thaumaturgy - Word of the Day -01/12/16

thaumaturgy

noun

Pronunciation

THAW-muh-ter-jee

Definition

: the performance of miracles; specifically : magic

Examples

"The place is still a favourite pilgrimage, but there seems to be some doubt as to which Saint John has chosen it as the scene of his posthumous thaumaturgy; for, according to a local guide-book, it is equally frequented on the feasts of the Baptist and of the Evangelist." — Edith Wharton, Italian Backgrounds, 1905

"Indeed, so keen was the horror at the hysteria that had taken hold in Salem that the mere mention of the place was sufficient to cool any passions that looked in danger of spiraling into outmoded and dangerous thaumaturgy." — Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 16 Dec. 2011

Did You Know?

The magic of thaumaturgy is miraculous. The word, from a Greek word meaning "miracle working," is applicable to any performance of miracles, especially by incantation. It can also be used of things that merely seem miraculous and unexplainable, like the thaumaturgy of a motion picture's illusions (aka "movie magic"), or the thaumaturgy at work in an athletic team's "miracle" comeback. In addition to thaumaturgy, we also have thaumaturge and thaumaturgist, both of which mean "a performer of miracles" or "a magician," and the adjective thaumaturgic, meaning "performing miracles" or "of, relating to, or dependent on thaumaturgy."

Test Your Vocabulary

Unscramble the letters to create a noun that can refer to a magic spell or an exciting and attractive quality: RAOGLUM.


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soporific - Word of the Day - 30/11/16

soporific

adjective

Pronunciation

sah-puh-RIFF-ik

Definition

1 a : causing or tending to cause sleep
b : tending to dull awareness or alertness
2 : of, relating to, or marked by sleepiness or lethargy

Examples

The soporific effects of the stuffy classroom and the lecturer's droning voice left more than one student fighting to stay awake.

"The prose sparkles at every turn, but that's not to say it's without flaws. Some entire chapters … struck me as wholly soporific." — Andrew Ervin, The Washington Post, 13 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

"It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is 'soporific.' I have never felt sleepy after eating lettuces; but then I am not a rabbit." In The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies by Beatrix Potter, the children of Benjamin Bunny were very nearly done in by Mr. McGregor because they ate soporific lettuces that put them into a deep sleep. Their near fate can help you recall the history of soporific. The term traces to the Latin noun sopor, which means "deep sleep." (That root is related to somnus, the Latin word for sleep and the name of the Roman god of sleep.) French speakers used sopor as the basis of soporifique, which was probably the model for the English soporific.

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to create a synonym of soporific: s _ _ m _ er _ _ s.

Merriam-Webster

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cabbage - Word of the Day - 29/11/16

cabbage

verb

Pronunciation

 KAB-ij

Definition

: steal, filch

Examples

"When these ruffians were in a relatively mild mood they were content to chase us off the diamond, but when their glands were flowing freely they also cabbaged our bats, balls and gloves." — H. L. Mencken, Happy Days, 1940

"More and more people are trying to get their 'news' free from online sources, unreliable as some of these fly-by-night wanna-bes are. In truth, the information is usually cabbaged from the website (or the print edition) of the local paper." — Kim Poindexter, The Tahlequah (Oklahoma) Daily Press, 24 Aug. 2015

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to create a synonym of the verb cabbage: _ l _ m.

Merriam-Webster

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vicissitude - Word of the Day - 28/11/16

vicissitude

noun

Pronunciation

 vuh-SISS-uh-tood
 

Definition

1 : the quality or state of being changeable : mutability
2 a : a favorable or unfavorable event or situation that occurs by chance : a fluctuation of state or condition
b : a difficulty or hardship usually beyond one's control

Examples

"The vicissitudes of life strike us all. But when life gets difficult for the poor, economically or emotionally, or most often both at once, it can pitch them into complete chaos." — The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 22 Aug. 2016

"A good coach on tour is at once a friend and a taskmaster, a psychologist and an emotional buffer against the vicissitudes of competing at the highest level of the game." — Geoff Macdonald, The New York Times, 1 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

"Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better," wrote British theologian Richard Hooker in the 16th century. That observation may shed some light on vicissitude, a word that can refer simply to the fact of change, or to an instance of it, but that often refers specifically to hardship or difficulty brought about by change. To survive "the vicissitudes of life" is thus to survive life's ups and downs, with special emphasis on the downs. Vicissitude is a descendant of the Latin noun vicis, meaning "change" or "alternation," and it has been a part of the English language since the 16th century. In contemporary usage, it most often occurs in the plural.

Quiz

What descendant of vicis can mean "experienced or felt by watching, hearing about, or reading about someone else"?

