Word of the Day

Locus is a noun that refers to a particular position, point or place. Our word of the day comes directly from the Latin word that means ‘place’ or ‘location.’ By the early 18th century, locus had entered English with its current meaning. Here’s an example: The locus of power in our city government had always been the city council. If you want to get anything done here, that’s the place you simply...

Tumid is an adjective that means enlarged or swollen.  The Latin word tumere (to MARE ay) means ‘to swell.’ By the mid-16th century, its English counterpart, tumid, had emerged. Our word of the day can refer to many different kinds of states of enlargement. Here’s an example of tumid used in a more figurative sense: The critics found my novel poorly written and objected to my tumid use of language...

Choler is a noun that refers to anger or irascibility.  The Greek word Kholera (ko LEH rah) refers to a disease of a gastrointestinal disease. As the word entered Latin and later English, it took on a more benign form and came to refer to a person’s anger. Here’s an example: Fred’s choler can be difficult to deal with. You have to make sure you don’t say anything to set off his short fuse. 

Repast is a noun that refers to a meal.  The Latin word pascere (PA share ay) means ‘to feed.’ This is the origin of our word of the day which has been with us since the late Middle English period. Here’s an example: A slice of cheese may not have made much of a repast, but I suppose it’s better than going around hungry.

Inutile is an adjective that means useless or pointless.  The Latin word utilis (oo TEE lis) means ‘useful.’ We see the offspring of it in words like ‘utilize’ and ‘utility.’ Our word of the day adds the prefix I-N to it and we get a word that means ‘not useful.’ Here’s an example: After six weeks of working as a coder, I began to feel pretty useless. I might have been more helpful if I actually k...

Calque is a noun that refers to a word that comes from one language and enters another with the same meaning. Our word of the day comes from the French word calquer (kal KAY) which means ‘copy.’ When a word gets copied from one language to another it is a calque. It may be helpful to remember that calque itself is a calque. Here’s an example: For an English speaker, Spanish is a relatively easy la...

Benignant is an adjective that means kindly or benevolent.  In addition to our word of the day, the Latin word bene (BEN ay) has given the English language words like ‘beneficial,’ ‘benefactor,’ and ‘benediction.’ Benignant is best used to describe sweet or kind behavior, for example: I’ve always found that acting in a benignant manner is a good idea for salesman. After all, who wants to buy a car...

Idler is a noun that refers to a habitually lazy person. Our word of the day has its origin in the Old English word idel (EE deel) meaning ‘empty’ or ‘useless.’ It soon evolved into the contemporary English word idle and with it, came the word idler to describe someone inclined to be idle or useless. Here’s an example: You can’t really be an idler in the real estate business. If you sit around and...

Venturesome is an adjective that means willing to take risks. Coming from Middle English, the word venture is an abbreviated version of ‘adventure,’ or exciting hazardous activity. The suffix SOME means ‘characterized by being.’ We see it in words like ‘tiresome,’ ‘fearsome’ and our word of the day venturesome. Here’s an example of it in use: I wasn’t what you’d call a venturesome child. My idea o...

Bane is a noun that refers to a cause of great distress or annoyance. The Old English word bana (BAH nah) means ‘death or poison.’ In time this word drifted into English with a less lethal meaning. It now simply refers to a source of irritation or frustration. Example: That annoying construction crew next door has become the bane of the neighborhood. How can anybody get any sleep with all that noi...

Maladroit is an adjective that means ineffective or bungling.  The word adroit has French origins and means skilful or clever. Our word of the day adds the prefix M-A-L which means ‘not,’ and gets us a word that means useless or unskilled. Here’s an example of maladroit in use: Given our basketball team’s tendency toward maladroit ball handling, it’s a wonder we ever scored any points. An inabilit...

Whirligig is a noun that refers to a toy that spins around.  Our word of the day came from Late Middle English and meant ‘a whipping top.’ Although it originally referred to a specific toy, it later was used to describe any kind of toy that spins. Example: That whirligig had my son transfixed all day. I’m sure in time, it’ll take much more to capture his attention, but for now, it's fun to see...

Coppice is a noun that refers to a thick growth of shrubbery, small trees or underbrush.  The Latin word colpus (COLE poos) means ‘a blow.’ From there our word of the day shifted its meaning and by the Late Middle English period, it came to refer to a shrubbery. Here’s an example: The coppice out back was lovely. It’s nice to see some greenery this far into the desert. 

