Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 14, 2009 is: dyed-in-the-wool • \dyde-in-thuh-WOOL\  • adjective : thoroughgoing, uncompromising Examples: Having heard that Gloria's father was a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, Stewart told him about the time he met Ronald Reagan. Did you know? Early yarn makers would dye wool before spinning it into yarn to make the fibers retain their color longer. In 1...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 13, 2009 is: sobriquet • \SOH-brih-kay\  • noun : a descriptive name or epithet : nickname Examples: Baseball players have long been known by colorful sobriquets such as "The Georgia Peach" (Ty Cobb) and "The Splendid Splinter" (Ted Williams). Did you know? This synonym of "nickname" has the same meaning in modern French as it does in English. In Middle...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 12, 2009 is: ideate • \EYE-dee-ayt\  • verb 1 : to form an idea or conception of 2 : to form an idea Examples: Joshua first ideated his vision of a water garden for his backyard after he went on a sightseeing tour of water fountains in Kansas City. Did you know? Like "idea" and "ideal," "ideate" comes from the Greek verb "idein," which means "to see." Th...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 11, 2009 is: lickerish • \LIK-uh-rish\  • adjective 1 : greedy, desirous 2 : lecherous Examples: "Fiend," cried the undaunted maiden, slapping the face of her lickerish captor. Did you know? In Anglo-French, the verb "lecher" has two meanings, "to lick" and "to live in debauchery." From that verb came the English adjective "lickerous" in the 14th century...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 10, 2009 is: superjacent • \soo-per-JAY-sunt\  • adjective : lying above or upon : overlying Examples: "Foreign states enjoy the right of overflight in the airspace superjacent to a coastal state's 200-mile exclusive economic zone . . .” (James C. Hsiung, The New York Times, April 14, 2001) Did you know? You're probably familiar with "adjacent," and if y...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 9, 2009 is: telecommute • \TEL-ih-kuh-myoot\  • verb : to work at home by the use of an electronic linkup with a central office Examples: Marie recently installed a high-speed computer line in her home so she could telecommute two days a week. Did you know? "Telecommute" derives from the prefix "tele-," a descendant of the Greek word "tēle," meaning "far...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 8, 2009 is: withy • \WITH-ee (the TH is as in "the")\  • noun 1 : willow; especially : any of various willows whose pliable twigs are used for furniture and basketry 2 : a flexible slender twig or branch Examples: The withies must be soaked in water for about a week before they will be ready to be woven into baskets. Did you know? "Withy" is a word with...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 7, 2009 is: hachure • \ha-SHUR\  • verb : to shade with or show by short lines used for shading and denoting surfaces in relief (as in map drawing) and drawn in the direction of slope Examples: "In the early years of the survey, hachuring was used to indicate the steepness of slopes on maps, whereas in later years, the more abbreviated and legible contou...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 6, 2009 is: purlieu • \PERL-yoo\  • noun 1 a : an outlying or adjacent district b : environs, neighborhood 2 a : a frequently visited place : haunt b : 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, The Last Post) Did you...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 5, 2009 is: epistemic • \ep-uh-STEE-mik\  • adjective : of or relating to knowledge or knowing : cognitive Examples: John’s fascination with the human animal’s epistemic limits and capabilities has led him to a double major in philosophy and psychology. Did you know? "Epistemic" has shifted from the arcane worlds of philosophy, linguistics, and rhetoric...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 4, 2009 is: moue • \MOO\  • noun : a little grimace : pout Examples: "She made a little moue, shrugged one shoulder, dipped her head ever so slightly to set the artificial bird atop her hat in motion." (T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville) Did you know? Moue is one of two similar-sounding words in English that refer to a pout or grimace; the othe...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 3, 2009 is: feign • \FAYN\  • verb 1 : to give a false appearance of : induce as a false impression 2 : to assert as if true : pretend Examples: Shortly after her mom told her that she would have to go to the doctor's, Kim confessed that she was only feigning illness because she forgot to study for a midterm. Did you know? "Feign" is all about faking it,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 2, 2009 is: diaphanous • \dye-AF-uh-nus\  • adjective 1 : of so fine a texture as to be transparent 2 : characterized by extreme delicacy of form : ethereal 3 : insubstantial, vague Examples: The honeymoon suite has a balcony overlooking the ocean and is furnished with an antique four-poster bed enveloped in a diaphanous curtain. Did you know? Can you gu...