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gnathonic. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
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English
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin Gnathōnicus, from Gnathō (genitive Gnathōnis), name of a parasitical character in the Eunuchus of Terence. Gnathō is from Ancient Greek γνάθος (gnáthos, “jaw”), used in the genitive γνάθου (gnáthou, “of a jaw”) to mean “greedy”; hence, a parasite in general.
Pronunciation
Adjective
gnathonic (comparative more gnathonic, superlative most gnathonic)
- (obsolete) Deceitful and flattering; toadying.
1855, Charles Kingsley, “The True and Tragical History of Mr. John Oxenham of Plymouth”, in Westward Ho!: Or, The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, , volume I, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 295:That Jack's is somewhat of a gnathonic and parasitic soul, or stomach, all Bideford apple-women know: […]
Further reading