Word of the Day

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

bombinate

\BOM-buh-nayt\ , intransitive verb;

To buzz; to hum; to drone.

Quotes:

He is often drunk. His head hurts. Snatches of conversation, remembered precepts, prefigured cries of terror bombinate about his skull.

-- Elspeth Barker, "Nobs and the rabble, all in the same boat", Independent, September 22, 1996

Sometimes the computer bombinates way into the night, stops for a bit of rest, then resumes its hum at the early hours of the morning.

-- Cheryl Glenn and Robert J. Connors, New St. Martins Guide to Teaching Writing

Origin:

Bombinate is from Late Latin bombinatus, past participle of bombinare, alteration of Latin bombilare, from bombus, "a boom."