mew

Pronounced: myoo, noun/verb

Notes: I was sure I knew this word, but it had eight definitions; I knew three of them

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Yesterday’s word

The word bandbox is

• a usually cylindrical box for holding light articles of attire
• a structure (such as a baseball park) having relatively small interior dimensions

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

In the 1600s, a “band” could refer to ruffs – the large round collars of pleated muslin or linen worn by men and women of the time; the bandbox was the item that held these bands. The box had a flimsy cardboard structure, and people began using bandbox for any flimsy object — especially a small and insubstantial one. However, people also appreciated the neat, sharp appearance of ruffs just taken from a bandbox and used the word in a complimentary way: one phrase was “she looked as if she came out of a bandbox” (and this phrase is one that I’m virtually certain I’ve run across in reading). These days, that sense of our word can be used as an adjective meaning “exquisitely neat, clean, or ordered”.