Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 21, 2017 is:hebetude \HEB-uh-tood\ noun: lethargy, dullnessExamples:Tired from being out late the night before, Jennifer allowed herself to fall into the hebetude of a lazy Sunday afternoon."The leaden weight of an irremediable idleness descended upon General Feraud, who having no resources within himself sank into a state of awe-inspiring hebetude." — Joseph Conrad, "The Duel: A Military Story," 1908Did you know?Hebetude usually suggests mental dullness, often marked by laziness or torpor. As such, it was a good word for one Queenslander correspondent, who wrote in a letter to the editor of the Weekend Australian of "an epidemic of hebetude among young people who … are placing too great a reliance on electronic devices to do their thinking and remembering." Hebetude comes from Late Latin hebetudo, which means pretty much the same thing as our word. It is also closely related to the Latin word for "dull," hebes, which has extended meanings such as "obtuse," "doltish," and "stupid." Other hebe- words in English include hebetudinous ("marked by hebetude") and hebetate ("to make dull").See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 20, 2017 is:depredate \DEP-ruh-dayt\ verb1 : to lay waste : plunder, ravage2 : to engage in plunderExamples:The bear that depredated the beekeeper's hives has been caught and relocated."IDFG Director Virgil Moore … talked to the commissioners about possible solutions to the growing problem of destructive elk tearing down fences, depredating ranch haystacks and pushing beef cows and calves off their feed." — The Challis (Idaho) Messenger, 10 Nov. 2016Did you know?Depredate derives primarily from the Latin verb praedari, meaning "to plunder," an ancestor to our words predator and prey. Dating to the 17th century, the word most commonly appears in contexts relating to nature and ecology, where it is often used to describe the methodical, almost automatic destruction of life. That's how the film critic Stanley Kauffman, for example, used it to summarize the plot of the famous horror movie Jaws (1975): "A killer shark depredates the beach of an island summer resort. Several people are killed. Finally, the shark is killed. That's the story."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 19, 2017 is:alleviate \uh-LEE-vee-ayt\ verb: relieve, lessen such as a : to make (something, such as suffering) more bearable b : to partially remove or correct (something undesirable)Examples:Mom suggested that ibuprofen and tea would perhaps alleviate some of the misery of my cold."National Park Service rangers struggle to cope with overcrowded tour buses and alleviate damage to Zion's natural wonders, including soil erosion and human waste near trails." — Lindsay Whitehurst, The San Diego Union Tribune, 23 July 2017Did you know?Alleviate derives from the past participle of Late Latin alleviare ("to lighten or relieve"), which in turn was formed by combining the prefix ad- and the adjective levis, a Latin word meaning "having little weight," which also gave rise to the adjective light (as in "not heavy") in English. We acquired alleviate in the 15th century, and for the first few centuries the word could mean either "to cause (something) to have less weight" or "to make (something) more tolerable." The literal "make lighter" sense is no longer used, however, and today we have only the "relieve" sense. Incidentally, not only is alleviate a synonym of relieve, it's also a cousin; relieve comes from levare ("to raise"), which in turn comes from levis.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 18, 2017 is:waif \WAYF\ noun1 a : a piece of property found (as washed up by the sea) but unclaimed b : (plural) stolen goods thrown away by a thief in flight2 a : something found without an owner and especially by chance b : a stray person or animal; especially : a homeless child3 : an extremely thin and usually young womanExamples:At the center of the novel is a parentless waif who is befriended by the first mate of a ship she is hiding aboard."Parker, playing a souped-up version of her trademark crazy-eyed waif, reprises her role as Georgie Burns, a character whose lack of a filter suggests a personality disorder in search of a diagnosis." — Charles McNulty, The Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2017Did you know?Waif itself is a stray, if we consider its first meaning the home from which it came. Tracing back to an Anglo-French adjective waif meaning "stray, unclaimed," the English noun waif referred in its earliest 14th century uses to unclaimed found items, such as those gone astray (think cattle) and those washed ashore (think jetsam), as well as to the king's (or lord's) right to such property. Stolen goods abandoned by a thief in flight eventually came to be referred to as waifs as well, as later did anything found without an owner and especially by chance. (It's interesting to note that the verb waive, used in modern English in phrases like "waive a fee" or "waive one's rights" comes from the same Anglo-French source as waif and was at one time used to mean "to throw away (stolen goods).") The emphasis on being found faded as waif came to be applied to any stray animal or person, and especially to a homeless child, and in the late 20th century the current most common meaning of "an extremely thin and usually young woman" developed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 17, 2017 is:oppugn \uh-PYOON\ verb1 : to fight against2 : to call in questionExamples:"Carmel Valley speller Justin Song navigated the second and third rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee yesterday with a precision no one could oppugn." — Paul M. Krawzak, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2008"However, if [bicyclists] consider themselves excellent climbers, here's the real question: How fast can they ascend a hill or mountain? That's the real point to oppugn." — Ken Allen, The Morning Sentinel (Waterville, Maine), 16 Mar. 2013Did you know?Oppugn was first recorded in English in the 15th century. It came to Middle English from the Latin verb oppugnare, which in turn derived from the combination of ob-, meaning "against," and pugnare, meaning "to fight." Pugnare itself is descended from the same ancient word that gave Latin the word pugnus, meaning "fist." It's no surprise, then, that oppugn was adopted into English to refer to fighting against something or someone, either physically (as in "the dictatorship will oppugn all who oppose it") or verbally (as in "oppugn an argument"). Other descendants of pugnare in English include the equally aggressive pugnacious, impugn, repugnant, and the rare inexpugnable ("incapable of being subdued or overthrown").See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 16, 2017 is:perfunctory \per-FUNK-tuh-ree\ adjective1 : characterized by routine or superficiality : mechanical2 : lacking in interest or enthusiasmExamples:Clearly exhausted after a long day on her feet, our server gave us only a perfunctory greeting before taking our drink orders."Yet avoiding the heat altogether and watching Netflix from the confines of your cool couch—even while performing a perfunctory sit-up or two—is not the way to stay healthy and active this summer." — Leslie Barker, The Dallas Morning News, 13 June 2017Did you know?Perfunctory is a word whose origins are found entirely in Latin. It first appeared in English in the late 16th century and is derived from the Late Latin perfunctorius, meaning "done in a careless or superficial manner." (Perfunctorius was also borrowed for the synonymous, and now archaic, English adjective perfunctorious at around the same time.) Perfunctorius comes from the earlier Latin perfunctus, a past participle of perfungi, meaning "to accomplish" or "to get through with." That verb is formed by combining the prefix per-, meaning "through," with the verb fungi, meaning "to perform." Fungi can be found in the roots of such words as function, defunct, and fungible.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 15, 2017 is:lamster \LAM-ster\ noun: a fugitive especially from the lawExamples:"After the Vivian Gordon furor died down, I began to think of going home. I needed money, I was bored with Miami, and tired of living the life of a lamster." — Polly Adler, A House Is Not a Home, 1953"During his time as a lamster, Lepke was looked after by gangsters associated with a gang based in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn." — Marc Mappen, Prohibition Gangsters: The Rise and Fall of a Bad Generation, 2013Did you know?Lamsters as a class are probably as old as the law from which they flee, but the term lamster didn't sneak into our language until the early 1900s, less than ten years after the appearance of the earliest known evidence of the noun lam, meaning "sudden or hurried flight especially from the law" (as in the phrase "on the lam"). Both words have an old verb relation, though. Lam has meant "to beat soundly" or "to strike or thrash" since the late 16th century (and consequently gave us our verb lambaste), but in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it developed another meaning: "to flee hastily." The origins of the verb are obscure, but etymologists suggest that it is Scandinavian in origin and akin to the Old Norse lemja, meaning "to thrash."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 14, 2017 is:bifurcate \BYE-fer-kayt\ verb: to divide or cause to divide into two branches or partsExamples:"If colleges don't begin to also focus on middle-income families, they will end up with campuses bifurcated by income that don't reflect the economic diversity of the United States." — Jeffrey J. Selingo, The Washington Post, 15 May 2017"In the late 14th century secretary meant a 'person entrusted with secrets,' a trusted counselor, with some letter-writing and note-taking duties. The word has since bifurcated to refer either to the kind of secretary who nowadays prefers to be known as an executive assistant, thank you, or the kind who heads an executive department of the federal government." — Ruth Walker, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 June 2017Did you know?Yogi Berra, the baseball great who was noted for his head-scratching quotes, is purported to have said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." Yogi's advice might not offer much help when making tough decisions in life, but perhaps it will help you remember today's word, bifurcate. A road that bifurcates splits in two like the one in Yogi's adage. Other things can bifurcate as well, such as an organization that splits into two factions. Bifurcate derives from the Latin bifurcus, meaning "two-pronged," a combination of the prefix bi- ("two") and the noun furca ("fork"). Furca, as you can probably tell, gave us our word fork.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 13, 2017 is:vermicular \ver-MIK-yuh-ler\ adjective1 a : resembling a worm in form or motionb : vermiculate2 : of, relating to, or caused by wormsExamples:"The 36-by-60 inch panel includes a strange botanical form at far right, and layers of misty white, blue and orange oil color partially obscure vermicular forms that seem to burrow into the painting's 'atmosphere.'" — Marc Awodey, Seven Days (Burlington, Vermont), 7–14 Apr. 2010"Born recyclers, worms transform the plant material they eat into vermicular compost, otherwise known as worm castings—a fancy name for worm poo—coveted by farmers to enrich their garden soil." — Debbie Hightower, The Thomasville (North Carolina) Times, 7 Nov. 2015Did you know?What does the word vermicular have in common with the pasta on your plate? If you're eating vermicelli (a spaghetti-like pasta made in long thin strings) the answer is vermis, a Latin noun meaning "worm." If you dig deep enough, you'll find that vermis is the root underlying not only vermicular and vermicelli, but also vermiculate, which can mean either "full of worms" or "tortuous." It is also the source of vermin and worm, both of which in their earliest usage referred, despite their vermicular etymology, to any creeping or crawling creature, including wingless insects and reptiles.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 12, 2017 is:temporize \TEM-puh-ryze\ verb1 : to act to suit the time or occasion : to yield to current or dominant opinion2 : to draw out discussions or negotiations so as to gain timeExamples:"The pontiff's recent declaration to that effect brought headlines but no action…. Francis wouldn't be the first leader who temporized before doing something that had to be done. Think of Lincoln, who vexed abolitionists by waiting two years after his election before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation." — Rich Barlow, WBUR.org, 5 June 2014"Ostensibly, 'Dan in Real Life' is about how Dan and Marie … figure out how to deal with their mutual attraction, even as she's supposed to be on the arm of Dan's genial but dim brother Mitch …. Of course, this particular problem isn't beyond the purview of mature adults: You smolder, you ponder, you temporize, it gets messy, you deal." — Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2007Did you know?Temporize comes from the Medieval Latin verb temporizare ("to pass the time"), which itself comes from the Latin noun tempus, meaning "time." Tempus is also the root of such words as tempo, contemporary, and temporal. If you need to buy some time, you might resort to temporizing—but you probably won't win admiration for doing so. Temporize can have a somewhat negative connotation. For instance, a political leader faced with a difficult issue might temporize by talking vaguely about possible solutions without actually doing anything. The point of such temporizing is to avoid taking definite—and possibly unpopular—action, in hopes that the problem will somehow go away. But the effect is often just to make matters worse.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 11, 2017 is:Pandemonium \pan-duh-MOH-nee-um\ noun1 : the capital of Hell in Milton's Paradise Lost2 : the infernal regions : hell3 : (not capitalized) a wild uproar : tumultExamples:The power failure occurred during rush hour, and with none of the traffic lights working, pandemonium ensued as drivers struggled to get home."Czernowin's score includes eruptions of orchestral, vocal, and electronic pandemonium that evoke with unnerving immediacy the chaos of battle and its aftermath." — Alexander M. Ross, The New Yorker, 15 May 2017Did you know?When John Milton needed a name for the gathering place of all demons for Paradise Lost, he turned to the classics as any sensible 17th-century writer would. Pandæmonium, as the capital of Hell is known in the epic poem, combines the Greek prefix pan-, meaning "all," with the Late Latin daemonium, meaning "evil spirit." (Daemonium itself traces back to the far more innocuous Greek word daimōn, meaning "spirit, deity.") Over time, Pandæmonium (or Pandemonium) came to designate all of hell and was used as well for earthbound dens of iniquity. By the late-18th century, the word implied a place or state of confusion or uproar, and from there, it didn't take long for pandemonium to become associated with states of utter disorder and wildness.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 10, 2017 is:élan \ay-LAHN\ noun: vigorous spirit or enthusiasmExamples:Jeremy told the story of his trip to Mexico with such élan that by the next week people were begging him to share it again."The Waldorf has long had a reputation for elegance and élan, a reputation that began when it opened in 1931 as the largest, tallest and most expensive hotel ever built...." — James Barron, The New York Times, 25 Feb. 2017Did you know?Once upon a time, English speakers did not have élan (the word, that is; we have always had the potential for vigorous spirit). We had, however, the verb elance, meaning "to throw," that was used for the launching of darts, javelins, and similar weaponry. Elance is derived from the Middle French (s')eslancer, meaning "to rush or dash" (that is, "to hurl oneself forth"). Elance enjoyed only a short flight in English, largely falling into disuse by the mid-1800s, around which time English speakers picked up élan, another French word that traces back, via the Middle French noun eslan ("dash, rush"), to (s')eslancer. We copied élan in form from the French, but we dispensed with the French sense of a literal "rush" or "dash," retaining the sense of enthusiastic animation that we sometimes characterize as dash.