be go nia noun any tropical plant belonging to the genus Begonia, including species cultivated for the handsome,succulent

leaves and waxy flowers. Origin: < Neo-Latin (Linnaeus), named after Michel Bgon (1638 1710), French patron of sc ience; see -ia aph ro dis i ac adjective 1. Also, aph ro di si a cal [af-ruh-duh-zahy-uh-kuhl, -sahy-] Show IPA . arousing sexualdes ire. noun 2. an aphrodisiac food, drug, potion, or other agent that arouses sexual desire. Origin: 1710 20; < Greek aphrodisiak s relating to love or desire, equivalent to aphrodisi ( os ) of Aphrodite + -akos-ac Related forms an ti aph ro dis i ac, adjective, noun malapropism ('ml?pr?p??z?m) n 1. the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one of similar soun d, esp when creating aridiculous effect, as in I am not under the affluence of a lcohol 2. the habit of misusing words in this manner [C18: after Mrs Malaprop in Sheridan's play The Rivals (1775), a character who misused words, frommalapropos ] 'malaprop am bro sia [am-broh-zhuh] Show IPA noun 1. Classical Mythology . the food of the gods. Compare nectar ( def 3 ) . 2. something especially delicious to taste or smell. 3. a fruit dessert made of oranges and shredded coconut and sometimes pineapple. Origin: 1545 55; < Latin < Greek: immortality, food of the gods, noun use of feminine o f ambrsios, equivalent toa- a-6 + -mbros- (combining form of brotos mortal; ak in to Latin mortuus dead, murder) + -ios adj. suffix;replacing Middle English ambrose, ambrosie < Old French ambroise < Latin mor phine [mawr-feen] Show IPA noun Pharmacology . a white, bitter, crystalline alkaloid, C 1 7 H 1 9 NO 3 H 2 O, the most impor tant narcotic and addictiveprinciple of opium, obtained by extraction and crysta llization and used chiefly in medicine as a pain relieverand sedative. Also, mor phi a [mawr-fee-uh] Show IPA .

Origin: 1820 30; < German Morphin. See Morpheus, -ine2 tan ta lize [tan-tl-ahyz] Show IPA verb (used with object), tan ta lized, tan ta liz ing. to torment with, or as if with, the sight of something desired but out of reach; tease by arousingexpectations that are repeatedly disappointed. Also, especially British, tan ta lise. Origin: 1590 1600; Tantal(us) + -ize Related forms tan ta li za tion, noun tan ta liz er, noun un tan ta lized, adjective Synonyms provoke, taunt, tempt; frustrate. Antonyms satisfy. The origin of the word 'tantalize' is Greek. It comes from the Greek myth surrou nding the son of Zeus. The son was 'tantalized' or teased when he went to eat or drink. cham pagne [sham-peyn] Show IPA noun 1. ( initial capital letter ) the sparkling, dry, white table wine from the region of Champagne in France. 2. a similar sparkling wine produced elsewhere. 3. (formerly) the nonsparkling, dry, white table wine produced in the region of Cha mpagne in France. 4. a very pale yellow or greenish-yellow color. 5. anything considered the best or luxurious. French, from Champagne, France First Known Use: 1664 There are two main theories as to the origin of the term' "Adam's apple". The "B rewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable" and the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictio nary points at an ancient belief that a piece of forbidden fruit was embedded in Adam's throat (the first man, according to Abrahamic religions).[2]However, nei ther the Bible nor other Judeo-Christian writings mention it. The biblical story does not actually specify the type of fruit that Adam ate.[3] Linguist Alexander Gode claimed that the Latin phrase to designate the laryngeal protuberance was very probably translated incorrectly from the beginning. The p hrase in Latin was "pomum Adami" (literally: 'Adam's apple'). This, in turn, cam e from the Hebrew "tappuach ha adam" meaning "male bump". The confusion lies in the fact that in Hebrew language, the proper name "Adam" (???) literally means " man", and the late Hebrew word used to refer "bump" is very similar to the word used to refer "apple".[4][5] Proponents of this version contend that the subsequ

