Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Hornet

Definition: Hornet

Hornet

Noun

1. Large stinging paper wasp.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "hornet" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1613. (references)

Etymology: Hornet \Hor"net\, noun. [from Anglo-Saxon expression hyrnet; akin to Old High German. hornaz, hornuz, German horniss; perhaps akin to English horn, and named from the sound it makes as if blowing the horn; but more probably akin to Dutch horzel, Lith. szirszone, from Latin expression crabo.]. (references)

 

Specialty Definition: Hornet

DomainDefinition

19th Century Satire

Still sharper. Source: Foolish Dictionary, 1904.

Bible

Hornet Heb. tsir'ah, "stinging", (Ex. 23:28; Deut. 7:20; Josh. 24:12). The word is used in these passages as referring to some means by which the Canaanites were to be driven out from before the Israelites. Some have supposed that the word is used in a metaphorical sense as the symbol of some panic which would seize the people as a "terror of God" (Gen. 35:5), the consternation with which God would inspire the Canaanites. In Palestine there are four species of hornets, differing from our hornets, being larger in size, and they are very abundant. They "attack human beings in a very furious manner." "The furious attack of a swarm of hornets drives cattle and horses to madness, and has even caused the death of the animals." Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.

Dream Interpretation

To dream of a hornet, signals disruption to lifelong friendship, and loss of money.
For a young woman to dream that one stings her, or she is in a nest of them, foretells that many envious women will seek to disparage her before her admirers. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted ....

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Hornet

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Hornet
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Hymenoptera
Family:Vespidae
Subfamily:Vespinae
Genus:Vespa

Hornets are large eusocial wasps. The true hornets make up the genus Vespa, and are distinguished from other Vespids by the width of the vertex (part of the head behind the eyes), which is proportionally larger in Vespa; and by the anteriorly rounded gasters (the section of the abdomen behind the wasp waist).

Geographic Distribution

The genus Vespa comprises about 20 species, most of which are native to tropical Asia, but there is a species found across temperate Eurasia from Great Britain to Japan (V. crabro), another (V. orientalis) that extends via southern and central Asia to the Arabic peninsula, up to northern and eastern Africa and the Mediterranean basin (including southern Italy and Sicily). Another occurs in temperate Eastern Asia (V. simillima), and some tropical species also range as far north as China, Siberia or Japan. The European hornet V. crabro has been accidentally introduced to North America and is present in many eastern states.

Life Cycle

Note: this section describes the life cycle of the European hornet, which is a temperate species. Other temperate species (e.g. the yellow hornet V. simillima or the Oriental hornet may have similar cycles. In the case of tropical species (e.g., V. tropica), life histories may well differ; and in species with both tropical and temperate distributions (such as the giant hornet V. mandarinia), it is envisionable that the cycle depends on latitude. Such information could not be found on the web.

In V. crabro, the nest is founded in spring by a fertilized female, known as the queen. She generally selects sheltered places like hollow tree trunks. She builds a first series of cells (up to 50) out of chewed tree bark. The cells are arranged in horizontal layers named combs, each cell being vertical and closed at the top. An egg is then laid in each cell. After 5-8 days it hatches, end in the next two weeks the larva undergoes its five stages. During this time the queen feeds it a protein-rich diet of insects. Then the larva spins a silk cap over the cell's opening, and during the next two weeks tranforms into an adult, a process called metamorphosis. Then the adult eats her way through the silk cap. This first generation of workers, invariably females, will now gradually undertake all the tasks that were formerly carried out by the queen (foraging, nest building, taking care of the brood, etc) with one exception: egg-laying, which remains done exclusively by the queen.

As the colony size grows, new combs are added, and an envelope is built around the cell layers, until the nest is entirely covered, with the exception of en entry hole. At the peak of its population the colony can reach a size of 700 workers. This occurs in late summer.

At this time the queen starts producing the first reproductive individuals. Fertilized eggs develop into females (called gynes by entomologists), unfertilized ones into males (called drones). Adult sexuals do not participate in nest maintenance, foraging, or caretaking of the larvae. In early to mid-autumn they leave the nest and mate during mating flights. The drones die shortly after the flights. The workers and queens survive at most until mid to late autumn; only the fertilized queens overwinter.

