In the context you suggested, speaking as a person who moved from one country to another, the word 'foreigner' absolutely does not have a negative context. I'm not saying it will always be negative in this context- in fact, it usually won't! Just be careful, as it's possible to use it negatively this way. If you are a native inhabitant of the land you live in, and you are talking about people from other countries, you should be careful about how you use the word. Of course, regardless of who you are, if you use the word foreigner in a negative way, the word itself will feel more negative. If you are a xenophobic sort of person, or come from a xenophobic background or area, or if you fit the stereotype of a xenophobic person, the word foreigner is more likely to be heard with a negative connotation. Some of that context is who you are as a speaker. Foreigner is unfortunately also used with negative connotations. English is the bestest.Foreigner is still used regularly without negative connotations. The expression can also be used to mean to play a trick on someone. *When he heard that he had been promoted, Bala cut a little caper before walking into the boss' room. Nowadays, the expression is mainly used to mean a ‘lively' or ‘playful' leap.

‘Cut a caper' literally means to leap about or dance about in a playful manner. What is the meaning and origin of ‘cut a caper'?Ī ‘caper' is a lively skip or hop. I didn't know she was such a drama queen. *Juhi made such a fuss when the waiter spilled some water on her. The expression is mostly used to show disapproval. They get very upset and angry about very minor problems they believe their problems are huge. These individuals make a mountain out of a molehill. A non-literal framing of a term that intends. Refers to a meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly. Meaning is a secondary word used to express an idea, qualities or feeling in association to its literal meaning. The expression is mostly used in informal contexts to refer to people who act overly dramatic in situations. WHAT IS CONNOTATION A feeling or an idea in addition to word’s literal or main meaning. *The evident lacuna in Jeevan's story made the police very suspicious.ĭuring the recently concluded French Open Championship, Virginia Wade called Andy Murray a ‘drama queen'. Nowadays, in everyday contexts, it is used to mean ‘deficiency'. Lacuna is mostly used when talking about the missing pages in a manuscript or the missing part of a book.

In English, the word is mostly used in formal contexts to mean ‘empty space' or ‘gap'. The word comes from the Latin ‘lacuna' meaning ‘hole' or ‘pit'. The plural is ‘lacunae' in this case, the final ‘ae' is pronounced like the word ‘knee'. It is also possible to pronounce the first ‘a' like the ‘a' in ‘cat' and ‘bat'. The word is pronounced ‘le-KYUU-ne' with the stress on the second syllable. The ‘a' in the first and last syllables are pronounced like the ‘a' in ‘china', while the ‘cu' in the second sounds like the word ‘cue'. *Ganeshan has never been known to be frugal with his money. When you say that you had a ‘frugal lunch', it means you had a simple lunch. The word can also be used with food and clothes. Frugal is a much more positive word than ‘stingy'. A ‘frugal' individual ensures that the fruits of his labour don't go to waste, but unlike a stingy person, he is willing to spend on things that are necessary. The word comes from the Latin ‘frux' meaning ‘fruit' or ‘produce'. A ‘frugal' person, on the other hand, is someone who is very careful in the way he handles money he ensures that he does not waste any of it. Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' classic ‘A Christmas Carol' was a stingy person. He is reluctant to spend money on things are essential as well. He is a miser he doesn't like to spend money on himself or on others. A ‘stingy' individual is someone who has money, but is very reluctant to part with it. Of the two, ‘stingy' has a negative connotation. What is the difference between ‘frugal' and ‘stingy'?īoth words tell us something about the manner in which a person spends his money.

Negative connotation