Word of the Day

Malversation is a noun that refers to corrupt behavior. The Latin word versare (ver SAR ay) means ‘to turn.’ After evolving into a word of English, it took on the prefix M-A-L, meaning ‘bad.’ By combining these, we get a word that refers to corruption. Our word of the day may be used in any concept that involves corruption, but it generally refers to corruption by someone in public office. All the...

Remonstrate is a verb that means to say or plead in protest. The Latin verb monstrare (mon STAR ay) means ‘to show.’ After drifting into the English language, our word of the day added the prefix R-E, meaning ‘in reference to’ or ‘about.’ To remonstrate an argument means to plead ‘in reference to it — or, more specifically — against it. For example: A trip the beach in Duluth, Minnesota was a bad...

Dauntless is an adjective that means fearless. The Latin word domare (doe MARE ay) means ‘to subdue or tame.’ Our word of the day describes someone who has tamed their courage. The sheriff may have looked dauntless as he approached the gunfight, but on the inside, he was awfully afraid of what Big Joe could do to him.

Caprice is a noun that refers to a sudden impulsive action. Stemming from the Italian word capriccio (cah PREACH ee oh) which means ‘a shudder,’ our word of the day may describe any sudden action that was unplanned or unmotivated. Geography can be a difficult class to study for because Mr. Picket often gives tests based on his own caprice. When his impulses tell him to spring a test, he springs th...

Chapfallen is an adjective that means dejected or dispirited. A person or animal’s chaps refers to their jaw or the fleshy skin covering their jaw. It is basically the same word as ‘chops,’ as in, ‘Tyler licked his chops.’ If someone’s chops or chaps have fallen, it means that person is depressed or uninspired. I didn’t understand the chapfallen look on the coach’s face until I looked up at the sc...

Sortilege is a noun that refers to sorcery.  Taking its origin from the Latin word sortilegium (soar too LEDGE um) our word of the day goes back to the 14th century and initially referred to the divination of a person’s fate. More recently it refers to any form of sorcery.  When I predicted the joke dad would tell at thanksgiving dinner, people thought I had engaged in some kind of sorti...

Fatidic is an adjective that means of or related to predicting fates. The Latin word Fatum (FAH toom) means ‘what was spoken.’ It gave us the word ‘fate,’ which, in turn, gave us our word of the day. When I saw a three etched on the football team’s chalkboard, I couldn’t help but think there was something fatidic about that number. And true enough, three is exactly how many points we wound up scor...

Pantheon is a noun that refers to a group of illustrious or notable people. The Pantheon is a circular dome built 19th centuries ago — and still standing to this day. It was intended as a temple to the gods and its name is derived from the Greek words for ‘’all’ and ‘god.’Today the word refers to a group of admirable people who’ve achieved greatness. Ronnie’s latest album puts him among the panthe...

Roman a clef is a noun that refers to a work of art that features real people under the guise of fiction. The French translation of our word of the day is ‘Novel with a key.’ The tradition of a fictional novel that is, in reality, a portrayal of real people dates back to the 19th century. Those novels included an actual key, meaning a list of the book’s characters and the real people they represen...

Catholicity is a noun that refers to broadness or universality. You may recognize the word ‘catholic’ in our word of the day. This is no coincidence. The Greek origin of the word ‘catholic’ had nothing to do with religion. Instead it meant ‘whole’ or ‘universal.’ Catholicity is the noun version of catholic. I enjoyed my years at college, but I often wish I’d gotten a broader, more complete educati...

Refractory is an adjective that means hard to manage or stubborn. Refractory is also a noun that refers to a stubborn or resistant or stubborn person. Our word of the day is derived from the Latin word refractarius (ray frack TAR ee oos) which means ‘resistant.’ Refractory was originally used mostly in medical contexts, in reference to a disease or condition that is resistant to treatment. Mo...

Sororal is an adjective that means characteristic of a sister. The Latin word soror (SOAR or) means ‘sister.’ This word later evolved into our word of the day, which you could think of as a female variation on the word ‘fraternal,’ which means ‘brotherly.’ It’s good to see Valerie and Miriam getting along so well. When they clashed at first, it seemed unlikely the two ladies would have anything re...