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 9, 2017 is:garble \GAR-bul\ verb1 : to sift impurities from2 a : to alter or distort as to create a wrong impression or change the meaningb : to introduce textual error into (a message) by inaccurate encipherment, transmission, or deciphermentExamples:The best man was nervous and garbled the inspirational quote at the end of his speech."Some calls are garbled, making it difficult for dispatchers to understand the caller." — Joe Wilson, quoted in The Cleveland Daily Banner, 5 June 2017Did you know?Garble developed from Late Latin cribellare, a verb meaning "to sift." Arabic speakers borrowed cribellare as gharbala, and the Arabic word passed into Old Italian as garbellare; both of these words also meant "to sift." When the word first entered Middle English as garbelen, its meaning stayed close to the original; it meant "to sort out the best." But that sort of sifting can cause a distortion, and in early Modern English garble came to mean "to distort the sound or meaning of."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 8, 2017 is:immense \ih-MENSS\ adjective1 : marked by greatness especially in size or degree; especially : transcending ordinary means of measurement2 : supremely goodExamples:"At the bridge site, teams of workers watched over drills the size of redwood trees, which rammed steel piles into the seafloor. The scale of construction was almost too immense to comprehend." — Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 29 May 2017"Sometimes it's very humorous and camp and silly. Strutting around in leather and furs and huge metal helmets and what have you. Other days it's exciting. It's exciting because it somehow harks back to Old Hollywood and the idea of being in something immense and epic." — Jude Law, quoted in The Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2017Did you know?Just how big is something if it is immense? Huge? Colossal? Humongous? Ginormous? Or merely enormous? Immense is often used as a synonym of all of the above and, as such, can simply function as yet another way for English speakers to say "really, really, really big." Immense is also used, however, in a sense which goes beyond merely really, really, really big to describe something that is so great in size or degree that it transcends ordinary means of measurement. This sense harks back to the original sense of immense for something which is so tremendously big that it has not been or cannot be measured. This sense reflects the word's roots in the Latin immensus, from in- ("un-") and mensus, the past participle of metiri ("to measure").See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 7, 2017 is:schadenfreude \SHAH-dun-froy-duh\ noun: enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others Examples:Elaine couldn't help but feel a tinge of schadenfreude when her chief rival was kicked off the soccer team."Much attention (and a decent amount of schadenfreude) has been paid to the relative erosion of the NFL's massive television ratings in recent years…." — Chad Finn, The Boston Globe, 26 May 2017Did you know?Schadenfreude is a compound of the German nouns Schaden, meaning "damage" or "harm," and Freude, meaning "joy," so it makes sense that schadenfreude means joy over some harm or misfortune suffered by another. "What a fearful thing is it that any language should have a word expressive of the pleasure which men feel at the calamities of others," wrote Richard Trench of Dublin, an archbishop with literary predilections, of the German Schadenfreude in 1852; perhaps it was just as well he didn't live to see the word embraced by English speakers before the century was out.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 6, 2017 is:chthonic \THAH-nik\ adjective: of or relating to the underworld : infernalExamples:"In Greek mythology, the Eumenides were three goddesses tasked with protecting the cause of justice.… In Aeschylus' tragedies, they are chthonic, ambiguous forces. They do not tire and they do not stop; their persistence … feels almost monstrous." — Katy Waldman, Slate, July/August 2017"Yet Dean's music inducts us more gently, with a deep, almost chthonic orchestral rumble, punctuated by occasional drum and electronic sounds as we first see young Hamlet, head in his hands, almost paralysed at the edge of his father's grave." — John Carmody, The Australian, 14 June 2017Did 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 August 5, 2017 is:regimen \REJ-uh-mun\ noun1 a : a systematic plan (as of diet, therapy, or medication) especially when designed to improve and maintain the health of a patientb : a regular course of action and especially of strenuous training2 : government, rule3 : the characteristic behavior or orderly procedure of a natural phenomenon or processExamples:Sherry's personal trainer at the gym started her on a workout regimen of 30 minutes on the treadmill followed by 30 minutes of weight training. "Her exchanges with the pharmacy staff served as informal check-ins that gave her a little extra help adhering to an unfamiliar medication regimen."— Stacy Torres, The New York Times, 23 June 2017Did you know?We borrowed regimen straight from Latin, spelling and all—but in Latin, the word simply meant "rule" or "government." In English, it usually refers to a system of rules or guidelines, often for living a healthy life or taking a regular dose of exercise. The Latin regimen derives from another Latin word, the verb regere, which means "to lead straight" or "to rule." If you trace straight back from regere, you'll find that regimen has plenty of lexical kin, including correct, erect, region, rule, and surge. If you are using the training sense of regimen, be careful not to confuse the word with regiment, another regere descendant, which is used for a military unit.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 4, 2017 is:manumit \man-yuh-MIT\ verb: to release from slaveryExamples:"This 27.5-acre parcel was purchased by an African-American man ... who was manumitted from slavery by his father...." — Janice Hayes-Williams, The Capital (Annapolis, Maryland), 17 May 2013"A slave woman and her children were manumitted by her husband, who had probably bought them to free them." — Michael E. Ruane, The Chicago Tribune, 1 Mar. 2017Did you know?To set someone free from captivity is in effect to release that person from the hand, or control, of the captor. You can use this analogy to remember that manumit derives ultimately from the Latin noun manus, meaning "hand," and the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to let go" or "send." The two roots joined hands in Latin to form the verb manumittere (meaning "to free from slavery"), which in turn passed into Anglo-French as manumettre and eventually into Middle English as manumitten. Manus has handed down other words to English as well. One of them is emancipate, which is both a relative and synonym of manumit.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 3, 2017 is:splenetic \splih-NET-ik\ adjective: marked by bad temper, malevolence, or spiteExamples:Drew emailed the article to Kara, warning her to avoid the splenetic comments at the bottom of the page."On the basis of his excoriating blog—which exposes 'lies, pretensions and stupidity in the world of food'—I had been expecting a bilious, splenetic man with wild eyes, his skin covered in tattoos. Instead, I'm sat across from a mild-mannered nerdy type with a tidy beard and black-framed spectacles." — Tim Lewis, The Guardian, 18 June 2017Did you know?In early Western physiology, a person's physical qualities and mental disposition were believed to be determined by the proportion of four bodily humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. The last of these was believed to be secreted by the spleen, causing feelings of disposition ranging from intense sadness (melancholia) to irascibility. This now-discredited association explains how the use of splenetic (deriving from the Late Latin spleneticus and the Latin splen, meaning "spleen") came to mean both "bad-tempered" and "given to melancholy" as well as "of or relating to the spleen." In later years, the "melancholy" sense fell out of use, but the sense pertaining to ill humor or malevolence remains with us today.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 2, 2017 is:arbitrary \AHR-buh-trair-ee\ adjective1 : depending on individual discretion (as of a judge) and not fixed by law2 : autocratic, despotic3 a : based on or determined by individual preference or convenience rather than by necessity or the intrinsic nature of somethingb : existing or coming about seemingly at random or by chance or as a capricious and unreasonable act of willExamples:"He had wanted to do something sudden and arbitrary, something unexpected and refined…." — Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady, 1881"Most of The Economist's style book entry on hyphens consists of seemingly arbitrary rulings on disputable cases: 'non-existent' but 'nonaligned,' 'arch-rival,' but 'archangel.' … The overarching rule is that, at the very least, you should be consistent, so that readers don't find 'arch-rival' and 'archrival' on the same page." — The Economist, 10 June 2017Did you know?Arbitrary is derived from the same source as arbiter. The Latin word arbiter means "judge," and English adopted it, via Anglo-French, with the meaning "one who judges a dispute"; it can now also be used for anyone whose judgment is respected. Arbitrary traces back to the Latin adjective arbitrarius ("done by way of legal arbitration"), which itself comes from arbiter. In English arbitrary first meant "depending upon choice or discretion" and was specifically used to indicate the sort of decision (as for punishment) left up to the expert determination of a judge rather than defined by law. Today, it can also be used for anything determined by or as if by a personal choice or whim.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 1, 2017 is:diminution \dim-uh-NOO-shun\ noun: the act, process, or an instance of becoming gradually less (as in size or importance) : the act, process, or an instance of diminishing : decreaseExamples:After seeing a diminution in his restaurant's profits for the third quarter in a row, George reluctantly set about revising his business model."Of course, the overall diminution of the newspaper in size and circulation has led to savings in paper consumption." — David W. Dunlap, The New York Times, 2 June 2017Did you know?We find written evidence for diminution going back to the 14th century, including use in Geoffrey Chaucer's Middle English poetical work Troilus and Criseyde. Chaucer used "maken dyminucion" ("make diminution") in contrast to the verb "encrece" ("increase"). Diminution came to English by way of Anglo-French from Latin. Its Latin ancestor deminuere ("to diminish") is also an ancestor of the English verb diminish, which entered the language in the 15th century, and the related diminishment, a synonym of diminution that English speakers have been using since the 16th 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 July 31, 2017 is:plausible \PLAW-zuh-bul\ adjective1 : seemingly fair, reasonable, or valuable but often not so2 : superficially pleasing or persuasive3 : appearing worthy of beliefExamples:One problem with the horror movie is that the plot is barely plausible—there was no good reason for the kids to enter the abandoned mansion to begin with."Legends of giant squid attacking vessels on the open ocean are great nightmare fuel, even if they never truly occurred. But the sight of a real-life giant squid wrapping its tentacles around a man’s paddleboard, as seen in a recent video ..., makes those old myths certainly seem plausible." — Eric Grundhauser, Atlas Obscura, 20 June 2017Did you know?Today the word plausible usually means "reasonable" or "believable," but it once held the meanings "worthy of being applauded" and "approving." It comes to us from the Latin adjective plausibilis ("worthy of applause"), which in turn derives from the verb plaudere, meaning "to applaud or clap." Other plaudere descendants in English include applaud, plaudit (the earliest meaning of which was "a round of applause"), and explode (from Latin explodere, meaning "to drive off the stage by clapping").See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 30, 2017 is:bona fides \boh-nuh-FYE-deez\ noun1 : good faith : sincerity2 : the fact of being genuine3 : evidence of one's good faith or genuineness4 : evidence of one's qualifications or achievementsExamples:"While there are a myriad of other entrepreneurial self-help and motivational books, [William] Pickard said 'Millionaire Moves' is different in that he has the bona fides and balance sheet." — Mary M. Chapman, The Detroit News, 12 June 2017"My grandfather Archie was a coal miner and a hard man when he needed to be. ... But I have no true working-class bona fides. My father attended West Virginia University law school and did well. My siblings and I had tennis lessons and orthodontia." — Dwight Garner, Esquire, 10 Jan. 2017Did you know?Bona fides looks like a plural word in English, but in Latin, it's a singular noun that literally means "good faith." When bona fides entered English, it at first stayed very close to its Latin use—it was found mostly in legal contexts and it meant "honesty or lawfulness of purpose," just as it did in Latin. It also retained its singular construction. Using this original sense one might speak of "a claimant whose bona fides is unquestionable." But in the 20th century, use of bona fides began to widen, and it began to appear with a plural verb in certain contexts. For example, a sentence such as "the informant's bona fides were ascertained" is now possible.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 29, 2017 is:melee \MAY-lay\ noun: a confused struggle; especially : a hand-to-hand fight among several peopleExamples:"In a notorious episode in 2000, a fan snatched Dodgers catcher Chad Kreuter's hat as he sat on the bullpen bench, setting off a melee in which Dodgers players and coaches climbed into the stands." — Billy Witz, The New York Times, 8 May 2017"Police said they are working with the State Department and Secret Service to identify Erdogan guards who they believe instigated the melee." — Tracy Wilkinson, The Baltimore Sun, 18 May 2017Did you know?Fray, donnybrook, brawl, fracas: there are many English words for confused and noisy fights, and in the 17th century melee was thrown into the mix. It comes from the French mêlée, which in turn comes from the Old French meslee, meaning "mixture." Meslee comes from the Old French verb mesler, or medler, which means "to mix." This verb is also the source of medley ("a mixture or hodgepodge") and meddle ("to mix oneself in others' affairs" or "to interfere").See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 28, 2017 is:inhere \in-HEER\ verb: to be inherent : to be a fixed element or attributeExamples:"Americans have never shied from a good political fight, disagreement inhering in self-government." — Charles R. Kesler, National Review Online, 7 Dec. 2016"Rights are not gifts; they do not need to be earned. Rather, they inhere in the human condition." — The Richmond (Virginia) Times Dispatch, 15 Mar. 2017Did you know?You're probably familiar with inherent, the adjective meaning "part of the constitution or natural character of something," but were you aware of its less common relative inhere? This verb looks like it could be a back-formation of inherent (a back-formation is a word created by removing a prefix or suffix from an existing word), but usage evidence of the two words makes it difficult to tell for sure. Both inhere and inherent date to the late 16th century and are derived from the Latin verb inhaerēre ("to inhere"), which was itself formed by combining in- with haerēre, a verb meaning "to adhere."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 27, 2017 is:fester \FESS-ter\ verb1 : to generate pus2 : putrefy, rot3 a : to cause increasing poisoning, irritation, or bitterness : rankleb : to undergo or exist in a state of progressive deteriorationExamples:"For more than a generation, instead of forging a path to reconciliation, we have allowed the wounds the war inflicted on our nation, our politics and our families to fester." — Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, The New York Times, 29 May 2017"Tunisians have made tremendous progress. Yet their experiment is teetering on the brink. The economy is stuck in the doldrums. Poverty and corruption fester." — Christian Caryl, The Washington Post, 26 May 2017Did you know?Fester entered English in the 14th century. It was used as we now use the word fistula for an abnormal passage leading from an abscess or hollow organ and permitting passage of fluids or secretions. It was also applied as a word for a sore that discharges pus. The connection between fester and fistula is no accident—both descend from Latin fistula, which has the same meaning as the English word but can also mean "pipe" or "tube" or "a kind of ulcer." Fester made the trip from Latin to English by way of Anglo-French. The word's use as a verb meaning "to generate pus" has also developed extended senses implying a worsening state.