Word of the Day

Yare is an adjective that means ready or set for action. Coming from Old English, our word of the day was originally a term used to describe a ship that was easily manageable. Over time, it became more commonly used in everyday life. For example: The fans may have been yare, but the team was sluggish and unprepared. And unfortunately, the fans weren’t the ones on the field facing the Pittsburgh St...

Roister is a verb that means to engage in boisterous revelry. The Latin word rusticus (ROOS tea coos) meaning ‘rustic’ or ‘rural.’ In time, the word’s meaning shifted and roister became a verb that described the act of celebrating in a loud and boisterous way. I can still remember all the noise and ruckus outside when the Cubs won the world series. I could hear rowdy fans roister well into th...

Prima facie is an adjective that means based on the first impression. It can also be used as an adverb that means ‘on the first impression.’ Our word of the day comes directly from a Latin phrase that translates to ‘first face,’ meaning the appearance you first see. I know that prima facie, our team doesn’t look very good, but trust me: we’re a lot more athletic and less hard working than we appea...

Objurgate is a verb that means to harshly criticize. The Latin word objugare (obe joo GARE ay) means ‘abuse’ or ‘rebuke.’ This word was imported into English in the early 17th century and has maintained the same basic meaning. I often find myself in a position where I have to objurgate my students for their work habits. Harsh criticism, although not everybody’s favorite method, works very well.

Mononym is a noun that refers to a first name without a surname. The Prefix M-O-N-O comes from Greek and means ‘alone’ or ‘singular.’ When combined with the Greek word onyma (OH nee ma) the result is our word of the day which refers to a single name. A mononym may be a moniker given to someone who has last name or it may be a historical figure known only by a single name. For example:

Nouveau riche is an adjective that means a rich person who has recently acquired their wealth as opposed to having inherited it. Our word of the day comes directly from a French phrase that translates to ‘new rich.’ The word is frequently used in the plural to describe a class of people who have only recently come into money. I find all the nouveau rich very charming in their own way. Sure th...

Nostrum is a noun that refers to a quick fix. The latin word noster (KNOW ster) means ‘our.’ Nostrum, which evolved from this word is used in the sense of ‘something of our own making.’ In medicine the word is used in reference to a homemade treatment, often something done in an emergency. Nostrum can also be used outside of a medical context. For example: This last minute haircut was just a nostr...

Vinculum is a noun that refers to a unifying bond. The Latin word vincire (vin CHEER ay) means ‘bind.’ This word later evolved into our word of the day and is today frequently used in anatomy and math to refer to various kinds of chemical and mathematical bonds. The word can also be used in a casual context. For example: After watching all those old westerns together, my father and I have for...

Nitid is an adjective that means bright and lustrous. Our word of the day comes from the Latin word nitidus (KNEE tea deuce) which has also birthed the word ‘neat.’ But between the two words, nitid is the more glamorous. Angie had the most nitid eyes I had ever seen. She found it odd that I wanted to use her to find my keys under the couch, but I figured I may has well put such bright eyes to use.

Mentation is a noun that refers to mental activity. Mens (MENS) is the Latin word for minds. It has given English such related words as ‘mental,’ ‘mentality,’ and our word of the day, mentation which may refer to any kind of behavior performed by the brain. Discovering who ate the cookies didn’t require any mentation on my part. I only had to trace the crumbs to Oscar’s food dish. The only calcula...

Conge is a noun that refers to an unceremonious dismissal. Coming originally from the Latin word commeatus (comb may OT toos) which means ‘go and come,’ our word of the day was later imported into French and is now used to refer to a dismissal of some kind. It can be used formally or casually. An example of its casual use: Gloria was willing to endure all of my personal quirks up to a point. But w...

Noxious is an adjective that means dangerous. The Latin word noxa (NOKES ah) means ‘harm.’ This word has evolved into a number of English words like ‘obnoxious,’ and ‘nausea’ that refer to some form of harm. Noxious usually describes something poisonous or very unpleasant — often something of a moral nature. For example: All those noxious ideas from my campaign manager probably caused me to lose t...

