Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 18, 2009 is: hoick • \HOIK\ • verb : to move or pull abruptly : yank Examples: When she noticed that her toddler's nose was running, Stacy quickly hoicked out a tissue from her purse. Did you know? Etymologists suspect that "hoick" is an alteration of the verb "hike," which is itself akin to "hitch." "Hike" entered the language during the first decade of the 19th century, whereas "hoick" appeared near that century's close. The word "hoick" can be used for any type of abrupt pulling movement but is commonly used for the sudden pulling back on the joystick of an airplane; a rough, jerky movement when rowing; and a jerky, elevated shot in cricket. In fox hunting, the word "hoicks" is used to call attention to a hound that has picked up the scent and to bring the pack together. 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 April 17, 2009 is: hue and cry • \HYOO-und-KRYE\ • noun 1 a : a loud outcry formerly used in the pursuit of one who is suspected of a crime b : the pursuit of a suspect or a written proclamation for the capture of a suspect 2 : a clamor of protest 3 : hubbub Examples: After the popular professor was fired by the college, students raised such a hue and cry on campus that the administration was forced to reconsider its decision. Did you know? Let's say it's the Middle Ages in England and a villainous highwayman has just made off with your purse of gold. What do you do? You can't call 911, or even the police, because in medieval England there was no organized police force (much less telephones). Instead, the job of fighting crime fell to ordinary citizens. If you were the victim of or a witness to a crime, you were expected to make a lot of noise -- yelling something like "stop thief!" -- and anyone who heard your "hue and cry" was legally bound to join in the pursuit of the criminal. Forms of the term "hue and cry" date from at least the 13th century and are first encountered in the Anglo-French legal documents of that period. Ultimately, it can be traced to the Old French words "hue," meaning "outcry" or "noise," and "cri," meaning "cry." 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 April 16, 2009 is: biannual • \bye-AN-yuh-wul\ • adjective 1 : occurring twice a year 2 : occurring every two years Examples: The report recommended that we begin conducting a more frequent annual safety review rather than our current biannual review. Did you know? When we describe something as "biannual," we can mean either that it occurs twice a year or that it occurs once every two years. So how does someone know which particular meaning we have in mind? Well, unless we provide them with a contextual clue, they don't. Some people prefer to use "semiannual" to refer to something that occurs twice a year, reserving "biannual" for things that occur once every two years. This practice is hardly universal among English speakers, however, and "biannual" remains a potentially ambiguous word. Fortunately, English also provides us with "biennial," a word that specifically refers to something that occurs every two years or that lasts or continues for two years. 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 April 15, 2009 is: slake • \SLAYK\ • verb 1 : satisfy, quench 2 : to cause (as lime) to heat and crumble by treatment with water : hydrate Examples: "What an unspeakable luxury it was to slake that thirst with the pure and limpid ice-water of the glacier!" (Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad) Did you know? "Slake" is no slacker when it comes to obsolete and archaic meanings. Shakespearean scholars may know that in the Bard's day "slake" meant "to subside or abate" ("No flood by raining slaketh. . . ." -- The Rape of Lucrece) or "to lessen the force of " ("It could not slake mine ire, nor ease my heart." -- Henry VI, Part 3). The most erudite word enthusiasts may also be aware of earlier meanings of "slake," such as "to slacken one's efforts" or "to cause to be relaxed or loose." These early meanings recall the word's Old English ancestor "sleac," which not only meant "slack" but is also the source of that modern term. 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 April 14, 2009 is: dyed-in-the-wool • \dyde-in-thuh-WOOL\ • adjective : thoroughgoing, uncompromising Examples: Having heard that Gloria's father was a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, Stewart told him about the time he met Ronald Reagan. Did you know? Early yarn makers would dye wool before spinning it into yarn to make the fibers retain their color longer. In 16th-century England, that make-it-last coloring practice provoked writers to draw a comparison between the dyeing of wool and the way children could, if taught early, be influenced in ways that would adhere throughout their lives. In the 19th-century U.S., the wool-dyeing practice put eloquent Federalist orator Daniel Webster in mind of a certain type of Democrat whose attitudes were as unyielding as the dye in unspun wool. Of course, Democrats were soon using the term against their opponents, too, but over time the partisanship of the expression faded and it is now a general term for anyone or anything that seems unlikely or unwilling to change. 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 April 13, 2009 is: sobriquet • \SOH-brih-kay\ • noun : a descriptive name or epithet : nickname Examples: Baseball players have long been known by colorful sobriquets such as "The Georgia Peach" (Ty Cobb) and "The Splendid Splinter" (Ted Williams). Did you know? This synonym of "nickname" has the same meaning in modern French as it does in English. In Middle French, however, its earlier incarnation "soubriquet" referred to both a nickname and a tap under the chin. Centuries later, the connection between these two meanings isn't clear, but what is clear is that the "nickname" meaning of "sobriquet" was well established in French by the time English speakers borrowed the term in the mid-17th century -- and was the only meaning that was adopted. In current English, the spelling "sobriquet" is most common, but "soubriquet" is also an accepted variant. 