Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 23, 2011 is: trammel • \TRAM-ul\ • noun 1 : a net for catching birds or fish 2 : something impeding activity, progress, or freedom : restraint -- usually used in plural Examples: "I cast the miserable trammels of worldly discretion to the winds, and spoke with the fervour that filled me…." -- From Wilkie Collins' 1868 novel The Moonstone "Those details remind us that we're at a modern play, one in which the author rejects the trammels of a genre that, to be honest, are extremely familiar." -- From a theater review by Judith Newmark in St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 15, 2011 Did you know? A trammel fishing net traditionally has three layers, with the middle one finer-meshed and slack so that fish passing through the first net carry some of the center net through the coarser third net and are trapped. Appropriately, "trammel" traces back to the Late Latin "tremaculum," which comes from Latin "tres," meaning "three," and "macula," meaning "mesh." Today, "trammels" is synonymous with "restraints," and "trammel" is also used as a verb meaning "to confine" or "to enmesh." You may also run across the adjective "untrammeled," meaning "not confined or limited." 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 22, 2011 is: splenetic • \splih-NET-ik\ • adjective : marked by bad temper, malevolence, or spite Examples: I know David was in a bad mood all day, but the splenetic tone of his reply to Brenda’s question was not necessary. "If he were 10 or 15 years younger (or at least looked like he was), [Charlie] Sheen would be perfect as the splenetic, screed-spouting anti-hero of John Osborne’s 'Look Back in Anger.'" -- From an article by Ben Brantley on the New York Times Arts Beat blog, May 26, 2011 Did you know? In early Western physiology, a person's physical qualities and mental disposition were believed to be determined by the proportion of four bodily humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. The last of these was believed to be secreted by the spleen, causing feelings of disposition ranging from intense sadness (melancholia) to irascibility. This now-discredited association explains how the use of "splenetic" (deriving from the Late Latin "spleneticus" and the Latin "splen," meaning "spleen") came to mean both "bad-tempered" and "given to melancholy" as well as "of or relating to the spleen." In later years, the "melancholy" sense fell out of use, but the sense pertaining to ill humor or malevolence remains with us 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 November 21, 2011 is: strudel • \STROO-dul\ • noun : a pastry made from a thin sheet of dough rolled up with filling and baked Examples: Strudels are usually made with high-gluten flour to increase the malleability of the dough. "The Supremes belted out a song on the radio, their voices as smooth and flawless as the ribbon of cream Kirsten poured from the pitcher onto her father's strudel, and the whole house smelled cheerfully of pork and spiced apples, laced with a note of butter. -- From Rebecca Coleman’s 2011 novel The Kingdom of Childhood Did you know? The word "strudel" first appeared in English in the late 19th century, but the confection the word refers to is likely much older. The strudel is Austrian in origin, and its name comes from the German word "Strudel," meaning "whirlpool" -- which the pastry resembles when cut to reveal its thin sheet of dough rolled around the filling. Strudels can be sweet or savory, but the sweet apple strudel is the most famous. 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 20, 2011 is: elucidate • \ih-LOO-suh-dayt\ • verb 1 : to make lucid especially by explanation or analysis 2 : to give a clarifying explanation Examples: During her speech, the governor attempted to elucidate exactly what kind of impact the new sports arena would have on the state's economy. "His stylish criticism, marked by an easy erudition, was invariably smooth and accessible; he compressed and elucidated but never reduced or oversimplified." -- From an article by Benjamin Schwarz in The Atlantic, December 2011 Did you know? To "elucidate" is to make something clear that was formerly murky or confusing -- and it is perfectly clear how the modern term got that meaning. "Elucidate" traces to the Latin term "lucidus," which means "lucid." "Lucidus" in turn descends from the verb "lucēre," meaning "to shine." So "elucidating" can be thought of as the figurative equivalent of shining a light on something to make it easier to see. "Lucēre" has also produced other shining offspring in English. Among its descendants are "lucid" itself (which can mean "shining," "clear-headed," or "easily understood"), "lucent" (meaning "giving off light" or "easily seen through"), and "translucent" (meaning "partly transparent" or "clear enough for light to pass through"). 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 19, 2011 is: gargantuan • \gahr-GAN-chuh-wuhn\ • adjective : tremendous in size, volume, or degree : gigantic, colossal Examples: The town's wealthiest family lived in a gargantuan mansion at the top of the hill, complete with twelve bedrooms, two swimming pools and a tennis court. "Contrary to my expectations, I did not have nightmares about gargantuan squid tangling with enormous ichthyosaurs in the shadowy reaches of the sea last night." -- From a blog post by Brian Switek at Wired.com, October 12, 2011 Did you know? "Gargantua" is the name of a giant king in François Rabelais's 16th-century satiric novel Gargantua. All of the details of Gargantua's life befit a giant. He rides a colossal mare whose tail switches so violently that it fells the entire forest of Orleans. He has an enormous appetite -- in one memorable incident, he inadvertently swallows five pilgrims while eating a salad. The scale of everything connected with Gargantua gave rise to the adjective "gargantuan," which since Shakespeare's time has been used of anything of tremendous size or volume. 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 18, 2011 is: vulcanize • \VUL-kuh-nyze\ • verb : to subject to or to undergo the process of treating crude or synthetic rubber or similar plastic material chemically to give it useful properties (as elasticity, strength, and stability) Examples: Rubber that has been vulcanized is not just for tires -- a wide range of articles, from hoses and hockey pucks to rubber bands and rain boots, are made with it. "The sulfur in the juice of morning glories is used to vulcanize rubber, but it was used long before Goodyear as a hallucinogenic, a laxative and possibly to make rubber bouncing balls." -- From an article by Judy Terry at press-citizen.com (Iowa City Press-Citizen), October 19, 2011 Did you know? "Vulcanize" sounds like something Spock from Star Trek might do, but the explanation behind this word has more to do with ancient mythology than it does with science fiction. Vulcanization involves heating rubber in combination with sulfur. The Roman god Vulcan (whose Greek counterpart is Hephaestus) was the god of fire and of skills that used fire, such as metalworking. So when Charles Goodyear discovered that high heat would result in stronger rubber, he called the process "vulcanization" after the god of fire. Goodyear stumbled upon the idea in 1839 and acquired a patent for it in 1844, but the words "vulcanize" and "vulcanization" didn't appear in print until 1845 and 1846 respectively. 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 17, 2011 is: haberdasher • \HAB-er-dash-er\ • noun 1 : a dealer in notions 2 : a dealer in men's clothing and accessories Examples: Mr. Watson planned to visit the haberdasher during the week to find some new shirts for his wardrobe. "Under his ownership, the store's reputation spread. Clients flew into Portland and stayed at the Heathman Hotel to await their appointments with the courteous haberdasher." -- From an obituary by Anne Saker in The Oregonian, September 20, 2011 Did you know? At various times throughout its history, the term "haberdasher" has referred to a dealer of hats or caps, a seller of notions (sewing supplies such as needles and thimbles), and apparently (perhaps somewhat coyly) as a person who sells liquor. Nowadays, with hats not being as fashionable as they once were, the word mostly is applied generally as a clothing outfitter for men, with "haberdashery" referring to the establishment or the goods sold there. "Haberdasher" derives via Middle English from "hapertas," an Anglo-French word for a kind of cloth, as does the obsolete noun "haberdash," which once meant petty merchandise or small wares. 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 16, 2011 is: mountebank • \MOUN-tih-bank\ • noun 1 : a person who sells quack medicines from a platform 2 : a boastful unscrupulous pretender : charlatan Examples: In his newspaper column, Gavin criticized the talk-radio host as "a mountebank whose 'expert' opinions and advice are complete hooey." "Bring your five-minute tales related to all things fraudulent and pseudo. Flimflammers, mountebanks, poseurs and snake oil salesmen especially welcome." -- From a literary events listing by Gina Webb in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 25, 2011 Did you know? "Mountebank" derives from the Italian "montimbanco," which was formed by combining the verb "montare" ("to mount"), the preposition "in" (converted to "im," meaning "in" or "on"), and the noun "banco" ("bench"). Put these components together and you can deduce the literal origins of "mountebank" as someone mounted on a bench -- the "bench" being the platform on which charlatans from the 16th and 17th centuries would stand to sell their phony medicines. Mountebanks often included various forms of light entertainment on stage in order to attract customers. Later, extended uses of "mountebank" referred to someone who falsely claims to have knowledge about a particular subject or a person who simply pretends to be something he or she is not in order to gain attention. 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 15, 2011 is: tramontane • \truh-MAHN-tayn\ • adjective 1 : situated on the north side of the Alps : transalpine 2 : lying on or coming from the other side of a mountain range Examples: He kept a journal on his journey to the tramontane region of the country. "The lesser known area of Emporda, just across the border from Roussillon in France, is a rugged hilly area where wild herbs have a stronghold. The vines hang on as the tramontane winds whip across the area mixing the aromas of the pollen." -- From an article by Colin Pressdee in the Daily Post (Liverpool), August 28, 2010 Did you know? The journey of "tramontane" into English starts in Latin and begins with the coming together of the prefix "trans-," meaning "across" or "beyond," and "montanus," meaning "of a mountain." When the word entered Italian, it did so as "tramontano" and referred to people or things on or from the other side of a mountain range -- specifically, the Alps. "Tramontano" then traveled into English during the late 16th century as both the adjective "tramontane," with the same meaning as the Italian word, and as the noun "tramontane," meaning "one dwelling in a tramontane region" or "a foreigner." During the 18th century, the adjective began carrying the meaning "barbarous," but that meaning is now rarely -- if ever -- used. 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 14, 2011 is: bamboozle • \bam-BOO-zul\ • verb 1 : to deceive by underhanded methods : dupe, hoodwink 2 : to confuse, frustrate, or throw off thoroughly or completely Examples: Olivia couldn’t believe that she had been bamboozled into giving money to a phony charity. "Football at every level involves repeated acts of deception. A quarterback fakes a handoff, a receiver pantomimes a catch to bamboozle a defensive back, a linebacker feints a blitz before suddenly reversing course to drop back in pass coverage. " -- From a column by Ray Cox in The Roanoke Times (Virginia), September 2, 2011 Did you know? In 1710, Irish author Jonathan Swift wrote an article on "the continual Corruption of our English Tongue" in which he complained of "the Choice of certain Words invented by some pretty Fellows." Among the inventions Swift disliked were "bamboozle," "bubble" (a dupe), "put" (a fool), and "sham." (Perhaps he objected to the use of "sham" as a verb; he himself had used the adjective meaning "false" a couple of years previously.) What all these words appear to have in common is a connection to the underworld as jargon of criminals. Other than that, the origin of "bamboozle" remains a mystery, but the over-300-year-old word has clearly defied Swift's assertion that "All new affected Modes of Speech . . . are the first perishing Parts in any Language." 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 13, 2011 is: gyre • \JYRE\ • noun : a circular or spiral motion or form; especially : a giant circular oceanic surface current Examples: Sophia will be focusing her graduate studies on the effects of ocean gyres on North America's climate. "When gyres of warm wind coming over the Pacific hit the cold water in the Bay, the air chills and condenses to form fog." -- From an article by Lily Dayton in the Monterey County Herald (California), July 26, 2011 Did you know? William Butler Yeats opens his 1920 poem, "The Second Coming," with the following lines: "Turning and turning in the widening gyre / The falcon cannot hear the falconer; / Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world…." Often found in poetic or literary contexts as an alternative to the more familiar "circle" or "spiral," "gyre" comes via the Latin "gyrus" from the Greek "gyros," meaning "ring" or "circle." Today, "gyre" is most frequently encountered as an oceanographic term that refers to vast circular systems of ocean currents, such as the North Atlantic Gyre, a system of currents circling clockwise between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. "Gyre" is also sometimes used of more localized vortices such as those produced by whirlpools or tornados. 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 12, 2011 is: lachrymose • \LAK-ruh-mohss\ • adjective 1 : given to tears or weeping : tearful 2 : tending to cause tears : mournful Examples: "'What a shame it is,' he said, wiping at his own eyes. Magee was a sucker for weeping women, and lachrymose when he had been drinking." -- From Michael Chabon’s short story "Smoke," as published in his 2005 collection A Model World and Other Stories "The swish and slap of the windshield wipers kept good time with the banjos as [Merle] Haggard and his combo sang lachrymose patriotic songs in exaggerated stereo." -- From Jonathan Raban’s 2011 book Driving Home: An American Journey Did you know? The adjective "lachrymose" comes from Latin "lacrimosus" (from the noun "lacrima," meaning "tear"). "Lachrymose" didn't appear in English until around 1727, but another closely related adjective can be traced back to the late 16th century. This earlier cousin, "lachrymal" (sometimes spelled "lacrimal," particularly in its scientific applications), has a scientific flavor and is defined as "of, relating to, or being glands that produce tears" or "of, relating to, or marked by tears." In contrast, "lachrymose" typically applies to someone who is moved to tears because of strong emotions or something that stimulates such feelings. 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 11, 2011 is: cumulate • \KYOO-myuh-layt\ • verb 1 : to gather or pile or become gathered or piled in a heap 2 a : to combine into one 3 a: to build up by addition of new material b : to increase gradually in quantity or number Examples: "You've demonstrated great proficiency in cumulating a collection of excuses," Elise told her employee, "but your energies would be better spent meeting, rather than forcing the revision of, deadlines." "In its weak form, the hypothesis has been that although speed of processing on any one task may be only weakly correlated with more complex performances, such small differences cumulate over time and tasks." -- From 2011 book The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence, edited by Robert J. Sternberg and Scott Barry Kaufman Did you know? "Cumulate" and its far more common relative "accumulate" both come from the Latin word "cumulare," meaning "to heap up." "Cumulare," in turn, comes from "cumulus," meaning "mass." ("Cumulus" functions as an English word in its own right as well. It can mean "heap" or "accumulation," or it can refer to a kind of dense puffy cloud with a flat base and rounded outlines.) "Cumulate" and "accumulate" overlap in meaning, but you're likely to find "cumulate" mostly in technical contexts. The word's related adjective, "cumulative," however, is used more widely. 