Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Reindeer (noun)
rein·deer [reyn-deer]

noun
1. any of several large deer of the genus Rangifer, of northern and arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America, both male and female of which have antlers.

Compare meaning
How does reindeer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

reindeer vs. deer
caribou vs. reindeer

Origin: First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English raynder(e), from Old Norse hreindȳri, equivalent to hreinn “reindeer” + dȳr “animal” (cognate with deer )

Example Sentences
It's also got a proper tree with decorations, there's a Rudolf reindeer toy and they've put some thought into all the splashes of red.
From BBC

"The trip meant so much to us. Leighton loved Lapland and enjoyed all the activities like visiting Santa's post office, Mrs Claus' house and seeing the reindeer," he added.
From BBC

Animal activists are calling for a ban on live reindeer events this Christmas, claiming their evidence shows serious welfare concerns.
From BBC

Let the reindeer chow cool before serving — or packing.
From Salon

A sign states that “Santa is feeding the reindeer.”
From Los Angeles Times

stonepicnicking_okapi

rambutan [ram-boot-n]

noun

1. the bright-red oval fruit of a Malayan, sapindaceous tree, Nephelium lappaceum, covered with soft spines, or hairs, and having a subacid taste.

2. the tree itself.

examples
There was early success for the catchers on one street, with three of the macaques falling for the ruse and ending up trapped because they had fancied a taste of rambutan fruit. Seattle Times

The bargain buyers drifted out of a popular Little Saigon fruit shop with tote bags full of pale brown longan and hairy red rambutan, barely glancing at the dirt-smeared face of Duc Tran. Los Angeles Times

origin
1700–10; Malay, equivalent to rambut hair + -an nominalizing suffix

simplyn2deep

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Ramose (adjective)
ramose [ rey-mohs, ruh-mohs ]

adjective
1. having many branches.
2. branching.

Other Word Forms
ra mose·ly adverb
ra·mos·i·ty [r, uh, -, mos, -i-tee], noun
mul ti·ra mose adjective
sub·ra mose adjective

Origin: 1680–90; < Latin rāmōsus full of boughs, equivalent to rām ( us ) branch ( ramus ) + -ōsus -ose

Example Sentences
With almost a dozen immortal emperors jostling for position, high-level Inka society was characterized by ramose political intrigue of a scale that would have delighted the Medici.
From Literature

Botanical Description.—A small plant with stem red, straight, quadrate, ramose.
From Project Gutenberg

Flowers between yellow and red outside and straw-colored inside, in racemes on a cylindrical scape 3° or more high, sometimes ramose, peduncles very short.
From Project Gutenberg

sallymn

recalcitrant [ri-kal-si-truhnt]

adjective:
1 resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant; refractory.
2 hard to deal with, manage, or operate.

Examples:

But Smith managed to rally and to learn, through trial and error, how to milk what he needed out of an often recalcitrant medical system. (Gina Kolata, Taking Charge, The New York Times, September 1997)

With the passage of decades, facts are difficult to unearth, and emotions and motivations are even more recalcitrant. (Julia M Klein, What to do when family history is radioactive? Work around stonewalling relatives, Los Angeles Times, August2021)

The new Cabinet had to deal with religious conflict, refugee flight, food scarcities, recalcitrant princely states, and oversee the framing of a new Constitution. (Ramachandra Guha, Shed partisanship, reach out to the best minds, Hindustan Times, April 2020)

She greeted him now as though he were a recalcitrant member of the family, rather than a menacing outsider. (F Scott Fitzgerald, Babylon Revisited)

Origin:

'refusing to submit, not submissive or compliant,' 1823, from French récalcitrant, literally 'kicking back' (17c-18c), from Late Latin recalcitrantem (nominative recalcitrans), present participle of recalcitrare 'to kick back' (of horses), also 'be inaccessible,' in Late Latin 'to be petulant or disobedient;' from re- 'back' (see re-) + Latin calcitrare 'to kick,' from calx (genitive calcis) 'heel'. Used from 1797 as a French word in English. (Online Etymology Dictionary)

