This week’s theme
Words coined after animals

This week’s words
doryphore
ratty
pullulate
winkle
capriole

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(WING-kuhl)

MEANING:

noun: A periwinkle, any of various mollusks with a spiral shell.
verb tr.: To extract with effort or difficulty.

ETYMOLOGY:

For noun: Of uncertain origin.
For verb: From the process of extracting a periwinkle from its shell with a pin for eating its meat.
Earliest documented use: 1585.

USAGE:

Dougherty is a smart, pragmatic but deep-thinking cop who winkles out the truth by virtue of dogged police work.”
Declan Burke; Intricate Confessions, Historic Skeletons, Heartbreaking Tragedy; Irish Times (Dublin); Aug 29, 2015.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: