Thursday, April 26, 2012

Word of the Day for Thursday, April 26, 2012

adenoidal \ad-n-OID-l\,
adjective:
 1. Being characteristically pinched and nasal in tone quality.
2. Of or pertaining to the adenoids; adenoid.
3. Having the adenoids enlarged, especially to a degree that interferes with normal breathing.

 "Quite the good, old-fashioned type of servant," as Miss Marple explained afterward, and with the proper, inaudible, respectful voice, so different from the loud but adenoidal accents of Gladys. -- Agatha Christie, "Three Blind Mice"

Then just as suddenly the sensation was gone and I heard a shrill, adenoidal voice that swallowed most of its soft consonants… -- Charles Johnson, "Middle Passage"

Adenoidal only entered English in the 1910s, referring to the glands near the nasal passage.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day