Worker Tasks

The workers accomplish a variety of tasks during the colony's lifetime. These include:

Relationships with Humans

Stings

Hornets are often (although wrongly) thought to be very aggressive and dangerous, and are much feared by some people. Some folk beliefs have it that three stings from the European hornet can kill an adult human, and that seven can kill a horse. While impressive due to their size, European hornets are in fact much less aggressive than their smaller relatives the yellowjackets, and their sting isn't more dangerous. Unwarranted fear has often led to the destruction of nests, and the species is locally threatened. It benefits from legal protection in some countries, notably Germany.

Hornets are not harmless, however. They have a painful sting (rated a 2 on Schmidt's scale, the same as honeybees and yellowjackets) and can cause anaphylactic shock to persons with an allergy to wasp venom, a condition which can be fatal. While not aggressive when encountered far from the nest, workers will vigorously defend the nest if provoked.

Namesakes

Deserved or not, the hornet's reputation has inspired the naming of a number of ships, including ten named HMS Hornet (Royal Navy) and eight USS Hornet (US Navy), as well as the F/A-18 Hornet aircraft.

False hornets


Vespula maculata
Whitefaced Hornet

Some other large wasps are usually referred to as hornets, though they are not true hornets in the sense above. These include several yellowjackets, most notable the baldfaced hornet (Vespula maculata) found in North America, which is set apart by its black and ivory coloration. Another example is the Australian hornet (Abispa ephippium), actually a species of potter wasp.

External links

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Synonym: Hornet

Synonym by domain: grint (food & agriculture, biology & biotechnology).

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Synonyms within Context: Hornet

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Evil doer

Cockatrice, scorpion, hornet.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Hornet

English words defined with "hornet": bald-faced hornetgiant hornetHawk flyrobber flyVespa crabro, Vespula maculatawhite-faced hornet. (references)
Specialty definitions using "hornet": Hornetsyellow-jacket wasp. (references)
Etymologies containing "hornet": Anthrenus. (references)

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Modern Usage: Hornet

DomainUsage

Movie/TV Titles

The Green Hornet (1966)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Hornet

DomainTitle

Books

  

Theater & Movies

  

Music

  

High Tech

  

Consumer Goods

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Hornet

Photos:
Hornet

More pictures...

Illustrations:
Hornet

More pictures...

Computer Images:
Hornet

More pictures...

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Photo Album: Hornet

ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit

USS Northampton (CA-26), at right, attempting to tow USS Hornet (CV-8) after she had been disabled by Japanese air attacks on 26 October 1942. Credit: NAVY.

Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle (left front), leader of the attacking force, and Captain Marc A. Mitscher, Commanding Officer of USS Hornet (CV-8), pose with a 500-pound bomb and USAAF aircrew members during ceremonies on Hornet's flight deck, while the raid task force was en route to the launching point. Credit: NAVY.

Phototype by F. Gutekunst, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa the later 19th Century. Note: The steamer here presumably represents USS Hornet (1865-1869), which it resembles to a modest degree. However, USS Hornet was not commissioned until late April 1865 (as USS Lady Sterling), did not receive the name Hornet until July 1865, and did not capture any prizes during the Civil War. Credit: NAVY.

Three Japanese aircraft carriers and a submarine in Kure Bay, during strikes by U.S. Navy carrier planes, 19 March 1945. Carrier at the extreme right is Kaiyo. Those in the center top (barely visible) and at the bottom are probably Amagi and Katsuragi. The submarine is underway in the upper left. Photographed from a USS Hornet (CV-12) plane. Credit: NAVY.

SBD "Dauntless" dive bombers from USS Hornet (CV-8) approaching the burning Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma to make the third set of attacks on her, during the early afternoon of 6 June 1942. Mikuma had been hit earlier by strikes from Hornet and USS Enterprise (CV-6), leaving her dead in the water and fatally damaged. Photo was enlarged from a 16mm color motion picture film. Note bombs hung beneath these planes. Credit: NAVY.

Naval architecture drawing for a vessel ("Stern of the Sloop of War Hornet"). Credit: Library of Congress.

The prairie dog sickened at the sting of the hornet or a diplomatic puppet exhibiting his deceptions. Credit: Library of Congress.

