Fiscal is an adjective that means relating to the public treasury or government revenue. In North America, fiscal also means of or relating to matters of finance, a fiscal year is an accounting year. Some companies choose to have their fiscal years begin and end on dates other than the …
Competence describes a person’s capability to do something adequately, or a person’s mental capacity to understand the proceedings of a trial. Competence is the noun form of competent, which is an adjective. Competency describes a person’s capability to do something adequately, or a person’s mental capacity to understand the proceedings …
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Resign, used as a transitive verb, means to give up or relinquish something. Resign, used as an intransitive verb means to leave a position or job. In chess, when one resigns, one ends the game by conceding defeat. To be resigned means to accept the inevitable. Related words are resigns, …
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I shouldn’t jinx it, but I think this is the best guide on what the word jinx means. See what I did there? Jinx is a word that we commonly use in everyday conversation, but its meaning and origins go way back to witchy times. Should you still use it? …
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An arc is a curved shape or the curving path of a moving object. In mathematics, an arc is part of a circle’s circumference. An arc is also a sparking discharge conducted from one electrode to another. The verb forms of arc are arcs, arced and arcing. Arcked and arcking …
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It’s time for the grand battle between candy floss and cotton candy. Which one is correct, and are they meant to be hyphenated? Knowing how to properly describe this fluffy, sweet treat is essential if you wish to be grammatically and regionally correct. So, let’s take a look at the …
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Fie is an archaic interjection or exclamation expressing disapproval or disgust. It came into use during the thirteenth century, probably from the Old French fi, which is an exclamation of disapproval. Another influence is the Old Norse word, fy. A correlating word exists in many languages, fie seems to have …
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A fiat is an official decree issued by an authority. Fiat sometimes connotes arbitrariness, an imperial decree that may not be mitigated. The word fiat comes from the Latin word fiat, meaning let it be done. Fiat was the opening word in Medieval proclamations that were written in Latin. When …
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A pipsqueak is an insignificant person, usually small or young. Pipsqueak is a term of contempt. Slang synonyms are short round, and squirt. Pipsqueak is an echoic word, which imitates a sound. Pipsqueak seems to have first appeared in the 1890s. It comes from the words pip, which refers to …
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There are many terms used in English that are recognized worldwide due to being borrowed from other languages. These are usually words or phrases that are very specific to what they are referencing and lose their unique meaning when translated. Prima donna is one such word. Originally used to describe …