prestidigitation C2+ Topic:Describing People US /ˌprɛstəˌdɪdʒəˈteɪʃən/ UK /ˌprɛstɪˌdɪdʒɪˈteɪʃən/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun skillful sleight of hand; conjuring tricks The magician's prestidigitation left the audience baffled. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · skillful sleight of hand;... legerdemainconjuringsleightmagicjugglerytrickery Word family Derived forms prestidigitatorprestidigitatory Related forms digitdigitalpresto Etymology AI details From French prestidigitation, a 19th-century coinage from preste ('nimble', from Italian presto 'quick') + Latin digitus ('finger'), modeled on prestigiator. prestidigitation French digitus Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # prestidigitation **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˌprɛstəˌdɪdʒəˈteɪʃən/ **IPA (UK):** /ˌprɛstɪˌdɪdʒɪˈteɪʃən/ ## Meanings 1. skillful sleight of hand; conjuring tricks ## Examples - The magician's prestidigitation left the audience baffled. ## Synonyms - legerdemain - conjuring - sleight - magic - jugglery - trickery ## Derived Forms - prestidigitator - prestidigitatory ## Related Forms - digit - digital - presto ## Roots and Affixes - Root: prestidigitation - Root: digitus ## Etymology From French prestidigitation, a 19th-century coinage from preste ('nimble', from Italian presto 'quick') + Latin digitus ('finger'), modeled on prestigiator. ## AI Etymology Prestidigitation is from French prestidigitation, a 19th-century coinage from preste ('nimble', from Italian presto 'quick') + Latin digitus ('finger'), modeled on prestigiator. Important recorded forms include prestidigitation (French) and digitus (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers skillful sleight of hand; conjuring tricks. The wider family includes derived forms such as prestidigitator and prestidigitatory and related words such as digit, digital, and presto. ## Topics - Describing People - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown