Wiktionary:Word of the day/Archive/2024/July

1. (Canada, US, informal, sometimes derogatory) A Canadian person; specifically (archaic), a French Canadian person; a pea-souper; also (obsolete) a Canadian person of other non-English descent.
   1. (ice hockey) A member of the Vancouver Canucks professional ice hockey team belonging to the National Hockey League.
   2. (skiing) Chiefly as Crazy Canuck: a member of the Canadian alpine ski team.
2. (rare) A thing from Canada.
   1. (aviation, military, historical) The Avro Canada CF-100 fighter-interceptor aircraft, in use between 1952 and 1981.
   2. (US, obsolete) A Canadian horse or pony.

Canuck proper n

1. (historical, rare) synonym of Canadian French (“the French language as spoken by Francophones in Canada”).
2. (slang) Synonym of Canadian English (“the variety of the English language used in Canada”)

Canuck adj

1. (originally informal, sometimes derogatory) Of, belonging to, or relating to Canada, its culture, or people; Canadian.
2. (ice hockey) Of or relating to the Vancouver Canucks professional ice hockey team belonging to the National Hockey League.

Today is Canada Day or Fête du Canada, the national day of Canada which celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation on this day in 1867.

1. Badly damaged or completely destroyed; ruined, trashed, wrecked.
2. Drunk, inebriated.
3. (often sports) Of a sportsperson, a team, etc.: utterly defeated or outplayed; destroyed, thrashed, trounced.

1. A hypothesis, similar to the one originally propounded by Goropius which is now discredited, that some attested or modern language such as Dutch, Hebrew, or Turkish was the original language of human beings.
2. An absurd etymology proposed as part of such a hypothesis.

The Dutch physician and linguist Johannes Goropius Becanus, from whose name the word derives, was born on this day (23 June according to the Julian calendar) 505 years ago in 1519.

1. (idiomatic, also attributive) A group, philosophy, or social or political movement that encompasses or seeks to attract a broad range of constituents or members, or views.

The American businessman James Anthony Bailey, who founded the Barnum & Bailey Circus with Phineas Taylor Barnum, was born on this day in 1847.

1. A wild, headlong running away or scamper of a number of animals, usually caused by fright.
2. (by extension)
   1. A situation in which many people in a crowd are trying to move in the same direction at the same time, especially in consequence of a panic.
   2. (Canada, US) An event at which cowboy skills are displayed; a rodeo.
3. (figurative) A sudden unconcerted acting together of a number of persons due to, or as if due to, some common impulse.

stampede v

1. (transitive)
   1. To cause (a drove or herd of animals) to run away or scamper in a wild, headlong manner, usually due to fright.
   2. To cause animals (owned by a person) to run away or scamper in this manner.
   3. (by extension) To cause (people in a crowd) to move in the same direction at the same time, especially due to panic.
   4. (by extension) To cause (an individual) to act hastily or rashly.
   5. (figurative) To cause (people) to act in a sudden unconcerted manner due to, or as if due to, some common impulse.
2. (intransitive)
   1. Of a drove or herd of animals: to run away or scamper in a wild, headlong manner, usually due to fright.
   2. (by extension) Of people in a crowd: to move in the same direction at the same time, especially due to panic.
   3. (figurative) Of people: to act in a sudden unconcerted manner due to, or as if due to, some common impulse.

The Calgary Stampede, which features one of the world’s largest rodeos, begins on this day in 2024. It was first held in 1912, and became an annual event 105 years ago in 1919.

1. (archaic) Having the temperament of a termagant (noun sense 1); bad-tempered, brawling, boisterous, turbulent.

termagant n

1. (archaic) A brawling, boisterous, and turbulent person or thing.

1. (originally US) Collaboration or collusion, chiefly for a nefarious reason.

1. (archaic) Of or from a foreign country; not indigenous or native; alien, foreign.
2. (by extension)
   1. Appearing to be foreign; strange, unfamiliar.
   2. Greatly different from common experience; bizarre, outrageous, strange.
   3. (derogatory) Of a place: far away from where most people are located; in the middle of nowhere, out of the way, remote.

outlandish n

1. (obsolete) A foreign language.

