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"effectio"

By Richard Nordquist, About.com

Definition:

A detailed personal description; a head-to-toe inventory of a person's physical attributes or charms. See Status Details in Tom Wolfe's Descriptions.

Etymology:

From the Latin, "to fashion"

Examples:

  • "My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun
    Coral is far more red than her lips’ red:
    If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
    If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
    I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
    But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
    And in some perfumes is there more delight
    Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
    I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
    That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
    I grant I never saw a goddess go,—
    My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
    And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
    As any she belied with false compare."
    (William Shakespeare, Sonnet 130)


  • "Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
    I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size . . .
    It's in the reach of my arms
    The span of my hips,
    The stride of my step,
    The curl of my lips . . .
    It's the fire in my eyes,
    And the flash of my teeth,
    The swing in my waist,
    The joy in my feet . . .
    It's the arch of my back,
    The sun of my smile,
    The ride of my breast,
    The grace of my style.
    I'm a woman
    Phenomenally.
    Phenomenal Woman,
    That's me."
    (Maya Angelou, "Phenomenal Woman")

Pronunciation: ee-FEK-tee-oh

Alternate Spellings: effictio

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