Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 2, 2017 is: dithyramb \DITH-ih-ram\ noun 1 : a usually short poem in an inspired wild irregular strain 2 : a statement or writing in an exalted or enthusiastic vein Examples: She is working on a scholarly analysis of early Greek dithyrambs. "His books are immensely entertaining …, but they also are serious examinations of the underside of American society, a large, dangerous and important world that goes entirely unnoticed in the frail dithyrambs emitted by the university creative-writing departments." — Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post, 4 Dec. 2005 Did you know? In ancient Greece, the wine god Dionysus (or Bacchus) was feted several times throughout the year. Processions, feasts, dances, and dramatic performances, accompanied by poems recited or sung in the god's honor, were all part of the revelry. Not too surprisingly, the poems tended to be wild, irregular, and dissonant. We know that the Greeks used dithyrambos as the word for a poem in honor of Dionysus, but beyond that the origin of the word is unknown. The ancient Greeks also had an adjective, dithyrambikos, which gave us our adjective dithyrambic, meaning "pertaining to or resembling a dithyramb." 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 1, 2017 is: sericeous \suh-RISH-us\ adjective : covered with fine silky hair Examples: The plant was small and delicate, with narrow sericeous leaves. The major characters distinguishing this taxon from other members of the genus within its range are the combination of a short habit, sericeous leaves, and relatively large involucres.... — Field Guide to Washington's Rare Plants, 1999 Did you know? In the writings of the ancient Greeks, there is mention of the Sēres, an eastern Asian people who made what the Greeks called sērikos fabrics. Historians now believe that the Sēres were the Chinese, from whom the ancient Greeks first obtained silk. The ancient Romans wove the Sēres' name into their language, creating sericum, the Latin word for silk. The English word silk is also assumed to be spun—with some significant alterations from Old English to Middle English—from the same Greek fiber. Both silk and silken have been in the English language for many, many centuries, but scientists wanted a new term to describe the silky hairs on some leaves and bodies, and so they adapted the Late Latin word sericeus ("silken") to create sericeous, a word that appears almost exclusively in technical contexts. 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 June 30, 2017 is: fidelity \fuh-DELL-uh-tee\ noun 1 : the quality or state of being faithful 2 : accuracy in details : exactness 3 : the degree to which an electronic device (such as a record player, radio, or television) accurately reproduces its effect (such as sound or picture) Examples: "Fidelity to promises is a civic virtue at least dating back to ancient Greek and Roman ethics, and probably to the origins of society.… The idea that promises ought to be kept is one of our most intuitive and widely shared moral beliefs." — Khristy Wilkinson, The Chattanooga (Tennessee) Times Free Press, 29 Apr. 2017 "Perhaps some of you will recall that I didn't like Riverdale's pilot episode. Sometimes it's good to be proven wrong…. Perhaps fully suspending any sense of fidelity to the original comics allowed my opinion on the show to change." — Deborah Krieger, Pop Matters, 15 May 2017 Did you know? You can have faith in fidelity, which has existed in English since the 15th century; its etymological path winds back through Middle English and Middle French, eventually arriving at the Latin verb fidere, meaning "to trust." Fidere is also an ancestor of other English words associated with trust or faith, such as fiduciary (which means "of, relating to, or involving a confidence or trust" and is often used in the context of a monetary trust) and confide (meaning "to trust" or "to show trust by imparting secrets"). Nowadays fidelity is often used in reference to recording and broadcast devices, conveying the idea that a broadcast or recording is "faithful" to the live sound or picture that it reproduces. 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 June 29, 2017 is: culminate \KUL-muh-nayt\ verb 1 : (of a celestial body) to reach its highest altitude; also : to be directly overhead 2 : to rise to or form a summit 3 : to reach the highest or a climactic or decisive point Examples: "My son and I are very interested in science and discovery. We were privileged to hear a distinguished physicist describe his research in magnetic wave phenomenon…. His complex findings present all matter as series of circular waves culminating in one large magnetic center which connects the universe." — Louise Bostic, The Daily Star (Hammond, Louisiana), 21 Apr. 2016 "Unfortunately, segments of its plot lacked creativity and purpose, ultimately culminating in a mediocre final product." — Nick Gavio, The Georgetown Voice (Georgetown University), 5 June 2017 Did you know? Culminate was first used in English in the 17th century in the field of astronomy. When a star or other heavenly body culminates, it reaches the point at which it is highest above the horizon from the vantage point of an observer on the ground. The word derives from the past participle of the Medieval Latin verb culminare, meaning "to crown," and ultimately from the Latin noun culmen, meaning "top." As something culminates it rises toward a peak. These days the word is most familiar to English speakers in its figurative usage meaning "to reach a climactic or decisive point." 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 June 28, 2017 is: tristful \TRIST-ful\ adjective : sad, melancholy Examples: "Oberlus was at least an accomplished writer, and no mere boor; and what is more, was capable of the most tristful eloquence." — Herman Melville, The Piazza Tales, 1856 "I've been dreading the moment I wake. Waking is a tristful business for the man who reflects." — Howard Jacobson, The Independent (London), 27 Nov. 2010 Did you know? The Middle English word trist, from which tristful is derived, means "sad." Today, we spell this word triste (echoing the spelling of its French ancestor, a descendant of the Latin tristis), whereas tristful has continued to be spelled without the e. Is there a connection between triste ("sad") and tryst ("a secret rendezvous of lovers")? No. Tryst also traces back to a Middle English trist, but it is a different word, a noun that is a synonym of trust. This other word trist eventually fell into disuse, but before doing so, it may have given rise to a word for a station used by hunters, which in turn led to tryst. 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 June 27, 2017 is: scapegrace \SKAYP-grayss\ noun : an incorrigible rascal Examples: "He embarks on an arduous ocean voyage to America, where he faces swindlers and scapegraces, and nearly dies of malaria—and maintains his sunny demeanor throughout." — Scot Lehigh, The Boston Globe, 1 Jan. 2016 "Theodore Roosevelt styled himself an incorruptible politician untainted by scandal. But in his path to the White House lay a troubling obstacle: his scapegrace brother, Elliott." — The Daily Beast, 19 Nov. 2016 Did you know? At first glance, you might think scapegrace has something in common with scapegoat, our word for a person who takes the blame for someone else's mistake or calamity. Indeed, the words do share a common source—the verb scape, a variant of escape that was once far more common than it is today. Scapegrace, which first appeared in English in the mid-18th century (over 200 years after scapegoat), arrived at its meaning through its literal interpretation as "one who has escaped the grace of God." (Two now-obsolete words based on a similar notion are scape-thrift, meaning "spendthrift," and want-grace, a synonym of scapegrace.) In ornithological circles, scapegrace can also refer to a loon with a red throat, but this sense is rare. 