Wed., July 18, 2012, 3:45 a.m.
Word of the day — beguile
Word of the Day for Wednesday, July 18, 2012
beguile \bih-GAHYL\, verb:
1. To influence by trickery, flattery, etc.; mislead; delude.
2. To take away from by cheating or deceiving (usually followed by
of): to be beguiled of money.
3. To charm or divert: a multitude of attractions to beguile the
tourist.
4. To pass (time) pleasantly: beguiling the long afternoon with a good
book.
Donovan was going to have to beguile Peter, but he hoped he
wouldn't have to beguile Alex as well. It was a bad precedent to
set, and he liked the honesty between the two of them.
-- Deborah Cooke, Kiss of Fury
Sentences and sententiae alike charm and beguile even jaded
undergraduates. Who but can marvel at such craftsmanship as these
words incarnate…
-- George Douglas Atkins, Reading Essays
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Beguile is derived from the Middle English word bigilen, from the
root guile meaning "insidious cunning."
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