Word of the Day

Glen is a noun that refers to a valley. Coming from Late Middle English, our word of the day is a good when to recall when you’re on a hike and you find a narrow, secluded pathway between two hills. The view from the mountain’s peak was spectacular, but it was also breathtaking to hike through the glen and gaze up at the magnificent peaks from below.

Wont can be a noun, adjective or verb, depending on context. As a noun it refers to someone's habitual way. Our word of the day is spelled like won’t without the apostrophe and is pronounced like W-A-N-T, but its meaning and origin is different from both of those words. Coming from Old English, wont — W-O-N-T — means a person’s customary behavior in a given situation. Charlie’s custom of prac...

Ergonomics is a noun that refers to the science of design. The Greek word ergon (AIR gon) means ‘work.’ Our word of the day combines this word with ‘nomics,’ which refers to ‘the art of managing a household.’ This gets us to ergonomics which can be thought of a science, but, in everyday use, can simply refer to the placement of our desk or living room couch. Example: The ergonomics or Ted’s office...

Millstone is a noun that refers to a heavy burden. Traditionally, a millstone is a heavy stone used to crush something. This is the origin of our word of the day, but in more recent use, millstone is generally applied metaphorically. For example: Kari used to think of that piano in her living room as a millstone, something that would be a real pain to deal with when it was time to move. But since...

Bedraggled is an adjective that means dirty and disheveled. The root word of bedraggled is drag, which has an origin from Middle English. When we say someone is or looks bedraggled, we mean they seem as though they’ve been dragged around and roughed up. For example: It was embarrassing to see my kids show up at their graduation right after baseball practice, looking like they’d been dragged there...

Shibboleth is a noun that refers to a use of language unique to a particular group. Our word of the day comes from Hebrew. It means ‘ear of corn,’ but more importantly the word came to be used as a password to determine if someone was from the proper tribe. In more recent years, it simply refers to a word that is unique to a particular group of people. For example: I used to think of the word...

Elephantine is an adjective that means massive and not easily handled. You may have guessed that our word of the day comes from the word elephant, which is Greek in origin. And like many words named after specific animals, it refers to behavior that an elephant is best known for. Being large, clumsy and awkward. Troy’s elephantine behavior may have helped in rugby, but it didn’t do much in gymnast...

Heedful is an adjective that means paying attention to. The German word huten (HOOT n) means ‘hat,’ but it can also be used to mean ‘to shelter or cover.’ This is the origin of the the word heed, which means to ‘pay attention to.’ To be heedful is to be aware and attentive to. I was heedful of rattlesnakes during our hike through the mountain because I’d been warned of dangerous creatures. Too bad...

Unbidden is an adjective that means unsolicited or uninvited. The German word bitten (BIT en) means ‘to ask.’ This word has evolved into the word bid, which means ‘to command or invite.’ When someone does something unbidden they do it without having been asked or demanded. For example: It was nice of Johnny to make the unbidden offer of helping with the cookout, especially since he wasn’t even req...

Effectuate is a verb that means to bring something about. The Latin word effectus (eff ECK toos) simply means ‘to effect.’ Our word of the day could be thought of as a more formal version of ‘effect.’ I was hoping I could effectuate a big change at the office by introducing new technology, but the only thing I brought about was more chaos and confusion.

Enkindle is a verb that means to set on fire. Coming from Middle English, our word of the day could be thought of as a more literary variation of the word ‘kindle.’ It may come in handy when searching for a more romantic or sentimental word and ‘kindle’ just won’t do. For example: I told Veronica that she would soon enkindle my heart, but my phrasing didn’t have the effect I was seeking. It only s...

Today’s word of the day is keelhaul, K-E-E-L-H-A-U-L. Keelhaul is a verb that means to rebuke harshly. The origin of our word of the day is from the Dutch word kielhalen (KEEL hall en) which was named for the act of dragging someone through water under the keel of the ship as a form of punishment. More recently the word simply means to punish someone severely. For example: I hope they don’t keelha...

Descamisado is a noun that refers to a very poor person. It can also refer to a revolutionary. The literal Spanish translation of our word of the day is ‘shirtless.’ But our word of the day simply refers to any person in poverty. I decided to donate my old car to a descamisado I ran into on the road. Anyone in the such dire circumstances was clearly in greater need of transportation. The word was...

