Wiktionary:Word of the day/Archive/2022/November

1. Synonym of eternity (“existence without end”)
2. (Scholastic philosophy) Synonym of aevum (“the temporal mode of existence between time and eternity, said to be experienced by angels, saints, and celestial bodies (which medieval astronomy believed to be unchanging)”)

Today is All Saints’ Day in Western Christianity, which honours all the saints of the church.

1. (idiomatic) Used to describe or react to an increasingly mysterious or peculiar situation.

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, from which the term originates, was published this month in 1865.

1. (nautical) To control the helm (noun sense 1) of (a marine vessel); to be in charge of steering (a vessel).
2. (figuratively) To direct or lead (a project, etc.); to manage (an organization).

helm n

1. (nautical) The tiller (or, in a large ship, the wheel) which is used to control the rudder of a marine vessel; also, the entire steering apparatus of a vessel.
2. (by extension)
   1. (nautical) The use of a helm (sense 1); also, the amount of space through which a helm is turned.
   2. (nautical) The member of a vessel's crew in charge of steering the vessel; a helmsman or helmswoman.
   3. Something used to control or steer; also (obsolete), a handle of a tool or weapon; a haft, a helve.
3. (figuratively)
   1. A position of control or leadership.
   2. One in the position of controlling or directing; a controller, a director, a guide.

1. (law, chiefly historical)
   1. (uncountable) Criminal neglect or wrongful execution of duty, especially by a public official; (countable) a specific instance of this.
   2. (uncountable) In full misprision of felony or misprision of treason: originally, a less serious form of felony or treason; later, the crime of (intentionally) failing to give information about a felony or treason that one knows about; (countable) an instance of this.
2. (by extension)
   1. (uncountable) Misinterpretation or misunderstanding; (countable) an instance of this; a mistake.
   2. (uncountable) Incorrect or unfair suspicion; (countable) an instance of this.

1. Despising or holding in contempt; disdain, scorn.
2. Not seeing the value in something; undervaluing.

Today, the first Friday of November in 2022, is Love Your Lawyer Day, which was established in 2001 by the American Lawyers Public Image Association.

1. A large, controlled outdoor fire lit to celebrate something or as a signal.
2. A fire lit outdoors to burn unwanted items; originally (historical), heretics or other offenders, or banned books; now, generally agricultural or garden waste, or rubbish.
3. (figuratively) Something like a bonfire (sense 1 or 2) in heat, destructiveness, ferocity, etc.
4. (obsolete) A fire lit to cremate a dead body; a funeral pyre.

bonfire v

1. (transitive)
   1. To destroy (something) by, or as if by, burning on a bonfire; (more generally) to burn or set alight.
   2. (ceramics) To fire (pottery) using a bonfire.
   3. (obsolete) To start a bonfire in (a place); to light up (a place) with a bonfire.
2. (intransitive, rare) To make, or celebrate around, a bonfire.

Today is Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night in Great Britain, on which effigies of Guy Fawkes are often burned on bonfires to commemorate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot to assassinate King James I in 1605.

1. A stone coffin, often with its exterior inscribed, or decorated with sculpture.
2. (by extension)
   1. (informal) The cement and steel structure that encases the destroyed nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine.
   2. (historical) A type of wine cooler (“a piece of equipment used to keep wine chilled”) shaped like a sarcophagus (sense 1).
3. (obsolete except Ancient Greece, historical) A kind of limestone used by the Ancient Greeks for coffins, so called because it was thought to consume the flesh of corpses.

sarcophagus v

1. (transitive) To enclose (a corpse, etc.) in a sarcophagus (noun sense 1).

The tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered 100 years ago on 4 November 1922 in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. It was the first known largely intact royal burial from Ancient Egypt.

1. (archaic, poetic or humorous) Called (by a certain name), named.

The song “Say My Name” by the American girl group Destiny’s Child was released on this day in 1999.

1. (Ancient Greece, historical) A hill in Athens west of the Acropolis with a stone platform and steps set into its side, which was used as the meeting place of the democratic assembly in Ancient Greece.

Midterm elections in the United States are being held today, which is Election Day in 2022.

1. (transitive) Chiefly in conjunction with an adverb: to cause (light) to shine.
2. (intransitive)
   1. To shine, especially in an indistinct or intermittent manner; to glisten, to glitter.
   2. (figuratively) To be strongly but briefly apparent.

gleam n

1. (countable) An appearance of light, especially one which is indistinct or small, or short-lived.
2. (countable, figuratively)
   1. An indistinct sign of something; a glimpse or hint.
   2. A bright, but intermittent or short-lived, appearance of something.
   3. A look of joy or liveliness on one's face.
3. (obsolete)
   1. (countable) Sometimes as hot gleam: a warm ray of sunlight; also, a period of warm weather, for instance, between showers of rain.
   2. (uncountable) Brightness or shininess; radiance, splendour.

