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Nov 1, 2007
This week's theme
Words related to food

This week's words
verjuice
jentacular
cibarious
macaronic
xerophagy

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macaronic

(mak-ah-RON-ik) Pronunciation Sound Clip RealAudio

adjective: Involving a mixture of languages.

From Latin macaronicus, from Italian dialect maccarone (macaroni), probably alluding to the jumble of macaroni and sauce on a plate.

"Speaking not in the gleefully macaronic English that has made for such good, clownish copy in the past, but in his native Italian, he sounded serious and reflective as he answered questions about his age, his health, and his dwindling plans for the future."
Justin Davidson; Pavarotti Winds Down; Newsday (New York); Mar 11, 1998.

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

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