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 June 26, 2017 is: perspicuous \per-SPIK-yuh-wus\ adjective : plain to the understanding especially because of clarity and precision of presentation Examples: The author's perspicuous prose helps even the simple layman to follow his explanations of this complicated topic. "The whole is less than the sum of its parts and does not add up to either a perspicuous account or a judicious analysis." — Steven Marcus, The New York Times Book Review, 31 Mar. 1996 Did you know? Perspicuous is based on Latin perspicere, meaning "to see through," so that which is perspicuous is clear and understandable. Perspicuous has a close cousin, perspicacious, which is used of a person with astute insight. Both words come directly from Latin adjectives that mean the same thing they do: perspicuous from perspicuus, and perspicacious from perspicax. Needless to say, it's possible to confuse the two. One easy way to keep out of trouble is to think of perspicUous as the "U" word, and remember that it means "Understandable"—in contrast to the "A" word, perspicAcious, which means "Astute." 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 June 25, 2017 is: argy-bargy \ahr-jee-BAHR-jee\ noun : a lively discussion : argument, dispute Examples: The tenants got into a bit of an argy-bargy over their shared porch. "I would object to the leaders' debates much less if they took place only on the radio. Then there wouldn't be all the argy-bargy about who stands where, wearing what." — Charles Moore, The Daily Telegraph (London), 24 Apr. 2017 Did you know? Argy-bargy and its slightly older variant argle-bargle have been a part of British English since the second half of the 19th century. Argy and argle evolved in certain English and Scottish dialects as variant forms of argue. As far as we can tell, bargy and bargle never existed as independent words; they only came to life with the compounds as singsong reduplications of argy and argle. Some other colorful words that can be used for a dispute in English are squabble, contretemps, and donnybrook. 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 June 24, 2017 is: volplane \VAHL-playn\ verb : to glide in or as if in an airplane Examples: "With uncanny calm, Fauchard switched off his engine as if he were preparing to volplane to the ground in an unpowered landing." — Clive Cussler, Lost City, 2004 "[Roadrunners] can run at sustained speeds of up to 19 mph for considerable distances, and usually only make short flights in order to escape danger or flush prey. Very rarely one might be seen volplaning, or gliding downward with wings extended, from a ridgetop or other high perch." — Marcy Scott, The Las Cruces (New Mexico) Sun-News, 13 Nov. 2016 Did you know? Vol plané (meaning "gliding flight") was a phrase used by 19th-century French ornithologists to describe downward flight by birds; it contrasted with vol à voile ("soaring flight"). Around the time Orville and Wilbur Wright were promoting their latest "aeroplane" in France, the noun and the verb volplane soared to popularity in America as terms describing the daring dives by aviators. Fly Magazine reported in 1910, "The French flyers are noted for their thrilling spirals and vol planes from the sky." The avian-to-aviator generalization was fitting, since the Wright brothers had studied the flight of birds in designing their planes. 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 June 23, 2017 is: threshold \THRESH-hohld\ noun 1 : the section of wood or stone that lies under a door : sill 2 a : the means or place of entry : entrance b : the place or point of beginning : outset 3 : the point or level at which a physical or mental effect begins to be produced Examples: "[This role] was very physical. At one point, … I'm trying to steal third, and they catch me. And I'm running back to second, running back to third, running back to second, running back to third…. We did that 50 times. A tear rolled down my cheek. I learned what my threshold for pain was, and I went beyond it." — Chadwick Boseman, quoted in Ebony, April 2013 "My dog Jude was sleeping on the rug, dreaming of running, his wrists flicking, when he let out a long, eerily muffled howl.… Jude startled awake and leapt to his feet barking loudly, as if he'd carried the dream across the threshold to full consciousness…." — Carl Safina, Natural History, July/August 2015 Did you know? The earliest known use of threshold in the English language is from Alfred the Great's Old English translation of the Roman philosopher Boethius's De consolatione philosophiae. In this translation, which was written around 888, threshold appears as þeorscwold (that first letter is called a thorn and it was used in Old English and Middle English to indicate the sounds produced by th in thin and this). The origins of this Old English word are not known, though it is believed to be related to Old English threscan, from which we get the words thresh, meaning "to separate seed from (a harvested plant) using a machine or tool" and thrash, meaning, among other things, "to beat soundly with or as if with a stick or whip." 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 June 22, 2017 is: bilious \BILL-yus\ adjective 1 a : of or relating to bile b : marked by or suffering from liver dysfunction and especially excessive excretion of bile c : appearing as if affected by liver dysfunction 2 : of or indicative of a peevish ill-natured disposition 3 : sickeningly unpleasant Examples: "These two men, of hard, _bilious_ natures both, rarely came into contact but they chafed each other's moods." — Charlotte Brontë, Shirley, 1849 "But [newspaper columnist Jimmy] Breslin's greatest character was himself: the outer-borough boulevardier of bilious persuasion." — Dan Berry, The New York Times, 20 Mar. 2017 Did you know? Bilious is one of several words whose origins trace to the old belief that four bodily humors (black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood) control temperament. Just like phlegmatic ("of a slow and stolid phlegm-driven character"), melancholy ("experiencing dejection associated with black bile"), and sanguine ("of a cheerful, blood-based disposition"), bilious suggests a personality associated with an excess of one of the humors—in this case, yellow bile. Bilious, which first appeared in English in the mid-1500s, derives from the Middle French bilieux, which in turn traces to bilis, Latin for "bile." In the past, bile was also called choler, which gives us choleric, a synonym of bilious. 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 June 21, 2017 is: duende \doo-EN-day\ noun : the power to attract through personal magnetism and charm Examples: Her performances were said to be spellbinding: by all accounts she was a singer possessed of such duende that the audience seemed a single organism unable to look away. "[The flamenco performers] may achieve the rare quality of duende—total communication with their audience, and the mark of great flamenco of any style or generation." — The Rough Guide to Spain, 2015 Did you know? The word duende refers to a spirit in Spanish, Portuguese, and Filipino folklore and literally means "ghost" or "goblin" in Spanish. It is believed to derive from the phrase dueño de casa, which means "owner of a house." The term is traditionally used in flamenco music or other art forms to refer to the mystical or powerful force given off by a performer to draw in the audience. The Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca wrote in his essay "Teoria y Juego del Duende" ("Play and Theory of the Duende") that duende "is a power and not a behavior … a struggle and not a concept." Nowadays the term appears in a broader range of contexts to refer to one's unspoken charm or allure. 