Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 20, 2009 is: vatic • \VAT-ik\  • adjective : prophetic, oracular Examples: The vatic voice of these poems, untempered by humor or irony, sounds more pretentious than profound. Did you know? Some people say only thin lines separate poetry, prophecy, and madness. We don't know if that's generally true, but it is in the case of "vatic." The adjective derive...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 19, 2009 is: enclave • \EN-klayv\  • noun : a distinct territorial, cultural, or social unit enclosed within or as if within foreign territory Examples: The small middle-class enclave, just north of the city, is home to many young professionals who commute into the city to work every morning. Did you know? Looking for the keys to the etymology of "enclav...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 18, 2009 is: eyas • \EYE-us\  • noun : an unfledged bird; specifically : a nestling hawk Examples: It took about six weeks for the eyas to mature into a fully grown peregrine falcon. Did you know? "Eyas" is a funny-sounding word that exists because of a mistake. In the 15th century, Middle English speakers made an incorrect assumption about the word "nei...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 17, 2009 is: blarney • \BLAR-nee\  • noun 1 : skillful flattery : blandishment 2 : nonsense, humbug Examples: The woman at the bar laughingly asked Steve if anyone ever fell for that line of blarney. Did you know? The village of Blarney in County Cork, Ireland, is home to Blarney Castle, and in the southern wall of that edifice lies the famous Blarney St...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 16, 2009 is: tremulous • \TREM-yuh-luss\  • adjective 1 : marked by trembling or tremors : quivering 2 : timorous, timid Examples: I hardly recognized my own tremulous voice telling the EMT I was pretty sure I was okay. Did you know? Do you suspect that "tremulous" must be closely related to "tremble"? If so, you're right. Both of those words derive from...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 15, 2009 is: wherefore • \WAIR-for\  • adverb 1 : for what reason or purpose : why 2 : therefore Examples: "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" (William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet) Did you know? In our example sentence, Juliet is not inquiring into her beloved's whereabouts. Rather she is asking why it is that Romeo must be Romeo, a member of t...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 14, 2009 is: feckless • \FECK-lus\  • adjective 1 : weak, ineffective 2 : worthless, irresponsible Examples: Although Trevor was admired by his colleagues at the newspaper, he turned out to be a feckless reporter, and so he was reassigned to the copy desk. Did you know? Someone feckless is lacking in feck. And what, you may ask, is feck? "Feck" is a Scot...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 13, 2009 is: flibbertigibbet • \flib-er-tee-JIB-ut\  • noun : a silly flighty person Examples: She plays a flibbertigibbet on the sitcom, but off the set, she is a no-nonsense woman in full control of her career and family. Did you know? "Flibbertigibbet" is one of many incarnations of the Middle English word "flepergebet," meaning "gossip" or "chatterer...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 12, 2009 is: acedia • \uh-SEE-dee-uh\  • noun : apathy, boredom Examples: A restaurant reviewer in SF Weekly once described a brunch as "a stupefyingly lavish buffet spread that will do nothing to erase your acedia." Did you know? "Acedia" comes from a combination of the negative prefix "a-" and the Greek noun "kēdos," meaning "care, concern, or grief."...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 11, 2009 is: proliferate • \pruh-LIF-uh-rayt\  • verb : to grow or increase in number rapidly Examples: "As low rates proliferated, lenders fell over themselves to stuff cash in customers' pockets." (Daniel Gross, Newsweek, August 20/27, 2007) Did you know? "Proliferate" came about in 1873 as a back-formation of "proliferation." That means that "prolifer...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 10, 2009 is: crepuscular • \krih-PUHSS-kyuh-ler\  • adjective 1 : of, relating to, or resembling twilight : dim 2 : active in the twilight Examples: "The whisper of his conviction seemed to open before me a vast and uncertain expanse, as of a crepuscular horizon on a plain at dawn…." (Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim) Did you know? The early Romans had two words...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 9, 2009 is: pooh-bah • \POO-bah\  • noun 1 : a person holding many public or private offices 2 : a person in high position or of great influence Examples: "Have you seen news reports on the gatherings of international pooh-bahs who are trying to figure out some workable methods to restore the public's confidence in the markets?" (Ron Smith, The Baltimore...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 8, 2009 is: univocal • \yoo-NIV-uh-kul\  • adjective 1 : having one meaning only 2 : unambiguous Examples: The president declared that it was important to send a univocal message of support to the beleaguered country. Did you know? "Univocal," in the sense of "having only one meaning," first appeared in print in English in 1599, the same year that its mo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 7, 2009 is: equanimity • \ee-kwuh-NIM-uh-tee\  • noun 1 : evenness of mind especially under stress 2 : right disposition : balance Examples: Carol's famous equanimity didn't desert her, even in the midst of the crisis. Did you know? If you think "equanimity" looks like it has something to do with "equal," you've guessed correctly. Both "equanimity" and "...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 6, 2009 is: scratch • \SKRATCH\  • noun 1 : a mark or injury made by or as if by scratching; also : a sound so made 2 : scrawl, scribble 3 : the starting line in a race 4 a : a test of courage b : satisfactory condition, level, or performance Examples: The team made it to the championship despite the fact that they were not up to scratch for the last sev...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 5, 2009 is: purfle • \PUR-ful\  • verb : to ornament the border or edges of Examples: The luthier used abalone shell to purfle the instrument. Did you know? Today we use "purfle" mostly in reference to setting a decorative inlaid border around the body of a guitar or violin, a process known as "purfling." In the past, "purfle" got the most use in connect...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 4, 2009 is: oligopsony • \ah-luh-GAHP-suh-nee\  • noun : a market situation in which each of a few buyers exerts a disproportionate influence on the market Examples: The elimination of small local vendors by a handful of national chain groceries has created an oligopsony where farmers cannot receive fair prices for their yields. Did you know? You're prob...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 3, 2009 is: incarnadine • \in-KAHR-nuh-dyne\  • adjective 1 : having the pinkish color of flesh 2 : red; especially : bloodred Examples: "Tavel [wine] … is noted for its assertive fruit and magnificent rich and brilliant incarnadine color." (Vick Knight Jr., Press Enterprise [Riverside, CA], August 11, 1999) Did you know? "Carn-" is the Latin root for "f...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 2, 2009 is: hoke • \HOHK\  • verb : to give a contrived, falsely impressive, or hokey quality to -- usually used with "up" Examples: Sappy music and melodramatic acting combine to hoke up the movie's romance sequences. Did you know? "Hoke" is a back-formation of "hokum," which was probably created as a blend of "hocus-pocus" and "bunkum." "Hokum" is a wo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 1, 2009 is: immoderate • \im-MAH-duh-rut\  • adjective : exceeding just, usual, or suitable bounds Examples: The budget buffet attracted customers with immoderate appetites but limited pocketbooks. Did you know? "Immoderate," "excessive," "inordinate, "extravagant," "exorbitant," and "extreme" all mean going beyond a normal limit. "Immoderate" suggests a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 28, 2009 is: vinaceous • \vye-NAY-shus\  • adjective : of the color of red wine Examples: At the art museum, we saw a portrait of Mary II wearing a magnificent vinaceous dress befitting her royal splendor. Did you know? The first recorded evidence of "vinaceous" in English dates from 1688, shortly before the accession of Mary II. If ever the queen use...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 27, 2009 is: revanche • \ruh-VAHNSH (the N is not pronounced, but the vowel is nasalized)\  • noun : revenge; especially : a usually political policy designed to recover lost territory or status Examples: Soon after losing the northern territory to the invading army, the king began drafting a plan of revanche to get it back. Did you know? "Revanche" f...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 26, 2009 is: basilisk • \BASS-uh-lisk\  • adjective : suggesting a legendary reptile with fatal breath and glance : baleful, spellbinding Examples: Trina leveled a basilisk glare at me after I told her what had happened to her car. Did you know? In Hellenic and Roman legend, a basilisk (also called a cockatrice) was a serpent-like creature capable of...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 25, 2009 is: imbibition • \im-buh-BISH-un\  • noun : the act or action of imbibing : the act or action of drinking or taking in liquid Examples: The sign at the entrance to the building stated that the imbibition of alcoholic beverages on the premises was prohibited. Did you know? Joseph Thomas James Hewlett was a 19th-century English curate and schoo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 24, 2009 is: onerous • \AH-nuh-rus\  • adjective 1 : involving, imposing, or constituting a burden : troublesome 2 : having legal obligations that outweigh the advantages Examples: Christy considered driving her sister to ballet practice to be an onerous task. Did you know? "Onerous," which traces back to the Latin "onus," meaning "burden," has severa...