Long before any human was dubbed 'recalcitrant' in English (that first occurred in the 18th century), there were stubborn mules (and horses) kicking back their heels. The ancient Romans noted as much (Pliny the Elder among them), and they had a word for it: recalcitrare, which literally means 'to kick back.' (Its root calc-, meaning 'heel,' is also the root of calcaneus, the large bone of the heel in humans.) Certainly Roman citizens in Pliny's time were sometimes willful and hardheaded - as attested by various Latin words meaning 'stubborn' - but it wasn't until later that writers of Late Latin applied recalcitrare and its derivative adjective to humans who were stubborn as mules. (Merriam-Webster)

simplyn2deep

Tuesday, Mar. 25, 2025

Riffraff (noun, adjective)
riffraff [ rif-raf ]

noun
1. people, or a group of people, regarded as disreputable or worthless: a pack of riffraff.
2. the lowest classes; rabble: the riffraff of the city.
3. trash; rubbish.

adjective
4. worthless, disreputable, or trashy.

See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com

Origin: 1425–75; late Middle English rif and raf every particle, things of small value < Old French rif et raf, formed on rifler to spoil ( rifle 2 ), raffler to ravage, snatch away

Example Sentences
He has some friends — acquaintances, really — whom he hates, mentally labeling them “the riffraff, the vulgarians, the slobs.”
From New York Times

She associated Georgia’s capital city with “crime” and “riffraff,” similar to how Trump once disparaged Atlanta as “crime infested” and “falling apart.”
From Seattle Times

Just before the riots he had also responded to a rowdy reception committee in one banlieue by calling them racaille - riffraff.
From BBC

Indeed, this “savage,” as Shakespeare took pains to note in his complicated depiction of Caliban, is a good deal more civilized than the drunken riffraff with whom he falls into cahoots.
From Los Angeles Times

“I’ve dealt with the riffraff on the street for 14 years so I know how to play that,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times

sallymn

rubicund [roo-bi-kuhnd]

adjective:
red or reddish; ruddy

Examples:

Besides the plethora of green trees and decorations, chief amongst the make-believe is that genial rubicund figure of Santa Claus, a product largely stemming from North America and hugely successful in outreach. (Robin Gibbons, The Wonderworker - meeting the saint behind Santa Claus, The Tablet, December 2024)

A rubicund major-general leaps up from his desk, scrunches up his face in concentration, breaks into a run and belts towards the office wall, intending to race through it. (Sheila Johnston, The Men Who Stare at Goats, London Film Festival, theartsdesk, October 2009)

This village is full of bulbous and overhanging abdomens and double chinstonight, for the New England Fat Men's Club is in session at Hale's Tavern. The natives, who are mostly bony and angular, have stared with envy at the portly forms and rubicund faces which have arrived on every train. (Tanya Basu, The Forgotten History Of Fat Men's Clubs, WABE, March 2016)

His eyes were blue, his complexion rubicund, his figure almost portly and well-built, his body muscular, and his physical powers fully developed by the exercises of his younger days (Jules Verne, Around The World In Eighty Days)

This was a woman, too, and, moreover, an old woman, and as fat and as rubicund as Madame Pelet was meagre and yellow; her attire was likewise very fine, and spring flowers of different hues circled in a bright wreath the crown of her violet-coloured velvet bonnet. (Charlotte Bronte, The Professor)

Origin:

early 15c, 'reddish, flushed,' especially of the face, especially as a result of indulgence in appetites, from Old French rubicond (14c) and directly from Latin rubicundus, from rubere 'to be red,' from ruber 'red' (from PIE root reudh- 'red, ruddy'). (Online Etymology Dictionary)

stonepicnicking_okapi

rantipole

(ræntɪ pəʊl)

adjective

wild, reckless, boisterous

noun

a wild reckless sometimes quarrelsome person

verb

to be wild, reckless, or boisterous, to behave like a rantipole

examples
1. This rantipole hero had for some time singled out the blooming Katrina for the object of his uncouth gallantries, and though his amorous toyings were something like the gentle caresses and endearments of a bear, yet it was whispered that she did not altogether discourage his hopes. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Washington Irving

