Word of the Day

Calliopean is an adjective that means loud and piercing. In Greek mythology, the muses were nine sisters who presided over various arts and sciences, with each muse having a different area of expertise. The Muse named Calliope presided over heroic poetry. In time, the word calliope came to be the name of a steam-powered musical instrument known for being extremely loud. The adjective calliopean ma...

Gordian is an adjective that means intricate or difficult to solve. It can also be used as a noun that refers to the Gordian knot of legend. According to tales of yore, Gordios (GORE dee ose) the king of Gordium, tied an intricate knot and prophesied that whoever untied it would be the ruler of Asia. It was cut through by the sword of Alexander the Great. Today, the word may still be used when ret...

Ersatz is an adjective that means a substitute or imitation. Our word of the day comes directly from German, where it means ‘replacement.’ Ersatz is typically used in a context that implies the replacement is inferior to the real thing. Example: Terry’s ersatz bow tie may have looked convincing to most people, but it didn’t fool me. A real bow tie would have been a much more elegant addition to th...

Spartan may be used as an adjective that means marked by strict self-discipline. It may also be used as a noun that refers to a person of strict discipline. Our word of the day’s first meaning was as a reference to any resident of the ancient Greek city-state Sparta. Sparta was known for having a highly disciplined way of life for all of its citizens — men and women — to keep them ready for war at...

Inosculate is a verb that means to join or unite. The Latin osculare (oh skoo LAHR ay) means ‘to provide with a mouth or outlet.’ Along with the prefix IN inosculate entered English in the late 17th century. It is a synonym of join and unite. I will do my best to inosculate the bicycle’s parts. But I get the feeling that they were not meant to be put together.

Gest is a noun that refers to a tale or adventure. Our word of the day is not to be confused with jest, JEST, but both words share a common ancestor. The Latin gestus (JEST oos) the past participle of the verb ‘to bear’ or ‘to carry’ has given birth to many words like ingest, suggest and ingest as well as jest with a J and gest with a G. As much as I love Shakespeare’s warm romantic comedies, my f...

Ligneous is an adjective that means of or resembling wood. Our word of the day began with the Latin word lignum (LEAN yoom) which simply means ‘wood.’ Its descendant ligneous may be used in a literal sense to refer to actual wood or something that looks like wood, and it may also be used to describe something that is ‘wooden’ in the figurative sense — as in a ‘wooden’ expression. For example: “The...

Misprision is a noun that means the neglect or wrong performance of official duty. The Latin word prehendere (PREN dare ay) means ‘to seize’ or ‘to take.’ As the word drifted through Middle English, the prefix MIS was added and the word evolved into our word of the day. In addition to its most common meaning, Misprision may be used in a few legal contexts like: ‘concealment of treason or felony by...

Machinate is a verb that means to plot or scheme. Our word of the day is from the Latin Machina (MOCK ee nah) where it roughly translates to ‘machine’ — but its meaning is different than the way ‘machine’ is used in the contemporary sense. Instead it refers to ‘a contrivance’ or ‘something created.’ To machinate is to contrive or create a scheme. The word is often used in a pejorative sense. For e...

Nestor is a noun that refers to one who is the leader in a field. Nestor was a figure from Greek mythology who served as a wise leader in the Trojan war. Today a nestor may refer to anyone known for wisdom and leadership in a particular field. After giving years of service to the theatre word, Harvey has more recently become something of a nestor in that community. He loves the idea of giving...

Foible is a noun that means a minor shortcoming is someone's character. In fencing, the word forte refers to the strongest point of the blade. So understandably, forte became a word to describe a person’s strongest skill or characteristic, as in: Jeff’s forte is public speaking. That’s why he’s done so well performing lectures at college. By contrast, the foible (derived from the Old French word f...

Doldrums is a noun that refers to a slump or a state of stagnation. The exact etymology of our word of the day is unknown, but we know it was first used as a nautical term to describe periods of time without strong winds — which was a problem for sailing vessels. Today, the word is used in a similar way to describe periods of stagnation or the absence of inspiration. Without any inspiration, Stacy...

Begrudge is a verb that means to envy or resent someone's good fortune. You may have noticed the word ‘grudge’ nested in our word of the day. Derived from Middle English, grudge is perhaps best known as a noun that means ‘ill will or resentment resulting from a past insult or injury.’ But grudge is also a verb that can mean ‘to be resentfully unwilling to grant or give something.’ Adding the prefi...

Shambolic is an adjective that means disorganized or confused. A fairly recent addition to English our word of the day came about in the mid-twentieth century, apparently from the word shambles, meaning ‘a state of total disorder.’ The shambolic state of my son’s room was always a source of puzzlement. I have no idea how I could have a child who has inherited none of my desire for order and neatne...

Promethean is an adjective that means boldly defiant or creative. Getting its origin from the Greek God Prometheus known for his daring inventiveness and creativity, our word of the day is often used to describe scientists and inventors who have created something astonishingly new. For example, keep in mind that the novel Frankenstein was first subtitled ‘The Modern Prometheus’ in reference to the...

Connubial is an adjective that means related to the state of marriage. Connubial combines the Latin word nubere (new BEAR ay) with the prefix COM, meaning ‘with’ or ‘together.’ After years of marriage, the couple were still thrilled with each other’s presence. It was nice to see their state of connubial bliss was alive and well.

Sagacity is a noun that refers to wisdom or keen judgement. The Latin word sagax (SA gacks) means ‘of quick perception’ or ‘keen.’ This word gave birth to our word of the day as well as ‘sage,’ a word often used to describe.a profound thinker who is eager to share a life of wisdom. When considering the use of sagacity, it may help to remember such a character is the kind with much sagacity. The ol...

Embosom is a verb that means to shelter closely. Our word of the day is related to the word bosom, a word of Old English origin that means a person’s chest. When used literally, embosom means to ‘take into one’s chest.’ Metaphorically, it means ‘to enclose’ usually in a protective or loving manner. I may have had my differences with Kate over the years, but when she needed help, I was happy to emb...

Chimera is a noun that refers to a fanciful fabrication or illusion. In Greek mythology, a chimera is a fire-breathing monster that has a lion’s head, a goat’s body and a dragon’s tail. After being slain, this beast continued to live on in people’s imagination. The word later came to refer to any similarly grotesque monster. In more recent years, it refers to something fanciful. My daughter is con...

Factotum is a noun that refers to someone tasked with many diverse responsibilities. Factotum combines the Latin words facere (FAH chair ay) which means ‘to do’ with the word totum (TOE toom) meaning ‘everything.’ Together we get a word for someone, usually an employee or servant, who does (or seems to do) everything. I had no idea there was so much work involved with being an assistant director o...

Standpat is an adjective that means stubbornly resisting change. It can also be a verb that refers to an act of resisting change. Standpat is a term from the game of poker that combines the English words ‘stand’ and ‘pat’ to refer to the act of making no changes to the cards you currently hold. But it may be applied outside of the world of poker to describe a resistance to change when used as an a...

Chameleonic is an adjective that means given to quick or frequent change. A chameleon is a lizard known for its ability to change colors. It gets its name from a combination of the Greek words chamai (HAHM eye) which means ‘on the ground’ and leōn (LAY own) meaning ‘lion.’ Our word of the day is the adjective form of the word that describes someone or something capable of changing colors or some o...

Canorous is an adjective that means pleasant sounding or melodious. Our word of the day’s origin is in the Latin word canere (Can AIR ay) which means ‘to sing.’ It’s often used in a musical context, but it can also be used to describe a lovely sound that has a vaguely music feel to it. For example: Spring is my favorite season. I love waking up to the canorous sounds of the birds collecting outsid...

Suborn is a verb that means to secretly induce (someone) to perform an illegal act. Our word of the day combines the Latin prefix SUB, meaning ‘under’ or ‘secretive’ with ‘ornare’ meaning ‘equip’ or ‘arrange.’ Suborn is frequently used in a legal context, but it may describe any inducement to break the law. Jill was afraid of what might happen if the jury knew the truth about her. So she tried to...

Percipient is an adjective that means having deep insight or understanding. It can also be used as a noun that means ‘one who perceives.’ The Latin word for ‘perceive’ is percipere (PAIR chee paire ay). When used as an adjective, our word of the day is a synonym of ‘discerning,’ as in: when it comes to shopping for my clothes, I trust my wife’s judgement more than mine. She is a very percipient sh...