Matador

Word of the Day for Monday, August 12, 2013

Matador \MAT-uh-dawr\, noun:

1. the principal bullfighter in a bullfight who passes the bull with a muleta and then, in many countries, kills it with a sword thrust; a torero.
2. one of the principal cards in skat and certain other games.
3. (initial capital letter) a jet-powered U.S. surface-to-surface missile.

He watched with disgust as the matador called to the bull. With a flamboyant flourish, the matador took over.
-- Tess Uriza Holthe, The Five-Forty-Five to Cannes, 2007

The matador who was ill was careful never to show it and was meticulous about eating a little of all the dishes that were presented at the table.
-- Ernest Hemingway, "The Capital of the World," The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories, 1936

...the matador moved closer and now the animal bunched tired legs to run but one leg slipped throwing up a cloud of dust.
-- Jack Kerouac, Lonesome Traveller, 1960

Matador entered English in 1600s directly from the Spanish matar meaning "to kill or wound."

 

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com