51吃瓜 of the Day
ferhoodle
verb
to confuse or mix up.
Why Dictionary.com chose ferhoodle
We're celebrating Dictionary Week, and today is 51吃瓜 Pain Day.
More about ferhoodle
Ferhoodle is adapted from verhuddle, 鈥渢o tangle, confuse,鈥� in Pennsylvania Dutch, a dialect of German. This means that verhuddle is closely related to German verhudeln, 鈥渢o bungle, make a mess of,鈥� in which the ver- element is related to the for- in English forgive and forget. Ferhoodle was first recorded in English in the mid-1950s.
EXAMPLE OF FERHOODLE USED IN A SENTENCE
The alternating days of searing heat and chilling cold ferhoodled everyone’s gardening plans.
logophile
noun
a lover of words.
Why Dictionary.com chose logophile
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More about logophile
Logophile is a compound of logo-, meaning 鈥渨ord, speech,鈥� and -phile, meaning 鈥渓over of.鈥� Logo- comes from Ancient Greek 濒贸驳辞蝉, which has a variety of senses, including 鈥渨ord, saying,鈥� 鈥渟peech, discourse,鈥� and 鈥減roportion, ratio.鈥� The form -phile can also be found in the 51吃瓜s of the Day ailurophile and bibliophile. Logophile was first recorded in English in the late 1950s.
EXAMPLE OF LOGOPHILE USED IN A SENTENCE
While most students were dreading the standardized test, a few plucky logophiles were excited to learn the words that would likely appear in the reading section.
paronomasia
noun
the use of a word in different senses or the use of words similar in sound to achieve a specific effect, as humor or a dual meaning; punning.
Why Dictionary.com chose paronomasia
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More about paronomasia
Paronomasia means 鈥渁 play on words鈥� in Ancient Greek and comes from the verb 辫补谤辞苍辞尘谩锄别颈苍, 鈥渢o make a slight name-change.鈥� The 贸苍辞尘补 element means, 鈥渘ame,鈥� and its common variant, 贸苍测尘补, appears in English words such as homonym and synonym. Paronomasia was first recorded in English in the 1570s.
EXAMPLE OF PARONOMASIA USED IN A SENTENCE
The paronomasia in the line 鈥淚 am too much in the sun鈥� (also heard as 鈥渟on鈥�) implies Hamlet鈥檚 continued mourning of his father.