1. (biochemistry, ecology) Any substance produced by an individual of one species (often an insect) that benefits the recipient which is of a different species but is harmful to the producer.

Today is the World Science Day for Peace and Development, which is recognized by the United Nations to highlight the important role of science in society.

1. (historical) A woman's fur-lined cloak, mantle, or pelisse with large sleeves, worn during the early 19th century.

Today is Narodowe Święto Niepodległości or National Independence Day in Poland, which commemorates the restoration of the nation’s sovereignty following World War I in 1918.

1. Viewed calmly and dispassionately after allowing emotions to cool.

1. (transitive)
   1. To convince or influence (someone) by arguing or contending.
   2. Followed by out of: to elicit (something) from a person by arguing or bargaining.
   3. (archaic, rare)
      1. To speak or write (something) in an argumentative or contentious manner.
      2. To spend (time) arguing or quarrelling.
   4. (Western US) To herd (horses or other livestock).
      1. (by extension, humorous) To manage or supervise (people).
      2. (figuratively) To gather and organize (data, facts, information, etc.), especially in a way which requires sentience rather than automated methods alone, as in data wrangling.
   5. (obsolete)
      1. Followed by out of: to compel or drive (someone or something) away through arguing.
      2. Followed by out: to put forward arguments on (a case, a matter disagreed upon, etc.).
      3. (reflexive) To cause (oneself) grief through arguing or quarrelling.
2. (intransitive)
   1. (also figuratively) To quarrel angrily and noisily; to bicker.
   2. To make harsh noises as if quarrelling.
   3. (generally, also figuratively) To argue, to debate; also (dated), to debate or discuss publicly, especially about a thesis at a university.

1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To disregard or ignore a past difficulty in a relationship or an offence (when dealing with another individual).

1. Small ornaments and other miscellaneous display items of little value.
2. (by extension) Any collection containing a variety of miscellaneous items; a hodgepodge, an olio.

1. Of or relating to vapour; also, having the characteristics or consistency of vapour.
2. Breathing out or giving off vapour.
3. Of a place: filled with vapour; foggy, misty.
4. Of a thing: covered or hidden by vapour, fog, or mist.
5. (figuratively)
   1. Lacking depth or substance; insubstantial, thoughtless, vague.
   2. Of clothes or fabric: thin and translucent; filmy, gauzy.

1. (derogatory) Behaviour adopted (originally) to demonstrate one's good upbringing; or (now) one's superiority; pretentious or snobbish behaviour.

1. (transitive)
   1. To forcefully emit (something), especially in small drops or particles; to sputter.
   2. To soil or sprinkle (someone or something) with a substance, often a liquid; to bespatter, to spatter.
   3. (figuratively)
      1. To direct angry words, criticism, insults, etc., at (someone or something).
      2. Sometimes followed by out: to speak (words) hurriedly, and confusedly or unclearly.
2. (intransitive)
   1. Of a thing: to forcefully emit something, especially in small drops or particles.
      1. To spray droplets of saliva from the mouth while eating or speaking.
   2. Of a substance: to be emitted forcefully in small drops or particles.
   3. To make a sound or sounds of something forcefully emitting a substance in small drops or particles.
   4. Followed by out: to go out (as a flame) or stop functioning (as an engine or machine) with a spluttering action or sound (senses 2.1 or 2.3).
   5. (figuratively)
      1. To speak hurriedly, and confusedly or unclearly.
      2. To perform in an inconsistent manner to a substandard level.

1. (slang) A chamber pot enclosed in a box; a portable commode.
2. (by extension, chiefly Australia, British, slang) Any lavatory or toilet, especially a rudimentary outdoor latrine or toilet, or an outhouse.
3. (theater) A box of metal balls which is shaken to create a thunder sound effect.

Today is designated by the United Nations as World Toilet Day to draw attention to inadequate sanitation facilities in countries around the world.

1. A place such as a particular step on a staircase or a stool, where a child is sent to sit in silence as a punishment.
2. (figuratively) A state of disgrace, exclusion from a group, or punishment as a result of a misdemeanour.

Today is World Children’s Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to promote international togetherness and the importance of improving children’s welfare.

1. People who fish for a living.
2. (anthropology) Members of a culture that is dominated by fishing.

Today is World Fisheries Day, which was established by the World Fisheries Forum to advocate sustainable fishing practices and policies.

