Word of the Day

Tuesday, December 26, 2000

quidnunc

\KWID-nuhngk\ , noun;

One who is curious to know everything that passes; one who knows or pretends to know all that is going on; a gossip; a busybody.

Quotes:

What a treasure-trove to these venerable quidnuncs, could they have guessed the secret which Hepzibah and Clifford were carrying along with them!

-- Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables

Some wretched intrigue which had puzzled two generations of quidnuncs.

-- L. Stephen, Hours in Library

Origin:

Quidnunc comes from Latin quid nunc?, "what now?"