2. For example: that my wife, Lady Vibrate, is an extravagant rackety rantipole woman of fashion, can I doubt that? No. That she squanders my money, disturbs my peace, and contradicts for contradiction's sake, can I doubt that? No. Thomas Holcroft, He's Much To Blame, Act II, Scene I, 1798.

origins
From ranty and pole, poll ("head").

beer

sallymn

recherché [ruh-shair-shey, ruh-shair-shey; French ruh-sher-shey]

adjective:
1 very rare, exotic, or choice; arcane; esoteric
2 of studied refinement or elegance; precious; affected; pretentious

Examples:

It is like no eggnog you have ever had, and once you try it, your palate will be far too recherché for the lowly, ready-made sort found in cartons showcased along cold case shelves at your local supermarket. (Bibi Hutchings, This mixologist-crafted eggnog is unlike any other you've ever tried before. And it's stupendous, Salon, December 2023)

A menu with options for everyone, including those who are die-hard conservative in their food tastes, so nothing too recherché, yet nevertheless with interesting choices for people like me who're turned off by tedious salmon/chicken breast/sticky toffee pudding formulas. (Joanna Blythman, Joanna Blythman's restaurant review: Bridgeview Station, Riverside Drive, Dundee, The Herald, February 2018)

The Nine Inch Nails-influenced squalls were probably quite recherché when Gabriel started making Up. Today, they don't sound original enough to be used with such frequency. (Alexis Petridis, Peter Gabriel: Up, The Guardian, September 2002)

He gave me some port of absolutely first-class vintage; I saw rows of dusty old bottles of it; and I left him sitting down to a little lunch quite recherche in an old-fashioned style. (G K Chesterton, The Scandal of Father Brown)

"And here - ah, now, this really is something a little recherché." He dived his arm down to the bottom of the chest, and brought up a small wooden box with a sliding lid, such as children's toys are kept in. From within he produced a crumpled piece of paper, and old-fashioned brass key, a peg of wood with a ball of string attached to it, and three rusty old disks of metal. (Arthur Conan Doyle, Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes)

And if the son deigned to engage in conversation with him, the old man always rose a little from his chair, and answered softly, sympathetically, with something like reverence, while strenuously endeavouring to make use of the most recherche (that is to say, the most ridiculous) expressions. (Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Poor Folk)

Origin:

'much sought-after, uncommon, rare,' 1722, from French recherché 'carefully sought out,' past-participle adjective from rechercher 'to seek out' (12c.), from re-, here perhaps suggesting repeated activity + chercher 'to search,' from Latin circare, in Late Latin 'to wander hither and thither,' from circus 'circle'. Commonly used 19c of food, styles, etc, to denote obscure excellence. (Online Etymology Dictionary)

calzephyr

Recrudescence - noun.

The return of an undesirable circumstance or person.

From Merriam-Webster:

Recrudescence comes from the Latin verb recrudescere, meaning “to become raw again” (used, for example, of wounds). Ultimately, it can be traced back to the Latin word crudus, meaning “raw” (If you suspect that crude also comes from crudus, you are correct; another well-known descendant is cruel). In its literal, medical sense, recrudescence refers to a renewed outbreak of a disease. In extended use, it most often describes the return of an undesirable condition, such as a war or a plague, or the return of an undesirable idea.

simplyn2deep

Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024

Recondite (adjective)
rec·on·dite [rek-uhn-dahyt, ri-kon-dahyt]

adjective
1. dealing with very profound, difficult, or abstruse subject matter: a recondite treatise.
2. beyond ordinary knowledge or understanding; esoteric: recondite principles.
3. little known; obscure: a recondite fact.

