modicum
/ˈmɑdɪkəm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.71 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "Unable to garner even a modicum of support for his plan, he conceded to follow the others."
- "Lo, lo, lo, lo, what modicums of wit he vtters, his euaſions haue ears thus long. I haue bobed his braine more then he has beate my bones."
- "He [Clement of Alexandria] ſhewes alſo that it is better (if a man do drinke) to take wine at ſupper than at dinner, yet a little modicum [...]."
- "For as a Poor Man has as Juſt a Title to the ſmall Modicum he enjoys, as has the Rich Man to his large Poſſeſſions; ſo the Travailer has as good a Title to his Money, as has the Robber to his Life."
- "By the great, also, he [Robert Burns] was treated in the customary fashion, entertained at their tables, and dismissed. Certain modica of pudding and praise are from time to time gladly exchanged for the fascination of his presence, which exchange once effected, the bargain is finished, and each party goes off his several way."
- "And time would fail us to enumerate the hundreds of lesser spirits who have employed their small modica of light, which they mistook for genius, as lamps allowing them to see their way more clearly down to the chambers of death."
Etymology
From Middle English modicum, from Latin modicum (“a little, a small amount”), a noun use of the neuter form of modicus (“moderate; restrained, temperate; reasonable”) + -cum (suffix forming neuter nouns). Modicus is derived from modus (“a measure; a bound, limit”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”)) + -icus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). The plural form modica is derived from Latin modica.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɑdɪkəm/
- British English: /ˈmɒdɪkəm/