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 10, 2011 is: ziggurat • \ZIG-uh-rat\ • noun : an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top; also : a structure or object of similar form Examples: "The [dietary] guidelines will be turned into something like the familiar food pyramid. The new pyramid could be a circle or a ziggurat." -- Richard Knox, quoted on NPR News, January 12, 2005 "Just shy of the Euphrates River, we could see the landmark that signaled the end of the trip: the ziggurat, a monument that has stood mute witness to 4,000 years of human conflict." -- From an article by Michael Taylor in Archaeology, March 2011 Did you know? French professor of archaeology Francois Lenormant spent a great deal of time poring over ancient Assyrian texts. In those cuneiform inscriptions, he recognized a new language, now known as Akkadian, which proved valuable to the understanding of a civilization that goes back 5,000 years. Through his studies, he became familiar with the Akkadian word for the towering Assyrian temples: "ziqqurratu." In 1877 he came out with Chaldean Magic, a scholarly exposition on the mythology of the Chaldeans, a people who lived 2700 years ago in what is now modern-day Iraq. In his work, which was immediately translated into English, he introduced the word "ziggurat" to the modern world in his description of the ziggurat of the palace of Khorsabad. 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 9, 2011 is: fey • \FAY\ • adjective 1 : marked by a foreboding of death or calamity 2 a : marked by an otherworldly air or attitude b : crazy 3 a : excessively refined : precious b : quaintly unconventional : campy Examples: Grandfather always said grandmother was "fey," and he often joked that he believed she was raised by woodland fairies. "The Danny Elfman score is augmented, somehow appropriately for a twee story, by songs from the ultra-fey Sufjan Stevens." -- From a film review by Malcolm Fraser in the Montreal Mirror, September 29, 2011 Did you know? "Fey" is a word that defies its own meaning, since it has yet to even come close to the brink of death after being in our language for well over 800 years. In Old and Middle English it meant "feeble" or "sickly." Those meanings turned out to be fey themselves, but the word lived on in senses related to death, and because a wild or elated state of mind was once believed to portend death, other senses arose from these. The word "fay," meaning "fairy" or "elf," may also have had an influence on some senses of "fey." Not until the late 20th century did the word's most recent meanings, "precious" and "campy," find their way onto the pages of 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 November 8, 2011 is: overwhelm • \oh-ver-WELM\ • verb 1 : upset, overthrow 2 a : to cover over completely : submerge b : to overcome by superior force or numbers c : to overpower in thought or feeling Examples: The flurry of term papers and exams during the final weeks of the semester can overwhelm some students. "So-called 'denial of service' attacks involve bombarding websites with so much bogus traffic that their servers are overwhelmed." -- From an article in the Associated Press State & Local Wire, October 10, 2011 Did you know? You could say that the introduction of "overwhelm" to the English language was a bit redundant. The word, which originally meant "to overturn or upset," was formed in Middle English by combining the prefix "over-" with the verb "whelmen," which also meant "to overturn." "Whelmen" has survived in English as "whelm," a verb which is largely synonymous with "overwhelm." Over the last 600 years, however, "overwhelm" has won over English speakers who have come to largely prefer it to "whelm," despite the latter's brevity. Perhaps the emphatic redundancy of "overwhelm" makes it seem like the more fitting word for describing the experience of being overcome by powerful forces or feelings. 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 7, 2011 is: archipelago • \ahr-kuh-PEL-uh-goh\ • noun 1 : an expanse of water with many scattered islands 2 : a group of islands 3 : something resembling an archipelago; especially : a group or scattering of similar things Examples: "Both attacks took place in the Lamu archipelago, a string of white-sand islands that are the first significant settlement south of the Somali border, and one of Kenya’s major tourist draws." -- From an article by Mike Pflanz in the Christian Science Monitor, October 3, 2011 "The only hint of the storm the night before was an archipelago of puddles and ponds sparkling in the bright morning sunlight." -- From Les Alldredge's 2011 book Do No Evil Did you know? The Greeks called it the "Aegean Pelagos" and the Italians referred to it as "Arcipelago" (principal sea), but English speakers now call it the Aegean Sea. Numerous islands dot its expanse, and 17th-century English speakers adopted a modified form of its Italian name for any sea with a similar scattering of islands. By the 19th century "archipelago" had come to refer to the groups of islands themselves, and now it is often used figuratively, as in, for example, "an archipelago of high rises." 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 6, 2011 is: ruminate • \ROO-muh-nayt\ • verb 1 : to engage in contemplation : meditate 2 : to chew again what has been chewed slightly and swallowed : chew the cud Examples: After meeting with her counselor, Meg passed the afternoon ruminating on the question of what to do with her life. "We could ruminate all day about the negatives of economic downturns. But that wouldn't make us any money. Instead, let's focus on the ways that hard times actually help the economy." -- From an article by Buck Hartzell on DailyFinance.com, September 22, 2011 Did you know? When you ruminate you chew something over, either literally or figuratively. Literal rumination may seem a little gross to humans, but to cows, chewing your cud (that's partially digested food brought up from the stomach for another chew) is just a natural part of life. Figurative ruminating is much more palatable to humans; that kind of deep, meditative thought is often deemed quite a worthy activity. The verb "ruminate" has described metaphorical chewing over since the early 1500s and actual chewing since later that same century. Our English word derives from and shares the meanings of the Latin "ruminari," which in turn derives from "rumen," the Latin name for the first stomach compartment of ruminant animals (that is, creatures like cows that chew their cud). 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, 2011 is: visceral • \VIS-uh-rul\ • adjective 1 : felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body 2 : not intellectual : instinctive 3 : dealing with crude or elemental emotions 4 : of, relating to, or located on or among the internal organs of the body Examples: The steady, pounding bass lines and infectious harmonies give the music a real visceral punch. "My mom is the only one who still writes me letters. And there's something visceral about opening a letter -- I see her on the page. I see her in her handwriting." -- Steve Carell, quoted in The Boston Globe Magazine, July 24, 2011 Did you know? The "viscera" are the internal organs of the body -- especially those located in the large cavity of the trunk (e.g., the heart, liver, and intestines). The word "viscera" comes from Latin, in which it has essentially the same meaning. Something "visceral" has to do with the viscera. In a more figurative sense, something "visceral" is felt "deep down." Even in the early years of its use, "visceral" often referred to things emotional rather than physiological. For example, in 1640 an English bishop named Edward Reynolds wrote, "Love is of all other the inmost and most visceral affection." This figurative use is the most common use of "visceral," but the word continues to be used in medical contexts as well. 