ent phrases in Latin and other Romance languagesrepresent a mistranslation from the beginning.[6] Mentor In Greek mythology, Mentor (Greek: ???t??, Mntor; gen.: ???t????)[1] was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus or Heracles and Asopis. In his old age Mentor was a frie nd of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Troja n War. men tor [men-tawr, -ter] Show IPA noun 1. a wise and trusted counselor or teacher. 2. an influential senior sponsor or supporter. som nam bu late [som-nam-byuh-leyt, suhm-] Show IPA verb (used without object), som nam bu lat ed, som nam bu lat ing. to walk during sleep; sleepwalk. C19: from Latin somnus sleep + ambulare to walk] Act. 1 ginseng ('d??ns??) n 1. either of two araliaceous plants, Panax schinseng efolius of North America, whoseforked aromatic roots are 2. the root of either of these plants or a substance s, believed to possess stimulant,tonic, and energy-giving of China or P. quinqu used medicinally obtained from the root properties

[C17: from Mandarin Chinese jen shen, from jen man (from a resemblance of the roots to human legs) +shen ginseng] tepee or teepee ('ti?pi?) n a cone-shaped tent of animal skins used by certain North American Indian s [C19: from Siouan tipi, from ti to dwell + pi used for] teepee or teepee gig o lo [jig-uh-loh, zhig-] Show IPA noun, plural gig o los. 1. a man living off the earnings or gifts of a woman, especially a younger man supp orted by an olderwoman in return for his sexual attentions and companionship. 2. a male professional dancing partner or escort. Origin: 1920 25; < French, masculine derivative of gigolette woman of the streets or pu blic dance halls, probablyultimately derivative of Middle French giguer to frol ic (see jig2 ); cf. giglet, Middle English gig ( e ) lot, whichmay have influen

ced gigolette tomahawk ('t?m??h??k) n 1. a fighting axe, with a stone or later an iron head, used by the North Am erican Indians 2. chiefly ( Austral ) the usual word for hatchet [C17: from Virginia Algonquian tamahaac ] tat too 2 [ta-too] Show IPA noun, plural tat toos, verb, tat tooed,tat too ing. noun 1. the act or practice of marking the skin with indelible patterns, pictures, legen ds, etc., by makingpunctures in it and inserting pigments. 2. a pattern, picture, legend, etc., so made. verb (used with object) 3. to mark (the skin) with tattoos. 4. to put (tattoos) on the skin. The fearless British explorer and cartographer Captain James Cook introduced tatt ow based on the Samoan and Tahitian word tatau in his journals detailing a mid-18 th century expedition around the world. voodoo ('vu?du?) n , pl -doos 1. Also called: voodooism a religious cult involving witchcraft and commun ication by trance withancestors and animistic deities, common in Haiti and other Caribbean islands 2. a person who practises voodoo 3. a charm, spell, or fetish involved in voodoo worship and ritual adj 4. 5. relating to or associated with voodoo vb , -doos , -doos , -dooing , -dooed ( tr ) to affect by or as if by the power of voodoo

[C19: from Louisiana French voudou, ultimately of West African origin; compare Ewe vodu guardianspirit] gung-ho [guhng-hoh] Show IPA Informal. adjective 1. wholeheartedly enthusiastic and loyal; eager; zealous: a gung-ho military outfit . adverb 2. in a successful manner: The business is going gung-ho. Origin: introduced as a training slogan in 1942 by U.S. Marine officer Evans F. Carlson (1896 1947) < Chinesegong h, the abbreviated name of the Chinese Industrial Coope rative Society, taken by a literal translationas work together

Moccasin n 1. a shoe of soft leather, esp deerskin, worn by North American Indians 2. any soft shoe resembling this 3. ( NZ ) a sheepshearer's footgear, usually made of sacking 4. short for water moccasin [C17: from Algonquian; compare Narraganset mocussin shoe] Noodle "narrow strip of dried dough," 1779, from German Nudel, which is of unknown orig in. West Flemish noedel and French nouille are German loan-words. The older noun meaning "simpleton, stupid person" (1753) probably is an unrelated word, as is the slang word for "head" (attested from 1914).