Hornet. Credit: Library of Congress.

Seamen's Bank for Savings, 74 Wall St., New York City. Sailing tickets for "Hornet" and "Flying Cloud". Credit: Library of Congress.

The prairie dog sickened at the sting of the hornet or a diplomatic puppet exhibiting his deceptions / J[ames] Akin fect. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Sounds Captioned with "Hornet".

PlayCaptionPlayCaption
Beehive; bees; swarming; bee; swarm; hornet; wasp; bumblebee; honeybee.Bee; killer bees; hornets; hornet; wasp; sting; stinger; swarm; hornet's nest.
Swarm; bees; bee; hornet; wasp.Bee; killer bees; hornets; hornet; wasp; sting; stinger; swarm; hornet's nest.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Familiar Quotations: Hornet

AuthorQuotation

Henry Wheeler Shaw

A slander is like a hornet; if you cannot kill it dead at the first blow, better not strike at it.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Hornet

SubjectTopicQuote

Economic History

Kuwait

Principal U.S. military systems currently purchased by the Kuwait Defense Forces are Patriot missile system, F-18 Hornet fighters, and the M1A2 Main Battle Tank. (references)

Switzerland

The Swiss Federal Department of Defense (DoD) elected in 1993 to procure F/A-18 Hornet fighters (26 C single-seaters and eight D two-seaters; one dual seater unit crashed in April 1998, however). (references)

Finland

Boeing sold 64 F/A-18 fighters to the Finnish Air Force in the 1990's. The value of the Hornet purchase was $3.35 billion during 1995 - 2000. Seven Hornet trainers were delivered by Boeing (McDonnell Douglas). (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Usage Frequency: Hornet

"Hornet" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 81.25% of the time. "Hornet" is used about 32 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Noun (singular)81.25%2668,323
Noun (proper)18.75%6143,867
                    Total100.00%32N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Derived & Related Names: Hornet

The following table summarizes names derived from the word "hornet".
 
NameGenderLanguageMeaning
ZareahN/ABiblical

Hornet

ZeruahN/ABiblical

Hornet

ZorahN/ABiblical

Hornet

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

 

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Expression: Hornet

Expressions using "hornet": giant hornet Hornet fly sand hornet yellow hornet. Additional references.

Hyphenated Usage

Beginning with "hornet": hornet-like.

Ending with "hornet": Pc-hornet.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Hornet

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

hornet

673

bald faced hornet

30

green hornet

283

california hornet sacramento state university

25

f 18 hornet

204

hornet alarm

23

new orleans hornet

202

camper hornet

23

uss hornet

142

honda hornet 600

22

22 hornet

78

hornet 554t

22

charlotte hornet

77

hornet bee

20

hornet nest

76

fa 18 hornet

19

hornet insect

73

hornet rv

19

honda hornet

71

hornet car alarm

19

18 f f18 hornet super

53

600 hornet

18

wasp hornet

53

beauty black green hornet

17

f18 hornet

47

brown hornet

17

amc hornet

46

bee wasp and hornet

16

hornet sting

40

fireants hornet

16

hornet picture

39

fa18 hornet

15

hornet trailer travel

35

hornet insect picture

15

hudson hornet

33

f 18 hornet picture

15

f 18 super hornet

31

hornet japanese

14

super hornet

30

european hornet

14
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translation: Hornet

Language Translations for "hornet"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Albanian

  

grenzë (wasp). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏زنبور (wasp), ‏شخص بغيض (anathema, misanthropic, skunk), ‏دبور (wasp). (various references)

   

Cornish

  

whyrnores. (various references)

   

Czech

  

sršeò. (various references)

   

Danish

  

lysk gedehams (giant hornet, grint hornet). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

horzel (giant hornet, grint hornet). (various references)

   

Esperanto

  

ojstro. (various references)

   

Farsi 

  

زنبورسرخ(ج.ش.). (various references)

   

Finnish

  

herhiläinen (giant hornet, grint hornet). (various references)

   

French

  

frelon (giant hornet, grint hornet). (various references)

   

Frisian

  

brims. (various references)

   

German

  

hornisse (giant hornet, grint hornet). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

σφήκα (wasp). (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

צרע" (wasp). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

lódarázs. (various references)

   