1. (nautical) Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space in the water for a ship or other vessel to lie at anchor or manoeuvre without getting in the way of other vessels, or colliding into rocks or the shore.
   1. (by extension) A place for a vessel to lie at anchor or to moor.
   2. (by extension) A room in a vessel in which the officers or company mess (“eat together”) and reside; also, a room or other place in a vessel for storage.
   3. (by extension) A place on a vessel to sleep, especially a bed on the side of a cabin.
   4. (by extension) A job or position on a vessel.
2. (by extension)
   1. An assigned place for a person in (chiefly historical) a horse-drawn coach or other means of transportation, or (military) in a barracks.
   2. A bunk or other bed for sleeping on in a caravan, a train, etc.
   3. (road transport) A place for a vehicle on land to park.
3. (figurative)
   1. An appointment, job, or position, especially one regarded as comfortable or good.
   2. Chiefly in wide berth: a sufficient space for manoeuvring or safety.
   3. (chiefly nautical, slang) A proper place for a thing.
   4. (sports)
      1. A position or seed in a tournament bracket.
      2. A position on a field of play.

berth v

1. (transitive)
   1. (nautical) To bring (a ship or other vessel) into a berth (noun sense 1.1); also, to provide a berth for (a vessel).
      1. (specifically, astronautics) To use a device to bring (a spacecraft) into its berth or dock.
   2. (by extension, chiefly passive voice) To assign (someone) a berth (noun sense 1.3 or sense 2.2) or place to sleep on a vessel, a train, etc.
   3. (figurative) To provide (someone) with a berth (noun sense 3.3) or appointment, job, or position.
2. (intransitive)
   1. (reflexive, nautical) Of a vessel: to move into a berth.
   2. (by extension) Of a person: to occupy a berth.

1. A shop that sells animals kept as domestic pets, and products for caring for and feeding them.

The English singer-songwriter Neil Tennant was born on this day 70 years ago in 1954; he formed the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys with Chris Lowe (born 65 years ago on 4 October 1959) and their first single, “West End Girls”, was released 40 years ago on 9 April 1984.

1. (US, dialectal, dated) Used to express agreement with a woman (and, somewhat less commonly, a man): yes, ma'am.
2. (Australia) Alternative form of yes.

The American author Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, in which the word is used, was published on this day in 1960.

1. (countable, uncountable) Chiefly preceded by the: members of the community or the people in general, regardless of membership of any particular group.
2. (countable)
   1. Preceded by a possessive determiner such as my, your, or their: a group of people who support a particular person, especially a performer, a writer, etc.; an audience, a following.
   2. (informal) Short for public house (“an inn, a pub”); also (dated), in full public bar: the more basic bar in a public house, as contrasted with the lounge bar or saloon bar which has more comfortable seats, personalized service, etc.
   3. (often public relations) Often preceded by the and a qualifying word: a particular demographic or group of people, or segment of the population, sharing some common characteristic.
      1. (sociology) A group of people sharing some common cultural, political, or social interest, but not necessarily having any interactions with each other.
   4. (obsolete)
      1. Chiefly preceded by the: a collective body of a politically organized nation or state; a body politic, a nation, a state; also, the interest or well-being of such a collective body; the common good.
      2. (US, university slang) At Harvard University: a penalty imposed on a student involving a grade reduction which is communicated to the student's parents or guardian.
3. (uncountable) Chiefly in in public: the presence of spectators or people generally; the open.

Yesterday was World Population Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to raise awareness of global population issues such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, human rights, maternal health, and poverty. Approximately on 11 July 1987, the world’s population reached five billion people.

1. (neologism, informal) Pronunciation spelling of NB: a non-binary person; a person whose gender identity is not strictly female or male; one who is outside of the gender binary.

enby adj

1. (neologism, informal) Pronunciation spelling of NB: non-binary; having or pertaining to a gender identity that is not strictly female or male, that is, outside of the gender binary.

Today is the eve of International Non-Binary People’s Day, which recognizes people who have a non-binary gender identity—one that is not exclusively female or male. The day was established by Katje van Loon in 2012, and was chosen for being midway between International Men’s Day and International Women’s Day.

1. A type of urban explorer who visits the ancient catacombs and quarries linked by tunnels beneath Paris, France.
2. (by extension) An individual who explores subterranean catacombs, mines, or quarries.

Today is Bastille Day, the national day of France which commemorates the storming of the Bastille—a key event in the French Revolution—that took place on this day 235 years ago in 1789, and celebrates the unity of the nation.

1. On this side of the Alps (chiefly the south side where Rome is located).
2. Alternative letter-case form of Cisalpine (“of or pertaining to Gallicanism (“the doctrine that the church of France is autonomous, especially in relation to the pope”); of or pertaining to cisalpinism (“a movement in 18th–19th century Britain among Roman Catholics which took the view that allegiance to the Crown was compatible with allegiance to the pope, and that Roman Catholics should be emancipated from various legal restrictions”)”)

Marie Paradis from Chamonix (then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia) became the first woman to climb Mont Blanc, Western Europe’s highest mountain, on 14 July 1808.