Merriam-Webster

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dynasty - Word of the Day - 27/11/16

dynasty

noun

Pronunciation

 DYE-nuh-stee

Definition

1 : a succession of rulers of the same line of descent
2 : a powerful group or family that maintains its position for a considerable time

Examples

"A scion of the Patterson-Medill publishing dynasty (her great-grandfather and her father founded the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News, respectively), [Alicia] Patterson launched Newsday in 1940, on Long Island, quickly building it from a small suburban daily to an influential national paper." — Jocelyn Hannah, The New Yorker, 12 Sept. 2016

"Mark down 2016 as the year the Republican Party under a new standard-bearer divorced itself from the Bush dynasty." — Dan Janison, Newsday (New York), 10 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

Dynast and dynasty both descend from the Greek verb dynasthai, which means "to be able" or "to have power." Dynasty came to prominence in English first; it has been part of our language since at least the 14th century. Dynast took its place in the linguistic family line in the early 1600s, and it has been used to describe sovereigns and other rulers ever since.

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to create a noun meaning "ruler": p _ t _ n _ at _.

Merriam-Webster

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wistful - Word of the Day - 26/11/16

Today's thought
Something to think about
Today's Quote
Stop. Think about this
Thought for the Today
Quote of the Day
For a better life
The Way for contentment
For peace in the world.
Insight
Dan Su
Today's topic for discussion
Discussion topic


Quote of the Day - 26/11/16

Ever since happiness heard your name, it’s been running through the streets trying to find you

Hafiz

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wistful - Word of the Day - 26/11/16

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Today's Word
Word of the Day
wistful
What is the meaning of  wistful
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wistful

adjective

Pronunciation

WIST-ful

Definition

1 : full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy; also : inspiring such yearning
2 : musingly sad : pensive

Examples

As the car pulled away, Lea cast one last wistful glance at the house where she'd spent so many happy years.

"The book left me in wistful reverie, envisioning that shimmering pond and a rugged, robust old gentleman in his 'herringbone suit' and jaunty wide-brimmed straw hat, sitting on a three-legged wooden chair in front of an easel, his brushes flying." — Elfrieda Abbe, The Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 11 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

Are you yearning to know the history of wistful? If so, we can ease your melancholy a little by telling you that wistful comes from a combination of wishful and wistly, a now obsolete word meaning "intently." We can't say with certainty where wistly came from, but it may have sprung from whistly, an old term meaning "silently" or "quietly." How did the supposed transition from a word meaning "quietly" to one meaning "intently" come about? That's something to muse about, but the answer isn't known.

Test Your Vocabulary

What noun begins with "n" and refers to a wistful yearning for some past period?

Merriam-Webster

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genteel - Word of the Day - 25/11/16

genteel

adjective

Pronunciation

jen-TEEL

Definition

1 a : of or relating to the gentry or upper class
b : elegant or graceful in manner, appearance, or shape
c : free from vulgarity or rudeness : polite
2 : marked by false delicacy, prudery, or affectation

Examples

"The Hamptons, once so genteel, with their sepulchral light and estates hidden behind neatly groomed hedges, have managed to become a nexus of social life, … where openings and charity galas and club nights fill the summer calendar." — Marisa Meltzer, Town & Country, 1 Aug. 2016

"At this preternaturally elegant new French restaurant …, the waitstaff keeps things lively with cheeky repartee. On arrival one late-summer evening, a man, having located his party, said to the host, 'I'm with them,' and was met with a genteel retort: 'As you should be.'" — Shauna Lyon, The New Yorker, 26 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

In Roman times, the Latin noun gens was used to refer to a clan, a group of related people. Its plural gentes was used to designate all the people of the world, particularly non-Romans. An adjective form, gentilis, applied to both senses. Over time, the adjective was borrowed and passed through several languages. It came into Old French as gentil, a word that then meant "high-born" (in modern French it means "nice"); that term was carried over into Anglo-French, where English speakers found and borrowed it in the early 17th century.

Name That Synonym

Unscramble the letters to create a synonym of genteel meaning "polite":

Merriam-Webster

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riddle - Word of the Day - 24/11/16

riddle

noun

Pronunciation

RID-ul

Definition

1 : a mystifying, misleading, or puzzling question posed as a problem to be solved or guessed : conundrum, enigma

2 : something or someone difficult to understand

Examples

Despite Nick's outgoing nature, he doesn't share many details about his background and personal life, so he remains something of a riddle.

"Stewart's books are for children who like mysteries and riddles, and there are many scenes where readers hold their breath in suspense." — Clara Martin, The Clarion-Ledger, 16 Oct. 2016

Quiz

Here's a riddle for you—what word begins with "k" and ends in "d," descends from Old English rǣdan, and refers to a person's relatives?