Indonesian

  

langau, lalat kuda, lalat kerbau. (various references)

   

Italian

  

calabrone (bumblebee). (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

雀蜂 (wasp), 熊蜂 (carpenter bee), ホーチミン市 (Ho Chi Minh City, homer, homing, hope, Hovercraft, testicles). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

すずめばち (wasp), ホーネット , くまばち (carpenter bee). (various references)

   

Manx

  

shellan mooar. (various references)

   

Norwegian

  

geitehams. (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

ornethay.(various references)

   

Portuguese

  

vespo, moscardo (breeze, gad-fly, horsefly). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

viespe (scold, shrew, termagant, vixen), gãrgãun. (various references)

   

Russian 

  

шершень;оса. (various references)

   

Scottish

  

conuiche (a hornet), cearnabhan (a hornet). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

stršljen. (various references)

   

Spanish

  

avispón (giant hornet, grint hornet). (various references)

   

Swazi

  

manyóvu. (various references)

   

Swedish

  

bålgeting (giant hornet, grint hornet). (various references)

   

Thai

  

แตน (เป็นแมลงในตระกูล Vespidae). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

eşekarısı (vespine, wasp). (various references)

   

Ukrainian

  

шершень. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Hornet

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Latin500 BCE-Modern

crabrones, spa crabro, Vespa crabro germana. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Bible Trace: Hornet

LanguageDateSourceJoshua Chapter 24, Verse 12
Greek (transliterated)250 BCSeptuagintKai exapesteilen proteran umwn thn sfhkian kai exebalen autouV apo proswpou umwn dwdeka basileiV twn amorraiwn ouk en th romfaia sou oude en tw toxw sou
Latin405VulgateMisique ante vos crabrones et eieci eos de locis suis duos reges Amorreorum non in gladio et arcu tuo
Middle English1395WyclifAnd I sente before you hors fleeyis, and I keste hem out fro her placis, the two kyngis of Amorreis, not in swerd and in thi bowe.
Jacobean English1611King JamesAnd I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
Victorian English1833WebsterAnd I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
Basic English1964OgdenAnd I sent the hornet before you, driving out the two kings of the Amorites before you, not with your sword and your bow.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Matched Bible Translations: Hornet

LanguageJoshua Chapter 24, Verse 12
CebuanoUg gipaadto ko ang tambuboan sa inyong atubangan nga maoy nagpapahawa kanila gikan kaninyo, bisan pa ang duruha ka hari sa mga Amorehanon; dili pinaagi sa inyong espada, dili usab pinaagi sa inyong pana.
CroatianPred vama sam poslao stršljene koji su ispred vas tjerali dva kralja amorejska: nemaš što zahvaliti svome maèu ni svome luku.
DanishJeg sendte Gedehamse foran eder, og de drev de tolv Amoriterkonger bort foran eder; det skete ikke ved dit Sværd eller din Bue.
DutchEn Ik zond horzelen voor u heen; die dreven hen weg van ulieder aangezicht, gelijk de beide koningen der Amorieten, niet door uw zwaard, noch door uw boog.
FinnishJa minä lähetin herhiläisiä teidän edellänne, ja ne karkoittivat heidät teidän tieltänne, ne kaksi amorilaisten kuningasta; sinä miekallasi ja jousellasi et sitä tehnyt.
Frenchet j`envoyai devant vous les frelons, qui les chassèrent loin de votre face, comme les deux rois des Amoréens: ce ne fut ni par ton épée, ni par ton arc.
GermanUnd sandte Hornissen vor euch her; die trieben sie aus vor euch her, die zwei Könige der Amoriter, nicht durch dein Schwert noch durch deinen Bogen.
HungarianMert elbocsátám elõttetek a darázsokat, és ûzék azokat elõletek: az Emoreusok két királyát, de nem a te fegyvered által, de nem a te kézíved által!
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hariPada waktu kamu maju menyerang mereka, Aku membuat mereka menjadi bingung dan ketakutan, sehingga kedua orang raja Amori itu lari dari kamu. Bukan pedangmu dan juga bukan panahmu yang membuat kamu menang.
Indonesian-Terjemahan LamaMaka Kusuruh bela kebinasaan di hadapanmu, yang menghalaukan dari hadapanmu kedua orang raja Amori itu, yaitu bukan dengan pedangmu dan bukannya dengan busurmu.
MaoriA tonoa atu ana e ahau te horonete ki mua i a koutou, a nana ratou i pei i to koutou aroaro, ara nga kingi tokorua o nga Amori; ehara i te mea na tau hoari, na tau kopere ranei.
NorwegianOg jeg sendte hvepser foran eder, og de drev dem ut for eder likesom også begge amoritter-kongene; det var ikke med ditt sverd og ikke ned din bue de blev drevet ut.
Rumanianam trimes knaintea voastrq viespe bondqreascq, wi i -a izgonit dinaintea voastrq, ca pe cei doi kmpqrayi ai Amoriyilor: nu cu sabia, nici cu arcul tqu.
SwedishOch jag sände getingar framför eder, och genom dessa förjagades amoréernas två konungar för eder, icke genom ditt svärd eller din båge.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Hornet

