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Word of the Day
Wellerism
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 30, 2010 is:
Wellerism • \WELL-uh-riz-um\ • noun
: an expression of comparison comprising a usually well-known quotation followed by a facetious sequel
Example sentence:
My father's favorite Wellerism is "'We'll have to rehearse that,' said the undertaker as the coffin fell out of the car."
Did you know?
Sam Weller, Mr. Pickwick's good-natured servant in Charles Dickens' The Pickwick PapersK, and his father were fond of following well-known sayings or phrases with humorous or punning conclusions. For example, in one incident in the book, Sam quips, "What the devil do you want with me, as the man said, w[h]en he see the ghost?" Neither Charles Dickens nor Sam Weller invented that type of word play, but Weller's tendency to use such witticisms had provoked people to start calling them "Wellerisms" by 1839, soon after the publication of the novel.
chary
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Tue, 06/29/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 29, 2010 is:
chary • \CHAIR-ee\ • adjective
1 a : discreetly cautious: as* b : hesitant and vigilant about dangers and risks c : slow to grant, accept, or expend
Example sentence:
"And in causes both small and large, controversial and less so, he was never chary about voicing his convictions." (Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2010)
Did you know?
It was sorrow that bred the caution of "chary." In Middle English "chary" meant "sorrowful," a sense that harks back to the word's Old English ancestor "caru" (an early form of "care," and another term that originally meant "sorrow" or "grief"). In a sense switch that demonstrates that love can be both bitter and sweet, "chary" later came to mean "dear" or "cherished." That's how 16th century English dramatist George Peele used it: "the chariest and the choicest queen, That ever did delight my royal eyes." Both sorrow and affection have largely faded from "chary," however, and in Modern English the word is most often used as a synonym of either "careful" or "sparing."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
sepulchre
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Mon, 06/28/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 28, 2010 is:
sepulchre • \SEP-ul-ker\ • noun
*1 : a place of burial : tomb 2 : a receptacle for religious relics especially in an altar
Example sentence:
"The distant noises in the streets were gradually hushed; the house was quiet as a sepulchre; the dead of night was coffined in the silent city." (Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit)
Did you know?
"Sepulchre" (also spelled "sepulcher") first appeared in Middle English around the beginning of the 13th century. It was originally spelled "sepulcre," a spelling taken from Anglo-French. Like many words borrowed into English from French, "sepulchre" has roots in Latin. In Latin, "sepulchre" is "sepulcrum," a noun that is derived from the verb "sepelire," which means "to bury." "Sepultus," the past participle of "sepelire," gives us -- also by way of Anglo-French -- the related noun "sepulture," which is a synonym for "burial" and "sepulchre."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
circadian
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Sun, 06/27/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 27, 2010 is:
circadian • \ser-KAY-dee-un\ • adjective
: being, having, characterized by, or occurring in approximately 24-hour periods or cycles (as of biological activity or function)
Example sentence:
"Teenagers, like everyone else, need bright lights in the morning … to synchronize their inner, circadian rhythms with nature's cycles of day and night." (Thomas H. Maugh II, Chicago Tribune, Feb. 17, 2010)
Did you know?
Just over fifty years ago, no one talked about "circadian rhythms" -- because "circadian" hadn't even been coined yet. In 1959, a scientist formed the word from the Latin words "circa" ("about") and "dies" ("day"), and it caught on quickly. "Circadian" appeared in periodicals throughout the sixties, and appeared in a Merriam-Webster dictionary before the decade was up. Most often, it's seen and heard in the term "circadian rhythm," which refers to the inherent cycle of about 24 hours that appears to control various biological processes, such as sleep, wakefulness, and digestive activity. If you want to impress your friends, you can also use the term "circadian dysrhythmia," a fancy synonym of "jet lag."
gasconade
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Sat, 06/26/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 26, 2010 is:
gasconade • \gas-kuh-NAYD\ • noun
: bravado or exaggerated boasting
Example sentence:
"Honesty and frankness do more for the public's confidence … than extravagant boasting or supercilious gasconade." (F. Gonzalez-Crussi, The New York Times, April 7, 2002)
Did you know?
The citizens of Gascony in southwestern France have proverbially been regarded as prone to bragging. Their reputation has been immortalized in such swashbuckling literary works as Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers and Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac. Linguistically, the legend survives in the word "gascon," meaning "braggart," as well as in "gasconade" itself.
scuttlebutt
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Fri, 06/25/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 25, 2010 is:
scuttlebutt • \SKUTT-ul-butt\ • noun
: rumor, gossip
Example sentence:
After he retired, Bob regularly stopped by his old office to visit his buddies and catch up on the latest scuttlebutt.
Did you know?
Nowadays, office workers catch up on the latest scuttlebutt around the water cooler, and when they do, they are continuing a long-standing (although not necessarily honorable) tradition. That kind of gossip sharing probably also occurred on the sailing ships of yore. Back in the early 1800s, the cask containing a ship's daily supply of freshwater was called a "scuttlebutt"; that name was later applied to a drinking fountain on a ship or at a naval installation. By the early 20th century, the term for the water source was also applied to the gossip and rumors generated around it, and the latest chatter has been called "scuttlebutt" ever since.
winkle
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Thu, 06/24/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 24, 2010 is:
winkle • \WINK-ul\ • verb
*1 chiefly British : to displace, remove, or evict from a position -- usually used with out 2 chiefly British : to obtain or draw out by effort -- usually used with out
Example sentence:
"In 1483 a new English king, Richard III, tried again to winkle Henry out of Brittany, but he found that the young man was now a significant pawn on the European chessboard." (Nigel Calder, The English Channel)
Did you know?
If you have ever extracted a winkle from its shell, then you understand how the verb "winkle" came to be. The word "winkle" is short for "periwinkle," the name of a marine or freshwater snail. "Periwinkle" is ultimately derived from Latin "pina," the name of a mussel, and Old English "wincle," a snail shell. Evidently the personnel of World War I's Allied Powers found their duty of finding and removing the enemy from the trenches analogous to extracting a well-entrenched snail and began using "winkle" to describe their efforts. The action of "winkling the enemy out" was later extended to other situations, such as "winkling information out of someone."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
chatelaine
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Wed, 06/23/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 23, 2010 is:
chatelaine • \SHAT-uh-layn\ • noun
1 a : the wife of a castellan : the mistress of a château* b : the mistress of a household or of a large establishment 2 : a clasp or hook for a watch, purse, or bunch of keys
Example sentence:
"Leah sets aside her artistic career to become the perfect Swiss wife, mother and chatelaine of a massive estate." (Publisher’s Weekly, September 22, 2008)
Did you know?
The original chatelaine's domain was a castle or fort, and the chatelaine's duties were many. To complete them, she certainly needed keys. In the 18th century, the word "chatelaine" (borrowed from the French "châtelaine") took on an additional meaning in English that alluded to this: the word came to be used for a decorative clasp or hook from which chains holding a watch, purse, keys, etc. were suspended. These popular accessories evoked the bunch of keys the original chatelaine had worn of necessity.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
abdicate
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Tue, 06/22/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 22, 2010 is:
abdicate • \AB-dih-kayt\ • verb
*1 : to cast off : discard 2 : to relinquish (as sovereign power) formally 3 : to renounce a throne, high office, dignity, or function
Example sentence:
The school board has been accused of abdicating its responsibilities by failing to provide sufficient oversight of the city's schools.
Did you know?
Give it up. English includes many words for the process of throwing in the towel, especially for relinquishing a job or elected office. "Abdicate," a derivative of the prefix "ab-" (meaning "from," "away," or "off") and the Latin verb "dicare" (meaning to "proclaim"), has been used primarily for those who give up sovereign power or who evade a very serious responsibility (such as parental responsibility). "Renounce" is often used as a synonym of "abdicate," but it adds to that term the suggestion that an individual is giving up something as a sacrifice to achieve a far greater end. "Resign" is another option when you are describing a more matter-of-fact departure from a job, office, or trust.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
macerate
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Mon, 06/21/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 21, 2010 is:
macerate • \MASS-uh-rayt\ • verb
1 : to cause to waste away by or as if by excessive fasting *2 : to cause to become soft or separated into constituent elements by or as if by steeping in fluid; broadly : steep, soak 3 : to soften and wear away especially as a result of being wetted or steeped
Example sentence:
"Absinthe is made by macerating herbs and spices, including anise and fennel, with the grand wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) that gives the drink its name." (Julia Reed, Newsweek, April 12, 2010)
Did you know?
"Macerate" is derived from the Latin verb "macerare," meaning "to soften" or "to steep." That meaning was borrowed into English in 1563. However, the first English use of "macerate" refers to the wasting away of flesh especially by fasting. That use manifested itself in 1547. A few other manifestations sprouted thereafter from the word's figurative branch (e.g., Laurence Sterne (1713-1768) once wrote of "a city so macerated with expectation"); however, those extensions wilted in time. Today, the "steeping" and "soaking" senses of "macerate" saturate culinary articles (as in "macerating fruit in liquor") as well as other writings (scientific ones, for instance: "the food is macerated in the gizzard" or "the wood is macerated in the solution").
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
compadre
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Sun, 06/20/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 20, 2010 is:
compadre • \kum-PAH-dray\ • noun
: a close friend : buddy
Example sentence:
"I'm now on the Web as a lot of my compadres in journalism are right now." (Miles O'Brien, Senate Hearing (transcript), February 24, 2010)
Did you know?
In Spanish, a child's father and godfather are, to each other, "compadres" -- that is, "co-fathers." "Compadre" is also a traditional term of reverence and friendship for a man. The equivalent feminine term in Spanish is "comadre." "Compadre" and "comadre" appeared simultaneously in the work that gives us our first known use of "compadre" in English: "'Busy as common, comadre!' said Lopez as he entered, addressing the mother, 'late and early I can find you at work.' 'Yes, compadre,' was the answer." (Albert Pike, "A Mexican Tale," 1834). In English, "compadre" means "friend" and can refer to a person of either sex. "Comadre" continues to appear occasionally in English contexts, but it is not yet well enough established to merit entry in English dictionaries.
auspicious
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Sat, 06/19/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 19, 2010 is:
auspicious • \aw-SPISH-us\ • adjective
*1 : promising success : favorable 2 : fortunate, prosperous
Example sentence:
The young pitcher made an auspicious debut with eight strikeouts in his first major-league game.
Did you know?
"Auspicious" comes from Latin "auspex," which literally means "bird seer" (from the words "avis," meaning "bird," and "specere," meaning "to look"). In ancient Rome, these "bird seers" were priests, or augurs, who studied the flight and feeding patterns of birds, then delivered prophecies based on their observations. The right combination of bird behavior indicated favorable conditions, but the wrong patterns spelled trouble. The English noun "auspice," which originally referred to this practice of observing birds to discover omens, also comes from Latin "auspex." Today, the plural form "auspices" is often used with the meaning "kindly patronage and guidance."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
waterloo
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Fri, 06/18/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 18, 2010 is:
waterloo • \waw-ter-LOO\ • noun
: a decisive or final defeat or setback
Example sentence:
The senatorial candidate's misrepresentation of his military service could prove to be his waterloo.
Did you know?
The Battle of Waterloo, which occurred on June 18, 1815, has given its name to the very notion of final defeat. Why? Maybe because it ended one of the most spectacular military careers in history (Napoleon's), as well as 23 years of recurrent conflict between France and the rest of Europe. In addition, it was Napoleon's second "final defeat." He was defeated and exiled in 1814, but he escaped his confinement, returned to France, and was restored to power for three months before meeting defeat at the hands of the forces allied under the Duke of Wellington near the Belgian village of Waterloo. The word "waterloo" first appeared in casual use the following year, 1816.
asperity
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Thu, 06/17/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 17, 2010 is:
asperity • \uh-SPAIR-uh-tee\ • noun
1 : roughness *2 : harshness of manner or of temper
Example sentence:
When asked to make a contribution, Roger glared and said with asperity, "I gave at the office."
Did you know?
"Asperity" has had a rough history. It came to Modern English through Middle English (where it was spelled "asprete") by way of the Anglo-French ("asprete"), and ultimately derives from the Latin word "asper," which means "rough." Not only is "asper" the source of "asperity," but it also underlies the English word "exasperate" (in fact, you can see "asper" nestled in the midst of that word). Although it is far less common than "asperity" and "exasperate," the word "asper" itself is still occasionally used in English, too -- it functions as a synonym of "harsh," "bitter," or "stern."
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
guttersnipe
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Wed, 06/16/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 16, 2010 is:
guttersnipe • \GUTT-er-snype\ • noun
1 : a homeless vagabond and especially an outcast boy or girl in the streets of a city *2 : a person of the lowest moral or economic station
Example sentence:
"Class is the great British reality, and the more books I wrote the more [Evelyn Waugh] termed me an unregenerable guttersnipe." (Anthony Burgess, The Wilson Quarterly, Spring 1991)
Did you know?
“Unfurl yourselves under my banner, noble savages, illustrious guttersnipes,” wrote Mark Twain sometime around 1869. Twain was among the first writers to use "guttersnipe" for a young hoodlum or street urchin. In doing so, he was following a trend among writers of the time to associate "gutter" (a low area at the side of a road) with a low station in life. Other writers in the late 19th century used "guttersnipe" more literally as a name for certain kinds of snipes, or birds with long thin beaks that live in wet areas. "Gutter-bird" was another term that was used at that time for both birds and disreputable persons. And even "snipe" itself has a history as a term of opprobrium; it was used as such during Shakespeare’s day.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
edify
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Tue, 06/15/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 15, 2010 is:
edify • \ED-uh-fye\ • verb
: to instruct and improve especially in moral and religious knowledge : uplift; also : enlighten, inform
Example sentence:
"There's nothing like a film festival for renewing your faith in the medium, in the possibilities of movies to surprise, delight and edify us." (Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 1, 2010)
Did you know?
