Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 17, 2012 is: futhark • \FOO-thahrk\ • noun : any of several alphabets used by the Germanic peoples from about the 3d to the 13th centuries - called also the runic alphabet Examples: The people used futhark, which was divided into three families of eight signs each. Did you know? The word "futhark" describes an alphabet originally of 24 and later of some 16 angular characters. It is suspected to be derived from both Latin and Greek and was used for inscriptions and magic signs by the Germanic peoples, and especially by the Scandinavians and Anglo-Saxons, from about the third to the 13th centuries. The spelling "futhark" is from the first six symbols of the runic alphabet: f, u, th, a, r, k. The alphabet did, however, encounter revision of letters over time resulting in the variants "futhorc" and "futhork." 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 16, 2012 is: mercurial • \mer-KYUR-ee-ul\ • adjective 1 : characterized by rapid and unpredictable changeableness of mood 2 : of, relating to, containing, or caused by mercury Examples: "Uncle Chris felt a touch of embarrassment. It occurred to him that he had been betrayed by his mercurial temperament into an attitude which, considering the circumstances, was perhaps a trifle too jubilant. He gave his moustache a pull, and reverted to the minor key." - From P.G. Wodehouse's 1921 novel, Jill the Reckless "The market, trendless and mercurial, had to digest conflicting news about the economy." - From an Associated Press article by Christina Rexrode, August 9, 2012 Did you know? The Roman god Mercury ("Mercurius" in Latin) was the messenger and herald of the gods and also the god of merchants and thieves. (His counterpart in Greek mythology is Hermes.) He was noted for his eloquence, swiftness, and cunning, and the Romans named what appeared to them to be the fastest-moving planet in his honor. The Latin adjective derived from his name, "mercurialis," meaning "of or relating to Mercury," was borrowed into English in the 14th century as "mercurial." Although the adjective initially meant "born under the planet Mercury," it came to mean also "having qualities of eloquence, ingenuity, or thievishness attributed to the god Mercury or the influence of the planet Mercury," and then "unpredictably changeable." 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 15, 2012 is: quail • \KWAIL\ • verb 1 : to give way : falter 2 : to recoil in dread or terror : cower Examples: Douglas quailed when the dentist told him that he would need a root canal. "There's an already notorious scene in a bathtub, involving the extraction of toenails, which would send Mary Whitehouse quailing ashen-faced for the exit, if she'd even made it that far." - From a film review by Tom Robey in The (London) Telegraph, November 17, 2011 Did you know? "Flinch," "recoil," and "wince" are all synonyms of "quail," but each word has a slightly different use. When you flinch, you fail to endure pain or to face something dangerous or frightening with resolution ("she faced her accusers without flinching"). "Recoil" implies a start or movement away from something through shock, fear, or disgust ("he recoiled at the suggestion of stealing"). "Wince" usually suggests a slight involuntary physical reaction to something ("she winced as the bright light suddenly hit her eyes"). "Quail" implies shrinking and cowering in fear ("he quailed before the apparition"). 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 14, 2012 is: disapprobation • \dis-ap-ruh-BAY-shun\ • noun : the act or state of disapproving : the state of being disapproved : condemnation Examples: The man talking loudly on his cell phone garnered several looks of disapprobation before the movie even began. "This is a classic soft-serve palace where not much has changed in decades, including the sticky picnic tables and the owner who tends toward silent disapprobation." - From a review by Laura Reiley in the Tampa Bay Times, August 2, 2012 Did you know? "Disapprobation" is not only a synonym of "disapproval" but a relative as well. Both words were coined in the mid-17th century by adding the prefix "dis-," meaning "the opposite or absence of," to earlier and more "approving" words: synonyms "approbation" and "approval." The Latin verb "approbare," meaning "to approve," is an ancestor of both of those words. Another descendant of "approbare" in English is "approbate," which, as you may have guessed by now, means "to approve." 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 13, 2012 is: undulate • \UN-juh-layt\ • verb 1 : to form or move in waves : fluctuate 2 : to rise and fall in volume, pitch, or cadence 3 : to present a wavy appearance Examples: From the window of our bed-and-breakfast, we had a gorgeous view of the green hills undulating into the distance. "Seeded with drought-tolerant California native plants, the 1.5-acre surface gently undulates, mimicking the surrounding hillsides." - From an article by Paul Sisson in the North County Times (Escondido, California), July 26, 2012 Did you know? "Undulate" and "inundate" are word cousins, sharing "unda," the Latin word for "wave," as their common ancestor. No surprise there. But would you have guessed that "abound," "surround," and "redound" are also "unda" offspring? The connection between "unda" and these words is easier to see when you learn that at some point in their early histories each of them essentially had the meaning of "to overflow"-a meaning that "inundate" still carries, along with its "overwhelm" sense. 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 12, 2012 is: peripatetic • \pair-uh-puh-TET-ik\ • adjective 1 : of or relating to the Greek philosopher Aristotle or his philosophy : Aristotelian 2 : of, relating to, or given to walking 3 : moving or traveling from place to place : itinerant Examples: I was peripatetic throughout my twenties, but in my thirties I bought a house and began putting down roots in the community. "From the day Rousseau turned his back on his native city, these peripatetic writer-thinkers were bent on walking into a kind of alienated individuality." - From a book review by Billy Mills in Guardian Unlimited, August 9, 2012 Did you know? Are you someone who likes to think on your feet? If so you've got something in common with the followers of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Not only a thinker and teacher, Aristotle was also a walker, and his students were required to walk along beside him as he lectured while pacing to and fro. Thus it was that the Greek word "peripatētikos" (from "peripatein," meaning "to walk up and down") came to be associated with Aristotle and his followers. By the way, the covered walk in the Lyceum where Aristotle taught became known as the "peripatos" (which can either refer to the act of walking or a place for walking). 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 11, 2012 is: stravage • \struh-VAYG\ • verb : to roam Examples: "I was living at Gray's Inn in those days, and we stravaged up Gray's Inn Road on one of those queer, unscientific explorations of the odd corners of London in which I have always delighted." - From Arthur Machen's 1922 novella The House of Souls "Eleanor sees widowed Lindsay and single-mother Paula stravaging along the streets with their respective children, Noah and Toby, and invites them in...." - From a book review by Lucille Redmond in the Evening Herald (Ireland), January 10, 2009 Did you know? A synonym of "roam," "wander," and "ramble," "stravage" (also spelled "stravaig") isn't likely to pop up in your local newspaper-unless you're stravaging in Scotland or one of its neighbors. "Stravage" is not a new word; our earliest evidence of it dates to the late 18th century, when it likely developed by shortening and alteration from the now-archaic word "extravagate," a synonym for "stray" and "roam" that can also mean "to go beyond proper limits." Note that if you use it correctly, you won't be extravagating by using "stravage"-no matter where you call home. 