Category word meaning

Meaning: The word mattress refers to a fabric case that is filled with soft, firm. or springy material, usually used for sleeping on. In an engineering sense, mattress can also denote a flat structure of concrete, brushwood, or other material, used for strengthening or support for embankments, foundations and other places.

Origin: The word has been in use from around 1300 and is derived from the French word materas. This in turn comes form Italian materasso and directly from Medieval Latin matracium borrowed from medieval Arabic al-matrah, meaning the “large cushion or rug for lying on”.

Usage: Using a firm mattress allows you to take some pressure off the spine when lying down.

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Meaning: The adjective refers to the tendency to intend or cause delay.

Origin: This word was first introduced in English language in the 15th Century and is derived from dilatus, a form of the multifaceted Latin verb ‘differre’ meaning postpone, delay, be unlike or distinct.

Usage: She tends to be dilatory in answering letters.

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Meaning: A noun, patina means the green film that forms on copper and bronze after their exposure to moist air. This occurs following long exposure.

Origin: The origin of the word dates back to the 17th century. Italians started using the word patina to refer to the green film that formed on the surface of copper. It was a reference to Latin, where patina means “a shallow dish”. Come the 18th century and English speakers also started using the word. Over time, it was used to refer to things that have become beautiful with age as well.

Usage: Though I didn’t take care of the heirloom my mother passed on, the patina that developed on it has added an old-world charm to it.

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Meaning: The word obliterate refers to utterly destroying something or wiping it out without a trace. The word is also used to imply making something invisible or indistinct by covering or concealing it.

 Origin: The word has been there from around 1600 and is derived from Latin obliteratus, past participle of obliterare. After slipping in popularity from the 1850s to the 1950s, the word now sees steady usage.

Usage: The stunning views were suddenly obliterated by the fog.

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Meaning: This verb means to confuse.

Origin: No one is completely sure where the word flummox comes from, but Charles Dickens was aware of it and used it in his 1837 novel The Pickwick Papers. It became quite common in both British and American English by the end of the 19th Century. One theory expressed by some etymologists is that it was influenced by flummock, a word of English dialectical origin used to refer to a clumsy person

Usage: This actor gets easily flummoxed by any changes in the script.

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(pronounced sol. i. tri, soli. tary, sol. it. ary)

Meaning: Solitary refers to the state of being alone. In other words, it means “existing alone without companions”. The term can be used to describe a person, place, or a thing.

Origin: This adjective meaning “alone, living alone” has been in use in English since the mid-14th Century. The term is borrowed from Old French solitaire, from Latin solitarius “lonely, isolated,” from solitas “loneliness, solitude.”

Usage: After my mom’s demise, my dad leads a pretty solitary life.

He seems to have completely lost his sense of humour.

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