Tetchy is an adjective that means bad-tempered and irritable.  Our word of the day has something of a mysterious origin, but it seems it may have been derived from the Scots word tache (TACH) which means ‘fault.’ After drifting into English it’s maintained its current form since the late 16th century.  Steve is a brilliant plumber but his tetchy personality makes it hard for him to get clients. So...

Covey is a noun that refers to a small party or flock of birds.  The Latin word cubare (coo BAR ay) means ‘lie down.’  Our word of the day began life in the Middle English period and has since mostly been used to describe a gathering of birds, but can be used to describe anything — even people. Here’s an example: I was shocked to see a covey of trick-or-treaters at my door last week, partly becaus...

Riparian is an adjective that means related to rivers or streams.  Our word of the day, which has been around since the mid-19th century, can refer to something situated on the bank of a river, or it can simply mean something pertaining to a river. here’s an example of the latter: My dog Bobby used to love those walks we would take to the river. Those riparian strolls were some of the most fun we...

Mure is a verb that means to shut in an enclosed space.  Our word of the day comes from the Old French word for ‘to wall up’ or enclose. It’s been enclosed in the English language since the Middle English period. Here’s an example of mure in use:  As a kid, I would always try to mure my comics in a narrow crack in the wall. That way, my little brother couldn’t find them and mess them all up.

Prevenient is an adjective that means preceding  The Latin prefix P-R-E means ‘before.’ You can find it in a number of English words like prevent, preheat and prefix. The word venire (vuh NEAR ay), also from Latin, means ‘to come.’ To come before something means to be prevenient to it. Here’s an example of it in use: I’m not sure what happened on the prevenient day, but on Friday, there was a huge...

Propaedeutic is a noun that refers to a preparatory study or instruction.  Derived from the Greek word propaideuein (pro pie DEH oo een) which means ‘to teach beforehand,’ our word of the day has been used by English speakers since the mid-17th century. Here’s an example of it in use: My history as a college student was pretty mixed. When I didn’t prepare, I got awful grades. But when I spent a gr...

Taxonomy is a noun that refers to a system of classification.  Our word of the day comes from the Greek word taxis (TAK sees) which means ‘arrangement’ along with the Greek suffix N-O-M-A-N-I-A, which means ‘distribution.’ Taxonomy emerged in the early 19th century and is mostly used in reference to classifying organisms. Here’s an example: It’s a good thing the people who discovered this cave wer...

Oxytone is an adjective that means having an accent on the last syllable. It’s also a noun that refers to a word that has an accent on the last syllable.  The Greek words oxus (ocks oose) and tonos (TOE nose) mean ‘sharp’ and ‘tone.’ Our word of the day has been with us since the mid 18th century. Here’s an example: Learning a new language can get easier once you learn that words in other language...

Taurine is an adjective that refers to a bull.  The Latin word taurus (TAR oos) means bull. By adding the suffix INE, our word of the day turns taurus into an adjective to describe behavior that is stubborn like a bull. Here’s an example: Shelly’s taurine demeanor can take a while to get used to. But once you accept that you’re never going to win an argument with her, you can get along with her pr...

Epicrisis is a noun that refers to something that follows a crisis.  Our word of the day combines the Greek prefix E-P-I, meaning ‘upon,’ with krisis (KREE sis) meaning ‘decision’ or ‘judgment.’ The word has been with us since the 15th century. Here’s an example: As if the result of our team’s game wasn’t horrific enough, there was a shocking epicrisis at our home. We ran out of cheese dip. 

Syllogism is a noun that refers to a form of logical argument featuring two propositions and a conclusion.  Our word of the day combines the Greek word sullogismos (soo low GISS mos) with another Greek word logos (LOW goes) which means ‘reasoning.’ Here’s an example of syllogism in use: I was perplexed by my philosophy teacher’s behavior, I tried to use a syllogism to understand his logic. It didn...

Asportation is a noun that refers to the illegal carrying away of property.  The Latin word asportare (as poor TAR ay) means ‘to carry away.’ Our word of the day is related to other kinds of carrying like transportation or deportation. It’s been with us since the late 15th century. Here’s an example: The sudden asportation of my lunch from the office deeply annoyed me. It’s one thing to grab a nap...