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 June 20, 2017 is: pervade \per-VAYD\ verb : to become diffused throughout every part of Examples: "While the editors and contributors are careful to avoid wading into nostalgic celebration, a wistful tone pervades almost every essay…." — Lily Geismer, The Washington Post, 7 May 2017 "It is not uncommon for people to have a vague notion of something called 'energy' that could be likened to the Force in 'Star Wars'—some mystical quality that pervades everything, something that holds the universe together, something that can be tapped to heal or communicate or run a motor or see the future." — David Hewitt, The Tulare (California) Advance-Register, 8 May 2017 Did you know? English speakers borrowed pervade in the mid-17th century from Latin pervadere, meaning "to go through." Pervadere, in turn, was formed by combining the prefix per-, meaning "through," with the verb vadere, meaning "to go." Synonyms of pervade include permeate, impregnate, and saturate. Pervade stresses a spreading diffusion throughout every part of a whole ("art and music pervade every aspect of their lives"). Permeate implies diffusion specifically throughout a material thing ("the smell of freshly baked bread permeated the house"). Impregnate suggests a forceful influence or effect on something throughout ("impregnate the cotton with alcohol"). Saturate is used when nothing more may be taken up or absorbed ("the cloth is saturated with water"). 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 June 19, 2017 is: animus \AN-uh-muss\ noun 1 : a usually prejudiced and often spiteful or malevolent ill will 2 : basic attitude or governing spirit : disposition, intention 3 : an inner masculine part of the female personality in the analytic psychology of C. G. Jung Examples: Barney's newspaper editorial had been heartfelt, and he was shocked by the animus in one published response. "The precise rationale for the District's animus toward chicken ownership is unclear." — Peter Jamison, The Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2017 Did you know? Animus has long referred to the rational or animating components of a person's psyche (it derives from Latin animus, which can mean "spirit," "mind," "courage," or "anger"). Since a key animating component of personality can be temper, the word came to mean animosity, especially ill will that is driven by strong prejudice. The term is also used in the analytic psychology of C. G. Jung in reference to an inner masculine part of the female personality. The English animus is closely related to words such as animosity, magnanimous, and unanimous, but it is not as closely related to other similar-looking terms such as animal and animate. Those latter terms derive from the Latin anima, a distinct term that means "soul" or "breath" and that suggests someone's physical vitality or life force—the breath 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 June 18, 2017 is: garner \GAHR-ner\ verb 1 a : to gather into storage b : to deposit as if in a granary 2 a : to acquire by effort : earn b : accumulate, collect Examples: The first responders garnered praise from the mayor and the community for their swift response to the flash flood. "Jones told town officials that most of the Lincoln Park trail will be completed in late summer or fall, but the delay in garnering funding may delay the completion of the full project into next year's construction season.'" — Nancy A. Fischer, The Buffalo News, 9 May 2017 Did you know? What do you call a building in which grain is stored? These days, English speakers are most likely to call it a granary, but there was a time when the noun garner was also a likely candidate. That noun, which can also mean "something that is collected," dates from the 12th century. The verb garner joined the language two centuries later. It was once commonly used with the meaning "to gather into a granary," but today it usually means "to earn" or "to accumulate." The noun garner is uncommon in contemporary use; it is now found mainly in older literary contexts, such as these lines of verse from Sir Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor: "Or, from the garner-door, on ether borne, / The chaff flies devious from the winnow'd corn." 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 June 17, 2017 is: haywire \HAY-wyre\ adverb or adjective 1 : being out of order or having gone wrong 2 : emotionally or mentally upset or out of control : crazy Examples: The company's e-mailing system went haywire and sent out multiple copies of the advertisement to its subscribers. "While our immune system generally keeps us safe and wards off illness, sometimes it can go a little haywire. Pollen and other usually harmless particles can cause your immune system to overreact…." — Andrei Javier, The Tennessean, 9 Apr. 2017 Did you know? The wire used in baling hay—haywire—is often used in makeshift repairs. This hurried and temporary use of haywire gave rise to the adjective haywire. When the adjective was first used in the early 20th century, it was primarily found in the phrase "haywire outfit," which originally denoted a poorly equipped group of loggers and then anything that was flimsy or patched together. This led to a "hastily patched-up" sense, which, in turn, gave us the more commonly used meaning, "being out of order or having gone wrong." The "crazy" sense of haywire may have been suggested by the difficulty of handling the springy wire, its tendency to get tangled around legs, or the disorderly appearance of the temporary repair jobs for which it was used. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 16, 2017 is: yips \YIPS\ noun : a state of nervous tension affecting an athlete (such as a golfer) in the performance of a crucial action Examples: "Golfers with the yips typically jerk the putter on short putts, occasionally knocking a five-foot putt ten feet past the cup." — Mike Towle, I Remember Ben Hogan, 2000 "In 'The Phenomenon' …, written with Tim Brown, [Rick] Ankiel speaks of succumbing to the anxiety disorder commonly called the yips, then reclaiming his career as an outfielder." — Daniel M. Gold, The New York Times, 2 Apr. 2017 Did you know? Who first dubbed an athlete's stress under pressure "the yips"? We're not sure. We also can't say for certain if the plural noun yips has anything to do with yip, a word of imitative origin that functions both as a verb meaning "to bark sharply, quickly, and often continuously" and as a noun meaning "a short bark (as of a dog)." Some theories equate the "yip" sound made by a small dog with the unfortunate habit some athletes have of flinching or "hiccupping" when a steady hand is called for. What we do know for certain is that sportswriters have been using yips since the first half of the 20th century and that it most often appears in golf-related contexts. 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 June 15, 2017 is: loquacious \loh-KWAY-shus\ adjective 1 : full of excessive talk : wordy 2 : given to fluent or excessive talk : garrulous Examples: "We would sit together for about half an hour, the silent old lady and the loquacious little girl, while I babbled on at her and she smiled and nodded and patted my hand." — Anna Russell, I'm Not Making This Up, You Know, 1985 "And although [Dwight Eisenhower's] syntax was sometimes twisted, he worked on his speaking ability, so much so that he was not afraid of having regular news conferences (he had 193 by the end of his second term, identical to the sum held by the more loquacious Bill Clinton)." — Thomas V. DiBacco, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 May 2017 Did you know? When you hear or say loquacious, you might notice that the word has a certain poetic ring. In fact, poets quickly snatched up loquacious soon after it made its first appearance in English in the 17th century and, with poetic license, stretched its meaning to include such things as the chattering of birds and the babbling of brooks. In less poetic uses, loquacious usually means "excessively talkative." The ultimate source of all this chattiness is loqui, a Latin verb meaning "to speak." Other words descended from loqui include colloquial, eloquent, soliloquy, and ventriloquism. 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 June 14, 2017 is: moue \MOO\ noun : a little grimace : pout Examples: "I like … the way her eyes twinkle with mischief even as her mouth is set in a sulky fashionista moue." — Judith Woods, The Daily Telegraph (London), 16 Sept. 2016 "But it's [Ian] McKellen we're always watching, with his twitches and moues and wistful … recollections…." — Euan Ferguson, The Observer (London), 1 Nov. 2015 Did you know? Moue is one of two similar words in English that refer to a pout or grimace; the other is mow, which is pronounced to rhyme either with no or now. Mow and moue share the same origin—the Anglo-French mouwe—and have a distant relationship to a Middle Dutch word for a protruding lip. (They do not, however, share a relationship to the word mouth, which derives from Old English mūth.) While current evidence of moue in use in English traces back only a little more than 150 years, mow dates all the way back to the 14th century. Moue has also seen occasional use as a verb, as when Nicholson Baker, in a 1988 issue of The New Yorker, described how a woman applying lip gloss would "slide the lip from side to side under it and press her mouth together and then moue it outward…." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 13, 2017 is: engender \in-JEN-der\ verb 1 : beget, procreate 2 : to cause to exist or to develop : produce 3 : to assume form : originate Examples: The annual company picnic featured activities, such as a scavenger hunt, meant to engender a sense of teamwork and camaraderie among employees. "Whatever money they save is more than offset by the ill will they engender, particularly in an era when everyone has a smartphone and a way of sharing their outrage with the world." — USA Today, 16 Apr. 2017 Did you know? When engende_ was first used in the 14th century, it meant "propagate" or "procreate," but extended meanings soon developed. Engender comes from the Latin verb generare, which means "to generate" or "to beget." Generate, regenerate, degenerate, and generation are of course related to the Latin verb as well. As you might suspect, the list of engender relatives does not end there. Generare comes from the Latin noun genus, meaning "birth," "race," or "kind." From this source we have our own word genus, plus gender, general, and generic, among other words. 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 June 12, 2017 is: oftentimes \AW-fun-tymez\ adverb : often, repeatedly Examples: Oftentimes, when children are in trouble, you will hear people say that it is all because of low self-esteem." — Lemony Snicket, The Miserable Mill, 2000 "However, it's important to remember that taking a nap for too long can leave you feeling groggy and oftentimes worse than before." — Bailey Jensen, The Daily Collegian (Pennsylvania State University), 1 May 2017 Did you know? Despite its archaic, literary ring, oftentimes is quite alive today. In fact, it seems to be more popular now than it was in past decades, appearing frequently both in written expression and in speech. Oftentimes was first used in the 14th century (the same century that gave us often), and its meaning hasn't changed—as meanings oftentimes will—in all that time. It was formed as an extension of its slightly older synonym ofttimes. Today ofttimes is less common, but oft (which comes from Old English and also means "often" or "frequently") is popular in combination with past participles, as in oft-praised. 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 June 11, 2017 is: calaboose \KAL-uh-booss\ noun : jail; especially : a local jail Examples: "To put it mildly, Independence was a rough and tumble place, the first of the Wild West towns such as cowboy folklore was built around. Even the more refined guys of that day and time didn't react mildly to confinement in the calaboose or restrictions of any sort…." — Ted W. Stillwell, The Examiner (Independence, Missouri), 14 Dec. 2016 "Moore said most of the calabooses were built in small towns, with local labor and local materials 'as cheap as they could because they didn't need a big jail or have the money for a big jail, and most of the offenders would be drunks.'" — Jim Hardin, Rockwall County Herald-Banner (Greenville, Texas), 28 Oct. 2016 Did you know? Calaboose had been part of the English language for almost a century when John S. Farmer included the term in his 1889 book Americanisms—Old & New, defining it as "the common gaol or prison." Farmer also made mention of a verb calaboose, meaning "to imprison," but that term was apparently lost in the years between then and now. Calaboose is Spanish in origin; it's from the Spanish word calabozo, meaning "dungeon." 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 June 10, 2017 is: ascetic \uh-SET-ik\ adjective 1 : practicing strict self-denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline 2 : austere in appearance, manner, or attitude Examples: The monks have taken a vow of poverty and maintain an ascetic lifestyle within the walls of the monastery. "His house has no modern conveniences, and the clinic he soon goes to, staffed by slim women with light-colored eyebrows, is similarly ascetic." — Glenn Kenny, The Kansas City Star, 8 Dec. 2016 Did you know? Ascetic comes from askētikos, a Greek adjective meaning "laborious." Ultimately, it comes from the Greek verb askein, which means "to exercise" or "to work." There aren't many other English words from askein, but there's no dearth of synonyms for ascetic. Severe and austere, for example, are two words that share with ascetic the basic meaning "given to or marked by strict discipline and firm restraint." Ascetic implies abstention from pleasure, comfort, and self-indulgence as spiritual discipline, whereas severe implies standards enforced without indulgence or laxity and may suggest harshness (as in "severe military discipline"). Austere stresses absence of warmth, color, or feeling and may apply to rigorous restraint, simplicity, or self-denial (as in "living an austere life in the country"). 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 June 9, 2017 is: squinny \SKWIN-ee\ verb : to look or peer with eyes partly closed : squint Examples: "Larkin had sat in the same place, squinnying at the little house, feeling anxious." — Andrew Motion, Granta, Autumn 1992 "EV Crowe's new play, The Sewing Group, is a sly thing. It begins in Shaker-like simplicity. Three women in long black dresses stitch in a plain wooden room. Two of them squinny with suspicion at the third." — Susannah Clapp, The Guardian (UK), 20 Nov. 2016 Did you know? "I remember thine eyes well enough. Dost thou squiny at me?" So asks Shakespeare's mad King Lear of blind Gloucester, marking the first known use of the verb squinny. It is likely that Shakespeare formed the word from an earlier English word squin, meaning "with the eye directed to one side." Shakespeare also uses the more familiar squint in King Lear: "This is the foul fiend Flibbertigibbet.… He gives the web and the pin, / squints the eye … mildews the white wheat, / and hurts the poor creature of earth." Although this is not the first known use of the verb squint, it is the first known use of the verb's transitive sense. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 8, 2017 is: penchant \PEN-chunt\ noun : a strong and continued inclination; broadly : liking Examples: "The irony is that acting young kept me out of trouble, giving me a sense of focus and purpose. I had a penchant for adventure." — Juliette Lewis, quoted in The Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2015 "Among the many school-year rituals, none stands out in my mind more than picture day.