Merriam-Webster

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impute - Word of the Day - 23/11/16

impute

verb

Pronunciation

im-PYOOT

Definition

1 : to lay the responsibility or blame for often falsely or unjustly
2 : to credit to a person or a cause

Examples

"Now, one comment in reaction to my essay said that by talking about the city's problems and not its promise, I was in the business of tearing down Syracuse. At LeMoyne, I was taught that the most dangerous thing to do in argument was to impute motives to your opponent." — Carl Schramm, Forbes.com, 4 Mar. 2013

"The CAS panel concluded that Sharapova's case 'was not about an athlete who cheated.' Instead, the panel found, 'It was only about the degree of fault that can be imputed to a player for her failure to make sure that the substance contained in a product she had been legally taking over a long period … remained in compliance." — Tom Perrotta, The Wall Street Journal, 4 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

Impute is a somewhat formal word that is used to suggest that someone or something has done or is guilty of something. It is similar in meaning to such words as ascribe and attribute, though it is more likely to suggest an association with something that brings discredit. When we impute something, we typically impute it to someone or something. You may also encounter the related noun imputation, which appears in such contexts as "I deny all your imputations of blame." Another sense of impute means "to calculate as a value or cost (as for taxation)," as in "impute a benefit from the use of the car."

Test Your Memory

What is the meaning of the verb osculate, our October 29th Word of the Day?

Merriam-Webster

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protocol - Word of the Day - 22/11/16

protocol

noun

Pronunciation

PROH-tuh-kawl

Definition

1 : an original draft or record of a document or transaction
2 : a preliminary memorandum of diplomatic negotiation
3 : a code prescribing strict adherence to correct etiquette and precedence
4 : a set of conventions for formatting data in an electronic communications system
5 : a detailed plan of a scientific or medical experiment, treatment, or procedure

Examples

"A protocol that arose from Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, research has led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of a biological drug for the treatment of a certain form of lung cancer." — USA Today, 1 Oct. 2016

"Throughout Obama's first term, critics described him as naïve, particularly in the area of foreign relations—so ignorant of practical realities that he didn't even understand the symbolic protocols of a state visit. In 2009, when he bowed to Emperor Akihito, on a trip to Tokyo, he was referred to on the far right as 'treasonous.'" — Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

In Late Greek, the word protokollon referred to the first sheet of a papyrus roll bearing the date of its manufacture. In some instances, it consisted of a flyleaf that was glued to the outside of a manuscript's case and provided a description of its contents. Coming from the Greek prefix proto- ("first") and the noun kolla ("glue"), protokollon gave us our word protocol. In its earliest uses in the 15th century, the word referred to a prologue or preface and also to a record of a document or transaction. In the late 19th century, it began to be used in reference to the etiquette observed by the Head of State of France in ceremonies and relations with other dignitaries. This sense has since extended in meaning to cover any code of proper conduct.

Word  Quiz

What is the name of the type of artwork derived from the Greek word kolla, meaning "glue," that can also refer to a hodgepodge of things?

Merriam-Webster

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Kafkaesque - Word of the Day : November 21, 2016

Kafkaesque

adjective

Pronunciation

kahf-kuh-ESK

Definition

: of, relating to, or suggestive of Franz Kafka or his writings; especially : having a nightmarishly complex, bizarre, or illogical quality

Examples

"Dealing with the Kafkaesque health system, for example, would be enough to make anyone 'agitated, aggressive, irritable or temperamental.'" — Logan Jenkins, The San Diego Union Tribune, 27 July 2016

"I think the ultimate nightmare is for you to get into a Kafkaesque situation where you know you haven't done anything wrong . . . but for some reason you are not listened to and you are not being believed." — Lee Child, quoted in The Philadelphia Inquirer, 19 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a Czech-born German-language writer whose surreal fiction vividly expressed the anxiety, alienation, and powerlessness of the individual in the 20th century. Kafka's work is characterized by nightmarish settings in which characters are crushed by nonsensical, blind authority. Thus, the word Kafkaesque is often applied to bizarre and impersonal administrative situations where the individual feels powerless to understand or control what is happening.

Test Your Vocabulary

What is the extended meaning of Rubenesque, an adjective based on the name of Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens?

Merriam-Webster

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nictitate - Word of the Day - 20/11/16

nictitate

verb

Pronunciation

NIK-tuh-tayt

Definition

1 : to close and open quickly : to shut one eye briefly : wink

2 : to close and open the eyelids

Examples

"Dermaq's third eyelids nictitated over his corneas as though to wash away the image, and momentarily he looked away, then back at his superior." — Charles L. Harness, Firebird, 1981

"The hump shifted, raised a hairless head of chitinous scales. Almond eyes of burning gold nictitated to life. A broad chest of angular plates swelled with breath." — Ian C. Esslemont, Night of Knives, 2004

Did You Know?

Nictitate didn't just happen in the blink of an eye; it developed over time as an alteration of the older verb nictate, which also means "to wink." Both verbs trace to the Latin word for winking, nictare. The addition of the extra syllable was apparently influenced by Latin verbs ending in -itare, such as palpitare and agitare (which gave us palpitate and agitate, respectively). Today, nictitate has a special use in the animal world. Since the early 18th century, scientists have used nictitating membrane to describe the so-called "third eyelid": the thin, usually transparent membrane in the eyes of birds, fishes, and other vertebrates that helps keep the eyeball moist and clean.

