different between cynosure vs sinecure

English

Etymology

From French cynosure (“Ursa Minor; Polaris”), from Latin Cynos?ra (“Ursa Minor”), from Ancient Greek ????????? (Kunósoura, “Ursa Minor”, literally “dog’s tail”), from ????? (kunós, “dog's”) + ???? (ourá, “tail”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s?n?zj??/, /-sj??/, /-???/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?sa?n????/, /?s?n-/, /-??/

Noun

cynosure (plural cynosures)

1. (usually capitalized) Ursa Minor or Polaris, the North Star, used as a guide by navigators.
2. (figuratively) That which serves to guide or direct; a guiding star.

3. (figuratively) Something that is the center of attention; an object that serves as a focal point of attraction and admiration.

Derived terms

• cynosural

Translations

Further reading

• Cynosure in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• rounceys

English

Etymology

From Latin sine (“without”) + c?r? (“care”) in beneficium sine c?r? (“benefice without care”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?sa?.n?.kj??/, /?s?.n?.kj??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?sa?.n?.kj??/, /?s?n.?.kj??/

Noun

sinecure (plural sinecures)

1. A position that requires no work but still gives an ample payment; a cushy job.

   Synonym: (Britain, informal) cushy number

   • 1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, Chapter 14:

     Miss Briggs was not formally dismissed, but her place as companion was a sinecure and a derision ...

   • 1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, Volume III, Chapter XI, page 35:

     A lucrative sinecure in the Excise was bestowed on Ferguson.

   • 2009, Michael O'Connor, Quadrant, November 2009, No. 461 (Volume LIII, Number 11), Quadrant Magazine Limited, page 25:

     In the ADF, while the numbers vary between the individual services and the reserves, employment is no comfortable sinecure for any personnel and thus does not appeal to many people, male or female, especially under current pay scales.

   • 2010, Mungo MacCallum, The Monthly, April 2010, Issue 55, The Monthly Ptd Ltd, page 28:

     However, by the time of World War II (if not before), politics, at least in the federal sphere, was no longer regarded as sinecure for well-intentioned part-timers.

2. (historical) An ecclesiastical benefice without the care of souls.

Related terms

• sinecurism
• sinecurist

Translations

Verb

sinecure (third-person singular simple present sinecures, present participle sinecuring, simple past and past participle sinecured)

1. (transitive) To put or place in a sinecure.

Further reading

• sinecure on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• insecure

Danish

Etymology

From French sinécure, from Latin sine (“without”) + c?ra (“care”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sin?ky?r?/, [sin??k?y??]

Noun

sinecure c (singular definite sinecuren, plural indefinite sinecurer)

1. (rare) sinecure (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment)

Inflection

Further reading

• “sinecure” in Den Danske Ordbog