The Latin noun "aedes," meaning "house" or "temple," is the root of "aedificare," a verb meaning "to erect a house." Generations of speakers built on that meaning, and by the Late Latin period, the verb had gained the figurative sense of "to instruct or improve spiritually." The word eventually passed through Anglo-French before Middle English speakers adopted it as "edify" during the 14th century. Two of its early meanings, "to build" and "to establish," are now considered archaic; the only current sense of "edify" is essentially the same as that figurative meaning in Late Latin, "to instruct and improve in moral and religious matters."
vexillology
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Mon, 06/14/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 14, 2010 is:
vexillology • \vek-suh-LAH-luh-jee\ • noun
: the study of flags
Example sentence:
Chris first got interested in vexillology as a child after visiting a museum with a large collection of rare flags.
Did you know?
"The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history." Woodrow Wilson was speaking of the U.S. flag when he made that statement in an address in June of 1915, but those who engage in vexillology -- that is, vexillologists -- would likely find the comment applicable to any national banner. Vexillologists undertake scholarly investigations of flags, producing papers with titles such as "A Review of the Changing Proportions of Rectangular Flags since Medieval Times, and Some Suggestions for the Future." In the late 1950s, they coined "vexillology" as a name for their field of research from "vexillum," the Latin term for a square flag or banner of the ancient Roman cavalry. The adjectives "vexillologic" and "vexillological" and the noun "vexillologist" followed soon thereafter.
flagitious
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Sun, 06/13/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 13, 2010 is:
flagitious • \fluh-JISH-us\ • adjective
: marked by scandalous crime or vice : villainous
Example sentence:
"Those leading the fight against erotica distribution compiled lists of flagitious books, but tried to keep their lists confidential…." (Jay A. Gertzman, Bookleggers and Smuthounds)
Did you know?
"Flagitious" derives from the Latin noun "flagitium," meaning "shameful thing," and is akin to the Latin noun "flagrum," meaning "whip." "Flagrum" is also the source of "flagellate" ("to whip" or "to scourge"), but despite the superficial resemblance it is not the source of "flagrant," meaning "conspicuously bad." "Flagrant" and its cousins derive instead from Latin "flagrare," meaning "to burn." "Flagitious" first appeared in the late 14th century, and it was originally applied to people who were horribly criminal or wicked. These days, it can also describe intangibles, such as actions ("flagitious promiscuity"), ideas ("a flagitious notion"), and principles ("flagitious motives").
polyonymous
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Sat, 06/12/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 12, 2010 is:
polyonymous • \pah-lee-AH-nuh-mus\ • adjective
: having or known by various names
Example sentence:
Common epithets of Shiva, the polyonymous Hindu god of destruction and regeneration, are Shambhu, Shankara, Mahadeva, and Mahesha.
Did you know?
"Polyonymous" comes to us from Greek. The "poly-" part means "many," and the "-onymous" part derives from the Greek word "onoma" or "onyma," meaning "name" -- so a reasonable translation of "polyonymous" is, in fact, "having many names." There are a number of other descendants of "onoma" or "onyma" in English, including "anonymous" ("having no name"), "pseudonym" ("false name"), "eponym" (someone who lends their name to something, or a word that comes from someone’s name), and "patronymic" (a name taken from one's father). Even "name" itself is derived from the same ancient word that gave rise to Greek "onyma," making it a distant cousin of all these name-related words.
argy-bargy
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day - Fri, 06/11/2010 - 01:15
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 11, 2010 is:
argy-bargy • \ahr-jee-BAHR-jee\ • noun
: a lively discussion : argument, dispute
Example sentence:
After much argy-bargy, Paul and Hugh finally came up with a plan that satisfied them both.
Did you know?
"Argy-bargy" and its slightly older variant "argle-bargle" have been a part of British English since the second half of the 19th century. "Argy" and "argle" evolved in certain English and Scottish dialects as variant forms of "argue." As far as we can tell, "bargy" and "bargle" never existed as independent words; they only came to life with the compounds as singsong reduplications of "argy" and "argle." Some other words that can be used for a dispute in English are "squabble," "contretemps," and "donnybrook."
