Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 27, 2012 is: intestine • \in-TESS-tin\  • adjective : internal; specifically : of or relating to the internal affairs of a state or country Examples: News reports of intestine disagreements between the country's two most powerful political factions led to murmurings that the country was on the precipice of civil war. "Last week U.N. Secretary General Ban...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 26, 2012 is: plage • \PLAHZH\  • noun 1 : the beach of a seaside resort 2 : a bright region on the sun caused by the light emitted by clouds of calcium or hydrogen and often associated with a sunspot Examples: "Vying with Aquitaine for diversity within a single region, the Rhône-Alpes take you from plage to peak via a millennia or two of communities wonde...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 25, 2012 is: florid • \FLOR-id\  • adjective 1 : very flowery in style : ornate; also : having a florid style 2 a : tinged with red : ruddy b : marked by emotional or sexual fervor 3 : fully developed : manifesting a complete and typical clinical syndrome Examples: Jimmy mopped his florid face and struggled to continue delivering his speech despite the ov...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 24, 2012 is: yawp • \YAWP\  • verb 1 : to make a raucous noise : squawk 2 : clamor, complain Examples: I'm not one to yawp, but I was quite upset that we had to wait a week for a reply to our inquiry. "Frogs croaked, nightbirds yawped, bats whirred…." - From Joe Kane's 2011 book Running the Amazon Did you know? "Yawp" first appeared sometime in the 14th c...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 23, 2012 is: welkin • \WEL-kin\  • noun 1 a : the vault of the sky : firmament b : heaven 2 : the upper atmosphere Examples: The pink sky at sunset brought to mind a quote from Shakespeare's King John: "The sun of heaven, methought, was loath to set / But stay'd and made the western welkin blush." "Murray won the first set 6-4…. The welkin shook with Brit...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 22, 2012 is: vanward • \VAN-werd\  • adjective : located in the vanguard : advanced Examples: The company is looking to hire a marketing director who is savvy in social media and other vanward marketing tactics. "The New Jersey Festival of Electronic Arts, held today from 1 to 8 p.m. … is described as 'an exploration of electronic, environmental and perfo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 21, 2012 is: fructify • \FRUK-tuh-fye\  • verb 1 : to bear fruit 2 : to make fruitful or productive Examples: The company hopes that its new business partnerships will fructify in the coming months. "The severe water crisis in Delhi is likely to continue as city government's efforts to get additional water from neighbouring Haryana to ease the worsening s...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 20, 2012 is: slew • \SLOO\  • noun : a large number Examples: The school's football team hosts a slew of talented players this year. "A slew of retirements and a changing presidential election landscape have made for some ups and downs for the two parties in this year's fight for the Senate." - From an article by Stuart Rothenberg in Roll Call, June 21, 2...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 19, 2012 is: luciferin • \loo-SIF-uh-rin\  • noun : any of various organic substances in luminescent organisms (as fireflies) that upon oxidation produce a virtually heatless light Examples: "Luciferins vary in chemical structure; the luciferin of luminescent bacteria, for example, is completely different from that of fireflies." - From an article at Ency...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 18, 2012 is: calliope • \kuh-LYE-uh-pee\  • noun 1 : the Greek Muse of heroic poetry 2 : a keyboard musical instrument resembling an organ and consisting of a series of whistles sounded by steam or compressed air Examples: "For the first time in 3½ years, the musical tones of a riverboat calliope will be heard on the Henderson riverfront come Monday morni...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 17, 2012 is: wifty • \WIF-tee\  • adjective : eccentrically silly, giddy, or inane : ditzy Examples: "Leaf (Joe McCourt), the wifty product of hippie parents, seems to be taken over by aliens each time he spells a word." - From a theatre review by Lawrence Toppman in the Charlotte Observer, May 11, 2012 "The [American Idol] judges only have to lounge arou...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 16, 2012 is: skirl • \SKERL\  • verb : to emit the high shrill tone of the chanter; also : to give forth music 2: to play (music) on the bagpipe Examples: Wearing traditional tartans, the band paraded down the street and skirled. "As bagpipers skirled 'Maury's Wedding,' Mr. Biden began his high energy tour of the Golden Triangle outside the U.S. Courthous...