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 10, 2012 is: nuance • \NOO-ahnss\ • noun 1 : a subtle distinction or variation 2 : a subtle quality : nicety 3 : sensibility to, awareness of, or ability to express delicate shadings (as of meaning, feeling, or value) Examples: The movie's dialogue didn't sound convincing, partly because none of the characters had mastered the nuances of a Midwestern accent. "This Scavenger Hunt will be more difficult than earlier ones, and it is expected to bring you into some new corners. Sharp eyes are key, so if I were you, I'd start looking around now and memorizing every nuance in downtown Ocala."- From an article by Dave Schlenker on Ocala.com (Florida), August 9, 2012 Did you know? The history of "nuance" starts in Latin with the noun "nubes," meaning "cloud." "Nubes" floated into Middle French as "nue," also meaning "cloud," and "nue" gave rise to "nuer," meaning "to make shades of color." "Nuer" in turn produced "nuance," which in Middle French meant "shade of color." English borrowed "nuance" from French, with the meaning "a subtle distinction or variation," in the late 18th century. That use persists today. Additionally, "nuance" is sometimes used in a specific musical sense, designating a subtle, expressive variation in a musical performance (such as in tempo, dynamic intensity, or timbre) that is not indicated in the score. 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 9, 2012 is: lugubrious • \loo-GOO-bree-us\ • adjective 1 : mournful; especially : exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful 2 : dismal Examples: Katie's friends guessed immediately from her lugubrious expression that she and her boyfriend had broken up. "Then beneath that lugubrious lament comes a kind of gentle chugging rhythm, like the clickety-clack of a train, against which Sweeney thumbs his nose at the sentimentality established at the start of the song." - From a review by Steven Leigh Morris in LA Weekly, June 14, 2012 Did you know? "It is a consolation to the wretched to have companions in misery," wrote Publilius Syrus in the first century BC. Perhaps this explains why "lugubrious" is so woeful-it's all alone. Sure, we can dress up "lugubrious" with suffixes to form "lugubriously" or "lugubriousness," but the word remains essentially an only child-the sole surviving English offspring of its Latin ancestors. This wasn't always the case, though. "Lugubrious" once had a linguistic living relative in "luctual," an adjective meaning "sad" or "sorrowful." Like "lugubrious," "luctual" traced ultimately to the Latin verb "lugēre," meaning "to mourn." "Luctual," however, faded into obsolescence long ago, leaving "lugubrious" to carry on the family's mournful mission all alone. 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 8, 2012 is: gallant • \GAL-unt\ • adjective 1 : showy in dress or bearing : smart 2 a : splendid, stately b : spirited, brave c : nobly chivalrous and often self-sacrificing 3 : courteously and elaborately attentive especially to ladies Examples: The climbers made a gallant attempt but failed to reach the summit of the great mountain. "Every year, crowds massed to watch a vivid reenactment of the 1777 Battle of Germantown, George Washington's gallant but failed attack on British troops holed up at Cliveden." - From an article by Stephan Salisbury in The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 3, 2012 Did you know? In the late 14th century, Middle English adopted "galaunt" (now spelled "gallant") from Middle French "galant," a participial form of the verb "galer," meaning "to have a good time." This origin is more apparent in the earliest uses of the English "gallant," both as a noun meaning "a man of fashion" and as an adjective meaning "marked by show, color, smartness, or splendor especially in dress." French "galer" is related to "gale" ("pleasure, merrymaking") which has also entered the language, by way of Italian, as "gala" ("a festive celebration"). Middle English also had a noun "gale" which meant "singing, merriment, or mirth" (and is unrelated to the "gale" used to indicate a strong current of air) which may also have been related to Old French "gale." 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 7, 2012 is: jocose • \joh-KOHSS\ • adjective 1 : given to joking : merry 2 : characterized by joking : humorous Examples: Rachel has the kind of jocose personality that can liven up even the dullest of parties. "The information imparted doesn't run particularly deep, but in simple, mostly jocose language, he manages to explain the Electoral College, the dangers of being president and ... the roles of the president in foreign policy and as commander in chief, and how a presidential pardon works...." - From a book review in Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2012 Did you know? When you need a word to describe something (or someone) that causes or is intended to cause laughter, you might pick "jocose" or a synonym such as "humorous," "witty," "facetious," or "jocular." Of those terms, "humorous" is the most generic and can be applied to anything that provokes laughter. "Witty" suggests cleverness and a quick mind, while "facetious" is a word for something that is not meant to be taken seriously. "Jocose" and "jocular" both imply a habitual waggishness and a fondness for joking. 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 6, 2012 is: gainsay • \gayn-SAY\ • verb 1 : to declare to be untrue or invalid 2 : contradict, oppose Examples: There is no doubt that their work makes a useful contribution, but it does not provide enough evidence to gainsay the conclusions of earlier scholars. "And there was something childlike about Griffith, too, even in his Matlock days, as a deceptively sharp 'simple country lawyer,' a big-kid boyishness that did not mask his intelligence or gainsay his authority." - From an obituary for Andy Griffith in the Post & Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), July 7, 2012 Did you know? You might have trouble figuring out "gainsay" if you're thinking of our modern "gain" plus "say." It should help to know that the "gain-" part is actually related to "against"-specifically the Old English word for "against": "gēan-." From that came Middle English "gain-," which was joined with "sayen" ("say") to form "gainsayen," the Middle English predecessor of "gainsay." So when you see "gainsay," think "say against" - that is, "deny" or "contradict." 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 5, 2012 is: inimitable • \in-IM-it-uh-bul\ • adjective : not capable of being imitated : matchless Examples: "He is involved in roughly six projects, most of them part time and some dormant. Each is different from the others and to each, say those who work with him, he adds something inimitable." - From an article by Timothy Finn in the Kansas City Star, July 18, 2012 "For decades after '60 Minutes' launched in 1968, Wallace was arguably the best-known news figure on television, after Walter Cronkite. Wallace was to 'the interview' what Cronkite had been to the anchor chair-an authority figure with an inimitable style that was both aggressive and seductive." - From an article by Verne Gay in Newsday (Long Island, New York), April 9, 2012 Did you know? Something that is inimitable is, literally, not able to be imitated. In actual usage the word describes things so uniquely extraordinary as to not be copied or equaled, which is why you often hear it used to praise outstanding talents or performances. (The antonym "imitable" describes things that are common or ordinary and could easily be replicated or surpassed.) "Inimitable" derives via Middle English from Latin "inimitabilis." Be careful not to confuse it with "inimical" or "inimicable," two adjectives meaning hostile or harmful; those words derive from the same Latin root that gave us "enemy" ("inimicus"). 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 4, 2012 is: ecstatic • \ek-STAT-ik\ • adjective : of, relating to, or marked by rapturous delight Examples: Naomi's face was ecstatic as she accepted first prize in the essay contest. "Jordan Staal would much rather play with his brother than against him. Traded on his wedding day in June, he became teammates with older brother Eric Staal on the Carolina Hurricanes. 'We knew the family thing was a very intriguing part of this whole thing,' Jordan said Friday at a press conference, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. '... As a family, for me and Eric especially, we're ecstatic to have this come together as it did.'" - From an article on NHL.com, July 27, 2012 Did you know? "Ecstatic" has been used in our language since at least 1590, and the noun "ecstasy" is even older, dating from the 1300s. Both derive from the Greek verb "existanai" ("to put out of place"), which was used in a Greek phrase meaning "to drive someone out of his or her mind." That seems an appropriate history for words that can describe someone who is nearly out of his or her mind with intense emotion. In early use, "ecstatic" was sometimes linked to mystic trances, out-of-body experiences, and temporary madness. Today, however, it most typically implies a state of enthusiastic excitement or intense happiness. 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 3, 2012 is: caduceus • \kuh-DOO-see-us\ • noun 1 : the symbolic staff of a herald; specifically : a representation of a staff with two entwined snakes and two wings at the top 2 : an insignia bearing a caduceus and symbolizing a physician Examples: The U.S. Army Medical Corps chose the caduceus as its symbol in 1902. "Since then the politics of health care have grown more twisted and tangled than the two snakes entwined around the staff in a caduceus, which is sometimes used as a symbol of medicine." - From an article by Michael Cooper in The New York Times, February 15, 2012 Did you know? The Greek god Hermes, who served as herald and messenger to the other gods, carried a winged staff entwined with two snakes. The staff of Aesculapius, the god of healing, had one snake and no wings. The word ''caduceus," from Latin, is a modification of Greek "karykeion," from "karyx," meaning "herald." Strictly speaking, "caduceus" should refer only to the staff of the herald-god Hermes (Mercury to the Romans), but in practice the word is often applied to the one-snake staff as well. You might logically expect the staff of Aesculapius to be the symbol of the medical profession-and indeed, that is the symbol used by the American Medical Association. But you will also quite frequently see the true caduceus used as a medical symbol. 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 2, 2012 is: wend • \WEND\ • verb : to direct one's course : travel, proceed Examples: The hikers wended through the forest's trails. "Improvements in wastewater treatment and conservation upgraded the water quality of the river, which wends its way nearly 500 miles from its origin in the Appalachian Plateau to Point Lookout, Maryland, where it empties into the Chesapeake Bay." - From an article by John Pekkanen in The Washingtonian, July 2012 Did you know? "Wend" is related to the verb "wind," which means, among other things, "to follow a series of curves and turns." It is also a distant relative of the verb "wander." "Wend" itself began its journey in Old English as "windan," meaning "to twist." "Wend" has twisted itself into various meanings over the years. Most of its senses-including "to come about," "to depart," "to change," and "to betake"-have since wandered off into obscurity, but its current sense of "to direct or to proceed" is holding steady on the path. 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 1, 2012 is: aborning • \uh-BOR-ning\ • adverb : while being born or produced Examples: The bill was introduced in the Senate last year, but it died aborning. "We've all put aside the social task that we wanted to take the time to do well, postponed the email that should be long and full, only to realize we never did it at all. The dashed-off note that gets sent is preferable to the heartfelt missive that dies aborning." - From Emily Yoffe's Dear Prudence column on Slate.com, May 3, 2012 Did you know? "Aborning" is a native of U.S. soil; its arrival is marked in the early 20th century dialect of the rural South, and it quickly found its way to the crowded cities and towns of the industrial north. (We don't know exactly when it was conceived, but it came to the attention of the editors at Merriam-Webster in 1916.) "Aborning" combines the prefix "a-," meaning "in the process of," and "borning," a dialectal word meaning "birth." "Borning" itself is simply the gerund, or noun form, of the verb "born," a term that was used by, among others, William Faulkner: "The talk ... went here and there about the town, dying and borning again like a wind or a fire" (Light in August, 1932). 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 August 31, 2012 is: inspissate • \in-SPISS-ayt\ • verb : to make or become thick or thicker Examples: "Marmalade of carrots is the juice of yellow carrots, inspissated till it is of the thickness of fluid honey, or treacle, which last it resembles both in taste and color." - From Capt. James E. Cook's 1777 book A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World, Volume 1 "Estrogen and progesterone affect direction and flow of tubal secretions, which may accumulate, inspissate, and eventually calcify." - From Gary B. Siskin's 2009 book Interventional Radiology in Women’s Health Did you know? "Inspissate" is ultimately derived from Latin "spissus" ("slow, dense") and is related to Greek "spidnos" ("compact") and Lithuanian "spisti" ("to form a swarm"). When it appeared in English in the 17th century, "inspissate" suggested a literal thickening. Francis Bacon, for example, wrote in 1626 that "Sugar doth inspissate the Spirits of the Wine, and maketh them not so easie to resolue into Vapour." Eventually "inspissate" was also used metaphorically. Clive Bell once wrote of "parties of school children and factory girls inspissating the gloom of the museum atmosphere." There is also an adjective "inspissate," meaning "thickened in consistency" or "made thick, heavy, or intense," but that word is used even less frequently than the somewhat rare verb. 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 August 30, 2012 is: servile • \SER-vul\ • adjective 1 : of or befitting a slave or a menial position 2 : meanly or cravenly submissive : abject Examples: Maura was embarrassed at the way her mother demanded servile behavior from store employees. "In a communique read from atop of the small truck, they criticised the national unions for placing too little importance on health concerns and being servile to the factory owners." - From an article by Steve Scherer on Reuters.com, August 2, 2012 Did you know? Latin served us "servile" with the help of "servilis," itself from "servus," the Latin word for "slave." "Servus" is also an ancestor of "serve," "service," and "servitude." Synonyms of "servile" in English include "subservient," "slavish," and "obsequious." "Subservient" implies the cringing manner of one very conscious of a subordinate position." "Slavish" suggests abject or debased servitude. "Obsequious" implies fawning or sycophantic compliance and exaggerated deference of manner. "Servile" suggests the mean or fawning behavior of a slave. 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 August 29, 2012 is: benison • \BEN-uh-sun\ • noun : blessing, benediction Examples: The candidate sought the benison of the popular pastor in the hope of gaining both spiritual and political support. "On warm(ish) days, the soft rain feels like a benison, pattering gently on fallen leaves and stirring up earthy scents that remind me more of spring than autumn." - From an article by Ann Lovejoy in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 4, 2008 Did you know? "Benison" and its synonym "benediction" share more than a common meaning; the two words come from the same root, the Latin "benedicere," meaning "to bless." ("Benedicere" comes from the Latin "bene dicere"-"to speak well of"-a combination of the Latin "bene," meaning "well," and "dicere," to say.) Of the two words, "benediction" is more common today, but "benison" has a longer history in English. Records show that "benison" has been used in our language since the early 14th century. "Benediction" didn't appear in print until nearly a century later. 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 August 28, 2012 is: aliment • \AL-uh-munt\ • noun : food, nutriment; also : sustenance Examples: "In the Propontis, as far as I can learn, none of that peculiar substance called brit is to be found, the aliment of the right whale." - From Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby Dick "Until well into the nineteenth century, the notion of a well-balanced diet had occurred to no one. All food was believed to contain a single vague but sustaining substance-'the universal aliment.' A pound of beef had the same value for the body as a pound of apples or parsnips or anything else...." - From Bill Bryson's 2010 book At Home: A Short History of Private Life Did you know? These days you're most likely to encounter "aliment" as a typo for "ailment," but the word was less of a rarity in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. And the word's history goes back even further than that. It dates to the 15th century and comes from Latin "alere," meaning "to nourish," by way of "alimentum." Although "aliment" is uncommon in today's English, you may recognize it in the somewhat technical term "alimentary canal"-the name for the long tube in the body through which food passes after it is eaten. "Aliment" also functions as a verb meaning "to give aliment to," or "to nourish or sustain." 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 August 27, 2012 is: sansculotte • \sanz-koo-LAHT\ • noun 1 : an extreme radical republican in France at the time of the Revolution 2 : a radical or violent extremist in politics Examples: "At the time of the French Revolution, the rampaging sansculottes wrecked churches and every sign of monarchal or religious authority." - From Peter Manseau's 2009 book Rag and Bone "Anyone who has toyed before a mirror with something as simple as a cap or as exotic as a turban understands the almost mystical power of head coverings to transform us.... Revolutionaries have adopted them, from Che Guevara's beret to the red Phrygian cap worn by the sansculottes as a symbol of allegiance to the French Revolution, while many an aristocratic head rolled." - From an article by Leslie Carnhi in Vogue, May 2012 Did you know? At the time of the French Revolution (1787-1799), knee breeches ("culottes" in French) were the height of fashion for aristocratic men. The men of the general populace could not afford such impractical finery and instead wore the "pantaloon" (long trousers). When the poorer classes rose up against the government, members of the Revolutionary army used this difference in dress to distinguish themselves from the aristocracy, calling themselves "soldats sans culottes," literally, "soldiers without culottes." Almost immediately, "sansculotte" became a noun in both French and English. 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 August 26, 2012 is: sedulous • \SEJ-uh-lus\ • adjective 1 : involving or accomplished with careful perseverance 2 : diligent in application or pursuit Examples: Daphne was a sedulous student whose hard work and determination earned her a number of college scholarships. "We were sedulous. We were driven. Our vocabularies were formidable and constantly expanding." - From a short story by Molly Patterson in The Atlantic, May 21, 2012 Did you know? No fooling-the word "sedulous" ultimately comes from the Latin "se dolus," which literally means "without guile." Those two words were eventually melded into one, "sedulo," meaning "sincerely" or "diligently," and from that root developed Latin "sedulus" and English "sedulous." Don’t let the "sed-" beginning mislead you; "sedulous" is not related to words such as "sedentary" or "sedate" (which derive from the Latin verb "sedēre," meaning "to sit"). "Sedulous" people are not the sedate or sedentary sort. They're the hardworking types Scottish author Samuel Smiles must have had in mind when he wrote in his 1859 book Self-Help, "Sedulous attention and painstaking industry always mark the true worker." 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 August 25, 2012 is: belaud • \bih-LAWD\ • verb : to praise usually to excess Examples: Supporters belauded the idea as a magic bullet for all social problems in the country. "Several cheers went up. Piccard, unaware of the scene unfolding behind him, seemed to think they were meant to belaud his plan." - From Jake Silverstein's 2011 book Nothing Happened and Then It Did: A Chronicle in Fact and Fiction Did you know? You may recognize the word "laud" (meaning "to praise or extol") in "belaud." In fact, "belaud" was formed by combining the prefix "be-" and the verb "laud." Since "be-" can denote both "to a greater degree" and "excessively or ostentatiously," it perhaps should come as no surprise that while "laud" may imply praise to a deserved degree, "belaud" often has the connotations of unreasonable or undeserved praise. Incidentally, both "laud" and by extension "belaud" derive from the Latin verb "laudare," which in turn traces back to "laud-," meaning "praise." Other descendants of "laud-" in English include "laudatory," "laudable," and even "laudation," meaning "an act of praising." 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 August 24, 2012 is: never-never land • \nev-er-NEV-er-LAND\ • noun : an ideal or imaginary place Examples: Lester seems to think he lives in some kind of never-never land where people don't have to accept responsibility for their actions. "China's pride of ownership is all too familiar to most Taiwanese, who are constantly bombarded by Beijing's assertions that they live in a political never-never land, lacking all the elementary accouterments of statehood." - From an Associated Press article by Annie Huang, February 16, 2012 Did you know? The phrase "never-never land" is linked to Peter Pan, although it did not originate with that creation of the Scottish playwright Sir James Barrie. In Barrie's original 1904 play, Peter befriends the real-world children of the Darling family and spirits them off for a visit to Never Land, where children can fly and never have to become adults. Then, in his 1908 sequel When Wendy Grew Up, Barrie changed the name to Never Never Land, and subsequent versions of the earlier play incorporated that change. People had been using "never-never land" for a place that was overly idealistic or romantic since at least 1900, but the influence of Peter Pan on the word's popularity and staying-power cannot be discounted. 