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1word1day2010-05-06 07:36 am
prettygoodword.livejournal.com) wrote in 1word1day2010-05-06 07:36 am
obnubilate
obnubilate (ob-NOO-buh-layt or ob-NYOO-buh-layt) - v.t., to cloud over, darken, obscure.
Originally literally to cloud over (from Latin obnūbilāre, from ob- in the sense of over + nūbilāre, to become cloudy, from nubes, cloud) but now more often cloudy in a metaphorical sense, as in to obscure the meaning of something. Used in English since the 1580s, so it's a fine old Elizabethan Latinism, worthy of use in high-flown oratory -- or even refined snark.
Her abbreviations obnubilate her text messages.
---L.
Originally literally to cloud over (from Latin obnūbilāre, from ob- in the sense of over + nūbilāre, to become cloudy, from nubes, cloud) but now more often cloudy in a metaphorical sense, as in to obscure the meaning of something. Used in English since the 1580s, so it's a fine old Elizabethan Latinism, worthy of use in high-flown oratory -- or even refined snark.
Her abbreviations obnubilate her text messages.
---L.
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