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 15, 2012 is: tetralogy • \teh-TRAH-luh-jee\  • noun : a series of four connected literary, artistic, or musical works Examples: The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Four Parts (as it was published in England) is, as the name rather coyly intimates, a tetralogy of Douglas Adams novels. "Vintage has reissued Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End, a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 14, 2012 is: kedge • \KEJ\  • verb : to move a ship by means of a line attached to a small anchor dropped at the distance and in the direction desired Examples: To get closer to shore, they kedged the ship. "Stranded in the calm, both the Congress and the Cumberland rushed to position their broadside guns by kedging themselves about with their anchors." -...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 13, 2012 is: silly season • \SIL-ee-SEE-zun\  • noun 1 : a period (as late summer) when the mass media often focus on trivial or frivolous matters for lack of major news stories 2 : a period marked by frivolous, outlandish, or illogical activity or behavior Examples: As a real news junkie, Christa is always annoyed when the silly season settles on the new...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 12, 2012 is: anthophilous • \an-THAH-fuh-lus\  • adjective : feeding upon or living among flowers Examples: The students studied the behaviors of the anthophilous insects found in the field. "While about 30 families of beetles contain at least a few examples of flower visitors, the main anthophilous groups today - those that are of real importance as flow...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 11, 2012 is: tucket • \TUCK-ut\  • noun : a fanfare on a trumpet Examples: The tucket sounded, and everyone rose as the king and queen entered the courtyard. "Bare unisons of woodwind, trumpets, and horns exchange sennets and tuckets." -- From a classical music review by Edward Seckerson in The Independent (London), July 25, 1997 Did you know? "Tucket" ca...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 10, 2012 is: sciential • \sye-EN-shul\  • adjective 1 : relating to or producing knowledge or science 2 : having efficient knowledge : capable Examples: Of the value of having a library at hand for a liberal education, Coleridge wrote: "There is no way of arriving at any sciential end but by finding it at every step." "Whether editors should reproduce alt...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 9, 2012 is: hydromancy • \HYE-druh-man-see\  • noun : divination by the appearance or motion of liquids (as water) Examples: Madame Forthwith practices hydromancy, using a bowl of clear water to predict the future rather than the traditional crystal ball. "Did that mean the Elders couldn't do hydromancy, or that they were too law-abiding to try it? I took...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 8, 2012 is: scupper • \SKUP-er\  • verb : British : to defeat or put an end to : do in Examples: The latest information could scupper the peace talks."Greece faces weeks of political turmoil that could scupper its financial bailout after voters angry at crippling income cuts punished mainstream politicians, let a far-right extremist group into Parliament...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 7, 2012 is: bruit • \BROOT\  • verb : report, rumor - usually used with about Examples: Word of his imminent dismissal was bruited about. "In Iraq, the mission of the remnant of U.S. forces - the number 3,000 has been bruited - will, [Leon] Panetta says, include counterterrorism actions 'working with the Iraqis.'" - From an editorial by George Will in The...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 6, 2012 is: goober • \GOO-ber\  • noun : peanut Examples: The children had a tin bucket full of goobers, which they were shelling and eating. "18 miles south of Clovis on US 70, [Portales] is famous for its peanut industry, which supplies roasted goobers to many baseball parks across the nation." - From Sharon Niederman's 2012 book Signs and Shrines: Spir...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 5, 2012 is: solstitial • \sahl-STISH-ul\  • adjective 1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of a solstice and especially the summer solstice 2 : happening or appearing at or associated with a solstice Examples: Hundreds of people gathered recently for the town's annual solstitial celebration. "There are eight man-made monuments in the Stonehenge area wit...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 4, 2012 is: pyrotechnics • \pye-ruh-TEK-niks\  • noun plural 1 : the art of making or the manufacture and use of fireworks 2 a : a display of fireworks b : a spectacular display (as of extreme virtuosity) Examples: The film's dazzling pyrotechnics, including dynamic editing and fluid cinematography, made it a favorite at the festival. "The council appoint...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 3, 2012 is: volant • \VOH-lunt\  • adjective 1 : having the wings extended as if in flight - used of a heraldic bird 2 : flying or capable of flying 3 : quick, nimble Examples: One prominent feature of the family's crest is a hawk volant. "In general, population genetic studies of volant animals are of particular interest because of their potential for lo...