a granular mineral substance consisting typically of corundum mixed with magnetite or hematite, used powdered, crushed, or consolidated for grinding and polishing.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a. a hard greyish-black mineral consisting of corundum with either magnetite or haematite: used as an abrasive and polishing agent, esp as a coating on paper, cloth, etc. Formula: Al2O3
b. (as modifier): emery paper
[C15: from Old French esmeril, ultimately from Greek smuris powder for rubbing]
late 15c., from M.Fr. emeri, from O.Fr. emmery, from It. smeriglo, from V.L. *smyrilium, from Gk. smyris "abrasive powder," perhaps from a Sem. source.