Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 24, 2008 is: cabal • \kuh-BAHL\ • noun 1 : the artifices and intrigues of a group of persons secretly united in a plot (as to overturn a government); also : a group engaged in such artifices and intrigues 2 : club, group Examples: The journalist uncovered evidence that a cabal of power brokers was plotting to overthrow the government. Did you know? In A Child's History of England, Charles Dickens associates the word "cabal" with a group of five ministers in the government of England's King Charles II. The initial letters of the names or titles of those men (Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale) spelled "cabal," and Dickens dubbed them the "Cabal Ministry." These five men were widely regarded as invidious, secretive plotters and their activities may have encouraged English speakers to associate "cabal" with high-level government intrigue. But their names are not the source of the word "cabal," which was in use decades before Charles II ascended the throne. The term can be traced back through French to "cabbala," the Medieval Latin name for the Kabbalah, a traditional system of esoteric Jewish mysticism. 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 January 23, 2008 is: fletcher • \FLETCH-er\ • noun : a maker of arrows Examples: The fletcher presented the village's archery champion with his most recent design, an arrow crafted to travel in a steady course through any headwind. Did you know? "Fletcher" is one of a number of English words that once commonly referred to occupations but are now better known as surnames. "Fletcher" came to English from the Anglo-French noun "fleche," meaning "arrow"; our verb "to fletch" can mean "to furnish (an arrow) with a feather." Other names for occupations that are now commonly used as surnames include "cooper" (a person who makes or repairs wooden casks or tubs), "collier" (a coal miner), "chandler" (a person who make candles), "sawyer" (a person who saws wood), and "wainwright" (a person who makes wagons). And, of course, there are names such as Baker, Carpenter, and Miller whose origins are more or less self-explanatory. 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 January 22, 2008 is: adjuvant • \AJ-uh-vunt\ • adjective 1 : serving to aid or contribute : auxiliary 2 : assisting in the prevention, amelioration, or cure of disease Examples: Dr. Browne and his research team are running a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery. Did you know? Things that are adjuvant rarely get top billing -- they're the supporting players, not the stars. But that doesn't mean they're not important. An adjuvant medicine, for example, can have a powerful healing effect when teamed up with another medicine or curative treatment. "Adjuvant" descends from the Latin verb "adjuvare" ("to aid"), which also gave us our nouns "coadjutor" ("assistant") and "aid." These days, "adjuvant" tends to turn up most often in medical contexts, but it can also be used in the general sense of "serving to aid." Likewise, the noun "adjuvant" can mean "a drug or method that enhances the effectiveness of medical treatment" or simply "one that helps or facilitates." 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 January 21, 2008 is: devolve • \dih-VAHLV\ • verb 1 a : to pass by transmission or succession b : to fall or be passed usually as a responsibility or obligation 2 : to come by or as if by flowing down 3 : to degenerate through a gradual change or evolution Examples: Our book club's discussions used to be thought-provoking literary debates, but lately they've devolved into gossip sessions. Did you know? "Devolve" evolved from a combination of Latin "volvere," a word that means "to roll," and the prefix "de-," meaning "down." (Other words that revolve around "volvere" are the five other words containing "-vol-" found in this paragraph.) Knowing which preposition to use with "devolve" can seem a bit involved, but it's really not all that convoluted. Responsibility or rights devolve "on," "upon," or "to" someone. When something comes into a present state by flowing down from a source, either literally or figuratively, we say "devolve from," as in "customs that devolve from old beliefs." And when the devolving is a downward evolution to a lower state we say "devolves into" (or sometimes "devolves to"), as in "order devolves into chaos." 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 January 20, 2008 is: hustings • \HUSS-tingz\ • noun 1 : a place where political campaign speeches are made 2 : the proceedings or locale of an election campaign Examples: In contrast to his opponent, the incumbent senator looked cool and composed up on the hustings. Did you know? Hustings are where babies are kissed, flesh is pressed, and media events are staged. The term traces to an Old Norse word meaning "house assembly," and 1000 years ago hustings were judicial assemblies where Anglo-Saxon kings and their followers held council and resolved civil disputes. Over time, "hustings" came to refer not only to the assembly but also to the platform where the leaders of such gatherings sat, and in due course the term was applied to the entire campaigning process as well. Nowadays, "on the hustings" is synonymous with "on the stump," and it can refer to any place along the campaign trail where a candidate makes a pitch for public office. 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 January 19, 2008 is: apodictic • \ap-uh-DIK-tik\ • adjective : expressing or of the nature of necessary truth or absolute certainty Examples: The apodictic tone of Liza's writing reflects her complete confidence in the correctness of her statements. Did you know? There's something remarkable about a word which, when periodically dusted off, proves to have retained its freshness over 350 years -- and that's the case with "apodictic." It's a handy word that can describe a conclusive concept, a conclusive person, or even that conclusive person's conclusive remarks. A well-known close relative of "apodictic" is "paradigm" ("an outstandingly clear or typical example"); both words are built on Greek "deiknynai," meaning "to show." More distant relatives (from Latin "dicere," a relative of "deiknynai" that means "to say") include "diction," "dictate," "edict," and "predict." 