… Ever eager to look my best, I had a penchant for trying something different with my hair—with less-than-stellar results." — Becky Kover, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, 4 Aug. 2014 Did you know? Like its synonyms leaning, propensity, and proclivity, penchant implies a strong instinct or liking for something. But these four words, while similar, are also distinguished by subtle differences. Leaning usually suggests a liking or attraction not strong enough to be decisive or uncontrollable ("a student with artistic leanings"), whereas propensity tends to imply a deeply ingrained and usually irresistible inclination ("a propensity to offer advice"). Proclivity frequently suggests a strong, natural proneness to something objectionable or evil ("a proclivity for violence"). Penchant, a descendant of Latin pendere (meaning "to weigh"), typically implies a strongly marked taste in the person ("a penchant for jazz music") or an irresistible attraction in the object ("a penchant for taking risks"). 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 June 7, 2017 is: incoherent \in-koh-HEER-unt\ adjective : lacking coherence: such as a : lacking cohesion : loose b : lacking orderly continuity, arrangement, or relevance : inconsistent c : lacking normal clarity or intelligibility in speech or thought Examples: I found myself unable to follow the movie's rambling and incoherent plot. "All it really says is that people are expressing profound unease, even if they have incoherent or contradictory senses of why…." — Nitsuh Abebe, The New York Times Magazine, 18 Apr. 2017 Did you know? Something that is coherent holds or sticks together firmly, with resistance to separation (that is, it coheres). Coherent, ultimately from the Latin co-("together") and haerēre ("to stick or cling"), entered English in the 16th century and almost from the beginning was used both of physical things ("coherent stone") and of things which hold together in a much less palpable way ("coherent thoughts"). Its antonym, incoherent, entered the language some decades later. Like coherent, incoherent can be applied to both the tangible and the intangible. But, whether we are speaking of sand or logic, all things incoherent have one thing in common: they do not hold together, literally or figuratively, in a unified or intelligible whole. 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 June 6, 2017 is: catercorner \KAT-ee-kor-ner\ adverb or adjective : in a diagonal or oblique position : kitty-corner Examples: The elaborate water fountain is catercorner to the building's entrance, so it's the first thing you see when you enter the foyer. "A few doors down (near the sushi place in the same strip mall, catercorner from the spiral-cut ham shop) we stopped briefly at Euro Market." — Bruce Dorries, The News Leader (Staunton, VA), 4 Feb. 2017 Did you know? Catercorner also has the variants kitty-corner and catty-corner, but despite appearances, no cats were involved in the creation of this word. Cater derives from the Middle French noun quatre (or catre), which means "four." English speakers adopted the word to refer to the four-dotted side of a die—a side important in several winning combinations in dice games. Perhaps because the four spots on a die can suggest an X, cater eventually came to be used dialectically with the meaning "diagonal" or "diagonally." This cater was combined with corner to form catercorner. 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 June 5, 2017 is: adumbrate \AD-um-brayt\ verb 1 : to foreshadow vaguely : intimate 2 : to suggest, disclose, or outline partially 3 : overshadow, obscure Examples: "The opening scenes not only set forth the locale, the leading characters, and the first stage of the plot, but also adumbrate everything to come." — Richard Alleva, The Commonweal, 11 Sept. 2015 "His temper and tendency to violence, adumbrated in the first part of the book, lead not only to his decline as a journalist but also his inability to maintain relationships with the various women he encounters." — Gerald Early, The Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2015 Did you know? You aren't likely to find adumbrate in children's stories or on the sports pages. That's not because this shady word is somehow off-color, but rather because it tends to show up most often in academic or political writing. In fact, some usage commentators find it too hard for "ordinary" use (although they are hard-pressed to define "ordinary"). Art and literary critics have long found it useful, and it's a definite candidate for those oft-published "lists of words you should know" (especially for vocabulary tests). You might remember adumbrate better if you know that it developed from the Latin verb adumbrare, which in turn comes from umbra, the Latin word for "shadow." To adumbrate, then, is to offer a shadowy view of 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 June 4, 2017 is: redoubt \rih-DOUT\ noun 1 a : a small usually temporary enclosed defensive work b : a defended position : protective barrier 2 : a secure retreat : stronghold Examples: From his redoubt on the ninth floor, the fugitive could see the line of police cars that had surrounded the building. "Near Moore's home were the remains of the old earth walls of Fort Marcy built by Zachary Taylor's soldiers in 1845. These were dirt embankments, or redoubts, but there really was no 'fort' except on paper." — Murphy Givens, The Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 15 Mar. 2017 Did you know? Based on its spelling, you might think that redoubt shares its origin with words such as doubt and redoubtable, both of which derive from the Latin verb dubitare, meaning "to be in doubt." But that's not the case. Redoubt actually derives via the French redoute and the Italian ridotto from a different Latin verb—reducere, meaning "to lead back," the same root that gives us reduce. How that b ended up in redoubt is a lingering question, but some etymologists have posited that the word might have been conflated with another redoubt—a now-archaic transitive verb meaning "to regard with awe, dismay, or dread." Unlike its homographic twin, that redoubt does derive from the same root as doubt and redoubtable. 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 June 3, 2017 is: oracular \aw-RAK-yuh-ler\ adjective 1 : resembling an oracle (as in solemnity of delivery) 2 : of, relating to, or being an oracle Examples: "Wheeler had Bohr's rounded brow and soft features, as well as his way of speaking about physics in oracular undertones." — James Gleick, Genius: The Life & Science of Richard Feynman, 1992 "The New York Public Library's Live From the NYPL series continues with a conversation between Ms. Atwood—the prolific and oracular novelist whose latest book, 'Hag-Seed,' reimagines Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'—and Ms. Shaw, the actress and director." — Jack Williams and Joshua Barone, The New York Times, 14 Oct. 2016 Did you know? When the ancient Greeks had questions or problems, they would turn to the gods for answers by consulting an oracle. The word oracle has several meanings. It can refer to the god's answer, to the shrine that worshippers approached when seeking advice, or to the person through whom the god communicated, usually in the form of cryptic verse. The words oracular and oracle trace back to the Latin verb orare, which means "to speak." Today, oracle can simply mean an authoritative pronouncement or a person who makes such pronouncements—for example, "a designer who is an oracle of fashion." The related adjective oracular is used in similar contexts: "a designer who is the oracular voice of fashion." 