prestidigitation

C2+ Topic:Describing People

US /ˌprɛstəˌdɪdʒəˈteɪʃən/ UK /ˌprɛstɪˌdɪdʒɪˈteɪʃən/ See IPA manual

noun

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;... legerdemain conjuring sleight magic jugglery trickery

Word family

Derived forms prestidigitatorprestidigitatory

Related forms digit digital presto

Etymology

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

# 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

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