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 January 18, 2008 is: weasel word • \WEE-zul-WURD\ • noun : a word used in order to mislead a person or to avoid a straight answer Examples: Instead of just saying outright that jobs are going to be cut, the head of the company has taken to using weasel words like "corporate restructuring." Did you know? Some people believe that weasels can suck the insides out of an egg without damaging the shell. An egg thus weasel-treated would look fine on the outside, but it would actually be empty and useless. We don't know if weasels can really do that, but the belief that they could caused people to start using "weasel word" to refer to any term intended to give the impression that everything is fine when the speaker is really trying to avoid answering a question, telling the truth, or taking the blame for something. 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 January 17, 2008 is: scarify • \SKAIR-uh-fye\ • verb 1 : to make scratches or small cuts in (as the skin) 2 : to lacerate the feelings of 3 : to cut or soften the wall of (a hard seed) to hasten germination Examples: The gardening handbook recommends scarifying the seeds before planting them. Did you know? You get two words for the price of one with "scarify." The first "scarify" appeared in English in the 14th century with the meaning "to make scratches or cuts in" and later developed a figurative application of "cutting" someone emotionally. This word is ultimately derived from a Greek word meaning "to scratch an outline." The second homograph turned up in print in 1785 and gained currency in the 20th century. This "scarify" was formed by combining "scare" with "-ify," possibly as a combination of "scare" and "terrify," and it predictably means "to scare or frighten." Neither "scarify" is terribly common these days, but they do turn up on occasion. 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 January 16, 2008 is: shank's mare • \SHANKS-MAIR\ • noun : one's own legs Examples: We were determined to see the ruins, and when we found out the shuttle bus wasn't running that day, we traveled by shank's mare. Did you know? "A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!" Many travelers in centuries past would have agreed with King Richard's famous lines from Shakespeare's Richard III -- when you needed to travel any distance in the days before automobiles, you definitely wanted a horse. When one wasn't available, you had to rely on your built-in transportation equipment, your feet and legs. The word "shank" has been used to mean "the lower leg" since before the 12th century, and "shank's mare" first appeared in writing in the late 1700s. Another vivid expression connecting people and horses was "horse with ten toes," but that one is now relegated to history. 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 January 15, 2008 is: neoteric • \nee-uh-TAIR-ik\ • adjective : recent in origin : modern Examples: The gallery eschews traditional works of art in favor of more neoteric pieces, such as electric light installations and computer graphic displays. Did you know? An odd thing about "neoteric" is that this word for things that are modern and new is itself rather old. It's been part of English since at least 1596, and its roots go back even further -- to ancient Greek. We adapted the word from Late Latin "neotericus," which also means "recent." "Neotericus" in turn comes from Late Greek "neōterikos" and ultimately from Greek "neos," meaning "new" or "young." As old as its roots are, however, "neoteric" itself entered English later than its synonyms "modern" (which appeared earlier in the 16th century) and "newfangled" (which has been with us since the 15th 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 January 14, 2008 is: invidious • \in-VID-ee-us\ • adjective 1 : tending to cause discontent, animosity, or envy 2 : envious 3 a : of an unpleasant or objectionable nature : obnoxious b : of a kind to cause harm or resentment Examples: "Petty arguments about what counts as serious art and what does not are invidious to the discipline of artistic criticism," wrote the professor. Did you know? Fittingly, "invidious" is a relative of "envy." Both are descendants of "invidia," the Latin word for "envy," which in turn comes from "invidēre," meaning "to look askance at" or "to envy." ("Invidious" descends from "invidia" by way of the Latin adjective "invidiosus," meaning "envious," whereas "envy" comes to English via the Anglo-French noun "envie.") These days, however, "invidious" is rarely used as a synonym for "envious." The preferred uses are primarily pejorative, describing things that are unpleasant (such as "invidious choices" and "invidious tasks") or worthy of scorn ("invidious remarks" or "invidious comparisons"). 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 January 13, 2008 is: biofuel • \bye-oh-FYOOL\ • noun : a fuel (as wood or ethanol) composed of or produced from biological raw materials Examples: Many people have begun to push for more research into biofuels, which they say would burn cleaner and be more sustainable than fossil fuel sources. Did you know? Since the early 19th century, "fossil fuel" has been used to refer to fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas which are formed from the remains of plants and animals which have lain in the earth for millions of years. In the 1970s, a new word, "biofuel," began to be used to describe a different kind of fuel, one taken from more contemporary organic matter. These fuels include ethanol, which can be derived from such products as corn and sugarcane, and biodiesel, which can be formed from vegetable oils. These organic sources are reflected in the prefix, "bio-," meaning "life" or "living organisms or tissue." The prefix "bio-" was borrowed from the Greek "bios," meaning "mode of 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 January 12, 2008 is: sapient • \SAY-pee-unt\ • adjective : possessing or expressing great sagacity Examples: I've found Henrietta's advice to be both sapient and comforting, especially in difficult times. Did you know? Human beings certainly like to think they're wise, and, in fact, the term "Homo sapiens" ("humankind") comes in part from the Latin word "sapiens," meaning "wise" or "intelligent." "Sapiens" in turn comes from the verb "sapere," which means "to be wise" (and which also gave us "sage" and "savant"). "Sapiens" and "sapere" are also ancestors of our adjective "sapient," of course. "Sapient" came to us from Latin by way of Middle French and has been used in English to mean "wise" since the 15th century. In recent times it also has been used in anthropological contexts to mean "characteristic of modern humans." 