Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 22, 2013 is: antic • \AN-tik\ • adjective 1 : characterized by clownish extravagance or absurdity 2 : frolicsome Examples: As the movie progresses the characters become involved in a series of antic misadventures, each one funnier and more absurd than the last. "Yet the star of the memoir may be Ms. Rockefeller's mother, Peggy, who battled depression and the exigencies of her role as a Rockefeller wife with an antic wit and a passion for rural life, both of which qualities she worked hard to instill in her children." - From a book review by Penelope Green in The New York Times, September 11, 2013 Did you know? When Renaissance Italians began exploring the ancient Roman ruins around them, they discovered fantastic mural paintings that they called "grottesca" (which means "grotesques," a name given to the paintings because they were found in caves, or "grotte"). Because they were so old, the murals were also called "antichi," or "ancient things." English speakers adopted "antichi," modifying it to "antike" or "anticke," and eventually any behavior or dress reminiscent of the kind depicted in the Roman murals became known as an "antic." Within 20 years of its earliest recorded uses as a noun, "antic" began appearing as an English adjective. Originally, it meant "grotesque" or "bizarre" (a sense now considered archaic), but today it means "playful, funny, or absurd" and the noun means "an often wildly playful or funny act." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 21, 2013 is: asseverate • \uh-SEV-uh-rayt\ • verb : to affirm or declare positively or earnestly Examples: "I will myself asseverate and bind it by an oath, that the muff thou bearest in thy hand belongeth unto Madam Sophia; for I have frequently observed her, of later days, to bear it about her." - From Henry Fielding’s 1749 novel Tom Jones "And as the dinner progressed, the fire she had shone on the floor at the United Nations ignited: 'You stick to your guns.' Only one other person fortified me with advice like that, Lady Thatcher, who asseverated, 'If you have nothing else you have your principles.'" - From an article by R. Emmett Tyrell, Jr. in the New York Sun, December 15, 2006 Did you know? Sharing writing advice in a 2001 article in the New York Times, the novelist Elmore Leonard wrote that he "had to stop reading to get the dictionary" when he encountered "she asseverated" instead of "she said" in a work by Mary McCarthy. We say with all seriousness that "asseverate" is a fancy word meaning "to assert or declare." It was formed in Latin from the prefix "ad-" ("to, toward") and the verb "severare," a relative of the adjective "severus," meaning "serious or severe." Nowadays "asseverate" is rare, used mostly, as Mr. Leonard found out, by those who like to show off their vocabularies. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 20, 2013 is: parol • \PAIR-ul\ • noun : word of mouth : oral communication Examples: Mrs. Bridesworth had an agreement by parol with her tenant for the monthly rent, but no written lease. "One tenant in common cannot grant by deed, nor can he demise by deed or by parol, anything more than his undivided interest in the estate…." - From Massachusetts Landlord-Tenant Law, Volume 11, Second Edition, 2012 Did you know? Since the 18th century, "parol" has been pretty much confined to oral contracts and the realm of law. No longer is anyone likely to refer to the "sweet parols" of a paramour, as in one 16th-century work. "Parol" brings to mind that other legal word, "parole." Both words lack any connection with law in their original form. They come from Latin "parabola," which means "parable" or "speech." The Latin, in turn, is from Greek "parabole," meaning "comparison." The French created two words (which we then borrowed) from "parabola": "parol," meaning "spoken words," and "parole," for "word of honor." Originally, a parole was a prisoner of war's promise to fulfill certain conditions on consideration of his release. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 19, 2013 is: in silico • \in-SIL-ih-koh\ • adverb or adjective : in or on a computer : done or produced by using computer software or simulation Examples: "Researchers claim they are creating life forms on computers, in silico creatures as truly alive as the bacteria studied in vitro." - From an article by Joshua Quittner in Newsday (New York), July 21, 1992 "Leaps in mathematics and computing power now mean that increasingly complex biological functions can now be simulated in silico instead of in vivo." - From an article by Douglas Heaven in New Scientist, March 2, 2013 Did you know? "In silico" literally means "in silicon" in New Latin, and is a nod to the importance of silicon in the creation of computer chips. (The same nod is given in the name "Silicon Valley.") "In silico," which dates only to the early 1990s, is modeled on and often contrasted with two similarly-structured terms, both of which date to the pre-computer days right around the start of the 20th century. "In vitro" means "outside the living body and in an artificial environment." (In New Latin "in vitro" means "in glass.") "In vivo" translates as "in the living" in New Latin, and is used in English to mean "in the living body of a plant or animal." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 18, 2013 is: doozy • \DOO-zee\ • noun : an extraordinary one of its kind Examples: "It should be a doozy of a year, with an aggressive ad campaign starting and work underway to take the company public," said the CEO. "The planet is a doozy, with maniacal dogs and giant scorpions, but Riddick has a keen sense of survival, so he makes a nice little life for himself and his new pet, a killer puppy." - From a movie review by Stephanie Merry in the Washington Post, September 13, 2013 Did you know? While it's often maintained that the word "doozy" derives from the "Duesenberg" in the name of the famed Duesenberg Motor Company, this is impossible on chronological grounds. "Doozy" was first recorded (in the form "dozy") in eastern Ohio in 1916, four years before the Duesenberg Motor Company began to manufacture passenger cars; the related adjective "doozy," meaning "stylish" or "splendid," is attested considerably earlier, in 1903. So where did "doozy" come from? Etymologists believe that it's an altered form of the word "daisy," which was used especially in the late 1800s as a slang term for someone or something considered the best. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 17, 2013 is: adjudicate • \uh-JOO-dih-kayt\ • verb 1 : to settle judicially 2 : to act as judge Examples: After a complaint has been filed, the panel has 30 days to adjudicate on the dispute. "Both parties should ask the state Supreme Court to hear the case directly and adjudicate it fully on the merits. The justices should accept it." - From a column by Robert Robb in the Arizona Republic, September 17, 2013 Did you know? "Adjudicate" is one of several terms that give testimony to the influence of "jus," the Latin word for "law," on our legal language. "Adjudicate" is from the Latin verb "adjudicare," from "judicare," meaning "to judge," which, in turn, traces to the Latin noun "judex," meaning "judge." English has other "judex" words, such as "judgment," "judicial," "judiciary," and "prejudice." If we admit further evidence, we discover that the root of "judex" is "jus," the word for "law." What's the verdict? Latin "law" words frequently preside in English-speaking courtrooms. In addition to the "judex" words, "jury," "justice," "injury," and "perjury" are all ultimately from Latin "jus." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 16, 2013 is: pristine • \PRISS-teen\ • adjective 1 : belonging to the earliest period or state : original 2 a : not spoiled, corrupted, or polluted (as by civilization) : pure b : in perfect condition : fresh and clean as or as if new Examples: "Our friend … had lost a great deal of his pristine timidity, and was now, especially when fortified with liquor, as talkative as might be." - From William Makepeace Thackeray's 1847-48 novel Vanity Fair "The trail does not rise for a summit view, but instead is nearly flat on top and is routed for a mile amid lush, waist-high bracken ferns below an old-growth pine forest, and aside creeks and pristine meadows with wildflowers." - From an article by Tom Stienstra in The San Francisco Chronicle, September 1, 2013 Did you know? When "pristine" was anglicized in the 16th century, people borrowed the meanings of "early" and "original" from the Latin word "pristinus" and applied those meanings to what is desirable as well as to what is not. But it has long been a tendency of civilized people to admire a simpler and unsullied past. The supposition is that when things were in their oldest or original state, they were better. Thus, "pristine" was extended to describe the notion of an unspoiled, uncorrupted, or unpolluted state. And what is unspoiled or uncontaminated may connote the freshness and cleanness of something that has just been made, which explains how "pristine" has also come to mean "fresh and clean." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 15, 2013 is: ensky • \in-SKYE\ • verb 1 : to raise in rank, power, or character 2 : to praise highly : glorify Examples: "Since his death, he has been enskied and sainted by people who put heavy emphasis on his later, serious books…." - From Robertson Davies' 2008 book Selected Works on the Pleasures of Reading "Hoisted up by the cranes of populist bombast to the platforms of great expectation, the newly enskied 104th Congress confronts an ancient problem in socioeconomics…." - From an essay by Lewis Lapham in Lights, Camera, Democracy!, March 27, 2001 Did you know? Someone who has been enskied has been raised, figuratively, as high as the sky. The "en-" prefix indicates putting something or someone into or on whatever the second part of the word indicates-in this case, the sky. Lots of words have been formed this way; some of them are quite familiar ("enthrone," "entrap"), whereas others are as high-flown as "ensky." "Enisle," for example, means "to put someone on an island," or, figuratively, "to isolate someone." "Enwomb" means "to shut one up as if in a womb." The very first, and most famous, use of "ensky" occurs in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, when Lucio tells Isabella, a novice in a convent, "I hold you as a thing enskied and sainted." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 14, 2013 is: musket • \MUSS-kut\ • noun : a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm; broadly : a shoulder gun carried by infantry Examples: "They could see changes going on among the troops. There were marchings this way and that way. A battery wheeled leisurely. On the crest of a small hill was the thick gleam of many departing muskets." - From Stephen Crane's 1895 novel The Red Badge of Courage "Redcoats and American patriots will converge on the Cantigny Parade Field twice each day, engaging in mock battles complete with cannon and musket fire. The skirmishes are narrated from the sidelines to help spectators understand the action." - From an events listing in the Chicago Tribune, September 5, 2013 Did you know? In the early era of firearms, cannons of lesser size such as the falconet were sometimes named for birds of prey. Following this pattern, Italians applied "moschetto" or "moschetta," meaning "sparrow hawk," to a small-caliber piece of ordnance in the 16th century. Spaniards borrowed this word as "mosquete" and the French as "mosquet," but applied it to a heavy shoulder firearm rather than a cannon; English "musket" was borrowed soon thereafter from French. The word "musket" was retained after the original matchlock firing mechanism was replaced by a wheel lock, and the wheel lock by the flintlock. As the practice of rifling firearms-incising the barrel with spiral grooves to improve the bullet's accuracy-became more common, "musket" gradually gave way to the newer word "rifle" in the 18th and 19th centuries. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 13, 2013 is: pecuniary • \pih-KYOO-nee-air-ee\ • adjective 1 : consisting of or measured in money 2 : of or relating to money Examples: Marcus was more than happy to water Rachel's plants while she was away and refused any pecuniary compensation for the job. "The suite has amenities like Art Deco detailing and showstopping views of Central Park, another indication that Mr. Spitzer, who is self-financing his campaign, has a pecuniary edge over Mr. Stringer…." - From an article by Michael M. Grynbaum in The New York Times, August 8, 2013 Did you know? "Pecuniary" first appeared in English in the early 16th century and comes from the Latin word "pecunia," which means "money." Both this root and Latin "peculium," which means "private property," are related to the Latin noun for cattle, "pecus." In early times, cattle were viewed as a trading commodity (as they still are in some parts of the world), and property was often valued in terms of cattle. "Pecunia" has also given us "impecunious," a word meaning "having little or no money," while "peculium" gave us "peculate," a synonym for "embezzle." In "peculium" you might also recognize the word "peculiar," which originally meant "exclusively one's own" or "distinctive" before acquiring its current meaning of "strange." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 12, 2013 is: couloir • \kool-WAHR\ • noun : a steep mountainside gorge Examples: During our helicopter tour of the mountain range, we saw several snowboarders taking on the steep terrain of the couloir. "Max and his father had a tough time getting to the top of El Diente Peak in the San Juan Mountains, resorting to ice axes and crampons to get through a couloir on the mountain." - From an article by John Aguilar in the Daily Camera (Boulder, Colorado), August 15, 2013 Did you know? "Couloir" entered English in the 19th century from French, where it literally meant "passage." The term was originally applied specifically to steep gorges in the Alps and later to similar gorges elsewhere, especially ones used by skiers as passages down mountains. Because of their narrowness and steepness, couloirs can provide even expert skiers with some of the most challenging terrain they are likely to encounter-and they can be dangerous. In fact, journalist Jim Kochevar, writing of his experiences at the Telluride ski area for the Chicago Tribune in October 1997, declared (tongue in cheek) that "Couloir is French for 'cold, narrow place to die.'" See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 11, 2013 is: sodden • \SAH-dun\ • adjective 1 a : dull or expressionless especially from continued indulgence in alcoholic beverages b : torpid, sluggish 2 a : heavy with or as if with moisture or water b : heavy or doughy because of imperfect cooking Examples: Our shoes and socks were wet from trudging across the sodden field. "But while the classic flavors were there, and the snails stayed tender, the croissant itself was sodden and insufficiently baked." - From a restaurant review by Alison Cook in The Houston Chronicle, August 21, 2013 Did you know? Nowadays, "seethed" is the past tense and past participle form of the verb "seethe" (which originally meant "to boil or stew"). Originally, however, "seethe" could also be conjugated in the past tense as "sod" and in the past participle as "sodden." By the 14th century, "sodden" had become an independent adjective synonymous with "boiled." And, by the 16th century, it had taken on the figurative sense used to describe someone who appears dull, expressionless, or stupid, particularly as a result of heavy drink. Today, "sodden" is commonly used as a synonym of "soaked" or "saturated." "Seethe" followed a different figurative path: while one who is sodden may appear dull, torpid, or sluggish, one who is "seething" is highly agitated, like a pot of boiling 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 October 10, 2013 is: corrigendum • \kor-uh-JEN-dum\ • noun : an error in a printed work discovered after printing and shown with its correction on a separate sheet Examples: The day after running the article, the newspaper printed a corrigendum stating that the actress had been born in 1971, not 1871 as indicated. "In summary, the scientific literature is self-correcting through corrigenda and through reader comments. Corrections of various kinds appear at the rate of one to two per hundred journal articles, compared to which the rate of forced retractions is negligible."