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, 2011 is: discriminate • \diss-KRIM-uh-nayt\ • verb 1 a : to see the special features of b : to perceive a difference in : differentiate 2 : to distinguish by discerning or exposing differences; especially : to distinguish from another like object 3 : to make a difference in treatment or favor on a basis other than individual merit Examples: One of the important skills for judging a dog show is the ability to discriminate between dozens of breeds. "Landlords are forbidden to discriminate against the unemployed." -- From a column by Martin Eichner in the Los Angeles Times, September 18, 2011 Did you know? Although many methods or motives for discriminating are unfair and undesirable (or even illegal), the verb itself has a neutral history. English speakers borrowed it from the past participle of the Latin verb "discriminare," itself from the verb "discernere," meaning "to distinguish between." "Discernere," in turn, was formed by combining the prefix "dis-" and "cernere" ("to sift"). Other descendants of "discernere" include "discern" and "discernible" (as you no doubt guessed), "discreet," and "indiscretion." In addition, the root "cernere" gives us "concern," "certain," "decree," and even "secret." 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, 2011 is: patina • \puh-TEE-nuh\ • noun 1 a : a usually green film formed on copper and bronze by exposure to moist air and often valued aesthetically for its color b : a surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use 2 : an appearance or aura that is derived from association, habit, or established character 3 : a superficial covering or exterior Examples: Although the winery is brand-new, it has been constructed and decorated to give it a patina of old-world quaintness. "Harry said the copper would be a good covering for the entry room ceiling once a patina had developed." -- From Annie Proulx’s Bird Cloud: A Memoir, 2011 Did you know? Italians began using "patina" in the 17th century to refer to the green film that is produced on the surface of copper. They borrowed the word from Latin, where it means "a shallow dish." (Presumably, the Italian meaning developed from the observation of such film forming on copper dishes.) By the mid-18th century, English speakers were also calling the green film "patina." And by the early 20th century, "patina" was being used in English for the gloss of polished metals, like silver, as well as wooden furniture -- a meaning that led to its literary use for a surrounding aura, as demonstrated in this quote from Stella Gibbons' Cold Comfort Farm (1932): "The very atmosphere seemed covered with a rich patina of love." 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, 2011 is: onomatopoeia • \ah-nuh-mah-tuh-PEE-uh\ • noun 1 : the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (as buzz, hiss) 2 : the use of words whose sound suggests the sense Examples: "Bam!" "Pow!" "Crash!" These and other words created by onomatopoeia flashed on the screen throughout the show's fight scenes. "The rhymes in the text are simple but not obvious. The rhythm is constant, not languid, as it is punctuated by exclamations, dialogue and onomatopoeia." -- From a book review by Hadley Newton in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas), September 1, 2011 Did you know? "Onomatopoeia" came into English via Late Latin and ultimately traces back to Greek "onoma," meaning "name," and "poiein," meaning "to make." ("Onoma" can be found in such terms as "onomastics," which refers to the study of proper names and their origins, while "poiein" gave us such words as "poem" and "poet.") English speakers have only used the word "onomatopoeia" since the mid-1500s, but people have been creating words from the sounds heard around them for much longer. In fact, the presence of so many imitative words in language spawned the linguistic Bowwow Theory, which postulates that language originated in imitation of natural sounds. 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, 2011 is: cerulean • \suh-ROO-lee-un\ • adjective : resembling the blue of the sky Examples: The painting depicted a series of tall, verdant trees surrounding a cerulean lake. "I try to summon the Russian fairy tale about the prince in exile and his beautiful swan-princess …. I think of cerulean-blue waves, a swirling red skirt and a silver-white moon." -- From Mira Bartok's 2011 memoir The Memory Palace Did you know? "Cerulean" comes from the Latin word "caeruleus," which means "dark blue" and is most likely from "caelum," the Latin word for "sky." An artist rendering a sky of blue in oils or watercolors might choose a tube of cerulean blue pigment. Birdwatchers in the eastern U.S. might look skyward and see a cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea). "Cerulean" is not the only color name that’s closely associated with the sky. "Azure" (which ultimately comes from a Persian word for lapis lazuli, a rich blue stone) describes the color of a cloudless sky and can even be a noun meaning "the unclouded 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 31, 2011 is: virga • \VER-guh\ • noun : wisps of precipitation evaporating before reaching the ground Examples: The virga trailing the evening clouds created an eerie backdrop for our Halloween expedition. "High temperatures and updrafts assure that the rainfall on Venus becomes virga…. Any inhabitants on the surface would be grateful that the Venusian super-acid rain doesn’t make it all the way down." -- From Michael Carroll's 2011 book Drifting on Alien Winds Did you know? "Virga" is from the Latin word "virga," which means primarily "branch" or "rod," but can also refer to a streak in the sky suggesting rain. Our featured word, which dates to the mid-20th century, is only the latest in a series of words from this root. "Verge" (which originally referred to a rod or staff carried as an emblem of authority or a symbol of office) dates to the 15th century. The rare noun "virgate," which refers to an old English unit of land area, came from "virga" by way of the Medieval Latin "virgata" (also a unit of land area) in the late 17th century. The more common adjective "virgate," meaning "shaped like a rod or wand" arrived in the early 19th by way of Latin "virgatus," meaning "made of twigs." 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, 2011 is: impetuous • \im-PECH-uh-wus\ • adjective 1 : marked by impulsive vehemence or passion 2 : marked by force and violence of movement or action Examples: After graduating college, rather than embark on a career, Tom made the impetuous decision to hitchhike across the country. "And it's when he's on the radio one day that he's interrupted by a wild-eyed, impetuous and fetching young woman named Baya Benmahmoud…." -- From a film review by David Fellerath in The Independent Weekly (Durham, N.C.), September 21, 2011 Did you know? When we borrowed "impetuous" in the late 14th century, we used it of people and their actions. About a hundred years later, we added another sense to describe physical things like wind or storms or seas. (We don't use this second sense much anymore.) The word comes via Middle French from Late Latin "impetuosus," which is from "impetus." Latin "impetus" (which of course gave us our own "impetus," meaning "driving force") essentially means "assault," but it also has figurative senses ranging from "violence" to "ardor." Our "impetuous" has a similar range of meaning, from "violent" to "passionate." It also carries the suggestion of impulsiveness. Often, we put a light touch on the word, as when we refer (somewhat longingly, perhaps) to our "impetuous youth." 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, 2011 is: encapsulate • \in-KAP-suh-layt\ • verb 1 : to enclose in or as if in a capsule : to completely cover 2 : to show or express in a brief way : epitomize, summarize 3 : to become enclosed in a capsule Examples: To avoid the risks that come with stripping asbestos insulation from pipes, it is sometimes best to encapsulate the pipes with paint or tape or another material in order to prevent breathing in the dangerous fibers. "It's the economy, stupid. Those words, coined by James Carville as he was managing Bill Clinton's campaign for the presidency in 1992, encapsulate a basic axiom of practical politics, to wit: When the economy is hurting, it preoccupies voters, and politicians ignore it at their peril." -- From a column by Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee (California), September 2, 2011 Did you know? "Encapsulate" and its related noun, "capsule," derive from "capsula," a diminutive form of the Latin noun "capsa," meaning "box." "Capsa" also gave us our noun "case" (the container kind; the legal sense has a different origin). The original sense of "encapsulate," meaning "to enclose something in a capsule," first appeared in the late 19th century. Its extended meaning, "to give a summary or synopsis of something," plays on the notion of a capsule as something compact, self-contained, and often easily digestible (as in a capsule of medicine). There is also a verb "capsule," which is more or less synonymous with "encapsulate." 