different between nefarious vs bald

English

Etymology

From Latin nef?rius (“execrable, abominable”), from nef?s (“something contrary to divine law, an impious deed, sin, crime”), from ne- (“not”) + f?s (“the dictates of religion, divine law”), which is related to Latin for (“I speak, I say”) and cognate to Ancient Greek ???? (ph?mí, “I say”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n??f???i.?s/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /n??f????.?s/
• Rhymes: -??ri?s

Adjective

nefarious (comparative more nefarious, superlative most nefarious)

1. Sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics.

   Synonyms: evil, iniquitous, sinister, underhanded, vile, good-for-nothing; see also Thesaurus:evil

   • 1828, James Fenimore Cooper, The Red Rover, ch. 2:

     "If the vessel be no fair-trading slaver, nor a common cruiser of his Majesty, it is as tangible as the best man's reasoning, that she may be neither more nor less than the ship of that nefarious pirate the Red Rover."

   • 1877, Anthony Trollope, The Life of Cicero, ch. 9:

     Mommsen . . . declares that Catiline in particular was "one of the most nefarious men in that nefarious age. His villanies belong to the criminal records, not to history."

   • 1921, P. G. Wodehouse, The Indiscretions of Archie, ch. 26:

     The fact that the room was still in darkness made it obvious that something nefarious was afoot. Plainly there was dirty work in preparation at the cross-roads.

   • 2009 Oct. 14, Monica Davey, "Fact Checker Finds Falsehoods in Remarks," New York Times (retrieved 12 May 2014):

     “I try to let everyone back here in Minnesota know exactly the nefarious activities that are taking place in Washington.”

   Aliens have a nefarious connotation in many science fiction books.

Usage notes

• Commonly used in contexts involving villainous plans, conspiracies, or actions, as in:

• 1909, Bram Stoker, The Lady of the Shroud, book 7:

The whole nefarious scheme was one of the "put-up jobs" which are part of the dirty work of a certain order of statecraft.

Derived terms

• nefariously
• nefariousness

Translations

References

• nefarious at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• isofurane

English

Etymology

From Middle English bald, balde, belde, ballid, balled (“bald”), of uncertain origin. Probably formed from Middle English bal, balle (“ball, round object, knoll, head”). Compare with Old Danish bældet (“bald”).

Alternate etymology has Gothic ????????????????- (bala-, “shining, grey (of body)”), Old English b?l (“fire, flame; funeral pyre”) (both from Proto-Germanic *b?l?), Albanian balë (“white spot on the forehead”) and ball (“forehead”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /b??ld/, [b???d] Non-standard: IPA^(key): /b??ld/, [b??ld]
• (US) IPA^(key): /b?ld/; (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /b?ld/
• Rhymes: -??ld
• Homophone: balled

Adjective

bald (comparative balder, superlative baldest)

1. Having no hair, fur or feathers.

   Synonym: hairless

   Antonyms: faxed, haired

   • 1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

     The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces.

2. (specifically) Having no hair on the head.
3. (by extension) Denuded of any covering.

4. Of tyres: whose surface is worn away.
5. (of a statement or account) Unembellished.
6. (of a statement) Without evidence or support being provided.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

bald (plural balds)

1. (Appalachia) A mountain summit or crest that lacks forest growth despite a warm climate conducive to such, as is found in many places in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

Verb

bald (third-person singular simple present balds, present participle balding, simple past and past participle balded)

1. (intransitive) To become bald.

See also

• callow
• nott

Translations

Further reading

• bald on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Appalachian balds on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• ABDL, DLAB, blad

German

Etymology

From Middle High German balde, from Old High German baldo, adverb of bald, pald, from Proto-West Germanic *balþ, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz, from Proto-Indo-European *b?el-. Cognate with Dutch boud, English bold.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /balt/
• Homophone: ballt

Adverb

bald (comparative eher or früher, superlative am ehesten or frühesten)

1. soon, near in time

   Synonyms: demnächst, in Kürze, zeitnah

2. almost

   Synonyms: fast, beinahe

Derived terms

• alsbald
• bis bald
• in Bälde
• sobald

Related terms

• -bold

Further reading

• “bald” in Duden online

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b?ld/, [b??d]

Adjective

bald (Anglian)

1. Alternative form of beald

Declension

Old High German

Alternative forms

• pald

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *balþ, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz, whence also Old English bald, Old Norse ballr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bald/

Adjective

bald

1. bold, quick

Derived terms

• bald?
• baldo

Descendants

• Middle High German: balt

References

• Joseph Wright, An Old High German Primer

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *balþ, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz, whence also Old English bald, Old Norse ballr.

Adjective

bald (comparative baldoro, superlative baldost)

1. bold, fearless

Declension

Descendants

• Middle Low German: bald, bold, balt, bolt
  • German Low German: bold, boll