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QUIDNUNC/ˈkwɪdnʌŋk/ An inquisitive person; a gossip. My dictionaries either don’t include this, or tag it as obsolete. It’s a fine example of an obscure (and presumably somewhat patronising) scholarly in-joke, formed from the two Latin words quid, “what”, and nunc, “now”. It was said to describe a person who was forever asking “What now?” or “What’s the news?”, hence a gossip-monger; it first appeared about 1710. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of it in The House of the Seven Gables in 1851 is typical: “What a treasure-trove to these venerable quidnuncs, could they have guessed the secret which Hepzibah and Clifford were carrying along with them!”. |
Page created 27 Jun. 1998
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