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 26, 2017 is:akimbo \uh-KIM-boh\ adjective or adverb1 : having the hand on the hip and the elbow turned outward2 : set in a bent positionExamples:The model, arms akimbo, struck a pose at the end of the runway."Off the kitchen, the metal skeleton of what is supposed to be a human-size dinosaur puppet sits akimbo." — Kayla Epstein, The Washington Post, 30 Apr. 2017Did you know?It's akimbo nowadays, but in Middle English, the adverbial phrase in kenebowe was used for the bent, hand-on-hip arm (or later, for any bent position). Originally, the term was fairly neutral, but now saying that a person is standing with "arms akimbo" implies a posture that communicates defiance, confidence, aggressiveness, or arrogance. In her novel Little Women, Louisa May Alcott took the word one step further, extending it into the figurative realm when she explained that tomboyish Jo had not been invited to participate in an elegant event with the other young ladies of the neighborhood because "her elbows were decidedly akimbo at this period of her 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 July 25, 2017 is:wreak \REEK\ verb1 : to cause the infliction of (vengeance or punishment)2 : to give free play or course to (malevolent feeling)3 : bring about, causeExamples:"A cheeky peacock has wreaked havoc inside a California liquor store, smashing over $500 worth of expensive wine and champagne." — Heat Street, 7 June 2017"Don't be fooled by Mike Brown's big smile and happy-go-lucky demeanor. The Golden State Warriors' acting head coach is probably salivating over his chance to wreak brutal vengeance against the Cleveland Cavaliers—the team that fired him twice." — Chuck Barney, The Mercury News (San Jose, California), 7 June 2017Did you know?Wreak is a venerable word that first appeared in Old English as wrecan, meaning "to drive, drive out, punish, or avenge." Wrecan is related to a number of similar words in the Germanic languages, including Middle Dutch wreken ("to punish, avenge"), Old High German rehhan ("to avenge"), Old Norse reka ("to drive, push, or avenge"), and Gothic wrikan ("to persecute"). It may also be related to Latin urgēre ("to drive on, urge"), the source of the English verb urge. In modern English, vengeance is a common object of the verb wreak, reflecting one of its earlier uses in the sense "to take vengeance for"—as when Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus proclaims "We will solicit heaven, and move the gods / To send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 24, 2017 is:haphazard \hap-HAZZ-erd\ adjective: marked by lack of plan, order, or directionExamples:"… his intense work ethic has made such a feat of releasing back-to-back projects appear effortless, conscious and polished, as opposed to what could have been … a haphazard effort scrapping together 34 assorted tracks from his never-ending archive." — Billboard.com, 24 Feb. 2017"Once the taxidermy is set up and artists escorted out, the doors to the exhibit hall are closed.… The hall is large and chilly, the scene is otherworldly, a haphazard zoo suspended in time, bald eagles perched beside African lions reclining beside wild turkeys standing beside trunkfish swimming alongside cape buffalo and snow leopards." — Christopher Borrelli, The Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2017Did you know?The hap in haphazard comes from an English word that means "happening," as well as "chance or fortune," and that derives from the Old Norse word happ, meaning "good luck." Perhaps it's no accident that hazard also has its own connotations of luck: while it now refers commonly to something that presents danger, at one time it referred to a dice game similar to craps. (The name ultimately derives from the Arabic al-zahr, meaning "the die.") Haphazard first entered English as a noun (again meaning "chance") in the 16th century, and soon afterward was being used as an adjective to describe things with no apparent logic or order.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 23, 2017 is:advise \ud-VYZE\ verb1 a : to give a recommendation about what should be done : to give advice tob : caution, warnExamples:Betty's doctor advised her to exercise more carefully if she hoped to avoid re-injuring her sprained ankle."Many travelers underestimate the costs of meals, snacks and tips, says guidebook author James Kaiser. He advises bringing your own food or buying it at a store when you arrive at your destination to save money." — Devon Delfino, The Cherokee County (Kansas) News-Advocate, 23 May 2017Did you know?Today's word was borrowed into Middle English in the 14th century as avise (spelling variants with the d found in the Modern English advise began showing up in the 15th century). The word is derived from the Anglo-French aviser, itself from avis, meaning "opinion." That avis is not to be confused with the Latin word avis, meaning "bird" (an ancestor of such English words as avian and aviation). Instead, it results from the Old French phrase ce m'est a vis ("that appears to me"), a partial translation of Latin mihi visum est, "it seemed so to me" or "I decided." We advise you to remember that the verb advise is spelled with an s, whereas the related noun advice includes a stealthy c.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 22, 2017 is:tare \TAIR\ noun1 : a deduction from the gross weight of a substance and its container made in allowance for the weight of the container; also : the weight of the container2 : counterweightExamples:Factoring in a tare of 10,000 pounds for the trailer, the transportation officer determined that the truck's cargo load still exceeded the legal limit."I hooked my scale to the net, grabbing a tare weight that required me to double-check: '12 lb 3 oz' read the digital display. Subtracting the '1 lb 15 oz' reading of my net by itself, my eyes widened at the realization that this 10.25-pound fish was my heaviest to-date." — Luke Ovgard, The Herald & News (Klamath Falls, Oregon), 19 May 2017Did you know?Tare came to English by way of Middle French from the Old Italian term tara, which is itself from the Arabic word ṭarḥa, meaning "that which is removed." One of the first known written records of the word tare in English is found in the naval inventories of Britain's King Henry VII. The record shows two barrels of gunpowder weighing, "besides the tare," 500 pounds. When used of vehicles, tare weight refers to a vehicle's weight exclusive of any load. The term tare is closely tied to net weight, which is defined as "weight excluding all tare."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 21, 2017 is:gauche \GOHSH\ adjective1 : lacking social experience or grace; also : not tactful : crude2 : crudely made or doneExamples:"We were described by our parents as classless and free, but instructed that chewing gum was gauche." — Kira von Eichel-Butler, Vogue, October 2016"The second thing I did was request soy sauce, which wasn't on the table. The waiter managed to remain calm and respectful while dryly informing me that all necessary condiments are already infused into the dishes in the appropriate combinations. My request had apparently been quite gauche…." — Gene Weingarten, The Key West (Florida) Citizen, 21 May 2017Did you know?Gauche is one of several words that come from old suspicions or negative associations surrounding the left side and use of the left hand. In French, gauche literally means "left," and it has the extended meanings "awkward" and "clumsy." These meanings may have come about because left-handed people could appear awkward trying to manage in a right-handed world, or perhaps they came about because right-handed people appear awkward when they try to use their left hand. In fact, awkward comes from the Middle English awke, meaning "turned the wrong way" or "left-handed." On the other hand, adroit and dexterity have their roots in words meaning "right" or "on the right side."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 20, 2017 is:crucible \KROO-suh-bul\ noun1 : a vessel in which metals or other substances are heated to a very high temperature or melted2 : a severe test3 : a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or developmentExamples:Living in the crucible that was Paris in the spring of 1968, Remi got to witness firsthand the angry confrontations between workers, students, and government."They each also possess, in their own way, a startling self-awareness and self-possession forged by the crucibles they and their families endured." — John Nagy, The Pilot (Southern Pines, North Carolina), 6 May 2017Did you know?Crucible looks like it should be closely related to the Latin combining form cruc- ("cross"), but it isn't. It was forged from the Medieval Latin crucibulum, a noun for an earthen pot used to melt metals, and in English it first referred to a vessel made of a very heat-resistant material (such as porcelain) used for melting a substance that requires a high degree of heat. But the resemblance between cruc- and crucible probably encouraged people to start using crucible to mean "a severe trial." That sense is synonymous with one meaning of cross, a word that is related to cruc-. The newest sense of crucible ("a situation in which great changes take place"—as in "forged in the crucible of war") recalls the fire and heat that would be encountered in the original heat-resistant pot.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 19, 2017 is:edacious \ih-DAY-shus\ adjective1 : having a huge appetite : ravenous2 : excessively eager : insatiableExamples:Living with three edacious teenagers, Marilyn and Roger were dismayed by how much they had to spend on groceries week after week."... Stone's narrative prowess had been such as to infect me ... with his Weltschmerz. In fairness, Stone alone was not to blame. For too many years my edacious reading habits had been leading me into one unappealing corner after another...." — Tom Robbins, Harper's, September 2004Did you know?Tempus edax rerum. That wise Latin line by the Roman poet Ovid translates as "Time, the devourer of all things." Ovid's correlation between rapaciousness and time is appropriate to a discussion of edacious. That English word is a descendant of Latin edax, which is a derivative of the verb edere, meaning "to eat." In its earliest known English uses, edacious meant "of or relating to eating." It later came to be used generally as a synonym of voracious, and it has often been used specifically in contexts referring to time. That's how Scottish essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle used it when he referred to events "swallowed in the depths of edacious Time."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 18, 2017 is:vindicate \VIN-duh-kayt\ verb1 : avenge2 a : to free from allegation or blameb : confirm, substantiatec : to provide justification or defense for : justifyd : to protect from attack or encroachment : defend3 : to maintain a right toExamples:The defendant's lawyer feels his client will be completely vindicated by the witness' testimonies."For us comic book fans back in that dark age of aesthetic awareness, the 'Batman' show meant significantly more. Its unexpected popularity briefly vindicated our obsession with what was considered inappropriate reading for anybody over the age of 9 (I was 11 when it hit the air)." — Bob Strauss, The Daily News of Los Angeles, 11 June 2017Did you know?It's not surprising that the two earliest senses of vindicate are "to set free" (a sense that is now obsolete) and "to avenge." Vindicate, which has been used in English since at least the mid-16th century, derives from Latin vindicatus, the past participle of the verb vindicare, meaning "to set free, avenge, or lay claim to." Vindicare, in turn, derives from vindex, a noun meaning "claimant" or "avenger." Other descendants of vindicare in English include such vengeful words as avenge itself, revenge, vengeance, vendetta, and vindictive. Closer cousins of vindicate are vindicable ("capable of being vindicated") and the archaic word vindicative ("punitive").See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 17, 2017 is:steadfast \STED-fast\ adjective1 a : firmly fixed in place : immovableb : not subject to change2 : firm in belief, determination, or adherence : loyalExamples:Maureen knew she could count on the steadfast support of her best friend even in the hardest of times."He advised the graduating class to approach each day with steadfast determination and grit and to remember to be humble and appreciative." — Austin Ramsey, The Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Kentucky), 20 May 2017Did you know?Steadfast has held its ground in English for many centuries. Its Old English predecessor, stedefæst, combined stede (meaning "place" or "stead") and fæst (meaning "firmly fixed"). An Old English text of the late 10th century, called The Battle of Maldon, contains our earliest record of the word, which was first used in battle contexts to describe warriors who stood their ground. Soon, it was also being used with the broad meaning "immovable," and as early as the 13th century it was applied to those unswerving in loyalty, faith, or friendship. Centuries later, all of these meanings endure.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 16, 2017 is:yawp \YAWP\ verb1 : to make a raucous noise : squawk2 : clamor, complainExamples:They yawped and cheered when they heard honks from passing cars, including a Toledo police vehicle that briefly sounded its alarm." — Andrew Koenig, The Toledo (Ohio) Blade, 7 Aug. 2015"It's a place where teenagers yawp and chuckle over mounds of fried rice in styrofoam containers; where a couple on a budget shares sips from a fountain soda and a foot-long sub." — Calum Marsh, The National Post (Ontario, Canada), 9 May 2017Did you know?Yawp first appeared sometime in the 15th century. This verb comes from Middle English yolpen, most likely itself derived from the past participle of yelpen, meaning "to boast, call out, or yelp." Interestingly, yawp retains much of the meaning of yelpen, in that it implies a type of complaining which often has a yelping or squawking quality. An element of foolishness, in addition to the noisiness, is often implied as well. Yawp can also be a noun meaning "a raucous noise" or "squawk." The noun yawp arrived on the scene more than 400 years after the verb. It was greatly popularized by "Song of Myself," a poem by Walt Whitman containing the line "I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 15, 2017 is:copacetic \koh-puh-SET-ik\ adjective: very satisfactoryExamples:"... if you're going to be traveling with us it just wouldn't look too copacetic for you to be carrying that ratty old bag." — Christopher Paul Curtis, Bud, Not Buddy, 1999"In terms of living standards we're now back to where we started which while not making us entirely copacetic is at least better than not having recovered as yet." — Tim Worstall, Forbes, 8 Aug. 2016Did you know?Theories about the origin of copacetic abound, but the facts about the word’s history are scant: it appears to have arisen in African-American slang in the southern U.S., possibly as early as the 1880s, with earliest known evidence of it in print dating only to 1919. Beyond that, we have only speculation. One theory is that the term is descended from Hebrew kol be sedher (or kol b’seder or chol b’seder), meaning “everything is in order.” That theory is problematic for a number of reasons, among them that in order for a Hebrew expression to have been adopted into English at that time it would have passed through Yiddish, and there is no evidence of the phrase in Yiddish dictionaries. Other theories trace copacetic to Creole coupèstique (“able to be coped with”), Italian cappo sotto (literally “head under,” figuratively “okay”), or Chinook jargon copacete (“everything’s all right”), but no evidence to substantiate any of these has been found. Another theory credits the coining of the word to Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who used the word frequently and believed himself to be the coiner. Anecdotal recollections of the word’s use, however, predate his lifetime.