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incunabula

[ in-kyoo-nab-yuh-luh ] [ ˌɪn kyʊˈnæb yə lə ] Show IPA Phonetic Respelling

plural noun

the earliest stages or first traces of anything.

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Why Dictionary.com chose incunabula

More about incunabula

  • Incunabula was first recorded in 1815–25.
  • Incunabula comes from Latin and means variously “the straps holding a baby in a cradle,” “earliest home,” or “birthplace.”
  • Incunabula also refers to “books produced in the earliest stages (before 1501) of printing from movable type.”
  • In that sense, incunabula has the singular form incunabulum.

EXAMPLES OF INCUNABULA

  • The discovery of crude stone tools marked the incunabula of human civilization.
  • The faded photographs from the 1800s are cherished incunabula of our family history.
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Today's Word of the Day was chosen by R.L. Stine!

macabre

[ muh-kah-bruh, -kahb ] [ məˈkɑ brə, -ˈkɑb ] Show IPA Phonetic Respelling

adjective

gruesome and horrifying; ghastly; horrible.

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Why R.L. Stine chose macabre

Today's the last day to enter our Haunting Hooks writing contest…with guest judge R.L Stine!

More about macabre

  • Macabre was first recorded in English in 1400–50.
  • Macabre comes from French, most likely from the phrase danse (de) Macabré, “dance of death.”
  • Danse (de) Macabré, of uncertain origin, refers to a symbolic dance in which Death, represented as a skeleton, leads people or skeletons to their grave.

EXAMPLES OF MACABRE

  • Halloween decorations adorned the front yard, creating a delightfully macabre atmosphere.
  • The artist’s eerie paintings captured the macabre beauty of decay and darkness.
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Word of the day

lekker

[ leh-kr ] [ ˈlɛkə ] Show IPA Phonetic Respelling

adjective

pleasing or enjoyable.

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Why Dictionary.com chose lekker

More about lekker

  • Lekker comes from Afrikaans, a creole language spoken in South Africa with roots from Dutch.
  • Lekker is also a word in Dutch, meaning “tasty,” which is related to the Dutch verb likken, “to lick.”
  • Lekker was first attested in South African English around 1900.

EXAMPLES OF LEKKER

  • They had a lekker time dancing the night away at the lively South African club.
  • The warm sunshine and cool breeze made our beach picnic absolutely lekker.
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