vagary - Word of the Day : - 01/04/16

vagary

noun

Pronunciation

VAY-guh-ree

Definition

 - an erratic, unpredictable, or extravagant manifestation, action, or notion

Examples

The vagaries of fashion make it difficult to predict what styles will be popular a year or two from now.

"Being an attentive parent of a small family invariably means that you know, in minute detail, every quirk and vagary of your child's life." — Michael Grose, The Huffington Post, Australia, 15 Feb. 2016
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Did You Know?

In the 16th century, if you "made a vagary" you took a wandering journey, or you figuratively wandered from a correct path by committing some minor offense. If you spoke or wrote vagaries, you wandered from a main subject. These senses hadn't strayed far from their origin, as vagary is probably based on Latin vagari, meaning "to wander." Indeed, in the 16th and 17th centuries there was even an English verb vagary that meant "to wander." Nowadays, the noun vagary is mostly used in its plural form, and vagaries have more to do with unpredictability than with wandering.

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to create a word for someone who clowns around publicly: m _ _ ry–an _ r _ _.

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parry - Word of the Day : 31/03/16

parry

verb

Pronunciation

PAAR-ee

Definition

1 - to ward off a weapon or blow
2 - to evade especially by an adroit answer

Examples

The fencer skillfully parried her opponent's thrusts.

"The AMP [Accelerated Mobile Pages] technology … indirectly parries one of the main threats facing digital ad companies—the growing use of ad-blocking software in response to slow, buggy, and hard-to-use Web pages—by stopping ads from slowing down access to articles." — Jack Clark and Gerry Smith, The Boston Globe, 25 Feb. 2016

Did You Know?

Parry (which is used in fencing, among other applications) probably comes from parez, a form of the French verb parer, meaning "to guard or ward off." Its history can be compared with that of two other English words: parapet and parasol. Those two terms go back to an Italian word (parare) that means "to shield or guard." (A parapet shields soldiers and a parasol wards off the sun.) All three—parry, parapet, and parasol—can ultimately be traced to the Latin parare, meaning "to prepare." And they're not alone. Other descendants of the Latin term include apparatus, disparate, emperor, and even prepare.

Quiz

Unscramble the letters to create a verb derived from Latin parare that means "to abuse or censure severely": PEETATVUIR.

sidereal - Word of the Day : 30/03/16

sidereal

adjective

Pronunciation

sye-DEER-ee-ul

 

Definition

1  - of or relating to stars or constellations
2  - measured by the apparent motion of the stars

Examples

David's parents were so pleased by his newfound interest in sidereal phenomena that they bought him an expensive telescope for his birthday.

"Today, these various astronomical functions can mainly be found in very complicated watches…. These exceptional timekeepers are masterpieces of knowledge, technique and know-how, presenting a range of complex functions: display of sidereal time, equation of time, hours of sunrise and sunset, star charts, angular movement of the moon, phases of the moon...." — Grégory Gardinetti, CNN.com, 6 Jan. 2016

Did You Know?

In Latin, the word for a star or constellation is sidus. Latin speakers used that word to form desiderare ("from a heavenly body") and considerare ("to think about a heavenly body"), which were adopted into English as desire and consider. Sidereal, another sidus creation, was first documented in English in 1642. Thirty-four years later, an astronomer coined the phrase "sidereal year" for the time in which the earth completes one revolution in its orbit around the sun, measured with respect to the fixed stars. Not surprisingly, other sidereal measurements of time followed, including the sidereal month, the sidereal day, the sidereal hour, and even the sidereal minute.

Test Your Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks to create an adjective that describes something resembling the shape of a star: st _ _ l _ _ e.

Merriam-Webster

quorum - Word of the Day - 29/03/16

quorum

noun

Pronunciation

KWOR-um

Definition

1 -  a select group
2 - the number (such as a majority) of officers or members of a body that when duly assembled is legally competent to transact business

Examples

The organization's charter states that a quorum of at least seven board members must be present before any voting can take place.

