means "lucid." "Lucidus" in turn descends from the verb "lucere," meaning "to shine." So "elucidating" can be thought of as the figurative equivalent of shining a light on something to make it easier to see. "Lucere" has also produced other shining offspring in English. Among its descendants are "lucid" itself (which can mean "shining," "clear-headed," or "easily understood"), "lucent" (meaning "giving off light" or "easily seen through"), and "translucent" (meaning "partly transparent" or "clear enough for light to pass through").


emancipation
[ih-man-suh-PAY-shun]
The act or process of freeing from bondage.
Example:
Jomo Kenyatta played a key role in the emancipation of Kenya from European rule in the 1960s and became the first president of the newly independent nation.
History:
In his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln wrote, "On the 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." Lincoln's proclamation ordered that slaves living in rebellious territories be taken away from the bonds of ownership and made free people, their own masters. Though the proclamation's initial impact was limited, the order was true to the etymology of "emancipation," which comes from a combination of the prefix "e-" (meaning "away") and the Latin verb "mancipare" (meaning "to transfer ownership of").


emblazon

• blazon

1. To inscribe or adorn with or as if with heraldic bearings or devices.
2. To inscribe (as heraldic bearings) on a surface.
3. To celebrate, extol.
4. To deck in glaring colors; to set off conspicuously; to display pompously; to decorate.
Examples:
1) The company's new slogan was emblazoned on everything from T-shirts to billboards as part of a huge advertising campaign to launch their latest product.
2) Three times we stopped at one of the tiny wooden snack shacks that dot Tobago's roadside, all emblazoned with Coke signs, before we found one that had any in stock: It had one bottle. (John Henderson, "Spoiled by the Unspoiled in Tobago.", Los Angeles Times, January 2, 2000)
3) Signs in Chinese characters emblazon tailor shops, banks, restaurants and boutiques painted with bright yellows, cobalt blues and deep reds. (Harriet King, "Near Vancouver, the Chinese Stake Is Growing.", New York Times, September 7, 1996)
4) In an age when "Anonymous" became a gimmicky novelistic pseudonym and deep-pocket donors emblazon their names on buildings, parks or plaques, he insisted on staying unknown because he wanted the spotlight to fall on those who labor unheralded. (David Gonzalez, "Rewarding a Rock's Role in the Bronx.", New York Times, December 2, 1998)
History:
English speakers have been using the heraldic sense of "emblazon" since the late 16th century, and before that there was the verb "blazon" ("to describe heraldically") and the noun "blazon" ("a heraldic coat of arms"), which descend from Anglo-French "blason", which, in turn, is from "em-" + Old French "blason" - a shield (with coat of arms); it is probably ultimately of Germanic origin and akin to "blaze". "Emblazon" still refers to adorning something with an emblem of heraldry, but it is now more often used for adorning or publicizing something in any conspicuous way, whether with eye-catching decoration or colorful words of praise.


embonpoint

• stoutness

plumpness of person
Synonym: stoutness
Examples:
1) With his embonpoint, Mr Soames appears to be wearing a quadruple-breasted suit. (Simon Hoggart, "Roll up, roll up, to explore the Soames Zone," The Guardian, February 1, 2000)
2) His embonpoint expands by the day and his eyes are buried in the fat of his cheeks. (Quoted in "Goethe: The Poet and the Age: Revolution and Renunciation", by Nicholas Boyle)
3) The judge was a man of stately embonpoint who walked with a heavy step as he entered the courtroom.
Etymology:
"Embonpoint" is most often used to describe people of heavy, but not necessarily unattractive, girth. It derives from "en bon point", a phrase from Middle French that means "in good condition". The word was first used as a noun in English in the 17th century. It has subsequently appeared in works by Charlotte Bronte ("a form decidedly inclined to embonpoint" - "Shirley"), James Fenimore Cooper ("an embonpoint that was just sufficient to distinguish her from most of her companions" - "Home as Found"), and George Eliot ("as erect in her comely embonpoint as a statue of Ceres" - "Adam Bede"), among others. The word is from French, literally "in good condition" ("en" = "in" + "bon" = "good" + "point" = "situation, condition").


embouchure
the mouthpiece of a musical instrument or the position of the mouth when playing one


emeritus
[ih-MEH-ruh-tus]
Retired with an honorary title from an office or position.
Example:
Although he is retiring from the newspaper, Mr. Richardson will remain as editor emeritus, and his name will still appear on the masthead.
History:
In Latin, "emeritus" was used to describe soldiers who had completed their duty. It is the past participle of the verb "emereri," meaning "to serve out one's term," from the prefix "e-" (meaning "out") and "merere" ("to earn, deserve, or serve"). ("Merere" also gives us our English word "merit.") Beginning in the late 18th century, English speakers began using "emeritus" as an adjective to refer to professors who had retired from office. The word eventually became applied to other professions where a retired member may continue to hold a title in an honorary capacity. In many titles, "emeritus" is used postpositively, which means that it comes after the noun it modifies instead of before it, as in the example sentence.


emigrate

• immigrate
• migrate

[EM-uh-grayt]
To leave one's place of residence or country to live elsewhere.
Example:
O.E. Rolvaag emigrated from Norway to the U.S. in 1896 and subsequently wrote "Giants in the Earth" and other books about Norwegians who settled in the American prairies.
Etymology, related words:
"Migrate" (to wander; to move from one region to another in a group; to resettle seasonally), "emigrate," and "immigrate" are all about being on the move. All those terms come from the Latin word "migrare," which means "to move from one place to another." "Emigrate" and "immigrate" sound alike, and it is true that both involve leaving one location and entering another. The subtle difference between them lies in point of view: "emigrate" stresses leaving the original place, while "immigrate" focuses on entering the new one. You won't have trouble keeping them straight if you remember that the prefix "e-" means "away," as in "eject," and the prefix "im-" or "in-" means "into," as in "inject."


eminently

• very

[EM-ih-nunt-lee]
to a high degree
Synonym: very
Example:
One glance at Emily's accomplished resume, and the interviewer knew she was eminently qualified for the job.
History:
When British physician Tobias Venner wrote in 1620 of houses "somewhat eminently situated," he used "eminently" in a way that now seems unusual. Venner meant that the houses were literally located in a high place. That lofty use of "eminently" has since slipped into obsolescence, but it stands out as a clear pointer to the ancestors of the word. "Eminently" traces to the Latin term "eminere," which means "to stand out." In its first documented English uses in the 15th century, the term meant "conspicuously," but that sense, like the elevated one we mentioned earlier, is now obsolete. The figurative sense for which the word is best known today began appearing in English texts in the mid-1600s.


emissary
[EM-uh-sair-ee]
1. One designated as the agent of another; representative.
Example:
The company appointed an emissary to attend the conference and make decisions about the upcoming events.
2. Asecret agent.
Etymology, related words:
An emissary is often a person who is sent somewhere in order to act as a representative. The key in that sentence is "sent"; "emissary" derives from Latin "emissus," the past participle of the verb "emittere," meaning "to send out." "Emissary" first appeared in print in English in 1607, less than ten years after the arrival of another "emittere" descendant: "emit." In addition, "emittere" itself comes from Latin "mittere" ("to send"), which is an ancestor of many English words, including "admit," "commit," "mission," "permit," "premise," "promise," "omit," and "submit."


emollient

• mollify

[ih-MAHL-yunt]
Something that softens or soothes.
Example:
Doctors wash their hands so often that many have to rely on a constant application of emollients to avoid having terribly dry skin.
History, related words:
"Emollient" derives from the present participle of the Latin verb "emollire," which, unsurprisingly, means "to soften or soothe." "Emollire," in turn, derives ultimately from "mollis," meaning "soft." Another descendant of "mollis" is "mollify" (essentially meaning "to make softer in temper or disposition"). A more distant relative is "mild," which can be traced back to the same ancient source as "mollis." The adjective "emollient" first appeared in print in English in 1626; the noun arrived on the scene about 30 years later.


emolument
[ih-MAHL-yuh-munt, ih-MOL-yuh-muhnt]
The returns (wages or perquisites) arising from office, or employment, or labor; usually in the form of compensation or perquisites; gain.
Examples:
1) Unlike some of his counterparts... in other cities, he is not paid by the team, and, indeed, has refused any emolument for his work. (Roger Angell, "The New Yorker", November 28, 1983)
2) The record indicates that few grandees who pleaded poverty to avoid service were left without substantial maintenance grants and emoluments and that the Crown gladly financed their luxurious military lifestyles. (Fernando Gonzales de Leon, "Aristocratic draft-dodgers in 17th-century Spain", History Today, 7/1)
3) Although not very rich, he is easy in his circumstances and would not with a view to emolument alone wish for employment. (Henry Dundas, quoted in "The Elgin Affair", by Theodore Vrettos)
4) And they are not obliged to follow those occupations, if they prefer leisure to emolument. (John Stuart Mill, "On Liberty")
Etymology, more examples:
"To Sir Thomas Williams Person of the Parish... of Saint Andrew at Baynards Castle in London for his yearly pension 40 shillings... in recompense of certain offerings, oblations, and emoluments unto the said benefice due...." Thus was recorded in "The Wardrobe Accounts of Edward the Fourth," along with every expense of the realm, the first ever known use of "emolument." By the year 1480, when that entry was made, Latin "emolumentum" had come to mean simply "profit" or "gain." It had thus become removed from its own Latin predecessor, the verb "molere," meaning "to grind." The original connection between the noun and this verb was its reference to the profit or gain from grinding another's grain. It is related to "molar" - the "grinding" tooth. (The notion of grinding away at our jobs didn't show up in English until the 1800s.)


emote
[ih-MOHT]
To give expression to emotion especially in acting.
Example:
The actor in the movie's lead role seemed to be trying too hard to emote, and as a result his character was not very believable.
Etymology, more examples:
"Emote" is an example of what linguists call a back-formation - that is, a word formed by trimming down an existing word (in this case, "emotion"). From the time "emote" was coined in the early 20th century, its use has tended to be less than entirely serious. It most often appears in humorous or deprecating descriptions of the work of actors. It is similarly used to describe theatrical behavior by nonactors, as in this passage by Russell Baker: "Remember, this is politics; it doesn't have to make sense so long as you emote instead of asking questions." ("The New York Times", May 8, 1976)


emprise
[em-PRYZE]
An adventurous, daring, or chivalric enterprise.
Example:
As a boy, Will spent hours in the library reading adventure stories featuring brave heroes who embarked on dangerous and exciting emprises.
Etymology:
Someone who engages in emprises undertakes much, so it's no surprise that "emprise" descends from the Anglo-French word "emprendre," meaning "to undertake." It's also no surprise that "emprise" became established in English during the 13th century, a time when brave knights engaged in many a chivalrous undertaking. Fourteenth-century author Geoffrey Chaucer used "emprise" to describe one such knight in "The Franklin's Tale" (one of the stories in "The Canterbury Tales"): "Ther was a knyght that loved and dide his payne / To serve a lady in his beste wise; / And many labour, many a greet emprise, / He for his lady wroghte er she were wonne."


empyrean
[em-py-REE-uhn; -PEER-ee-]
1. The highest heaven, in ancient belief usually thought to be a realm of pure fire or light.
2. Heaven; paradise.
3. The heavens; the sky.
4. Of or pertaining to the empyrean of ancient belief.
Examples:
1) She might have been an angel arguing a point in the empyrean if she hadn't been, so completely, a woman. (Edith Wharton, "The Long Run," The Atlantic, Feburary 1912)
2) In the poem - one he had the good sense finally to abandon - he pictured himself as a blind moth raised among butterflies, which for a brief moment had found itself rising upward into the empyrean to behold "Great horizons and systems and shores all along," only to find its wings crumpling and itself falling - like Icarus - back to earth. (Paul Mariani, "The Broken Tower: A Life of Hart Crane")
3) In my experience, the excitement generated by a truly fresh and original piece of writing is the rocket fuel that lifts Grub Street's rackety skylab - with its grizzled crew of editors, publishers, agents, booksellers, publicists - into orbit in the empyrean. (Robert McCrum, "Young blood," The Observer, August 26, 2001)
Etymology:
"Empyrean" comes from Medieval Latin "empyreum", ultimately from Greek "empurios", from "en-/em-" ("in") + "pyr" ("fire").