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 June 2, 2017 is: plagiary \PLAY-jee-air-ee\ noun 1 : (archaic) one that plagiarizes 2 : plagiarism Examples: "When Amy Heckerling updated and reworked Emma into her 1995 film Clueless, she was not plagiarising Jane Austen, she was creating an imaginary conversation with a classic novel. If I'd opened this piece by writing, 'To steal or not to steal, that is the question,' the only literary misconduct of which I would be guilty is cliché, not 'plagiary,' to use the word's older form." — Sarah Churchwell, The Guardian, 30 May 2013 Did you know? Plagiarius, the Latin source of plagiary, literally means "kidnapper." Plagiarius has its roots in the noun plagium, meaning both "kidnapping" and "the netting of game," and ultimately in the noun plaga, meaning "net." The literal sense of plagiarius was adopted into English; in the 17th and early 18th century, a kidnapper might be referred to as a plagiary, and, in the legalese of the time, kidnapping as plagium. Plagiarius also referred to a literary thief—and that sense was lifted into the English language in the word plagiary, which can be used for one who commits literary theft (now usually referred to as a plagiarist) or the act or product of such theft (now, more commonly, plagiarism). 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 June 1, 2017 is: haywire \HAY-wyre\ adverb or adjective 1 : being out of order or having gone wrong 2 : emotionally or mentally upset or out of control : crazy Examples: The company's e-mailing system went haywire and sent out multiple copies of the advertisement to its subscribers. "While our immune system generally keeps us safe and wards off illness, sometimes it can go a little haywire. Pollen and other usually harmless particles can cause your immune system to overreact…." — Andrei Javier, The Tennessean, 9 Apr. 2017 Did you know? The wire used in baling hay—haywire—is often used in makeshift repairs. This hurried and temporary use of haywire gave rise to the adjective haywire. When the adjective was first used in the early 20th century, it was primarily found in the phrase "haywire outfit," which originally denoted a poorly equipped group of loggers and then anything that was flimsy or patched together. This led to a "hastily patched-up" sense, which, in turn, gave us the more commonly used meaning, "being out of order or having gone wrong." The "crazy" sense of haywire may have been suggested by the difficulty of handling the springy wire, its tendency to get tangled around legs, or the disorderly appearance of the temporary repair jobs for which it was used. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 31, 2017 is: whirligig \WER-lih-gig\ noun 1 : a child's toy having a whirling motion 2 a : one that continuously whirls or changes b : a whirling or circling course (as of events) Examples: "As 2016 draws mercifully to a close, just what, exactly, are we to make of this bewildering whirligig of a year?" — Brian Chasnoff, The San Antonio News-Express, 30 Dec. 2016 "The whirligig, an object that spins or whirls, may have started as a farmer's weathervane, but it evolved into a recognized piece of American folk art." — Michelle Galler, RappNews.com (Rappahannock County, VA), 8 Dec. 2016 Did you know? English speakers, and particularly children, began spinning whirligigs as early as the 15th century. Since then, whirligig has acquired several meanings beyond its initial toy sense. It even has a place in the common name of the whirligig beetle, a member of the family Gyrinidae that swiftly swims in circles on the surface of still water. The word whirligig comes to us from Middle English whirlegigg ("whirling top"), which is itself from whirlen, meaning "to whirl," and gigg, meaning "(toy) top." 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 May 30, 2017 is: abdicate \AB-dih-kayt\ verb 1 : to renounce a throne, high office, dignity, or function 2 : to relinquish (something, such as sovereign power) formally 3 : to cast off : discard Examples: "[The Duke of Windsor] abdicated the throne of the British Empire but remained king of men's style all his life. One of his great tricks was to elevate humble or casual trends and fabrics." — Nicholas Foulkes, Newsweek, 2 Sept. 2016 "… while dining at the restaurant Daniel in New York City, I asked Raj Vaidya, the head sommelier, to pick a red wine for my main course…. I don't abdicate this sacramental responsibility lightly, but Vaidya knows my taste, and he almost invariably comes up with something special." — Jay McInerney, Town & Country, 1 June 2015 Did you know? Give it up. English includes many words for the process of throwing in the towel, especially for relinquishing a job or elected office. Abdicate, a derivative of the prefix ab- (meaning "from," "away," or "off") and the Latin verb dicare (meaning to "proclaim"), has been used primarily for those who give up sovereign power or who evade a very serious responsibility (such as parental responsibility). Renounce is often used as a synonym of abdicate, but it adds to that term the suggestion that an individual is giving up something as a sacrifice to achieve a far greater end. Resign is another option when you are describing a more matter-of-fact departure from a job, office, or trust. 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 May 29, 2017 is: skosh \SKOHSH\ noun : a small amount : bit, smidgen Examples: The barista sprinkled a skosh of fresh ginger onto the milky surface of the latte. "… I learned that the Turbo S is livable as an everyday car, with a ride quality a skosh firmer than a standard 911." — Tom Voelk, The New York Times, 16 Sept. 2016 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 May 28, 2017 is: unabashed \un-uh-BASHT\ adjective : not embarrassed or ashamed by something that has happened or been done or said : undisguised, unapologetic 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 May 27, 2017 is: concatenate \kahn-KAT-uh-nayt\ verb : to link together in a series or chain Examples: "While the stories are separate, they're concatenated in that characters recur from story to story, so while one might be a major player in one tale, he might be only alluded to in a subsequent narrative." — Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2013 "To test cockatoos' planning and mechanical capacities, Auersperg designed a box housing a visible cashew nut blocked by five interlocking devices. The locks were concatenated so that the bird would have to solve the lock puzzle farthest from the reward before gaining access to the next, and so on." — Jenny Jennings Foerst, American Scientist, November 2013 Did you know? Concatenate comes directly from Latin concatenare, which in turn is formed from con-, meaning "with" or "together," and catena, meaning "chain." (The word chain itself also evolved from catena.) Concatenate has a somewhat longer history as an adjective, meaning "linked together," than as a verb. The adjective first appeared in English in the 15th century and the verb wasn't in use until more than a century later. Catenate, a verb in its own right meaning "to link in a series," had also arrived on the scene by the early 17th 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 May 26, 2017 is: torpedo \tor-PEE-doh\ noun 1 : electric ray 2 : a weapon (such as a thin cylindrical self-propelled underwater projectile) for destroying ships by rupturing their hulls below the waterline 3 : a large sandwich on a long split roll with any of a variety of fillings : submarine Examples: Among the undersea wreckage, the divers found an unexploded torpedo. "An interactive exhibit also takes 'sailors' aboard the USS Tang, a submarine simulation, where you can relive the boat's final, heroic patrol before it sank—torpedo launches, sirens, and chaos ensue." — Meaghan O'Neill, The Boston Globe, 19 Mar. 2017 Did you know? Like the adjective torpid, torpedo can be traced back to the Latin verb torpēre, meaning "to be sluggish or numb." In Latin torpedo literally meant "stiffness" or "numbness." Torpedo was also the name given in Latin to the fish known as the electric ray, and it was as a name for the fish that torpedo first entered English. During the Napoleonic Wars, the American inventor Robert Fulton experimented with an explosive charge for use against warships which he called a "torpedo" (and which we would now refer to as a mine) after the electric ray's ability to incapacitate creatures with an electrical discharge. Fulton was also the inventor of the Nautilus, an early hand-powered submarine which was one of the precursors of the vessels that would deliver the more familiar cigar-shaped torpedoes with such devastating effects during the 20th century's two World Wars. 