Sansculotte is a noun that refers to an extreme revolutionary. Our word of the day comes from French, where its literal translation is ‘without knee breeches,’ a look you’d expect from a poor person. This is how sansculette came to refer to a French revolutionary from the lower classes. More recently, it has come to refer to any radical revolutionary regardless of class background or national orig...

Obeisance is a noun that refers to deferential respect. Coming from Middle English, our word of the day is related to the word ‘obey,’ as in ‘comply with the command.’ When we pay obeisance to someone we are paying our respects. For example: When visiting foreign countries, I didn’t understand the need to bow or curtsy to certain people. It was soon explained to me that it was custom to pay obeisa...

Inestimable is an adjective that means too valuable to be measured or calculated. The root word of the our word of the day is estimate. It comes from the Latin word aestimare (eye ess team ARE ay) which means ‘to appraise’ or ‘determine.’ When we say something is inestimable, we say its value is too great to be determined. For example: Amy’s contribution to the firm has been inestimable. We can’t...

Snooker is a verb that means to entrap or hoodwink. The origin of our word of the day is unknown, but it is generally used as a synonym of ‘hoodwink’ or ‘bamboozle.’ Chuck tried to snooker me into buying some Florida swamp land a few years ago, but I didn’t fall victim to that scam. By that time, I’d been hoodwinked into so many bogus opportunities that I could smell a swindle a mile away.

Raze is a verb that means to completely destroy. The latin word radere (RAH dare ay) means ‘shave’ or ‘scrape.’ When something is shaven or scraped away, it is demolished or destroyed. The word is often used to describe property that is being demolished. For example: there was something sad about watching them bulldoze my old school. It was devastating to watch them raze the building where I spent...

Accoutrement is a noun that refers to an additional item of dress. Our word of the day comes directly from French, where it means ‘clothing.’ But its English counterpart refers more specifically to ‘additional clothing.’ For example: The difficult thing about being a boy scout is remembering to bring all those accoutrements to every meeting. I forgot to bring my bandana once and that people didn’t...

Dither is a verb that means to behave indecisively. Coming from Middle English, our word of the day once meant to ‘tremble’ or ‘shake.’ Today, we use the word to describe a different kind of going back and forth. It was funny to watch my dad dither on the team he wanted to cheer for. He went back and forth between the Cubs — because he’d always been a Cubs fan — and the Twins — because his nephew...

Retrofit is a verb that means to adapt to a new purpose. The prefix retro, from the Latin word meaning ‘back,’ is used to indicate something that takes us back in some sense. In the case of retrofit, we are describing going back and altering an item to meet needs that have changed. When I needed a backpack for the hiking trip, I had to retrofit my banjo case to carry food in it. It was surprisingl...

Wheedle is a verb that means to coax through flattery. The German word wedeln (VEE den) means ‘wag the tail’ which is often a euphemism of ‘flatter.’ After entering English in the 17th century, our word of the day has come tom means ‘to persuade or coax with flattery.’ It was easy to wheedle other members of the board into scheduling more parties. All I had to do was convince them how much I would...

Jawbone is a verb that means to speak forcefully and persuasively to. Our word of the day comes from the part of the body used for talking — the jawbone. When we jawbone someone into something, we try to aggressively talk them into it. My son’s ability to jawbone may come in handy for a career in politics someday. Just last Saturday, he was able to jawbone me into giving him a second cupcake with...

Tranche is a noun that refers to a portion of money. Our word of the day comes from Old French where it is translated as ‘slice’ or ‘cut.’ When we refer to a tranche of something, we mean a portion that has been divided or cut away. Tranche is typically used to refer to money. For example: Amanda’s Tranche of the profit came to seventy-five dollars. She was disappointed as she assumed her portion...

Athwart is an adverb that means in opposition to or across from. The word thwart, which is from Middle English descent, is a verb that means ‘to prevent someone from doing something.’ By adding the prefix A, we get a preposition or adverb that describes the position of someone or something. For example: After softball practice we were all starving. Luckily there was a pizza place athwart the softb...