encomium
[en-KOH-mee-um]
A glowing and warmly enthusiastic praise; also: an expression of this.
Example:
Charles Schulz certainly deserves the encomiums heaped upon him for his marvelous Peanuts comic strip, which has given so many so much joy and laughter.
Etymology:
"The love of praise, howe're concealed by art / Reigns more or less, and glows in every heart." British writer Edward Young knew how much people love to hear praise - and so did the ancient Greeks, the originators of "encomium". They formalized that particular expression of praise and named it an "enkomion," from their terms "en-", meaning "in," and "komos," meaning "celebration." The original encomiums were eulogies or panegyrics, often ones prepared in honor of a victor in the Olympics. The term was later broadened to refer to any laudatory ode. Since then encomiums have been written praising everyone from Julius Caesar to Elton John, although not all have been entirely serious - one of the best known is the satirical "Moriae Encomium" ("Praise of Folly") by Erasmus.


encroach
[in-KROACH]
1. To enter by gradual steps or by stealth into the possessions or rights of another.
Example:
The police offered a compromise that kept the sidewalk clear without encroaching on the protesters' rights.
2. To advance beyond the usual or proper limits.
History, related words, more meanings and examples:
The history behind "encroach" is likely to hook you in. First appearing in English in the 16th century, the word derives from the Middle English "encrochen," which means "to get or seize" and whose Anglo-French predecessor "encrocher" was formed by combining the prefix "en-" ("in") with the noun "croche" ("hook"). "Croche" also gave us our word "crochet," in reference to the hooked needle used in that craft. "Encroach" carries the meaning of "intrude" both in terms of property (as in "encroaching on one's land") or privilege (as demonstrated in the example sentence). The word can also hop over legal barriers to describe a general advancement beyond desirable or normal limits (such as a hurricane that encroaches on the mainland).


encumbrance
[en-KUHM-brun(t)s]
1. A burden, impediment, or hindrance.
2. A lien, mortgage, or other financial claim against a property.
Examples:
1) As Prince of Wales, George V had himself taken his wife on several foreign or imperial tours, without the encumbrance of their young children. (Ben Pimlott, "The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II")
2) He . . . will have to overcome the encumbrance of space gloves to reattach electrical cables and install a hatch. ("Mir Cosmonaut's Heart Ills Cast Doubt on Repair Effort," New York Times, July 15, 1997)
3) Liberated from the encumbrances of Washington, the editor and his creation were free to embark on the happiest period of their history. (Edward L. Widmer, "Young America")
4) But she knew that each family needed a son to inherit the property and encumbrances and to carry on the name for at least one more generation. (Annabel Davis-Goff, "The Dower House")
Etymology:
"Encumbrance" is from Old French "encombrance", from "encombrer" ("to block up"), from "en-" ("in" - here used intensively) + "combre" ("dam, weir, hence hindrance").


enervate

• weaken

[EN-ur-vayt]
1. To deprive of vigor, force, or strength; to render feeble; to reduce the moral or mental vigor of.
Synonym: weaken.
Examples:
1) Beatriz de Ahumada soldiered on to produce nine more children, a tour of duty that left her enervated and worn. (Cathleen Medwick, "Teresa of Avila: The Progress of a Soul")
2) In countries like India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Ghana I have always felt enervated by the slightest physical or mental exertion, whereas in the UK, France, Germany or the US I have always felt reinforced and stimulated by the temperate climate, not only during long stays, but even during brief travels. (David S. Landes, "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations")
3) The tendency of abstract thought... to enervate the will is one of the real dangers of the highest education. (Mark Pattison, "Suggestions on Academical Organisation")
4) The conquerors were enervated by luxury. (Edward Gibbon, "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire")
Etymology:
"Enervate" is from the past participle of Latin "enervare" ("to remove the sinews from, to weaken"), from "e-, ex-" ("out of, from") + "nervus" ("sinew").


enjoin
1. To direct or impose with authority; to order.
2. To prohibit; to forbid.
Example:
Few judges were friendly to unions, as demonstrated by a steady stream of decisions enjoining strikes, boycotts, picket lines, and other collective actions. (Sanford M. Jacoby, "Modern Manors")
Etymology:
"Enjoin" derives from Old French "enjoindre", from Latin "injungere" ("to attach, to fasten to"; also, to bring upon"), from "in-" + "jungere" ("to join"). "Enjoin" is its own antonym.


enmity

• animosity
• antipathy
• hostility
• rancor

[EN-mih-tee]
Hatred; ill will; hostile or unfriendly disposition.
Synonyms: animosity, antipathy, hostility, rancor.
Examples:
1) I learned, of course,... that the flames of infatuation can quickly become ashes of enmity and contempt. (Kathleen Norris, "The Virgin of Bennington")
2) In the course of our conversation he reverted to yesterday's aphorism about it being our joint task to guide our two peoples out of their old enmity into new amity. (Charles Kessler (editor and translator), "Berlin in Lights")
3) There were also always those I rubbed the wrong way (sometimes to the point of outright enmity) by being too brash or too arrogant or too ambitious or too precociously successful - or by not being inhibited or tactful enough to refrain from writing about my career. (Norman Podhoretz, "Ex-Friends")
Etymology:
"Enmity" derives from Old French "enemisti?", ultimately from Latin "inimicus" ("an enemy"), from "in-" ("not") + "amicus" ("friend"), from "amare" ("to love").


ennui

• tedium
• boredom
• listlessness
• weariness

[on-WEE]
A feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction arising from lack of interest.
Synonyms: tedium, boredom, listlessness, weariness.
Examples:
1) He glanced at his heavily laden bookshelves. Nothing there appealed to him. The ennui seemed to have settled into his very bones. (Amanda Quick, "With This Ring")
2) He was often off sick or playing hooky and suffered from a kind of ennui, a mixture of listlessness and willful melancholy. (Elisabeth Roudinesco, "Jacques Lacan", translated by Barbara Bray)
3) Yet if she felt anything it was ennui,... the grey sky and the cold wind obliterating every impulse she might have felt to seek comfort in another climate, another landscape. (Anita Brookner, "Falling Slowly")
4) He was ashamed and unhappy, adrift with a senseless ennui. (Brian Moynahan, "Rasputin: The Saint Who Sinned")
Etymology:
"Ennui" is from the French, from Old French "enui" ("annoyance"), from "enuier" ("to annoy, to bore"), from the Latin phrase "in odium" ("in hatred or dislike").


ensconce

• sconce

[in-SKAHNSS]
1. Shelter; conceal.
2. To stablish; settle.
Example:
Jan was already firmly ensconced in her position at the publishing house when she met the not-yet-famous young writer.
Etymology, related words, more examples:
1590, "to cover with a fort," from "en-" ("make, put in") + "sconce" ("small fortification, shelter"), probably from Du. "schans" ("earthwork").
Many people might think of "sconce" as a type of candleholder or lamp, but the word can also refer to a defensive fortification, usually one made of earth. Originally, then, a person who was "ensconced" was enclosed in or concealed by such a structure, out of harm's way. The earliest writer to apply the verb "ensconce" to its figurative sense was William Shakespeare. In his play "The Merry Wives of Windsor", the character Falstaff, hoping to avoid detection when he is surprised during an amorous moment with Mrs. Ford, says "She shall not see me; I will ensconce me behind the arras." (An arras is a tapestry or wall hanging.)


ensky

• Enisle
• Enwomb

[in-SKYE]
To exalt; to place in the sky or in heaven; to lift to heaven with praise.
Example:
Her first appearance in evening dress was a revelation to me; she was my idol, enskied and sacred. (Frank Harris, "My Life and Loves")
History, related words:
Someone who has been enskied has been raised, figuratively, as high as the sky. The "en-" prefix indicates putting something or someone into or on whatever the second part of the word indicates - in this case, the sky. Lots of words have been formed this way; some of them are quite familiar ("enthrone," "entrap"), whereas others are as high-flown as "ensky." "Enisle," for example, means "to put someone on an island," or, figuratively, "to isolate someone." "Enwomb" means "to shut one up as if in a womb." The very first, and most famous, use of "ensky" occurs in Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure", when Lucio tells Isabella, a novice in a convent, "I hold you as a thing enskied and sainted."


ensorcell

• ensorcel

Also: ensorcel
[en-SOR-suhl]
To enchant; to bewitch.
Examples:
1) Had she tried to ensorcell him with a charm spell? (Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb, "Finder's Bane")
2) That was a very serious accusation to make, and Gruffydd realized he'd gone too far; he had no proof whatsoever that Joanna had ever used the Black Arts to ensorcell his father. ("Here be Dragons", Sharon Kay Penman)
3) I have been a journalist too long to be ensorcelled by conspiracy theories. (Nat Hentoff, "Speaking Freely")
Etymology:
"Ensorcell" comes from Middle French "ensorceler", alteration of Old French "ensorcerer", from "en-" (intensive prefix) + "sorcier" ("sorcerer").


entreat

• beg
• beseech
• implore
• solicit

1. To make an earnest petition or request; to plead.
2. To ask earnestly; to beseech; to petition for.
Examples:
1) They entreat her to impart her wisdom. But she is silent. (John Darnton, "In Sweden, Proof of The Power of Words," New York Times, December 8, 1993)
2) In an age that extols thinness, only a cookbook can entreat us "never to forget the sacred role of bread" or remind us that the preparation of soup "embodies ritual, which in cooking, as in all things, magnifies meaning and pleasure." (Rita Licciardolo, "Food for Thought Has No Calories," New York Times, May 29, 1983)
Synonyms:
beg, beseech, implore, solicit
Etymology:
"Entreat" derives from Medieval French "entraiter", from "en-" (from Latin "in-"), intensive prefix + "traiter" ("to treat"), from Latin "tractare", frequentative of "trahere" - "to draw, to pull, to drag."
Usage:
"Entreat" applies to an effort to persuade or to overcome opposition, and usually implies less personal, emotional involvement than "beg".


enunciate
[ee-NUN-see-ayt; ih-]
1. To utter articulately; to pronounce.
2. To state or set forth precisely or systematically.
3. To announce; to proclaim; to declare.
4. To utter words or syllables articulately.
Examples:
1) And all agree that he was from his college days a wonderful speaker, one who enunciated clearly and crisply and never seemed to have to grope for a word. (Louis Auchincloss, "Woodrow Wilson")
2) John Maynard Keynes, a famous economist and outstandingly successful investor, enunciated the theory most lucidly in 1936. (Burton G. Malkiel, "A Random Walk Down Wall Street")
3) His concern about America's incipient drift out of manufacturing was widely challenged by many feel-good commentators, who proceeded to enunciate the now widely accepted doctrine that a shift to postindustrialism would boost U.S. income growth. (Eamonn Fingleton, "In Praise of Hard Industries")
4) This is such an obvious, commonsensical truism that it seems almost foolish to enunciate it. (Seymour Martin Lipset, "American Exceptionalism")
Etymology:
"Enunciate" comes from Latin "enuntiare" ("to tell; to disclose; to declare; to pronounce clearly"), from "e(x)-" ("from") + "nuntiare" ("to announce") from "nuntius" ("a messenger").


envirocrime
Anti-social behaviour (e.g., graffiti, flytipping, dog fouling, litter and excess trade waste); vandalism; crime.
Examples:
1) Lewisham is one borough that involves local people in its fight against what it calls "envirocrime". It has a network of street leaders: residents around the borough who report problems such as litter, graffiti, abandoned cars and fly-tipping to the council. ("London Evening Standard", 8 Oct. 2003)
2) A new "envirocrime" unit, set up with money from the council budget but with extra funds coming from the police through central government initiatives, has helped provide some "joined-up thinking". (The "Guardian", 11 Oct. 2004)
History:
"Environment" + "crime". A stimulus for the word wider use in the UK was the Environmental Protection Act of early 2004, which gave councils the power to fine businesses that cause environmental damage. Many local councils combine the stick of legal action with wardening schemes that aim to clear rubbish quickly so it doesn't become an eyesore and to persuade people to look after their neighbourhoods. The idea is to stop places looking run-down and neglected and hence unsafe. The word is also used, though less often, for much more serious pollution such as major oil spills and illegal dumping of asbestos and chemical waste.


