Word of the Day

Gimcrack is a noun that refers to something cheap and showy but of little use or an adjective that means showy but worthless. Our word of the day’s origin is uncertain, but it seems to have common ground with words from Middle English that refer to furniture that is ornamental, but serves no practical purpose. Gimcrack has retained this same meaning today. For example: All those decorative gimcrac...

Encomium is a noun that refers to glowing praise. The Greek word kōmos (COE mose) means ‘celebration.’ Enkōmion (en COMB ee um) referred specifically to an expression of praise made to a victor in the olympics. Later, the word was broadened to refer to any ode made is someone’s honor. We all love the wonderful work Nancy has done since arriving here. She deserves great encomium.

Prestidigitation is a noun that means sleight of hand. Our word of the day gets its origin by combining presto (PRESS toe) the Italian word for ‘quick’ and  digitus (DEE gee toos) the Latin word for ‘finger.’ Often used to describe the work of magicians, prestidigitation can also be used in other contexts, such as: I was fooled by the thief’s prestidigitation. If I hadn’t seem him secretly pu...

Bowdlerize is a verb that means to expurgate by omit parts considered vulgar. Our word of the day’s origin begins with a 19th century English physician named Thomas Bowdler. In 1818, Bowdler published a book called “Family Shakespeare” with the intention of omitting “those words which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family.” The book was successful with the general public, but literary an...

Lucullan is an adjective that means luxurious. The Roman general Lucius Licinius (loo SIN ee us) Lucullus had a reputation for having a lush lifestyle. From him we get our word of the day. I wasn’t looking to live a lucullan lifestyle. But now that I’ve won the lottery, I’m happy to live in the kind of luxury I never dreamed about as a younger man.

Indurate is a verb that means to harden or an adjective that means physically or morally hardened. The Latin word durus (DOO roos) means hard. It has spawned a number of other English words like, durable, endure and duration. As an adjective, If something is indurate is has become hardened over time. To Harden something or someone is to indurate them. All those years on the police force has indura...

Geoponic is an adjective that means related to farming. Derived from the Greek word ponein (POE neen) meaning ‘toil,’ our word of the day’s specific meaning is ‘tillage,’ but its broader meaning is agriculture. Having grown up on a farm, Mark is a great deal more knowledgeable about geoponic matters than I am.

Nocebo is a noun that refers to a harmless substance that causes harm because it is believed to be harmful. You may already be familiar with the word placebo, an innocuous substance that people may believe, through the power of suggestion, has the ability to heal. A nocebo is the opposite of a placebo. It is a harmless substance that people may believe, through the power of suggestion, has the pow...

Monepic is an adjective that means comprised of one word. Our word of the day is of Greek origin. The word epos (EP ose) means ‘word’ and combined with the prefix M-O-N, we get a ‘one word.’ A monepic statement simply means ‘a statement consisting of one word. After years of getting monepic replies from the coach, the reporters were stunned to hear Chuck give such a lengthy answer to their questio...

Materfamilias is a noun that refers to the female head of the household. Our word is a combination of two Latin words. Mater (MAH ter) meaning ‘mother,’ and familia (fa MEEL ee uh) meaning ‘family.’ Together they give us a word for a female who heads the household. As the materfamilias of a large Greek family, my mother knows a great deal about how to manage people who can be a little wild.

Periphrasis is a noun that means the use of more words than necessary. The Greek word phrazein (FRAH zeen) provides the origin of our word of the day. It means to point out. This evolved into a word that refers to excessive explanation. Craig doesn’t like employees who engage in periphrasis. An overly long explanation is simply excessive.

Blench is a verb that means to draw back from lack of courage. Derived from Old English, our word of the day, blench is similar to the word blanch, which means to grow pale from shock. Both words are used to describe things done in fear. Karen is a brave lady. She doesn’t blench when faced with a challenge.

Capstone is a noun that refers to a crowning achievement. Our word of the day combines ‘cap’ with ‘stone’ to refer to the final stone in a construction. As a building’s capstone is usually at or near the top, it makes sense that it would evolve into a word for ‘the highest point.’ I feel Gretchen’s last movie was the capstone of her career. It’s hard to imagine her topping that performance.