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 August 23, 2012 is: dundrearies • \dun-DREER-eez\ • noun plural : long flowing sideburns Examples: Many of the Civil War reenactors were sporting dundrearies to give their costumes a look of authenticity. "Although as a Victorian man he lacks the vocabulary to express it, he is living out the existentialist crisis, confronting absurdity and nothingness in cravat and dundrearies." - From Thomas C. Foster's 2008 book How to Read Novels Like a Professor: A Jaunty Exploration of the World's Favorite Literary Form Did you know? In the United States, Our American Cousin by Tom Taylor is often best remembered as the play Abraham Lincoln was watching at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Word lovers may also recall that the show gave us "dundrearies," a name for the long, bushy sideburns (called "Piccadilly weepers" in England). The term for that particular men's hair fashion, which was popular between 1840 and 1870, comes from the name of Lord Dundreary, a character in the play who sported those elegant whiskers. The name can also be used in the attributive form "dundreary whiskers." 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 August 22, 2012 is: ramose • \RAY-mohss\ • adjective : consisting of or having branches Examples: "On a coral reef something analogous happens when ramose corals grow upward to create a structure resistant to waves and current...." - Les S. Kaufman in Coral Reef Restoration Handbook, 2006 "This decision pushed the Iraqi scene into ramose labyrinths and added to the extremely complex questions...." - From an article by BBC Monitoring, April 21, 2010 Did you know? The adjective "ramose" is used to describe things that are branched, as in "ramose sponges," "ramose corals," or even "ramose trees." This branching can also be figurative, as in our second example above. "Ramose" was borrowed from the Latin "ramosus" ("branched") in the 17th century. In the 15th century, the Latin "ramosus" had also been borrowed by English, by way of the Middle French "rameux," as "ramous," a word nearly identical in meaning and usage to "ramose." The root of "ramosus," the Latin noun "ramus" ("branch"), is also the source, by way of Medieval Latin "ramificare" and Middle French "ramifier," of the English verb "ramify." 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 August 21, 2012 is: dyslogistic • \diss-luh-JISS-tik\ • adjective : uncomplimentary Examples: The blogger used many dyslogistic adjectives to express his dissatisfaction with the mayor. "One answer lies in ... the dyslogistic school of memoir written by former officials who present themselves as disillusioned innocents." - From a book review by Jacob Heilbrunn in The New York Times, June 22, 2008 Did you know? Logic would lead one to believe that "dyslogistic" is somehow related to the Greek word "logos," from which the words "logic" and "logistics" are derived. In actuality, however, "dyslogistic" is a 19th-century merger of the prefix "dys-," meaning "bad," and "eulogy," referring to an expression of praise. English jurist and philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) often used "dyslogistic" in his writings as an adjective to convey dispraise or opprobrium. And even today the word is likely to be encountered in judicial and intellectual writings. 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 August 20, 2012 is: marplot • \MAHR-plaht\ • noun : one who frustrates or ruins a plan or undertaking by meddling Examples: "If Will hadn't been such a nosy marplot," said Darlene, "our plan to surprise Brenda with a party for her birthday might have gone off without a hitch." Did you know? Beginning in the 17th century, people liked to prefix "mar-" to nouns to create a term for someone who mars, or spoils, something. A mar-joy was bad enough, but even worse was a mar-all. Although today the word "plot" often carries an implication of secrecy or ill intent, the "plot" used in the formation of "marplot" simply meant "a plan for the accomplishment of something." A marplot, therefore, can really mess up a perfectly good thing. The word may not have been invented by English playwright Susannah Centlivre, but it first surfaces in print in her 1709 play The Busy Body. That title refers to a character named Marplot, who misguidedly gets in the way of the lovers in the play. 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 August 19, 2012 is: de minimis • \dee-MIN-uh-mus\ • adjective : lacking significance or importance : so minor as to merit disregard Examples: Critics complain that the new policy merely introduces de minimis modifications and does nothing to amend the real faults in the system. "Williams told council members that a letter written by borough solicitor Kenelm Shirk III in response to her initial complaint described peeling paint and other problems as 'de minimis,' or trivial." - From an article by Kimberly Marselas in Intelligencer Journal/New Era (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), April 11, 2012 Did you know? Proponents of readable prose over jargon and legalese might argue that the last thing 20th-century American jurisprudence needed was another Latin term. Yet here we have a legal term that entered English only around 1950. Perhaps we should clarify: the legal doctrine of "de minimis non curat lex" ("the law does not concern itself with trifling matters") has been around for a while, but use of "de minimis" on its own is relatively recent. At first, the shortened phrase was simply used to refer to the legal doctrine itself ("the de minimis rule"). Then it came to be used more broadly as an adjective ("de minimis contacts with the defendant"). Finally, "de minimis" leaked out of the courtroom and into the world at large. 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 August 18, 2012 is: peruse • \puh-ROOZ\ • verb 1 a : to examine or study attentively and in detail b : to look over or through in a casual or hasty manner 2 : read Examples: Genevieve perused the menu while we waited for a table. "Sample a Texas chenin blanc or an Italian valpolicella as you peruse art from (mostly) regional artists whose imaginations respectfully diverge from the bluebonnet-and-Longhorn genre." - From an article by Courtney Bond in Texas Monthly, August 2012 Did you know? "Peruse" has long been a literary word, used by such famous authors as Shakespeare, Tennyson, and Thomas Hardy, and it tends to have a literary flavor even in our time. "Peruse" can suggest paying close attention to something, but it can also simply mean "to read." The "read" sense, which is not especially new and was in fact included in Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary, has drawn some criticism over the years for being too broad. Some commentators have recommended that "peruse" be reserved for reading with great care and attention to detail. But the fact remains that "peruse" is often used in situations where a simple "read" definition could be easily substituted. It may suggest either an attentive read or a quick scan. 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 August 17, 2012 is: georgic • \JOR-jik\ • adjective : of or relating to agriculture Examples: City slicker Brian was still getting used to the georgic lifestyle-particularly getting up at 4:30 each morning to milk the cows. "During the last decade of the 1800s, the georgic rhythms and methods of cultivation continued very much as they had when Thomas Jefferson was president." - From Dennis K. Boman's 2012 book The Original Rush Limbaugh: Lawyer, Legislator, and Civil Libertarian Did you know? The adjective "georgic," which dates from the first half of the 18th century, derives by way of Latin "georgicus" and Greek "geōrgikos" from the Greek noun "geōrgos," meaning "farmer." That noun, in turn, was formed by a combination of the prefix "geō-" (meaning "earth") and "ergon" ("work"), the latter of which gave us words such as "allergy" and "ergonomics." There is also a noun "georgic" (dating from the early 16th century) which refers to a poem that deals with the practical aspects of agriculture and rural affairs. The standard for such poems, Virgil's Georgics, is responsible for its name. That poem, written between 37 and 30 B.C., called for a restoration of agricultural life in Italy after its farms fell into neglect during civil war. 