MACABERESQUE
\mˌakɐbəɹˈɛsk], \mˌakɐbəɹˈɛsk], \m_ˌa_k_ɐ_b_ə_ɹ_ˈɛ_s_k]\
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ma-k[=a]-b[.e]r-esk', adj. pertaining to, or like, the Dance of Death. [Fr. La Danse Macabre, Low L. Machabæorum chorea, the dance of the Maccabees, prob. because the seven brothers whose martyrdom is recorded in the 7th chapter of the 2d Book of Maccabees played an important part in the earliest form of the 14th-cent. drama on the subject.]
By Thomas Davidson
Word of the day
Snake's-head
- Guinea-hen flower; -- so called in England because its spotted petals resemble the scales of a snake's head.