"The City Council meeting that was supposed to continue from Tuesday night didn't happen after only one member showed up, leaving the council without a quorum." — Garrett Brnger, KSAT.com (San Antonio, Texas), 17 Feb. 2016

Did You Know?

In Latin, quorum means "of whom" and is itself the genitive plural of qui, meaning "who." At one time, Latin quorum was used in the wording of the commissions issued to justices of the peace in England. In English, quorum initially referred to the number of justices of the peace who had to be present to constitute a legally sufficient bench. That sense is now rare, but it's not surprising that quorum has come to mean both "a select group" and "the minimum people required in order to conduct business."

Quiz

Fill in the blanks to create a word formed from Latin qui that can refer to a philosophical point to be disputed or to a combination of familiar melodies: qu _ _ li _ _ t.

Merriam-Webster

undulant - Word of the Day - 25/03/16

undulant

adjective

Pronunciation

UN-juh-lunt


 Definition

1 - rising and falling in waves
2  - having a wavy form, outline, or surface

Examples

The narrow greens, pesky hazards, and undulant fairways make the golf course one of the most challenging places to play in the area.
"As the plane taxied and turned, I saw the runway rolled out before us, an undulant grey tarmac wave, swooping into and out of a substantial dip. It had been folly to come to Guernsey, I thought—and now I would pay for it with my life." — Will Self, The New Statesman, 30 Sept. 2015

Did You Know?

Unda, Latin for "wave," ripples through the history of words such as abound, inundate, redound, surround, and, of course, undulant, which first showed up in print in English around 1822. (The adjective undulate, a synonym of undulant, is almost 200 years older but rarely used today. The far more common verb undulate has several meanings including "to form or move in waves.") The meaning of undulant is broad enough to describe both a dancer's hips and a disease marked by a fever that continually waxes and wanes.

Test Your Vocabulary

Unscramble the letters to create an adjective that describes a leaf having a slightly undulating margin: PDNEAR.

Merriam-Webster

consummate - Word of the Day - 24/03/016

consummate

adjective

Pronunciation

KAHN-suh-mut

Definition

1 - complete in every detail : perfect
2  - extremely skilled and accomplished
3  - of the highest degree

Examples

Always the consummate professional, Erika has testimonials from dozens of satisfied clients on her website.

"[Daniel] Bryan, 34, loved professional wrestling, and Miami is where the consummate wrestler became a top notch WWE superstar." — Jim Varsallone, The Miami Herald, 9 Feb. 2016

Did You Know?

Consummate, which derives from the Latin verb consummare (meaning "to sum up" or "to finish"), has been used as an adjective in English since the 15th century. Some usage commentators feel the word is overused and others think it should be limited to the "perfect" sense (as in "a consummate little model of a clipper ship"), but neither of those positions is more than an opinion. All of the senses of the word are well-established and have served careful writers well for many, many years.
Name That Synonym

Unscramble the letters to create a synonym of consummate: HNIEFIDS.

Merriam-Webster

propensity - Word of the Day : 23/03/16

propensity

noun

Pronunciation

pruh-PENN-suh-tee

Definition

 - an often intense natural inclination or preference

Examples

His propensity to speak his mind makes some of his colleagues wary.

"In fact, Welch's propensity for forming partnerships along with her enthusiasm for the alliance's mission is what caught the attention of the search committee, says Anthony Crutcher, immediate past president of the alliance board." — Susan Pierce, The Chattanooga Times Free-Press, 22 Feb. 2016

Did You Know?

When it comes to synonyms of propensity, the letter "p" predominates. Proclivity, preference, penchant, and predilection all share with propensity the essential meaning of "a strong instinct or liking." Not every word that is similar in meaning to propensity begins with "p," however. Propensity comes from Latin propensus, the past participle of propendēre, a verb meaning "to incline" or "to hang forward or down." Thus leaning and inclination are as good synonyms of propensity as any of those "p"-words.

Name That Synonym

Fill in the blanks to create a synonym of propensity: a _ fe _ t _ _ n.

Merriam-Webster