Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A nosy person; a busybody.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One who is curious to know everything that passes, and is continually asking “What now?” or “What news?” hence, one who knows or pretends to know all that is going on in politics, society, etc.; a newsmonger.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One who is curious to know everything that passes; one who knows, or pretends to know, all that is going on.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A person eager to learn news and scandal
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a person who meddles in the affairs of others
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I love the word quidnunc, which means one who gossips because it is a word I could use to describe a lot of people who fit the definition and they wouldn't know what I was saying.
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Boy, what we are willing to subject ourselves to for our local raconteur (I almost said quidnunc).
Is That Legal?: A Quick Game of Twenty(-five) Questions 2006
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Attar's work has been an inspiration for artists both classic and modern, not to mention a great jazz record by Dave Holland, and the simurgh inspired a great MonkeyFilter post by the quidnunc kid, which I urge you to visit for many more links, including some gorgeous illustrations and a long and involving Mandean tale about the bird's visit to the noble king Hirmiz Shah.
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Via MeFi, where the quidnunc kid gets the prize for best answer.
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Not long after those days, it so happening that some considerable amount of youthful energy and quidnunc ability were required to set litigation afloat at Hong Kong, Mr Romer was sent thither as the fittest man for such work, with rich assurance of future guerdon.
Doctor Thorne 2004
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Isaac Asimov is the original quidnunc, your guide as you probe space against Reagan's Star Wars, though Isaac Asimov is not actually there.
Archive 2004-07-01 2004
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Here was that quintessence of Dublin, the epitome of the quidnunc, that quarter-moon, man-in-the-moon face, with the chin jutting to meet the nose and the mouth slanting some neat aperçu to its neighbor, cheekiest face in Europe, and the nosiest.
At Swim, Two Boys Jamie O’Neill 2002
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Here was that quintessence of Dublin, the epitome of the quidnunc, that quarter-moon, man-in-the-moon face, with the chin jutting to meet the nose and the mouth slanting some neat aperçu to its neighbor, cheekiest face in Europe, and the nosiest.
At Swim, Two Boys Jamie O’Neill 2002
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The insignificancy of my manners to the rest of the world makes the laughers call me a _quidnunc_, a phrase I shall never inquire what they mean by it.
The Tatler, Volume 1, 1899 George A. Aitken
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The rumour-monger and the quidnunc -- to whom only brief allusion has so far been made -- had come to be regarded as distinct public nuisances.
The Siege of Kimberley T. Phelan
halcyonwhimsy commented on the word quidnunc
person who seeks to know all the latest news, information, and/or gossip.
October 2, 2007
TechnoMom commented on the word quidnunc
Someone who attempts to know all that happens, but who is not careful of the facts.
April 20, 2008
whichbe commented on the word quidnunc
It’s a fine example of an obscure (and presumably somewhat patronising) scholarly in-joke, formed from the two Latin words quid, "what", and nunc, "now". It was said to describe a person who was forever asking "What now?" or "What’s the news?", hence a gossip-monger; it first appeared about 1710. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of it in The House of the Seven Gables in 1851 is typical: "What a treasure-trove to these venerable quidnuncs, could they have guessed the secret which Hepzibah and Clifford were carrying along with them!".
(from World Wide Words)
May 21, 2008
jmjarmstrong commented on the word quidnunc
JM, as a certified quidnunc, is constantly asking 'what now?'.
February 1, 2009