1. Of a person: appearing at a surprisingly wide variety of historic events and/or with a diverse group of historic figures.

The film Zelig premiered in the United States on 15 July 1983.

1. Actively and determinedly engaged on a task.

Today is the Day of International Criminal Justice, which was instituted in 2010 by the states parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to recognize the importance of international criminal justice.

1. (uncountable)
   1. Rotting flesh of a dead animal or person.
   2. (figurative) Corrupt or horrid matter.
   3. (obsolete, figurative) Filth, garbage.
   4. (obsolete, figurative, derogatory) The flesh of a living human body; also (Christianity), sinful human nature.
2. (countable, obsolete)
   1. A dead body; a carcass, a corpse.
   2. (figurative) An animal which is in poor condition or worthless; also, an animal which is a pest or vermin.
   3. (figurative, derogatory) A contemptible or worthless person.

carrion adj

1. (chiefly derogatory) Pertaining to, or made up of, rotting flesh.
2. (figurative)
   1. Disgusting, horrid, rotten.
   2. (derogatory) Of the living human body, the soul, etc.: fleshly, mortal, sinful.
3. (obsolete)
   1. Very thin; emaciated, skeletonlike.

      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:scrawny

   2. Of or pertaining to death.

1. Done with intensity or to a great degree; thorough.
2. Being made more intense.
3. Making something more intense; intensifying.
   1. (agriculture, economics) Of agriculture: increasing the productivity of an area of land.
   2. (linguistics) Of a word: serving to give emphasis or force.
4. Involving much activity in a short period of time; highly concentrated.
5. Of or pertaining to innate or internal intensity or strength rather than outward extent.
6. Chiefly suffixed to a noun: using something with intensity; requiring a great amount of something; demanding.
   1. (medicine) Chiefly in intensive care: of care or treatment: involving a great degree of life support, monitoring, and other forms of effort in order to manage life-threatening conditions.
7. (obsolete)
   1. That can be intensified; allowing an increase of degree.
   2. Synonym of intense (“extreme or very high or strong in degree; of feelings, thoughts, etc.: strongly focused”)

intensive n

1. A thing which makes something more intense; specifically (linguistics), a form of a word with a more forceful or stronger sense than the root on which it is built.
2. (education) A course taught intensively, involving much activity in a short period of time.

1. (botany, mycology) A large nonmotile egg cell, especially of an alga or fungus, formed in an oogonium and ready for fertilization.

1. An image of a man perceived in the dark maria (plains or "seas") and light highlands or other features of the Moon, originally regarded as a man with a burden on his back or accompanied by a small dog, and now more commonly as a man's face in the full moon or his profile in a crescent moon; hence, an imaginary man thought to be living on the Moon.
2. (obsolete, figurative) An imaginary person; also (UK politics, slang), an unidentified person who illegally pays for election expenditure and electors' expenses, as long as the latter vote as the person wishes.

The American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to step on to the Moon’s surface during the Apollo 11 mission on this day 55 years ago in 1969 at 02:56 UTC.

1. Of clothing, a place, etc.: unkempt and worn or otherwise in poor condition due to age or neglect.
2. Of a person: wearing ragged or very worn, and often dirty, clothing.
3. (figurative)
   1. Of a person, their behaviour, etc.: despicable, mean; also, not generous; stingy, tight-fisted.
   2. (often in the negative) Poor in quality; also, showing little effort or talent.
      1. (medicine, archaic) Of the pulse: thready, weak.
      2. (UK, dialectal or informal) Of weather: wet and dreary.
      3. (UK, dialectal, veterinary medicine) Chiefly of sheep: affected by shab or scab (“a skin disease”); scabby.

shabby v

1. (transitive) To make (something) shabby (adjective sense 1); to shabbify.
2. (intransitive) To become shabby; to shabbify.

1. (historical)
   1. The 19th-century practice of bringing a lion (“an interesting person or object”) into one’s home as entertainment for visitors.
   2. The state of being the lion (see above) of 19th-century hosts.
2. (by extension) The practice of lionizing (“treating a person as a celebrity or someone important”); also, the state of being lionized.
3. (pathology) The state of a person having a leonine facies, that is, facial features which resemble those of a lion as a result of some disease, especially a form of leprosy which causes leontiasis (“a medical condition characterized by an overgrowth of the cranial and facial bones”).
4. (Rastafari) The ideals of Rastafarianism.

Haile Selassie I, the Emperor of Ethiopia, was born on this day in 1892. Bearing the hereditary title of Lion of Judah, Selassie is revered by some members of the Rastafari movement as the messiah, and the lion is thus a symbol of Rastafarianism.