Other Words From
rec on·dite ly adverb
rec on·dite ness noun
un·rec on·dite adjective

See synonyms for Recondite on Thesaurus.com
Synonyms
2. deep.
3. mysterious, occult, secret.

Antonyms
2. exoteric.
3. well-known.

Origin: 1640–50; earlier recondit < Latin reconditus recondite, hidden (originally past participle of recondere to hide), equivalent to re- re- + cond ( ere ) to bring together ( con- con- + -dere to put) + -itus -ite

Recent Examples on the Web
In retrospect, the integer distance problem was waiting for mathematicians who were willing to consider more unruly curves than hyperbolas and then draw on recondite tools from algebraic geometry and number theory to tame them.
—Quanta Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024

But a few key paragraphs within the 88-page filing mention the exclusion and social shaming of non-iPhone users confined inside green chat bubbles, distinguishing this case from some of the more recondite explanations of tech market competition in recent years.
—Lauren Goode, WIRED, 24 Mar. 2024

There are familiar words describing nature particular to the U.S., like prairie, skunk, coyote and chipmunk, but also more recondite ones, like catawba (a species of grape and type of sparkling wine), catawampous (fierce, destructive) and cottondom (the region in which cotton is grown).
—Sarah Ogilvie, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2023

Other efforts required more recondite statistical analysis.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2023

sallymn

ripsnorter [rip-snawr-ter]

noun:
(informal, slang)
1 something or someone exceedingly strong or violent
2 something or someone remarkably good or exciting

Examples:

'Memphis,' his instrumental version of Chuck Berry's 'Memphis, Tennessee,' was a rockabilly-blues ripsnorter with a scorching 12-bar solo. (William Grimes, Lonnie Mack, Singer and Guitarist Who Pioneered Blues-Rock, Dies at 74, The New York Times, April 2016)

Listen up, dumpling fanatics, this place is a ripsnorter. Potstickers? Oh yeah. Xiao long bao? You betcha. Frilly shark fin steamers submerged in a chilli oil soup? Bring it on home, sweet momma. (Nina Rousseau, Eastern Dumpling House, The Age, March 2012)

There's a ripsnorter about a carnivorous tree-climbing buffalo, and a great sight gag when the three prospectors are lost in a blizzard and follow their own ever-widening trail like demented bird dogs. (Lawrence Bommer, Roughing It , Chicago Reader, March 1991)

Making all that happen is a savvy script that sticks to the truth only when it needs to and an actress who gives a gleeful, ripsnorter of a performance. (Kenneth Turan, Emma Thompson is a ripsnorter in 'Saving Mr Banks', Los Angeles Times, December 2013)

Poor little guy! He'd just about convinced himself that he's a real ripsnorter of a buck. (James Arthur Kjelgaard, Double Challenge)

"I had a ripsnorter of a fright myself last week," said Abe. "Was comin' down with an extra big load on, an' jes' past Black Gully I pulled up to give th' cattle a blow. Was squattin' in th' shade, with me back agin a coolabah, when something limp an heavy comes whack on to me head an' begins to claw an' scratch about like fightin' tomcats." (Edward S Sorenson, Aunt Jo - A Love Story of the Cedar Scrubs)

Origin:

'something of exceptional strength, someone of remarkable qualities,' 1840 [Davy Crockett], probably from rip ('tear apart, cut open or off', c 1400, rippen, 'pull out sutures,' probably from a North Sea Germanic language (compare Flemish rippen 'strip off roughly', Frisian rippe 'to tear, rip'; also Middle Dutch reppen, rippen 'to rip') or else from a Scandinavian source (compare Swedish reppa, Danish rippe 'to tear, rip') + snorter (c 1600, 'one who or that which snorts'). (Online Etymology Dictionary)