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 14, 2017 is:savant \sa-VAHNT\ noun1 : a person of learning; especially : one with detailed knowledge in some specialized field (as of science or literature)2 : a person affected with a mental disability (such as autism) who exhibits exceptional skill or brilliance in some limited field (such as mathematics or music); especially : autistic savantExamples:"His conversation, I remember, was about the Bertillon system of measurements, and he expressed his enthusiastic admiration of the French savant." — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, 1893"It's romantic to imagine that every artist is a brilliant lone wolf savant who sends his pages by carrier pigeon to an awestruck editor who sends them out into the world as is, but that's really not how it works…." — Dana Schwartz, The New York Observer, 1 May 2017Did you know?Savant comes from Latin sapere ("to be wise") by way of Middle French, where savant is the present participle of savoir, meaning "to know." Savant shares roots with the English words sapient ("possessing great wisdom") and [_sage_](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sage) ("having or showing wisdom through reflection and experience"). The term is sometimes used in common parlance to refer to a person who demonstrates extraordinary knowledge in a particular subject, or an extraordinary ability to perform a particular task (such as complex arithmetic), but who has much more limited capacities in other areas.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 13, 2017 is:meme \MEEM\ noun1 : an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture2 : an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through social mediaExamples:"Graffiti have been the elemental memes of political speech ... in all the oppressed countries of this world." — Claude I. Salem, The New York Times Magazine, 17 Apr. 2011"Memes are often harmless images—think of the photos of the scowling 'Grumpy Cat'—with humorous text over it, like 'the worst part of my Monday is hearing you complain about yours.'" — Michael Levenson, The Boston Globe, 6 June 2017Did you know?In his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, British scientist Richard Dawkins defended his newly coined word meme, which he defined as "a unit of cultural transmission." Having first considered, then rejected, mimeme, he wrote: "Mimeme comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like gene." (The suitable Greek root was mim-, meaning "mime" or "mimic." The English suffix -eme indicates a distinctive unit of language structure, as in grapheme, lexeme, and phoneme.) Like any good meme, meme caught on and evolved, eventually developing the meaning known to anyone who spends time online, where it's most often used to refer to any one of those silly captioned photos that the Internet can't seem to get enough of.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 12, 2017 is:onerous \AH-nuh-rus\ adjective1 : involving, imposing, or constituting a burden : troublesome (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/troublesome)2 : having legal obligations that outweigh the advantagesExamples:"Payroll is a complex set of data and tasks. It requires as much simplicity in terms of user interface and navigation as developers can manage..... Every payroll service I've reviewed this year does a good job of simplifying this onerous process." — David Harsanyi, The Times Record News (Wichita Falls, Texas), 12 Mar. 2016"Seems to me that, to be a superfood, a food's got to deliver more than nutrients. It has to be cheap, versatile, good-tasting, not too onerous to prepare and not so perishable that you end up tossing it." — Tamar Haspel, The Oregonian, 7 June 2017Did you know?Onerous, which traces back to the Latin onus, meaning "burden," has several synonyms. Like onerous, burdensome, oppressive, and exacting_ all refer to something which imposes a hardship of some kind. Onerous stresses a sense of laboriousness and heaviness, especially because something is distasteful ("the onerous task of cleaning up the mess"). Burdensome (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burdensome) suggests something which causes mental as well as physical strain ("the burdensome responsibilities of being a supervisor"). Oppressive (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oppressive) implies extreme harshness or severity in what is imposed ("the oppressive tyranny of a police state"). Exacting (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exacting) suggests rigor or sternness rather than tyranny or injustice in the demands made or in the one demanding ("an exacting employer who requires great attention to detail").See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 11, 2017 is:repudiate \rih-PYOO-dee-ayt\ verb1 : to divorce or separate formally from (a woman)2 : to refuse to have anything to do with : disown (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disown)3 a : to refuse to accept; especially : to reject as unauthorized or as having no binding forceb : to reject as untrue or unjust4 : to refuse to acknowledge or payExamples:"He immediately proceeded to repudiate his wife, and to contract a new marriage with the princess of Trebizond…." — Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 6, 1788"Our cover girl, Gigi Hadid, … might not seem at first glance to define bravery, but when she sternly repudiated the vicious online sniping about her body last year she stood up not only for herself but for the many, many young women who don't live up to some people's ridiculous and extremely narrow—literally—ideal of a fashionable physique." — Anna Wintour, Vogue, August 2016Did you know?In Latin, the noun repudium refers to the rejection of a spouse or prospective spouse, and the related verb repudiare means "to divorce" or "to reject." In the 16th century, English speakers borrowed repudiare to create the English verb repudiate, which they used as a synonym of divorce (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divorce) when in reference to a wife and as a synonym of disown (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disown) when in reference to a member of one's family. They also used the word more generally in the sense of "to reject or cast off." By the 18th century repudiate had also come to be used for the rejection of things that one does not accept as true or just, ranging from opinions and accusations to contracts and debts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 10, 2017 is:assay \a-SAY\ verb1 a : to analyze (something, such as an ore) for one or more specific componentsb : to judge the worth of : estimate (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/estimate)2 : try (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/try), attempt (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attempt)  3 : to prove to be of a particular nature by means of analysisExamples:"Each burger will be assayed by visitors and a panel of judges, including local chefs Jen Knox, Gina Sansonia, Judith Able, Bret Hauser, Camilo Cuartas and Peter Farrand." — Phillip Valys, SouthFlorida.com, 19 May 2017"He bounced from job to job, working on a shrimp boat and later for Pan American Laboratories assaying chemicals coming in from Mexico." — Steve Clark, The Brownsville (Texas) Herald, 21 Apr. 2017Did you know?Usage experts warn against confusing the verbs assay and essay (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/essay). Some confusion shouldn't be surprising, since the two words look alike and derive from the same root, the Middle French essai, meaning "test" or "effort" (a root that, in turn, comes from the Late Latin exagium, meaning "act of weighing"). At one time, the two terms were synonyms, sharing the meaning "try" or "attempt," but many modern usage commentators recommend that you differentiate the two words, using essay when you mean "to try or attempt" (as in "he will essay a dramatic role for the first time") and assay to mean "to test or evaluate" (as in "the blood was assayed to detect the presence of the antibody").See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 9, 2017 is:bosky \BAH-skee\ adjective1 : having abundant trees or shrubs2 : of or relating to a woodsExamples:The deer sensed our presence and fled to the bosky areas surrounding the meadow."A national park since 1993, it's a tranquil region patched with pine forest, where beavers swim in lazy streams and mushrooms proliferate along bosky walking trails." — Henry Wismayer, The New York Times, 20 Nov. 2016Did you know?Bosk, busk, bush—in Middle English these were all variant spellings of a word meaning "shrub." Although bush (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bush) and busk survived into modern English (busk only barely; its use is limited to occurrences in some dialects of northern Britain), bosk disappeared from the written language for a while. It wasn't gone entirely, though: in the early 17th century it provided the root for the woodsy adjective bosky. Since its formation, bosky has been firmly rooted in our language, and its widespread popularity seems to have resurrected its parental form. By the early 19th century, bosk (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bosk) (also spelled bosque) had reappeared in writing, but this time with the meaning "a small wooded area."