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 1, 2009 is: extremophile • \ik-STREE-muh-fyle\  • noun : an organism that lives under extreme environmental conditions (as in a hot spring or ice cap) Examples: "Cold-loving extremophiles could show us what kinds of creatures might live ... in parts of the solar system previously thought uninhabitable." (Michael Lemonick and Andrea Dorfman, Time Magazine...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 31, 2009 is: perennial • \puh-REN-ee-ul\  • adjective 1 : present at all seasons of the year 2 : continuing to live from year to year 3 : recurring regularly : permanent Examples: The diva's late-night partying and angry run-ins with the paparazzi have been perennial fodder for the tabloids. Did you know? Nowadays when we talk about "perennial plants," o...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 30, 2009 is: symbiosis • \sim-bee-OH-sis\  • noun 1 : the living together in close association of two dissimilar organisms especially when mutually beneficial 2 : a cooperative relationship Examples: A perfect symbiosis was at work between the café’s co-owners, with Stephanie creating the menu and Maria doing the bookkeeping. Did you know? "Symbiosis" wa...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 29, 2009 is: distend • \dih-STEND\  • verb 1 : extend 2 : to enlarge from internal pressure : swell 3 : to become expanded Examples: With mouths agape and eyes distended, the audience listened to the canoeist's incredible story of survival after being capsized by the river's rapids. Did you know? The history of the word "distend" stretches back to the La...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 28, 2009 is: effete • \ih-FEET\  • adjective 1 : no longer fertile 2 a : having lost character, vitality, or strength b : marked by weakness or decadence c : soft or delicate from or as if from a pampered existence; also : characteristic of an effete person 3 : effeminate Examples: "Virginia Woolf is often depicted as a dreamy, effete snob, agonizing all...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 27, 2009 is: Rosetta stone • \roh-ZET-uh-STOHN\  • noun 1 : a black basalt stone found in 1799 that bears an inscription in hieroglyphics, demotic characters, and Greek and is celebrated for having given the first clue to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics 2 : one that gives a clue to understanding Examples: "This is the home of the Elliott wave...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 26, 2009 is: dross • \DRAHSS\  • noun 1 : the scum that forms on the surface of molten metal 2 : waste or foreign matter : impurity 3 : something that is base, trivial, or inferior Examples: The critic complained that the movies released after Oscar season were just so much dross. Did you know? "Dross" has been a part of the English language since Anglo-...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 25, 2009 is: edentulous • \ee-DEN-chuh-luss\  • adjective : having no teeth : toothless Examples: Thanks to improvements in public health and dental care in the 20th century, far fewer Americans are edentulous when they enter their golden years. Did you know? "Edentulous" comes to English directly from the Latin word "edentulus," which in turn comes from...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 24, 2009 is: negotiate • \nih-GOH-shee-ayt\  • verb 1 : to confer with another so as to arrive at the settlement of some matter; also : to arrange for or bring about by such conferences 2 : to transfer to another by delivery or endorsement in return for equivalent value 3 : to get through, around, or over successfully Examples: "On the coast we negotiate...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 23, 2009 is: sciolism • \SYE-uh-liz-um\  • noun : a superficial show of learning Examples: Some critics of state-mandated testing say it is an exercise in sciolism that doesn’t really demonstrate a student’s grasp of the material studied. Did you know? "Sciolism" comes from the Late Latin "sciolus," which means "smatterer" (or "one who speaks with spotty...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 22, 2009 is: recrudescence • \ree-kroo-DESS-uns\  • noun : a new outbreak after a period of abatement or inactivity : renewal Examples: "Unfortunately, we have recently had a recrudescence of one disease in particular: canine distemper." (Dr. Jacob Church, The Biloxi Sun Herald [Mississippi], April 17, 2008) Did you know? "Recrudescence" derives from the...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 21, 2009 is: ignoble • \ig-NOH-bul\  • adjective 1 : of low birth or common origin : plebeian 2 : characterized by baseness, lowness, or meanness Examples: "Ever the opportunist, Luthor has been hanging around Superman's arctic fortress … while devising plans for world dictatorship and other ignoble acts." (Kevin Canfield, The Journal News, June 27, 2006...