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philopena

phil·o·pe·na
P p

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [fil-uh-pee-nuh]
    • /ˌfɪl əˈpi nə/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [fil-uh-pee-nuh]
    • /ˌfɪl əˈpi nə/

Definitions of philopena word

  • noun philopena a custom, presumably of German origin, in which two persons share the kernels of a nut and determine that one shall receive a forfeit from the other at a later time upon the saying of a certain word or the performance of a certain action. 1
  • noun philopena the thing shared. 1
  • noun philopena the forfeit paid. 1

Information block about the term

Origin of philopena

First appearance:

before 1830
One of the 36% newest English words
1830-40, Americanism; earlier philippina < Dutch philippine < German Vielliebchen, diminutive of viellieb very dear; in earlier form viellieb was taken as proper name Philippe Philip and -chen was made into feminine suffix -ina, giving a woman's name; in later form the word was Anglicized along pseudo-classical lines (cf. philo-, penal)

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Philopena

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

philopena popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 46% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
According to our data about 53% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

philopena usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

See also

Matching words

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