Words / P / General

prestidigitation

noun/ˌprɛstɪˌdɪdʒɪˈteɪʃən/

C2CEFR level
95/100Rarity: very rare
LiteraryRegister

Manual dexterity in performing conjuring tricks; sleight of hand.

Years of prestidigitation had given his fingers an unnerving quickness.

Similar: legerdemain, sleight of hand, conjuring

Origin: From French prestidigitateur, from preste 'nimble' + Latin digitus 'finger'.

Topic: dexterity in General English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More general words: dexterity