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 April 12, 2009 is: ideate • \EYE-dee-ayt\ • verb 1 : to form an idea or conception of 2 : to form an idea Examples: Joshua first ideated his vision of a water garden for his backyard after he went on a sightseeing tour of water fountains in Kansas City. Did you know? Like "idea" and "ideal," "ideate" comes from the Greek verb "idein," which means "to see." The sight-thought connection came courtesy of Plato, the Greek philosopher who based his theory of the ideal on the concept of seeing, claiming that a true philosopher can see the essential nature of things and can recognize their ideal form or state. Early uses of "idea," "ideal," and "ideate" in English were associated with Platonic philosophy; "idea" meant "an archetype" or "a standard of perfection," "ideal" meant "existing as an archetype," and "ideate" referred to forming Platonic ideas. But though "ideate" is tied to ancient philosophy, the word itself is a modern concoction, relatively speaking. It first appeared in English only about 400 years ago. 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 April 11, 2009 is: lickerish • \LIK-uh-rish\ • adjective 1 : greedy, desirous 2 : lecherous Examples: "Fiend," cried the undaunted maiden, slapping the face of her lickerish captor. Did you know? In Anglo-French, the verb "lecher" has two meanings, "to lick" and "to live in debauchery." From that verb came the English adjective "lickerous" in the 14th century. By the mid-17th century "lickerous" had fallen into disuse, leaving us with the variant "lickerish." "Lickerish" was originally cooked up as word to describe both a person who is fond of good food and the tempting food itself. The lexical temptation to extend these appetitive meanings of "lickerish" was very soon satisfied, and the word became a synonym of "greedy" and "desirous." Its use was then extended to describe people and things having or suggesting lustful desires, a use in line with the "to live in debauchery" meaning of its French ancestor. 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 April 10, 2009 is: superjacent • \soo-per-JAY-sunt\ • adjective : lying above or upon : overlying Examples: "Foreign states enjoy the right of overflight in the airspace superjacent to a coastal state's 200-mile exclusive economic zone . . .” (James C. Hsiung, The New York Times, April 14, 2001) Did you know? You're probably familiar with "adjacent," and if you guessed that it's a relative of "superjacent," you're right. Both derive from the Latin verb "jacere," meaning "to lie." "Adjacent," which is both the more popular and the earlier word (it first appeared in print in the 15th century, while "superjacent" turned up in 1610), comes from "jacere" and the prefix "ad-," meaning "near." "Superjacent," on the other hand, was formed by combining "jacere" with the prefix "super-," meaning "over," "above," or "on top of." In case you were wondering, "jacere" descendants are also available for other possible configurations-"subjacent" means "lying below," and "circumjacent" means "lying near on all sides" or "surrounding." 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 April 9, 2009 is: telecommute • \TEL-ih-kuh-myoot\ • verb : to work at home by the use of an electronic linkup with a central office Examples: Marie recently installed a high-speed computer line in her home so she could telecommute two days a week. Did you know? "Telecommute" derives from the prefix "tele-," a descendant of the Greek word "tēle," meaning "far off," and the verb "commute," which arose from Latin "commutare," meaning "to change" or "to exchange." The practice of working at home and interfacing with the office electronically has only recently become commonplace, but the word "telecommute" has been around since the mid-1970s. Its earliest documented use can be found in a January 1974 article in The Economist that predicted, "As there is no logical reason why the cost of telecommunication should vary with distance, quite a lot of people by the late 1980s will telecommute daily to their London offices while living on a Pacific island if they want to." 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 April 8, 2009 is: withy • \WITH-ee (the TH is as in "the")\ • noun 1 : willow; especially : any of various willows whose pliable twigs are used for furniture and basketry 2 : a flexible slender twig or branch Examples: The withies must be soaked in water for about a week before they will be ready to be woven into baskets. Did you know? "Withy" is a word with several synonyms. In its broadest use, it is simply another word for "willow," but it can also be used for a particular category of willows which are also known by the name "osier." Additionally, the word "withe" can be substituted for the "flexible slender twig or branch" sense of "withy." "Osier" entered English from Anglo-French in the 14th century, whereas "willow," "withy," and "withe" all have their origins in Old English. "Willow" comes from the Old English "welig," a word that can be found in writing going back to the middle of the 8th century, and "withy" and "withe" come from "wīthig," a word that is known to have been used at least as far back as the 10th century. 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 April 7, 2009 is: hachure • \ha-SHUR\ • verb : to shade with or show by short lines used for shading and denoting surfaces in relief (as in map drawing) and drawn in the direction of slope Examples: "In the early years of the survey, hachuring was used to indicate the steepness of slopes on maps, whereas in later years, the more abbreviated and legible contour line was employed." (Robin E. Kelsey, The Art Bulletin, December 1, 2003) Did you know? As our example sentence indicates, hachuring is an old map drawing technique that was largely replaced in later years by the use of contour lines, or lines that connect points of similar elevation. The word "hachure," which can also be a noun referring to one of the short lines used in hachuring, comes from the French "hacher," meaning "to chop up" or "hash." This French word is also the source of the verbs "hash," which can mean "to chop (as meat and potatoes) into small pieces," among other meanings, and "hatch," meaning "to inlay with narrow bands of distinguishable material" and "to mark (as a drawing or engraving) with fine closely spaced lines." 