Word of the Day

Prospero is a noun that refers to a person who is capable of influencing others’ behavior or perceptions. Our word of the day gets its origin from the William Shakespeare play The Tempest. It features a character named Prospero who is a deposed Duke and magician. Named for this highly influential character, prospero may be used to describe anyone of great influence. Here’s an example: My agent ini...

Repristinate is a verb that means to restore to original state or condition. The root word of repristinate is pristine, an adjective of Latin origin that means ‘spotless.’ When we repristinate an object, we return it to its original spotless condition. Here’s an example: I like to repristinate old colonial furniture, but it sure is hard work. It takes a lot of scrubbing and sanding down to get tho...

Cosh is a noun that refers to a thick heavy stick or bar used as a weapon. It’s also a verb that means to hit someone over the head with a cosh. Our word of the day’s origin is unknown, but we know it’s been around since the 19th century. Here’s an example of cosh in use: When walking in the woods, I usually carry a large, wooden cosh with me just in case I run into Bigfoot or something like that....

Chaebol is a noun that refers to a large family-owned business conglomerate. Coming from the Korean words chae (CHAY) which means ‘money,’ and bol (BALL) which means ‘faction,’ our word of the day has been with us since the 1970s. Here’s an example of it in use: I had no idea the local comedy club scene was a chaebol. It didn’t take long to learn that seven of the ten clubs were owned by one man,...

Waggle is a verb that means to get by devious means. Our word of the day comes from the Old English word wag. Before it referred to something a dog did to its tail, the word meant ‘to sway.’ When someone engages in excessive swaying to achieve their goals, they are waggling. Here’s an example: I tried to waggle my way to the top at the movie theatre through a combination of flattery, hard work and...

Medicaster is a noun that refers to a fake doctor. Our word of the day combines the prefix M-E-D-I, which means ‘medical,’ and A-S-T-E-R, which indicates something of inferior or low quality. You could think of medicaster as a synonym for quack. Here’s an example: After spending thousands of dollars on supplements advertised on his show, I concluded that the guy on TV was a medicaster. It became p...

Indexical is an adjective that means varying depending on context. It can also be a noun that refers to a word whose meaning depends on context. Derived from the Latin word index, which means ‘sign.’ our word of the day has been around since the early 19th century. Here’s an example of indexical in use: When learning a new language, it’s helpful to understand the full context of every word you use...

Trachle is a verb that means to fatigue or wear out. Coming directly from Scottish, our word of the day may also be used as a noun that refers to the source of fatigue. Here’s an example of the former: All that work I used to do on the weekends used to trachle me. But these days the only thing wearing me out is the work I do at my job during the week.

Aporia is a noun that refers to an internal contradiction. Our word of the day comes from the Greek word aporos (uh POOR ose) which means ‘impassable.’ Aporias are commonly seen in philosophy. Here’s an example: When my former roommate told me that everything he said was a lie, I wondered if he was aware that his statement was an aporia. This turned out to be one of many internal contradictions I’...

Vulpine is an adjective that means like a fox. The Latin word vulpes (VOOL pez) means ‘fox.’ When someone behaves like a fox — meaning sly or cunning — our word of the day is a great adjective to describe them. Here’s an example: As a kid, I had my vulpine ways when I really wanted to play video games. The most cunning thing I did was pretend to do my homework when I was secretly playing my favori...

Sneakernet is a noun that refers to the transfer of electronic information by moving it physically. A recent addition to the English language, our word of the day has been around for about a decade and gets its origin from the word ‘sneak’ and the suffix ’N-E-T.’ Here’s an example of it in use: The world of tech features a great deal of secretive behavior. On more than one occasion, we’ve had to u...

Prattle is a verb that means to talk at length in a foolish way. Coming from the Low German word prate (PRATE) which has the same meaning as our word of the day, prattle is a word almost never used in a flattering way. Here’s an example: After two hours of hearing the salesman prattle on about the car’s special features, I was fairly sure I had no interest in the new convertible. It wasn’t until h...

Vendible is an adjective that means ‘able to be bought or sold.’ It is also a noun that refers to an item that can be bought or sold. The Latin word vendere (ven DARE ay) means ‘to sell.’ This is the origin of our word of the day which has been around since the early 17th century. Here’s an example of its use: As a kid, I enjoyed making and eating sloppy joes, but it never seemed to me that my cre...

Nutate is a verb that means to nod the head. Our word of the day comes from the Latin word nutare (new TAR ay) which means ‘to nod.’ In a general sense, it can refer to anything moving back and forth from a fixed point, but it’s most commonly used to indicate the nodding of a person’s head. Here’s an example: When the waiter asked if I wanted fried scorpions with my meal, I was so taken aback, all...

Unco is an adjective that means strange or unknown. Coming directly from Scottish, our word of the day’s origin isn’t clear, although some believe it’s derived from the word ‘unkenned,’ which means ‘unknown.’ Here’s an example of unco in use: During my trip to Spain, I found myself in a number of unco settings. Thankfully though, my Spanish was good enough to help me navigate back to the hotel whe...

Mumpsimus is a noun that refers to someone who sticks to old erroneous ways. Our word of the day is derived from a tale of a medieval priest who persistently used the word ‘mumpsimus’ instead of ‘sumpsimus’ in prayer, despite frequent corrections from his superior. The priest replied that he’d been saying it the wrong way for so long that it had become a tradition. Here’s an example of mumpsimus i...

Hyperacusis is a noun that refers to a heightened sensitivity to sound. You may recognize the Greek prefix H-Y-P-E-R from words like hyperactive or hyperdrive. It means ‘above normal.’ The Greek word aukusis (ah KOOSE is) is where we get words like ‘acoustic’ and it means ‘hearing.’ When combined, we get our word of the day which refers to a condition of hearing things more loudly or harshly than...

Recondite is an adjective that means unknown or abstruse. Coming from the Latin word reconditus (ray con DEE toose) which means ‘hidden’ or ‘put away,’ our word of the day has been with us since the mid-17th century. In more recent years, it is likely to refer to knowledge or information that is not well known. Here’s an example: Although I enjoyed the poetry class I took last year, it was a littl...

Schmatte is a noun that refers to a ragged or shabby garment. Our word of the day comes from the Yiddish word for ‘rag’ and has been part of the English language since the 1970s. Here’s an example of schmatte in use: There’s nothing more embarrassing than having to attend a fancy dinner without any good clothes to wear. Here I was being honored by my peers and instead of a fresh tuxedo, I was clad...

Malinger is a verb that means to exaggerate or feign illness to escape work. The French word malingre (MAL ange) means ‘sickly.’ But once the word was imported into English, its meaning shifted to mean pretending to be sick — specifically to avoid work. Here’s a sample: With so much to complete at the office, I was tempted to malinger. But in the end, I just felt that faking illness would I would...

Rive is a verb that means to split or tear apart violently. Our word of the day’s origin isn’t fully known, but we do know it comes from Old Norse and has been with us since the 14th century. Here’s an example of rive in use: I was so angry at the tiny amount I was paid for my landscaping work that I decided to rive the check right in front of my boss. But when I realized I needed to pay my rent t...

Glabrous is an adjective that means smooth and hairless. The Latin word glaber (GLOB er) means smooth and has been with us since the mid 17th century. Here’s an example of glabrous in use: At my age I don’t really get upset about finding the occasional gray hair. I’m just happy that when I look at the top of my head, I still find hair and not a slick, glabrous surface.

Crag is a noun that refers to a steep rock formation rising higher than its surrounding rocks. Our word of the day is Celtic in origin and dates back to the mid-18th century. Here’s an example of crag in use. There’s something about rock climbing that gives me a breathtaking sense of rising above everything. My favorite moments involve standing on a crag and gazing down from its dizzying heights a...

Haverel is a noun that refers to a half-wit. Coming directly from Scottish, our word of the day is related to verb ‘haver’ which means ‘to hem and haw.’ Here’s an example of haverel in use: I was so confused by the instructions given to me that I must have come across like a haverel with all that fumbling and bumbling of my words.

Collate is a verb that means to collect and combine in proper order. The Latin word conferre (con FAIR ay) means ‘to bring together.’ When we bring things together in a logical order, we collate them. Here’s an example of our word of the day in use: My job at the office is to collate all the information from our many clients. Keeping them in proper order can be a bit difficult because after a whil...