- From an article by Joseph F. Grcar in American Scientist, Jan.-Feb. 2013 Did you know? If you guessed that "corrigendum" might be connected to the word "correct," you are quite right. Both "corrigendum" and "correct" derive from the Latin verb "corrigere," which means "to correct." The noun "corrigendum" and its plural "corrigenda" came to us unaltered from Latin in the early 19th century. The verb "correct" is much older; it has been part of our language since at least the 14th 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 October 9, 2013 is: nidus • \NYE-dus\ • noun 1 : a nest or breeding place; especially : a place or substance in an animal or plant where bacteria or other organisms lodge and multiply 2 : a place where something originates, develops, or is located Examples: The neighborhood had long been a nidus of crime and vice, but community policing and other interventions have done much to reduce the crime rate in recent years. "In paintings by Henri Matisse, Henri Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and abstract artist Irving Kriesberg (1919-2009), dancers become the nidus for inspiration and for expression." - From an abstract of an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, October 24, 2012 Did you know? "Nidus" literally means "nest" in Latin, and some of its relatives in English suggest this connection in a straightforward way. For example, we have "nidification," for the process of building a nest, and "nidicolous," meaning "reared in a nest." But "nidus" itself, when used as an English word, is apt to refer to a place where bacteria lodge and multiply. Consequently, the extended use of "nidus" in English often has a negative connotation, referring to a source of undesirable opinions or behaviors. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 8, 2013 is: pastiche • \pass-TEESH\ • noun 1 : a musical, literary, or artistic work that imitates the style of previous work or is made up of selections from different works 2 : hodgepodge Examples: The director's new murder mystery is a clever pastiche of the 1950s noir films he watched as a boy. "Chicano art is a pastiche of post-Mexican Revolution art blended with current-day social and political activism that borrows from the likes of Diego Rivera and the gritty, West Coast street art scene." - From a review by Kyle Roerink in the Billings Gazette (Montana), September 3, 2013 Did you know? It all began with macaroni. Our word "pastiche" is from French, but the French word was in turn borrowed from Italian, where the word is "pasticcio." "Pasticcio" is what the Italians called a kind of "macaroni pie" (from the word "pasta"). English-speakers familiar with this multilayered dish had begun to apply the name to various sorts of potpourris or hodgepodges (musical, literary, or otherwise) by the 18th century. For over a hundred years English speakers were happy with "pasticcio," until we discovered the French word "pastiche" sometime in the latter part of the 1800s. Although we still occasionally use "pasticcio" in its extended meaning, "pastiche" is now much more common. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 7, 2013 is: incarcerate • \in-KAHR-suh-rayt\ • verb 1 : to put in prison 2 : to subject to confinement Examples: Because the accused man presented a serious threat to society, the judge ordered that he remain incarcerated while he awaited trial. "In a rare instance of bipartisanship, Congress over the past year called for 'smart criminal justice reform.' To make that happen, Congress must change laws that unnecessarily incarcerate hundreds of thousands of Americans." - From an opinion piece by Bill Strizich in the Great Falls Tribune (Montana), September 9, 2013 Did you know? A criminal sentenced to incarceration may wish his or her debt to society could be canceled, but such a wistful felon might be surprised to learn that "incarcerate" and "cancel" are related. "Incarcerate" comes from "incarcerare," a Latin verb meaning "to imprison." That Latin root comes from "carcer," Latin for "prison." Etymologists think that "cancel" probably got its start when the spelling of "carcer" was modified to "cancer," which means "lattice" in Latin-an early meaning of "cancel" in English was "to mark (a passage) for deletion with lines crossed like a lattice." Aside from its literal meaning, "incarcerate" can also have a figurative application meaning "to subject to confinement," as in "people who are incarcerated in their obsessions." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 6, 2013 is: polyglot • \PAH-lee-glaht\ • adjective 1 a : speaking or writing several languages b : composed of numerous linguistic groups 2 : containing matter in several languages 3 : composed of elements from different languages 4 : widely diverse (as in ethnic or cultural origins) Examples: Merchants in the resort city are adept at serving a polyglot clientele, and most of them can converse comfortably in several languages. "[Joseph] Conrad established his name as a writer of 'sea stories,' and writing about the sea-with its polyglot crews, its cosmopolitan harbors, its passages and crossings-also meant writing about wanderers, migrants, and misfits who slipped the nets of nationalist narratives." - From a book review by Maya Jasanoff in New Republic, June 10, 2013 Did you know? You've probably run across the prefix "poly-" before-it comes from Greek and means "many" or "multi-." But what about "glot"? That part of the word comes from the Greek term "glōtta," meaning "language" or "tongue." ("Glōtta" is also the source of "glottis," the word for the space between the vocal cords.) "Polyglot" itself entered English in the 17th century, both as an adjective and as a noun meaning "one who can write or speak several languages." You could call the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V a polyglot. He claimed that he addressed his horse only in German, he conversed with women in Italian and with men in French, but reserved Spanish for his talks with God. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 5, 2013 is: sleuth • \SLOOTH\ • verb 1 : to act as a detective : search for information 2 : to search for and discover Examples: After I hung up the phone, I did some sleuthing to see if the caller's story had any credibility. "Allen, whose PhD is in classical archaeology, shadowed spies and sleuthed in archives on three continents to piece together this true account of intrigue and espionage." - From an article in The Keene Sentinel (New Hampshire), July 11, 2013 Did you know? "They were the footprints of a gigantic hound!" Those canine tracks in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles set the great Sherlock Holmes sleuthing on the trail of a murderer. It was a case of art imitating etymology. When Middle English speakers first borrowed "sleuth" from Old Norse, the term referred to "the track of an animal or person." In Scotland, a "sleuthhound" was a bloodhound used to hunt game or track down fugitives from justice. In 19th century U.S. English, "sleuthhound" became an epithet for a detective and was soon shortened to "sleuth." From there, it was only a short leap to turning "sleuth" into a verb describing what a sleuth does. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 4, 2013 is: cat's-paw • \KATS-paw\ • noun 1 : a light air that ruffles the surface of the water in irregular patches during a calm 2 : one used by another as a tool : dupe 3 : a hitch knot formed with two eyes for attaching a line to a hook Examples: "It was one of those silent, dreamy spring days when sunshine pours down upon the yet-cold earth and the earth turns in its sleep. No cloud in the sky. Not one cat's-paw of breeze." - From Esther Forbes' 1943 novel Johnny Tremain "You're no one's cat's-paw. Quit worrying that people are trying to use you for their own purposes." - From a horoscope by Jeraldine Saunders in the San Jose Mercury News (California), March 27, 2013 Did you know? Being made a cat's-paw may not only be embarrassing-it can leave you with singed fingers (or paws, as the case may be). The "dupe" sense of "cat's-paw" comes from an old fable in which a monkey uses flattery to trick a cat into taking chestnuts out of the fire where they are roasting. The cat succeeds in removing the chestnuts but also burns his paw in the process. And when the unsuspecting feline turns around, he discovers that the monkey has cracked and eaten all the nuts! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 3, 2013 is: fimbriated • \FIM-bree-ay-tud\ • adjective : having the edge or extremity bordered by slender processes : fringed Examples: "While the animal is underwater, a fimbriated tail is adaptive in preventing rolling and tends to stabilize body motion while swimming." - From Joseph F. Merritt's 2010 book The Biology of Small Mammals "The 2- to 3-foot plant blooms twice a year with pastel flowers with a beautiful fimbriated (fringed) lip." - Bruce Rogers in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News, February 23, 2008 Did you know? "Fimbriated" comes from Latin "fimbriatus," meaning "fringed." In English, "fimbriated" can function as a synonym of "fringed," and it is commonly used to describe anatomical features that are bordered by slender processes (prominent or projecting parts of an organism or organic structure). Latin "fimbriatus" is derived from "fimbria" ("fringe"). The plural of "fimbria," "fimbriae," gave rise to Vulgar Latin "frimbia" (notice the alteration of the spelling), which was then adopted by Anglo-French as "frenge." Middle English borrowed "frenge" in the 14th century, and it was this word that evolved into the modern English "fringe." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 2, 2013 is: minion • \MIN-yun\ • noun 1 : a servile dependent, follower, or underling 2 : one highly favored : idol 3 : a subordinate or petty official Examples: The senior partner joked that she'd send her faithful minions out for coffee. "There's Ruckus (Michael Mayes), whose father has recently appointed him store manager and who is happily lording his new power over his minions.…" - From a theater review by Marty Rosen in the Louisville Eccentric Observer (Kentucky), August 21, 2013 Did you know? "Minion" comes to us from Middle French and has a somewhat surprising cousin in English: "[filet mignon](/dictionary/filet mignon)." The two words are connected by way of Middle French "mignon," meaning "darling." "Minion" entered English around 1500 directly from Middle French, whereas "filet mignon" arrived significantly later by way of a Modern French phrase meaning "dainty fillet." The earliest uses of "minion" referred to someone who was a particular favorite, or darling, of a sovereign or other important personage. Over time, however, the word evolved a more derogatory sense referring to a person who is servile and unimportant. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 1, 2013 is: Rubicon • \ROO-bih-kahn\ • noun : a bounding or limiting line; especially : one that when crossed commits a person irrevocably Examples: The most talented college basketball players come up against a very difficult decision: whether to stay in college or cross the Rubicon and go pro. "Much of soccer is pantomime, after all, and we all adore a bad guy, but this week he belligerently barged his way across the Rubicon. He revealed a 'how to' list for disgruntled players who want to engineer a transfer out of their club." - From an article by Peter Simpson in the South China Morning Post, August 24, 2013 Did you know? In 49 B.C., Julius Caesar led his army to the banks of the Rubicon, a small river that marked the boundary between Italy and Gaul. Caesar knew Roman law forbade a general from leading his army out of the province to which he was assigned. By crossing the Rubicon, he would violate that law. "The die is cast," he said, wading in. That act of defiance sparked a three-year civil war that ultimately left Julius Caesar the undisputed ruler of the Roman world. It also inspired English speakers to adopt two popular sayings -"crossing the Rubicon" and "the die is cast"-centuries later. "Rubicon" has been used in English as the name of a significant figurative boundary since at least 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 September 30, 2013 is: foofaraw • \FOO-fuh-raw\ • noun 1 : frills and flashy finery 2 : a disturbance or to-do over a trifle : fuss Examples: "Marcia Edwards … turned down the offer to become dean of the College of Education because she didn't want the hassle, especially the foofaraw of being the first woman dean." - From Garrison Keillor's 2004 book Homegrown Democrat "Typical of workstations, the Z420 doesn't make much of an impression from across the room.… No lights, no mesh filters, no fancy front-panel foofaraw." - From a product review by William Van Winkle at ComputerShopper.com, June 20, 2013 Did you know? "Foofaraw" originates in the American West where it has been variously spelled as "fofaraw," "forfarraw," and "froufraw," among other spellings. In writings of the pioneer West, it names the frivolous trinkets, baubles, and gewgaws used in trade. Around the 1930s, the word's more common meaning of a fuss or brouhaha developed-probably from the to-do that showy foofaraw stirred up-and people began to settle on the spelling "foofaraw." Etymologists have speculated that this eye-catching word may have come about from a mishearing of Spanish "fanfarrón," meaning "braggart" or "boaster." French "froufrou," a word for the rustling of a woman's skirts or showy ornamentation, may have also influenced it, however. Another possible connection is the French expression "fou faraud," meaning "foolish dandy." 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 September 29, 2013 is: betwixt • \bih-TWIKST\ • adverb or preposition : between Examples: "Whatever Prabal Gurung thinks about when he is designing … he always views those inspirations from the New York crossroads betwixt uptown and downtown, historically the great divide of American fashion." - From an article by Mark Holgate in Vogue, November 2010 "The film hops back and forth from Clark's grown-up life and his Smallville, Kansas, upbringing…. Superman wrestles with his allegiances, but the quandaries of a superpowered man betwixt worlds doesn't have any real resonance." - From a film review by Jake Coyle in Ventura County Star (California), August 8, 2013 Did you know? "Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean; and so betwixt the two of them, they licked the platter clean." Perhaps you've always said "and so between the two of them" when reciting the tale of Jack Sprat and his wife. That's fine. "Betwixt" and "between" have similar origins: they both come from a combination of "be-" and related Old English roots. Both words appeared before the 12th century, but use of "betwixt" dropped off considerably toward the end of the 1600s. It survived in the phrase "betwixt and between" ("neither one thing nor the other"), which took on a life of its own in the 18th century. Nowadays "betwixt" is uncommon, but it isn't archaic; it's simply used more consciously than "between." 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 September 28, 2013 is: lucubration • \loo-kyuh-BRAY-shun\ • noun : laborious or intensive study; also : the product of such study - usually used in plural Examples: The historical archives include handwritten lucubrations from Benjamin Franklin himself. "From introspection, we are all familiar with the mental clutter, the chatter that makes up our daily life. It is a rapid fire of free associations, of jumping from one image, speech fragment or memory to the next. Late-night lucubrations are particularly prone to such erratic zigzagging." - From an article by Christof Koch at Salon.com, August 2, 2013. Did you know? Imagine someone studying through the night by the light of a dim candle or lamp. That image demonstrates perfectly the most literal sense of "lucubration." Our English word derives from the Latin verb "lucubrare," meaning "to work by lamplight." (Yes, that Latin root is related to "lux," the Latin word for "light.") In its earliest known English uses in the late 1500s and early 1600s, "lucubration" named both nocturnal study itself and a written product thereof. By the 1800s, however, the term had been broadened to refer to any intensive study (day or night), or a composition, especially a weighty one, generated as a result of such study. Nowadays, "lucubration" is most often used as a plural and implies pompous or stuffy scholarly writing. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 27, 2013 is: disparage • \dih-SPAIR-ij\ • verb 1 : to lower in rank or reputation : degrade 2 : to depreciate by indirect means (as invidious comparison) : to speak slightingly about Examples: I explained my idea to the supervisor, but he disparaged it as a waste of company resources. "Lawmakers are not allowed to use partisan language or disparage a colleague or political party in their mailings." - From an article by Katherine Skiba in the Chicago Tribune, November 28, 2011 Did you know? In Middle English, to "disparage" someone meant causing that person to marry someone of inferior rank. "Disparage" derives from the Anglo-French word "desparager," meaning "to marry below one's class." "Desparager," in turn, combines the negative prefix "des-" with "parage" ("equality" or "lineage"), which itself comes from "per," meaning "peer." The original "marriage" sense of "disparage" is now obsolete, but a closely-related sense ("to lower in rank or reputation") survives in modern English. By the 16th century, English speakers (including Shakespeare) were also using "disparage" to mean simply "to belittle." 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 September 26, 2013 is: noisome • \NOY-sum\ • adjective 1 : noxious, harmful 2 a : offensive to the senses and especially to the sense of smell b : highly obnoxious or objectionable Examples: "The streets were narrow and very dirty, the air smoky and noisome, the people mostly wretched." - From Ken Follett's 1982 novel The Man From St. Petersburg "The old photo shows the project in its last stages, when there remained nothing much but some noisome mud and a 20- to 30-foot spillway…." - From a photo caption on Providence Journal's Time Lapse blog, August 9, 2013 Did you know? "Noisome" sounds like it might be a synonym of "noisy," but it's not. Something noisome is disgusting, offensive, or harmful, often in its smell. "Noisome" does not come from "noise," but from the Middle English word "noysome," which has the same meaning as "noisome." The "noy" of "noisome" means "annoyance," and comes from Anglo-French "anui," which also means "annoyance." (As you may have already guessed, the English words "annoy" and "annoyance" are also related to "noisome.") 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 September 25, 2013 is: coffle • \KAW-ful\ • noun : a line of slaves or animals fastened together Examples: "The abolitionists understood the effect that depictions of an auction block, a slave coffle, and the tearing apart of families had upon their audience." - From Steven Deyle's 2005 book Carry Me Back "There was the very real possibility that, if captured, families would be broken up, children separated from mothers, brothers from sisters, loved ones sold and marched south in slave coffles." - From an article by John Kelly in The Washington Post, April 16, 2013 Did you know? "Coffle" comes from the Arabic "qāfila," which means "caravan" or "travelling company," though in English it has been used more specifically to refer to a group of slaves or animals chained or strung together. One of the earliest known uses of "coffle" in English is found in the explorer Mungo Park's 1799 Travels in the Interior of Africa. This was not the first time, however, that English had borrowed "qāfila." About two hundred years earlier "cafila" started appearing in print as an Anglicization of the Arabic "qāfila" to indicate a caravan or company of travelers in the Middle East and India. 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 September 24, 2013 is: hapless • \HAP-lus\ • adjective : having no luck : unfortunate Examples: The hapless cashier could not seem to get anything to work correctly that day. "Texas batted around in the ninth against Los Angeles' hapless bullpen-with help from two more stolen bases." - From an Associated Press article by Greg Beacham, August 7, 2013 Did you know? "Hapless" literally means what you'd expect it to mean: "without hap"-"hap" being another word for "fortune" or "luck." "Hap" derives from the Old Norse word for "good luck." ("Happen" and "happy" are also descendants of the same ancient root word.) English has several words to describe those lacking good fortune, including "ill-starred," "ill-fated," "unlucky," and "luckless," a word formed in parallel to "hapless" by adding the suffix "-less." "Ill-starred" suggests bringing calamity or the threat of a terrible fate ("the ill-starred year the Great Depression began"). "Ill-fated" refers only to being doomed ("the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic"). "Luckless" and "unlucky" usually apply to a person or thing notably or chronically unfortunate ("the luckless investor lost all her money" and "an unlucky man who failed at everything he tried"). 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 September 23, 2013 is: waitron • \WAY-trahn\ • noun : a person who waits tables (as in a restaurant) : waitperson Examples: The best waitrons are constantly aware of the needs of the diners at their tables without hovering over them. "No sooner were we settled than a teenaged waitron appeared with her pad and asked if we were ready to order. I pointed out that this could not be possible since we had yet to be given our menus. " - From a restaurant review by David Burton in the Dominion Post (Wellington, New Zealand), July 20, 2013 Did you know? Our earliest evidence of "waitron" in print is from 1980. The word is probably a blend of "waiter/waitress" and "-tron," a suffix that seems to allude to the machinelike impersonality of waiting tables. It may also have been influenced by "neutron," which is assumed to come from the word "neutral" and so implies the gender-neutrality of "waitron." The words "patron" and "moron" have also been suggested as possible influences on the development of this word. "Waitron" is a popular yet vaguely disparaging and somewhat informal term. A more common (albeit less colorful) gender-neutral substitute for "waiter" or "waitress" is "server." 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 September 22, 2013 is: tergiversation • \ter-jiv-er-SAY-shun\ • noun 1 : evasion of straightforward action or clear-cut statement : equivocation 2 : desertion of a cause, position, party, or faith Examples: Ken's speech was marked by tergiversation and gave few indications of where he really stood on the issue. "A man is allowed to change his mind-even in the world of politics…. All we can reasonably demand of those engaging in such tergiversations is that they have pondered deeply and, perhaps, even in a principled way about their change of position." - From an article by Dominic Lawson in The Independent (United Kingdom), August 12, 2013 Did you know? The Latin verb "tergiversari" means "to show reluctance," and it comes from the combination of "tergum," meaning "back," and "versare," meaning "to turn." "Tergiversari" gave English the noun "tergiversation" and the verb "tergiversate" ("to engage in tergiversation"). "Tergiversation" is the slightly older term, having been around since at least 1570; the first known use of "tergiversate" dates from 1590. There's also the much rarer adjective "tergiversant" ("tending to evade"), as well as the noun "tergiversator" ("one that tergiversates"). 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 September 21, 2013 is: acquiesce • \ak-wee-ESS\ • verb : to accept, comply, or submit tacitly or passively - often used with in or to Examples: The workers began to threaten a strike once it became clear that the company was unlikely to simply acquiesce to their demands. "It is an uncomfortable truth: Dictatorship often rests on a measure of consent. A people acquiesce in their own servitude, forge their own chains." - From an article by Fouad Ajami in The Wall Street Journal, August 14, 2013 Did you know? "Acquiesce" means essentially "to comply quietly," so it should not surprise you to learn that it is ultimately derived from the Latin verb "quiescere," meaning "to be quiet." It arrived in English around 1620, via the French "acquiescer," with the now obsolete sense "to rest satisfied." The earliest known recorded use of the word "acquiesce" in the sense of "to agree or comply" appeared in the writings of the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes in 1651. In his masterpiece Leviathan, Hobbes argued that people must subject themselves completely to a sovereign and should obey the teachings of the church. Encouraging his readers to adopt his position he wrote, "Our Beleefe . . . is in the Church; whose word we take, and acquiesce therein." 