SURPRISAL

surprise, surprisal

(noun) the act of surprising someone

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

surprisal (countable and uncountable, plural surprisals)

(obsolete, military) A surprise attack or ambush; a sudden or unexpected assault. [16th-19th c.]

(obsolete) A sudden coming-upon someone or something unexpectedly or unawares. [17th c.]

(obsolete) A surprising event or occurrence. [17th-19th c.]

(obsolete) The feeling caused by being surprised; surprise, shock, amazement. [17th-19th c.]

An information measure as equal in bits (binary digits) to the base-2 log of 1 over the probability, with the result that the number of choices equals 2n where n is the number of bits.

Source: Wiktionary


Sur*pris"al, n. Etym: [See Surprise, n.]

Definition: The act of surprising, or state of being surprised; surprise. How to secure the lady from surprisal. Milton. Because death is uncertain, let us prevent its surprisal. Barrow.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

2 May 2025

MINESHAFT

(noun) excavation consisting of a vertical or sloping passageway for finding or mining ore or for ventilating a mine


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest collection of coffee pots belongs to Robert Dahl (Germany) and consists of 27,390 coffee pots as of 2 November 2012, in Rövershagen, Germany.

coffee icon