Word Quiz

Fill in the blanks to create a verb that is derived from a relative of Latin nictare and that means "to secretly help someone do something dishonest or illegal": c _ n _ _ ve.

Merriam-Webster

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meshuggener - Word of the Day - 19/11/16

meshuggener

noun

Pronunciation

muh-SHUG-uh-ner

Definition

: a foolish or crazy person

Examples

"What kind of meshuggener would apply the small plates concept to Jewish comfort food, which is all about abundance and appetite?" — Tracey Macleod, The Independent (United Kingdom), 16 Dec. 2011

"Whoever decided to remake The Producers in 2005 was a meshuggener. There will certainly not be a remake of The Frisco Kid, a film from 1979—[Gene] Wilder plays a rabbi who rides into trouble in the Wild West. Don't go there!" — David Robson, The Jewish Chronicle Online, 1 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

From bagel and chutzpah to shtick and yenta, Yiddish has given English many a colorful term over the years. Meshuggener is another example of what happens when English interprets that rich Jewish language. Meshuggener comes from the Yiddish meshugener, which in turn derives from meshuge, an adjective that is synonymous with crazy or foolish. English speakers have used the adjective form, meshuga or meshugge, to mean "foolish" since the late 1800s; we've dubbed foolish folk meshuggeners since at least 1900.

Name That Synonym

What 6-letter word beginning with "t" and ending with "y" is a synonym of meshuggener and can also refer to a theatrical production that has failed?

Merriam-Webster

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lambent - Word of the Day - 18/11/16

lambent

adjective

Pronunciation

LAM-bunt

Definition

1 : playing lightly on or over a surface : flickering
2 : softly bright or radiant
3 : marked by lightness or brilliance especially of expression

Examples

"It's an early May morning and the air is cool and still and filled with lambent light." — Christopher Norment, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 4 May 2015

"There's nothing like the swell of a powerful pipe organ in the right room. You can feel the lowest pedal notes in your stomach, or the lambent whisper of the tiniest pipes, with their delicate, shimmering sound." — T. R. Goldman, The Washington Post, 31 July 2016

Did You Know?

Fire is frequently associated with lapping or licking imagery: flames are often described as "tongues" that "lick." Lambent, which first appeared in English in the 17th century, is a part of this tradition, coming from lambens, the present participle of the Latin verb lambere, meaning "to lick." In its earliest uses, lambent meant "playing lightly over a surface," "gliding over," or "flickering." These uses were usually applied to flames or light, and by way of that association, the term eventually came to describe things with a radiant or brilliant glow, as Alexander Pope used it in his 1717 poem "Eloisa to Abelard": "Those smiling eyes, attemp'ring ev'ry ray, Shone sweetly lambent with celestial day."

Test Your Memory

What is the meaning of colubrine, our October 19th Word of the Day?

Merriam-Webster

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obfuscate - Word of the Day - 17/11/16

obfuscate

verb

Pronunciation

AHB-fuh-skayt

Definition

1 a : darken
b : to make obscure
2 : confuse
3 : to be evasive, unclear, or confusing

Examples

"Time and again he has shifted, shaded or obfuscated his policy positions—piling on new ideas, which sometimes didn't fit with the old." — David Fahrenthold and Katie Zezima, The Washington Post, 23 Apr. 2016

"It was the trademark of San Francisco psychedelia to never put the year on a concert poster, and to obfuscate important details." — Sam Whiting, The San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

To obfuscate something means to make it so that it isn't clear or transparent, much like dirty water makes it hard to see to the bottom of a pond. The verb shares its ob- root (meaning "over, completely") with obscure, another word that can refer to the act of concealing something or making it more difficult to see or understand. The rest of obfuscate comes from Latin fuscus, which means "dark brown" and is distantly related to our word dusk.

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to create a synonym of obfuscate: o _ n _ _ il _ te.

Merriam-Webster

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jejune - Word of the Day - 16/11/16

jejune

adjective

Pronunciation

jih-JOON

Definition

1 : lacking nutritive value
2 : devoid of significance or interest : dull
3 : juvenile, puerile

Examples

"I have not, however, been a fan of the Broadway singer … in the past, and her jejune performances here—complete with some tap dancing that belied the lyrics of 'I Got Rhythm'—did not convert me." — Anne Midgette, The Washington Post, 22 Sept. 2015

"He complains about wasting his talent 'writing songs for frogs' (he is a composer of jejune melodies for a children's television show called Mr. Bungee's Lily Pad)." — Nancy Chen, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 21 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

Starved for excitement? You won't get it from something jejune. That term derives from the Latin jejunus, which means "empty of food," "meager," or "hungry." Back in the 1600s, English speakers used jejune in senses very similar to those of its Latin parent, lamenting "jejune appetites" and "jejune morsels." Something that is meager rarely satisfies, and before long jejune was being used not only for meager meals or hunger, but for things wanting in intellectual or emotional substance. The word most likely gained its "childish" sense when people confused it with the look-alike French word jeune, which means "young."

