Coffee is among the most consumed beverages worldwide. According to Statista, an average person consumes roughly 42.6 liters of coffee per year.
EQUIVOCALLY
ambiguously, equivocally
(adverb) in an ambiguous manner; “this letter is worded ambiguously”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adverb
equivocally (comparative more equivocally, superlative most equivocally)
With ambiguity.
With uncertainty.
Source: Wiktionary
E*quiv"o*cal*ly, adv.
Definition: In an equivocal manner.
EQUIVOCAL
E*quiv"o*cal, a. Etym: [L. aequivocus: aequus equal + vox, vocis, word. See Equal, and Voice, and cf. Equivoque.]
1. (Literally, called equally one thing or the other; hence:) Having two significations equally applicable; capable of double interpretation; of doubtful meaning; ambiguous; uncertain; as, equivocal words; an equivocal sentence. For the beauties of Shakespeare are not of so dim or equivocal a nature as to be visible only to learned eyes. Jeffrey.
2. Capable of being ascribed to different motives, or of signifying opposite feelings, purposes, or characters; deserving to be suspected; as, his actions are equivocal. "Equivocal repentances." Milton.
3. Uncertain, as an indication or sign; doubtful. "How equivocal a test." Burke. Equivocal chord (Mus.), a chord which can be resolved into several distinct keys; one whose intervals, being all minor thirds, do not clearly indicate its fundamental tone or root; the chord of the diminished triad, and the diminished seventh.
Syn.
– Ambiguous; doubtful; uncertain; indeterminate.
– Equivocal, Ambiguous. We call an expression ambiguous when it has one general meaning, and yet contains certain words which may be taken in two different senses; or certain clauses which can be so connected with other clauses as to divide the mind between different views of part of the meaning intended. We call an expression equivocal when, taken as a whole, it conveys a given thought with perfect clearness and propriety, and also another thought with equal propriety and clearness. Such were the responses often given by the Delphic oracle; as that to Crambiguous is a mere blunder of language; what is equivocal is usually intended to deceive, though it may occur at times from mere inadvertence. Equivocation is applied only to cases where there is a design to deceive.
E*quiv"o*cal, n.
Definition: A word or expression capable of different meanings; an ambiguous term; an equivoque. In languages of great ductility, equivocals like that just referred to are rarely found. Fitzed. Hall.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
25 November 2024
ONCHOCERCIASIS
(noun) infestation with slender threadlike roundworms (filaria) deposited under the skin by the bite of black fleas; when the eyes are involved it can result in blindness; common in Africa and tropical America
Coffee Trivia
