rejuvenate - Word of the Day - 01/01/17

rejuvenate

verb

Pronunciation

 rih-JOO-vuh-nayt

Definition

1 : to make young or youthful again : give new vigor to
2 : to restore to an original or new state

Examples

The new arts complex and adjacent businesses have rejuvenated the city and turned downtown into a destination for visitors.

"I was drained. When I started thinking about doing another album, I had all this self-doubt. I didn't think the songs would be any good. But I pushed through, and when 'Slipstream' was so well-received, it rejuvenated me." — Bonnie Raitt, quoted in The Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2016

Did You Know?

Rejuvenate originated as a combination of the prefix re-, which means "again," with a Latin term that also gave us the words juvenile and junior—juvenis, meaning "young." Rejuvenate literally means "to make young again" and can imply a restoration of physical or mental strength or a return to a more youthful, healthy condition, as when you try to rejuvenate your skin with moisturizer. You can also rejuvenate things that are timeworn. For instance, a lackluster brand can be rejuvenated by a new marketing campaign.

Test Your Vocabulary

What word begins with "e" and is the name for a substance held to be capable of prolonging life indefinitely?

Merriam-Webster

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zeitgeist - Word of the Day - 31/12/16

zeitgeist

noun

Pronunciation

TSYTE-gyste

Definition

: (often capitalized Zeitgeist) the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era

Examples

The movie does an excellent job of capturing the zeitgeist of the dot-com boom.

"The people making the product are the same demographic as the people using the product. They don't have to rely on research and data to inform product decisions—they're just making things that they themselves want to use based on the zeitgeist of their generation." — Rachel Pasqua, quoted in Adweek, 3 Nov. 2016

Did You Know?

Scholars have long maintained that each era has a unique spirit, a nature or climate that sets it apart from all other epochs. In German, such a spirit is known as Zeitgeist, from the German words Zeit, meaning "time," and Geist, meaning "spirit" or "ghost." Some writers and artists assert that the true zeitgeist of an era cannot be known until it is over, and several have declared that only artists or philosophers can adequately explain it. We don't know if that's true, but we do know that zeitgeist has been a useful addition to the English language since at least 1835.

Test Your Vocabulary

What 4-letter word can refer to a distinctive atmosphere or impression surrounding a person or thing, or to a glow around the head of a deity or saint?


Merriam-Webster

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solicitous - Word of the Day - 30/12/16

solicitous

adjective

Pronunciation

suh-LIS-uh-tus

Definition

1 : showing attentive care or protectiveness : manifesting or expressing solicitude
2 : full of concern or fears : apprehensive
3 : meticulously careful
4 : full of desire : eager

Examples

Lyle has developed a reputation as one of the best tailors in the area because he is solicitous of his customers and their needs.

"Any given meal included a plethora of delectable choices, including barbecued ribs, schnitzel, ice cream and German chocolate cake, served up by solicitous staff." — Erica Rosenberg, The Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

If you're solicitous about learning the connections between words, you'll surely want to know about the relationship between solicitous and another word you've probably heard before—solicit. Solicitous doesn't come from solicit, but the two words are related. They both have their roots in the Latin word sollicitus, meaning "anxious." Solicitous itself came directly from this Latin word, whereas solicit made its way to English with a few more steps. From sollicitus came the Latin verb sollicitare, meaning "to disturb, agitate, move, or entreat." Forms of this verb were borrowed into Anglo-French, and then Middle English, and have survived in Modern English as solicit.

Word Quiz

Fill in the blanks to complete a noun that is derived from Latin sollicitare and refers to a relaxed and calm state: _ _ s _ uc _ _ _ ce.

Merriam-Webster

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beleaguer - Word of the Day - 29/12/16

beleaguer

verb

Pronunciation

bih-LEE-gur

Definition

1 : to cause distress to : besiege
2 : trouble, harass

Examples

Despite being beleaguered by injuries, the scrappy football team fought hard and managed to make the playoffs.

"We must work to implement reforms like the Baltimore Metropolitan Council's Plan for Sustainable Development that offer practical remedies for the extensive pockets of generational poverty that beleaguer our region." — Elijah E. Cummings, The Baltimore Sun, 22 Apr. 2016

Did You Know?

English speakers created beleaguer from the Dutch word belegeren in the 16th century. "[Military men] will not vouchsafe … to use our ancient terms belonging to matters of war, but do call a camp by the Dutch name," commented the English soldier and diplomat Sir John Smyth in 1590. The word for "camp" that he was referring to is leaguer. That term in turn comes from Dutch leger, which is one of the building blocks of belegeren (literally, "to camp around"). But neither leaguer nor beleaguer were in fact utterly foreign. Old English leger, the source of our modern lair, is related to the Dutch word. And Old English be- ("about, around"), as seen in besiege and beset, is related to the Dutch prefix be- in belegeren.

Name That Synonym

Unscramble the letters to create a synonym of beleaguer: VEBIEDL.

Merriam-Webster

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ultima - Word of the Day - 28/12/16

ultima

noun

Pronunciation

 UL-tuh-muh

Definition

: the last syllable of a word

Examples

For the last line of her poem, Sheila needed a word with an ultima that rhymed with "green," so she tried "magazine."

"A grave accent can occur only on the ultima." — Rodney J. Decker, Reading Koine Greek, 2015

Did You Know?

In Latin, ultima is the feminine form of the adjective ultimus ("farthest or last"), the superlative form of ulter, meaning "situated beyond." The ultima is the last syllable of a word; the second-to-last syllable in a word is called the penult or penultima (literally, "that which is almost last"); and the third-to-last syllable is called the antepenult or antepenultima ("that which comes before what is almost last"). The related word ultimate, while known to most people as meaning "the best or most extreme of its kind" (as in "surfers finding the ultimate wave"), has an original meaning referring to the last of something in a series.

Test Your Vocabulary

What 4-letter word begins with "c" and refers to the ending part of a piece of music?

Merriam-Webster

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veridical - Word of the Day - 27/12/16

veridical

adjective

Pronunciation

 vuh-RID-ih-kul

Definition

1 : truthful, veracious
2 : not illusory : genuine

Examples

"All psychotherapies are based on the fact that memory is not veridical, that unconscious desires and fantasies exert their force on us all.…" — Henry Kaminer, The Weekly Standard, 31 July 2000

"In this book, therefore, 'perception' is used to cover all sensory experience, whether veridical or not." — Jeffrey Gray, Consciousness: Creeping Up on the Hard Problem, 2004

Did You Know?

We'll tell only the truth here: veridical comes from the Latin word veridicus, which itself is from two other Latin words: verus, meaning "true," and dicere, meaning "to say." Verus is an ancestor of several English words, among them verity, verify, and very (which originally meant "true"). The word verdict is related to veridical on both sides of the family: it also traces back to verus and dicere. Veridical itself is the least common of the verus words. You're most likely to encounter it in contexts dealing with psychology and philosophy.

Word  Quiz

Fill in the blanks to complete this word that is derived from Latin dicere and means "of or relating to prophecy": f _ ti _ _ c.

Merriam-Webster

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Kwanzaa- Word of the Day - 26/12/16

Kwanzaa

noun

Pronunciation

 KWAHN-zuh

Definition

: an African-American cultural festival held from December 26 to January 1

Examples

A joyous family spirit pervaded the Allen family's Kwanzaa celebration as three generations came together for a delightful meal and a beautiful candle-lighting ceremony.

"The dynamic, multicultural Forces of Nature Dance Company celebrates Kwanzaa with dance, music, drumming and audience-engaging activities." — Jill Schensul, NorthJersey.com, 21 Nov. 2016

Did You Know?

In 1966, Maulana Karenga, a Black Studies professor at California State University at Long Beach, created a new holiday patterned after traditional African harvest festivals. He called it Kwanzaa, a name he took from a Swahili term that means "first fruits." The holiday, which takes place from December 26th to January 1st, was originally intended as a nonreligious celebration of family and social values. Each day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of seven principles: unity, self-determination, collective responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.

Test Your Vocabulary

What is the name of the candelabra used in celebrating Kwanzaa?

Merriam-Webster

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wassail - Word of the Day - 25/12/16

wassail

verb

Pronunciation

WAH-sul

Definition

1 : to indulge in riotous drinking : carouse
2 : (dialectal, England) to sing carols from house to house at Christmas
3 : to drink to the health or thriving of

Examples

Every year at Christmastime the magazine publishes a recipe for a traditional drink that can be used to wassail one's friends, neighbours, and family members.

"In the middle of January we come into the orchards to wassail these trees, singing their praises, and driving evil spirits from their branches with screaming and gunshots." — Pete Brown, The Apple Orchard, 2016

Did You Know?

The salutation wassail, from the Old Norse toast ves heill ("be well"), has accompanied English toast-making since the 12th century. By the 14th century, wassail was being used for the drink itself, and it eventually came to be used especially of a hot drink (of wine, beer, or cider with spices, sugar, and usually baked apples) drunk around Christmastime. This beverage warmed the stomachs and hearts of many Christmas revelers and was often shared with Christmas carolers. In the 14th century the verb wassail also came to describe the carousing associated with indulgence in the drink; later, it was used of other activities associated with wassail and the holiday season, like caroling. 17th-century farmers added cattle and trees to the wassail tradition by drinking to their health or vitality during wintertime festivities.

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to complete this adjective that means "of, relating to, or supported by charity": e _ _ em _ s _ n _ ry.


Merriam-Webster

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dreidel - Word of the Day - 24/12/16

dreidel

noun

Pronunciation

 DRAY-dul

Definition

1 : a 4-sided toy marked with Hebrew letters and spun like a top in a game of chance

2 : a children's game of chance played especially at Hanukkah with a dreidel

Examples

The adults chatted in the living room while the children amused themselves by playing dreidel.

"He has bought a range of items, including a book on the mystical Jewish practice kabbalah and a glass dreidel." — Zoe Greenberg, The New York Times, 2 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

On each of the dreidel's four sides is inscribed a Hebrew letter—nun, gimel, he, and shin—which together stands for "Nes gadol haya sham," meaning "A great miracle happened there" (in Israel, the letter pe, short for po, "here," is often used instead of shin). This phrase refers to the miracle of the small amount of oil—enough for one day—which burned for eight days in the Temple of Jerusalem. But when playing dreidel, the letters have a more utilitarian significance. The dreidel is spun and depending on which letter is on top when it lands, the player's currency—be it pennies or candy—is added to or taken from the pot. (Nun means the player does nothing; gimel means the player gets everything; he means the player gets half; and shin means the player adds to the pot.) The word dreidel was borrowed into English early in the 20th century from the Yiddish dreydl (itself from the word dreyen, which means "to turn").

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to complete this word for a child's toy that spins rapidly: _ h _ r _ ig _ _.

Merriam-Webster

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ruminate- Word of the Day - 23/12/16

ruminate

verb

Pronunciation

 ROO-muh-nayt

Definition

1 : to engage in contemplation : meditate
2 : to chew again what has been chewed slightly and swallowed : chew the cud

Examples

For her final column of the year, Francine ruminated on the subject of new beginnings.

"The presence of large forage particles or undigested grains may indicate that cows are not ruminating properly or that rumen passage rate is accelerated." — Paul Kononoff, Dairy Herd Management, 6 Apr. 2016

Did You Know?

When you ruminate, you chew something over, either literally or figuratively. Literal rumination may seem a little gross to humans, but to cows, chewing your cud (that's partially digested food brought up from the stomach for another chew) is just a natural part of life. Figurative ruminating is much more palatable to humans; that kind of deep, meditative thought is often deemed quite a worthy activity. The verb ruminate has described metaphorical chewing over since the early 1500s and actual chewing since later that same century. Our English word derives from and shares the meanings of the Latin ruminari, which in turn derives from rumen, the Latin name for the first stomach compartment of ruminant animals (that is, creatures like cows that chew their cud).

Name That Synonym

What 4-letter synonym of ruminate begins with "m" and can also mean "to grind or mix thoroughly"?

Merriam-Webster

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crepuscular - Word of the Day - 22/12/16

crepuscular

adjective

Pronunciation

krih-PUHSS-kyuh-ler

Definition

1 : of, relating to, or resembling twilight : dim
2 : occurring or active during the twilight

Examples

"After dinner they went out on the terrace for a look at the moon-misted park. Through the crepuscular whiteness the trees hung in blotted masses." — Edith Wharton, The Reef, 1912

"Rabbits are crepuscular feeders, which means they tend to leave their burrows in the twilight hours around sunset and sunrise to eat." — Joan Morris, The Mercury News (California), 24 Aug. 2016

Did You Know?

The early Romans had two words for the twilight. Crepusculum was favored by Roman writers for the half-light of evening, just after the sun sets; it is a diminutive formation based on their word for "dusky," which is creper. Diluculum was reserved for morning twilight, just before the sun rises—it is related to lucidus, meaning "bright." We didn't embrace either of these Latin nouns as substitutes for our Middle English twilight, but we did form the adjective crepuscular in the 17th century. At first, it only meant "dim" or "indistinct," often used in a figurative sense. In the 1820s, we added its special zoological sense, describing animals that are most active at twilight.

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to complete this synonym of crepuscular: v _ _ pe _ t _ _ e.

Merriam-Webster

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purlieu - Word of the Day - 21/12/16

purlieu

noun

Pronunciation

PERL-yoo

Definition

1 a : an outlying or adjacent district
   b : (plural) environs, neighborhood
2 a : a frequently visited place : haunt
   b : (plural) confines, bounds

Examples

"The boy, desperately nervous, continued to descend the zig-zag paths that would take him into the very purlieus of his father's house." — Ford Madox Ford, Last Post, 1928

"This is the biggest casino in the world…. It's open day and night, and entry is free, so there's no reason (assuming you're over 21) not to take a stroll through its gilded purlieus." — Ed Peters, The Telegraph (London), 13 Sept. 2016

Did You Know?

In medieval England, if you wished to assert the extent of your land, you might hold a ceremony called a perambulation, in which you would walk around and record your property's boundaries in the presence of witnesses. If your land bordered a royal forest, there could be some confusion about where your land started and the royal forest ended. By performing a perambulation, you could gain some degree of ownership over disputed forest tracts, although your use of them would be restricted by forest laws. Such regained forest property was called a purlewe (or as it was later spelled, purlieu), which derives from the Anglo-French word for "perambulation."

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to complete this synonym of purlieu meaning "confines": pe _ _ _ h _ r _.

Merriam-Webster

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eternize - Word of the Day - 20/12/16

eternize

verb

Pronunciation

 ih-TER-nyze

Definition

1 a : to make eternal
   b : to prolong indefinitely
2 : immortalize

Examples

The photograph eternizes the joy that Colin felt when he held his daughter in his arms for the first time.

"Sometimes it seems that Hopper (1882-1967) could have eternized almost any undistinguished moment of introspection or inaction in anyone's life. That's why his paintings can make us wonder about the opportunities for consciousness and revelation we have been blind to in ourselves." — Roberta Smith, The New York Times, 6 June 2013

Did You Know?

Eternize shows up in the works of literary greats, such as John Milton, Edmund Spenser, and Herman Melville, and it sees occasional use in modern-day sources, but it is far from common. The same can be said of its slightly longer and related synonym eternalize. Eternize is the older of the two; our earliest evidence of the word dates to 1566, while evidence of eternalize dates to 1620. But there's a third relative that predates them both, and it's far more common than either of them. That would be eternal, which has been with us since the 14th century. All three words are ultimately rooted in Latin aevum, meaning "age" or "eternity."

Word Family Quiz

Unscramble the letters to create a word derived from Latin aevum that means "of the same or equal age, antiquity, or duration": EOLCVA.

Merriam-Webster

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nosocomial - Word of the Day - 19/12/16

nosocomial

adjective

Pronunciation

nah-suh-KOH-mee-ul

Definition

: acquired or occurring in a hospital

Examples

A minor nosocomial outbreak of the disease occurred when doctors failed to diagnose the infected patient's illness in time.

"… there are things we handle a lot and never really clean. One study, for instance, found that about 95 percent of mobile phones carried by health care workers were contaminated with nosocomial bacteria." — Aaron E. Carroll, The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

Nosocomial is a word that usually occurs in formal medical contexts—specifically, in reference to hospital-acquired sickness. We hope you never encounter nosocomial as part of your own medical diagnosis, but if you do, you might want to remember that the term descends from nosocomium, the Late Latin word for "hospital." Nosocomium in turn traces to the Greek nosos, meaning "disease." That root has given English other words as well, including zoonosis ("a disease communicable from animals to humans under natural conditions") and nosology ("a classification or list of diseases" or "a branch of medical science that deals with classification of diseases").

Test Your Vocabulary

Unscramble the letters to create an adjective that is used to describe something that prevents infection: ETISAPC.

Merriam-Webster

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gallimaufry - Word of the Day - 18/12/16

gallimaufry

noun

Pronunciation

gal-uh-MAW-free

Definition

: a heterogeneous mixture : jumble

Examples

The essay collection covers a gallimaufry of subjects, from stamp collecting to Portuguese cooking.

"Upon entering the gallery, one of the first things that catches my eye is a gallimaufry of vibrant, oversized collages." — Rosalie Spear, The Las Vegas Weekly, 29 Mar. 2016

Did You Know?

If the word gallimaufry doesn't make your mouth water, it may be because you don't know its history. In the 16th century, Middle-French speaking cooks made a meat stew called galimafree. It must have been a varied dish because English speakers chose its name for any mix or jumble of things. If gallimaufry isn't to your taste, season your speech with one of its synonyms: hash (which can be a muddle of chopped meat and potatoes), hotchpotch (a stew or a hodgepodge), or potpourri (another stew turned medley).

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to complete this synonym of gallimaufry: p _ _ ti _ _ e.

Merriam-Webster

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lave - Word of the Day - 17/12/16

lave

verb

Pronunciation

 LAYV

Definition

1 a : wash, bathe
   b : to flow along or against
2 : pour

Examples

"The captain walked up past the horses holding his arm and he knelt and drank and laved water over the back of his neck with his good hand." — Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses, 1992

"On that first day she rode out to the beach on the ocean side of the island, dismounted to walk along the sand and watch the breakers lave the shore, and felt, for a moment, wholly content." — Sara Taylor, The Shore, 2015

Did You Know?

Lave is a simple, monosyllabic word that magically makes the mundane act of washing poetic. Shakespeare used it in The Taming of the Shrew when Gremio assured the father of his beloved Bianca that she would have "basins and ewers to lave her dainty hands." And in Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop, Nell "laved her hands and face, and cooled her feet before setting forth to walk again." The poetry of lave is also heard when describing water washing against the shore, or even the pouring of water. Before washing our hands of lave, we'll tell you that it comes from the same root as our word lavatory: the Latin verb lavare, meaning "to wash."

Test Your Memory

What is the meaning of nictitate, our November 20th Word of the Day?

Merriam-Webster

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impetuous - Word of the Day - 16/12/16

impetuous

adjective

Pronunciation

im-PECH-uh-wus

 Definition

1 : marked by impulsive vehemence or passion
2 : marked by force and violence of movement or action

Examples

The impetuous winds forced the hikers to postpone their expedition to the mountain's peak.

"… you care so much that you want to get it right and you're not going to indulge in either impetuous or, in some cases, manufactured responses that make good sound bites but don't produce results. The stakes are too high to play those games." — Barack Obama, quoted in The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2016

Did You Know?

When we borrowed impetuous in the late 14th century, we used it of people and their actions. About a hundred years later, we added another sense to describe physical things like wind or storms or seas—this second sense we don't use much anymore. The word comes via Anglo-French from Late Latin impetuosus, which is from impetus. Latin impetus (which of course gave us our own impetus, meaning "driving force") essentially means "assault," but it also has figurative senses ranging from "violence" to "ardor." Our impetuous has a similar range of meaning, from "violent" to "passionate." It also carries the suggestion of impulsiveness. Often, we put a light touch on the word, as when we refer—somewhat longingly, perhaps—to our "impetuous youth."

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to complete this synonym of impetuous: he _ _ y.

Merriam-Webster

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jubilee - Word of the Day - 15/12/16

jubilee

noun

Pronunciation

JOO-buh-lee

Definition

1 : (often capitalized Jubilee) a year of emancipation and restoration provided by ancient Hebrew law to be kept every 50 years by the emancipation of Hebrew slaves, restoration of alienated lands to their former owners, and omission of all cultivation of the land
2 : a special anniversary; especially : a 50th anniversary
3 : a period of time proclaimed by the Roman Catholic pope ordinarily every 25 years as a time of special solemnity
4 : a state of joy or rejoicing : jubilation
5 : a religious song of black Americans usually referring to a time of future happiness

Examples

My grandparents will be celebrating their golden jubilee this year—as Grandpa puts it, "50 years of wedded bliss and occasional blisters."

"Thousands gathered around Buckingham Palace Monday night to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's diamond jubilee with a gala concert that featured international superstars Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John and Stevie Wonder, offering music from every decade of the queen's 60-year reign." — Mackenzie Carpenter, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 5 Jun. 2012

Did You Know?

According to Leviticus, every 50th year was to be a time when Hebrew slaves were set free, lands were given back to their former owners, and the fields were not harvested. This year of liberty was announced when a ram's horn was blown. In Hebrew, that ceremonial horn was called a yōbhēl, and the celebratory year took its name from that of the horn. As the Bible was translated into other languages, the concept of the yōbhēl spread around the world, as did its name (albeit with spelling modifications). In Latin, yōbhēl was transcribed as jubilaeus (influenced by Latin jubilare, meaning "to let out joyful shouts"). French-speakers adopted the word as jubilé, and English-speakers created jubilee from the French and Latin forms.

Test Your Vocabulary

What is the name of the ram's-horn trumpet blown during Rosh Hashanah and at the end of Yom Kippur?

Merriam-Webster

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kapellmeister - Word of the Day - 14/12/16

kapellmeister

noun

Pronunciation

 kuh-PELL-mye-ster

Definition

: (often capitalized Kapellmeister) the director of a choir or orchestra

Examples

The Kapellmeister brought his hands up slowly to signal to the musicians a shift to a slower tempo.

"Schwader joined them onstage for an account of the apparently dagger-toting Johann Sebastian Bach's tussle with a bassoonist he allegedly insulted. Using a humorous German accent during dialogue, it was an amusing anecdotal introduction to the portly bewigged Kapellmeister we recognize from portraits and intricate counterpoint…." — Libby Hanssen, The Kansas City Star, 13 November 2016

Did You Know?

As you may have guessed, Kapellmeister originated as a German word—and in fact, even in English it is often (though not always) used for the director of a German choir. Kapelle once meant "choir" in German, and Meister is the German word for "master." The Latin magister is an ancestor of both Meister and master, as well as of our maestro, meaning "an eminent composer or conductor." Kapelle comes from cappella, the Medieval Latin word for "chapel." As it happens, we also borrowed Kapelle into English, first to refer to the choir or orchestra of a royal or papal chapel, and later to describe any orchestra. Kapellmeister is used somewhat more frequently than Kapelle in current English, though neither word is especially common.

Test Your Vocabulary

What is the meaning of past master?

Merriam-Webster

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hors de combat - Word of the Day - 13/12/16

hors de combat

adverb or adjective

Pronunciation

or-duh-kohng-BAH

Definition

: out of combat : disabled

Examples

The quarterback suffered a concussion in last week's game that put him hors de combat until cleared to play by the team's doctor.

"'Tis the season of software upgrades and updates. Yesterday the Windows machine took it into its head to update itself without so much as asking permission. The PC was hors de combat for an hour or so." — Terry Lane, The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

We picked up hors de combat directly from French back in the mid-18th century. Benjamin Franklin put the term to use in a 1776 letter, observing that an "arrow sticking in any part of a man puts him hors du [sic] combat till it is extracted." But you don't have to use the word as literally as Franklin did. Combat can refer to any fight or contest, not just fighting in a war. A politician who's out of the running in a political race could be declared "hors de combat," for example. But the adjective (or adverb) need not refer only to humans or animals: if you own a car, chances are your vehicle has been hors de combat at least once.

Test Your Memory

What former Word of the Day is the name for a wooden shoe or a dealing box for playing cards?

Merriam-Webster

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Methuselah - Word of the Day - 12/12/16

Methuselah

noun

Pronunciation

muh-THOO-zuh-luh

Definition

1 : an ancestor of Noah held to have lived 969 years
2 : an oversize wine bottle holding about six liters

Examples

The winery has started bottling their champagne in Methuselahs.

"People still write of the Krug 1928 as the best bottle of wine made in the last century. A bottle of it sold in 2009 for $21,200, and that wasn't a 6-liter Methuselah. It was a standard 750 milliliters of amazing." — Julie Glenn, The News-Press (Fort Myers, FL), 21 Jan. 2015

Did You Know?

What do Jeroboam, Methuselah, Salmanazar, Balthazar, and Nebuchadnezzar have in common? Larger-than-life biblical figures all, yes (four kings and a venerable patriarch), but they're all also names of oversized wine bottles. A Jeroboam is usually the equivalent of about four 750-milliliter bottles (about 3 liters). One Methuselah holds about eight standard bottles' worth, a Salmanazar 12, a Balthazar 16, and a Nebuchadnezzar a whopping 20. (Each of these terms is also sometimes styled lowercase.) No one knows who decided to use those names for bottles, but we do know that by the 1800s Jeroboam was being used for large goblets or "enormous bottles of fabulous content." It wasn't until sometime early in the 20th century that Methuselah and all the other names were chosen for specific bottle sizes.

Test Your Vocabulary

What is the name for a large wine bottle holding about 1.5 liters?

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

fillip

verb

Pronunciation

FIL-up

Definition

1 a : to strike by holding the nail of a finger against the ball of the thumb and then suddenly releasing it from that position
   b : to make a filliping motion with
2 : to project quickly by or as if by a filliping motion : snap
3 : to urge on : stimulate

Examples

As their parents finished up dinner, the two boys entertained themselves at the table by filliping crumbs into an overturned cup.

"He leaves behind a business … which senior sources say will deliver record pre-tax profits in the region of [euros] 30 million this year, filliped by strong fundraising and private client business and surging stock markets." — Róisín Burke, The Sunday Business Post (Ireland), 7 Dec. 2014

Did You Know?

Like flip and flick, fillip is considered a phonetic imitation of the sharp release of a curled-up finger aimed to strike something. Language history suggests that people were filliping in the 15th-century, well before they were flipping and flicking. Specifically, fillip describes a strike or gesture made by the sudden straightening of a finger curled up against the thumb—a motion commonly referred to as a flick. It didn't take long before the sensational stinging smartness of filliping was extended to figurative use. "I mark this in our old Mogul's wine; it's quite as deadening to some as filliping to others," observes Herman Melville's Dutch sailor of wine's "stimulating" effect in Moby Dick.

Name That Synonym

What 4-letter word is a synonym of fillip that can mean "to stimulate" or "to sharpen by rubbing on or with something"?

objurgation - Word of the Day - 10/12/16

objurgation

noun

Pronunciation

ahb-jer-GAY-shun

Definition

: a harsh rebuke

Examples

"I had early formed my opinion of him; and, in spite of Miss Murray's objurgations, was fully convinced that he was a man of strong sense, firm faith, and ardent piety, but thoughtful and stern." — Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey, 1847

"It always amazes me to sit at a sporting event and hear members of the audience shout objurgations at a pro player who has just dropped a ball or made some other error." — R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., The New York Sun, 25 Apr. 2003

Did You Know?

Objurgation traces to the Latin objurgare ("to scold or blame"), which was formed from ob- ("against") and jurgare ("to quarrel" or, literally, "to take to law"—in other words, "to bring a lawsuit"). Jur- in Latin means "law," and there are several English words related to objurgation that have legal implications, including perjury, abjure, jurisprudence, and even injury. But despite its etymological connection to the law, the word objurgation carries no legal weight. It refers to nothing more than an unusually harsh or severe scolding.

Name That Synonym

Unscramble the letters to create a synonym of objurgation: EOFPROR.

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daedal - Word of the Day - 09/12/16

daedal

adjective

Pronunciation

 DEE-dul

Definition

1 a : skillful, artistic
   b : intricate
2 : adorned with many things

Examples

The filmmaker makes daedal use of lighting effects and camera angles to create a noirish atmosphere.

"Applying makeup on trains … is not easy. That innumerable Japanese women choose to do so while commuting should, therefore, be seen as a testament to their steady hands as well as that country's steady trains. Indeed, undertaking such a daedal exercise on the Indian railway system—or any other public transport—would be foolhardy unless the intention is to emerge looking like Heath Ledger as the Joker." — The Economic Times, 29 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

You might know Daedalus as the mythological prisoner who fashioned wings of feathers and wax to escape from the island of Crete with his son Icarus. But it was as architect and sculptor, one said to have designed a labyrinth for King Minos on Crete, that he earned his name. Daedalus (from Greek daidalos) is Latin for "skillfully wrought." The same "skillful" Latin adjective gave English the adjectives daedal (in use since the 16th century) and Daedalian (or Daedalean), a synonym of daedal.

Name That Synonym

Unscramble the letters to create a synonym of daedal meaning "intricate": MIAOLCTEPC.

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qui vive - Word of the Day - 08/12/16

qui vive

noun

Pronunciation

 kee-VEEV

Definition

: alert, lookout — used in the phrase on the qui vive

Examples

"All right. Lieutenant Howard, go see how the artillery wagons are managing, and on the way tell Major Mason that I need him again. Stay on the qui vive; you may find evidence of liquor." — William T. Vollmann, The Dying Grass: A Novel of the Nez Perce War, 2015

"Pasadena Heritage staged its Colorado Street Bridge Party July 16, and Police Chief Phillip Sanchez was clearly on the qui vive at the entrance to the bridge." — Patt Diroll, The Pasadena Star News, 24 July 2016

Did You Know?

When a sentinel guarding a French castle in days of yore cried, "Qui vive?," your life depended upon your answer. The question the sentinel was asking was "Long live who?" The correct answer was usually something like "Long live the king!" Visitors not answering the question this way were regarded as suspect, and so to be "on the qui vive" meant to be on the alert or lookout, and qui vive came to mean "alert" or "lookout" soon afterward. Nowadays, the term is most often used in the phrase "on the qui vive," meaning "on the lookout."

Test Your Vocabulary

What is the name for the enclosed lookout platform on a ship's mast?

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bamboozle - Word of the Day - 07/12/16

bamboozle

verb

Pronunciation

bam-BOO-zul

Definition

1 : to deceive by underhanded methods : dupe, hoodwink
2 : to confuse, frustrate, or throw off thoroughly or completely

Examples

"Some consumers are so bamboozled by slick sales talk that they pay extra for amazingly bad deals. Just one example, a $49.99, four-year service plan on a DVD player that sells for $39.99." — Mike McClintock, The Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2009

"We agree with those who filed the suits challenging the wording of the ballot question. We believe it is deceitful—and deliberately so, designed to bamboozle voters into thinking they are voting on a minor issue that simply codifies existing law instead of adding five years to a judge's term." — The Philadelphia Daily News, 10 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

In 1710, Irish author Jonathan Swift wrote an article on "the continual Corruption of our English Tongue" in which he complained of "the Choice of certain Words invented by some pretty Fellows." Among the inventions Swift disliked were bamboozle, bubble (a dupe), put (a fool), and sham. (Perhaps he objected to the use of sham as a verb; he himself had used the adjective meaning "false" a couple of years previously.) What all these words appear to have in common is a connection to the underworld as jargon of criminals. Other than that, the origin of bamboozle remains a mystery, but the over-300-year-old word has clearly defied Swift's assertion that "All new affected Modes of Speech . . . are the first perishing Parts in any Language."

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to complete this synonym of bamboozle: h _ r _ s _ og _ _ e.

Merriam-Webster

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salient - Word of the Day - 06/12/16

salient

adjective

Pronunciation

 SAIL-yunt

Definition

1 : moving by leaps or springs : jumping
2 : jetting upward
3 : standing out conspicuously : prominent; especially : of notable significance

Examples

The speech was filled with so much twisted rhetoric that it was hard to identify any salient points.

"Among the projects: … an $18 million makeover of Freedom Hall, substantial new meeting and storage space, a new ballroom and a new $70 million exhibit hall…. Those were the salient recommendations of a new master plan for the Kentucky Exposition Center…." — Sheldon Shafer, The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), 28 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

Salient first popped up in English in the 16th century as a term of heraldry meaning "rampant but leaning forward as if leaping." By the mid-17th century, it had leaped into more general use in the senses of "moving by leaps or springs" or "spouting forth." Those senses aren't too much of a jump from the word's parent, the Latin verb salire, which means "to leap." Salire also occurs in the etymologies of some other English words, including somersault and sally, as well as Salientia, the name for an order of amphibians that includes frogs, toads, and other notable jumpers. Today, salient is usually used to describe things that are physically prominent (such as a salient nose) or that stand out figuratively (such as the salient features of a painting or the salient points in an argument).

Word Family Quiz

Fill in the blanks to create an adjective derived from Latin salire that can mean "marked by lack of definite plan, regularity, or purpose": d _ _ u _ t _ _ y.

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ziggurat - Word of the Day - 05/12/16

ziggurat

noun

Pronunciation

 ZIG-uh-rat

Definition

: an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top; also : a structure or object of similar form

Examples

"The building itself is certainly distinctive: The bronze-meshed ziggurat moves upwards toward the sky and into the light." — Lisa Benton-Short, GWToday (gwtoday.gwu.edu, George Washington University), 10 Oct. 2016

"The opulence remains in Barbara de Limburg's expansive sets, but the dramatic point is the contrast of the family's poverty with the consumerist rapacity suggested by the Witch's lair—not the usual gumdrop-bedecked gingerbread house but a towering ziggurat of brightly packaged junk food…." — Gavin Borchart, The Seattle Weekly, 19 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

French professor of archaeology François Lenormant spent a great deal of time poring over ancient Assyrian texts. In those cuneiform inscriptions, he recognized a new language, now known as Akkadian, which proved valuable to the understanding of ancient Mesopotamian civilization. Through his studies, he became familiar with the Akkadian word for the towering Mesopotamian temples: ziqqurratu. In 1877 he came out with Chaldean Magic, a scholarly exposition on the mythology of the Chaldeans, an ancient people who lived in what is now Iraq. In his work, which was immediately translated into English, he introduced the word ziggurat to the modern world in his description of the ziggurat of the Iraqi palace of Khorsabad.

Test Your Vocabulary

Unscramble the letters to create the name for a temple tower found in eastern Asia: ADOAGP.

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muckrake - Word of the Day - 04/12/16

muckrake

verb

Pronunciation

 MUCK-rayk

Definition

: to search out and publicly expose real or apparent misconduct of a prominent individual or business

Examples

Arn is an aggressive reporter, never afraid to ask difficult questions, hound evasive sources, or muckrake when things appear suspect.

"From his groundbreaking days of editing the iconic liberal magazines Ramparts and Scanlan's Monthly in the 1960s and '70s to his reliably irreverent columns for newspapers …, Mr. [Warren] Hinckle delighted in tweaking anyone in charge of anything and muckraking for what he fiercely saw as the common good." — Kevin Fagan, The San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Aug. 2016

Did You Know?

The noun muckrake (literally, a rake for muck, i.e., manure) rose out of the dung heap and into the realm of literary metaphor in 1684. That's when John Bunyan used it in Pilgrim's Progress to represent man's preoccupation with earthly things. "The Man with the Muckrake," he wrote, "could look no way but downward." In a 1906 speech, President Teddy Roosevelt recalled Bunyan's words while railing against journalists he thought focused too much on exposing corruption in business and government. Roosevelt called them "the men with the muck-rakes" and implied that they needed to learn "when to stop raking the muck, and to look upward." Investigative reporters weren't insulted; they adopted the term muckraker as a badge of honour. And soon English speakers were using the verb muckrake for the practice of exposing misconduct.

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to create a verb meaning "to expose to shame or blame by means of falsehood or misrepresentation": _ ra _ u _ e.

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vulpine - Word of the Day -03/12/16

vulpine

adjective

Pronunciation

 VUL-pine

Definition

1 : of, relating to, or resembling a fox
2 : foxy, crafty

Examples

"There is something Gatsby-esque about the whole story. [Bernie] Madoff is a clear proxy for Meyer Wolfsheim, the vulpine, self-satisfied criminal seducer." — Daniel Gross, Newsweek, 12 Jan. 2009

"Flashing a vulpine grin, he's not a typical hunk—but like Casanova, a maestro of stylish manners and clever entrapment, an incorrigible cad proud of his powers of improvisational manipulation." — Misha Berson, The Seattle Times, 30 Oct. 2016

Did You Know?

In Walden (1854), Henry David Thoreau described foxes crying out "raggedly and demoniacally" as they hunted through the winter forest, and he wrote, "Sometimes one came near to my window, attracted by my light, barked a vulpine curse at me, and then retreated." Thoreau's was far from the first use of vulpine; English writers have been applying that adjective to the foxlike or crafty since at least the 15th century, and the Latin parent of our term, vulpinus (from the noun vulpes, meaning "fox"), was around long before that.

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to create a word for a young carnivorous mammal, like the dog or fox: _ h _ l _.

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