equivocal
being unclear, having two or more meanings
TRANSLATION
zweideutig, doppelsinnig; ungewiß, zweifelhaft; fragwürdig, verdächtig
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"The harvest results can be equivocal - That's the way the year has gone for local farmers, who had to battle a nasty drought during the summer and severe flooding earlier this month. How the two extremes affected farmers depends who you talk to and where you talk. Some said Tropical Storm Floyd came too late to rescue crops damaged by the drought. Others said the heavy rain came just in time.
(Joseph Spector - The News Times, 30th September 1999)
(Joseph Spector - The News Times, 30th September 1999)
Did you
know?
Wordwise:
Function: adjective
Etymology: Late Latin aequivocus, from aequi- equi- + voc-, vox voice
Date: 1599
1 a : subject to two or more interpretations and usually used to mislead or confuse b : uncertain as an indication or sign
2 a : of uncertain nature or classification b : of uncertain disposition toward a person or thing : UNDECIDED c : of doubtful advantage, genuineness, or moral rectitude (equivocal behavior)
synonym OBSCURE
- equiv-o-cal-i-ty : noun
- equiv-o-cal-ly : adverb
- equiv-o-cal-ness : noun
William Shakespeare is responsible for adding hundreds of words to our language, including "equivocal." "Equivocal" first appeared in Shakespeare's 1599 comedy 'All's Well That Ends Well'. The King in that play asks Parolles whether Bertram loved Diana, and Parolles answers, "He lov'd her, sir, and lov'd her not." To this the King remarks, "As thou art a knave, and no knave. What an equivocal companion is this!" "Equivocal" followed the slightly earlier verb "equivocate," which was derived from the much earlier noun "equivocation." All three words go back to the Latin.
Function: adjective
Etymology: Late Latin aequivocus, from aequi- equi- + voc-, vox voice
Date: 1599
1 a : subject to two or more interpretations and usually used to mislead or confuse b : uncertain as an indication or sign
2 a : of uncertain nature or classification b : of uncertain disposition toward a person or thing : UNDECIDED c : of doubtful advantage, genuineness, or moral rectitude (equivocal behavior)
synonym OBSCURE
- equiv-o-cal-i-ty : noun
- equiv-o-cal-ly : adverb
- equiv-o-cal-ness : noun
William Shakespeare is responsible for adding hundreds of words to our language, including "equivocal." "Equivocal" first appeared in Shakespeare's 1599 comedy 'All's Well That Ends Well'. The King in that play asks Parolles whether Bertram loved Diana, and Parolles answers, "He lov'd her, sir, and lov'd her not." To this the King remarks, "As thou art a knave, and no knave. What an equivocal companion is this!" "Equivocal" followed the slightly earlier verb "equivocate," which was derived from the much earlier noun "equivocation." All three words go back to the Latin.