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 May 25, 2017 is: inanition \in-uh-NISH-un\ noun 1 : the exhausted condition that results from lack of food and water 2 : the absence or loss of social, moral, or intellectual vitality or vigor Examples: "My friend had no breakfast himself, for it was one of his peculiarities that in his more intense moments he would permit himself no food, and I have known him presume upon his iron strength until he has fainted from pure inanition." — Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder," 1903 "Although she remains largely in the background, Mama is the character apparently most energized by the revolution of 2011, the person who has found purpose and focus, eschewing nostalgia even as the men who surround her have lapsed into rueful inanition." — Claire Messud, _The New York Review of Books_, 18 Aug. 2016 Did you know? Inanition describes a state of suffering from either a literal emptiness (of sustenance) or a metaphorical emptiness (of interest or energy), so it should come as no surprise that the word ultimately derives from the same idea in Latin. Inanition, which first appeared in Middle English in the 14th century as in-anisioun, can be traced back to the Latin verb inanire, meaning "to make empty," which in turn comes from inanis (meaning "empty"). Another far more common descendant of inanis is inane. The family resemblance is clear: inane is used describe things lacking significance or substance. 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 May 24, 2017 is: malleable \MAL-ee-uh-bul\ adjective 1 : capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer or by the pressure of rollers 2 a : capable of being altered or controlled by outside forces or influences b : having a capacity for adaptive change Examples: "Lead is insidiously useful. It's hard but malleable, is relatively common, melts at a low enough temperature to be workable, and doesn't rust." — Ben Paynter, Wired, June 2016 "[T]he role of First Lady is … a role that is surprisingly malleable, shaped by the personality, style, and interests (or lack thereof) of the person occupying it." — Jonathan Van Meter, Vogue, 11 Nov. 2016 Did you know? There is a hint about the origins of malleable in its first definition. The earliest uses of the word, which first appeared in English in the 14th century, referred primarily to metals that could be reshaped by beating with a hammer. The Middle English word malliable comes to us from Medieval Latin malleabilis, which in turn derives from the Latin verb malleare, meaning "to hammer." Malleare itself was created from the Latin word for "hammer": malleus. If you have guessed that maul and mallet, other English words for specific types of hammers, can also be traced back to malleus, you have hit the nail on the head. 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 May 23, 2017 is: nudnik • \NOOD-nik (the "OO" is as in "good")\ • noun : a person who is a bore or nuisance Examples: James worried that he would never finish his work if the office nudnik didn't quit hanging around his cubicle. "Others may enjoy its gentle comedy, its plentiful caricatures and easy jokes, its lightweight tone. However, I found most of its characters to be obnoxious, insufferable nudniks who never shut up or mind their own business or resemble real human beings." — John Serba, The Flint (Michigan) Journal, 27 Mar. 2017 Did you know? The suffix -nik came to English through Yiddish (and ultimately from Polish and Ukrainian). It means "one connected with or characterized by being." You might be familiar with beatnik, peacenik, or neatnik, but what about no-goodnik or allrightnik? The suffix -nik is frequently used in English to create nonce words that are often jocular or slightly derogatory. Some theorize that the popularity of the suffix was enhanced by Russian Sputnik, as well as Al Capp's frequent use of -nik words in his L'il Abner cartoons. The nud- of the Yiddish borrowing nudnik ultimately comes from the Polish nuda, meaning "boredom." 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 May 22, 2017 is: acerbic • \uh-SER-bik\ • adjective : acid in temper, mood, or tone Examples: "It was [Dave Chappelle's] first comedy special in 17 years, and even though the specials were filmed in 2015 and 2016, they confirmed that Dave still had his … acerbic wit and impeccable comedic timing…." — Michael Harriot, The Root, 29 Mar. 2017 "It's tempting to view Tourist in This Town as a clean break from Crutchfield's previous music—a breakup record about a former bandmate that's reflected in a stark sonic departure from that band. But Crutchfield is still the same acerbic and fearless observer, her lyrics unflinchingly honest in their feminist perspective." — Nathan Tucker, The Portland (Oregon) Mercury, 22 Mar. 2017 Did you know? English speakers created acerbic in the 19th century by adding -ic to the adjective acerb. Acerb had been around since the 17th century, but for most of that time it had been used only to describe foods with a sour taste. (Acerb is still around today, but now it's simply a less common synonym of acerbic.) Acerbic and acerb ultimately come from the Latin adjective acerbus, which can mean "harsh" or "unpleasant." Another English word that comes from acerbus is exacerbate, which means "to make more violent or severe." 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 May 21, 2017 is: philately • \fuh-LAT-uh-lee\ • noun : the collection and study of postage and imprinted stamps : stamp collecting Examples: "With philately, it's not just the stamp that makes it valuable, but often the cancellation mark. Also, errors are considered good things." — Nancy Kennedy, The Citrus County (Florida) Chronicle, 5 June 2015 "Evidently, however, there is still enough interest in philately that local, national and international stamp shows are still regularly happening. San Diego has a Philatelic Council and an annual San Diego-based Sandical stamp show." — Karen Pearlman, The San Diego Union Tribune, 26 May 2016 Did you know? Who wouldn't love something tax free? George Herpin did. He was a French stamp fancier back in the 1860s, when stamps were a fairly new invention. Before stamps, the recipient of a letter—not the sender—had to pay the postage. Stamps forced the sender to foot the bill, and created a lot of stamp lovers among folks on the receiving end of the mail—and a mania for stamp collecting. Timbromania was toyed with as a term to affix to this new hobby—from the French word for stamp, timbre. But when Herpin suggested philatélie (anglicized to philately), combining the Greek root phil-, meaning "loving," with Greek ateleia, meaning "tax-exemption," stamp lovers everywhere took a fancy to it and the name stuck. 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 May 20, 2017 is: baroque • \buh-ROHK\ • adjective 1 : of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a style of artistic expression prevalent especially in the 17th century that is marked generally by use of complex forms, bold ornamentation, and the juxtaposition of contrasting elements often conveying a sense of drama, movement, and tension 2 : characterized by grotesqueness, extravagance, complexity, or flamboyance Examples: Though I was interested in the book's subject matter, I was put off by the baroque descriptions the author seemed to favor. "The Rev. Canon Patrick Malloy, the priest who oversees arts-related projects at the cathedral …, said the idea was to recreate a Baroque chapel and show the tapestries differently from when they hung over the transepts." — James Barron, The New York Times, 21 Mar. 2017 Did you know? Baroque came to English from the French word barroque, meaning "irregularly shaped." At first, the word in French was used mostly to refer to pearls. Eventually, it came to describe an extravagant style of art characterized by curving lines, gilt, and gold. This type of art, which was prevalent especially in the 17th century, was sometimes considered to be excessively decorated and overly complicated. It makes sense, therefore, that the meaning of the word baroque has broadened to include anything that seems excessively ornate or elaborate. 