Wiktionary:Word of the day/Recycled pages/December

1. (idiomatic) A small indication of a larger possibility; the first part encountered of a problem that is much bigger than it seems.

On this day in 1959, the Antarctic Treaty was signed. The day was declared by Our Spaces as Antarctica Day to build awareness about Antarctica and to emphasize the importance of nations co-operating peacefully through science to make decisions about places beyond the boundaries of sovereign states.

1. (computing) The ability to operate a personal computer, including its associated hardware and software (but not necessarily to understand the underlying electronics or a programming language).

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

1. In a confused manner.

1. A visible possession that is a sign of one's personal wealth or social status.

1. (uncountable) Business (especially big business) connected to agriculture, either owning or operating large-scale farms, or catering to those who do.
2. (countable) A business or group of businesses engaged in agriculture, particularly if using modern farming techniques in the process.

Today is declared by the United Nations to be World Soil Day to recognize the importance of soil as a vital part of nature and a contributor to human well-being.

1. Of or pertaining to adventurers or rogues.
2. (literature) Characteristic of a genre of Spanish satiric novel dealing with the adventures of a roguish hero.

Today is Día de la Constitución, the Constitution Day of Spain.

1. (obsolete, rare) Pertaining to the French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps, who designed the Suez Canal.
2. (marine biology) Of or relating to organisms that migrate from the Red Sea to the eastern Mediterranean Sea by means of the Suez Canal.

Ferdinand de Lesseps, whose name gave rise to this word, died on this day 125 years ago in 1894.

1. Having no blemish or stain; absolutely clean and tidy.
2. (figurative)
   1. Containing no mistakes.
      1. (specifically) Of a book, manuscript, etc.: having no textual errors.
   2. (archaic) Free from sin; morally pure; sinless.
   3. (Roman Catholicism) Of the Virgin Mary or her womb: pure, undefiled.
3. (botany, zoology, especially entomology) Lacking blotches, spots, or other markings.

The Roman Catholic Church marks the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on this day to celebrate the Immaculate Conception and sinless life of the Virgin Mary. The feast was solemnized as a holy day of obligation by Pope Clement XI on 17 December 1708 (6 December according to the Julian calendar).

1. (idiomatic) Askew, disturbed; not adjusted or working properly; out of order.

1. (international law) The set of basic rights and freedoms that all humans should be guaranteed, including the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law.

Today is Human Rights Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to emphasize the importance of human rights and to commemorate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first global enunciation of such rights, on this day in 1948.

1. Available; able to be taken without difficulty.

1. A collaborative project run by the Wikimedia Foundation to produce a free and complete dictionary in every language; the dictionaries, collectively, produced by that project.
2. A particular version of this dictionary project, written in a certain language, such as the English-language Wiktionary (often known simply as the English Wiktionary).

Happy birthday to us! Wiktionary went online on this day in 2002.

1. Relating to horses or horse-riding.
2. (humorous, dated) Relating to horse racing.

Today is celebrated in the United States as the National Day of the Horse, which recognizes the contribution of horses to the economy, history, and character of the country. It was established by a Senate resolution in 2004.

1. (idiomatic) (originally) by the authority or power of; (now) because of; on the grounds of; by reason of.

1. (British, monarchy, historical) Originally an official responsible for helping the English monarch use the toilet; later a senior official who was allowed access to the monarch's privy chamber and served as a personal secretary.

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

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

1. (archaic) A coward, a dastard; a wretch.
2. (archaic) A wicked person; also, one who has acted immorally or unlawfully.

nithing adj

1. (archaic) Cowardly, dastardly.
2. (archaic) Notoriously evil or wicked; infamous.

1. (astronomy, historical) The outermost celestial sphere of the heavens in Ptolemaic astronomy, which was believed to cause all the inner spheres to rotate.
2. (chiefly philosophy, theology) The prime mover or first cause (“an initial cause from which all other causes and effects follow”).
3. (by extension) The person or thing that is the main impetus for some action; a driving force.

Today is UN Arabic 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 term primum mobile is a calque of Arabic مُحَرِّك أَوَّل (muḥarrik ʔawwal, literally “first mover”).

1. (agriculture)
   1. A machine used to broadcast or spread seeds, fertilizer, etc.
   2. (obsolete) A person who sows seeds by scattering; also, one who promotes sowing seeds in this manner instead of by drilling (“making holes in the soil and placing seeds in them”).
2. (broadcasting)
   1. A piece of equipment used to transmit audio and/or video content, or messages, to be received by radios or televisions, over the internet, etc.
   2. An organization or station that engages in the activity of such broadcasting.
   3. A person whose job it is to effect such broadcasts; specifically, one who presents radio or television programmes (especially documentaries or news programmes); a presenter.
3. (computing) A piece of equipment used to transmit data over a computer network.

The BBC World Service, which is the world’s largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection, and audience reach, was launched on this day in 1932 as the “Empire Service”.

1. (transitive) To confuse, disorientate, or puzzle someone, especially with many different choices.

1. (US, rail transport, historical, chiefly in the plural) A segment of rail that has been heated and twisted into a loop, as a means of destroying a railway.

Major General William Tecumseh Sherman’s campaign during the American Civil War known as Sherman’s March to the Sea ended with the capture of the port of Savannah, Georgia, on this day 155 years ago in 1864.

1. A person who collects lottery tickets.

The Spanish Christmas Lottery, often called “El Gordo” (the Big One) is usually drawn on this day each year.

1. (originally US, idiomatic) To exhaust; to demand excessive effort or work from somebody.

1. An evergreen tree (usually a conifer), or an artificial tree made to resemble this, which is typically decorated with lights and ornaments and often an angel or star at its tip, and used as a decoration during the Christmas holiday season.
2. (by extension) Something which resembles a Christmas tree (sense 1) in appearance (for example, in having coloured lights) or shape.
   1. (informal) Something which is elaborately decorated.
   2. (bodybuilding) A pattern of muscles visible in the lower back, resembling in outline the shape of a conifer.
   3. (chiefly military)
      1. (aviation, nautical, slang) A panel of indicator lights in an aircraft or a submarine.
      2. (US, aviation, historical) An alert area at an air base with aircraft parked in stubs arranged at a 45-degree angle to a central taxiway to enable them to move rapidly to a runway; these were constructed by the Strategic Air Command of the United States Air Force during the Cold War (generally 1947–1991).
   4. (motor racing) A pole with lights, similar to a traffic signal, used for signalling the start of an automobile race.
   5. (oil industry, slang) A collection of gauges, valves, and other components installed at the top of wellhead to control the flow of gas or oil.
3. (by extension) A Christmas party, especially one organized for (underprivileged) children by a charity, a school, etc.
4. (Australia) Often with a descriptive word: any of several shrubs or trees native to Australia which bloom in summer at the end of the year around Christmastime, and so may be used as a Christmas decoration; especially the fire tree or moodjar (Nuytsia floribunda).
5. (New Zealand) Synonym of pohutukawa (“a coastal evergreen tree, Metrosideros excelsa, native to New Zealand and producing a brilliant display of red flowers with prominent stamens around Christmastime”)

Have yourself a merry little Christmas Eve!

1. (originally Christianity) A festival or holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ and incorporating various Christian, pre-Christian, pagan, and secular customs, which in Western Christianity is celebrated on December 25 (Christmas Day) in most places.
2. (often marketing) Short for Christmas season (“the period of time before and after Christmas Day, during which people prepare for and celebrate Christmas”); Christmastime.

Christmas n

1. (informal or British, regional) Sprigs of holly and other evergreen plants used as Christmas decorations; also (generally), any Christmas decorations.

Christmas adj (US)

1. Red and green in colour.
2. (chiefly New Mexico, cooking) Of a dish: having a sauce made with red (ripe) and green (unripe) chili peppers.

Christmas v

1. (transitive)
   1. (informal) To decorate (a place) with Christmas (“sprigs of holly and other evergreen plants used as Christmas decorations, or any Christmas decorations”).
   2. (obsolete, rare) To bring (someone) Christmas cheer.
2. (intransitive)
   1. To celebrate Christmas.
   2. To spend Christmas or the Christmas season in some place.

Christmas interj

1. (euphemistic) An expression of annoyance or surprise: Christ, Jesus Christ, Jiminy Cricket, Jiminy Crickets.

Merry Christmas from all of us at the English Wiktionary!

1. (idiomatic) To take away the most attractive or appealing qualities of something; to destroy an illusion.

1. (idiomatic) Synonym of Midas touch (“the ability to achieve financial reward (or, more generally, success) easily and consistently”)

1. (not comparable) Approaching or about to take place.
2. Available when needed; in place, ready.
3. Willing to co-operate or provide information; candid, frank, responsive.

1. (transitive) To give aid, assistance, or help.
2. (transitive, military) To provide aid or assistance in the form of military equipment and soldiers; in particular, for helping a place under siege.
3. (transitive, obsolete except dialectal) To protect, to shelter; to provide a refuge.

1. (neuroscience) A rare condition in which an individual possesses a superior autobiographical memory and is able to recall the vast majority of personal events and experiences in life.

Jill Price, the first person to be diagnosed with the condition, was born on this day in 1965.

1. (idiomatic) Days gone by; former times.

Happy New Year’s Eve from all of us at the English Wiktionary!