prestidigitation
/ˌpɹɛstəˌdɪd͡ʒɪˈteɪʃən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.55 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
16
Letters
6
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A performance of or skill in performing magic or conjuring tricks with the hands.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "My favorite prestidigitation was when he pulled the live dove out of that tiny scarf."
- "He borrowed another hat and displayed its perfect emptiness; he held up his empty hands: "This is one of the most marvellous bits of prestidigitation known," he said. "You have all seen this hat holds nothing in the world: I will now see if I can extract anything from its emptiness. You can all observe my hands go nowhere but into the hat, and they are both open and turned to you. Yet what is this?""
- "His writing was peppered with verbal tricks and prestidigitation."
- "The more modest place became the picture better; yet, as my eyes grew accustomed to the half-light, all the characteristic qualities came out--all the hesitations disguised as audacities, the tricks of prestidigitation by which, with such consummate skill, he managed to divert attention from the real business of the picture to some pretty irrelevance of detail."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: prestidigitation
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌpɹɛstəˌdɪd͡ʒɪˈteɪʃən/
- British English: /ˌpɹɛstɪˌdɪd͡ʒɪˈteɪʃən/