1. (transitive)
   1. To announce or herald (something) using a clarion (noun sense 1).
      1. (figuratively) To announce or herald (something) clearly, especially so as to stir or unite people.
   2. (also figuratively) Of a thing: to cause (a place) to echo with a sound like that of a clarion.
2. (intransitive) To sound a clarion; also, to make a high-pitched, piercing sound like that of a clarion.

clarion n

1. (music, historical or poetic) A medieval brass instrument chiefly used as a battle signal; related to the trumpet, it had a narrow, straight pipe and a high-pitched, piercing sound.
2. (by extension)
   1. (poetic) The sound of a clarion (sense 1), or any sound resembling the loud, high-pitched note of a clarion.
   2. (music) An organ stop consisting of pipes with reeds giving a high-pitched note like that of a clarion (sense 1).
3. (heraldry) A charge thought to represent a type of wind instrument, a keyboard instrument like a spinet, or perhaps a rest used by a knight to support a lance during jousting.

clarion adj

1. Of a sound, a voice, a message, etc.: brilliantly clear.

For some Christian churches, today is the feast day of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians.

1. (also figuratively) A small enclosure or field of grassland, especially one used to exercise or graze horses or other animals.
2. (by extension)
   1. (horse racing) An enclosure next to a racecourse where horses are paraded and mounted before a race and unsaddled after a race.
   2. (motor racing) An area at a racing circuit where the racing vehicles are parked and worked on before and between races.
   3. (sports, slang) A field on which a game is played; a playing field.
   4. (Australia, New Zealand) A field of grassland of any size, either enclosed by fences or delimited by geographical boundaries, especially a large area for keeping cattle or sheep.
   5. (chiefly Australia, New Zealand, mining) A place in a superficial deposit where ore or washdirt (“earth rich enough in metal to pay for washing”) is excavated; also, a place for storing ore, washdirt, etc.

1. To make (someone or oneself) aware of some information; to inform, to notify.
2. (rare) To formally impart (information) to someone; to advise, to notify.

apprise v (transitive, archaic)

1. Synonym of appraise (“to determine the value or worth of (something)”)
2. (specifically, Scotland, law) To put a price on (something) for the purpose of sale; to appraise.

1. (literary criticism) A misanthropic desire for a world without human life, expressed in literature.

1. (US, humorous, informal, dated) Goodbye; see you later.

The American cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, who created the comic strip Peanuts, was born on this day 100 years ago in 1922.

1. (chiefly politics) The pursuit of an advantage by appearing to be willing to take a matter to the brink (for example, by risking a dangerous policy) rather than to concede a point.

1. (transitive)
   1. To bombard (someone or something) with missiles.
   2. To force (someone or something) to move using blows or the throwing of missiles.
   3. Of a number of small objects (such as raindrops), or the sun's rays: to beat down or fall on (someone or something) in a shower.
   4. Chiefly followed by at: to (continuously) throw (missiles) at.
   5. (archaic except British, dialectal) To repeatedly beat or hit (someone or something).
   6. (figuratively) To assail (someone) with harsh words in speech or writing; to abuse, to insult.
2. (intransitive)
   1. Especially of hailstones, rain, or snow: to beat down or fall forcefully or heavily; to rain down.
   2. (figuratively) To move rapidly, especially in or on a conveyance.
   3. (archaic, also figuratively) Chiefly followed by at: to bombard someone or something with missiles continuously.
   4. (obsolete) To throw out harsh words; to show anger.

pelt n

1. A beating or falling down of hailstones, rain, or snow in a shower.
2. (archaic except Ireland) A blow or stroke from something thrown.
3. (figuratively, archaic)
   1. (except Ireland) A verbal insult; a jeer, a jibe, a taunt.
   2. (except Midlands, Southern England (South West)) A fit of anger; an outburst, a rage.
4. (chiefly Northern England except in at (full) pelt) An act of moving quickly; a rush.

1. To encircle or surround (someone or something).
   1. (often military) To encircle or surround (someone or something) so as to attack from all sides; to beset.
   2. (heraldry, chiefly passive voice, obsolete) To encircle or surround (a heraldic element such as a charge or escutcheon (shield)).
2. To cover, enclose, or envelop (someone or something).
3. Followed by from: to hide or shield (someone or something).
4. (chiefly passive voice) Of a person: to be positioned or stationed around (someone or something) to attend to or protect them.
5. (figuratively) Of a situation or state of affairs, especially danger or trouble: to happen to and affect (someone or something).
6. (obsolete)
   1. To amount to or encompass (a space).
   2. To travel completely around (a place or thing); to circumnavigate.

environ n

1. (archaic except in the plural, formal, also figuratively) A surrounding area or place (especially of an urban settlement); an environment.

1. (Scotland, historical) A type of Scottish burgh founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter; these were legally abolished in 1975.

Today is Saint Andrew’s Day, Scotland’s national day.