Its first appearance was attributed to Davy Crockett ('Of all the ripsnorters I ever tutched upon, thar never war one that could pull her boat alongside of Grace Peabody'). But as the word appeared in one of a series of almanacs bearing his name in 1840, four years after he died at the Alamo, we must take the link with a pinch of salt - as we must such other supposed coinages of his as circumflustercated and scentoriferous, part of the largely fictitious tall-talking vocabulary of mountain men that the almanacs almost single-handedly invented. Snorter has had various senses that imply that something is an extreme or remarkable case of its kind. To take one example, around the time that ripsnorter appeared, snorter was applied to an especially ferocious storm, a sense that is alluded to in the slightly opaque example from the Crockett almanacs... Rip may be a more-or-less meaningless intensifier, as it is in words like rip-roaring, though its sense of 'rip' or 'tear' may contribute energy and vigour. However, the storm sense of ripsnorter's second element suggest rip might have another of its meanings, a stretch of broken water, as in rip tide and rip current. (World Wide Words)

med_cat

Roorback

Definition:
a defamatory falsehood published for political effect

Degree of Usefulness:
About 500 roorbacks were posted to Facebook in the time it took you to read this sentence. Useful.

Some Trivia:
A number of words in English come from someone's name, and in most cases the name they come from is a real one. However, occasionally a fake name will sneak into an etymology, as is the case with roorback. The word comes from the fictitious Baron von Roorback, an invented person who served as the source of a particularly unpleasant rumor about presidential candidate James K. Polk in 1844 (that he had branded dozens of slaves with his initials). It is worth noting that our 11th president did in fact own dozens of slaves.

Source, and lots more interesting words can be found here:

