Word of the Day

Troika is a noun that refers to a group of three united in power or acting in unison. Our word of the day comes directly from Russian, where it refers to ‘a team of three horses.’ Its English cousin has a broader meaning and refers to any powerful group of three — regardless of species. I was hoping to form a troika with two of my more powerful co-workers. But as it turns out, I wasn’t considered...

Occlude is a verb that means to obstruct or block. The Latin word claudere (clow ooh DARE ay) means ‘to close off.’ By adding the prefix O — which means ‘in the way,’ we get a word that means ‘to get in the way.’ For example: All that construction on Hemming street has made my life very difficult. How can I possibly enjoy my summer as long as those guys occlude my path to the beach?

Dolor is a noun that refers to anguish or grief. Our word of the day comes from the Latin word dolere (doe LAIR ay) which means ‘to grieve’ or ‘feel pain.’ The basic meaning of dolor has remained much the same after evolving into the English word dolor. After that big defeat of the Red Sox, I was inconsolable. The dolor from that game has stayed with me for many years.

Sublunary is an adjective that means relegated to Earth or mundane. Our word of the day combines the Latin word luna (LOON uh) with the prefix S-U-B and the suffix A-R-Y. When combined we get a word that means ‘under the moon’ or ‘related to the terrestrial world.’ Used more metaphorically, it means ‘ordinary.’ When I saw that strange orb in the sky, I thought I was witnessing a UFO. But the incid...

Deciduous is an adjective that means ephemeral or temporary. Our word of the day is derived from the Latin word cadere (cah DARE ay) which means ‘fall.’ The addition of the prefix D-E gets us to a word that means ‘fall off’ or ‘fall away.’ When something eventually falls off, it is considered temporary. The success I had in ping pong was deciduous. It was only a matter of time before my skills det...

Attenuate is a verb that means to weaken or reduce in force. The Latin word attenuare (ah ten WAAR ay) means ‘to make thin’ or ‘to diminish.’ When we attenuate something, we reduce it, usually in terms of its power. If it gets any hotter in here, we’ll need to call in the janitor to fix this central heating system. If he can’t attenuate the system’s heating power, I feel like I’ll explode.

Saponaceous is an adjective that means slippery. The Latin word sapon (SOP on) means ‘soap.’ In time, this word evolved into our word of the day which means ‘soap.’ It may refer literally to something made of soap or, in a more figurative sense, it may mean ‘slippery’ as in ‘elusive.’ For example: When it comes to tracking him down, James can be a bit saponaceous. Just when you think you’ve found...

Congruent is an adjective that means consistent. Our word of the day comes directly from Latin where it means ‘come together.’ It shares its roots with words like ‘congress’ and ‘congregate.’ When two things come together in unison, they could be considered consistent or congruent. Abby’s behavior may be weird, but at least her weirdness is congruent with the behavior of everybody else in the band...

Recidivate is a verb that means to relapse into a previous condition. The Latin word recidivus rech ay DEEV ose) means ‘recurring’ or ‘falling back.’ Our word of the day is often used in a context that refers to criminal behavior. My client may have had something of a criminal past, but I can say with complete certainty that after this warning, he won’t recidivate to a life of crime anymore.

Perpetuity is a noun that refers to the state of being eternal. Our word of the day comes from the Latin word perpetuus (PAIR pay toos) which means ‘continual.’ Perpetuity is often, but not exclusively, used in a legal context. For example: Our contract stipulated that I will have the rights to my songs in perpetuity. That’s good news because I want my music to remain mine forever.

Conflate is a verb that means ‘to bring together’ or ‘fuse.’ Our word of the day comes from the Latin word conflare (con FLARE ay) which means ‘to blow together.’ When we conflate two things, we usually combine them, but sometimes we confuse them. For example: Please don’t conflate my request for a demand. I would never think of requiring you to order my sandwiches on your time.

Glower is a verb that means to look with annoyance or anger. The origin of our word of the day is unclear, but it does seem to be derived from a middle English word for ‘to be overcast.’ I didn’t know what was on Arne’s mind at the meeting, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t like what I had to say. He seemed to glower at me during the entire proceeding.