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 April 6, 2009 is: purlieu • \PERL-yoo\ • noun 1 a : an outlying or adjacent district b : environs, neighborhood 2 a : a frequently visited place : haunt b : confines, bounds Examples: "The boy, desperately nervous, continued to descend the zig-zag paths that would take him into the very purlieus of his father's house." (Ford Madox Ford, The Last Post) Did you know? In medieval England, if you were fortunate enough to acquire a new piece of land, you would want to have as many ceremonies as possible to make it clear that the land belonged to you. To assert the extent of your land, you might hold a ceremony called a "perambulation," in which you would walk around and record the boundaries of your property in the presence of witnesses. If your land bordered a royal forest, you might find that there was some confusion about where your land started and the royal forest ended. Luckily, the law said that if you performed a perambulation, you could gain at least some degree of ownership over disputed forest tracts, although your use of them would be restricted by forest laws and royals would probably still have the right to hunt on them. Such regained forest property was called a "purlewe" (or as it was later spelled, "purlieu"), which derives from the Anglo-French word for "perambulation." 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 April 5, 2009 is: epistemic • \ep-uh-STEE-mik\ • adjective : of or relating to knowledge or knowing : cognitive Examples: John’s fascination with the human animal’s epistemic limits and capabilities has led him to a double major in philosophy and psychology. Did you know? "Epistemic" has shifted from the arcane worlds of philosophy, linguistics, and rhetoric to the practical realms of business and marketing; for example, a 2007 Letter to Shareholders from the asset management firm Legg Mason referred to investors who "have a high epistemic threshold and do exhaustive analysis to create near certainty, or at least very high conviction, about their investments." Wherever it is used, "epistemic" traces back to the knowledge of the Greeks. It comes from "epistēmē," Greek for "knowledge." That Greek word is from the verb "epistanai," meaning "to know or understand," a word formed from the prefix "epi-" (meaning "upon" or "attached to") and "histanai" (meaning "to cause to stand"). The study of the nature and grounds of knowledge is called "epistemology," and one who engages in such study is an epistemologist. 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 April 4, 2009 is: moue • \MOO\ • noun : a little grimace : pout Examples: "She made a little moue, shrugged one shoulder, dipped her head ever so slightly to set the artificial bird atop her hat in motion." (T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville) Did you know? Moue is one of two similar-sounding words in English that refer to a pout or grimace; the other is "mow," which is pronounced to rhyme either with "no" or "now." "Mow" and "mou" share the same origin (the Anglo-French "mouwe") and a distant relationship to a Middle Dutch word for a protruding lip. (They do not, however, share a relationship to the word "mouth," which derives from Old English "mŪth.") While use of "moue" in English only traces back a little more than 150 years, "mow" dates all the way back to the 14th century. "Moue" has also seen occasional use as a verb, as when Nicholson Baker, in the August 15, 1988 New Yorker, described how a woman applying lip gloss would "slide the lip from side to side under it and press her mouth together and then moue it outward…" 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 April 3, 2009 is: feign • \FAYN\ • verb 1 : to give a false appearance of : induce as a false impression 2 : to assert as if true : pretend Examples: Shortly after her mom told her that she would have to go to the doctor's, Kim confessed that she was only feigning illness because she forgot to study for a midterm. Did you know? "Feign" is all about faking it, but that hasn't always been so. In one of its earliest senses, "feign" meant "to fashion, form, or shape." That meaning is true to the term's Latin ancestor: the verb "fingere," which also means "to shape." The current senses of "feign" still retain the essence of the Latin source, since to feign something, such as surprise or an illness, requires one to fashion an impression or shape an image. Several other English words that trace to the same ancestor refer to things that are shaped with either the hands, as in "figure" and "effigy," or the imagination, as in "fiction" and "figment." 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 April 2, 2009 is: diaphanous • \dye-AF-uh-nus\ • adjective 1 : of so fine a texture as to be transparent 2 : characterized by extreme delicacy of form : ethereal 3 : insubstantial, vague Examples: The honeymoon suite has a balcony overlooking the ocean and is furnished with an antique four-poster bed enveloped in a diaphanous curtain. Did you know? Can you guess which of the following words come from the same Greek root as "diaphanous"? A. epiphanyB. fancyC. phenomenonD. sycophantE. emphasisF. phaseThe Greek word "phainein" shows through more clearly in some of our quiz words than others, but it underlies all of them. The groundwork for "diaphanous" was laid when "phainein" (meaning "to show") was combined with "dia-" (meaning "through"). From that pairing came the Greek "diaphanēs," parent of the Medieval Latin "diaphanus," which is the direct ancestor of our English word. 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 April 1, 2009 is: extremophile • \ik-STREE-muh-fyle\ • noun : an organism that lives under extreme environmental conditions (as in a hot spring or ice cap) Examples: "Cold-loving extremophiles could show us what kinds of creatures might live ... in parts of the solar system previously thought uninhabitable." (Michael Lemonick and Andrea Dorfman, Time Magazine, July 2002) Did you know? No, an extremophile is not an enthusiast of extreme sports (though "-phile" does mean "one who loves or has an affinity for"). Rather, extremophiles are microbes that thrive in environments once considered uninhabitable, from places with high levels of toxicity and radiation to boiling-hot deep-sea volcanoes to Antarctic ice sheets. Scientists have even created a new biological domain to classify some of these microbes: Archaea (from Greek "archaios," meaning "ancient"). These extremophiles may have a lot in common with the first organisms to appear on earth billions of years ago. If so, they can give us insight into how life on our planet may have arisen. They are also being studied to learn about possible life forms on other planets, where conditions are extreme compared to conditions on Earth. 