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 August 16, 2012 is: maquette • \ma-KET\ • noun : a usually small preliminary model (as of a sculpture or a building) Examples: At the town meeting the architect presented a maquette of the proposed new school, which will include a state-of-the-art gymnasium and media center. "All of the pieces in the gallery, including maquettes of the much larger outdoor works, are organized by location and accompanied by photographs of the artwork in their current homes...." - From an article by Jeremy D. Bonfiglio in The Herald-Palladium (St. Joseph, Michigan), May 10, 2012 Did you know? "Maquette" came to English directly from French, first appearing in our language in the late 19th century. The French word, which possesses the same meaning as its English descendant, derived from the Italian noun "macchietta," meaning "sketch," and ultimately from Latin "macula," meaning "spot." Maquettes are generally intended to serve as rough models of larger designs. Architects make maquettes of their buildings, and sculptors often create maquettes in wax or clay to help them realize the final sculpture. As an aside, you might spot something familiar in the word's Latin ancestor. The term "macula" in English refers to a spot (such as one on the eye) that is different from surrounding tissue; this is where we get the term "macular degeneration." 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 August 15, 2012 is: palisade • \pal-uh-SAYD\ • noun 1 a : a fence of stakes especially for defense b : a long strong stake pointed at the top and set close with others as a defense 2 : a line of bold cliffs Examples: "The biggest structure on the lot was a palisade made from wood harvested on the property, making the entrance look like a fortified structure." - From an article by Annie J. Kelley in the Battle Creek (Michigan) Enquirer, July 11, 2012 "What is known as Wenlock Edge, a great palisade, almost 1,000 feet high, running for 15 miles through the county of Shropshire, overlooks, near its eastern end, the tidy town of Much Wenlock." - From an article by Frank Deford in Smithsonian, July-August 2012 Did you know? "Palisade" derives via French from the Latin noun "palus," meaning "stake." The word originally applied to one of a series of stakes set in a row to form an enclosure or fortification. "The Palisades" is also the name given to the line of traprock cliffs that stretches for about 15 miles along the western bank of the Hudson River in southeastern New York and northern New Jersey. Purportedly, these cliffs got their name from the resemblance of the tall rocks to rows of stakes or trees, although who exactly came up with the name is a matter of dispute. Before long "palisade" came to refer to any similar formation of tall cliffs. 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 August 14, 2012 is: bloviate • \BLOH-vee-ayt\ • verb : to speak or write verbosely and windily Examples: Mitchell spent his Sunday morning listening to talk show pundits bloviating about world affairs. "Does the deluge of financial reporting make us more prone to glaze over when we read about massive debt or when we hear an analyst like CNBC's Jim Cramer bloviate about the latest stock offering?" - From an article by Grant Rampy in Abilene Reporter-News (Texas), June 10, 2012 Did you know? Warren G. Harding is often linked to "bloviate," but to him the word wasn't insulting; it simply meant "to spend time idly." Harding used the word often in that "hanging around" sense, but during his tenure as the 29th U.S. President (1921-23), he became associated with the "verbose" sense of "bloviate," perhaps because his speeches tended to the long-winded side. Although he is sometimes credited with having coined the word, it's more likely that Harding picked it up from local slang while hanging around with his boyhood buddies in Ohio in the late 1800s. The term probably derives from a combination of the word "blow" plus the suffix "-ate." 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 August 13, 2012 is: a-go-go • \ah-GOH-goh\ • adjective 1 : of, relating to, or being a disco or the music or dances performed there : go-go 2 : being in a whirl of motion 3 : being up-to-date - often used postpositively Examples: The shop is chock-full of the latest in fashionable home decor-it's decorating trends a-go-go. "All of the major plot points are either utterly predictable or thoroughly explained by one of the characters, and that becomes kind of a drag after a while. Nonetheless, there's tons of suspense, monsters-a-go-go and strong performances from the whole cast." - From a film review by Alonso Duralde on thewrap.com, June 4, 2012 Did you know? The English word "a-go-go" has two functions. It's an adjective, as we've defined it above, but it's also a noun referring to a nightclub for dancing to popular music-that is, a disco. Both the noun and the first meaning of the adjective betray the word's origins: it's from the name of a Parisian discotheque-the Whisky à Gogo, which translates to "whiskey galore." The French club, which opened in 1947 or possibly 1948, predated the American discos that have also used the name, but the American versions undoubtedly had much to do with spreading the term "a-go-go" in English: the most famous of these, the still-operating Whisky a Go Go on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip, opened in 1964, the year before our earliest evidence of the generic use of either the noun or the adjective "a-go-go." 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 August 12, 2012 is: nectar • \NEK-ter\ • noun 1 a : the drink of the Greek and Roman gods b : something delicious to drink c : a beverage of fruit juice and pulp 2 : a sweet liquid that is secreted by the nectaries of a plant and is the chief raw material of honey Examples: After working for hours in the hot sun, there is no sweeter nectar than an ice-cold glass of lemonade. "Large numbers of adult monarch butterflies are present in our area, busily laying eggs and stocking up on nectar as they continue to push north in waves to the limits of their breeding range." - From an article by Robert Zimmer in The Post-Crescent (Appleton, Wisconsin), June 30, 2012 Did you know? "Nectar" is often mentioned in conjunction with "ambrosia," the food of the Greek and Roman gods. For centuries, English speakers have used "ambrosia" to refer to something with an extremely pleasing taste or smell and "nectar" to refer to a delicious drink, especially a fruit juice. To the ancient Greeks and Romans, however, the powers of nectar and ambrosia far exceeded those of any earthly fare; consuming nectar and ambrosia gave the gods their immortality. In Greek, the literal meanings of "ambrosia" and "nektar" are "immortality" and "overcoming death" respectively. "Nektar" is believed to be a compound of Greek "nek-" (probably akin to Latin "nec-," meaning "death") and "-tar" (probably akin to Sanksrit "tarati," meaning "he overcomes or crosses over"). 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 August 11, 2012 is: gibbous • \JIB-us\ • adjective 1 : marked by convexity or swelling b of the moon or a planet : seen with more than half but not all of the apparent disk illuminated 2 : having a hump : humpbacked Examples: The gibbous shadows that could be seen on the horizon were those of oxen pulling plows. "With a simple triangular sweep, you can see the clouds and moons of Jupiter, mountains and craters on the Moon, and the fat gibbous form of Venus." - From a report on WKBN.com (Youngstown, Ohio), December 26, 2011 Did you know? The adjective "gibbous" has its origins in the Latin noun "gibbus," meaning "hump," and in the Late Latin adjective "gibbosus," meaning "humpbacked," which Middle English adopted in the 14th century as "gibbous." "Gibbous" has been used to describe the rounded body parts of humans and animals (such as the back of a hunchback or camel) or to describe the shape of certain flowers (such as snapdragons). The term is most often identified, however, with the study of astronomy. In fact, if you run across the word "gibbous," chances are you'll find the word "moon" somewhere nearby. A gibbous moon is one that is more than a half-moon but less than full. 