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 January 11, 2008 is: mouthfeel • \MOWTH-feel\ • noun : the sensation created by food or drink in the mouth Examples: The excessive carbonation in the beer gives it a prickly mouthfeel that detracts from its otherwise pleasing taste. Did you know? Do you sometimes find yourself trying to describe a concept or phenomenon for which you don't have a word? In such cases, it is not unusual for people to coin neologisms (new words or expressions) to describe such concepts or phenomena -- the pink glow on the underside of gray clouds right before sunset, for example, or the sensation created in the mouth by a particular item of food or drink. Indeed, this latter concept has already been given a name, "mouthfeel," a simple combination of "mouth" and "feel" that can be used to describe the creamy warmth of a mushroom soup or the dry, velvety sensation of a pinot noir. This coinage is relatively new; its earliest known use dates back only to 1951. 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 January 10, 2008 is: anathematize • \uh-NATH-uh-muh-tyze\ • verb : curse, denounce Examples: The biography presents a balanced account of the life of a writer whose work was beloved by the masses and anathematized by critics. Did you know? When 16th-century English speakers needed a verb meaning "to condemn by anathema" (that is, by an official curse from church authority), "anathematize" proved to be just the right word. But "anathematize" didn't originate in English as a combination of the noun "anathema" and the suffix "-ize." Rather, our verb is based on forebears in Late Latin ("anathematizare") and Greek ("anathematizein"). "Anathematize" can still indicate solemn, formal condemnation, but today it can also have milder applications. The same is true of "anathema," which now often means simply "a vigorous denunciation." 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 January 9, 2008 is: primeval • \prye-MEE-vul\ • adjective : of or relating to the earliest ages (as of the world or human history) : ancient, primitive Examples: A small tract of land to the north contains the last remnants of the primeval forest that covered this region a thousand years ago. Did you know? First things first. "Primeval" comes from the Latin words "primus," meaning "first," and "aevum," meaning "age." In Latin, those terms were brought together to form "primaevus," a word that means "of or relating to the earliest ages." Other English words that descend from "primus" include "prime" and "primary," "primordial" (a synonym of "primeval"), and "primitive." "Primus" also gave rise to some terms for folks who are number one in charge, including "prince" and "principal." 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 January 8, 2008 is: cliometrics • \klye-uh-MET-riks\ • noun plural but singular in construction : the application of methods developed in other fields (as economics, statistics, and data processing) to the study of history Examples: For his doctoral thesis, Quentin used cliometrics to examine the impact of universal suffrage on economic development. Did you know? "Cliometrics" comes from a combination of "Clio," the name of the Greek Muse of history, and "-metrics," as in "econometrics" ("the application of statistical methods to the study of economic data and problems") or "biometrics" ("the statistical analysis of biological observations and phenomena"). American economists Douglass North and Robert Fogel developed cliometrics, a highly quantitative means for studying the past. In 1993, North and Fogel won the Nobel Prize in Economics for their pioneering work. 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 January 7, 2008 is: boycott • \BOY-kaht\ • verb : to engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (as a person, store, or organization) usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions Examples: The group boycotted the clothing company to protest its practice of employing sweatshop labor. Did you know? In the 1870s, Irish farmers faced an agricultural crisis that threatened to result in a repeat of the terrible famine and mass evictions of the 1840s. Anticipating financial ruin, they formed a Land League to campaign against the rent increases and evictions landlords were imposing as a result of the crisis. Retired British army captain Charles Boycott had the misfortune to be acting as an agent for an absentee landlord at the time, and when he tried to evict tenant farmers for refusing to pay their rent, he was ostracized by the League and community. His laborers and servants quit, and his crops began to rot. Boycott's fate was soon well known, and his name became a byword for that particular protest strategy. 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 January 6, 2008 is: nettle • \NET-ul\ • verb 1 : to strike or sting with or as if with nettles 2 : to arouse to sharp but transitory annoyance or anger Examples: You could tell by his nervous reaction that the town official was nettled by the reporter's probing questions. Did you know? If you've ever brushed against nettles, you know those weeds have sharp bristles that can leave you smarting and itching. The painful and irritating rash that nettles cause can last for days, but at least it is a rash with a linguistic silver lining. The discomfort caused by nettles can serve to remind one that the verb "nettle" is a synonym of "irritate." "Nettle" originated as a plant name that we can trace to the Old English word "netel." Eventually, people likened the nagging itch caused by the plant to the nagging aggravation of being annoyed, and "nettle" became a synonym of "vex," "peeve," and of course "irritate." 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 January 5, 2008 is: chthonic • \THAH-nik\ • adjective : of or relating to the underworld : infernal Examples: Laleh compared entering her brother's basement bedroom to a descent into chthonic regions: it was dark and odd-smelling, and she was a little frightened of what she might find there. Did you know? "Chthonic" might seem a lofty and learned word, but it's actually pretty down-to-earth in its origin and meaning. It comes from "chthōn, "which means "earth" in Greek, and it is associated with things that dwell in or under the earth. It is most commonly used in discussions of mythology, particularly underworld mythology. Hades and Persephone, who reign over the underworld in Greek mythology, might be called "chthonic deities," for example. "Chthonic" has broader applications, too. It can be used to describe something that resembles a mythological underworld (e.g.,"chthonic darkness"), and it is sometimes used to describe earthly or natural things (as opposed to those that are elevated or celestial). 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 January 4, 2008 is: googol • \GOO-goll\ • noun : the figure 1 followed by 100 zeros equal to 10100 Examples: In January 1997, astronomers Fred Adams and Gregory Laughlin predicted that the universe would end in a number of years equal to approximately one googol. Did you know? Around 1930, American mathematician Edward Kasner found himself working with numbers as large as 10 to the 100th power -- that's a one followed by 100 zeroes. While it is possible to write that number using standard scientific notation, Dr. Kasner felt that it deserved a name of its own. According to his own account, Dr. Kasner asked his nine-year-old nephew, Milton Sirotta, to pick a name, promising the boy that he would use the word in the future. Milton made up the word "googol," and so the enormous number was christened. Dr. Kasner kept his promise, and the word has spread and been widely adopted by mathematicians and the general public alike. 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 January 3, 2008 is: facile • \FASS-ul\ • adjective 1 a : easily accomplished, handled, or attained b : shallow, superficial 2 a : ready, fluent b : poised, assured Examples: The book is well-organized, but the author's conclusions are unduly facile. Did you know? Would you have guessed that "facile" and "difficult" are related? They are! "Facile" comes to us through Middle French, from the Latin word "facilis," meaning "easy," and ultimately from "facere," meaning "to make or do." "Difficult" traces to "facilis" as well, but its history also involves the negative prefix "dis-," meaning "not." "Facile" can mean "easy" or "easily done," as befits its Latin roots, but it now often adds the connotation of undue haste or shallowness, as in "facile answers to complex questions." 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 January 2, 2008 is: syllabub • \SILL-uh-bub\ • noun : milk or cream that is curdled with an acid beverage (as wine or cider) and often sweetened and served as a drink or topping or thickened with gelatin and served as a dessert Examples: On special occasions, grandma would serve syllabub for dessert. Did you know? Syllabub's a concoction whose name has had almost as many variations as there are versions of how to make it: "solybubbe," "sullabub," "sullibib," "sellibub," "sallibube," "sillie bube," "sillybob" -- even "sillibucke" and "silly-bauk" in some dialects. There are theories about the word's origins, but no one knows for sure where the name came from. (There's no connection to "silly," as far as we know, though imbibing it might make one act that way.) We do know that both the name "syllabub" and the concoction itself go back to at least the 16th century. Today, we're more likely to encounter "syllabub" in a historical novel than on the menu at a local drinking spot, at least in the United States, but those fortunate enough to taste the drink/dessert often give it rave reviews. 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 January 1, 2008 is: Methuselah • \muh-THOO-zuh-luh\ • noun 1 : an ancestor of Noah held to have lived 969 years 2 : an oversize wine bottle holding about six liters Examples: William's colleagues brought him a Methuselah of champagne to celebrate his retirement, and there was still half a bottle left after all the glasses were poured. Did you know? What do Jeroboam, Methuselah, Salmanazar, Balthazar, and Nebuchadnezzar have in common? Larger-than-life biblical figures all, yes (four kings and a venerable patriarch), but they're all also names of oversized wine bottles. A Jeroboam is the equivalent of about four 750-milliliter bottles (about 3 liters). One Methuselah holds about eight standard bottles' worth, a Salmanazar 12, a Balthazar 16, and a Nebuchadnezzar a whopping 20. No one knows who decided to use those names for bottles, but we do know that by the 1800s "Jeroboam" was being used for large goblets or "enormous bottles of fabulous content." Later, sometime early in the 20th century, "Methuselah" and all the other names were chosen for specific bottle sizes. 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 December 31, 2007 is: pogonip • \PAH-guh-nip\ • noun : a dense winter fog containing frozen particles that is formed in deep mountain valleys of the western United States Examples: "The white wafer sun sports a halo, and nearby hills are veiled in pogonip." (Bill Croke, The American Spectator, March 1997) Did you know? Readers of The Old Farmer's Almanac might recognize the odd-sounding warning, "Beware the pogonip!" So what's a pogonip? In the mountains of the western United States, the fog condenses into tiny, biting ice particles in extremely cold weather. The English-speaking settlers who encountered this unpleasant and sometimes scary phenomenon when they went out West in the 1800s needed a word for it. They borrowed "payinappih" ("cloud") from Shoshone, altering it to "pogonip." 