Eminence grise is a noun that refers to a person who unofficially has great power. Our word of the day comes directly from a Latin phrase that once referred to a royal confidant of a powerful figure. More recently it has been used to refer to the elder member of a field or profession — one who still has power despite no longer holding a title. Horace may be the company’s president, but believe me,...

Coltish is an adjective that means energetic, but awkward. Our word of the day takes the word for a young male horse (colt) and combines it with the suffix I-S-H to mean something resembling a colt. The resemblance is related to the fiery spirit of young horses. A coltish person can be one who behaves wildly and recklessly. It embarrasses me to recall all the crazy behavior I engaged in as an adol...

Impregnable is an adjective that means incapable of being taken or conquered. Coming from a Middle French word that means ‘to take or capture,’ our word of the day took life by adding the prefix I-M, meaning ‘not’ and forming impregnable to mean ‘something that can not be taken.’ Since moving into the mansion, Connie has devised an impregnable burglar alarm system to make sure that no one can poss...

Oust is a verb that means to remove or dispossess. The Latin word obstare (ob STAR ay) means ‘to take away.’ From this origin we get our word of the day which means to take away someone’s position or status. For example: Don’t get me wrong, I feel Fred has been a great captain for our bowling team. But if he keeps showing up late for games, we may have to oust him from his leadership role. The way...

Alembic is a noun that refers to something that filters or refines. Coming directly from the French word for a particular kind of cup, alembic can be used either literally to refer to something that filters or refines liquids or it can be used metaphorically to mean anything that serves to filter out something unwanted. Here’s an example of the latter: My job at the company was to filter out any o...

Depreciate is a verb that means to lower in honor or value. Our word of the day comes from the Latin word pretium (PRAY tee um) which means ‘price.’ With the addition of the prefix D-E, we get a word that means to ‘lower’ the price of value. The word can be used to refer to the value of a number of things, for example: I don’t think it was a good idea to have a pet tiger in our living room. I’m af...

Contemporaneous is an adjective that means occurring or originating at the same time. Our word of the day comes from the Latin word contemporāneus (cone temp or AHH nay ose) which means ‘timely.’ If two things take place contemporaneous to each other, they happen at the same time. I love asking my grandad about the early days of television. It’s great to talk to someone who grew up contemporaneous...

Expatiate is a verb that means to move freely or wander. The Latin word exspatiari (ex POT ee air ay) which means ‘to wander from a course’ is where our word of the day has wandered. A person can expatiate on foot by walking away from a path or they can do it with words by digressing from the topic, for example: I liked Rhonda’s speech about the beauty of public parks, but I didn’t care for the pa...

Ambit is a noun that refers to the bounds or limits of a place. The Latin word ambitus (am BEE toos) means ‘a circuit’ or ‘circumference.’ A person’s ambit refers to the space they are allowed to work with. I know the problems in the packing department are outside of my ambit, but I really think there are issues that everyone at the company — regardless of their department — has to deal with.

Remora is a noun that refers to a hindrance or a drag. Our word of the day gets its name from a long, thin fish that is known to attach itself to an animal and behave like a parasite. When used outside of the realm of the animal kingdom, it may refer to anything that acts in a parasitic manner, for example: Those reporters really can make it difficult for the police to do their jobs. They attach o...

Nadir is a noun that refers to the lowest point. Having roots in Arabic, our word of the day’s origin is in astronomy. A nadir refers to the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the zenith and vertically downward from the observer. In more common usage, the word simply means ‘a things lowest point.’ For example: I think my athletic career reached its nadir when I struck out five...

Endue is a verb that means to provide or endow. The Latin word inducere (in do CHAIR ay) means ‘to introduce’ in the way that you would introduce something into a person’s life. When you endue something to a person, you provide it or ‘introduce’ it. Someday, I hope to endue a business to my children. It may take a while, but It has always been a dream of mine to endow them with a means to make a l...

Impresario is a noun that refers to a promoter of entertainment. The Italian word impresa (im PRAYS uh) refers to ‘an undertaking.’ An impresario is someone involved in entertainment undertakings. We needed the help of a well-connected impresario in order for our band to be a success. Having a promoter helps spark great word of mouth among music fans.