eolian

• eolian
• aeolian
• aeolian harp
• harp

[ee-OH-lee-un]
Borne, deposited, produced, or eroded by the wind.
Example:
For her senior project, Erin is studying the effects of eolian erosion on the desert environment.
History, related words:
When Aeolus blew into town, things really got moving. He was the Greek god of the winds and the king of the floating island of Aeolia. In the "Odyssey", Homer claims Aeolus helped Odysseus by giving him a favorable wind. Aeolus also gave English speakers a few terms based on his name, including "eolian" (also spelled "aeolian"), an adjective often used for wind-sculpted geological features such as caves and dunes, and "aeolian harp," an instrument that makes music when the wind blows across its strings.


epenthesis
[ih-PEN-thuh-siss]
The insertion or development of a sound or letter in the body of a word.
Example:
Professor Seeles explained that epenthesis is the process of adding an extra sound or syllable to a word, as when a child adds a "b" to "family" and says "FAM-blee."
Etymology:
If you say "athlete" as "ath-a-lete," you've committed epenthesis. Some people consider the pronunciation to be unacceptable, but there's a perfectly good reason why it occurs; epenthesis is simply a natural way to break up an awkward cluster of consonants. It's easier for some people to say "athlete" as three syllables instead of two, just as it's easier for some to insert a "b" sound into "cummerbund," pronouncing that word as "cum-ber-bund." Epenthesis has even contributed to the evolution of recognized spelling variants, giving us such options as "cumberbund" and "sherbert" (for "sherbet"). The word "epenthesis" came to us by way of Late Latin from the Greek verb "epentithenai," which means "to insert a letter."


ephemeral
[ih-FEM-er-ul]
1. Beginning and ending in a day; existing only, or no longer than, a day; as, an ephemeral flower.
2. Short-lived; existing or continuing for a short time only.
Examples:
1) In the 1980s, Lt. Col. Oliver North unwittingly proved that e-mail, so apparently ephemeral, is harder to expunge than paper documents comfortingly run through a shredder. (Amy Harmon, "E-Mail Is Treacherous. So Why Do We Keep Trusting It?", New York Times, March 26, 2000)
2) In "Mississippi Mermaid," the planter character played by Belmondo, a fellow who has sought a safe, permanent love, is liberated when he chooses to follow the ephemeral. (Vincent Canby, "Truffaut's Clear-Eyed Quest." New York Times, September 14, 1975)
3) Rather, we must separate what is ephemeral... from the things that are of lasting importance. (Patrick Smith, "Japan: A Reinterpretation")
Etymology:
"Ephemeral" derives from Greek "ephemeros", from "epi" (upon) + "hemera" (day).


ephemeron
[ih-FEM-uh-ron] plural: ephemera [ih-FEM-uh-ruh] 1. Something short-lived or of no lasting significance. 2. Ephemera: Items, especially printed matter (as posters, broadsides, pamphlets, etc.), intended to be of use or importance for only a short time but preserved by collectors.
Examples:
1) And collections of correspondence will always reveal "a remarkable mind, grappling with everything from the ephemera of day-to-day life to the mysteries of the universe." (John Bloom, "The 'Art' of the Review", National Review, May 21, 2002)
2) The Sanskrit word for the world is jagati, while the word for changing or evanescent is jagat: the world's evanescent nature is actually built into the very definition of "world." Yet behind this shimmering ephemeron lies the deeper, sacred reality - Brahman, the infinite, transcendent reality that covers and pervades all things. (Pravrajika Vrajaprana, "Contemporary Spirituality and the Thinning of the Sacred: A Hindu Perspective", Cross Currents, Spring-Summer 2000)
3) It is one of the most collectable of all cult shows, with an army of fans hungry for a plethora of Star Trek ephemera. (Nick Pandya, "To boldly go where others don't", The Guardian, March 23, 2002)
Etymology:
"Ephemeron" is from Greek, from "ephemeros" ("daily; lasting or living only a day"), from "epi" ("upon") + "hemera" ("day").



epicene
[EP-uh-seen]
1. Having the characteristics of both sexes.
2. Effeminate; unmasculine.
3. Sexless; neuter.
4. (Linguistics) Having but one form of the noun for both the male and the female.
5. A person or thing that is epicene.
6. (Linguistics) An epicene word.
Examples:
1) He has a clear-eyed, epicene handsomeness - cruel, sensuous mouth; cheekbones to cut your heart on - the sort of excessive beauty that is best appreciated in repose on a 50-foot screen. (Franz Lidz, "Jude Law: He Didn't Turn Out Obscure at All," New York Times, May 13, 2001)
2) She smothers (almost literally at times) her weak, epicene son Vladimir, and is prepared to commit any crime to see him become Tsar, despite his reluctance. (Ronald Bergan, "Sergei Eisenstein: A Life in Conflict")
Etymology:
"Epicene" derives from Latin "epicoenus", from Greek "epikoinos" ("common to"), from "epi-" ("upon") + "koinos" ("common").


epicure
[EP-ih-kyur]
One with sensitive and discriminating tastes especially in food or wine.
Example:
Griffin considered himself something of an epicure, with an ability to taste and smell that was the functional equivalent of perfect-pitch. (Terence Monmaney, "Discover", September 1987)
History:
Epicurus, a Greek philosopher who lived from 341-270 B.C., believed that the best life was one of simple pleasures in which a person lived with a tranquil mind and freedom from pain. When "epicure" entered English in the 16th century, it referred to someone who followed the philosophy of Epicurus. But over time people came to believe that the philosopher actually encouraged his followers to pursue material and sensual gratification, so the term was soon applied to anyone devoted to materialistic self-indulgence; it later came to be used for one who loves good food and wine.


epigone

• epigonic

[EP-uh-gohn]
An inferior imitator, especially of some distinguished writer, artist, musician, or philosopher.
Examples:
1) He probably was influenced by John le Carr?.... But Mr. Crisp... is no mere epigone. (Newgate Callendar, "Who's The Mole?" New York Times, October 9, 1988)
2) No novelist is dearer to me than Robert Musil. He died one morning while lifting weights. When I lift them myself, I keep anxiously checking my pulse, and I am afraid of dropping dead, for to die with a weight in my hand like my revered author would make me an epigone so unbelievable, frenetic and fanatical as immediately to assure me of ridiculous immortality. (Milan Kundera, "Immortality")
Etymology, related words:
"Epigone" derives from Greek "epigonos", from "epigignesthai" ("to be born after"), from "epi-" ("upon, after") + "gignesthai" ("to be born"). The adjective form is epigonic (pronounced [ep-uh-GON-ik]).


epigram
[EP-ih-gram]
1. A concise poem dealing pointedly and often satirically with a single thought or event and often ending with an ingenious turn of thought.
2. Epigrammatic expression.
3. A terse, sage, or witty and often paradoxical saying.
Example:
Ever the master of insightful epigram, Oscar Wilde once observed: "In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."
Etymology, explanation:
Ancient Greeks and Romans used the word "epigramma" (from Greek "epigraphein," meaning "to write on") to refer to a concise, witty, and often satirical verse. The Roman poet Martial (who published eleven books of these "epigrammata," or epigrams, between the years 86 and 98 AD) was a master of the form: "You puff the poets of other days, / the living you deplore. / Spare me the accolade: your praise / Is not worth dying for." English speakers adopted the "verse" sense of the word when we first used "epigram" in the 15th century. In the late 18th century, we began using "epigram" for concise, witty sayings, even if they didn't rhyme.


epistemic

• cognitive
• epistemology
• epistemologist

[ep-uh-STEE-mik]
of or relating to knowledge or knowing
Synonym: cognitive
Example:
John's fascination with the human animal's epistemic limits and capabilities has him double majoring in philosophy and psychology.
Etymology, more examples, related words:
"Epistemic" has shifted from the arcane worlds of philosophy, linguistics, and rhetoric to the practical realms of business and marketing; for example, a recent analysis of consumer motives stated that "epistemic values satisfy the sense of adventure and curiosity." Wherever it is used, "epistemic" traces back to the knowledge of the Greeks. It comes from "episteme," Greek for "knowledge." That Greek word is from the verb "epistanai," meaning "to know or understand," a word formed from the prefix "epi-" (meaning "upon" or "attached to") and "histanai" (meaning "to cause to stand"). The study of the nature and grounds of knowledge is called "epistemology," and one who engages in such study is an epistemologist.


epistolary
[ih-PIST-uh-lair-ee]
1. Of, relating to, or suitable to a letter.
2. Contained in or carried on by letters.
3. Written in the form of a series of letters.
Example:
Pen pals Walter and Iris kept their epistolary relationship alive for 20 years before finally meeting in person.
Etymology, more examples:
"Epistolary" is formed from the noun "epistle," which refers to a composition written in the form of a letter to a particular person or group. In its original sense, "epistle" refers to one of the 21 letters (such as those from the apostle Paul) found in the New Testament. Dating from the 13th century, "epistle" came to English via Anglo-French and Latin from the Greek noun "epistole," meaning "message" or "letter." "Epistole," in turn, came from the verb "epistellein," meaning "to send to" or "to send from." "Epistolary" appeared in English four centuries after "epistle" and can be used to describe something that is contained in a letter (as in "epistolary greetings") or composed of letters (as in "an epistolary novel").


equable
[EK-wuh-buhl; EE-kwuh-] 1. Equal and uniform; not varying. 2. Not easily disturbed; not variable or changing (said of the feelings, temper, etc.).
Examples:
1) An equable climate, evidently due to the large area of sea compared with the land, seems to extend over the greater part of the southern hemisphere; and, as a consequence, the vegetation partakes of a semi-tropical character. (Charles Darwin, "The Voyage Of Beagle")
2) Now, there can be no doubt that Irving . . . possesses great wit and charm, as well as a temperament that is equable, cheerful, and almost relentlessly easygoing. (Norman Podhoretz, "Ex-Friends")
3) He had an equable temperament, a straightforward Ohio friendliness, and though a national hero for his participating in the first American space flight to orbit the earth, in February 1962, he had no airs. (Elizabeth Drew, "The Corruption of American Politics")
Etymology:
"Equable" comes from Latin "aequabilis", from "aequare" ("to make even"), from "aequus" ("even").



equanimity
Evenness of mind; calmness; composure; as, "to bear misfortunes with equanimity".
Examples:
1) For one whose mind has been notoriously troubled, Brian Lara is at least retaining a sense of equanimity. (Richard Hobson, "Croft offers no respite as Lara's theme continues", Times (London), June 8, 2000)
2) When one is happy, one can look at both comedy and tragedy with equanimity. (Phillip Lopate, "Totally, Tenderly, Tragically")
3) I think one person can hardly understand why another has conducted his life in such a way, how he came to commit certain actions and not others, whether he looks upon the past with mostly pleasure or equanimity or regret. (Chang-Rae Lee, "A Gesture Life")
Etymology:
"Equanimity" comes from Latin "aequanimitas" ("impartiality, calmness"), from "aequanimus" ("impartial, even-tempered"), from "aequus" ("even") + "animus" ("mind, soul").


equinox

• vernal
• solstice

[EE-kwuh-nahks]
1. either of the two points on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic
2. either of the two times each year (as about March 21 and September 23) when the sun crosses the equator
Example:
During the equinox, day and night are approximately of equal length around the world.
Etymology, related words:
"Equinox" descends from "aequus," the Latin word for "equal," and "nox," the Latin word for "night" - a fitting history for a word that describes days of the year when the daytime and nighttime are equal in length. In the northern hemisphere, the vernal equinox marks the first day of spring and occurs when the sun moves north across the equator. ("Vernal" comes from the Latin word "ver," meaning "spring.") The autumnal equinox marks the first day of autumn in the northern hemisphere and occurs when the sun crosses the equator going south. In contrast, a solstice is either of the two moments in the year when the sun's apparent path is farthest north or south from the equator.