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 September 20, 2013 is: fraxinella • \frak-suh-NEL-uh\ • noun : a Eurasian perennial herb (Dictamnus albus) of the rue family with flowers that emit an aromatic flammable vapor in hot weather Examples: The green leaves and pink flowers of the fraxinella contrasted nicely with the silvery leaves and bright yellow flowers of the yarrow. "Few perennials don't benefit from frequent division-peonies and fraxinella (Dictammus) are rare exceptions…." - From Page Dickey's 2012 book Embroidered Ground: Revisiting the Garden Did you know? "Fraxinella" doesn't sound all that exciting-its name comes from the Latin word "fraxinus," meaning "ash tree," because its leaves resemble those of an ash tree-but two of its alternate names hint at what's unusual about the plant. Fraxinella is also called "gas plant" and "burning bush" because on a hot summer day the flowers emit a strong vapor that can be ignited. While fraxinella is native to Eurasia, Americans may see it in local gardens-so beware and keep sources of flame away from these perennials. 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 September 19, 2013 is: importune • \im-per-TOON\ • verb 1 : to urge or beg with troublesome persistence 2 : annoy, trouble Examples: A coalition of town residents, many of them cycling enthusiasts, importuned the mayor to approve funding for the construction of a new bike trail. "Obsessed with finding money to purchase the land from the Turks and finance the emigration of Europe's Jews, Herzl personally importuned everyone from the wealthy Rothschilds to the German kaiser to help him in his quest." - From a movie review by Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times, August 17, 2012 Did you know? "Importune" has many synonyms-including "beg," "entreat," "beseech," and "implore." "Beg" suggests earnestness or insistence especially in asking for a favor ("the children begged to stay up late"). "Entreat" implies an effort to persuade or to overcome resistance ("she entreated him to change his mind"). "Beseech" implies great eagerness or anxiety ("I beseech you to have mercy"), and "implore" adds to "beseech" a suggestion of greater urgency or anguished appeal ("he implored her not to leave him"). But it is "importune" that best conveys irritating doggedness in trying to break down resistance to a request and the accompanying annoyance ("the filmmakers were importuning viewers for contributions"), as it has since Middle English speakers adopted it from Anglo-French in the 15th century. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 18, 2013 is: contraption • \kun-TRAP-shun\ • noun : device, gadget Examples: My uncle fancied himself an inventor and his garage was always full of contraptions in various stages of construction. "Each week, publisher and editor Dean Coombs, 61, produces his four-page, weekly newspaper using a giant Linotype machine…. You have to admire this simple editor whose Linotype typesetting contraption, in 2013, still chugs out inch-long lines of hot type spewed from a pot of molten lead exactly as it did when first fired up in 1923." - From an article by Louis Varricchio in the Addison Eagle (Vermont), August 19, 2013 Did you know? English has a number of words that can be used as general terms for mechanical or electronic devices, including "gadget," "gizmo," "widget," and "contraption." In addition to their meaning, these four words also have a couple of other things in common. First, they are all relative newcomers to the language. The oldest, "contraption," entered the language around 1825. Second, the origins of all four are a bit of a mystery (well, "widget" is believed to be an alteration of "gadget," but the origins of "gadget" are unknown-it didn't appear in print until 1886, but is believed to have been used among sailors perhaps as far back as the mid-1800s). Today's word, "contraption," may be a blend of "contrivance" (which can be used as another synonym of "gadget"), "trap," and "invention." 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 September 17, 2013 is: gingerly • \JIN-jer-lee\ • adjective : very cautious or careful Examples: "He'd taken off his sling and stuffed it into his windbreaker pocket. Earlier, he'd said that his shoulder was already much better. He rotated it for me in a gingerly fashion." - From an article by Roger Angell in The New Yorker, March 26, 2001 "He went ahead of us with the gingerly movements of a man in pain, and I remembered Maurice had said his painkiller addiction began when he injured his back." - From Ella Barrick's 2012 book Dead Man Waltzing Did you know? Etymologists take a gingerly approach to assigning any particular origins to this word. While it might have come from the name of the spice, there's nothing concrete to back up that idea. Another conjecture is that it's related to an Old French word, "gensor," that meant "delicate." That's because in 16th century English an earlier sense of "gingerly" often referred to dancing or walking with dainty steps. Not till the 17th century did it change to apply to movements that were cautious in order to avoid being noisy or causing injury, and to a wary manner in handling or presenting ideas. Not too surprisingly, given its "-ly" ending, "gingerly" is also quite often correctly used as an adverb. One could thus say that "she rotated his shoulder gingerly." 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 September 16, 2013 is: caveat • \KAV-ee-aht\ • noun 1 a : a warning enjoining one from certain acts or practices b : an explanation to prevent misinterpretation c : a modifying or cautionary detail to be considered when evaluating, interpreting, or doing something 2 : a legal warning to a judicial officer to suspend a proceeding until the opposition has a hearing Examples: Their investment advice comes with a caveat: that the stock market is impossible to predict with absolute accuracy. "Mars One is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to put a human settlement on Mars by the year 2023. The only caveat is, it's a one-way ticket." - From a subheadline on MSN News, August 9, 2013 Did you know? You may be familiar with the old saying "caveat emptor," nowadays loosely translated as "let the buyer beware." In the 16th century, this adage was imparted as a safeguard for the seller: allow the buyer to examine the item (for example, a horse) before the sale is completed, so the seller can't be blamed if the item turns out to be unsatisfactory. "Caveat" in Latin means "let him beware" and comes from the verb "cavēre" ("to be on guard"). Perhaps you've also heard "caveat lector": "let the reader beware," a warning to take what one reads with a grain of salt. English retained "caveat" itself as a noun for something that serves to warn, explain, or caution. (The word "caution" is another descendant of "cavēre.") 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 September 15, 2013 is: orchidaceous • \or-kuh-DAY-shus\ • adjective 1 : of, relating to, or resembling the orchids 2 : showy, ostentatious Examples: The actress attended the premiere wearing an orchidaceous creation by a renowned fashion designer. "Where I am, in orchidaceous Hawaii, among squawking geese, the sun glittering on the sea.…" -Paul Theroux in answer to the question "Where would you most like to be right now?" in an interview in The Guardian (London), May 25, 2013 Did you know? In its sense first used by botanists in the 1830s, "orchidaceous" means "belonging to the family Orchidaceae"-that is, to the orchid family, a very large family of flowering plants. While the basic shape of an orchid is simple-three petals with, on many orchids, an enlarged middle petal-there is no such thing as a typical orchid. Orchids range in size from very tiny flowers on inch-high plants to flowers a foot across, and they grow in habitats from tropical rain forests to semideserts. But when people use "orchidaceous" as a synonym for "flashy" in phrases like "orchidaceous writing," "orchidaceous colors," and "orchidaceous ladies," it's the colorful, showy tropical species they have in mind-species which, as Jacob Breynius, a 17th-century German botanist, put it, "surely excite our greatest admiration." 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 September 14, 2013 is: valetudinarian • \val-uh-too-duh-NAIR-ee-un\ • noun : a person of a weak or sickly constitution; especially : one whose chief concern is his or her ill health Examples: "Einstein freely indulged his appetite for heavy German cooking; Gödel subsisted on a valetudinarian's diet of butter, baby food, and laxatives." - From an article by Jim Holt in The New Yorker, February 28, 2005 "America is not a hospice for a nation of valetudinarians, but a launching pad for those with the grit to roll up their sleeves, spit on their hands and hitch their wagon to the nearest star." - From an article by Phil Guarnieri in the Floral Park Dispatch (New York), May 11, 2012 Did you know? Oddly enough, "valetudinarian," a word for someone who is sickly (or at least thinks he or she is) comes from "valēre," a Latin word that means "to be strong" or "to be well." Most of the English offspring of "valēre" imply having some kind of strength or force-consider, for instance, "valiant," "prevail," "valor," and "value." But the Latin "valēre" also gave rise to "valetudo." In Latin, "valetudo" refers to one's state of health (whether good or bad), but by the time that root had given rise to "valetudinarian" in the early 1700s, English-speaking pessimists had given it a decidedly sickly spin. 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 September 13, 2013 is: presage • \PRESS-ij\ • verb 1 : to give an omen or warning of : foreshadow 2 : foretell, predict 3 : to make or utter a prediction Examples: The sudden gloom and ominous dark clouds clearly presaged a nasty storm. "While people debate the merits of building so high so quickly-there's evidence that tall buildings often presage an economic collapse-we wanted to take a look at other buildings that deserve browser time." - From a staff article on CNN.com, August 6th, 2013 Did you know? The verb "presage" was predated by a noun "presage," meaning "omen." Both forms derive from the Latin prefix "prae-" combined with the adjective "sagus," meaning "prophetic." "Foretell," "predict," "forecast," "prophesy," and "presage" all mean "to tell beforehand." "Foretell" applies to telling of a future event by any procedure or any source of information ("seers foretold the calamity"). "Predict" commonly implies inference from facts or accepted laws of nature ("astronomers predicted an eclipse"). "Forecast" implies anticipating eventualities and is usually concerned with probabilities ("to forecast snow"). "Prophesy" connotes inspired or mystic knowledge of the future ("prophesying a new messiah"). "Presage" may apply to suggesting a coming event or indicating its likelihood. 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 September 12, 2013 is: metonymy • \muh-TAH-nuh-mee\ • noun : a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated Examples: American journalists employ metonymy whenever they say "the White House" in place of "the president and his administration." "It's common for headline-writers to refer to the Big Three automakers-Ford, Chrysler, and GM-as 'Detroit.' But that metonymy is misleading in a very important way. The fortunes of Detroit the city are no longer tied up with the fortunes of the Big Three automakers." - From an article by Brad Plumer in The Washington Post, July 19, 2013 Did you know? When Mark Antony asks the people of Rome to lend him their ears in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, he is employing the rhetorical device known as metonymy. Derived via Latin from Greek "metonymia" (from "meta-," meaning "among, with, or after," and "onyma," meaning "name"), metonymy often appears in news articles and headlines, as when journalists use the term "crown" to refer to a king or queen. Another common example is the use of an author's name to refer to works written by that person, as in "He is studying Hemingway." Metonymy is closely related to synecdoche, which refers to the naming of a part of something to refer to the whole thing (or vice versa), as in "We hired extra hands to help us." 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 September 11, 2013 is: respite • \RESS-pit\ • noun 1 : a period of temporary delay 2 : an interval of rest or relief Examples: The station's meteorologist had predicted that the bad weather would continue throughout the week without respite. "Welcome to the Garden for Good, where 30 inmates-trained as Kansas Master Gardeners-find respite from the harsh realities of life behind bars." - From an article in the Kiowa County Signal (Greensburg, Kansas), August 14, 2013 Did you know? Originally, beginning in the late 13th century, a respite was a delay or extension asked for or granted for a specific reason-to give someone time to deliberate on a proposal, for example. Such a respite offered an opportunity for the kind of consideration inherent in the word's etymology. "Respite" traces from the Latin term "respectus," which comes from a verb meaning, both literally and figuratively, "to turn around to look at" or "to regard." By the 14th century, we had granted "respite" the sense we use most often today-"a welcome break." 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 September 10, 2013 is: itinerant • \eye-TIN-uh-runt\ • adjective : traveling from place to place; especially : covering a circuit Examples: Having worked on the band's road crew for many years, Justin had become well accustomed to the itinerant lifestyle. "His home was often visited by itinerant performers: acrobats, dancers, trainers of performing dogs, and human 'monsters', all desperately trying to make a living by touring the country."-from Sarah Bakewell's 2010 book How to Live: A Life of Montaigne. Did you know? In Latin, "iter" means "way" or "journey." That root was the parent of the Late Latin verb "itinerari," meaning "to journey." It was that verb which ultimately gave rise to today's English word for traveling types: "itinerant." The linguistic grandsire, "iter," also contributed to the development of other words in our vocabulary, including "itinerary" ("the route of a journey" and "the plan made for a journey") and "errant" ("traveling or given to traveling"). 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 September 9, 2013 is: shindig • \SHIN-dig\ • noun 1 a : a social gathering with dancing b : a usually large or lavish party 2 : fracas, uproar Examples: We're hosting a little shindig this weekend for some friends, and we hope you can attend. "However, whatever significant portion of Earth's satellite will be visible Sunday, July 21, will have to do for everyone joining in at the Hamptons Full Moon Fest shindig starting at 6 p.m." -From an article by Ian J. Stark in Newsday (Long Island), July 21, 2013 Did you know? At a glance, "shindig" appears to combine "shin" and "dig," and thus might seem to suggest a painful kick to the leg-especially when you know that one of the first senses of "shindig" in English refers to a gathering at which people dance. It is more likely, however, that "shindig" is an alteration of "shindy," which is itself the alteration of another word, "shinny," used of a variation of hockey played with a curved stick and a ball or block of wood. It's not entirely clear how the game of "shinny" gave "shindy" its first meaning (the "social gathering with dancing" meaning that is also the original meaning of "shindig"), but "shinny" remains the most likely origin. 