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 May 19, 2017 is: rebus • \REE-bus\ • noun : a representation of syllables or words by means of pictures or symbols; also : a riddle made up of such pictures or symbols Examples: The answer to yesterday's rebus, which showed a man on an ark, a spider web, and a spoon stirring coffee, was "Noah Webster." "The books are rebuses: They combine normally written words with emojis that substitute for words or parts of words." — Jessica Roy, The Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2016 Did you know? A rebus communicates its message by means of pictures or symbols whose names sound like various parts of a word, phrase, or sentence. For example, a picture of a can of tomatoes followed by the letters UC and a picture of a well means "Can you see well?" In Latin, the word rebus means "by things"; rebus is a form of the Latin word res, which means "thing." English speakers started using the word rebus for picture writing in the early 1600s. 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 May 18, 2017 is: luscious • \LUSH-us\ • adjective 1 : having a delicious sweet taste or smell 2 : sexually attractive 3 a : richly luxurious or appealing to the senses b : excessively ornate Examples: "Stockman's abstract paintings … are simple yet luscious, with thick, sensuous, curved shapes in intense, vibrating hues." — Steffie Nelson, W, February 2017 "His exhortations of umami—that luscious, satisfying flavor, not exactly savory or sweet or sour or bitter, that the Japanese were the first to identify—whetted my curiosity. One night at dinner, a chef prepared a special batch of dashi—the umami-drenched base stock of Japanese soups—before my eyes, so I could observe and taste its alchemy as it brewed." — Liesl Schillinger, Vogue, March 2017 Did you know? Have you ever heard a young child say something is "licius" when he or she really means it's "delicious"? Back in the Middle Ages, the word licius was sometimes used as a shortened form of delicious by adults and kids alike. Linguists believe that luscious developed when licius was further altered to lucius by 15th-century speakers. Both words ultimately derive from the Latin verb delicere, meaning "to entice by charm or attraction." The adjective lush, which can sometimes mean "delicious" as well, is not a shortened form of luscious; it derived on its own from the Middle English lusch, meaning "soft or tender." 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 May 17, 2017 is: castigate • \KASS-tuh-gayt\ • verb : to subject to severe punishment, reproof, or criticism Examples: Before sentencing, the judge angrily castigated the two young defendants for their malicious act of vandalism. "You know, if [dandelions] weren't castigated as the No. 1 lawn weed, we all probably would love them. With their sunny little faces looking upward toward the sky and the strong, pointed green foliage, they really are beautiful plants." — Mary Stickley-Godinez, The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA), 24 Apr. 2017 Did you know? Castigate has a synonym in chastise. Both verbs mean to punish or to censure someone. Fittingly, both words derive from the same root: the Latin castigare, formed from the words for "pure" (castus) and "to drive" (agere). (Castus also gave us the noun caste, meaning "social class or rank.") Another verb derived from castigare is chasten, which can also mean "to discipline by punishment" but more commonly means "to subdue or make humble" (as in "chastened by his foolish error"). Castigate is the youngest of the three verbs in English, dating from the early 17th century, while chasten dates to the early 16th century and chastise has been found in use as far back as the 14th. 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 May 16, 2017 is: hoodlum • \HOOD-lum\ • noun 1 : thug; especially : a violent criminal 2 : a young ruffian Examples: The shaken couple tried to give the police an accurate physical description of the hoodlums who assailed them in the parking lot. "The iconic opening shot of director Danny Boyle's 1996 'Trainspotting' was of junkie hoodlum Mark Renton's feet pounding the pavement while he and his mates bolted down an Edinburgh street pursued by police." — Sean Burns, WBUR.org, 23 Mar. 2017 Did you know? A hoodlum can be anyone from a dangerous thug to a young person who's just up to no good. The exact origins of the word are not known, but one theory is that the word derives from hudelum, an adjective that means "disorderly" in dialects of German spoken in and around the region of Swabia. A similar-looking word for a young troublemaker is hooligan, but that word is not related to hoodlum; rather, it most likely derives from the name of Patrick Hooligan, an Irish youth purported to have wreaked havoc in the streets of Southwark, England, in the late 19th 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 May 15, 2017 is: peregrinate • \PAIR-uh-gruh-nayt\ • verb 1 : to travel especially on foot : walk 2 : to walk or travel over : traverse Examples: "All my traveling life, 40 years of peregrinating Africa, Asia, South America and Oceania, I have thought constantly of home…." — Paul Theroux, The Smithsonian Magazine, September 2009 "Hundreds of passenger trains traversed millions of miles laden with travelers increasingly accustomed to peregrinating in style and comfort." — Dave Flessner, The Chattanooga (Tennessee) Times Free Press, 27 May 2015 Did you know? We begin our narrative of the linguistic travels of peregrinate with the Latin word peregrinatus, the past participle of peregrinari, which means "to travel in foreign lands." The verb is derived from the Latin word for "foreigner," peregrinus, which was earlier used as an adjective meaning "foreign."That term also gave us the words pilgrim and peregrine, the latter of which once meant "alien" but is now used as an adjective meaning "tending to wander" and as a noun naming a kind of falcon. (The peregrine falcon is so named because it was traditionally captured during its first flight—or pilgrimage—from the nest.) 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 May 14, 2017 is: indurate • \IN-duh-rut\ • adjective : physically or morally hardened Examples: "Anne-James Chaton, his indurate mien impassive and poker-faced, stands as still and stiff as a motorway signpost…." — Robert Barry, The Quietus, 24 July 2013 "In 1940, wildcat drillers bored about 900 feet into the indurate basalt in search of natural gas; they found a little, but not enough to warrant their trouble." — The Yakima (Washington) Herald-Republic, 18 Sep. 2013 Did you know? Indurate is a hard word—in more than one way. Not only is it fairly uncommon in modern usage, but it also can be traced back to Latin durare, meaning "to harden." Durare can mean "to endure" as well, and appropriately indurate is a word that has lasted many years—it has been a part of the English language since the 14th century. Durare is also the root of other durable English words, including during, endure, duration, durance, and even durable itself. In addition, indurate can be a verb meaning "to make or grow hard," "to make unfeeling, stubborn, or obdurate," and "to establish firmly." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.