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Word of the day
for June 1
oxishly adv
  1. (rare) In a manner like that of an ox.
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Word of the day
for June 2
rubicon n
  1. A limit that when exceeded, or an action that when taken, cannot be reversed.
  2. (card games) Especially in bezique and piquet: a score which, if not achieved by a losing player, increases the player's penalty.

rubicon v

  1. (transitive, card games) Especially in bezique and piquet: to defeat a player who has not achieved the rubicon.

  Today is Festa della Repubblica or Republic Day, Italy’s national day.

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Word of the day
for June 5
rubbish n
  1. (chiefly Australia, New Zealand, British) Garbage, junk, refuse, trash, waste.
  2. (by extension, chiefly Australia, New Zealand, British) An item, or items, of low quality.
  3. (by extension, chiefly Australia, New Zealand, British) Nonsense.
  4. (archaic) Debris or ruins of buildings. []

rubbish v

  1. (transitive, chiefly Australia, New Zealand, British, colloquial) To criticize, to denigrate, to denounce, to disparage.

  Today is World Environment Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to promote worldwide awareness and action of the need to protect the environment.

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Word of the day
for June 6
polemology n
  1. The study of human conflict and war.

  Today is the 75th anniversary of D-Day on 6 June 1944, the start of the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, during World War II that laid the foundations for the Allied victory on the Western Front.

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Word of the day
for June 7
victual n
  1. (archaic) Food fit for human (or occasionally animal) consumption.
  2. (archaic, chiefly in the plural) Food supplies; provisions.
  3. (specifically, obsolete)
    1. Edible plants.
    2. (Scotland) Grain of any kind.

victual v (archaic)

  1. (transitive, reflexive, chiefly military, nautical) To provide (military troops, a place, a ship, etc., or oneself) with a stock of victuals or food; to provision.
  2. (intransitive, chiefly military, nautical) To lay in or procure food supplies.
  3. (intransitive) To eat.

  Today is World Food Safety Day, which is recognized by the United Nations to raise awareness about and promote global food safety.

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Word of the day
for June 8
eustasy n
  1. (geology, oceanography) A worldwide change in sea level, especially one caused by melting ice or tectonic activity.

  Today is World Oceans Day, a day recognized by the United Nations to highlight the importance of conserving and protecting the world’s oceans. The Oceans Institute of Canada, supported by the Government of Canada, held an event called Oceans Day at the Global Forum, a parallel event at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on that day in 1992.

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Word of the day
for June 9
ennead n
  1. (obsolete) The number nine.
  2. (rare) Any grouping or system containing nine objects.
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Word of the day
for June 10
fillip n
  1. (archaic) The action of holding the tip of a finger against the thumb and then releasing it with a snap; a flick.
  2. A smart strike or tap made using this action, or (by extension) by other means.
  3. (by extension) Something unimportant, a trifle; also, the brief time it takes to flick one's finger (see noun sense 1); a jiffy.
  4. (by extension) Something that excites or stimulates.

  Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and the husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, was born on this day in 1921.

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Word of the day
for June 11
esquamulose adj
  1. (botany, mycology) Not covered in scales or scale-like objects; having a smooth skin or outer covering.
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Word of the day
for June 13
nitrox n
  1. (metallurgy) An industrial process for case hardening (imparting greater surface hardness to) metal objects, involving nitrocarburizing (the diffusion of carbon and nitrogen into the metal) followed by oxidation.
  2. (underwater diving) A mixture of nitrogen and oxygen, the nitrogen content being lower than what is normally present in air, which is used in place of air as a breathing gas.

  British diving engineer Henry Fleuss, who invented the first commercially practical scuba rebreather, was born on this day in 1851.

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Word of the day
for June 14
bloviation n
  1. (US, possibly originally Ohio, informal) A boastful or pompous manner of speaking or writing; a lengthy discourse delivered in that manner.
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Word of the day
for June 15
Magna Carta proper n
  1. (law, historical) A charter granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215, which is one of the bases of English constitutional tradition; a physical copy of this charter, or a later version.

Magna Carta n

  1. (figuratively) A landmark document that sets out rights or important principles.

  King John of England granted the Great Charter on this day in 1215.

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Word of the day
for June 16
stardust n
  1. (astronomy)
    1. Small fragments of dust-like material found in space; specifically, a type of cosmic dust that formed from cooling gases ejected from presolar stars, which was then incorporated into the cloud from which the Solar System condensed.
    2. (informal, dated) A distant cluster of stars resembling a cloud of dust, especially if the individual stars of which cannot be resolved with a telescope.
    3. (archaic) Small fragments in the Earth's atmosphere or on its surface originating from meteorites; meteor dust.
  2. (figuratively)
    1. Something imaginary or lacking substance.
    2. An imaginary magic dust or powder that, when in one's eyes, supposedly causes one to view a person or thing favourably, even though this might not actually be true.
    3. An imaginary magic dust or powder supposedly able to give one charisma or other positive qualities; hence, charisma or glamour, especially that possessed by a celebrity.