Nimbus is a noun that refers to a luminous cloud surrounding something. The Latin word nimbus (NEEM boose) means ‘rainstorm,’ and, from this origin, our word of the day came to refer to a cloud or halo surrounding something or someone. Although often used in reference to supernatural beings, it can also be used more literally to simply refer to a large, gray rain cloud. Example: The nimbus on the...

Devi is a noun that refers to a Goddess and it is sometimes used as a title. Our word of the day comes from Sanskrit and is frequently used in Hundu culture. It refers to the supreme goddess and it is also used after the first name of a Hindu woman as a form of respect. For example: We enjoyed dinner at the Dange home. Deval Devi served us a delicious meal.

Laggard is an adjective that means the tendency to lag behind. It’s also a noun that refers to someone one lags behind. The exact origin of our word of the day is unclear, but we know the word ‘lag’ entered the English language somewhere around the early 16th century. To lag means to fall behind in movement or progress, so as a noun, a laggard is someone who is in the habit of falling behind....

Picayune is an adjective that means petty or meaningless and a noun that refers to an insignificant person or thing. Our word of the day comes directly from French, where it refers to a 19th century copper coin. Because this coin had a fairly small value, the word picayune came to refer to something or someone who didn’t mean much. For example: I thought I was the star of our band, but didn’t...

Squee is a noun that means a delighted squeal and a verb that means to squeal. The origin of squee is unclear, but, as a noun it refers to a cry of delight. Here’s an example of squee used as a verb where it means ‘to squeal.” I was so happy when the Steelers won the Super bowl, people could hear me squee with joy from blocks away. That’s the kind of unfettered delight that comes from a true...

Erumpent is an adjective that means bursting forth. Our word of the day comes from the Latin erumpen (air ROOM pen) which means ‘erupting.’ It’s mainly used to describe plants or some other form of vegetation that are growing from the ground. But it can also be used figuratively, for example: At that time in New York, it seemed a brand new culture was erumpent. And as this new style of music burst...

Felicitate is a verb that means to congratulate. The Latin word Felix (FAY licks) means ‘happy,’ and it gave birth to our word of the day which is mainly used as a synonym of the verb congratulate. Peter and I may have had our differences over the years, but I nonetheless felt compelled to congratulate him at the black belt ceremony. I felt that the least I could for all his achievements was felic...

Jejune is an adjective that means naive or simplistic. Our word of the day comes from the Latin word jejunus (jay JOO noose) which means ‘without food.’ From this, the word later came to refer to opinions or thoughts that were ‘without intellectual nourishment.’ Here’s an example: Being a college junior with a love of philosophy can lend itself to lots of jejune opinions. But then again, most peop...

Scunner is a noun that refers to a strong dislike. The exact origin of scunner is unknown but we can trace it back to Late Middle English when it was first used to mean ‘shrink back with fear.’ More recently it refers an extreme aversion or dislike. Chris’ scunner of Spaghetti, linguini and garlic bread made no sense to me. After all, why own and operate an Italian restaurant if you hate Italian f...

Flexuous is an adjective that means full of bends and curves. Our word of the day comes from the Latin flexus (FLECK soos) which means ‘bended.’ Flexuous came to English around the early 17th century and holds the same basic meaning. The flexuous road ahead made me a little uneasy. Lots of curves and twists can be dangerous when several thousands of feet up.

Adventitious is an adjective that means happening by chance not design. The Latin word adventicius (odd VENT tee toose) means ‘coming to us from abroad.’ Our word of the day can maintain this definition or it means ‘coming from chance, not design.’ Here’s an example of the latter: Our team’s victory was glorious, but in the end seemed adventitious. Luck was the only way to explain how we defe...

Bunyip is a noun that refers to a counterfeit or imposter. It's also an adjective that means phony. Our word of the day comes directly from an Australian aborigine language and refers to a mythical monster. By the mid-19th century, it had come to be used to describe things that are imposters or pretenders. Here’s an example of bunyip in a sentence: I was delighted to see I’d gotten my hands on an...

Clamant is an adjective that means forcing itself on the attention. Our word of the day is derived from the Latin word clamare (kla MAR ay) which means ‘cry out or shout.’ Clamant is used to describe something that cries out for our attention. Example: when trapped in the wilderness, it’s always important to tend to your clamant needs first. So when the need for food cries out to you, it’s time to...