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prestidigitation
Mar. 20th, 2023 07:14 amTheme week! Fancy P-words, starting with:
prestidigitation (pres-ti-dij-i-TAY-shuhn) - n., performance of or skill in performing magic or conjuring tricks with the hands, slight of hand, legerdemain; (by extension) a show of skill or deceitful cleverness.
A core skill of magic tricks, especially close-up performance, and not just for card-tricks. We took the word in the 1840s from French prestidigitation, coined from French preste, nimble/quick (from Italian presto, quick, from Latin praestō, at hand (adv.)) + Latin digitus, finger + ation. On the other hand, legerdemain dates back to Middle English as legerdemeyn/lechardemane, adopted as a noun from adjectival Old French léger de main, lit. light of hand, with the idiomatic sense of dexterous/skillful at fooling others.
(Short shameful confession: in conversation, I almost always forget to say the second syllable.)
---L.
prestidigitation (pres-ti-dij-i-TAY-shuhn) - n., performance of or skill in performing magic or conjuring tricks with the hands, slight of hand, legerdemain; (by extension) a show of skill or deceitful cleverness.
A core skill of magic tricks, especially close-up performance, and not just for card-tricks. We took the word in the 1840s from French prestidigitation, coined from French preste, nimble/quick (from Italian presto, quick, from Latin praestō, at hand (adv.)) + Latin digitus, finger + ation. On the other hand, legerdemain dates back to Middle English as legerdemeyn/lechardemane, adopted as a noun from adjectival Old French léger de main, lit. light of hand, with the idiomatic sense of dexterous/skillful at fooling others.
(Short shameful confession: in conversation, I almost always forget to say the second syllable.)
---L.