  The English musician David Bowie’s album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was released on this day in 1972.

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Word of the day
for June 17
gastrodiplomacy n
  1. A type of cultural diplomacy where relations between representatives of different cultures are improved by the means of gastronomy and the promotion of national cuisines.

  Today is the eve of Sustainable Gastronomy Day, which is designated by the United Nations to highlight the role that gastronomy can play in promoting sustainable development.

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Word of the day
for June 18
meet one's Waterloo v
  1. To be decisively defeated by an encounter with a powerful opponent or a problem that is too difficult.

  The Battle of Waterloo, which marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars after Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by armies of Britain and Prussia, took place on this day in 1815.

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Word of the day
for June 19
Juneteenth proper n
  1. (US) Also more fully as Juneteenth Day: a holiday celebrated in many states of the United States of America on June 19, commemorating the end of slavery.

  On this day in 1865, Union Army General Gordon Granger read out General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas, stating that all previously enslaved people in Texas were now free.

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Word of the day
for June 20
Victorian adj
  1. Of or relating to the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901, or that period.
  2. Of or relating to the culture or social conditions of that period.
    1. In a situation of poverty and social injustice; Dickensian.
    2. (architecture) Of the style of architecture or furnishings of that period.
  3. (figuratively) Of or displaying the (supposed) ideals or standards of morality of that period; conservative; also, old-fashioned, out-of-date.

Victorian n

  1. A person born in or living in the Victorian period, or exhibiting characteristics of that period.
  2. An item of furniture from that period.
  3. (chiefly US, architecture) A house built in the Victorian architectural style. [...]

  Queen Victoria ascended to the throne as monarch of the United Kingdom on this day in 1837.

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Word of the day
for June 21
ski-through adj
  1. (skiing) Of a ski lodge or other hotel establishment: providing skiers with the service of transporting their equipment, luggage, and vehicles to other establishments so they can ski directly to those establishments.
  2. (skiing) Of a restaurant, shop, or other establishment or facility: providing service to skiers while they are still wearing their skis.

  In the Southern Hemisphere according to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the winter solstice falls on this day in 2019.

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Word of the day
for June 22
smorgasbord n
  1. A Swedish-style buffet comprising a variety of cold sandwiches and other dishes; (by extension) any buffet with a wide selection of dishes.
  2. (figuratively) An abundant and diverse collection of things.

  Today in 2019 is Midsommardagen or Midsummer’s Day in Sweden.

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Word of the day
for June 23
ithyphallic adj
  1. (historical, Ancient Rome) Of or pertaining to the erect phallus that was carried in bacchic processions.
    1. (specifically) Of a poem or song: having the metre of an ode sung in honour of the bacchic phallus.
  2. Of or pertaining to an upward pointing, erect penis; (specifically) of an artistic depiction of a deity or other figure: possessing an erect penis.
  3. (by extension) Lascivious, obscene.
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Word of the day
for June 24
adynaton n
  1. (rhetoric) A form of hyperbole that uses exaggeration so magnified as to express impossibility; an instance of such hyperbole.
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Word of the day
for June 25
a mite adv
  1. (informal) To a small extent; in a small amount; rather.
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Word of the day
for June 26
indri n
  1. One of the largest living lemurs, Indri indri, which is native to Madagascar.

  Today is the Independence Day of Madagascar.

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Word of the day
for June 27
pushbike n
  1. (Australia, New Zealand, UK, informal) A pedal bicycle, as distinguished from a motorized bicycle.

pushbike v

  1. (intransitive, Australia, New Zealand, UK, informal) To travel by pushbike.

  The Grand Départ or start of the Tour de France long-distance bicycle race takes place in Nice, France, on this date in 2020.

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Word of the day
for June 28
stonewall v
  1. (transitive) To obstruct.
  2. (intransitive, informal) To refuse to answer or cooperate, especially in supplying information.

  On this day 55 years ago in 1969, members of the LGBT community refused to cooperate or go with police who raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City, beginning spontaneous, violent demonstrations now known as the Stonewall riots, a key moment in the fight for LGBT rights in the US.

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Word of the day
for June 30
plat n
  1. A plot of land; a lot.
  2. A map showing the boundaries of real properties (delineating one or more plots of land), especially one that forms part of a legal document.
  3. (obsolete) A plot, a scheme.

plat v

  1. (transitive) To create a plat; to lay out property lots and streets; to map. []
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