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, 2011 is: precipitate • \prih-SIP-uh-tut\ • adjective 1 : falling, flowing, or rushing with steep descent b: precipitous, steep 2 : exhibiting violent or unwise speed Examples: Our precipitate decision to invest in the company proved unwise. "'The South Korean government recognises that a precipitate change in the North would present it with immense problems,' says Crisis Group's Asia Program Director, Robert Templer." -- From an article in the State News Service, July 14, 2011 Did you know? Many people, including usage commentators, are insistent about keeping the adjectives "precipitate" and "precipitous" distinct. "Precipitate," they say, means "headlong" or "impetuous"; "precipitous" means only "steep." And, indeed, "precipitate" is used mostly in the "headlong" sense, whereas "precipitous" usually means "steep." But one shouldn't be too hasty about insisting on the distinction. The truth is that "precipitate" and "precipitous" have had a tendency to overlap for centuries. Lexicographer Samuel Johnson, in his dictionary of 1755, defined "precipitate" as "steeply falling," "headlong," and "hasty," while "precipitous" was "headlong; steep," and "hasty." Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary included much the same definitions. The words' etymologies overlap as well. Both ultimately come from Latin "praeceps," which means "headlong." 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, 2011 is: catachresis • \kat-uh-KREE-sis\ • noun 1 : use of the wrong word for the context 2 : use of a forced and especially paradoxical figure of speech Examples: "Online dictionaries are handy. One can click on synonyms and antonyms, follow new links and lures, and get pleasantly lost in a high-tech thicket of info. Being a tap or two away, more people might be tempted to look up unfamiliar words. And anything that counteracts catachresis is fine with us." -- From an editorial in the Telegram & Gazette (Massachusetts), December 7, 2009 "Dryden had drawn attention to Cleveland's poetic manner in Of Dramatick Poesy: An Essay (1668), creating the label 'Clevelandism' to name the poet's habit of catachresis, 'wresting and torturing a word into another meaning', and making unfavorable comparisons between Donne and Cleveland…." -- From Nigel Smith's 2010 book Andrew Marvell: The Chameleon Did you know? As you might have guessed, "catachresis" is a word favored by grammarians. It can sometimes be used merely as a fancy label of disparagement for uses the grammarian finds unacceptable --as when Henry Fowler insisted in 1926 that "mutual" in "our mutual friend" was a catachresis. (Fowler preferred "common," but "mutual" does have an established sense which is correct in that context.) The first recorded use of "catachresis" dates to1553, and it has been used to describe (or decry) misuses of a word ever since. "Catachresis" comes to us by way of Latin from the Greek word "katachrēsis," which means "misuse." 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, 2011 is: jitney • \JIT-nee\ • noun 1 : a small bus that carries passengers over a regular route on a flexible schedule 2 : an unlicensed taxicab Examples: After doing some shopping along the boardwalk, we boarded a jitney whose route took us back to our hotel. "There is a certain kind of socialite who spends her summers in the Hamptons: perhaps the daughter of a Manhattan real estate millionaire or media magnate; maybe an intern at Vogue or Sotheby's who takes the jitney on Fridays to her parents' estate on Further Lane." -- From an article by Laura M. Holson in The New York Times, June 9, 2011 Did you know? Jitneys weren't worth a dime -- just a nickel. In the early 1900s, "jitney" was slang for "nickel," but it wasn't long before the term was applied to a new mode of public transportation that only cost a nickel. When they were introduced in American cities at the beginning of the century, vehicular jitneys could be any automobiles that carried passengers over a set route for a cheap fare, but eventually the term was applied specifically to small buses. In the mid-1900s, the word "jitney" was combined with "jeep" to create a new coinage: "jeepney," meaning "a Philippine jitney bus converted from a jeep." 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, 2011 is: pediculous • \pih-DIK-yuh-lus\ • adjective : infested with lice : lousy Examples: Several third-graders had to be treated for lice after being exposed to a pediculous classmate. "We prisoners called ourselves the Jerseys, not out of respect for this vile, pediculous hulk [the prison ship Jersey], but because it was our commonality, the glue that held us in its glorious stink." -- From the 2008 novel Johnny One-Eye by Jerome Charyn Did you know? Count on the English language's Latin lexical options to pretty up the unpleasant. You can have an entire conversation about lice and avoid the l-word entirely using "pediculous" and its relatives. None of the words (from "pediculus," meaning "louse") is remotely common -- most of them are so uncommon that they appear only in our Unabridged dictionary -- but they're all available to you should you feel the need for them. There's "pediculosis," meaning "infestation with lice"; "pedicular," meaning "of or relating to lice"; and "pediculoid," meaning "resembling or related to the common lice." "Pediculid" names a particular kind of louse -- one of the family Pediculidae. And if you'd like to put an end to all of this you might require a "pediculicide" -- defined as "an agent for destroying lice." 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, 2011 is: infotainment • \in-foh-TAYN-munt\ • noun : television programming that presents information (such as news) in a way that is meant to be entertaining Examples: "Presidential efforts to generate news of their policies compete with Americans' preferences for infotainment and soft news coverage of celebrities and scandal." -- From Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha and Jeffrey Peake's 2011 book Breaking Through the Noise: Presidential Leadership, Public Opinion, and the News Media "Smith is maybe best known for having hosted the CBS morning infotainment show 'The Early Show' and its predecessor, 'CBS This Morning,' for 17 years." -- From an article by Lisa de Moraes in The Washington Post, July 12, 2011 Did you know? "Infotainment," a blend of "information" and "entertainment," first appeared in the early 1980s. Not everyone approves of "infotainment" and similar pieced-together, media-derived words (e.g., "infomercial" and "edutainment"), however. New York Times Magazine writer Joe Morgenstern referred to "infotainment" as "a plastic word, stuck together with show-biz epoxy." An editorialist for a New England newspaper called it "a nauseating word" that "has crept into the language without an invitation." Unfortunately for such detractors, the word continues to be used today. Not only that, but a new, distinct sense of the word is emerging. People in the automotive industry have recently begun using "infotainment" to refer to the state-of-the-art multimedia technologies (such as GPS systems and Internet radio) now available to drivers at the push of a button. 