Wiktionary:Word of the day/Archive/2025/June

1. (archaic) Of a man: to promise to take (a woman) as a future spouse; to plight one's troth to.
2. (archaic) Often of a parent or guardian: to promise that (two people) be married to each other; specifically and chiefly, to promise that (a woman) be given in marriage to a man; to affiance.
3. (figurative)
   1. (Christianity, archaic) Of God: to enter into a relationship with (believers, or the church as a whole); also, of a priest: to pledge (himself) to the church prior to being consecrated as a bishop.
   2. (obsolete) To pledge or promise oneself to (a cause); to espouse; also (sometimes reflexive), to pledge or promise (oneself or one's efforts) to a cause or to do something.

Today is the Global Day of Parents, which is recognized by the United Nations to honour the commitment of parents towards their children.

1. (crime) A code of silence amongst members of the Mafia that forbids divulging insider secrets to law enforcement, often also followed outside of the organization for fear of retaliation.
2. (by extension) Any code of silence (especially about something illegal or secret), or refusal to talk openly about something.

Today is Festa della Repubblica or Republic Day, Italy’s national day. The institutional referendum in which the people voted to become a republic was held on this day in 1946.

1. (transport) Of a posture adopted by a person steering a vehicle (such as an aeroplane, car, or motorcycle): sitting up straight, not bent forward or leaning back.
2. (cycling, specifically) Of a bicycle: having handlebars that are rather high and curve backwards, so that the rider sits upright rather than hunching forward; also, of the handlebars of a bicycle: rather high and curving backwards, thus requiring the rider to sit upright.

sit-up-and-beg n

1. (UK, cycling) A bicycle having handlebars that are rather high and curve backwards, so that the rider sits upright rather than hunching forward; a roadster.

Today is World Bicycle Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to highlight the bicycle as a simple, affordable, and sustainable form of transport.

1. (transitive)
   1. (chiefly clothing) To remove or take off (something worn on the body such as armour or clothing, or something carried).
      1. To remove or tip (a hat or other headwear) in greeting or salutation, or as a mark of respect.
   2. (reflexive, archaic except UK, dialectal) To undress (oneself); to divest, to strip.
   3. (figurative) To cast aside or get rid of (something), to throw off.
   4. (textiles)
      1. To remove (a bobbin or spindle which is full of spun yarn) from a spinning frame for replacement with an empty one.
      2. To remove (small pieces of cotton, etc.) from a carding cylinder.
   5. (obsolete) To put off or turn away (someone) with an excuse, etc.
2. (intransitive, rare)
   1. (archaic) To remove or tip a hat or other headwear in greeting or salutation, or as a mark of respect.
   2. (obsolete) Followed by with: to remove or take off something worn on the body, or something carried.

doff n

1. (obsolete, rare) Followed by off: an act of putting off or turning away someone with an excuse, etc.

1. (ecology) The study of protecting the natural environment from the destructive effects of human civilization.

Today is World Environment Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to promote worldwide awareness of the need and action to protect the environment. The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, began on this day in 1972.

1. A residential complex in a current or former communist country, chiefly one which was previously part of the Soviet Union; a microdistrict.

Today is UN Russian Language Day, one of six such days established by UNESCO to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity and to promote the equal use of its working languages. The Russian novelist and poet Alexander Pushkin, regarded as the father of modern Russian literature, was born on this day in 1799.

1. (archaic or historical) The entrails of an animal, especially when used as a food ingredient; offal.
2. (obsolete) A sauce made from chopped animal entrails.

Today is World Food Safety Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to raise awareness about and promote global food safety.

1. (Judaism) Synonym of Shavuot (“a Jewish harvest festival which falls on the sixth day of Sivan in the spring, fifty days after the second day of the Passover when the omer (“sheaf of barley”) is offered; a ceremony held on that day to commemorate the giving of the Torah (“first five books of the Hebrew scriptures”) to Moses and the Israelites on Mount Sinai”)
2. (by extension, Christianity)
   1. A festival which falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter which commemorates the event described in Acts 2 of the Bible when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles during the Jewish festival of Pentecost (sense 1), conferring on them the miraculous ability to explain the gospel in languages they did not know; also, the Sunday on which the festival is celebrated; Whitsunday.
   2. In full day of Pentecost or Pentecost day: the day on which the event commemorated by the festival (sense 2.1) occurred; also, the event itself.
   3. Synonym of Whitsuntide (“the week beginning on Whitsunday; also, the weekend which includes Whitsunday”)
   4. (by extension) The gift of the Holy Spirit to a Christian; also, the occurrence of this.
3. A surname.

In 2025, Pentecost takes place on this day in both Eastern and Western Christianity.

1. Chiefly in terraqueous globe (that is, the Earth): consisting of both land and water.
2. Relating to, or taking place on, both land and water.
3. (botany) Of a plant: living in both land and water; amphibious.

Yesterday was World Oceans Day, a day recognized by the United Nations to highlight the importance of conserving and protecting the world’s oceans. The Oceans Institute of Canada, supported by the Government of Canada, held an event called Oceans Day at the Global Forum, a parallel event at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 8 June 1992.

1. (transitive)
   1. To take part in (a wrestling bout or match).
   2. Sometimes followed by down: to contend with or move (someone) into or out of a position by grappling; also, to overcome (someone) by grappling.
   3. To move or manipulate (something) using physical effort, usually with some difficulty or opposition.
   4. (figurative) To engage in (a contest or struggle).
   5. (Western US) To throw down (a calf or other livestock animal) for branding.
2. (intransitive)
   1. To grapple or otherwise contend with an opponent in order to throw or force them to the ground, chiefly as a sport or in unarmed combat.
   2. Followed by with: to move or manipulate something using physical effort, usually with some difficulty or opposition.
   3. (figurative)
      1. To make one's way or move with some difficulty or effort.
      2. Followed by against or with: to contend, to struggle; to exert effort, to strive.
      3. (archaic) To contend verbally; to argue, to debate, to dispute.
      4. (archaic) To twist or wriggle; to writhe.
      5. (archaic) Followed by with: to concern or occupy oneself closely, or deal with, a task, etc.

wrestle n

1. (countable)
   1. A fight or struggle between people during which they grapple or otherwise contend with each other in order to throw or force their opponent to the ground, chiefly as a sport or in unarmed combat.
   2. (figurative) A situation in which people compete with each other; a contest, a struggle.
2. (uncountable, also figurative) The action of contending or struggling.

1. A broad belt, originally of leather and often richly ornamented, worn diagonally from shoulder to hip (across the breast and under the opposite arm), which was formerly used to hold a sword, a bugle, etc., and is now chiefly worn for ceremonial purposes; also (loosely), any belt.
2. (obsolete)
   1. (by extension) A (usually leather) strap from which the clapper of a bell is suspended.
   2. (by extension) A necklace.
   4. (figurative) The zodiac (“belt-like region of the celestial sphere, approximately eight degrees north and south of the ecliptic, which includes the apparent path of the sun, moon, and visible planets”).

The first episode of the British television comedy series Blackadder was broadcast on 15 June 1983—Baldrick was a character from the show.

1. Very dear; beloved, cherished, favourite.
2. (affected) Very cute or lovable; adorable, charming, sweet.

darling n

1. Often used as an affectionate term of address: a person who is very dear to one.
2. A person who is kind, sweet, etc., and thus lovable; a pet, a sweetheart; also, an animal or thing which is cute and lovable.
3. A favourite.
   1. The favourite child in a family.
   2. (by extension) A person (often a woman) or thing that is very popular with a certain group of people.
   3. (obsolete) A royal favourite, the intimate companion of a monarch or other royal personage, often delegated significant political power.

darling v

1. (transitive, informal) To call (someone) "darling" (noun sense 1).

The first episode of the British television comedy series Blackadder was broadcast on 15 June 1983—Kevin Darling was a character from the show.

1. (UK, informal) Any ordinary woman, especially an older woman.

The first episode of the British television comedy series Blackadder was broadcast on 15 June 1983—Mrs Miggins was a character from the show.

1. (derogatory, also attributive)
   1. A male person regarded as unmanly or weak; a sissy; specifically (historical), a male conscientious objector.
   2. (military) An educated soldier; specifically, an officer.

The first episode of the British television comedy series Blackadder was broadcast on 15 June 1983—Lord Percy Percy was a character from the show.

1. Preceded by the: Blackadder Water, a river in the Scottish Borders council area, Scotland, a tributary of Whiteadder Water.
2. A rural locality in the Scottish Borders council area, south of the river (OS grid reference NT8452).
3. A surname.

The first episode of the British television comedy series Blackadder was broadcast on this day in 1983—Edmund Blackadder was the titular protagonist of the show.

1. (particle physics) In the Standard Model, one of a number of elementary subatomic particles having fractional electric charge that forms matter. They are theorized not to exist in isolation, but only in combinations in hadrons such as neutrons and protons or in quark–gluon plasmas.
2. (by extension, computing, X Window System)
   1. An integer that uniquely identifies a text string.
   2. (slang) A nonsense, trivial text string.

Today is Bloomsday, which celebrates the life of the Irish writer James Joyce. It is named after Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of Joyce’s 1922 novel Ulysses, the events of which take place on this day in 1904. The American physicist Murray Gell-Mann, who coined the word quark for the subatomic particle, noted that the word had appeared in another of Joyce’s works, Finnegans Wake (1939).

1. Lasting or enduring forever; endless, eternal.
   1. Chiefly of a deity or other supernatural being: having always existed and will continue to exist forever; eternal.
   2. (philosophy) Synonym of sempiternal (“having infinite temporal duration, rather than outside time and thus lacking temporal duration altogether”)
2. (chiefly hyperbolic, informal)
   1. Continuing for a long period; eternal.
   2. Happening all the time, especially to a tiresome extent; constant, incessant, unending.
   3. Of clothing or fabric: lasting a long time; very durable or hard-wearing.
   4. (botany) Chiefly in the name of a plant:
      1. Having flowers that retain their colour and form when dried.
      2. Of a plant or plant part: Synonym of perennial (“active throughout the year, or having a life cycle of more than two growing seasons”)
   5. (US, regional, archaic) Used as an intensifier.

1. Someone who spreads fear.

fearmonger v

1. (intransitive) To spread fear.

Today is the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, which is marked by the United Nations for the first time in 2022 to oppose hate speech, discrimination, and xenophobia. The UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech was launched on this day in 2019.

1. (botany, rare) The botanical study of ferns.

1. (computing) A program that produces its own source code as output.

quine v (transitive)

1. To append (a text) to a quotation of itself.
2. (philosophy) To deny the existence or significance of (something obviously real or important).

quine adj

1. (botany, obsolete, rare) Of leaves: arranged in whorls of five.

The American logician and philosopher Willard Van Orman Quine, who lent his name to some senses of the word, was born on this day in 1908.