Dilapidated is an adjective that means decayed or fallen into partial ruin. Lapis (LAP eese) is the Latin word for stone. By adding the prefix D-I, we get the word for ‘pelt with stones.’ From there, it evolved into a word that means ‘destroyed from stones.’ More recently, it simply means decayed or destroyed — but not necessarily from stones. I can’t believe Rosemary wasted her money on that old...

Esprit de corps is a noun that refers to a spirit of solidarity. Our word of the day comes directly from French. It is often used to describe sports teams, militaries and other endeavors that require great solidarity. Without any sense of esprit de corps, our teams simply had no inspiration. A spirit of togetherness is very important for a bowling team.

Peremptory is an adjective that means dictatorial or not allowing contradictions. Our word of the day is derived from Latin. The word perimere (per ee MARE ay) means ‘to take entirely.’ A peremptory ruler is one that does not allow any kind of descent from their rule. The king’s rule was fully peremptory. Any attempt to oppose him was immediately stopped.

Terrene is an adjective that means earthly or mundane and also a noun that means earth or terrain. Terra (TEAR uh) is the Latin word for earth. When used as a noun, the word is basically the same as terrain, but with a different spelling. As an adjective it is a synonym of worldly, as in: As a younger person, I focused mostly on terrene matters. But as I’ve gotten older, I realized that there are...

Augean is an adjective that means extremely difficult. Our word of the day is a reference to Augean stable, the cleansing of which was one of the labors of Hercules. According to the legend, the stable had gone uncleansed for thirty years. In some contexts, Augean can mean filthy. But it usually means extremely difficult. Melanie was faced with the Augean task of putting little Mike to sleep. He’s...

Histrionics is a noun that refers to melodramatic or hysterical behavior. The Latin word histrio (HISS tree oh) means ‘actor.’ While actors aren’t only ones guilty of using histrionics, they are very much an actor’s stock and trade. Devin’s histrionics can get a little hard to take. I don’t like it when people can’t tell a simple story without engaging in melodramatic behavior.

Pollyanna is a noun that refers to a naively optimistic person. Our word of the day comes from a 1913 novel by Elinor Porter. Pollyanna is both the name of the novel and the protagonist who is characterized by an irrepressible optimism and a tendency to see the good in everything. It is best used to refer to people whose optimism is foolish and perhaps dangerous. I like Karry, but she can be somet...

Bacchanal is a noun that means a wild drunken celebration. It can also be an adjective that means related to the god of wine. Bacchus is the Greek god of wine and revelry. Our word of the day may be used  as an adjective to refer to this deity, but is most frequently used to refer to a party or celebration that is very much in the spirit of Bacchus. Kevin used to live a pretty wild life. He o...

Abet is a verb that means to aid or assist in doing something wrong. Our word of the day began life in Middle English where it meant, ‘to urge to do something.’ Abet is frequently used in a legal context where the thing one is urged to do is usually illegal. But outside of the legal world, its meaning can be broader, for example: I didn’t want to abet Mike’s unhealthy eating habits. But I figured...

Morphean is an adjective that means related to or producing sleep. Morpheus was the Greek god of dreams. Our word of the day can, in come cases simply be used to refer to Morpheus or it may mean drowsy, a state that sends us to sleep and, of course, to our dreams. Something about the movie’s tone had a morphean quality to it. All those tranquil images and sounds made me want to sleep for several h...

Dearth is a noun that refers to a scarcity. Derived from a Middle English word that had the same meaning and nearly the same spelling — D-E-R-T-H-E. This word evolved into our word of the day as well as the word dear which once had the same meaning as dearth. Faced with a dearth of options, Tommy sold his beloved car. It hurt him to do so, but these are the kinds of choices one has to make when al...

Karuna is a noun that refers to loving compassion. Our word of the day is of Sanskrit origin and is commonly used among Buddhists to describe a means of attaining a happy life. But it can be used more broadly to simply refer to compassion. For example: The situation calls for a little karuna on both sides. All that bickering and anger only makes things worse.