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 December 30, 2007 is: brusque • \BRUSK\ • adjective 1 : markedly short and abrupt 2 : blunt in manner or speech often to the point of ungracious harshness Examples: Her brusque manner, often mistaken by others as unfriendliness, is actually caused by extreme shyness. Did you know? We borrowed "brusque" from French in the 1600s. The French, in turn, had borrowed it from Italian, where it was spelled "brusco" and meant "tart." And the Italian term came from "bruscus," the Medieval Latin name for butcher's-broom, a shrub whose bristly leaf-like twigs have long been used for making brooms. English speakers initially used "brusque" to refer to a tartness in wine, but the word soon came to denote a harsh and stiff manner -- which is just what you might expect of a word bristling with associations to stiff, scratchy brooms. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 29, 2007 is: prudent • \PROO-dunt\ • adjective 1 : marked by wisdom or judiciousness 2 : shrewd in the management of practical affairs 3 : cautious, discreet 4 : thrifty, frugal Examples: The lawyer offered several prudent suggestions. Did you know? "Prudent" arrived in Middle English around the 14th century and traces back, by way of Middle French, to the Latin verb "providēre," meaning "to see ahead, foresee, provide (for)." "Providēre" combines "pro-," meaning "before," and "vidēre," meaning "to see," and it may look familiar to you; it is also the source of our "provide," "provident," "provision," and "improvise." "Vidēre" also has many English offspring, including "evident," "supervise," "video," and "vision." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 28, 2007 is: opprobrium • \uh-PROH-bree-um\ • noun 1 : something that brings disgrace 2 a : public disgrace or ill fame that follows from conduct considered grossly wrong or vicious b : contempt, reproach Examples: The athlete's admission of using steroids earned her much opprobrium from former fans. Did you know? "Opprobrium" was borrowed into English from Latin in the 17th century. It came from the Latin verb "opprobrare," which means "to reproach." That verb in turn came from the noun "probrum," meaning "disgraceful act" or "reproach." These gave us "opprobrium" as well as its adjective form "opprobrious," which means "scurrilous" or "infamous." One might commit an "opprobrious crime" or be berated with "opprobrious language." "Probrum" gave English another word too, but you might have a little trouble guessing it. It's "exprobrate," an archaic synonym of "censure" or "upbraid." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 27, 2007 is: afflatus • \uh-FLAY-tus\ • noun : a divine imparting of knowledge or power : inspiration Examples: Gus insists that his musical compositions are the result of hard work, not afflatus. Did you know? Inspiration might be described as a breath of fresh air, and so it is appropriate that "inspire" derives in part from a word meaning "to breathe" (the Latin "spirare"). "Afflatus" is a lesser-known word for inspiration that followed a parallel route. "Afflatus," which in Latin means "the act of blowing or breathing on," was formed from the prefix "ad-" ("to, toward") and the Latin verb "flare" ("to blow"). That same Latin verb gave us such words as "inflate" and (via French) "soufflé." The orator Cicero used "afflatus" in his Latin writings to compare the appearance of a new idea to a breath of fresh air. Nowadays, one often finds the word preceded by the adjective "divine," but poets and artists can find inspiration in the material world 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 December 26, 2007 is: conciliate • \kun-SILL-ee-ayt\ • verb 1 : to gain (as goodwill) by pleasing acts 2 : to make compatible : reconcile 3 : appease Examples: City Councilor Nguyen approved the closing of the branch library and later attempted to conciliate his constituents by pushing for free bus service to the main library. Did you know? A council is "an assembly or meeting for consultation, advice, or discussion," and it is often the task of a council to conciliate opposing views. It seems fitting, therefore, that the words "council" and "conciliate" both derive from the Latin word "concilium," which means "assembly" or "council." "Conciliate" comes to us from the Latin "conciliatus," the past participle of the verb "conciliare" (meaning "to assemble, unite, win over"), which in turn is from "concilium." ("Council," on the other hand, derives from the Anglo-French "cunseil" or "cuncile," from "concilium.") Other "concilium" descendants in English include "conciliar" ("of, relating to, or issued by a council") and the rare "conciliabule" ("a clandestine meeting especially of conspirators or rebels"). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 25, 2007 is: grinch • \GRINCH\ • noun : killjoy, spoilsport Examples: Our team had improved significantly over the past week, but the grinches were still pointing out that we were more than ten games out of first place. Did you know? When Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, wrote the children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 1957, he probably had no idea that in 20 years "grinch" would enter the general lexicon of English. Like Charles Dickens' Ebenezer Scrooge (whose name has become synonymous with "miser"), the Grinch changes his ways by the story's end, but it's the unreformed character who "hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!" who sticks in our minds. The ill-natured Grinch, with his heart "two sizes too small," provides us with a lively symbol of someone we love to hate, and his name has thus come to refer to any disgruntled grump who ruins the pleasure of others. 