1. Impossible to fathom.
   1. Especially of depth: physically incapable of being measured; immeasurable.
   2. (figurative) Impossible to grasp the extent of, or to fully know or understand.

1. (also figurative) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting.
   1. (transitive)
      1. To coil, curl, or twist (something); to shape (something) into circles or coils.
      2. To adorn (someone or something) with a garland or wreath.
      3. Of flowers, leaves, etc.: to form the shape of a wreath around (something).
      4. (chiefly passive voice) Often followed by in and the thing encircling: to coil or spiral around, or encircle, (someone or something); (by extension) to cover or envelop (someone or something).
      5. (also reflexive, chiefly passive voice) Followed by about, around, or round: to coil, twist, or wind (oneself or something) around a person or thing; (by extension) to cause (oneself or something) to cover or encircle a person or thing.
      6. (chiefly passive voice) Often followed by together: to entwine or twist (two or more people or things) together; to intertwine, to interweave.
      7. (archaic) To form (a crown, garland, wreath, etc.) by entwining or twisting flowers, leaves, etc., together; also, to entwine or twist (flowers, leaves, etc.) together to form a crown, garland, wreath, etc.
      8. (Southeast England) To strengthen (an earthen embankment) with hurdles of wattle.
      9. (obsolete) To form (something) by entwining or twisting two or more things together; also, to entwine or twist (something) with another thing.
      11. (obsolete, Scotland, figurative) Followed by on: to place (a yoke, symbolizing a burden) on someone's neck.
   2. (intransitive)
      1. Followed by about, around, or round: to coil, twist, or wind around a person or thing.
      2. Of mist, smoke, etc.: to move with a coiling, spiralling, or twisting motion.
      3. (obsolete, rare) Followed by with: to become intertwined with something.
      4. (obsolete, chiefly Scotland) Of snow: to form drifts.

1. A valley formed by the river Alpheus, Ilia, Greece, site of Olympia.

1. An unincorporated community in Placer County, California, United States.
2. A valley in the Sierra Nevada, Placer County, California, United States, named after this community.

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics takes place today in Paris, France.

1. (firearms, historical) A large, portable firearm normally supported by wheels, in which bullets may be fired from a row of several tubes in succession; it was chiefly used from the 14th to the 17th century.

Today is the eve of the day in 1835 when Giuseppe Marco Fieschi attempted to assassinate King Louis Philippe I of France using the machine infernale or infernal machine, a homemade 25-barrel organ gun. He was unsuccessful, but 18 people either died on the spot or succumbed to injuries later on.

1. (Australia, New Zealand, UK, military slang, humorous, obsolete) It doesn't matter.

World War I started on this day 110 years ago in 1914, when Austria-Hungary formally declared war on Serbia a month after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir presumptive to the throne, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo.

1. A mixture which is racemic (“containing equal amounts of dextrorotatory and levorotatory stereoisomers and therefore not optically active”).
2. (archaic) Any ester or salt of racemic acid.

1. (chiefly sports) One participating in the same race as others.

The 2024 Summer Olympics are taking place in Paris, France, from 24 July to 11 August.

1. (South Africa) A dog (especially a stray dog) of miscellaneous ancestry; a mongrel, a mutt.

Today is the eve of one of two National Mutt Days in the year in the USA established by the American animal welfare advocate Colleen Paige.

1. The topmost point or surface of a thing; the apex, the peak.
   1. The highest point of a hill, mountain, or similar geographical feature.
   2. (mathematics) A vertex of a polygon or polyhedron.
   3. (nautical, rail transport, road transport) The highest point of a canal, railway, road, etc.
   4. (obsolete)
      1. (botany) Synonym of anther (“the pollen-bearing part of the stamen of a flower”); also (rare), synonym of stigma (“the sticky part of a flower that receives pollen during pollination”)
      2. (crystallography, rare) One of the two vertices of a crystal with a rhombohedral shape where the angles of each face are equal; also, the highest point of a crystal with a pyramidal or tetrahedral shape.
2. (figurative)
   1. The highest point of achievement, development, etc., that can be reached; the acme, the pinnacle.
   2. (politics)
      1. (archaic) The highest level of political leadership.
      2. (by extension) An assembly or gathering of the leaders of countries to discuss issues of international significance; also (loosely), an important or high-level gathering or meeting.

summit v

1. (transitive, climbing, informal) To reach the summit (noun sense 1.1) of (a mountain).
2. (intransitive)
   1. (climbing, informal) To reach the summit of a mountain.
   2. (politics) To attend a summit (noun sense 2.2.2).

The mountaineers Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, who were members of an Italian expedition, became the first people to reach the summit of K2—the second highest mountain in the world—on this day 70 years ago in 1954.