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A late-16th-century English illustration of a witch feeding her familiars. In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (strictly familiar spirits, as "familiar" also meant just "close friend" or companion, and may be seen in the scientific name for dog, Canis familiaris) were believed to be supernatural entities, interdimensional beings, or spiritual guardians that ...
A colloquial name or familiar name is a name or term commonly used to identify a person or thing in non-specialist language, in place of another usually more formal or technical name. [ 13 ] In the philosophy of language , "colloquial language" is ordinary natural language , as distinct from specialized forms used in logic or other areas of ...
British English meanings Meanings common to British and American English American English meanings daddy longlegs, daddy-long-legs crane fly: daddy long-legs spider: Opiliones: dead (of a cup, glass, bottle or cigarette) empty, finished with very, extremely ("dead good", "dead heavy", "dead rich") deceased
In a scene from the 1964 film A Hard Day's Night, George Harrison has to explain the meaning and origin of the word; the impression is given that it was then considered modern slang, known only to trendy youngsters (this is no longer the case). George Harrison would have been familiar with the word as well-established Liverpool slang. [91]
A sobriquet (/ ˈ s oʊ b r ɪ ˌ k eɪ, ˌ s oʊ b r ɪ ˈ k eɪ / SOH-brih-kay, - KAY) is a descriptive nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another.A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need for explanation; it may become more familiar than the original name.
The charmer who once sent shivers down your spine morphs into the familiar face over the breakfast table. The fancy French-door fridge you ogled on the showroom floor now blends in with your other ...
Conversion (word formation): a transformation of a word of one word class into another word class; Dysphemism: intentionally using a word or phrase with a harsher tone over one with a more polite tone; Euphemism: intentionally using a word or phrase with a more polite tone over one with a harsher tone
Thesaurus Linguae Latinae. A modern english thesaurus. A thesaurus (pl.: thesauri or thesauruses), sometimes called a synonym dictionary or dictionary of synonyms, is a reference work which arranges words by their meanings (or in simpler terms, a book where one can find different words with similar meanings to other words), [1] [2] sometimes as a hierarchy of broader and narrower terms ...