A.Word.A.Day --jabberwock

A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact

Home

Today's Word

jabberwock

PRONUNCIATION:

(JAB-uhr-wok)

MEANING:

noun: Nonsensical or wildly incoherent speech or writing.
verb intr.: To speak or write in this manner.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Jabberwock, a monster in Lewis Carroll’s poem Jabberwocky from Through the Looking Glass (1871). Earliest documented use: 1902.

USAGE:

“My cabbie jabberwocked and gesticulated his way through crosstown traffic.”
David Hawpe; Urban History, Cheap at Half the Price; Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky); Feb 3, 2008.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

One of the primary tests of the mood of a society at any given time is whether its comfortable people tend to identify, psychologically, with the power and achievements of the very successful or with the needs and sufferings of the underprivileged. -Richard Hofstadter, historian (6 Aug 1916-1970)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise