umpteen
pronunciation
How to pronounce umpteen in British English:
UK [ˌʌmpˈti:n]
How to pronounce umpteen in American English:
US [ˈʌmpˈtin, ˈʌm-]
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- Adjective:
- innumerable but many
Word Origin
- umpteen
- umpteen: [20] Umpteen was derived from an earlier umpty. This began life as a signallers’ slang term for a ‘dash’ in morse code (like its companion iddy for ‘dot’, it was purely fanciful in origin). Its similarity to twenty, thirty, etc led to its being used for an ‘indefinitely large number’, and umpteen simply replaced the -ty suffix with -teen.
- umpteen (adj.)
- 1917, World War I army slang, from umpty + -teen. Related: Umpteenth.
Example
- 1. This is despite the fact that it has adopted 17 constitutions and suffered umpteen coups in its 76-year history as a constitutional monarchy .
- 2. But because the big three had unveiled umpteen unfulfilled turnaround plans over the years , mr ford needed to give this latest effort credibility , especially with the company 's bankers .
- 3. He certainly knew how to play canada'sjudicial system , lodging umpteen appeals , while living under a luxury versionof house arrest in vancouver that was said to be saving taxpayers ' money .
- 4. The world 's most successful company over the past five years , according to a recent stern stewart study of " wealth added " , has been an unwieldy conglomerate spread across umpteen unconnected businesses , many of them ( for example , light bulbs ) distinctly unfashionable .
- 5. It 's one of umpteen q & a sites on the web - others include ask.com and yahoo !