This week's theme
Words coined after Shakespearean characters

This week's words
ophelian
benedict
hamlet
bardolphian
polonian

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(BEN-i-dikt)

MEANING:

noun: A newly married man, especially one who was previously thought to be a confirmed bachelor.

ETYMOLOGY:

From alteration of Benedick, character in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Earliest documented use: 1821.

USAGE:

"Columbus Moise, the old bachelor lawyer, who is soon to be a benedict, answered the toast."
Miguel Antonio Otero; My Life on the Frontier, 1882-1897; 1935.

See more usage examples of benedict in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: