argal
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɑːɹɡəl/
Etymology 1
A corruption of the Latin ergō (“therefore, thus”).
Adverb
argal
- thus, therefore
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene i], lines 11-13:
- And an act hath three branches—it is to act, to do, to perform. Argal, she drowned herself wittingly.
- 1947, Malcolm Lowry, Under the Volcano, New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, page 77:
- He thought: 900 pesos=100 bottles of whiskey=900 ditto tequila. Argal: one should drink neither tequila nor whiskey but mescal.
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Usage notes
This word is used facetiously or as a joke, to indicate that the conclusion that follows or the preceding reasoning is absurd or specious.
Noun
argal (usually uncountable, plural argals)
- crude tartar.
Noun
argal (plural argals)
- An argali (kind of sheep).
References
- Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. G.L Kittredge ed. Boston: Ginn, 1939.
- argal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
Anagrams
- graal