Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 6, 2012 is: bugbear • \BUG-bair\ • noun 1 : an imaginary goblin or specter used to excite fear 2 a : an object or source of dread b : a continuing source of irritation : problem Examples: The biggest bugbear of the skiing business is a winter with no snow. "Smartphones are getting better all the time, but one area that's always been a little bit of a bugbear with owners is the quality of the built-in camera. However, inventive third-party manufacturers have been quick to come up with their own solution to this particular snapping quandary." - From an article by Rob Clymo on MSN.co.uk, September 26, 2012 Did you know? "Bugbear" sounds like some kind of grotesque hybrid creature from fable or folklore, and that very well may be what the word's creator was trying to evoke. When the word entered English in the 16th century, it referred to any kind of creature made up to frighten someone-most often a child; in 1592, Thomas Nashe wrote of "Meere bugge-beares to scare boyes." The word combines "bug," an old word for goblin, with "bear," which is perhaps what such made-up creatures were described as resembling. The "source of dread or annoyance" sense came not long after. In the late 20th century, the word found new life as the name of a particular kind of creature in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 5, 2012 is: gorgonize • \GOR-guh-nyze\ • verb : to have a paralyzing or mesmerizing effect on : stupefy, petrify Examples: Dave joked that his boss's angry glare could gorgonize an employee in mid-complaint. "Izzy asked Sol why he was willing to take us. She gave him a look that would gorgonize." - From W.S. Milner's 2001 book In Translation Did you know? In Greek mythology, the Gorgons (from the Greek adjective "gorgos," meaning "terrifying") were commonly depicted as three female monsters who had snakes for hair and the ability to turn anyone who looked at them into stone. The most notorious of the three was Medusa; when she was slain by the hero Perseus, her severed head retained the power of turning anyone who looked on it to stone. In modern parlance, to gorgonize someone is to make him or her feel (metaphorically) petrified, usually through an intimidating glance or gaze. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 4, 2012 is: maieutic • \may-YOO-tik\ • adjective : relating to or resembling the Socratic method of eliciting new ideas from another Examples: "I am grateful to him for his maieutic inquiry about my own views, which had not crystallized." - From an article by William F. Buckley, Jr., in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 27, 1973 "The international peacebuilding practitioner can adopt elements of a maieutic or Socratic approach to pedagogy, in which dialogue is at the core of a mutual learning process and there is no assumption that the person speaking is necessarily wiser than those who are being engaged." - From an article by Nathan C. Funk in International Journal, Spring 2012 Did you know? "Maieutic" comes from "maieutikos," the Greek word for "of midwifery." In one of Plato's "Dialogues," Socrates applies "maieutikos" to his method of bringing forth new ideas by reasoning and dialogue; he thought the technique analogous to those a midwife uses in delivering a baby (Socrates’ mother was a midwife). A teacher who uses maieutic methods can be thought of as an intellectual midwife who assists students in bringing forth ideas and conceptions previously latent in their minds. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 3, 2012 is: espresso • \eh-SPRESS-oh\ • noun 1 : strong coffee brewed by forcing steam through finely ground darkly roasted coffee beans 2 : a cup of espresso Examples: Joan couldn't begin her day without at least one cup of espresso to wake her up. "I actually have a little espresso sometimes right before working out." - Natalie Morales on The Today Show (NBC News), September 19, 2012 Did you know? "Espresso" is short for "caffè espresso," which is Italian for "pressed-out coffee"; the name quite accurately describes the process of making the beverage. The word first appeared in print in English in 1945 as part of the phrase "caffè espresso," and soon it was flying solo. You may be tempted to use "expresso" instead of "espresso." If so, you're not alone-by 1955 this variant was found in print too. One common misconception is that "caffè espresso" means "fast coffee," which makes "expresso" more logical to English-speakers (by analogy with "express"). It's also possible that "expresso" came about simply by transforming "espresso" to a word that looked more familiar. "Espresso" remains by far the more popular variant, although "expresso" continues to turn up. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 2, 2012 is: sequacious • \sih-KWAY-shus\ • adjective : intellectually servile Examples: Eager to prove that he was not merely a sequacious follower, Mario wrote a critical review of his former mentor's book. "Fund investors are not simply sequacious followers of yield, but are also responding to the federal government's actions to stabilize the macro-economic environment." - From an article by Matthew Sheahan in High Yield Report, January 12, 2009 Did you know? "Sequacious" is formed from the Latin "sequac-," or "sequax" (which means "inclined to follow" and comes from "sequi," "to follow") and the English "-ious." The original and now archaic meaning of "sequacious" was "inclined to follow" or "subservient." Although that meaning might as easily describe someone who willingly dropped into line behind a war leader, or who was unusually compliant or obedient in any sense, the concept gradually narrowed into the image of someone who blindly adopts ideas without much thought. Labeling a person "sequacious" is not very complimentary, and implies a slavish willingness to adopt a thought or opinion. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 1, 2012 is: agon • \AH-gahn\ • noun : conflict; especially : the dramatic conflict between the chief characters in a literary work Examples: As the U.S. presidential elections approach, anyone with an interest in politics is focused on the agon about to reach its quadrennial climax. "From the beginning of the agon, the play [The Merchant of Venice] provides an explanation for Shylock's behavior, well beyond the sheer antagonistic function that the skeletal plot would require and the sources provide." - From G. Beiner's 1993 book Shakepeare's Agonistic Comedy: Poetics, Analysis, Criticism Did you know? "Agon" comes from the Greek word "agōn," which is translated with a number of meanings, among them "contest," "competition at games," and "gathering." In ancient Greece, agons (also spelled "agones") were contests held during public festivals. The contests-among them the ancient Olympics that our modern Olympics is modeled on-involved everything from athletics to chariot and horse racing to music and literature. "Agon" in the realm of literature refers to the dramatic conflict between the main characters in a Greek play, or more broadly, between the chief characters in any literary work. The word is also occasionally used to refer to conflict generally, as in our first example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 31, 2012 is: phantasm • \FAN-taz-um\ • noun 1 a : a product of fantasy: as b : delusive appearance: illusion c : ghost, specter d : a figment of the imagination 2 : a mental representation of a real object Examples: The old mansion, which according to local legend is inhabited by the phantasm of an 18th-century resident, is the perfect location for a Halloween haunted house. "Like the railroads, the cattle industry was a creature of finance, a phantasm of numbers and calculations so enticing and so disconnected from any underlying reality that numbers ceased to be representations and became their own world." - From Richard White's 2011 book Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America Did you know? The root "phan" comes from Greek verbs that mean "to appear or seem" or "to present to the mind." Does "phan" bring to your mind any other English words, in addition to "phantasm"? Indeed, this root appears in several English words that have to do with the way things seem or appear rather than the way they really are. "Phantasmagoria" and "diaphanous" are examples. Also from this root are words such as "fanciful" and "fantasy," in which the imagination plays an important part. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 30, 2012 is: mawkish • \MAW-kish\ • adjective 1 : having a weak often unpleasant taste 2 : marked by sickly sentimentality : sad or romantic in a foolish or exaggerated way Examples: Tessa preferred to give out humorous greeting cards to her friends as opposed to the mawkish ones that were supposed to make them cry. "Although [the Bee Gees] harmonized beautifully, they had none of the Fab Four's cheekiness or verbal cleverness. In contrast to the Beatles, their ballad-heavy music was often mawkish." - From Alice Echols' 2011 book *Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture * Did you know? The etymology of "mawkish" really opens up a can of worms-or, more properly, maggots. The "mawk" of "mawkish" derives from Middle English "mawke," which means "maggot." "Mawke," in its turn, developed from the Old Norse word "mathkr," which had the same meaning as its descendant. Although "mawkish" literally means "maggoty," since at least the 17th century English speakers have eschewed its decaying carcass implications and used it figuratively instead. As one language writer put it, "Time has treated 'mawkish' gently: the wormy stench and corruption of its primal state were forgotten and 'mawkish' became sickly in a weak sort of way instead of repulsive and revolting." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 29, 2012 is: dissociate • \dih-SOH-shee-ayt\ • verb : disconnect, disunite Examples: Although both politicians are members of the same party, the Senator is trying to dissociate herself from the unpopular governor. "It's not easy to go back to the place where you became an adult. You can't dissociate yourself from the angst, the mistakes, the naïveté." - From an article by Danielle Pergament in The New York Times, September 30, 2012 Did you know? "Dissociate" and its synonym "disassociate" can both mean "to separate from association or union with another." "Associate" is from Latin "ad-," meaning "to," and "sociare," meaning "to join." "Dis-" means "do the opposite of." So both "dissociate" and "disassociate" indicate severing that which is united, but some commentators argue that "disassociate" is illogical because it indicates separating and uniting simultaneously. "Dissociate" is slightly older, dating from 1582; "disassociate" dates from 1603. "Dissociate" is recommended by a number of commentators on the ground that it is shorter, which it is by a grand total of two letters-not the firmest ground for an endorsement. Both words are in current good use, but "disassociate" is used more often in the U.S. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 28, 2012 is: ad hominem • \ad-HAH-muh-nem\ • adjective 1 : appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect 2 : marked by or being an attack on an opponent's character rather than by an answer to the contentions made Examples: The governor's only response to the criticism of his new policy was to launch an ad hominem attack against those doing the criticizing. "This democratization of the online media comment world results in both a lot of angry, nasty and downright insulting ad hominem attacks, followed quickly by ad hominem attacks by email commentators on each other that make for salty and entertaining, if not particularly edifying, reading." - From an editorial by Richard Hermann in the Daily Messenger (Canandaigua, New York), August 30, 2012 Did you know? "Ad hominem" literally means "to the person" in New Latin (Latin as first used in post-medieval texts). In centuries past, this adjective usually modified "argument." An "argument ad hominem" (or "argumentum ad hominem," to use the full New Latin phrase) was a valid method of persuasion by which a person took advantage of his or her opponent's interests or feelings in a debate, instead of just sticking to general principles. The newer sense of "ad hominem," which suggests an attack on an opponent's character instead of his or her argument, appeared only in the last century, but it is the sense more often heard today. The word still refers to putting personal issues above other matters, but perhaps because of its old association with "argument," "ad hominem" has become, in effect, "against the person." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 27, 2012 is: malison • \MAL-uh-sun\ • noun : curse, malediction Examples: "When I see him again he shall have the rough side of my tongue and my malison besides." - From Henry Gilbert's 1912 book Robin Hood and the Men of the Greenwood "To add insult to injury he preferred to launch a malison of hatred and execration...." -From a letter by Raymond Ellis to the Belfast Telegraph, August 24, 2001 Did you know? "Malison" is still hanging on after being around for eight centuries, but it appears to have suffered the curse of time. Though "malison" still sees occasional use, it is no longer as common as it was in days of yore. Rather, it has been largely supplanted by its younger cousin "malediction." "Malison" and "malediction" are both descendants of the Late Latin word "maledictio," itself from "maledicere," meaning "to curse." "Maledicere" in turn traces back to Latin "male," meaning "badly," and "dicere," meaning "to speak or say." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 26, 2012 is: immure • \ih-MYOOR\ • verb 1 a : to enclose within or as if within walls b : imprison 2 : to build into a wall; especially : to entomb in a wall Examples: Scientists at the remote research station were immured by the frozen wastelands that surrounded them. "Rather, what fairy tales obsessively conjure up is a world of mutability, in which things and people are not immured in their nature. The frog becomes a prince, the wolf becomes a grandmother, the little mermaid becomes a woman, the beast becomes a handsome man, the 12 brothers become a flock of ravens." - From a book review by Adam Kirsch in Prospect, August 23, 2012 Did you know? Like "mural," "immure" comes from "murus," a Latin noun that means "wall." "Immurare," a Medieval Latin verb, was formed from "murus" and the prefix "in-" (meaning "in" or "within"). "Immure," which first appeared in English in the late 16th century, literally means "to wall in" or "to enclose with a wall," but it has extended meanings as well. In addition to senses meaning "imprison" and "entomb," the word sometimes has broader applications, essentially meaning "to shut in" or "to confine." One might remark, for example, that a very studious acquaintance spends most of her time "immured in the library" or that a withdrawn teenager "immures himself in his bedroom every night." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 25, 2012 is: enigmatic • \en-ig-MAT-ik\ • adjective : of, relating to, or resembling an enigma : mysterious Examples: When Rolf asked her where she had been, Tianna just gave him an enigmatic smile and answered, "Oh, here and there." "Chris Marker, who died earlier this year at 91, was an enigmatic figure, reluctant to be photographed and prone to biographical embellishment." - From an article by A.O. Scott in the New York Times, September 26, 2012 Did you know? When it comes to things that aren't clearly understandable, you have a wide range of word choices, including "dark," "enigmatic," "cryptic," and "equivocal." Of these, "dark" is the most sinister, implying an imperfect or clouded revelation, often with ominous overtones. "Enigmatic" emphasizes a puzzling, mystifying quality, whereas "cryptic" implies a purposely concealed meaning. "Equivocal" is the best choice for language that is left open to differing interpretations with the intention of deceiving or evading. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 24, 2012 is: demiurge • \DEM-ee-erj\ • noun : one that is an autonomous creative force or decisive power Examples: The powerfully talented singer-songwriter-producer has been described by at least one music-industry insider as a "demiurge." "A noisy group of video-game critics and theoreticians laments the rise of story in games. Games, in one version of this view, are best exemplified as total play, wherein the player is an immaterial demiurge and the only 'narrative' is what is anecdotally generated during play." - From Tom Bissell's 2011 book Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter Did you know? In the Platonic school of philosophy, the Demiurge is a deity who fashions the physical world in the light of eternal ideas. In the Timaeus, Plato credits the Demiurge with taking preexisting materials of chaos and arranging them in accordance with the models of eternal forms. Nowadays the word "demiurge" can refer to the individual or group chiefly responsible for a creative idea, as in "the demiurge behind the new hit TV show." "Demiurge" derives via Late Latin from Greek "dēmiourgos," meaning "artisan" or "one with special skill." The "demi-" part of the word comes from the Greek noun "dēmos," meaning "people"; the second part comes from the word for worker, "ergon." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 23, 2012 is: smashmouth • \SMASH-mouth\ • adjective : characterized by brute force without finesse Examples: Monday night's game, between two teams known for their hard-hitting, aggressive styles, promises to be entertaining if you like smashmouth football. "The Tigers earned the win behind a smashmouth rushing attack and a passing game that was effective when it needed to be." - From an article by sportswriter Kyle Kendrick in The Ponca City News (Oklahoma), September 23, 2012 Did you know? "Smashmouth" crashed its way into the English language during the 1984 football season to describe the brutally hard-hitting play that is characteristic of the game. It has since been used to describe similar physicality in other contact sports, such as hockey and basketball, and has even forced its way out of the realm of sports into politics; we’ve been using it to describe hardball tactics in politics since the 1984 U.S. presidential election. However, this political application of "smashmouth" has yet to make it into the end zone. It occurs too rarely in English to merit its own sense in the dictionary. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 22, 2012 is: extemporize • \ik-STEMP-puh-ryze\ • verb 1 : improvise 2 : to get along in a makeshift manner Examples: Although she was caught off-guard by the award, Sue managed to extemporize a speech thanking her entire team for their hard work. Did you know? "Extemporize" means to say or do something on the spur of the moment, an appropriate meaning given the word's history. "Extemporize" was coined by adding the suffix "-ize" to Latin "ex tempore," meaning "instantaneously" or "on the spur of the moment." "Ex tempore," in turn, was formed by combining "ex" and a form of the noun "tempus," meaning "time." Incidentally, "ex tempore" was also borrowed wholesale into English (where it means "extemporaneously"). Other descendents of Latin "ex tempore" include the now rare "extemporal" and "extemporary" (both synonyms of "extemporaneous"), and, as you have no doubt guessed by now, "extemporaneous" itself. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 21, 2012 is: abide • \uh-BYDE\ • verb 1 : to endure, tolerate, or accept 2 : to remain stable or fixed in a state 3 : to continue in a place Examples: Susan has been a vegetarian for years and can no longer abide even the smell of cooked meat. "Linen suits have a lot going for them, but if you can't abide all that wrinkling, a linen-wool-blend suit ... looks crisp and still offers linen's cooling properties." - From an article in Esquire, May 1, 2012 Did you know? "Abide" may sound rather old-fashioned these days. The word has been around since before the 12th century, but it is a bit rare now, except in certain specialized uses. Even more archaic to our modern ear is "abidden," the original past participle of "abide." Today, both the past and the past participle of "abide" are served by either "abode" or "abided," with "abided" being the more frequent choice. "Abide" turns up often in the phrase "can't (or couldn't) abide." The expression "abide by," which means "to conform to" or "to acquiesce in," is also common. Related terms include the participial adjective "abiding" (which means "enduring" or "continuing," as in "an abiding interest in nature"), the noun "abidance" ("continuance" or "compliance"), and the noun "abode" ("residence"). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 20, 2012 is: uncanny • \un-KAN-ee\ • adjective 1 : eerie, mysterious 2 : being beyond what is normal or expected Examples: Our waiter had an uncanny resemblance to the creepy villain in the film we had just seen. "When Sherlock Holmes walks into a crime scene, he displays the uncanny ability to deduce how the crime unfolded: where the criminal entered, how the victim was murdered, what weapons were used, and so on." - From an article by Jimmy Stamp on Smithsonian.com's Design Decoded blog, August 14, 2012 Did you know? "Weird" and "eerie" are synonyms of "uncanny," but there are subtle differences in the meanings of the three words. "Weird" may be used to describe something that is generally strange or out of the ordinary. "Eerie" suggests an uneasy or fearful consciousness that some kind of mysterious and malign powers are at work, while "uncanny," which debuted in the 18th century, implies disquieting strangeness or mysteriousness. English also has a word "canny," but "canny" and "uncanny" should not be interpreted as opposites. "Canny," which first appeared in English in the 16th century, means "clever," "shrewd" or "prudent," as in "a canny lawyer" or "a canny investment." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 19, 2012 is: hew • \HYOO\ • verb 1 : to cut or fell with blows (as of an ax) 2 : to give shape to with or as if with an ax 3 : to conform or to adhere Examples: Josh was never one to hew to policies with which he disagreed. "Typically at this point on the political calendar, a sitting vice president scrupulously downplays his interest in ascending to the top job.... Vice presidents as varied as Walter Mondale, George H.W. Bush, and Al Gore all gamely hewed to this script." - From an article by Noam Scheiber in The New Republic, August 24, 2012 Did you know? "Hew" is a strong, simple word of Anglo-Saxon descent. It can suggest actual ax-wielding, or it can be figurative: "If ... our ambition hews and shapes [our] new relations, their virtue escapes, as strawberries lose their flavor in garden-beds" (Ralph Waldo Emerson). It's easy to see how the figurative "shape" sense of "hew" developed from the literal hacking sense, but what does chopping have to do with adhering and conforming? That sense first appeared in the late 1800s in the phrase "hew to the line." The "hew line" is a line marked along the length of a log indicating where to chop in order to shape a beam. "Hewing to the line," literally, is cutting along the mark-adhering to it-until the side of the log is squared. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 18, 2012 is: worldly-wise • \WERLD-lee-wyze\ • adjective : possessing a practical and often shrewd understanding of human affairs Examples: The interns' supervisor addressed the group, saying "We don't expect our interns to be worldly-wise-we expect them to be conscientious, hardworking, and committed to learning how work in a small non-profit is done." "His supposed ruthlessness is the perfect antidote to that greatest of sins for the worldly-wise-naïveté." - From Miles J. Unger's 2011 book Machiavelli: A Biography Did you know? "Worldly-wise" is one of a handful of compound adjectives formed from the word "wise" ("having wisdom or knowledge"). "Penny-wise" (from the phrase "penny-wise and pound-foolish") is a good word for describing someone who is good with only small sums or matters. "Weather-wise" can describe a competent meteorologist or someone who is competent in a different kind of forecasting: that of changes in opinion or feeling. These adjectives aren't especially common, but they do see occasional use. Even less common is "air-wise," which can be applied to people skilled in aviation. And if you master these words and feel the wiser for it, you may consider yourself "self-wise"-that is, wise in your own estimation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 17, 2012 is: furlong • \FER-lawng\ • noun : a unit of distance equal to 220 yards (about 201 meters) Examples: "They tramped on again. But they had not gone more than a furlong when the storm returned with fresh fury." - From J.R.R. Tolkien's 1954 book The Fellowship of the Ring "Trained by Ben Perkins Jr. and ridden by Pablo Fragoso, the 3-year-old colt ran the six furlongs on a fast track in 1:11 and paid $13.20, $4.80 and $3.40." - From an article from The Associated Press, July 14, 2012 Did you know? "Furlong" is an English original and can be traced back to Old English "furlang," a combination of the noun "furh" ("furrow") and the adjective "lang" ("long"). Though now standardized as a length of 220 yards (or 1/8th of a mile), the furlong was originally defined less precisely as the length of a furrow in a cultivated field. This length was equal to the long side of an acre-an area originally defined as the amount of arable land that could be plowed by a yoke of oxen in a day, but later standardized as an area measuring 220 yards (one furlong) by 22 yards, and now defined as any area measuring 4,840 square yards. In contemporary usage, "furlong" is often encountered in references to horse racing. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 16, 2012 is: surfeit • \SER-fut\ • noun 1 : an overabundant supply : excess 2 : an intemperate or immoderate indulgence in something (as food or drink) 3 : disgust caused by excess Examples: "A surfeit of the sweetest things / The deepest loathing to the stomach brings...." - From William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1596 "Every day, we're bombarded by options; the surfeit of decisions we don't really need to make can be overwhelming." - From a restaurant review by Tania Ballantine in Time Out, June 14, 2012 Did you know? There is an abundance-you could almost say a surfeit-of English words that derive from the Latin "facere," meaning "to do." The connection to "facere" is fairly obvious for words spelled with "fic," "fac," or "fec," such as "sacrifice," "benefaction," and "infect." For words like "stupefy" (a modification of Latin "stupefacere") and "hacienda" (originally, in Old Spanish and Latin, "facienda") the "facere" factor is not so apparent. As for "surfeit," the "c" was dropped along the path that led from Latin through Anglo-French, where "facere" became "faire" and "sur-" was added to make "surfaire," meaning "to overdo." The Anglo-French noun "surfet" ("excess") entered Middle English and went through a number of spellings before settling on "surfeit." ----------------------------------------------- Anderson LIVE Audience Pick: adorkable In honor of National Dictionary Day (Oct. 16), Anderson LIVE selected "adorkable" as the top audience submission for "a new word you would love to see in the dictionary." adorkable (which is actually a word that Merriam-Webster has been tracking for several years) is defined as "attractive and charming in a nerdy or dorky way" See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 15, 2012 is: envisage • \in-VIZ-ij\ • verb 1 : to view or regard in a certain way 2 : to have a mental picture of especially in advance of realization Examples: In planning out their new patio, Betty and Sherman envisaged a place where they could grill food on the barbecue and invite friends over to relax. "A captivating new book envisages conversations between Twain and his European philosopher counterparts Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietzsche and Karl Marx. In their interdisciplinary study, 'The Jester and the Sages,' three scholars take an exciting approach to explaining the literary, philosophical and moral identity of arguably contemporary Americana’s father.” - From a review by Alexander Heffner in the Kansas City Star, December 8, 2011 Did you know? "Envisage" has been part of the English language since the 17th century. In the early 19th century, it was sometimes used with the now archaic sense of "to meet squarely" or "to confront." By 1837, the word had developed the sense "to have a mental picture of." In the 1920s, some usage commentators began deriding "envisage" for reasons not entirely clear, declaring it "undesirable." Today, time and usage have won out, and "envisage" is widely used and accepted, though it is slightly formal in tone. The same can be said of its near twin "envision" ("to picture to oneself"), which has been with us since the late 19th century and is interchangeable with "envisage" in many contexts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 14, 2012 is: garniture • \GAHR-nih-cher\ • noun 1 : embellishment, trimming 2 : a set of decorative objects (as vases, urns, or clocks) Examples: The room was authentically furnished right down to the 16th-century garniture decorating the mantel and the wardrobe. "The studio was prolific, producing lamps and clock cases with matching garniture." - From an article by Jay Moore in the Tampa Tribune (Florida), April 3, 2011 Did you know? In Middle French, the language from which today's word was borrowed, "garniture" meant "equipment." "Garniture" is an alteration of the Old French noun "garnesture," which is derived from the verb "garnir," which meant "to warn, equip, or garnish." In fact, an Anglo-French stem of "garner," "garniss-," is the source of the English verb "garnish," which in its senses of "decorate" and "embellish" shares a similar relationship to "garniture" that the verb "furnish" shares with "furniture." "Furnish" comes from the Anglo-French "furniss-," a stem of the verb "furnir" or "fournir," which also gave rise to the Middle French "fourniture," the source of the English "furniture." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 13, 2012 is: fecund • \FEK-und\ • adjective 1 : fruitful in offspring or vegetation : prolific 2 : intellectually productive or inventive to a marked degree Examples: As an artist she gets most of her inspiration from nature; her daily walks in the woods are a fecund source of ideas. "Sea slugs that mate more than the absolute minimum necessary to retain female fertility are more fecund than slugs that mate less often, according to the study detailed Wednesday in the open-access journal PLoS ONE." - From an article by Stephanie Pappas on NBCNews.com, August 22, 2012 Did you know? "Fecund" and its synonyms "fruitful" and "fertile" all mean producing or capable of producing offspring or fruit-literally or figuratively. "Fecund" applies to things that yield offspring, fruit, or results in abundance or with rapidity ("a fecund herd"; "a fecund imagination"). "Fruitful" emphasizes abundance, too, and often adds the implication that the results attained are desirable or useful ("fruitful plains"; "a fruitful discussion"). "Fertile" implies the power to reproduce ("a fertile woman") or the power to assist in reproduction, growth, or development ("fertile soil"; "a fertile climate for artists"). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 12, 2012 is: nuncupative • \NUN-kyoo-pay-tiv\ • adjective : spoken rather than written : oral Examples: On his deathbed Jacob made a nuncupative will for his son and daughter. "He left me a small Legacy in a nuncupative Will, as a Token of his Kindness for me." - From The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) Did you know? "Nuncupative" (from Latin "nuncupare," meaning "to name") has been part of the English language since at least the mid-16th century, most typically appearing in legal contexts as a modifier of the noun "will." The nuncupative will originated in Roman law, where it consisted of an oral declaration made in the presence of seven witnesses and later presented before a magistrate. Currently, nuncupative wills are allowed in some U.S. states in extreme circumstances, such as imminent peril of death from a terminal illness or from military or maritime service. Such wills are dictated orally but are usually required to be set down in writing within a statutorily specified time period, such as 30 days. Witnesses are required, though the number seven is no longer specified. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 11, 2012 is: rectitude • \REK-tuh-tood\ • noun 1 : the quality or state of being straight 2 : moral integrity : righteousness 3 : the quality or state of being correct in judgment or procedure Examples: The speaker exhorted audience members to lead lives of unimpeachable rectitude and integrity. "The finance ministry will pitch India's strength as a largely domestic economy, renew its commitment to fiscal rectitude and showcase recent measures to lift sentiment to try and convince global rating firms not to downgrade the country's sovereign rating." - From an article by Deepshikha Sikarwar in The Economic Times, September 7, 2012 Did you know? "Rectitude" has a righteous derivation. It comes straight from the Latin noun "rectus," which means both "right" and "straight." "Rectitude" itself can mean either "straightness" (an early use referred to literal straightness of lines, although this sense is now rare) or "rightness" of character. "Rectus" has a number of other descendants in English, including "rectangle" (a figure with four right angles), "rectify" ("to make right"), "rectilinear" ("moving in or forming a straight line"), and even "rectus" itself (a medical term for any one of several straight muscles in the body). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 10, 2012 is: lenticular • \len-TIK-yuh-ler\ • adjective 1 : having the shape of a double-convex lens 2 : of or relating to a lens 3 : provided with or utilizing lenticules Examples: Amateur astronomers might be interested in what the observatory markets as the "largest lenticular telescope on Earth." "Recently installed in the tunnel was a lenticular motion mural consisting of 135 individual 8-inch tiles with ribbed lenses created by world renowned Boston artist Rufus Butler Seder." - From an article by N. Kirsch in the Belleville News-Democrat (Illinois), June 24, 2012 Did you know? "Lentil-shaped"-that's the meaning of "lenticularis," the Latin word that gave us today's word. It's an appropriate predecessor because a double-convex lens is one that is curved on both sides, giving it a shape similar to that of a lentil. English speakers borrowed the Latin term, adapting it to "lenticular," in the 15th century. "Lenticularis," in turn, derives from "lenticula," which is the source of the English word "lentil" and a diminutive of the Latin form "lent-, lens," meaning "lentil." You probably won't be too surprised to learn that "lent-, lens" also gave English the word "lens." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 9, 2012 is: viand • \VYE-und\ • noun 1 : an item of food; especially : a choice or tasty dish 2 : provisions, food Examples: "The family sat down to table, and a frugal meal of cold viands was deposited before them." - From Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles, 1891 "While living in the South's grand old Charleston, S.C., my Yankee roots still were evident but my appetite craved those rich and satisfying calorie-laden viands." - From an article by Doris Reynolds in Naples Daily News (Florida), February 16, 2011 Did you know? Are you someone who eats to live, or someone who lives to eat? Either way, you'll find that the etymology of "viand" reflects the close link between food and life. "Viand" entered English in the 15th century from Anglo-French ("viande" means "meat" even in modern French), and it derives ultimately from Latin "vivere," meaning "to live." "Vivere" is the ancestor of a number of other lively and life-giving words in English, including "victual," "revive," "survive," "convivial," and "vivacious." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 8, 2012 is: illustrious • \ih-LUSS-tree-us\ • adjective : notably or brilliantly outstanding because of dignity or achievements or actions : eminent Examples: During the ceremony, the illustrious star of stage and screen was presented with a lifetime achievement award. "Born in 1843 to a wealthy, intellectual Boston family, Marian (Clover) Hooper moved in the most illustrious circles of nineteenth-century America." - From a book review in the New Yorker, March 19, 2012. Did you know? Illustrious people seem to light up everything around them. The etymology of "illustrious" makes it clear that a shining glow (both literal and figurative) has long been associated with the word. "Illustrious" ultimately derives from the Latin verb "lustrare," which means "to purify" or "to make bright," and which is related to the noun that gave us "luster." At one time, "illustrious" was used in the literal sense of "shining brightly with light," but that meaning is now considered archaic. The word is now almost exclusively used in its figurative application to describe something that stands out brilliantly, much like a bright star stands out in the sky. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 7, 2012 is: memento • \muh-MEN-toh\ • noun : something that serves to warn or remind; also : souvenir Examples: The attic is filled with mementos of Julie's basketball career-awards, newspaper clippings, team photographs, her old uniform. "All season long Michel Hazanavicius and Bérénice Bejo, the husband-and-wife writer-director and star of 'The Artist,' have been recording their adventures on the awards circuit, whipping out their smartphone … at each ceremony and red carpet. It's a memento for their kids, to show what mom and dad have been up to for the last few months." -From an article by Melena Ryzik in the New York Times, February 23, 2012 Did you know? "Memento" comes from the imperative form of "meminisse," a Latin verb that literally means "to remember." (The term "memento mori," meaning "a reminder of mortality," translates as "remember that you must die.") The history of "memento" makes it clear where its spelling came from, but because a memento often helps one remember a particular moment, people occasionally spell the term "momento." That second version is usually considered a misspelling, but it appears often enough in edited prose to have been considered acceptable for entry in Webster's Third New International Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 6, 2012 is: conjecture • \kun-JEK-cher\ • verb 1 : to arrive at or deduce by surmise or guesswork : guess 2 : to form a supposition or inference Examples: Some scientists have conjectured that the distant planet could sustain life. "[Kim Kardashian's] changing wardrobe, everyone conjectured, must be Kanye's influence-he's a bona fide designer these days with affinity for top models like Chanel Iman and Anja Rubik and top labels like Givenchy, Celine and Hermes." -From an article in the Style section of The Huffington Post, August 24, 2012 Did you know? When the noun "conjecture" entered English in the 14th century, it referred to the act of interpreting signs or omens (as for making prognostications). That sense is now obsolete, but by the 16th century both the noun and verb "conjecture" had acquired the meanings of speculation and inference that we use today. "Conjecture" derived via Middle English and Middle French from the Latin verb "conicere" ("to throw together"), a combination of "com-" ("together") and "jacere" ("to throw"). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 5, 2012 is: devoir • \duh-VWAHR\ • noun 1 : duty, responsibility 2 : a usually formal act of civility or respect Examples: "The Grand Master, having allowed the apology of Albert Malvoisin, commanded the herald to stand forth and do his devoir." - From Sir Walter Scott's 1819 novel Ivanhoe "Our feet are always faithful, never fickle. Now, don't contradict this. I don't know about yours, but my feet pursue me everywhere; they are perfectly content with their commitment to me, and I am more than grateful for their devoir." - From an article by Jean Guerrero in the Daily Trojan, February 8, 2007 Did you know? "Devoir" was borrowed twice, in a manner of speaking. We first borrowed it in its Anglo-French form, "dever," back in the days of Middle English. As is so often the case when an adopted word becomes established in English, its pronunciation shifted to conform to English pronunciation standards. The French put the stress on the last syllable, but English speakers stressed the first. One hundred or so years later, some writers changed the English spelling to "devoir" to match the modern French. That French borrowing was actually pronounced like French (as well as English speakers could, anyway)-just as it is today. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 4, 2012 is: seriocomic • \seer-ee-oh-KAH-mik\ • adjective : having a mixture of the serious and the comic Examples: The intergenerational meal was a seriocomic affair, with the younger generation refereeing the jabs their elders hurled at one another while trying to keep the youngest generation from getting a true sense of just what was going on. "Inspired by actual events surrounding the visit of Britain's King George and Queen Elizabeth to the New York residence of sitting President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor, in the summer of 1939, the film is a seriocomic look at one of history's little known footnotes." - From a movie trailer review on HollywoodOutbreak.com, September 3, 2012 Did you know? "Seriocomic" may have a modern ring to it, but our earliest evidence of the word in print is from 1783. Another "comic" word-"heroicomic," meaning "comic by being ludicrously noble, bold, or elevated"-is slightly older; evidence of it dates to 1756. Both words are about a century younger than our third "comic" word, "tragicomic" ("manifesting both tragic and comic aspects"), which print evidence dates to 1683. (Evidence of the variant "tragicomical," however, dates all the way back to 1567.) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 3, 2012 is: placate • \PLAY-kayt\ • verb : to soothe or mollify especially by concessions : to calm the anger or bitterness of Examples: In an effort to placate the angry customer, the store manager replaced the defective product with a more expensive model at no extra charge. "He said he supported the septic tank tax but voted against it to placate the townships in his district." - From an editorial in The Record-Eagle (Traverse City, Michigan), August 22, 2012 Did you know? The earliest documented uses of "placate" in English date from the late 17th century. The word is derived from Latin "placatus," the past participle of "placare," and even after more than 300 years in English, it still carries the basic meaning of its Latin ancestor: "to soothe" or "to appease." Other "placare" descendants in English are "implacable" (meaning "not easily soothed or satisfied") and "placation" ("the act of soothing or appeasing"). Even "please" itself, derived from Latin "placēre" ("to please"), is a distant relative of "placate." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 2, 2012 is: fourth estate • \FORTH-ih-STAYT\ • noun : the public press Examples: "We should all be concerned," the senator asserted, "about the plight of newspapers and the consequences of a weakened fourth estate on our democracy." "As someone firmly entrenched in the fourth estate, I am not too agreeable to most censoring, and would fight such impositions on the press or any other body, tooth and nail." - From an article by Sunil Dang in The Day After, July 1, 2012 Did you know? It might be news to you that the term "fourth estate" has been around for centuries. In Europe, going back to medieval times, the people who participated in the political life of a country were generally divided into three classes or "estates." In England they were the three groups with representation in Parliament, namely, the nobility, the clergy, and the common people. Some other group, like the mob or the public press, that had an unofficial but often great influence on public affairs, was called the "fourth estate." In the 19th century, "fourth estate" came to refer exclusively to the press, and now it's applied to all branches of the news media. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 1, 2012 is: excoriate • \ek-SKOR-ee-ayt\ • verb 1 : to wear off the skin of : abrade 2 : to censure scathingly Examples: "Every blow that shakes it will serve to harden it against a future stroke; as constant labour thickens the skin of the hand, and strengthens its muscles instead of wasting them away: so that a day of arduous toil, that might excoriate a lady's palm, would make no sensible impression on that of a hardy ploughman." - From Anne Brontë's 1847 novel Agnes Grey "One consequence of writing for a broader public was a growing disposition to write about people and places that I admired, and not just those whom it gave me pleasure to excoriate." - From Tony Judt's 2012 book Thinking the Twentieth Century Did you know? "Excoriate," which first appeared in English in the 15th century, comes from "excoriatus," the past participle of the Late Latin verb "excoriare," meaning "to strip off the hide." "Excoriare" was itself formed from a pairing of the Latin prefix "ex-," meaning "out," and "corium," meaning "skin" or "hide" or "leather." "Corium" has several other descendants in English. One is "cuirass," a name for a piece of armor that covers the body from neck to waist (or something, such as bony plates covering an animal, that resembles such armor). Another is "corium" itself, which is sometimes used as a synonym of "dermis" (the inner layer of human skin). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 30, 2012 is: bombinate • \BAHM-buh-nayt\ • verb : buzz, drone Examples: The only sounds Jared could hear in the office that night were those of his own typing and the air conditioner bombinating. "Time passes in Suttree, but nothing and no one develops-excepting, perhaps, time itself in its running out. People fart around, they raise a little local hell, they marinate, they bombinate, they get carted off either to jail or to the morgue." - From Peter Josyph's 2010 book Adventures in Reading Cormac McCarthy Did you know? "Bombinate" sounds like it should be the province of bombastic blowhards who bound up and bombard you with droning blather at parties-and it is. The word derives from the Greek word "bombos," a term that probably originated as an imitation of a deep, hollow sound (the kind we would likely refer to as "booming" nowadays). Latin speakers rendered the original Greek form as "bombus," and that root gave forth a veritable din of raucous English offspring, including not only "bombinate," but also "bomb," "bombard," and "bound" ("to leap"). However, Latin "bombus" is not a direct ancestor of "bombastic," which traces to "bombyx," a Greek name for the silkworm. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 29, 2012 is: elegiac • \el-uh-JYE-ak\ • adjective 1 a : of, relating to, or consisting of two dactylic hexameter lines the second of which lacks the arsis in the third and sixth feet b : of or relating to the period in Greece about the seventh century B.C. when poetry written in such couplets flourished 2 : of, relating to, or comprising elegy or an elegy; especially : expressing sorrow often for something now past Examples: The editorial was an elegant, elegiac lament for the golden era of the author's long-ago past. "His speech was ruminative and elegiac, marking the closing of an era rather than the closing of a conference." - From an article by Eitan Kensky in The Forward, May 15, 2012 Did you know? "Elegiac" was borrowed into English in the 16th century from the Late Latin "elagiacus," which in turn derives from the Greek "elegeiakos." "Elegeiakos" traces back to the Greek word for "elegiac couplet" or "elegy," which was "elegeion." It is no surprise, then, that the earliest meaning of "elegiac" referred to such poetic couplets. These days, of course, the word is also used to describe anything sorrowful or nostalgic. As you may have guessed, another descendant of "elegeion" in English is "elegy," which in its oldest sense refers to a poem in elegiac couplets, and now can equally refer to a somewhat broader range of laments for something or someone that is now lost. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 28, 2012 is: dearth • \DERTH\ • noun 1 : scarcity that makes dear; specifically : famine 2 : an inadequate supply : lack Examples: Teri had forgotten to bring a book, and the dearth of reading material in her uncle's house had her visiting the town library the first morning of her stay. "This wryly funny take on the classic ghost story, with its tributes to horror thrillers from Halloween to Friday the 13th and rich cast of characters, has distinctive Tim Burton-esque visuals and a welcome dearth of potty humor." - From a movie review by Claudia Puig in USA Today, August 17, 2012 Did you know? The facts about the history of the word "dearth" are quite simple: the word derives from the Middle English form "derthe," which has the same meaning as our modern term. That Middle English form is assumed to have developed from an Old English form that was probably spelled "dierth" and was related to "dēore," the Old English form that gave us the word "dear." ("Dear" also once meant "scarce," but that sense of the word is now obsolete.) Some form of "dearth" has been used to describe things that are in short supply since at least the 13th century, when it often referred to a shortage of food. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 27, 2012 is: festinate • \FESS-tuh-nut\ • adjective : hasty Examples: "I assure you," said the Ambassador, "I am all too aware of the dangers inherent in a festinate decision." "Novell's proxy servers, caching and firewalls may not be such utter failures, but growth in crowded fields dominated by companies with better track records is just as illusory. Even successes like GroupWise, ManageWise and ZENworks are vestiges of 1990s thinking. They may halt a festinate death, but you don't build a company around them." - From an article by Fritz Nelson in Network Computing, August 21, 2000 Did you know? "Festinate" is one among many in the category of words whose first recorded use is in the works of Shakespeare ("Advise the Duke where you are going, to a most festinate preparation." - King Lear, III.vii.10). Perhaps the Bard knew about "festinatus," the Latin predecessor of "festinate," or was familiar with the Latin proverb "festina lente"-"make haste slowly." Shakespeare also gets credit for the adverb "festinately" (first seen in Love’s Labour’s Lost, III.i.6: "Bring him festinately hither."), but another writer beat him to the verb "festinate" (pronounced \FESS-tuh-nayt), meaning "to hasten." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 26, 2012 is: interrobang • \in-TAIR-uh-bang\ • noun : a punctuation mark ‽ designed for use especially at the end of an exclamatory rhetorical question Examples: The essay was peppered with interrobangs and exclamation points, communicating-intentionally or not-an incredulity and outrage that didn't feel very hospitable. "Inevitably, however, you'll cheat on the Period with the Ampersand, Semi-Colon, or possibly the Interrobang." - From an article by Jen Doll in the Atlantic Wire, August 21, 2012 Did you know? Most punctuation marks have been around for centuries, but not the interrobang: it's a product of the 1960s. The mark gets its name from the punctuation that it is intended to combine. "Interro" is from "interrogation point," the technical name for the question mark, and "bang" is printers' slang for the exclamation point. The interrobang is not commonly used-its absence from standard keyboards can explain its paucity in print perhaps just as well as its paucity in print can explain its absence from standard keyboards. Most writers who want to communicate what the interrobang communicates continue to do as they did before the advent of the mark, throwing in !? or ?! as they feel so moved. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 25, 2012 is: hypothecate • \hye-PAH-thuh-kayt\ • verb : to make an assumption for the sake of argument : hypothesize Examples: The students hypothecated that plants under observation would have different reactions when exposed to artificial light versus natural light. "'Can someone hypothecate where Scotland and Yorkshire would rank in the medal table?' says Marie Meyer." - From the (London) Guardian's Olympics 2012 live blog, August 5, 2012 Did you know? "Hypothecate" is a controversial word. It has existed as a synonym of "hypothesize" since 1906, showing up primarily in scientific and linguistic sources, but usage commentators have long criticized it. It is sometimes perceived as a mistaken use of another "hypothecate," one meaning "to pledge as security without title or possession." Both "hypothecate" homographs-and "hypothesize" too-derive ultimately from the Greek "hypotithenai" ("to put under," "to suppose," or "to deposit as a pledge"), but each entered English by a different route. The hypothesizing "hypothecate" is a legitimate (albeit uncommon) word in its own right, not a misuse of its homograph. If you want to avoid the controversy altogether, however, you can stick with the more common "hypothesize." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 24, 2012 is: kitsch • \KITCH\ • noun 1 : something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality 2 : a tacky or lowbrow quality or condition Examples: The "country store" seemed to sell mostly cheaply made kitsch and other tacky memorabilia. "Across the board there was a welcome absence of kitsch." - From a review by Guy Trebay in The New York Times, June 28, 2012 Did you know? "The fashionable clothing label ... kicked off the revival last June..., putting its models in Miranda-inspired swimsuits and marching them through a gantlet of 50 tons of bananas," writes Mac Margolis in Newsweek International (January 2006) of a fabulously kitschy gala commemoration for the late Brazilian singer and actress Carmen Miranda. Since we borrowed "kitsch" from German in the 1920s, it has been our word for things in the realm of popular culture that dangle, like car mirror dice, precariously close to tackiness. But although things that can be described with "kitsch" and the related adjective "kitschy" are clearly not fine art, they may appeal to certain tastes-some folks delight in velvet paintings, plastic flamingos, dashboard hula dancers, and Carmen Miranda revivals! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 23, 2012 is: forsooth • \fer-SOOTH\ • adverb : in truth : indeed - often used to imply contempt or doubt Examples: "Yes, forsooth, I will hold my tongue; so your face bids me, though you say nothing." - From Shakespeare's King Lear, Act I, Scene iv "Forsooth, your kids aren't into Shakespeare? They will be once they see the Rebel Shakespeare Company." - From an article by Elizabeth Gehrman in The Boston Globe, April 22, 2012 Did you know? Although it is still a part of the English language, "forsooth" is now primarily used in humorous or ironic contexts, or in a manner intended to play off the word's archaic vibe. "Forsooth" is formed from the combination of the preposition "for" and the noun "sooth." "Sooth" survives as both a noun (meaning "truth" or "reality") and an adjective (meaning "true," "sweet," or "soft"), though it is rarely used by contemporary speakers. It primarily lives on in English in the verb "soothe" (which originally meant "to show, assert, or confirm the truth of") and in the noun "soothsayer" (that is, "truthsayer"), a name for someone who can predict the future. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 22, 2012 is: emolument • \ih-MAHL-yuh-munt\ • noun : the returns arising from office or employment usually in the form of compensation or perquisites Examples: James has contributed countless volunteer hours to the organization and continues to refuse any emolument for his work. "For her first six years Johnson, though serving full-time on the court with the same responsibilities and emoluments as her colleagues, was officially styled an appeal-court judge on permanent assignment upstairs." - From an article by James Gill in the Times-Picayune (New Orleans), July 11, 2012 Did you know? "To Sir Thomas Williams Person of the Parish ... of Saint Andrew at Baynards Castle in London for his yearly pension 40 shillings ... in recompense of certain offerings, oblations, and emoluments unto the said benefice due...." Thus was recorded in "The Wardrobe Accounts of Edward the Fourth," along with every expense of the realm, the first ever known use of "emolument." By the year 1480, when that entry was made, Latin "emolumentum" had come to mean simply "profit" or "gain"; it had become removed from its own Latin predecessor, the verb "molere," meaning "to grind." The original connection between the noun and this verb was its reference to the profit or gain from grinding another's grain. (The notion of grinding away at our jobs didn't show up in our language until the 1800s.) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 21, 2012 is: orphic • \OR-fik\ • adjective 1 : of or relating to Orpheus or the rites or doctrines ascribed to him 2 : of, relating to, being, or resembling an oracle : oracular, mystic 3 : fascinating, entrancing Examples: "'No summer ever came back, and no two summers ever were alike,' said I, with a degree of Orphic wisdom that astonished myself." - From Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1852 novel The Blithedale Romance "The cosmos itself reverberates through the orphic strings of the bridge's supporting cables, creating one song, one bridge of fire, linked to the stars themselves and to the deepest human desires for Cathay, meaning for Hart Crane perfection of place, fulfillment in the social order." - From Kevin Starr's 2010 book Golden Gate: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Bridge Did you know? Orpheus was a hero of Greek mythology who was supposed to possess superhuman musical skills. With his legendary lyre, he was said to be able to make even the rocks and trees dance around. In fact, when his wife Eurydice died, he was nearly able to use his lyre to secure her return from the underworld. Later on, according to legend, he was killed at the bidding of Dionysus, and an oracle of Orpheus was established that came to rival the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. Because of the oracle of Orpheus, "orphic" can mean "oracular." Because of Orpheus' musical powers, "orphic" can mean "entrancing." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 20, 2012 is: rebuff • \rih-BUFF\ • verb : to reject or criticize sharply Examples: I offered my sister several helpful suggestions, but she rebuffed them all. "A Nevada Legislative Committee studying the state's consolidated tax system agreed with its technical working group and rebuffed a request by the City of Fernley for a larger share of the C-Tax receipts that are given to Nevada counties, cities and special districts." - From an article in the Reno Gazette-Journal, August 8, 2012 Did you know? Occurring frequently in news articles and headlines, "rebuff" derives (via Middle French "rebuffer") from Old Italian "ribuffare," meaning "to reprimand," and ultimately from the imitative verb "buffare," meaning "to puff." (You might guess that the verb "buff," meaning "to polish," is a "buffare" descendant, but it is actually unrelated.) A similar word, "rebuke," shares the "criticize" sense of "rebuff," but not the "reject" sense (one can rebuke another's actions or policies, but one does not rebuke the advances of another, for example). Like "rebuke," "rebuff" can also be used as a noun, as in "His proposal was met with a stern rebuff from the Board of Trustees." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 19, 2012 is: tincture • \TINK-cher\ • noun 1 : color, tint 2 a : a characteristic quality : case b : a slight admixture : trace 3 : a solution of a medicinal substance in an alcoholic solvent Examples: The herbalist offered to mix up a tincture that would cure Katie's headaches. "A popular home-remedy suggestion making the rounds in Amish circles says a tincture of black walnut extract will cure what ails you, dentally speaking." - From an article by Tom Knapp in Intelligencer Journal/New Era (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), August 13, 2012 Did you know? "Tincture" derives from the same root as "tint" and "tinge"-the Latin verb "tingere," meaning "to moisten or dip." "Tincture" specifically derives via Middle English from the Latin "tinctus," the past participle of "tingere." When the word first appeared in English in the 14th century, "tincture" referred to a coloring matter or dye, but by the 17th century the word had acquired a number of additional meanings, including "a slight infusion or trace of something." "Tinge" and "shade" are two other words referring to color that can be used the same way. "Tincture" can also refer, among other things, to the colors used in a coat of arms or an herbal or medicinal solution. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 18, 2012 is: volatile • \VAH-luh-tul\ • adjective 1 : readily vaporizable at a relatively low temperature 2 : tending to erupt into violence : explosive 3 : characterized by or subject to rapid or unexpected change Examples: The country's unsteady economy is due to volatile global markets and the new government's rash economic reforms. "Beef prices, which are more volatile than food prices overall, will likely go down before they go up because farmers are finding it too expensive to feed some animals." - From an article by Harold Brubaker and Jeff Gelles in The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 15, 2012 Did you know? "Volatile" was originally for the birds-quite literally. Back in the 14th century, "volatile" was a noun that referred to birds (especially wild fowl) or other winged creatures, such as butterflies. That's not as flighty as it sounds. "Volatile" traces back to the Latin verb "volare," which means "to fly." By the end of the 16th century, people were using "volatile" as an adjective for things that were so light they seemed ready to fly. The adjective was soon extended to vapors and gases, and by the early 17th century, "volatile" was being applied to individuals or things as prone to sudden change as some gaseous substances. In recent years, "volatile" has landed in economic, political, and technical contexts far flown from its avian origins. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.