equipoise
[EE-kwuh-poiz; EK-wuh-] 1. A state of being equally balanced; equilibrium (as of moral, political, or social interests or forces). 2. Counterbalance.
Examples:
1) What matters is the poetry, and the truest readings of it "are those which are sensitive to the strangeness of Marvell's genius: its delicate equipoise, held between the sensual and the abstract, its refusal to treat experience too tidily, the uncanny tremor of implication that makes the poems' lucid surfaces shimmer with a sense of something undefined and undefinable just beneath." (James A. Winn, "Tremors of Implication", New York Times, July 9, 2000)
2) I cannot see how the unequal representation which is given to masses on account of wealth becomes the means of preserving the equipoise and the tranquillity of the commonwealth. (Edmund Burke, "Reflections on The Revolution In France")
3) Our little lives are kept in equipoise By opposite attractions and desires. (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Haunted Houses")
Etymology:
"Equipoise" is "equi-" ("equal") + "poise", from Middle English "poisen" ("to balance, weigh"), from Old French "peser, pois-", ultimately from Latin "pensare" ("to weigh").


equivocal

• vague
• ambiguous

[ih-KWIV-uh-kul]
1. A subject to two or more interpretations and usually used to mislead or confuse.
2. Uncertain, as an indication or sign.
3. Of uncertain nature or classification.
4. Of uncertain disposition toward a person or thing; undecided.
5. Of doubtful advantage, genuineness, or moral rectitude.
Example:
When asked if he would run for president, the senator gave only equivocal answers, providing little information about his plans.
History, synonyms, difference, examples:
"Equivocal," "vague," and "ambiguous" all mean "not clearly understandable" and are used to describe confusing speech or writing. "Equivocal" - which can be traced back to the Latin prefix "aequi-" ("equi-") and the Latin word "vox" ("voice") - applies to language left open to differing interpretations with the intention of deceiving or evading ("moral precepts with equivocal phrasing"). "Vague" implies a lack of clear formulation due to inadequate conception or consideration ("I had only a vague idea of how to get there"). "Ambiguous," like "equivocal," applies to language capable of more than one interpretation but usually does not have the negative connotations of deception or evasion ("the poet's wording is intentionally ambiguous").


eradicate
[ih-RAD-uh-kayt]
1. To pull up by the roots.
2. To do away with as completely as if by pulling up by the roots.
Example:
Efforts to eradicate smallpox have been almost entirely successful.
History, related words:
Given that "eradicate" first meant "to pull up by the roots," it's not surprising that the root of "eradicate" is, in fact, "root." "Eradicate," which first turned up in English in the 16th century, comes from "eradicatus," the past participle of the Latin verb "eradicare." "Eradicare," in turn, can be traced back to the Latin word "radix," meaning "root" or "radish." Although "eradicate" began life as a word for literal uprooting, by the mid-17th century it had developed a metaphorical application to removing things the way one might yank an undesirable weed up by the roots. Other descendants of "radix" in English include "radical" and "radish." Even the word "root" itself is related; it comes from the same ancient word that gave Latin "radix."


eremite
[ER-uh-myt] A hermit, especially a religious recluse.
Example:
He is in the private cave of his freedom, an eremite, a solitary; he orders his mind as he pleases. (Cynthia Ozick, "Writers Domestic and Demonic", New York Times, March 25, 1984)
Etymology:
"Eremite" derives from Late Latin "eremita", from Greek "eremites" ("living in the desert"), from "eremia" ("desert"), from "eremos" ("lonely, solitary, desolate").


ergo
[UR-go; AIR-]
Therefore; consequently.
Examples:
1) The general observation has always been: Dogs form packs; the leader of the pack is the strongest, wisest, and largest individual; a human being among dogs fits that description; ergo we are the leader of any dog pack. (Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, "Dogs Never Lie About Love: Reflections on the Emotional World of Dogs")
2) Armani isn't interested in fashion that moves on (ergo he isn't interested in fashion). (Sinead Lynch, "The waist land," Times (London), October 9, 2000)
3) People who do not suffer fools gladly, gladly suffer flatterers. (Ergo, flatterers are no fools.) (Richard Stengel, "You're Too Kind: A Brief History of Flattery")
Etymology:
"Ergo" is from Latin "ergo" ("consequently, therefore").


ergophobia

• ergometer
• ergonomics
• arachibutyrophobia

An abnormal and persistent fear of work.
Example:
From the medical point of view, sufferers of ergophobia experience undue anxiety about the workplace environment even though they realize their fear is irrational. Their fear may actually be a combination of fears, such fear of failing at assigned tasks, fear of speaking before groups at work, or fear of socializing with co-workers.
Etymology, related words, more examples:
"Ergophobia" is derived from the Greek "ergon" ("work") and "phobos" ("fear"). "Ergo" is also used to form other English words, including "ergometer" (a device that measures the amount of work done by muscles) and "ergonomics" (an applied science that designs office equipment and furniture with the aim of maximizing functionality and improving worker comfort).
Many people experience ergophobia as a chronic ailment that blights their weekends and accounts for much of that Monday-morning feeling or post-holiday blues. It is not a new problem: the word was coined by a doctor named W. D. Spanton, writing in the "British Medical Journal" in 1905. He did so in all seriousness, recognising that it can be a real medical condition, an abnormal or persistent fear of work and the workplace. Notwithstanding this, the word spends much of its life as the butt of heavy-handed humour, on the assumption that it is a mere synonym for laziness. An early case was an article in the "Bedford Gazette", Pennsylvania, in February 1910: "The tramp is in reality a sufferer from ergophobia, or fear of work, often complicated with aquaphobia and sapophobia, which make him shun the bathtub". Most of its remaining appearances in books and newspapers are in lists of odd phobias, such as "arachibutyrophobia" for the fear that peanut butter will stick to the roof of one's mouth.


eristic

• eristical

[ih-RISS-tik]
Characterized by disputatious and often subtle and specious reasoning.
Example:
Scott grew tired of the eristic arguments his friend put forth and refused to discuss the issue further.
Etymology:
"Eristic" means "argumentative" as well as logically invalid, and someone prone to eristic arguments probably causes a fair amount of strife amongst his or her conversational partners. It's no surprise, then, that the word traces its ancestry back to the Greek word for "strife." "Eristic" and the variant "eristical" come from the Greek "eristikos," meaning "fond of wrangling," from "erizein," "to wrangle," and ultimately from "eris," which means "strife." The adjective appeared in print in English in 1637, and was followed approximately 20 years later by the noun "eristic," which refers to either a person who is skilled at debates based on formal logic or to the art or practice of argument.


errant
1. Wandering; roving, especially in search of adventure.
2. Deviating from an appointed course; straying.
3. Straying from the proper standards (as of truth or propriety).
4. Moving aimlessly or irregularly; as, an errant breeze.
Examples:
1) The year 1565 finds him at Ferrara, the city where our errant poet will spend the most stable years of his life. (Anthony M. Esolen, introduction to "Jerusalem Delivered, by Torquato Tasso")
2) They called him, "Hey, mister!" and asked him to throw their errant baseballs back to them. (Judith McNaught, "Night Whispers")
3) Conformity was the rule, and one young mother, imploring Peabody not to expel her errant son because he was a "very unusual" boy, heard the stony response: "Groton, madam, is no place for the unusual boy." (Benjamin Welles, "Sumner Welles: FDR's Global Strategist")
4) "Not anymore," she says, putting her bag between her feet and moving errant hairs out of her face. (Joseph Clark, "Jungle Wedding")
Etymology:
"Errant" comes from Middle French "errer" - "to travel," from Late Latin "iterare", from Latin "iter" - "a journey"; confused somewhat with Latin "errare" - "to wander; to err."


ersatz
[AIR-sahts; UR-sats]
Being a substitute or imitation, usually an inferior one.
Examples:
1) Meanwhile, a poor copy was erected in the courtyard; many an unsuspecting traveler paid homage to that ersatz masterpiece. (Edith Pearlman, "Girl and Marble Boy," The Atlantic, December 29, 1999)
2) All we can create in that way is an ersatz culture, the synthetic product of those factories we call variously universities, colleges or museums. (Sir Herbert Read, "The Philosophy of Modern Art")
3) Then there was the sheaf of hostile letters larded with ersatz sympathy, strained sarcasm or pure spite. ("Time for GAA to become a persuader," Irish Times, Monday, April 13, 1998)
Etymology:
"Ersatz" derives from German "Ersatz" ("a substitute").


erstwhile

• formerly

in the past
Synonym: formerly
Example:
We were delighted to discover the new community garden blooming where erstwhile had been a trash-filled vacant lot.
Etymology:
The adverb "erstwhile" has been part of English since the 16th century, but it is formed from two words that are much older. It comes from the Old English words "aer", meaning "early" (and also the source for the word "ere") and "hwil", which had much the same meaning as the modern words "while" and "time". The adjective "erstwhile" (as in "erstwhile enemies") joined the language around 1900.


eructation
The act of belching; a belch.
Examples:
1) Ignatius belched, the gassy eructations echoing between the walls of the alley. (John Kennedy Toole, "A Confederacy of Dunces")
2) The explosion, at this distance, sounds like a faint, feeble eructation. (Peter Conrad, "Bangs to whimpers," The Observer, March 7, 2004)
Etymology:
"Eructation" comes from Latin "eructatio", from "eructare", from "e-" ("out") + "ructare" ("to belch").


eschew
[es-CHOO]
To shun; to avoid (as something wrong or distasteful).
Examples:
1) In high school and college the Vassar women had enjoyed that lifestyle, but afterward they had eschewed it as shallow. (Nina Burleigh, "A Very Private Woman")
2) While teaching in Beijing, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang in the late 1920s, he helped launch what became known as the "new poetry" movement, which eschewed traditional forms and encouraged topics based on everyday life. (Bruce Gilley, "Tiger on the Brink")
3) Finally, the first American diplomats... made a point of eschewing fancy dress, titles, entertainments, and all manner of protocol, so as to be walking, talking symbols of republican piety. (Walter A. McDougall, "Promised Land, Crusader State")
Etymology:
"Eschew" comes from Old French "eschiver", ultimately of Germanic origin.


esculent

• escalade

[ESS-kyuh-lunt]
Edible.
Example:
Sonia is a chef at The Wild Asparagus, a top-notch restaurant whose claim to fame is that every dish on the menu features an esculent native plant.
Etymology, related words:
One appealing thing about "esculent" is that this word, which comes from the Latin for food ("esca"), has been around for 375 years. "Esca" is from Latin "edere," which means "to eat"; so, "escalade" (meaning "an act of scaling walls") has another etymology. It descends from the Italian "scalare," meaning "to scale."


esoteric

• exoteric

[es-uh-TAIR-ik]
1. Designed for or understood by a small number of people; broadly: difficult to understand.
2. Private, confidential.
Example:
Computer programming was once an esoteric subject, but beginner courses and how-to books have made it easier to grasp.
History, antonym:
The opposite of "esoteric" is "exoteric," which means "suitable to be imparted to the public." According to one account, those who were deemed worthy to attend Aristotle's learned discussions were known as his "esoterics," his confidants, while those who merely attended his popular evening lectures were called his "exoterics." Since material that is geared toward a target audience is often not as easily comprehensible to outside observers, "esoteric" acquired an extended meaning of "difficult to understand." Both "esoteric" and "exoteric" started appearing in English in the mid-1600s; "esoteric" traces back to ancient Greece by way of the Late Latin "esotericus"; the Greek "esoterikos" comes from the comparative form of "eiso," which means "within."