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 December 24, 2007 is: kith • \KITH\ • noun : familiar friends, neighbors, or relatives Examples: Andre makes it a point to have at least one barbecue a year at his house in order to stay in touch with his kith and kin. Did you know? "Kith" has had many meanings over the years. In its earliest uses it referred to knowledge of something, but that meaning died out in the 1400s. Another sense, "one's native land," had come and gone by the early 1500s. The sense "friends, fellow countrymen, or neighbors" developed before the 12th century and was sometimes used as a synonym of "kinsfolk." That last sense got "kith" into hot water after people began using the word in the alliterative phrase "kith and kin." Over the years, usage commentators have complained that "kith" means the same thing as "kin," so "kith and kin" is redundant. Clearly, they have overlooked some other historical definitions, but if you want to avoid redundancy charges, be sure to include friends as well as relatives among your "kith and kin." 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 December 23, 2007 is: rescind • \rih-SIND\ • verb 1 : to take away : remove 2 : take back : cancel 3 : to make void (as an act) by action of the enacting authority or a superior authority : repeal Examples: The union rescinded its call for a strike when management agreed to many of the workers' demands. "… following a hearing before the Atomic Energy Commission in 1954, Oppenheimer's security clearance was rescinded." –Kai Bird et al., Smithsonian, August 2005 Did you know? Rescind and the lesser-known words exscind and prescind all come from the Latin verb scindere, which means "to cut" or "to split." Rescind was adapted from its Latin predecessor rescindere in the second half of the 16th century, and prescind (from praescindere) and exscind (from exscindere) followed in the mid-17th century. Exscind means "to cut off" or "to excise," and prescind means "to withdraw one's attention," but neither appears frequently in contemporary English. Of the three borrowings, only rescind established itself as a common English term. You might hear of someone rescinding a contract or an offer, or of a legislative body rescinding a law. 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 December 22, 2007 is: prerogative • \prih-RAH-guh-tiv\ • noun 1 a : an exclusive or special right, power, or privilege: as b : one belonging to an office or an official body c : one belonging to a person, group, or class of individuals d : one possessed by a nation as an attribute of sovereignty 2 : a distinctive excellence Examples: How Amy spends her money is none of our business, and if she wants to use all her savings to buy that sports car, it's her prerogative. Did you know? In ancient Rome, voting at legal assemblies was done by group, with the majority in a group determining its vote. The group chosen to vote first on an issue was called the "praerogativa" (that term traces to a verb meaning "to ask for an opinion before another"). Because the first vote was considered to be of great importance, Latin speakers also used the noun "praerogativa" to mean "preference" and later "privilege." As "praerogativa" passed through Anglo-French and Middle English, its spelling shifted to create the noun we know today. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 21, 2007 is: passel • \PASS-ul\ • noun : a large number or amount Examples: Knowing that there will be a passel of phone and e-mail messages to deal with, Rob is dreading going back to work after his two-week vacation. Did you know? Loss of the sound of "r" after a vowel and before another consonant in the middle of a word is common in spoken English. This linguistic idiosyncrasy has given our language a few new words, including "cuss" from "curse," "bust" from "burst," and our featured word "passel" from "parcel." The spelling "passel" originated in the 15th century, but the word's use as a collective noun for an indefinite number is a 19th-century Americanism. It was common primarily in local-color writing before getting a boost in the 1940s, when it began appearing in popular weekly magazines such as Time, Newsweek, and the Saturday Review. 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 December 20, 2007 is: audition • \aw-DISH-un\ • noun 1 : the power or sense of hearing 2 : the act of hearing; especially : a critical hearing 3 : a trial performance to appraise an entertainer's merits Examples: The theater company is holding auditions today for the role of the play's central character. Did you know? Today, "audition" most often refers to a theatrical tryout, but that wasn't always the case. "Audition" is rooted in the Latin verb "audire," meaning "to hear," and was first used in the late 16th century to refer to the power or sense of hearing. "Audire" is also the root of such "hearing" words in English as "audible," "audience" (which first meant "the act or state of hearing"), and the prefix "audio-," which appears in various words relating to sound. It wasn't until late 19th century that the noun "audition" began being used for an entertainer's trial performance. And the verb "audition," meaning "to test or try out in an audition," didn't appear on the English language stage until the mid-20th century. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 19, 2007 is: voracious • \vaw-RAY-shus\ • adjective 1 : having a huge appetite : ravenous 2 : excessively eager : insatiable Examples: Cemal is a voracious reader who whips through three or four books each week. Did you know? "Voracious" is one of several English words that derive from the Latin verb "vorare," which means "to eat greedily" or "to devour." "Vorare" is also an ancestor of "devour" and of the "-ivorous" words, which describe the diets of various animals. These include "carnivorous" ("meat-eating"), "herbivorous" ("plant-eating"), "omnivorous" ("feeding on both animals and plants"), "frugivorous" ("fruit-eating"), "graminivorous" ("feeding on grass"), and "piscivorous" ("fish-eating"). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 18, 2007 is: auctorial • \awk-TOR-ee-ul\ • adjective : of or relating to an author Examples: "The capacity to tell a plain tale is the greatest of the auctorial gifts." (Anthony Burgess, Homage to QWERT YUIOP) Did you know? In ancient Rome, auctioneers, grantors, and vendors were known as "auctors." The title is based on the Latin verb "augēre," meaning "to promote" or "to increase." The word "auctor," which was also used for a person who creates something, passed through Anglo-French and Middle English, eventually evolving (somewhat perplexingly) into the Modern English word "author." English writers dug up "auctor" again in the early 19th century to form the adjective "auctorial." The coinage was a somewhat surprising one, given that the word "authorial" had been firmly established in English for over a quarter of a century. Today, "authorial" is the more common of the two words, but modern-day wordsmiths continue to put "auctorial" to use on occasion. 