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desk

Pronunciation: /dɛsk/

The English word “desk” has 7 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a drawer or repository underneath.
  2. A reading table or lectern to support the book from which the liturgical service is read, differing from the pulpit from which the sermon is preached; also (especially in the United States), a pulpit. Hence, used symbolically for the clerical profession.
  3. A department tasked with a particular topic or focus in certain types of businesses, such as newspapers and financial trading firms.
  4. A station for a string player in an orchestra, consisting of a chair and a music stand, or a row of such stations.

verb

  1. To shut up, as in a desk; to treasure.
  2. To equip with a desk or desks.
  3. To reject (an article submitted to a newspaper or academic journal etc.) on initial receipt, without reviewing it further.

Etymology

From Middle English deske, desque, from Medieval Latin desca, modified from Old Italian desco, from Latin discus. Doublet of dais, disc, discus, dish, disk, and diskos. See also German Tisch, "table".

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.