Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 5, 2010 is: journeyman • \JER-nee-mun\  • noun 1 : a worker who has learned a trade and works for another person 2 : an experienced reliable worker, athlete, or performer Examples: The team is ready to trade three of its rookie hopefuls for the journeyman pitcher. Did you know? The "journey" in "journeyman" refers to a sense of this familiar word not oft...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 4, 2010 is: licit • \LISS-it\  • adjective : conforming to the requirements of the law : not forbidden by law : permissible Examples: "We are focusing on making government institutions more accountable and effective, promoting the rule of law, [and] stimulating licit economic activity, especially in agriculture." (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Apri...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 3, 2010 is: transmogrify • \transs-MAH-gruh-fye\  • verb : to change or alter greatly and often with grotesque or humorous effect Examples: With the help of an interior decorator, Max transmogrified his drab, cluttered apartment into a stylish yet functional bachelor pad. Did you know? We know that the prefix "trans-" means "across" or "beyond" and appea...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 2, 2010 is: didactic • \dye-DAK-tik\  • adjective 1 a : designed or intended to teach b : intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment 2 : making moral observations Examples: Many of the shows on the channel are didactic, teaching children about such things as the importance of recycling, exercise, and honesty thro...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 1, 2010 is: asterisk • \ASS-tuh-risk\  • noun : the character * used in printing or writing as a reference mark, as an indication of the omission of letters or words, to denote a hypothetical or unattested linguistic form, or for various arbitrary meanings Examples: Words in the text that are defined in the glossary are marked with an asterisk for quick...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 28, 2010 is: waggish • \WAG-ish\  • adjective 1 : resembling or characteristic of a wag : displaying good-humored mischief 2 : done or made for sport : humorous Examples: Lisa listens to the same waggish DJ every morning, never tiring of his prank phone calls and irreverent impressions of local politicians. Did you know? One who is waggish acts like a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 27, 2010 is: apex • \AY-peks\  • noun : the highest point : peak Examples: Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first people to climb to the summit of Mt. Everest, reached the apex of the great mountain at 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953. Did you know? "Apex" entered English from Latin, where it originally meant "a small rod at the top of a flamen's...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 26, 2010 is: thew • \THOO\  • noun 1 a : muscular power or development b : strength, vitality 2 : muscle, sinew -- usually used in plural Examples: "Care I for the limb, the thews, the stature, bulk, and big / assemblance of a man! Give me the spirit," retorts Falstaff to Justice Shallow in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 2. Did you know? "Thew" has had...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 25, 2010 is: proscribe • \proh-SCRYBE\  • verb 1 : outlaw 2 : to condemn or forbid as harmful or unlawful Examples: When grammarians began to proscribe ending a sentence with a preposition in the 1700s, one astute personage noted that it is "an idiom which our language is strongly inclined to." Did you know? "Proscribe" and "prescribe" each have a Lat...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 24, 2010 is: abrupt • \uh-BRUPT\  • adjective 1 a : characterized by or involving action or change without preparation or warning : unexpected b : unceremoniously curt c : lacking smoothness or continuity 2 : giving the impression of being cut or broken off; especially : involving a sudden steep rise or drop Examples: Although Kevin liked working at t...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 23, 2010 is: logomachy • \loh-GAH-muh-kee\  • noun 1 : a dispute over or about words 2 : a controversy marked by verbiage Examples: The surprising election results have opened the floodgates of logomachy in the political media outlets. Did you know? It doesn't take much to start people arguing about words, but there's no quarrel about the origin of "l...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 22, 2010 is: thaumaturgy • \THAW-muh-ter-jee\  • noun : the performance of miracles; specifically : magic Examples: After reading all seven Harry Potter novels in a span of two weeks, Audrey was hungry for more thrilling tales of mysticism and thaumaturgy. Did you know? The magic of "thaumaturgy" is miraculous. The word, from a Greek word meaning "mir...