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 August 10, 2012 is: scaramouch • \SKAIR-uh-moosh\ • noun a : a cowardly buffoon b : rascal, scamp Examples: Dorothy was wary about lending money to her uncle, a scaramouch who never took responsibility for his actions. "The mischievous Scaramouche dances beneath them, flanked by a chorus of provocatively clad statues that seem poised to descend from their pedestals...." - From Caroline Van Eck and Stijn Bussels' 2011 book Theatricality in Early Modern Art and Architecture Did you know? In the commedia dell'arte, Scaramouch was a stock character who was constantly being cudgeled by Harlequin, which may explain why his name is based on an Italian word meaning "skirmish," or "a minor fight." The character was made popular in England during the late 1600s by the clever acting of Tiberio Fiurelli. During that time, the name "Scaramouch" also gained notoriety as a derogatory word for "a cowardly buffoon" or "rascal." Today not many people use the word (which can also be spelled "scaramouche"), but you will encounter it while listening to Queen's ubiquitous rock song "Bohemian Rhapsody," in the lyric "I see a little silhouetto of a man / Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the fandango?" 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 August 9, 2012 is: weald • \WEELD\ • noun 1 : a heavily wooded area : forest 2 : a wild or uncultivated usually upland region Examples: "Challenger's house was on the very edge of the hill, and from its southern face, in which was the study window, one looked across the vast stretch of the weald to where the gentle curves of the South Downs formed an undulating horizon." - From Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1913 novella The Poison Belt "Graham [Findlay] is a watercolour artist painting mainly landscapes around his home in the Weald of Kent." - From an announcement in the Kentish Express, June 28, 2012 Did you know? If "weald" were a tree, it would have many annual rings. It has been in use as a general word for "forest" since the days of Old English, and it has also long been used, in its capitalized form, as a geographic name for a once-heavily forested region of southeast England. "Weald" is also often capitalized today when used to refer to wooded areas like the Weald of Kent and the Weald of Sussex in England. In time, the word branched out to designate any wild and uncultivated upland regions. A related word is "wold," meaning "an upland plain or stretch of rolling land." 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 August 8, 2012 is: aught • \AWT\ • pronoun 1 : anything 2 : all, everything Examples: "Xury said it was a lion, and it might be so for aught I know." - From Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe "He dropped, dead, into the shallow water, but I was too late for aught but revenge." - From Judson Roberts' 2011 novel Viking Warrior Did you know? "If you know aught which does behove my knowledge / Thereof to be inform'd, imprison't not / In ignorant concealment," Polixenes begs Camillo in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, employing the "anything" sense of "aught." Shakespeare didn't coin the pronoun "aught," which has been a part of the English language since before the 12th century, but he did put it to frequent use. Writers today may be less likely to use "aught" than were their literary predecessors, but the pronoun does continue to turn up occasionally. "Aught" can also be a noun meaning "zero," and the phrase "the aughts" has been bandied about as a proposed label for the decade that began in the year 2000. 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 August 7, 2012 is: oriflamme • \OR-uh-flam\ • noun : a banner, symbol, or ideal inspiring devotion or courage Examples: For many Americans, the photograph of the Iwo Jima flag raising served as an oriflamme and a reminder of the sacrifices and courage of the American servicemen. "Researchers now think there's a da Vinci painting underneath. The Italian phrase on that little oriflamme, or battle banner, is what reporters say inspired today's search by contemporary engineer Maurizio Seracini." - From an article by Robert Morrison in The Examiner (Washington, DC), April 4, 2012 Did you know? The original "oriflamme" was the banner of Saint Denis, a patron saint of France who is said to have been the first bishop of Paris. Middle English speakers referred to this red or reddish orange banner using the Middle French term "oriflamble," from Old French "ori flambe," meaning "small flag." From the 12th to the 15th centuries, French kings carried the banner into battle as a way of inspiring their troops. This tactic met with such success that, by 1600, English speakers were using "oriflamme" to refer to any group's rallying symbol. 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 August 6, 2012 is: affront • \uh-FRUNT\ • verb 1 a : to insult especially to the face by behavior or language b : to cause offense to 2 : to face in defiance : confront 3 : to appear directly before Examples: He affronted us with his rude behavior and seeming indifference to our feelings. "She has fine acting skills, moving effortlessly from the Prima Donna's easily affronted hauteur to Ariadne's heartfelt grief, and she looked beautiful." - From a theater review by Sarah Bryan Miller in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri), January 29, 2012 Did you know? The Middle English "afronten," the ancestor of the Modern English verb "affront," was borrowed from the Anglo-French "afrunter," a verb which means "to defy" but which also has the specific meaning "to strike on the forehead" or "to slap on the face." These more literal senses reveal the word's Latin origins, a combination of the Latin prefix "ad-," meaning "to" or "towards," and "front-, frons," which means "forehead" (and which is also the source of the English word "front"). While the striking or slapping sense of "afrunter" was not adopted by English, it is alluded to in the oldest uses of "afronten" in Middle English in the sense of "to insult especially to the face." 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 August 5, 2012 is: wiseacre • \WYZE-ay-ker\ • noun : one who pretends to knowledge or cleverness; especially : smart aleck Examples: A few wiseacres in the audience began heckling the young comedian after his first couple of jokes fell flat. "Following the stuttering relationship between Billy Crystal's smart wiseacre and Meg Ryan's prim moralist, the film undoubtedly owed something to Woody Allen's Annie Hall." - From an article in The Irish Times, June 28, 2012 Did you know? Given the spelling and definition of "wiseacre," you might guess that the word derives from the sense of "wise" meaning "insolent" or "fresh"-the sense that gives us "wisecrack" and "wisenheimer." But, in fact, "wiseacre" came to English by a different route; it derived from the Middle Dutch "wijssegger" (meaning "soothsayer"), a modification of the Old High German "wīzzago." "Wiseacre" first appeared in English way back in the late 16th century, while the "insolent" sense of "wise" and the words formed from it are products of the 19th and 20th centuries. The etymologies of "wiseacre" and "wise" are not completely distinct, however; the ancestors of "wiseacre" are loosely tied to the same Old English root that gave us "wise." 