Derivations

Words beginning with "hornet": hornets. (additional references)


Misspellings

"Hornet" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Ahronot, harne, harnest, Harnet, Hignet, hinet, hirne, Honert, Honnert, honot, honre, honut, Horen, horet, Hornak, horne, Hornel, horney, hornez, hornist, Hornum, horten, Hugnet, ornot, sornet, Thornett. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Hornet"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "hornet" (pronounced hô"rnut)
4-r n u tincarnate, garnet.
3-n u talternate, affectionate, baronet, Bennet, bicarbonate, bluebonnet, bonnet, cabinet, compassionate, coordinate, definite, diaconate, dispassionate, disproportionate, effeminate, electromagnet, extortionate, ferromagnet, fortunate, geminate, granite, indefinite, indeterminate, indiscriminate, infinite, innominate, inordinate, laminate, magnate, magnet, minute, obstinate, passionate, peanut, Pinot, planet, proportionate, rennet, senate, Sennet, sultanate, tenet, unfortunate, unit.

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Hornet

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: nother, throne.

Words within the letters "e-h-n-o-r-t"

-1 letter: heron, honer, north, noter, other, tenor, thorn, throe, toner, trone.

-2 letters: hent, hern, hero, hoer, hone, horn, note, rent, rote, tern, then, thro, tone, tore, torn.

-3 letters: eon, ern, eth, hen, her, het, hoe, hon, hot, net, noh, nor, not, nth, one, ore, ort, ret, rho, roe, rot, ten, the, tho, toe, ton.

 Words containing the letters "e-h-n-o-r-t"
 

+1 letter: another, bethorn, hornets, horrent, norther, notcher, shorten, thereon, thorned, throned, thrones.

 

+2 letters: anchoret, antihero, bethorns, coherent, dethrone, enthrone, erythron, hereinto, hereunto, honester, honewort, horniest, inthrone, northern, northers, notchers, ornithes, overhunt, overthin, shortens, southern, thermion, thornier, threnode, threnody, thronged, unthrone.

 

+3 letters: abhorrent, anchorets, anchorite, anorthite, antechoir, bethorned, bothering, buhrstone, chondrite, dehorting, dethroned, dethroner, dethrones, earthborn, endotherm, enthroned, enthrones, erythrons, exhorting, firethorn, foxhunter, handwrote, hectoring, heteronym, honeworts, hornstone, horsemint, inheritor, inthroned, inthrones, mothering, nephrotic, nonhunter, northeast, northerly, northerns, northwest, nowhither, ornithine, otherness, overhunts, overnight, overthink, pothering, pothunter, rhodonite, senhorita, shortened, shortener, shortness, southerns, thereinto, thereunto, thereupon, thermions, thorniest, thornless, thornlike, threnodes, threnodic, threonine, thyroxine, tochering, trihedron, truncheon, undershot, unthroned, unthrones, whereinto, whereunto.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern
5. Usage: Commercial
6. Images: Slideshow
7. Images: Photo Album
8. Sounds
9. Quotations: Familiar
10. Quotations: Non-fiction
11. Usage Frequency
12. Names: Derived from
13. Expressions
14. Expressions: Internet
15. Translations: Modern
16. Translations: Ancient
17. Bible Trace
18. Derivations
19. Rhymes
20. Anagrams
21. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.