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 September 8, 2013 is: per contra • \per-KAHN-truh\ • adverb 1 a : on the contrary b : by way of contrast 2 : as an offset Examples: I don't think this is a good plan at all; per contra, I think it's likely to cause a serious problem. "Part-time job-holding in other industries by successors to the farm business has actually worked as a detriment to sustaining the farm business because these farm people often lose their agrarian identity. Agritourism, per contra, enables producers and farm successors to find a new agrarian identity through the extension of the activity domain at the on-farm level." - From an article by Yasuo Ohe and Adriano Ciani in Tourism & Hospitality Management, December 2012 Did you know? Luca Pacioli knew a thing or two about keeping the records straight. He was a Franciscan friar and mathematician who lived during the Italian Renaissance (he was, in fact, a friend of Leonardo da Vinci), and he is called the "father of accounting" because he was the first to publish a detailed description of bookkeeping practices that are still used today. Among his other counsel, Pacioli advised merchants to keep an accurate ledger with debits entered on the left side and credits on the right. The word "per contra" calls to mind this time-honored practice of balancing items on one side of a ledger against those on the other. The term comes from Italian, and it translates literally as "by the opposite side (of the ledger)." 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 September 7, 2013 is: malapert • \mal-uh-PERT\ • adjective : impudently bold : saucy Examples: "Fair ladies, brave knights, churls, varlets, squires, scurvy knaves, men-at-arms, malapert rogues-all were merry." - From P. G. Wodehouse's 1914 short story collection The Man Upstairs and Other Stories "Of note, was her necklace, which was made up of pearls that started at about 7mm and graduated up to a 25mm monster in the middle. It was so extreme, it almost looked fake. I simply could not resist the malapert query,' those aren't real, are they?'" - From a post by Shelly Palmer at shellypalmer.com, August 11, 2005 Did you know? "Malapert" debuted in English in the 14th century, was a favorite of Shakespeare, and is still used sporadically today. The prefix "mal-," meaning "bad" or "badly" and deriving from the Latin "malus," is found in many English words, including "malevolent" and "malefactor." The second half of "malapert" comes from the Middle English "apert," meaning "open" or "frank." "Apert" further derives from the Latin word"apertus" ("open"), which gave us our noun "aperture" (meaning "an opening"). Putting the two halves together gives us a word that describes someone or something that is open or honest in a bad way-that is, a way that is bold or rude. The noun "malapert" also exists, and means "a bold or impudent person." 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 September 6, 2013 is: fomite • \FOH-myte\ • noun : an object (as a dish or an article of clothing) that may be contaminated with infectious organisms and serve in their transmission Examples: "Through a trail of infection left on fomites like credit cards, casino chips, phones, files and airport bar peanuts-feeling paranoid yet?-she starts a new plague that begins in Asia and the Midwest and soon spreads throughout the globe." - From a film review by Kathi Maio in Fantasy & Science Fiction, January/February 2012 "Smooth objects, like tongs, make better fomites than porous ones, like dollar bills, because infectious agents protrude from their surfaces and can be detached more easily." - From an article by David Owen in The New Yorker, March 4, 2013 Did you know? "Disinfectant on your hands keeps us healthier and fomites no longer foment as much disease." Australian newspaper contributor Peter Goers was likely going for alliteration when he paired up "fomite" and "foment," a verb meaning "to promote the growth or development of"-but, whether he realized it or not, the words "fomite" and "foment" are also related. "Fomite" is a back-formation of "fomites," the Latin plural of "fomes," itself a word for tinder. (Much like tinder is a catalyst of fire, a fomite can kindle disease.) "Fomes" is akin to the Latin verb "fovēre" ("to heat"), an ancestor of "foment." 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 September 5, 2013 is: etiolate • \EE-tee-uh-layt\ • verb a : to make pale b : to deprive of natural vigor : make feeble Examples: The bean plants that Grace grew for her lab project were weakened and etiolated by their lack of exposure to sunlight. "With Whistler and his quivering cohort, sure: Their etiolated pictures all but evanesce without those chunky, glistering frames. But beyond the aestheticism of the Gilded Age, I’m not sure the art here always benefits from such a surfeit of razzle-dazzle." - From an art review by Sebastian Smee in the Boston Globe, July 18, 2013 Did you know? We first started using "etiolate" in the late 1700s (borrowed from the French verb "étioler") in reference to purposely depriving growing celery of light. The word traces back to an Old French word for "straw" and is related to the Latin word for "straw" or "stalk," which is "stipula." Nowadays the term for growing veggies as pale as straw is more likely to be "blanch," which can mean "to bleach (the leaves or stalks of plants) by excluding light," among other things. "Etiolate" is more apt to refer to depriving plants in a way that is undesirable; when "etiolated," they are sickly, pale, and spindly. The figurative sense of "etiolate" ("to make pallid or feeble") appeared in the 1800s as a natural outgrowth of the original 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 September 4, 2013 is: agonistic • \ag-uh-NISS-tik\ • adjective 1 : argumentative 2 : striving for effect : strained 3 : of, relating to, or being aggressive or defensive social interaction (as fighting, fleeing, or submitting) between individuals usually of the same species Examples: "The fulsome praise in the old, residually oral, rhetoric tradition strikes persons from a high-literacy culture as insincere, flatulent, and comically pretentious. But praise goes with the highly polarized, agonistic, oral world of good and evil, virtue and vice, villains and heroes." - From Walter J. Ong's 1982 book Orality and Literacy "As the soloist is repeatedly challenged by peremptory brass, the essential agonistic tension of the concerto grows, ending with the soloist climbing to a high, and one hopes victorious peak, before a sudden cutting off." - From a symphony review by Peter McCallum in the Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), May 6, 2013 Did you know? "Agonistic" has its roots in ancient Greece-specifically in the agonistic (to use the oldest sense of the word) athletic contests called "agons" featured at public festivals. From physical conflict to verbal jousting, "agonistic" came to be used as a synonym for "argumentative" and later to mean "striving for effect" or "strained." Common current use, however, is biological, relating to confrontational interaction among animals of the same species and the responsive behaviors-such as aggression, flight, or submission-they exhibit. "Agonistic" is also sometimes used to describe an agonist muscle, a muscle that on contracting is automatically checked and controlled by an opposing muscle, that other muscle being an "antagonist." For example, during a bicep curl in weight lifting, the (contracted) bicep is the agonistic muscle and the (relaxed) triceps muscle is the antagonist. 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 September 3, 2013 is: brown study • \BROWN-STUD-ee\ • noun : a state of serious absorption or abstraction Examples: "I fell into a brown study as I walked on, and a voice at my side made me start." - From Charles Dickens's 1850 novel David Copperfield "He was staring fixedly ahead, lost in a brown study, the pupils of his eyes slightly blurred." - From Georgette Heyer 's 1958 novel Venetia Did you know? "Lack of company will soon lead a man into a brown study." Whether or not it's true, that 1532 admonition is the first known example that shows the "reverie" sense of "study" combined with "brown" (in the old and now rare sense of "gloomy"). Today, not all brown studies are "gloomy"-some are merely abstracted-but not, we hope, to the extent that provoked the editors of an encyclopedia of the 1950s to call it "a state nearly related to hypnosis and characterized by the ... arrest of bodily movement." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.