Abat-jour (noun)
ah-bat-zhur
A device, as a skylight or reflector, for diverting light into a building.
Abat-jour is from French, in which abat is a form of abattre, “to beat down,” ultimately from Latin battuere, “to beat.” Battuere is the source of numerous fighting-related words in English, including battle and debate, and French jour, “day, daylight,”
Example sentences
“A square of light on the floor, created by the abat-jour on the ceiling.”
Wonky (adj) won-kee Not straight or balanced, off kilter. First recorded in 1915–20; perhaps variant of dialectal wanky, equivalent to wank(le) ( Middle English wankel, Old English wancol. (more…)