espouse

• spouse

[iss-POWZ] ([OW] as in "cow")
1. marry
2. take up and support as a cause; become attached to
Example:
Many environmentalists have espoused the belief that global warming is a serious concern to the well-being of the planet.
History, related words:
The words "espouse" and "spouse" are related, both deriving from the Latin verb "spondere," meaning "to betroth." In fact, the two were once completely interchangeable, with each serving as a noun meaning "a newly married person" or "a husband or wife" and also as a verb meaning "to marry." Their semantic separation began in the 17th century, when the noun "espouse" fell out of use. Around the same time, people started using the verb "espouse" figuratively to mean "to commit to and support a cause". "Spouse" continued to be used in both noun and verb forms until the 19th century, when its verb senses waned and it came to be used mainly as a noun meaning "husband or wife."


esprit de l'escalier

• l'esprit de l'escalier
• Esprit
• l'esprit
• l'escalier
• escalier

(Fr.)
1. staircase wit
2. spirit of the staircase
Example:
Well that was the summer I learned the importance of literary criticism. What stuck in my mind most was the esprit de l'escalier from the Equestrian Director. He was the one who pulled me out of the lions' jaws; after reading the sonnet that I had dropped on the cage floor. "It is better to be a poet and make a slip of the lip than to be a lion tamer and forget to bring your wits" or is it wit, no, it's: "forget to bring your revolver." ("L'Esprit de l'escalier", Stefan des Lauriers)
History:
The phrase is credited to the French author and encyclopaedist Denis Diderot, in his "Paradoxe sur le Com?dien", written between 1773 and 1778 but not published until 1830. In the original it refers to that infuriating situation in which you leave a drawing room and are halfway down the stairs before you suddenly think of that devastatingly witty comment you could have made. (Architectural note: eighteenth-century grand houses had their principal public rooms on the first floor, the second floor if you're American.) More generally, it's any sparkling remark you wish you had thought of at the time but were too slow-witted to produce. Though well known in French, it seems to have begun to appear in English writing only at the beginning of the twentieth century. Apart from a reference to it by the brothers Fowler in 1906, the first recorded use in English is in "Zuleika Dobson" by Max Beerbohm (1911), but in a wittily inverted sense that shows the author expected his readers to understand and appreciate the reference: "What ought he to have said? He prayed, as he followed the victorious young woman downstairs, that "l'esprit de l'escalier" might befall him. Alas, it did not."


estovers

• estover
• boot
• bote
• firebote
• housebote
• haybote
• hedgebote
• ploughbote

1. Essentials allowed by the law (child support, alimony payments, etc.)
2. An ancient right to take timber for certain purposes.
Example:
Common of firewood, or estovers, is enjoyed by about eighty commoners. ("The royal forests of England". Grant, Raymond. Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd, 1991)
History, etymology:
This is one of the rights that were granted to some tenants under the medieval feudal system; it allowed them to take wood from the estates of the manor. It has almost totally died out except as an esoteric historical term, though a very few people still retain the right, for example in the ancient New Forest in southern England (which was indeed new shortly after the Norman Conquest, more than 900 years ago). It's usually described as the right to take dead wood for fuel. This was certainly one of its meanings (though the supposed rule that you were allowed to take dead branches "by hook or by crook", that is, by using only a blunt instrument to pull down dead wood, is almost certainly a folk etymology, as even the earliest recorded examples of that phrase show it being used in the modern sense of "by any means possible"). However, estovers was a much broader term than that. It encompassed any legitimate cutting of timber, for a variety of purposes. Before the word came into the language in the thirteenth century, such a right was usually called a "boot" or a "bote", from Old English "bot", an expiation, compensation or remedy, literally a making better. (Our fossil phrase "to boot", as well as or in addition to, comes from the same source.) In this situation it meant something useful or profitable. Examples were "housebote" - the right to take timber with which to repair your house; "haybote" or "hedgebote" - to repair fences, and "ploughbote" - to repair agricultural implements. Another was "firebote", which was the one that referred specifically to fuel. "Estovers" is from Old French "estovoir" - to be necessary. So they were literally the necessities allowed by law. In later centuries, the term was extended to refer to an allowance of food and clothing to imprisoned felons, and to a pension given to a widow.


esurient
[ih-SUR-ee-uhnt; -ZUR-]
Hungry; voracious; greedy.
Examples:
1) The enemy then was an esurient Soviet Union which, having swallowed up Eastern Europe, had imposed a totalitarian system on countries just liberated from Nazism. (Arnold Beichman, "As Truman envisioned our role," Washington Times, April 23, 2002)
2) These new censors, the deconstructionists, take the most luscious and delicious apple and show it to a hungry person. They then seal the fruit with plastic wrap and demand that the esurient victim enjoy its flavour. (Michael Coren, "Behold the deconstructionist, who liberates literature by confining it to a cult," Alberta Report, April 10, 1995)
Etymology:
"Esurient" comes from the present participle of Latin "esurire" ("to be hungry, to desire eagerly"), from "edere" ("to eat").


etc.

• et cetera
• et
• cetera

And so forth, and so on; and other things just like the things having been mentioned. Example:
A few weeks before Thanksgiving, the church began collecting donations of food. Reverend Jackson made an announcement: "We would especially appreciate it if you would bring in canned foods: soups, canned juices, canned fruits, etc."
Etymology: Etc. is an abbreviation of "et cetera", a Latin phrase for "and the rest."

ethereal

• airy
• dainty
• celestial
• heavenly

[ih-THEER-ee-ul] (TH as in "think")
1. celestial, heavenly
Example:
That evening, John and Courtney relaxed on the deck of their chartered sloop, gazing up at the starry, ethereal firmament.
2. exceptionally delicate
Synonyms: airy, dainty
Etymology:
The ancients believed that the Earth was composed of earth, air, fire, and water, but that the heavens and its denizens were made of a purer, less tangible substance known as either "ether" or "quintessence." Ether was often described as an invisible light or fire, and its name derives from the Greek "aithein", a verb meaning "to ignite" or "to blaze". When "ethereal", the adjective kin of "ether", debuted in English in the 1500s, it referred specifically to regions beyond the Earth, but it gradually came to refer to anything heavenly, spiritual, or intangible.


etiolate
[EE-tee-uh-layt]
1. (Botany) To bleach and alter the natural development of (a green plant) by excluding sunlight.
2. To make pale or sickly.
3. To make weak by stunting the growth or development of.
4. To become bleached or whitened, as when grown without sunlight.
Examples:
1) Under that etiolated sky all life seemed wrung out. (Colin Thubron, "The Lost Heart of Asia")
2) [They] had feverish eyes, pale faces and gaunt, etiolated bodies from spending all the hours of daylight shut up in cramped and often humid spaces. (Hilary Spurling, "The Unknown Matisse")
Etymology:
"Etiolate" comes from French "?tioler", perhaps for "s'?teuler" ("to become like straw"), from Old French "esteule" ("stubble or straw"), from Latin "stipula" ("a stalk, straw").


euchre
[YOO-ker]
1. To prevent from winning three tricks in euchre.
2. To cheat, to trick.
Example:
The report said that people in the community were being euchred out of their life savings by scammers presenting phony investment opportunities.
History:
"Euchre" is a card game for four players that is played in tricks, or rounds, with a deck of 32 cards. Etymologists are not sure where we got the name for the game, though they do know that it first appeared in English in the mid-19th century. The first sense of the verb "euchre" arose from an action that takes place during the game: a player is "euchred" when an opponent blocks him or her from winning three or more tricks after making trump. Deception can often be key to a winning strategy, and sure enough it took almost no time at all for "euchre" to develop a sense meaning "cheat" or "trick."


euphonious

• smooth-sounding
• smooth
• sounding
• euphony

[yoo-FOH-nee-uhs]
Pleasing or sweet in sound.
Synonym: smooth-sounding
Examples:
1) She combines alliteration and deft word choices with the grace of an oral storyteller, creating euphonious and precise sentences that are perfect for reading aloud. (Amy L. Cohn, "Children's Books," New York Times, March 10, 1991)
2) Einstein originally proposed the more appropriate (but less euphonious) title of "theory of invariants" for his work, but gave up pushing for it when "relativity" caught the public's imagination. (James Trefil, "The Most Beautiful Theories Are The Truest," New York Times, October 5, 1986)
3) In the first draft, their names had been alphabetized, but during a speech session Rosenman and Sherwood suddenly perceived the more euphonious sequence of Martin, Barton, and Fish. (Carol Gelderman, "All the Presidents' Words")
4) Early in life, on the basis of my easy grasp of biological nomenclature and what I consider aesthetic reasons - all those euphonious names - I resolved to be a medical doctor. (Paul Theroux, "Fresh Air Fiend: Travel Writings, 1985-2000)
Etymology, related words:
"Euphonious" comes from Greek "euphonos" ("sweet-voiced"), from "eu-" ("well", hence "sweetly") + "phonos", from "phone" ("voice, sound"). The noun form is euphony.


evanescent
[ev-uh-NES-uhnt]
Liable to vanish or pass away like vapor; fleeting.
Examples:
1) The Pen which gives. . . permanence to the evanescent thought of a moment. (Horace Smith, "Tin Trumpet")
2) Every tornado is a little different, and they are all capricious, evanescent and hard to get a fix on. ("Oklahoma Tornado Offers Hints of How a Killer Storm Is Born," New York Times, May 11, 1999)
3) The accidentally famous. . . may write books, appear on talk shows, and, in so doing, attract even greater public attention. This type of celebrity status, of course, is brittle and evanescent. (Lawrence M. Friedman, "The Horizontal Society")
Etymology:
"Evanescent" is from Latin "evanescere" ("to vanish"), from "e-" ("from, out of") + "vanescere" ("to disappear"), from "vanus" ("empty").


even steven

• even
• steven

1. Fair.
2. Some equal work or achievement, evenly matched.
Example:
After one lap, Karim and I were even steven. It was a tie race.


eventuate

• result

[ih-VEN-chuh-wayt]
To come out finally, to come about.
Synonym: to result
Example:
Most of the [woodworking] projects would eventuate in a pretty good gift for a relative you really like. (Jon Kartman, "Booklist", November 15, 1992)
History, relative words:
"Eventuate" started life as an Americanism in the late 18th century, and was stigmatized for that fact in the 19th century. A British commentator called it "another horrible word, which is fast getting into our language through the provincial press," and some American grammarians agreed. A few modern critics still consider "eventuate" to be pompous and unnecessary, but it is less controversial these days. And despite any and all controversy, "eventuate" has a perfectly respectable history. It is derived from the Latin noun "eventus" ("event"), which in turn traces to the verb "evenire," meaning "to happen." As you may have guessed, "eventuate" is related to the English words "eventual" and "event," both of which also derive from "eventus."


evergreen

• perennial

[EV-er-green]
1. Having foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season.
2. Retaining freshness or interest; perennial.
Example:
Every Christmas season, we go to see Tchaikovsky's evergreen Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker.
History, synonym:
Which adjective do you think has existed longer in English, "evergreen" or "perennial"? If you count the hyphenated form "ever-green" (which of course meant "always green"), then "evergreen" is older; its earliest known use dates from 1555. If you are a purist and insist on the hyphen-free form, 1671 is the earliest known adjectival use of "evergreen" (although the noun "evergreen," meaning "conifer," has been in use since at least 1644). The first English text known to use "perennial" as an adjective meaning "remaining green all year long" was published in 1644. But "perennial" wins in the more general "long lasting" sense; it has been used with that enduring meaning since the early 1700s. "Evergreen" did not appear in English texts in that sense until the 1800s.


every Tom, Dick and Harry

• every Tom
• every
• Tom, Dick and Harry
• Tom
• Dick
• Harry

Anyony; the average person; every person possible, especially very ordinary people.
Examples:
1) I wanted this to be a small, private party, but Victoria invited every Tom, Dick, and Harry.
2) He said he is not the same as every Tom, Dick and Harry.
History:
William Shakespeare used a phrase like this in one of his plays around 1600, but the last of the three names he used was Francis. In the early 1800s a lot of men were named Harry; that name replaced Francis and joined Tom and Dick, also common names, to stand for anybody and everybody, including ordinary people of low social status. "Tom, Dick, and Harry" is a put-down, usually spoken by a person who thinks that he or she is better than other people.

