Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 20, 2006 is: thrasonical • \thray-SAH-nih-kul\  • adjective : of, relating to, resembling, or characteristic of Thraso : bragging, boastful Examples: Bob's incessant bragging earned him a reputation as a thrasonical bore among his coworkers. Did you know? Thraso was a blustering old soldier in the comedy Eunuchus, a play written by the great Roman dra...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 19, 2006 is: esurient • \ih-SUR-ee-unt\  • adjective : hungry, greedy Examples: Esurient for an even larger share of the local real estate market, the developer made an aggressive bid for the apartment complex. Did you know? If you're hungry for a new way to express your hunger, you might find that "esurient" fits your palate. Be forewarned, however,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 18, 2006 is: tattoo • \ta-TOO\  • noun 1 : a rapid rhythmic rapping 2 a : a call sounded shortly before taps as notice to go to quarters b : outdoor military exercise given by troops as evening entertainment Examples: I was awakened by a woodpecker beating a tattoo against the drainpipe outside my window-alerting other woodpeckers, and me, to his pres...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 17, 2006 is: Garrison finish • \GA-ruh-sun-FIN-ish\  • noun : a finish in which the winner comes from behind at the end Examples: In an amazing Garrison finish, the home team, down by two, scored three goals in the final minutes to win the soccer championship. Did you know? Edward "Snapper" Garrison was a 19th-century American jockey known for his spe...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 16, 2006 is: debunk • \dee-BUNK\  • verb : to expose the sham or falseness of Examples: The book debunks many longstanding myths surrounding the historical event. Did you know? If you guessed that "debunk" has something to do with "bunk," meaning "nonsense," you're correct. We started using "bunk" at the beginning of the 20th century. (It derives from...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 15, 2006 is: cozen • \KUZ-un\  • verb 1 : to deceive, win over, or induce to do something by artful coaxing and wheedling or shrewd trickery 2 : to gain by artful coaxing or tricky deception Examples: Five-year-old Mimi managed to cozen a second helping of dessert from her guileless grandmother. Did you know? "Be not utterly deceived (or to speak in p...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 14, 2006 is: plinth • \PLINTH\  • noun 1 : the lowest part of the base of an architectural column 2 : a usually square block serving as a base; broadly : any of various bases or lower parts Examples: The thieves had managed to remove the statue, leaving behind only an empty plinth. Did you know? "These ivy-clad arcades-/ These mouldering plinths . . ....

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 13, 2006 is: sanctimonious • \sank-tuh-MOE-nee-us\  • adjective : hypocritically pious or devout Examples: My sanctimonious aunt always warns us about the evils of drinking and gambling, but according to my mother, she did those things herself when she was young. Did you know? There's nothing sacred about "sanctimonious"-at least not any more. But in...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 12, 2006 is: tantara • \tan-TAIR-uh\  • noun : the blare of a trumpet or horn Examples: "But hardly had we sat down ere we heard the tom-toming of the kettledrum and tantara of trumpets and clash of cymbals. . . ." (Sir Richard Burton, translator, The Arabian Nights) Did you know? "Tantara" is a shortening of the Latin "taratantara," an onomatopoetic...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 11, 2006 is: Croesus • \KREE-sus\  • adjective : a very rich man Examples: John D. Rockefeller became an American Croesus by dominating the oil business in the late 1800s. Did you know? The original Croesus was a 6th-century B.C. king of Lydia, an ancient kingdom in what is now Turkey. Croesus conquered many surrounding regions, grew very wealthy, and...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 10, 2006 is: crackerjack • \CRACK-er-jack\  • adjective : of striking ability or excellence Examples: Allison's brother, a crackerjack computer technician, was able to quickly fix the problems with her laptop. Did you know? The late 19th-century pairing of "crack" and "jack" to form "crackerjack" topped off a long history for those words. "Cracker" is...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 9, 2006 is: colligate • \KAH-luh-gayt\  • verb 1 : transitive to bind, unite, or group together 2 a : transitive to subsume (isolated facts) under a general concept b : intransitive to be or become a member of a group or unit Examples: All of the files have been colligated as one large searchable database. Did you know? "Colligate" descends from Latin...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 8, 2006 is: peroration • \pair-uh-RAY-shun\  • noun 1 : the concluding part of a discourse and especially an oration 2 : a highly rhetorical speech Examples: The President concluded, in an eloquent and ringing peroration, that it was necessary for the nation to stand together against hardships. Did you know? As you may have already guessed, "peroratio...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 7, 2006 is: gainsay • \gain-SAY\  • verb 1 : to declare to be untrue or invalid 2 : contradict, oppose Examples: Although he claimed to be astonished by the accusations made against him, Kevin made no attempt to gainsay them. Did you know? You might have trouble figuring out "gainsay" if you're thinking of our modern "gain" plus "say." It might help t...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 6, 2006 is: paltry • \PAWL-tree\  • adjective 1 : inferior, trashy 2 : mean, despicable 3 : trivial 4 : meager, measly Examples: Nora was struggling to support herself on the paltry wages from her day job, so she began to wait tables at night to supplement her income. Did you know? Before "paltry" was an adjective, it was a noun meaning "trash." That...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 5, 2006 is: noblesse oblige • \noh-BLESS-uh-BLEEZH\  • noun : the obligation of honorable, generous, and responsible behavior associated with high rank or birth Examples: "In the Robinson family's circles, public service had long been common; it connoted not personal ambition so much as noblesse oblige." (Connie Bruck, The New Yorker, July 23, 1990) D...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 4, 2006 is: doyen • \DOY-un\  • noun 1 : the senior or most experienced member of a group 2 : the oldest example of a category Examples: We watched a TV documentary by Jacques Cousteau, the doyen of undersea explorers. Did you know? English picked up "doyen" from French in the 17th century. The French term in turn comes from the Late Latin word "decan...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 3, 2006 is: cowcatcher • \KOW-ketch-er\  • noun : an inclined frame on the front of a railroad locomotive for throwing obstacles off the track Examples: For his entry in the town parade, John outfitted his black truck with a cowcatcher and smoke stack to resemble a 19th-century locomotive. Did you know? New Jersey's Camden and Amboy Railroad was the f...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 2, 2006 is: perseverate • \per-SEV-uh-rayt\  • verb 1 : to repeat or recur persistently 2 : to go back over previously covered ground Examples: To ensure the accuracy of his or her data, the scientist necessarily perseverates, repeating each experiment many times and comparing the results. Did you know? Looking at "perseverate" and "perseveration," yo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 1, 2006 is: rhadamanthine • \rad-uh-MAN-thun\  • adjective : often capitalized : rigorously strict or just Examples: The judge took the maliciousness of the crime into account and decided upon a rhadamanthine punishment. Did you know? In Greek mythology, there were three judges of the underworld: Minos, Aeacus, and Rhadamanthus. Minos, a son of Zeus a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 31, 2006 is: prescind • \pri-SIND\  • verb 1 : intransitive verb : to withdraw one's attention 2 : transitive verb : to detach for purposes of thought Examples: If we prescind from the main issue for a moment, there is much to be gained by studying some corollary questions. Did you know? "Prescind" derives from the Latin verb "praescindere," which mean...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 30, 2006 is: officious • \uh-FISH-us\  • adjective 1 : volunteering one's services where they are neither asked nor needed : meddlesome 2 : informal, unofficial Examples: Jane wanted to help her neighbors, but she was hesitant to offer assistance for fear of being perceived as officious. Did you know? Don't mistake "officious" for a rare synonym of "of...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 29, 2006 is: bonnyclabber • \BAH-nee-klab-er\  • noun : sour milk that has been thickened or curdled Examples: When Grandma was a little girl, one of her jobs was to feed the bonnyclabber to the chickens. Did you know? In Irish Gaelic, "bainne clabair" means "thickened milk." In English, the equivalent word is "bonnyclabber." Whether or not this bonnyc...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 28, 2006 is: unregenerate • \un-rih-JEN-uh-rut\  • adjective 1 : not spiritually reborn or converted 2 a : not reformed : unreconstructed b : obstinate, stubborn Examples: Despite pleadings from his friends, Shane remained unregenerate about his decision. Did you know? There was a time when the adjective "regenerate" had more to do with being spiritual...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 27, 2006 is: hobbit • \HOB-it\  • noun : a member of a fictitious peaceful and genial race of small humanlike creatures that dwell underground Examples: "As lush as any hobbit's realm, the forest engulfs Sams River Loop Trail. . .." (John G. Mitchell, National Geographic, July 1, 2004) Did you know? "What is a hobbit?" wrote J.R.R. Tolkien in the 1937...