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 21, 2010 is: chastise • \chass-TYZE\  • verb 1 : to inflict punishment on (as by whipping) 2 : to censure severely : castigate Examples: The boss eventually had to chastise certain employees for being consistently late. Did you know? "Chastise," "castigate," "chasten," "correct," "discipline," and "punish" all imply the infliction of a penalty in retu...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 20, 2010 is: saxicolous • \sak-SIK-uh-lus\  • adjective : inhabiting or growing among rocks Examples: As a graduate student, Pam studied saxicolous lichens above the treeline in three different parts of the Canadian Rockies. Did you know? "Saxicolous." It's not a word that exactly rolls off the tongue, but it's a useful designation for botanists. The...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 19, 2010 is: inane • \ih-NAYN\  • noun : void or empty space Examples: "And thus likewise we sometimes speak of place, distance, or bulk in the great inane beyond the confines of the world …" (John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding) Did you know? The adjective "inane" is now most commonly encountered as a synonym of "shallow" or "silly."...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 18, 2010 is: flexuous • \FLEK-shuh-wus\  • adjective 1 : having curves, turns, or windings 2 : lithe or fluid in action or movement Examples: The last leg of the trail is a flexuous path leading up the mountain to a spectacular panoramic view of the valley. Did you know? English author Thomas Hardy was fond of the word "flexuous" and described his dar...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 17, 2010 is: tare • \TAIR\  • noun 1 : a deduction from the gross weight of a substance and its container made in allowance for the weight of the container; also : the weight of the container 2 : counterweight Examples: Before charging us for the blueberries we'd picked, the attendant at Annie's Fields deducted the tare from the weight of the filled b...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 16, 2010 is: parlous • \PAR-lus\  • adjective : full of danger or risk : hazardous Examples: "Given the fragile state of the economy, this is a parlous time to be making uncertain investments," said the financial advisor. Did you know? "Parlous" is both a synonym and a derivative of "perilous"; it came to be as an alteration of "perilous" in Middle En...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 15, 2010 is: astrolabe • \A-struh-layb\  • noun : a compact instrument used to observe and calculate the position of celestial bodies before the invention of the sextant Examples: With a rotating plate and pointers that marked the positions of stars, the astrolabe could reproduce the daily motions of the stars on the celestial sphere. Did you know? "T...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 14, 2010 is: dally • \DAL-ee\  • verb 1 a : to act playfully; especially : to play amorously b : to deal lightly : toy 2 a : to waste time b : linger, dawdle Examples: "There's nothing like dallying with your sweetie at an exquisite restaurant on Valentine's Day." (Suzanne Podhaizer, Seven Days [Burlington, Vermont], February 13-20, 2008) Did you know...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 13, 2010 is: prescience • \PRESH-ee-unss\  • noun a : foreknowledge of events: b : divine omniscience c : human anticipation of the course of events : foresight Examples: Stacy had the prescience to know that the stock’s value wasn’t going to remain high forever, so she sold it before it decreased. Did you know? If you know the origin of "science," yo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 12, 2010 is: phony • \FOH-nee\  • adjective a : not genuine or real: as a *(1) : intended to deceive or mislead (2) : intended to defraud : counterfeit b : arousing suspicion : probably dishonest c : having no basis in fact : fictitious d : false, sham e : making a false show: as (1) : hypocritical (2) : specious Examples: "Digital tricksters increasi...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 11, 2010 is: Panglossian • \pan-GLAH-see-un\  • adjective : marked by the view that all is for the best in this best of possible worlds : excessively optimistic Examples: Even the most Panglossian temperament would have had trouble finding the good in this situation. Did you know? Dr. Pangloss was the pedantic old tutor in Voltaire's satirical novel C...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 10, 2010 is: effulgence • \ih-FULL-junss\  • noun : radiant splendor : brilliance Examples: The effulgence of the moon in the clear midnight sky provided enough light to help us safely make our way home. Did you know? Apparently, English speakers first took a shine to "effulgence" in the middle of the 17th century; that's when the word was first used...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 9, 2010 is: kapellmeister • \kuh-PELL-mye-ster\  • noun : the director of a choir or orchestra Examples: From 1717 to 1723, Johann Sebastian Bach served as the Kapellmeister for Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen of the Holy Roman Empire. Did you know? As you may have guessed, "Kapellmeister" originated as a German word -- and in fact, even in English it...