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 2

And if you wish for more: Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 3

med_cat

Today's word is brought to you by

minoanmiss
~~~~~

reify

verb

re·ify ˈrā-ə-ˌfī

ˈrē-

reified; reifying

transitive verb

: to consider or represent (something abstract) as a material or concrete thing : to give definite content and form to (a concept or idea)

… a culture can be reified into a body of traditions …—

M. J. Herskovits

Did you know?

Reify is a word that attempts to provide a bridge between what is abstract and what is real. Fittingly, it derives from a word that is an ancestor to real—the Latin noun res, meaning "thing."

Both reify and the related noun reification first appeared in English in the mid-19th century. Each word combines the Latin res with an English suffix (-fy and -fication, respectively) that is derived from the Latin -ficare, meaning "to make."

In general use, the words refer to the act of considering or presenting an abstract idea in real or material terms, or of judging something by a concrete example.

WIRED, 9 Nov. 2023

Out of a desire to help oppressed groups, that is, grew an ideology that ultimately reifies identity and rejects the possibility of cross-group solidarity.
—Samuel Clowes Huneke, The New Republic, 26 Oct. 2023

This dynamic was reified in the band’s own music, both in their voices — Gordon’s breathy and mysterious, Moore’s flat and sneering — and in their song material.
—

Word History

Etymology

Latin res thing — more at real

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

simplyn2deep

Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023

Raucous (adjective)
rau·cous [raw-kuhs]

adjective
1. harsh; strident; grating: raucous voices; raucous laughter.
2. rowdy; disorderly: a raucous party.

OTHER WORDS FROM RAUCOUS
rau·cous·ly, adverb
rau·cous·ness, rau·ci·ty [raw-si-tee], noun

WORDS RELATED TO RAUCOUS
discordant, harsh, loud, strident, boisterous, disorderly, rambunctious, rowdy, turbulent, unruly, absonant, acute, atonal, blaring, blatant, braying, brusque, cacophonous, dissonant, dry

See synonyms for raucous on Thesaurus.com
OTHER WORDS FOR RAUCOUS
1. rough, jarring, raspy.

OPPOSITES FOR RAUCOUS
1. soft, mellow, dulcet.

Origin: 1760–70; < Latin raucus hoarse, harsh, rough; see -ous

HOW TO USE RAUCOUS IN A SENTENCE
Gaetz said earlier this month to a similarly raucous ovation.
VIDEO SHOWS REP. GAETZ BLASTING SILICON VALLEY AND BLUSTERING ABOUT GUN RIGHTS IN THE NEXT BREATH | TIMOTHY BELLA | MAY 28, 2021 | WASHINGTON POST

A Southern Airlines commercial featured toga-wearing flight attendants having a raucous party with first-class passengers.
FLIGHT ATTENDANTS’ ROLES HAVE CHANGED, BUT THE STEREOTYPES HAVE NOT | LIZA WEISSTUCH | MAY 13, 2021 | WASHINGTON POST

Now Xander and his girlfriend of two years, Madison Osborne, walked slowly inside to find a party gone raucous, turned wild with joy.
HOW A RURAL VIRGINIA TOWN CAME TOGETHER FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE PANDEMIC PROM | HANNAH NATANSON | MAY 7, 2021 | WASHINGTON POST

I don’t remember many details, only that my colleagues, who are always raucous and rude, were particularly outspoken that day.
HOW TO MANAGE YOUR GOAL HIERARCHY (EP. 458) | STEVEN D. LEVITT | APRIL 15, 2021 | FREAKONOMICS

A new coffee shop in the nearby town of Washington started hosting raucous hardcore punk shows — and a painting of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain on its wall held court over the proceedings.
THIRTY YEARS AGO, NIRVANA’S ‘NEVERMIND’ ROCKED THE MIDWEST | DAWSON BARRETT, JONATHAN WRIGHT | APRIL 9, 2021 | WASHINGTON POST

simplyn2deep

Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023

Redoubt (noun)
re·doubt [ri-dout]

noun
1. Fortification.
a. an isolated work forming a complete enclosure of any form, used to defend a prominent point.
b. an independent earthwork built within a permanent fortification to reinforce it.
2. any safe and secure place or situation; refuge; stronghold: Lebanon has represented one of the last redoubts of Christianity in the Middle East.

WORDS RELATED TO REDOUBT
bastion, fortress, mainstay, fortification, barrier, citadel, garrison, rampart, buffet, buttress, defense, embankment, fort, guard, outwork, parapet, partition, protection, safeguard, security

See synonyms for redoubt on Thesaurus.com

ORIGIN: First recorded in 1600–10; from French redoute, from Italian ridotto, from Late Latin reductus “a refuge,” noun use of past participle of Latin reducere “to lead back”; see reduce