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 8, 2017 is: turpitude \TER-puh-tood\ noun : inherent baseness : depravity; also : a base act Examples: Many consumers have raised objections to the company's latest ad campaign, in which various forms of moral turpitude are depicted as fashion statements. "As a lawyer, a conviction for this type of conduct is likely to be considered a crime of 'moral turpitude' because it involves a significant breach of the duty of a lawyer to maintain the confidentiality of a client's information." — Peter J. Henning, The New York Times, 14 Feb. 2017 Did you know? Turpitude came to English from Latin by way of Middle French. The Latin word turpitudo comes from turpis, which means "vile" or "base." The word is often found in the phrase "moral turpitude," an expression used in law to designate an act or behavior that gravely violates the moral sentiment or accepted moral standards of the community. A criminal offense that involves moral turpitude is one that is considered wrong or evil by moral standards, in addition to being the violation of a statute. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 7, 2017 is: ludic \LOO-dik\ adjective : of, relating to, or characterized by play : playful Examples: "[Mo] Willems's humor is often ludic…. The classic shaggy-dog structure of 'I Broke My Trunk!' centers on Gerald telling a long heroic story that involves him balancing on his trunk first just Hippo … and then also Rhino … and then also Hippo's big sister, playing a grand piano." — Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2017 "Born of her childhood, Ono's art has remained essentially ludic. Her works usually invite participation. She describes her pieces as 'unfinished' until the audience interacts with them…." — Jack Feerick, Kirkus Reviews, 17 Dec. 2012 Did you know? Here's a serious word, just for fun. That is to say, it means "fun," but it was created in all seriousness around 1940 by psychologists. They wanted a term to describe what children do, and they came up with "ludic activity." That may seem ludicrous—why not just call it "playing"?—but the word ludic caught on, and it's not all child's play anymore. It can refer to architecture that is playful, narrative that is humorous and even satirical, and literature that is light. Ludic is ultimately from the Latin noun ludus, which refers to a whole range of fun things—stage shows, games, sports, even jokes. The more familiar word ludicrous also traces back to the same source. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 6, 2017 is: poltroon \pahl-TROON\ noun : a spiritless coward : craven Examples: "I am a poltroon on certain points; I feel it. There is a base alloy of moral cowardice in my composition." — Charlotte Brontë, Shirley, 1849 "There's a theory that even though voters insist they hate the negative commercials portraying a candidate's opponent as a sleazy, bribe-taking, bootlicking poltroon, the ads persist because they work." — Daniel Ruth, The Tampa Bay Times, 31 Aug. 2014 Did you know? When you get down to synonyms, a poltroon is just a chicken. Barnyard chickens are fowl that have long been noted for timidity, and the name chicken has been applied to human cowards since the 17th century. Poltroon has been used for wimps and cravens for even longer, since the early 16th century at least. And if you remember that chickens are dubbed poultry, you may guess that the birds and the cowards are linked by etymology as well as synonymy. English picked up poltroon from Middle French, which in turn got it from Old Italian poltrone, meaning "coward." The Italian term has been traced to the Latin pullus, a root that is also an ancestor of pullet ("a young hen") and poultry. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 5, 2017 is: flat-hat \FLAT-hat\ verb : to fly low in an airplane in a reckless manner : hedgehop Examples: Unable to resist the temptation to show off, the young pilot decreased altitude and flat-hatted over the county fairground. "A tactical jet flying on an approved and appropriately scheduled Military Training Route is not flat-hatting. On the contrary, the crew is exercising facets of real-world, combat skill sets and should not be automatically assumed to be in violation of regulations." — Lt. Matthew Bogue, Navy Times, 4 July 2005 Did you know? Legend has it that the term flat-hat originated with an incident back in the days of barnstormers in which a pedestrian's hat was crushed by a low-flying airplane. According to one version of the tale, the reckless pilot was subsequently required to purchase a new hat for the hapless pedestrian. It seems unlikely that such an event actually took place, but we can well imagine how fear of having one's hat smashed flat by a passing airplane might have given rise to such a vivid verb. Flat-hat is first known to have appeared in English in 1940. Another word for flying low to the ground, the verb hedgehop, debuted at least 14 years earlier (and its related gerund hedgehopping is known to be a bit older still). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 4, 2017 is: inalienable \in-AY-lee-uh-nuh-bul\ adjective : incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred Examples: The American ethos is built on the belief that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are inalienable rights. "'Downward Dog' … goes a particularly funny step further by reflecting another truism: People are dogs, too. We also have complicated emotional lives, further complicated by our professional ones. We also seek food. We also seek love. We obsess.… [T]his terrific series works—because it abides by these simple, inalienable truths." — Verne Gay, Newsday, 13 May 2017 Did you know? Alien, alienable, inalienable—it's easy enough to see the Latin word alius, meaning "other," at the root of these three words. Alien joined our language in the 14th century, and one of its earliest meanings was "belonging to another." By the early 1600s that sense of alien had led to alienable, an adjective describing something you can give away or transfer to another owner. The word unalienable came about as its opposite, but so did inalienable, a word most likely borrowed into English on its own from French. Inalienable is the more common form today, and although we often see both forms used to modify "rights," it was unalienable that was used in the Declaration of Independence to describe life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 3, 2017 is: construe \kun-STROO\ verb 1 : to analyze the arrangement and connection of words in (a sentence or sentence part) 2 : to understand or explain the sense or intention of usually in a particular way or with respect to a given set of circumstances Examples: "A tall, slim girl, 'half-past sixteen,' with serious gray eyes and hair which her friends called auburn, had sat down …, firmly resolved to construe so many lines of Virgil." — Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea, 1909 "He liked barge-size American automobiles, and regularly wore a Stetson. Such habits were not to be construed as affectation. Melville was immune to the idle whim." — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 1 May 2017 Did you know? In the 14th century, English speakers acquired the closely linked words construe and construction. You may think of construction as a word having to do with building houses or highways, but it has long had other meanings, including "the arrangement of words in a sentence" and "interpretation." Similarly, construe can mean "to analyze the arrangement and connection of words in a sentence" or "to interpret or explain." Both construe and construction come from the Latin verb construere ("to construct or construe"). In the 15th century, English speakers added mis- to construe to create misconstrue, a word meaning "to put a wrong construction (that is, a wrong interpretation) on." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.