Name That Synonym

What 4-letter synonym of jejune begins with "a" and can mean "lacking in interest" or "excessively dry"?

Merriam-Webster

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quid pro quo - Word of the Day - 15/11/16

quid pro quo

noun

Pronunciation

kwid-proh-KWOH

Definition

: something given or received for something else; also : a deal arranging such an exchange

Examples

"PA officials say they have no evidence [the employees] engaged in a quid quo pro, in which they green-light the PA's purchase of wasteful insurance policies in return for the gifts or considerations, but rather suspect they turned a blind eye to their responsibilities." — Philip Messing, The New York Post, 26 July 2013

"On the face of it, Canada's agreement to enter into talks on an extradition treaty looks a lot like a quid pro quo for the welcome release of Kevin Garratt, the Canadian missionary imprisoned on trumped-up espionage charges." — The Toronto Star, 23 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

In the early 16th century, a quid pro quo was something obtained from an apothecary. That's because when quid pro quo (New Latin for "something for something") was first used in English, it referred to the process of substituting one medicine for another—whether intentionally (and sometimes fraudulently) or accidentally. The meaning of the phrase was quickly extended, however, and within several decades it was being used for more general equivalent exchanges. These days, it often occurs in legal contexts.

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to create a synonym of quid pro quo: c _ _ m _ ta _ _ on.

Merriam-Webster

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hoke - Word of the Day -14/11/16

hoke

verb

Pronunciation

HOHK

Definition

: to give a contrived, falsely impressive, or hokey quality to — usually used with up

Examples

"Its okay that everybody looks great, though certain scenes seem hoked up. A black cat crossing the path of a motorcade about to explode feels more like Hollywood moviemaking than truth telling…." — D.J. Palladino, The Santa Barbara Independent, 10 Jan. 2013

"'Concussion' has the sober, patient earnestness of a lawyer preparing a major case—it's a dramatization of true events and occasionally hoked up in the finest Hollywood tradition, but it wants to stir you into being convinced instead of the other way around." — Ty Burr, The Boston Globe, 25 Dec. 2015

Did You Know?

Hoke is a back-formation of hokum, which was probably created as a blend of hocus-pocus and bunkum. Hokum is a word for the theatrical devices used to evoke a desired audience response. The verb hoke appeared in the early 20th century and was originally used (as it still can be today) when actors performed in an exaggerated or overly sentimental way. Today, it is often used adjectivally in the form hoked-up, as in "hoked-up dialogue." The related word hokey was coined soon after hoke to describe things that are corny or phony.

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to create an adjective that can mean "produced by humans rather than by natural forces" or "produced by special effort": fa _  _ iti  _ u _.

Merriam-Webster

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sabot - Word of the Day - 13/11/16

sabot

noun

Pronunciation

 sa-BOH

Definition

1 a : a wooden shoe worn in various European countries
b : a strap across the instep in a shoe especially of the sandal type; also : a shoe having a sabot strap
2 : a thrust-transmitting carrier that positions a missile in a gun barrel or launching tube and that prevents the escape of gas ahead of the missile
3 : a dealing box designed to hold several decks of playing cards

Examples

"The spin imparted by rifling lets slugs separate cleanly from the sabot, makes them fly true, and allows them to expand." — Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, November 2014

"The man is a venerable but unprepossessing figure; he rests his hands on a cane, he has sabots on his feet, wears cinched gaiters over his trousers and has two medals on his greatcoat." — Michael Prodger, The New Statesman, 17 June 2015

Did You Know?

The term sabot may have first been introduced into English in a 1607 translation from French: "wooden shoes," readers were informed, are "properly called sabots." The gun-related sense appeared in the mid-1800s with the invention of a wooden gizmo that kept gun shells from shifting in the gun barrel. Apparently, someone thought the device resembled a wooden shoe and named it sabot (with later generations of this device carrying on the name). Another kind of French sabot—a metal "shoe" used to secure rails to railway ties—is said to be the origin of the word sabotage, from workers destroying the sabots during a French railway strike in the early 1900s. The word sabot is probably related to savate, a Middle French word for an old shoe.

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to create a word for a clog, sandal, or overshoe with a wooden sole or metal device to elevate the foot or aid in walking in mud: pa _ t _ n.

Merriam-Webster

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facetious - Word of the Day - 12/11/16

facetious

adjective

Pronunciation

fuh-SEE-shuss

Definition

1 : joking or jesting often inappropriately : waggish

2 : meant to be humorous or funny : not serious

Examples

"My proposal to tax estates heavily is neither entirely serious nor wholly facetious." — Martha Viehmann, The Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, 17 Aug. 2016

"When I was a kid, I wanted to be a garbage man. I'm not being facetious or silly…. As a four-year-old, my room window faced the street, and I remember being mesmerized by these wild guys waking me up twice a week. They were raucous and loud, they yelled and threw things around with reckless abandon, they dangerously climbed on and hung off a large moving vehicle…." — Andy Nulman, quoted in The Globe and Mail, 11 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

Facetious—which puzzle fans know is one of the few English words containing the vowels a, e, i, o, u in order—came to English from the Middle French word facetieux, which traces to the Latin word facetia, meaning "jest." Facetia seems to have made only one other lasting contribution to the English language: facetiae, meaning "witty or humorous writings or sayings." Facetiae, which comes from the plural of facetia and is pronounced \fuh-SEE-shee-ee\ or \fuh-SEE-shee-eye\, is a far less common word than facetious, but it does show up occasionally. For example, American essayist Louis Menand used it in his 2002 book American Studies to describe the early days of The New Yorker. "The New Yorker," he wrote, "started as a hectic book of gossip, cartoons, and facetiae."

Test Your Vocabulary

What "-ism" based on the name of a Charles Dickens character in The Pickwick Papers is used to describe an expression comprising a well-known quote followed by a facetious sequel, such as "'Everyone to his own taste,' said the old woman as she kissed the cow"?

Merriam-Webster


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ukase - Word of the Day -11/11/16

ukase

noun

Pronunciation

yoo-KAYSS

Definition

1 : a proclamation by a Russian emperor or government having the force of law
2 a : a proclamation having the force of law
   b : order, command

Examples

"On December 31, 1810, the Emperor issued a ukase lifting all restrictions on exports from Russia and on imports coming by sea, while at the same time imposing a heavy tariff on goods arriving overland, most of which came from France." — James Traub, John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit, 2016

"The Department of Education has issued a ukase … on the use of exclamation marks by seven-year-olds.… Education ministers have concluded that seven-year-olds are …  unhealthily addicted to exclamation points …, and have decreed that in this summer's grammar tests for primary school pupils, sentences concluding with an exclamation point may be marked correct only if they begin with How or What." — Jane Shilling, The Daily Telegraph (London), 7 Mar. 2016

Did You Know?

English speakers adopted ukase more or less simultaneously from French (ukase) and Russian (ukaz) in the early 18th century. The word can be traced further back to the Russian verb ukazat', meaning "to show" or "to order," and its ultimate source is an ancient root that led to similar words in Latin, Sanskrit, and Old Church Slavic. A Russian ukase was a command from the highest levels of government that could not be disobeyed. But by the early 19th century, English speakers were also using ukase generally for any command that seemed to come from a higher authority, particularly one that was final or arbitrary.

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to create a synonym of ukase: r _ s _ r _ p _.

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elicit - Word of the Day - 10/11/16

elicit

verb

Pronunciation

ih-LISS-it

Definition

1 : to draw forth or bring out (something latent or potential)
2 : to call forth or draw out (as information or a response)

Examples

The announcement of the final amount raised by the charity walk elicited many cheers from the crowd.

"But the big question is whether fragments of pottery, fraying textiles and decaying manuscripts can elicit excitement these days when people are glued to technology." — Ruth Eglash, The Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

Elicit derives from the past participle of the Latin verb elicere, formed by combining the prefix e- (meaning "away") with the verb lacere, meaning "to entice by charm or attraction." It is not related to its near-homophone, the adjective illicit—that word, meaning "unlawful," traces back to another Latin verb, licēre, meaning "to be permitted." Nor is elicit related to the verb solicit, even though it sounds like it should be. Solicit derives from Latin sollicitare ("to disturb"), formed by combining the adjective sollus, meaning "whole," with the past participle of the verb ciēre, meaning "to move."

Word  Quiz

What de- verb is derived from Latin lacere and means "to give joy or satisfaction to"?

Merriam-Webster

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triptych - Word of the Day - 09/11/16

triptych

noun

Pronunciation

TRIP-tik

Definition

1 : an ancient Roman writing tablet with three waxed leaves hinged together
2 a : a picture (such as an altarpiece) or carving in three panels side by side
b : something composed or presented in three parts or sections; especially : trilogy

Examples

The panels of the triptych illustrated the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity.

"'Certain Women,' her latest film and arguably the most precise expression of [Kelly] Reichardt's vision to date, is a triptych based on three short stories by the Montana-raised author Maile Meloy." — Alice Gregory, The New York Times, 16 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

A painted or carved triptych typically has three hinged panels, and the two outer panels can be folded in towards the central one. A literary or musical triptych generally consists of three closely related or contrasting themes or parts. Triptych derives from the Greek triptychos ("having three folds"), formed by combining tri- ("three") and ptychē ("fold" or "layer"). Although triptych originally described a specific type of Roman writing tablet that had three hinged sections, it is not surprising that the idea was generalized first to a type of painting, and then to anything composed of three parts.

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to create a word for the base of an altarpiece containing decorated panels: pr _ d _ _ la.

Merriam-Webster

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bully pulpit - Word of the Day - 08/11/16

bully pulpit

noun

Pronunciation

BULL-ee-PULL-pit

Definition

: a prominent public position (as a political office) that provides an opportunity for expounding one's views; also : such an opportunity

Examples

"Candidates for governor like to make people think they set the vision. But the governor has a bully pulpit and little else. He or she may be in a position to push or prod or convene a task force or two, but nothing happens if the other players don't agree." — Jay Evensen, The Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah), 28 Sept. 2016

"Land use is a local responsibility, and the federal government has limited power to make cities build more housing. Still, the Obama administration is increasingly using the bully pulpit to tell urban progressives that if they care about income inequality, they ought to care about building more housing.'" — Kerry Cavanaugh, The Los Angeles Times, 26 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

Bully pulpit comes from the 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt, who observed that the White House was a bully pulpit. For Roosevelt, bully was an adjective meaning "excellent" or "first-rate"—not the noun bully ("a blustering, browbeating person") that's so common today. Roosevelt understood the modern presidency's power of persuasion and recognized that it gave the incumbent the opportunity to exhort, instruct, or inspire. He took full advantage of his bully pulpit, speaking out about the danger of monopolies, the nation's growing role as a world power, and other issues important to him. Since the 1970s, bully pulpit has been used as a term for an office—especially a political office—that provides one with the opportunity to share one's views.

Test Your Vocabulary

What word begins with "r" and can refer to a raised platform on a stage, the curved end of a ship's bow, or the proboscis of an insect?

Merriam-Webster

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auriferous - Word of the Day - 07/11/16

auriferous

adjective

Pronunciation

aw-RIF-uh-russ

Definition

: containing gold

Examples

The mining company has discovered many auriferous deposits throughout the region.

"Development … on the east flank of the Huachuca Mountains occurred after the 1911 discovery of a gold nugget weighing 22 ounces, probably originating from auriferous quartz veins found in the granite beds upstream." — William Ascarza, The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ), 26 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

Students in chemistry class learn that the chemical symbol for gold is Au. That symbol is based on aurum, the Latin word for the element. In the 17th century, English speakers coined auriferous by appending the -ous ending to the Latin adjective aurifer, an offspring of aurum that means "containing gold" or "producing gold." (The -fer is from ferre, a Latin verb meaning "to produce" or "to bear.") Not surprisingly, auriferous is a term that shows up in geological contexts. Some other descendants of aurum include aureate ("of a golden color" or "marked by grandiloquent style"), auric ("of, relating to, or derived from gold"), and the noun or ("the heraldic color gold or yellow").

Test Your Vocabulary

What does the term golden parachute refer to?

Merriam-Webster

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mollify - Word of the Day - 06/11/16

mollify

verb

Pronunciation

MAH-luh-fye

Definition

1 : to soothe in temper or disposition : appease
2 : to reduce the rigidity of : soften
3 : to reduce in intensity : assuage, temper

Examples

"To some extent, the delay also was intended to mollify the concerns of county leaders that police and fire service responsibilities were being shoved at them on an abrupt timetable, potentially to the detriment of affected residents." — Lawrence Specker, AL.com, 30 Aug. 2016

"If there were any doubt that Roark, with his 15 wins and top-five ERA, could be a reliable No. 2 starter if Stephen Strasburg cannot pitch in October, he has done all he could to mollify it. He has now thrown 200 innings for the first time. He still leads the league with nine starts of seven or more scoreless innings." — Chelsea Janes, The Washington Post, 21 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

Mollify, pacify, appease, and placate all mean "to ease the anger or disturbance of," although each implies a slightly different way of pouring oil on troubled waters. Pacify suggests the restoration of a calm or peaceful state, while appease implies the quieting of insistent demands by making concessions; you can appease appetites and desires as well as persons. Placate is similar to appease, but it often indicates a more complete transformation of bitterness to goodwill. Mollify, with its root in Latin mollis, meaning "soft," implies soothing hurt feelings or anger.

Name That Synonym

Unscramble the letters to create a synonym of mollify: GITTEMIA.