everything but the kitchen sink

• from soup to nuts
• from A to Z
• everything but
• kitchen sink
• everything
• kitchen
• sink
• soup
• nuts
• from... to
• nut

Large number of miscellaneous objects or items; almost everything, the whole works.
Examples:
1) We put everything in his truck, everything but the kitchen sink!
2) I have got evertying but the kitchen sink in my purse.
3) When Erin went away to college, she took everything but the kitchen sink.
History:
This expression was born in the early 20th century and became popular after World War 2 (the late 1940s). The kitchen sink is heavy, connected to pipes, and usually bolted down, so it's not easy movable. But if you took everything but the kitchen sink, you'd be taking virtually all there was.
Synonyms: from soup to nuts; from A to Z.


everything from soup to nuts

• everything
• from soup to nuts
• soup
• nut
• nuts
• from A to Z
• everything but the kitchen sink
• everything but
• kitchen sink
• kitchen
• sink

1. A lot of food or things, a variety of groceries.
2. The whole thing from beginning to end.
Examples:
1) His shopping cart was full. He had everything from soup to nuts.
2) We've got acts in this talent show from soup to nuts: jugglers, acrobats,
singers, magicians, tap dancers, you name it!
Synonyms:
from soup to nuts; everything but the kitchen sink; from A to Z.
History:
For centuries any foods served at the beginning or end of a meal stood for the entire thing: the start and finish and everything in between. These expressions were "from eggs to apples" and "from pottage to cheese." In the United States, in the middle of the 20th century, the expression developed into "from soup to nuts." At many meals, soup is often the first course and a dessert with nuts is sometimes the last. The expression does not have to refer only to meals, however. It could be the selection of goods for sale or classes offered.


evince

• reveal
• demonstrate
• manifest

[ih-VIN(T)S]
To show in a clear manner; to display clearly; to make evident; to bring to light; to constitute outward evidence of.
Synonyms: reveal, demonstrate, manifest.
Examples:
1) The study showed that girls were better prepared for class, had better attendance records, and evinced more positive academic behavior overall. (Christina Hoff Sommers, "The War Against Boys")
2) Though his earliest tales are little more than quick, offhand sketches seasoned with slapstick humor, his mature stories evince the psychological complexity and atmospheric detail that distinguish his best-known plays. ("Quick Trips Through the Imagination," New York Times, July 12, 2000)
3) Those who supported the war in Vietnam evinced no such fears and no reluctance about new adventures abroad. (William M. Leogrande, "Our Own Backyard")
4) At no time in her life did Tina evince religious faith, and, a few years later, she would declare outright that she had "[no] belief or religion." (Patricia Albers, "Shadows, Fire, Snow: The Life of Tina Modotti")
Etymology, more examples, related words:
"Evince" is from Latin "evincere" - "to conquer entirely, to prevail over, to prove irresistibly," from "e-" (here used intensively) + "vincere" ("to conquer").
In the early 1600s, "evince" was sometimes used in the senses "to subdue" or "to convict of error," meanings evincing the influence of its Latin ancestors. It was also sometimes used as a synonym of its cousin "convince," but that sense is now obsolete. One early meaning, "to constitute evidence of," has hung on, however, and in the 1800s it was joined by another sense, "to reveal."
Charles Dickens advised, "Take nothing on looks; take everything on evidence." An excellent rule!

evitable

• inevitable

[EV-uh-tuh-bul]
Capable of being avoided.
Example:
Books, journals, conventions, and electronic networks have made provincial isolation easily evitable. (James Sledd, "English Journal", November 1994)
History, more examples, antonym:
T.S. Eliot once gave a lecture in which he spoke about "the disintegration of the intellect" in 19th century Europe, saying, "The 'disintegration' of which I speak may be evitable or inevitable, good or bad; to draw its optimistic or pessimistic conclusions is an occupation for prophets ... of whom I am not one" (quoted in "The New York Times", May 23, 1994). "Evitable," though not common, has been in English since the beginning of the 16th century; it's often found paired with its antonym, "inevitable," as in Eliot's passage or in a book review by Peter Hebblethwaite ("Manchester Guardian Weekly", May 4, 1986): "In a work covering such a vast historical ground ... some mistakes were no doubt inevitable. But others were evitable." Both words were borrowed from similar Latin adjectives, which in turn are based on the verb "evitare," which means "to avoid."


exacerbate

• acerbic
• acrid
• acrimony

To make worse; to make more violent, bitter, or severe.
Example:
A nasty rash caused Jenna's arm to itch all over, and the doctor said that scratching it would only exacerbate the problem.
Etymology, related words, more examples:
Make it a point to know that the Latin adjective "acer," meaning "sharp," forms the basis of a number of words that have come into English. The words "acerbic" ("having a bitter temper or sour mood"), "acrid" ("having a sharp taste or odor"), and "acrimony" ("a harsh manner or disposition") are just the tip of the iceberg. First appearing in English in the 17th century, "exacerbate" derives from the prefix "ex-," which means "out of" or "outside," and "acerbus," which means "harsh" or "bitter" and comes from "acer." Just as pouring salt in a wound worsens pain, things that exacerbate can cause a situation to go from bad to worse. A pointed insult, for example, might exacerbate tensions between two rivals.

excoriate

• abrade

1. to wear off the skin of
Synonym: abrade
Example:
A day of arduous toil, that might excoriate a lady's palm, would make no sensible impression on that of a hardy ploughman. (Anne Bronte, "Agnes Grey")
2. to censure scathingly
Etymology:
"Excoriate", which first appeared in English in the 15th century, comes from "excoriatus", the past participle of the Late Latin verb "excoriare", which means "to strip off the hide". "Excoriare" was itself formed from a pairing of the Latin prefix "ex-", meaning "out", and "corium", meaning "skin" or "hide" or "leather". "Corium" has several other descendants in English. One is "cuirass", a name for a piece of armor that covers the body from neck to waist (or something, such as bony plates covering an animal, that resembles such armor). Another is "corium" itself, which is sometimes used as a synonym of "dermis" (the inner layer of human skin).


excrescence
[ik-SKRESS-uhn(t)s]
1. Something (especially something abnormal) growing out from something else.
2. A disfiguring or unwanted mark, part, or addition.
Examples:
1) Even Henry Mee's well-known portrait of Anthony Powell makes the novelist look as if he had some odd excrescence growing out of his head. (DJ Taylor, "Picture this dead chicken, then ponder a fine artistic tradition," Independent, June 22, 2001)
2) Conservatives have always opposed the independent counsel as an extra-constitutional excrescence unmoored from any political accountability. ("Enough," National Review, February 5, 2001)
3) It wasn't just predictable curmudgeons like Dr. Johnson who thought the Scottish hills ugly; if anybody had something to say about mountains at all, it was sure to be an insult. (The Alps: "monstrous excrescences of nature," in the words of one wholly typical 18th-century observer.) (Stephen Budiansky, "Nature? A bit overdone," U.S. News & World Report, December 2, 1996)
Etymology:
"Excrescence" is from Latin "excrescentia" ("excrescences"), from "excrescere" ("to grow out"), from "ex-" ("out") + "crescere" ("to grow").


exculpate
[EK-skuhl-payt; ek-SKUHL-payt] To clear from alleged fault or guilt; to prove to be guiltless; to relieve of blame; to acquit.
Examples:
1) Each member is determined to exculpate himself, to lay the blame elsewhere. (Joseph Wood Krutch, "How Will Posterity Rank O'Neill?", New York Times, October 21, 1956)
2) At the same time, they said, representatives of the inspector general's office at the CIA were generally protective of the intelligence agents involved in the matter, highlighting evidence that seemed to exculpate them. (Tim Golden, "Guerrilla's Asylum Analyzed Amid Contradictory Claims", New York Times, December 12, 1996)
Etymology:
"Exculpate" is ultimately derived from Latin "ex-" ("without") + "culpare" ("to blame"), from "culpa" ("blame, fault").



excursus
[ik-SKUR-sus]
1. A dissertation that is appended to a work and that contains a more extended exposition of some important point or topic.
2. A digression. And the eels not only have a role in the narrator's story.
Examples:
1) ... but receive a 12-page excursus on their genesis and (as it were) life style. (William H. Pritchard, "The Body in the River Leem," New York Times, March 25, 1984)
2) Sometimes, however, Mr. Honan's historical digressions wander far away from Jane Austen's concerns. An excursus on George III's insanity has precious little to do with "Pride and Prejudice," the subject nominally under discussion. (Peter Conrad, "'Beside Her Joyce Seems Innocent as Grass,'" New York Times, February 28, 1988)
3) Perhaps the most important objection to Mr. Hughes's method is that he views structural changes in both the Western and the Communist world systems chiefly through the filter of his rebels; sometimes I would have preferred an excursus on economic issues to one on intellectual history. (Peter Schneider, "A New Breed at the Barricades," New York Times, January 8, 1989)
4) Somewhat sprightlier than the long chapter on Stolypin is his 80-page historical excursus about Nicholas II, the last of Russia's hereditary autocrats. (Irving Howe, "The Great War and Russian Memory," New York Times, July 2, 1989)
Etymology:
"Excursus" comes from the past participle of Latin "excurrere" - "to run out," from "ex-" ("out") + "currere" ("to run").


execrable
[EK-si-kruh-bul]
1. Deserving to be execrated; detestable.
2. Extremely bad; of very poor quality; very inferior; wretched.
Examples:
1) "The room is dirty, the mattress is lumpy, and the heater doesn't work, and I refuse to spend the night in such execrable conditions!" - Elaine informed the motel's manager.
2) His human-rights record was abysmal. His relations with Washington were adversarial. He rivaled Zimbabwe's execrable Robert Mugabe for the title "Africa's Saddam." (James S. Robbins, "The Liberian Opportunity", National Review, July 8, 2003)
3) For while agents and editors often misunderstand their market and sometimes reject good or even great works, they do prevent a vast quantity of truly execrable writing from being published. (Laura Miller, "Slush, slush, sweet Stephen", Salon, July 25, 2000)
4) Any theatergoer who has ever felt the urge to murder an actor for an execrable performance should get a kick out of two backstage mysteries that do the deed with a nice theatrical flourish. (Marilyn Stasio, review of "The Gold Gamble", by Herbert Resnicow and Death Mask, by Jane Dentinger, New York Times, October 30, 1988)
5) The decision to level the ancient cathedral is described candidly by one latter-day authoritative guidebook as having demonstrated "execrable taste." (Dick Grogan, "Pillars speak out to save cathedral", Irish Times, June 11, 1997)
Etymology, more examples:
He or she who is cursed faces execrable conditions. "Execrable" is a descendant of the Latin "exsecrabilis, execrabilis", from "exsecrari, execrari" ("to execrate, to curse"), from "ex-" ("out of, away from, outside of") + "sacer" ("sacred"). Since its earliest uses in English, beginning in the 14th century, "execrable" has meant "deserving or fit to be execrated," the reference being to things so abominable as to be worthy of formal denouncement (such as "execrable crimes"). But in the 19th century it was lightened up a bit, and its "indescribably bad" sense has since been applied to everything from roads ("execrable London pavement" - Sir Walter Scott) to food ("The coffee in the station house was ... execrable." - Clarence Day) to, inevitably, the weather ("the execrable weather of the past fortnight" - "The [London] Evening Standard").


execrate

• sacerdotal
• sacral
• execration

[EK-suh-krayt]
1. To declare to be evil or detestable; denounce.
2. To detest utterly.
Example:
The new governor publicly execrated corruption in all its forms, and promised that her administration would be beyond reproach.
Etymology, related words:
To Latinists, there's nothing cryptic about the origins of "execrate" - the word derives from "exsecratus," the past participle of the Latin verb "exsecrari," meaning "to put under a curse." "Exsecrari" was itself created by combining the prefix "ex-" ("not") and the word "sacer" ("sacred"). "Sacer" is also an ancestor of such English words as "sacerdotal" ("relating to priests"), "sacral" ("holy, sacred"), "sacrifice," "sacrilege," and of course "sacred" itself. There's also "execration," which, true to its "exsecrari" roots, means "the act of cursing" or "the curse so uttered."