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, 2011 is: layman • \LAY-mun\ • noun 1 : a person who is not a member of the clergy 2 : a person who does not belong to a particular profession or who is not expert in some field Examples: The Nobel laureate's book is an introduction to physics that, despite its depth and detail, remains quite accessible to the layman. "Born on Sept. 11, 1911 … she grew up in the bucolic village of Monroeville, daughter of a self-educated lawyer and devout Methodist layman." -- From an article by Wayne Flynt in the Mobile Register, September 18, 2011 Did you know? "Layman" began its run in English as the open compound "lay man." In this context, "lay" is an adjective that can mean "belonging or relating to those not in holy orders," "not of the clergy," and "not ecclesiastical." The origins of "lay" and "layman" can be traced back through French and Late Latin to Greek "laikos," meaning "of the people. "Layman" was originally used to distinguish between non-clerical people and the clergy, but it was soon also being used to distinguish non-professionals from professionals in a field (such as law or medicine). In a similar fashion, the collective noun "laity" originally referred to non-clerical people but came to also mean "persons not of a particular profession." 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, 2011 is: importunate • \im-POR-chuh-nut\ • adjective 1 : troublesomely urgent : overly persistent in request or demand 2 : troublesome Examples: Sylvia was becoming fed up with the importunate phone calls she continued to receive from charities seeking donations. "We'd navigate our way across the floor, nodding at random well-wishers and the venerable handwaves of the press, with their importunate requests for exclusive photographs politely declined."-- From Craig Silvey’s 2011 novel Jasper Jones Did you know? "Importunate" has been part of the English language since the 16th century, and the synonymous "importune" arrived even earlier, in the 15th century. The seemingly superfluous inclusion of the suffix "-ate" in "importunate" is a bit mysterious; one theory is that English speakers modeled the adjective after words like "obstinate." "Importune" and "importunate" come from Latin "importunus." The prefix "im-" means "not," and "importunus" can be contrasted with Latin "opportunus," which shares its meaning with and is the ancestor of our "opportune," meaning "suitable or timely." (The connection is obscure now, but "opportunus" itself harks back to the Latin phrase "ob portum," meaning "[coming] to harbor.") "Importune," and later "importunate," once meant "inopportune, untimely," but that sense is now obsolete. 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, 2011 is: sublimate • \SUB-luh-mayt\ • verb 1 : to cause to pass directly from the solid to the vapor state 2 : to direct the expression of (a desire or impulse) from a primitive to a more socially and culturally acceptable form Examples: Jeb's letter made Marcy want to scream and throw things, but instead she sublimated her anger by writing a tart reply. "Watching both films, it was hard not to sense a certain hesitation on the part of the filmmakers, as if they'd sublimated their darkest artistic impulses to a reflexive posture of decency and restraint…." -- From an article by Justin Chang in Variety, August 22, 2011 Did you know? To sublimate is to change the form, but not the essence. Physically speaking, it means to transform solid to vapor; psychologically, it means changing the outlet, or means, of expression from something base and inappropriate to something more positive or acceptable. The word "sublimate" comes from the Latin verb "sublimare," which means "to lift up" or "raise" and which is also the ancestor of our "sublime." "Sublimate" itself once meant "to elevate to a place of dignity or honor" or "to give a more elevated character to," but these meanings are now obsolete. 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, 2011 is: exodus • \EK-suh-dus\ • noun 1 : the mainly narrative second book of canonical Jewish and Christian Scripture 2 : a mass departure : emigration Examples: When the concert ended, the exodus of attendees clogged up traffic for miles. "Simmering tensions between the faculty and administration at the prestigious Bronx High School of Science have led to a new exodus of teachers, with eight of the school's 20 social studies teachers choosing not to return this year." -- From an article by Anna M. Phillips in The New York Times, September 15, 2011** Did you know? The Biblical book of Exodus describes the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, so it's no surprise that the word has come to refer more generally to any mass departure. The word itself was adopted into English (via Latin) from Greek "Exodus," which literally means "the road out." The Greek word was formed by combining the prefix "ex-" and "hodos," meaning "road" or "way." Other descendants of the prolific "hodos" in English include "episode," "method," "odometer," and "period." There are also several scientific words that can be traced back to "hodos." "Anode" and "cathode" can refer, respectively, to the positive and negative electrodes of a diode, and "hodoscope" refers to an instrument for tracing the paths of ionizing particles. 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, 2011 is: conversant • \kun-VER-sunt\ • adjective : having knowledge or experience Examples: The software firm advertised for programmers who are conversant with the latest technologies and languages and who have at least 3 years of job-related experience. "You will find newfangled Bohemian specialties like duck breast with red-cabbage essence; waiters conversant in all sorts of intricate, beer-geek brewing techniques; and a burly, old-world barkeep who looks like an extra from the set of Game of Thrones." -- From a restaurant review by Adam Platt in New York Magazine, August 22, 2011 Did you know? The adjectives "conversant" and "conversational" are related; both are descendants of Latin "conversari," meaning "to associate with." The earliest English meaning of "conversant" in the 1300s was simply "having familiar association." One way to associate with others is to have a conversation with them -- in other words, to talk. For a short time in the 19th century "conversant" could mean "relating to or suggesting conversation," but for the most part that meaning stayed with "conversational" while "conversant" went in a different direction. Today, "conversant" is sometimes used, especially in the United States, with the meaning "able to talk in a foreign language," as in "she is conversant in several languages," but it is more often associated with knowledge or familiarity, as in "conversant with the issues." 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, 2011 is: broadside • \BRAWD-syde\ • noun 1 : a sheet of paper printed usually on one side (as an advertisement) 2 : all the guns on one side of a ship; also : their simultaneous discharge 3 : a volley of abuse or denunciation : a strongly worded attack Examples: The intern was surprised when her supervisor answered her simple question with a broadside against the company’s treatment of employees. "The chairman of the House intelligence committee on Tuesday launched a broadside against the Chinese government and its efforts to steal commercial data and other intellectual property online, saying that Beijing’s cyber-espionage campaign has 'reached an intolerable level' and that the United States and its allies have an 'obligation to confront Beijing and demand that they put a stop to this piracy.'" -- From an article by Ellen Nakashima and Jason Ukman in The Washington Post, October 4, 2011 Did you know? What do sheets of printed paper and a ship's artillery have in common? Not a whole lot besides their "broadsides." The printing and naval senses of "broadside" arose independently in the 16th century. Printed broadsides may have first been decrees intended for public posting, so they were necessarily printed on one side of large sheets of paper. Soon even matters printed on one side of smallish sheets were called broadsides -- advertisements, for example, or the so-called "broadside ballads," popular ditties that people stuck on the wall to sing from. In the nautical sense, "broadside" was originally the entire side of a ship above the water -- which is where the guns were placed. The further use of "broadside" to refer to firing of the guns eventually led to the figurative "volley of abuse" 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 October 17, 2011 is: Aesopian • \ee-SOH-pee-un\ • adjective 1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of Aesop or his fables 2 : conveying an innocent meaning to an outsider but a hidden meaning to a member of a conspiracy or underground movement Examples: What sounded like a friendly greeting from Jerome was in fact Aesopian code warning his partner, who had just entered the apartment, that an uninvited visitor was in the room. "[Poet Joseph Brodsky] was very different from what might be called the established dissidents of the time -- Evtushenko, Voznesensky, Akhmadulina -- subtle, carefully sardonic, measuredly Aesopian so as to barely dodge the regime's hammer and find a wavering measure of protection in its more moderate elements." -- From a book review by Richard Eder in the Boston Globe, January 16, 2011 Did you know? Aesop’s fables are well-known. On the surface, they are entertaining stories, featuring animals who speak and act like humans. But they also have an underlying purpose, which is to teach a moral lesson. In the 20th century, "Aesopian" -- which had previously meant simply "characteristic of Aesop or his fables" -- took on an extended meaning. "Aesopian language" referred to the cryptic or ambiguous language authors used in subversive material, often to avoid censorship. This use originated in Russia with "ezopovski," the Russian version of the term. Today, "Aesopian" occasionally means "having hidden meaning" without any implications of subversive political meaning or avoidance of censorship. 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, 2011 is: bumbershoot • \BUM-ber-shoot\ • noun : umbrella Examples: Noticing that a light rain had just begun to fall, Grandpa turned to Susie and said, "Don't forget to take your bumbershoot!" "The Camas Days parade featured vintage cars; rodeo royalty mounted on horses; and the Lacamas Shores Rain or Shine Umbrella Drill Team, which wowed the crowd with their bright orange bumbershoots -- not that anyone needed them." -- Kathie Durbin, The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), July 23, 2011 Did you know? Umbrellas have plenty of nicknames. In Britain, “brolly” is a popular alternative to the more staid “umbrella.” Sarah Gamp, a fictional nurse who toted a particularly large umbrella in Charles Dickens’s novel Martin Chuzzlewit, has inspired some English speakers to dub oversize versions “gamps.” “Bumbershoot” is a predominantly American nickname, one that has been recorded as a whimsical, slightly irreverent handle for umbrellas since the late 1890s. As with most slang terms, the origins of “bumbershoot” are a bit foggy, but it appears that the “bumber” is a modification of the “umbr-” in “umbrella” and the “shoot” is an alteration of the “-chute” in “parachute” (since an open parachute looks a little like an umbrella). 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, 2011 is: regurgitate • \ree-GUR-juh-tayt\ • verb : to throw or be thrown back, up, or out Examples: Instead of sharing some new ideas, the book regurgitates the same old arguments that other authors have tried before. "Vultures often regurgitate indigestible parts of the things they feed on, which adds to the mess on the ground below the eucalyptus trees." -- From an article by Gary Bogue in San Jose Mercury News (California), August 30, 2011 Did you know? Something regurgitated has typically been taken in, at least partially digested, and then spit back out . . . either literally or figuratively. The word often appears in biological contexts (e.g., in describing how some birds feed their chicks by regurgitating incompletely digested food), or in references to ideas or information that have been acquired and restated. A student, for example, might be expected to learn information from a textbook or a teacher and then regurgitate it for a test. "Regurgitate," which entered the English vocabulary in the mid-17th century, is of Latin origin and traces back to the Latin word for "whirlpool," which is "gurges." 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, 2011 is: hendiadys • \hen-DYE-uh-dis\ • noun : the expression of an idea by the use of usually two independent words connected by and (as nice and warm) Examples: The hendiadys "good and loud" appears in many reviews of the concert. "In the source text, Claudius's distress is represented through doubling -- more specifically, in the form of a hendiadys where the two nouns 'discord' and 'dismay' are connected by 'and,' which creates intensification." -- From Roshni Mooneeram and Jonathan Hope's 2009 book From Creole to Standard: Shakespeare, Language, and Literature in a Postcolonial Context Did you know? William Shakespeare often used hendiadys. For example, his character Macbeth, speaking of the passage of life, says "It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing." For Shakespeare, the construction "sound and fury" was more effective than "furious sound." The word "hendiadys" is a modification of the Greek phrase "hen dia dyoin." Given that "hen dia dyoin" literally means "one through two," it's a perfect parent for a word that describes the expression of a single concept using two words, as in the phrase "rough and tough." As you can imagine, hendiadys is a common element in everyday speech and writing. 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, 2011 is: sop • \SAHP\ • noun : a conciliatory or propitiatory bribe, gift, or gesture Examples: The contractor offered higher priced bathroom fixtures at no extra cost as a sop to the homeowner, who was threatening to cancel the contract. "Dinner or hearty lunch brings great opportunity, though it is crucial to bypass the spicy double-sauteed General Tso's beef and broccoli options that sit on so many tables here as a sop to commerce." -- From an article by Sam Sifton in The New York Times, August 31, 2011 Did you know? The etymology of "sop" takes us from bread to hellhounds to bribery. The journey starts over 900 years ago, when "sop" first referred to bread soaked in water, wine, or another liquid. Such soggy bread was considered a treat sure to tempt any appetite. Sops were considered so appealing that English translations of Virgil's Aeneid tell of a sibyl using one soaked in honey to distract and drug Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog of the gates of the underworld, so Aeneas could get by him safely. By the 1600s, that mythological use of "sop" had given rise to the expression "give a sop to Cerberus," meaning "to bribe" and to using "sop" to refer to a bribe or conciliatory gift. 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, 2011 is: languid • \LANG-gwid\ • adjective 1 : drooping or flagging from or as if from exhaustion : weak 2 : sluggish in character or disposition : listless 3 : lacking force or quickness of movement : slow Examples: The trial proceeded at a languid pace as each attorney called up a whole roster of witnesses to testify. "From Gadhafi to Irene, the month that ended yesterday was hardly languid: London erupted, Steve Jobs resigned and the markets returned to crisis mode. Oh, and that earthquake, huh?" -- From a post by Zachary M. Seward on the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog, September 1, 2011 Did you know? The letter L holds claim to a payload of words in English that connote a lack of energy or enthusiasm. Two of them -- "languid" and "languorous" -- derive from the same source, the Latin verb "languēre" ("to languish"). "Languid" describes the kind of sluggishness that one often experiences from fatigue or weakness ("the illness left her feeling languid"). "Languorous" applies more to someone who just doesn’t feel the will to get up and do anything ("he felt languorous on a rainy Sunday afternoon"). There is also "lackadaisical," which implies a halfhearted effort given from lack of care ("lackadaisical seniors just floating along until graduation"), as well as "listless," which suggests a lack of spirit caused by physical weakness, dissatisfaction, or sadness ("she was listless for a few weeks following the breakup"). 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, 2011 is: Cockaigne • \kah-KAYN\ • noun : an imaginary land of great luxury and ease Examples: Located on a secluded white sandy beach, the resort -- with its many amenities, including a first-class luxury spa -- is like a utopian Cockaigne. "[Simon Patten's] particular genius was in recognizing capitalism's potential to realize something like a modern Cockaigne, the mythical land of plenty that beguiled the suffering masses in the Middle Ages." -- From Daniel Akst's 2011 book We Have Met the Enemy: Self-Control in an Age of Excess Did you know? The term "Cockaigne" comes from the Middle French phrase "pais de cocaigne," which literally means "the land of plenty." The word was first popularized in a 13th-century French poem that is known in English as "The Land of Cockaigne." According to an early English translation of the work, in Cockaigne "the houses were made of barley sugar cakes, the streets were paved with pastry, and the shops supplied goods for nothing." (It's this original Cockaigne that is referenced in our second example above.) Some have theorized that "cocaigne" derives from an earlier word related to "cake" or "cook," but its early history remains obscure. 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, 2011 is: sustain • \suh-STAYN\ • verb 1 : to supply with sustenance : nourish 2 : to keep going 3 : to buoy up 4 : to suffer or undergo 5 : to support or prove Examples: Some days it seemed as though the toddler barely ate enough to sustain a goldfish, whereas other days she was ravenous. "The company has taken this extra measure in an effort to sustain vital services provided by non-profit agencies who work with customers with financial challenges that extend beyond their home payments." -- From an article in Business Wire, September 8, 2011 Did you know? "Sustain," "prop," "buttress," and "brace" all mean "to provide support for something or someone." "Sustain" (from Latin "sus-," meaning "up," plus "tenēre," meaning "to hold") may suggest constantly holding up or maintaining ("the floor sustains the weight of dozens of bookcases"). "Prop" often implies a tendency to fall, sink, or recede on the part of the thing being treated -- and therefore, a need for strengthening or reinforcing ("propping up the table with a packing case"). "Buttress" tends to involve strengthening, reinforcing, or stabilizing at a stress point ("buttress the economy"). "Brace" typically suggests supporting or strengthening so that the thing treated is made firm, unyielding, or rigid against pressure ("brace the shelf with an angle iron"). 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, 2011 is: QWERTY • \KWER-tee\ • noun, often not capitalized : a standard typewriter or computer keyboard -- called also QWERTY keyboard Examples: My new cell phone has a mini QWERTY keyboard that slides out for easy use. "Touch-screen keyboards enable rapid reconfiguration, even between a QWERTY and alphabetical arrangement." -- From the 2010 book Handbook of Human Factors in Medical Device Design Did you know? If you look at the topmost row of letters on your computer keyboard, you’ll see where the QWERTY got its name. Why did Christopher Latham Sholes choose that particular arrangement of letters when he was developing the modern typewriter in the late 1860s and early 1870s? Popular myth holds that the QWERTY maximizes efficiency by placing the most often used letters in the most accessible places, but the truth is that the QWERTY was actually designed to slow typists down. Sholes’s first typewriters were cumbersome and jammed easily if the keys were pressed too fast, so he picked letter positions that let the typist go faster than a pen, but not fast enough to bollix the machine. 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, 2011 is: nutmeg • \NUT-meg\ • noun 1 : an aromatic seed produced by an evergreen tree (Myristica fragrans of the family Myristicaceae, the nutmeg family) native to the Moluccas; also : the ground seed used as a spice 2 : a tree yielding nutmeg Examples: Before I can make the pumpkin pie, I will need to go to the store to get cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. "She spices sweet potatoes with cinnamon and nutmeg and gives a pan of broccoli -- dressed with hardly anything more -- a quick trip in the oven." -- From an article by Jennifer Justus in The Tennessean, September 7, 2011 Did you know? Nutmeg is native to the Moluccas, Indonesian islands in the Malay Archipelago of Southeast Asia. The word "nutmeg," however, comes from Old Occitan, a Romance language spoken in southern France during the latter half of the Middle Ages. Old Occitan "noz muscada" combines "noz" ("nut"), from Latin "nuc-, nux," with "muscada," a feminine form of "muscat," meaning "musky." The history of "muscat" can in turn be traced back through Late Latin, Greek, and Middle Persian to a Sanskrit word meaning "mouse." 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, 2011 is: widdershins • \WID-er-shinz\ • adverb : in a left-handed, wrong, or contrary direction : counterclockwise Examples: We turned right out of the gates and walked the exterior perimeter of the gardens slowly before turning around and walking it again widdershins. "The ships were locked together, rotating widdershins around their common axis. Their anchor flukes had become tangled; the sterns were singing together." -- From David Drake's 2011 novel Out of the Waters Did you know? Legend holds that demons always approached the devil widdershins. Not surprisingly, such a path was considered evil and unlucky. By the mid-1500s, English speakers had adopted "widdershins," (from the Old High German "widar," meaning "back" or "against," and "sinnen," meaning "to travel") for anything following a path opposite to the direction the sun travels across the sky (that is, counterclockwise). But in its earliest known uses "widdershins" was far less malignant; it was used simply to describe a case of bad hair in which unruly locks stood on end or fell the wrong 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 6, 2011 is: mnemonic • \nih-MAH-nik\ • adjective : assisting or designed to assist memory Examples: To help remember the levels of biological classification, James taught his students the mnemonic sentence “King Philip Came Over For Good Spaghetti” (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species). "Mnemonic devices can help, like mentally registering the name of a new acquaintance by picturing another friend with that moniker." -- From an article by Kate Zimmerman in the North Shore News (North Vancouver, B.C.), September 4, 2011 Did you know? The word "mnemonic" derives from Greek "mnēmōn" ("mindful"), which itself comes from the Greek word meaning "to remember." (In classical mythology, Mnemosyne, the mother of the Muses, is the goddess of memory.) As with many classical borrowings, we retained the double initial consonant, but not the pronunciation of both, since the combination doesn't occur naturally in English. ("Pneumonia" is a similar case.) "Mnemonic" can also be a noun meaning "a mnemonic device." If the spelling of this word strikes you as particularly fiendish to remember, try this mnemonic to get you started on the right track: keep in mind that although the pronunciation begins with an "n" sound, the spelling begins with an "m," as in "memory." 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, 2011 is: pathos • \PAY-thahss\ • noun 1 : an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion 2 : an emotion of sympathetic pity Examples: Our knowledge of the hero's tragic end adds an element of pathos to the story of his early success. "My books are a mixture of humor and pathos, and I hope they provide some comfort." -- Author Elizabeth Berg quoted in an article by Elizabeth Taylor in the Chicago Tribune, September 3, 2011 Did you know? The Greek word "pathos" means "suffering," "experience," or "emotion." It was borrowed into English in the 16th century, and for English speakers, the term usually refers to the emotions produced by tragedy or a depiction of tragedy. "Pathos" has quite a few kin in English. A "pathetic" sight moves us to pity. "Empathy" is the ability to feel the emotions of another. Though "pathology" is not literally "the study of suffering," it is "the study of diseases." You can probably guess at more relatives of "pathos." "Sympathy," "apathetic," "antipathy," "sociopath," and "psychopath" are a few. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.