Merriam-Webster

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cavalcade - Word of the Day - 05/11/16

cavalcade

noun

Pronunciation

kav-ul-KAYD

Definition

1 a : a procession of riders or carriages
b : a procession of vehicles or ships
2 : a dramatic sequence or procession : series

Examples

"Giant helium balloons, beautifully decorated, horse-drawn carriages and antique cars, along with uniformed cavalcades performing their routines, will thrill parade goers." — San Antonio Magazine, 22 Apr. 2016

"In the first video released by the PAC, a cavalcade of Hollywood's finest appear to underline the importance of voting in November's election. From 'Avengers' alumni Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson … to Julianne Moore, Keegan-Michael Key, … and many more …" — Libby Hill, The Los Angeles Times, 21 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

When cavalcade was first used in English, it meant "a horseback ride" or "a march or raid made on horseback." Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, used it this way in his 1647 History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England: "He had with some Troops, made a Cavalcade or two into the West." From there came the "procession of riders" meaning and eventual applications to processions in a broader sense. Cavalcade came to English via French from the Old Italian noun cavalcata, which in turn came from an Old Italian verb, cavalcare, meaning "to go on horseback." Ultimately, these words came from the Latin word caballus, meaning "horse." The combining form –cade also appears in other words describing particular kinds of processions, such as motorcade or the less common aquacade.

Word Quiz

What word is derived from Latin caballus and can refer to a mounted soldier or can describe an offhand or careless attitude?

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dicker - Word of the Day - 04/11/16

dicker

verb

Pronunciation

 DIK-er

Definition

: to bargain

Examples

"Long before Walt Disney thought to sell toys based on his cartoon characters, [Edgar Rice] Burroughs was dickering with toy manufacturers for Tarzan tie-ins." — Tim Martin, The Telegraph (United Kingdom), 7 July 2016

"As in any divorce, the lawyers will commence dickering, mostly behind closed doors. As in any celeb divorce, the usual unnamed 'sources' will commence leaking like sieves to favored media to benefit one side or the other." — Maria Puente, USA Today, 21 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

Etymologists aren't exactly sure of the origins of the verb dicker; however, there is a probability that it arose from the bartering of animal hides on the American frontier. The basis of that theory is founded on the noun dicker, which in English can refer to a quantity of ten hides. That word is derived from decuria, the Latin word for a bundle of ten hides, and ultimately from Latin decem, meaning "ten" (to learn why the month December comes from the Latin word decem, click here). In ancient Rome, a decuria became a unit of bartering. The word entered Middle English as dyker and eventually evolved to dicker. It has been posited that the verb emerged from the bargaining between traders over dickers of hides, but not all etymologists are sold on that idea.

Name That Synonym

Unscramble the letters to create a synonym of dicker: EAGLGH.

Merriam-Webster

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echelon - Word of the Day - 03/11/16

echelon

noun

Pronunciation

ESH-uh-lahn

 Definition

1 : a steplike arrangement (as of troops or airplanes)
2 a : one of a series of levels or grades in an organization or field of activity
   b : a group of individuals at a particular level or grade in an organization

Examples

"And I think that … there are more conservatives in Hollywood than one would think in all echelons, even among the actors." — Jon Voight, speaking on the Fox News Network, 9 Sept. 2016

"There were those in the upper echelons of network news who caught a bit of that altitude sickness and thought it was their job to massage the news on behalf of a greater good only they could see." — Dalton Delan, The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts), 23 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

Echelon is a useful word for anyone who is climbing the ladder of success. It traces back to scala, a Late Latin word meaning "ladder" that was the ancestor of the Old French eschelon, meaning "rung of a ladder." Over time, the French word (which is échelon in Modern French) came to mean "step," "grade," or "level." When it was first borrowed into English in the 18th century, echelon referred specifically to a steplike arrangement of troops, but it now usually refers to a level or category within an organization or group of people.

Word  Quiz

Fill in the blanks to create a noun derived from Latin scala that refers to the act of scaling the walls of a fortification: e _ ca _ a _ e.

Merriam-Webster

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temerarious - Word of the Day - 02/11/16

temerarious

adjective

Pronunciation

tem-uh-RAIR-ee-us

Definition

: marked by temerity : rashly or presumptuously daring

Examples

"Nissan execs are proud of their new 'flagship crossover,' as they call the 2015 Murano, throwing around further clichés like 'concept car for the street' and talking about how much the interior resembles a 'lounge on wheels.' Which is by an appropriate measure less temerarious than the concept's press release, which proclaimed that designers had drawn inspiration from 'the futuristic allure of hypersonic travel.'" — Jeff Sabatini, CarandDriver.com, December 2014

"More important still—and here he is perceived as either temerarious or feckless—[Pope] Francis has departed radically from his predecessors in that he actively encourages his bishops … to speak boldly when addressing him and in assembly…." — Michael W. Higgins, The Globe and Mail, 13 Mar. 2015

Did You Know?

If you have guessed that temerarious may be related to the somewhat more common word temerity, you are correct. Temerarious was borrowed into English in the early 16th century from Latin temerarius, which in turn derives from Latin temere, meaning "blindly" or "recklessly." Temerity, which arrived in English over a century earlier, also derives from temere; another descendant is the rare word intemerate,meaning "pure" or "undefiled." Temere itself is akin to Old High German demar, Latin tenebrae, and Sanskrit tamas, all of which have associations with darkness.

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to create a synonym of temerarious: _ u _ aci _ _ s.

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