Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 21, 2008 is: shunpike • \SHUN-pyke\  • noun : a side road used to avoid the toll on or the speed and traffic of a superhighway Examples: When people request directions to our house, I ask them if they prefer to take the turnpike or the shunpike. Did you know? America's love affair with the automobile and the development of a national system of superhig...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 20, 2008 is: aggress • \uh-GRESS\  • verb : to commit aggression : to act aggressively Examples: Certain indicators, such as irritability, can indicate an animal's likelihood to aggress. Did you know? "Aggress" and its more familiar relatives, "aggression" and "aggressive," derive from the Latin verb "aggredi," meaning "to approach, attack, or undertak...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 19, 2008 is: conglobate • \kahn-GLOH-bayt\  • verb : to form into a round compact mass Examples: Jack alternately conglobated and flattened the bit of clay as he talked. Did you know? "Conglobate" descends from the Latin verb "conglobare," which in turn comes from the prefix "con-" (meaning "with” or “ together") and "globus" (meaning "globe"). "Conglo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 18, 2008 is: clochard • \kloh-SHAR\  • noun : tramp, vagrant Examples: "He lives on the Pont Neuf, the oldest and most beautiful bridge in Paris, which has become a secret home to clochards . . . while closed for extensive repairs." (Vincent Canby, The New York Times, October 6, 1992) Did you know? Why such a fancy French word for a bum? The truth of t...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 17, 2008 is: genius • \JEEN-yus\  • noun 1 : a single strongly marked capacity or aptitude 2 : extraordinary intellectual power especially as manifested in creative activity 3 : a person endowed with transcendent mental superiority; especially : a person with a very high IQ Examples: Those children have a genius for getting into trouble! Did you know?...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 16, 2008 is: castigate • \KASS-tuh-gayt\  • verb : to subject to severe punishment, reproof, or criticism Examples: Before sentencing, the judge angrily castigated the two young defendants for their malicious act of vandalism. Did you know? “Castigate” has a synonym in “chastise” -- both verbs mean to punish or to censure someone. Fittingly, both words...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 15, 2008 is: palmary • \PAL-muh-ree\  • adj : outstanding, best Examples: Louis Pasteur is best known for originating pasteurization, but he also made palmary contributions in the field of immunology, including finding a vaccination for anthrax. Did you know? English speakers have been using "palmary" since the 1600s, and its history stretches back eve...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 14, 2008 is: facetious • \fuh-SEE-shuss\  • adjective 1 : joking or jesting often inappropriately : waggish 2 : meant to be humorous or funny : not serious Examples: Gwen was being facetious when she used the word "classy" to describe Bill's brightly colored necktie. Did you know? "Facetious" came to English from the Middle French word "facetieux," whi...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 13, 2008 is: koine • \koy-NAY\  • noun 1 : the Greek language commonly spoken and written in eastern Mediterranean countries in the Hellenistic and Roman periods 2 : a dialect or language of a region that has become the common or standard language of a larger area Examples: Koines inevitably developed in the early British colonies as different dialects...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 12, 2008 is: divulge • \duh-VULJ\  • verb : to make known (as a confidence or secret) Examples: Sarah promised not to divulge the news of her friend's promotion until it was official. Did you know? It isn't vulgar to make known the roots of "divulge" -- and that sentence contains two hints about the word's origin. "Divulge" was borrowed into Middle Eng...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 11, 2008 is: hypocorism • \hye-PAH-kuh-riz-um\  • noun 1 : a pet name 2 : the use of pet names Examples: Darren started calling Sheila by her hypocorism, “Bubbles,” when they were juniors in high school. Did you know? In Late Latin and Greek, the words “hypocorisma” and “hypokorisma” had the same meaning as “hypocorism” does in English today. They in t...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 10, 2008 is: posse • \PAH-see\  • noun 1 : a large group often with a common interest 2 : a body of persons summoned by a sheriff to assist in preserving the public peace usually in an emergency 3 : a group of people temporarily organized to make a search (as for a lost child) 4 : one’s attendants or associates Examples: "On the Saturday morning we use...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 9, 2008 is: indagate • \IN-duh-gayt\  • verb : to search into : investigate Examples: The defense attorneys requested an adjournment so that they could fully indagate the new evidence. Did you know? A close examination of "indagate" reveals that it's a rather uncommon word. If we delve into the past, we discover that it first appeared in an English dic...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 8, 2008 is: glom • \GLAHM\  • verb 1 : take, steal 2 : seize, catch Examples: “She signed an affidavit of confession attesting she glommed more than $284,000, the company contends.” (Frank Donnelly, Staten Island Advance, September 15, 2008) Did you know? It's a classic case of glomming: Americans seized on "glaum" (a term from Scots dialect that basic...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 7, 2008 is: puissant • \PWISS-unt\  • adj : of great force or vigor : strong, powerful Examples: Laurie was aware of the restaurant critic's puissant influence in the industry, so she became quite nervous when she spotted him sitting at a table in her café. Did you know? "Puissant" has some powerful ties to some more commonplace English words. Although...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 6, 2008 is: agrarian • \uh-GRAIR-ee-un\  • adjective 1 : of or relating to fields or lands or their tenure 2 a : of, relating to, or characteristic of farmers or their way of life b : organized or designed to promote agricultural interests Examples: Since buying their organic farm three years ago, Ken and Sheila have been gradually adjusting to an agra...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 5, 2008 is: cumshaw • \KUM-shaw\  • noun : present, gratuity; also : bribe, payoff Examples: "I never heard her ask for any cumshaw that weighed less than a ton and which required fewer than a dozen enlisted men and two trucks to move." (James A. Michener, Los Angeles Times, October 19, 1986) Did you know? It was probably British Navy personnel who fir...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 4, 2008 is: kundalini • \koon-duh-LEE-nee (the "oo" is as in "book")\  • noun, often capitalized : the yogic life force that is held to lie coiled at the base of the spine until it is aroused and sent to the head to trigger enlightenment Examples: In her yoga class, Susan is learning the breaths for awakening kundalini. Did you know? "Kundalinī" is the...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 3, 2008 is: red herring • \RED-HERR-ing\  • noun 1 : a herring cured by salting and slow smoking to a dark brown color 2 : something that distracts attention from the real issue Examples: The editorial asserts that the hoopla over the proposed new convention center is a red herring, deflecting attention from the mayor's failure to resolve the budgetary...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 2, 2008 is: quondam • \KWAHN-dum\  • adj : former, sometime Examples: A quondam rodeo champ, circuit preacher, and peanut farmer, Baxter has settled into his new life as a stand-up comedian. Did you know? Looking for an unusual and creative way to say "former"? "Quondam" (which came to English in the 16th century from Latin quondam, meaning "at one tim...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 1, 2008 is: fifth column • \FIFTH-KAH-lum\  • noun : a group of secret sympathizers or supporters of an enemy that engage in espionage or sabotage within defense lines or national borders Examples: In the 1950s the Communist Party was denounced in the United States as a fifth column, and many people were unjustly blacklisted as Communist sympathizers....

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 30, 2008 is: theriac • \THEER-ee-ak\  • noun 1 : a mixture of many drugs and honey formerly held to be an antidote to poison 2 : cure-all Examples: "Chicken soup may not really be a theriac," said Helen, sniffling between spoonfuls, "but there certainly is something comforting about eating it when you're feeling sick." Did you know? There really is n...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 29, 2008 is: exonerate • \ig-ZAH-nuh-rayt\  • verb 1 : to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship 2 : to clear from accusation or blame Examples: Dwight was exonerated for the crime of taking the money after it was found that his fingerprints did not match those on the cashbox. Did you know? We won't blame you if you don't know the origi...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 28, 2008 is: oaf • \OHF\  • noun 1 : a stupid person : boob 2 : a big clumsy slow-witted person Examples: When the waiter dropped a full plate of pasta into her lap, my sister yelled, "You clumsy oaf!" Did you know? A long time ago in England, it was believed that goblins sometimes secretly exchanged their babies for human babies. This was used as an...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 27, 2008 is: recuse • \rih-KYOOZ\  • verb : to disqualify (oneself) as a judge in a particular case; broadly : to remove (oneself) from participation to avoid a conflict of interest Examples: Because he was a frequent customer at the plaintiff's shop, the judge recused himself from the case. Did you know? "Recuse" is derived from the Anglo-French wor...