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 August 4, 2012 is: scarlet pimpernel • \SKAHR-lut-PIM-per-nel\ • noun 1 : a European pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) naturalized in North America and having scarlet, white, or purplish flowers that close in cloudy weather 2 : a person who rescues others from mortal danger by smuggling them across a border Examples: The refugees will always be grateful to the scarlet pimpernels who saved their lives by getting them out of the country ahead of the death squads. "The scarlet pimpernel plant also disguises itself, albeit in a reverse sort of way. It appears to be the most docile and friendly of plants yet it contains toxins and its digestion by grazing animals may cause their death.." - From a column by Joshua Siskin in The Daily News of Los Angeles, June 2, 2012 Did you know? In 1903, Hungarian-born playwright and novelist Baroness Emmuska Orczy introduced the world to Sir Percy Blakeney, ostensibly a foppish English aristocrat, but secretly a swashbuckling hero known as "The Scarlet Pimpernel" who rescued aristocrats from certain death in the French Revolution by smuggling them to England. In The Scarlet Pimpernel, Blakeney's character used a drawing of a small, red, star-shaped flower known in England as a "scarlet pimpernel" as a signature of his involvement in an escape. The popularity of Orczy's novel prompted English speakers to start using "scarlet pimpernel" for any daring hero who smuggled those in danger to a safe haven in another country. Today it is also sometimes used more broadly for a person who is daring, mysterious, or evasive. 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 August 3, 2012 is: mettlesome • \MET-ul-sum\ • adjective : full of vigor and stamina : spirited Examples: The mettlesome bronco kicked and bucked, but the rider kept her balance and rode her out. "An accomplished actor, Prete writes electrifying dialogue, and his galvanizing descriptions are poetic and mettlesome." - From a book review Donna Seaman in Booklist, March 15, 2012 Did you know? The 17th-century adjective "mettlesome" (popularly used of spirited horses) sometimes appeared as the variant "metalsome." That's not surprising. In the 16th century and for some time after, "mettle" was a variant spelling of "metal"-that is, the word for substances such as gold, copper, and iron. ("Metal" itself dates from the 14th century and descends from a Greek term meaning "mine" or "metal.") The 16th century was also when "metal"-or "mettle"-acquired the figurative sense of "spirit," "courage," or "stamina." However, by the early 18th century, dictionaries were noting the distinction between "metal," used for the substance, and "mettle," used for "spirit," so that nowadays the words "mettle" and "mettlesome" are rarely associated with "metal." 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 August 2, 2012 is: cerebrate • \SAIR-uh-brayt\ • verb : to use the mind : think Examples: Jane is apt to cerebrate at length before making even minor decisions. "You can't cerebrate over what you can't see, which therefore becomes an object of loathing and mistrust." - From an article by Howard Portnoy at Examiner.com, June 25, 2012 Did you know? When you think of the human brain, you might think of the cerebrum, the large, fissured upper portion of the brain that is recognized as the neural control center for thought and sensory perception. In 1853, Dr. William Carpenter thought of the cerebrum when he coined "unconscious cerebration," a term describing the mental process by which people seem to do the right thing or come up with the right answer without conscious effort. People thought enough of Carpenter's coinage to use it as the basis of "cerebrate," though the verb refers to active thinking rather than subconscious processing. "Cerebrate," "cerebrum," and the related adjective "cerebral" all derive from the Latin word for "brain," which is "cerebrum." 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 August 1, 2012 is: tonsorial • \tahn-SOR-ee-ul\ • adjective : of or relating to a barber or the work of a barber Examples: "Rookie Adam Henrique is trying to spark the Devils with a tonsorial adjustment. Henrique has shaved off his beard, leaving him with a bristly mustache for Game 4." -From an Associated Press article appearing in the Wall Street Journal, June 5, 2012 "We found the office closed; but, in the verandah of the dwelling-house, was a lady performing a tonsorial operation on the head of a prim-looking, elderly European, in a low, white cravat…." - From Herman Melville's 1847 novel Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas Did you know? "Tonsorial" is a fancy word that describes the work of those who give shaves and haircuts. (It can apply more broadly to hairdressers as well.) It derives from the Latin verb "tondēre," meaning "to shear, clip or crop." (Another descendant, "tonsor," is an archaic word for a barber.) You might be more familiar with the related noun "tonsure," which refers to the shaven crown or patch worn by monks and other clerics, or the religious rite of clipping the head of one being admitted as a cleric. The verb "tonsure" means "to shave the head of." 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 July 31, 2012 is: gimbal • \GHIM-bul\ • noun : a device that permits a body to incline freely in any direction or suspends it so that it will remain level when its support is tipped - usually used in plural; called also gimbal ring Examples: "In general, typical tracking mechanisms have the laser mounted on a gimbal, which is controlled with digital servos." - From Stamatios V. Kartalopoulos's 2011 book Free Space Optical Networks for Ultra-Broad Band Services "When the vessel turns upright in the ocean, much of the furniture and equipment swings on gimbals so that it is in the right place when the ship becomes perfectly vertical." - From an article by Gary Robbins in The San Diego Union-Tribune, June 25, 2012 Did you know? One place you might encounter gimbals is on a ship, where they are used to keep compasses and other things level with the horizon in contrast to the pitch and roll of the vessel at sea. The word "gimbal" is an alteration of "gemel," a word for a type of finger-ring popular in the 16th century that could be divided into two separate rings. The word comes from Anglo-French "gemel" ("twin"), which in turn comes from Latin "gemellus," a diminutive of "geminus," the Latin word for "twin." 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 July 30, 2012 is: spoonerism • \SPOO-nuh-riz-um\ • noun : a transposition of usually initial sounds of two or more words Examples: Children will be delighted by Jon Scieszka's use of wordplay in Baloney (Henry P.), including the spoonerism "sighing flossers" for "flying saucers." "Thursday afternoon, Barack Obama presided over the unveiling of George W. Bush's official portrait in the White House, a warm event that reminds us: It feels like years since President Dubya regaled the world with his famous spoonerisms. His retirement has been defined by an awkward silence. While John McCain's endorsement was trumpeted by Mitt Romney, Bush delivered his in just four words. ‘I'm for Mitt Romney,’ he shouted to a journalist as an elevator door closed between them. If, just for old time's sake, Bush had said, ‘I'm for Ritt Momney,’ it would have been perfect." - From an article in CNN Wire, June 1, 2012 Did you know? Poor William Archibald Spooner! That British clergyman and educator, who lived from 1844 to 1930, often had to speak in public, but he was a nervous man and his tongue frequently got tangled up. He would say things like "a blushing crow" when he meant "a crushing blow." Spooner's letter reversals became the stuff of legend-and undoubtedly gave his listeners many a laugh. By1900 his name had inspired the term "spoonerism," which lives on to this day. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.