quidnunc
English edit
Etymology edit
From Latin quid nunc? (“what now?”).
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA(key): /ˈkwɪdˌnʌŋk/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun edit
quidnunc (plural quidnuncs)
- (archaic) A person eager to learn news and scandal.
- Synonyms: busybody, buttinsky, gossip, newsmonger, yenta
- 1785, Rudolf Erich Raspe, chapter V, in The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen:
- We all did our duty, which, in the patriot's, soldier's, and gentleman's language, is a very comprehensive word, of great honour, meaning, and import, and of which the generality of idle quidnuncs and coffee-house politicians can hardly form any but a very mean and contemptible idea.
- 1809, Washington Irving, chapter VIII, in Knickerbocker's History of New York, volume 5:
- […] but still something was necessary to convince the community at large, to quiet those praying quidnuncs who should come after them--in short, the world must be satisfied.
Further reading edit
- “quidnunc”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.