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 December 17, 2007 is: craven • \KRAY-vun\ • adjective : lacking the least bit of courage : contemptibly fainthearted Examples: Lavinia thought it was craven of Alex to cave into pressure and retract his allegations instead of defending his position. Did you know? "Craven" and its synonyms "dastardly" and "pusillanimous" are all basically fancy words for "cowardly." Don't be afraid to use them -- here's a little information to help you recognize the subtle distinctions in their connotations. "Craven" suggests extreme defeatism and complete lack of resistance. One might speak of "craven yes-men." "Dastardly" often implies behavior that is both cowardly and treacherous or skulking or outrageous, as in this example: "a dastardly attack on unarmed civilians." "Pusillanimous" suggests a contemptible lack of courage (e.g., "After the attack, one editorialist characterized the witnesses as 'the pusillanimous bystanders'"). 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 December 16, 2007 is: desuetude • \DESS-wih-tood\ • noun : discontinuance from use or exercise : disuse Examples: The old bridge, which fell into desuetude after the railroad was shut down, has recently been opened as a pedestrian walkway. Did you know? "Desuetude" must be closely related to "disuse," right? Wrong. Despite the similarities between them, "desuetude" and "disuse" derive from two different Latin verbs. "Desuetude" comes from "suescere," a word that means "to accustom" (it also gave us the word "custom"). "Disuse" descends from "uti," which means "to use" (that Latin word also gave us "use" and "utility"). Of the two, "disuse" is now the more common. "Desuetude" hasn't fallen into desuetude yet, and it was put to good use in the past, as in the 17th-century writings of Scottish Quaker Robert Barclay, who wrote, "The weighty Truths of God were neglected, and, as it were, went into Desuetude." 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 December 15, 2007 is: ubiquitous • \yoo-BIK-wuh-tuss\ • adjective : existing or being everywhere at the same time : constantly encountered : widespread Examples: "The classic clutch has replaced last fall's ubiquitous shoulder bag as this season's handbag of choice," the fashion magazine reported. Did you know? "Ubiquitous" comes to us from the noun "ubiquity," meaning "presence everywhere or in many places simultaneously." "Ubiquity" first appeared in print in the late 16th century, but "ubiquitous" didn't make an appearance until 1830. (Another noun form, "ubiquitousness," arrived around 1874.) Both words are ultimately derived from the Latin word for "everywhere," which is "ubique." "Ubiquitous," which has often been used with a touch of exaggeration for things and people that seem to turn up everywhere, has become a more widespread and popular word than "ubiquity." It may not quite be ubiquitous, but if you keep your eyes and ears open, you're apt to encounter the word "ubiquitous" quite a bit. 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 December 14, 2007 is: folderol • \FAHL-duh-rahl\ • noun 1 : a useless ornament or accessory : trifle 2 : nonsense Examples: Cherie dismissed the tabloid article as useless folderol. Did you know? Hogwash. Claptrap. Hooey. Drivel. Malarkey. English is rife with words that mean "nonsense," and "folderol" is one of the many. Though not the most common of the words for nonsense, it's been around since 1820 and is still heard today. "Folderol" comes from "fol-de-rol" (or "fal-de-ral"), which used to be a nonsense refrain in songs, much like "tra-la-la." The oldest recorded instance of someone "singing folderol" occurs in Irish dramatist George Farquhar's 1701 play Sir Harry Wildair, in which a character sings, "Fal, al, deral!" *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 13, 2007 is: ingenue • \AN-juh-noo\ • noun 1 : a naïve girl or young woman 2 : the stage role of an ingenue; also: an actress playing such a role Examples: When she was younger, the actress was often typecast as the ingenue who is unwittingly pursued by several adoring men. Did you know? Although Becky Sharp, the ambitious heroine of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel Vanity Fair, is not usually thought of as innocent or naïve, the first recorded use of "ingenue" in English does refer to her. Thackeray's use was attributive: "When attacked sometimes, Becky had a knack of adopting a demure ingenue air, under which she was most dangerous." The word "ingenue" typically refers to someone who is innocent to the ways of the world, so you probably won't be too surprised to learn that it shares an ancestor, Latin "ingenuus," with "ingenuous," a word meaning "showing innocent or childlike simplicity and candidness." More directly, our "ingenue" comes from French "ingénue," the feminine form of "ingénu," meaning "ingenuous." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 12, 2007 is: harry • \HAIR-ee\ • verb 1 : to make a pillaging or destructive raid on : assault 2 : to force to move along by harassing 3 : to torment by or as if by constant attack Examples: Seven-year-old Kaitlyn harried her little sister with pokes, hair pulling, and teasing, badgering her until she burst into tears. Did you know? Was there once a warlike man named Harry who is the source for today's word? One particularly belligerent Harry does come to mind: Shakespeare once described how "famine, sword, and fire" accompanied "the warlike Harry," England's King Henry the Fifth. But neither this king nor any of his namesakes are the source for the verb "harry." Rather, "harry" (or a word resembling it) has been a part of English for as long as there has been anything that could be called English. It took the form "hergian" in Old English and "harien" in Middle English, passing through numerous variations before finally settling into its modern spelling. The word's Old English ancestors are related to Old High German words "heriōn" ("to lay waste") and "heri" ("army"). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 11, 2007 is: soporific • \sah-puh-RIFF-ik\ • adjective 1 a : causing or tending to cause sleep b : tending to dull awareness or alertness 2 : of, relating to, or marked by sleepiness or lethargy Examples: After dinner, Owen sank onto the couch by the fireplace and -- succumbing to the soporific effect of his full belly and the comfortable surroundings -- quickly fell asleep. Did you know? "It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is 'soporific.' I have never felt sleepy after eating lettuces; but then I am not a rabbit." In The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies by Beatrix Potter, the children of Benjamin Bunny were very nearly done in by Mr. McGregor because they ate soporific lettuces that put them into a deep sleep. Their near fate can help you recall the history of "soporific." That term traces to the Latin noun "sopor," which means "deep sleep." (That root is related to "somnus," the Latin word for sleep and the name of the Roman god of sleep.) French speakers used "sopor" as the basis of "soporifique," which was probably the model for the English "soporific." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 10, 2007 is: imprecate • \IM-prih-kayt\ • verb : to invoke evil on : curse Examples: "The workers' sweating brows wrinkled, but I heard no one imprecate the river; each just went back to passing along stories and sandbags." (William Least Heat-Moon, River-Horse) Did you know? It may surprise you to learn that a word that refers to wishing evil upon someone has its roots in praying, but "imprecate" ultimately derives from the Latin verb "precari," meaning "to pray, ask, or entreat." "Precari" is also the ancestor of such English words as "deprecate" (which once meant "to pray against an evil," though that sense is now archaic), "precatory" ("expressing a wish") and even "pray" itself (which has deeper roots in the Latin noun for a request or entreaty, "prex"). 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 December 9, 2007 is: limpid • \LIM-pid\ • adjective 1 a : marked by transparency : pellucid b : clear and simple in style 2 : absolutely serene and untroubled Examples: "Autumn leaves float on a limpid stream through which you can see the shadows they cast on the stones below." (Ken Johnson, The Boston Globe, July 8, 2007) Did you know? Since the early 1600s, "limpid" has been used in English to describe things that have the soft clearness of pure water. The aquatic connection is not incidental; language scholars believe that "limpid" probably traces to "lympha," a Latin word meaning "water." That same Latin root is also the source of the word "lymph," the English name for the pale liquid that helps maintain the body's fluid balance and that removes bacteria from tissues. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 8, 2007 is: supercilious • \soo-per-SILL-ee-us\ • adjective : coolly and patronizingly haughty Examples: Lucinda's beauty attracted many suitors, but her supercilious manner eventually drove them all away. Did you know? Arrogant and disdainful types tend to raise an eyebrow at anything they consider beneath them. The original supercilious crowd must have shown that raised-eyebrow look often, because the adjective "supercilious" derives from "supercilium," Latin for "eyebrow." (We plucked our adjective and its meaning from the Latin adjective "superciliosus.") "Supercilious" has been used to describe the censoriously overbearing since the late 1600s, but there was a time in the 1700s when it was also used as a synonym of another "supercilium" descendent, "superciliary" ("of, relating to, or adjoining the eyebrow"). Although the eyebrow sense of "supercilious" is now obsolete, it does help explain what ornithologist John Latham meant in 1782 when he described a "Supercilious K[ingfisher]" with a narrow orange stripe over its eyes. 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 December 7, 2007 is: confabulate • \kun-FAB-yuh-layt\ • verb 1 : to talk informally : chat 2 : to hold a discussion : confer 3 : to fill in gaps in memory by fabrication Examples: Before accepting my offer to purchase their handmade quilt, Polly and Linda took a moment to confabulate. Did you know? "Confabulate" is a fabulous word for making fantastic fabrications. Given the similarities in spelling and sound, you might guess that "confabulate" and "fabulous" come from the same root, and they do -- the Latin "fabula," which means "conversation, story." Another "fabula" descendant that continues to tell tales in English is "fable." All three words have long histories in English: "fable" first appeared in writing in the 14th century, and "fabulous" followed in the 15th. "Confabulate" is a relative newcomer, appearing at the beginning of the 1600s. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 6, 2007 is: Locofoco • \loh-kuh-FOH-koh\ • noun 1 : a member of a radical group of New York Democrats organized in 1835 in opposition to the regular party organization 2 : a member of the Democratic party of the United States Examples: "It might be said that Roosevelt was the greatest locofoco since Andrew Jackson." (Robert E. Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins) Did you know? "Locofoco" burned brightest in 19th-cenutry America, where it designated a new type of self-igniting match or cigar capable of being lit by friction on a hard surface. The word is believed to combine the adjective "locomotive" (which was commonly taken to mean "self-propelled," though "loco" actually means "place," not "self," in Latin) and the Italian word for "fire," "fuoco." The political meaning of "Locofoco" is a story in itself. In 1835, a group of radical Democrats brought locofoco matches to one of their meetings after hearing that their adversaries were plotting to disrupt the meeting by putting out the gas lights. The room did indeed go black but was soon relit, thus earning the group its name. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.