exegesis
[ek-suh-JEE-sis]
Plural - exegeses [-seez]
Exposition; explanation; especially, a critical explanation of a text.
Examples:
1) It is a fiercely argued exegesis of Shakespeare's plays in the tradition of Samuel Johnson, Hazlitt and A. C. Bradley, a study that is as passionate as it is erudite. (Michiko Kakutani, "Vast Shakespearean Drama With All People as Players," New York Times, October 27, 1998)
2) These are tightly argued, crisp exercises in literary and cultural exegesis which make perfectly clear the brilliant patterns of language and oftentimes strained analogic thinking of the poets. (Review of "Made in America", by Lisa M. Steinman, in the Journal of Modern Literature)
3) No variety of love is too trivial for exegesis. No aspect of love is so ridiculous that it hasn't been exhaustively reviewed by the great thinkers, the great artists, and the great hosts of daytime talk shows. (P. J. O'Rourke, "Eat the Rich")
4) Their works are the subject of innumerable analyses, exegeses, seminars, and doctoral theses. (Alan Sokal and Jean Bricmont, "Fashionable Nonsense")
Etymology:
"Exegesis" comes from Greek, from "exegeisthai" ("to explain, to interpret"), from "ex-" ("out of") + "hegeisthai" ("to lead, to guide"). Thus an "exegesis" is, at root, "a leading or guiding out of" a complexity.


exegete
[EK-suh-jeet]
A person who explains or interprets difficult parts of written works.
Examples:
1) All the things said in this passage are clear and should be paid attention to, without an exegete interpreting. (Galen, Commentary on Hippocrates' "On the Nature of Man")
2) He is far more a man of prayer, a witness, a confessor and a prophet, than a learned exegete and close thinking scholastic. (Adolf Deissmann, "St. Paul, A Study in Social and Religious History")
Etymology:
"Exegete" is from Greek "exegetes", from "exegeisthai" ("to interpret") and is related to "exegesis".


exhort

• Dehort

[ig-ZORT]
To incite by argument or advice; to urge strongly; make urgent appeal; to give warning or advice; hence, to advise, warn, or caution.
Examples:
1) The mayoral candidate exhorted the crowd to trust him and to prove their support for his candidacy on election day.
2) He was constantly reminding us of our failures and exhorting us to do, and to be, better. (Ronald Steel, "In Love With Night")
3) How many children are exhorted to taste a new food (which they have decided is bad on sight) and even after a taste continue to protest? (Richard Pillsbury, "No Foreign Food")
4) "[B]e doubly cautious in business generally," he exhorted his brothers. (Niall Ferguson, "The House of Rothschild: Money's Prophets, 1798-1848")
Etymology:
"Exhort" is a 15th-century coinage. It derives from the Latin verb "hortari" ("to incite"), or "exhortari" ("to encourage strongly"), from "ex-" (intensive prefix) + "hortari", and it often implies the ardent urging or admonishing of an orator or preacher. People in the 16th century apparently liked the root "-hort", but they couldn't resist fiddling around with different prefixes to create other words similar in meaning to "exhort". They came up with "adhort" and "dehort". "Adhort" was short-lived and became obsolete after the 17th century. "Dehort" was similar to "exhort" and "adhort" but with a more specific meaning of "to dissuade". It had a better run than "adhort", being used well into the late 19th century, but it is now considered archaic.


exigent

• exigent circumstances
• exigent circumstance
• circumstances
• circumstance

[EK-suh-juhnt]
1. Requiring immediate aid or action; pressing; critical.
2. Requiring or calling for much; requiring much effort or expense; demanding; exacting.
Examples:
1) The demands of even the most exigent of bosses can be tolerated if he or she has real influence with upper management when it comes to recommending raises.
2) Legislative sessions are long, constituents' demands are exigent, policy problems are increasingly complicated. (Anthony King, "Running Scared," The Atlantic, January 1997)
3) An exception to the warrant rule was established when exigent circumstances required officials to act immediately. (Warren Richey, "Of merchant ships and crack-sellers' cars," Christian Science Monitor, May 20, 1999)
4) It is true that the greatest modern novels ask more of us, and of themselves as well. But within their own less exigent terms, Roth's novels amount to an impressive achievement. (Michael Andre Bernstein, "The vivid fabrications of a great elegist," The New Republic, May 7, 2001)
5) The purpose of the book is "to confirm the poet in a lonely and exigent task, which is all the more necessary in these times". (Patsy McGarry, "The mad monk of the mid-west," Irish Times, December 22, 2001)
Etymology, more examples:
"This writ seemeth to be called an Exigent because it exacteth the party, that is, requireth his expearance or forthcomming, to answer the lawe." Writer John Cowell, referring in 1607 to a writ summoning a person on pain of outlawry, clearly recognized "exigent" as a derivative of Latin "exigere," which means "to demand." Over the last five centuries we have demanded a lot from "exigent". It has served as a legal term (as in Cowell's quote), as well as a noun meaning either "an emergency" or "an end or extremity." Nowadays the adjective is seen frequently in legal contexts referring to "exigent circumstances," such as those used to justify a search by police without a warrant.


exiguous

• inadequate

[ig-ZIG-yuh-wus]
Excessively scanty.
Synonym: inadequate.
Example:
The current evidence supporting her hypothesis is exiguous, but Carla is sure she'll get convincing results from the next round of experiments.
Etymology, related words:
"Exiguous" derives from the Latin "exiguus," which has the same basic meaning as the modern English term. "Exiguus," in turn, derives from the Latin verb "exigere," which is variously translated as "to demand," "to drive out," or "to weigh or measure." The idea of weighing or measuring so precisely as to be parsimonious or petty gave "exiguous" its present sense of inadequacy. "Exigere" is the parent term underlying other English words including "exact" and "exigent."


expatiate
[ek-SPAY-shee-ayt]
1. To speak or write at length or in considerable detail.
2. To move about freely; to wander.
Examples:
1) He had told her all he had been asked to tell - or all he meant to tell: at any rate he had been given abundant opportunity to expatiate upon a young man's darling subject - himself. (Henry Blake Fuller, "Bertram Cope's Year")
2) At the midday meal on fair day, a large one (meat loaf, boiled potato, broccoli), Mrs. Lucas, married to the man with the earache, expatiates on the difficulties of caring for a parakeet her daughter has unloaded upon her and which, let out of its cage for an airing, has escaped through the door suddenly opened by Mr. Lucas. (William H. Pritchard, "Updike: America's Man of Letters")
3) His relationship with his family was for many years an unhappy one, and he does not care to expatiate upon it. (Barbara La Fontaine, "Triple Threat On, Off And Off-Off Broadway," New York Times, February 25, 1968)
Etymology:
"Expatiate" is from Latin "expatiari" ("to walk or go far and wide"), from "ex-" ("out") + "spatiari" ("to walk about"), from "spatium" ("space; an open space, a place for walking in").


expeditious
[ek-spuh-DISH-uhs] Characterized by or acting with speed and efficiency.
Examples:
1) His problem was to get from Lookout Valley to Chattanooga Valley in the most expeditious way possible. (Ulysses S. Grant, "Personal Memoirs")
2) The criminal may of course use some short-term act of violence to 'terrorize' his victim, such as waving a gun in the face of a bank clerk during a robbery in order to ensure the clerk's expeditious compliance. (Bruce Hoffman, "Inside Terrorism")
Etymology:
"Expeditious" is derived from Latin "expeditus" ("unshackled, unimpeded, ready for action"), from "expedire" ("to free (one's feet) from a snare; hence, to get out, to set free, to get ready for action"), from "ex-" ("out of") + "pes, ped-" ("foot").


experimercial
A cost-is-no-object exercise driven by the corporate sponsor to create positive publicity for its product in a market niche; experimental work carried out mainly to get good commercial PR.
Example:
Looking for EXPERIMERCIAL? eBay has great deals on new and used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods and more. ("eBay - EXPERIMERCIAL items at low prices", <http://search.ebay.com/EXPERIMERCIAL_W0QQsokeywordredirectZ1>)
Etymology:
Talking of Big Pharma, Bernard Carroll used this in the "American Journal of Psychiatry", September 2004. It's an obvious-enough blend of "experimental" and "commercial".


expiate

• expiation
• expiatory

[EK-spee-ayt]
Transitive verb:
1. To extinguish the guilt incurred by.
2. To make amends for; to atone for.
Intransitive verb:
3. To make expiation
Examples:
1) Then his devout and long-suffering widow, a princess born, built a beautiful church on the estate to expiate his sins. (Serge Schmemann, "Echoes of a Native Land")
2) And if you have offended each other, you expiate your sins and offenses by confessing them and apologizing. (Aung San Suu Kyi, "The Voice of Hope")
3) The characters often attempt, however futilely, to expiate their past mistakes. (Michael Ruhlman, "A Writer at His Best", New York Times, September 20, 1987)
4) It seemed to me that I was hurried on by an inevitable and unseen fate to this day of misery, and that now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows... (Daniel Defoe, "Moll Flanders")
Etymology, more examples, related words:
"Expiate" comes from Latin "expiare", from "ex-" (here "used intensively") + "piare" ("to seek to appease by an offering", "to make good", "to atone for"), from "pius" ("dutiful"). The act of expiating is expiation; that which serves to expiate is expiatory.
"Disaster shall fall upon you, which you will not be able to expiate." That ominous biblical prophecy (Isaiah, 47:11 RSV) shows that "expiate" was once involved in confronting the forces of evil as well as in assuaging guilt. "Expiate" originally referred to warding off evil by using sacred rites, or to using sacred rites to cleanse or purify something. By the 17th century, Shakespeare (and others) were using it to mean "to put an end to": "But when in thee time's furrows I behold, / Then look I death my days should expiate" ("Sonnet 22"). Those senses have since become obsolete, and now only the "extinguish the guilt" and "make amends" senses remain in use.



expropriate

• Appropriate
• expropriation
• expropriator

[ek-SPROH-pree-ayt]
1. To deprive of possession or proprietary rights.
2. To transfer (the property of another) to one's own possession.
Examples:
1) When Maria went home, we expropriated her pens and extra paper to finish the group project.
2) Very few voters, after all, really believe Europe's new generation of social democratic leaders are wild Bolsheviks plotting to expropriate their Toyotas. (Fintan O'Toole, "The last gasp of social democracy," Irish Times, March 19, 1999)
3) The Spanish constitution declared the country "a democratic republic of workers of all classes" and laid down that property might be expropriated "for social uses." (Mark Mazower, "Dark Continent")
4) Farmlands that had belonged to Bosnia's Muslim beys... and agas were expropriated without compensation and handed over to their former tenant sharecroppers. (Chuck Sudetic, "Blood and Vengeance")
History, related words:
If you guessed that "expropriate" has something in common with the verb "appropriate," you're right. Both words ultimately derive from the Latin adjective "proprius," meaning "own." "Expropriate" came to us by way of the Medieval Latin verb "expropriare," itself from Latin "ex-" ("out of" or "from") and "proprius." The act of expropriating is expropriation. One who expropriates is an expropriator. "Appropriate" descends from Late Latin "appropriare," which joins "proprius" and Latin "ad-" ("to" or "toward"). Both the verb "appropriate" ("to take possession of" or "to set aside for a particular use") and the adjective "appropriate" ("fitting" or "suitable") have been with us since the 15th century, and "expropriate" has been a part of the language since at least 1611. Other "proprius" descendants in English include "proper" and "property."