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 March 31, 2009 is: perennial • \puh-REN-ee-ul\ • adjective 1 : present at all seasons of the year 2 : continuing to live from year to year 3 : recurring regularly : permanent Examples: The diva's late-night partying and angry run-ins with the paparazzi have been perennial fodder for the tabloids. Did you know? Nowadays when we talk about "perennial plants," or simply "perennials" ("perennial" can be a noun, too), we mean plants that die back seasonally but produce new growth in the spring. But originally "perennial" was equivalent to "evergreen," used for plants that remain with us all year. We took this "throughout the year" sense straight from the Romans, whose Latin "perennis" combined "per-" ("throughout") with a form of "annus" ("year"). The poet Ovid, writing around the beginning of the first millennium, used the Latin word to refer to a "perennial spring" (water source), and the scholar Pliny used it of birds that don't migrate. Our "perennial" retains these same uses, for streams and occasionally for birds, but it has long had extended meanings, too. 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 March 30, 2009 is: symbiosis • \sim-bee-OH-sis\ • noun 1 : the living together in close association of two dissimilar organisms especially when mutually beneficial 2 : a cooperative relationship Examples: A perfect symbiosis was at work between the café’s co-owners, with Stephanie creating the menu and Maria doing the bookkeeping. Did you know? "Symbiosis" was adopted by the scientific community in the late 1800s, though it had appeared in English in a non-scientific sense as far back as 1622. When a biological symbiosis is mutually beneficial, it is termed "mutualism." For example, when the yucca moth lays her eggs in the seed pods of the yucca, she acts as pollinator, and when the larvae hatch they feed on some, but not all, of the seeds. When one organism lives off another at the other’s expense, it’s called "parasitism." Either way, living together is what "symbiosis" is all about; the word came to us, via German and New Latin, from the Greek "symbiōsis," meaning "state of living together." "Symbiōsis," in turn, traces to "symbios" ("living together"), a combination of "syn-," meaning "with," and "bios," meaning "life." 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 March 29, 2009 is: distend • \dih-STEND\ • verb 1 : extend 2 : to enlarge from internal pressure : swell 3 : to become expanded Examples: With mouths agape and eyes distended, the audience listened to the canoeist's incredible story of survival after being capsized by the river's rapids. Did you know? The history of the word "distend" stretches back to the Latin verb "tendere" -- a root whose kin have really expanded our language. To find evidence of this expansion, look to words that include "tend" or "tent"; many have "tendere," which means "to stretch, extend, or spread," in their family tree. Perhaps the simplest example is "tent," which names a shelter made from a piece of material stretched over a frame. You'll also find the influence of "tendere" in "extend," "tendon," "contend," "portend," and "tendency." 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 March 28, 2009 is: effete • \ih-FEET\ • adjective 1 : no longer fertile 2 a : having lost character, vitality, or strength b : marked by weakness or decadence c : soft or delicate from or as if from a pampered existence; also : characteristic of an effete person 3 : effeminate Examples: "Virginia Woolf is often depicted as a dreamy, effete snob, agonizing all day over a single adjective while sipping tea…." (Julia Keller, Chicago Tribune, November 2, 2008) Did you know? "Effete" derives from Latin "effetus," meaning "no longer fruitful," and for a brief time in English it was used to describe an animal no longer capable of producing offspring. For most of its existence in English, however, the use of "effete" has been entirely figurative. For many years, the usual figurative sense of the word was "exhausted" or "worn out," but today "effete" is more likely to suggest overrefinement, weakness of character, snobbery, and effeminacy. "Effete" first showed signs of acquiring these shades of meaning in the 1920s, but it wasn't until the 1940s that the new "effete" clearly established itself in reputable writing. One example can be found in John Steinbeck's 1945 novel Cannery Row: "now and then some effete customer would order a stinger or an anisette." 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 March 27, 2009 is: Rosetta stone • \roh-ZET-uh-STOHN\ • noun 1 : a black basalt stone found in 1799 that bears an inscription in hieroglyphics, demotic characters, and Greek and is celebrated for having given the first clue to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics 2 : one that gives a clue to understanding Examples: "This is the home of the Elliott wave principle, an arcane system of technical analysis that thousands of investors have come to believe is the Rosetta stone of the stock market." (Cynthia Crossen, The Wall Street Journal, March 18, 1987) Did you know? The word "hieroglyphics" refers to an Egyptian writing system that was unintelligible to later civilizations until an inscribed stone about the size of a coffee table was discovered over 200 years ago in an Egyptian town called Rosetta ("Rashid" in Arabic). The Rosetta stone, as it came to be called, held a key to the ancient writing system. Probably written by Egyptian priests in the 2nd century B.C., its hieroglyphic text repeated a text written in familiar Greek. As a result, Egyptologists were able to decipher the symbols. Today we also use "Rosetta stone" figuratively, as we have since the early 20th century, for other things that provide clues or help us to understand something that would otherwise be undecipherable. 