This week's theme
Eponyms

This week's words
pecksniffian
smellfungus
falstaffian
milquetoast
bumbledom

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(fal-STAF-ee-uhn)

MEANING:

adjective: Fat, jolly, and convivial.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Sir John Falstaff, a character in Shakespeare's plays Henry IV (parts 1 & 2) and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Earliest documented use: 1809. Another character from these plays who has become a word in English is Bardolph.

USAGE:

"His hair was long and scruffy, his ties ludicrous and his manner jovial bordering on Falstaffian; a board meeting, for him, was a debate, punctuated by gales of his maniacal laughter."
Obituary: John Harvey-Jones; The Economist (London, UK); Jan 17, 2008.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: