THE FIRST WORD

Bardolphian

PRONUNCIATION:

(bar-DOL-fee-uhn) 

MEANING:

adjective: Having a red complexion, especially a red nose.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Bardolph, a character in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Henry V, and The Merry Wives of Windsor, who was noted for his red nose. Earliest documented use: 1756. Another character from these plays who has become a word in English is Falstaff.

USAGE:

"The man, who had flushed a Bardolphian hue from the excitement, unlocked a drawer."
Matthew Pearl; The Dante Club; Random House; 2003.

"His cheeks were plump and sanguine; his eyes bright and cheerful; and the tip of his nose glowed with a Bardolphian fire."
Nathaniel Hawthorne; Fanshawe; Marsh and Capen; 1828.