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 March 26, 2009 is: dross • \DRAHSS\ • noun 1 : the scum that forms on the surface of molten metal 2 : waste or foreign matter : impurity 3 : something that is base, trivial, or inferior Examples: The critic complained that the movies released after Oscar season were just so much dross. Did you know? "Dross" has been a part of the English language since Anglo-Saxon times; one 19th-century book on Old English vocabulary dates it back to 1050 A.D. Its Old English ancestors are related to Germanic and Scandinavian words for "dregs" (as in "the dregs of the coffee") -- and, like "dregs," "dross" is a word for the less-than-desirable parts of something. Over the years, the relative worthlessness of dross has often been set in contrast to the value of gold, as for example in British poet Christina Rossetti's "The Lowest Room": "Besides, those days were golden days, / Whilst these are days of dross" (1875). 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 March 25, 2009 is: edentulous • \ee-DEN-chuh-luss\ • adjective : having no teeth : toothless Examples: Thanks to improvements in public health and dental care in the 20th century, far fewer Americans are edentulous when they enter their golden years. Did you know? "Edentulous" comes to English directly from the Latin word "edentulus," which in turn comes from the Latin prefix "e-," meaning "missing" or "absent," and the Latin root "dent-," meaning "tooth." This root is at work in many familiar English words that relate to teeth, including "dental," "dentist," and "denture." It is also found in "edentate," a less common word that functions as a noun referring to an order of mammals with few or no teeth (e.g. sloths and armadillos), and as an adjective describing such mammals. "Edentate" is also sometimes used as a synonym of "edentulous." 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 March 24, 2009 is: negotiate • \nih-GOH-shee-ayt\ • verb 1 : to confer with another so as to arrive at the settlement of some matter; also : to arrange for or bring about by such conferences 2 : to transfer to another by delivery or endorsement in return for equivalent value 3 : to get through, around, or over successfully Examples: "On the coast we negotiate much of our navigable waters as if driving through a big empty parking lot without lines or barriers, safely avoiding shallow water and other hazards and allowing reasonable clearance for fellow boaters." (David Sikes, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, April 10, 2008) Did you know? For the first 250 years of its life, "negotiate" had meanings that hewed pretty close to its Latin root, "negotiari," meaning "to carry on business." Around the middle of the 19th century, though, it developed the meaning "to successfully travel along or over." Although this sense was criticized in the New York Sun in 1906 as a "barbarism creeping into the language," and Fowler's 1926 A Dictionary of Modern English Usage declared that any writer who used it was "literally a barbarian," it has thrived. The Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage claimed in both its 1975 and 1985 editions that it is "considered inappropriate in formal speech and writing," but our evidence does not show that there is anything particularly informal about its use. 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 March 23, 2009 is: sciolism • \SYE-uh-liz-um\ • noun : a superficial show of learning Examples: Some critics of state-mandated testing say it is an exercise in sciolism that doesn’t really demonstrate a student’s grasp of the material studied. Did you know? "Sciolism" comes from the Late Latin "sciolus," which means "smatterer" (or "one who speaks with spotty or superficial knowledge"). "Sciolus" comes from the diminutive of Latin "scius," meaning "knowing," which itself comes from the verb "scire," meaning "to know." Of course, if you know something about Latin roots, you know that "scire" is the source of many other English words, including "science," "prescience" ("foreknowledge"), "nescience" ("lack of knowledge"), and "conscience." 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 March 22, 2009 is: recrudescence • \ree-kroo-DESS-uns\ • noun : a new outbreak after a period of abatement or inactivity : renewal Examples: "Unfortunately, we have recently had a recrudescence of one disease in particular: canine distemper." (Dr. Jacob Church, The Biloxi Sun Herald [Mississippi], April 17, 2008) Did you know? "Recrudescence" derives from the Latin verb "recrudescere," meaning "to become raw again” (used, for example, of wounds). Ultimately, it can be traced back to the Latin word for "raw," which is "crudus." (If you suspect that "crude" is also derived from "crudus," you are correct; another well-known descendant is "cruel.") In its literal sense, "recrudescence" is a medical word denoting a renewed outbreak of a disease. In extended use, it most often describes the return of an undesirable condition, such as a war or a plague, or the return of an undesirable idea. 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 March 21, 2009 is: ignoble • \ig-NOH-bul\ • adjective 1 : of low birth or common origin : plebeian 2 : characterized by baseness, lowness, or meanness Examples: "Ever the opportunist, Luthor has been hanging around Superman's arctic fortress … while devising plans for world dictatorship and other ignoble acts." (Kevin Canfield, The Journal News, June 27, 2006) Did you know? The word "noble," in addition to referring to someone born to aristocratic ranks, can also be used to describe someone of outstanding character. That word first appeared in English in the 13th century, and its antonym, "ignoble," came about two centuries later. "Ignoble" derives via Middle English and Middle French from the Latin prefix "in-" ("not") and the Old Latin "gnobilis" ("noble"). Originally, "ignoble" described someone born to common or plebeian origins, but by the late 16th century it had come to describe people of dishonorable character, or the actions performed by such people. 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 March 20, 2009 is: vatic • \VAT-ik\ • adjective : prophetic, oracular Examples: The vatic voice of these poems, untempered by humor or irony, sounds more pretentious than profound. Did you know? Some people say only thin lines separate poetry, prophecy, and madness. We don't know if that's generally true, but it is in the case of "vatic." The adjective derives directly from the Latin word "vates," meaning "seer" or "prophet." But that Latin root is in turn distantly related to an Old English word for "poetry," an Old High German word for "madness," and an Old Irish word for "seer" or "poet." 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 March 19, 2009 is: enclave • \EN-klayv\ • noun : a distinct territorial, cultural, or social unit enclosed within or as if within foreign territory Examples: The small middle-class enclave, just north of the city, is home to many young professionals who commute into the city to work every morning. Did you know? Looking for the keys to the etymology of "enclave"? You'll find them in French and Latin. English speakers borrowed "enclave" from French in the 19th century. The French noun derives in turn from the Middle French verb "enclaver," meaning to "enclose." "Enclaver" itself can be traced to the Latin prefix "in-" and the Latin noun "clavis," meaning "key." "Clavis" opened the door to a few other English words, some of which might seem unlikely relatives of "enclave." "Clavicle," the word for the bone that joins the breastbone and the shoulder blade, comes from "clavis," as does the musical sign "clef." 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 March 18, 2009 is: eyas • \EYE-us\ • noun : an unfledged bird; specifically : a nestling hawk Examples: It took about six weeks for the eyas to mature into a fully grown peregrine falcon. Did you know? "Eyas" is a funny-sounding word that exists because of a mistake. In the 15th century, Middle English speakers made an incorrect assumption about the word "neias," which comes from the Anglo-French "niais" ("fresh from the nest"). "A neias" sounded like "an eias" to their ears, so the word lost that initial "n," eventually becoming "eyas." (There are other words in English that were created in this same fashion; for example, "an apron" used to be "a napron.") The change in spelling may have been suggested by other Middle English words like "ey" ("egg") and "eyry," which was a spelling of "aerie," the hawk's nest where an eyas would be found. 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 March 17, 2009 is: blarney • \BLAR-nee\ • noun 1 : skillful flattery : blandishment 2 : nonsense, humbug Examples: The woman at the bar laughingly asked Steve if anyone ever fell for that line of blarney. Did you know? The village of Blarney in County Cork, Ireland, is home to Blarney Castle, and in the southern wall of that edifice lies the famous Blarney Stone. Legend has it that anyone who kisses the Blarney Stone will gain the gift of skillful flattery, but that gift must be attained at the price of some limber maneuvering -- you have to lie down and hang your head over a precipice to reach and kiss the stone. One story claims the word “blarney” gained popularity as a word for “flattery” after Queen Elizabeth I of England used it to describe the flowery (but apparently less than honest) cajolery of McCarthy Mor, who was then the lord of Blarney Castle. 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 March 16, 2009 is: tremulous • \TREM-yuh-luss\ • adjective 1 : marked by trembling or tremors : quivering 2 : timorous, timid Examples: I hardly recognized my own tremulous voice telling the EMT I was pretty sure I was okay. Did you know? Do you suspect that "tremulous" must be closely related to "tremble"? If so, you're right. Both of those words derive from the Latin verb "tremere," which means "to tremble." Some other English offspring of "tremere" are "tremor," "tremendous," "temblor" (another word for earthquake), and "tremolo" (a term that describes a vibrating and quavering musical effect that was particularly popular for electric guitars and organs in the 1970s). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentenc 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 March 15, 2009 is: wherefore • \WAIR-for\ • adverb 1 : for what reason or purpose : why 2 : therefore Examples: "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" (William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet) Did you know? In our example sentence, Juliet is not inquiring into her beloved's whereabouts. Rather she is asking why it is that Romeo must be Romeo, a member of the Montague family and, therefore, an enemy of Juliet's own family, the Capulets. Yet, wherefore does "wherefore" mean "why"? Starting in the early 13th century, a number of new words were formed by combining "where" with a preposition. In such words, "where" had the meaning of "what" or "which," giving the English language such adverbs as "wherein" ("in what"), "whereon" ("on what"), and "wherefore" ("for what"). English speakers have largely dropped "wherefore" in favor of "why," but the noun "wherefore," meaning "an answer or statement giving an explanation," continues to be used, particularly in the phrase "the whys and wherefores." 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 March 14, 2009 is: feckless • \FECK-lus\ • adjective 1 : weak, ineffective 2 : worthless, irresponsible Examples: Although Trevor was admired by his colleagues at the newspaper, he turned out to be a feckless reporter, and so he was reassigned to the copy desk. Did you know? Someone feckless is lacking in feck. And what, you may ask, is feck? "Feck" is a Scots term that means "effect" or "majority" and comes from an alteration of the Middle English "effect." So something without feck is without effect, or "ineffective." In the past, "feckful" (meaning "efficient," "sturdy," or "powerful") made an occasional appearance. But in this case, the weak has outlived the strong: "feckless" is a commonly used English word, but "feckful" has fallen out of use. 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 March 13, 2009 is: flibbertigibbet • \flib-er-tee-JIB-ut\ • noun : a silly flighty person Examples: She plays a flibbertigibbet on the sitcom, but off the set, she is a no-nonsense woman in full control of her career and family. Did you know? "Flibbertigibbet" is one of many incarnations of the Middle English word "flepergebet," meaning "gossip" or "chatterer." (Others include "flybbergybe," "flibber de' Jibb," and "flipperty-gibbet.") It is a word of onomatopoeic origin, created from sounds that were intended to represent meaningless chatter. Shakespeare apparently saw a devilish aspect to a gossipy chatterer; he used "flibbertigibbet" in King Lear as the name of a devil. This use never caught on, but the devilish connotation of the word reappeared over 200 years later when Sir Walter Scott used "Flibbertigibbet" as the nickname of an impish urchin in the novel Kenilworth. The impish meaning derived from Scott's character was short-lived and was laid to rest by the 19th-century's end, leaving us with only the "silly flighty person" meaning. 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 March 12, 2009 is: acedia • \uh-SEE-dee-uh\ • noun : apathy, boredom Examples: A restaurant reviewer in SF Weekly once described a brunch as "a stupefyingly lavish buffet spread that will do nothing to erase your acedia." Did you know? "Acedia" comes from a combination of the negative prefix "a-" and the Greek noun "kēdos," meaning "care, concern, or grief." (The Greek word "akēdeia" became "acedia" in Late Latin, and that spelling was retained in English.) "Acedia" initially referred specifically to the "deadly sin" of sloth. It first appeared in print in English in 1607 describing ceremonies which could induce this sin in ministers and pastors, but that sense is now rare. "Acedia" now tends to be used more generally to simply imply a lack of interest or caring, although it sometimes still carries overtones of laziness. 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 March 11, 2009 is: proliferate • \pruh-LIF-uh-rayt\ • verb : to grow or increase in number rapidly Examples: "As low rates proliferated, lenders fell over themselves to stuff cash in customers' pockets." (Daniel Gross, Newsweek, August 20/27, 2007) Did you know? "Proliferate" came about in 1873 as a back-formation of "proliferation." That means that "proliferation" came first (we borrowed it from French in the 1850s) and was later shortened to form the verb "proliferate." Ultimately these terms come from Latin. The French adjective "prolifère" ("reproducing freely") comes from the Latin noun "proles" and the Latin combining form "-fer." "Proles" means "offspring" or "descendants," and "-fer" means "bearing." Both of these Latin forms gave rise to numerous other English words. "Prolific" and "proletarian" ultimately come from "proles"; "aquifer" and words ending in "-ferous" have their roots in "-fer." 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 March 10, 2009 is: crepuscular • \krih-PUHSS-kyuh-ler\ • adjective 1 : of, relating to, or resembling twilight : dim 2 : active in the twilight Examples: "The whisper of his conviction seemed to open before me a vast and uncertain expanse, as of a crepuscular horizon on a plain at dawn…." (Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim) Did you know? The early Romans had two words for "twilight." "Crepusculum" was favored by Roman writers for the half-light of evening, just after the sun sets; it is a diminutive formation based on their word for "dusky," which is "creper." "Diluculum" was reserved for morning twilight, just before the sun rises -- it is related to "lucidus," meaning "bright." We didn't embrace either of these Latin nouns as substitutes for our Middle English "twilight," but we did form the adjective "crepuscular" in the 17th century. At first, it only meant "dim" or "indistinct," often used in a figurative sense. In the 1820s, we added its special zoological sense, describing animals that are most active at twilight. 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 March 9, 2009 is: pooh-bah • \POO-bah\ • noun 1 : a person holding many public or private offices 2 : a person in high position or of great influence Examples: "Have you seen news reports on the gatherings of international pooh-bahs who are trying to figure out some workable methods to restore the public's confidence in the markets?" (Ron Smith, The Baltimore Sun, October 15, 2008) Did you know? The original Pooh-Bah was an arrogant, buffoonish bureaucrat introduced in the 1885 Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Mikado. In that show, the character Pooh-Bah, whose title is "Lord High Everything Else," very "humbly" agrees to accept several important government offices (and their salaries) after a series of officials resign. He'll do anything if the bribe is big enough, and he loves to strut and show off to anyone who might be impressed by his grandeur. It didn't take English speakers long to adopt "pooh-bah" as a term for someone who holds either many offices or a high position, and the word still often carries a suggestion of pompousness. 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 March 8, 2009 is: univocal • \yoo-NIV-uh-kul\ • adjective 1 : having one meaning only 2 : unambiguous Examples: The president declared that it was important to send a univocal message of support to the beleaguered country. Did you know? "Univocal," in the sense of "having only one meaning," first appeared in print in English in 1599, the same year that its more familiar antonym "equivocal" (meaning "often misleadingly subject to two or more interpretations") was first recorded. Both words trace back to the Latin noun "vox," which means "voice." The prefix "uni-" ("one") was combined with "vox" to create the Late Latin word "univocus," from which English speakers borrowed "univocal." "Univocal" was indeed once used in the sense of "speaking in one voice" (or "unanimous") as its etymology would imply, but that use 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 March 7, 2009 is: equanimity • \ee-kwuh-NIM-uh-tee\ • noun 1 : evenness of mind especially under stress 2 : right disposition : balance Examples: Carol's famous equanimity didn't desert her, even in the midst of the crisis. Did you know? If you think "equanimity" looks like it has something to do with "equal," you've guessed correctly. Both "equanimity" and "equal" are derived from "aequus," a Latin adjective meaning "level" or "equal." "Equanimity" comes from the combination of "aequus" and "animus" ("soul" or "mind") in the Latin phrase "aequo animo," which means "with even mind." English speakers began using "equanimity" early in the 17th century with the now obsolete sense "fairness or justness of judgment," which was in keeping with the meaning of the Latin phrase. "Equanimity" quickly came to suggest keeping a cool head under any sort of pressure, not merely when presented with a problem, and eventually it developed an extended sense for general balance and harmony. 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 March 6, 2009 is: scratch • \SKRATCH\ • noun 1 : a mark or injury made by or as if by scratching; also : a sound so made 2 : scrawl, scribble 3 : the starting line in a race 4 a : a test of courage b : satisfactory condition, level, or performance Examples: The team made it to the championship despite the fact that they were not up to scratch for the last several games. Did you know? The phrase "up to scratch" has its origins in the world of sports. In the 18th century, "scratch" began to be used for a line or mark that served as the starting point in a contest or competition. In order to begin or continue a fight, for example, a pugilist would "come up to the scratch," positioning himself at a line drawn across the prize ring. "Up to the scratch" was soon being used figuratively of anyone who was ready and able to do something. Over the years, the usage of the phrase has evolved somewhat, but something that is "up to scratch" can still be said to be ready and able in that it is capable of functioning or performing as expected. 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 March 5, 2009 is: purfle • \PUR-ful\ • verb : to ornament the border or edges of Examples: The luthier used abalone shell to purfle the instrument. Did you know? Today we use "purfle" mostly in reference to setting a decorative inlaid border around the body of a guitar or violin, a process known as "purfling." In the past, "purfle" got the most use in connection with adornment of garments. "The Bishop of Ely . . . wore a robe of scarlet . . . purfled with minever," reported an English clergyman in 1840, for example. We embellished our language with "purfle," first as "purfilen" in the 1300s, when we took it with its meaning from Middle French "porfiler." 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 March 4, 2009 is: oligopsony • \ah-luh-GAHP-suh-nee\ • noun : a market situation in which each of a few buyers exerts a disproportionate influence on the market Examples: The elimination of small local vendors by a handful of national chain groceries has created an oligopsony where farmers cannot receive fair prices for their yields. Did you know? You're probably familiar with the word "monopoly," but you may not recognize its conceptual and linguistic relative, the much rarer "oligopsony." Both "monopoly" and "oligopsony" are ultimately from Greek, although "monopoly" passed through Latin before being adopted into English. "Monopoly" comes from the Greek prefix “mono-" (which means "one") and “pōlein” ("to sell"). "Oligopsony" derives from the combining form “olig-" ("few") and the Greek noun “opsōnia” ("the purchase of victuals"), which is ultimately from the combination of “opson ("food") and “ōneisthai” ("to buy"). It makes sense, then, that "oligopsony" refers to a "buyers' market" in which the seller is subjected to the potential demands of a limited pool of buyers. Another related word is "monopsony," used for a more extreme oligopsony in which there is only a single buyer. 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 March 3, 2009 is: incarnadine • \in-KAHR-nuh-dyne\ • adjective 1 : having the pinkish color of flesh 2 : red; especially : bloodred Examples: "Tavel [wine] … is noted for its assertive fruit and magnificent rich and brilliant incarnadine color." (Vick Knight Jr., Press Enterprise [Riverside, CA], August 11, 1999) Did you know? "Carn-" is the Latin root for "flesh," and "incarnates" is Latin for "flesh-colored." English speakers picked up the "pinkish" sense of "incarnadine" back in the late 1500s. Since then, the adjective has come to refer to the dark red color of freshly cut, fleshy meat as well as to the pinkish color of the outer skin of some humans. The word can be used as a verb, too, meaning "to redden." Shakespeare used it that way in Macbeth: “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.” 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 March 2, 2009 is: hoke • \HOHK\ • verb : to give a contrived, falsely impressive, or hokey quality to -- usually used with "up" Examples: Sappy music and melodramatic acting combine to hoke up the movie's romance sequences. Did you know? "Hoke" is a back-formation of "hokum," which was probably created as a blend of "hocus-pocus" and "bunkum." "Hokum" is a word for the theatrical devices used to evoke a desired audience response. The verb "hoke" appeared in the early 20th century and was originally used (as it still can be today) when actors performed in an exaggerated or overly sentimental way. Today, it is often used adjectivally in the form "hoked-up," as in "hoked-up dialogue." The related word "hokey" was coined soon after "hoke" to describe things that are corny or phony. 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 March 1, 2009 is: immoderate • \im-MAH-duh-rut\ • adjective : exceeding just, usual, or suitable bounds Examples: The budget buffet attracted customers with immoderate appetites but limited pocketbooks. Did you know? "Immoderate," "excessive," "inordinate, "extravagant," "exorbitant," and "extreme" all mean going beyond a normal limit. "Immoderate" suggests a lack of desirable or necessary restraint ("immoderate spending"). "Excessive" implies an amount or degree too great to be reasonable or acceptable ("excessive punishment"). "Inordinate" implies an exceeding of the limits dictated by reason or good judgment ("inordinate pride"). "Extravagant" implies an indifference to restraints imposed by truth, prudence, or good taste ("extravagant claims for the product"). "Exorbitant" has connotations of a departure from accepted standards regarding amount or degree ("exorbitant prices"). "Extreme" may imply an approach to the farthest limit possible or conceivable, but commonly means only to a notably high degree ("extreme shyness"). 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 February 28, 2009 is: vinaceous • \vye-NAY-shus\ • adjective : of the color of red wine Examples: At the art museum, we saw a portrait of Mary II wearing a magnificent vinaceous dress befitting her royal splendor. Did you know? The first recorded evidence of "vinaceous" in English dates from 1688, shortly before the accession of Mary II. If ever the queen used "vinaceous," she was probably in the confines of her landscaped garden, admiring the vinaceous shades of petals or looking indifferently at the vinaceous cap of a mushroom; since its beginning, "vinaceous" has flourished in the earthy lexicon of horticulture and mycology. It has also taken flight in the ornithological world as a descriptive word for the unique dark-red coloring of some birds, like the vinaceous amazon or vinaceous rosefinch. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.