HOW TO USE REDOUBT IN A SENTENCE
When the smoke, clouds and confusion cleared ever so briefly this past week, we caught him in transit from his undisclosed mountain redoubt to California, where he was rescuing an elderly parent.
A PREPPER’S SECRETS TO SURVIVING WHAT’S LEFT OF 2020|EUGENE ROBINSON|SEPTEMBER 21, 2020|OZY

He and the troops then retreated across New Jersey to a winter redoubt.
GEORGE WASHINGTON, THE FIRST VAXXER|TOM SHACHTMAN|OCTOBER 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The Fuhrer may have fallen but his ideology persists in this redoubt of Nazism, untroubled by a sympathetic Argentine regime.
HOLOCAUST HORRORS HAUNT THE FILMS ‘IDA’ AND ‘THE GERMAN DOCTOR’|JACK SCHWARTZ|MAY 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Griffith was elected to a North Alabama district in 2008 that had long been a Democratic redoubt in the midst of a deep red sea.
PARKER GRIFFITH RE-RATS|BEN JACOBS|FEBRUARY 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST

simplyn2deep

Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023

Regale (verb, noun)
regale [ ri-geyl ]

verb (used with object)
1. to entertain lavishly or agreeably; delight.
2. to entertain with choice food or drink.

verb (used without object)
3. to feast.

noun
4. a sumptuous feast.
5. a choice article of food or drink.
6. refreshment.

CAN BE CONFUSED WITH
regal and regalia

OTHER WORDS FROM REGALE
re·gale·ment, noun
re·gal·er, noun
un·re·galed, adjective

WORDS RELATED TO REGALE
amuse, entertain, delight, divert, feast, fracture, grab, gratify, nurture, party, please, ply, refresh, satisfy, serve, laugh it up

See synonyms for: regale / regaled / regaling on Thesaurus.com

ORIGIN: First recorded in 1650–60; from French régaler, derivative of régal(e), Old French rigale, derivative of gale “festivity” (with prefix of rigoler “to amuse oneself”), derivative of galer “to make merry”; see gallant

HOW TO USE REGALE IN A SENTENCE
Many Americans jailed in foreign countries regale journalists with their own versions of “Midnight Express.”
LET’S FREE STACEY ADDISON, THE OREGON WOMAN JAILED AT THE ENDS OF THE EARTH|CHRISTOPHER DICKEY|OCTOBER 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Anyway I sat down with Bruce and encouraged him to regale me with a few New Hampshire-in-the-old days stories.
JACK GERMOND AND THE OLD DAYS|MICHAEL TOMASKY|AUGUST 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Montalbán swerves off frequently to have his hero admire a dish or even regale us with a recipe.
THE FOODIE DETECTIVE: THE PEPE CARVALHO NOVELS BY MANUEL VÁZQUEZ MONTALBÁN|MALCOLM FORBES|OCTOBER 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST

When Emmett King came home at night, he liked to regale the family with tales of small-town criminality— Mayberry R.F.D. stuff.
THE NEW KING OF CONGRESS|BRYAN CURTIS|NOVEMBER 28, 2010|DAILY BEAST

simplyn2deep

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Repast (noun, verb)
re·past [n. ri-past, -pahst, ree-past, -pahst; v. ri-past, -pahst]

noun
1. a quantity of food taken or provided for one occasion of eating: to eat a light repast.
2. a meal: the evening repast.
3. the time during which a meal is eaten; mealtime.
4. Archaic. the taking of food, as at a meal.
5. Obsolete. food.

verb (used without object)
6. to eat or feast (often followed by on or upon).

WORDS RELATED TO REPAST
banquet, chow, eats, fare, feast, feed, food, grub, meal, mess, refection, refreshment, snack, spread, victuals

See synonyms for repast on Thesaurus.com

ORIGIN: 1300–50; Middle English (noun) < Old French, derivative (compare past < Latin pastus fodder) of repaistre to eat a meal < Late Latin repascere to feed regularly, equivalent to Latin re-re- + pascere to feed (cf. pasture)

HOW TO USE REPAST IN A SENTENCE
They had a repast together, and Aguinaldo called for cheers for Spain, in which all heartily joined.
THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS|JOHN FOREMAN

The cook, placed upon her mettle, served a delicious repast—a luscious tenderloin broiled a point.
THE AWAKENING AND SELECTED SHORT STORIES|KATE CHOPIN

On the table some kind of cold repast was laid, the viands concealed under china covers.
DOPE|SAX ROHMER

The startled guests filed hastily across to find a dainty but sumptuous repast served at little tables.
ANCESTORS|GERTRUDE ATHERTON

med_cat

ratify, v.: to approve and sanction formally : confirm (e.g.,ratify a treaty)

First Known Use

14th century

Etymology

Middle English ratifien, from Anglo-French ratifier, from Medieval Latin ratificare, from Latin ratus determined, from past participle of reri, to calculate

