This week’s theme
Words with many meanings

This week’s words
dobber
bruit
cameo
pillbox
plight

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(KAM-ee-oh)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A small sculpture carved in relief on a background of another color.
2. A short description, literary sketch, etc., that effectively presents the subject.
3. A very brief appearance by a well-known actor or celebrity in a film, typically in a non-speaking role.
4. A brief appearance or a minor role.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Italian cammeo, from Latin cammaeus. Earliest documented use: 1561.

NOTES:

Why hasn’t anyone performed a cameo role while wearing cameo jewelry? That would be the most logical thing to do.

USAGE:

“Hard-stone cameos are often in rings as well as in pendants.”
Stan Shelley; In Lesser Cameos, the Value Comes from the Metal Setting; Times News (Hendersonville, North Carolina); Dec 8, 2011.

“Since then Egypt has largely avoided overseas adventures, save for an unimpressive cameo in the Gulf war in 1991.”
Showdown on the Nile; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 4, 2020.

See more usage examples of cameo in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: