Word of the Day

Maunder is a verb that means to talk in a rambling manner. Our word of the day is slightly related to the word meander, which means ‘to wander aimlessly.’ You could think of maundering as a verbal kind of meandering. Here’s an example of it in use: The first five minutes of Kristin’s speech on health care well. But after she started talking about her personal history of ingrown toenails, she began...

Neophilia is a noun that refers to a love or enthusiasm for the new or novel. Our word of the day combines the Greek words for ‘new’ and ‘love.’ Here’s an example of neophilia in use: When it comes to cuisine, I have to admit to a case of neophilia. My motto is: if I’ve never eaten in before, bring me at least three helpings.

Pantophagous is an adjective that means requiring or serving a wide variety of food. Coming from Middle English, pantophagous is often used to describe a varied diet. Here’s an example of it in use: My phantophagous taste in food has generally been a good thing. It’s kept me eating a variety of different nutrients throughout my life.

Forfend is a verb that means to prevent something. Coming from Middle English, our word of the day initially meant ‘to protect.’ As time went by, it evolved into its current meaning as a synonym of ‘forbid.’ I hope they don’t forfend me from making too much noise at the game. I can’t stand being prevented from expressing myself in a public setting.

Famulus is a noun that refers to a private secretary or assistant. Coming from the Latin word for ‘servant,’ our word of the day may be used to describe any kind of assistant, but is especially common in referring to the assistant of a magician or scholar. You’d think after all those years of being a magician’s famulus, my sister would be skilled at magic. But when I ask her to make something disa...

Pelage is a noun that refers to the fur, hair or wool of a mammal. Our word of the day day comes from a variation on the French word for hair. It’s commonly used to describe hairy animals like bears or dogs. Here’s an example: I’ve always been a fan of the lovely pelage on that breed of dog. But having to groom all of that hair can be a challenge after a while.

Foozle is a verb that means to bungle or play clumsily. Our word of the day is derived from the German word fusein (FOOZ een) which means ‘work badly.’ It often refers to a botched attempt at something. Because I hadn’t played golf in over a decade, my first swing wound up being a real foozle. Not only did the ball not go where I wanted it to, it wound up landing on a completely different golf cou...

Terraqueous is an adjective that means consisting or formed of land and water. Our word of the day combines the Latin words for ‘land,’ terra (TARE uh) and ‘water,’ aqua (AWK wah). It may be used to describe specific substances comprised of land and water or it may even refer to something larger as in this example: This terraqueous world of ours consists of both water and land. But because we spen...

Terpsichorean is an adjective that means related to dancing. Our word of the day takes its origin from a dancing female figure in Greek mythology. In addition to being used as an adjective to mean anything connected to dancing, it can also be used as a noun to refer to a dancer. Here’s an example of terpsichorean as an adjective: Something about the pulsating rhythm of that music brings out terpsi...

Diegesis is a noun that refers to a narrative or plot, typically in a movie. Our word of the day comes directly from the Greek word for narrative. Here’s an example of diegesis in use: According to the critics, the diegesis of my film was too derivative of the storyline of other movies. I guess maybe I should try to come up with my own story ideas instead of copying others.

Dulcify is a verb that means to make sweet. The latin word dulcis (DOOL sis) means ‘sweet.’ The word later joined English in the form of the word dulce, a noun that refers to a sweet candy or drink. Our word of the day could be thought of as the verb version of this. For example: I used to wonder what would happen if I tried to dulcify tuna fish by adding honey to it. The result was as sweet as I...

Emulous is an adjective that means eager to emulate. The Latin word aemulus (EYE moo loose) means ‘rival.’ This gave birth to the word emulate, a verb that means to mimic or imitate something else. Emulous is the adjective version of this. At times Chuck’s band could be a little too emulous. On any given performance, you never knew who they were going to try to rip off.

Innominate is an adjective that means not named or anonymous. The Greek word onoma (OH no ma) means ‘name.’ It’s where we get words like anonymous an eponymous. Our word of the day combines this word with the prefix I-N, which means ‘not’ or ‘no.’ Together it gives us a word that means ‘not named.’ The project was submitted to us innominate, but I get a feeling it was all Randy’s idea. Even withou...

Grabble is a verb that means to search with the hand. Derived from the Dutch word for grab, our word of the day entered English in the late 16th century. Here’s an example of grabble in use: As kids, we didn’t keep all of our halloween candy. He had to stick our hands in the bag and grabble for only one piece. Lucky me, I always wound up with something healthy.

Flivver is a noun that refers to a cheap automobile. The origin of our word of the day is unknown, but we do know it’s an informal word used to describe an old vehicle — but never in a complimentary way. For example: That old flivver I used to drive in college lasted only eight months before it died on me. Given how cheap it was, I was surprised it lasted the drive back from the car lot.

Hyperborean is a noun that refers to an inhabitant of the cold north. It can also be used as an adjective that means related to the far north. In ancient Greek mythology, our word of the day was used to describe members of a group who lived in a land of sunshine beyond the north wind. Centuries later, hyperborean retains the same meaning. Here’s an example of it: You’d think a hyperborean like unc...

Gewgaw is a noun that refers to a showy trinket. Our word of the day comes from Middle English and is typically used in the plural to refer to a bunch of worthless, but showy items. I’m not sure why my aunt Sheila holds on to all those gewgaws in her attic. She seems to think they’re worth something, but the truth is that for all their flamboyance, those items wouldn’t get a cent from a pawn shop.

Dido is a noun that refers to a mischievous prank. The origin of our word of the day is unknown, but we know it is an informal word for a prank. Here’s an example of dido in use: The cup factory was a lot more fun when Ronnie was in charge. It was dido after dido all day long. The only problem was, with all those pranks being played, we never got any work done.

Glyptic is an adjective that means related to carving or engraving. Our word of the day came from the Greek word gluptikos (GLOOP tea kose) which means ‘carver.’ The word migrated to English in the early 19th century and is today used to describe anything related to carving or engraving. My daughter’s glyptic activities on the weekend have begun to take up a great deal of her time. I only hope her...

Nonage is a noun that refers to immaturity. Our word of the day comes from Middle English, combining the Latin prefix N-O-N with the English word age. Here’s an example of it in use: Terry’s nonage was filled with all kinds of tomfoolery. But he’s no longer an adolescent, so it simply doesn’t make sense for him to behave in such an immature way anymore.

Catamount is a noun that refers to a wild cat, especially those found in mountainous regions. Our word of the day combines the English words ‘cat’ and ‘mountain’ to give us a word for wild cats that dwell in the mountains. The word covers a wide range of species, but usually refers to a medium or large cat. Nobody got hurt on last year’s trip to Tibet, but we did have some close calls. We saw a ca...

Appurtenance is a noun that refers to an item indicating a particular lifestyle. Our word of the day is not to be confused with the word appurtenant, which means ‘pertinent.’ But the two words share a common ancestry in the Latin word appertinere (ah PER tin air ay) which means ‘belong to.’ Appurtenance refers to an item associated with an activity or style or living. Here’s an example: After a wh...

Cynosure is a noun that refers to a person or thing that is the center of attention. Our word of the day comes from the Greek words for ‘tail’ and ‘dog.’ The term initially referred to the constellation Ursa Minor or the pole star which it contains. This star was used for quite some time by navigators, which made it the center of attention for many people. Today, we use the word Cynosure to descri...

Epexegesis is a noun that refers to the addition of words to clarify meaning. Our word of the day comes directly from the Greek words for ‘in addition’ and ‘explanation.’ Here is an example of epexegesis: Don’t get me wrong, I like those short simple sentences that our manager uses. I just think there are times when it may be helpful for him to add an epexegesis. Sometimes a clarification is neede...

Icarian is an adjective that means excessively ambitious. Our word of the day comes from the figure of Greek mythology who ambitiously tried to fly — only to have his wings melt, leading to his tragic demise. Icarian is a word used to describe a person whose ambitions — like Icarus — were excessive.