simplyn2deep

Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2022

Retire (verb, noun)
re·tire [ri-tahyuhr]

verb (used without object)
1. to withdraw, or go away or apart, to a place of privacy, shelter, or seclusion: He retired to his study.
2. to go to bed: He retired at midnight.
3. to withdraw from office, business, or active life, usually because of age: to retire at the age of sixty.
4. to fall back or retreat in an orderly fashion and according to plan, as from battle, an untenable position, danger, etc.
5. to withdraw or remove oneself: After announcing the guests, the butler retired.

verb (used with object)
6. to withdraw from circulation by taking up and paying, as bonds, bills, etc.; redeem.
7. to withdraw or lead back (troops, ships, etc.), as from battle or danger; retreat.
8. to remove from active service or the usual field of activity, as an army officer or business executive.
9. to withdraw (a machine, ship, etc.) permanently from its normal service, usually for scrapping; take out of use.
10. Sports. to put out (a batter, side, etc.).

noun Literary.
11. a place of withdrawal; retreat: a cool retire from summer's heat.
12. retirement or withdrawal, as from worldly matters or the company of others.

OTHER WORDS FROM RETIRE
re·tir·er, noun

WORDS RELATED TO RETIRE
depart, go, pull out, relinquish, remove, retreat, separate, surrender, withdraw, decamp, ebb, exit, part, recede, regress, repeal, rescind, resign, revoke, rusticate

See synonyms for: retire / retired / retiring on Thesaurus.com
OTHER WORDS FOR RETIRE
5. leave, withdraw.

SYNONYM STUDY FOR RETIRE
5. See depart.

Origin: 1525–35; < Middle French retirer to withdraw, equivalent to re- re- + tirer to draw

HOW TO USE RETIRE IN A SENTENCE
Expect the couple to find another mansion in a safe Democratic district where an aging representative is expected to retire.
THE RISE AND FALL OF CHRIS HUGHES AND SEAN ELDRIDGE, AMERICA’S WORST GAY POWER COUPLE|JAMES KIRCHICK|DECEMBER 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And when asked whether he worries about Studio Ghibli after he and Takahata retire, Miyazaki is frank.
ANIME KING HAYAO MIYAZAKI’S CURSED DREAMS|MELISSA LEON|DECEMBER 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Age is one of many factors, but it will play a larger role in the conversation as Baby Boomers retire and longevity is extended.
JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG’S RISKY HEART SURGERY|DR. ANAND VEERAVAGU, MD|NOVEMBER 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

As Raimondo tells it, most public sector workers in the state were able to retire at age 55 with 80 percent of their pay.
MEET GINA RAIMONDO, THE ONLY DEMOCRATIC STAR OF 2014|DAVID FREEDLANDER|NOVEMBER 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Current Mood: hungry

med_cat

Dear everyone--comm members, comm posters, and of course the former comm moderator--

Thank you for being here in 2021. We have shared in the joy of linguistics, and that has been one of the positive things this year, I think.

I wish you and yours all the very best in the coming year 2022!

And now for something special, for New Year's Eve:

"...But one English word surely stands above all others from the corners of the dictionary. I mention it all the time, because I’m determined to bring it back. Or bring it anywhere in fact, for it never really enjoyed more than a day in the sun. “Respair” has just one record next to it in the Oxford English Dictionary, from 1525, but its definition is sublime. Respair is fresh hope; a recovery from despair. May 2022 finally be its moment."

A few other interesting words in this article from The Guardian: From respair to cacklefart – the joy of reclaiming long-lost positive words

(...would you believe "cacklefart" means "egg"?! ;))

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Word of the Day!

Entries tagged with r

Tuesday word: Reindeer

Monday Word: Rambutan

Tuesday word: Ramose

Sunday Word: Recalcitrant

Tuesday word: Riffraff

Sunday Word: Rubicund

Monday Word: Rantipole

Sunday Word: Recherché

Wednesday Word: Recrudescence

Tuesday word: Recondite

Sunday Word: Ripsnorter

Friday Word: Roorback

Roorback

Friday word: Reify

reify

verb

Did you know?

Examples of reify in a Sentence

Word History

Tuesday word: Raucous

Tuesday word: Redoubt

Tuesday word: Regale

Tuesday word: Repast

Friday word: Ratify

Tuesday word: Retire

New Year's Eve word: Respair

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