Nonplus is a verb that means to perplex or put at a loss of words. It is also occasionally used as a noun that refers to a state of perplexity. The Latin phrase non plus (known PLUS) means ‘no more.’ Once imported into English, the word became a synonym of ‘puzzle’ and ‘confuse.’ Joel’s odd behavior always seems to nonplus me. I’m most confused by his tendency to dress in swimming trunks when...

Flinty is an adjective that means stern or unyielding. The word flint, which is derived from Old English, refers to a type of rock known for its hardness and inflexibility. Describing someone as ‘flinty’ means they are inflexible or unwilling to yield to someone else’s way. Terry isn’t my favorite person to work with. He’s good at his job, but he can be flinty when it comes to doing things his own...

Facetiae is a noun that refers to ‘witty or humorous writing.’ Our word of the day is borrowed directly from Latin, where it means ‘amusing things.’ In English, it holds the same meaning. Keep in mind that it’s a close relative to the word ‘facetious.’ The speech Marty wrote for the memorial service was awful. He’s great at writing facetiae, but when tasked with penning something serious, he’s out...

Interregnum is a noun that refers to ‘a pause between a continuous series.’ Our word of the day has its basis in the Latin word regnum (RAIN yoom) which refers to a ‘reign’ or ‘a kingdom.’ The prefix I-N-T-E-R means ‘between’ as in ‘interrupt.’ The word was first used in reference to an interruption in the reign of popes, but it later came to refer to other interruptions in political reigns. Today...

Welkin is a noun that refers to ‘the sky’ or ‘the heavens above.’ Having its origin in Old English, our word of the day has been around since the 12th century. It may be used in a Biblical sense to refer to the heavens above or it may simply mean ‘the sky.’ When I heard all that racket outside, I expected angles to descend from the welkin. But all I saw coming from the sky was giant, golf-ball siz...

De novo is an adjective that means ‘from the beginning.’ Our word of the day comes directly from Latin, where its translation is ‘new’ or ‘from the beginning.’ If was frustrating, after all that work, to begin the process de novo. But we felt that starting from scratch was the only way to get the project done right.

Polity is a noun that refers to ‘a politically organized unit.’ You might have guessed that our word of the day is a close relative to words like ‘policy’ and ‘politician.’ These words are derived from the Latin word politia (poe LEET ee uh) which means ‘government.’ The word is always used in reference to a group of people — never a single individual. Ryan thought he could save the polity of his...

Betoken is a verb that means ‘to give evidence of.’ Our word of the day is derived from an Old English word that later evolved into token, which means ‘to signify.’ Grace’s outfit perfectly betokens her sense of style. Just like her, it is classy, delicate and beautiful.

Permutation is a noun that means ‘a major change.’ The Latin word permutare (per myoo TAR ay) means ‘to change thoroughly.’ Our word of the day has changed only slightly after being imported into English and retained the same basic meaning. It  may help to think of a permutation as a mutation that significantly alters the thing it changes. When Donna said she’d give me a haircut that would ch...

Interpose is a verb that means to ‘put something between.’ Our word of the day has its origin in the Middle French words for ‘between’ and ‘place.’ It is possible to interpose an abject or oneself, for example: I was afraid all that heated conversation between Chad and Phil would turn into a fist fight, so I had no choice but to interpose myself between them.

Cloying is an adjective that means ‘distasteful in excess’ or ‘overly sentimental.’ The Latin word clavus (CLA voos) means ‘nail.’ When this word entered Middle English, its meaning shifted to ‘clog.’ It later evolved into ‘cloy,’ maintaining the same meaning. Our word of the day is used best in reference to something that would ordinarily be pleasant but becomes unpleasant in an excessive amount,...

Erstwhile is an adjective that means ‘previous’ or ‘former.’ Occasionally, it pops up as an adverb that means ‘in the past.’ Our word of the day has been around since the 16th century, but its origin is in two much older words from Old English. The word’s first syllable E-R-S-T once meant ‘earlier’ and the second part W-H-I-L-E had the same meaning as the modern word ‘while.’ An example of erstwhi...

Chaffer is a verb that means to haggle or bargain. Coming from Middle English, our word of the day was in the past used as a noun that referred to ‘a bargain.’ These days it is mostly used as a verb that is a synonym of ‘haggle’ or ‘negotiate.’ Here on the west coast, I find that merchants are less open to having their customers haggle with them for a better price. Whereas in New York, we used to...