expunge
1. to strike out, obliterate, or mark for deletion
Example:
The defendant's lawyer is seeking to have the conviction expunged from his client's criminal record.
2. to efface completely
Synonym: destroy
3. to eliminate (as a memory) from one's consciousness
Etymology:
In medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, a series of dots was used to mark mistakes or to label material that should be deleted from a text, and those deletion dots can help you remember the history of "expunge". They were known as "puncta delentia". The "puncta" part of the name derives from the Latin verb "pungere", which can be translated as "to prick or sting" (and you can imagine that a scribe may have felt stung when his mistakes were so punctuated in a manuscript). "Pungere" is also an ancestor of "expunge", as well as a parent of other dotted, pointed, or stinging terms such as "punctuate", "compunction", "poignant", "puncture", and "pungent".


extant
[EK-stunt; ek-STANT]
Still existing; not destroyed, lost, or extinct.
Examples:
1) Why, then, did the joint House-Senate committee insert a maximum? The lack of extant records of the committee's deliberations requires us to speculate. (Akhil Reed Amar, "The Bill of Rights")
2) The fossil record shows clearly that ancient life was very different from extant life. (Paul Davies, "The Fifth Miracle")
Etymology:
"Extant" comes from Latin "exstare" ("to stand out, to project", hence, "to be prominent, to be visible, to exist"), from "ex-" ("out") + "stare" ("to stand").


extemporaneous

• temporary
• contemporary
• tempo

[ek-stem-puh-RAY-nee-us]
1. Composed, performed, or uttered on the spur of the moment, or without previous study; unpremeditated; impromptu.
2. Prepared beforehand but delivered without notes or text.
3. Skilled at or given to extemporaneous speech.
4. Provided, made, or put to use as an expedient; makeshift.
Examples:
1) ...the intimate goofiness of an extemporaneous story told to a child. (Barbara Tritel, "What the Wicked Magician Did," New York Times, February 22, 1987)
2) She summed up the long and complex sessions in an hour's extemporaneous speech that was remarkable for its organization, pithiness and coherence. ("Anna Freud, Psychoanalyst, Dies in London at 86," New York Times, October 10, 1982)
3) In fact, his particular strength may well have been improvisation, and he may not have been interested in committing the results of his extemporaneous performances to paper. (Christoph Wolff, "Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician")
Etymology, related words:
"Extemporaneous" comes from Late Latin "extemporaneus", from Latin "ex tempore" - "out of time", therefore "immediately, at the very time the occasion arises." It is related to "temporary" - "lasting for a limited time"; "contemporary" - "belonging to the same time" ("con-" = "with, together"); and "tempo" - "the rate or degree of movement in time."


extempore
[ik-STEM-puh-ree]
1. (adverb) Without premeditation or preparation; on the spur of the moment.
2. (adjective) Done or performed extempore.
Examples:
1) Kelso had already delivered his short paper, on Stalin and the archives, at the end of the previous day: delivered it in his trademark style - without notes, with one hand in his pocket, extempore, provocative. (Robert Harris, "Archangel")
2) Ruskin's Oxford lecture series ended up as a dismaying mix of extempore ramblings and calculated farce. (Valentine Cunningham, "A Victorian Renaissance Man," New York Times, May 14, 2000)
Etymology:
"Extempore" is from the Latin phrase "ex tempore" - "out of the time", therefore "immediately, at the very time the occasion arises."


extension
1. The act of extending or the state of being extended; a stretching out; enlargement in breadth or continuation of length; increase; augmentation; expansion.
2. A mutually agreed delay in the date set for the completion of a job or payment of a debt.
Example:
They applied for an extension of the loan. 3. Act of expanding in scope; making more widely available.
Example:
We've got the extension of the program to all in need. 4. The spreading of something (a belief or practice) into new regions. Synonym: propagation 5. An educational opportunity provided by colleges and universities to people who not enrolled as regular students. Synonyms: extension service, university extension 6. (physiol.) The straightening of a limb, in distinction from flexion; an act of stretching or straightening out a flexed limb. 7. A string of characters beginning with a period and followed by one to three letters; the optional second part of a PC computer filename.
Examples:
1) Most applications provide extensions for the files they create.
2) Most BASIC files use the filename extension .BAS. Synonyms: filename extension, file name extension 8. (logic & metaph.) The most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to; capacity of a concept or general term to include a greater or smaller number of objects;
Examples:
1) The extension of `satellite of Mars' is the set containing only Demos and Phobos.
2) Correlative of intension. the law is that the intension of our knowledge is in the inverse ratio of its extension. (W. Hamilton)
3) The extension of [the term] plant is greater than that of geranium, because it includes more objects. (Thomson) Synonyms: reference, denotation 9. The ability to raise the working leg high in the air.
Examples:
1) The dancer was praised for her uncanny extension.
2) Good extension comes from a combination of training and native ability. 10. (physics) Amount or degree or range to which something extends; that property of a body by which it occupies a portion of space.
Example:
The wire has an extension of 50 feet. Synonyms: lengthiness, prolongation 11. An additional telephone set that is connected to the same telephone line. Synonyms: telephone extension, extension phone 12. An addition to the length of something. Synonym: elongation 13. An addition that extends a main building. Synonyms: annex, annexe, wing 14. (surg.) The operation of stretching a broken bone so as to bring the fragments into the same straight line. 15. (com.) A written engagement on the part of a creditor, allowing a debtor further time to pay a debt.
Etymology:
From "extend" - c.1386, from Anglo-Fr. "estendre" (1292), from L. "extendere" - "stretch out," from "ex-" ("out") + "tendere" ("to stretch"). "Extent" (c.1330) is older in Eng., from Anglo-Fr. "estente" ("valuation of land, stretch of land"), from fem. pp. of O.Fr. "extendre" ("extend"), from L. "extendere".


extirpate
[EK-stur-payt]
1. To pull up by the stem or root.
2. To destroy completely.
3. To remove by surgery.
Examples:
1) A plant growing where it shouldn't is a weed. An object for which you have no need or sentimental attachment is garbage. Extirpate the one, toss the other. (Philip Kennicott, "The Symphony's Misbegotten 'Moon,'" Washington Post, January 14, 2000)
2) There had been no great missionary impulse in the Turkish incursions, no urge to extirpate the old ways. (Fouad Ajami, "The Glory Days of the Grand Turk," New York Times, May 2, 1999)
3) If Soviet espionage or capitalist plots against the Soviet Union are malignant growths, it requires a professional to extirpate them by methods as unkind to random bystanders as radiation may be to healthy tissue. (Robert Leachman, "Super Thrillers and Super Powers," New York Times, February 19, 1984)
Etymology:
"Extirpate" derives from Latin "ex(s)tirpare" - "to tear up by the root", hence "to root out, to extirpate", from "ex-" ("from") + "stirps" ("the stalk or stem or a tree or other plant, with the roots").


extol
[ik-STOHL]
To praise highly; to glorify; to exalt.
Examples:
1) The processes of nature, which most writers extol as symbols of renewal and eternal life, were always seen darkly by Kerouac. (Ellis Amburn, "Subterranean Kerouac: The Hidden Life of Jack Kerouac")
2) Let your deeds themselves praise you, for here I leave them in all their glory, lacking words to extol them. (Cervantes, "Don Quixote de la Mancha")
3) Land of Hope and Glory, Mother of the Free, How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee? (Arthur Christopher Benson, "Song from Pomp and Circumstance by Sir Edward Elgar")
Etymology:
"Extol" derives from Latin "extollere" ("to lift up, praise"), from "ex-" ("up from") + "tollere" ("to lift up, elevate").


extraneous

• strange
• estrange

[ek-STRAY-nee-us]
1. Existing on or coming from the outside.
2. Not forming an essential or vital part.
Example:
After he finished the first draft of his essay, Brad reread it and deleted the extraneous material, making it more concise and focused.
3. Having no relevance.
4. Being a number obtained in solving an equation that is not a solution of the equation.
Etymology, related words:
The word has been a part of the English language since at least 1638. It derives from the Latin word "extraneus," which literally means "external." "Extraneus" is also the root of the words "strange" and "estrange" ("to alienate the affections or confidence of").


extreme ironing

• extreme
• ironing
• spoof sport
• spoof
• ironman
• ironwoman
• extreme ironer
• extreme ironist
• ironer
• ironist

A pastime in which participants iron a few items of laundry while engaged in an extreme sport or some other dangerous activity; "the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt" (Extreme Ironing Bureau, <http://www.extremeironing.com/>).
Examples:
1) You read right: extreme ironing -- part sport, part spectacle. Press garments while kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking or doing any other outdoor activity you like. (Since extreme ironers must wait for the invention of solar- and battery-charged irons, they heat their irons with portable gas burners, campfires and generators.) (Bryan Rourke, "Pressing concerns", The Providence Journal (Rhode Island), May 22, 2004)
2) The sport was born seven years ago when a young man named Phil Shaw ... and his roommate, Paul Cartwright, did "a spot of ironing whilst rock climbing", Mr. Shaw said, while skiing the French Alps and after scrambling to the tops of tall trees in the Black Forest of Germany. Now, countless handkerchiefs and pillow cases later, and after stretching to the corners of South Africa, Japan, Croatia and Chile, extreme ironing is coming to the United States, hoping to appeal to the spin-cycle superhero, the wash-and-wear wonder woman in all of us. (Pam Belluck, "Get Out Your Boards: Extreme Ironing May Soon Be Hot", The New York Times, May 21, 2004)
NB:
The ironmen and ironwomen who partake in this "spoof sport" (1996) are called "extreme ironers", "extreme ironists", or simply "ironists".

extremophile
[ik-STREE-muh-fyle]
An organism that lives under extreme environmental conditions (as in a hot spring or ice cap).
Example:
Cold-loving extremophiles could show us what kinds of creatures might live... in parts of the solar system previously thought uninhabitable. (Michael Lemonick and Andrea Dorfman, "Time Magazine", July 2002)
Etymology:
No, an extremophile ("extrem(o)" + "phile") is not an enthusiast of extreme sports (though "-phile" does mean "one who loves or has an affinity for"). Rather, extremophiles are microbes that thrive in environments once considered uninhabitable, from places with high levels of toxicity and radiation to boiling-hot, deep-sea volcanoes to Antarctic ice sheets. Scientists have even created a new biological kingdom to classify some of these microbes: Archaea (from "archae-", meaning "primitive"). These extremophiles may have a lot in common with the first organisms to appear on earth billions of years ago. If so, they can give us insight into how life on our planet may have arisen. They are also being studied to learn about possible life forms on other planets, whose conditions are extreme compared to Earth's.


extricate
[EK-struh-kayt] To free or release from a difficulty or entanglement; to get free; to disengage.
Examples:
1) Sean introduced himself and then extricated his hand from Ronan's persistent grasp in order to show him the photo. (Naeem Murr, "The Boy")
2) Ultimately they extricated Ned by lifting up the whole table-and-chair structure, thus allowing him to fall out onto the floor. (Joan L. Richards, "Angles of Reflection: Logic and a Mother's Love")
3) I knelt down, either out of weakness or out of gratitude to a god who had extricated me from yet another predicament. (Christa Wolf, "Medea: A Modern Retelling")
Etymology:
"Extricate" comes from Latin "extricare" ("to disentangle, to extricate"), from "ex-" ("out") + "tricae" ("trifles, impediments, perplexities").


eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

• an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
• eye for an eye
• an eye for an eye
• a tooth for a tooth
• eye
• tooth

(Biblical) A person's punishment should be equal to the wrong or crime which he committed; every crime or injury should be punished or paid back.
Examples:
1) Amanda took Mac's bicycle after he took her skateboard. That's what I call an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
2) Some politicians are always calling for an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth when they hear of a terrible crime.
History:
This idea appears in the Old Testament of the Bible (Exodus 21:23) and is often used to sum up its stern code.



eyes in the back of one's head

• have eyes in the back of one's head
• eyes
• back of one's head
• eye
• back
• head

An ability to sense what is happening outside one's field of vision; an ability to know what happens when one's back is turned.
Example:
My teacher always knows when we're passing notes. He must have eyes in the back of his head.
History:
People's eyes are on the front of their faces, but there are people who seem to know what's going on behind them, as if they had eyes in the back of their heads.